Thailand Travel Blog

Lumpini Park Views

noreply@blogger.com (Christopher Snyder) — Tue, 22 May 2012 05:24:00 +0000

I realized this past weekend that I was not the only one who enjoyed the views of Bangkok from Lumpini Park. I found many people not only taking photos of the park and the views of the city but I also found people painting the views. I recommend visiting the park to anyone coming to city for any reason.

View from Silom Station - Night and Day

noreply@blogger.com (Christopher Snyder) — Fri, 04 May 2012 10:39:00 +0000

Just sharing views of Bangkok taken on the same subject one at night and one during the day. Just thought it was interesting. This is from the the skywalk above Silom MRT Station (Subway). There were only taken a few days apart.

Butterfly at Rot Fai, Chatuchak and Queen Sirikit Parks

noreply@blogger.com (Christopher Snyder) — Tue, 01 May 2012 03:12:00 +0000

Rot Fai, Chatuchak and Queen Sirikit Parks, a photo by Thailand Photo Blog on Flickr.

I like this forum for sharing my photos. This wonderful creature I caught on my digital media in a great inner city park in Bangkok. Gotta keep your eyes open!

Via Flickr:
Thailand Travel Pages: Rot Fai, Chatuchak and Queen Sirikit Parks

Thailand Travel Blog: Bangkok’s Butterfly Garden

Buddhist Monks in Thailand

noreply@blogger.com (Christopher Snyder) — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 11:07:00 +0000

I always like to catch a good shot of a Buddhist monk in my travels around Thailand. Here are a few photos here and i have complied a whole set at this link to my Flickr Thailand Photo Blog.

Bang Phli Floating Market and Bang Phli Temple

noreply@blogger.com (Christopher Snyder) — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 05:02:00 +0000

Bang Phli Floating Market is perported to be 155 years old or built in Year of the Lord Buddha 2040 or 1857, making the trip interesting. The market is built along Klong Bang Phli. Klong is the Thai word for canal. Just as a side note: floating markets in Thailand do not float. They are built along a canal or water way and Bang Phli is built along a fairly large klong. They do have floating aspects to them like selling food and products from small boats along the edge of the klong. To get to the market you must search out the Bang Phli Big C, go to the rear of the building and there is a bridge made of two boats tied together across the klong. Please be careful crossing and it costs 1 baht for the crossing.

boat bridge

klong

market

Wat Bang Phli is found the east end of the market and I recommend you take a walk about the temple. When I was there there was a lot of activities and food to partake. Please enjoy.

I am including the Google link below so if you have your smart phone, use it to make your life easier. :)

View Bang Phli Floating Market and Temple in a larger map

Four Faces Shrine

noreply@blogger.com (Christopher Snyder) — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 02:25:00 +0000

Four Faces Shrine, a set on Flickr.

The small shrine at the Erawan Hotel at the Ratchaprasong Intersection in downtown Bangkok. The Shrine represents Lord Brahma (one of the Trinity of Hindu Gods) who is known as Phra Phrom in Thai. Even though the shrine represents a Hindu God it is worshipped by many Thai Buddhists. The shrine get many worshipers a day hoping for a little extra luck in their lives.

For a Google map view of the shrive location click here... http://g.co/maps/s7paj

Via Flickr:
Thailand Travel Blog: Shrine Dancing at Bangkok's Four Faced Shrine

Thailand Travel Pages: Four Faced Shrine at Erawan

Pack'um, Rack'um and Stack'um

noreply@blogger.com (Christopher Snyder) — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 02:28:00 +0000

I saw this guy making a delivery yesterday. He kept putting more and more on his motorcycle and if that wasn't enough when he took off he had more on his lap!

Timing is everything

noreply@blogger.com (Christopher Snyder) — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 10:41:00 +0000

Sometimes I catch an interesting photo purely by accident. The photo below was taken from the skywalk adjacent to Silom Station looking at Dusit Thani Hotel. When I first took the photo I thought there was something on the building, looked then nothing there. Then i thought there was something on my lens - nothing. Then zoomed on the photo and realized it was a silhouette of a bird in flight - quite nice.

Wat Phrachetuphon Wimonmangkhalaram Rajaworamahavihara (Wat Pho)

noreply@blogger.com (Christopher Snyder) — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 02:30:00 +0000

Wat Phrachetuphon Wimonmangkhalaram Rajaworamahavihara (Wat Pho), a set on Flickr.

Wat Pho is the birth place for Thai massage where, many years ago, the temple monks developed the style of massage and documenting the style on stone tablets.

Via Flickr:
Thailand Destination: Bangkok's Wat Pho

View Bangkok Destinations in a Google map

Buddhist Office Blessing

noreply@blogger.com (Christopher Snyder) — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 15:57:00 +0000

Today my office had the office blessed for the new year. I have experienced this before and this time I thought I would share with you. Nine monks came into the office and chanted some prayers to bless the office with good luck for this year. I took the video clip below so you could hear the chanting.

After the prayers were said the Monks drew special symbols on doors in the office, again to give luck to those who work within.

