Post-Trip Summary
Well, I just got back from the best vacation ever, which explains why I did not blog everyday like I intended to. Suffice it to say, however, that I saw more wats (temples), stupas (mausoleums), chedis and Buddha statues than anyone should see in a lifetime. We also found time to visit nomadic hill tribes and a pineapple farm, ride elephants, go on the "Bridge on the River Kwai Tour," visit floating villages, make pilgrimages into Myanmar ("but you know it as Burma") and Laos, and take an extensive tour through the impressive temples at Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom in Siem Reap, Cambodia. When not sightseeing, we dined on fine, spicy Thai food and shopped till we dropped at the many markets and night bizarres along the way. I slept on the plane all the way over and home, so suffered no jet leg. I was able to hit the ground running, both on arrival and return despite the 13 hour time difference. I am not enjoying the 100 degree temperature difference and am longing for the 90 degree days in Bangkok already. Below is my journal from the trip. I filled a 60-page steno pad with anecdotes from the trip but never found time to go to an Internet cafe to post them. So grab a cup of coffee and settle into your easy chair. It's really long.
Monday, January 15, 2007
After 6 months of waiting, the big trip to Thailand and Cambodia is finally here. I've spent hours researching, reading and marking up my travel guides so I'll appreciate the people, culture and sights I'm going to see over the next 17 days. It's so overwhelming because we'll be visiting so many different places. Planning was more difficult than ever for this trip because our tour company wasn't overly specific on which sights we're going to see and won't be giving us a lot of time to venture on our own. So I had to really read up on all the places we'll be visiting so I know exactly how to spend my free time. Oh sure, the tour company will take us to all the best places and give us a really great exposure to life and culture in Thailand and Cambodia. But you never know when or if you'll ever come back. So I think its best to squeeze in as much sightseeing as possible so as not to miss anything important. People who've accompanied me on one of my self-guided tours through Europe know what I mean. They've often described the experience as "boot camp," but say things like "Wow, I can't believe how much stuff we saw in such a short period of time!"Once again, I'll be traveling with my Arkansas friends Vicki and Vicky. This will be our fifth time traveling together over the past three years. They're always a riot. We'll be traveling with SmarTours, a New York City-based travel agency, along with 39 other Americans. We're hoping this group will be a little younger than the Grand Circle Travel groups we've been traveling with more recently.
Tomorrow, Tuesday, January 16, 2007, I have to fly to New York City and spend the night there. There were no flights leaving Milwaukee on Wednesday morning that would get me to New York in time for my 14-hour flight to Seoul. Vicki and Vicky are flying out of LA, and are going there tomorrow to spend the night. I will rendezvous with them in Seoul where we will then board a 5-hour flight to Bangkok. Needless to say, we're traveling with Korean Air. Once we arrive just after midnight on Friday, we'll be met by our program director, who will take us to the hotel. Then bright and early Friday morning, we meet for an orientation breakfast and then go on a tour of Bangkok. I'll have to make sure I get plenty of sleep on the flight over so that I'm not too tired. It's usually not a problem, especially if there's no one sitting next to me on the plane--I can just lay down and pull a blanket over my head and sleep.
After arrival, we'll be spending 3 days in Bangkok, then take a motor coach north to Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai over the next 10 days. After that, we take a short flight to Siem Reap, Cambodia where we will spend a few days visiting the world's largest religious site, the Angkor Archaeological Park. I'll be looking forward to the hot weather since it's been mighty cold here in Milwaukee, Wisconsin USA.
Between now and tomorrow, I've got to finish my laundry and pack. Since it will be 80-90 degrees with 80% humidity everyday, I will be bringing lots of shorts, T-shirts, polo shirts and a comfortable pair of walking shoes. We're only allowed one 45-pound piece of luggage (20 kg) and one carry-on bag. It's never a problem for me though. I pack really light and do laundry en route if needed. I'm debating whether to bring my running gear. I hear the air quality in Bangkok is poor and I usually have trouble getting motivated to exercise while on vacation.
I also have to work on Tuesday morning before I head to the airport for the flight to New York. In the back of my mind, I was worried that we'd have a major snow storm on the day I had to fly out. And sure enough, we got 6 inches of snow overnight. That should be all cleaned up by tomorrow when I have to leave. It wouldn't have impacted my flight though. We're accustomed to snow up here in Wisconsin. Of course, Vicky and Vicki put up with that major ice storm down in Arkansas over the weekend. Hopefully that won't screw up their flight to LA.
That's all for today. Stay tuned.
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Itinerary - Fly from Milwaukee to New York: Work a half day and then rush to the airport to catch your mid-afternoon flight to the Big Apple for an overnight stay at the luxurious Best Western JFK Airport.7:00 am CST - I can't believe that the one day I have to walk to the office with my luggage it would be 10 degrees F outside. If I didn't have a meeting from 9-11 am, I would have taken the day off from work. It's also one of those meetings that have a lot of follow up work that will have to be done before I blow out of the office in the early afternoon. The clothes I'm wearing to work are a bunch of old ones that I intend to throw in the garbage tonight because I don't want to haul them around for the next 2-1/2 weeks. Besides, I've been meaning to toss them out for a long time.
7:30 am - The walk to work wasn't too bad--no wind but the sidewalks were icy. My shoulder is sore from carrying my duffle bag. It full of papers that I intend to unload during the trip, like homemade travel guides for Cambodia and Angkor Wat, and 200 pages of Sudoku puzzles. I'll give the travel guides to my travel friends Vicki and Vicky, and share the Sudoku puzzles with the 36 other people I'll be traveling with. So my luggage will get a lot lighter as the trip progresses, provided I don't buy a lot of souvenirs, which usually is not a problem. Otherwise I packed very light, bringing the usual necessities, plus a lot of shorts and t-shirts, one long sleeve shirt, one pair of long pants, a couple pairs of shoes and my fleece jacket. It's going to be 85-90 degrees F everyday, so no need to pack a lot of extra clothes I won't wear.
2:00 pm - My 4:55 pm flight to LaGuardia is delayed till 7:15 pm due to weather, but they still want us there at the usual time in case things clear up. Hopefully it will since I don't like waiting around at airports.
3:30 pm - Just hopped a cab to the airport. I thought I'd never get out of the office. So much last minute stuff to attend to. I got most everything done so won't have that to worry about while I'm gone.
5:00 pm - Apparently only one runway is open at LaGuardia due to high winds. Hopefully they won't cancel the flight because there aren't any tomorrow that will get me to New York in time for my morning flight to Seoul.
7:15 pm - OK, we're finally on our way to New York. I'm in seat 2-D. They ran out of meals and I'm hungry.
9:50 pm EST - We've had a 140 mph tailwind and, after only 1 hour and 35 minutes of flight time, we are 10 minutes from landing in New York. The pilot said we were traveling over 600 mph the whole way. Now let's hope they don't lose my luggage. New York is beautiful at night with all the lights. We're coming in from the south over Brooklyn and Queens. I can't see the Manhattan skyline because I'm on the wrong side of the plane, but the view is great.
10:30 pm - Got my luggage, caught a $33 cab from LaGuardia to JFK because the $18 shuttle stopped running two hours ago. The Best Western is actually quite nice and right on the perimeter of JFK.
11:00 pm - Staying up to late doing Sudoku puzzles. Damn things are addicting. Time for bed. Nighty, night!
Day 1 - Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Itinerary - Depart US: Your exotic journey to Thailand begins as you depart today aboard your wide-body jet.6:00 am - Well, I didn't sleep too much--maybe 6 hours--but the bed was comfortable and the room was quiet despite being right next to the airport. It's going take 19-1/2 hours to fly 9,900 miles. That's 14-1/2 hours from JFK to Seoul, and another 5 hours to Bangkok after that.
9:00 am - I got up, showered and went down to the breakfast room on the first floor for a quick bite to eat before catching the hotel shuttle to the airport.
9:30 am - On my way to airport. It wasn't walkable even though it's only 5 minutes from the hotel. My Korean Air flight leaves at 12:55 pm, but they want us there 3 hours before departure.
10:00 am - Very quick check-in, which was fortunate because the Korean guy in line behind me had really bad breath. I can't believe his girlfriend did not pass out when she kissed him. Only about 20 people were in line when I checked in, mostly Koreans, but there was enough luggage for 50 people. I can't believe how much stuff foreigners lug with them on trips. Anyway, I spotted the bright orange SmarTours luggage tags on a couple of bags, which means I'll get to know the owners of those bags quite well over the next 2-1/2 weeks. There's a young gentleman with long hair in a ponytail (Tim) and two older ladies (Marie and Carol, Tim's mother). There's also a woman wearing a striped sweater (Sara) and a threesome (Cheryl, Mitch and Frank).
12:00 pm - The flight is delayed 20 minutes due to the late arrival of the plane. I spotted some more orange luggage tags (Tom and Brenda, Morris and Marilyn). So far, no apparent head cases on this tour. They are fraternizing amongst themselves. I'm sitting by myself doing Sudoku puzzles. I called Vicky and Vicki to see if they made it to LA yesterday. They flew there from Little Rock via Dallas and the weather down there was pretty nasty.
12:20 pm - Vicky called to say they made it to LA just fine after a longer than expected layover in Dallas. They're in the Embassy Suites LAX van headed to the airport. Their Korean Air flight to Seoul arrives 20 minutes after mine. My flight is 14 grueling hours. Theirs is about 12. We meet in Seoul and then get on another flight to Bangkok for five hours. My butt is going to be really sore by then. I've often said I'd like to meet the guy who designed those airline seats and give him a piece of my mind. Vicky says that SmarTours said our group had 39 people in it. Looks like we'll have only one motor coach in Thailand. Hopefully we'll be able to commandeer the back of the bus. Usually the same people scramble for the front seats, which eventually causes problems for everyone else, but not us.
12:30 pm - The flight crew just arrived. There are about 20 people. They're standing in a large circle getting their pre-flight briefing. It sounds like they're having some sort of pep rally or group encounter. They're kind of chanting and cheering. Don't know what that's all about but were ready to start boarding. Our plane is a huge 747-400. It rolled in about 30 minutes ago. 1:00 pm - OK, I'm on the plane. It's not very full. I have a window seat and a little Korean man sitting next to me. So I won't be able to lay down and sleep. The in-flight entertainment is awesome--personal screens with tons of movie, TV and sound selections. The rest of my travel group is sitting around me. You'd think they could spread us out a little given that the plane is only half full. I spoke to one of the ladies in my group. She says she likes SmarTours because the people are well educated and experienced travelers. Good! Let's hope it's true.
1:20 pm - We're pushing back. Total flight time is expected to be 13 hours, 10 minutes.
1:40 pm - We're zooming down the runway! Clear day. Sunny. Good visibility. And we're off! Nice view of New York out the window.5:15 pm - I'm watching the flight monitor on my personal video screen. We're way up over Canada, between the North Pole and the US-Canada border on a line due north of Wisconsin. We've eaten and now I'm trying to sleep. I listened to some classical music but that didn't put me to sleep. Then I started watching "The Sound of Music" subtitled in Korean, and that seems to be doing the trick because I getting drowsy. But the beginning always makes the hair on my neck stand up when the camera zooms in on Julie Andrews on that mountain top as she belts out "the hills are alive...." Anyway, there are a lot of other movies to watch, but I don't want to get so wrapped up in them because then I won't be able to sleep, and I really need to because we have a full day of sightseeing the morning we arrive in Bangkok and I don't want to be terribly jet-lagged. So, time to sign off.
Day 2 - Thursday, January 18, 2007
Itinerary - Bangkok (Thailand): Welcome to Thailand, the “Land of Smiles.” Evening arrival in Bangkok, the breathtaking capital situated on the banks of the Chao Phraya River. You’ll be met by your Tour Director (Mr. Worrawat Triemsakul aka Mr. Boeing) and escorted to your deluxe centrally located hotel.
1 pm Seoul Time (Jan 18) - It's already 1 pm on January 18 in Seoul. That's 15 hours ahead of Milwaukee where it's 10 pm CST January 17. We left New York more than 8 hours ago. We're out over the Pacific Ocean somewhere. Soon we'll cross the International Date Line and I will lose a day. I'll gain it back when we fly home in two weeks, arriving 20 minutes earlier in New York than we left Seoul! It that doesn't screw you up, I don't know what will. The itinerary above isn't exactly right because we'll actually arrive in Bangkok at 12:05 am on Friday, January 19, so January 18 doesn't really exist as far as I'm concerned. The little Korean man sitting next to me moved to an open row of seats so I'm sitting by myself curled up on two seats in a horizontal position trying to get some sleep. I've haven't slept as much as I wanted, but I've eaten two dinners already, both Thai cuisine. In five hours we arrive in Seoul--6 pm Seoul time. I'm still doing Sudoku puzzles, completing 48 of the 60 I brought with me. But I'm making mistakes now so I must be tired.
5:30 pm - OK, now it's 2 am January 18 in Milwaukee. I slept a few hours on and off. A baby has been crying non-stop for the last several hours. 40 minutes to go.
6:10 pm Seoul Time - We've landed in Seoul. It's dark. On this trip I saw daytime in New York, nighttime over the Arctic, daytime over the Pacific and now nighttime again in Seoul. We have a two-hour layover before we board another Korean Air flight for the 5-hour trip to Bangkok (and a two-hour time difference).
6:30 pm - I'm looking for Vicky and Vicki. I went down to the gate where our next flight leaves but did not see them. I figured they must be shopping because they are true professional shoppers. Two blond-haired ladies should be easy to spot because almost everyone here at the airport has black hair. This airport (Incheon ICN) is huge and had a million shops. I do not see them anywhere. Time to go back to the gate.
6:45 pm - Just found Vicky and Vicki at the gate. Happy reunion. Their flight was also uneventful, arriving from LAX one hour ahead of schedule. I lightened my backpack by giving them the Cambodia and Angkor Wat guidebooks I made up. Everyone is tired since normally we're at home in bed sleeping at this time. It's 3 am yesterday at home. Vicky and Vicki wanted more room on their flight over so they sat in Business Class even though they had coach tickets. They even got served drinks, but then a cabin crew member asked for their boarding passes and they put back in coach class. We're just watching our travel group come together in the boarding area. Half came from LA and half came from JFK. We're just sitting off to the side on our own observing our fellow travelers. So far, it looks like a good bunch.
8:15 pm - We've boarded our Boeing 777 for Bangkok. No personal entertainment centers in our seats, just one big screen up in front for everyone to watch. Sara from our tour group is sitting next to me. Carol, Marie and Tim are across the aisle. They were on the flight from JFK with me. The JFK group seems to be all together up in front while the LAX group is in back.
9:00 pm - We're on the way to Bangkok. We should arrive in five hours, just after midnight in Bangkok. I'm very tired. Going to sleep. ZZZzzzzzzz.
Day 3 - Friday, January 19, 2007
Itinerary – Bangkok: After breakfast, embark on a tour introducing you to some of the outstanding Buddhist temples in Bangkok. Visit Wat Traimit with its invaluable 5-ton solid gold statue of Buddha and Wat Po, featuring the colossal 150 foot long “Reclining Buddha.” See the White Marble Temple representing the finest example of Thai architecture. Afternoon at leisure or join an optional canal boat ride across the river for a glimpse of local daily life ($25).12:00 pm Bangkok Time (2:00 am Seoul Time) - We've been flying for 4-1/2 hours. We're 40 minutes from arrival after a late departure from Seoul. They had some sort of luggage issues. I slept almost the whole time. The in-flight movie was "The Queen," but I slept through all but the last 5 minutes. What I saw was good though. I've been en route almost 24 hours now. My butt is sore.
1:15 am - Yeah, we're here in the "Land of Smiles." We landed at 12:40 am. We're waiting for luggage. The plane was full of Japanese people. So far, only golf bags have come around the carousel--about 200 golf bags to be exact. They must be having some sort of tournament here or something. Now I know what the luggage problem was back in Seoul.
2:00 am - Well, we finally got all our luggage, met Mr. Boeing, our tour director, and are now en route to our hotel by bus. It's a one-hour ride. On the way to the bus, Mr. Boeing said to meet him at Exit #15 in case we got lost in the terminal on our way to the bus. Of course, half the group got lost. I went to Exit 15 with half the group following me, but no SmarTours bus was there. We traipsed back and forth in the 90 degree heat for 10 minutes trying to find the rest of the group. Eventually we found them by Exit 14. Apparently there was so much traffic that the bus couldn't get to the predesignated pick-up spot. 
Mr. Boeing greeted us with a big smile and a "Sawadee," which means "hello" in Thai. He goes by Boeing because it is easier to remember. He got this nickname from his father because he played "airplane" on the floor a lot as a child. He is 47 years old like me, but married with a 9-year-old daughter. He's been a tour guide for 18 years. I don't know the bus driver's name--he'll be driving us all over for the next few weeks. The driver's assistant is 21-year-old Mr. Kwan.
Our hotel, the Majestic Grande Hotel, is a 5-star hotel in the Nana District of Central Bangkok, located off Sukhumvit Street Soi 2 close to public transportation, dining and nightlife. This is the business district of town. We learned that this is one of the biggest tourism months in Thailand. 50 million people will come this month alone. It's also the coolest and least rainy time of year. But the temperatures will be in the 80's and 90's all the time. I'd hate to see what it's like in the hot months!2:45 am - We've arrived at the hotel. I have a nice room on the 23rd floor with a killer view of the city. Have to get to sleep since we start the city and temple tour of Bangkok at 10 am (wake-up call at 8:30 am). We have the afternoon free and a welcome dinner at a local restaurant tonight. I hope I can last that long.
3:00 am - ZZZZzzzzzzz....
8:00 am - Well, I only slept till 6 am, so got maybe a little over 3 hours sleep. Looks like I'll be functioning on adrenaline all day. It's a hot, sunny day out there. We have to wear long pants because covered legs are a requirement at some of the temples we're going to visit. I could wear shorts and bring my nylon warm-up pants along, but will tough it out just this once. I can tell I'm going to be sweating a lot on this vacation, which means I'll definitely be doing lots of laundry
along the way. After the city and temple tour today, we're going to ditch the group and go to the Grand Palace/Wat Phra Kaew (Emerald Buddha Temple) and Amulet Market on our own. That way we can do the River Kwai Optional Tour on our own day after tomorrow. Tomorrow is a free day, so we'll go to the Jim Thompson House, Siam Square, and China Town. We're going to blow off the Optional Trip to the Damnoen Saduak floating market because it's far away and a full day adventure that will take me away from seeing the important stuff in Bangkok.
