Jakarta

This morning we got up early so we could get our cab to the airport hotel before Mei and Dan left. This would give them time alone with their family. Also, Sunday is the busiest day at the restaurants, and we wanted to be out of their way before their day got going.

Mei's sister, Addie, has connections in the hotel business and had made our reservations for us. I think that's why we got such a good deal and good service.

To our surprise and delight we were able to get right into our room right away, and what a nice room it was. The floors and walls in the bathroom were marble. All of the furniture wood was an elegant black. The walls were white with no decoration - classy minimalist. A nice buffet breakfast was included for the $75 USD price. We ran that up a little eating dinner there and drinking at the bar.

The airport was a delightful place to spend time. There were a lot of nice restaurants and shops. There was even an Indonesian McDonald's with a gamelon orchestra set up in front with all of the instruments on display on a stage ut in front. No one came to play them while we were there. Sandra and I found more batik and couldn't resist buying some.

There was a spa on site, so Sandra got a manicure and pedicure. I went to our room and did some yoga then went for a long walk around the inside of the airport. Later, we found an internet service and caught up on e-mails.

Today our trip is about half over and so I did a summary. We are each about $3500 over budget. I wonder if that has anything to do with our motto: "In for a penny, in for a pound." I estimated our daily expenses in the different countries as follows (USD): Fiji $150, New Zealand $95, Australia $192, Indonesia $45.

In terms of glitches, it hasn't been bad. 1) The airline we had planned to take from Sydney to Bali went belly-up in November, and we did not hear about it until about two weeks before we had to go, but we were able to get new tickets for a fairly reasonable price. 2) Sandra lost her cell phone, but we could never get it to work anyway and never really needed it. 3) An ATM ate my credit card, but I was able to cancel it, and I had another for backup.

February 27 (Monday) Jakarta to Bangkok

We were at the internet office when it opened. Unfortunately only one computer worked, so I began typing a web site update about the second half of our Indonesian adventure. Sandra would do the Bali part when she could. After many phone calls for tech assistance failed to solve the computer problem, the clerk had to go for help which meant he had to close the office, and I had to sign off.

Our flight to Bangkok on Thai Airways was delightful. They served free beverages - including alcohol. Then we had our choice of a fish or chicken dinner. We took the fish, and it was fabulous - a big piece cooked to a turn. Our flatware was stainless steel - not plastic. After we ate the fight attendants (who were dressed in the most charming and beautiful uniforms) passed out hot wet towels to refresh ourselves. Sadly the flight was less than half full. I'd hate to think that such a class act is headed for a downfall.

At the airport in Bangkok we were approached by a taxi vendor who offered us a cab to the Rama Gardens Hotel where we were staying for 500 Thai batt (TB) - about $12 USD. I thought that was a little steep since the hotel had told Sandra that it was close to the airport. Even so I let him talk me into buying a round trip ticket because we were leaving for Laos the next day. Then there was a 4% charge to use a credit card. Despite all the training I had received from Mei, I went for it. Later we learned there was a free shuttle from the hotel to the airport.
I'll just bet that taxi man knew about that.

I put all that behind me when we walked into the hotel lobby. It was magnificent - definitely a four-star by American standards, and we were paying a mere $45 USD per night. (Sandra is a MUCH better bargain-finder than I am.) It soon was apparent that all of the staff was Thai and 90% of the guests were Caucasian - most of them in our age bracket.

Since we had no local money yet, we wanted to hang onto our US dollars. We opted to eat and drink at the hotel where we could charge everything. First we went to the bar in the lobby for cocktails. The Thai songstress was real good, and when she sang in English she had almost no perceptible accent. There were about five different restaurants in the hotel. We chose the one that served Thai cuisine. Our appetizer/dinner was very disappointing.

After eating we went to use the internet. It was excellent, so we were able to update our web site and take care of e-mails.

February 28 (Tuesday) Bangkok to Luang Prabang, Laos

Sandra did not sleep well for worrying about our Overseas Adventure Travel (OAT) tour connections for March 6 or 7. The folks at the information desk spoke limited English and did not understand what we were asking about. We got two different answers from two different people. We decided to e-mail OAT in San Francisco. We still had six days to sort it out.

That decided we went to the lobby restaurant for the buffet breakfast. It catered to both Caucasians and Asians. We chatted with an American couple now living in Okinawa. He was a civilian employee of the U.S. government. She worked in a local hospital. They love living in Okinawa and touring the Pacific area whenever they can.

At nine a.m. sharp our over-priced taxi arrived and got us to the airport in plenty of time. We might have gotten gypped a little, but at least the service was excellent.

Our flight was about half full. It was only a two-hour flight, so lunch was a snack - smoked peppered fish, pate, pickled vegetables, and a custard-like dessert. Once again, all the beverages were free.

Two men from our Thongbay Guesthouse were at the airport to greet us. In Laos they drive on the right side of the road and sit on the left side of the car - like we do in the US. The roads that are paved are nice and wide and not nearly as crowded as the ones in Indonesia. There were a lot of motor scooters. Tuktuks (taxis) provided the public transportation. Most young ladies rode on motor bikes holding an umbrella whether they were the passenger or the driver - to protect them from the sun we guessed.

Our driver, "T", a Laotian lad of 24, took us to our own little thatched-roof hut with a nice-sized porch overlooking the Khan River. Our sleeping room was a good size and our bathroom was quite big with western-style plumbing fixtures. "Charming" is an understatement.

Thongbay is owned by a young Laotian woman named Lay and her Swiss husband, Felipe - and maybe her mom too. Lay was pregnant and due to deliver in April. She had two daughters about ages 10 and 12 from a previous marriage to a Laotian. Felipe was a tourist in Luang Prabang in 2001, fell in love with Lay and made Laos his home.

We learned all this from "T" who spoke very good English.

When the sun was over the yardarm, we went to the reception area for a beer. There were eleven people on an Intrepid Adventure tour and a couple of them were already drinking, so we joined them.

One of the group, Barry, was about 60 and from Perth, Australia. His wife had encouraged him to go on the tour because she knew how much he longed to do it, and she was not at all interested. Ann, about 30, was the tour guide and "mother" to the group. Sarah, about 60, was born in Israel, but hailed from the Chicago area. She has traveled a lot and told some exciting stories.

The tour group went off to town to eat. Sandra and I chose to eat at the hotel and had dinner with Steve, an ex-pat from Michigan living and teaching in Japan. When he left for town, we went to bed.

March 1 (Wednesday) Luang Prabang

Sandra had signed up for a cooking class, so she spent the day at that. I chatted with Barry and Sarah and loaned Barry my Bill Bryson book, "Down Under". Sarah said she was in England at one of his book-signings, and the Australians there were most upset at how he portrayed them. I was shocked. I thought he had made them out to be the very delightful folks I found them to be. I would say he liked them a lot. Barry said that real Aussies don't get upset over such things. In fact, real Aussies live in Australia - not England.

The tour went to some nearby falls to sit and swim. I walked to town. While it was still cloudy and relatively cool I climbed the 300 stairs to the Vat That Chomsi, a Buddhist temple. (Vat is the word for temple.) It wasn't much to see as far as I was concerned, but the views of the city and the countryside were spectacular.

I walked down the other side of the hill right into the Kings' Palace. Now that was impressive! And free. And loaded with tourists and their guides. I hovered around some of the English-speaking groups and listened in.

From there I went to the theater and inquired about the folk dancing. The tickets were $6 USD for the cheap seats and $15 for the front row. They let me go inside to look at the layout.

Luang Prabang is a good-sized city with a population of about 20,000. It has only two or three main streets. It is a former capital of Laos and has been a World Heritage town since 1995. I stuck to the main streets and noticed a number of nice guest houses, a plethora of restaurants, and shops of all sorts. Here the merchants stayed inside and let customers come to them - a big change from Indonesia. There were at least a half dozen nice internet stores for future use.

As I walked around I wondered if I was dressed inappropriately or something. Very few people, locals or tourists, looked at me, and of those who did, very few returned my smile or greeting.

By the time I got to the riverside street I was hungry. I found a place to eat on the beach on the Mekong River. I could hardly believe I was looking at that river I had heard so much about during the war in the 1960s.

From the porch of our hut we can see children swimming in the river. I noticed that the girls wear their clothes when swimming. Some boys do too. In fact, quite a few kids go swimming in their uniforms on their way home from school. So far I had seen no adults swimming.

