27 Jan - 2 Feb 2003
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| View From Hotel, Chang Rai, Thailand |
Buying lots of stuff, learning a little Thai. Beth and I went elephant trekking and jungle trekking - the short tourist version. About killed Beth, and none to easy on me. Beth loved feeding the elephants, which we thought was important to keep their good will. They eat an amazing amount of bananas & sugar cane.
Took lots of rooster tail boat rides on the Mekong River and Kok River. Thai massages are great. The Laotion Whiskey bottles all have a real cobra in them - I avoided drinking that.
We were in Chiang Rai for a week, and have now moved on to Chaing Mai. We will take the train back down to Bangkok.
We will try to go to Ankor Wat in Cambodia later this week. The border is closed between Thailand and Cambodia now - big flap because a Thai actress said in a soap opera the Ankor Wat should be part of Thailand - so the Cambodians sacked the Thai embassy, and border is closed. Then, on to Greece.
I am putting pictures and stuff on the internet as we go. My laptop is broken now and the connections are too slow to update, but I will update when I get the computer working.
I am putting pictures and stuff on the internet as we go. My laptop is broken now and the connections are too slow to update, but I will update when I get the computer working.
Feb 8, 2003
Our visit to Southeast Asia is coming to a close. We are now back in Bangkok. We leave for Greece in 36 hours. We have had a fine time. We visited Chiang Rai, Chiang Mai, Laos, Myanmar (Burma), Phuket, Bangkok, and Pattaya.
Our visit to Southeast Asia is coming to a close. We are now back in Bangkok. We leave for Greece in 36 hours. We have had a fine time. We visited Chiang Rai, Chiang Mai, Laos, Myanmar (Burma), Phuket, Bangkok, and Pattaya.
We missed Cambodia and Ankor Wat. A Thai Soap Opera Actress said in a soap opera that Ankor Wat should be a part of Thailand. This upset the Cambodians, who burned the Thai embassy. The Thais closed the border, and so we judged it not worth the hassle to visit. Another time, perhaps.
We are now kicking back for the next few hours. We will have a Thai dinner at the home of Chuck and Ann Kathrein. Will probably spend some more time riding on the River and in Khlongs (canals) in long tail boats.
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| The Border at Myanmar (Burma) Very Poor, a Police State |
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| Nice lady surrounded by Giants |
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| Sunset Chang Rai, Thailand |
Everything goes well with us. We are near the end of travels in southeast Asia. We are back at the Sheraton Royal Orchid Hotel in Bangkok, along the river. Lots of long tale boats zooming by. We ride them on the River and the Khlongs (Canals). People live along the Canals, bathe in the canals, was clothes, etc etc We saw some nice Thai dancing last night. They have very pretty costumes, straight out of the King and I We also ride around in Tuk Tuks (pronounced (took tooks) These are little three wheeled motorbike taxicabs. You have to negotiate your price before you ride.
We did not make it to Ankor Wat. The border between Thailand and Cambodia was closed for a while. We will have to see that on the next trip. My laptop is still broken, so it is hard to get pictures on the net.