10:00 am - Wow, the group is ready to go even though they didn't get any sleep. Someone quipped that "we can sleep when we get home." I'm carrying my travel book, which is all tabbed and marked up with my free time activities, so a bunch of people want to come along with Vicky, Vicki and I when we venture on our own. Three's already a crowd, so I'll just tell them where they should go and let them find it on their own. We've got a lot of ground to cover, and the fewer people involved the better. Sorry folks.
10:30 am - We're on the bus going to our first stop, Wat Traimit (Golden Buddha Temple). Our tour guide is giving us an orientation talk on Thailand, which I'm not going to remember. We learned that 50% of the people in Thailand came from China. There is a king (Rama VIII) who's been in power for 60 years, but he is now almost 82 and in poor health, and living 300 miles away in the south of Thailand. He was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He will be succeeded by Rama IX, which could be either his son or daughter. He favors his daughter taking over and has been promoting her recently. All over Bangkok are signage and shrines saying "Long Live the King," along with pictures that look like they were taken when he was a lot younger. More on the King: His Majesty the King was born on December 5,1927 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.A., being the third and youngest child of Their Royal Highnesses Prince and Princess Mahidol of Songkla. His Majesty attended the various secondary schools in Switzerland. He then chose to enter Lausanne University to study science, but the sudden death of his elder brother, King Ananda Mahidol, in Bangkok on June 9, 1946 changed the course of his life completely, for the Law of Succession bestowed on him the arduous but challenging function of the Thai Crown. The Government on behalf of the people came to ask the Princess Mother for her other son to be their King. As he had not finished his education, His Majesty decided to go back to Switzerland for another period of study, but this time in the subject of Political Science and Law in order to equip himself with the proper knowledge for government. Following the completion of his education in Switzerland in the early 1950s, His Majesty returned home to Thailand. In the years following, he began what has become his way of life - traveling throughout the year to the provinces and rural areas of the kingdom to visit his people, talk to them and, perhaps even more important, listen to them. He learns first hand of their needs and their problems and then sets about trying to find a way of giving immediate help; later these problems are studied in depth to find a permanent solution or way of assistance.
10:45 am - We're in Chinatown visiting Wat Traimit--Temple of the Golden Buddha. The Golden Buddha was cast some time in the 13th century and is an excellent example of Sukhothai style that is still very much in favor to this day. The wat housing the Golden Buddha was built by 3 Chinese traders in the 13th century. The Golden Buddha statue was moved here from the outskirts of Bangkok in the 1950's. When moved, it was accidentlly dropped while being lifted with a crane. This cracked the statue's concrete exterior, revealing a solid gold statue inside. The Buddha was allegedly covered in concrete to protect it from theft. This sitting Buddha stands 15 feet high and weighs 5-1/2 tons. It is very impressive. Like all Buddhist temples, we had to take our shoes off before entering. Typically, you're required to sit on the floor in front of a Buddha statue, sitting on your legs so that your feet do not point at the statue. The feet are consider the "lowest" part of the body. The statue sits in a plain building just barely big enough to hold it within the temple compound.11:30 am - We just drove through Chinatown and arrived at the most impressive Wat Po, Temple of the reclining Buddha. The star attractions are the largest Reclining Buddha in the world (150 feet long, 50 feet high) and the largest Buddha collection in Thailand (394).
The entire complex is spread over several acres and is densely packed with scores of temples and chedis (bell-shaped mausoleums). We walked around the gigantic Reclining Buddha and watched people throw money into the alms pots behind it. We then toured the grounds with Mr. Boeing narrating the history of the site. Very interesting and colorful place.
12:45 pm - We're starting to get "wat"-ed and "Buddha"-ed out. Just how many of these things are there anyway? We just drove through the center of the city admiring all the government buildings. Vicki is amazed at how clean Bangkok is now compared to when she was here several years ago. Along the way we learned from Mr. Boeing that schooling is free in Thailand through 9th grade and that all men must do a compulsory 2-year military stint unless they are training to be a doctor, engineer or a teacher. College is considered cheap here by American standards. We've arrived at the beautiful Wat Benchamaphobit, or "The Marble Temple." It's across from the Royal Residence, which is shrouded by trees across the street, and near the Bangkok Zoo. The Ubosot Hall (Ordination Hall) was constructed from Carrara marble from Italy and shows distinct European neo-classical influence. It was designed by H.R.H. Prince Narisranuvattivongse, half brother to King Chulalongkorn, Rama V, and has been reckoned for its architectural and decorative arts of finest Thai craftsmanship, say, second to none in the world. Inside was--yes, you guessed it--another sitting Buddha statue.
1:30 pm - Well the City and Temple Tour is over. We're ditching the tour group to strike out on our own. We're taking a cab over to the Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew (Temple of the Emerald Buddha). We managed to negotiate a fare of about $3 to take three of us across town, including a quick drive around the Royal Residence. We're going to rely on my trusty guide book and maps to help get us around. I spent a lot of time before the trip mapping out my free time strategy. So now it's time to execute! 2:00 pm - We've arrived at Grand Palace/Wat Phra Kaew, bought our combination ticket and hired an old Thai guide to lead us on a one-hour tour of the complex. I can only understand every fifth word he says though. Grand Palace/Wat Phra Kaew was established by the first king of the Chakri dynasty in the late 18th century. Following the common practice from the previous Ayuthaya kingdom, the palace was designed to include a royal temple, Wat Phra Kaew. The palace is no longer used and closed to the public. The Temple of the Emerald Buddha is a sort of national cathedral, housing one of the country's most sacred objects. The temple is enclosed by a cloister-like gallery painted with scenes from the Ramakien, the Thai epic based on the Hindu Ramayana. The largest building in the temple is the ubosot housing the statue of the Emerald Buddha. The Buddha image, carved from a large piece of jasper, sits high up on an elaborate gilded alter. The walls of the ubosot are painted with murals depicting scenes from the Buddha's life. You can't take pictures of the Emerald Buddha, otherwise I would have one here.
3:15 pm - We've finished our tour of the Palace and are now walking north along the river towards the Amulet Market. To beat the heat, we stopped at Swenson's Ice Cream Store for some sundaes and Coke Floats. Mmmmm.
4:00 pm - We found the Amulet Market, but didn't really feel like shopping for Buddha amulets (good luck charms). The market is very popular. It contains a fantastic array of religious amulets, charms, talismans, and traditional medicines. Each Sunday hundreds of the faithful squat on the ground studying tiny images of the Buddha with magnifying glasses, hoping to find one that will bring good fortune or ward off evil. Each amulet brings a specific kind of luck -- to win over a girl, pass exams, keep bugs out of your rice, or ward off your mother-in-law. We walked through the market which abuts the river, admiring the stench of the polluted river and longing for an ice-cold beer back at the hotel.5:00 pm - We are back at the hotel. It took a long time to get here because of all the traffic. The cab driver, who spoke little or no English, also was getting frustrated. I'm beat, and it's been a long day. We still have the Welcome Dinner to attend tonight. Whew!
9:00 pm - The Welcome Dinner was nice. It had a good selection of Thai food. I had a Singha Beer or two. I'm ready for bed. It's been a long and eventful day. Tomorrow we're on our own. Lots to do. Nighty, night.
Day 4 - Saturday, January 20, 2007
Itinerary – Bangkok: A day of leisure to discover Thailand’s vibrant and exotic capital at your own pace. Your Tour Director can make suggestions for independent exploration. Join an optional full day excursion to the colorful Damneon Saduak floating market, reached by a rice barge followed by a visit to the Rose Garden, a Thai village featuring a presentation of local arts and customs ($50, lunch included). A tour of the spectacular Grand Palace, former residence of the Kings ($30) is also available.That itinerary sounds nice, but we did the Grand Palace yesterday and have no interest in floating markets or rose gardens. So today we're going to venture into the world of mass transit and visit the famous Jim Thompson House, Siam Square (shopping) and Chinatown (more shopping). Vicky and Vicki are on a mission to find faithful, inexpensive reproductions of the latest Louis Vuitton, Fendi, Gucci, Prada, Coach and Chanel handbags. And knowing them, they will find them eventually.
6:30 am - I got a good night's sleep. It's hot and steamy outside again. At least I can wear shorts today since we're not visiting any temples. I sweated like crazy yesterday in the 90 degree F heat with long pants on. I'm going to meet Vicky and Vicki for breakfast down on the 6th floor terrace in a little while. The view of Bangkok out my hotel room window is very nice.
9:30 am – OK, we had your typical American breakfast at the hotel. We then headed out the door and up the street to the SkyTrain station. We’re taking it to the end of the line at National Stadium and then walking a few blocks to The Jim Thompson House Museum. But we have to transfer to the SkyTrain that takes us there at the Siam Square stop. We bought 24-hour passes so we could jump on and off as we please. The system is quite easy to navigate.10:00 am - Hmmm...we were so busy chatting we forgot to get off at Siam Square and transfer to the other line. So we had to go down the stairs, cross over to the other side of the station and go up the stairs to catch the train going back to Siam Square. Vicky was hot and didn't want to take the stairs, so she took the first escalator she saw and ended up on the wrong side of the tracks looking over at Vicki and me. Vicki and I decided we would just grab a tuk-tuk (moto-rickshaw) over to Jim Thompson House. But Vicky misinterpreted our signals and proceeded to come over to our side of the tracks while Vicki and I were going down to the street. After waiting a few minutes, I went back up to the station and found Vicky standing there by herself. We found a tuk-tuk but the driver tried to trick us into going to a gem shop because, he said, the Jim Thompson House was opening later due to today being some sort of holiday. My Lonely Planet Guidebook used this exact situation to demonstrate how unscrupulous taxi drivers try to take advantage of unsuspecting tourists. They get a commission from the gem shop for bringing in business in the event we buy something. We immediately got out of the tuk-tuk and started walking to the corner to catch a cab.
10:15 am - Our taxi cab driver is lost. He has no idea how to get to the Jim Thompson House so we are seeing more of Bangkok than we intended. I kept telling the driver our destination was on the other side of the river in the opposite direction, but his English is about as good as my Thai. Eventually he stopped and asked another taxi driver for directions. We then made a quick U-turn and got there in a few minutes.
11:00 am - We're waiting for our compulsory tour of Jim Thompson House to start. We've been killing time walking around in the gardens and visiting the museum before the guided tour of the buildings on the premises.
The Jim Thompson House is the home of James H.W. Thompson, a self-made American entrepreneur who was the founder of the world renowned Jim Thompson Thai Silk Company. Thompson's achievements during his 25-year stay in the Kingdom of Thailand have won him much fame as the "Legendary American of Thailand." He built the complex in 1959 and lived in it for 8 years until he mysteriously disappeared in 1967 while hiking in Malaysia. He was 61. The complex consists of a home and several other smaller buildings and is a fine example of authentic Thai residential architecture, with an impressive collection of southeast Asian art within. Not to be confused with the notorious hardboiled crime author of the same name, Jim Thompson was a New York architect who briefly served in the Office of Strategic Services (forerunner of the CIA) in Thailand during WWII. After the war, he found New York too tame and moved to Bangkok. Thai silk caught his eye and he sent samples to fashion houses in Europe, building an international clientele for a craft in danger of dying out. Thompson collected parts of various derelict Thai homes in central Thailand and had them reassembled in the current location in 1959. Although for the most part they're assembled in typical Thai style, one striking departure from tradition is the way each wall has its exterior side facing the house's interior. On display in the main house are Thompson's small but splendid Asian art collection and his personal belongings. It was pretty cool. The main house was pretty much open to the elements, much like homes on the Florida coast. It was well worth the visit. 12:00 pm - We jumped on the SkyTrain a few blocks away and are speeding toward Siam Square, the number one people-watching spot in Bangkok. It's about a 1/2 mile east of Jim Thompson House. My goal is to go to the Hard Rock Cafe to purchase some souvenir T-shirts for me and some friends at home. Vicky and Vicki plan to hit the MBK Mall to shop for purses. Guess I'll have to tag along.
12:15 pm - Today the Thai people are celebrating what appears to be the anniversary of the beloved King's coronation. All the kids are wearing yellow shirts (the Kings official color) and are marching, chanting, waving flags and beating on drums. As soon as we got off the SkyTrain at Siam Square, we witnessed this pomp and circumstance.
12:30 pm - We're at the Hard Rock Cafe having a Singha beer. I bought my T-shirts. We're heading over to the MBK mall now. 12:40 pm - The mall is sheer chaos. So many people. Unbelievable. The mall is about 7 stories tall and has a central atrium going up to the roof. On about the six floor, scores of kids are lined up along the balcony railing chanting for the King. It's really loud.
2:00 pm - Vicki is on a mission to find a particular Louis Vuitton knock-off purse. The police are cracking down on fake handbags so we're not having much luck. Vicki has a picture of the one she's looking for, but the store clerks only look at it and shake their heads saying they don't have it.
3:00 pm - We hopped a cab from Siam Square to Chinatown and are now in the middle of the bustling, winding, narrow streets of Chinatown where just about anything that is manufactured is sold. There are hundreds of shops, but Vicki still hasn't found her purse. Vicky bought some street food to snack on but I'm worried it's not safe to eat. The last thing I need is to get sick. I'm trying to get her to buy a soda in a bag, but she's afraid the ice might be contaminated. Instead of soda in cans, they put ice in a small plastic bag, fill it with soda from a large bottle and stick a straw in it. Interesting. 3:30 pm - We grabbed a cab and are now back at the hotel resting. We're planning to go to the gigantic Chatuchak Weekend Market later tonight to shop some more.
7:00 pm - Vicky and Vicki overslept. They were supposed to meet me at 7 pm. I discovered the Chatuchak Market closes at 6 pm, so we can forget about that.
7:30 pm - OK, the girls have finally shown up. We're going down the street to the mall for dinner, then taking a cab over to the Suan Lumi Night Bazaar to shop instead.
9:30 pm - We visited the night bazaar and walked through some 40 buildings filled with shops. Still no luck with that purse for Vicki. They also had this giant Ferris wheel, so we took a ride on it. It was dark, so we got to see the lights of Bangkok from way up high. 10:00 pm - We're back at our hotel. We're going on the "Bridge on the River Kwai" Tour all day tomorrow. Our wake up call is at 6 am. I may have to call Vicky and Vicki down on the 14th floor so they don't oversleep. I don't think any of us are suffering from jet lag despite the 13-hour time difference from home. Another great day. Good night.
Day 5 - Sunday, January 21, 2007
Itinerary – Bangkok: Another day of leisure to discover Thailand’s vibrant and exotic capital at your own pace. Your Tour Director can make suggestions for independent exploration. Join an optional full day excursion to .... OK, that itinerary is beginning to sound like a broken record. We mounted an aggressive ground assault on the city of Bangkok over the last two days. We can now check it off the list of things to do before we die. Today, we're venturing out of the city and taking the all-day "Bridge on the River Kwai" Tour. Here's today's itinerary:
- 7:00 am: Meet your tour guide at the hotel's lobby. Depart for Kanchanaburi located 80 miles west of Bangkok and near the Myanmar border. First visit the Thailand-Burma Railway Museum to gain an appreciation for the history and significance of the "Railway of Death." Then visit the famous bridge and the Kanchanaburi cemetery, where many of the Allied POWs forced by the Japanese to build the "Railway of Death" are interred.
- 10:40 am: Take a 1-1/2 hour train ride on Death Railway passing through the original wooden viaduct constructed by Allied POWs.
- 12:15 pm: Buffet lunch at a local restaurant by the riverside followed by a boat ride down the scenic Kwai River.
- 18:00 pm: Arrive back in Bangkok
Oh, here's some history in case you're interested: Bridge on the River Kwai - The True Story
Or, if you like the Hollywood version starring William Holden, which is sort of true: The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) - British WW2 prisoners of war are given the task, by their Japanese captors, of building a railway bridge in a harsh Asian jungle. Led by Col Nicholson, a stereotypical British officer, the prisoners score a moral victory over the Japanese by not only building the bridge, but running the whole show. Unknown to Nicholson, an allied demolition team are planning a spectacular opening for the bridge.
6:05 am - Hmmm, I got 4 wake up calls at 6 am. I slept well. It's another gorgeous day, but hot. The River Kwai tour operator is coming to the hotel in a few minutes to pick us up. We are going by mini-bus to the outskirts of Bangkok, where we will meet a larger bus and other people going on the tour.
7:00 am - Had breakfast with Richard from Chicago, a member of our tour group. He went running this morning in the high heat and humidity. The air quality here is poor, so it would be like smoking a pack of cigarettes while running. I brought my running gear, but probably won't use it till we get up north where the air is better. The mini-bus showed up on time. 5 people in our group cancelled at the last minute, so only Vicky, Vicki, Byron and Barbara, and I are going on the tour.
7:15 am - We picked up a bunch of other people at various hotels in Bangkok and are now standing in some desolate parking lot in the middle of nowhere waiting for the big bus to come. There's a grungy outdoor restaurant in the parking lot with a bunch of mangy dogs running around. The restaurant is grilling meat and vegetables over a slow fire burning inside what looks like a big tin can with a screen on top. Doesn't look very sanitary. As we were waiting, this funny little motorcycle-powered vehicle with feather dusters loaded on it drove by. 9:00 am - We've arrived in Kanchanaburi. The town of Kanchanaburi was originally established by King Rama I as a first line of defense against the Burmese, who might use the old invasion route through the Three Pagodas Pass on the Thailand-Burma border. It's still a popular smuggling route into Myanmar (Burma). During WWII, the Japanese used Allied Prisoners to build the infamous Death Railway along the same invasion route. Thousands of prisoners died as a result of brutal treatment by their Japanese captors under the harshest of jungle conditions. Two-thirds of the railway lies in Thailand. The rest is in Myanmar.
9:30 am - Just got done going through the Thailand-Burma Railway Station Museum, which offers an objective view of the railway, explaining why it was built, why people died building it, and what has happened since WWII. The railway and bridge were built as part of an alternative supply route for the Japanese army to support its plans to invade and conquer Burma after successfully conquering Thailand during WWII. The bridge itself was built in 1943.
9:45 am - Just walked through the Allied War Cemetery across the street from the Museum. Those POWS suffered greatly. They weren't imprisoned or chained up at night because the jungle was too dense and the temperatures too high to make escape worth the effort. No Americans are buried here -- mostly British, Australian and Dutch POWs.
