Chang Mai

Suwahdee kha! That is the greeting you give to everyone as you fold your hand in prayerlike fashion. At least that is for women. If you are a man you say Krap instead of Kha. Needless to say the men all giggle and there is a lot of bathroom humor. I have also learned all my numbers and can count to 1000. I think I have about 20-30 phrases and words. Nothing is similar to us and their letters are absolutely different mostly like squiggly lines.
Today we went to elephant camp. We rode elephants with our mahout- the guy who lives with each specific elephant- for an hour through the jungle. There were about 7 in total- 2 to an elephant. You sit on a platform on their back while the mahout sits on his head. Along side us trotted the 2 babies that belonged to these girls. It was one of the most awesome experiences ever. We stopped while they grazed on wild sugar cane and then bananas. It was a little bumpy but we laughed the whole time. The babies kept trying to get into our backpacks looking for food. Elephant kisses are unreal and unforgettable. After our ride we rode on bamboo rafts down a river for about an hour. The jungle is very green- duh- and the birds can be heard but hard to see. Along the banks were other elephants with their mahouts sometimes batheing or getting a drink. There were also lots of water buffalo. The tribe here is the Lisu and I bought one of their hats. Very, very colorful and good in the hot hot sun. I am gettting Italian food tonight as I cannot face another bowl of rice. Thai eat the same thing for every meal and I know we are supposed to be eating like them but I need a break. Tomorrow we get up at 5 AM to give alms to the monks- rice again- and then we get to spend time questioning them about Buddhist philosophy. I have been studying up on it and have some questions planned. So Suwahdee Kha!

Myanmar amd Laos

It has been a few days since we were able to get near a computer. Sometimes I have sent a post and it goes off into some Thai netherworld never to be seen again. We have been traveling in the far north of the country and for the last 2 days stayed on the Mekong River at the convergence of Laos, Thailand and Myanmar- formerly known as Burma. From the balcony we could see all 3 countries with the small fishing boats peacefully making their way up and down the muddy river. Myanmar is hard to get into and indeed Americans are discouraged due to the repressive political regime. It was heartbreaking to talk with a man who told me quietly that he had been a teacher until he chose the wrong side and now was selling postcards at the side of a temple. He said he had seen pictures of America but it was a hopeless dream. Soldiers watching us everywhere. We toured a village- all grass huts and earthen floors, everyone in the same room, the marketplace selling everything imaginable and of course the Temple. We were transported by motorized rickshaws and the drivers raced each other through the crowded streets. Very beautiful paople, carry groceries on their heads, the monks in their saffron colored robes and sandals. Laos was somewhat similar though the odd thing here was that they sell whiskey with dead cobras inside each bottle. Unimaginably gross. I am a little lost as to what I have written but the one thing that also stands out is our visits to the hill tribes. They live as they have for centuries, somewhat nomadic. At the 2nd tribe- the Akha- they asked me to examnine a 89 year old woman who seemed to be dying . She refused to go to the hospital- they had some sort of vehicle. I am not sure what was wrong though her pulse was strong and steady but I had the sense it was her kidneys due to her eyes. Our group leader is going to check but the family and tribe seemed to respect what I was saying and we are thinking we may have talked them into taking her. What an experience though I dreamt about her all night. Presently we are in Chiang Mai and I will continue tomorrow. Thanks for writing Dad and Bonnie. I miss you .

Bangkok part 4

This is a little out of sequence. the last post seemed to take so I will try to recount our last day in Bangkok before taking off for the north. We were on our own for the day eschewing the optional tour. we hopped an upriver ferry to the golden palace district where we picked up a tuk tuk driver. These are the ubiquitous vehicles that consist of a small cart pulled along by a guy with a small motor. They zip in and out and half the time you have to close your eyes. Our guy, Mr Philom took us to the sacred mount where we cllimbed a few hundred steps to the temple. Our next stop was the lucky buddha. Here we were assured by a nice man with impecable English that if we bowed to this buddha we would have our wishes come true. I'll let you know if it works. We then were taken to the Gem Expo where Bert bought a citrine ring and I did a little Christmas shopping. After an abortive attempt by the driver to get us to buy a suit- though he did get us into the shop- we were deposited at the zoo. It is a really nice one and we especially enjoyed the langurs which are Thai monkeys. Soon enough we hailed another tuk tuk to the ferry and back to the National Museum. Wonderful collections. Someone likened it to something out of Indiana Jones and I can see it. My favorite were the golden funeral pyres and caissons. You cannot imagine how ornate they are. Gold everywhere and little jewels and intricate carvings. just unbelievable and over the top. The same was true for the things- can't remember the name- with which they ride on the elephants. We had been to the Royal Barge museum the day before. These kings really travel in style. About the king- Rama IX- his picture is plastered all over the country, sometimes with the queen or his children, but really everywhere you look. He is nearing 80 in December which will be a really big event here. These people really love their king and probably know more about his family than their own.

