YAY Thailand!!

Well, I am happy to report that this post will have a much more positive tone and be free of any four letter words. Such negativity and foul language are no longer necessary now that Robby and I are in THAILAND! We were successful in reserving seats on a Kolkata bound train for the morning after we arrived in Delhi (we were in dreadful Delhi for less than 24 hours. During which time we ate NOTHING that didn't come out of a bag. Hallelujah for cheap junk food.). Our train ride, like India itself, was full of surprises. Once we arrived at the station we realized we had been bumped up to first class. Score! A few stations down the line, the train was stopped due to protests which had caused damage to the track. Bummer! But waiting (for 6 hours!) is much less of a bummer when done in an air conditioned first class compartment. We were 12 hours late arriving in Kolkata and flew out the next morning to Bangkok (October 1st)! Robby and I knew things were looking up when we were offered complimentary cocktails while watching TV on the headsets in front of us. May I strongly suggest to those of you reading that you fly Kingfisher Airlines when ever traveling in Asia. Getting off the plane in Bangkok was like a breath of fresh air--literally! I had formulated a plan to get us from Bangkok to Trat (a small town 6 hours from Bangkok in SE Thailand) that involved several buses and a fairly tight time frame. Such a feat would have been impossible in India but went off without a hitch in Thailand and by midnight Robby and I were headed to bed in our larger-than-california-king-size bed at the guesthouse in Trat. We spent the following 2 days wandering around Trat, eating delicious food, and just being delighted by our first impressions of Thailand (and our second and third and fourth etc). After that, we left Trat via ferry for the island of Ko Chang. What would have be a lovely place to visit during the dry season was dampened (pun intended) by the constant downpour. We did get to spend one lovely half day during which there was sun playing in the warm, clear ocean. After 5 days of bungalow life in the rain we decided to head back to Trat to formulate our plan for the rest of our time in Thailand (our visa is up on Oct. 31st). Although I would be happy to spend weeks in Trat (I have really fallen for this little town), it's time to move on and tomorrow we take the bus to Ayuthaya in central Thailand. Ayuthaya was the capital of Siam from 1350-1767. It was a center of Asian trade during this time with merchants from as far away as France and Portugal marveling at this "Venice of the East", and it is now a UNESCO World Heritage site. A bit larger of a town, it is a kind of "island" in that 3 rivers converge to form a sort of moat around the main part of Ayuthaya. It is full of temples/ruins and Robby and I are looking forward to renting bikes and seeing the sights. Weather reports claim the weather is better more in land and it will be fun to play outside without getting soaked. I love Thailand! -Lucy