10:15 am - God, it's hot out here. Just got done seeing the star attraction, the actual bridge on the River Kwai. Only the curved trusses are original since allied bombers dropped bombs on the bridge just as it was being completed. In the movie, one of the POWs bombs the bridge rather than Allied bombers. The rebuilt bridge is still used today, which is why the guide told us to watch out for trains. Sure enough, a train pulled into the station on the east end of the bridge just as I was walking back over from the west side. They have these platforms on the side that you can stand on while the train passes. I stood on one of these as the train rumbled by and shot some mini-movies of people waving, saying "hi," and flashing the peace sign at me as the train chugged past. Great Kodak moment.
10:45 am - This is awesome! Our bus drove to a train station out in the middle of nowhere about 20 miles to the west and we met the train we saw on the River Kwai bridge several minutes ago. On the way to the train station, we picked up some stranded tourists whose mini-bus had broken down along the roadside. Bummer. Three guys who looked like Branch Davidians got on the bus along with this American girl, who turned out to be the girlfriend of one of the Davidians. Not knowing the girl was with the Davidians, Vicky made the girl sit next to her while the three guys sat together on the bench seat in the back of the bus.
We are now on that train heading down the Kwai River to Nam Tok, where our bus will meet us in 1-1/2 hours and take us to lunch.
12:15 am - The train ride was wonderful -- scenic and nostalgic. We traveled along the "Railway of Death" through the mountains, along the Kwai River and through beautiful Thai countryside and mountain ranges.
3:00 pm - We had a traditional Thai buffet lunch at the Kwai Village Resort Hotel and are now heading back to Bangkok on the bus. Following lunch, we went on a short boat trip down the Kwai River to enjoy the towering cliffs, waterfalls and scenery. It was very relaxing. Our boat was named "James Bond." After we got back, we had some fun with the caged myna birds at the resort. I whistled at a couple and they whistled back. Then one started saying things like "Good morning," "Do you talk?," "Pretty bird," and an occasional wooo-wooOOOOooo whistle. Pretty funny. We also toured one of the floating cottages where a couple on our tour were staying. Nice.
7:00 pm - We just got back to the hotel. We got off the big bus and got on a minivan again. The driver was driving like a maniac, bobbing and weaving through heavy Bangkok traffic. I was certain he was a graduate of the Skip Barber Racing School. Of course, since we were the first people picked up this morning, we were the last ones to be dropped off tonight.
7:45 pm - We're headed to the Bar/Restaurant district near our hotel. It's a bustling place with a lot of outdoor bars and restaurants. Very lively place and lots of action. We stopped at the Big Dog pub on the corner for a few Singha beers and wine coolers. Like most of the bars I've seen, they employ a lot of young Thai girls to flirt with the gentleman guests. There are also a lot of old, Western men with young Thai girls in tow. Don't they guys realize that all these girls want is their money? There are a lot of single, older, Western men here looking for some “attention.”
9:30 pm - After drinks at Big Dog, we walked up the stairs to the second floor of this outdoor bar scene to see what was going on. We were cajoled into going into the Pussy Cat lounge, which was a stripper bar with a lot of skinny, young, scantily-clad Asian girls dancing on an elevated stage. We talked to one of them. She ended up being 34-years-old. She said her name was Jessie and that she had only been working there 3 days. But she was the best dancer of the bunch. She must have had prior experience. She also told us she was pretty shy. I'm sorry, but if you can dance on a stage with no clothes in front of strangers, you can’t be all that shy. I was not getting much attention from the dancers because Vicky and Vicki were with me. Vicki didn’t look like she enjoyed being there. But Vicky was pretty chatty with the help. On the way out, she wished Jessie well in her new job.
10:00 pm – Back at the hotel taking a shower before going to bed. I got a little close to Jessie when we were saying goodbye. Some of her sweaty perfume rubbed off on my arm. Soap and water didn’t eliminate the seedy odor, so a thorough scrubbing is necessary. Another great day. Until tomorrow!
Day 6 - Monday, January 22, 2007
Itinerary - Bangkok, Ayutthaya, Phitsanulok: Over the next few days venture into some of Thailand’s most fascinating regions, rich with culture, history and stunning landscape. In Ayutthaya, the ancient capital, see the giant bronze statue of Wat Mongkol Borpith and the three ancient pagodas at Wat Phra Sri. Continue to Lopburi to view the magnificent stone carvings of Phra Prang Sam Yod as well as the Monkey Temple. Drive via beautiful scenery of rice paddies to Phitsanulok, the gateway to Northern Thailand, visit the Bronze Case Factory and view how Buddha Images are made in an authentic way. This evening, join us on an optional bicycle taxi ride to the famous "Flying Vegetable" to watch the spectacular cooking performance.6:30 am - Well, we leave Bangkok today by bus and start making our way by bus all the way up to Mae Sai and the northern border of Thailand almost 600 miles away. We'll have an overnight stay in Phitsanoluk tonight (234 miles away) and Lampang tomorrow night (another 200 miles after that), before reaching Mae Sai and the Golden Triangle (Thailand-Myanmar-Laos border) two days from now. From the Golden Triangle, we'll head 30 miles southwest to the city of Chiang Rai, where we will spend a few nights. As usual, Vicki, Vicky and I will stake out the last two rows of the bus so we have more room and can sleep across the five seats in the back if necessary.
7:00 am - Just had a quick breakfast and came back to the room. It's hot and steamy again outside. The north of the country is dryer and about 10 degrees cooler, which will be welcome after the high heat and humidity of Bangkok. This is a big day because we stop in Ayutthaya and Lopburi on the way to Phitsanoluk. Ayutthaya is the original capital city of Thailand. It was destroyed by Burmese invaders in the 1350s, which is considered the apex of the Burmese Kingdom. There's a temple and the ruins of an ancient city to see. Lopburi will be fun because the town has been completely overrun by monkeys. My guidebook says they're aggressive and will steal anything not bolted down. So people will have to take off name badges, earrings, sunglasses, etc., or risk having them snatched by the monkeys. I saw a news story on the Internet warning tourists that the monkeys may turn and attack you for no apparent reason. Sounds good, let's go!
8:00 am - We're pulling out of the hotel.
8:50 am - We're at Ayutthaya already.
9:00 am - Very nice. We're at the Ayutthaya Historical Park visiting yet another temple, Wat Mongkhon Bophit. It contains one of the largest, sitting Buddha statues in Thailand. It is bronze-cast. Across from it we will soon visit Wat Phra Si Sanphet, an area of about 5 acres inside ancient walls and alongside a river that contains a variety of stupas and other buildings constructed of red brick. The most famous are the 3 side-by-side chedis (stupas). It's very hot here and I'm melting. We ran into a group of Thai school children and their teacher, who were on a field trip of the site. So I had to get a photo of them with the very photogenic Vicki.
10:30 am - We're on the bus getting close to Lopburi. We learned the origin of the fat-belly Buddha. Historically, the ancient civilizations stored their jewels and treasures in the head of the Buddha statue. Invaders would then lop off the heads when they raped and pillaged. To make sure they didn't steal the treasures inside the head, they increased the size of the Buddha statue's stomach and hid the jewels there.
10:45 am - We learned that the basic wage of a Thai worker is about $180 per month. The tax rates are 10% for farmers, 20% for teachers, 40% for doctors, and 30% for everyone else. Only houses in the city of Bangkok are expensive, costing about $800,000 for a 2-story, 4-bedroom house.
11:00 am - Getting close to Lopburi. We're traveling through the countryside. It's pretty flat with lots of rice paddies, sugar cane and corn fields. There are irrigation ditches running alongside the road. This probably catches the water and keeps the roads from flooding during the October monsoon season. We learned that school sessions are kind of like the US. The kids are off in the summer rainy season (June, July and August). They attend school in September, then are off in October due to rain. They then are in session in November, December and part of January. They get some time off before going back from February to May 15. The average life expectancy in Thailand is 80 years in the countryside, and a little lower in Bangkok.
11:15 am - We're in Lopburi in front of the Prang Sam Yot temple. The monkeys saw our bus and are moving closer en masse. There are a lot of adult monkeys and quite a few babies. The babies are clinging to the mother's back or underside as they walk across the road. The cars are barely slowing down to let them cross. We heard that a lot of monkeys get killed by cars. There's also a fountain in the middle of the traffic circle we're parked by. The monkeys are sitting all over the edge of the fountain and some are swimming in it, even putting their heads underwater.
12:00 pm - We toured through Wat Sam Yot temple. It smelled pretty foul inside. The monkeys are crawling up the bars over the windows looking for handouts. Wat Sam Yot is classic Khmer-Lopburi style and is another Hindu-turned-Buddhist temple. There are three towers representing the Hindu trinity Brahma, Shiva and Vishnu (for you Jeopardy fans). A Buddha image sits out in front of the linked towers. Outside the temple, I managed to coax several of the babies away from their mothers and had them crawling up my legs, gnawing on my shoes laces and fighting for a place to sit on my back or shoulders. At one point, I had 3-4 riding on my back biting my head and running their fingers through my hair looking for nits I guess. Then a jealous monkey leaped off a wall onto my shoulder and chased the others away. When I tried to shoo him off me, he got all riled up and jumped off. Vicky got it all on tape.
Meanwhile, the youngest member of our group, Elyse, was sitting in the courtyard with a monkey sitting on top of her head, 2 more sitting on her lap and 2 others sitting around her. One of the monkeys reached into the side pocket of her backpack and took her watch. I have a picture of the crime in progress. It then scurried up a wall and sat on the ledge pulling it apart. One of the workers came out with a slingshot and fired pellets at the monkey. It came down, but destroyed the watch, which wasn't expensive. But it was painful watching the monkey tear off the straps and put them in his mouth. I could see it eating the metal pins that hold the watch to the watchband. Eventually, it spit the pins out. 
I also stopped kitty-corner at Wat Indra to admire another Buddha statue and to watch the monkeys swimming in the fountain. We then got back on the bus and headed to lunch at a local restaurant.1:00 pm - Instead of lunch, Vicky, Vicki and I walked around downtown Lopburi. There wasn't much to see. Vicky and Vicki stopped back at the restaurant while I walked around some more. When I got back to the restaurant, Vicky had gotten the owner to make us some ice cream desserts to snack on consisting of one scoop each of coconut, strawberry and chocolate chip ice cream. MMMmmmm.
1:15 pm - We're back on the road again. It's still about 4 hours to Phitsanoluk. I will do Sudoku puzzles. I'm almost done with the 60 I brought along. I make another 4 copies of the 60-puzzle set I downloaded off the Internet and scattered them around the bus for other people to do. My backpack grows ever lighter.
2:45 pm - Still driving. We're halfway to Phitsanoluk. We're going through some town that is the teakwood capital of Thailand. We've seen a lot of beautifully handcrafted teak furniture for sale all over. It costs only a couple thousand dollars for a large table, 4 chairs and large bench, but the cost of shipping will kill you.
3:00 pm - We stopped for a break at what looks like a state-owned tourist store. Almost all the mens urinals are visible to the women as they stand outside the ladies room waiting their turn. My clothes smell like monkeys. I also have a perfect, tiny, dirty monkey paw print on the left leg of my shorts.
4:20 pm - We're about 15 miles from Phitsanoluk. The movie Vicky shot of the monkeys fighting over a spot on my back is hysterical. The look on that one monkey's face when I tried to shoo him off my back had me rolling in the aisle. I also shot a movie of Vicky with monkeys on her. She got a little creeped out by it all. But it was funny too.
5:00 pm - We're at the famous Topland Convention Center Hotel in the heart of Phitsanulok. It has a huge shopping mall attached. Vicky and Vicki won't be doing much purse shopping till we reach Chiang Mai. We met a lady on the bus coming home from the River Kwai Tour who said they could find the purses they want at the Chiang Mai Night Bazaar. We arrived too late to see the second most important Buddha in all Thailand, so will do that first thing tomorrow morning. 5:30 pm - We're all checked in. I got my back-up camera batteries charging, then headed out the door to snap a picture of the hotel and then go down to the sprawling market down the street.
6:00 pm - The market is wild. They have everything you could possibly want for sale. They even had a bug snack bar complete with an assortment of fried locusts, grasshoppers, worms, frog skin, beetles and scorpions to choose from. MMMmmm...think I'll pass. I don't want to spoil my dinner (ha ha!).6:15 pm - The entire group is going by bicycle-rickshaws to the "Morning Glory Flying Vegetable" restaurant for a some entertainment and snacks. Morning glory is some sort of spinach grass they stir fry with garlic and soy bean sauce.
6:30 pm - OK, I paid my 200 Baht ($5) and am sitting in the back of my bicycle rickshaw. My driver's name is Tonn. He's not much bigger than me. He's lucky I don't weigh very much. He'll have an easy time pedaling me around. Some of the smaller drivers have two large passengers in the back, which means they won't be setting any land speed records today. Vicky has a male driver and Vicki has a female driver. Wow! The rickshaw has a battery-powered lighted antenna mounted high on the back so cars see us. It's dark out and we have about a 2-hour tour to go on, including stops. 
6:40 pm - We pedaled single file through town in the semi-darkness on our way to the Flying Vegetable restaurant. We have about 20 bicycle taxis in our group. My eyes widened in surprise when we nearly got hit by a couple of cars going around a traffic circle, and when we merged into traffic after a few turns. Tonn just raises his hand to stop traffic and doesn't even flinch as cars bear down on us. Tonn is pretty strong and we're cruising along pretty fast at the head of the group. 
6:45 pm - Oh, oh. We're stopping at a roadside Bug Snack Bar for a tasting. Mr. Boeing, our Tour Director, just brought over a sampler of fried locusts, grasshoppers, worms, frog skin, beetles and scorpions for us to try. There's also some water and beer to wash it down with. Nasty. I'll have no part of this. 
6:50 am - I've just learned that even though Vicky will not eat anything green, she will eat bugs. She downed one of the beetles. Ick! Our group has pretty much devoured the plate, except for the large locust and one large grasshopper. The wings on the locust just didn't look very appetizing and the grasshopper was just too big. 
7:30 pm - We've been at the "Flying Vegetable" for a half hour now. The show is pretty funny. The whole process is referred to as "phak bung lawy faa," literally meaning "floating-in-the-sky morning glory vine." Sounds like some kind of tourist racket if you ask me. I read about it in my Lonely Planet guidebook. It says, "if you're lucky, you'll be there when an unsuspecting tour group becomes part of the act." My guide book was right since we were that tour group. Virtually all the men were required to catch flying vegetables. The catch was that they dressed you up in this silly costume to do it. To make it easier to get us on stage, we drank lots of Thai Rum and cokes. Very smooth that Thai Rum! Even good straight up.The entire cooking process is a performance. They have an outdoor area set up with woks and a propane gas system. They start by cooking this spinach-like vegetable called morning glory in a wok with soy bean oil and garlic. As the cooking process nears an end, they start beating on drums to get the crowd excited. The process ends with a huge pyrotechnic flare up you can feel 20 feet away. I thought Vicky was going to get her eyebrows singed off because when we arrived she unwittingly walked right up to the cooking area to take a photo as the flare up occurred. After the flare up, the cook flings the cooked morning glory high up in the air to a waiter standing on a raised platform with plate-in-hand 20 feet away. The waiter skillfully catches the morning glory on the plate much to the joy of the cheering crowd below and serves it to waiting customers.
The costume we had to wear started with a grass hula skirt and a large pair of rubber breasts. They then stuck a giant curved cucumber in the waistband and topped off the ensemble with a headband comprised of stalks of various kinds of vegetables. They then took us up on the platform and gave us something resembling a large garbage can lid to catch the vegetables when the time came. Byron was first, then Al and so forth. I got my turn, but by then people were losing interest. My headband fell off as well and I had a hard time seeing the vegetable coming at me in the dark. Eventually, one of the women, Marilyn tried. I thought that if there was anyone in the group who would miss catching their vegetables, it would be her. Sure enough. We actually ate our vegetables. They were pretty good.
8:00 pm - After the dinner theatrics, and several rum and cokes, they sent us into the adjacent night market to shop. As you can tell by now, retail hopping is big in Thailand. The prices can't be beat and you always have to negotiate price--but not after you've had too much to drink.
8:30 pm - We got tired of shopping, met our rickshaw drivers and got back to the hotel ahead of schedule. Sadly, we're having dinner at KFC! The hotel is OK, not posh. It's got a convention center and shopping mall attached. Phitsanulok has 700,000 inhabitants.
9:00 pm - Time for bed. We have a few local stops in the morning, then another long driving day to Lampang. It's been another long, fun-filled day. Nighty, night.
Day 7 - Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Itinerary - Phitsanulok, Sukothai, Lampang: Today travel to Sukhothai to see the famous ruins of this 13th century first capital of Siam. Visit the Textile Museum, a unique private collection. Continue to Sri Satchanalai, the northern outpost town of the Kingdom of Sukhothai, built by King Ramkamhaeng where you’ll visit an ancient Ceramic Kiln and a local paper and ceramic making village before proceeding to Lampang for overnight. Lampang is famous for its narrow streets and traditional horse-drawn carriages. 7:00 am – Another gorgeous day in paradise. Much cooler than Bangkok. We have another long day on the bus. But first we’re stopping to see the temple we missed yesterday. Then we visit a factory on the south side of town where they make cast Buddha statues in traditional Thai fashion. Then we get on the highway and truck north to Lampang for an overnight stay at a hotel where a murder occurred last year in Room 604. We can’t wait to see which one of us gets that room.
7:30 am – My laundry situation is growing critical. My clothes are all sweated out from enduring the heat over the past several days. The clothes I wore yesterday wreak of monkeys. Mr. Boeing says he will arrange laundry service for us with a friend of his in Chiang Mai, where we will pay much less than the hotel. Good. We’ll be riding elephants in a few days, so maybe I’ll wear my monkey clothes on that day so I don’t ruin another set of clothes. I’ve been washing underwear and socks in the sink and hanging them up to dry every other day at the hotel. Pants and shirts have to go to the laundry because it’s so humid they would never dry.
8:00 am – Mr. Boeing buzzed us through the market behind the hotel and over to Wat Yai, which contains the second most famous Buddha statue in all Thailand after the Emerald Buddha at Wat Phra Kaew in Bangkok. You know, all these temples and Buddhas are starting to look alike and the level of excitement at seeing them is starting to wane. We toured the grounds at Wat Yai, posed for some pictures around this enormous fat-belly Buddha and then headed for the bus and the Buddha Casting Foundry.
