After crossing the border into Thailand we got off the train in Hat Yai and were immediately bombarded by people offering bus services and other goods. Luckily we didn't stick with the first company that brought us over to their booth at which a group of Germans paid more than double what we paid for our 6 hour bus ride to the beach side town of Phuket. We had our first Thai meal at a small place right next to the bus company. I am still drooling over it right now several days later. A big crispy fatty slab of fried pork was hanging in the window of the food cart set up outside and was served with some rice, cucumber, and an amazing sweet chili sauce. I felt like my food travel hero Anthony Bourdain for a moment who is always delighted to find pig meat in any form from some cheap place on the street.

After 36 hours of sitting and stretching and rumbling around on trains and speeding past hundreds of mopeds we arrived at what is probably going to be the most luxurious of our stays on this trip. I used some of my Hilton points accumulated from work to stay at one of their resort/spas on Karon beach in Phuket. However, Thailand is so cheap that the amount of points I used would have been equivalent to only a Hampton Inn in Macon. Diamond status meant upgrade to a suite with ocean and mountain views and access to the top floor executive lounge for free cocktails and bountiful breakfast spreads. We spent time in each of the property's five pools, relaxed on the white sandy beaches drinking out of coconuts recently fallen from the surrounding trees, and had some quality waves to bodysurf with unexpectedly strong rip currents. We treated ourselves to some nice dinners on the property, and took full advantage of the free perks, food, and lychee juice.

After three nights we were fully rested and ready for the next destination and hours of minibuses and trains. Luckily I booked ahead to get a sleeper on the overnight train to Bangkok. I've only taken a sleeper car once to New Orleans in my extensive train travel, but I definitely wanted to spend a little more and have the experience in another country where train travel is more common and the way people get around.

It turned out to be a quality purchase as our departure was delayed over two hours until almost two in the morning so some good sleep was necessary. We slept the whole night until we awoke to the skyscrapers of Bangkok. We were quickly ushered back to the reality of a big city and 10-15 million people. Luckily we had one more relaxing night at a Hilton on the Chao Phraya river with some commanding views of the expansive city 31 floors up. There was even an infinity pool with attached sandy beach in the middle of the city overlooking the river below.

We explored some of the nearby markets indulging in multiple cheap satisfying meals and desserts. One favorite in particular was a waffle that you can break off in small pieces that contain your choice of filling mine being chocolate chips of course. Delicious. We also found some new shoes for me and Leah for a few bucks, as at least for my sandals, a strange terrible smell took over that found them a new home in the trash.

We spent the next two nights in the old city area of Bangkok in a beautiful hostel that was a hundred year old house with original floors and other features. They also had their own coffee shop on their first floor. We walked around and viewed stunning temples and Buddha statues and had a few glimpses of the royal palace grounds. We took multiple Tuk-Tuk rides around the city, which are basically open air three-wheeler like taxis that give you the true feeling of flying through the city streets with the other cars and motorbikes.

We continually found quality food on the street and just as nice of people willing to help us out. I was able to spend several minutes playing some electric guitar cranked up in a local shop. They had some "Beatles" guitars from the USA. I highly doubt they are actually made there, but I told the owner that I was from America as well and he let me play for awhile on a small Fender amp that appeared to be authentic. It is hard to tell in Thailand, but most items are fake.

We spent most of our last day in Thailand attending a local Thai cooking school learning to cook some of our favorite dishes. We went to the market with our teacher as he explained to us the key Thai ingredients that make Thai food Thai food as well as all the other filler you throw in to get full. We took all the ingredients back to the house and washed, peeled, and cut everything. We made coconut soup, chicken with cashew nuts, a red curry, fish cakes, glass noodle salad with shrimp and had some bananas in coconut milk for dessert after making the coconut milk ourselves that was used in every dish. We were incredibly full and happy and are looking forward to using our knowledge back home.

We took one of the many large (100 seats) water taxis up the river at sunset back to the neighborhood of our hostel. Another cheap drink and thai massage from one of a myriad of the places that literally line the streets, put us both to sleep wanting to stick around in Thailand for awhile longer. In reality, we had to wake up and leave at five in the morning to catch our flight to Seoul through Hong Kong.