I'm headed to Thailand for the first time at the beginning of next year. I know I will be in Bangkok for at least 5 days, but wanted to see if people in this group had recommendations for maybe 1-2 other cities I should consider visiting while I'm there. I will likely be there for a total of 2 weeks.
During that time of year I know the weather will be pretty beautiful, but I'm definitely much more of a museum/architecture/history traveler than I am a beachgoer. I anticipate taking many photos, so would also love any recommendations on things I absolutely need to go see with my camera.
Spent a couple of months in rural Northern Thailand back in the early/mid 90s when the last rollout of the electrical grid in Chiang Rai was taking place. Lots to see in rural Thailand. I’m biased in that many big cities in Asia have much the same flavor. Of course, the Kings Palace, water markets, reclining Buddha, and elephant performances/riding are probably still attractions as is the food. I wonder if there are still a number of shanti houses built over water in Bangkok. It felt like you were taking your life in your hands when your motorbike driver navigated the wooden planks that were suspended over water and barely wider than the motorcycle tires. I remember renting a motorcycle for traversing narrow undeveloped gravel mountain roads and then realizing that the handlebars weren’t connected to the motorcycle and it was a long way down. Looking forward to scanning my old 645 & 6X7 negatives from those times. I’m sure that many of the Chiang Mai temples are much the same. Beautiful country, but I could never figure out if the Thais were laughing with me, or at me. I could read elementary Thai script, but with a hearing deficit, I couldn’t get the tones of the spoken language. Time to go back .. so will look forward to your photographs.
