Touring Cambodia

Conrad and I visited Cambodia in January 2007 and were so touched by what we saw there we felt drawn to return in 2008. Due to the genocide in the 1970s followed by 25 years of civil war, the Cambodian people live in poverty beyond belief. Raised huts with thatched roofs are the dwelling places of people in the country. The kitchen is little more than a fire outside with a few utensils. They live on rice and forage in the jungle for plants to eat and wood to burn. People use the jungle for a bathroom. Women draw polluted water from the river for drinking. Infant mortaility is extremely high due to worms, malaria, dengue fever. When a child gets sick the family has to make their way to Siem Reap, take a number at the children's hospital and then camp out for days on the street outside the hospital until their number is called. The government does not look out for the well-being of the individual. In spite of all this, the Cambodian people we met all had big smiles on their faces and were very friendly. Our 38-year old tour guide, Tin, told us his story; that when he was 6 years old his parents were executed by the Khmer Rouge because his father was a soldier who fought on the side of the U.S. and his mother was a teacher. Tin and his brothers and sister all survived, and at age 12 Tin joined one of the 3 factions fighting for control of Cambodia during the civil wars. When Tin was 17 he was offered the opportunity to be educated in a refugee camp in Thailand where he learned English. After the civil wars ended he walked to Pnom Penn and found employment as a translater for the United Nations. He married and had two daughters. Now he is a free-lance tour guide in Siem Reap, and that is how we met him in 2007. In gratitude and as a way to give back to the Cambodian people, Tin started his own charity to build wells so that families can have clean drinking water. Since no organization sponsored him and he volunteered his time, the expenses to build the well were only $200, now $225 due to the rising cost of labor and supplies. Imagine that, for a $225 donation you can give clean drinking water to one family! We were hooked. We were so touched by the plight of the Cambodian people that when we returned to the U.S. we wired Tin $200, and in June 2007 our first well was a reality, serving the Keo Kahn family. Next we decided to raise money for a well that could serve an entire village, and due to the outpouring of generosity from our family and friends, (and we donated the proceeds of selling our tickets to the MU/KU game for 5X what we paid for them) we exceeded our expectations and had enough for not only the village well but 3 more family wells! So far there are 2 wells in our names, one from Milano Restaurant in Kansas City from Rhonda, Bob and Tom, and one from the Wild Bunch, our dearest and craziest group of friends. The village well will be built in April 2008.

Now we wanted to return to Cambodia and visit the wells and the well families. Thus began our trip in February 2008, first to Thailand and then on to Cambodia. What follows is a day-by-day diary of our adventures in Cambodia.

Monday, Feb. 19
After a breakfast yesterday of sweet & sour fish at the Majestic Grand Hotel in Bangkok, we walked to one of at the ubiquitous Starbucks so I could get a latte. There is a Starbucks on every corner of Bangkok!

We were picked up in a Mercedes Benz for our trip to the Bangkok airport. Our city guide walked us all the way to the security checkpoint. We felt very pampered.

When we arrived in Cambodia we were herded, along with 5 other arriving flights, into one area where we paid our $20 entry fee and handed over our passports which were passed down a line of 6 or 7 officers. Then we had to stand in another group to wait for our name to be called out in a Cambodian accent. By the time we got our passport back an hour had gone by and 16 people had handled our passport! What inefficiency!

But when we finally cleared customs, there was the smiling face of Tin! He got us checked in to the Borei Angkor Hotel and then we departed to visit all of the wells. Oh, my gosh!

Here is our newest well built Jan. 2008.

On the way we passed Pre Rup Crematoriam built entirely of brick and laterite in second half of the tenth century (961) by the King Rajendraman II dedicated to the god Siva (Hindi), replica to Pre Rup style of art. In all we traveled 55 kilometers north of Siem Reap. We drove until the pavement turned to a dirt road and stopped when the dirt road became an oxen path. We walked over and under barbed wire. I had thistles stuck in my clothes. Tin said no tourists have gone here before. We saw the poorest of the poor.


We wanted to take a bag of rice to our families, but Tin said they get rice every day, so instead we took treats for the kids; granola bars, bags of nuts, Pringles, roasted peas, and 2 jugs of fruit juice. Some families were boxed in because the family nearest the road had put up a fence. Below is Conrad giving Hallmark stickers to the children. Tin is standing beside him.

The children we saw are not healthy because they have worms from drinking unclean water, but they all seemed happy and playful. They were thrilled to receive the meager treats from us. They didn't have cups, so we poured the juice in a bowl and they shared it.

The mothers wanted the empty juice jugs to carry water. They wanted the empty Pringle cans, too. At least 4 mothers who have not received a well got down on their knees and begged to be next. In the video you can hear them ask for a well and Tin's answer, that he will do what he can but he cannot promise who will be next.

