Ayutthaya Ruins and Elephant Show in Thailand

I arrived in Thailand super green.  I have never been to Asia before and was completely out of my comfort zone because I don’t speak any Thai and am completely illiterate because of the unique Thai script.  Fortunately, through some of my Dad’s connection I met Dale.  He let me use his house as a base camp to store some gear and receive shipping documents.  Dale has lived in Thailand for over 20 years running various factories in the data storage industry.  He is a fascinating man who shared with me his experiences living here as an expat and provided some perspective about Thai culture.

The first weekend I was in Thailand, I met him and his family.  He showed me around and Dale even provided me a factory tour which was amazing.  While Dale was working one Saturday (!!!) he had his driver take me around to see some of the sights around town.  I did more sightseeing in those 4 hours than I’ve do in a typical week.  Thanks Dale!!  I really appreciate everything you’ve done.  Wherever I am in the world, you have a friend.

I went to Ayutthaya Ruins which are located outside of Bangkok.  Auytthaya Ruins are a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Ayutthaya Ruins outside of Bangkok

Ayutthaya Ruins outside of Bangkok

Ayutthaya Ruins outside of Bangkok

DG and Bhuddist statue

Ayutthaya Ruins outside of Bangkok

We also saw an Elephant Show.  No, it isn’t a kind of show like a donkey show in Mexico.  It was a performance of highly trained elephants and their handlers doing pretty amazing tricks.  It made a circus performance look pedestrian.

Elephant Handler

doing all things

Elephants hanging out feeding

This elephant is taking a collection basket around

Hi.

The elephants were either dancing in the background or interacting with the kids. This one put a hat on the little boy.

Now the elephant is patting the kid on the head

It was a surreal experience that yanked me quickly out of the west and into Asia.

Moto Update: December 30th!