Sep 2 – Sep 18, 2022

Next leg. Korea Air planes are so much nicer than Southwest or Delta. But we have to wear these dang things. Oh well... On with the show.

Made it to Seoul South Korea. Last leg of the trip. Can't wait to sleep in a bed lol. It's been a lot of flying.

The K-Pop flight safety videos are something else lol

We made it!

Thailand:. What's ice?
My spoiled ass:

The wiring here has my anxiety peaking...

Good morning Bangkok!

Right there with ya brother! Iron Maiden!

After the trip by boat in the canal was the trip by tuk tuk. Cars and motorcycles get so close lol. Keep your arms inside... Telling ya!

Shrine outside of our hotel in Bangkok.

Lunch today was a work of art. Almost didn't want to ruin it by eating it. Unusual flavor. Not my thing but hey I experienced it.

The flower market was our first stop today. HUGE piles of flowers and very cheap. Saw a dozen roses for like 50 baht. A little over a dollar and a half. If we lived here Julie would get stocked with flowers all the time. Well...more than she already is. Beautiful!

We're supposed to do some canal tours but not here. I think a little more scenic where we're going.

Wat Pho Temple today was both beautiful and educational. Also known as the Temple of the Reclining Buddha. Was built in the late 1600s to early 1700s. This Buddha is HUGE! And no it's not actually gold. But beautiful indeed. The temples in Thailand stick to strict visitation rules of respect. We knew about the 'no showing your knees' rule and having to take your shoes off (they give you a bag to carry them). But I was also asked to take my hat off. This is why we do this. Learn something new every day.

When you don't dress appropriately for the temples you have to wear the "pants of shame". Glad Julie and I did our homework.

#HammerTime

This is part 1 of our Grand Palace and Temple of the Emerald Buddha tour. Beautiful, ornate and overwhelming. There was something new around every corner. New stories to learn about. New characters and their journeys documented on the walls and in the statuary. You could go through here 10 times and still have more to learn. A great morning of knowledge and visual appeal. Highly recommend if you come to do this tour.

Part 2 of our tour of Grand Palace and the Temple of the Emerald Buddha.

This afternoon started with a canal trip through Bangkok. Feeding the fish was an experience. Pretty interesting. Lots of temples along the waters edge.

Waiting for our flight from Bangkok to Chiang Mai.

I don't know what this says. Guess I'll play 'Does it hurt or is it good?' later.

Ate traditional Thai cuisine at someone's house. They tought how to make a Thai curry and also how to make some light, but spicy, quick snacks. Everything was super delicious but not overly spicy. After the meal we got a tour of the house including the Buddha room where they keep items belonging to people they want to remember. He talked through a few of those items.

If you don't have a motorcycle here I think you're in the minority. Haven't seen but one or two above 300cc though. Not a lot of high speed highways so I guess speed isn't a primary consideration.

2 wheels > 4 wheels

Stopped by the Chiang Mai Night Market after dinner. Interesting but quite a bit of the mass produced touristy stuff. Might stop down here tomorrow night... or might do something new. Not sure yet.

Definitely a beautiful and comfortable place to stay. Best night of sleep since I got here. Comfortable beds and pillows. The coffee in the restaurant is delicious. If you're looking for a bottle of wine there is a convenience store about a block away with a rack of about 20 bottles. There's a laundromat less than a block away. Everything you need right here.

First up this morning was a visit to the Queen Sirikit Canopy Walk. Beautiful views and listing to the moving water of the river over some falls is always soothing to the soul. A large tour of local kids added to the ambiance if culture for us. They were all pleasant and happy to practice their English greetings with us.

Up the hill from the canopy walk was the botanical garden. Super beautiful. Always stunning to see so many different and interesting types of plants. So many colors and shapes. Julie kept having to come back and get me. Was taking too many pictures. This is Part 1. Part 2 coming up shortly.

Part 2 if our botanical garden visit.

Lunch today was at the Bai Orchid. Buffet style authentic Thai food. More plants to take in. Butterfly Farm was closed for construction. Food was good. The fried bananas here were delicious!

After lunch and a short break we went to P. Collection Silver. Beautiful items but nothing we needed. Got a little bit of info on silver from the instructor there. Got about halfway through before realizing I wasn't supposed to be taking photos. Oops! C̄hạn s̄eīycı...

