Following
our tour of Ayutthaya and the Bang Pa-In Summer Palace we headed from
the palace toward the Chao Phraya River where the Ayutthaya Princess
awaited our arrival. From the palace grounds we took a river taxi
across the river to the Ayutthaya Princes for the four and a half
hour lunch cruise back to the Shangri La Hotel in Bangkok. After hours
of walking in the hot Sun through the ruins of Ayutthaya and Bang
Pain the ride on the river was refreshing and enjoyable.
The
Ayutthaya Princess plies the Chao
Phraya River offering tourists the opportunity
to enjoy a lunch buffet of traditional
Thai cuisine
The
bow of the Ayutthaya Princess
complete with eyes to clearly see the
way back down the Chao Phraya River
from Ayutthaya to Bangkok
During
the almost four hour cruise down the Chao Phraya River we had the
opportunity not only to enjoy a good lunch, but to observe what life
is like along the river for the thousands who make their homes along
its shore. The photographs that follow show scenes taken along the
river as we cruised toward Bangkok.
All
along the river you would see these absolutely tiny tugboats pulling
these large barges.
Actually you could hear them coming from a long distance because
the roar of its engines
was almost deafening.
Darla
on the bow of the
Ayutthaya Princess
enjoying the fresh air
With
our sightseeing now complete in Bangkok it is time to move onto our
next destination ... Phuket, Thailand. This, for me, would be a dream
come true. At least fifteen years earlier I had read about Phuket
and logged it into my "I want to go there places." So, after
so many years, we were finally about to realize one of those long
awaited dreams.
