Hi everyone I am finally back. Wow, I was away for a month travelling with my boyfriend and took a lot of photos and videos. We have been to quite a few new places this time, and they were all very interesting even though it rained a bit, as you will see in some of the photos. We still enjoyed ourselves anyway, and it gave us a chance to try out my new Fujifilm s1600 camera in different situations. Overall I think the pictures turned out great.

The first thing I thought about the next day was… taking him to pay our respects at the Udon Thani shrine near the central park as we usually do, so that the trip will go nice and smoothly, and we also prayed for our future and our family’s futures. Next to the Udon Thani shrine in the centre is a Chinese shrine with a Chinese zodiac all around it. We both take a great interest in our own Chinese zodiac signs (I was born in the year of the Monkey, Terry was born in the year of the Pig), and like to read our horoscopes regularly. We also took a few photos of this too.

As I mentioned in one of my previous blog entries, my boyfriend bought me some sexy outfits this time, oh yeah. I thought you might like to see them, so I’ve decided to add some glamour photos, feel free to give me comments hehe. Right, we were a bit bored, so we tried to find something INTERESTING and EXCITING to do… so do not ask what has happened after that!

It’s a long journey from the UK to the land of smiles, Thailand, and he was knackered when he arrived. I was giving him a massage to help him feel better the first night, but it was a very short one, it wasn’t a complete massage you know… so I had to take him to a proper Thai massage shop near my home later on to get a proper original Thai massage. he loved it, it was nice and clean, and this shop is by the river.

My dad surprised me during the second week of Terry’s stay, he had called me around 7am one morning, and said that he was on his way to Udon Thani and would arrive at our hotel in around an hours time… Woah! He became our guide and took us to four provinces (Khon Kaen, Chaiyaphum, Loei and Nongkai) in one day… unbelievable!

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The highlight of that day was visiting the Dinosaur Land in Tambon Nai Muang, Wiang Kao district, Khon Kaen province in the north-eastern region of Thailand. It was the first time there for me and my boyfriend, and we went to Phu Waing Dinosaur Museum (พิพิทธพันธ์ไดโนเสาร์ ภูเวียง). I was also surprised again, because we had actually set aside some money for the tickets, but we found out later that entry is free! You don’t have to pay for anything, all they ask is that you sign your name in the guest book as a visitor and give them some of your details, like where you are from and your gender; male or female, and that’s all.

In the air-conditioned exhibition centre itself is a geological museum that mainly exhibits fossils that tell the story of the history of dinosaurs. It is under the administration of the Department of Mineral Resources, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and it has been open to public since 2001.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We took loads of photos and videos and it was very impressive. I felt my body was very small compared to the Dinosaurs… so you people can’t say I am big any more hehe. Right, we spent around an hour in the museum and then decided to leave as our stomach’s were making funny noises… uh huh time to have lunch! But we didn’t forget to first visit the souvenir shops across the road and also had some fresh hot coffee while we were there too

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next my dad took us to Chulabhorn Dam, which isn’t far from the Phu Waing Dinosaur Museum. It was a bit cloudy there and windy, nice weather in my opinion. The restaurant we went to is by the river, and you can see a really nice view from there from amongst the beautiful garden. The food was brilliant and very reasonably priced, and we enjoyed it a lot! I’d say it’s the most delicious food in a restaurant I’ve ever been to!

 

 

On the way back to Udon Thani we dropped by Erawan Cave (วัดถ้ำเอราวัณ) or Tham Erawan as it is known. This is on the border between Loei and Nongbualamphu province but we didn’t manage to get into the cave itself, as it was already dark when we arrived, so we just spent a short time in the temple there instead. I’ve been inside the cave before, like ten years ago, and it was such a beautiful cave then. I had spent around three hours on my journey to the cave at the time looking around.

Ok, that’s all for now about our long journey. For my next blog I plan to write about life here; the weather, food & drink, and the people that we’ve met. I look forward to hearing your comments on this or any other post I’ve written, and hope to have a new blog up for you guys again soon, take care for now!

Kit

I woke up today and I couldn’t believe that the weather was so much cooler compared to yesterday, Last week for the whole week the temperature was around 37c, but today it is different, windy and pleasant.

At the moment as I write, the temperature is around 24c (the average temperature for the hot season is 36-42c.). OMG 24c! I’m sorry, here we think it’s cool, but I bet for Europeans it is considered as warm. Haha so yes, the weather here is very crazy; suddenly hot, suddenly cold, or rainy. I am suffering with my allergies now because of this… sigh.

Summer is considered the high season in Thailand. If you plan to visit Thailand this summer (between March-April), then I’d like to give you guys some suggestions on how you should prepare for the trip.

Bacteria in food/drinks

You guys have to be careful about this, especially in the summertime as it can be quite easy to pick up food poisoning from food in Thailand. If you do fancy having some Thai food, then please avoid the dishes that use coconut milk as an ingredient (those Thai curries). If the taste is sour then beware, and you should stop eating immediately. I don’t think its good idea to drink juices/smoothies either, particularly if it’s served on/with ice, as you cant be sure how clean it is. With that in mind I suggest…

Choosing drinking water instead

Drinking water in some restaurants, or on food stalls beside the street usually serve you drinking water from the jars they have. I’d suggest that you guys stick to ordering/buying drinking water from bottles only. You can get them from most superstores and it usually only costs around 10 baht, also, always make sure the bottle has a plastic sealed top before buying! My foreigner friends do the same thing as they don’t want to take a risk getting ill as the cost for treatment in hospital here for foreigners here is… shrug!

