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.

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

Weekend Roundup

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

1. Starts with "O"

2. A Favorite

3. OVER - Chosen by Tom

Starts with O 

ONTARIO wine

FAVOURITE

ORNATE

OVER OUR heads

Weekend Roundup

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

1. Starts with "E"
2. A Favorite
3.  ENJOY- Chosen by Tom

Starts with E

ELEPHANT EAR fish - Vietnam

 Is a large, Mekong River-dwelling Elephant Ear Gourami (Osphronemus exodon), often served deep-fried in Vietnam.

FAVOURITE

EMERALD

ENJOY

I had mango sticky rice on my bucket list since I had seen it advertised in Bangkok in 2015. Ten years later and I had it in Phuket!!

It is delicious!

Bangkok - Chiang Mai Saturday Dec 14

  Saturday Dec 14 2025 - Bangkok - Chiang Mai

Previous posts can be found on the right side under BLOG ARCHIVE.

TOUR DAY 19 TRANSIT

ITALICS TOUR DESCRIPTION

Following breakfast, you will be met in the lobby of your hotel and transferred to the airport in Bangkok for your flight to Chiang Mai.

Dep:Bangkok Dec 14, 2025 - Chiang Mai Dec 14, 2025

 TG110

BKK | Dec 14 13:30 - CNX | Dec 14 14:45

ECONOMY

Dur.:1h 15m

Upon arrival at the airport in Chiang Mai, you will be greeted by our local representatives and transferred to your hotel. The rest of the day is free to relax or explore the area at leisure. (Breakfast)

This morning we were awake early and went for usual braefast at the hotel before getting ready to leave for the airport.

The airport in Bangkok is about one hour away, so we checked out and waited in the lobby for our ride. In the van were Tom (Calgary) and partner (not feeling well). 

Our flight was scheduled for 1:30 pm, however our driver arrived early so we were quite happy to leave and spend time in the airport lounge. Tom must have been on a different flight.

Following check-in. we headed toward our gate and found the Thai Airways First Class lounge.

Scenery around the airport from the lounge.

Once we landed and we met our guide in the terminal. We headed to the hotel with a couple from Portland and a single woman originally from Ghana (?).

The drive from the airport in Chiang Mai to the Movenpick Suriwongse Hotel was about 10-15 minutes as the airport is downtown.

After check-in, we went to our room, left the luggage and headed out for lunch which became lupper.. Along the way, we decided to stop at the First Bar and had a couple of cocktails. We met an individual from Brampton who was now residing in Chiang Mai. He mentioned being there for several months and was looking for employment. Unfortunately he became a bit tiresome and invading our space  John asked him to give us some space as we had just arrived and wanted to chill out.

Hotel lobby

John went to an ATM, and forgetting what currency we were now using, took out too much money, or so he thought, but we ended up using it up by the end of our stay.

After a few cocktails we decided it was time for some food. Some places we passed on the way.

After checking out several restaurants we settled on the Rock Me Burger place. We ordered a couple beers and decided on a couple of burgers. The 755.00 Baht is equivalent to $34.00 Canadian. By the time we finished our meal, it was time to head back to our hotel to relax and call it a day.

Heading back to our hotel.

Good night!

Monday Mural

  I'm linking up at Monday Mural

December 2025 - Chiang Mai Thailand

I love this mural!  The mural was created by the artist RobH (also known as Rob Hilken). 

The artwork was created as a contribution to the city's first HTN street art festival. 

It features a hyper-realistic depiction of two hands cupped together, seemingly holding alphabet pasta that spells out the word "LOVE".

Tuesday Treasures

 January 2026 

Words taken from Fleurs de Villes and photos are ours. We missed the December exhibit, however we have been to quite a few. And I see the next Toronto show is May 6 - 10, I'm putting it on the calendar!

Photos from December 2025

The lotus flower is one of the most resilient, storied, and culturally potent blooms in human history. Its ability to rise unsullied from mud into radiant blossom has made it a global symbol – from sacred scriptures to couture runways, from temple domes to modern storytelling. As we begin 2026 in turbulent times, the lotus flower is the perfect symbol for optimism, renewal and reinvention.

Hanoi Vietnam

An aquatic species, the lotus’s origin lies in the lakes and still waters of Asia, especially the Indian subcontinent, China, and Southeast Asia, though related species grow in parts of North America too. Nelumbo nucifera, the “sacred lotus,” thrives with roots in murky depths and flowers that break the surface to greet sunlight. Its life cycle – closing at night and reopening with dawn – is more than botany; it’s the very essence of rebirth and renewal. 

Chiang Mai Thailand

Long before Instagram made “rise and bloom” a motivational caption, and the bloom showed up on yoga accessories everywhere, the lotus was shaping worldviews. In Ancient Egypt, its daily unfurling became an emblem of the sun’s emergence and cosmic creation, woven into religious art and rituals. Egyptians believed it was born from the primeval waters, mirroring the sun’s daily journey, so frequent was its appearance in art that it became inseparable from ideas of creation, life, and resurrection.

In South Asia, the lotus embodies layers of spiritual metaphor. Hindu iconography shows gods and goddesses seated or clasping lotus blossoms – Lakshmi standing poised on one, Vishnu holding one – to signal purity, prosperity, and righteous life, even when rooted in the “mud” of worldly existence. Buddhism similarly holds the lotus as emblematic of enlightenment, where each stage of the flower’s growth parallels the journey from ignorance to awakening. 

Hoi An Vietnam - sitting on a rather large lotus.

This symbolic heft translated into national significance too: India (and Vietnam, unofficially) both honour the lotus as a national flower, making it a badge of cultural pride, perseverance, and identity. 

Even the language of flowers, which assigns symbolic meaning to blooms, credits the lotus with depth: in Indian miniatures it signifies spiritual ascension, and in Buddhist art it becomes the pedestal for divine figures. 

In modern times, fans of the HBO series The White Lotus have interpreted the titular metaphor as narrative rebirth and inner transformation, weaving floral symbolism into character arcs. 

In the 1900s in Myanmar, Buddhist robes were made from Lotus silk, made from the delicate fibres of the flower’s stem. Recently revived in Vietnam and India, Lotus silk is touted as soft, breathable, temperature regulating and slightly elastic, making it highly coveted among the eco-friendly.  In contemporary fashion and design, the lotus frequently flowers as inspiration. High-end jewellery designers and runway collections borrow its silhouette and meaning as a motif of elegance and spiritual grace; sometimes it is embraced in textiles and couture precisely because it bridges heritage and contemporary style, lending any garment a quiet resonance of purity and refinement.

In modern psychology, the Lotus Effect, which is the unique phenomenon of the flower’s leaves’ ability to repel water and self-clean symbolizes the capacity to maintain mental clarity, resilience, and emotional stability despite being surrounded by challenging circumstances, a message we can all take to heart as we navigate on volatile world stage.

My thoughts:

Hoi An is famous for its lotus-shaped water lanterns (known locally as đèn hoa đăng, meaning "flower lantern"), which are released onto the Hoai River as a beautiful, symbolic tradition. This practice, influenced by Buddhism, represents prayers for peace, good fortune, and the release of worries.