Three Annapolitans Traveled Thailand

Heather and Ann Palmer came to Thailand!  

In February, Ann and Gary went on a cruise with my parents.  While my parents talked up their trip to Thailand, Ann showed interest, and Gary did not.  By mid March, Ann had booked flights for herself and Heather to come to visit.  I was beside myself!  Then, I forgot about it.  An accident happened, life happened, deaths happened, and traveling happened.  Next thing I knew, it was September, and we hadn’t planned much.  In a matter of about two weeks, and countless emails, we planned everything.  Then, the floods happened.

I scrambled back to Khon Kaen from Cambodia for Cait’s birthday.  The six hour bus ride took twelve hours, and I was in Khon Kaen for about 30 hours before I was on the bus again.  While on my way to Khon Kaen I called my mom, told her the situation, and told her to call Ann.  I had planned to meet them at the airport, but with unpredictable bus times, I didn’t want them to wait.  The message was: If you don’t see Meaghan immediately, she is stuck because of the flood, take a cab to the hotel without her.

My quick trip to Khon Kaen for Cait's birthday.

Now, this wouldn’t be a story if the message went through.  The message didn’t go through.

I, of course, was delayed, by about three hours.  Ann and Heather, on the other hand, arrived on time.  And then they waited.  And waited.  And waited.  They waited at our meeting spot for over two hours before being asked if they needed a cab.  

**Note to all new travelers: the answer to that question is always “no.”  A cab driver won’t ask to give you a ride.  You will ask him.**

But, Ann and Heather were unaware of this rule, so they said yes.  And the two of them jumped into the back of an unmarked, tinted Camry, without a taxi meter.

I was also in a taxi, headed directly to the hotel, knowing they would be there waiting for me, because, of course, they had gotten the message.  

When I arrived at the hotel, and realized they hadn’t checked in, I was nervous.  And then, I got a text message.  Ann was texting me from the back of the cab.  She was a nervous nelly, and wanted to know where I was, and why I hadn’t met them.

After a few attempts at sending reassuring text messages, they arrived at the hotel.  I paid the cab fare, which was more than three times what it should have been, and hugged the frazzled travelers.  

When we checked into the room and realized the miscommunication, they were fine and grateful to be safe and sound.  I apologized, and took them on the second of their many adventures in Thailand.  

At around 1 am, Ann and Heather were still on east coast time, and ready to go to the bar.  We went to a nearby go- go bar alley, and had a few beers.  I have never seen Heather’s eyes so large in my entire life.   She was just trying to take it all in.  And for those of you that haven’t been to Thailand, there is A LOT to take in.  From there, still wide awake, we went to the flower market.  The flower market opens at around 3 am, and is mostly frequented by locals.  I had always wanted to go, and Ann and Heather were ready.  It was fantastic.  The flowers were incredibly beautiful, and so inexpensive.  Heather worked at a florist for years, so she was a wealth of knowledge.  She was able to tell us what everything was, and how much it usually costs.  In Thailand, flowers cost next to nothing.  Ann and Heather were ecstatic.  We walked the entire market, bought a few orchids, took tons of photos, and eventually headed back to the hotel.

 We finally went to sleep a little after 4 am, but we were up the next day in time for the hotel breakfast!  

We spent the first full day in Bangkok taking a longtail tour of the canals.  We spent two hours going through the canals on the west side of the city.  It was dirty, it was real, and Ann and Heather were loving it.  As the tour guide for their trip, I was very relieved.  

At the end of the tour Ann asked if the driver could drop us off at the Oriental Mandarin hotel.  The three of us waltzed into the nicest hotel in Bangkok for afternoon tea.  In a beautifully decorated tea room with live acoustic guitar wafting through the air, the three of us enjoyed tea, scones, sandwiches and cookies.  It was every bit as classy as I imagined an afternoon tea to be, and I loved every second of it.  

Our next day in Bangkok we went to the Grand Palace.  The tuk tuk drivers attempted to convince us that it was closed because of the flooding, but we weren’t falling for it.  

So, exactly at noon, we arrived at the Grand Palace to have a grand tour under the beating sun.  I hired us a tour guide, and she was wonderful.  She was very enthusiastic and informative.  Even though I have been to the Grand Palace four times, I love it every time I go.  With different tour guides and different groups of people, I learn more every trip.

I can handle the Thailand heat, but I must say, this was a very hot tour.  Aunt Ann was definitely done by the end of it, but she was a trooper.  We finished the entire tour and still had energy to shop!  After walking around the market and stores, we decided it was time for the pool.  The three of us lounged poolside with umbrella drinks.  

When a storm rolled in, we were all more than willing to sit in our room, eat pad thai and chat.  When the power went out in the hotel, we weren’t as psyched to be in the room.  The three of us got ready in the dark, and headed out for a night on the town.  With the flood seeping into various parts of the city, we ended up at a night market where we shopped our butts off.  After, we stopped at an Irish pub for beers, appetizers and live music.  

Our last morning in Bangkok we ventured to the tailor across the street.  Ann had thought about having suits made, so we went over to check it out.  About two hours later, Ann was having two three-piece suits and a dress made, a skirt for Heather and a dress for me.  They would all be ready when we came back to Bangkok after the beach.  Impressive.