As I approached our guest house I met Felipe and "T". They said they were on their way up the hill to visit the head monk at the local temple and invited me to join them. On the way Felipe explained that the area is divided into temple parishes/neighborhoods. The people in each neighborhood support their temple. As a successful businessman, Felipe was going to discuss with the head monk what the temple might want from him in the way of help with a building project that is underway. "T" pointed out a board hanging on a tree with a list of contributors on it. I asked Felipe what the monks contribute to the community. He said that they educate some of the poor boys. I began to think that the attitudes toward money and luxurious houses of worship is not so different from the Christians and other religions.

"T" found the dwelling of the head monk and stuck his head in to say that Felipe was there. He said he was resting, so we left. I wondered if he heard my voice and decided not to come out. Monks are forbidden to have any physical contact with women. It is forbidden for a woman to even touch their robes. There are also Buddhist nuns, but they do not have the visibility or status of the monks. That reminded me of the Catholic Church for sure.

The tour group had told Felipe that they would like Sandra and me to join them for their barbeque at the guesthouse that evening. Sandra, who had been cooking and eating all day, declined food but agreed to join in the festivities. The food was good and the conversation lively. Ann, the tour guide, invited us to ride into town with them in the morning at 6:15 to see the feeding of the monks. We enthusiastically accepted.

March 2 (Thursday) Luang Prabang

At 3:45 a.m. I heard the gong calling the monks to prayer.

We met the group as planned and took two tuktuks into town. As we were leaving, we heard a drumming calling the people of the town to the main street to put rice into the pots of the monks. When we arrived, there were local ladies selling rice offerings to tourists who wanted to participate. Sandra and I opted not to and stayed on the other side of the street. As the monks walked down the street in their orange or burn orange robes accepting the offerings, I walked back down the street to see if there were any Laotians among the givers. I'd guess 90% were tourists. It seems it's not a Laotian-Buddhist practice anymore. They, like Felipe and his family, give their offerings in other ways.

After a disappointing breakfast in local restaurant, Sandra went to get her hair done, and I went to the internet. It was excellent - so good and quick, in fact, that I was able to have a brief on-line "chat" with Stephanie because our e-mails went through so quickly. It was 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday in Laos and 9:30 a.m. on Thursday in Houston. What fun!!!

Sandra and I walked around town and had a much better lunch than breakfast then walked back to the guesthouse and rested.

It was much cooler today, so the kids were not swimming in the river. Instead, a group of boys on the opposite shore brought a bamboo mat and a couple of water melons from their gardens to the beach and laughed and talked and ate. One of them went back and forth from the water with 2 watering cans that he used to water the huge garden. We guessed that was his job today.

Lay's two young daughters went down to the shore on our side of the river. They and the boys yelled back and forth to each other and giggled. Some things are the same everywhere.

It struck me today that I haven't seen many toys - in the stores or in the homes. I did see a boy playing with a kite he had made from a clear plastic bag, two children chasing a bug like a couple of kittens, two little boys on the shore playing with rocks and seaweed - all as happy as could be.

The tour folks left about noon, so it was pretty quiet at the guesthouse.

March 3 (Friday) Luang Prabang

Today we had a reservation to go on a boat down the Mekong to visit a seaweed village and then back down the other way to visit a pottery village. As soon as we finished our breakfast our tuktuk was waiting. The driver took us to the post office to mail post cards then on to our launching point at the river.

Tue was our guide. He told us he was born in the mountains. He came to the city ten years ago. His parents and siblings followed about five years later so the children could get a good education. In the mountains they can go to grade three only. Tue learned a lot of English in school. Now he learns from the tourists.

Our boat and driver were waiting down on the beach. We were the only passengers, so we paid $25 USD each. (The more passengers that go, the cheaper it is per person.) This was almost the off season for tourism.

The boat was made of wood and was long and narrow with a roof and seats for about ten people. It had a motor that the driver started with a key. It looked rickety but was actually quite sturdy. As we motored along we saw some speed boats. They are used mostly to whisk tourists down to the Cambodian border. The trip takes eight hours with only brief stops to potty and fuel up. Besides being fast they are loud and not at all in keeping with the quiet, slow pace of life on the river. All the passengers had on helmets. Apparently it's a lot cheaper than flying - by plane.

After about a half hour we arrived at the seaweed village. We were too late to see the men gathering it from the river, but the women at every house were fast at work spreading it on grass screens, adding sesame seeds, tomato and garlic - getting it ready for the men to take to dry in the sun. Each woman does about 85 flats in a day. When they are dry, the seaweed is removed from the screens, rolled up and put in plastic bags. Each family takes their own product to market.

Like every village this one had a Vat (temple) with four Buddhist monks assigned to it. I asked Tue what the monks do for the community. He told me that they help the families of people who die by saying the proper prayers thus giving them comfort. (They do not get involved in marriages.) Other than that he did not know. I noticed that the monks had two nice big buildings for their exclusive use.

Tue is an animist. They believe there is life in all things - even the rocks - sort of like Taoism.

In contrast to the monks' buildings, the school was one long wooden building with five classrooms for grades one through five. It was old and made of boards put together with big gaps between them. The teachers were mostly women - one man. One teacher had her baby at school. From what we could see the students had little more than paper and pencils, and the teachers had makeshift chalk boards.

The children seemed happy and well-nourished. They were glad to see us and happily posed for photos. They were real tickled when Sandra showed them the pictures she had just taken of them on her digital camera.

The teachers told Tue that they have 110 students from 85 families. They need pencils, pens and paper. Later Tue told us that tour companies wanting to bring their groups to this village met with the chief and his council to work out what the tour companies would do in return. He suggested that we could give him money, and he would bargain for the best price on these items. He explained (as Mei had) that the locals can get better prices than tourists. As we left the school a cute little boy followed us to his house. He was too young to be a student.

Back in town we saw a mother hen with her chicks and a huge sow with her piglets. Ladies working with the seaweed asked if we would send them copies of the photos we took of them. Tue said that he would give us his address so we could do that, and Sandra showed them the pictures in her camera.

Tue told us that this village got electricity only one year ago.

Next we went to the pottery village. There was not much in the line of pottery-making going on because the village was preparing for a wedding. We did find one man hard at work on a wheel that he turned with his big toe. He had a young girl helping him. She made clay "sausages" and turned the wheel for him sometimes. He was making pots - all the same, and it took him less than five minutes to complete one ready for firing.

From the wheel room Tue took us to the oven which was built into the ground. First he showed us a deep chimney that looked like a water well. A short distance away at the bottom of the hill Was a hole/tunnel going toward the chimney. He explained that a family will take many pieces of pottery into the hole then build a hot fire and seal the opening. The pottery cooks for three days and two nights. The families take turns using this "kiln".

About 75 families live in the village. Because it is so small it does not have its own school, and the children have to go to a nearby village.

We returned to Luang Prabang and took a tuktuk to the market where Tue bargained for a huge bag of school supplies. (We had given him about $25 USD each.) He said he would take them to the office, record them for "the program"and give them to the school on his next visit. He also gave us his address so we could send copies of the pictures we took for the seaweed ladies.

The tuktuk dropped us off at the photo shop where Sandra had left her film the day before. We took the pictures and our chicken sandwich the guesthouse had packed for us and went to Mano - a restaurant/guesthouse where Connie (who we met in Ubud, Indonesia) had stayed. The waitress graciously let us eat our sandwich at her table. We ordered drinks from her and left a nice tip.

We dropped off my film then went to the Hmong Market where ladies were making and displaying a number of different needlework styles and an array of woven cloths. I was able to get 20 charming woven and embroidered friendship bracelets for Hannah's class and a photo of the lady who made them. Sandra got a few nice things also.

The mid-day sun was beating down, and vendors were going to sleep in their stalls. That was our cue to return to our guesthouse for a nap.

Later I borrowed a bike from the guesthouse and rode to town to get my photos. I found the back streets even more harrowing on a bicycle. Sandra and I enjoyed our pictures some more and spent a quiet evening at the guesthouse.

March 4 (Saturday) Luang Prabang

After a leisurely breakfast we strolled to town. The first order of business was to get our tickets for the dance that evening. On our way we passed the library where they were having an exhibit of children's drawings illustrating the story of a chicken that was surprised by what she found in the egg she had laid. They were charming and very imaginative. Next we had planned to go for coffee, but it was already getting hot, so we got lemon juice and a pizza baguette to split.

