James Bond Island and beyond, Thailand

This tour started at 5 AM. Initially we groaned at the early start but it ended up being perfect. We were ahead of the crowds at every stop.

We were early enough to get the sunrise on the ocean.

Our first stop was through a cave to a big clearing.

James Bond Island

We stopped at Koh Panyee for lunch. This is a ‘floating’ village built entirely on stilts.

The football field is the green area. Rumour has it that the youngest player gets to retrieve balls that end up in the water.

We went to the top of a mountain in the back of a truck to get a panoramic view. It is also a campsite.

The next stop was the highlight of the day for me.

We got to go in a kayak through a rock formation to the mangroves on the other side. This was only possible at low tide.

The scenery was amazing. We got to sit back and enjoy.

We ended the tour on Panya Beach.

A perfect ending to our Thailand vacation.

Cheers

Ruth

Phi Phi and Bamboo Island tours

Phi Phi Island tour was incredibly beautiful…but crowded beyond belief.

The boat was packed and seemed small for the 70+ tourists crammed into the seats.

The scenery was very pretty.

Our first stop was supposed to be snorkelling but there were too many jellyfish. There were lots of fish visible from the boat.

We then had a refreshing swim to start the day

There were hundreds of boats, both big and small!

Mayabay is famous for the movie “The Beach”.

We joined the queue back to the boat to go snorkeling.

The scenery from the boat was spectacular.

Lunch was at Phi Phi Don Island. It was very touristy and packed.

Our day ended at a beach. You had to wear a life jacket to go in the water and stay close to the shore.

A full day for sure.

Cheers

Ruth

Thai cooking class, Chiang Mai

We did a seven course cooking class that was rather interesting.

Sticky Rice with Mango

Our first stop was at a market for fresh produce. We didn’t actually have to pick up the food, but received a tutorial on the different vegetables, noodles and herbs/spices.

The market was massive and had so much ready to eat food.

At the school we were greeted with a refreshing blue drink, I can’t remember but it may have been made with the same flower as the mango sticky rice.

The location was unique. It was at the Grand Canyon which apparently is a natural lake inside a former limestone quarry.

Our class had 12 cooking stations. Mostly the food had been portioned. We just had to do the chopping and smashing as we made each dish.

We each got to pick our preferred dishes. The chef did a pretty good job of keeping everybody on track.

The bamboo rice cooker made perfect sticky rice. It was ready when you could flip the ball of rice. There was no sticking!

We even made our curry paste from scratch. That mortar and pestle got a good work out.

The sticky rice was so good! The coconut milk was infused with butterfly pea flowers. Gave the rice such a good flavour and made a great presentation.

Another memorable evening.

Cheers

Ruth

Chiang Mai, Thailand dinner show

We attended an evening of traditional Thai dance and Northern food.

The greeting party gave a little taste of what was to come.

There were low dining tables with spaces underneath for your feet.

The food was really good, and just kept coming.

In total there were nine traditional dances.

This guy was pretty scary.

The four legged friend made the rounds. He was really into eating money.

The final dance.

At the end audience participation was encouraged.

Another fun evening in Thailand.

Cheers

Ruth

Chiang Mai, Thailand Temple Tour

We have taken some incredible temple tours. Today the first temple was about an hour from the hotel, giving us a chance to see a bit of Chiang Mai. After driving up the side of a mountain, we took a gondola to the top.

It was too hazy to see the valley below. However, totally blue skies at the top of the mountain.

In total the tour included three temples. The pictures are in no particular order.

Each temple was incredibly detailed and beautifully maintained.

We also received blessings from several monks “happy, happy, lucky, lucky”.

For me, after a while it was stimulation overload!!

‘Just one more’ group photo by our guide.

Thankfully the tour was in the morning before it got too, too hot. Perfect timing to get back to the hotel and cool off at the pool.

Cheers

Ruth

Ayutthaya Historical Park Thailand

Ayutthaya is a UNESCO heritage site that sits on the ruins of the old city of Ayutthaya. According to our guide, the city was built in the 1200’s, or before. In the 1700’s it burned for a month.

It was about a two hour drive from our hotel and is a major tourist attraction.

There are so many blackened structures and sculptures remaining.

So much history!

We also went to the summer palace.

The gardens were massive and incredible.

Some of the sculptures are covered in gold leaf.

