thailand

Founded in the thirteenth century, the Kingdom of Thailand was known until 1939 as Siam.
Once referred toas Siamese, the people of Thailand are now called "Thai", which itself mean
Free, Thailand being "The Land of The Free". Throughout the 800 year history, Thailand can
boast the distinction of being the only country in Southeast Asia never to have been colonized.
The history of Thailand can be said to begin with the founding of the independent kingdom of
Sukhothai in 1238. This period of great cultural growth lasted just a century, a time during which
the tiny kingdom absorbed elements of neighboring cultures.

Thailand has a land area of 513,115 sq.km. bordered by Malaysia (South), Myanmar (West & North),
Laos (North & East) and Cambodia (Southeast). Thai is the national language.
English is widely understood in cities.

There are many ways to explore Thailand. You can rent a car or take a tour provided by a local
tour operator or take an organized holiday booked in your own country. We took the organized
trip and had the time of our live. We didn't had to worry where to sleep or what to eat, everything
was taken care off. A very relaxed way of spending your vacation.

Bangkok. We arrived in Bangkok after spending 15 hours in an airplane. Once outside a tour
guide was waiting for us to take us to our hotel. It’s 9 a.m. in Bangkok so we have a full day ahead
of us. But we didn't sleep! We drove to the hotel and on the way we got our first impressions of
Bangkok. It was very busy on the road. We didn't expect all those big shopping centers.
Bangkok seemed to be a very modern city. We checked in at the Hotel Siam Inter-Continental.
They gave us a very beautiful room on the ground floor overlooking the beautiful garden.
In our room was an orchid plant that they special cultivate for the guests to put in every room.

The first thing we did was trying to get some sleep. Well think again after lying on my back for
5 minutes the telephone rang. We were expected in the lounge. A lady from the travel organization
was waiting for us. We asked her a lot of questions. Well we never were here so you need to know
a lot of things. We booked a Klong tour. She told us she'd let us know at what time that tour would be.
We said good bye and went outside to take a look at the garden. It was very large. The orchid nursery
was here, which was very impressive. There was a pond with beautiful water lilies.

We went back to our room and took a nap. At 5 p.m. we where awake again and went for
something to eat. Our first Thai food. It was good but hot and spicy. When we got out of the
restaurant the lady from the tour organization was waiting for us and told us that the Klong
tour was at 7 a.m. the next morning.

Bangkok. We got up at 6 a.m. We are not used to the time difference yet.
We had a very nice breakfast. We left the hotel at 7 a.m. and drove to the harbor.
We got into a boat and drove to the floating market. The motor of the boat was loud
and a lot of smoke came out of it. We saw a lot of houses build on poles.

When we got to the floating market we noticed that there was not much left of it.
But it still was very impressive to see. The boat docked and we could look around for
a while. There where people there preparing food on those small boats and selling it.

Next the boat took us to the Wat Arun, the temple of the dawn and stayed there for an hour.
You could climb the temple if you liked, but the steps got smaller and smaller the higher you
went up.

We left the temple and got back to the hotel. The afternoon we spent at the swimming pool.
We had dinner again in the hotel restaurant and had some sweet and sour meat, which was
very good. We packed for our tour, which started the next day. Things we didn't need stayed
in storage in the hotel. A very good service.

Bangkok --> Khao Yai.
The big day. The beginning of our tour. We got up at 6 a.m. again. After breakfast we went
into the lounge to wait for the tour to start. They were supposed to pick us up at 8 a.m.
They arrived at 9 a.m. You then feel sorry for yourself that you didn't sleep an hour longer!
There were 28 people in this group. 26 Germans and us two. Luckily we speak German,
otherwise it would had been a terrible trip. Our first stop was at a market where the guide
bought some fruit and hot bananas in a crispy wrapping. Back in the bus they let us taste
these fruits. They tasted very good. At 11 a.m. we arrived at Wat Theppi Tak. This Buddha
was build on the mountain face. We had to climb 525 steps to get there. We all were very
happy once we got up there. The view was great. We sat and rest for a while, because
what goes up must come down and so did we. We drove on to the National Park Khao Yai
where we arrived at 1 p.m

After lunch we went for a walk to the orchid waterfall. This was a very tiring event.
We had to climb a lot and you had to watch your step all the time. We walked an
hour and a half before we got to the waterfall. There was another waterfall the Krong Keo,
which you could reach by crossing a real bamboo and liana bridge. We walked the same
way back to the lodge. We arrived there at 5 p.m. After dinner we had some sort of safari
through the park. We all got into a rickety truck and drove around. With an old lamp they
tried to find some animals. We didn't see much, just some deer and two elephants.
We all were very happy when we got back to the lodge. We were all very tired.
It had been a very exhausting day.