In one place we saw about 20 children of the same age all playing in a downed-tree.

After the treats we handed out Hallmark stickers. We felt like the pied-piper because when we were walking along, a heard of children was following. When we stopped, they stopped!

At the Wild Bunch well in Long Vuth the man gave a demonstration of pouring water from the well over himself! The Wild Bunch well is used by the Sao Proun family with 4 members.

At the Milano well we had the family hold a photo of Rhonda and we took their picture! (Sorry Bob and Tom but we just didn't have a good picture of you guys!) Two families are benefitting from the Milano well: the Kauy Noch family, a widow with 9 children (4 boys and 5 girls) and the Thai Tha and Seng Phally family with 6 members. Before building the well, Tin arranged for one person living there to be responsible for the well, changing the filter, etc.

Here are the members of the 2 families who were home the afternoon of our visit.

Back on the main rode is the Wolfert family well which was built 11/2/2007. The Wolfert family donated money not only for the well but sent enough extra money to build a shelter and purchase start-up merchandise for a little road side store. From the Wolfert family store we bought palm sugar candy to give to the children, and wicker baskets.

In all we visited about 12 wells, going further and further into the jungle each time. We saw an outpouring of generosity from people all over the world who contributed a well: England, Japan, Ireland, Canada as well as America.

We finally arrived at the well that we paid for in January 2008. At our last well, the man is a land-mine victim and wants to start a business repairing bicycles. He needs $200 to buy the tools to start a business and provide an income for his family.

Cambodian people live in extreme poverty. Most people make less than a dollar a day! But the cost of living can be quite expensive. A used bicycle in Cambodia costs $60. Petrol is $1.25 a liter. Below are photos of some of the children in the extremely poor, rural area where some of the wells are built.



We had attracted quite a group of children!

This woman was in the photo she is holding, when the well was built. Her husband was in the jungle getting firewood.

Back in Siem Reap Tin dropped us off at the Borei Angkor Hotel. We took a tuk tuk to lunch at the Dead Fish Tower where the sign says if you like cat, dog, worms, rats do not eat here.

The Dead Fish Tower had about 3 levels, up some rickety steps. The bartender would send the drinks up a crude dumb-waiter. We felt like we were in a Star Wars movie, the first one where Luke Skywalker and Chewbacca go into the bar before they leave his home planet.

We strolled around the market and returned to the Borei Angkor Hotel via tuk tuk for a swim.

Jeanine and Laurie arrived in the afternoon and we all met up with Tin around 3:00 p.m. He took us to Angkor Wat. The 3rd level is now off-limits due to too many fatalities, people falling down the narrow and very steep stone stairs. Conrad feels fortunate that he was able to climb the stairs to the top in Jan. 2007. The temples of the Angkor area number over one thousand, ranging in scale from nondescript piles of brick rubble scattered through rice fields to the magnificent Angkor Wat, said to be the world's largest single religious monument.

Angkor Wat , a World Heritage Site, is a temple at Angkor, Cambodia, built for King Suryavarman II in the early 12th century as his state temple and capital city. As the best-preserved temple at the site, it is the only one to have remained a significant religious centre since its foundation—first Hindu, dedicated to Vishnu, then Buddhist. The temple is the epitome of the high classical style of Khmer architecture. It has become a symbol of Cambodia, appearing on its national flag, and it is the country's prime attraction for visitors.

Among the many bas-relief carvings in the stone at Angkor Wat in the early 12th century are heavenly dancing girls called Apsaras.

We then went to Angkor Thom where we saw the Bayan with 54 towers each with four giant faces thought to represent Jayavarman VII. The temple is also famed for the detailed bas-reliefs depicting scenes from everyday life of the 12th century. Angkor Thom means the 'Great City'. Jayavaman VII built the complex on the ruins of an ancient city once controlled by Udayadityavarman II (1056-1066). The exterior wall forms a large square, running 3-km long on each side. Parts of the 100 meter wide moat have gone dry and are overrun with vegetation but the five gates offer an unforgettable entrance with most first time visitors entering through the spectacular Southern Gate, with Nagas 'churning the Milky Ocean'.
As most of the giants heads were cut off by looters, the few remaining were removed by the authorities for safe-keeping and replaced by cement replicas. Also inside the walls of Angkor Thom are the twin Terrace of the Leper King and Terrace of the Elephants.

We returned to the old market for dinner at In Touch, across the street from the Red Piano and then went down to the Dead Fish Tower for a drink. We showed both maps of the US to the 2 bartenders at the Dead Fish. They were really interested and promised us some really good drinks tomorrow night! We are already getting the hook-up in Siem Reap!