Thailand

OK so this is my 3rd attempt to try to send a note. The last 2 days we spent at a beautiful resort in the jungle on the River Kwai- same one as the movie. I wrote 2 long descriptions of our really interesting days spent seeing the famous bridge and learning of the horros and atrocities perpetrated on the POWs by the Japanese. Tonight we are in Phitsanalok which is in the rice area. Much of today was spent riding on the bus stopping to see interesting things such as the Wat which was filled with columns of mirrors, including the floors and ceiling. Vegas has nothing on this place. The body of the abbot lays in state in a glass and gold case apparently not decomposing. A gold buddha is at the other end next to a skeleton. Cruising down a river on a rise barge we had lunch ,made with ingredients which we had to buy for ourselves in the local market using our limited Thai skills. Every meal consists of rice and meat and fruit and veggies stirred in. It is getting a little old to be honest. However it is good if a bit too spicy for me at times. Bert had to find a dentist this evening to replace a crown which had come off. That was a minor adventure but we found a dental clinic here in the city and they charged 300 baht- about 9 dollars to fix it.

The jungle surrounding the hotel that we stayed at on the Kwai River was another highlight. As night fell the sounds increased, gibbons, birds and some sort of insect made such a cacophony. It was great to just sit out on the room balcony and listen. The hills in the distance lit up with heat lightning and there was literally no evidence of anything manmade for miles. The river flowed right past the hotel. We had an hour long longboat ride from Hellfire pass- site of the infamous Thai Burma railroad - down river for 30 miles/ we passed huge bats, a 5 foot long monitor lizard sunning himself, beautifully colored birds and every kind of tree. There were a few areas where people live in floating shacks right on the water but for the most part it is totally unspoiled. This part of Thailand is quite beautiful- a marked contrast to Bangkok. Water buffalo stand in the rice paddies next to storks. Markets are set up everywhere selling every kind of food and trinkets. The people all smile and wave. Sawatdee-cha is the greeting. You fold your hands together as you say it.
I hope all is well at home. I miss you all and wish you were here to share this fabulous experience.

Kanchanaburi

In checking this blog tonight I see that the part I wrote last night never was posted. I will have to recreate it later because I wrote it out but it is in the room. We are in the area made famous by the movie Bridge over the River Kwai. It is such a sad story of the brutality towards the POWs by their Japanese captors. Spent the morning touring areas of the railroad they built which killed most of them from the beatings and disease and malnutrition. Hellfire Pass was a mountain they leveled by hand. We later rode the remains of the railroad and had an hour long ride in a longboat down the Kwai for 28 miles. We passed a monitor lizard, beautiful birds and a few rafts that were houses. Mostly we saw only jungle and it was beautiful. The highlight of the day however was the visit to the Tiger Temple. I was the one who lobbied the group for this and, in the end, 2 other couples went with us. We arranged for a pickup truck to bring us and wait. So we rode in the back of the truck at 50 miles an hour an adventure in itself!. The temple started 12 years ago when the monks began to take in orphaned tigers whose parents has been killed by poachers in the nearby hills. They are quite tame but treated with love and respect. We were able to go right up to them and pet them, with a handler at our side while a second person took multiple pictures. At one point, the tiger I was petting rolled over with a growl for a belly rub whipping me with his tail. It was an unforgettable experience. There were 10 tigers present though 4 of them were pacing so we could not go to them. They were not drugged but had been just fed so they were somnolent. Each was full grown and just gorgeous. I could not imagine being able to do this in the States. Tiger canyon was defnitely a highlight of the week. Tonight following another Thai meal we pack for a long bus ride tomorrow to the north of the country. The weather so far has been hot and humid but no rain despite the fact that this is monsoon season.