Since we had such efficient internet service available to us, we took the opportunity to update our web site. That took me almost two hours because I am such a lousy typist. Sandra did her part in much less time and went for a stroll.

By the time I finished it was really hot, so we got a tuktuk and returned to the guesthouse to rest, read and write until dance time.

The dance was held in an old French colonial building on the palace grounds. The seats were individual padded chairs of varying degrees of comfort depending on the price of the ticket. The prices ranged from $6 USD to $15. We bought $10 tickets and had a pretty good view. As in Indonesia, the costumes were spectacular - colorful and intricate. The music was repetitious and the dance movements very slow. The show lasted one and a half hours, which was plenty long enough.
After the show, we walked to the Three Elephants Restaurant owned by Ruth, the Aussie lady who operated the cooking school that Sandra attended. It was a charming place with white walls and black wooden furniture. Red woven tablecloths provided accent. We sat up on the second floor overlooking the street and enjoyed watching the nightlife while we ate a delicious meal.

March 5 (Sunday) Luang Prabang

I went for a walk at 10:30 a.m. It was too late - too hot. As I returned I ran into the family in the bungalow next to us. They were from Oregon and traveling with their two-year-old son, Cody - by tandem bike with a seat for Cody on the back. Four packs with all their belongings were strapped to the wheel areas. When they bought the bike the company shipped it with the wheels in place in a big crate. To assemble it for riding, they just had to turn the handle bars into position, put on the pedals and a couple of other things, and - voila! To re-pack it for the trip was easy. At the airport all their gear was weighed, and they were under their limit so it cost them nothing extra to fly the bike.

They flew to Bangkok to begin their trek around southeast Asia. Their hotel in Bangkok agreed to store the crate while they were biking - for free. That's what I call a travel adventure on the cheap.

This was a rest day for us. We spent it reading, writing, napping and visiting with fellow travelers. One was a young man who was leading another Intrepid group. He was real tall with long, messy, blonde hair and a few piercings. When he told us he was from Australia, I asked him what he thought of the Bill Bryson book about Australia. He said that he had read all of his books. About the one on Australia - he did not think it was his best, but he was not offended. His favorite was "Notes From A Small Island". He disagreed with Barry's comment that the real Aussies live in Australia - not England. He said that most Australians have a real affinity for England, and they try to live there for al least a year sometime in their lives. He had spent his time there and loved it.

Sandra talked to a blind couple who were on the tour. They hailed from Southampton, England. They seemed very independent and got around well with their canes. The tour leader had told us earlier that he is a little more attentive to them - maybe at a small expense to the others - but overall, they are doing well.

Felipe told us that our meal tonight would be free because we had stayed such a nice long time. What a special treat!!

March 6 (Monday) Luang Prabang to Bangkok

This morning I was more sensible and took my walk between seven and eight. I stuck pretty much to the two main roads where folks were scooting to work and school. There was nothing even close to a traffic jam - even at major intersections that had no traffic signal, yield sign or stop sign. There were no signs with street names either. Street names are on maps however - for all the good they do. The maps also have little squares indicating the names of businesses and tourist sights. Those are what we depended on to get around.

I walked out one main paved road that became a dirt road and kept on walking. I passed a university and a high school filling up with students. On down a way the dirt road was lined with huts and a few fancier, more substantial houses mixed in. One hut had a big satellite dish out in front. Another had a nice motor scooter parked in the main living room. Overall the people on the road seemed nicely dressed and well-nourished - still not too friendly, but I sensed a little more warmth than the first day. Maybe I'm saying "sa ba di" (good day) the right way now with the accent on the "di". A fellow traveler reminded me that the people of Laos do not look others in the eye - especially strangers.

We paid our bill - $190 USD for six days. ($18/day plus food and drink). We paid about that for one night in Sydney, and the accommodations were not nearly as nice. Of course, Sydney is a whole other economic system. Lay gave us each a friendship bracelet that she had made and two beautiful Lao silk scarves. We urged them to put news of their new baby on their web site and off we went in a tuktuk to the airport.

We had another nice flight on Bangkok Air. This time when we got to the airport we avoided the taxi services and went to the curb to cue up for the regular taxis. Our ride to the Rama Gardens cost only 200 TB (Thai Batt) - not 500. Lesson learned.
#022
Sandra and I were still on rest mode, so we ate and drank at the hotel rather than combing the area for a restaurant. In the cocktail lounge we had a nice chat with an electrician from England. Then we had dinner at the Italian restaurant. It was much better than the Thai one where we ate our first night.

March 7 (Tuesday) Bangkok, Thailand

Still no one from Overseas Adventure Travel (OAT) had contacted us, so I went to the front desk with a note. I hoped that they could read and write English better than they could speak and understand it. One boy told me the OAT group already left at 6 a.m. Luckily a girl colleague of his gave me the name and cell phone number of that group's leader - Benny. I called her, and she said had taken a group to the airport that was returning home. She said she would call the local OAT off ice, and someone would be in touch. Soon a Mr. Kachen called. He introduced himself as the head of the OAT Bangkok office. His name was very recognizable to the folks at the front desk - more so that OAT itself. Finally everything was straightened out, so Sandra and I hopped a free hotel shuttle into the city to have a look at the Jim Thompson Museum and other points of interest.

My first impressions were "noisy, busy, dirty filthy air not to mention hot and humid." Right off the bat Sandra and I made the mistake of walking off in the wrong direction and went three or four miles out of our way. However, this made it necessary to take the sky train which is a lot like the el in Chicago. Not only did we get a nice overview of the area, but we met a few friendly folks who helped us along our way.

By 2:30 we pulled into our destination in a tuk tuk that we had picked up at the train stop. We just could not walk anymore. The houses/museum was lovely - an oasis of calm and elegance. We enjoyed a refreshment in the charming café then took a guided tour of the houses.
#023
Jim Thompson (1906 - 1967) was an American living in Bangkok. He had gone there to buy art - especially the silk fabrics and weaving. He did a lot to promote these art forms around the world. He found a couple of old, well-built Thai houses, moved them onto his property and restored them and built others. I think there are seven in the complex. He was beloved by all who knew him, so when he disappeared without a trace in Malaysia at Easter time in 1967 while on vacation, no one could imagine what happened to him. Recently one biographer has speculated that he was involved in CIA intrigue.
Refreshed, we returned to the world of the bustling, noisy masses. A canal ran behind the museum, and we toyed with the idea of taking a canal boat ride, but the boats were big and loud and fast - not the gentle cruising type at all. A man who saw us consulting our map suggested we go to the nearby Thai Products Market, so we did. The only thing going on was a huge wholesale gem exhibition and sale. There were some lovely pieces, and it was interesting to see the artisans at work making custom pieces.

Our next stop was the MBK market that Mr. Kachen had suggested. On one floor was a huge supermarket, on another restaurants, machine games, and video/CD stores. The fifth floor was where we spent our time. There was a fascinating array of food stands. For about 400 Thai bat (TB) or $10 USD we had two beers each, two main dishes and dessert - not to mention the great people-watching show.

Confidently we set out toward our drop-off/pick-up point to meet our free hotel shuttle. We got confused again about three blocks short of our destination and hired a tuk tuk to help us with the aid of a map. We got him confused too, but with the help of a couple of people that he stopped to ask for help, we found it just in time to catch the last bus of the day.

What a great adventure - the kind we would be "protected from" on our guided tour.

March 8 (Wednesday) Bangkok to Siem Reap, Cambodia

Mr. Ya with OAT met with seven of us and whisked us and our luggage to the airport and onto the plane. Our companions were two couples traveling together and one retired school teacher traveling alone.

Even though our flight was only one hour, we were served a good box lunch and drinks - coffee, tea and water. (No alcohol this time)

Rith (pronounced like Rit), our Cambodian guide, met us at the airport in Siem Reap (He told us Siem Reap means "the defeated Siam"). As we drove to our four-star hotel we passed at least 12 others. It looked like tourism was on the rise in Cambodia, and they were ready for it.

After we settled in at our hotel, we all had lunch together. The seven of us were delighted to note that we were all beer drinkers, and we ordered Cambodian beers all around.