And guess what?! When we left the Borei Angkor to go down to the Red Piano, there was John in tuk-tuk #9 who took us everywhere in Jan. 2007! It was great to see him, and he loved it that we remembered him! Just like last year, he dropped us off at the Red Piano and waited an hour and a half for us . . . for a total of $4! I had a margarita or two, and Conrad had Angkor beer (or two.) It had been a really long day for us. Then we walked over to the Dead Fish Tower to check it out for tonight. A tall blonde American was eyeing Conrad. She walked over to us and asked if we were from Missouri! Conrad had his MU shirt on, and she is an alumni! Small world!

Tuesday, Feb. 20
At breakfast Conrad thanked our server in Khmer. The server told us how much he appreciated that we try to learn his language and learn something about his culture.

This morning Tin and our driver took Laurie, Jeanine and us 50 km northeast of Siem Reap to Phnom Kulen, the holiest mountain in Cambodia. We visited Kbal Spean, a spectacularly carved riverbed in the mountains, a site that only been opened up to tourism since 1998. Known as the River of a Thousand Lingas, the water cascades over abstract stone of male and female organs carved in 960 AD and becomes holy, then moves downstream to a series of tiered waterfalls. There are several umas (the female symbol) on the riverbanks and also some faded carvings in the sandstone along the sides of the stream.

These little boys were just sure Tin did not know the way to the hot springs, so they led us through the jungle.

We followed wooden steps down to a small waterfall tumbling into a pool overhung by the jungle where local families were frolicking in the water and Buddhist monks crouch along the river downstream to wash their orange robes. Even the adults wanted some Hallmark stickers!

A linga is a Hindu phallic symbol, having a square base, an octagonal section above it topped by a rounded column. The female symbol is the uma, a square hole with an opening in the middle of one side from which water flows from the surrounding lip. Sometimes lingas are found in the middle of umas.

Play this video to watch the children playing rock/paper/scissors. They are so cute!

On our way to Preah Ang Tho (a 16th century Buddhist monastery notable for a 17-m-long giant reclining Buddha carved into the top of a 20-m boulder) we were mobbed by a group of little kids chattering noisily. Turns out they wanted to play rock/paper/scissors and the winner would get to guard our shoes while we visited the reclining Buddha which is carved on the highest point in the mountains. It was too funny! They played the game until only a little girl in pigtails remained, and she accompanied us to the place where we took our shoes off. We climbed the rickety wooden staircase to a landing that surrounds the Buddha. When we finished viewing the Buddha she was still there, and so were our shoes! We gave her a dollar!

The area near the waterfall was filled with beautiful butterflies.

We had lunch at a Khmer restaurant across from Banteay Srei. Laurie, Jeanine, Conrad and I split a bowl of soup. It was really good. I also had Khmer curry in a coconut and Conrad had some Khmer pork dish inside a coconut.

Banteay Srei (or Banteay Srey) is a 10th century Cambodian temple dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva. Banteay Srei is built largely of pink sandstone with elaborate decorative wall carvings. The buildings themselves are miniature in scale and are referred to as the Temple of Women.

Consecrated in 967 A.D., Banteay Srei was the only major temple at Angkor not built by a monarch; its construction is credited to a courtier named Yajnyavahara, who served as a counsellor to king Rajendravarman. The foundational stela says that Yajnyavahara was a scholar and philanthropist who helped those who suffered from illness, injustice, or poverty.

Near Banteay Srei is Banteay Samre, the setting for the story of the Gardener King. Norodom Sihamoni, a bachelor born 14 May 1953, has been the king of Cambodia since 2004. He is descended from the Gardener King. There was a gardener named Pou who specialized in the cultivation of sweet cucumbers, having received the seeds in some supernatural manner. He offered his first harvest to the king, who found them so delicious that he quickly secured exclusive rights, ordering Pou to kill anybody, man or beast, who entered his "chamcar" (field.) The king presented Pou with his own lance for protection.

One night the king went to spy on his gardener and hid in the bushes to watch him work. When Pou finished his work he tossed his lance into the bushes inadvertently killing the king. In the morning when Pou went to retrieve his lance, he was horrified to find the king dead with his lance stuck through him. Terrified, Pou buried the king’s body under his mattress. When the king did not return to the palace his guards, along with the king’s elephant, set out for Pou’s gardens. When the elephant approached Pou sitting on his bed, he detected the scent of his beloved king and saluted by lowering its truck between his feet and kneeling. The people took this as a sign that Pou was to be the new king.



From there we went to the Laura Croft-Tomb Raider temple, Ta Prohm, which has been overtaken by the banyan trees. We drove back through Angkor Thom, past the elephant terrace and then to our hotel. It was a really busy day.

Tonight we are headed to the Dead Fish Tower for our special drink and for some curry. Seems like we are eating a lot of curry here! John in tuk tuk #9 should be waiting outside for us.


