THAILAND - JANUARY, 2014

After spending the night in Singapore, having flown from Los Angeles via Tokyo; I flew on to Bangkok, Thailand which I had previously visited in 2006. At the time of this visit there were major anti- government protests taking place in Bangkok, with the protesters vowing to shut the city down. The protesters had occupied over a dozen of the major intersections in the city which made travel by street very difficult, and hampered visiting various areas of the city. The night I arrived in the city the main intersection by my hotel, near the Asoke metro station, was filled with several thousand protesters, which made reaching my hotel very difficult. This is a view of the intersection several days later from the window of a restaurant where I was eating. Later that night the intersection and surrounding streets again filled with several thousand protesters.

My hotel was located about one block from the main intersection up a small side street [Soi 18] which had a more small town feel than the main, and normally busy main streets in the area.

Because many of the areas of the city were not accessible because of the protesters closing many of the main roadways, I took the Skytrain across town to the Chao Phraya River where I boarded a water taxi to travel up river to the Grand Palace complex. The Chao Phraya River is the largest river in Thailand, and serves as a means of transporting goods and products from the interior of Thailand out to the ocean. While traveling up the river I saw many barges filled with rice and other agricultural goods navigating the river. Entire families live on the barges [in the upper area of the rear of the barge], and you could see the families cooking food and washing clothes on the barges as they passed by.

While going upriver we passed Wat Arun one of the most famous landmarks in Bangkok. I had visited the wat previously, so I didn't stop again on this trip.

The Grand Palace, which lies behind massive white battlements, is the most stunning of all the sights in Bangkok. Built by successive monarchs over a period of more than 200 years, the grounds contain many palaces and building reflecting the varied tastes of the numerous kings who built them. This is the Grand Palace, which used to serve as the royal residence of the king, and is still used for the most important ceremonial occasions of the royal family, and other buildings in the immediate area of the Grand Palace.

In the area surrounding the Grand Palace, inside the walls of the Grand Palace grounds, are many of the most beautiful historical buildings in Bangkok. These are some random pictures of the buildings in that area.

The most stunning temple on the grounds houses the Emerald Buddha which is carved from a single block of jade. Unfortunately, photos are not allowed inside the temple housing the Emerald Buddha.

A short walk from the Grand Palace compound lies Wat Pho where the largest reclining Buddha in the world is located, as well as the largest collection of  Buddha images in Thailand. These are some pictures of the temple grounds, and of the Reclining Buddha.

From Bangkok I took a short flight to Chiang Mai, Thailand's second largest city, located in the northern part of Thailand. Compared to the big city hustle and bustle, and noise of Bangkok, Chiang Mai was smaller, slower paced, and relaxing. I stayed in a small boutique hotel called the Rim Resort, located within the partially walled, and moat surrounded Old City part of Chiang Mai. These are photos of the moat in front of the entry to the resort, the entrance to the resort, a picture of the inside of my room, and pictures from my balcony to the pool area of the hotel.

The most visited sight in Chiang Mai is the Wat Phra Singh temple which houses the city's most revered Buddha image.

The oldest wat in the city is the Wat Chiang Man established when the city was founded in 1296. It features typical northern Thai architecture.

Crossing the moat bordering the northern side of the Old City I visited the Wat Lok Molee which also had the very interesting architecture of northern Thailand.

While walking around the Old City I came across two sister missionaries. I walked with them to the local chapel where they met some of the elders to head off for their p-day. I think they enjoyed seeing and talking with someone from home.

I really enjoyed my trip to Thailand, and I look forward to returning someday to spend more time visiting the country and enjoying the friendliness of the Thai people.

DUBAI - NOVEMBER, 2013

This was my first trip to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. After a long flight from Los Angeles to Dubai via Washington, D.C. I settled into my hotel, the Al-Manzil, in the new and modern downtown area of Dubai. This is a view of the outside of the hotel, and views from my room, and from a window on the opposite side of the hotel from my room.

Across the street from my hotel, and after a short walk, you reached the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world. It is 828 meters high, and you can go to an observation deck on the 124th floor for terrific views of the entire area of Dubai. This is the view of the Burj Khalifa from outside my hotel, and a couple of views from other vantage points.

Outside of the Burj Khalifa and adjacent to the Dubai Mall [the largest mall in the world, naturally, with 1200 stores, 160 food outlets, and Olympic size ice skating rink, an indoor theme park, and a huge aquarium] was a large man made lake with fountains [much like the fountains in front of the Bellagio in Las Vegas, but larger, of course.] Every hour there was a water show at the fountains accompanied by music, and which was also beautifully lit at night. These are a couple pictures of the fountain area.

I went up to the 124th floor observation deck for a panoramic view of the nearby downtown area, and although a little hazy, over the entire Dubai area. The first picture shows the location of my hotel [in the center, with the small yellow canopies over the outside restaurant area, and the last picture showing the Dubai Mall, next to the lakes in front of the Burj Khalifa.

Inside the Dubai Mall was a large aquarium and a four story high waterfall [with life size "divers".] You could easily spend an entire day just walking through the mall. I ate most of my meals at restaurants there.

I spent a full day in the old town area of Dubai which is called Bur Dubai. Until fairly recently, Dubai was a small fishing and trading town on the Gulf of Oman. With the discovery of oil, Dubai has been transformed into a modern international transportation and financial center, but the old town area still is a very traditional arab area with mosques, souks, and fishing and transport vessels, called dhows, that still transport goods throughout the Arabian Peninsula area. The two sides of the old town area are separated by Dubai Creek which is the entryway into the gulf. You can cross from one side of the creek to the other in small boats called abras.

Located in Bur Dubai are the Grand Mosque and the Dubai Museum which is located in the Al-Fahidi Fort which was built in 1799 and is the oldest building in Dubai. Historically, it served as the seat of government and the residence of Dubai's rulers.

Throughout the Bur Dubai area are many souks and street markets. I bought the boys' T-shirts in an area called Hindu Alley. This video shows the area around the Grand Mosque [during a call to prayer] and the Dubai Museum.

I really enjoyed my trip to Dubai, and would like to return to visit other areas of the United Arab Emirates.

NEW YORK CITY - OCTOBER, 2013

When I went to visit Michael and Brooke we took a weekend trip to New York City. We stayed across the Hudson River in Jersey City, New Jersey. The hotel was a short walk from the river, and we could see Manhattan from the window in our room.  A short walk to the PATH train station, and we were just one stop away from downtown New York. These are some pictures taken from the New Jersey side, across the Hudson River, with New York City in the background.

On the night that we spent in New Jersey, Michael and I went to a hockey game. We took the train to Newark and viewed the game between the New Jersey Devils and the Vancouver Canucks. It felt strange not cheering for the L.A. Kings at the game.

The next morning we all took the train to Lower Manhattan, then walked across the Brooklyn Bridge, and then walked to Brooklyn Heights where we had lunch, then caught the subway to Battery Park where we took the Staten Island Ferry to Staten Island. From Brooklyn Heights you have a terrific view of the east side of Manhattan Island, and of course on the ferry ride to Staten Island you have great views of lower Manhattan, and of the Statue of Liberty.

 

 

I had a great time on our trip to New York City, and I always enjoy the time I am able to spend with Michael, Brooke, Mick and Zoe.