Tour of Ancient Kingdoms, September 21 - October 11, 2023

Finally the stars aligned with our availability and the "Ancient Kingdoms: Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam tour. We had been to Bangkok Thailand on our own in 2018, and our solo trip to Vietnam was to Hanoi, in the far North, in 2016. For this tour Vietnam focus was on Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) in the far South.

We had frequently been warned to expect smaller hotel rooms in the Orient. This room certainly did not meet our expectations. We had comparably grand rooms throughout the trip, especially Saigon where the oversize king bed was 8 feet wide!

An the foot of each bed was a sculpture from small towels of an elephant, the national animal of Thailand, with a real orchid on it's head.

In fact, we found an English language Catholic Church not far away, and went to Saturday evening mass, with another OAT couple, then out to dinner.

Tour activities started on Sunday morning with a cooking lesson (and lunch) at a private home.

We ate what we fixed

But our host/hostess's home was on a canal, and lunch was occasionally interrupted by speed boats.

During Covid our host family became experts in Karaoke - and had countless trophies to prove their prowess. They were even able to sing in English, so we participated.

And in addition to singing, they danced through their house.

Like many or most houses, their is also a spirit house honoring those who had previously lived in the home.

As we drove to the Grand Palace the constitutional monarchy became obvious... this is the first of many pictures of the King and Queen. Yes, they do drive on the left in Thailand.

Not much farther and another picture... note that it is several stories tall

Democracy Monument, in the center of Bangkok, to commemorate the 1932 revolution that established the constitutional monarchy.

Bangkok City Library. Note the building label in large letters is in English, with the local sign below in small letters.

The Grand Palace. Why we did not see it in our 2017 trip is a long story, but I am sure we got a better tour this trip with our guides.

Giant guards protecting part of the temple. If I recall right, the black face is the angry guard, and the white face is the happy guard.

This smaller guy didn't have a posted purpose, but I found him interesting.

A large Stupa, or in Thailand sometimes called a Chedi. Basically a burial place for someone important, or for religious artifacts. Below is the guard at the lower left of the picture

Golden doors. I am not sure what they were protecting,but they were pretty.

Note the intricate design, made of individually placed pieces.

guards like we have seen in larger form, holding up a temple

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Our guide wanted us to mimic those holding up the building. Sorry for doing a bad job.

Temple of the emerald Buddha.

At last, the emerald Buddha, carved from a giant gemstone then gold plated.

No surprise but Elephants have a major role in Thailand. Not exactly a house pet, but universally respected.

How do you tell the difference between a Western sit toilet and an Eastern squat toilet? Look very closely.

Monday night was a welcome - dinner cruise on the river. The dramatic yellow-lit Rama VIII Bridge is partially hidden by the ordinary bridge in the foreground.

Ayutthaya is a city in Thailand, about 50 miles north of Bangkok. It was capital of the Kingdom of Siam, and a prosperous international trading port, from 1350 until razed by the Burmese in 1767.

The ruins of the old city now form the Ayutthaya Historical Park. The capital of Siam was moved to Bangkok after the destruction of Ayutthaya, and after 800 years as Siam, the country name was changed to Thailand in 1939.

The site was visitor-friendly and interesting to explore.

What's left of a Buddha, but dressed up

Wat Phra Sir Sanphet - the holiest temple in Ayutthaya. Yes I had to use the Landmark look-up on my phone's camera.

Proof of life

After we left Ayutthaya we took a boat cruise on the Lop Burl River