Wednesday, Feb. 21
Tin's house is a little ways outside Siem Reap. The power line goes down the road but not back to his house, so he has to buy electricity from his neighbor for 50 cents per kilowat. (His neighbor pays 25 cents.) For drinking water, his wife draws water from the well and pours it into a big earthen jar where it sits for 2-3 days to let the sediment sink to the bottom. His daughters fill bottles from this to take to school. When you register to vote your name should be in the district you live in, but if the party thinks too many people are voting against them, they move your name to another polling place. This happened to Tin, and he had to go to all the polling places until he found where his name was registered so he could vote. The school invites the Buddha monk into the school for 2 hours every week for religious teaching.

Jeanine and Laurie took the day off and we went with Tin and our driver on a tour 160 km north of Siem Reap to visit other temples where the jungle has taken over them. We stopped at the quarry where the limestone was mined for all the temples.We went to Prasatkohker Temple where the land mines were cleared only 3 months ago. The cicadas are really something to hear. We almost had to shout at each other! The next temple was Neang Amao, the black lady temple (because the stones have turned black.) All along the way Tin has been picking leaves from the jungle for us to taste. This is what he ate after his parent were killed.

Our third stop was at Koh Ker where a big festival to the memorial to the ancestors of the temple was underway. It was an unexpected surprise. To honor their ancestors, people brought offerings of money and jewelry. People were flocking the road to get there or to leave there. The long, sheltered walkway that once led to the Prasat Thom pyramid has collapsed. The broken head of Nandin, the bull that serves as Shiva’s mount, lies in the rubble.

Conrad and Tin climbed the steep, rickety steps to the top of Prasat Thom, about 140 feet high at a 75 degree angle. While I rested in the shade a small Cambodian man next to me offered to carry me up on his back. At least that is what I could make of the conversation! Tin, Conrad and I ate a nice Khmer lunch of fried rice and pork.

Then we went to the Linga temples, lots of little temples around the reservoir with big lingas inside. The monks used to pour milk into the Linga and the milk ran through a trough (always facing north) to the north outside wall where people would let the milk pour over them for good luck, good life, etc. Here is a picture of Tin performing an ancient Cambodian ritural, I think! :-)








Our last stop was Beng Mealea or flower pool. Built of sandstone during the reign of King Suryavarman II in the early 12th century and smaller in size than Angkor Wat, the king's main monument, Beng Mealea nonetheless ranks among the Khmer empire's larger temples. Surrounded by moats, it is oriented toward the east but has entranceways from the other three cardinal directions. There is extensive carving of scenes from Hindu mythology, including the Churning of the Sea of Milk and Vishnu being borne by the bird god Garuda. Causeways have long balustrades formed by bodies of the seven-headed Naga serpent. It is further away from Siem Reap and until recently the road was very poor, so no reconstruction has been done. This photo shows me climbing the ruins with Tin waiting for me at the top. At one point Tin told me to step in the middle of the stone. When I looked down, it was a 2-story drop on each side. I was getting out of my comfort zone! Beng Mealea is 1200 meters by 900 meters, not counting the moat. What a beautiful place. The land mines were only cleared from Beng Mealea 7 months ago.

Along the road there were signs to mark the fields where active land mines are. We went past the de-mining camp. It looked like tents from a Civil War reenactment covered in dust. Tin's youngest brother is a de-miner because turned down the opportunity for an education at a younger age.

On the way back to Siem Reap we picked up 4 women who had been stranded by their driver. They had been to the memorial and needed to get to Phnom Penh. We dropped them off at the next town to wait for the bus. The bus schedule is erratic so if it didn’t come by today they were going to sleep in the park.

Thursday, Feb. 22 & Friday Feb. 23
This morning we left early to visit Tonle Sap Lake the largest freshwater lake in South East Asia. For most of the year the lake is fairly small, around one meter deep and with an area of 2,700 square km. During the monsoon season, however, the Tonle Sap river which connects the lake with the Mekong river reverses its flow. Water is pushed up from the Mekong into the lake, increasing its area to 16,000 square km and its depth to up to nine meters, flooding nearby fields and forests. The floodplain provides a perfect breeding ground for fish. At the end of the rainy season, the flow reverses and the fish are carried downriver.

This houseboat is one of the more colorful ones on the lake. Notice the TV antenna. The TV is powered by a car battery!

There are 3 schools on Tonle Sap Lake as well as floating pig pens, a basketball court and houseboats everywhere. Since this is the dry season the lake water looked muddy. I was glad no one fell in because I'm not sure I could have jumped in to save them!

