The Beach

That's the movie I always think of when I think of Thailand. But as we have been living in the Philippines near some beautiful beaches for the past two years we plan to go up to northern Thailand instead of staying near the ocean so we probably won't have to worry about finding a weed covered island. Anyways here is the first leg of the trip we are planning.

Destination 1: Bangkok. Many tourists do the same type of trip that we are planning to make and we have read that the best way to do it is to start in Thailand and make you way east, saving Angkor Wat for near the end. This is because Angkor Wat is supposedly so impressive and large that it overshadows and can ruin your appreciation for other sites and temples. So starting in Bangkok we hope to meet up with a few Peace Corps friends who may give us a place to crash and might even tour us around for a day. This will be very helpful in getting us organized. We hope to go to Rattanakosin or "Old City" and see the Grand Palace and the Wat Arun or Temple of the Dawn. This is in addition to the expected exhilaration of being in a new country and the usual assault on our senses and stomach :-)

Destination 2: Our next step will be to take a short train to Ayutthaya which used to be Siamese capital a long long time ago. Here we might be able to catch a ride on a elephant and see some historic temples, it is a UNESCO heritage site. I am quite excited to ride trains and have heard that many of them are in good condition. Hopefully, they will be relaxing and we will be able to watch the countryside fly by!

Destination 3: Following Ayutthaya we will take a combination train/bus to Sukhothai thru Phitsanulok. Sukhothai or Dawn of Happiness is another UNESCO Heritage Site as well as another past capital. We might rent a bicycle to tour the city and further test our stomachs with some local food.

Destination 4: On the way to Laos we will go through Chiang Mai. In Chiang Mai there is a walled city which will be very interesting as will be their famous night bazaar. We are leaving our schedule pretty open and at any of these points we may try to take a Thai cooking class.

All of the information about these sites and activities are taken from blogs and other internet sites. I can't wait to explore and experience it all. While we may have a schedule for the trip all we really have to do is land in Bangkok and make our way to Ho Chi Minh city in time for our flight back to the good ole USA!!

The map below is the trip and if you look at the extreme bottom right you will see where we live now!