8:15 am - We got to the bus late. Elyse has moved into our territory in the back of the bus. I guess we’ll let her sit back here just this once. No one wants to sit back there because they can’t hear the tour guide when he speaks. But there’s a lot more room back there to spread out and we can hear the guide if we need to. And when we’re talking amongst ourselves, it doesn’t bother anybody.
10:00 am – The Buddha Foundry was OK. There were several artisans demonstrating how they create the molds, pour the bronze and apply gild to make a finished product. I broke down and bought a tiny brass bell to hang in a window somewhere or give as a gift. It had a nice ring to it. While in the bathroom, a member of our group, Tim, had a spider bite him on the arm. It’s all swollen and itchy and some people think the spider might be poisonous. Tim doesn’t look like he’s going to collapse and die and no one at the foundry seems concerned. 10:30 am – OK, we’re on the road north to Sukothai, the first capital of Thailand (Siam) in the 13th and 14th centuries. We’ll be visiting Sukothai Heritage Park, which is a 17 square-mile UNESCO World Heritage Site with 21 sites consisting basically of ruins of an ancient city. We’ll spend an hour or so on a guided tour before boarding the bus again for Lampang. The Sukothai Kingdom is viewed as the golden age of Thai civilization—the religious art and architecture of the era are considered to be the most classic of Thai styles. It’s most famous king, King Ramkhamhaeng (1275-1317), is credited with having developed Thai script and expanded the Sukothai Kingdom to include most of today’s Thailand.
12:45 pm – We’re at Sukothai Heritage Park. Sukothai means “Dawn of Happiness.” This place is incredible. Several members of the group are more interested in taking pictures than going on the guided tour. I can’t blame them. Our first stop was Wat Mahathat, an area densely packed with temples ruins, Buddha statues, pillars and moats. There are 198 stupas within the walls. The camera shutters were clicking even before we got off our open-air shuttle. Mahathat was the spiritual and administrative center of the old capital.
1:00 pm – We now on the far side of the Heritage Park visiting Wat Sa Si, the “Sacred Pond Monastery.” The monastery sits on an island surrounded by a moat that you reach by foot bridge. It’s classic Sukothai style.1:50 pm - We’ve stopped at a local hotel for lunch. Vicky and I skipped the buffet and went to the coffee shop, where I had a burger with a fried egg on top and fries. No, I’m not sick of Thai food yet, but something different sounded appealing. They even had live entertainment in the coffee shop—a cheesy lounge act.
2:30 pm – I don’t know where we’re going, but we turned off the main road and are bouncing through the back roads amongst the rice paddies and sugar cane fields.
3:00 pm – We stopped at the Si Satchanalai Center for the Study and Preservation of Sangkalok Kilns. The area we’re in was once famous for making and exporting pottery to all parts of Southeast Asia. The kilns were recently discovered buried under centuries of dirt. UNESCO partially funded the excavation of several areas on the property, including several large kilns now housed in an enclosed building, and the pits outside where pottery rejects were discarded. At one point, 200 kilns lined the river below. On the way out, I got a great shot of a man and boy on a pedal cart and a lone water buffalo moseying in the ditch along the roadside. 
3:30 pm – We’re visiting a Thai textile museum in Si Satchanalai where we saw weavers making silk scarves, which is a typical trade for the local Thai Phuan people.
6:00 pm – Finally arrived in Lampang at the Hotel of Death, where a masseuse was strangled in Room 604. I was pre-assigned to Room 606. Our buddy Dave got Room 604! 
10:00 pm – We’re back from an evening on the town. Dave, Vicky, Vicki and I caught the hotel shuttle downtown. Strangely, the driver took back alleys all the way to the river front, about a mile south of the hotel. We stopped for a drink at Relax, where we encountered a significant language barrier trying to order some beers and cocktails. Afterwards, we took a walk down the riverfront. It was dark and the reflection of the buildings off the water was perfect. We walked across a lit-up bridge to the other side before heading back over and down the street to the Riverside Restaurant. There was no language barrier there. But like every restaurant we’ve been in so far, they didn’t bring out everyone’s food at the same time. They bring it out as the cook prepares it. So you either start eating when it comes, or eat it cold later once everyone else is served. We called the shuttle and got back to the hotel a few minutes ago. Tomorrow will be another day on the road—wake up call at 6:30 am, bags outside the hotel room door at 7:15 am, departure for Mae Sai/Golden Triangle at 8:00 am. At least it will be a shorter drive, and then we’ll be in Chiang Rai for a few days. Good night.Day 8 - Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Itinerary - Golden Triangle, Chiang Rai: Depart for Phayao, a rural lakeside town and once princely state. Visit Mae Sai, the Northern-most point of Thailand, stroll through the colorful local market and shop for Burmese handicrafts before arriving in charming Chiang Rai (1/2 of us actually crossed the border into Tachilek, Myanmar to make the shopping experience more authentic). Proceed to Chiang Saen, situated on the border with Laos. Enjoy a short boat trip on the Mekong River towards the Golden Triangle - the meeting point of Thailand, Burma and Laos. Enjoy a stop in Donsao, Laos to watch the sunset on the Mekong River. Return to Chiang Saen by boat and tour the Opium Museum before returning to your hotel. 6:00 am – Ahhh, another gorgeous day. Less humid and cooler. One of these days I’m going to break out my running gear and go for a brisk morning jog, but they’ve been keeping us so busy that there just hasn’t been time. But I have done a lot of walking, which isn’t as good as running, but suffices.
8:00 am – We’re on the bus motoring north up the main highway. We have a short, 2-hour drive from Lampang to Chiang Rai, where we will check into the hotel and then head to Mae Sai. Mae Sai is the northernmost city in Thailand. It’s situated on the Mekong River and is an entry point into the Union of Myanmar (Burma). Although the tour does not include any time in Myanmar, we have been lobbying the tour group for several days to vote in favor of going there for some shopping. We definitely have a majority.
Vicki put me in charge of figuring out how to get into Myanmar several months ago. She is determined to get into that country if it kills her. I did all the research and downloaded all the maps. Now it’s just a matter of getting Mr. Boeing to OK it and getting through the border-crossing formalities. I think we’re going to make it.
After the scheduled stop in Mae Sai, we drive southeast down the coast to Chiang Saen where we board a boat for a cruise through the Golden Triangle, which is the point in the Mekong River where Thailand, Laos and Myanmar meet. I heard we are stopping on the Laos side for some shopping, so will add another country to my passport. After that, we head back to Chiang Rai.
8:30 am – We learned from Mr. Boeing that the Mekong River is over 2,400 miles long. It starts in Tibet and flows through China, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos and Viet Nam. The only thing I knew about it before that was from news reports during the Viet Nam War era.
9:00 am – We’ve stopped at a local pineapple farm to sample fruit and take some pictures. Each of us got to take turns putting on a traditional Thai hat (“kan”) and balancing a bamboo rod with baskets on each end on our shoulder while holding up a pineapple. Vicky had to have a picture of her with the owner. We all sampled the delicious pineapple, gave a dollar donation to the farmer, then reboarded the bus to continue our trek.
9:30 am – The bus is slowly climbing a steep mountain range that we have to cross over to get to our destination. We’re at about 4,000 feet right now. It’s beautiful, lush green scenery out there.
10:00 am – The word is out amongst the group that I know something about last night’s hotel and that I’ve been withholding information. The group has asked Mr. Boeing to give me the microphone so that I can come clean. It’s all about the strangulation death in Room 604 in last night’s hotel.
Here’s the speech I gave:
For several weeks now, we have been anxiously waiting to see which of us would be staying in room 604 at last night's hotel. You see, the only info I could find on the hotel came from the police blotter of the Lampang newspaper. I found it while surfing the web. This is a good news, bad news story.
The bad news is that one of you slept in a former crime scene last night. We thought we would wait until we had checked out to tell you about it. But Vicky spilled the beans and told the occupant of that room what happened in Room 604 over dinner last night.
The story starts with our perpetrator Mr. Somkid.
I'm sure at one point in his life, Mr. Somkid was a fine, upstanding, law-abiding citizen. But at a certain moment, Mr. Somkid's penchant for in-room massages caused his moral standards to veer off the highway of decency, overturn in the ditch and burst into flames.
During one brief period in 2005, Mr. Somkid was the driving force behind a one-man crime wave that left a path of destruction and a number of strangulation deaths in its wake. In fact, he murdered 5 masseuses in 5 different hotel rooms in 5 different cities over a 6 month period.
Fortunately, he was caught and convicted, and is now safely behind bars. The bad news is that our travel companion Dave had the dubious honor of sleeping in Room 604 last night. And he knew about it when he went to bed last night. But Dave was undeterred. He did not sleep in the hallway or the hotel lobby.
The good news is that none of the other hotels we'll be staying in have a sordid past we know about.
I'd like to propose a rousing round of applause for Dave, who showed the utmost degree of intestinal fortitude under extreme and taxing conditions.
So, here's to you Dave!
This was followed by a rousing round of applause for Dave, who said sleeping in the Room of Death did not effect him. I sure hope not.
11:00 am – We’ve stopped in Phayao for coffee. Some vendors are selling “dancing prawns” on the roadside. These are live prawns that “dance” when tossed into a pan containing a spicy hot sauce. Good thing PETA isn’t here. We browsed the stores surrounding the coffee shop, but found few bargains. Most of the enterprising proprietors charged Western prices. The only bargain was the currency exchange rate, so several people took advantage of it and changed money.
1:45 pm – We checked into the Rimkok Resort, our home in Chiang Rai for the next few days. It’s nicer than the reviews on TripAdvisor.com said. It’s not right in the city, but close. It’s along a river, has a nice pool and outdoor dining. The rooms aren’t too bad either. We are now on our way to Mae Sai. 2:00 pm – We’ve arrived in Mae Sai, and the vote is in. We’re going to Myanmar for an hour of shopping. Those who don’t want to cross the border will shop for Burmese goods on the Thai side of the border in Mae Sai. After the vote, we were all singing “if you’re happy and you know it clap your hands ….” and quipping loud enough for Mr. Boeing to hear that his tip just went waaayyyyy up. Vicki is verrrrryyy happy. 16 people want to go into Myanmar. Mr. Boeing then sang the elephant song in Thai that his 9-year-old daughter taught him and I provided the elephant trumpeting sound effects at the end. We are all really happy now.
2:10 pm – Mr. Boeing just described a different procedure for crossing the border than what I got off the Internet. Apparently the rules are getting easier. We just go the border with our passports. The Thai border guards make a copy of them, charge us $5, hold onto the copy and send us over to the Burmese border guards to pay another $25 and leave our passports. I got the one receipt for everyone’s passports, so, if I don’t like someone in the group, now is my chance to get rid of them. We’ll collect our passports from the border office upon our return to Thailand.
2:40 pm – We’re in Myanmar! Wooohoooo! The crossing process was tedious and Vicky got a tad impatient with the Thai guard, making it a point to tell him that we only had ½ an hour to shop. The border guard, of course, could have cared less. It may have expedited the crossing procedure since the guard moved our group off to the side and processed us together instead of one-by-one, which was a lot faster. I was in charge of the process and would have to go to the Myanmar border office on the way back to collect everyone’s passport for re-entry to Thailand. After we cross the border, the group will disperse into the street market and meet back at the border crossing in one hour--at 3:40 pm — I hope. 
4:15 pm – Mission accomplished!!! We’re back from Tachilek, Myanmar. Those who stayed in Mae Sai to shop said it was somewhat commercialized with Western prices. That was not the case in Tachilek where pirated DVDs and CDs were selling for pennies on the dollar and kids were selling Viagra and Cialis on the street for a quarter. Otherwise, there were a lot of textiles, clothing, food and handicrafts for sale. Unfortunately, Al and Jazz bought a glass ruby instead of a real one and had to rush back to the store to return it. So, at 3:40 pm, we were all waiting at the border crossing wondering where they were. Mr. Boeing also came across the border. We ran into him on one of the busy streets in the market. He was the one who told Al and Jazz their ruby was fake, and to return it. Good job Mr. Boeing. The majority of the Burmese people we saw in Tachilek had this yellow powder (tanica) smeared on their faces. It's a talc-like powder derived from trees or plants that apparently works well as a sunscreen and acne preventer.
On the way back, Vicky, Vicki, Richard and a couple others ran off without collecting their passports from me. They somehow got back over without showing them and headed down to the 7/11 convenience store where the bus was waiting, and the much needed bathroom. When Vicky came out of the bathroom, I told her in a frantic tone that we had a problem getting her passport and that she needed to run back to the border to get it. She already knew I had it though. But it would have been fun to watch her rush back there.
5:00 pm – We’re in Chiang Saen. We’re heading down to the riverfront to board a longboat for our cruise on the Golden Triangle. Several hillside tribe children are down there selling stuff. Mr. Boeing said one boy was from the Karen (Longneck) tribe and the others were from the Akha tribe. We’re going to visit these folks in their jungle villages tomorrow. There is this massive gold Buddha statue sitting inside a boat on the shore and a very interesting elephant shrine behind it that people are climbing on top of for pictures. We’ll be back later for pictures. 
6:15 pm – We just finished our boat ride through the Golden Triangle. There’s not much to talk about. It looked pretty nondescript—like a river with a lot of shoreline, except for the casino on the Myanmar river front. 
We stopped in the Laos town of Donsao on the other side of the river for a ½ hour of shopping. Got my passport stamped to prove it. It was a very poor town comprised of bamboo huts. Pretty bleak. I did buy a Ralph Lauren Polo shirt for $3.50. We’ve seen them everywhere, but not this cheap. I can’t tell you if it’s real or not, but no one will know the difference. Hopefully the sleeve will not fall off after the first washing. They also sold wines and liquors made from snakes, scorpions and frogs. They throw the creature into the bottle just for good measure. One family also had a dart game set up in their yard. For a few cents, you could pop balloons and win a prize. Vicki won a piece of candy. Vicky won a drink. I won nothing.
As the sun went down, we took pictures of the sunset over Thailand from the Laos side of the Mekong. Priceless. Upon our return to Thailand, we were again met by the hill tribe children hawking their wares.
6:30 pm – We are now at the Opium Museum. It tells the history of opium growing by the local hill tribes. It’s used for medicinal purposes only (ha ha). They had some museum postcards, on the back of which you could rubber stamp the date of your visit and other hill tribe symbols to commemorate your visit to the museum.
Vicky also managed to get a picture taken with her on that elephant shrine behind the Buddha-in-a-Boat. 6:50 pm – We are on the bus headed back to Chiang Rai. We’ll call it a day and dine at the hotel tonight. Another great day. We’re having fun.
Day 9 - Thursday, January 25, 2007
Itinerary - Chiang Rai: Day at leisure. Your hotel here is on the banks of the Mae Kok River. This morning join an optional boat trip down the river and visit the fascinating local hill tribe villages, learn about their culture and observe the colorful costumes ($30).6:30 am - Another beautiful day. There hasn't been a single bad weather day yet. I shut the air conditioning off and slept with the patio doors open last night. All I could hear was the peaceful chirping of crickets outside. That just lulled me to sleep. Towards morning I woke up when I heard a mosquito buzzing around my head. When the buzzing stopped, I knew she had landed on me. I got up and shut the patio doors and turned the AC back on. When I went into the bathroom and turned on the light, I discovered that I had been bitten 3 or 4 times. I won't be sleeping with the windows open again, that's for sure.
8:30 am - We're visiting the nomadic hill tribes of northern Thailand today. There are five tribes. We will visit three of them: The Karen, the Akha and the Mien. They represent the minority here in Thailand and generally refuse to assimilate into Thai society. They live out in the jungle way up in the hills along the Thai-Myanmar border. Our guide had to call ahead to get permission to visit the village. The Karen are famous for their longneck women who wear large, tight brass coils around their necks. The Akha are the most peaceful of the tribes and prefer flight over fight. When preyed on by other tribes, they pick up and move. They've been in their present site for about 3 years, having come here from Myanmar. They have been known to travel back and forth between Thailand and Myanmar with little government interference. The Mien are the poorest tribe and is made up of all Chinese people.
8:45 am - The bus is too big to go down the roads leading to the hill tribe encampments, so we stopped at a local gas station/convenience store to transfer to these small pick-up trucks with a cap on the back. We sit in the back of course. While waiting for the pick-ups to arrive, we bought more toothbrushes, toothpaste and snacks to hand out to the children in each village. I've already been collecting all the extra soap, toothbrushes and toothpaste that we get at the hotel everyday, so I have quite a bit of stuff to give out.
9:00 am - OK, they split our large group into 4 smaller groups and assigned us to a pick-up truck. We bounced around in the back of this thing as it wound up the steep mountain road. We turned off the paved road and are now heading up the dirt road to the Karen tribe (Padong Longneck people). The mountains are quite beautiful. I'm with Vicki, Duane and Judith, Byron and Barbara, and Cheryl.
9:15 am - We're at the Karen Village. All I can see is a very steep road leading down to the village, and a lot of bamboo huts strewn across the mountain top in the distance. The view is really nice. There are a couple of shops at the drop off point where the tribe sells its wares, and a few children hanging around. I did notice a satellite dish or two, and a couple of people talking on cell phones. So maybe these tribes aren't as primitive as I was expecting. This village also has some buildings on it, so I would characterize it as a semi-permanent town. 
9:30 am - After handing 200 baht ($5.50) over to the tribal leader, we walked down the steep hill to the village. The contribution we made goes to the health fund for the tribe's children. The "leader" ended up being a young girl, so probably wasn't the official head of the tribe. On the way down the hill, there were several colorfully dressed tribe people and a lot of shops. The shops were staffed by "longneck" girls who had tight, brass wire coils around their necks. It actually doesn't make their necks longer. It pushes their shoulders down, weakening their neck muscles. They walked as if they had trouble holding their heads up. I met a group of Dutch people, so got a chance to practice my Dutch. One actually worked for Fortis, the Belgian-Dutch company that owned my company until 2004.