The Mekong starts its journey in the Himalayas, flowing through China, Laos and Cambodia before discharging into the sea at its delta in South Vietnam. The Mekong Delta cannot absorb all the river water; so in May, the river reverses its normal seaward flow and begins for flow back up the Tonle Sap River.
The 160km long lake fills with water and, expands to 250kms long by up to 100kms wide over a period of 3 months. The lake rises and progressively floods the surrounding forests and rice fields.
The people who live in simple shacks along the Causeways and rivers; move up towards the shore. As the water retreats, and the rainy season approaches; the floating villages move inland to take shelter along the river banks.

We stopped at the handicraft center where we bought a stone carving of a Bayan face, carved by local artists. Here is a photo of Lauri, Jeanine, Tin, Nancy and Conrad in front of the lotus fountain at the Borei Ankor. We all wished we could take Tin home with us! He told us that back in the 1980s the authorities came around asking if anyone wanted to go to the "third" county. No one knew what that was, but some people had gone before and had never been heard from again. So Tin hid so that he wouldn't be forced to go. Then later letters started arriving from the people who had gone before, sending money and saying, "We are in America and doing quite well! You should come here!"

When we packed our bags to go home, we packed a bag to leave with Tin. We left shoes, clothing, ibuprofen, cortisone cream, antibiotic ointment, etc. with Tin to either use himself or give to someone in need.

It was an hour plane-ride from Siem Reap to Bangkok. After a 3-hour layover we flew a little over 3 hours to Taipai and had to hurry to catch our LA connection. After a 13-hour flight we arrived in LA around 7:00 p.m. and spent the night at the Howard Johnson by the airport.

Saturday, Feb. 24
We were wide awake by 3:30 a.m. and being unable to fall back asleep we stumbled down to Denny’s for a good, greasy American breakfast around 5:30. Two hookers and their pimp arrived for breakfast while we were there. The women were handing their money to the pimp and he was dividing it up!

After an uneventful 3-hour flight, we arrived in Kansas City 30 minutes early, around 4:15 p.m. and went out for some good old Kansas City barbecue! Yum!

Touring Thailand

Friday, Feb. 8, 2008

We left Kansas City in a blinding snow and ice storm and landed in LA. We met 2 of Conrad's sisters for dinner at Santa Monica.

Saturday, Feb. 9, 2008

After biking 18 miles from Venice Beach to Marina Del Ray and back, we boarded China Air for our long 13-hour flight to Taipei where we changed planes and flew another 4 hours to Chaing Mai where we checked into the Rydges Amora Tapae Hotel, ate lunch at Daret's, recommended by Lonely Planet (and our tour guide.) It was really good! We walked through Tapae Gate to the old city and strolled through some vendor stalls, bought some pashima scarves and went on a 90 minute walk around the old city.

For dinner we walked to the Mae Ping river to the Riverside restaurant where a local band was playing classic rock (a lot of Eagles) with an Asian accent! It was a lovely evening and our table looked out over the river. The clientele was only tourists. We had drinks and 2 dinners for under $20! We took a tuk tuk back to the hotel and called it a day.

Sunday, Feb. 10, 2008
Sunday we met Tawee, our driver for the day. We went to Wiang Kum Kam where they were just finishing up a festival so we got to hear the grand finale. They had been going all night and were just finishing up around 9:30 a.m. We rented bikes, and a tour guide took us around the ruins. The best one was Chedi Liam Temple, built in a Burmese fashion by King Meng Rai who had 60 wives. There were 60 Buddha statues to represent each of the 60 wives.


We ate lunch at Nangnual, a restaurant on the Mai Ping River where we were the only tourists.



After lunch we went on a boat tour of the Mae Ping River. Only two other tourists, a couple from the Netherlands, was on the boat with us. We stopped at a fruit farm where part of Rambo 4 was filmed and had a plate of assorted fruits and fruit drinks. When we left our boat captain picked some star fruit and had it cut up for us to eat on the way back. Conrad mentioned to the couple from Amsterdam that he had served in the Air Force in Thailand in the 70s and the man said, "During the Vietnam War?" Conrad answered yes, and he said he liked talking to someone who lived during historical times. I think he was telling Conrad he was old!

We stopped at the handicraft village and visited a silver store and an umbrella factory. Tawee got a kick-back of 200 baht if we would go to the carpet place and stay 10 minutes, so we did, and he had beer money for that night!

That evening we had a traditional Khantoke dinner with delicious Northern Thai cuisine accompanied by Northern Thai folk dancing and performances by different hill tribes.

After a short rest we went to the Sunday market just across the street from our hotel. This market happens only on Sundays from 7-11 p.m. and has the best prices. Many locals buy and sell there. At midnight we hit the sack.

Monday, Feb. 11, 2008
After a 6:30 wake-up call and a breakfast buffet at the hotel we drove to the Maetaman Elephant Camp. It was really a nice morning! The elephants are so cute. We could sit on them and take pictures. When we tipped the elephant he would bow 3 times and give the tip to the mahout. Then the elephants performed a show, kicked soccer balls, played basketball and painted some pictures. Most of the pictures were of flowers, but one elephant painted a picture of two elephants humping!

