26. August 2018 15:08
by Rene Pallesen
0 Comments
This winter we went to the Blue mountains with a group of friends. We hired a house at Leura and spend the days going for walks.
This is from the Grans Canyon walk.
And some from the other walks.
26. August 2018 15:08
by Rene Pallesen
0 Comments
Ayutthaya is the old capital of Thailand. It is a couple of hour north of Bangkok, and the easiest way to get there (by far) is by Train (we learned this the hard way).
The capital was only moved 250 years ago after it was ransacked by the Burmese, but now most of what used to be some extraordinary buildings are now mostly rubble.
It is a large area with lots of temples, so it is worthwhile having plenty of time and not rush it. We just visited three of the main sites, and that was plenty with the kids around.
Some of the highlights are the big lying down Buddha.
People still use this as a place of worship.
And apparently it is good luck if you can make a coin stick on the buddhas feed (without resorting to chewing gum).
At one of the temples there is also the head of Buddha stuck in the roots of the tree.
And as usual it is worthwhile keeping a look out for other moments involving people.
26. August 2018 15:08
by Rene Pallesen
0 Comments
We took the train back to Bangkok after visiting Ayutthaya on 2nd class tickets.
There is not much difference between the classes except extra bolstering on the seats. We however found a more open carriage where the kids could better play, draw and read books during the ride.
There was also a bit more life here. I went for a couple of walks through the train and found a lot of interesting sights.
The carriages were open between the carriages, so people used these areas to sit sown and get some fresh air or a smoke.
There was also a section that was reserved for monks, where I got permission to take this shot.
The mail/cargo carriage was more open with this man sitting keeping an eye on things.
As we approached Bangkok the man from the little kitchen chased people away from a part of our carriage as this was his place to sleep.
26. August 2018 15:08
by Rene Pallesen
0 Comments
This year it was my dad's 75 birthday. I traveled back for the party.
The party was at a little hotel (in danish called a 'Kro') at Soroe.
While there I also got to see the new house they are living in.
26. August 2018 14:08
by Rene Pallesen
0 Comments
The floating market is 2 hours drive south of Bangkok. We made a bargain with a taxi driver to drive us all there in a minivan. In the process he tried to take us to the wrong place 5 kilometers from the market and tried to rip us off by saying we should pay an exorbitant amount to take a boat from there - Kim and I had been there before and remembered that it was possible to drive there. With the assistance from Kim's colleague, the driver was put in his place and took us to the right location, so we still came out ahead and it turned out to be a nice day trip.
The market is very much for tourists these days, but they still have the original boats selling food, although the market itself is all souvernirs.
It is however interesting to observe the other tourists and I managed to capture a couple of good moments.
26. August 2018 14:08
by Rene Pallesen
0 Comments
After Laos we went back to Bangkok.
Bangkok is much the same, however it feels a lot cleaner with regards to smoke from all the bikes, but the traffic itself is horrendous.
The tuk-tuks are still there, but they try to charge exorbitant prices, so it was far cheaper and more convenient to get a taxi.
As usual there are still lots of interesting choices for food, such as braised pigs head.
Or Scorpions (which are mostly sold to tourists)
When it comes to shopping, Kim was in shoe shop heaven.
The boys however was in their own upside down ice cream heaven.
The nightlife is also much the same, with the more relaxes and romantic atmosphere along the river.
As opposed to the more thrashy massage parlour atmosphere just around the corner from our hotel.
While we were there it was childrens week, much to the joy of the boys.
This also gave me some unique photo opportunities such as the Thai version of Wonder woman.
Evening were spend having nice dinners with friends, Kim's colleagues and by ourselves.
This photo was my all I packed for the entire trip (only thing missing is my camera and the two lenses I brought along). Everything fitted into a small carry-on backpack.