バンコク・アユタヤ満喫
Amazing places to visit : Ayutthaya and Bangkok

今年は暖冬で暖かい日々が続きましたが、やはり桜の季節は待ち遠しく感じました。春はとてもフレッシュな気持ちになりますね。さて、私は先日家族と常夏の国タイのバンコクを訪れましたので、今回紹介させていただきたいと思います。

バンコクはJALwaysの就航地の中でも私の好きな場所なので、以前から家族を案内したいと思っておりましたが、乗務しはじめて2年目をむかえやっと実現できました。

バンコクではおいしいものをたくさん食べました。バンコクで｢食｣ははずせません。タイスキ・ふかひれスープ・あわびご飯・プーパッポンカリー（カニと玉子のカレー）などなど、いろいろな料理を食べました。タイ料理というと激辛でパクチーがたくさんのっているイメージですが、私のようにパクチーの苦手な日本人の口に合うものもたくさんあります。父は蟹のカレーが今まで食べたカレーの中で一番おいしかったと絶賛していました。また、南国のフルーツは格別においしく、マンゴー・マンゴスチン・ランブータンなどをスーパーで買い、ホテルで切って食べました。日本へは果物の持ち込みが制限されている為、そのまま日本に持ち帰ることができないのが残念でなりません。他にはマーケットで買い物を楽しんだり、タイ式マッサージに行ったりして楽しみました。

また、ずっと行ってみたかった世界遺産のアユタヤに行きました。アユタヤはバンコクから車に乗って１時間半ほどで到着します。私たちは午後にバンコクを出発して、夕方までいくつかの遺跡をみたり、象に乗って遺跡のまわりを散策したりして日が落ちるのを待ち、夜は遺跡のライトアップを楽しみました。
アユタヤは1350年から35代にわたって続いたアユタヤ王朝の都で、17世紀には西洋諸国やアジア諸国とも交易が盛んで国際都市として繁栄していたそうです。日本は徳川幕府の時代で、日本の商人も多く訪れていたそうです。しかし、ビルマ軍による侵略などにより、廃墟と化してしまいました。
遺跡をまわっていると異空間にいるようで、都会の喧噪や小さな悩み事など忘れて、不思議な風景にみとれてしまいました。また夕暮れは感動するほど大変美しく、夕日にうつる遺跡もひときわ素晴らしいものでした。夜ライトアップされた遺跡も、暗闇に浮かんでいるようで昼間とはまた違う顔をしていました。アユタヤはとても魅力のある場所だったのでもう一度訪れたいと思っています。

家族はこの旅行を本当に楽しんでくれたようで、その姿をみて私もとても嬉しく思いました。久しぶりの家族との海外旅行でしたし、いろいろな出会いのある旅の楽しさを改めて実感しました。

機内ではガイドブックを楽しそうにご覧になっている方や、楽しい旅のお帰りで余韻にひたっていらっしゃる方々が多くいらっしゃいます。皆様の旅がより素敵なものとなるよう、お手伝いさせていただきたいと思っておりますので、どうぞお気軽に声をおかけください。そして皆様のお話も聞かせてくださるととても嬉しいです。機内で皆様にお目にかかれますようご搭乗をお待ちしております。

Amazing places to visit : Ayutthaya and Bangkok
This winter has been warmer than usual, and we have already felt an end to the winter. I can't wait for the cherry blossom season to come. The smell of the fresh buds bursting in the spring air makes us feel refreshed, isn't it? In this March issue of JALways' Crew Magazine, I would like to tell you about experiences I had during a trip to a tropical country of Thailand with my family members.

Bangkok has been one of my most favorite cities among the destinations of JALways since my first flight to the city. Ever since then, I have long wanted to visit this wonderful city with my family, and I finally got a chance to take them with JALways.

I think that eating is one of the biggest reasons of traveling in Thailand. We enjoyed delicious Thai cuisine including Thai Suki, shark's fin soup, rice with abalone, and curry with egg and crab meat. Thai food has a reputation for being spicy, and is characterized by the strong flavor of fresh coriander. To be honest, I do not like coriander very much, however, I like Thai food because there is a wide variety of dishes that suit well to the appetite of foreigners who are unfamiliar with the flavor of coriander. My father was surprised by how delicious curry with egg and crab meat was, praising that it was the best curry that he ever had. In addition to Thai cuisine, fresh tropical fruits are really tasty in Thailand. We bought Mango, Mangosteen, Rambutan and other fresh fruits from local markets. As we are not allowed to bring fresh fruits into Japan from Thailand, we enjoyed them at hotel room. I wish I could bring them all into Japan. Besides enjoying eating, we spent our time in the markets and malls, and went for a Thai traditional massage.

We also went on a half-day trip to Ayutthaya, located within one-hour drive to the north of Bangkok. Ayutthaya has been registered as one of the UNESCO's world heritages, and I have wanted to see this ancient city one day. After arriving at Ayutthaya in the afternoon, we rode on elephants through the remnants of the old city, took a walk around to see the ruins of temples, and enjoyed the night light-up of them.
Ayutthaya was founded in 1350, served as the capital of Thailand for over 417 years with 33 rulers until the city was invaded by the Burmese in 1767. During its heyday in the seventeenth century, Ayuthaya was an exciting cosmopolitan city that benefited from the thriving trade with the Western and the Asian nations. Japanese merchants were also sent to the city from the Tokugawa Shogunate.
When I walked around the site of Ayutthaya and gazed at the remnants of the old city, I felt like I was transported from a real world into another dimension. I felt tranquil and serene, and I could forget busy daily life and small problems that I had. The view of the remnants of Ayutthaya at sunset was incredibly beautiful. At night time the remnants looked different, because they were lit up beautifully. It was worth seeing them standing out in the darkness of the night. Ayutthaya was such a fascinating city, so if I ever get a chance, I would definitely visit the place again.

It made me very glad to know that my family members enjoyed the trip to Thailand very much, because I do not have many chances to travel with them. This particular trip also made me rediscover the pleasure of encountering many different experiences.

In the cabin, we saw passengers enjoying travel guides about their destinations, and those remembering things that happened during their trip. We always would like to help our passengers make their travel more memorable, so please do not hesitate to talk to us. We are glad if we will be able to hear your travel experiences. We are looking forward to seeing you in the cabin of JALways.