Tim and Heather

While I think Bangkok and Chiang Mai left us a little Wat-ted out (over Wat-tage), Phuket offers the serene beauty of a tropical paradise along the Andaman Sea. While there are plenty of attractions to see, there are no major temples or historical sites that are must sees, safe for the natural beauty that rises out of the Southern Coast in the Andaman and the neighboring Gulf of Thailand. We had dinner at our hotel the first evening here in Phuket in a beachside Italian restaurant. It was great to have something other than Thai food and the meal we had was delicious, classic Italian fare. I gotta admit, the Thai’s know how to cook Italian food. After dinner we wanted to get some nightlife in and went to Bang La Road, also in Patong Beach. ... read more

We didn’t have anything planned for us today and wanted to see the actual city of Chiang Mai. The old city, the original area that made up the city of Chiang Mai, is a square plot of land, smack dab in the middle, surrounded by a stone gate and moat, with the larger surrounding area encompassed by the picturesque mountains. As we drove up to it, you could picture how it looked 600-700 years ago, much like you’d picture a medieval castle and surrounding villages. Our taxi dropped us off at Wat Chedi Luang, a giant ancient ruin that towered above. In 1411 King Saen Muang Ma ordered his workers to build a chedi “as high as a dove could fly.” During the reign of the next king, a massive earthquake knocked down about a third ... read more

We arrived in Chiang Mai yesterday afternoon after a 90 minute flight from Bangkok. Chiang Mai, Thailand’s second largest city, is in the rural northwest and our hotel was about a 40 minute cab ride from the airport. The car ride reminded me of a trip through the American south with patches of desolate areas and plenty of farming. The terrain in the north of Thailand is mountainous and is part of the Himalayan Mountain system. We are outside the city limits of Chiang Mai and I kept giving looks to Heather as we moved through the countryside, trying to figure out where exactly we were headed. The hotel, Horizon Village & Resort is a sprawling complex located on the grounds of a botanical garden (http://www.horizonvillage.net/index.htm). It has a rustic feel to it and is quite ... read more

Today I had my fitting for my suits. Sweet. After breakfast (which was excellent as always) we strolled back over to Paul Smith Tailors to see our friend Peter. It took about 20 minutes to sort everything out, but to say the least, I’m pretty psyched for how the final products will look. Afterwards we headed back to the hotel to grab our stuff for today’s adventure to Wat Saket, the Golden Mountain. The Golden Mountain is a beautiful landmark with 318 spiraling stairs that leads to the top of the building, well in view of the massive golden chedi (the pointy buildings and tops you’ve seen in the pictures at the temples) and a magnificent view of the Bangkok cityscape. Construction of the Golden Mountain was started by King Rama III, continued under King Rama ... read more

Breakfast is so good here I needed to put an entry dedicated specifically to it. It is delicious. They have a mixture of breakfast/lunch (brunch for the sophisticated) items and will make you a fresh omelet to your liking with real eggs cracked right in front of you. They also have fresh sushi, but who wants that at 9AM? They have an amazing array of fresh fruit to choose from as well with different combinations daily. Jackfruit, Dragon fruit, honeydew, cantaloupe, lychee, banana, guave and mango. They also have fresh squeezed juice, which is delicious, including watermelon juice, pineapple juice, apple juice, orange juice and guave juice (it looks like ecto-cooler). They have a juice of the day to like Mango/Cantaloupe and Banana/Orange. If juice doesn’t fit you, there is champagne with daily fruit too, such ... read more