Thailand - Day 3 - Temple of the Golden Mount

On our second full day in Thailand Casey and I decided to go visit some temples. Not realizing that there was a tour service in the hotel, we decided to ask at the transportation desk for a taxi to the temples. We thought we would taxi everywhere, but instead we hired a driver for the day. Our driver, Ali, met us out front so that we could start our adventure.

Let me just add, that the car that Ali drove was a very expensive black sedan (similar to a Lexus). Casey and I felt a little pampered as the day was very hot and we were driving around in nice air conditioning.

Our first stop of the day was the Temple of the Golden Mount or Wat Saket. Ali dropped us off at the bottom and said he would meet us when we returned. Casey and I started climbing.
I just read that there are 318 steps to the top cupola. Casey and I walked all the way up and then done.

All along we would stop and look at little shrines and things tucked into the hillside. At the top, we removed our shoes and went all the way to the top. We found it interesting to look out over the skyline and see temples intermingled with skyscrapers. One picture shows in the distance what looks like some winged creature ready to take flight. The views of Bangkok were incredible if a little bit smoggy.
I just read on the linked page that this was a dumping ground for thousands of plague victims. It was a good thing I didn't know this ahead of time!

Next up - a riverboat ride to the Temple Wat Arun.

Happy Birthday Dad

Still missing you every single day.

Thailand Day 2

After a pretty sound sleep, I was up around 7 am. I decided to get ready for the day and then head downstairs to see if Casey's suitcase arrived. It did and she was pretty happy.

After a wonderful buffet breakfast that included rice and chicken and traditional breakfast foods, we headed out to find Chulalongkorn. We found our way to the BTS (elevated train) and bought day long passes. We got off at Siam Square and started walking in what we guessed was the direction of Chula. There were a few people who were very helpful with directions and who enjoyed talking English with us. We did find the bookstore and the engineering school but didn't accomplish getting uniforms at that time.


There was an open air market on campus that we wandered through and then headed back to Siam Square. We were able to cross off getting her a cell phone which was very important. After a pretty exciting morning running errands around Bangkok, we headed back to the hotel for a wonderful lunch with all kinds of Thai food. After lunch we walked back to the skytrain and headed to Sumaviant - a more English neighborhood where we went to the Emporium (a hip shopping area) and this small but beautiful park. We did a lot of walking, but it was quite enjoyable. One thing that I noticed was the motorbikes that would worm their way through traffic to get to the front of the traffic stopped for a light. When the light turned green all of the bikes would speed off - just like the start of a motocross race. It was pretty cool except for when I would see small children riding without helmets.

Exhausted we went back to the hotel, swam for a while in the very cold water and had dinner at a little shop within the hotel.

Thailand Trip Day 1

December 27 - Up at 4:30 am this morning to leave for JFK at 5 am. I came downstairs to find Casey, Casey2, and Greg all sprawled around the family room watching TV. Casey had decided that the best thing for her would be to stay up all night long and then she could sleep on the plane. Casey2 came over after work to join her and Greg stayed up as well. We got to JFK around 7:15 am and had plenty of time before our flight at 9:15. Our flight ended up leaving around 10 am and we settled in for our 16 hour flight to Hong Kong. I hoped to sleep some of the way but ended up not being able to sleep more than about an hour.

The airlines, Cathay Pacific, was quite comfortable for such a long flight, but going business class would have been much better. Anyways, they had lots of entertainment in the form of movies, music, etc. on the inflight tvs. I watched Mamma Mia, Get Smart, The Holiday, Ghost Town, Sex and the City episodes, Frasier, 24 and probably other stuff as well. I think Casey slept more than I did, but not much more.

It was pretty cool when we flew over the North Pole. It was pitch black outside with just a little bit of light along the horizon. We landed in a bit of fog in Hong Kong and didn't get to see how beautiful that part of it was. I took pictures during my 5 hour layover on the way home from Thailand because it was so beautiful.


December 28 - We finally arrived in Bangkok around 6 pm at night. We went through immigration and then gathered our luggage. Unfortunately one of Casey's bags did not make the flight from Hong Kong. Casey had to go through the paperwork of locating her bag and letting them know where to send it when it arrived on a later flight. We were so exhausted by this time and starting to get irritable.

Finally done, we met up with the transfer agent and were loaded into a car to go to the Siam Hotel. The hotel was beautiful and very accommodating about getting our suitcase when it arrived later that night. We made a quick phone call to Larry to let him know that we had made it safely, showered, and then went to bed at 9 pm. We were both so glad to be in our beds.

Casey's Thailand Adventures

The link to Casey's Thailand blog is on the right and here.

Back from Bangkok

After a wonderful 10 day vacation and a long (28 hours) day of travel, I am home from Thailand. I was so lucky to have this opportunity to go there and really enjoyed my time visiting Bangkok with Casey. We kept pretty busy and the time just seemed to fly past. I will post more over the next few weeks, but some of the highlights included visiting the Night Market with a slew of sellers and bartering, a tuk tuk ride, a trip to an elephant and crocodile farm, riding an elephant at said farm, going to the temple Wat Arum and the temple of the Emerald Buddha, taking a riverboat ride, and much more. It was a very different culture that I am used to, but I have to say that the Thai people were very kind.


The Thai food was very good and with only a few exceptions wasn't too spicy. Here's a hint, avoid the papaya salad.