Thailand....Part 2 - The Weekend Market and Ayutthaya

Here are some more pictures from our fantastic trip to Bangkok!

First, here are a couple of pictures of the day we went to the largest market (Souk) in the world. It was close quarters, very hot and very busy. The humidity had kicked up, we got lost in the labyrinth but it was incredible. We also got some nice souvenirs.

We finally successfully got out of the market only to find this lovely park that we had to walk through to get to the skytrain to get back to the hotel.

The kids were troopers. Here are the Dunham kids with ours. So glad we got to vacation with them.

When we got off the skytrain and the rain started coming down. Reminded me of Beirut but with better drainage and WAY more traffic!

After some time in the hotel pool, we went down the street to a restaurant that someone recommended to us. All natural/organic and truly fabulous! "Clik" was a great place to go with a wonderful chef/owner! Here are the kids enjoying their fresh watermelon juice! If you go to Bangkok you will need to find this little oasis in the city!

Just a nice picture of Tim, Jonna and Nate

The next day we went to Ayutthaya, otherwise known as Old Siam. This is where the Royal Palace was for many years. The area was beautiful.

A view of the Royal Gardens from above.

From there we went to Wat Mahatat and saw some beautiful ruins.

I really loved the Buddha head in the tree. I can only imagine 200 years from now how high up to head will be in the tree...

We then went to Wat Na Phra. This temple had a huge golden Buddha with jewels encrusted in the ceiling.  First, here is the outside of the temple. The second picture is a picture of a display at the foot of the Buddha. The picture third down is from the back of the room. If you look carefully you can see the people between the statues in front and the Buddha in the back. It was all very peaceful.

This one was in the building next door.

This is the famous reclining Buddha. It was huge!

We saw some of the Durian fruit for sale. It didn't smell but I think that is because we were outside. I am sure it would be really stinky if it was in a store.

We then had the chance to take a boat cruise back to Bankok. It was so nice to see everything from the water. What a unique view!

Some of my favorite pictures are the ones you see where people are just living, day to day....

This is one of my favorite pictures as well. 

This huge barge was going through on the river as well. It was impressive.

A picture of the King and Queen. There are pictures EVERYWHERE of them. They must be loved.

Coming into Bankok

In the city we saw this view of the famous Wat Arun. it was being remodeled.

Water traffic was  interesting.

Yes, there will be at least one more blog of Thailand. There was so much to see.....

A Late Post - In March We Went Back to Saida (Sidon)

Thought I would catch up a little and take a step back. Mid-March we went south to Saida again. Within the Souks of Saida there are many Churches and Mosques. It is like a little city within the city with people living above their shops. There are also community centers, schools and museums. The last time we had been there we had been in country for about 2 1/2 months and were still in a daze. We wanted to go back and see it again with a different viewpoint. It was a lovely day trip with friends. Here are some pictures!

We went through a few places in the Souks. This is the clothing area.

You can see where many people live in the Souks if you look up. I can only imagine what their rooftops look like. If I lived here I would put a lovely garden up there.

I post this picture for my friend Paul. Electrical is always interesting outside of the U.S.

This picture and the next one are for my father. There were little wood shops in one area of the Souks

We walked through the Khan El Franj, an old Caravanasarie. In other words, this is where they would stop or end trips from and to the east. 

Our lovely friend, Sharon. She's inside the Khan. The acoustics are wonderful and they do have performances there.

Delaney, Andrea and Sharon in front of one of the original doors.

We were once again going through the Souk which feels like a labyrinth and went up some stairs around a corner and walked right into a basketball court of a school. Yes, there is an old fountain in the middle of the court and yes, they played around it.

The group of us outside of the Soap Museum. Tim, Michelle, Sharon, Delaney, Janna, Andrea and Philippe

Of course we had to stop at the sweet shop. Everything was wonderful. Giant pancakes filled with cheese, little pancakes with walnut filling and deep fried yummies.

These were kind of like funnel cakes dipped in something?? Tasted good!

And of course the baklava type sweets that you see all over Lebanon. The ones in Saida are unique.

Philippe seems to know everyone where ever we go.  This man is the owner of a restaurant on the the edge of the water.

Once again, a lovely meal.

We went back into the Souk. Philippe had arranged for a friend to walk us into a VERY old Mosque that is still in use today. On the way we saw this place selling charcoal. I just thought it was interesting to see how it is sold here.

This is within the mosque. I love the old chandeliers.

The stained glass windows were lovely as well

As always, you see beautiful old rugs on the floor. You cannot wear shoes in a Mosque and Delaney and I have to put a scarf over our hair. 

This is the foyer of the Mosque.

I don't know what it says but the writing is so beautiful.

The minaret

In the late afternoon it got pretty windy but we wanted to go out to the crusader castle on the water anyway. 

A view of the city from within the castle

Tim and Janna in the upper part of the castle

Another view of the city just as you are walking back to shore

And what it looks like from the shore

I just thought I'd add this one. We went to lunch the next day and someone took this picture.