From the silver shop was a quick walk to the silk shop. I love watching people making hand made items. These skills are disappearing so getting the opportunity to experience them being used by talented people is rewarding.

I'm labeling the Bosang Umbrella Making Center as the "pleasantly surprised" excursion of the day. I wasn't holding out much hope for it being interesting but seeing the craftsmanship that goes into each one from the pulp used for the paper to the hand painting was fantastic. Julie and I both got items painted for 100 Thai baht...about $3. They did it really fast and well. Pretty fascinating.

First Temple of the day was Wat Inthakhin Sadue Muang. Small but great to photograph.

Reliquaries of Northern Thai Royalty. Tour guide Udom explained the sticks against the tree and other things. I suggest if you come you get a knowledgeable guide. There's lots to learn here.

Wat Suan Dok...our second Temple of the day. Very ornate. Great to photograph this one. Beautiful!

ABT (another bloody Temple) was a phrase used in a story our tour guide told us. This one was the best of the day. Not as large as the Grand Palace but beautiful in it's own right. We took a tram to the top but walked down the stairs on the way down.

A visit to the Elephant Eco Valley elephant camp was a great addition to the trip. Passion fruit drinks greeted us after a bumpy ride up the valley. The guide gave us a lot of info about these elephants. Tata was the big female we met first. Each elephant is given a handler. They're treated really well. We made vitamin balls and feed them to them. After the lessons were all complete a bit of work and play. We spent some time washing them then got to have some playful water fights. A great and rewarding experience.

Even rest stops are interesting here. On our way to Chiang Rai. First was the restrooms. They're outside. Have to pay 5 Baht to use them. Urinals we're out in the open. Second they have hot springs. For a small fee you can cook a few eggs in the hot springs and take them with you. There was also a beautiful brook with a Buddha at the end. Alright...back on the bus.

Spirit houses are a thing in Thailand. I would say a majority of properties have at least one. It's thought that spirits reside on properties and if you don't have a spirit house they have no place to go and will cause trouble. They place offerings on the spirit houses. Have seen open drinks with straws, other food items, coins..

Stopped by a roadside market on the way to Sukhothai. Picked up some local fruits. Unique flavors and textures.

Next rest stop on the way to Chiang Rai. Just as interesting as the last. Neat restaurant on the Lao River. A pie vendor here that used to live in the United States and uses American pie recipes. I had a piece of blueberry cheesecake. It was phenomenal! Julie had some traditional Thai food with fried egg on top. The folks next to us had a slice of avocado pie. I didn't even know such a thing existed so I took a pic. After eating we went outside and there was a lot to experience. Interesting birds, a lot of botanical goodness and a pretty shaky looking bamboo bridge. Buddha Mike (someone called me that on the bus) wasn't going out in that bridge...lol. No thank you!

Not even sure how to articulate enough how stunning this place is. Feels magical. Dante's Inferno mixed with Frozen. The White Temple is definitely one of, if not THE best temple...at least photogenically. Makes me optimistic about what Chiang Rai has to offer us while we're here. Looking forward to the next few days here.

What even are you? Get in my belly!

Enjoy the Zen!

Hell yes I'm having a Mekong Mojito!

Another breathtaking venue for us to stay at. All of these places are very Feng Shui. Time to settle down for a dinner of Thai food and a good night's sleep. We were informed that tomorrow is going to be pretty active.

Got to experience the Padong people of Thailand this afternoon. Also known as the Long Neck Karan people. Our tour guide Udom informed us that the ladies of this people originally put the metal on their necks to prevent tiger bites. Everyone was wonderful. Got to observe a dance, kids playing games and browse their local wares. Their tourism market took a hit during COVID so I felt compelled to buy something. I chose the table of what appeared to be the eldest of them. In return we took a photo together. Great and humbling experience.

Our tour guide says “there isn't much to buy here". Everyone walks out with bags and bags of tea. The Choui Fong Tea Plantation was a beautiful setting to enjoy some tea samples and pick up a few tea types. I got some black tea. Julie was pretty excited about some flower tea she wanted to try out.