Khao Yai --> Pitsanuloke.
This morning we left at 7.30 a.m. The first visit of the day was a liana bridge.
Everybody naturally had to cross it. When there are 20 people on a bridge like that and
one of them is jumping up and down, that's asking for trouble. Everyone had to hold on
to something, but the only thing there was to hold on to, was a banister fastened with very
sharp steel wire. Result: a deep cut in my hand. At this bridge was a museum filled with
stuffed animals. After all this excitement we left for Saraburi where we visited the famous
footprint of Buddha.

We stayed here for half an hour and then went on to Lopburi where we had lunch.
After lunch we visited the ruins of the Wat Phra Sri Ratana Mana Dhat.

This temple is of considerable historical and archaeological significance. It was probably
founded in the 12th century when the Khmers still governed Lopburi. Many restorations had
been done in the Ayuthaya period. What can still be seen are the ruins of numerous Prangs
and Chedis, which were built in both Sukhothai and Authaya styles, with Khmer influence.
We left Lopburi and went on to Pitsanuloke. A 3 hour 30 minute drive. While driving we saw
a lot of pole houses and rice fields. At 6 p.m. we arrived at the hotel in Pitsanuloke the Pralin Hotel. Dinner was the same as lunch and dinner the day before.
This trip we don't have to worry about our weight.

Pitsanuloke --> Lampang.
Today we got up at 6 a.m. We are now starting to wonder if this is vacation or punishment.
At 7.30 a.m. we left the hotel and went to our first temple of the day the Wat Maha Dhat where we
visit the most beautiful Buddha, the Phra Buddha Chinaray. The temple is located at the river Nan.

At exactly 8 a.m. they played the national anthem. After our visit here we went on to Sukothai,
the earlier capital city of Thailand. In this city we visited the ruins of several temples.
They were widely spread over the terrain.

There was a footpath, which you should follow but we thought to be smart and cross over the grass.
When we were almost at the footpath we heard something hiss. When we looked we saw a snake
moving very fast away from us. We decided to stay on the footpath from now on. There was also a museum, which we visited. We had lunch in a small town restaurant. They had a big garden in the
back, with all kind of animals in cages. Next was Sri Satchanalai, also a temple complex and on to Lampang where we should spent the night in the Asia Lampang Hotel. The hotel welcomed us
with flower garlands and a drink. During dinner they had a band playing with little girls singing.
Very cute. We hit the pillow at 10 p.m.

Lampang --> Chiang Mai.
At 7.30 a.m. we went on our way for the first visit of the day, the temple Keo Don Tao.
This temple is build in Burmese style in which they used a lot of dark wood. In the background
you could see the golden pagoda. Next stop was the Wat Chedi Sao.
This was a temple complex with a lot of small pagodas and statues of animals. It was real colorful.

We got back in the bus and drove to Lampoon. On the way we saw a lot of spirit houses. There were hundreds of them on a hill top. Every car that drove by honked its horn to pay tribute to the spirits.

Haripunchai convent in Lampoon was next, one of the most important convents of the north.

Lunch in Pasang. We looked around at a market place, a silver smithy and a lacquer factory.
Nice to see how these people make those beautiful items. We drove on to Chiang Mai for our
last temple of the day, the Wat Doi Suthep. This temple is located 20 kilometers outside Chiang Mai
on top of a mountain. We had to climb 300 steps to get there. It was worth the effort, this temple
was very impressive.

