DAY 45  Bangkok, Thailand (Day 1 of 3)

February 11, 2024

Our port in this huge city was about 2 hours from downtown and the sites we were supposed to go to. Lots of traffic on the way in, a nice hotel lunch, and lots of congested city streets and detours (as well as it being the Sunday of the Lunar New Year weekend) it took us 5 hours before we were finally at our first site.  But it was truly a beautiful place!  We spent about two hours at the Grand Palace with the emerald Buddha, followed by a boat ride with another stop at a very old and very big Pagoda temple.  






Views from the hotel on the river.




A long trip through the downtown.






And finally to the Palace.  Once there, we were informed of the dress code to enter...no uncovered knees or shoulders.  Our only alternative was the lady selling elephant pants just outside the gate.  One size fits all!


Once inside we knew it was worth the wait!





The emerald Buddha (from a distance).









The changing of the guard.




Now off to a boat ride on the river going to the Wat Arun Buddhist Temple.  From a distance it is hard to really appreciate the intricacy of the design and construction.  But close up is a whole different view.





















Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Image
  DAY 37  -  Manila, Philippines February 3, 2024 With all of the history in this big city, we were surprised that we were only spending a half day here.  But with a lot ahead on the water for this part of the cruise itinerary, I guess something had to give. We had four stops in the city...first at the old cathedral, second at the Fort used by all of the occupying countries (from the Spanish in the 1500's to the Americans in the late 1800's with the Japanese and English in between...followed by the Americans again after WWII).....at the famous Hotel Manilla (where Gen MacArthur had his headquarters) and at a large park with lots of street vendors. This is the entrance to the dungeon....which was quite freaky and gruesome to visit..... We have been told to be really careful about street food vendors....but some of these looked really good and smelled great! All of the kids were wearing these "Duckies" clipped in their hair (it was a Saturday and schools had lots of ex...
Read more
Image
  DAY 64 - Ishigaki, Japan March 1, 2024 For some reason, in all of the planning and calendaring for the trip, John completely missed this day.  We had no plans or trips or even options scheduled. Fortunately for us, the weather turned and it was cloudy and cold, and it rained all day. When we looked outside, there were no mountains or cities, just a harbor and small town with nothing standing out.  The daily ship newspaper said that the town was best known for its beaches and hiking. So happily we stayed inside, took long naps, read the papers and the news, did laundry and really laid low all day long! 
Read more
Image
DAY 77 - Okinawa, Japan March 14, 2024  The WWII battle for Okinawa is well known as one of the most crucial battles and one with the highest casualties of the Pacific War.  It was so important due to its proximity to the island of Japan. Allied bombers would be able to attack the major cities in Japan if the airfield on the island was available to them to take off and land.   We had two stops during our excursion today on the island.  The first was a beautiful Japanese garden with ponds, bridges and shrines.  It was a public park available to everyone to relax and enjoy a quiet peaceful day. Our second stop was at the palace.  The main building was unfortunately destroyed by fire a few years ago and is being reconstructed.  It was not talked about much during the tour, but this had to be a major stronghold and fortress during the war due to its location, height and solid construction.  It is called a palace, but seemed like a massive fort wi...
Read more