Laem Chabang, Thailand
Our ship docked in Laem Chabang, Thailand and we boarded a bus that would take us to Bangkok which was about and hour and a half away.
Since we could not check into our hotel until 3:00 pm we took one last tour excursion.
The 2 pictures below are of Bangkok's largest construction project. The Sky Train.
When completed it will provide mass transit from the city to Bangkok's newly opened Suvarnabhumi's Airport. The two pictures show ongoing construction of the main train terminal.
All along our ride, once we got into the city limits, you could also see where there were elevated tracks which ran from the airport to this terminal and beyond.
Our first stop was to a Buddhist temple that housed a gold Buddha. I am pretty sure it's not solid gold. It may be hollow or gold plated. Our guide told us that about two hundred years ago this Buddha was covered in plaster of paras and no one thought is was anything special until one day a temple monk noticed that some of the plaster had chipped off and he noticed the shiny gold underneath. the remaining plaster was removed to reveal the true nature of the sculpture. Apparently, the plaster of paras was added to fool Thailand's enemies from stealing the statue if they were ever defeated.
Our tour guide gave us the following tidbits of information on Thailand during our bus ride.
Thailand was heavily influenced by England. So much so that their government is set up like a monarchy. They have a king and queen and rule of the country stays in the family.
Speaking of the king. Here he is. you are the man king. There are pictures everywhere of him. His picture is on every denomination of currency. Paper bills and coins alike. But unlike dictators such as Kim Jong Il , Saddam Hussien or Hitler , all the people in Thailand love the king because he has always strived to improve the lives of all people in the country. In fact the whole country is celebrating the King's 80th birthday which will be the second week in December sometime.There is a month long celebration that is currently ongoing. Everywhere you see signs acknowledging this event. I don't know about you, but I think he looks pretty good for 80. Actually that's a picture of him in his 40's. We were told that they always show pictures of a younger king because the people would not like to see an older king. Even on the money he is shown as younger.
Our next stop was to the "Grand Palace" grounds. Every monarchy has to have a palace to live in.
Walls like this are covered with ruby and sapphire gem stones. Thailand is a major source for these types of stones.
Above is a picture from a Buddhist temple on the palace grounds that houses the "Emerald Buddha" So far I have seen jade,ivory,gold,copper, and now emerald Buddhas.
Temple monks taking a break from their duties at the temple.
This is the main building on the palace grounds.
Guards stand watch just like at Buckingham Palace only I like these hats better. Those two seem to be out of uniform. Never mind. It's just two tourist trying to make him crack a smile.
Oh no ! Not another boat ride.
Speaking of the king. Here he is. you are the man king. There are pictures everywhere of him. His picture is on every denomination of currency. Paper bills and coins alike. But unlike dictators such as Kim Jong Il , Saddam Hussien or Hitler , all the people in Thailand love the king because he has always strived to improve the lives of all people in the country. In fact the whole country is celebrating the King's 80th birthday which will be the second week in December sometime.There is a month long celebration that is currently ongoing. Everywhere you see signs acknowledging this event. I don't know about you, but I think he looks pretty good for 80. Actually that's a picture of him in his 40's. We were told that they always show pictures of a younger king because the people would not like to see an older king. Even on the money he is shown as younger.Our next stop was to the "Grand Palace" grounds. Every monarchy has to have a palace to live in.
The palace grounds are shown below.
Our bus dropped us off for a tour and the whole area was jam packed with people. Tourist and locals alike.
Walls like this are covered with ruby and sapphire gem stones. Thailand is a major source for these types of stones.
Above is a picture from a Buddhist temple on the palace grounds that houses the "Emerald Buddha" So far I have seen jade,ivory,gold,copper, and now emerald Buddhas.
Temple monks taking a break from their duties at the temple.
This is the main building on the palace grounds.
Guards stand watch just like at Buckingham Palace only I like these hats better. Those two seem to be out of uniform. Never mind. It's just two tourist trying to make him crack a smile.
Try telling him a knock, knock joke.
Oh no ! Not another boat ride.
This was our next stop. A river cruise. Bangkok is located on a river that has many canals so a lot of people get around in this type of water taxi. As you can see, the water is very dirty.
This is how people live along the canals.
They just dumped this backhoe in the water. Or it fell off the barge.
Did I mention the water is very dirty. yet we saw children swimming in it. Their immune system is use to it. Our boat passed close by a group of children swimming, and they decided to splash us. A few drops of water touched my lips and I immediately thought dysentery. I was fine though.
After the boat ride we had lunch. After that it was off the "Gem Gallery" Inside precious gem stone mounted jewelry was being manufactured and sold. Again no picture of the merchandise could be taken. From what I saw, if I were a famous rapper, I think I would come over here and buy my bling, bling. I saw rubys and sapphires that were as big as my fist. But rappers be forwarned. Leave your guns at home. (see picture below)
These guys don't mess around. they are ready to go to war.
Time for a good nights rest.(my fisrt in 3 weeks)
Room with a view.
View from my room of the river at night. Every night boats with light all over them would travel up and down the river. It was quite a show.
Pictures of inside the hotel.