We ate lunch at the orchid farm then went back to the handicraft village to a silk factory and a teak wood factory. Tonight we are meeting Joy to pay him for our tour of Wiang Kum Kam. We met Joy in 2007 when we hired him to drive us to a National Park where the King and Queen pagodas are and we used him again this year although he was busy and sub-contracted us out to Tawee. Joy dropped us at the night bazaar. Conrad bought a Singha (lion) t-shirt. Singha is the national beer of Thailand. From the night market we took a tuk tuk to the Gallery Restaurant on the Mae Ping River. There were a lot of tourists but at least the band played local music, not Eagles with an Asian accent!

Tuesday, Feb. 12
This morning we got on the bus to head 3 hours north to Chaing Rai. We took a break at the Cabbages and Condoms Restaurant and Cottages whose name promotes the health and safety aspects of condom use in a fun and amusing manner. The world's largest collection of national brand condoms is displayed around the walls and the carpet up the stairs has cartoons of typical condoms for various trades and professions woven into the fabric. Instead of serving after dinner mints, there are bowls of condoms located at the exits just in case. We arrived at Mae Chan, the Golden Triangle, took a boat into the Mekong river to the point where Thailand, Burma and Laos meet. We landed in Laos for our booster shot of cobra whiskey, so we think we're good now. We bought a bottle of snake whiskey for Rhonda. The little Laotian children mobbed us when we handed out the Hallmark stickers and almost depleted our supply!

Back on the Thai side we took some pictures of some really cute little Akha hill tribe children in native costume and gave them some baht and stickers. Then we drove to Maesai, the northernmost part of Thailand, separated from the Burmese border town of Thakhilek by a small river also called Mae Sai. Unlike last year our tour guide wouldn't take anyone into Burma because it is too dangerous now. (We thought it was plenty dangerous last year!)

On the way to the charming Teak Garden Spa Resort in Chaing Rai we met the motorcade of the Crown Prince's first ex-wife (he's now on wife #3.)

It's in the 90s during the day here and 60s or 70s at night.

This is a really good tour group. Everyone is having so much fun!

Wednesday, Feb. 13
This morning we took the long boats about an hour up the Kok River to a hot springs, then back down 30 minutes to the Karen tribe elephant camp. Whoo hoo! I like riding the elephants! When we went down into the river it seemed like a 90 degree angle. Conrad was fine but I had to close my eyes. I hope the elephant kept his eyes open! These elephants are owned by the hill tribe, and located in their village with lots of booths loaded with handicrafts for sale. A woman saw Conrad coming and hollered out, "We have large size!" and held up a shirt. After bantering with her in Thai, he had to buy it!


I had my picture taken with a member of the Karen Hill Tribe.

We had lunch at the Big C, a little shopping center in Chaing Rai. We returned to the beautiful Teak Gardens for rest and relaxation and regrouped at 6:30 for a short bus ride to the night market, our last chance for inexpensive souvenirs. I think Conrad's kind of glad about that!

We ate fresh fish at a Thai restaurant on the street. Most of the rest of the tour group ate pizza. The Thai food is cut into bite-sized servings so there is no need for a knife. You eat your food with a tablespoon and fork, holding the spoon in your right hand and using the back of the fork to push the food and sauce into your spoon.

Thursday, Feb. 14
We departed Teak Gardens in Chiang Rai and drove about 30 minutes to Wat Rong Khun, the white temple, created by Thailand's national artist Chalermchai Kositpipat. I'm glad we saw it last year in the sun, because today was cloudy and all the mirrored glass wasn't quite as stunning. But everyone in our group really enjoyed it.

From there we drove a couple of hours to Phayao, the largest fresh-water lake in Thailand. It covers 500 acres but is less than 6 feet deep at the deepest point. We went to a place where you can sample tea. I bought a porcelain teapot for an individual serving (like they have at Genghis Khan) for $3 and some white tea. We purchased a bottle of Monsoon Valley red Thai wine for Valentines evening. We heard it was very good. Our lunch was at a Thai restaurant on the street where Conrad ordered our meal in Thai (shrimp fried rice with an egg over-easy on top.) Of course he has ordering the Singha beer down pat!

From Phayao we drove 2 hours to Lampang. When we arrived at the Wienglakor Hotel we had a 2-hour massage ($30 for 2 people!) in our room. 2 young attractive women masseuses hopped in bed with us. OK, this sounds kinky but it wasn't. We were all fully clothed. They used their hands, forearms, elbows, knees and feet. (Conrad says they hurt us.) The knot in my back is now flat. I think that's a good thing.

