Beijing Part 1

Our fourth and final destination was Beijing, China. We decided to visit China this year because we have a Chinese visa. When we came to Mongolia last August, we had to get a Chinese visa to transit through Beijing. However, instead of getting a one-time transit visa, we got a one-year multi entry visa. We figured that we had already paid for this one, and we wanted to visit China sometime anyway, so why not go this year? Other than Chiang Mai, this was the main stop of our trip. Our original plan was to fly into Beijing, spend a week sight-seeing, and take the train from Beijing to UB with our teammates. A few weeks before we left UB, our teammates were asked to visit a friend's family in the country before our return date, so they decided to return a little earlier than us. After we parted ways in Bangkok, we were on our own mostly until we arrived back in UB. We were alright with that though. We were a little nervous but not about to miss out on an opportunity to visit China.

Our first day was interesting. We were unable to buy our train tickets before we left UB, so our first order of business was to get tickets back home.After spending the entire day trying to figure out how to get train tickets to UB, we ran into the right person and ordered our tickets. While we were waiting for them to be processed and delivered, we took a walk. This building stands not far from the train station. It is part of the old city wall built during the Ming Dynasty about 500 years ago. This was the south-east corner of the city and a primary defense point against attack. Attached to this fortification was a section of the wall about 1.5 kilometers long. We had nothing else better to do, so we walked the whole section.

This section of the wall was hollowed out to make way for the first train line heading out of Beijing. We thought it was pretty neat to be that close to such history, but this was only a drop in the bucket compared with the next two days.

After the train ticket ordeal, we got down to being tourists. The first and only order of business for the next day was visiting the Forbidden City. It was our only planned event because it is, after all, a city. This is a picture of the iconic Tiananmen gate of the Forbidden City that looks out across Tiananmen Square. It is also the primary entrance for the Palace Museum.

Here is Jennifer in front of the gate. It was quite chilly the day we went, and we had just come from Thailand. Come wind, come cold we were not going to be discouraged from spending time at such an historical site.

The Forbidden City, named so because no commoners could enter, was built during the Ming Dynasty some 560 years ago. It is a self-contained city and the largest palace complex in the world that once housed around 10,000 people. Not all sections are open for visitors, but a large portion is. We were able to get an audio tour program in English that was GPS tracked and would tell facts and stories about the palace as we walked. Walk we did! We spent 5 hours roaming around the palace but did not see the entire place.

There are multiple palace buildings with thrones throughout the complex used by the different emperors for different events. This throne however was the grandest of them all and was located in the central and largest palace building.

There were different galleries throughout the complex that highlighted life in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. This was one of our favorites out of the display items, a pair of chopsticks made out of gold and jade. As outrages as this might seem, we also saw a golden toothpick.

Joshua stood at the door and knocked, but there was no answer. It was probably a good thing. Our feet and legs were already worn out. We had a blast, but there was only so much we could do.

This is a rare thing in Beijing. Jennifer is standing alone in a large open area. There are hundreds of buildings, walkways, alleys, and open courts throughout the Forbidden City. A few times we got a little lost and had to keep walking until we found where we were again.
We had such a great time! It was incredible to be able to walk around in the Forbidden City, a place that neither of us ever thought we would get to visit.

Kanchanaburi/Bangkok, Thailand

Our conference finished the night of February 2nd. The next afternoon we took the overnight train from Chiang Mai back to Bangkok. It was scheduled to arrive early in the morning, so we decided, before leaving Chaing Mai, to catch another train from Bangkok to the city of Kanchanaburi. However, our plans did not take into account Thailand train schedule reliability. This was our departing platform at the Chiang Mai rail station. It was a really nice place and very easy to understand and get around.Here we are, chilling on the train. Jennifer was being productive while Josh was trying to figure out train schedules. The book on the table is "The Bridge Over the River Kwai." Josh decided to take that to read since we planned on visiting the Bridge over the River Kwai.

