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Thailand
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Thailand (literal meaning "The Land of Smiles" - the name brings back the magic - the county, the people, the food, the shopping, the markets, and some VERY pleasant memories.  The decision to make the trip was a spur of the moment one.  I saw an offer in a travel club email, made a quick phone call to a friend and next thing we are booked and preparing to go.  Danielle and I have been friends for over 30 years and as we were both single again have made a few trips together. 
One of the real attractions in the initial stages of planning the trip was the opportunity to meet up with another of my cyber buddies, a delightful lady known as Thim.  Thim and I met very early on in my adventures in cyberland, and we are still friends.
We had a wonderful 10 days, doing some touristy things, but the highlights were definately the times spent with Thim and her friends, attending functions organized for the Thai people (our hosts even provided us each with an interpreter on one occasion), and eating at restaurants frequented solely by Thai people.  The Thailand of the Thai is far more interesting than the tourist route, where you only get a glimpse of the real Thailand.  Entertainment which skims the surface, food modified to western tastes (much blander), and the tours which, while interesting, just seem to touch on the surface of a very deeply religious people who are staunch monarchists and absolutely fascinating.
Our accommodation for the 10 days was the ***** Royal Orchid Sheraton in Bangkok, part of our travel package.  Not bad - 5 star accommodation for $20Aus a night, and it was very nice.  Our room was on the 20th floor and gave a fantastic view of the Khlong Bang Ya River, the longest river in Thailand and a major avenue of transport of all sorts.
The Accommodation
The Transport
Transport in Thailand ranges from the modern car to the 'power boat' (a long thin affair seating 6 to 8 passengers in pairs and powered by an outboard motor), to the tuk tuk and the 'taxi boys' on their motor bikes.  In fact motor bikes are a very popular form of transport and it is nothing to see a whole family (dad, mum and 3 or 4 kids hooning along on a bike).  The river of course is a very popular method of getting around and one conveyance is the 'express' boat.  The word Express obviously having a totally different meaning to the Australian concept, as it stopped at every piece of wood which jutted out into the river and looked like there might be someone wanting to board waiting there.
The Tuk Tuk's are definately an experience. A 3 wheeled conveyance which carries up to 4 passengers and zips in and out of traffic in a noisey, hair-raising journey through the busy streets. Whew, but fun all the same.
The Temples and Palaces
Almost everywhere we went we visited temples and palaces. It is said that in order to return to Bankok you must visit 3 temples in one day.  And we certainly achieved that (thanks to Thim and her friends, maybe to ensure that we did return). The two major Royal Palaces were also definately a must according to our guides.
We also visited temples on the tours we took without the locals.  Each was different and fascinating in its' own way.
The People
The Tours
The Grand Palace
This complex was huge, and comprised royal residences, a major temple and many other buildings and points of interest. The inside of the outer wall is a covered colonade painted in its' entirity with murals depicting the history of Buddhism and Thailand.  Almost every building is entirely covered with mosaics, the pieces of which are tiny while others are moulded and painted in intricate detail.
Left: Palace Complex
Right:  This sign at the entry cracked us up.  Height not age is the criteria for deciding who needs a ticket.
Right:  Danielle in front of one of the murals depicting the history of the Thai.
Right:  This cute soldier was guarding the entrance to the palace. He did not appear to even blink, even when young girls put their arms around him to have their photos taken.  Might have been a different story if someone had tried to sneak past him though.
Left:  A sample of the mosaics which covered everything and right:  constant repairs are needed to keep the mosaics looking their best.
The Summer Palace
The Summer Palace, another of the royal residences, was memorable for its' gardens and lakes as well as the buildings, which ranged from the Thai temple and 'Summer House', to the Dutch influence of 'The Sages Lookout' and the British style residence.  Again a magical place, and the site of our first temple visit for the day.
Below:  A herd of elephants - in topiary - in the grounds of the summer palace
Above: Thim, Alicia, Jamjan, Danielle and Chavee in front of the Summer House.
The Floating Market & Rose Garden
The first of our 'touristy' outings, the floating market and Rose Garden, was a definate eye opener, and in some ways disastrous for me.  I purchased a tray of parmelo (a large citrus fruit similar to a grapefruit but sweeter) segments from one of the boat 'stalls', and believe this to be the source of a very severe tummy bug which laid me quite low for a couple of days, and left Danielle to her own devices for much of that time.   A warning to those who maybe intend to visit.   The Rose Garden is a definate misnomer, as I didn't see any roses, but it did have a restaurant, the ever present market, and show of Thai culture including dancing, Thai boxing and elephants.  And of course the requisite temple.
The majority of the floating 'stalls' at this market were selling produce, grown on their holdings, or fish.  The remainder of the market, in large sheds, had stalls of clothing, craft, silk and various other commodities. Various 'entertainments' were provided including monkeys and carpet snakes.  The latter I discovered, somewhat belatedly, are a pet hate of Danielle's. Her reaction, a very smart leap to the left and an explosive 'Oh Shit', told me that it had not been a good move to point it out to her.
A display of 'working' elephants, and an elephant ride were some of the attractions of the Rose Garden.
This particular carpet snake was an attraction of the Rose Garden, and by the time we got to this one, having seen a number of others on the way, Danielle was very brave and actually able to stand only a few feet away.  I didn't suggest she have her picture taken with it though. Thought she might strangle me in my sleep if I did.
The Bridge over the River Kwai and the Burma Rail
The Bridge and the Burma Rail are almost a prerequisite for any Aussie tourist.  Both of course infamous for the P.O.W. participation in their construction during World War II.  Many Australians lost their lives in the building, and the cemeteries where many of these are buried are maintained by an Australian trust.  The requisitte temple on this occasion was a cave in which the prisoners had lived while building the rail and bridge, now converted into a temple.  And of course, everywhere we went were the street markets.
Left:  The infamous 'Bridge' immortalized in the movie starring Sir Alec Guinness.
Right:  The train on which we rode the Burma Rail, a 30 minute trip is all that is now operational of this line.  Below left: Danielle and I enjoying the 'comforts' of the ride
Right:  the cemetery at Kanchaneburi, maintained by an Australian Trust and encompassing graves of Australian, Dutch and British prisoners who died building the Burma Rail and the Kwai Bridge.
Everywhere we went the people made us feel welcome, particularly when we were with Thim and her friends.  At functions we attended with them we always had someone to interpret what was going on, sometimes our hosts themselves, and at other times someone at the function rounded up and seconded to the job by our hosts.  The holiday would not have been nearly as enjoyable or memorable without them.  Thanks heaps for a wonderful time.  Thim, who orchestrated the whole thing, Chewtema who was our guide and mentor to all the best shopping places. Wattana and Turk who spent a whole day giving us a guided tour of the Grand Palace and other places and kept us out of mischief while Thim was otherwise occupied.  And to Siriluk, Jamjan, Chavee, Sumalee, our chauffeur to Ayatthaya, and all the other wonderful people we met.
Chewtema, Thim and Siriluk.