The Venice of the North

Enjoyed a tour of the Chao Phraya River and its canal yesterday.

We were sometimes accompanied by these 16" fish; the carp (?) I saw this morning?

Quite an interesting variety of houses dot the canals. Unfortunately "tech glitches" have seemingly sent my favorites into photo heaven!

Hanging Out in the Royal Palace

My outstanding Thai guide told me that maybe only 20 percent of that story was true!

Strolling the huge compound
Nd under the blazing hot sun, I got to test some of my "wicking wicked" awesome new REI wardrobe. It works!

My guide was delighted to tell us of all the Gods and demons in colorful Thai history, including this part God part chicle hybrid model.

This is a curious architectural detail of the Royal "changing room" on site. The Prince is carried in on one side and then is carried out on the back of an elephant - preferably white - all facilitated by this handy loading dock.

Before becoming Thailand, this country was called Siam. Perhaps you know the famous story of Anna, one of the first successful expatriates, and her relationship with the Kin of Siam?

The Royal Palace was opened in 1782 and further developed by successor kings including Rama IV of "The Kimg and I" fame.

The "Languid" Chao Phraya River?

The same one I so serenely stood by this morning?

What WAS I thinking ???

Otis Still with Me

While rambling around this morn, this little guy was following along beside me, apparently foraging.

Am already SO REMINDED of all we have to be thankful for...

The hardworking people I saw at 5am, setting up their gazillion stalls of every variety have my utmost respect.

But this little guy stole my heart.  

First Impressions of Bangkok

I awoke at 4am after just two hours of sleep and knew I wanted to see daybreak on my first ever day in Southeast Asia.

After a refreshing shower, and "arming" myself with the address of my hotel, my iPhone and some cash, I headed out onto the street.

I was soon greeted by an overly solicitous young lady who wanted to know how I was doing. Sort of...

After crossing the street, I soon encountered hardworking folks setting up their innumerable variety of wares.

I took this photo of these two ladies who had already cooked and set up this splendid Thai breakfast. And it was barely 5am!

I set out toward my destination, the languid Chao Phraya River, which runs through Bangkok and is just a few blocks from my hotel in Chinatown.

A slight breeze was blowing along the river and it was good to be away from the already bustling streets.

I had the good fortune of sharing a few moments of peace with an elderly monk, who seemed as quietly interested in me as I was in him, as we both watched the giant carp (?) frolicking under the river lights.

I had learned that I might be rewarded in awakening early to see the sight of monks walking the street and collecting food from the faithful - and so I was...




Just prior to sunrise, I found these three dogs enjoying their sleep.

Daybreak soon brought some early rewards including this Ancient Wat.

First impression in summary?

This place is literally teaming with life!

My First Morning in Bangkok

Was up and exploring well before daybreak this morn.

Magical...

So What Does One Pack for a Month in Southeast Asia?

Erik and I agreed we want to have maximum flexibility in our itinerary and we both want to be prepared to go off the beaten (tourist) path if this seems the right thing to do.  The solution?  Backpacking, of course.

I laid everything out last night on our dining room table.

Thats' my new Osprey backpack in the left back corner.  It features lightweight construction and a zipper detachable daypack for those times we may simply be doing a day or overnight trip; a very sensible feature!

A huge part of yesterday was spent in updating my iPhone with Mike's assistance for my new road warrior persona.  I now have an updated iTunes collection that includes my favorite Playlists; Skype; Google Translate (which is amazing!) and have tested my ability to blog post directly from my iPhone.

Perhaps most importantly, we downloaded Kindle for iPhone and I made my first selections: Frommer's Guide to Southeast Asia; Dennis Graver's Fourth Edition of "Scuba Diving" and a GoodReads-recommended book on the diversity that is modern Thailand from an insider's perspective, Rattawut Lapcharoensap's book "Sightseeing Stories."

This strategy should help offset the weight of my beloved Yankee, Men's Health and Vanity Fair Magazines I'm bringing for the gazillion hour air rides to NYC, Tokyo and finally, Bangkok, and allow me something to gift to Erik upon his arrival.  I'm suspecting he may be hunkering for some "homey news" of this variety?

I'm also bringing a stripped down version of Lonely Planet's "Southeast Asia on a shoestring" (now featuring Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam, only) and Phra Peter Pannapadipo's "Phra Farang", the story of an Englishman who becomes a Thai Monk.

Aside from reading materials, the other items I deemed "mission critical" that one can see in the photo: mosquito netting for me and Erik, "just in case" (another gift I intend to present upon my arrival); lightweight rope; an assortment of plastic bags; a water container; earplugs; a prescription of Cippro (in case of digestive issues arising); handy Tide cleaners for use in the sink and laundromat; antibacterial hand soap; SPF 40 lip balm; DEET anti-mosquite spray; (2) tubes of 100 SPF sun lotion; tissue and Wet Ones; an assortment of Band-Aids; a travel notebook; earplugs for swimming; a pillbox; an assortment of plug adaptors; a lightweight frisbee; an LL Bean rain jacket and an inexpensive new wallet that will hold my passport, cash and a few credit cards.

Did I miss anything?  Oh yea!  My clothes are already packed in the backpack and feature a trendy new wardrobe of very light, "wicking" clothes mostly from REI.

In weight, I just checked, and this all adds up to roughly 30 pounds.  Not bad, eh?

A Proper Thai Send Off

On Friday night, Mike orchestrated a final gathering of friends before my departure on Sunday.

It was a beautiful spring evening here in Boston and we had a great time!  Highlights included some fun travel-themed decorations Mike had created and a Thai feast, ordered in from our favorite Thai restaurant in the South End.  

Thank you, Mike, and to all our dear friends who made the effort to come by on a work day evening.  I had a great time and love you all!