We are staying in Chinatown at the Grand China Hotel, and after arriving we found our room on the 16th floor was directly below a very loud bar. Thankfully there was another room available on the 11th floor!  Our tours beginning early.  We have 2 full full days of sightseeing in Bangkok, so I will post reach section of sightseeing separately. 

First stop is the Temple for the Grand Royal Palace.   Thailand is a constitutional monarchy since 1932, But had been ruled by 1 dynasty,  1 family of kings for over 200 years.  The queen mother passed away at 93 just 4 months ago.   The country will be in mourning for 1 year so there are pictures of her everywhere.

The Temple, or Wat has been built by the first king, of 10 kings, but especially by the 5th king.

All the gold is gold leaf, covering buildings and statues,  everywhere!  The Emerald Buddha is inside,  actually only about 26″ high and 19″ at the widest,  across his lap.

The 3rd king,  I believe it was,  built this reclining Buddha, 150′ long and 30′ high

After the temple,  we visited the public party of The Royal Palace.  It is not the Residence of the current king but the official home of the royal family.

Even in the Royal palace compound there are temples with Gold Buddha

Before we left the Royal Palace ground we were treated to a 30 minute Thai Massage.  I chose a for massage. Emmett got the whole Thai Massage.

On our way our we caught the changing of the guard!

Our guide recommended a great Michelin recommended restaurant misty a 10 minute walk from our hotel in the old town, The House by Ginger

We have found similarities in Southeast Asia cuisine but differences too.  Thai is more spicy than Cambodian,  which I think is my favorite, especially the dishes made with lemongrass and cashews!  All of them have noodle dishes,  many with curry,  but Thai has more and spicier curry than the others too.  Generally the beef is very tough.

Our tour included a nearby Elephant camp,  however not 1 where you interact by washing the elephants,  but we did get to feed them some snacks! 

They eat about 300kg of grasses a day, but we just gave them a snack of pumpkin,  sugar cane and bananas.  They do seem to enjoy them!  And they recognize the baskets as you walk up the path towards their enclosure!

This big fellow seemed to dance for us

This part of Thailand is only a couple hundred kilometers from Myanmar,  where there is often unrest in their political scene.   Several of the mountain tribes of people have moved down into Thailand for security mostly.   Thailand has encouraged them to settle in a village near Chaing Mai, to show tourists their tribal customs and crafts.  

One of these are the Kayan or Karen people,  where the women wear brass neck rings,  originally as protection against Tiger attacks,  but they have become a symbol of beauty,  the longer the neck. the more beautiful, they say.  Mostly their craft is weaving.

Another tribe with a few homes in this village were the Akha people.   Their craft is in silver work and they have elaborate costumes and head dresses.

These 2 young ladies were very beautiful,  without long necks! 

There were a couple others tribes,  I believe 5 in all,  that live in this village.

If you remember the Clint Eastwood Movie Gran Torino, this people group will sound familiar

We have a travel day before and after our tour in the north of Thailand, But the tour included several very interesting places. Here is the first stop,  the Silver temple in the City.

It is set in the center of the silver artisans section of Chaing Mai. There are still silver artisans working around it in workshops,  demonstration how the temple was covered in these beautiful motifs.

Only men and monks can enter so Emmett took a picture of the interior for me!

Chaing Mai was a walled city in ancient Thailand.   Our hotel is just inside the more of the old city. across the street from part of the wall,  rebuilt about 38 years ago.   there is a small portion of the old city wall still remaining.  

Our lodging,  Hotel M, was adequate but not remarkable.   It does have a nice pool. Our room was on the back side,  facing into the old city. and from our view,  within just a couple blocks,  you can see several temples

We walked past this one after dinner last night and heard the monks chanting

Our leisurely morning began with late breakfast! Got a manicure and walked a couple minutes to the park by the King’s Residence and found a tuk tuk driver, David, who took us for a very cheap and very cool hour ride around the city!  We learned he is Christian and was told the gospel by a visiting pastor.  Buddha was a man who died,  he didn’t rise from the dead. Jesus did.   He wanted to follow the one who raised from the dead!  Nice way to spend an hour! 

Royal pagoda

a shrine like the Tomb raiders one. but just 1 tree and very small!

Oldest temple in Siem Reap

and the memorial to the dead common the killing fields

Tuktuk, the way to go around Siem Reap

crowds are low because is the hostilities at the border with Thailand.

Now a relaxing afternoon at our lovely hotel,  preparing for a travel day tomorrow,  flying to Chaing Mai

Our tour topped the day with an excellent buffet dinner and we tried several more typical Kymer dishes.   The tropical fruits are especially good

After dinner,  the dancers presented several traditional dances.  Here is just a sample. Their hand positions and slow movements were amazing to watch! 

All the dancer took a bow at the end.   I was amazed at the strength they have in their legs to move so deliberately,  slowly,  gracefully!  and the hand movements were almost unbelievable!

It was a great show

Angkor Thom means big city and is the sight of many temples.   We visited a large open area called the elephant terrace, and overlooking it,  the terrace is the leper king, a couple of the gates. Phimeanakas temple and Bayon Temple here

the temple releafs were vibrant here,  well defined and with less vandalism damage than Angkor Wat

The heat and walking today were brutal for us Coastal Californians, but we made it through!  6 miles walking today,  with temps near 95.  Thankfully we had 3 hours to rest before dinner…. more on that to follow!

This temple was made famous by the Tomb Raider movie with Angelina Jolie.  The complex was covered in jungle.  It is often called the jungle temple or Angelina Jolie’s Tomb Raider temple.

The Spueng trees grew all over the walls and infiltrated the rock.  Now, the trees hold the temple together.   If they were too be cut. the walls would fall.

This section has been reconstructed on cooperation with international groups and UNESCO to preserve as much of the Angkor Heritage as possible

Today was our BIG day, visiting the Angkor Wat Heritage area,  which includes many temples!  Angkor Wat is one of the most impressive ones but Angkor Thom is actually a larger area.  Angkor translates to City, Angkor Thom means big city and includes many temple sights.   The other temples I will post separately.

We stopped early at Angkor Wat, since our guide heard the crowds were gone.   Today was the Equinox, and crowds of locals came early to watch the sun rise exactly over the main tower.   They had dispersed to go home for breakfast, so we were able to visit ever before the heat is the day.   it reached over 90 today and the heat took it’s tole on me! 

Depending in your perspective you can see 1,3,4, or 5 towers!  Even 10, in the reflecting pools views

Emmett climbed top the very top and has pictures from his views there posted at our Facebook group.  I had a cramp in 2 toes and the few minutes rest,  and a bit of massage,  while he adventures farther was really beneficial for me! 

The carvings and designs on the walls were impressive and some quite unique.   The ballistrades are not smooth,  and the design allows breezes to swirl inside the building.  They are specifically designed also to cast shadows in the early light of the silhouette of the Angkor’s towers,  one,  three and five towers.   Amazing.   our guide showed us pictures of these shadows as the sun was already too high for us too see them. 

looking back from the temple side towards the main gate