Last Post - En route from Thailand

Hello, all -

I (Sarah) am now in the Hong Kong airport, waiting for my connection back to New York. Will left yesterday, so I was all by my lonesome last night and this morning. I'm not sure how I'll be able to survive the 15 hour flight without having him to talk to and play cards with, but I guess I'll have to manage.

After our last post, we went to a Thai kickboxing match, which to my delight, involved no blood, but rather just alot of athletic kicks and jabs.

What better fits with a loud boxing match than the nicest bar in all of Thailand, which is where we went next. The Sirocco bar is on the 64th floor of the State Tower and has a panoramic view of all of Bangkok. On one side, they have a live jazz band playing. The scene was amazing and definitely something I would recommend.

Last night, after Will left, I went with the rest of the remaining MIT Sloan group on a boat tour of Bangkok. The ride started ~5pm in broad daylight, and took us all around Bangkok until well into darkness. We saw a number of temples and palaces at night - a very impressive sight.

And now I'm in Hong Kong, waiting to come back.

Goodbye, Thailand!
- Sarah

Final day

Today I leave Thailand for New Zealand. Sarah is staying one more day and will join the group tonight for a river boat tour. It has been a fun trip and a good place to spend the otherwise cold winter. Last night we went to a very upscale bar on the roof of one of the tallest buildings in Bangkok. The view was absolutely amazing. It felt like being on top of the world. There was a jazz band playing and nice cocktails served. Earlier in the evening we went to a Thai kickboxing event and saw four live matches from ring-side seats!

I am off to the tailor now. I had some custom suits and shirts made. They are incredibly cheap and look great. I picked out the cloth / fabric myself and then I have gone to a few fittings.

Great trip. Hope you enjoyed the blog!

Bangkok exploring

Hi, all. It's Sarah writing now. We arrived in Bangkok last night and spent the evening at a jazz bar in a swank hotel called the Oriental. The music was great, and the atmosphere very relaxed.

Today is the first of two dedicated to company visits, which the Sloan students are required to attend. I, however, decided to opt out and spend a day relaxing and exploring Bangkok.

I've been walking around the streets - it feels amazingly safe here - and stopped in for a pedicure at a local salon.

I guess you'll have to wait for Will to get back to hear how the company visits went - a cement company and a hotel company today - but I think he was pretty envious of my day of leisure as he left the room at 7am today.

Hope all's well!
- Sarah

Back to Bangkok...

We are leaving Krabi now to fly back to Bangkok. Today we went sea kayaking through the mangrove forests. A narrow shallow and muddy path led us through a twisty maze of mangrove trees, that is, until we got stuck in water too shallow and had to turn around to hit the open water more.

Yesterday we spent New Year's Day on a boat cruising to small islands near Koh Phi Phi. Four or five of our group stepped on sea urchins and were stuck with poisonous (not lethal) barbs that stung quite a bit. The locals told us we had to pee on the stung feet to reduce the pain, but the victims said they would just ride out the pain.

We also managed to get in a little snorkeling, saw some coral and tropical fish. No sharks or turtles though.

So this is the end of the beach time. It was pleasant and warm here. It was also amazing to think about how this area was affected 3 years ago at this time when the tsunami hit. Koh Phi Phi, for one, was majorly damaged but has been rebuilt to its former glory and is seeing vibrant tourism again. But in the rural areas, the small homes we pass in our coach don't look as if they are any more prepared for a new disaster. Hopefully one won't occur.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year from Krabi in Thailand. Last night we spent New Year's Eve on the beach in Ao Tang. Instead of a formal fireworks show, we watched local Thai villagers light off roman candles and other fireworks from the sand.

Besides fireworks, the Thai people also send off these floating candles, kind of like mini hot air balloons. They take a thin white canvas bag and turn it upside down. Underneath is a kerosene-soaked rag which they light. The flame creates heat that fills up the bag. A few people hold the bag for about a minute until it is ready to go, and then they let it go into the sky. The mini balloon ascends quickly into the sky and joins thousands of other floating candles to make quite an amazing sight in the sky. They all follow the winds so it creates a trail across the sky.

It's now almost 9am now but the US is about to celebrate the New Year. So Happy New Year!!

Heading to Krabi!

Well, we've been without internet for a few days and I only have 4 minutes now so here goes ....

Everything has been great. In Bangkok we stayed in a very nice and new hotel. Dinners out with the whole group were fun. During the day we went to the Grand Temple and visited other sites. Thre is amazing architecture and culture here. What is interesting to me is how close together they build temples (as compared to Japan or other places).

We have some master photographers on this trip who have taken a collective 10,000 photos so far (in 3 days) at 22-megapixel. So the album will be great!

Yesterday we went on an elephant ride which was incredibly fun. Through the jungle and across rivers on top of a giant elephant. At first it was a little concerning but then we realized we were pretty stable. Of course, when our guide (who was riding on the elephant's head) jumped off, we weren't sure if we were going to be able to steer the elephant ourselves. It turned out he was only jumping off to take our photo. The video from the ride is great.

Time's up for internet. Will try to post more soon. All is good.

Landing in Asia

We have landed in Hong Kong on our way to Thailand. After 16 hours in flight we are ready for our hotel but still have a few hours of flying to go. On the long haul flight we were psyched because we got the exit row with massive leg room. But alas my in-seat TV unit was not working on this new 777-300. With enough encouragement from me and some help from a friendly Brit in the next seat they moved Sarah and I up to business class for about 8 or so hours. We were able to watch some movies and get some sleep lying fully flat.

Free WiFi in Hong Kong airport. Next stop Bangkok!