3 March 2025 Bangkok to Colombo: Travel Day to Sri Lanka

 

Nok, nok, who's there?  Not us because we are flying AirAsia.  It is not a luxury brand but it gets us where we want to go.  They did not have a lounge so we purchased a pass to a public lounge and it was well worth the $20 each.  We got something to eat and a place to sit while we waited for our flight. The flight from Bangkok to Colombo Sri Lanka  took off at 8:05 Bangkok time and landed 10:00 Sri Lanka time.  Somehow the two locations are 1.5 hours apart so it was a very late night for us!

Things we did not break!

A lovely buddha made of glass with some broken parts

Another break

A closeup makes up for all the broken parts

The glass behind the stove is also broken, but not by us

In the airport they have duck!

Arghhh, a bus to the plane

Our hotel in Colombo Sri Lanka is nice

It looks like a spaceship

Not crowded behind the counter

Even futuristic lighting on the ceiling

It is late, midnight Bangkok time, we need to sleep!

 It has been 2 years and 270 days since we began our Migration

2 March 2025 Bangkok: 1000 Days on the Road!

Above is the picture I took on 7 June 2022 on our first flight of this "trip." Add 1000 days to that day and we find ourselves here in Bangkok Thailand.  Thailand is our 34th country in the last 34 months.  We have worn out some clothes, shoes, hats and fan batteries.  To celebrate this we consulted our friends at Michelin and were pleased to have nearly 50 restaurants in Bangkok to choose from.  Our celebratory lunch was at Yamazato which is up on the 24th floor of the Peninsula Building. Yamazato was top notch and the view was special too.  Leslie ordered the big set lunch and had the whole Japanese experience from a hot custard, to sashimi, to fried pork loin to Japanese pickles.  I ordered a few oddities from the menu.  I had a fish soup that I expected to be large but it came out in a tiny teapot with an even smaller bowl.  Next I ordered a bowl of pork dumplings with crab sauce on top.  Both of these were good but let it be recorded that I was available to help Leslie out with her generous portions.  We both came away full and happy to celebrate 1000 days on the road.  We did some walking at the Siam Paragon to work off all of that lunch.  Leslie found some clothes and I found a specialized battery and some data cards.  It was great fun seeing all the Thai folks and the tourists shopping together.

I made a 1000 day slideshow.  Enjoy  

https://youtu.be/xO2LtlMZz40

On the wall

By the bar

It is Yamazato!

Pretty ladies

Let the lunch begin!

Sashimi

My teapot of soup

Many items came out of the teapot but this one was a mystery

Large portions of crab!

A substantial dumpling

Pork loin

Dessert!

A pointy building?

Nice view of Bangkok

The building seen through the window provided us with great entertainment

Many reflected patterns

Getting close to the fancy mall

 It has been 2 years and 269 days since we began our Migration

28 February 2025 Bangkok: The Royal Funerary Chariots!

 

An additional set of buildings houses the Royal Funerary Chariots.  These behemoths need to be in a building with very tall ceilings.  Most of these chariots date to the reign of King Rama I, 1782 - 1808. The Grand Chariot of Victory is made of interlocking pieces of teak wood intricately carved into serpents and saints (nagas and devas).  The grand Chariot weighed 20 tons and to move it 160 men were required at the front to pull it.  135 additional men were requited to act as the brakes at the back of the chariot.  There was a place at the top of the chariot for the King's remains would reside.  Huge mechanisms were built, in matching style, to lift the remains up to the top.  At 235 years old the Grand Chariot of Victory is a true treasure.

One of four giant chariots in the hanger

A carved casket and urn holder

The ramp for loading the chariot

In the shape of a boat

Slightly smaller chariots are also used for other members of the royal family

Certainly a magnificent artifact 

#3 of 4 big chariots

A hand carved casket and urn holder

A nautical theme

Wow

Getting loser, the details can really be seen

20 feet tall at least

A master work

As we headed out there were some more nautically themed displays

A royal barge

Now I see why they needed taller ceilings

The King's shovel.  It dug the first bit of dirt for the creation of the railroad

Thailand's standard of weight that was calibrated against the metric system in France

More master carving

Buddha

A very detailed and gruesome scene from the Ramayana Epic

The horses seem to be the only survivors

Huge item

Graceful pose

Gleaming in the sun as we leave

More like it lighthouse wise

A side canal with a nice bridge

A mini lighthouse

Bronze!

Passing Wat Arun on our way downriver

 It has been 2 years and 267 days since we began our Migration