Unfortunately, our train arrived over two hours late into Bangkok, so we were unable to take the train to Kanchanaburi. However, we had made reservations at a guesthouse and needed to get there before 2 pm. After a restless night on the train, we set out to make our own way to Kanchanaburi. Thankfully, we were approached by a travel advisor in the train station who directed us to a place where we could buy bus tickets direct from the Bangkok station to Kanchanaburi. We were tired, stressed, and just wanted to get there; so we got the tickets which we found out later where way overpriced. Just the thing for tired, stressed tourists. The bus ride took a little over two hours, but we were dropped off right at our guesthouse. We checked in and left our bags before setting out for our first destination.

Kanchanaburi was the sight of an Allied POW work camp during WWII. Thousands of British, Australian, and Dutch troops were forced to do slave labor building a railroad for the Japanese army. So many POWs and native workers died during the railway's construction that it was aptly named the Death Railroad. Kanchanaburi has the largest of three Allied POW cemeteries in Southeast Asia. It was very moving to see the cost of war and the number of young men who were literally worked to death while in the prime of their youth. This was by far the most beautiful cemetery that either of us have ever been to. We were very pleased to see the care that is given to keep this place in such good condition. It is a fitting tribute to those who lost their lives while serving their enemies.
Kanchanburi was really put on the map because of the Kwai River bridge, an infamous portion of the Death Railroad. This bridge has a very interesting history. It not only served as an important point along the supply route from Thailand to Burma, but it was also used to highlight the mistreatment of Allied POWs by Japanese troops in the book "Bridge Over the River Kwai." However, the actual history of the bridge is much better than the book.
While there, we had the opportunity to walk across the bridge. The bridge was destroyed by Allied bombers towards the end of the war, but it was rebuilt by the Thai government several years later. Most of the railroad itself is not the same as was laid in WWII, but most of the bridge has original materials. War damage can still be seen on a few of the lower supports.
Another interesting thing about our stay in Kanchanaburi was that our guesthouse bungalow was actually in the Kwai River. The accommodations were not great, but it was pretty cool to sleep in a bungalow suspended over the river.

After two nights in Kanchanaburi, we were ready to go back to Bangkok. The temperature was a good ten degrees hotter than Chiang Mai, and we did not have air conditioning. Noon our third day, we took a bus back to Bangkok for a lot less money than we spent going out there. We were able to find our guesthouse this time. It was the same one that we were going to stay at on our way to Chiang Mai, but this time we had the address. It was a great place where we met a lot of interesting people. We spent two and a half days there just resting before heading to Beijing.
We hit 7 Eleven (all 8 along our stretch of the street) a few times while we were there.
You can't read the label, but these were Hot Chili Squid Lay's chips. They were not bad, but I doubt they are going to be a big hit in the States any time soon.
Our main outing while in Bangkok was a sky train ride to a mall. I know, "Another mall?" Actually, there were three right next to each other. The one we spent most of our time in was huge. It had the largest book store in Thailand on the fourth floor, the largest aquarium in Southeast Asia on the basement level, and five car dealerships on the third floor, not to mention a department store the size of most malls. It also had a massive food court on the first floor with several hundred choices of food items. We walked around for awhile, but the size of the place was just too much for us.
Bangkok was an interesting place, but we were both happy that we were only there for a few days. However, our hotel was great, and we were able to rest more before moving on to China.

