Thailand

I've been back from my vacation in Thailand for just over a week, but it feels like longer - I miss Thailand! Chris and I visited Bangkok for just a few days... We stayed close-ish to Thanon Khao San so we were right in the middle of all the hustle and bustle...

I loved the beautiful ornamentation of many of the buildings in Thailand, especially the religious buildings and Wats. The Grand Palace (above) was amazing... there are 30+ buildings in the Grand Palace all decorated differently, but with the same wonderful detailing. I love the pattern! I realised after I got back home that many of the photos I took were of pattern :)

Beautiful gardens in Bangkok too - even the tiny little gardens are a great respite (it's very polluted there!)

This is Phra Sumen Fort - I liked this area, it's walking distance to Khao San and lots of tourist things, but it's a little pocket of nice shops, parks, even free aerobics on a Friday night! This fort looked beautiful at sunrise and sunset... so lovely.

The rest of the time we spent on Koh Samui which was beautiful - lovely beaches and great food! I don't want to make you too jealous, but every morning on the beach we were staying at (Bophut) a little group of food sellers (mostly from one family) would travel up and down the beach. The boats had fresh fruits, and in the baskets were salad and grilled things. I can't imagine carrying the baskets up and down the beach all day long, they are very heavy, but I was grateful every time they did.

And this is Wat Plai Laem - there are some amazing Wats on Koh Samui, this particular one had GIANT statues/shrines in it. I loved this little view though - this building was built on a raised foundation in the water, but the water lotus decoration is amazing! The other end of the little lake area had swan boats - I didn't ask if we could use them!

Of course I took so many photos and could write so many stories (and will make you all jealous with pictures of delicious food soon!)

But I am also glad to be home.

xx Penny