by Daryle Rico | Apr 13, 2026 | Culture, Thai Smiles, Thailand
When I think of New Year’s back in America, I picture myself heroically trying to stay awake long enough to watch the ball drop in Times Square… only to fall asleep somewhere around 11:47 PM, wake up confused, and then spend the next month writing the wrong year on...
by Daryle Rico | Apr 11, 2026 | Ayutthaya, Favorite Tours, Thai Smiles, Thailand
My afternoon tour of the ancient city of Ayutthaya had just wrapped up, and my guide and I were making our way back to Bangkok when we passed what looked like a rustic roadside corral… filled with elephants. As one does. My guide casually asked, “Have you ever fed an...
by Daryle Rico | Apr 8, 2026 | Ayutthaya, Culture, Favorite Tours, Thai Smiles, Thailand
One doesn’t usually associate a casual trip to the local market with thoughts of mortality. Maybe a tough decision over mango versus pineapple, sure—but not a moment where you quietly wonder if your life insurance policy is up to date. But this is Thailand, my...
by Daryle Rico | Apr 8, 2026 | Bangkok, Culture, Favorite Tours, Temples, Thailand
There are temples in Thailand… and then there is Wat Arun. Now, that’s saying something in a country with more than 44,000 temples. It’s a bit like saying, “This is my favorite beach in Thailand”—you’d better have a strong case. Wat Arun doesn’t just make the list. It...
by Daryle Rico | Apr 6, 2026 | Favorite Tours, History, Thailand
Long before he was Obi-Wan Kenobi, Alec Guinness portrayed Colonel Nicholson in The Bridge on the River Kwai, a role that earned him an Academy Award. The film tells a compelling story set against the construction of the Thai–Burma Railway. Like many Hollywood...