Rith's English was excellent, and he promised to be an terrific tour guide - the serious kind who gives a lot of interesting information. He told us he was born in Phnom Pen and looked to be about 30. He said he started learning English when he was young, when it was illegal to study anything but Khmer and Russian. French and English were especially forbidden. When Pol Pot came to power (when he was 12 years old), Rith's family fled to Viet Nam. His dad joined the army leaving his mom to build a hut for her family and toil in the fields to earn a living. The family returned to Cambodia about four years later after the fall of the vicious Khmer Rouge (which means "Red Khmer" or "Communist Khmer")

Since it was the hottest part of the day, we rested at the hotel until four when Rith took us on a two-hour walking tour through the city. One of the more disturbing places we visited was a Buddhist temple. There were people there praying and making offerings, vendors selling offerings, and disabled and very needy-looking people begging - to no avail as far as I could see. None of us gave them anything. I think we were just too overwhelmed. The ladies nursing babies were the most disturbing. Nearby vendors sold caged sparrow-like birds. People bought them for the equivalent of 25c and set them free to earn "merits" for the next life. (It reminded me of the Catholic Church's system of indulgences.) Later Rith said that giving alms to the poor, in fact, helping others in any way, also earns merits.

Next we went to the evening market. There we saw cooked crickets for sale, and Rith ate one for us. At another stand they sold embryo eggs. Rith got one of those as well. Inside was an unhatched bird with a body and feathers still attached to the yolk. He ate only the yoke, but said most folks prefer the bird.

Two in our group bought a durian (aka stinky fruit) to try. Sandra and I had it in Indonesia, so we knew better. These gals didn't like it either and gave it to Rith who was delighted to have it.

Rith and our driver, Touch (pronounced like Tooch), took us back to our hotel to get ready for a buffet dinner and a folk dance performance at a local restaurant.

The restaurant was a huge open-air building with a large stage for the dancing and an international buffet featuring Cambodian, American, Chinese, Japanese, and Italian dishes. Once again a sign that they are keeping up with the meteoric rise in the number of foreign visitors. It was a sharp contrast to what we had seen earlier - the food stands in the markets and on the streets where the locals ate and the remoks, scooters pulling slats on wheels that served as public transportation - and the beggars.

But back to the restaurant - the food was delicious. Just as we finished eating the dancing began. The classical dances were like the ones we had seen in Indonesia with slight variations. The folk dances were performed by both boys and girls doing lively steps as they clacked cocoanut shells and made cute flirtatious moves.

When the show was over our remoks were waiting to take us back to the hotel. They were actually safer and more comfortable that the tuk tuks or becaks we had ridden in.

March 9 (Thursday) Cambodia

Rith and Touch picked us up at 7:30 so we could see the temples before it got too hot and before the majority of tourists arrived. We went straight to the national park where there are more huge wats (temples) than one can see in two or three days. I was impressed with their size, their age, and their decorations, but they all seemed much the same. However, our tour guide was well aware of the uniqueness of each. There was much restoration work being done by the Chinese, Japanese, Americans, Germans and other countries working under UNESCO and in cooperation with Cambodia. Once again there were a lot of little vendors, busy and clever. They all know some English - "Where you from?" "You buy from me?" "Three for one dollar" One little boy lingered with me after all the others had dropped away, so I asked him to pose for me with Flat Stanley and his bracelets. I gave him a dollar. I was happy not to see any beggars although today I was ready for them with some $1 bills rolled up in my pocket.

After lots of temple-touring we went for lunch with one of the three local families under contract with OAT to make home-cooked meals for small tour groups. Our family lived in a hut on stilts in the national park. (Families who were living there when the area became a park in 1992 can stay there.) They had a generator for basic electrical needs. They had no refrigerator and no indoor plumbing. They had a TV hooked up to a car battery. When OAT first started the family meals guests sat on the floor and ate off a low table like the Cambodians do. However, many guests who got down could not get up, so OAT bought the family a table and chairs. However, the mom cooked our meal over an open fire.
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Because of the work they do for OAT the family's life has improved. They put an addition on their hut. The father is a wood carver and has sold some of his charming things to visitors. We all bought bird puppets.

On our way back to the hotel we stopped briefly in front of a school. OAT's charitable arm, The Grand Circle Foundation, funded the building of two classrooms and indoor restrooms. All over the world they have such projects - giving back to the countries and communities they visit with their tourists.

Another philanthropist in the area is a Swiss physician/cellist who has opened four hospitals in Cambodia where children and pregnant women can get free medical care. He sponsors concerts and plays the cello to raise money for his project. Connie, a fellow traveler who we met in Ubud, Indonesia, told us she attended one of these concerts.

At about 3 p.m., after it had cooled off a little, we visited the great Angkor Wat, the largest stone structure in the world and one of the seven man-made wonders of the world. It is also the most decorated structure with carvings and bas reliefs covering almost every bit of wall space. At its highest point it is 65 meters. No new buildings may be taller. It was built as a Hindu temple in the 1100s but is now a Buddhist temple but houses at least one large statue of a Hindu god which the Buddhists worship as one of their own.

At the end of our two-hour tour we sat on a wall where we could see the temple in all its grandeur. Rith and Touch served us Cambodian Wrestler Wine, peanuts, and sticky rice with beans steamed in bamboo. We toasted our visit.

In the evening three ramoks picked us up at the hotel and drove us around town to see the night life and then to a restaurant where we had a delicious meal and watched a shadow puppet show. Boys ranging in age from about 10 to 18 were the puppeteers. We were able to back stage at any time to watch them in action and take photos.

Flat Stanley loved it. He was considering becoming a shadow puppet until he realized he's have to get punched full of holes.

March 10 (Friday) Cambodia to Bangkok

It was another early morning. Our first stop was at a store to pick up school supplies we would be distributing to school children later in the day.

The next stop was a river village where we walked around and as we passed one house a lady invited us in. Her house was up on stilts near the river, so we climbed the ladder/stairs into her home. The inside was neat. She had a large living area with two smaller ones curtained off for sleeping. She had two sewing machines and proudly showed us some of her work - which was excellent. She told us that customers bring her material and ideas. She takes their measurements, makes some sketches then cuts and sews without the aid of a pattern.

We continued our walk around and saw people at wells built by the Japanese. The river water is polluted. This is the only source of potable water. There is no plumbing and no garbage collection. Lack of sanitation is a big problem. Small children were out and about bare-bottomed.

As we turned a corner there were four ox carts with drivers waiting to take us on a short ride, and then to their home. Our driver was Don. He knew some basic English, and so we found out he has four children - two boys and two girls - ages 12, 9, 7, and 2. He works the rice fields with his oxen. His wife cuts fish. He showed us his house on stilts. It had a large living area in front with a cooking area in the back. Rice was cooking in a pot over hot coals. On the wall there was a shrine to his mother-in-law who had recently died at the age of 67.

Outside he proudly showed us his pig and his boat. We played games with the two children who were at home. Like other small children in the area, his two-year-old boy was bare-bottomed - probably to make toilet training easier for one thing. Sandra took some pictures with her digital camera, and they were all tickled to see their images come up on her screen.

Despite the extreme poverty, this family and others we saw seemed happy and well-nourished but not clean. It was dry season, so it was hot and dusty everywhere. They washed their clothes in the dirty river then hung them on the line to dry and get covered by dust - much of which is kicked up by the big tourist busses.

I thought I had seen the poorest of the poor, but not so. We had yet to visit the floating village and its floating school. Rith explained that there are about 6,000 people living in houseboats on the Great Lake Tongle Sap (sp?). It was the dry season, so the lake was one half its full size. There is no garbage collection and no waste treatment so all waste goes into the lake, and thus it is very polluted. Nonetheless the residents still wash and swim in it. The ones who can afford it, get bottled water for drinking. The others who survive must have a major immune system. When the water rises in the rainy season, things clean up a little.

Our first stop was the floating school. We visited a first grade classroom. The students (about 30 of them) were very excited and friendly. Once again those who had digital cameras took photos that they showed to the children - to their delight. We distributed the pencils and books we had brought. The children sang us a cute song about keeping clean and eating right then ended with their national anthem and we were off.

Farther out on the lake we saw many more houseboats, two churches, a grocery store, a machine shop, pollution control center, adult education center etc. - everything floating. There were also many other boats like ours loaded with tourists brought in by big tourist busses. (Ours was a 20-passenger van). About two years ago the government began regulating tourism in the area. Hopefully it will help to improve the lives of these people.

On our way back to the dock we passed many long row boats full of children happily paddling home from school. Rith told us that before they can start school they must show they can swim and manage a row boat.

We had lunch at a French-Thai restaurant then went to a shadow puppet school where they teach young boys how to make and manipulate shadow puppets. A few of us bought puppets.

