My Trip To Thailand
Monday, January 21st, 2008
Yes I know, it’s been a long time. I came back last week from Thailand and the whole beginning of the week was very hectic so unfortunately I didn’t have any time to post on my blog. Then during the later part of the week I wanted to post but thanks to Network Solutions my site was down for a couple of days. So here’s the very delayed post regarding my trip.
Thailand was absolutely amazing. The first week we spent on the island of Koh Samui and the next five days in Bangkok. Koh Samui in Thai means the island of the coconut trees and the island is filled with them. You need to often look up to make sure a coconut doesn’t fall on your head. Koh Samui is the third largest island in Thailand and is filled with tons of activities. A typical day would start with a massage, then sitting by the beach, then another massage, then sitting by the pool, then dinner and perhaps a night out in Chaweng (the center). And of course, since your feet are already hurting by now, why not a foot massage? Yes, I know, sounds like a tough schedule to keep.
On my birthday we decided to go on the Namuang Jungle Trip. There we went elephant trekking, saw tigers, monkeys, rare birds and fish. It’s interesting to note that the Thai people use the monkeys on the island to throw down the coconuts from the tree tops.
We also traveled to the spectacular Na Muang waterfalls and the Hin Ta/Hin Yai - Grandfather and Grandmother Rocks. These phallic rocks symbolize fertility for the Thai people and in local legend they represent two doomed lovers who drowned themselves in the sea here, because their families disapproved of their relationship.
Lastly, we also visited the Mummified Monk at Wat Khunaram. The mummy is of a formerly rich Samuian who, in advanced age, rejected all worldly possessions to devote his attention to his spiritual well-being. He died in 1973 at the age of 79. As legend has it, a few days before his death, he instructed his followers to build a coffin for him. Legend further insists that the corpse of the monk, who had died exactly on the date he allegedly had himself predicted, simply “refused” to decay. Therefore a glass coffin was built in which the corpse is exhibited to this day. To Thais the alleged fact that the monk’s body “refused” to decay without human interference counts as a Buddhist miracle - or rather as proof that by Buddhist enlightenment achieved through meditation, every law of nature, or rather, every law of the physical world, can be overcome.
After a week we packed our bags and headed to Bangkok. This is my second time in Bangkok and I really love this city though the air pollution is not very pleasant. The sky is filled with smog. However the joy and smiles of people on the street take your mind off this matter.
During my time in Thailand I had limited internet access which was quite hard to deal with in the first few days, especially on my birthday when I received a huge amount of love from Facebook friends. It’s quite interesting to see how many people actually pay attention to birthdays on Facebook. I did also find that during my time abroad I used Facebook as my main email platform. This relates to a note which Jeff Pulver posted on Facebook, in which he writes :
“Seems to me Facebook may be well positioned to make a move on Google and Gmail. Things may get real interesting when/if Facebook decides to upgrade their messaging platform and offer a better messaging experience. This could be a real test to see just how sticky Gmail really is.”
In any case…back to Thailand. This country is absolutely magical and beautiful. I recommend to anyone who hasn’t been there yet to definitely put it on his list of places to visit. It’s a must.
You can check out more pics in my Thailand photo album on Facebook.
(Of course you can also insert good health, happiness and success along with it). 