After the blessing was over, we had a catered meal of Delicious Thai food!

Wat Phra Sri Rattana Satsadaram (Wat Phra Kaew) - Bangkok Temple #1

noreply@blogger.com (Christopher Snyder) — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 14:09:00 +0000

Wat Phra Sri Rattana Satsadaram (Wat Phra Kaew), a set on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
Temple of the Emerald Buddha

This the first posting of my photos of temples of Thailand. Wat Phra Kaew is the biggest, best and most well known of the Bangkok Temples. This temple is deeply seated in Thailand History being located adjacent to the Grand Palace,

Thailand Destination: Bangkok's Grand Palace

View Bangkok Temples in a larger map

Mong Village at Doi Suthep in Chaing Mai, Thailand

noreply@blogger.com (Christopher Snyder) — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 09:03:00 +0000

Mong Village at Doi Suthep, a set on Flickr.

This village has a history in growing poppies for the drug trade many years ago. The villagers now only grow flowers, fruits and vegetables thanks to the Thai Kings program to rid the kingdom of drugs.

Thailand Insects

noreply@blogger.com (Christopher Snyder) — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 04:29:00 +0000

This is an update to my Photo Set Thailand Insects on Thailand Photo Blog on Flickr. To see my complete set of organized photo sets and collections go to my collections page.

Young Monk On Doi Suthep Mountain

noreply@blogger.com (Christopher Snyder) — Sun, 22 Apr 2012 12:46:00 +0000

Young Monk On Doi Suthep Mountain

This young monk was enjoying the garden at Bhubing Palace on Doi Suthep Mountain. This photo is gaining interesting on my Flickr account so I thought I would share it here as well. Hope you enjoy - let me know!

For a complete look at my photos from Bhubing Palace click here...

planes trains and automobiles in Bangkok

noreply@blogger.com (Christopher Snyder) — Sun, 22 Apr 2012 05:47:00 +0000

Bangkok Tuktuk

After disembarking the plane in Thailand you will likely want to know your options for getting around. There are many including regular taxis, tuktuks, motorcycle taxis, buses vans and trains.

Taxis are the most common, but there are many types of taxis. There is the common taxi that uses a meter and are usually yellow or pink in color. The metered fare is resonable and they will often try to negotiate a flate rate before getting the ride. The rate is almost always way too high. Then there is the tuktuk. Said as it's spelled. The tuktuk is a three wheeled modified motorcycle, that runs on natural gas, making them a bit loud. The tuktuk can be expensive but pricing is negotiable. The motorcycle taxi is a quick alternative for getting short distances around the city but requires a bit of courage, especially during rush hour. While I often take a motorcycle in the morning to the office, it took several years to build the courage.

Bangkok Taxi

The bus - there are different types of buses - city buses, route buses and tour buses. The city bus is the most difficult mostly because they have numbered routes and the destinations are mostly only in Thai. Route Buses operate outside Bangkok, well take folks from Bangkok to all parts of Thailand and back again. These are relatively easy to get IF you know the correct bus station for the part of Thailand you want to go. Tour buses are the easiest for they are usually set up entirely by someone else - the tour agency. They can be quite organized with pre-programmed stops at appropriate intervals etc. If you like that go for it! The bus, of any sort, is usually the cheapest way to travel in Thailand.

Vans are a great alternative to buses but they do not operate on a given schedule. When they fill, they leave. They are usually fastest if they are going where you want to go and can be comfortable but are crowded. The tour agencies often use vans as an alternative for smaller groups. Vans usually operate at a competitive price and there are many van companies so if you can, shop around. The main hub in Bangkok to catch a van is Victory Monument Circle.

Thailand Trains - Three are three types, the MRT (Subway), BTS (elevated metro train) the airport link and the SRT (State Railway of Thailand). The MRT, BTS and airport link are great for getting around Bangkok and are fairly inexpensive. Here is a link to a pretty good system map.

Bangkok BTS

For getting around outside of Bangkok there is the SRT. In Bangkok the main train station for the SRT is the Hua Lampong Station, located in the heart of the city, next to Bangkok's Chinatown and at the southern end of the subway (MRT) also called the Hua Lompong Station. The Train station can be quite intimidating and I will be honest i have only taken the train once but here is a good website to help you understand what to look for...

Dangerous Duty in Bangkok

noreply@blogger.com (Christopher Snyder) — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 03:39:00 +0000

I woke up this morning to this sight on the building across from my condo. These folks are dangling hundreds of feet from the ground. Believe it or not this is a common sight in Bangkok.

Thailand Photo Blog reaches 5000 Photographs!

noreply@blogger.com (Christopher Snyder) — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 02:40:00 +0000

Thailand Photo Blog, on Flickr

This weekend I was busy taking photos and posting to my Flickr account, and at the the end of the holiday weekend i realized i had exceeded 5000 photographs in my Flickr account. It seems like a big milestone to me so I wanted to share this with you here. I have organized all my photos in collections and photo sets to make it easy for you browse, if you like. The final count as of today is 5,134 photos in 230 sets organized into many collections.