Next Rith took us to a couple of war memorials and explained in great detail about the Pol Pot reign of terror. He told us how outside countries (including the U.S.) Had either supported Pol Pot or sat back and watched the carnage, However, he went on, the Buddhists are big on forgiveness, and the former Khmer Rouge members who committed the atrocities have been forgiven and invited back into their communities. The foreigners have been forgiven too. The United Nations wants the three major surviving perpetrators prosecuted for war crimes, but the Cambodians would rather use the money to help their poor and reconstruct the country.

From the war memorials we went to the airport where we bid Rith and Touch a fond farewell. They had been very good to us, and we learned a lot and had invaluable experiences.

Even though the flight back was about a half hour the crew still managed to serve us a nice lunch and drinks - and the flight was full. I'll say it again, the airlines in the U.S. and elsewhere have a lot to learn from these folks in this part of the world.

Ya was at the Bangkok airport to meet us. He took us straight to our downtown high-rise hotel - the China Princess - and settled us in then returned to the airport to get the rest of our group due in after midnight.

March 11 (Saturday) Bangkok, Thailand

At 7:30 we all gathered in the training room at the hotel. Ya taught us a few phrases in Thai and explained that "happy stop" and "happy room" refer to bathroom breaks. Then had us introduce ourselves. He gave us an overview of our two-week tour of Thailand, and we were off to the flower market.

What a beautiful place! There was an overwhelming variety of fresh flowers for sale, and it stretched for blocks and blocks. I wondered how so many florists could prosper. But prosper they do. Ya told us that they sell almost 90% of their product every day. In addition to bulk bouquets (50 roses for $1 USD) there were artisans fast at work making indescribably beautiful and intricate arrangements.

From the flower market we boarded a boat that took us to the Wat Arun, Temple of the Dawn. The unique thing about this wat is that it was decorated with broken Chinese pottery that had been used as ship ballast. The designs were very clever and reminded me of pieces I'd seen at the Orange Show Museum in Houston - folk artsy.

Our boat took us on down a canal to the home of an affluent Bangkok family for a look at their life style, a cooking lesson and lunch. Our hostess, Jim, was absolutely delightful and funny as well as knowledgeable and skilled - sort of a Thai Martha Stewart. She involved a few of us in the preparation of a red curry paste then showed us how to use it in a recipe. Next she had each of us make an hor d'oeuvre, then it was time to eat. We sat at western-style tables and chairs.

After lunch she and her husband took us upstairs to show us the rest of their house. It had been given to them by his grandmother and had been in the family for three generations. They had a number of interesting Thai musical instruments, a big-screen TV, air conditioning, a ceiling fan, and indoor plumbing - so many amenities that our ox driver's home lacked. They are very active in their Buddhist temple and proudly showed us a book about it.

Mega churches in the U.S. pale by comparison. The domed roof is covered with 400,000 small, gold statues of Buddha. There will be one million eventually. The temple holds 200,00 people on one floor, and there are two floors for a total capacity of 400,000.

After saying good-bye to the family we continued on down the canal to the Royal Barge Museum where we saw four or five fantastically ornamented boats/barges powered by rowers and used in ceremonial flotillas. The next time they come out will be to celebrate the diamond jubilee (60-year reign) of King Bhumibol (Rama IX), the great great great grandson of Rama IV, the progressive king portrayed in "The King And I" or "Anna And The King Of Siam".

Everywhere we went in Thailand we saw billboards, shrines, calendars "etc. etc. etc." announcing the celebration to come. Rama IX is very popular with the people. His children, however, have caused some distress as have the children of the English monarchy. (He and Elizabeth II have ruled for about the same length of time.) In Thailand they don't air their dirty laundry. The Thai people murmur among themselves that the two royal sons are not fit to be king. There is a major consensus that one of the daughters should be the next monarch.

From the museum we went back to our hotel, rested and went to dinner at the revolving restaurant atop our Chinese princess Hotel. It was delightful and afforded us the opportunity to get to know some of our fellow travelers.

March 12 (Sunday) Bangkok

Sandra and I signed up for the optional tour of Bangkok that we did mostly on foot. First we toured Chinatown located near our hotel. The bustling Sunday market was in full swing. Ya took us up and down alleys full of exotic foods and other items. Then we went by bus to the Wat Po, a large and active monastery that houses the Recling Buddah - a huge sculpture made of brick and concrete and covered in gold leaf. The feet have inlaid mother-of-pearl depictions of Buddhist cosmology. Along the exit path are 108 pots. For 108 TB one can buy 108 coins to drop in each pot. It is a meditation exercise. Any distraction could lead to a meditator's erring and having too many or not enough coins at the end. None of us tried it.

We also visited the Wat Traimit, home of the Golden Buddah. This Buddah was created centuries ago. At one point in time when it was in danger from enemies, artisans created a cement cover that was also a lovely but much less valuable work of art. People forgot about the Golden Buddah. Many years later when they were moving it from one location to another, they dropped it and the Golden Buddah was revealed. It measures three meters in height and is 5.5 tons of pure gold.

In another part of town we visited shops that sold all sorts of religious items including Buddhist monks' robes and Buddha images. Not far away were rows and rows of shops selling amulets that are the Buddhist equivalent of the medals Catholics wear.

By the time we got back to the hotel it was 3:00, and we had the rest of the day free. Sandra and I e-mailed and journaled then went to a nearby Chinese restaurant for dinner. It was cheap and good.

March 13 (Monday) Bangkok to Kanchanaburi (The River Kwae aka Kwai)

Our bus got us out of Bangkok before the rush hour got too bad. Our first stop was an area where they extract salt from sea water. At first glance it reminded me of rice fields. The area had been flooded with sea water, and the salt had settled to the bottom. One group of men were "shoveling" it up while another group raked the salt into piles to be removed to dry land and sold to a processor. Ya estimated that the workers earn about $4 per day.

Next we stopped at a cocoanut processing operation. Here the cocoanuts are harvested by men who climb bamboo pole ladders at the side of each tree. (It was much easier for Flat Stanley to get up into these trees.) Ya showed us how they collect sap for cocoanut oil, get milk out of cocoanut meat, make salad utensils from the shells and brooms from the fronds. In summary, there are endless uses for this tree and its fruit.

Somewhere along the way we passed through Samut Songlecram where the famous Siamese twins, Eng and Jang, were born in the early 1800s After traveling for years with the circus, they died at the age of 62 in the United States where they had settled with their wives and 21 children. They had taken the last name of Bunker.

Next we went to a wood-carving factory where we saw artisans carving teak pieces. Ya explained that teak is great for carving because it is a fairly soft wood. Also it is not susceptible to termites or damage by water.

Just before lunch we visited the floating market. Ya showed us how to get some fried bananas from a vendor. He yelled at a woman in a boat who was cooking some. She put a few in a plastic bag, put the bag in a plastic container attached to the end of a pole and passed it up to Ya. He took the bag and put her money in the container, and the woman took it back. Ya took us on down the canal where he had arranged for us all to take a row boat ride through the market. Once again the ingenuity of the people was evident all around us.

From the market we went to the River Kwae (Kwai) and saw where the bridge of movie fame had been built. (The movie was reportedly shot in Sri Lanka.) There is no bridge there now, but not far away is a steel bridge that was also built and bombed during WWII. It has been rebuilt and is now a tourist attraction.

Nearby was a museum with a replica of the U-shaped bamboo huts the workers lived in. The day was very hot - at least 95 degrees F - so we got a hint of what it must have been like for those men to do that hard labor for 18 hours a day. There were also a lot of graphic photos and paintings of the atrocities they endured - another truly horrid event in the history of southeast Asia.

On our way to our hotel we stopped at a nicely maintained English cemetery where a lot of the victims are buried in groups according to the country they served. The largest number were British. The youngest were the Dutch. There were also Americans and Australians.

As evening fell we arrived at our resort that was owned and operated by a young Thai-Chinese couple. It consisted of about 16 cabins in the woods with nice big bathrooms attached - much the same as our thatched roof huts in Luang Prabang. Sandra and I were among the lucky ones to have a porch with benches.

In the evening we enjoyed a nice dinner in an air-conditioned room overlooking the River Kwae.

March 14 (Tuesday) Thailand

This morning we left early to see the JEATH Memorial Museum built to honor the POWs and others who died building the railroad through the mountains (the cuttings) and across the river. The museum is located on a tract of land that used to be a POW camp. Inside there were pictures - photos or prisoner-artists renderings of life on the railroad crew. For the most part it was pretty gruesome and horrifying to think that one group of humans would inflict such horrors on others. But it was also inspiring and a tribute to the human spirit that so many survived and never gave up trying to sabotage their work.