First Temple today. Lots of steps! Whew! This one was an adventure. We were told we can do the steps or do the path going up and down to the Temple. We decided on steps up and path down. Well it rained on the way up. So we visited the top and got to see Myanmar (Burma) from the top. On the way down we went down the path. Well it was a muddy mess. I get around a corner part way down and one of the ladies in the tour is sitting in the mud on the side of the road. I hustle to get to get and slip and slide on my butt down the road down into a concrete hole on the side of the road about waist deep. I look back at her and she has a gash on her forehead. So I climb out of the hole to help her down the rest of the hill. A vendor at the bottom offers is chairs and a hose to clean up along with some napkins. I guess she was alright but there was a considerable amount of blood. I had a few scratches on my arms but nothing big. I spent the next 30 minutes cleaning mud off of my clothes and backpack. I'm just glad it wasn't worse and she was alright.

The Northern most point of Thailand. Right on the Myanmar (Burma) border.

Lunch today was out in the boonies. The fish was delicious. So was the chicken. Dessert was a banana cake if some sort with coconut ice cream. Those ghosts were great and the kids selling pictures were cute and fun. Great time.

A quick stop on the way back to the resort at another Temple and to see some teak wood.

I think we have be to back out of here lol

After lunch today was a boat ride down the Mekong River. Got a picture of Myanmar, Laos and Thailand all in one picture. This area is called the golden triangle. Google it.

I mean it's an Opium Museum...we had to go right? Also some info on the Long Neck Karan people including photos of the elder lady I took photos with. She's famous! Anyway, there were some pretty nasty wars over the opium trade. Pretty good learning experience. No free samples though.

On the way to Sukhothai. Long drive. Probably not a lot of pics today by except from the bus. Maybe rest stops which seem to be interesting.

Standing outside the indigo shop in Thunghong and a funeral procession comes by. As with most things here both beautiful and interesting. I asked one of our guides if it was okay for me to record and he said it was okay. So the body is in the cart but not on display. Instead they have a photo on the front of the cart. Apparently the family can keep the body as long as they want. Always an odd number of days because odd numbers are for the dead and even for the living. Typically 3 to 7 days. After that the body is cremated either at a temple in larger cities or at home in smaller ones. Monks accompanying the procession (always an even number because they are living) chant usually in the evening each day for about an hour until the body is cremated. At that point a mortician collects the ashes. The family typically keeps a small portion and the rest is sprinkled in waterways. Was a privilege to witness.

Stopped by a place that makes indigo items. Kind of fascinating process for how they create the dye with plants and ashes and put wax designs on clothing to reverse dye items like dresses and shirts. Learned a little something.

Lunch today was "in the middle of nowhere" according to Udom. We did kinda have to walk down several backroads to get to it. Was pretty delicious though. Appetizer was some vegetable soup. Main course was grilled chicken with jade rice, noodles and some pumpkin cooked with eggs. You might be asking "why is the rice blue?" Good question! They cook the rice with butterfly pea flowers which colors the rice blue. All very good...but then...the dessert! Dessert was a three course meal itself. First dessert was fresh fruit. New and unusual ones. Second was a nut cookie that tasted a lot like peanut brittle. Third was for one of our tourists birthdays. It was some sort of coconut gel surrounding shredded coconut and some other flavor. All of this was chased by Chang beer. In all a great lunch.

Last nights sleeping venue was pretty nice. The beds were a little stiff and the air conditioner only got down to 77 degrees but I slept well. Only here for a night so...

Dinner was good. I had some spicy shrimp with noodles. Julie was craving salad. The Legendha Special drink I had was pretty loaded. Finishing up they gave us some paper fish attached to flowers.

Some monks stopped by during breakfast. They walk around in the morning to collect food and monetary donations.

Behind the resort was an old Temple...Wat Chang Lom. Julie and I took a stroll through it within minutes of getting here. The elephants were cool. Wonder what it looked like when it was new.

Spent the morning exploring the ruins of old Sukhothai. Several ancient temples. Udom brought us here in the morning because he said the lighting is better for pictures on the morning.

Noticed Don and his wife were holding hands while they napped. Thought that was awful sweet. He's an Air Force veteran and a good kind man.

Monkeys!

We've gone from the pretty modern temples to the ancient ones. Losing wars means your temples get destroyed. The heads we're removed from all of the Buddha's by the Burmese. Also, this is apparently the site used by a local soap opera so there are costume shops across the street and locals dress up and take pictures.

Last Temple for the day. Same with the last one this one was ravaged by war. A head removed from one of the Buddha's was found embedded in a tree. If you look closely in the selfie of Julie and I you can see the head between us. Also I caught a pretty good pic of a white squirrel.