10:15 am - Well, that Karen village was interesting. A bit commercialized though. We've just driven about 10 miles down the highway and over dirt roads and through the jungle to our second stop, the Akha tribe village. This is very primitive compared to the last place. Once again, the children are here to greet us and I unloaded the balance of my toothbrushes and toothpaste to the kids, who happily snarfed them up, unlike the one longneck girl at the last village who kind of frowned when I gave her some stuff, muttering only a soft, insincere "thank you." Unlike the Karen village, there are no outward signs of commercialization. There is a long dirt road leading into town with bamboo huts and farm animals (pigs, chickens) running all over. The view of the mountains is really beautiful. No satellite dishes, cell phones or modern buildings. It's about as primitive as Gilligan's Island.
10:45 am - We walked through the town, did some more shopping, and snapped a few photos before getting back in our little trucks and heading to our last stop. I got a great shot of a cat sleeping on a hot tin roof and one of the local tribe women. We even saw the inside of one home--dirt floor, basic necessities, no running water or electricity, a small cooking fire glowing in the center of the room. On the way out of town, some of the children grabbed onto the back of our truck and skidded across the ground on their feet like they were waterskiing. You'd never see that in the US. Byron yelled at them "mai! mai!" (no! no!), and they stopped. 11:15 am - Well, that Akha village was more of what I was expecting. Though it did have its share of shops. It was fun trying to take pictures of the old ladies in their colorful costumes. Most got upset when photographed so I had to shoot a bunch of clandestine pictures. We've done some more bouncing around in this truck and have now arrived at the Mien village, which is a small collection of bamboo huts and newer buildings with a paved road going through part of it. There are a number of shops along the road and the children warmly greeted us upon arrival, just like the other villages.
I bought some more souvenirs here. I think my 4-year-old niece will like the little, colorfully-embroidered zipper purse ($1.35) and funky key chain ($0.69) I splurged on for her. Vicky bought an embroidered scarf from one old lady and got a bonus prize. The old lady accidentlly put the half-completed scarf she was working on in the bag with Vicky's purchase. The poor lady must be wondering where that unfinished scarf went to. Vicki said she would take it home and finish it.12:00 pm - We're heading back in our pick-up trucks down the mountains back to the big bus. This hill tribe thing was worth the $30. I'm beginning to wonder whether these tribes are really primitive people or just putting on a show for the tourists. (By the way, since I am typing this up after the fact, I'd like to point out for the record that we ran into a lot of these hill tribe people at the markets in big cities like Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai, so my theory about all this being a show for the tourists seems to have some credibility.)
12:15 pm - We're back at the big bus. The people in Vicky's truck apparently had quite the wild time. Our group was fun too, but probably not as wild.
12:30 pm - Oh, oh! Mr. Boeing, stop the bus. We want to take a picture of the rice farmers! On the way back to the hotel in Chiang Rai, we had to make an “emergency” stop on the roadside to photograph rice farmers in traditional Thai clothing planting rice out in the rice paddies. We even walked way into the field to get close-up pictures, which they gladly posed for.2:30 pm – After returning to the hotel in Chiang Rai, I broke out my running gear and went for a 52-minute run in the 80 degree heat. This is the first run in over a week. I went out the hotel lot and turn right towards the city of Chiang Rai, but reached the city limits, traffic lights and air pollution after about a mile. I turned around and went back past the hotel in the other direction, running three miles down the road to the next town, Maosao. Since they follow British driving rules and drive on the left in Thailand, I had watch myself to avoid getting hit by cars, motor scooters or a runaway ox cart. By the time I reached Maosao, I was really hot. I drank most of my water just getting there.
I then did a U-turn and headed back to the hotel. As I ran along the roadside, you could tell people here are not accustomed to seeing runners. A lot of people waved or gave me a "thumbs up" as they went by in their cars or on their mopeds. One pick-up truck with a bunch of farm hands in the back honked, yelled out and pumped their fists in the air as they drove by. Even a lot of kids walking home from school in their bright uniforms looked surprised. After the run, I took a shower and went down to the pool where a bunch of people from our group were congregated. After a few beers, Michael, a member of our group, told us about the last night in Bangkok where they went to a stripper bar. The girls there were quite talented, demonstrating their prowess at shooting bananas and darts out of their genitalia. Michael apparently caught one of the bananas in mid-air. There were also some balls on a string being pulled out of said genitalia--a lot of balls according to Michael.
9:00 pm - We took the shuttle to town and had dinner at Aye's, a very popular Thai restaurant with a wide assortment of dishes, wines and exotic drinks. Vicki and I had exotic drinks garnished with strips of lime peel and other fruits. We ordered a bunch of seafood dishes and beef curry, and shared around the table. Afterwards, we went across the street to the bustling Chiang Rai night market to shop, then caught the hotel shuttle back to the Rimkok. Another wonderful day.
Day 10 - Friday, January 26, 2007
Itinerary - Chiang Rai, Chiang Mai: Morning drive to Chiang Mai, the “Rose of the North.” Your hotel is centrally located within a short walking distance to the renowned night market. Afternoon at leisure. Tonight we suggest an optional “Kantoke Dinner” featuring local specialties as well as breathtaking performance of songs and dances by a local hill tribe dressed in traditional costumes ($22, dinner included). We skipped the Kantoke Dinner. Shopping is more important!8:00 am – Oh, rapture! Another fine day. Beats the winter weather at home. We’ve checked out of the hotel in Chiang Rai and are now on our way to Chiang Mai. It’s a 4-hour bus ride. Vicky and Vicki are eagerly awaiting their visit to the Chiang Mai Night Market where they will finally find the knock-off purses they have been so desperately seeking since this trip began. We know they’re in Chiang Mai because, during the River Kwai Tour in Bangkok, we met a lady on the bus who told us they were there. We ran into her again at our hotel this morning in Chiang Rai and she confirmed it, having just come from Chiang Mai herself.
8:15 am – Wow, what a temple. We’re making a stop at the “New Temple,” Wat Rongkhun. It’s all white and very ornate. It’s surrounded by water and has a bridge going over it to the entrance. Below the bridge is a fountain with a whole bunch of arms coming out of it. The place is also crawling with Japanese tourists in yellow jackets. We’ve seen a lot of them on this trip, but this is the worst so far. My theory is that Japan is so overcrowded, that, at any point in time, 20% of them have to be out of the country traveling so there’s enough room on the island to hold everyone. They wouldn’t be so bad were it not for the fact that they are kind of rude and pushy, linger around in your camera shot, and insist on having a dorky photo of themselves in front of every monument just so they can prove to their friends at home that they were actually there. 
8:30 am – Since I did all my Sudoku puzzles, Sara, a member of our group, bought me a Sudoku book in Thai as a gift. How nice. Mr. Boeing is also passing around this flower thing his 9-year-old daughter made out of condoms. Pretty interesting. 10:20 am - We’re stopping at the Cabbages and Condoms Resort for a coffee and bathroom break. The sign out front said we have arrived at “The Rubber Triangle.” This is a non-profit chain an Australian or British man started to create awareness and combat the AIDS epidemic that hit Thailand in the 1980s. Now, profits go to rural development, education and environmental protection. We posed with the giant “Safe Sex” condom on the front porch and roamed around the resort before getting back on the bus and resuming our journey to Chiang Mai.
12:30 pm – We’re in Chiang Mai, but stopping at a gem dealer and for lunch before going to the hotel. Michael decided this wasn’t his cup of tea, so Mr. Boeing got a taxi to take him to the hotel. I hate these planned shopping stops because it's all so controlled. They made us watch a movie on diamond and precious stone mining in Thailand, then sent us out into this vast showroom to shop for jewelry. They have an army of uniformed sales people just waiting to “help” you. The image of the sales people running down the corridor after the prior group got out of the movie is still stuck in my mind. The store’s plan of attack was definitely a man-to-man offense. One salesperson was assigned to follow each person or couple around the store. I noticed one salesman shadowing me around the store, so I kept him in the corner of my eye as I walked faster and slower around the showroom. Eventually I hit the accelerator and bolted out the door into the parking lot where a bunch of smarter people in our group were standing. Rob, Vicky bought a $60 14-K white gold cubic zirconium pendant.
12:35 pm – OK, that shopping nightmare is over. Mr. Boeing says we’re going to have lunch, then stop at a ceramics factory and umbrella factory before going to the hotel. Oh, brother, will this never end? Can’t we go to the hotel? Guess I could take a cab, but I have no idea where I am.
12:40 pm – Mr. Boeing’s friend, Mr. Tor the Laundry Man, is here on the bus to distribute laundry bags. He’ll do our laundry overnight for a fraction of the hotel’s price. I’m out of clothes so the timing couldn’t be better.
2:45 pm – Just finished visiting the Celadon Ceramics factory where they make all sorts of dinnerware and gift items. Although there was a big sign saying “Safety First,” I noticed only a few people wearing protective eye ware or earplugs. We toured the whole factory, watching the hand-creation of ceramic items from start to finish.
3:30 pm – Just finished the umbrella factory tour. It was a lot better than I expected. Like the ceramic factory, everything here is made by hand including the wooden umbrella frames and canvas tops. We watched wood pulp being mashed into paper for the umbrella canvasses. Then people whittling and constructing frames. Lastly, we went over to the paint shop to watch them turn the umbrellas into colorful finished product, then set out in the sun to dry. Took a lot of photos.
5:00 pm – Finally at the hotel, the Chiang Mai Plaza Hotel. Very deluxe. I went for a walk down the street. There wasn’t much to see except for a bunch of “Karaoke” clubs near the hotel. That appears to mean “stripper bar” in Thailand and are probably worth avoiding.6:00 pm – I cruised through the night market. It’s about 2 blocks from our hotel. It is utterly huge. Vicky and Vicki are back at the hotel mentally preparing for tonight’s shopping bonanza and purse conquest. The Chiang Mai Night Bazaar is considered the granddaddy of all shopping experiences in Thailand. And I can see why. During the day, there are these massive buildings containing shops and stalls selling anything you can imagine. At night, the shops set up stalls on the sidewalks out front for blocks and blocks and blocks. There are a lot of black market and knock-off merchandise for sale at low, low prices. I bought another Ralph Lauren Polo shirt for 150 baht ($4.00). That’s all I’m going to buy though since they not the real thing and might shrink a lot after the first washing. I had to buy an XXL. There are also a million outdoor foot massage parlors. For a few bucks you can get a one-hour massage. Vicky and Vicki have been overdosing on foot and back massages since we arrived here, so it will be total nirvana for them. I might even have to break down and get one.
9:00 pm – I will now try to describe tonight’s shopping experience with Vicky, Vicki and Dave at the Chiang Mai Night Bazaar. I don’t think I can find all the words to describe it, but they were on a mission, powering their way through every purse store in a 20 block radius. I was just along for the ride. It reminded me of shopping with my mom as a kid—“stay right behind me and don’t touch anything.” It was very hot out and the entire market was a mob scene. Vicky and I got separated from Dave and Vicki, but miraculously found them again ½ an hour later. Our meeting point had destiny written all over it, because, after pawing hundreds of fake Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Fendi and Prada purses, we finally stumbled across an enterprising shop owner who invited us to the air-conditioned comfort of the back room of his store, whereupon he unleashed an avalanche of purses meeting Vicky and Vicki’s exacting standards. By the time they were done one hour later, Vicki had bought 3-4 handbags, Vicky 5-6, and Dave 3 for his wife back in St. Louis, whom he had called earlier to consult. Vicky got so hot shopping she had to take off her shoes and sit on the floor buried in purses trying to make up her mind. The shop owner even held a flame up to the leather on the purses to prove they were made of real leather.
Quite honestly, no one (and I mean no one) can match Vicky and Vicki’s shopping prowess or negotiating skills when it comes to handbags. The salesman/owner clutched his chest a few times and muttered something about not making any profit when he got low-balled on price. But in the end, everybody was happy. I think Vicki, Vicky and Dave each dropped $150. Fortunately, I didn’t have to carry any of them back to the hotel.
The backroom was kind of secret because the police are really cracking down on people who sell fake purses—basically shutting down their entire business. The salesman really knew his merchandise and how to flatter customers. He told Vicki she had “sexy” hair. I’m not sure if that’s how he meant it, but we all got a laugh out of it.
10:00 pm – Vicky stopped at McDonald’s for some carry out food and we are all now sitting at O’Malley’s Pub having a few beers and fish and chips to celebrate our successful shopping expedition. 
10:30 pm - Dave and I are heading back to the hotel. Vicky and Vicki are sitting in lounge chairs outside O’Malley’s having foot and neck massages. As we learned in Chiang Rai, massaging various points of the foot can bring relief to all parts of the body. Good way to end the day. They should sleep well. Good bye till tomorrow.Day 11 - Saturday, January 27, 2007
Itinerary – Chiang Mai: Today visit the Maesa National Park to ride elephants and see a demonstration of the role of the elephant in Thai agriculture, commerce and culture. Later visit an Orchid Farm. Afternoon at leisure to discover the charm and beauty of this ancient city. I went on a self-guided tour to see some of Chiang Mai's most important temples and sights.6:00 am - Got an early wake up call. We have to get to the elephant camp before it gets too crowded and hot to ride elephants.
7:00 am - The hotel is crammed with French and Japanese tourists. It was a feeding frenzy down in the breakfast room and I had a hard time finding a place to sit. But I managed to find Richard and eat with him. He was out running again this morning. The air quality here is poor, so I'll skip running for a few more days.
7:15 am - We're on our way to Maesa Elephant Camp. Elephants are revered by the Thai and are an important component of economy. We'll ride them for an hour, then tour the grounds where they train the elephants, then see a show where they demonstrate their skills, including painting. Can’t wait to see that.
11:00 am – The Elephant Camp was superb. Our first order of business was a one-hour elephant ride. After buying our tickets, we climbed to the top of this raised platform, and got into the seat strapped to the elephant’s back. The driver sat on the elephant’s head. We them went for a ride down this trail circling the park. There were some pretty steep hills and sometimes the elephant when off the trail and blazed its own trail. The elephants even walked through a river. We just hung on as the seat we rode in bucked back and forth as the elephant walked. Steve and I paired up for the ride. Our elephant was a 31-year-old male named Mae Pornthip. All of the elephants were quite agile. Occasionally they would stop at the hay barn for a quick bite to eat. Fortunately, I’m not going to smell like an elephant after the ride since there is a lot of padding between us and the elephant’s skin. Some workers came along to scoop up the elephant dung, which they make into paper and sell at the gift store. Being vegetarians, elephant dung has lots of fiber in it suitable for paper making. 
After the ride, we walked down the hill to the elephant training center and nursery. Some people who paid VIP prices to get into the park were dressed in special uniforms and being led around a training course on an elephant’s back. We went over to admire the babies. One cage had a mother chained to a post while its baby played around with us at the side of the enclosure. Mom didn’t look too happy. We then went over to the center of the grounds where we took turns having a young elephant place a pith helmet on our head, pat it down, then take it off while making a little trumpeting sound. It was cute. I held out a dollar in my hand as a tip and the elephant snatched it up with its trunk. We then took turns sitting on the elephant’s leg with its trunk wrapped around us for pictures. I had elephant snot all over my leg, which is why my photo looks like I’m trying to get away. They also sold bananas to feed to the elephants. Most ate them whole, while one peeled the banana with trunk before downing it. 
We then went back to the elephant bathing areas to watch workers scrub down the elephants, then proceeded to the outdoor arena for the show. It was a great show. The elephants came marching around in a long line then started playing assorted instruments like harmonicas and horns. The workers then set up some goals and the elephants took turns kicking a giant soccer ball at each other to score a goal. Before this, the elephants demonstrated how powerful they are by kicking the soccer ball across the arena. One kicked a ball and hit another elephant while another belted the ball into the trees on the far side of the arena. After soccer, they hauled and stacked big logs. Then they brought out dart boards with balloons on them and invited a kid from the audience to play against the elephant. The elephant won. 
The climax of the show was the painting demonstration. They brought out 7 easels and the elephants painted trees and flowers on canvasses, which were then sold for 2000 bahts ($55) each after the show. Several people in our group bought a painting. The paintings were quite good—better than what I could do. After the show, we headed to the bus. The line to ride the elephants was now over an hour long, so it was good we arrived early.
12:00 pm – We stopped at an orchid farm to admire the flowers growing in the greenhouses. I took some nice pictures and sharpened my skills at close-up shots. The farm also raises Siamese cats and ridgeback dogs, who guard the premises when the farm is closed. The dogs had what looked like a Mohawk along their spine. Cool. The farm also had a small classic car collection that I didn’t have much interest in.12:10 pm – We’re back at the hotel. I’m going on one of my self-guided tours on foot. I need some exercise so now is the time to get it. It’s pretty hot out, but I don’t mind. I’m going over to photograph the old city walls, visit the open air market by the Phae Gate, then visit three temples that are not part of our temple tour tomorrow--Wat Phan Tao, Wat Chedi Luang and Wat Chiang Man.
4:00 pm – Mission accomplished. Back at the hotel. I must have walked at least 10 miles this afternoon, but it was worth it.
I started at the Phae Gate, one of 4 entry points into the old city, which was once surrounded by a wall and moat built in the 1800s. I browsed the market just inside the gate, but didn’t see anything new. I then took some photos of statues with elephants on them, then made the long trek down the walking street to Wat Phan Tao and Wat Chedi Luang. They are next to each other.
Wat Phan Tao had a pretty impressive pedestal supporting the Buddha statue. It was made of teak panels and supported by 28 teak pillars decorated with colored mirror mosaics. Wat Chedi Luang was most impressive. I couldn’t believe it wasn’t included in our tour. I told several people in the group about it. The centerpiece is this gigantic pyramid-like chedi.
At the top on each of the four sides facing the four corners of the world was a vestibule with a Buddha statue inside. The east-facing Buddha was a tiny, solid jade statue. At the base of the steps leading up to the Buddha was a rope-and-pulley system for sending up offerings to the little jade Buddha. My guidebook says the original statue that was once kept here was moved to Wat Phra Kaew in Bangkok due to its importance. 
At the base of the stairs leading to the top of the wat on all sides were these ornate dragon statues. Pretty nice. There were a number of other smaller wats around the perimeter of the grounds that I took my shoes off and visited. One had a small reclining Buddha and two more sitting Buddhas. I then walked a mile or two north to visit the oldest wat in Chiang Mai, Wat Chiang Man, which was built in 1581. It was traditional design and housed a number of Buddha statues. On the way home, I walked down the street where the Night Bazaar occurs. It was much different by day, but several shops were busy putting up there stalls for another night of shoppers. I also walked through the central shop building.
