16 Days Until Lift Off

Wow, we are really going to Thailand, and soon!  It still feels like a dream, but it is definitely morphing into reality.  Connie and I (Karon) have been spending a lot of time preparing for our day in Bangkok.  So much so that I feel like I need to go back and re-read my program briefing and thinking about the elephant work we will get to do.  Fortunately that section of the fellowship is very planned out by Earthwatch.  

Here is what our trip looks like so far:
June 1:  Leave home and drive to Atlanta
Fly from Atlanta to Denver
Spend the night with friends in Golden, CO
June 2:  Fly from Denver to Tokyo, Japan (12 hour flight yippee)
June 3:  Arrive in Tokyo then take a 7 hour flight to Bangkok
Check into our hotel.
June 4:  We have decided to do a guided tour.  This is a new thing for me, but we decided since we have such a short time in Bangkok it would be nice to have someone else manage the logistics of getting around.

Pick up from hotel and bring you to visit Wat Trimit, the temple of the Golden Buddha - this statue of Buddha is made from solid gold and weighs 5.5 tons! Then drive past china town, the flower market, then visit Wat Pho, better known as the temple of the Reclining Buddha. This is the largest and oldest temple in Bangkok. Back to the car for cool water and towels. Then combine this with The Chao Phraya River, (River of the King), which is a major river in Thailand. It is over 370km long, but you can relax and enjoy a cruise along a small part of it. Along this journey, you will see wonderful views of the Temple of Dawn (Wat Arun), and take an interesting trip along some of the secluded canals (Klongs) in a long-tail speed boat. Then you will drive through the Government and Royal lanes and view of White Marble temple before returning to your hotel.
***Admission fee, long-tail speed boat, ferry boat, cool water, towel, accident insurance are included.
Start at 09:00 a.m. (5-6 Hours Touring Time) or upon request.
Tour does not include meal.
We tailor the tour to fit your needs. The price of the tour depends on many different factors. Contact us today for a custom price quote.

After the tour, we plan on hitting up some of the markets.

June 5:  Fly out early to Chaing Rai; At 3pm we will meet up with our EarthWatch team and head to the elephant preserve.
June 5-14:  Elephant research
June 14:  Fly from Chaing Rain to Bangkok/ Spend the night near the airport.
June 15:  The never ending flying day.  We leave early in the morning, and 27 hours later we will be in Atlanta, then drive home.