Getting back to my two week vacation in Thailand, I did a day trip to Ayutthaya. Ayutthaya is the old capital city of Thailand. It was the first day that I started recovering from food poisoning and didn’t feel like throwing up all the time. The drive from Bangkok to Ayutthaya is very easy and only takes about an hour. We had lunch at a noodle place called Wat Yai Noodle House or ก๋วยเตี๋ยววัดใหญ่. It was very good. Definitely a must try when you visit Ayutthaya.

According to Wikipedia:

Before Ayutthaya fell to a Burmese invasion, its vassals included the Northern Shan states of present-day Myanmar, Lanna (Chiang Mai, Thailand), Yunnan & Shan Sri (China), Lan Xang (Laos), Champa (Vietnam), and some city-states in the Malay Peninsula.[1]
Ayutthaya (Thai: อาณาจักรอยุธยา, RTGS: Anachak Ayutthaya, also Ayudhya) was a Siamese kingdom that existed from 1351 to 1767. Ayutthaya was friendly towards foreign traders, including the Chinese, Vietnamese (Annamese), Indians, Japanese and Persians, and later the Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch and French, permitting them to set up villages outside the city walls. In the sixteenth century, it was described by foreign traders as one of the biggest and wealthiest cities in the East. The court of King Narai (1656–1688) had strong links with that of King Louis XIV of France, whose ambassadors compared the city in size and wealth to Paris.Before Ayutthaya fell to a Burmese invasion, its vassals included the Northern Shan states of present-day Myanmar, Lanna (Chiang Mai, Thailand), Yunnan & Shan Sri (China), Lan Xang (Laos), Champa (Vietnam), and some city-states in the Malay Peninsula.[1]

Although it was stupid hot there, we had a great time. Visiting on a weekday is recommended to avoid crowd.

Amphawa (อัมพวา) or Amphoe Amphawa is a floating market village located in Samut Songkhram province about an hour drive from Bangkok. I spent time there both on the way to and back from Hua Hin. Although I was feeling nauseous from food poisoning the whole time, I very much enjoyed my time there.

I don’t really have much to say about Amphawa. It is certainly a great day trip away from the city and conveniently located on the way to Hua Hin. One thing though – be prepared to flight the crowd, especially on weekends. The food and shopping are great.

It was surprised how clean it was considering the amount of tourists they get every week and the age of the village itself. However, there was this one ignorant dude that dumped gallons of what looked like beef broth into the canal.

According to AmphawaFloatingMarket.com,

Amphawa Floating Market  is an afternoon floating market by the canal near Wat Amphawan Chetiyaram. On Friday, Saturday and Sunday, during 12.00 p.m. – 8.00 p.m., the Amphawa Canal is occupied by vendors who pack their boats with food and drinks, such as fried sea mussel, noodles, coffee, O-liang (iced black coffee), sweets, etc. Visitors can enjoy a cosy atmosphere and music broadcast by the community members, explore the market, have food, and hire a boat to see fireflies at night.

What’s your favorite fast food joint? No, mine isn’t Mickey D’s.

Out of these four, Wendy’s is probably my fav. However, Five Guys is the bomb if you have in your area. The photo below was taken from Wendy’s Exton, PA.

Earlier this year, I took John and Niki’s family photos. We had a lot of fun. So this month when they were having a party for Ella’s 2nd birthday, they invited me as a guest. Friends and family gathered for a nice meal and fun. Niki’s dad baked cupcakes and her friend, Daphne, made lovely pink icing. John rolled up his sleeves, throw steaks on the grill and showed off his famous Gambas al Ajillo dish. At one point, Ella and her little friends literally used cupcakes as sponges and painted their faces with icing. I was glad I captured those moments for them.

I also did a family portrait session for them while Niki’s parents were in town. Will post them soon. Thanks for tuning in.