Caught this white squirrel at one of the temples yesterday. Lucky shot.

Saw this critter (rhinoceros beetle) on the lawn at Bang Pa-In.

Visited Bang Pa-In this morning. Very beautiful. More refined than other locations we've visited. Couldn't take photos of all of the indoor stuff here such as the museums. Done with Ayutthaya. Heading out to Phuket in a bit.

The future is now!

Getting ready to board Bangkok to Phuket...

Made it to Phuket!

Soaking it all in...

Today was all about visiting the islands around Phuket. Best day ever! Lots of stops at interesting places with some great people. I'll post separately for the stops. For now some general pics of the islands. This is part 1.

Part 2 of our Phuket Island hopping pics.

First stop on the island hopping tour of Phuket was a canoe tour of some caves. Tried to catch pics of everyone.

On the way to the speedboat to go to Phi Phi Island.

Enjoying the Zen this morning...

Our hotel in Phuket isn't on the ocean but we have a pretty good view of the ocean from our balcony.

Mini bananas for breakfast...

Good night Phuket!

Fire show during dinner tonight. Pretty dang good! Could feel the heat from where I was at.

Phuket vibes...

Second stop on the Phuket Island hopping tour was Koh Panyee village. We got off of our larger boat for a smaller more manageable boat and headed there. A primarily Muslim community this island has a few surprises. First as we were pulling up was a couple futsal courts which, if you miss the goal, the ball would end up in the water. Second, the day market on the island was surprisingly large. You won't find any Buddha's for sale here though. They had an oyster farm on the back side of the island. The market sold a lot of pearls and pearl jewelry. Also some seafood.

This is what I've been waiting for. I've wanted to shoot photos of this island and that rock pillar in the ocean for a very long time. A dream realized. So happy I had the opportunity. It didn't disappoint. Checking this one off of my bucket list.

Our last stop was on an island. I think it was Na Ka Island. I'll confirm tomorrow. This was an opportunity to canoe to the island and swim and get a drink. Glad we took the time to go to show. Wish we could have stayed a little longer.

On the speed boat to Phi Phi Island for snorkeling,, monkeys, beach leisure and to see the beach from the movie The Beach. It's closed for visits but we'll see it.

First, second and third stops today were on Phi Phi Lay Island. Swimming, monkeys and snorkeling. The swim cove was beautiful and relaxing. Saw a monkey on the cliff wall about 10 ft up from the water and got to watch him while swimming. The other spot with monkeys people were getting out and feeding them. Our boat captain said there a 100% chance of rabies if you get bit and it happens often so... The snorkeling was cool but my unkempt mustache had my mask leaking so I didn't do it very long. Saw beautiful fish though.

We stopped at Phi Phi Don for lunch. Great chicken. Interesting flavors. Then walked around for a bit and got grounded after a long morning on the speedboat.

Last stop in the boat today was Bamboo Island. Just relaxed and hung out with a drink.

A word of warning about this set of photos. Patong Beach is very adult. So if you find adult stuff offensive scroll to the next post in your feed. If you come to Phuket, you have to go to Patong Beach. It's pretty famous. That said... this place is insane. Bars, dancing girls, vendors, more bars, bar girls, ladyboys, lots of bars... just crazy. We didn't stay long but wanted to go down and get the experience. Another check off the list. Crazy ending to our visit to Phuket. On to Bangkok tomorrow.

A walk along Patong Beach this morning after breakfast to get the juices flowing before heading out to Bangkok.

Enjoy this mornings Zen!

Um...what? Wasn't bad food but was kind of fast food. Both of us ate for like $12.

Of course we had to! Staff here was outstanding! We happened to come during an open house and everything was 20% off. Now someone get me out of here before I spend more money...

Today's Zen to soothe your soul...

After our jaunt to Bangkok Harley Davidson we took
the BTS Skytrain down to Siam Station and went to the Sea Life aquarium. Not bad. Not too crowded to enjoy it.

A trip through the wax museum was included with our entry fee for the aquarium. Some were good. Others not so much. But hey, what else are we going to do with only a few hours left in Bangkok? I didn't recognize half of the people in there.

Last leg of our journey home after our Thailand vacation. 2 more hours. Sad it's over but will be really happy to get home.