Angkor, Cambodia

1 border, 2 taxis, 2 buses, and 7 hours after leaving Bangkok we arrived in Siem Reap, Cambodia. It is good that there is not too much to see in Siem Reap, because we were able to devote all of our time to Angkor.  Angkor is Southeast Asia's most impressive ancient ruins. It was the capital of the Khmer empire (present day Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, and Cambodia) from the 9th-13th century.  It has over 300 wats.

The temple complex is in the middle of a beautiful jungle.

These guys look content.

This is Murray. He took us around Angkor for a day and a half.

This is the entrance to Angkor Wat. Angkor Wat is the world's largest religious structure, and is known to be the Tikal of Southeast Asia.

Ampawa & Don Hoi Lod

I was very excited about experiencing a floating market. It is slowly diminishing within the Thai culture, even though it used to be a way of life for many people due to the many rivers that flow through Thailand. The market sells produce and foods, and is bustling with locals and tourists.

Don Hoi Lod is about an hour from the floating market. The village is popular among the locals for its seafood, as it sits on the Gulf of Thailand. We sat at a table on a deck over the water, well, where the water would have been if the tide wasn't so low.

These crabs were hanging out below our table.  There were hundreds of crabs in view.

Look at the low tide! People don't need fishing poles or nets. They are catching SOMETHING with their bare hands, what that is I am not sure...

There was hardly any room on this songthaew (a converted pickup truck) so Freddy had to hang on the back.

Ayutthaya

We took a train to Ayutthaya from Bangkok for the day. After an hour and a half of staring out the train window we arrived in the ancient city. Ayutthaya was the capital upon its completion in 1350, until it was attacked and burned down by the Burmese in 1766. The city has many wats and Buddhas to be discovered, but they are not within walking distance. We hired a driver for half the day.

The gold flakes on the white Buddha behind me are placed onto the statue for good luck.

Bad monk! They are not supposed to have cell phones, but it is slowly overtaking the Thai culture, as it is worldwide.

This is evidence of the Burmese attack. The Buddha statue was beheaded, and over the past 300 years the tree has grown around it. Doesn't it look peaceful though?  

A monk field trip?

This was our driver. Cool ride, huh?

Bangkok nightlife

Fred and I didn't go out much at night. One night, however, we wanted to do some shopping in Silom district. This picture was taken from inside our tuk tuk (an auto rickshaw). Almost all the tuk tuks have lights inside which light up and turn off as you drive.  It definitely added to the excitement of being in a rickshaw.

After about 8 the whole district changed its vibe.  Although there were many tourists (some with small children and teenagers) walking around shopping buying souvenirs we were being handed inappropriate fliers, and being invited into strip clubs, etc. 

We were not in a gay district. The signs for 'hot male bar' means that males should enter, and it will be 'hot'.  

I am pretty sure these women handing out menus to passersby are not waitresses...

Although this is what people think of when they think of Thailand we did not see it throughout our entire 18-day trip, except for this one evening in this one district. We were glad to have seen it though.  As sad as it it for these women, prostitution is part of Thai culture.

Wat Po, Bangkok

In Thai, 'wat' means temple. Wat Po is the Temple of the Reclining Buddha. This is one of my favorite wats. Buddha is 150 ft long, 10 ft high, and is covered in gold.  The feet are inlaid in mother-of-pearl.  It is amazing.

There are large walls surrounding the wat, which takes up an entire block. We spent some time touring the grounds and admiring the architecture.

The next block over is the Grand Palace. The royal family lived here from 1782- 1946, but the current monarch lives in a palace in northeast Bangkok. (When you are royalty you get choices.)

We did not enter the grounds because we would have had to wait a few hours for it to open, plus my shorts were too short!

We got a sneak peak of the palace, but we will have to save the entrance for next time!

Bangkok, Thailand

This was the view from our hotel our first night in Bangkok. We stayed at the Hansaah (and loved it!). Bangkok is the 28th largest city in the world, although I don't think you can tell from this photo...

This was our first sight when we stepped out of our hotel. People sold products and food on the side of the road, even though there was no sidewalk and lots of street traffic!

 We went to Chinatown upon our arrival. It was surprising to see so many monks out and about in their full attire.  There are about 200,000 practicing monks in Thailand.

Fred and I took a longtail boat ride through the canals stemming from the Chao Phraya river.  Bangkok is known as the "Venice of the East".

This picture deserves a bit of a narration, although I am not sure I can offer an explanation. The women in the boat are cooking dinner to sell. The woman on the deck is talking on her cell phone next to a man who has painted himself red. Sorry the picture is blurry but I had to share it...

I think if I lived on a canal in Bangkok, this would be a nice spot. :)