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Singapore and Thailand

November - December 2018
The Delaneys are travelling to Singapore and Thailand with Wendy and Allan Schmidt. Read more
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  • TravelerSingapore and Thailand
    Day 8

    Temple of Dawn and Royal Palace

    November 24, 2018 in Thailand ⋅ 🌙 28 °C

    The Temple of Dawn was completed in1769 by the king to recognize the expulsion of the Malays. It is covered in intricate Chinese porcelain mosaics of flowers.

    The Royal Palace complex was constructed in 2 years by King Rama 1. The grounds have been extended to approximately one square mile. King Rama 10 laid in state here for 1 year after his death to allow the Thai people to pay their respects. Our guide waited from 8:00 p.m until 2:00 a.m. to walk past the casket. Her friend from Europe waited 3 days on the street to hold a spot for the funeral procession! All of the kings are revered but the most famous is King Rama 4 on whom The King and I was based. Also on the grounds is the Temple of the Jade Buddha which is a very small figure on top of an elaborate display. But more impressive was the Gold Buddha which is solid gold. It was covered in cement and sunk in the River to protect it from the Japanese during W.W. 2.

    It being a Sat., the crowds were overwhelming and between that and the heat, we headed home to swim and sit by the pool after a delicious lunch of noodles.    Read more

  • TravelerSingapore and Thailand
    Day 9

    The floating market

    November 25, 2018 in Thailand ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C

    An early start (7:30) and a long car ride took us to the Damneon Saduak Floating Market. On the way we stopped off for a bathroom break at a coconut farm. The primary products here seem to be coconut oil and coconut sugar (and providing washrooms for tour buses) but a pleasant extra were the orchids. They are grown without soil, getting their moisture from the air and occasional misting. Allan bought some coconut sugar as a treat.

    The market was quite a slice. Narrow canals with food and souvenirs stalls, as well as vendors in boats. If you express an interest, the vendor hooks your boat, pulls you over and the bargaining begins! Brian got a shirt and Wendy and I bought a small surprise for the grandkids. My favourite part was the coconut nut pancakes. Delicious!    Read more

  • TravelerSingapore and Thailand
    Day 10

    National Museum and seafood lumch

    November 26, 2018 in Thailand ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    We drove back to Bangkok to go to the National Museum. On the way, we passed salt farms; small areas like rice paddies which are flooded with sea water. When the water evaporates, the salt is harvested. There were many stands on the roadside selling bags of salt. We also passed catfish farms which looked a lot like the salt farms, except that machines were aerating the water.

    There are lots of scooters here. Some are taxi cabs. The drivers wear yellow or red vests. Passengers hop on the back, sometime without a helmet. These are cheap and quicker than car taxis as they can run up through the rows of cars. The traffic here is horrendous, it can take an hour to go 2 kms!

    There are also many pictures of King Rama X on the highway. Surprisingly, we see little graffiti.

    The National Museum is across from the Royal Palace and was built in the 1700's as a residence for the queen and crown prince. The compound has several buildings including a temple, a display of ceremonial clothes and most impressively, several funeral carriages. Again, lots of glitter and gold. All very interesting.

    Lunch was a delicious crab and snapper at Kuang Seafood. Then back to the hotel for a swim.    Read more

  • TravelerSingapore and Thailand
    Day 10

    Ayutthaya, the original capital

    November 26, 2018 in Thailand ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

    75 kms north of Bangkok is Ayutthaya, the first capital of Thailand. Ayutthaya was a major trading port in the area. With the arrival of the Dutch in the 17th century, trade was extended to China, Japan, Indonesia, Portugal, Holland and France. The city was conquered by Myanmar in 1769 and burnt to the ground, temples, palaces and all. Many Buddha’s were destroyed. Now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, some restorations have begun. The only structure that has been fully rebuilt is Wat Panan Cgeong which houses the largest sitting Buddha in Thailand. This defeat by Myramar also was the last time elephants were used in battle. Interested tourists can take an elephant ride (we didn’t) but we did visit the memorial to the elephant warriors. It is customary here to buy either a blanket for the Buddha, a gift of basic supplies or rice for the monks and a bit of gold leaf to stick on a Buddha of your choice. A bit like a popularity contest as some Buddha’s were covered and some had very few gold stickers.Read more

  • TravelerSingapore and Thailand
    Day 10

    The Summer Palace, Bang Pa-In.

    November 26, 2018 in Thailand ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

    King Rama V built a summer palace compound for his wives and family in Ayutthaya. It was a beautiful morning when we visited, cooler and fresh. King Rama V had been educated in Europe and brought back those influences to his kingdom. Some of the buildings have a distinct European look while others show a Chinese influence. This Palace is used occasionally as a residence and also hosts ceremonies and receptions. I think the public is allowed in some buildings, but we just walked the grounds.

    On the drive to our cruise boat for the ride home, we drove past rice paddies, lots of banana and mango trees and lotus fields. We stopped for a local snack, sugar in a roti. Very sweet but nice.

