July 20, 2026

I've been looking forward to exploring Bangkok, as it has always sounded so exotic to me. My first impressions - big sprawling City, highways just like USA, lots of traffic, it's hot and they really like their King. His picture and statues are Everywhere! The architecture of the skyline is nothing special, until you start noticing all the gold, stone, carvings and opulence of the Temples andThe Grand Palace is wow so over the top bedazzled!

The current King of Thailand is Maha Vajiralongkorn (also known as King Rama X - since he is 10th monarch of Chakri, the reigning dynatsy since 1782). He took over, after his father's death in 2016, 10 years ago. He's 73 and has 3 divorced wives,  2 current wives and at least 7 children. There is tons of controversy over the Royal Family but their laws strictly prohibit disrespecting them. One story about his poodle's (dog) birthday party and young wife, in only a g-string, was eye catching! Surprisingly, I just learned this Monarchy is the wealthiest in the World, with an estimated new worth between $30 to 70 US Billion.  

Above are other images I saw all around town. The first one is the Queen Mother Sirikit (the King's Mother) who passed back in October 2025 and they will typically mourn for a year. The middle photo is Royal Highness Princess Bajrakitiyabha Narendiradebyavati, who passed away just before we arrived on June 11, after over 3 years in a coma, due to a heart condition. She was 47 and was the eldest daughter of King Rama X. The 3rd photo shows another image of her Dad, King Rama X.

We actually got to see the start of the official royal funeral for the Princess at the Great Palace, as they had a 10 km motorcade into the complex, while we were finishing up touring there, our first day in Bangkok. We saw the buses of military personal coming into grounds and then the dignitaries cars shown below. Princess Anne of Britain was in the 2nd vehicle. They laid the Princesses body out in the Phiman Rattaya Throne Hall, which was the last photo I took below before leaving the Palace Grounds. 

 Video below captured by @Starr of the Odyssey (fellow resident) of motorcade.

Below is a fraction of The Grand Palace complex, it is a massive over 2.3 Million Square Feet. This was the home for the Kings of Siam ( later Thailand) from 1782 until 1925, when they moved to Dusit Palace.

  • Aerial view from web

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  • Emerald Temple

    The Temple of the Emerald Buddha

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  • Phiman Rattaya Throne Hall

    Where the King's daughter was laid out for Royal Funeral

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BANGKOK, THAILAND - Good Eating

By Pat Patrick • July 20, 2026
We had some really good meals in Bangkok! There was so much to choose from. There seems to be restaurants and hotels everywhere you look. You also can't judge a place from street level, because so many are on roof decks. Here's some of our favorites!

KOH SAMUI, THAILAND - Final Day

By Pat Patrick • July 14, 2026
I really enjoyed my first trip to Thailand! On our final morning here we went to try breakfast at this spot, down the road, we had been hearing rave reviews on, King Of Bread . The hype was correct, the breakfast was delicious and they had some unique choices. I had eggs benedict on a croissant, in lieu of the standard english muffin and Bosco had it on Milk Bread, which was equally tasty.

KOH SAMUI, THAILAND - Cooking Class

By Pat Patrick • July 14, 2026
We love having authentic experiences with locals to really get a chance to see how they live and thrive in the Ports we visit. So when I found a cooking class, by a local woman offered in her home, we were excited to book. Um ( our teacher) picked us and brought us back to our hotel along with the family of 4 from Sydney, Australia, that had also signed up for this afternoon class. Um's house, which has a lovely open air kitchen, garden and dining area, was about a 30 minute drive and turned out to be on the beach, right next to the Grandparent Rocks.