Thailand – July 2017

Boat ride through the canals around Bangkok.

Bobby told us that he has to fly to Bangkok for work. Katy informed him that he would not be flying alone. Thus began our fantastic trip to Thailand. We spent a couple days in Bangkok while Bobby worked, then headed to the beach town of Hua Hin to relax at a resort for a few days before flying back home. This post is a short photographic account of that journey. I am not surely we captured the truly great time that we had in this country. It all started with a boat tour:

Temples dotted the waterways.

We passed plenty of other boats, some with tourist, some otherwise working.

Every temple had beautiful gold detailing.

We also passed plenty of regular houses.

Some houses looked more livable than others.

Gabe chilling in the boat.

Plenty of these giant lizards sunning by the river.

Oh, wait. They also swim. Lovely!

After our boat ride, Katy, Gabe, and Max headed to the Grand Palace which houses both the Palace and a large temple complex called the Temple of the Emerald Buddhas. We did visit the building with the actual Buddha statue in it, but no photography is allowed.

The Grand Palace

Exterior of the building with the Buddha statue.

All the columns are miniutely decorated.

I think these guys are guards.

Building completely covered in gold.

Got to love gold snaked with multiple heads.

Entrance to a closed building.

Miniature replica of a famous temple

Sculptures of unknown animal mixtures are common.

So much gold work.

Female Fu Dog.

Close up of the Emerald Buddhas that make this temple famous.

Happy Max!

Gabe and Max trying to help the Emerald Buddhas.

Katy in front of the amazing detail work.

Hanging lanterns outside the temple.

Official residence of the royal family.

The Palace Guard

We also explored the local markets, trying fresh fruits and fish. We had to do other things like business dinners with Bobby, riding the train around town, exploring 7 Eleven, and getting Bobby fit for a custom suit, but we did not bother to take pictures of any of that. .

Hau Hin is a beach side town that has been welcoming visitors for a long time. It is usually visited more by locals than foreigners but we found a nice resort there right on the beach for a reasonable price. Our first exposure of Hua Hin was watching the fattest monkey we have ever seen walk out of 7 Eleven. Regretably, none of us had our phones handy as we passed by in the car. We did a lot of exploring and playing in Hua Hin. Here’s a peek.

Dragons surrounding you must be good luck.

Hillside Temple to Guan Yin has lots of cool statues.

Dinner at the Night Market

The boys’ favorite part of the Night Market was the foot massages. During the day, we spent hours and hours playing on the beach.

Pool side

Gabe found a giant pile of rocks to climb on.

Bobby and Katy celebrating the moment.

Gabe and Max got to experience jet skis for the first time. Now they are hooked.

Dad and Max vs

Gabe and Mom

One day, we drove down the coast about an hour to the Phraya Nakhon Cave inside a national Park. The drive was gorgeous, but the cave was one of a kind. This cave house a special pavilion and throne once built for the Thai King when he visited the beach. We hiked all the way in (which was longer and more arduous than we expected) to the cave, but we caught the ferry back to the parking lot.

The path was bumpy and chaotic. It was easier to walk on the side by the railing.

Pavillion under construction.

These houses are everywhere in Tahiland. They house the neighborhood gods. Offerings are placed out each day.

Views from the trail:

It takes a million steps (at least that’s what it felt like) to get up to the caves. Then you have to go down many steps to actually enter the caves. Here is a short slide show of the interior of the cave including the holes in the ceiling that let in air and light and the King’s throne.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

All of us would return to Thailand in an instant.