    The boat cruise home included a lunch buffet (quite nice), a more Western meal than we have had lately. It gave us a different view of downtown Bangkok. Traffic was so bad Air had us exit the van and led us to the Sky Train were we travelled for 4 stops to a station near our hotel.    Read more

  • TravelerSingapore and Thailand
    Day 11

    Ariyasomvilla

    November 27, 2018 in Thailand ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    Our boutique hotel in Bangkok deserves an entry of its own. The Ariyacomvilla is a lovely small hotel in the downtown area. It is next to a hospital, and close to busy streets but once we arrive, a sense of peace descends.

    The owner's grand-father-in-law built the main structure to live in. When the Japanese took over Bangkok, the military took the house for its generals. After the war, he got the house back and eventually, the family made renovations, an addition and turned it into a hotel. There is beautiful wood in every room, stones as accents, water features in the courtyard and lots of plants and trees. The public areas are small, maintaining the feel of a private residence. The bedrooms and bathrooms are large, quiet and very comfortable.

    The restaurant is meat-free but does use eggs and a bit of fish. A surprise, but we enjoyed two delicious dinners and the breakfasts are lovely with a wide choice of dishes.

    A hidden gem in Bangkok.    Read more

  • TravelerSingapore and Thailand
    Day 11

    Bangkok-last thoughts

    November 27, 2018 in Thailand ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    We are sitting in the airport waiting to fly to Chiangmai Rai. Some reflections on Bangkok.

    1) Does Bangkok have more temples or 7-Elevens? Hard to say. And then there are many spirit houses (doll-house sized shrines) in front of many houses and businesses.
    2) Visitors must wear long pants in the Royal Palaces and the temples associated with them. Shoes must come off for every temple. So pack with that in mind or you will end up having to buy baggie pants in a crazy elephant print.
    3) It takes longer to get to where you are going than you would expect. Short trips by car regularly take an hour or more. (Rush hour never ends in the city).
    4) Pictures of the King abound. There is little graffiti but the City streets look messy with discarded stuff.
    5) This is the start of winter but it is HOT and humid. Hope for cloudy days and plan indoor activities for the afternoons. Light, cotton clothing works best.

    Three days is about the right amount of time.

    Ever on ward to Chiang Rai.    Read more

  • TravelerSingapore and Thailand
    Day 12

    The Golden Triangle

    November 28, 2018 in Thailand ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    We started the day at a tea plantation owned by a Chinese businessman. I mention this because the Chinese have had a big impact on the Thai economy. For example, most of the 7-elevens are owned by Chinese entrepreneurs. The tea plantations pay Thai women 8 Bhatt per kilo to pick the tea leaves or 300 Bhatt per hour to clear old plants (they need to be replaced every four years). 100 Bhatt is equal to about $4 Cdn.

    This area of Thailand is part of the Golden Triangle which includes parts of Laos and Burma. Opium is still an issue as the farmers burn out the forests for opium fields. The farmers do not recognize the authority of the state (i.e. the police); they only recognize the authority of the King.

    Tan, our guide for the rest of the trip talked about the education system. King Rama IX recognized the importance of education and offers loans to students who want to go to university. But after studying in the cities, the young people find it hard to get meaningful work; increasingly they are returning home to start small businesses. Boys also have the option of becoming monks while in school; most return to their community after graduation.

    A sobering stop was the Scorpion temple with its museum of the events of the rescue of the boys from the cave. The Navy seal who died in the rescue is considered a national hero. The museum had thousands of flowers and garlands as well as hundreds of pictures of the events and the main players.    Read more

  • TravelerSingapore and Thailand
    Day 12

    Borders and Buddhas

    November 28, 2018 in Thailand ⋅ 🌙 25 °C

    Next we went to Mea Sai the border town with Burma. Thie Main Street is one big market so we browsed for awhile. The vendors seemed content to let us window shop; there was no hard sell like in Bangkok. Burma drives on the right side of the road and Thailand on the left. So there is a dance on the bridge connecting the two countries where the cars switch from one side to the other!

    Lunch was a westernized buffet at The Boarderview Restaurant, overlooking the Mekong River. The village is in poor shape as the Chinese have built a casino in Laos, across the river, and that has bled out much of the traffic. Many of the storefronts were shuttered.

    The Mekong is shallow and silty here. Tan blames dams upriver in China for diverting the water from the river.

    Our last stop for the day was at Wat Cheri Leung, a 12th century temple ruin. The main temple has been restored. We saw many Buddhist monks. The orange robes signified a Thai monk, the rust robes were Burmese and the brown robes were monks who strictly followed the Buddha’s teachings in hopes of reaching enlightenment.

    The property has many teak trees; the temple is trying to get permission to cut them down and sell the timber. Teak is making a comeback here but it takes a long time to reach maturity. We also passed many rice fields, pineapple plantations and the ubiquitous banana trees.    Read more

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