In May of 2008, Mayuko and I traveled to Thailand for our first-ever trip to Southeast Asia. Arriving in Bangkok, we were immediately greeted with the elaborate designs that adorn much of the city landscape and bustling markets. It was a precursor to many of the world's most beautiful ancient structures which remain in Ayutthaya to this very day.

    No time was wasted as, with the help of our tour guide, the first morning was spent immediately romping through a large temple ground in southern Bangkok. Riding a boat from a riverside market, we reached Wat Arun Temple and climbed to great heights along its steep stairways. The next destination was the Grand Palace, the past, present, and future home of the royal family. Its magnificent golden buildings and structures were certainly a sight to behold.

    Upon leaving the royal grounds, we set off through several images of the King on our way to far more primitive grounds -- those being mainly inhabited by elephants. The elephant zoo just north of Bangkok provided some truly wild entertainment indeed. A return to the city led us to the contrastingly cosmopolitan areas of Siam; gigantic shopping malls, and a tropical night paradise for dining and relaxing.

The following day was spent traveling into Thailand's past, beginning with a trip to the giant, golden, encased Wat Po Buddha statue near the Grand Palace. The stay was not long as we were whisked via taxi to the northern Bangkok bus terminal, prepared to embark on the 2.5 hour journey to Ayutthaya. A mere tuk-tuk taxi transported us to a place whose legends we had known for the last 15 years, finally viewed firsthand. The olden Buddha statue was the starting point of our journey into the immense ruins of the ancient capital, which comprise one of the extraordinary World Heritage Sites.

As if foreshadowed by the visit to the ancient Buddha statue (see "extra" link), that evening, our last of the trip, was spent watching the national sport of Thailand, Muay Thai kickboxing, at the Lumpini Boxing Stadium. Unforunately, we did not have the time for even a single second helping of spicy curry at the nearby Night Bazaar before bidding farewell to Thailand. No worries have; we still have quite a few bhats on hand for our eventual return!