Thailand 2005
In March 2005 we took Gate 1’s 12 Day Affordable Thailand tour and added a couple of extra days in Bangkok on our own. We experienced some of the world’s friendliest people, great food, fine weather, low prices, excellent massages and a fun tour group. The tour offered plenty of time to explore on our own. Our tour guide, Pensy, had an outstanding way of related Thai history and culture to Americans. She even got us to eat fried worms.
DAY 1 – Bangok on our Own
We stay on our own at the Royal Orchid Sheraton. Our Starwood Preferred upgrade gets us up to the top floor, where we just sit and enjoy the view from our window and the life of the river below.
Room with a view. Royal Orchid Sheraton.
DAY 2 – Bangkok on our Own
Recovering from our flight, we enjoyed a lovely swim in the hotel pool. Knowing we’d be eating Thai for the next 10 days, we enjoyed a delicious Italian dinner at the hotel’s Italian restaurant (our last non-Thai meal until more than a week later in Chiang Mai.)
My wife smelling the peppers. If you buy these and cut they with your bare hands, please don't put your hands anywhere near your eyes.
DAY 3 – Bangkok City Tour
City and temple tour. A highlight is a visit Wat Po (Temple of the Reclining Buddha), the oldest and first school for people in the olden days, where we saw the biggest Reclining Buddha statue, 150 feet long and 40 feet. We scheduled for massage students to come to our hotel to massage both of us before dinner. They didn’t speak much English, and they giggled a lot, but the massages felt good. These massages are strictly clean – you even keep your clothes on.
Thai massage is yoga-based.
Dinner was good, and included a Siam Niramit Show. Unfortunately we were completed exhausted, and the PING PING PING Thai music was drilling into our skulls, so we had to step outside and wait for the show to finsh.
DAY 4 – Full Day in Bangkok
Land of many Buddhas.
DAY 5 – Ayutthaya
Travel to Ayutthaya, the second and most prosperous capital of Thailand, from 1350-1767. On the way, we stopped at Bang Pa In Royal Palace, the royal summer palace for Thai kings.
Originally constructed in 1632, the complex fell into disrepair. In the mid-1800’s, King Mongkut restored the site to its former glory.
The long fingers of Buddha.
We enjoyed sunset at Chai Wattanaram Temple, built by King Prasat Tong, who was actually a commoner who overthrew the previous king and took his throne.
This lady makes crickets out of leaves.
DAY 6 – Lopbhuri and Sukhothai
Lopbhuri is famous for its monkey temples.
The temples at Lopbhuri are overrrun by naughty monkeys.
Sukhothai was found in the 13th Century by King Ramkhamhaeng, as the capital of Siam.
DAY 7 -Travel to Chiang Rai
Delicious Thai food stands.
Day on the road heading noorth to Chiang Rai.
Visit to a pineapple farm. Pronounced pie-apple by our guide.
DAY 8 – Mae Sai Border Town & Golden Triangle
Morning boat ride along the Golden Triangle. We could see the Laos side.
Children in traditional costume waiting for you to take their photos. They even have a song about it. "Photo, 40 Baht". 40 baht is $1.
We went to the border town of Mae Sai, the northern-most point of Thailand on the border of Myanmar. We were discouraged from crossing over due to the American government’s poor relations with Myanmar.
Burmese guys along the border. Not sure what they're doing.
Friendly condoms.
At night we went into Chiang Rai for foot massages. I’d really wanted to take a Tuk Tuk ride, so we hired one back the hotel. Bad timing since it downpoured and we were pretty well soaked by the time we got back.
DAY 9 – Chiang Mai
DAY 10 – Chiang Mai
Half Day Mae Sa Elephant Camp
Elephant playing soccer.
Always on a quest to try pizza in foreign lands, we walked to the ends of Chiang Mai for an expat restaurant recommended by Lonely Planet. It was pretty good with good pizza. On the way back we saw one of our single tour group members in a pool hall with young Thai women (i.e. prostitutes), so we scurried quickly past it.
DAY 11 – Chiang Mai City & Temples Tour
Half day city and temples tour. Visit the most interesting temples in Chiang Mai. Visit Wat Suan Dok and Wat Phrathad Doi Suthep, erected in 1384 A.D., containing a holy relic of Lord Buddha and a copper-plated chedi topped by a tiered-gold parasol in its interior cloister.
Day 12 – Bangkok
Back to Bangkok but just an overnight at the hotel with no time (or energy) to explore anymore.