Just to help you even further, here are a few more useful links:

My Photostream - if you bookmark this you can keep up to date with my new postings!
Here is my Photostream RSS feed
The beginning of my "Sets" page
My Flickr Group Page - Thailand Travel Photo - which has 366 members and almost 3,000 photos of Thailand

Thailand Photo Blog Sets, on Flickr

"Sanctuary of Truth" - Teak Temple in Pattaya

noreply@blogger.com (Christopher Snyder) — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 05:50:00 +0000

The Sanctuary of Truth is a teak temple under construction in the northern end of Pattaya. The teak temple rises a reported 105 metres above the beach and is carved entirely out of teak wood, The Sanctuary of Truth was conceived by the ambitious business tycoon who also commissioned the construction of the Erawan Museum and The Ancient City (Muang Boran) both on the outskirts of Bangkok. It is not a temple but a fusion of “Eastern Philosophy'.

Google Map: "Sanctuary of Truth" - Teak Temple in Pattaya

Songkhran - Thai New Year

noreply@blogger.com (Christopher Snyder) — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 14:19:00 +0000

Songkhran , which occurs occurring at the hottest time of the year, will be from the 13th to the 15th of April) this year. The Thais will take a three day public holiday which will include April 16th and 17th (Monday and Tuesday).

Songkhran is the traditional celebration of the old Thai New Year. The holiday begins with Thai Buddhists visiting their local temple to perform the ceremony of Song Nam, where they sprinkle water on the Buddha images and on the hands of the monks as a good deed and to express confidence that the water supply will be adequate to last throughout the dry season.

In my office I was honored in a ceremony called Rod Nam Dam Hua, where the older men in my office had water poured over our hands and wish us luck for the up coming year. Yes, I'm that old.

In the streets, exuberant merrymakers will throw water at each other, and at you, by the bucket full. To add to the fun, talc is mixed with the water and may be daubed on your face. Songkran is the biggest and wettest party of the Thai year. Whether you are young or old, rich or poor there will be no escape, during Songkhran you will get wet!

Mourning Her Royal Highness Princess Bejaratana Rajasuda

noreply@blogger.com (Christopher Snyder) — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 05:01:00 +0000

Yesterday Thais around the country were paying the respects to Her Royal Highness Princess Bejaratana Rajasuda, the daughter and last surviving family of King Rama VI. I went to the temple adjacent to my office to pay my respects, Wat Pratum Wanaram.

Wat Pratum Wanaram is nestled in the middle of Bangkok main finacial districts and located between the Paragon and CentralWorld Malls.

For more information on the event follow this link to the Bangkok Post article "Mourners come from near and far".

After You - Dessert Extravaganza

noreply@blogger.com (Christopher Snyder) — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 02:29:00 +0000

I am sharing with you my favorite confection found in Bangkok found at "After You". After You has several stores in Bangkok but the only one I have been to is the one in Paragon Mall. Their specialty, toast with syrup and ice cream, sounds too simple to be all that good but names can be deceiving. The toast is a 3 inch thick tasty piece of bread, smothered in butter and topped with ice cream flavor of choice and whipped cream. This creation is served with syrup and honey for you to add to suite your flavor. Amazing!

They have five branches around Bangkok for you to enjoy their confections. For your convenience you can click here to go to the After You website to find their location. The website is English friendly :).

Interesting sights of Thailand

noreply@blogger.com (Christopher Snyder) — Sat, 07 Apr 2012 03:07:00 +0000

This blog I am sharing an interesting sight I saw in Pattaya, on the pier in the southern part of town. These guys had trained these poor dogs to stay in any pose he gave them. I was there when he staged these dogs and they were reluctant but willing participants. I have to admit the pose was quite funny and it is one of the most creative ways to ask for money.

Port of Bankok

noreply@blogger.com (Christopher Snyder) — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 11:39:00 +0000

Yesterday I was at Bangkok’s busy Port, which is south of center city Bangkok. As you can see it is a busy little port, supplying both Bangkok with the worlds goods and supplying the world of Thailand’s Goods. It was my first time there and I thought I would share the experience.

Asiatique Night Market

noreply@blogger.com (Christopher Snyder) — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 09:16:00 +0000

Asiatique is a new night spot in Bangkok along the river. It will reportedly have more than 1500 boutique shops selling the unique Thai crafts and arts in restored riverfront warehouses when finally complete. There are a number of popular restaurants accenting the wonderful nighttime commerce area. While Asiatique is not finished at this time, it is still a great night spot to visit while in Bangkok. I can’t wait until completed!

Here is the Google Map location to help you on your travels:

View Asiatique Night Market in a larger map

Nature trails of the park - Doi Inthanon National Park Part 5

noreply@blogger.com (Christopher Snyder) — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 11:08:00 +0000

The nature trails of the park pick you up in 10 evergreen cloud forest and along the ridge top ridge that is dotted with red rhodedendron. The views from on top of the ridge are absolutely spectacular and I recommend taking the hike to anyone who makes it into the park. Before heading back into the cloud forest,you get a glimpse of the twin chedis from above and it is truly amazing.

For the complete set of photos from the park click here...