Laurieco's Java-Thailand photos are finally here
 

Here's the link to photos from the trip. I spared you all by only posting about a quarter of those I took!

share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8CaMmrFy2aMVe

L-super pictures. I especially liked Borabadur, the Sofitel (brings back nice memories) and the barge procession. Imagine the JFK-BKK flight without bottled water. That's us in November, unless they figure something out.

Andy, I'm flying to Bali on Tuesday. 26 hours without bottled water!! Even worse, I can't bring champagne with me and may not be able to buy it duty free. Oh, woe be me :(( Anyway, I'm sure there will be water supplied on the flights. But water I can live without, champagne I cannot!

Laurie, thanks so much for posting your photos. The photos of Prambanan and Borobudor brought back wonderful memories of my trip to Central Java more than 10 years ago. And I loved seeing the photos of the Royal barge procession!

(I'm hoping you can buy champagne at duty-free in Singapore!)

Great photos, Laurie - especially enjoyed those at Prambanam - new area of the world to me. Enjoyed the Prasart Museum photos and have shared all with Jeane - hope she makes it there on our next trip. I think they clean the windows of the Penn every other day - our photos from our room were great also.

I am sure you will find champagne - it seems that most Asian airports have duty free at both the departure gates and at arrival so hopefully you can pick something up at Singapore. Bali is pretty strict so doubtful you will be able to get anything at the airport there. However, we had some Balinese sparkling wine one night as part of a complimentary meal at Maya Ubud and it was not bad at all - maybe that would be an option for you. Of course if only Champagne will do you may be SOL.

laurie, you can buy champagne of all kinds on arrival at the Bali airport. There are also a severalstores now in the beach areas. Alcohol is still very expensive in Indonesia, though. It's not terribly consitent but it can be 2 or 3 times what you would in the States.

I'm actually flying to Bali this morning for three days of total tropical hibernation at Amankila. I'll look forward to viewing your photos when I get back.

Laurie- wonderful photos!

BTW- how far in advance did you get tickets for the Prasart museum? and about how long did it take to get there and visit?

laurie---karen and i loved looking at the pics tonight....the rice terraces look as nice if not nicer than in bali....

karen would kill to have had those seats, even at $80,000. for the procession...it usre looked nice....i guess every boat was manned except for the king, queen, and price and princesses?? surelooked that way...

the pen is the penn....nothing like it...i almost think you look nicer on that sofa than gloria does on the sofa in the O lobby....we will be there for loy krathang nov 5.....

looking forward to seeing you and the eric on oct 7...andy has a great thai place for evening too....

FABULOUS pictures all wonderful and has got me interested in the prasart(sp?) museum! That will be me in November with that view across to the O from my balcony at the pen... cant wait.
Thanks so much for sharing

SENSATIONAL photos! Thank you very much. Hint: Some of us would happily look at more if you ever decide to put any of the others online. This is a wonderful sampling though.

I now know that I need to visit Borobudor.

Having only glimpsed the barges in storage, I was thrilled to see the photos of the Chao Praya procession.

So that's what the view from the Penn is like...

Thank you again!

Thanks everyone for the kind words. I always think my pictures stink! They never do any of the scenery justice.

lcuy, Tong made the arrangements to go to the Prasart so I don't know how far in advance she called. It took a good hour and a half or longer to get there from the Peninsula but part of that is because Tong missed a turn off from the highway and it put us out of the way by at least 30-40 minutes. I spent about 2 and 1/2 hours at the Prasart I think.

Craig, the sparkling wine you had in Bali---was it dry? Neither Eric nor I can stomach even the slightest hint of sweetness in Champagne/sparkling wine. It has to be DRY. We tried the Moet & Chandon White Star--UGH--truly nasty stuff, and their Brut is sooo good.

Bob, everyone looks good at the Pen!

Laurie, I am not much of connoisseur of sparkling wines but I suspect it was sweeter than the bruts you like. We had it with food and it was free - otherwise I wouldn't have had it. All I can say is it worked with the meal.

smear....you make your res for the prasart through their shop on the 3rd floor of the peninsula plaza shopping center next door to the hyatt hotel in bkk or by calling the shop...

the sooner you make it the better...they only receive about 15 people per day i was told...no bus tours, etc...

i think it is now up to 1000 B per person but well worth it...

hire a driver in advance...i have a good guy for you from the penn...he took us so knows the way...

actual direct driving time is less than 45 minutes from the marriott, so penn would be about the same...i think we spent 2 hours there but did not tarry much and moved along quite fast...you could spend hours....i make it #3 on my bkk sightseeing list (GP, JT House, Prasart)...

who first posted it???? gloria?? kathie??? ???

You could also have your driver make the reservation at Prasart - that is what we did and it worked out well.

We called the Prasart ourselves and made a reservation. The Prasart is not easy to find. A driver will need to have been there before or will need to call for driving instructions. We used Emma from Julie Taxi.

We called the museum and made our reservations from the US several months ahead. We used Julie's Taxi to get there and the driver knew the way.

at the shop they have a pamphlet with a small map on it....i gave it to our driver, but it was not sufficient so he called them to get more detailed info....it is sort of hidden away....but well worth the effort..

the shop is called prasart or prasart museum as i remember...

Laurie, GREAT pictures. What camera did you use? Espcially enjoyed the pics of the Prasart -- brought back wonderful memories of one of the highlights Thailand. We also called from the US to book reservations, but doing it through your driver is also a good idea & would have been easier.

Lovely photos laurie!

Re. the cost of Prasart - we looked into it this trip but didn't go (next time...) and I think it was 1000B whether you were 1 person or 2.

Exactly right Bella. I paid 1000B for just me and I was told had Eric joined me, it would have cost the same for both of us. By the way Bella, in case I neglected to say it on your thread, CONGRATULATIONS!!!


CFW, I used a Casio Exilim Ex-Z50. I bought it a couple of years ago. Nothing fancy, 5.0 megapixels, 3X optical zoom. It's time for a new camera (this is my 5th digital camera). I'd love a digital SLR but I love the fact that the Casio is so small and light.