One interesting thing our guide said was that Thailand has tried to keep the peace and be friends of everyone. It is the only southeast Asian country that has not been colonized.

We ended our day with a boat ride for another fabulous meal. My new favorite dessert might be coconut sticky rice with mango.

Cheers

Ruth

Michelin Tuk Tuk food tour

What an interesting evening, first a walk to the water bus, then a tuk-tuk for the remainder of our evening.

Our first stop was to see a Thai sunset.

We then carried on to the food part of the tour. We ate at four Michelin eateries.

The first was a very small restaurant and closed at 7PM. People were being turned away.

We ate crab, an omelet and a rice dish. The taste was very very good.

Next we ate fish ball soup and pork dim sum.

Apparently there are 19 million people in Bangkok. I think we saw most of them in Chinatown.

The third was my favourite. A doughnut kind of thing dipped in a custard. Totally delicious.

The last was a crispy pork dish. By this time everyone was pretty full so we shared the dishes.

Some of the food was definitely exotic. Most every one tried the crispy critters. There were cockroaches, scorpions, worms and so much more.

One more stop at a market before heading back to the hotel.

A very full day.

Cheers

Ruth

Temple tour in Bangkok

On our first full day in Bangkok we started our morning with a temple tour. We saw three different temple complexes. They were incredible in the sheer size and detail.

There were literally dozens of sculptures.

Some of the bonsai trees were 800 years old!

Everything was beautifully maintained.

Just imagine the gold and precious gems! Although our guide told us some of the precious metals and gems have been replaced with just as pretty but cheaper option as they were disappearing.

We took a little boat across the canal to get to the temple on the other side of

The Temple of the Reclining Buddha has one of the largest reclining buddhas in the world, measuring over 150 feet in length.

It was a great tour with so much information my head was spinning.

Our guide was really good at group shots.

Cheers

Ruth

A short stay in Istanbul

We left Pedasi in a small plane. It was a a quick trip to Panama City and then a long wait at the airport.

After a 12 hour flight we landed in Istanbul for a 24 hour layover.

The airport was a good half hour from the city and unfortunately our flight didn’t arrive until 4 PM. By the time we arrived at the hotel and checked in, it was already past 6 PM.

The hotel was in the Asian part of the city and located on a very long pedestrian street.

We decided to spend the evening exploring the local area. What a treat!

There were dozens of restaurants and street vendors. I wanted to try everything but had to settle for two different meals. Such flavour.

I hate to say it but the cold drove us inside early. Although it might have had something to do with being up all the previous night.

We only had the next morning to see a bit of the city. We chose to go to the Topkapi Palace.

The palace opened in 1475 and was the residence and administrative center for the Ottoman empire. There are two entrances to this massive complex. Our cabbie dropped us off at the opposite end from where we were meeting our tour group. The hike through the grounds was beautiful.

After meeting our group we hiked up narrow cobblestone streets to get to the entrance.

It was quite the museum. We probably saw a quarter of it in the short time we had.

Stunning architecture and displays, both inside and out. Definitely need to come back and properly explore the palace. Also need to learn the history.

Next stop Thailand.

Cheers

Ruth

Panama Canal Tour -2026

Our six hour tour started from the Flaminco Marina on the Amador Causeway. From there we took about an hour bus ride to Gatun Lake where we boarded the Pacific Queen to go through three locks.

The Panama Canal, which is about 80 km from end to end, was started by the French in 1881 and finished by the United States in 1914.

Every vessel that goes through the canal, whether it is a large container ship or a small pleasure craft, pays by weight. Our guide said the cost can be a million dollars, and more, for the large container ships.

The first lock we went through was Pedro Miguel. Our smaller vessel did not need a ‘mule’ to guide us into the lock, as did the big ship behind us. Then we went through the two locks at Miraflores.

It was incredible how quickly the water dropped and the gates opened.

It was pretty cool going under the Bridge of the Americas. This was the first permanent bridge that went over the canal, it was build by the Americans, opened in 1962, and connects the Pan-American Highway.

From the canal we also had great panoramic views of the city skyline.

It was basically a full day trip. We left the hotel at 8:30 AM and were back there by 5 PM.

Our vessel dropped us off on the Amador Causeway, at the same place the bus had picked us up in the morning. After enjoying a good ice cream bar we took an Uber back to the hotel.

A great way to spent the day when visiting Panama City.

Cheers

Ruth