A few days in Bangkok

• Our trip to Thailand started in Bangkok. We left on an early Friday morning and arrived on a Sunday. Many hours and hours of airports and air travel. In the photo below, Rick and I look pretty good for our last leg of the journey.

Our stay at the Anantara Resort was lovely. Fantastic food with a huge array of tasty dishes and our 1st night with Close To My Heart incentive trip earners. We are so thankful to Jeanette Lynton for this grand vacation and to the corporate staff who joined in and worked to make it perfect.

Our morning breakfast was filled with fresh juices, fruits, american dishes and extremely delightful Thai and Asian foods. Too many choices!

Here’s the lovely view from our hotel on the river. A free water taxi shuttle would take you across the water to the ferry station. This was where we started our first day enjoying a food walking tour. We sampled chicken satay, iced Thai tea, coconut custard style desserts. We walked to Chinatown for the best roast pork and duck dishes. So many flavors created with lemongrass, green curry, lime zest and spices of the land. We have definitely eaten our first day thru the tour and more! So..so good!

Our next day was an all day tour to visit the ruins in Ayutthaya, Thailand. Margi and I posing while the sun and heat wear us down. Hot…hot…HOT!

We visited three temples that have suffered vandalism, fires and the elements of time. Each temple “stupor” or “prang” contains ashes from royalty from years ago. Unfortunately all the Buddha heads have been stolen or sold. This photo of a head has been entangled in the roots if a tree. A very unique placement trapped by time.

Our excursion ended with stops through the village and some markets. Live fish, fresh chicken and meats, fresh veggies and flowers for the many Thai people that shop each day. We enjoyed sticky rice or buns, roasted pork and beef dishes, Thai iced coffee and coconut custard thimbles for dessert. The food, aroma and flavor make for an intoxicating culinary adventure.

Bangkok is an urban mecca of city life. Many buildings, businesses, residences are seen in no orderly fashion. From new to old, steel to shacks…cars, vans and scooters fight for roadspace to get to a destination. It is thoroughly drenched with moving parts from sea to road to human form. It was a great visit but we are happy to leave the urban city behind and head to the beaches of Phuket.