Wednesday, March 5, 2025

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  



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


Monday, March 3, 2025

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