27 January, 2024

Hi everyone,

Today was our last full day in Bangkok. We took our time waking up and getting ready and then walked around the city a bit, stopping to look in some shops. As usual, it was getting quite hot by midday so we took our first tuk-tuk ride back to the hotel, where we had a light lunch followed by traditional Thai massages, which were truly excellent.

Afterward, we had a drink and then it was time to meet up with our tour. The guide, tOm tOm, seems friendly and knowledgeable and we can tell we are in great hands. There are 10 other folks on the tour, all of whom are retired and seem lovely. There are three people from Seattle, two from Des Moines, one from Georgia, two from Calgary, and two from Vancouver. There are some other crossword and jigsaw puzzle enthusiasts and a handful who really enjoy cooking. Unsurprisingly, pretty much everyone said traveling was one of their hobbies.

After our first meeting, tOm tOm took us out for dinner at a restaurant not too far from the hotel. Most of us had hot pot, where you order the meat and veg that you want and cook it in a shared pot of boiling water. It was delicious!

We still haven’t tried the durian fruit, which is local to Thailand (and presumably some other nearby countries) and is known for smelling terrible but tasting wonderful to the people who like it. It’s so pungent that many hotels, including ours, have a stipulation in their contract against bringing it into the building. (They were keen to remind us of this when we checked in).

Tomorrow we gather at 8:00 AM and spend the morning in the city before heading to Chiang Mai. 

Lots of love,

Sarah & Spenser

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View down one of the bustling streets in Chinatown.