From the museum we walked about a half mile up and around and down the path that the workers took each day. We had concrete stairs and handrails. They did not. We walked through one of the cuttings where they chiseled away at the rock solid mountain to make way for the trains that were not powerful enough to go up and over it. They were not allowed to use dynamite for fear of attracting the attention of the allies and their bombs. At the end of the path two long speedboats awaited to take us on a one-hour trip down the river. We saw beautiful birds and interesting hillside caves, water buffalo and an elephant training school.

We had a nice lunch at a local place. In fact, I think it was one of the very few restaurants where we ate that attracted folks from the area as well as tourists.

Right after lunch Ya took us to the train station where we shared the old train with locals and rode the little bit of track left from the "Death Railway". Our bus was waiting for us at the train station. On our way back to the hotel we stopped so Ya could educate us about the planting and harvesting of tapioca. When the tapioca plant is mature the harvesters save the bottom of the stalk to stick in the ground for the next crop to grow. The top leafy part is burned and the root is set aside for consumption.

We also passed some sugar cane fields, but Ya never explained how that crop is planted and harvested. I'll bet he is saving that for later.

March 15 (Wednesday) River Kwae to Phitsanulak

Sure enough - we hadn't gone far when Ya spotted three ladies cutting sugar cane. We pulled over and got off the bus. Ya explained to the ladies that we were tourists, and he wanted to teach us about sugar cane - anyway, I think that's what he said, because that is what he did. The ladies happily cooperated, and a little girl (about 4) who was there just watched in rapt attention. The ladies demonstrated how they chop down a stalk then strip it of its leaves and put it in a pile. Each pile has 10 stalks that are tied together for loading onto a truck. They get paid one TB for every pile of ten. They can do about 200 bundles in a day for 200 TB or about $5USD.

Ya told us that they were doing a first cutting. When that's done, they will burn the field, wait for the new growth, cut that then burn the field again, wait and cut a third growth. Then they burn the field one last time and plow the ground. They plant the leafy tops of the third cutting and the cycle begins again.

Flat Stanley and all the rest of us could hardly get over how cute the little girl was. We gave her a plastic bag full of goodies and took many photos. I had the little girl hold Flat Stanley for a photo. It seemed as though she thought I was giving him to her, and she was puzzled when I took him away. I gave her a couple of coins. She was puzzled by that too, but just calmly took it all in. Ya gave the women cans of beer that they appreciated.

When we reached Uthai Thani we went to visit Wat Thasung (aka "Wat Wow"), and "WOW" is about all anyone could say as we walked into the main meditation building. The ceiling must have been three stories above the floor and was covered in mirrors. All the pillars and the walls were decorated with small pieces of mirror arranged mosaic style in repeated designs. The main altar held a glass coffin containing the intact body of the monk Luang Por Ru-Sri ling dum who was responsible for developing the wat compound. His followers believe he attained enlightenment before he died and that is why his un-embalmed body did not decompose. (The face is the only part that showed, and it was discolored/black..) Photos showed him to be a larger man than in the coffin. It reminded me of the bodies of saints preserved in some European churches. Of course there were altars to Buddah - especially one big one at the other end of the room facing the coffin.

The monks were arriving to teach meditation, so we had to leave. Ya pointed out that we were the only tourists there. It had not been discovered by the other tour companies yet, and Sandra had not seen it mentioned in any of her guide books.

On our way to lunch we passed through another unique market selling mostly foods from the area. Friendly vendors were happy for Ya to teach us about their wares and seemed amused that we took pictures of things they see and do every day - no big deal to them.

At the end of the market our rice barge was waiting to take us on a cruise down the Sakaekrang river. It was no longer a rice barge but had been converted into a restaurant with a kitchen in the back and a very nice "happy room".

Prominently displayed was an old photo of Rama V, son of Rama IV who was the king portrayed in "Anna And The King Of Siam". Rama V went around the country dressed as a commoner in order to get to know his people better.

From our barge we saw raft houses that families have lived in for two or three generations. The families raise fish and appear to be much better off than the people we saw in the floating village in Cambodia. This river was high rather than low. It is not subject to the extreme level changes that occur in the Great Lake Tongle Sap. Also they have septic toilets that help to keep pollution in check. We had a delicious lunch and fed the catfish in the river.

Back on the bus Ya showed us a music video of (GOT) Chakk-a pan a popular singer who was discovered on the streets. He is the child of an American serviceman and his Thai "rent-a-wife". His father abandoned them. Tiger Woods, the famous golfer, is also the child of an American soldier and a Thai woman from the same area. His dad brought them both to the United States.

Just before we got to our hotel we had another discovery. People in the area had begun raising Bangkaew dogs, a cross between Thai muts and fox. They are loyal to their owners and make good guard dogs, but they are not compatible with any other pets. They bite before they bark. They are also being used as explosive or drug-sniffing dogs. A man had cages of them for sale by the side of the street and was happy to show them to us and let us hold them. Flat Stanley really liked them and visa versa.

Not far away was our Grand Riverside Hotel. We dropped our things in our rooms and went for a walk along the river. We joined in a public park aerobics class but not for long.

Dinner was good. Ya was back and forth to the kitchen supervising our service. He told us that he saw a note to the staff about serving the Prince of Bahran (sp?), a middle eastern country. There was a table set up for another large party, but we never saw them.

The piano player and singers were performing Thai music. Two songs were written by Rama IX who is an accomplished jazz musician. He went to school at MIT in the US.

After dinner we took a walk to the market. It was geared to the teen crowd, so we passed through it quickly and returned to our room.

On the bus today I was sitting in front. Ya showed us some photos of his nice house in a suburb of Bangkok and of his wife and son as well. His son is named OAT after the tour company. That reminded us that Jim, the lady who gave us a cooking class and served us lunch a few days ago, named one of her sons "Bank" and another had the nickname "Basketball".

Ya said he was born in a farm town in northeast Thailand near Laos. The languages are similar, so he can talk "dialect" with the Laos. His parents still live in the place where he was born.

March 16 (Thursday) Phitsonulok to Phrae
On the bus this morning Ya gave us a lesson on the Thai alphabet and language. The alphabet has a total of 44 letters with 21 consonant sounds. Most of it can be converted into English. They write from left to right. They do not have spaces between words - only at the end of phrases and sentences. Sentence structure is similar to English - subject, verb, object. Vowels are placed around a consonant and the position over or under determines the sound it makes. They have different tones - not stresses. Surprisingly many Thai words are similar to English words.

2549, the current Buddhist year, is used on all official documents. It is set from the day the Buddha died in our year 623 BC.

The numbers look different except for "0". They form their "decade"numbers (teens, twenties, thirties, etc.) the same by adding the single numbers to the "decade" number.

Our first stop was Sukhothai, the first capitol of Thailand. It is famous for the ruins of its ancient Wat Mahathat and the beautiful Sukhothai Buddhas. I'd had about enough of temple ruins, but Ya never seemed to loose his enthusiasm for their beauty and uniqueness. This particular area is famous for its annual Loy Krathong - aromatic festival of lights and water. This temple also has an exquisite walking Buddah.

As we drove along Ya spotted ladies in the fields under umbrellas harvesting shallots and/or garlic. He stopped the bus for a photo op but did not go out into the field to talk to them like he had the sugar cane ladies. They were farther away, and it was much hotter.

The highlight of the day was our visit to the indigo factory - a home-based family operation. As usual Ya did a great job of explaining the process. When the indigo plant is mature it drops a blue liquid. It is harvested and the blue liquid is combined with regular water and then with water that has been filtered through ashes. That mixture is combined with lye and allowed to "mature". Natural off-white cotton fabrics that have been soaked in regular water for a day are put into the dye, then wrung out and dried. The process is repeated five times.

In the past three years they have developed and indigo batik. A lady uses bees' wax and stamps to put a pattern on a piece of material. Then the cloth goes through the process described above. The area treated with the wax does not absorb the color, and thus a beautiful print emerges.

Flat Stanley was fascinated, and the lady who did the stamping with bees' wax was tickled with him and they happily posed for a photo together.

We all got to try our hand at stamping. It was not as easy as it looked when she did it.

By the time we finished our tour and bought our indigo batik it was late and time to eat dinner and settle down for the night.

