Thailand Vacation Pics, Part 1 of 3

Of course everything's more fun in the Philippines.  Last year, while canvassing places on where to go for our annual "honeymoon," we almost booked a trip to Misibis Bay.  Unfortunately, one of the jaunts i really wanted to go on (head down to Donsol for a day to swim with the butandings) was out of season, so - for about the same amount of money - we went for a change of pace and settled on Thailand instead.

While i still want to swim with the whale sharks one day (perhaps when my fellowship is done and i can again spare three weeks to go home), our "second choice" did not disappoint.  Thailand is a beautiful place, about the same as the Philippines in terms of natural beauty, with a lot of nicely-preserved ancient sights to see.  Gianina was actually a little bummed-out by how nice our vacation turned out (how's that for a contradiction?); seeing how nicely organized the tours are and how well they've maintained all the tourist spots reveals the sharp contrast to the lack thereof in our Inang Bayan.  (This is a general statement that does not preclude exceptions to the rule.  Our Bohol experience three years ago, for example, was exemplary.  On the other hand, our Batanes experience last year was borderline terrible.)

Our formal Bangkok exploration started out by visiting two of the most popular (?) temples.

Wat Traimit.

The solid gold Buddha weighing over 5 tons.

The reclining Buddha at Wat Pho. 

Later on we explored the Grand Palace complex.  The place is huge and took us about three hours to see.  Walking around outside in 100-degree weather is not my idea of fun, but the sights we saw made is worthwhile.

A statue of Marco Polo.  

I forget who this was.  Some random Thai guard?

The detail on their art and architecture is exquisite.  You'd really have to be there to appreciate it, but here's a few snapshots:

Beside a replica of Angkor Wat (which is in Cambodia). 

Of course, no vacation album is complete without me desecrating some statues.  We've all heard about the "Ugly American."  Well this is the "Ugly Filipino!"

After the photo-ops, i tried to achieve enlightenment under the bodhi tree.

The Palace itself (the pics above represent the temple complex) was not that interesting, but of course we needed a few pictures of that too.

Like the guards at Buckingham Palace, these guys are not supposed  to budge or show any reaction.
I knew it was safe to make fun of him when i noticed that his gun wasn't even loaded (look closely!).

We ended the day by going to a cultural show called "Siam Niramit."  The show was okay, squeezing in hundreds of years of Thai history into a two-hour musical, although it was somewhat hard to follow because of the lack of dialogue.  Prior to the show, we had a chance to interact with some of the actors/players and walk through a mock-up of a rural Thai village.

Yes, there were elephants on stage!

I couldn't hold it.

Gianina getting her palm read at one of the houses.

Unfortunately we didn't get a picture of the house, so here's a gazebo instead. 

There was even a pre-show show, with some ladies doing a traditional Thai dance while being menaced by a guy wearing a devil mask.  There was probably a plot in there somwhere, which i didn't quite get.

Or maybe he's supposed to be a street urchin asking for money?  Nah. 

We unfortunately had to turn in our camera prior to the show (literally check it in!), so we have no pics of the extravaganza.

Next: Ayutthaya.