4:30 pm – I stopped by Vicky and Vicki’s room. The maid is upset with Vicky because she helped herself to extra towels and washcloths from the housekeeping cart. Apparently the hotel is pretty full and there aren’t enough to go around. The maid actually confiscated the extras, except the one washcloth Vicky was hiding under her bed covers. The maid was wearing high heels. Must be tough doing maid work in those kind of shoes.
5:30 pm – Mr. Boeing’s friend Mr. Tor is here with our laundry. Yeah, I have clean clothes for the rest of the trip. I had to go out to the hotel parking lot where Mr. Tor’s pick-up truck was located. In the back were two employees handing back laundry and taking payment. I paid Mr. Tor about $8 for a lot of shirts and pants, which was about $12 less than what the hotel would have charged. It’s all ironed neatly folded, and smelled good too. On the way to pick up my laundry, I met Mr. Boeing to retrieve Vicky’s small purse, which she lost on the bus. I used the money inside to pay for their laundry. Lucky Mr. Boeing found that purse because there was maybe $25 inside and a debit card.
6:30 pm – Vicky went to the Optional Kantoke Dinner & Dance Show. Vicki, Dave and I went over to the Night Bazaar for seafood dinner.
9:00 pm – Dinner was great. We ordered lobster, snails, prawns and pork. MMMmmm. Afterwards, Dave and I went over by O’Malley’s for a foot massage while Vicki went shopping. The massage lasted an hour, after which I could hardly walk because I was so relaxed. I graciously overtipped the young lady who did the massage, paying a ridiculous $12 for something that should only have cost $3-4 dollars. But it was worth it. 9:30 pm – Off to bed. Until tomorrow.
Day 12 - Sunday, January 28, 2007
Itinerary - Chiang Mai: Morning optional city tour visits Chiang Mai’s most interesting temples as well as fascinating Wat Doi Suthep located high in the mountains ($22). Tonight, why not celebrate with your fellow travelers in an optional farewell dinner at a famous riverside restaurant. ($20)6:00 am – Another superb day. I’m still relaxed after that foot massage last night. Today we’re going on a tour of Chiang Mai’s most famous temples: Wat Phra Singh, Wat Sunandok and the most famous, Wat Doi Suthep. We have to wear long pants today because of the strict dress code at these temples. It is also a day of worship, so Wat Doi Suthep will be very crowded.
7:00 am – I’m writing this journal in a 60-page steno pad. I’ve already written 45 pages, back to back, and hope I don’t run out of space. We still have 3 days in Cambodia, which we leave for tomorrow.
10:00 am – We just finished our visit of Wat Phra Singh, the most visited temple in Chiang Mai. It houses the famous Lion Buddha, the most revered statue in the city, in a temple constructed between 1385 and 1400 AD. The temple architecture is pure Burmese style.
10:20 am – We’re on our way to Wat Sunanduk, otherwise known as the Royal Cemetery. We toured the cemetery, which contained scores of mausoleums surrounding a huge golden stupa where ½ of Buddha’s ashes are enshrined.
The other half are located at Wat Doi Suthep, our next stop. We then went inside the temple, where we saw a large Buddha statue. Around the perimeter of the temple were these beautiful lanterns.
11:30 am – We have just driven about 10 miles out of the city to the northwest and are now climbing this long road up the mountain to Wat Doi Suthep located on the summit overlooking Chiang Mai. It’s cloudy up here and relatively cool, and the view of Chiang Mai will not be good.
1:00 pm –Wat Doi Suthep defies description. I may have to have my mouth wired shut because my jaw hit the ground at practically every turn. Stunning visual impact. The temple is a vast and overwhelming collection of temples, shrines and Buddhas. It was also a mob scene of tourists and worshipers. Instead of walking up 304 stairs to the temple, we all got in a funicular for a quick trip to the top. We walked down the steep stairs later, but that was OK. While there, we took our shoes off and walked the “inner circle” of the complex. In one temple, I even got on my knees and had a monk tie a friendship string around my wrist. Vicky was in line behind me, but women are not allowed to touch monks, so she had to scoot over to the other line and have a layman tie on her string. There were also a lot of monks-in-training in their orange robes walking around the complex. Practically every boy (18-19 years old or so) in Thailand goes through two years of training to be a monk where they try their best to adhere to 260-some codes of conduct. Most don’t make it and return to normal lives when their two years are up. The monks are supported solely through private donations of food and money. You always see alms pots where donations are collected at every temple. We then put our shoes on and toured the outer circle of the temple complex. Lots to see here as well, but the view of Chiang Mai below was clouded by fog and haze.
5:00 pm – After Wat Doi Suthep, we drove back to town. That was three hours ago. When we got back to Chiang Mai, Dave, Vicky, Vicki and I got dropped off in town at the Phae Gate. We browsed the market there, snapped some more photos of the city walls, then ventured up the walking street for lunch. We ate at The Corner Restaurant.
After that, we stopped at a local travel agency where Vicky and Vicki each bought a giant plastic bag with a zipper to tote all their purchases home in. I call these bags Chinese Luggage because I often see Chinese tourists pull them off the baggage carousels at the airport. We then did a little more shopping at the Night Bazaar. Vicky, Vicki and Dave stopped near O’Malley’s for more massages while I came back to the hotel.6:00 pm – This is our last day in Thailand. 27 out of 36 people in our group have a 35-minute flight to Siem Reap, Cambodia tomorrow at 2:15 pm. The other 9 are flying down to the beaches in Phuket. We’ll meet up again in Bangkok on February 2 when we fly home.
6:15 pm – Not sure what we’re doing tonight. We skipped the “Farewell Dinner.” Vicky wants to go to a Thai disco or transvestite club. I’m not so sure I want to do either of those things.
8:00 pm – I went to McDonald’s for dinner. Must be getting tired of Thai food. I actually lost weight on this vacation because I haven’t eaten this healthy in a long time. After dinner, I stepped out of McDonald’s into the Night Bazaar, then went back to the hotel and went to bed. I need to catch up on my sleep. I could hear Vicky and Vicki knocking on the door but was too tired to get up.
Day 13 - Monday, January 29, 2007
Itinerary - Chiang Mai, Bangkok, Siem Reap (Cambodia): Morning at leisure in Chiang Mai. This afternoon take a short flight to Siem Reap, gateway to the world famous Temples of Angkor Wat.6:00 am - This afternoon, we fly 1 hour from Chiang Mai to Bangkok, then board a 35-minute international flight to Siem Reap, Cambodia. We have all morning to sleep in, pack our bags, do some last minute shopping, or relax by the pool. We also say goodbye to our Thai Tour Director, Mr. Boeing. We'll have Mr. Prong Sothy, a native Cambodian, once we reach Siem Reap.
8:00 am - One of the expenses of traveling with a tour group is tipping your guides and drivers. SmarTours recommends $5-6 per day per person for Mr. Boeing. They recommend $2 per day per person for the bus driver on days you travel by bus. We also have Mr. Kwan, the bus driver's apprentice and Mr. Boeing's assistant throughout the tour. I will probably tip him about $2 per day. I brought a stack of 100 $1 bills with me that I will partially use for tips. I also have to dispose of my remaining Thai bahts since we'll use a different currency in Cambodia. I will include these in the tips.
9:00 am - OK, we had Mr. Boeing for 10.5 days. At $5-6 per day, that comes to $50-60. I'll go with $60. He was an above average, but not stellar guide. We had the driver for 6 days, so he gets $14. I will give Kwan $10. He did a good job passing out water, food and moist towelettes. He also recommended we stop and see that really nice white temple in Chiang Rai on our way out of town. He needs a haircut too. Total tip = $82. I think Vicky and Vicki each gave more than that. They are feeling more generous than me. Kwan should make out well with Vicky since she thought he was cute and had nice hair. It will be a good payday if everyone in the group tips the same. The driver is already salaried, so tips are gravy. Mr. Boeing and Mr. Kwan live on tips, so the more the merrier. And considering the standard of living here, I think they are sitting pretty.
11:00 am - Dave and I went for a long walk. Now I have to toss my luggage out in the hallway for the staff to pick up and then check out of my room. Dave and I walked west along the city wall and eventually stumbled onto Wat Chedi Luang. He was also amazed it wasn't part of yesterday's Temple Tour. Al and Jazz, and Steve and Lynne, visited this temple on my recommendation and felt the same way. On the way back, we got lost, so had to hire a tuk-tuk back to the hotel.
11:15 am - Oh, oh. Luggage emergency. I'm down in Vicky and Vicki's room. They are trying to keep their suitcases below the 22-kg limit. They borrowed a luggage scale from the hotel and are having me hoist their bags in the air while they try to read the weight.
11:20 am - OK, I'll be transporting Vicki's video camera and dirty laundry in my underweight bag. Hopefully they won't search my bag and find all those women's clothes inside. Otherwise, I'll have to tell them that what goes on in the privacy of my room is my business. Dave will also be transporting some of their belongings.
1:00 pm - We're on our way to the Chiang Mai Airport. I was just volunteered by the entire bus to be their leader on February 2 when we leave Siem Reap for Bangkok on our way home to the US. So now I can add Deputy Tour Director to my resume, along with Travel Agent and Stand-in Belly Dancer. My job will be to hold onto the master list of e-ticket numbers for the flight back to the US, and make sure every gets themselves and their luggage checked through to their final destination in the US (JFK or LAX). I also have to ask Mr. Sothy, our guide in Cambodia, to reconfirm our flight out of Cambodia through the local SmarTours office. Unfortunately in Cambodia, the tour guide cannot come into the airport to assist the group with its departure, so that will be my job. Of course, I'm expecting tips from the group for playing travel agent. I am also holding onto our Cambodian arrival cards and immigration forms. I will distribute these to the group when we're down at the gate waiting for our flight to Siem Reap and make sure everyone fills it out properly.
2:30 pm - We're on our way to Bangkok. We should arrive by 3:30 pm.
3:30 pm - We're in Bangkok. Looks like they're sending buses to transport us to the terminal.
3:45 pm - What a disaster. 12 members of the group have disappeared. The remaining 15 and Mr. Boeing are looking all over for them. This is the second time on the trip that the group got separated, the first being the night we arrived in Bangkok and got lost on the way to the bus. When we got off the plane here in Bangkok, they had two buses waiting to shuttle passengers to the terminal. The 12 who are AWOL got on the first bus, and when we arrived at the terminal in the second bus, they were gone. Poof! Vanished into thin air without a trace and no where in sight.
4:15 pm - We've proceeded to the check-in counter without the group of 12 after traipsing back to the bus stop with our luggage in tow. I held the SmarTours sign high in the air as I walked, hoping the group of 12 would see us. Mr. Boeing did the same. Fortunately, Mr. Boeing told everyone which counter to go to for check-in in case we got separated. Mr. Boeing is getting the 15 people checked in and is now going to go look for the group of 12. This airport is huge and crowded so it will be like trying to find a needle in a haystack.
4:16 pm - Et, Voila! Just as Mr. Boeing is getting ready to go look for the group of 12, they show up at the check-in counter. They said they waited for us at the bus stop for a long time and we never showed up. Mr. Boeing said there was only one stop--and we arrived only a minute after they did, so they must have stayed on the bus and got off someplace else. They also asked 3 different airport employees directions to international check-in and got three different answers. I asked the group of 12 to pose for a picture holding the SmarTours sign upside down. They didn't think it was funny, but I did. At least they're here and we're all together again.
4:30 pm - We're all checked in and standing at the passport control. Our plane boards at 5:30 pm. Mr. Boeing thanked the group for coming to the "Land of Smiles," and hoped they would remember their experience for a long time. I know I will. He gave me an "extra special" envelope for being Deputy Tour Director. The envelope contained gold foil and incense his daughter made. I think this is what everyone else on the bus got as a parting gift, I just got more of it. Also posed for a picture with Mr. Boeing and got a big hug, which is not traditional Thai custom, but what the hell. Mr. Boeing has to be in Ho Chi Minh City tomorrow to lead another SmarTours group through Viet Nam.
5:00 pm - All Cambodian arrival cards and immigration forms passed out and completed. I'm glad this isn't my real job.
5:30 pm - We're boarding the plane. We're traveling on Bangkok Airlines, a regional carrier. Our plane is a Boeing 717.
6:30 pm - En route to Cambodia. Only a 35-minute flight and no time change. We arrive in about 20 minutes. It's dark so we won't be able to see the temple of Angkor Wat when we land. The airport is very close to it.
7:00 pm - We're here in Siem Reap. I already got my Cambodian visa before I left the US, so buzzed right through immigration and passport control and out to the baggage claim area. The rest of the group will have to stand in line to apply for a tourist visa.
7:15 pm - Luggage is slow. Richard got his visa, picked up his bag and went outside the arrival hall to meet our local tour director, Mr. Sothy. I'm still waiting for my bag. I started pulling our group's bags off the carousel because I noticed they weren't putting any more on until the others were taken off the conveyor belt. As soon as I did this, my bag showed up. Judith stayed behind to keep an eye on the our bags and I went outside to meet Mr. Sothy.
7:20 pm - I met Mr. Sothy outside the airport. He is a really nice guy. Speaks perfect English and is easier to understand than our Thai tour director. We have a "retro bus," a real relic from 1960, painted red on top and white on the bottom. At least it has air conditioning, though it's a bit cooler here than Thailand. I can smell the scent of burning sugar cane in the air. 90% of the people in Cambodia are farmers.
7:30 pm - Members of the group are trickling out of the airport one by one. We're still missing 5 people. Vicki is not happy. They charged her an additional $20 for not having enough blank pages in her passport. She had the required two, but they seem to be applying their own rules.
7:35 pm - All accounted for. We're on our way to the hotel a few miles away. We're staying at the Princess Angkor Hotel. It's on the main road leading to town from the airport on the northwest side of Siem Reap (population 700,000). 
We'll have to take a motorcycle-powered rickshaw to the Old Town ("The French Quarter") if we want to eat, shop or go clubbing. It costs $1 per person to go down there and $2 per person to come back. US dollars are widely accepted and the currency of choice in Cambodia, so I won't need any riels. I have plenty of $1 bills on hand too. But if I get change back from a purchase, it will be riels. The exchange rate is like 4,200 riels to the dollar.7:45 pm - Mr. Sothy passed out an arrival gift consisting of a traditional Cambodian scarf. Everyone wears them around their necks to prevent sunburn from the intense sun. It's apparently going to be as balmy and hot here as Thailand, which makes sense since they are on the same latitude.
Mr. Sothy is pronounced "So-Tee." He said we could call him "Hot Tea" if it's easier. I think Vicky thought he said "hottie" because her eyebrows went up when he said it and he's a somewhat younger, handsome Cambodian man. Sorry, Vicky. He's married.
Along the way, we learned that there are 13 million people in Cambodia. Pol Pot killed 3 million people during his reign of terror from 1975-1979, mostly intellectuals and anyone who opposed him. You may recall the Khmer Rouge. Pol Pot, its leader, basically sent all prisoners out to the countryside to work on forced labor camps where they were savagely beaten, tortured, starved and killed. Pot tossed the bodies of his victims into the rice paddies and jungles, which is why various parts of Cambodia are known as the "killing fields." If you haven't seen the movie of the same name, rent it. 95% of Cambodians are descendants of the ancient Khmer civilization. After the Khmer Rouge fell, Viet Nam invaded and occupied the country for a number of years followed by internal problems that led to warring until as recently as 1998. The country has come a long way since then.
Tomorrow we start a two-day, intensive tour of the temples at Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom, 2 of the 5 temple areas making up the Angkor Archaeological Park. Four of the temple sites are in Cambodia and 1 is in eastern Thailand along the western Cambodian border. Angkor Wat is the largest religious site in the world. We are really looking forward to starting our day there.
8:30 pm - We're at the hotel. It's very nice. The hotel gave us another traditional Cambodian scarf as a souvenir. It has the hotel name silk-screened on it, so not as nice as the one Mr. Sothy gave us. We noticed a lot of hotels being built along the road from the airport. We were told that 1 million people will be visiting the Angkor temples this year. That number will double to 2 million next year. So they need hotels to accommodate the huge influx in tourism. The hotels are reportedly already booked for 3 years. So you'll need to hook up with a tour group to stay in them.
9:00 pm - Dave, Elyse and I are at the hotel bar having some beers and cocktails. The pretty girl tending bar has been studying English for 3 months and is already a pro. They're charging American prices at the bar--$3.50 for an Angkor Beer. We are tipping generously though. The bar tender will probably be able to feed her family for two weeks on each dollar tip. There are a bunch of Chinese tourists over to the side who are paying for their drinks with $2 bills. I thought they were counterfeit because the Jefferson portrait on the front side was so small, and because we never see $2 bills in the States.
9:30 pm - Off to bed. It's a big day tomorrow.
Day 14 - Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Itinerary - Angkor Wat: The first of two days to marvel at the awe-inspiring Temples of Angkor, as a local expert leads you on comprehensive excursions to the most impressive temples, including Angkor Wat and Bayon (Angkor Thom). Enjoy an afternoon guided tour to the Elephant Terrace and the Leper King Terrace before ascending Phnom Bakheng Hill to view the sunset over Angkor Wat.6:00 am - Good morning. It's a beautiful day. We're touring Angkor Wat and Bayon this morning and a few other temples this afternoon after lunch. I didn't sleep well last night because of the noise. My room is right above the front door and parking lot of the hotel. So all I could hear since 3 am were delivery trucks and buses coming and going. There is a ton of traffic out on the main road in front of the hotel, mostly mopeds, trucks, buses and an occasional car.
8:00 am - Our "retro bus" just pulled into the lot. Our local tour guide, Mr. Sothy and I chatted for a few minutes before I went for breakfast. He lives here in Siem Reap and commuted about 40 minutes to get here.
8:30 am - The hotel is really nice. Brand new too. It's got all the amenities. Breakfast was nicer than many of the other hotels with omelets-to-order and decent coffee.
8:55 am - We're on the bus ready to head out to the temples. We have to stop at the local SmarTours office to drop off the e-ticket numbers I'm carrying so the office can reconfirm our flight out of here is a few days. Mr. Sothy just reminded us not to forget our cameras, mosquito repellent, as well as hats, scarves, sun block, and sunglasses to protect us from the hot sun. It is warm, but somewhat less humid than Bangkok.