Bangkok part3

The Chao Phraya is like the Seine or the Thames in that it bisects Bangkok. Much of the city's commerce takes place on the water. As we went along the canals en route to our cooking class we passed people batheing in the klong, washing their clothes and fishing for catfish. Floating kitchens on sampans serve rice and noodles to customers in other boats. Each house has its own spirit house perfumed with incense and decked out with flowers and other offerings.

The Temple of the Dawn- Wat Arun- is 260 feet high tower on the river. Its exterior is covered with chards of chinese porcelain of every color embedded in the concrete. It shimmers as the sun hits it.

Bangkok part2

Yesterday we spent the day touring with our group led by Leky, a 48 yo Thai woman, very pleasant. We started with a trip through the flower market. Every color and smell and shape of flower imaginable. They start at 2 AM and run till late at night. We then boarded a longboat which is sort of a long canoe with a car engine at the back. We toured the klongs- canals - of Thonburi a rather ancient and unspoiled part of Bangkok. The people live in houses on stilts and open to the water. The water is pretty fetid but they fish- catfish- in it and we even saw a 6 foot long monitor lizard swimmimg next to our boat. It was fascinating to see the women in their sampans with their meals cooking onboard. We attended a cooking class given by Toom who was about the most entertaining cook I have ever met. She was so engaging and had us laughing for the whole hour as we made chili paste - a staple ingredient in the very spicy Thai diet.

Bangkok

Well we survived our 17 hour flight. It went really well primarily for one reason. Bert was able to upgrade us to premium economy which gave us a little extra room and a bulkhead seat. Now we are really spoiled. Thai Air is great however the only thing I did not understand was why they gave us about 10 heavy metal utensils to eat with at each of the 3 meals they served. I am sure it added a couple of hundred pounds to the flight. So interesting to see the route taken, over the north pole, Russia , Uzbekistan, Afghanistan- a little nervous, the Himalayas, India, Burma and Thailand. We are staying in the Chinatown section of the city. Bangkok has about 10 million people. It is a mix of the ultra modern and the ancient and the dilapidated- all coexisting sometimes on the same block. The traffic is incredible with few traffic lights. Crossing a street involves a mixture of bravado and prayer-fervent prayer. We have a room on the 15th floor affording a view over much of the city. We were on our own for the first day or so before our fellow tour members arrived. We took the ferry boat downriver to the skytrain. Jim Thompson's house was very interesting. He was an exGI who came here in the 50s and reestablished the silk trade for Thailand. He was a major figure here and built a beautiful compound consisting of 6 teak houses either very old or rebuilt in the Thai fashion. One day he disappeared while on vacation in Malaysia and to this day no one really knows what happened to him. His home, open for tours, is an oasis in the heart of this noisy, crowded city. As you walk or ride around the city you see many gorgeous golden temples with flowers and incense offerings and Buddhas. We walked several miles in the 90 degree heat- don't ask- to see the golden buddha at Wat Tramit- a wat is a temple. Along the way we were frequently stopped by Thai citizens who wanted to talk to us about their city or ask about us. They are truly the most friendly people I have ever met. You are always greeted with a smile and the gesture in which they put their hands together as in prayer. Anyway the golden buddha was 12 feet tall and apparently solid gold. They did not even know this until about 20 years ago when they were moving him-he was covered in ceramic- and cracked off a piece. There he was all shiny gold. Can you imagine!
Today we met our fellow 11travelers-ranging from 30s to mid 80s. More on them later.My time is up.

Thailand and Cambodia

So now that we have gone to the cold and survived, we are on to the hot. Tomorrow we leave via Thai Air JFK to Bangkok. They call NYC "the big apple", well they call Bangkok "the big mango". The flight is 17 hours plus nonstop , one of the longest flights you can take. I cannot imagine being pinned in economy for almost a day but I am excited to finally get to Asia and especially to see Ankor Wat in Cambodia. We will be gone for 3 weeks, first to "the mango" for 4-5 days meeting up with a group of 10 others on the 3rd day and then north to the hill country and the golden triangle. This is the former opium growing area now apparently home to the many hill tribes and rice paddies, tea plantations,etc.. We will see the Bridge over the River Kwai, visit an elephant camp and take several boat rides down the rivers. After we leave the group, Bert and I will fly on to Cambodia, to Siem Reap, home to the magnificent temples of Angkor for 4 days. Can't wait- well except for the flight- and maybe the heat-and maybe, well that's travel!