If you ever get the chance to have a Thai Massage" take opportunity and have one. When we arrived in Thailand our tour guide strongly reccomended it. We walked down the street and got one for $10 for and hour. At first after it was done I said I would never get one again, but the next day I felt so good and relaxed I wished I could get one anytime I wanted. Now I know why people get massages in general. It forces blood into your extremities which gives your body an overall sense of well being.
This fellow we ran into on our way back from our Thai massages. We saw and talked to him alot on the cruise and tours. He is Samoan and from Hawaii. I never got his name but this was my last chance to get a picture of him.
Big Red Pachyderms.
Hey I'm from St. Louis.
The picture above shows how tight security was. Every vehicle was stopped and checked undeaneath with mirrors at this point of the drive way leading up to the main entrance of the hotel. The first day we checked in there was no check point. The next day though we found out they were having a reception for the "Sultan of Oman" and we were even wanded when we entered the hotel on foot. It was to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Thailand and Oman being allies. I noticed there were dignitaries from various countries from around the world who were in attendance. When I was out by the pool I saw staff setting up for the reception to be held that night. In my room I could see the pool but the reception got cut short because it started raining and was moved inside.
I did bring my swimming trunks and took a dip in the pool. Being outside was like being and ant underneath a magnafying glass on a sunny day. The sun was behind the clouds but it was still unbelievable hot.
A buffet breakfest at this resturant in the hotel was $28. We ate breakfest at the McDonalds which was within walking distance. They did not understand English but hey it's McDonalds. I'll have a number 2. That they understand. As long as you don't ask for anything special you get what you want. If you don't there are problems, as all in our group found out the hard way. That is except for me. I realized right away the workers there didn't speak English and I don't speak Thai.
All night long for three nights boats like this would go up and down the river. One said "Happy birtday King".
While relaxing in my room I heard this sound. Boom!Boom!..
The next morning I got up and left for the airport and back to the good ole USA.
Construction on "The Sky Train"
Hold that plane !!! I'm coming. (actually I was here 2 hours before they started boarding the plane) In about 30 hours I'll be home. The other people in our group left for the airport at 3 am last night so I was up then to see them off. I haven't had any sleep since then.
This is how people live along the canals.
They just dumped this backhoe in the water. Or it fell off the barge.
Did I mention the water is very dirty. yet we saw children swimming in it. Their immune system is use to it. Our boat passed close by a group of children swimming, and they decided to splash us. A few drops of water touched my lips and I immediately thought dysentery. I was fine though.
After the boat ride we had lunch. After that it was off the "Gem Gallery" Inside precious gem stone mounted jewelry was being manufactured and sold. Again no picture of the merchandise could be taken. From what I saw, if I were a famous rapper, I think I would come over here and buy my bling, bling. I saw rubys and sapphires that were as big as my fist. But rappers be forwarned. Leave your guns at home. (see picture below)
These guys don't mess around. they are ready to go to war.
Time for a good nights rest.(my fisrt in 3 weeks)
Room with a view.
View from my room of the river at night. Every night boats with light all over them would travel up and down the river. It was quite a show.
Pictures of inside the hotel.
If you ever get the chance to have a Thai Massage" take opportunity and have one. When we arrived in Thailand our tour guide strongly reccomended it. We walked down the street and got one for $10 for and hour. At first after it was done I said I would never get one again, but the next day I felt so good and relaxed I wished I could get one anytime I wanted. Now I know why people get massages in general. It forces blood into your extremities which gives your body an overall sense of well being.
This fellow we ran into on our way back from our Thai massages. We saw and talked to him alot on the cruise and tours. He is Samoan and from Hawaii. I never got his name but this was my last chance to get a picture of him.
Big Red Pachyderms.
Hey I'm from St. Louis.
The picture above shows how tight security was. Every vehicle was stopped and checked undeaneath with mirrors at this point of the drive way leading up to the main entrance of the hotel. The first day we checked in there was no check point. The next day though we found out they were having a reception for the "Sultan of Oman" and we were even wanded when we entered the hotel on foot. It was to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Thailand and Oman being allies. I noticed there were dignitaries from various countries from around the world who were in attendance. When I was out by the pool I saw staff setting up for the reception to be held that night. In my room I could see the pool but the reception got cut short because it started raining and was moved inside.
I did bring my swimming trunks and took a dip in the pool. Being outside was like being and ant underneath a magnafying glass on a sunny day. The sun was behind the clouds but it was still unbelievable hot.
A buffet breakfest at this resturant in the hotel was $28. We ate breakfest at the McDonalds which was within walking distance. They did not understand English but hey it's McDonalds. I'll have a number 2. That they understand. As long as you don't ask for anything special you get what you want. If you don't there are problems, as all in our group found out the hard way. That is except for me. I realized right away the workers there didn't speak English and I don't speak Thai.
All night long for three nights boats like this would go up and down the river. One said "Happy birtday King".
Another said"We Love Our King"
It's good to be the king and I don't mean the Burger King.
While relaxing in my room I heard this sound. Boom!Boom!..
The next morning I got up and left for the airport and back to the good ole USA.
Construction on "The Sky Train"
Hold that plane !!! I'm coming. (actually I was here 2 hours before they started boarding the plane) In about 30 hours I'll be home. The other people in our group left for the airport at 3 am last night so I was up then to see them off. I haven't had any sleep since then.Happy Bday King !!
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