We skipped the market tour with the group and instead took our bottle of Monsoon Valley wine down to the lobby to drink it while we listened to piano music. Unfortunately it wasn't nearly as good as we had been told, and Conrad thought it tasted like every other wine he has tried. Luckily another couple from our tour thought it was great. They are polishing it off now while we send out email!

Friday, Feb. 15 - Lampang, Sukothai & Phitsonaulok
This morning we drove to Sri Satchanakai, the northern outpost town of the kingdom of Sukothai, built by King Ramkamhoeng. We visited Ko Noi Thuring, consisting of 500 kilns that were the center of Sukothai's famous 14th and 15th century Sankhalok pottery manufacturing. We bought a pottery Singha (lion.)

Next we stopped in Sukhothai, which in 1238 became the first truly independent Thai kingdom, where the Thai culture, language and alphabet originated. Surrounded by two moats and bridged by four gateways, the old walls contain the partially restored remains of 21 historical sites, including royal palaces and Buddhist temples. Most of the tour group rode around the ruins in a shuttle, but we biked. Even though it is really hot here, it felt good to be out on a bike! We had lunch at a really nice hotel, Pailyn, where the emperor of Japan stayed previously. We arrived at the Topland Plaza Hotel in Phitsonulok, ancient center of Thai culture and politics, for an overnight stay before continuing our journey to Bangkok. This is the 5th hotel we have stayed at so far. Only 2 more to go!

We are traveling with a group of 28. Only 2 other people are going to Cambodia, Jeanine and Laurie, a mother / daughter from San Diego.

We pass by lots of rice fields. The workers wear tall rubber boots because there are cobras feasting on rats in the rice fields. Some of the fields have scarecrows. We saw one today that was made of a John Elway jersey! The wage for a worker is $6 a day.

We ate dinner in town and had tilapia from the basin (tanks along the wall.)

Saturday, Feb. 16
The bus driver, Pirot, and Conrad are having quite a time bantering with each other. Pirot is teaching Conrad how to say a new color in Thai every day. Today it was green (kale.) One day Conrad had on a grey shirt and Pirot pointed to it and said the word for grey in Thai. Then Conrad pointed to his hair and said grey, but Pirot said, “No! White!’

We stopped at the Bronze Case factory, one of only 3 bronze factories authorized to make Buddha images.

We took a break at a gas station for the "happy room," and the men were surprised to find that the urinals were on an outside wall! We had quite a time taking photos of Conrad posing.

At the monkey temple (Phra Prang Sam Yot in Lopburi) the monkeys climbed all over one of the women from our tour. We have photos of her husband picking lice off of her when we got to the bus. Eeww!!! Phra Prang Sam Yot is famous for the hundreds of Crab-Eating Macaques (Macaca fascicularis) that live in the middle of the city, especially around the Khmer temple, Prang Sam Yot, and a Khmer shrine, Sarn Phra Karn. They are fed by the local people who believe these monkeys are descended from Subrik, the monkey king who helped King Rama win back his beautiful wife Sita from the evil giant King Tosakan. Because they are not afraid of humans, the monkeys steal whatever they can from unwary tourists.

We had lunch at Chaba, a wonderful private restaurant in a garden. The owner used to be a tour guide. He saved all his money to buy land to build Chaba. It is beautiful. (The ladies bathroom was Western style!)

We visited Ayutthaya, the Thai kingdom of King Ramathibodi I that existed from 1350 to 1767. During those four centuries the kingdom expanded to become the nation of Siam, whose borders were roughly those of modern Thailand, except for the north, the Kingdom of Lannathai. When Ayutthaya fell to Burmese attack in 1767, its territory included the Northern Shan states of Burma, Lanna (ChiangMai), Yunnan & Shan Sri (China), Lan Xiang (Laos), Cambodia, South Vietnam and all of Malaya. Our guide was explaining about the 3 stupas called Wat Phra Si Sanphet which house the remains of King Borommatrailokanat, King Borommarachathirat III and King Ramathibodi II. Conrad joked he thought she was talking about the 3 stooges!

We arrived in Bangkok at 6:30 p.m. Our hotel, the Majestic Grande Bangkok Hotel, is just ½ block from the red light district. The hotel is really nice. This is the first king-size bed we have! Every other hotel has had twin beds!

We used the Internet in the red light district because it was only one baht per minute. After sending our email a young woman gave Conrad the eye and cupped her breast. He shrugged his shoulders and pointed at me! I smacked him a good one!

We had dinner at the Green House just down from our hotel. For some reason the food tasted really good, even the bread they brought before dinner. Maybe it had something to do with the bread being warm and being served with butter. Ah, the comforts of home! Our entrees were even delivered to the table at the same time! What luxury!