March 17 (Friday) St. Patrick's Day - Phrae to Chiang Rai

One of the most enjoyable early morning bus lessons we had was the one today. Ya had a checkered "scarf" that measured about 2 ft. by 6 ft., and he showed us the many uses for it. It is difficult to describe how he made some of them, but here is the list as best I can remember: chess or checker board, sling, lunch sack, belt, handkerchief, napkin, hat, sarong, tube top, baby carrier, hammock, bathing suit, and noose (if one wants to hang himself after unrequited love). The demonstration was funny and clever.

He explained that the Grand Circle Foundation supports five schools, one orphanage, and two Buddhist campuses. They gave one elementary school forty bicycles for children to use to get to and from school. It is the way that OAT"s parent company gives back to the communities it visits with its tourists.

In school the main focus is on Buddhism, but they also teach about Muslim, Christianity and other religions as well. The school we visited had 65 students in eight classes from kindergarten to sixth grade. There were six teachers and one principal. All the children were wearing indigo clothes because it was Friday.

We arrived at the school just as the children were finishing their morning chores. They greeted us warmly in English then lined up for exercise. A little boy arrived late on a motorcycle with his dad. At first it looked like he did not want to stay at school, but he soon took his place in line and became an enthusiastic participant. After exercise two students raised the flag while the others sang the national anthem. Then they all marched in formation to make a big circle for a kick boxing demonstration.

As most of the students headed for their classrooms sixteen older student-guides took each of us by the hand and walked us around their school. My student was a ten-year-old girl whose name sounded like "Lucy Tan" to me, but I could tell from her expression when I repeated it that I was not getting it right.

First she showed me her classroom and drew a picture of me on the chalkboard. I drew a picture of her. Then she drew a very good picture of Flat Stanley. I think she hoped I would give him to her, so later I had Ya explain to her that he belongs to my granddaughter's kindergarten class in Houston, TX, and I have to take him with me around the world. She seemed to understand. We walked to a fish pond, a garden, the bicycle yard where she showed me the Grand Circle bike that she rides to school every day, the library, and a computer room.

The student orchestra performed for us on primitive traditional Thai instruments - bamboo flutes, a stringed instrument played with a bow, and a guitar-like instrument. They were quite good.

This school was much better off than any we had seen to date. The staff and students had prepared a sweet program for us. As we left they gave us each a friendship token that students had made using rice in the husk, a coin, and colorful fibers. Lucy Tan wrote down her name for me. I planned to send her something when I returned home - maybe a picture of Flat Stanley with his class.

When Ya said we were going to visit yet another temple I was not excited, but he promised we would love it. It was an old wat that was being re-done by Chalermchai Kositpipat, a very famous Thai artist. Ya was right. The temple was stark white and studded with pieces of mirrors over all. On either side of the entrance ramp were sculptures of hands that appeared to be reaching up out of the white ground or a white concrete pond/moat.

Before going to our hotel Ya stopped at a market. He broke us into two teams of eight and gave each team a shopping list with eight different items on it. He gave us the Thai names for these items but wrote them in western letters so we could pronounce them. He gave each team 40 TB and sent them out to get the things on their list. It was great fun for us and the vendors as they tried to figure out what we were saying. It didn't do any good to show most of them the list, because they knew only their Thai alphabet. However, our team did find a girl who knew some English, and she helped us a lot. Our team won - a bottle of rice whiskey. He gave the losers a smaller bottle.

That evening we met in the lobby of our resort and ordered beers with glasses. Before pouring our beers, we poured some of the whiskey into our glasses and tasted it. It reminded me of Japanese saki. Another said it reminded her of plumb brandy. Others did not like it at all. Nonetheless we were able to empty the bottle by the end of the evening, and those of us who contributed to that effort were feeling no pain.

March 18 (Saturday) Chiang Rai and Burma

Today was our optional trip to Burma (now known as Myanmar - but that name was too much for us to remember, so we continued to call it Burma.) The city on the Thailand side of the border is Mae Sai, and the city in Burma is Tachilek.

Once we got through immigration Ya had 16 bicycle-rickshaws waiting to take us to the local temple. There we saw evidence of the monks' providing education for young novices (boys). There were mattresses and mats piled in a corner - evidence that they all sleep there. Ya talked with a couple of ladies who had come to pray. One was celebrating her birthday and honoring her father. Another said she had come from her village far away to pray in this main temple of her region.

From the temple we walked through a market where the local craft is weaving. We were besieged by vendors. Ya suggested we buy from shops. He also discouraged our giving to beggars - even the monk novices - so as to discourage that behavior. Parents use their children to beg instead of sending them to school.

On our walk through the village Ya pointed out a law office that looked like a regular house with a lady pouring over papers on her coffee table in the living room. Farther on we stopped and watched a dress-maker at work on an old pedal-operated Singer sewing machine. She also had an iron that was heated by putting hot coals in the top of it. On down the street we stopped at a beetlenut shop so we could see how they are prepared for chewing. A few chopped nuts are put in a banana leaf with anise and a couple of other spices then rolled up and put in a very small plastic bag.

Next we visited a young man who was squeezing juice out of sugar cane with a machine to make an iced drink. Ya bought a demo glass and gave it to a child who was looking on and gave the beetlenut to the young man whose teeth were already blackened from the habit. He was delighted and put it in his cheek like a Texan would a plug of tobacco.

All the people we met were smiling and friendly. Ya kept us moving along - "Ladies and Gentlemen, we'll jaywalk here. Cross the street now - quick quick."

When we finished our walking and shopping our rickshaw drivers were there to take us to another market. On the way one's tire popped, so two folks had to double up. Then another bike bent and gave out. The driver tried pushing it on foot, but finally gave out and told the rider to get out and walk. Ya went and rescued her.

We shopped for awhile longer then returned to the border crossing and walked back into Thailand. We ate lunch at a very primitive-style restaurant off the beaten path in the middle of rice fields. The bus could take us only so far. We went the rest of the way in two etans that looked like large tuk tuks and held eight passengers each. The drivers started their engines with a crank, and they sounded like helicopters. It was a fun ride, but we were glad it wasn't any longer than it was.

As soon as we arrived at the restaurant the vendors arrived and spread their wares. They had on some wonderful, colorful costumes from their hill country homes.

After lunch we went by bus to the Golden Triangle - the point where the Mekong meets the Ruak river and where the borders of Thailand, Laos and Burma meet. It got its name from its prominence in the opium trade. The currency was gold and business was booming. Now it is illegal to grow poppies, and tourism is taking over as a major industry.

The area boasts a huge gilded golden Buddah and an opium museum. It didn't take long to go through the museum, and we were off to our hotel.

Dinner was an uninspired buffet at the hotel. Just as we were finishing two groups from Holland came in with a bang. Before we knew it the place was alive with their boisterous singing. An elderly man was playing his guitar and leading the songs. A cute little lady followed him with her clacker. Every other song or so they came to one of our tables and sang something in English. Their tour guide talked with some in our group and told them these folks were touring Thailand for a month.

March 19 (Sunday) Chiang Rai to Chiang Mai

Our bus lesson this morning was about the hill tribes. Ya told us that the largest group is the Karen. The next largest, the Meo (aka Hmong), was allied with the U.S. in the Viet Nam war. Many of them now live in the States. The Lisu is the third largest group. The Meo and the Lisu live at the highest elevations - above 5,000 feet. Increasingly the youth in all groups are being influenced by the West and are abandoning the traditional dress and customs. We visited the Akha and the Yao - the fourth and fifth largest tribes. The Yao are the more modern.

The first hill tribe village we came to were the Yaos. They live at the lower elevation and thus have more contact with the towns below and are better educated. Most of the buildings were concrete and stucco. Few of the locals wore their full costume - a hat here a jacket there. The children were not in school because it was Sunday. (Most of the hill people are Catholic, so Sunday is their day off.) The villagers were out in full force trying to sell us their wares.

Our next stop was the Akha village at a higher elevation. They are more isolated, and many of the older adults wear their traditional dress. At the entrance to the town was a spirit gate with anatomically correct carvings of a naked man with a cell phone and a woman with a pipe. In fact, both were smoking pipes.

Ya took us into one of the houses and showed us around. The old man who lived there played us a tune on a bamboo wind instrument. (Later I bought one at a market. Playing it was not as easy as it looked.)

Here too the adults and children urged us to buy their products. Most of them had the same things for sale. I saw no sign of any cottage industry that might have produced them. I asked Ya if these people were the artisans. He assured me they were - or the items came from a nearby craft school. Later we saw a lady doing needle work on her front porch, so my scepticism waned.

