mike_s Posted March 10, 2006 Share Posted March 10, 2006 Roadtrip to Ayuthaya In some ways the trip to Ayuthaya was my favorite part of the trip. Ayuthaya is a very historic city and contains many Wats(temples) and ruins. It is about two hours north of Bangkok. Ayuthaya was the capitol of Siam(Thailand) from 1350 AD until 1767 AD. Thirty-three Siamese kings ruled their empire from this city. It was destroyed in 1767 when Myramar(Burma) conquered Siam. The ruins are very spread out, so if you are not on a guided tour, it is best to hire a taxi for the day, to get you there and travel between the different ruins. Fortunately Pan had a friend who was a Taxi driver who we could hire for the day. Some friends had told me that Thais like to eat, and that was certainly borne out by my experience. We always had to have food in the vehicle, no matter who I was with. If there was not food in the car, we had to stop at the first roadside stand and get some. This was actually pretty healthy food, fresh mangos, small rolls with some kind of filling and dried mangos. We went first to a large Wat near the entrance of Ayutthaya. It was very pretty and quite historic. I really don't know what to say about the rest of the pictures of the city... You get a feeling of age about the the entire city that is hard to describe. That feeling is only reasonable given the age of the city, I guess. I would really like to know what the city looked like at the height of the Authaya empire. It must have been magnificent. Enjoy the pictures. Regards from the road, mike_s pics at www.jaggedweb.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karen335 Posted March 11, 2006 Share Posted March 11, 2006 Mike, Your pictures and trip is very enjoyable. Thank you soooo very much for sharing. How did you meet the girls. Did you know them before your trip. Very, very pretty ladies... Karen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike_s Posted March 12, 2006 Author Share Posted March 12, 2006 Mike,Your pictures and trip is very enjoyable. Thank you soooo very much for sharing. How did you meet the girls. Did you know them before your trip. Very, very pretty ladies... Karen Thank you very much. I met Naphalai on an internet dating site in November. She wasn't really all that interested in dating(neither was I), but her best girlfriend Mary kind of pushed her into it. Naphalai's friend Mary owns a small internet cafe in Hong Kong. Naphalai is about 10 years older than Mary. Naphalai and I talk every Saturday morning on a webcam with voice. The first picture in the first report is Naphalai, me, and Mary. I met Nee, who is also pictured in the first series through an internet dating site also. Nee is single, but was not looking for a boyfriend; she just wanted someone to help her improve her english. She is an elementary school teacher in Chiang Rai. Once or twice a week she writes me a letter (in english) about what life is like in the North of Thailand, and I correct her english and send it back to her. She also helps me learn Thai. We have been corresponding since last October. Pan was a total suprise. I did not know her before I went to Thailand. After Naphalai had to go upcountry, I got lost in a taxi, and could not make myself understood. I got a little worried about soloing the rest of the trip, so I called an expatriate american I met on the net for advice and he gave me Pan's phone number and said she might be able to show me around because her english was fairly good, and she might like a vacation. Pan and I got along so well I took her with me when I went North to Chiang Mai. And that is how I met the ladies.. Regards, mike_s PS- If any other single guy is thinking about trying this, be careful; there are an awful lot of scams out there involving asian girls and western guys on the internet. There are also a number of 20-25 yr old girls looking for husbands who are shall we say... "very direct" in their approach. I communicated with about 20 women before I found a few normal women that wanted to be friends, and not just seperate me from my money. I have lost count of the number of cash requests I got from people I barely knew. Every thing from motorcycle accidents, to sick buffalos, to mom needs surgery. A good rule of thumb is "If she asks for money, it is a scam." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karen335 Posted March 12, 2006 Share Posted March 12, 2006 Very wise Mike. Glad everything worked out for you. We all have to use wisdom and good judgement. What an experience and all for the good. Was this your 1st trip to Asia? Costa Rica is nice. Been there several times back in the 80's... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike_s Posted March 12, 2006 Author Share Posted March 12, 2006 Very wise Mike. Glad everything worked out for you. We all have to use wisdom and good judgement. That true for an awful lot of things in life. What an experience and all for the good. Was this your 1st trip to Asia? No, but the last time I was in SEA, I was carrying a rifle. That was a while back. After I got out of the Marines I flew to the Phillipines, and spend six months or so bumming around the islands. Wonderful people. My favorite island was Mindenao, which is waaay south. I probably would have gone to the Phillipines on this trip(Hi francesbean!), but I couldnt figure out a good plane routing that included Hong Kong and Thailand. I also would not really want to go to Mindenao right now, because it is heavily Muslim. Costa Rica is nice. Been there several times back in the 80's... I think it would be fun to go there, but it does not hold quite the fascination for me that Asia does. I am not sure what it is, but I have been really interested in Asia since I was very young. I think it has something to do with some areas of Asia being civilized for several thousand years. My ex-wife and ex-fiance both hated all things Asian, so I never went back. Regards, mike_s Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Debi Posted March 12, 2006 Share Posted March 12, 2006 If any other single guy is thinking about trying this, be careful; there are an awful lot of scams out there involving asian girls and western guys on the internet. Well, I'm not a single guy but I'm actually looking for an internet dating/mail order 25-35 year old Swedish man type of thing. Please let me know if you encounter any Swedes in your travels that are looking for Western women. English not necessary. This would be for a friend of course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike_s Posted March 12, 2006 Author Share Posted March 12, 2006 Well, I'm not a single guy but I'm actually looking for an internet dating/mail order 25-35 year old Swedish man type of thing. Please let me know if you encounter any Swedes in your travels that are looking for Western women. English not necessary. This would be for a friend of course. http://www.scandinavica.com/dir/friends.htm In all internet dating there are actually a number of people looking to meet friends. Naphalai, however makes no secret of the fact she wants to marry me. Regards, mike_s Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blaze100 Posted March 12, 2006 Share Posted March 12, 2006 Hi Mike, I'm not looking for a mate, but really enjoyed the pics of the tigers. Did you see their feet are bigger than yours? And that has to be biggest budda in existence. Neat pics. Barb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike_s Posted March 12, 2006 Author Share Posted March 12, 2006 Hi Mike, I'm not looking for a mate, but really enjoyed the pics of the tigers. Did you see their feet are bigger than yours? And that has to be biggest budda in existence. Neat pics. Barb Yeah, their feet are kind of hard to miss when you are being very careful not to step on kitty's toes. Regards, mike_s Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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