On To Sukhothai

Our 2008 tour of Thailand was severely abridged when the People's Alliance for Democracy, the Yellow Shirts, closed down Thailand's main airport, Suvarnabhumi, for more than a week. We were on the island of Koh Samui and thus stuck out there in the Gulf for nearly two weeks before things resolved and air service was restored. Actually, Koh Samui was a pretty nice place to be stuck during political unrest (https://roadeveron.blogspot.com/2008/11/), but the loss of time meant we wouldn't see any of northern Thailand. So now our travel plans will pick up where they left off in 2008, seeing Sukhothai, Chiang Mai, and Chiang Rai (where we are now) in the north.

Our trip to the north began with a taxi ride across Bangkok

To the Chatuchak bus terminal; we might have flown directly to Chiang Mai,
but wanted to see the archaeological site at Sukhothai; so we took the bus, a
six hour ride

T-shirt vending machine in the terminal

Aboard the bus; actually pretty nice, and indeed nicer than commercial flying
economy in the US; clean, wide reclining seats, AC, toilet, stewardess, snacks, stops
for food, etc. Only the movie was awful.

At one of the food stops, a 3 lb bag of squid doodles...yum!
The bus ticket entitled you to a full Thai meal too

The terrain was mostly flat and dry, alternating forests and
fields, occasional towns; and then these somewhat serious
out-croppings of rock; then flat again

At last--and after an 11km tuk-tuk ride from New Sukhothai to Old Sukhothai--
we arrived at out hotel

And typical Thai welcome

Just off the pool; teak everywhere, traditional, we felt like we were staying in
Jim Thompson's house

Next morning, at a great free breakfast, the coconut pancake station

Breakfast table with view

Artifacts and such on display everywhere 

Traditional recycling too

Legendha Sukhothai Resort

Our room at the far left

The significance of the elephants will emerge...

Adieu, Singapore: The Jewel

As if Singapore needed another giant shopping center, the latest is the Jewel, astride Terminal 1 (International) at Changi airport. (As if the whole airport is not much more than a giant shopping center.) Anyhow, we packed up and left the hotel early the 26th in order to spend some time at the Jewel, and also at an airport lounge, before Scoot scooted us back to Bangkok for an over-night stay there. Apart from many, many shoppes, the principal feature at the Jewel is the Vortex waterfall, an indoor man-made multi-story waterfall that you could only find in Singapore...

Singapore: Out-Takes

Taking Theravada Buddhist begging to a whole new level

You have been warned

Penalties are severe

10,000S$ fine for missing

No smoking anywhere except in these yellow-painted
smokers' boxes; no chewing gum either: big fines; but it's
so refreshing to walk down a street, no gum on the sidewalk,
no smoke, no beggars (they're cared for), no buskers....

OK, not everything is up to date in Kansas City

On the MRT, the metro

Hand-washing stations in restaurants; pretty common in
Asia

Contemporary vs. traditional

More on the MRT: I wish we saw more of the education and
library systems, which, I would guess, are exemplary

Not even catch and release?

Robo-police at the Jewel

Crucificado, at the Botanical Garden

Green Man

Singapore: Assorted Food

So I have featured food in several previous posts. Singapore is a great food city, a world crossroads of food. Below are some more pix of the variety, some from the department stores, some elsewhere.

At Ngee Ann City, Japanese dominates 

Vicki would have gone for this had it been a grade above Iberico

At a better restaurant: essence of Singapore: "an additional
charge of $5.00 per 100gm for food wastage"

Dim Sum high tea

Healthy choices

Sugar-free too

No, "Urushi" is not Japanese for "Hershey"

Initially we thought this was really beautifully-carved soap: no, long-nose breath,
this is bird's nest, one of the finest of Chinese delicacies; look it up

We always thought British crisps were over the top in terms of flavors...

Your flavor, Rebecca

The patisseries would have been right at home in Paris

With a few exceptions

Double-barreled hotdogs

Zweiback?

Tastes like jam

 

Real delicacies: the musk melon is 150U$D

Despair not: there's a Marks and Spensers right down the street; with scones,
and even castor sugar too, in case you're thinking of baking

At Texas Chicken (no relation to KFC; no relation to anything,
certainly not in Texas (we lived there 13 years))

Kept me going for days; love those candied minnows

The only food truck in Singapore we saw; veggie burgers

Me enjoying a fine sushi dinner; I thought the Japanese department store might
be a safe place...

Best 7U$D sushi ever