Monday Mural

 I'm linking up at Monday Mural 

And at Sitar.

December 2025 - Phuket Thailand

Mexican restaurant.

Various street art.

The large mural visible features a stylized character and the word "SAWASDEE" (Thai greeting)

Weekend Roundup

  Welcome to The Weekend Roundup...hosted by Tom The Back Roads Traveler

 1. Starts with "L"

2. A Favorite

3. LIGHT - Chosen by Tom

WEEKEND REFLECTIONS

Starts with L LOBSTER Phuket Thailand

LOVE 

LIGHT

LIGHT Show Tokyo Japan click link.

REFLECTIONS LAS VEGAS

Monday Mural

 I'm linking up at Monday Mural 

December 2025 - Phuket Thailand

This mural is located at the entrance to the Shrine of Serene Light (Saeng Tham Shrine) in Old Phuket Town.

 The Sang Tham Shrine is a small, atmospheric Taoist temple hidden in an alleyway, founded in 1891 by descendants of a Chinese family.

The artwork was created by Liudmila Letnikova, whose signature is visible in the bottom right corner of the mural. It depicts traditional Chinese hand puppet performances, which are culturally used to entertain deities at the shrine.

 The mural depicts a traditional Chinese procession, a common feature in the historically rich Chinese shrines found in Phuket.

Weekend Roundup

  Welcome to The Weekend Roundup...hosted by Tom The Back Roads Traveler

1. Starts with "J"
2. A Favorite
3. JAZZ - Chosen by Tom

WEEKEND REFLECTIONS

Starts with J

FAVOURITE

JUICE - pandan yuck!

JAZZ

REFLECTIONS

JACKIE and JOHN Harbourfront

Weekend Roundup

 Welcome to The Weekend Roundup...hosted by Tom The Back Roads Traveller

1. Starts with "Y" YOUR CHOICE
2. A Favorite
3  YEAR - chosen by Tom

Starts with Y

Airport code for Billy Bishop (Island) Airport, Toronto

The code YTZ for the Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport derives from historical Canadian airport coding conventions. The "Y" indicates it was a former radio station location, and "TZ" refers to the city of Toronto, setting it apart from the main Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ), which used the code for a station in Malton.

Situated in the Toronto Harbour, the airport (YTZ) is known for its proximity to downtown.

FAVOURITE

YUMA

YEAR - chosen by Tom
Phuket Thailand

Weekend Roundup

 Welcome to The Weekend Roundup...hosted by Tom The Back Roads Traveler

1. Starts with "W"
2. A Favorite
3.  WATER - Chosen by Tom

Starts with W

FAVOURITE

WORMS

Chiang Mai Thailand

WATER

Iceland

Thailand Recap

 Dec 18 - Phuket

Dec 19 - Phuket

Dec 20 - Phuket

Dec 21 - Phuket - Bangkok

Dec 22 - Bangkok - Vancouver - Toronto

Before we headed to Vietnam, we spent a few days in Tokyo. TOKYO RECAP

We would then go on to Thailand after Vietnam. VIETNAM RECAP

Click on photos to enlarge.

This will be  shorter recap from our November/December trip. It was part of the Vietnam tour package but a lot less regimented.

Map of Thailand portion - we flew from Ho Chi Minh Vietnam.

HOTELS

Breakfasts included.
Bangkok at the Mandarin 4* hotel in a standard room - didn't love the location, restaurant closed at 9.
Chiang Mai at the Movenpick Suriwongse 4* hotel in a standard room - WORST hotel room in a great location.
Phuket at the Ramada by Wyndham Phuket 4* hotel in a standard room - nice hotel, great location with restaurants nearby and beach. Good pool.
Bangkok at the Amaranth Suvarnabhumi Hotel 4* hotel in a standard room - checked in very late and out very early. Nice staff, take away b/f provided.

BANGKOK THAILAND

Dec 11 - Ho Chi Minh - Bangkok - escorted to and from hotels/airports
Dec 12 - Bangkok Thailand on our own
Dec 12 Weekly Recap
Dec 13 - Bangkok on our own
Dec 14 - Bangkok - Chiang Mai escorted to and from hotels/airports

Other than being met at the Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK) in Bangkok and taken to the hotel we were on our own. You can read about our exciting airport greeting in the daily recap, link above. It was after 10 PM when we got to the hotel.

On the first full day there was a half day sightseeing tour included but we had been to Bangkok before and done that tour. So we had two full days on our own, other than the dinner cruise we had arranged ourselves. The dinner cruise was a highlight.

We were happy to spend some time in the Thai Airlines Royal Silk Lounge before boarding our flight to Chiang Mai.

CHIANG MAI

Dec 14 - Chiang Mai arrival

Dec 15 - Chiang Mai half day tour

Dec 16 - Chiang Mai on our own

Dec 17 - Chiang Mai - Phuket

In a nutshell, Chiang Mai is gorgeous and full of temples, fun bars, great food and night markets!
We arrived in Chiang Mai late afternoon and wandered around.
The next day we had a half day tour, we did two temples and the market.

After a late lunch we enjoyed the rest of the day on our own. The next day was on our own, seeing many more temples!! And the night market.

Chiang Mai had a fair share of murals.

We had good food, but let's say, John is not a matcha fan!

PHUKET

Dec 18 - Phuket on our own
Dec 19 - Phuket on our own
Dec 20 - Phuket on our own
Dec 21 - Phuket - Bangkok on our own
Dec 22 - Bangkok - Vancouver - Toronto

Again, we are on our own, completely, this portion of the package. We were taken to our hotel along with some other people, and we never saw any of them again!

The hotel was adequate. It had a pool and we enjoyed using it. Breakfast was fine. Otherwise we liked the pizza place next door for dinner.

We had booked a Thai dinner show with pickup. It was extremely organized. The food was not very good at all.

We spent a day in Old Phuket town. 

And of course, we checked out one of the beaches, since that is what everyone raves about.

We enjoyed walking around Patong. 

BANGKOK - VANCOVER - TORONTO

Other than having to be up really early in Bangkok our flights home were comfortable and pleasant.

Weekend Roundup

 Welcome to The Weekend Roundup...hosted by Tom The Back Roads Traveler

1. Starts with "U"
2. A Favorite
3. UNDER - Chosen by Tom

Starts with U

FAVOURITE

UBE Starbucks coconut UBE macchiato

UNDER

UNDER the lights on the bridge

Bangkok Thailand

Signs

  Joining Tom at Signs2

Wordless Wednesday Wordless

December 2025

Wine Ho Chi Minh City dinner cruise

BANGKOK THAILAND

This item is "Rod Duan," a popular Thai street food snack made from fried bamboo worms. 

Unique Features: Considered a "superfood" delicacy in Thailand, these worms are fried until they have a crunchy texture and savory, nutty, or cheesy flavor. 

Preparation: Typically deep-fried, often seasoned with soy sauce or salt, and sometimes served with pepper. 

Nutritional Aspect: Protein-packed alternative to traditional snacks. 

Chiang Mai Thailand