When it gets too hot, do not shower! Yes I mean it, and I told my boyfriend the same thing when we arrived in our hotel room. You need to take a while for the body to get used to the temperature in the room, and then you can go shower, otherwise you risk catching a fever. I often get a fever when the weather gets too hot, although I am fine in the cold or rainy seasons… it’s hard to cope with the summer really! Of course, to help with the room temperature acclimatisation you could always…

Get naked! – Ermm… actually I’m not sure if it’s that’s a good idea for anyone but me, and only when I am alone at home. Lol no, don’t try to google where my home is because the only naked thing you will be able to see is my dog…

“Lotte”… 60kg, dark, tall, handsome and wild as well!  

Try not to wear black when you go outside in the hot weather. Haha, it’s funny though, I cant help it myself sometimes as most of my clothes are black, but I think its safe for me anyway as I’d rather wear black than yellow or red…for security reasons! Black attracts the heat as it absorbs more radiation than other colours, but my boyfriend disagrees, as he keeps saying to me “Darling, you look HOT in red!”. It’s a good thing he bought me some red nightwear then, we will see if it turns out like his theory! I might show the photos to you guys for you to judge in the next story “Coming Soon”.

Try going out in the early morning or later in the evening when the sun is not so powerful. The city can be very enjoyable to wander around at these times, especially in the evening, when temperatures are not so hot, and it can be quite breezy. We were lucky that the night market that we liked to go to for meals had installed many fans with a water spray built into them.

Thai fruits are the most delicious fruit on earth. They are incredibly sweet and juicy, and give you energy when the heat wears you out or when you feel exhausted. I know sometimes the cost of fruit when abroad can be painful, but for someone who fancies some Thai fruit, please don’t pass up the chance to try some! Here in Thailand Mangosteen is only 30 baht a kilo, how nice!

Mangosteen  is the queen of tropical fruits. Mangosteen is “cold” in nature and will help to cool down your body. I fed my boyfriend some when he was here during the summer last year and he liked the taste, he said it tastes like English pears. (in the video)

Lychee (Lin-chee)  Small and round, with a hard seed inside, they are easily peeled by hand and are really juicy. (in the video)

Rose Apple (Chom-poo)  Shaped like a small, red or green bell and crunchy, this is one fruit you don’t have to peel, so its easy for me to eat as I’m too lazy to peel most of the time (most Thai fruit we have to peel) (in the video)

Watermelon (Theng-moh)  if you find Thai food is too hot for you, and is making your tongue burn, I suggest you try to eat watermelon. Just sprinkle a little of salt on it as this enhances the flavour. There are 2 kinds of watermelon; a red one and yellow one called honey watermelon. The honey ones are slightly more expensive than the red ones and the taste of course is sweet like honey. This is one fruit you definitely have to peel, but you can buy peeled ones. My boyfriend is lucky though, my melons don’t need peeling. (in the video)

Put ripened mango into the refrigerator to enhance the flavour, this is often eaten with sweet sticky rice and coconut milk as topping.

Here are a few useful phrases you might find handy in helping to cope with the hot Thailand weather

Ron mak mak = very hot

Chan kra hai nam = I am thirsty

Chan tong karn nam duam = I want drinking water

Chan tong karn nam khaeng = I want some ice

Chan tong karn ai tim = I want icecream

Perd pat lom dai mai? = Can you turn the fan on?

Perd air dai mai? = can you turn the aircon on?

Hong mee air mai? = Is there aircon in the room?

Hong mee pat lom mai = Is there an electric fan in the room?

Tee nee mee kang keng kha sun mai? = do you sell shorts here?

Kraruna sra pom hai duay = please wash my hair for me.

Tao rai = how much?

Khun hot mak mak = you look so hot!

“I’m not crazy, I’m just a little unwell I know, right now you can’t tell but stay awhile and maybe then you’ll see a different side of me. I’m not crazy, I’m just a little impaired, I know, right now you don’t care, but soon enough you’re gonna think of me and how I used to be” – Matchbox Twenty – Unwell

It’s a funny coincidence that I am listening to this tune right now while am writing this blog. It reminds me of all the fans who have commented on my blog about how much they loved it. They’ve told me they loved my style, how I write, and find my blog unique and interesting. Well, I am glad to hear that and really do appreciate all the comments from you guys. I just try to be myself, confident with a good sense of humour, and try not to be too formal because I think it’d be pretty boring to read (I’ve read other people’s blogs and almost fell asleep on the keyboard). The stories that I have written have been from my experience; things that have happened to me or to people I know or used to know. LOL I decided to grab this opportunity to share this with you guys as my blog is getting quite popular now (I check the ratings and daily feedback is very good). I hope you guys will find this latest entry useful and I hope you enjoy any trips you are planning to make to Thailand this summer time.

Have fun!

Kit