Feb 13 Angkor Thom and Angkor Wat

What a full day this is....first exploring the fortified city of Angkor Thom, the Terrace of the Elephants, the Bayon Temple with beautifully preserved bas reliefs and giant stone faces. 

The city of Angkor Thom was founded by Angkor's greatest king, Jayavarman VII (reigned 1181-1219), who came to power following the defeat of the former Khmer capital by the Chams. At its height, Angkor Thom may have governed a population of one million people in the surrounding area.
Angkor Thom was built in a nearly perfect square, the sides of which run north to south and east to west. It was surrounded by a square wall (jayagiri) 8m high and 12km in length and further protected by a 100m-wide moat (now dry), said to have contained ferocious crocodiles.
A gate opens exactly in the middle of each wall, from which a bridge extends over the moat to the area outside the royal city. The original royal palace at Angkor Thom, built in the 10th and 11th centuries, was probably built of wood and no longer stands.

I wish I could remember a fraction of what our local guide Bun told us.  But it was just so much information and so fast all at once in the heat.   (We did retain the fact that Lara Croft: Tomb Raider used this area as a location.  So when we returned home we watched the movie.  It was terrible and had nothing to do with Angkor Thom.)

And then we had lunch at a local restaurant.  More meals were included in Cambodia and the food was good and beautifully presented.

Then back for the highlight of Angkor Wat. Angkor Wat is a temple complex at Angkor, Cambodia, built by King Suryavarman II in the early 12th century as his state temple and capital city. As the best-preserved temple at the site, it is the only one to have remained a significant religious center since its foundation – first Hindu, dedicated to the god Vishnu, then Buddhist. The temple is at the top of the high classical style of Khmer architecture. It has become a symbol of Cambodia, appearing on its national flag, and it is the country's prime attraction for visitors.

Yes, we climbed to the top

 

Nancy and Penny among the apsaras

Sunset at Angkor Wat

Chiang Mai - Friday, Feb 10

 We began the day with the most wonderful breakfast buffet.We are so enjoying the luxury of this hotel.

Eight a.m. And we're back on the bus for our first temple complex of the day (in truth, this may be the only temple today.  Up a tortuous hill with many twists and turns to Pratart Boi Suthep, the most important shrine here.

On the way Tim explains how this shrine was sited to hold relics of Lord Buddha, a story this includes a white elephant.  And she explains about the spirit houses we see everywhere. Almost every structure in Thailand, from homes to hotels, have a spirit house with offerings to the spirits who inhabit that piece of land.

The shrine is at the very, very top, and the last distance includes a funicular.  Again, you have never seen so much gold and so many devout saying prayers, consulting with a monk and making merit.

Hooray, hooray we were able to opt out of shopping tours this afternoon and will catch up and rest in our most gorgeous suite before our Thai massage at 4 p.m.

Then this evening we have a Kantoke dinner and show including classical Thai dance.  Of course we will take more photos.  There is so much I want to remember.

Chiang Rai - Weds, Feb. 8

 Here we are in the north of Thailand, and first thing we're off to add some countries to our visit.  Tour guide Tim has connections and she can get those who want into Myanmar without a visa with just $40 under the table.  Of course you have to give up your passport for the hour of two.  Nancy and I decline.  She for political reasons; me because I don't mess with borders and passports.  (P.S. the Myanmar visitors have a great time, visit a traditional village, a temple and get home entact with their passports).

But there is always shopping, so while some of the group are off to Myanmar, the rest of us shop the border town, and take lots of pictures.

 

Then back on the bus to the Golden Triangle along the Mekong River where Thailand, Laos and Myanmar meet.  And look!  If you look way upstream there is China in the distance.

After lunch we take a Mekong River cruise across to Laos where we disembark for a few minutes of shopping - lots of Chinese knockoff designer handbags in a dusty, poor street market in the middle of nowhere.

The Golden Triangle is notorious as a home for the opium trade, so our next stop is at the Hall of Opium, a state sponsored museum which is really excellent.  The benevolent Thai monarchy has a "project" to educate not only the hill people but everyone else about the dangers of opium.
Now we are back on the bus for about an hour-and-half back to the Meridian Chiang Mai, and I'm hopeful that I'll make it to the pool this evening - maybe just me and the mosquitoes (not that I've seen any yet!)

Bangkok - Feb. 2, 3, 4

View from our hotel window

Bangkok is an incredible mess.  People all over, but they have all been considerate and nice. Shanties side by side with 5 star hotels (the stars seem to have something to do with the bathroom facilities).   Our hotel the Park Century is very nice and very modern and right next to a wat, a Buddhist temple compound.
 And the traffic is unbelievable, but we haven't seen an accident yet?
 Motorcyclists drive on the sidewalk at will.  And there must not be any lawyers here are the sidewalks are full of holes, so, yes Nardi, you do have to be very careful.  That hole is waiting for you!
 The hotel is lovely except no free Internet.  I bought an access card for what in Thailand is an outrageous amount and then didn't use it up as I didn't understand that it expired in 24 hrs.  So I don't know when I'll get this posted.  I'm told there are Internet cafes, but don't know when I'll have the time to locate one.

Our tour leader Tim (Pattraporn Sangkapat)

I wasn't feeling well yesterday so I slept while Nancy drove through Chinatown, the flower market, and toured watt Pho, the temple of the reclining Buddha.  We are very favorably impressed with the tour organizer, Gate 1.  Our escort, Tim (female), is a lot of fun and very informative.
Today I feel just fine and am ready to venture out into more Bangkok traffic to see the palace and some more Buddhas.  The Buddhist influence is very strong.  There is a functioning watt right next to the hotel, and shrines pop up everywhere, the hotel even has one.

On Feb. 4 we toured the Grand Palace.  The grounds are absolutely spectacular.  If you ask me right now I may be able to tell you a thing or two about all those Ramas, but it will be a long time before I get to post those photos, especially with the hotel Internet difficulties.







After the palace, Nancy and I went to the giant mall at Siam place which has a food court and food court that challenges any in the world, plus all the high end stores you would ever want not to shop in.  It was fantastic, and it has FREE WI-FI, but of course I didn't have my iPad.

Nancy enjoying noodles at the mall food court

It is quite hot and humid even if it is winter here, but after we shower we're going out to find a cafe where I can post this.

This this evening we have a dinner cruise up the river.
If you hear from us irregularly, please don't worry, it's just sometimes hard to find Internet.