Because we now live in Central Florida, we and many of our friends have annual passes to Walt Disney World, Universal Studios, Sea World and Busch Gardens and often pop over to one of them at night for a concert or dinner and spend days off at some of them with friends or friends and…
We Loved Our Journey
It took us just about a month from the time we got home to get the blog completely caught up – we realized that between not having WiFi during our bus travels, trying to download and edit hundreds of photos from two cameras and two iPhone and writing 30 blog posts takes a lot of…
Last Night In Thailand
A cab ride to Asiatique during rush hour was an adventure and a great way to see the city’s side streets and residential neighborhoods. Asiatique is a much more upscale, less gritty market than Patpong Night Market. Clean, well light, some chain stores, a very upscale Lady Boy Show, a Thai Boxing arena and a…
Return to Bangkok
We arrived back in Bangkok and made a stop at a location called Gems International Gallery – a slightly strange, tourist trap. They shuttle guests back and forth from hotels and once you have sat through a bad B movie of introduction to gems you are surrounded by a herd of women in little black…
Summer Palace
One of our last stops on our trip back to Bangkok was the Royal Summer Palace, Bang Pa-In Royal Palace. This palace has beautiful lawns, gardens and a very interesting mix of building styles ranging from Chinese to Swiss and Eastern European. Our tour manger Ranee lead us through most of the property explaining any of…
Ayutthaya to Bangkok
After our morning visit to the elementary we continued our journey back to Bangkok. Along the road we stopped at a local grocery stand in the rice fields; the roads are dotted with small locally run stands were people sell produce from their fields or locally prepared items for people to take home to heat…
Kids Are Kids
One of the highlights of our trip was a stop at a local elementary school. Gate 1 Travel has a foundation that supports the school, and when the tour schedules allow, they stop to meet the kids. On the day we were to arrive, the older kids were going on a field trip to…
Krungsri River Hotel
Tonight we checked into the third hotel of our trip; I guess I’m slightly jaded after the polish and hospitality of our first hotel and beautiful rustic and remote hotel in Kanchanaburi. This hotel is perfectly nice, it’s a little bit dates and honestly we had very little interaction with the staff so I can’t…
Traveling to Ayutthaya
The next day of our trip we left Kanchanaburi for Ayutthaya, the second Siamese capital after Sukhothai for over 400 years, once glorified as the largest city in Southeast Asia. In the center of the city is the Ayutthaya Historical Park, designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Our first stop was Wat Chaiwatthanaram The remains of…
Lunch in Nam Tok Sai Yok Noi
Before boarding the commuter train in Nam Tok Sai Yok Noi we had lunch at a small family-run restaurant across from the station.Before boarding the commuter train in Nam Tok Sai Yok Noi we had lunch at a small family-run restaurant across from the station. Lunch was served family-style for each table of four. We started out…