The month of October was this years second big trip.  It was also our 50th Wedding Anniversary trip.  We were gone about 3 weeks and began at LAX for our first leg to Bangkok, Thailand with a refueling stop in Japan.  The first thing you noticed was the increased security at the airports, which beats you down, making travel by air most unpleasant.  Out of the 24 people who had originally signed up for the tour, it was down to 12 the night before we were to leave, 4 more dropped out before we got to the airport, so we ended up with only 8 going on the trip. It was truly a wonderful trip and we saw a lot of wondrous things.  The guides kept remarking how nice it was for us that the attractions weren't crowded.  Of course, we didn't notice any difference.  We assumed this was the way it always was.  It's a good thing, I would have hated to have had more people at the airports.

This first photo shows downtown Bangkok.  Our hotel was just across the street to the right.  The next photo is an old Palace during the Siam era where maybe Anna would have visited. That's  our whole group, not many other tourists around.

Then on to this magnificent Temple, a very large complex, again with very few visitors.  As we were bused through Thailand, there were a great many of these temples, but this was by far the largest.

A final picture of one of the temples.  The next day we took a long bus ride into the countryside, going to the famous Bridge over the River Kwai.  The grave site is of the many lives lost in the forced labor construction of the bridge.  The photo shows only about a third of the whole yard.  It's beautifully maintained and is over 50 years old.

Here's the bridge as it looks today.  The original wooden structure was removed shortly after the war and was replaced by a more permanent structure by the Japanese.  This is a little railway station along the line that goes across the bridge.  We took a short ride on the train but we went the other way, back towards Bangkok.

One of the many orchids which grow everywhere in Thailand.  In the afternoon we got into these little boats with  big, big engines and took a ride on one of the many canals leading to a floating marketplace.

More scenes along the canal, you'll notice the high water level, the monsoon season was just ending.

Some of scenes from the floating market place.  The boat in the front is selling hats, others selling vegetables, and Shirley buying spices from the sidewalk vendors.

This fellow's selling cooked food.   The next photo shows the many orchids growing on the trees.

In the evening we went to a tourist night spot where we had a terrible meal followed by a ho-hum dance group.  The costumes were nice.  One of the many side walk vendors in downtown Bangkok.  Those were real guns next to the little toys.  I just loved Bangkok, and Thailand in general, great shopping, clean, and friendly people. We both had a good time in Thailand.

Next stop Hong Kong you'll find it on Page Two