Thailand is full of surprises

Today was mostly a travel day, so not much to report other than our resort on Ko Samui is lovely (pic below).  We are looking forward to the next few days here.

So I thought I'd report on some things about Thailand that have surprised us so far:

• They drive in the wrong side of the road here. We aren't driving ourselves anywhere, so I didn't bother investigating it before I came. I was surprised when our cabbie in Bangkok got into the front right hand door.

• The amount of street food options in Bangkok.  I knew there'd be street food, but I wasn't prepared for the huge number of stalls on every street, in alleys, etc.  The smells can be overwhelming at times.  

• Spirit houses at many homes, businesses, hotels, etc. I believe these are related to their Buddhist faith, but I don't know much more about them. They often have fresh flower garlands on them, so they're good for florists. 

• The fact that Sizzlers exist here. We've seen several of them.

• Speaking of American chains, the vast number of 7-11s.  They seem to be on every block.

• Toothpicks are offered at the end of most meals, including plane meals.

• The huge number of scooters/motorbikes on the road. They zip in and out of traffic at will, and somehow don't cause accidents.  Usually there are 1-2 riders, but we've seen up to 4 a few times. They're loud, so walking on the streets here is rarely peaceful and quiet.  Tuk Tuks are also plentiful and noisy, but not as loud as the motorbikes.  

• Taxi and tuk tuk drivers are extremely aggressive in trying to get us to use them.  We can't walk down the street without one honking at us or drivers waiting by their vehicle asking if we need a ride.  

• English is used everywhere - in advertisements, in announcements in public places like airports and public transportation, road signs, etc.  I wasn't expecting so much English.  But that definitely doesn't mean that everyone here knows how to speak or read English. All of our hotels have given us cards with the hotel name on it written in Thai to give to cabbies since most of them can't read English and may not know where the hotel is if we just tell them verbally.  In Bangkok, no one had any idea where our hotel was, even with the written Thai card (they'd have to call and ask for directions).

• Wats (Buddhist temples) are plentiful here.  We think there are more wats in Thailand than there are churches in the US.  Correspondingly, there are monks everywhere too. They're very distinctive in their bright orange attire, so they stand out.  In the airport, monks are given priority seating along with the elderly and pregnant women.  Monks are highly respected in Thai culture. 

• On a similar topic, so many of these wats have many donation boxes set up around the temple, asking for money for the monks, or dogs, or a special project.   Apparently each morning most monks go out asking for alms on the street.  It begs the question if monks are so honored here, why do they need to be asking for money all the time?  

I don't have pics of all of these surprises, but here's a few select ones for your enjoyment. And one of the view from our room on Ko Samui.