Sunday, Feb. 17
Today we went with our tour for the first 2 stops: first was Wat Trimitr which houses the largest Golden Buddha Image in the world. It is made of pure gold measuring 12 feet 5 inches in diameter and has a height of 15 feet 9 inches from the base to the crown and weighs approximately 5 tons. Now more than 700 years old, it is a valuable treasure of Thailand and of Buddhism. It sits on the 2nd floor of a building!

Our next stop was Wat Po or Wat Phra Chetuphon to see the Reclining Buddha, the 2nd largest Buddha in Thailand, 157 feet. The largest Wat in Bangkok, it holds the dual honors of having both the most number of Buddha images in Thailand as well as Thailand's largest reclining Buddha image. The Reclining Buddha is gold plated measuring 46 meters long and 15 meters high, and is designed to illustrate the passing of the Buddha into nirvana. The feet and the eyes are engraved with mother-of-pearl decoration, and the feet also show the 108 auspicious characteristics of the true Buddha.

The tour went on to Wat Benchamabophit (The Marble Temple) which houses the Buddha image called "Phra Buddhajinaraja" made from 2.5 tons of bronze. Under the Buddha are the ashes of King Rama V.

Instead of touring Wat Benchamabophit, we walked down to the pier and took a ferry over to Wat Arun or Wat Arunratchawararam Ratchaworamahavihara. Nicknamed the Temple of Dawn, perhaps because the first light of morning is reflected off the surface of the temple with a pearly iridescence, the temple is located in the Bangkok Yai district, on the west bank of the Chao Phraya River.

The outstanding feature of Wat Arun is its central prang (Khmer-style tower). Steep steps lead to the two terraces. The height is reported by different sources as between 66,80 m and 86 m. The corners are surrounded by 4 smaller satellite prangs. The prangs are decorated by seashells and bits of porcelain which had previously been used as ballast by boats coming to Bangkok from China. Around the base of the prangs are various figures of ancient Chinese soldiers and animals. Over the second terrace are four statues of the Hindu god Indra riding on Erawan. At the riverside are 6 pavilions (sala) in Chinese style. The pavilions are made of green granite and contain landing bridges.

Next to the prangs is the Ordination Hall with the Niramitr Buddha image supposedly designed by King Rama II. The front entrance of the Ordination Hall has a roof with a central spire, decorated in colored ceramic and stuccowork sheated in colored china. There are 2 demons, or temple guardian figures in front.

We were resting in the shade drinking our Singha (which Conrad bartered down to 100 baht from 200 baht . . . even he has a limit as to what he will pay for Singha) when a group of middle-aged women dressed in black started gathering there in the shade. We thought it might be like a red hat society, but they must not have been used to wearing those black shoes because they were sharing a box of bandages for the back of their heels. They saw us looking at them sympathetically and Conrad said, "It must hurt," in Thai, so then we were immediate friends.

A water taxi took us 12 miles to the BTS sky train station at Taksin. We exited the BTS at Siam Square, a huge upscale shopping center, for lunch. Parking in a city of 10 million is at a premium, and the parking lot had a unique way of providing as many parking spaces as they could. Ordinarily cars that pull into a space would be blocked in if cars park in the middle of the lot; however, in this lot car owners left their car in neutral so that whenever a car needed to exit from a space, the attendants would push the cars in the middle out of the way. Sometime this resulted in cars lightly tapping another car's bumper. But it seemed to work! It was very interesting!When we got back on the BTS it started raining, which is very unusual for winter in Bangkok. The temperature was around 95 degrees and we were drenched in sweat so the rain cooled things down. It didn't rain long and had mostly stopped by the time we got back to Nana station where we get off to walk to our hotel.

Natalie, our tour guide from last year, met us at 6:30 for dinner at the Majestic Grand Hotel where they offered raw seafood and steak. When you picked out what you wanted they took your plate to the grill and cooked it up for you. It was really good. Natalie brought us a gift from her trip to the bridge over the River Kawi. We gave her a scarf I knitted on the bus and a couple of maps of the U.S. so she knows where Missouri is. Here in Thailand we have given out maps mostly to tour guides. When we get to Cambodia we will give them to the children who always ask, "Where you from?" They know where where California is and they think New York is part of California! They have no idea where Missouri is! It will be fun to show them. Natalie also gave us a contribution for the wells (see my post called "Touring Cambodia" for an explanation of the water wells) because she wants to be a part of it even though she has never been to Cambodia herself. I thought that was really sweet of her. Natalie told us her most recent tour didn't go to the floating market because that was the day of Super Bowl that started at 6:00 a.m., and they all stayed at the hotel to watch the game!

Restaurants in Thailand had been smoke-free for a long time but while we were there the smoking ban started in pubs.

We had hoped to connect with our Thai friend Jimmy who is in Bangkok for a month. We left him a message but he hasn't called us back. Since we are leaving for Cambodia at 9:00 a.m. tomorrow we will not get to see him.