Ancient City of Ayutthaya
This day trip to Ayutthaya was one of our favorite things we did in Thailand. After a 2 hour van trip from Bangkok, we hired a woman (in a car with AC) to take us around to some of the ancient sights.
We ended up going to different places and she waited for us in the car at each place. Most of the places we went were remains of temples and palaces. They were so beautiful! I can only imagine what they looked like in their prime! Us history lovers (and photography lover) were in heaven!
We spent 5 days on the island of Koh Lanta. From there we took a day trip to Phi Phi and Maya Bay, which is where they filmed the movie, "The Beach". That particular beach was overrated, but the beach at our resort was amazing! Great sand and great swimming! It also was very calm there because more of the people there were retired and had turn their skin to hide...:)
Bungalow- Koh Lanta
(Sayang Beach Resort)
We paid a tiny bit more than we usually pay for budget accommodation ($55) and we got a private bungalow on the beach with an amazing interior and a great free breakfast! Also, their restaurant was top notch and we ate there almost every meal!
Exploring Koh Lanta
Chinese Lantern for Chinese New Years
On Chinese New Years, Ben and I released a lantern into the sky. This was my first time to do so. We sent our wishes for the new year high into the sky. It was magical to watch the light get so small and then eventually disappear. I look forward to the upcoming adventures. Needless to say, I am very excited about the new year with my man...
Night Markets
During our stay in Thailand we went to quite a few night markets as a form of entertainment. I enjoyed them much more than Ben did I think. This was mainly because most of them were filled with homemade crafts and souvenirs. At one point after two straight nights at the busy market in Chiang Mai, Ben and reached his limit...crabby Ben came out! Why so Krabi?
Riding Elephants- Rantong Elephant Rescue Camp
Another highlight of Thailand, was riding elephants. I figured I needed to do this at some point in my life, and where better than Thailand! We researched and found a camp that treated their rescued elephants with care and respect.
After learning some basic commands, we got on Comemoon and off we went up an embankment! Our 18 year old elephant was pretty well mannered and really only rebelled so that she could get some snacks!
Elephants eat constantly, and Comemoon knew exactly what foliage she was interested it! After a walk we got to "bath" in some poopy elephant water. Comemoon dumped us off. Later we fed our elephants and then fed ourselves with the lunch they provided!
This Buddhist temple was located on a mountain outside of Chiang Mai and offered and overlook view of the city below. We hired a red "songthaew" (local transportation) to take us to the temple early in the morning. We learned it was better to get an early start and avoid all of the tour buses when going to places like this. The location and the all gold chedi made this a memorable experience!
Ben and I made the journey to Chiang Rai for this special temple. I had seen pictures online and instantly knew I needed to go! I'm so glad we did as it turned out to be very high on my favorites list! This temple was first opened in 1997 and is a contemporary take on Buddhism by artist Chalermchai Kositpipat. He has completely designed, contructed and mostly funded this amazing artwork.
Last year (2014) there was an earthquake that did a lot of damage, but Kositpipat has vowed to restore it in 2 years. We say many cracks and missing pieces that had no been restored, but we also saw some painting inside the temple. The entire temple/complex will not be finished until 2070 or so.
The murals on the inside of the temple were of modern things like cartoon characters and politicians. I really enjoyed the modern take this temple showed!
