14-11-2005 om 00:00 geschreven door lucas

14-11-2005 om 00:00 geschreven door lucas

14-11-2005 om 00:00 geschreven door lucas

13-11-2005 om 00:00 geschreven door lucas

13-11-2005 om 00:00 geschreven door lucas

12-11-2005 om 00:00 geschreven door lucas

12-11-2005 om 00:00 geschreven door lucas

12-11-2005 om 00:00 geschreven door lucas

10-11-2005 om 15:41 geschreven door lucas

10-11-2005 om 15:39 geschreven door lucas

10-11-2005 om 15:38 geschreven door lucas

Sawadee, (prononounce sawwadiii), or hello from Ayuttayah, ancient capital (13th to 17th century) 75 km North of Bangkok; an amazing few km² full of brikstone palaces, temples, pagodas covered once with cementplaster and surrounded by the river, forming a nearly invincible power until the Burmese captured it to take away hundreds of kg of gold and other jewels. What remains is still impressive, and is a must in Thailand. Till 16.11 (full moon) the Thai festival of Loy Krathong is an occasion to bless the river goddess: on that day, but already every evening now in Ayuttayah, there are free appetizers and ancient art demonstrations for Thai and foreign tourists (farang) and they too are invited to make with their assistance a small flowerboat with candlelight and put it out in the river.

In Bangkok we mainly made use of small tjuktjuk from our central hotel to the Wat Phrae, Royal Palaces and Vietnamese Embassy (where we need to return on Friday 11.11 to collect our 6months multiple entry visa). The car was parked up and down the road for not annoying too much the shopkeepers whose shops were no longer visible once the Toy was parked in front of them.

As in Malaysia Thai people are not really indifferent to our visit, but are polite and absentlooking to our car. Once and a while someone asks the usual questions, but they all seem to know Belgium and that it is FAR away. When they learn we have a King and Queen, too, the big smiles appear once more.

10-11-2005 om 15:37 geschreven door lucas

09-11-2005 om 00:00 geschreven door lucas

08-11-2005 om 00:00 geschreven door lucas

NAMASTE,

Again? Yes, now from ‘amazing’ Thailand,

in the rain and a bit of sun, along nice and not so nice beaches, but always with not so curious, friendly Thai.

Passing the border on 2.11

- after our long customs hassle on 31.10 with paperwork to clear and enter the car from the boat in Port Klang ( but we managed after exactly 12 hours, minus a broken ladder and a broken lock on the side entrance due to careless handling out the container); and a quick visit to Kuala Lumpur and then Georgetown to enquire about our carferry in February to Indonesia- ,

was very easy and fast: no checking whatsoever, even changing to my second passport was no problem at all for those friendly customs officers.

We slept 2x along a  beach on the Eastcoast, tonight close to a small village where we found chinese food and fast internetcafe. Our first 2 days in Thailand showed us our first WATs, very nice temples of which a 1000+year old one.

Tomorrow we’ll drive in hectic Bangkok, to arrange for our visa into Vietnam and pay our guides and insurance for SW China which we’ll reach around 3.12, after 3 weeks Laos and 1 week more in NorthEast of Thailand.

But not without having been, today, at least at the very border with this Myanmar where we have been trying for several months in vain, unfortunately, to enter and drive thru.

Pics will be updated in Bangkok where we’ll stay 2 days.

Till then, ciao

06-11-2005 om 05:19 geschreven door lucas

01-11-2005 om 00:00 geschreven door lucas

27-10-2005 om 06:13 geschreven door lucas

27-10-2005 om 06:10 geschreven door lucas

27-10-2005 om 06:09 geschreven door lucas

24-10-2005 om 00:00 geschreven door lucas