Too bad it was foggy, otherwise we would have had a beautiful view of the city. After going
down the stairs again, we went to the Old Chiang Mai cultural center for a typical Thai dinner.
So we had to sit on the floor and eat with sticks. Later that evening a show with fireworks and
dances performed by different tribes. We spend the night in the Chiang Mai Orchid hotel.

Chiang Mai --> Chiang Rai.
The bus left the hotel at 7.30 a.m. and brought us to the elephant school where we watched
the elephants getting a bath and being scrubbed. We saw them work in the woods moving
entire logs. After this excursion it was possible to take a ride on the back of an elephant.
We bought our first souvenir here, an elephant bell made of wood. Very nice carving.

The next thing was a visit to a Meo mountain tribe. The government selects a tribe to visit,
because they don't want too much influence from the outside there. They want to keep it
as pure as possible. The village was old and sober, children where walking around naked.
Puppies were playing with pigs in the manure. Meo’s live on corn and rice only. It's hard
to take those peoples pictures. They believe a photo takes their spirit away.
We bought ourselves a very beautiful mask.

After lunch we got into boats for our trip over the Kok river to Chiang Rai. These boats are
very small and we had to share ours with 8 people. The trip would take 5 hours. When we
got to the Burmese border, we made a short stop, so people could go to the toilet. Well no
toilet around for miles. We had to go into the bush and an armed soldier escorted us. The
men had no problem with that, but the women did. It was a very uncomfortable trip.
You couldn’ t move and lots of water came into the boat. Finally we made it. Riksjas took us
to the hotel. It was a funny sight, all these little boys biking with all those tourists in riksjas.
We arrived at the Wiang Inn our hotel for the night. For the first time we didn't had rice for
dinner but a buffet with all kinds of food.

Chiang Rai --> Chiang Mai.
For a change we got up at 6 a.m. At 7 a.m. we left the hotel in mini vans and went into the
mountains to visit some more tribes. The first one was the Lisu. Looked much the same as
the one we saw yesterday, only these people were not so nice. They were begging and
obtrusive. When you took a picture of them you had to pay them.

The next tribe was the Akha. They also were begging and tried to sell you all kind of things.
When you tried to take a picture of them they ran off.

Our bus drove us back to Chiang Mai. This was a 3 hours trip. Everybody was tired and some
of the people in our group got sick. We arrived in Chiang Mai at 2 p.m. and checked in at Chiang
Mai Orchid Hotel. We had the afternoon off. We spend it relaxing, we really needed that.

Chiang Mai --> Bangkok.
Today we got up at 7, a real treat. On the program a district outside Chiang Mai, to take a look at
some small craftsmanship industries. The first one was a wood factory. They made all kinds of stuff
from wooden elephants to furniture. Next was a brass cutlery factory and a lacquer workplace,
where they sold the items they just finished. Also a tour through an umbrellas factory and paint shop.
We bought ourselfs a small white one. Very lovely. Outside a guy was painting small pictures on
tourists cameras and other items they offered him. I had my camera painted. We then went to a silk factory where we were shown the process from silkworm to dress. Very interesting.

Time to get back to Bangkok. The flight took an hour. Our group said good bye to each other and everybody went there separate ways. Some were going to Pattaya or Phuket, others were going home. We checked in the same hotel, the Siam Inter-Continental and packed for the next tour, which
would start the next day.

Bangkok --> Ayuthya --> Suphanburi.
Again punishment starts. We got up at 6. At 8 they picked us up to start our South Thailand tour.
Many more temples, ruins and markets this day and the same tour guide. A dance in a Chinese
temple and in Ayuthya the ruins of the temples What Maha Dhat, Wat Phra Sri San Pet and the
Wat Phra Mongkol Boorpitr.

After lunch a boat trip in a typical Thai boat. A very fast one, that sailed with a speed of 80 km/h
through rivers and canals. We had trouble keeping our glasses and hats on. The boat got into a
cul de sac. We wondered what would happen next. Suddenly a rail appeared in the water and the
boat was lifted onto the rail and there we went over the road! This is real weird sitting in a boat
sailing over the road, while cars are waiting for the boat to cross! On the other side the boat was
dumped in the water again.

We stopped to visit the Wat Pai Long Wua. This temple complex was build by 80 monks who
collected money for this. The building is still going on. It was very beautiful.
All the temples were different.

