Tales from Thailand: May 2014

Travel to a tropical beach for 1000 baht ($30) and arrive there in four hours...yes please!

Koh Samed is an obvious choice for a fantastic weekend for it's logistical convenience!

Add beautiful, clear water, a white sand beach with few visitors, and the convenience of delicious restaurants, fun bars, and beach side amenities, and you'll understand why we've traveled here twice within two months!

When we visited in March, we left school at 3:00 on Friday and arrived on the beach in Koh Samed in time for sunset.

Then we headed to Ploy Restaurant and Bar for dinner and an amazing fire show. After seeing the fire show for a second time this weekend, my opinion has been solidified--it's fantastic.

We had a blast!

We stayed at Samed Villa on Ao Pai. The rooms are good, the grounds are beautiful, and the breakfast is satisfying.

During the day, we spent our time on the next beach, Ao Pudusa.

It's a gorgeous little cove that is often visited by strong women who carry large baskets and coolers of fruit on a yoke. This means my next coconut water is readily available.

The restaurants make delicious smoothies, good Thai eats, and sandwiches.

Water, sun, reading time under the umbrella, sand, and tossing the frisbee (and this guy) are more than enough for a blissful day.

Additionally we found pretty coral and fish this time! (In March the tide was rough since there had been a significant rain.)

The additional big benefit of Koh Samed this weekend was that it seemed nearly unaffected by the coup that was declared on the 22nd of May. There was no military presence and the 10:00 pm curfew didn't appear to be in effect. It certainly didn't impact the great time we had with friends! The only sign was the message from the National Peace and Order Maintaining Council on the projection screen at Ploy's during the fire show.

Returning from Koh Samed felt the same this time--I was relaxed, happy, a wee bit sun burnt, and wondering why we haven't gone to Samed twice a month all year.

After unsuccessfully planning two trips to Ayutthaya that did not come to fruition (a scooter accident and a missed flight got in the way), I decided to test my luck and plan a quick trip to the former capital of Siam (Thailand).

Neil and I started out fairly early on Saturday morning, taking a quick bike ride to the historical park that contains many wats and the former palace.

First stop, Wat Phra Mahathat

Nearly all of the Buddha figures are headless due to the Burmese invasion and sacking, which caused the king to abandon Ayutthaya and establish Bangkok as the new capital.

This Buddha head was rumored to have been too heavy to carry away by looters.

Then, after a slight hiccup (the chain on Neil's bike broke) we returned to our hotel to switch bikes, and then we headed to Wat Ratchaburana.

Here the rear wall of a large hall has crumbled, offering this great view of the main chedi of the temple.

When this site was excavated, many gold relics were discovered when the crypt was explored.

The murals in the crypt are preserved, and we could go down into it.

This wat was built by a young king in honor of his older brothers who fought each other to the death (allegedly on elephants) for the throne. This was obviously a bad idea because they both died, and their younger brother became king.

Then we went to Wat Thammikarat.

Here the grounds had beautiful flowers, and we met two young girls who wanted to practice their English and show us around.

Then we biked to Wat Phra Si Sanphet. On our way we passed tourists on elephants and I wondered, who was hotter, me or the elephants? The high was 99F with a heat index of 104F, and somehow it felt even hotter.

This pup is definitely smarter and cooler than I was.

Wat Phra Si Sanphet was the largest complex we saw and is dominated by three large, bell shaped chedis.

Although these ruins are not operational temples, they still contain shrines and offerings.

We wandered a bit more. Then it was my turn to have a bike snafu--I had a flat tire. So we carefully pedaled back to our hotel again.

It was time for lunch, delicious kao kaprow moo kai dao (rice with minced pork, basil and peppers) with Neil's favorite condiment--prick nam pa (fish sauce with chilis). Cost: 40 baht ($1.30).

Then to stay out of the heat for a little while, we got massages.

After food and relaxation we hopped in a tuk tuk to see a few more sights.

Tuk tuks in Ayutthaya have a unique shape that Lonely Planet aptly compares to Darth Vader's helmet.

Wat Lokayasitharam has little to see in terms of ruins, but it makes up for it with a stunning reclining Buddha.

Then we crossed the river to visit Wat Chaiwatthanaram. This is one of the best preserved ruins in Ayutthaya. It was built in the Khymer style, so it resembles Angkor Wat. It is built on the bank of the river and has beautiful symmetry.