9:15 am - Stopped at SmarTours office on way to Angkor Wat. Also passed the Siem Reap War Memorial Park, but did not stop. It commemorates those who died fighting tyranny and foreign occupation from 1975-1998. As we heard yesterday, Pol Pot and his Khmer Rouge killed 3 million people from 1975 to 1979. Why he did this is a mystery to everyone because Pot was a native Cambodian. Pol lived in Paris from 1962-1968, then returned and created the Khmer Rouge while living in exile in the jungle. He was supported by North Vietnam and China. Vietnam invaded, kicked Pot out and occupied Cambodia from 1979-1989. The plan was to incorporate Cambodia into Vietnam.
Our flights are reconfirmed so we'll get out of here on Friday.
9:30 am - I'm being teased on the bus as I cover my face in humiliation for being one of the few who did not bring an extra passport photo along on the trip. "Have our leader's feet turned to clay?" Steve yelled from the back of the bus. OK, I didn't realized that the photo was needed to make our three-day Angkor Wat passes at the park ticket booth. I thought we only needed to bring a photo for our Cambodia entry visa, which I got before leaving the US. So I didn't bring any extras. It was OK though since they had a mouse camera at the ticket booth. It's just faster if you have your photo already. But the photo they took was all distorted and looked awful. 10:00 am - We're starting the tour. This history of the Angkor temples is really convoluted. The Khmer settled here in 2000 BC. Eventually the Hindu and Buddhists filtered in over the centuries and control of the temples flipped back and forth between kingdoms which is why the architecture reflects so many different styles and influences. Most of the Angkor Temples were only discovered in the 1800s, buried under dense jungle growth. Since then, much of the growth has been cut back revealing an amazing civilization. In some cases, the temples have been intentionally left as the French found them in the 1800s covered in jungle growth. During excavations, they found Roman coins, indicating that the Khmer civilization may have traded with others as far away as Europe. The Hindu (Shiva) and Buddhist influence entered later, but the Khmer already had an animistic religion before these religious influences arrived.
We're going to see the various styles and hear about the history of each. I'm smiling because I did a lot of research and compiled my own Angkor Temple Guide before I left home. That way, if I want to run around and take pictures, I can read up on it later. But I've already read my guide so have a good idea what this place is all about. They certainly have selected the best of the best temples for us to see amongst the hundreds of ruins here.
12:30 pm - Wow! Angkor Wat is as awe-inspiring as expected. It's HUGE. It's got a enormous 5-spired temple inside a large green space, all surrounded by a wall and moat. We entered from the east gate, walked through the temple, then out the front toward the west gate. I got a great shot of the temple and its reflection in the lake in front of it. But I had to back way up to get it all in. Inside, we admired the architecture and the bas-reliefs. The highlight though was climbing up this extremely steep set of stairs going to the middle spire. If this had been the US, we would have been tethered because one slip and it would be all over. Towards the top, the stairs got smoother and narrower, and seemed to slope downwards. I got up first then watched several others in the group climb up holding onto their cameras and purses in one hand. I thought you needed two hands, and to avoid any injuries, I grabbed people by the arm and pulled them up when they got close to the top of the stairs. The view was worth it though. To get down, you could climb down the stairs or use a railing they installed on the south stairway, but the line was pretty long to get down. After we came down the stairs, we did some more touring. At one part, we were going down some wooden steps. My camera swung out on its strap, hit the wall, then the battery compartment popped open and both batteries fell down the crack in the stairs. I only found one, but someone in our group loaned me some of their extras. But I was really PO'd about it for 15 minutes. After coming out the temple, we walked towards the west gate for some more pictures, including one of our group.
Angkor Wat
Date of Construction: Early - Mid 12th
Religious Affiliation : Hinduism
Patron or King: Suryavarman II
Artistic/Archaeological Style: Angkor Wat
Angkor Wat is visually, architecturally and artistically breathtaking. It is a massive three-tiered pyramid crowned by five beehive-like towers rising 215’ from ground level. Angkor Wat is the centerpiece of any visit to the temples of Angkor.
At the apex of Khmer political and military dominance in the region, Suryavarman II constructed Angkor Wat in the form of a massive 'temple-mountain' dedicated to the Hindu god, Vishnu. It served as his state temple, though the temple’s uncommon westward orientation has led some to suggest that it was constructed as Suryavarman II’s funerary temple. Other temples of the same style and period include Thommanon, Banteay Samre, Wat Atwea and Beng Melea, which may have served as a prototype to Angkor Wat.
Angkor Wat is surrounded by a moat and an exterior wall measuring 0.8 miles x 0.9 miles. The temple itself is 0.62 mi square and consists of three levels surmounted by a central tower. The walls of the temple are covered inside and out with bas-reliefs and carvings. Nearly 2000 distinctively rendered apsara carvings adorn the walls throughout the temple and represent some of the finest examples of apsara carvings in Angkorian era art. But it is the exterior walls of the lower level that display the most extraordinary bas-reliefs, depicting stories and characters from Hindu mythology, and the historical wars of Suryavarman II. It is in the viewing of the bas-reliefs that a tour guide can be very helpful. The northern reflecting pool in front is the most popular sunrise location. For sunrise, arrive very early, well before sunrise begins. The sun will rise behind Angkor Wat providing a silhouette of Angkor’s distinctively shaped towers against a colored sunrise sky. Some of the best colors appear just before the sun breaks over the horizon.
The visual impact of Angkor Wat, particularly on one's first visit, is awesome. As you pass through the outer gate and get your first glimpse, its size and architecture make it appear two dimensional, like a giant postcard photo against the sky. After you cross through the gate and approach the temple along the walkway it slowly gains depth and complexity.
The first level of the Angkor Wat is the most artistically interesting. Most visitors begin their exploration of the temple with the bas-reliefs that cover the exterior wall of the first level, following the bas-reliefs counterclockwise around the temple. Bas-relief highlights include the mythological Battle of Kuru on the west wall; the historical march of the army of Suryavarman II, builder of Angkor Wat, against the Cham, followed by scenes from Heaven and Hell on the south wall; and the classic ‘Churning of the Ocean Milk’ on the north wall.
The temple interior is not as densely carved as the first level exterior, but still sports hundreds of fine carvings of apsaras and scenes from Hindu mythology. Again, a guide can be quite helpful in explaining the stories of the various chambers, statues and architectural forms to be found in the interior. At the upper-most of your tour of the temple, the central tower on the third level houses four Buddha images, each facing a different cardinal point, highlighting the fact that though Angkor Wat was constructed as a Hindu temple, it has served as a Buddhist temple since Theravada Buddhism became Cambodia’s dominant religion in the 14th century. Some say that it is good luck to pay homage to all four Buddha images before departing Angkor.
1:00 pm - We've stopped for lunch. I'm not hungry. There was a camera store next to the restaurant, so I bought new rechargeables for my camera for a mere $8--a bargain. Duane, Judith and I are hiring a taxi to take us to the Old Town to shop at the market and check out some restaurants.
1:30 pm - This Siem Reap is alive with activity and colorful. We traveled 2 miles down to the Old Town. There are a lot of westerners here, especially on Pub Street and adjacent streets where the bars, night clubs and restaurants are. 
We stopped at the Red Piano and bought souvenir T-shirts (just $4). Angelina Jolie put this place on the map because she drank here while on location at temple Ta Prohm (one of tomorrow's tour stops) filming "Tomb Raiders." Besides Pub Street, there's a pedestrian street running parallel to it one block east with a lot of nice restaurants.
One more block east of that is the market, where all the locals shop for everything. There were a lot of outside stalls, but the real gems and photo ops were inside the market building where food and clothing were sold. There were a lot of dried meats and live fish for sale. One room had about 12 ladies toiling away on sewing machines. Adjacent to that were large mountains of used shoes and clothing that people were digging through like there was buried treasure inside. There were a lot of unusual smells in that building as well. Prices were ridiculously cheap too. On the way through town, Duane stopped to look at teak furniture while Judith and I wandered across the street to the crocodile museum. We did not go in though. We learned later that this is where Pol Pot's goons used to killed babies by throwing them up in the air and having them land on boards with nails sticking out of them. Then the bodies would be thrown to the crocodiles. Mr. Sothy and his mother had also been imprisoned here for a short time during the Pot regime.1:45 pm - We're back from the little excursion into town with lots of stories to tell the rest of the group about how nice it is. We're now on our way to Bayon over at the Angkor Thom temple complex.
3:00 pm - Bayon was cool. Much smaller than Angkor Wat. Adjacent ruins are still covered in jungle over growth. Bayon is famous for its Buddha faces and 54 standing pillars and bas-reliefs. We walked all around the temple. The highlights of our visit were stopping to create special-effect photos that make it look like you're rubbing noses or kissing one of the large Buddha reliefs. There was also a troupe of people in Cambodian costumes charging a dollar for taking a picture of you with them using your camera. While waiting to go back to the bus, nature called for Vicki and there was no bathroom in sight, so she improvised. I started following Vicki and Vicky as they headed towards the woods, but they told me not to follow. I got the message. Vicky told me to write in my journal that Vicki peed behind some rocks, and because she doesn't like to leave her toilet paper in plain view, covered it up with a papaya or coconut shell. I did not make this up.
Bayon
Date of Construction: Late 12th
Religious Affiliation : Buddhist
Patron or King: Jayavarman VII
Artistic/Archaeological Style: Bayon
If you see only two temples, Angkor Wat and Bayon should be the ones. The giant stone faces of Bayon have become one of the most recognizable images connected to classic Khmer art and architecture. There are 37 standing towers, most but not all sporting four carved faces oriented toward the cardinal points. Who the faces represent is a matter of debate but they may be Loksvara, Mahayana Buddhism's compassionate Bodhisattva, or perhaps a combination of Buddha and Jayavar-man VII. Bayon was the Jayavarman VII's state-temple and in many ways represents the pinnacle of his massive building campaign. It appears to be, and is to some degree, an architectural muddle, in part because it was constructed in a somewhat piecemeal fashion for over a century.
The best of Bayon are the bas-reliefs on the exterior walls of the lower level and on the upper level where the stone faces reside. The bas-reliefs on the southern wall contain real-life scenes from the historical sea battle between the Khmer and the Cham. It is not clear whether this represents the Cham invasion of 1177 AD or a later battle in which the Khmer were victorious. Even more interesting are extensive carvings of unique and revealing scenes of everyday life that are interspersed among the battle scenes, including market scenes, cockfighting, chess games and childbirth. Also note the unfinished carvings on other walls, likely indicating the death of Jayavarman VII and the subsequent end of his building campaign. Some of the reliefs on the inner walls were carved at a later date under the Hindu king Jayavarman VIII. The surrounding tall jungle makes Bayon a bit dark and flat for photographs near sunrise and sunset.4:00 pm - We're over at the Terrace of the Elephants and the adjoining Terrace of the Leper King. It's a long flat, 8-foot-high wall with elephant statues and bas-reliefs. You can even walk down inside the labyrinth of passageways coursing between the walls to admire more bas-reliefs. These terraces were called the "conference hall" because it is believed that this is where large gatherings were held.
Terrace of the Elephants
Date of Construction: Late 12th
Religious Affiliation : Buddhist
Patron or King: Jayavarman VII
Artistic/Archaeological Style: Bayon
Impressive, 8-foot tall wall spanning the heart of Angkor Thom in front of Baphuon and Phimeanakas. Carved elephants and giant garudas adorn the wall. Constructed in part by Jayavarman VII and extended by his successor. The wall faces east so the best lighting for photography occurs before noon. The Terrace of the Leper King is at the north end of the Terrace of the Elephants.
Terrace of the Leper King
Date of Construction: Late 12th
Religious Affiliation : Buddhist
Patron or King: Jayavarman VII
Artistic/Archaeological Style: Bayon
A double terrace at the north end of the Terrace of Elephants with deeply carved nagas, demons and other mythological beings. The terrace was named for the statue of the leper king that sits on top. Why the statue is known as the 'leper king' is less clear. Some argue that when the statue was found, its lichen-eaten condition gave it the appearance of leprosy. Others have argued that it is a statue of the leper king of Khmer legend, or that the condition of the statue inspired its connection to the legend. The model for the statue is also a matter of debate. Suggestions include a couple of different Hindu gods, and the Khmer kings Yasovarman I and Jayavarman VII. Recent scholarship favors a combination of Jayavarman VII and Buddha. The statue of the leper king on display at the terrace is a replica. The original resides in the National Museum in Phnom Penh.
6:30 pm - We just climbed this enormous hill along with 10,000 other people to watch sunset over Angkor Wat. Apparently we arrived a little late because there were already thousands of people sitting on top of Phnom Bakheng temple waiting for the sun to go down. But it was somewhat disappointing because it was really hazy and you could barely see Angkor Wat. Everyone in the group concluded on their own that there wasn't much to see, so came down from the hill early. We did a little shopping at the market at the base of the hill, then got on the bus and headed back to town.
Phnom Bakheng and Phnom Bakheng Hill
Date of Construction: Early 10th
Religious Affiliation : Hindu
Patron or King: Yasovarman I
Artistic/Archaeological Style: Bakheng
The construction of this temple mountain on Phnom Bakheng (Bakheng Hill), the first major temple to be constructed in the Angkor area, marked the move of the capital of the Khmer empire from Roluos to Angkor in the late 9th century AD. It served as Yasovarman I's state-temple at the center of his new capital city Yasodharapura. The foundation of Bakheng is carved from the existing rock edifice rather than the laterite and earthfill of most other temples. Bakheng's hilltop location makes it the most popular sunset location in the area, offering a view of the Tonle Sap Lake and a distant Angkor Wat in the jungle. Often overcrowded at sunset. Elephant rides up the hill are available.
8:30 pm - Great night out on the town. Vicky, Vicky, Dave and I, along with Ed, Nancy and Elyse, got some taxis into town and had a wonderful dinner at the Red Piano. We had the best table in the house. It was located outside on the terrace right on the corner where we could watch people go by. Some other members of our tour group also had dinner there. Our tab for seven people came to $54. It was a good value because we got more than enough to eat and drink. This was a first for this trip since I've still been hungry after every meal. Ed and Nancy went back to the hotel while their daughter Elyse stayed in town with us. We strolled over to the Old Market, but it had closed earlier. So we went back over to Pub Street and had drinks at Temple Club. A lot of westerners frequent the area at night, so felt right at home.
10:00 pm - Back at the hotel. When we got up from our table at Temple Club, we were mobbed by taxi drivers vying for our business. Dave and I got one motor-richshaw taxi while Vicky, Vicki and Elyse got another. We had a race back to the hotel. We traded the lead back and forth a few times before the girls sped by us at blazing speed, pumping their fists in the air and yelling "EAT OUR DIRT!!!!" as they blew past us. Funny. Their driver told him he would make sure he beat our taxi to the hotel. We arrived at the hotel a few minutes behind the girls. I never knew one of those things could go so fast because they are only powered by a motorcycle with a small engine. Time for bed. We have another long day tomorrow.Day 15 - Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Itinerary - Angkor Wat: Your second day to marvel at the awe-inspiring Temples of Angkor Wat, as a local expert leads you on comprehensive excursions to the most impressive temples, including Prasat Kravan, Ta Prohm, Pre Rup and Bentry Srei.6:00 am - I was going to go for a run, but the air outside looked a bit hazy already from the morning rush hour traffic. It's another nice day though and I slept much better. I'll need my rest since we're going on another marathon tour of the temples today.
7:00 am - Another nice day but not quite as hot as yesterday. I put on extra mosquito repellent today since I have a few bites on each leg. We’re also visiting Ta Prohm today, which is out in a jungle-like setting.
7:30 am - Having breakfast. The topic of "durian" came up. Somebody asked what it is because at the hotel in Chiang Mai, Thailand, there was a large sign at the entrance saying "NO Durian." Durian is a pungent fruit native to Southeast Asia that produces Viagra-like effects. Its effects are negated by alcohol though. The smell lingers much, much longer though. 10:30 pm – We started our day at Prasat Kravan, a small, three-spired brick Hindu temple built in 921 AD. It contains various bas-reliefs of Vishnu and his wife Lakshmi. We came to this site because it is the same style of architecture as the temples at Roluos, located several miles down the road to the southeast of here and one of the five temple complexes comprising the Angkor temples, the others being Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom (Bayon), Western Baray (located in Thailand) and the East Baray. On the way out, we were inundated by street vendors hawking their wares. I broke down and bought a traditional Cambodian silk shirt for $5. It sort of looks like a busboy jacket, but should be a conversation piece if I ever wear it.
Prasat Kravan
Date of Construction: Early 10th
Religious Affiliation : Hindu
Patron or King: Harshavarman
Artistic/Archaeological Style: Bakheng
Reconstructed, unique brick towers containing large wall sculptures of Vishnu and Lakshmi in the brick. Originally constructed by a nobleman rather than a king. Reconstructed by archaeologists in the early 20th century. Look for modern replacement bricks labeled "CA".10:45 am – We’re on our way to Ta Prohm, the jungle temple made famous in the 2001 movie “Tomb Raiders” starring Angelina Jolie and Jon Voight. On the way, we passed one of the "killing fields" where Pol Pot dumped thousands of bodies in the rice paddies as fertilizer.
11:00 pm – We’ve reached Ta Prohm. It has been left covered in jungle brush as it was found by the French in the 1800s. It is a vast Buddhist temple that has fallen apart over the years as surrounding tree roots grew and toppled the ceilings and walls of the temples within the complex. In some cases, these massive trees have grown through or completely around the temples. If you look at the buildings in the complex from the outside, you see ruins covered with green moss and several interesting bas-reliefs. If you look inside, you see piles and piles of stone slabs and debris neatly piled up in the center. Someday, someone may figure out how to fit all these stones back together and restore the temples to their original form. We all stopped for a photo with the mammoth "Tomb Raiders Tree" growing over one of the temples.
Ta Prohm
Date of Construction: Mid 12th - Early 13th
Religious Affiliation : Buddhist
Patron or King: Jayavarman VII
Artistic/Archaeological Style: Bayon
Of similar design to the later Jayavarman VII temples of Preah Khan and Banteay Kdei, this quiet, sprawling monastic complex is only partially cleared of jungle overgrowth. Intentionally left partially unrestored, massive fig and silk-cotton trees grow from the towers and corridors offering some of the best ‘tree-in-temple’ photo opportunities at Angkor.
Ta Prohm is well worth an extended exploration of its dark corridors and open plazas. This temple was one of Jayavarman VII's first major temple projects. Ta Prohm was dedicated to his mother. (Preah Khan, built shortly after Ta Prohm in the same general style, was dedicated to Jayavarman VII’s father).
