#hellotürkiye

Just an hour by car from beautiful Bangkok is the historical Ayutthaya. Quaint and quiet, this city tells the story of how Bangkok became the capital of Thailand. Tragedy and triumph are themes that echo through the many wats in Ayutthaya, leaving me in wonder, contemplation, and deep spiritual awareness. We visited - Wat Maha That - Wat Chaiwatthanaram - Wat Yai Chaimongkol For the fashionista gamed to embrace their inner warrior or princess, elaborate Thai traditional costumes are available for rent at reasonable fees. Our children were more excited however by the many elephants we saw in the area. You can opt to ride on one or even feed them up close. For foodies, Ayutthaya is the home to Thai candy floss. It is eaten with a thin rice wrap and is absolutely delicious! There is also a huge night market with Thai wonders galore! My advice: eat as you walk. Haha! After a full day and full stomach here, we headed back to Bangkok with time to reflect on our purpose and being. My #2023travelwish is to visit Turkiye because similarly it is rich in culture and history intertwined with faith. #2023travelwish #hellotürkiye #bangkok #spiritual #deliciousfood

From Cappadocia, we travelled to Istanbul for our next day flight. We only stayed for a day but we could have stayed longer if we can. The place has much to offer. Our tour guide in Cappadocia said that at least 3-4 days should be spent in Istanbul to visit the tourist spots (depending on your interest). While we only stayed there for a day, we did enjoy our time there. There are a lot of tourist though so, heads up. The Bosphorus Dinner Cruise was probably my favorite because of the night lights in Istanbul’s great architectures. Fun party and dinner and everyone is generally friendly. We’ll definitely visit again if we have a chance. (P.S. The hotel we stayed at — Mataraci Konak is also commendable. They gave us a lot of stuff — early check-in, free breakfast on our arrival, complimentary fruits and turkish delights delivered to our room and lastly, a gift upon our check-out!) #istanbul #hellotürkiye #travel #mataracikonak #turkey

Cappadocia is definitely a must visit place. Our stay was short but still is one of the favorite vacation I had. If you are into natural historical places, Cappadocia has lots to offer. There are a lot of activities to choose from. Since it’s quite far from where we live and flights are quite expensive (depending on the timing and how early you book), we maximized our time there and did as much activity as we can. We ride the hot air balloon which is a must — breath-taking view, then did a Green Tour. At night, we had a Turkish Night Dinner w/ traditional dance performances. The next day, we did Sunrise Camel Ride, Red Tour and Sunset Quad-Bike. The 2-day stay was enough to cover all these but it might be energy draining for some. Activities and Flight was a bit pricey but Turkiye is generally an affordable place. #hellotürkiye #cappadocia #travel #turkey #vacation