Continuing our trip along the river, our boats encountered large fields of water hyacinths.
Some of the boats got stuck in them. The last part of the trip we did with the bus.
We arrived in Suphanburi at 6 p.m. at the Suksant hotel. This wasn’t one of Thailand's best hotels.
There where a lot of insects in the room. We left the light in the bathroom on, so the beasts would go there and leave us alone.

Suphanburi --> Kanchanaburi --> River Kwai.
We left at 8 a.m. and went to visit the ruby and sapphire mines. This is real impressive to see.
A large area with lots of holes in the ground. Men and women digging to get the stones out.
When they reach a depth of 8 meters, the ground water is filling the holes and they have to
take the water out first.

Next stop Kanchanaburi and a visit to the war cemetery, where the people are buried who
died during the construction of the Birma railroad in World War 2. It was real sad to see so
many graves of so many young people. Many grave stones carried Dutch names.
The tour continued by train along the Birma railroad. They say every railroad tie stands for
one dead POW..... It was a 2-hour trip in an old diesel train. It crossed the famous Bridge
at the River Kwai and our trip ended at Nantok were we arrived at 1 p.m.
The bus was waiting to take us to the Jungle Rafts.
We had the afternoon off and spend it exploring this fascinating hotel.

The hotel consisted of nine connected bamboo rafts. It had a pool, which was a big wooden tub
and filled with water from the mountain. Our room had an open bathroom. The shower was a
bamboo stick with little holes in it. The water was cold. The toilet waste went directly into the water!
No electricity, oil lamps and candles were used. A great experience!
After dark a group of Burmese dancers performed.

River Kwai --> Nakorn Pathom.
We got up at 7.30 a.m. While we were waiting for the breakfast to arrive, we watched a
girl fishing in the river. She sailed towards the rafts and told us she had caught a snake in
her net. It was a python, a very big one; he had eaten something real big. You could still see
it sitting in his body. Must have fallen into the water because he was too heavy. We left the
Jungle rafts at 11 a.m. with boats to go to the river Kwai Bridge. It took us 1 hour and a half to get there. We looked around at the bridge and had lunch in a restaurant that overlooked the bridge.

We went on to a Chinese cemetery. We saw stones there from people who were born in 2482
at died in the year 2527. Well the explanation for that is that the Chinese count from the year
that Buddha was born. After this cemetery we drove for another hour to visit the highest pagoda in Thailand. They told us it was 116 meters. But when we saw it we guess it would not be higher than 60 meters. There were all kinds of different Buddha statues. We arrived at the Rose Garden hotel at 6 p.m. After dinner we sat in the bar and talked with some of the people who were in our tour group.

Nakorn Pathom --> Ratchburi --> Petchburi --> Samut Sakorn --> Bangkok

The first thing we visited this morning was a pottery. Here is where they make all those water
jars which you see standing in front of the houses.

We went on to Petchburi and entered a cave called Khao Lung. This is were they have all those
Buddha statues standing everywhere were there is place for them. The next stop was the Wat Mahadat. This temple also had a monk school. Everywhere you look you saw orange, the traditional color of monks robes. The next temple was the Wat Keo Sutthamam. This temple is famous for its well kept fresco’ s.
And they are real pretty. Before we went to lunch we had to visit the palace of King Mongkut.
We had to climb to get there. The view was lovely, but wasn't worth the climb. We had lunch in a typical Thai restaurant. After lunch we went on back to Bangkok. We stopped at Samut Sakorn to visit a market. They sold fish and a lot of other stuff. We were back in Bangkok at 6.
The bus dropped us of at the Siam Inter-Continental hotel. The tour was over.
It had been an interesting one.

Bangkok.
The last day of our vacation we spent visiting the Wat Trimit, famous for its pure gold Buddha.
We also visited the Wat Phra Keo. This collection of temples and palaces was real impressive.
We wondered around for at least two hours.

And of course we went to see the Grand Palace. You have to see this when you visit Bangkok.
Our last visit was to the Wat Po.

We left at 1 p.m. to go back to the hotel. We had to pack, we are going home.
Our vacation was over! We had a great time!