Ta Prohm was originally constructed as a Buddhist monastery and was enormously wealthy in its time, boasting of control over 3000 villages, thousands of support staff and vast stores of jewels and gold. Of the monastic complex style temples, Ta Prohm is a superior example and should be included in almost any temple itinerary.
12:30 pm – One more stop before lunch. We are now heading over to Pre Rup, a towering temple and fine example of Hindu (Shiva) architecture. Once again, we climbed steep stairs to admire the temple and surrounding countryside from a high vantage point. Beautiful temple.
Pre Rup
Date of Construction: Late 10th
Religious Affiliation : Hindu
Patron or King: Rajendravarman II
Artistic/Archaeological Style: Pre Rup
Architecturally and artistically superior temple-mountain. Beautifully carved false doors on upper level, as well as an excellent view of the surrounding countryside. Traditionally believed to be a funerary temple, but in fact the state temple of Rajendravarman II. Historically important in that it was the second temple built after the capital was returned to Angkor after a period of political upheaval when the capital had been moved to Koh Ker.
1:30 pm – We've driven 15 miles north to our final temple stop, Banteay Srei. We’re stopping for lunch at the market right across the road from the temple. We’ve got an hour, and I’m not hungry, so Steve and I are going for a walk to see what else there is to see in town besides the temple.
2:00 pm – We walked down the road and took a left down a side road. I’m a bit leery of wandering around in rural areas because many parts are still riddled with landmines, and people are still accidentally finding them every day. So we cut the walk short and visited a small community center/temple before heading back to where everyone in the group was dining.
2:10 pm – I’m bored so will make a quick cruise through Banteay Srei. It’s quiet so I’ll be able to take some pictures without a lot of people them.
2:30 pm – Lunch is over and were now touring Banteay Srei. I can relax and listen to our tour director because I have all the photos I need. Banteay Srei is a remarkably well-preserved miniature Hindu (Shiva) temple complex constructed of red sandstone. We walked around the grounds to admire the buildings and bas-reliefs, before taking a walk around its surrounding moat.
Banteay Srei
Date of Construction: Late 10th
Religious Affiliation : Hindu
Patron or King: Rajendravarman
Artistic/Archaeological Style: Banteay Srei
Banteay Srei loosely translates to ‘citadel of the women’, but this is a modern appellation that probably refers to the delicate beauty of the carvings. Built at a time when the Khmer Empire was gaining significant power and territory, the temple was constructed by a Brahmin counselor under a powerful king, Rajendravarman and later under Jayavarman V. Banteay Srey displays some of the finest examples of classical Khmer art. The walls are densely covered with some of the most beautiful, deep and intricate carvings of any Angkorian temple. The temple's relatively small size, pink sandstone construction and ornate design give it a fairyland ambiance. The colors are best before 10:30 AM and after 2:00 PM, but there are fewer tourists in the afternoon. This temple was discovered by French archaeologists relatively late, in 1914. Banteay Srey lies 24 miles from Siem Reap, requiring extra travel time, but is well worth the extra effort.
5:45 pm – We’re back at the hotel. It’s hard to believe we're leaving tomorrow. We have half a day of sightseeing before heading to the airport in mid-afternoon. We check out at 9 am tomorrow, then head down to Tonle Sap where we will board a boat to visit a floating village. We've been accumulating toiletries from the hotel to give to the children in the village since these are things they normally don’t have. I'm also going to give away my old Fortis golf shirt and 1998 Chicago Marathon long-sleeve T-shirt to some needy people. Both shirts are too small for me anyway. I’ve also set aside my tip money for Mr. Sothy and the bus driver. I’m going to over-tip Mr. Sothy and give him $25. He has been an exceptional local guide and has imparted a lot of knowledge about the Angkor temples, as well as the history, culture and daily life of Cambodia. He has also made some occasional remarks about what life was like for him during the Pol Pot regime and subsequent Vietnam occupation. I’ll give $8 to the driver. He’s been good at getting us safely to each destination and through the heavy traffic and obstacles in Siem Reap. I also have to make sure I have $25 in cash to pay my Cambodia departure tax and $60 for cab fare to get me from JFK to LaGuardia, and from the Milwaukee airport to my house downtown. I should have enough and still be able to enjoy a decent meal tonight.
6:30 pm – I’m done packing already. I got rid of as much stuff as I bought so my bag still only weighs 18 pounds. It’s a record—I spent $83 on souvenirs: 3 Hard Rock Café Bangkok T-shirts for me and friends - $55, some hillside tribe handicrafts for my niece - $3, 2 fake Ralph Lauren Polo shirts for me - $6, a small brass bell from the Buddha casting factory - $2, a Red Piano T-shirt for me - $4, a Cambodian silk shirt for me - $5, a souvenir photo of Steve and me riding elephants in an elephant dung frame - $6, 3 teak-wood flutes for me and others - $2. This is nothing compared to what other people in the group bought. I just don’t like carting all that extra stuff around. Plus I have enough junk at home already.
7:00 pm - Vicky and Vicki went to the Cambodian song and dance show. I’m going down to the Red Piano with Michael and Steve for dinner. 9:00 pm – Had dinner then cruised the market. Michael and Steve bought a bunch of stuff to cram into their bulging suitcases. Bargains were too good to pass up. Michael says he has a whole new T-shirt collection. Fortunately the weight limit going home is twice what it was coming over. Apparently someone at the airlines knows you’ll be hauling a lot of souvenirs home. We also stopped at the Temple Club for a beer, where we sat outside next to a couple of retired American guys who are in the middle of a 6-week vacation through Southeast Asia. The daughter of one of the gentlemen and her friend are accompanying them, but nowhere in sight.
9:30 pm – Back at the hotel. Like last night, the taxi drivers were all over us when we stood up to leave Temple Club. They really wanted our business. Eventually, the guy who brought us downtown from the hotel took us back. He had shadowed us all night waiting to pounce on us for the return trip.
Day 16 - Thursday, February 1, 2007
Itinerary - Siem Reap, Bangkok: Day 16: Siem Reap/Bangkok. Enjoy a morning boat trip on the Tonle Sap Lake and visit the fascinating floating village of Chong Khneas. You'll also visit a workshop where local artists demonstrate the art of stone carving and wood ornamental sculpture, followed by an optional visit to Wat Thmei, the Killing Fields Temple. Later today return to Bangkok.6:00 am – Didn’t sleep too well last night. I should be real tired for the trip home. I filled out the tour evaluation. It reflects that this is one of the best vacations I ever had. We saw and learned a lot about Thailand and Cambodia—history, people, culture, customs and daily life. I saw temples, ancient ruins, thriving cities and rural countryside. I enjoyed great food and hospitality, stayed in decent hotels and shopped at lively markets. I rode elephants, met nomadic hill tribes, ventured briefly into Myanmar and Laos, rekindled friendships with old friends and made some new ones. We had structure and spontaneity in our tour, and ample free time to pursue our own interests. I never felt in danger or ill at ease—both Thailand and Cambodia were very safe. Both Mr. Boeing in Thailand, and especially Mr. Sothy in Cambodia, were superior guides and great people all around. The price was right too. Overall excellent value for the experience. On a scale of 1-10, I give this vacation a 9. Every tour has room for improvement. I would have given it a 10 if the tour company had been more upfront and specific about the itinerary. It may be just me, but I’m a busy person and the more specificity I have, the less time I waste overplanning my free time. A few times I was disappointed that the amount of free time we had in some places wasn’t quite what it was billed to be. Grand Circle is far better at setting expectations.
9:50 am – We got a late start today because of the need to check out of our hotel rooms before leaving on our excursion to the floating village on Tonle Sap, which means “Freshwater Lake” in Khmer. It’s the largest lake in Cambodia and is about 20 miles south of Siem Reap. We are driving down the countryside along a river. On both sides are bamboo huts on stilts. The stilts keep them dry in the monsoon season when the water rises during endless days of rain. Most people fish for a living in this area. People are asking Mr. Sothy more about himself. He has quite remarkable personal history—very moving personal history. During Pol Pot’s Khmer Rouge regime (1975-1979), he and his mother separated from his father and siblings because he had a grandfather in the Cambodian military and would be killed by the Khmer Rouge for merely being related. He and his mother hid in the temples of Angkor Thom, but were eventually discovered and taken away to the countryside.
On the first day of captivity, Mr. Sothy was tied to a tree with his hands and feet bound. A boy then climbed up the tree, scooped up red ants and put them on Mr. Sothy’s head. He was then deprived of food and water until he was so weak, he could not stand. Then his mother came, picked him up and took him to prison. This is all occurred when he was only 9 years old.
Eventually the Khmer Rouge fell from power and he was released from prison at age 10 and rejoined his father. His father had assumed he was dead since anyone who went to prison at that time never came out alive. Shortly thereafter, he went to school for the first time—at age 12. Eventually he went to school to become a lawyer, but saw no value in it. He got a second chance at life and felt compelled to make sure everyone understood the atrocities that had taken place in Cambodia so that history would never repeat itself. Getting into the tourism business was his avenue. He is currently going to tourism school to widen his horizons. He is about 38 or 39 now, and still lives in the Siem Reap area where he was born. He lives in a house on the outskirts with his wife and mother-in-law. He also mentioned that he spends some of the money earns as a tour guide planting trees. They cost about $1 each. He has planted a lot of them to help replace the vast number of trees the Cambodian people have cut down over the years. If may not solve the problem, but it’s a good start.
12:00 pm – We reached the end of the line and have arrived at the riverside where a large number of longboats are parked. The water is shallow so the propeller is on a long, suspended rod extending 10 feet off the back of the boat. It can be raised and lowered into the water as needed. 
1:00 pm – After boarding the boat on this gorgeous sunny day, we headed south down the river towards the floating village of Chong Khneas. As we approached the town, there were a lot of fishing boats and houses of all sorts floating on barges along the river banks. Some were rather nice. Others were shacks. We even passed a huge barge we thought was a prison, but turned out to be a basketball court. Eventually we reached a shop where we disembarked to use the bathroom and do some more shopping. As we approached the store, a number of boats paddled vigorously to meet us. When we tied up, about 15 boats had nosed up to the dock. All of them had children in them trying to sell us bunches of bananas for $1. These were poor kids. One even came up alongside of us in a large metal bowl!
There was also the old woman with full set of gold teeth that glistened in the sun. We got off the boat and poked around the shop. In a pen at the dock was a cage full of freshwater crocodiles captured in the lake. Didn’t know reptiles like this lived in Cambodia. One of the girls at the shop found Vicky’s double chin flattering and amusing and told her so. We had to get a video of the girl saying it again and a few pictures of Vicky and her new friend. 
1:30 pm – We went back to where we originally got on the boat and reboarded our bus and headed back to Siem Reap. Along the way, we stopped at an extremely poor, dusty village along the river and gave away our old clothes and toiletries from the hotel to the kids. Mr. Sothy made the 25-30 kids sit in a long line on the ground while he dispensed all the stuff we had collected for the giveaway. He had enough stuff to go through the line twice. My Fortis shirt and my 1998 Chicago Marathon T-shirt were given to two mothers to decide which of their kids to give them to. A surprise to me was that even the plastic shopping bags we used to carry our stuff were highly coveted items by the local woman. Apparently plastic shopping bags are more convenient than baskets when standing in the rice paddies harvesting rice. Maybe the people in India should gather up all their bags and send them to Cambodia. That would really solve their trash problem.
2:00 pm – We’re back in Siem Reap. We’ve stopped at Artisan D’Angkor, a school specializing in teaching traditional crafts to impoverished youngsters. We went on a tour demonstrating how students learn traditional Khmer stone and wood carving, lacquering and gilding. Afterwards, we browsed the shop to look at all the wood and stones crafts made by the students. Profits from the shop support the school. The students have to demonstrate artistic promise, and are then granted a scholarship to attend the school.2:30 pm – Mr. Sothy has agreed to take us to Wat Thmei, the Buddhist Temple in Siem Reap dedicated to the memory of people who died at the hands of the Khmer Rouge. It’s close by. Those who did not want to see skulls and bones, went back to the hotel or to Old Town to shop or have lunch. We went to the temple.
2:45 pm – The brief stop at Wat Thmei was rather somber. There were some plaques with pictures of some people who died at the hands of the Khmer Rouge and some history of the rise and fall of the Khmer Rouge. Next to it was a tiny temple housing stacked bones, skulls and clothing recovered from the killing fields. Afterwards, we visited the wat itself, which contained, what else, another Buddha statue. 
3:00 pm – Here we are at the Red Piano, our favorite restaurant in Siem Reap Old Town. Duane, Dave, Steve, Vicky and Vicki and I are having a quick bite to eat. 3:30 pm – Dave and I are going to the Internet Café next store to make CDs of our photos from this trip. Vicky and Vicki are going shopping. I took about 600 pictures. Dave took some 1,200. I already got Vicky’s 200 photos on CD the other day, but she still has 6 video tapes to transfer to DVD for our viewing pleasure when we get home. I’ll have fun combining the best of our pictures on one or two CDs and sending copies to people who asked for them.
5:30 pm – Well, here it is. The moment I've been dreading. Our vacation is over, except for the long trip home. We’re boarding the bus to head to the airport. I told Mr. Sothy that he was one of the most remarkable people I ever met and thanked him for making our time in Cambodia so memorable. I handed him a generous tip in an envelope and did the same to the driver, whose name I never got. Vicky, Vicki and I then posed for a photo with Mr. Sothy in front of our “retro bus.” 6:50 pm – We’re at the airport and all checked in. We’re sitting in the departure lounge waiting for the 7:40 pm departure of our plane. As you may recall, Mr. Sothy could not enter the terminal and I was designated Deputy Tour Director by the group back in Chiang Mai to make sure our group got checked in properly and that everyone's suitcase got checked through all the way to JFK or LAX, except for Vicky and Vicki who held up the line for 10 minutes getting their bags checked all the way to Little Rock. After checking in, everyone had to pay a $25 departure tax before they were allowed to go through customs. God knows what that pays for. I also had to pass out and make sure everyone filled out their Thailand arrival cards properly. So much paper work.
9:00 pm – We’re in Bangkok. We had a propeller plane from Siem Reap to Bangkok. I think it made some people nervous. The flight took about an hour, which was 25 minutes longer than the jet flight to get here. After we deplaned, my nose somehow found us to the transfer desk where we stood to check in and get our boarding passes for our 5-hour Korean Air flight to Seoul. The group gave me a “hip hip hurray” for expertly handling the departure and transfer process. I won’t be applying for any tour guide positions anytime soon though. Our flight to Seoul leaves at 1:45 am. We now have almost 5 hours to sit around, shop, eat or whatever. Vicki managed to buy 40 valium tablets at the Siem Reap Airport Pharmacy for $11 without a prescription. She gave me three for the ride home, but I lost them somewhere on the way to Bangkok, so she gave me three more. Not to be outdone, Vicky bought 80 tablets. Vicky and Vicki are always walking drugstores whenever we travel. We should all sleep well on the long flight home. My flight is just over 13 hours.
Day 17 - Friday, February 2, 2007
Itinerary - Bangkok to USA: Connect in Bangkok for your flight home. Your magical Journey ends as you arrive in the USA later today.6:00 am Thailand Time - The magical Journey is over all right. We've been cooped up on this Boeing 777 flight from Bangkok to Seoul for 4 hours now. We left around 2 am. I popped a valium right after take off, so slept most of the trip. We're about an hour from Seoul. They are two hours ahead of Bangkok, so it is 8 am there.
8:45 am Seoul Time - We're in Seoul. Got a little over two hours to kill before the 13+ hour flight to JFK. We leave at 11 am, but arrive at JFK at 10:30 am, which is a half hour before we leave Seoul. Thanks to the magic of crossing the International Date Line somewhere over the Pacific we gain back the day we lost coming over. It was 80 degrees F when we left Thailand. It is 19 degrees F here in Seoul. Goodbye summer weather.9:30 am - Vicky, Vicki and I stopped at Dunkin' Donuts for coffee and snacks. Then did a little shopping. Then said goodbye and headed to our gates.
12:30 pm - Our 747-400 left Seoul at 11 and we're somewhere over Tokyo right now. Vicky and Vicki's LAX-bound flight makes a short stop in Tokyo before heading for LAX. I'm hoping we arrive at JFK earlier so I can catch a 2 pm flight out of LaGuardia rather than my 5:30 pm flight. I'm in the very last row of the plane stretched out over 3 seats getting a lot of shut eye. Sara from the tour group is in the fourth seat along the aisle. Going back to sleep. ZZZZzzzz. 4 am Milwaukee Time - Where am I? I've been asleep for 6 hours. That valium really works. We still have 4 hours to go, but are at least over Alaska or western Canada somewhere. Going back to sleep. ZZZZzzzzz.
7:30 am Milwaukee Time - 11-1/2 hours down, only 2 hours 10 minutes to go. We're over Minnesota. We're 20 minutes behind schedule.
10:30 am New York Time - 100 miles from New York. Landing in 20 minutes.
11:00 am - We've landed.
11:30 am - Cleared immigration, got my luggage and cleared customs. On my way to LaGuardia in a cab. It's cold. Brrrr.
11:50 am - I'm at LaGuardia.
12:30 pm - Midwest Airlines bandits want me to pay $25 to guarantee a seat on their 2 pm flight from LaGuardia to Milwaukee. I'm currently flying stand-by. I asked how full the plane was (1/2 full), where I stood on the waiting list (#2), and whether they would refund the $25 if there were empty seats on the plane (no). I will take my chances that 40 people won't show up and pay $25 to get a guaranteed seat. Mind games!2:30 pm - No problem getting on that 2 pm flight. It's barely 1/2 full.
3:45 pm Milwaukee Time - I've landed. It's a sunny 8 degrees F here. It was 75-80 degrees warmer in Bangkok and Siem Reap. Wish I was back over there in Southeast Asia. Apparently it's going to be this cold for several days.
4:15 pm - Just walked in the door. Guess I'll do my laundry, read my mail, and check my email. I can't wait to see how many unread messages I have. I hate this part of a trip, but what are you going to do? I also have to start typing this journal. I have completely filled a 60-page steno pad back to back. It could take weeks to get done if I'm really busy at work. But it will get done eventually. In the meantime, it's time to start dreaming about the next trip: Turkey, October 4-17, 2007, Gate1Travel.Bye for now, and happy travels.
Chris
