2002 - Thailand

My impersonation of a tour guide.

Friday 8 February 2002 - Sunday 24 February 2002
View 2002 Thailand on nzhamsta's travel map.

This was the best part of a month away, visiting my parents back in New Zealand. They and my brother and sister then decided to come up to Thailand with me and have a look around. I therefore did my impersonation of a tour guide, organising hotels, buses, taxis, entry to temples museums etc.

We used local buses, taxis, tuk tuks and any thing else I could find to get us around, much cheaper than a guided tour. It worked reasonably well and we got to where we needed to be and the hotels were booked and okay.

The first few days I had to myself and so I had a day trip out to Nakhon Pathom, a town about 50km west of Bangkok. Its main claim to fame is a very large temple, the Pra Pathom Chedi and is the largest brick stupa in the world.

The Pa Pathom Chedi.

Bells and Buddhas at the Pra Pathom Chedi.

Devotees at the Chedi.

The rest of the family then arrived and did the usual tourist things in Bangkok, the Grand Palace, Wat Po, the markets, and Vimanmek Palace.

Part of the Grand Palace in Bangkok.

A nice piece of lawn at the Grand Palace.

Vimanmek Palace, Bangkok.

More of Vimanmek Palace.

We did a day trip to to Kanchanaburi via the Damnoen Saduak floating tourist trap. This is the site of the Bridge over the River Kwai (or Khwae Noi, although the bridge is actually over the Mae Klong River).

A canal side Buddha and temple near Damnoen Saduak.