Chiang Mai Part 4

For the first week, we had to find our own accommodations. The schedule was simple and completely up to us. The second week was our conference, so we had to move to another hotel and we had a pretty full schedule for the majority of the week. On the first day of conference, we got up, ate breakfast, and took a red taxi truck over to our new place of residence.Our time there may have been busy, but we got to hear from some amazing speakers and fellowship with old and new friends. It was wonderful hearing stories of what is happening and what life is like in the other countries that our organization provides teachers to. The hotel itself was also very nice other than the fact that the elevators were so slow that we usually had to walk up or down nine flights of stairs to get to and from our room. However, we had a great view! The weather was perfect while we were there. It was not too hot and there was a constant cool breeze that blew over the city. Almost every day was clear and sunny. There were some incredible displays of color when the sun came up and went down.Most of our evening meals at the hotel were eaten on the terrace pavilion. It was a little taste of paradise! I am not just talking about the atmosphere, the food was great too! We had fresh tropical fruit for every meal on every day that we were there. While staying at our conference hotel, we got to check out some more of the local nightlife. Every night of the week there is a market somewhere in the city. The Sunday Night Market was the largest but a little distance from where we were staying. The regular Night Market was about a block from our hotel. We visited both while we were there. Aside from the endless stands of merchandise, there was a large variety of local style foods. Our favorite was called a Roti which was a pan fried crape with bananas in it covered with chocolate sauce and sweetened condensed milk. Talk about good! We just wish we could find some of those around Mongolia. Matt and I are eagerly anticipating a Roti being made at our hotel. These were good but they didn't have bananas in them. The Rotis from the street stands were the best.
During our time in Chiang Mai, we visited this place more often than a Roti stand. We made several visits to the Chiang Mai Ram Hospital, but we were able to get most all of our pressing medical work taken care of. It was really a blessing to be able to go to such a great medical facility. For the past three months Josh has been in constant pain from two warts on his feet. After our first visit to the Ram, the warts were no longer a painful problem. This was probably one of the best and most efficient hospitals that either of us have ever been to.

The week of conference flew by quickly, but we really enjoyed spending time with friends in both recreation and fellowship. It was a great time of refreshment and joy, two things that we desperately needed.

Chiang Mai Part 3

One of the great things about conference time is that it gives opportunities to see and visit with people that work and live in different areas of the world. It was great to catch up with some of our new friends that we made at orientation in July.

The last day before our conference began, we and our teammates met up with two of our friends from China and went to the zoo. Just a bunch of crazy party animals checking out the exotic wildlife. It may not have been the best zoo that we have ever been to, but many of the different animals put on quite a show for us. We had a great time!

One of the Chiang Mai Zoo's biggest attractions is their Panda Bears. Pandas are incredibly cute as it is, but this guy was just waking up from a nap when we visited him. On the other hand, he may have just thought we were all a bit boring.

Yawning seemed to be a catching habit while we were there. Perhaps we were boring.

This guy is not yawning, he is roaring. Wow! Talk about a frightening experience. I am glad there was a huge ditch between us and him. However, I think he was just trying to impress the lady lion, but she seemed to think he was a bit of a showoff and wouldn't give him the time of day.
This zoo showcased many endangered species including the Northern American 7 Eleven. Yes, this picture was taken in the zoo. While the North America variety of this species is rare to see in the wild, its Thailand relative of the same name and logo is thriving. We did not do the calculations, but I believe that in Bangkok a person is never farther than 50 yards from the closest 7 Eleven.

While at the zoo, Josh made a few new friends! Just in case you couldn't tell, Josh is the one in the middle with the goofy grin.

Now this one beats all. This little guy got so board with us that he went to sleep. Actually, he was asleep before we got there, but he didn't even have the decency to wake up for us. Oh well, he was cute enough he could get away with it.

After chilling at the Koala cage for a while, we stopped by these guys for a little grooming before heading back to our hotel.

After getting back from the zoo, we took a dip in the pool and then went to dinner with a nice Australian family that we met at our hotel. For desert we got a tub of ice-cream from 7 Eleven and played a game of cards with our teammates. The time of rest during our first week was priceless. After the stress of last semester, some time to relax and reflect was just what we needed.

Chiang Mai Part 2

Our first week in Chiang Mai was very relaxed. We took advantage of this time to do the tourist thing and rest as much as possible. Chiang Mai has a lot more to offer than we had ever thought it would. For one, we had never really heard about Chiang Mai until we learned about this annual conference. Turns out Chiang Mai is a very interesting and beautiful city.It is not a very large city, so it was easy and cheap for us to travel around. We would usually take a ride in a tuk-tuk or a red truck taxi like the one in the picture. A tuk-tuk is a motorcycle style vehicle with a two seat bench built on the back with a top covering it. That was certainly the way to experience Thailand. The sides were all open, so the breeze could just blow around us as we were driving. It was quite nice. After the frozen north, a little sunshine and warmth was wonderful!A few days after we got to Chiang Mai, we decided to take a look around the old part of the city. We began walking to the center of town but decided along the way to hire a tuk-tuk in order to save our feet and maximize the sight-seeing time. We ran into a tuk-tuk driver who offered us a good rate to take us to the major Buddhist temples of the city. From an architectural and historical standpoint, the temples of the city were very impressive.The city itself is over 700 years old. Many of these temples are equal in age. However, many more temples have been built all around the city since its establishment. This was an interesting part of our stay but certainly not our favorite.

