Sah-wah-dee khrup from Thailand



I just said hello to you in the Thai language. Because I am a boy, I said, "Sah-wah-dee khrup."  (The last part sounds like "cup' because the r is silent.) Girls say, "Sah-wah-dee kha." No one waves hello or good-bye like we do. Instead, they hold their hands together for a greeting, like this:

A statue of Ronald McDonald outside a
restaurant is greeting the customers who
come to eat.

You can practice saying hello to each other in class.

 

We are staying Bangkok. It is a big city. People drive cars, take buses, taxis, and subways to get around, just like cities in the USA. I did see two new ways to travel in the city. This is a motorcycle taxi. It is called a tuk-tuk. The passengers sit on a little bench in the back. I didn't ride on one, but I think it would be fun! 

 

 

 

 

 

Look at this! Here is one we did try. There is a big river that flows through Bangkok, called the Chao Praya River. The boat goes up and down the river all day, stopping at docks to let people get on or off. It works kind of like a bus, going to different bus stops.

 

 

 

What do you like to do for fun?

The kids here like to play in lots of the same ways that you do. There are playgrounds and beaches. I saw a lot of children riding bikes, too.  This group of boys and girls stopped to let me have my picture taken with them.   

 





 

Some of their games I had never seen in the United States. These boys are playing a tire racing game called, "tee-wong-law." They use bike tires or motorcycle tires. Do you think you'd like to play this game?

 

Many people here buy their food in supermarkets like we do. Another place to shop is at outside food stalls. Farmers sell their crops here. Fishermen sell their catch. Do you recognize some of the foods in the picture? Do some things look different?

 

 





 

Thai people eat some foods that are very familiar to us. They eat a lot of chicken, and fish, and noodles. We eat those things at home, and know that they are yummy.

 

They eat other foods that we don't.  They have a vegetable called finger root, and one called lemon grass. I hadn't ever heard of those before.

 

They eat with chopsticks, like people do in China and Japan.

 

I went to a Thai restaurant. These are plates
of Pad Thai. That is their national dish.
I think hamburgers are our national dish.



 Well, first grade friends, this has been an exciting visit, but it is coming to an end. I will be coming home soon. I'll see you in Rock Hill next week.

 

Your friend,

Flat Stanley

 

 

 

 

 



My adventure in Thailand

Hello first graders,

Dr. Kevin took me half-way around the world to Asia. I am visiting a country called Thailand.
It was an exciting trip because it took 18 hours to fly here. It is the farthest that I have ever been from home. The time is very different here. When it is morning in Rock Hill, it is night time here. When it is night time in Rock Hill, it is morning here. That is because the sun can only shine on one side of the Earth at a time. When one side gets sunlight, the other side is in the dark. Right now while you are reading this, Dr. Kevin and I, and everybody else here are probably asleep.

I spent lots of time in our hotel room.



I stayed in the hotel room all week while Dr. Kevin was working, but when the weekend came, we went out sight-seeing. The churches in Thailand are different from ours. They are called temples.
The temple has tall round towers. It is very old, and was built long ago. Thailand is an older country than the USA.

 

Outside the temple are many statues of a man named Buddha who lived a long time ago. He is very important to the people here. They dress the statues in yellow cloth to show respect to Buddha. 

 

 

Some other buildings that we saw are very old towers called prangs. They are made of stone, and have carved pictures and designs on them. You can't go inside. There are no doors or windows.

 

 

Have you ever had a pony ride? If you lived in Thailand, you could have an elephant ride! It is lots of fun, but a little scary, because you are up so high. The elephant stops by some steps. You walk up to the top to get on the elephant. There is a little chair to sit on, and an umbrella for shade, because it is so hot and sunny. The trainer (he's the man sitting in the front) takes you for a walk all around. We watched other people ride before we had our turn. Elephants walk very slowly, so I did get used and I had fun.

 

Dr. Kevin paid the man for our ride. Did you know that other countries have different money? In the USA we pay for things with dollars. In Thailand, people pay with bahts (say "bots")

 Here is a picture of some money.

 

 

It is 1000 bahts. That is the same as 28 of our dollars.

 You can see pictures of US presidents on our money. Do you know who is on our $1.00 bill?

Do you know whose picture is on our $5.00 bill?

 

In Thailand, all of the paper money has a picture of the same person. It is the King of Thailand.

His name is King Bhumibol . (say boom-ee-ball)

 

 

That's all for today. I will write some more later, after I have had more adventures in Thailand.

 

Your friend,

Flat Stanley