A few days after our temple viewing outing, we went to a huge mall with our teammates. You may be thinking, "Why did they go to a mall in Thailand? Weren't there other things to see and do?" We have got two words for you: Diary Queen!

Ah yes, the frozen treats that are DQ Blizzards! Again, you may be thinking, "Haven't they got enough of blizzards? They do live in Mongolia." Indeed, we have had our share of snow this winter, but we have had no Blizzards that included Oreo cookies. Besides, we were in Thailand, and it was much warmer at the time. While we were indulging, we ran into some good friends from Tibet. They are the couple in the middle on the top and bottom. There is nothing like visiting with friends over a DQ Blizzard!

After walking around the mall and eating our ice-cream, we parted with our friends and stopped at the Flower Market on our way back to the hotel. The Flower Market is exactly what the name indicates. Two sides of the street lined with nothing but flowers. Most of the flowers were some variety of Orchid, one of Thailand's most noted flowers and Jennifer's favorite flower. Joshua was so overwhelmed by the number of cheap Orchids that he went crazy and bought Jennifer three colors and varieties of them.

Jennifer took three empty water bottles and made three beautiful arrangements out of her flowers. Many of these flowers adorned our hotel rooms for the next week and a half. Not a bad way to spend about $6.

Chiang Mai Part 1

We counted up our travel days not long ago and discovered that we traveled for 29 days. Needless to say, a lot can happen in that amount of time. We had so many wonderful, and not-so-wonderful, experiences along the way that it would take far more posts than you all would care to read to tell about them all. Therefore, over the next week or so we will try to hit the major highlights of our trip in a series of posts. Today we will start at the beginning, where any good story should.

We left Ulaanbaatar the morning of 01/20, flew through Beijing into Bangkok, and got lost on the streets of Bangkok in the middle of the night. This was not the way we would have liked to begin our trip, but we survived thanks to a little vertical provision. The next morning we left Bangkok by train bound for Chiang Mai, the capital of northern Thailand. The train ride was 12 hours long, but we had the opportunity to see a lot of the Thai countryside.

The view out the train window was quite spectacular. The entire countryside was covered in differing shades of green and bright colors. After living for the past few months in an area where most natural colors are brown, gray, or white, a little variety was very nice. We also saw some of the native population, both people and animals. It was very exciting to experience so many different aspects of the country in one day.

Our train was comfortable and forced us to sit and do nothing for several hours. This is something that we had not been able to do during the course of the past several months.

For the first portion of our train ride, the country was flat farmland. Over halfway through the trip, the country became very rocky with surrounding mountains. We even went through a few mountain passes where we could look out over the top of the jungle which was two to three hundred feet below us. We were a little nervous at times but thrilled to have the experience.
We arrived in Chiang Mai at 8:30 pm and walked to our hotel which was very close to the train station. We stayed at this hotel for the next five days. During that time, we took care of some pre-conference business, visited the hospital, and rested. Our hotel was located down an alley off the main road. It was very beautiful and peaceful. It was also located along the edge of the city, so we got to see and experience a lot more of the local life and culture than if we had only stayed in the center of the city.
I actually think there are more motorbikes in Thailand than dogs, but in this candid shot you get to see both. To match the number of motorbikes and scooters, there was a large number of mechanics and scooter shops. Some stretches of the street outside our hotel were lined with nothing but scooter shops.

While we were there, we also sampled a large variety of the local food. There is nothing like walking into a hole-in-the-wall restaurant and getting a plate of Thai noodles. Yummy! It was tasty, plentiful, and cheap; the perfect trio!