As we drove on to Chiang Mai we passed pineapple fields and got out so Ya could explain how that crop grows. We stopped again at a roadside stand that sold sticky rice and beans in bamboo shoots - a very nice snack.

Just before arriving at our hotel Ya told us that Chiang Mai was established in 1296 as the capital of Siam (now Thailand). (Bangkok did not become the capitol until 1732.) It is the number one tourist attraction in Thailand and has a population of over one million.

Our hotel was smack in the middle of all the action. The group went to dinner and a dance performance. Sandra and I had seen enough of that sort of dancing, so we went to a photo shop then explored the area on our own and found a great place to have dinner. As we were eating we saw our tour bus drive by.

March 20 Monday Chiang Mai

Our bus lesson for today concerned elephants because we were on our way to the elephant training center for a morning of fun activities. When we arrived the fun started right away. Three or four mahouts (elephant trainers) came up to us with their elephants and had them kneel so a person could sit on their leg and have a picture taken. Then the person would put a 20B bill (50c) in its trunk and it passed it up to the mahout sitting on its neck. Next a mahout had me stand with my back to his elephant. He had the elephant put his trunk through my legs and lift me up off the ground. What a kick!!!

#095 #096 #097
It was time for our elephant ride. Two-by-two we got into our saddles atop our pachyderm with our mahout sitting astride its neck. We had a one-hour ride up and down hills and across streams. It was a grand experience!

Shortly after we returned we watched the mahouts bathe their beasts in the river then gather in the arena for a show.

First they demonstrated how the elephants worked in the logging industry. Now that logging has been severely limited these grand animals are used mostly in the tourist business. The elephants played soccer and basketball. They performed as a marching band with some playing harmonicas and others tambourines. Finally they each made a painting that was sold at the end of the demonstration. The asking price was over $500 USD proceeds going to support the camp.

After the show we went for a raft ride. There were four people to a raft along with a man who poled us down stream for about forty five minutes. It was relaxing and fun.

We had lunch at a private family restaurant on a river then took off to see an umbrella factory. It was amazing to see the artisans making the umbrellas from paper or cloth and then decorating them.

Our next stop was a gem factory that offered nothing much new to me. I had seen others, and I don't care for jewelry anyway. However, I did enjoy our next stop - a silk factory. Right inside the door was a wonderful exhibit showing silk worms from the age of three weeks through all their stages of development. Just beyond that was a lady boiling the cocoons and harvesting the thread. Nearby were two or three women weaving fabric. Fascinating! In the show room there were all sorts of items made from silk - so many in fact that I could not choose and so bought nothing.

In the evening we relaxed and had dinner at the hotel. Afterwards Sandra went in search of a suitcase to hold her many purchases. I went to the internet.

March 21 (Tuesday) Chiang Mai

Sandra got up at 5:30 to go with Ya and some of the group to experience the alms-giving. I felt like I had been there and done that in Laos and that it was mostly a tourist thing, so I stayed behind and worked on my photos. When Sandra returned she was in tears as she told me what an authentic and moving experience it had been. She commented on what a deeply spiritual man Ya is.

The whole group took a bus to a Buddhist campus that is supported by The Grand Circle Foundation. The assistant head monk talked with us. He explained a bit about Buddhism and gave us a lesson in meditation. He also chatted with each of us individually and commented on our cities' football teams about which he was surprisingly knowledgeable.

From there we went on up the hill to visit a huge wat. It had many lovely Buddhas in many different colors and positions. At the foot of the hill was a jade factory, so we had a lesson in jade - quality, colors, uses - and, of course, a tour of the store.

Lunch was on our own, but we all went to one recommended by Ya. After lunch Sandra and I cleaned up and rested in preparation for our home-stay that night.

Tim (pron. Teem) and her 17-year-old daughter, Noi, arrived right on time in a tuk tuk. Noi had learned English in school and spoke it quite well. Tim spoke some but depended on Noi to translate a lot. Both were warm and friendly.

On the way to their house wee stopped at the market to get some things for dinner. Tim bought us each an orange drink to sip on while we shopped. It was about the nicest and cleanest market we had visited.

Their home was in a suburb just outside of Chiang Mai. The yard was fenced and gated. A motor scooter was in the carport. The house had three bedrooms and one bath, a living/dining area and a cooking room in the back.

Yui, Noi's 32-year-old sister, was already at home. She was not married and worked as a fortuneteller out of her mom's laundry shop.

Almost immediately we went to the cooking room to start dinner. In this room (which was sort of like a back porch) there were two refrigerators. For cooking there were two propane burners. Sandra thought they produced a much hotter flame than a regular stove - perfect for stir fry and Thai omelets. Tim and Sandra chopped and cooked. I did dishes with Yui and watched.

We all enjoyed the delicious meal served on a western-style table. The family usually eats at a table much closer to the floor. Since Westerners don't do well at the low tables (They can get down but not up.), they accommodate them with the higher one.

After dinner Tim showed us her family album and gave us a little family history. She was one of six children (4 boys and 2 girls). Her family has land. The house she and her two girls live in is owned by Tim's sister. The building in town where she has her laundry and Yui has her fortune telling practice has three or four other shops run by two of her brothers.

Tim has been married two times - the first was to Yui's father. He would not stop chasing the ladies, so they divorced. The second was to Noi's father. He left right after she was born.

Yui told us that she was trained by monks to do fortune telling. She reads cards. Her practice is thriving. She usually sees about ten clients a day. Mostly they come to her regarding matters of love and business. The more she explained, the more her work sounded like psychotherapy.

Yui gave us each a little package of tiny colorful fish she had made out of a metallic ribbon. Then she taught us how to make them. We gave the family the Texas souvenirs that OAT suggested. They were not especially appropriate, but we had been unable to get any information about our family beforehand. However, they graciously accepted them and seemed pleased.

By 8:30 Sandra and I were ready for bed. Our three hostesses went to their room where they all sleep together every night even though they each have their own room. Sandra and I slept in two comfortable beds on the floor. The bathroom was western-style, so no problem there.

March 22 (Wednesday) Chiang Mai to Bangkok

Both Sandra and I had a good night's sleep. I was up first and went for a walk in the neighborhood. Most of the houses were like Tim's. Others were very fancy like the new "Mc mansions" in Houston. I saw one internet café and one restaurant mixed in with the houses. Otherwise it was all residential.

When I returned everyone (except Noi, who had gone to school) was having breakfast - delicious rice soup and Thai pancakes. Yui said she would not be reading cards today because it was "Buddha's Day". Instead she would help her mom with the laundry. Both Yui and Tim spoke English much better without Noi to translate. They probably depend on her more than necessary.

I asked how they got to work. Yui said that she drives the motor scooter, and her mom rides on the back, and Poopy, their little dog rides in the basket. We just had to get a picture of that before we left. Unfortunately Poopy was out running around getting his morning exercise, but we got a cute shot of Yui and Tim on their scooter.

The same tuk tuk and driver as yesterday arrived - clean as a whistle - and Tim rode with us past her shop to the hotel. We had asked a couple of times to see her shop, but she either did not understand or did not want us to see it. We just zipped by in the tuk tuk.

We had free time until two o'clock, so I labeled all my photos and sent a Flat Stanley batch to his class in Houston. We had lunch then returned to the hotel to pack..

At two o'clock most of went to a nice massage parlor for two hours of pampering - the ladies in one room and the gentlemen in another. OAT gave us long loose pants to wear and keep.

We returned to the hotel to pick up the folks who were foolish enough not have the massage and off we went to the train station where we boarded a first-class sleeping car for our overnight trip back to Bangkok. I had not been in a sleeper car since I was about six years old, so it was extra fun to be doing it again.

Ya gave out box lunches from the restaurant where we had lunch the day before. There was enough food for both dinner and breakfast the next morning. Four folks in our group had adjoining rooms that they opened up for partying, and we had a high old time - until 8:30 when the porter came by to make up our beds. We were all pooped and happy to retire.

March 23 (Thursday) Bangkok

The train ride was fun, and most of us slept very well lulled to sleep by the clickity clak of the wheels on the rails. We arrived in Bangkok on time - 7 a.m.. What a thrill it was to see that our bus drivers, Nui and Pen, had arrived in time to meet us at the station and take us to the China Princess Hotel in the heart of downtown.

Later they drove us to the Grand Palace. What an overwhelming place! There was gold and glitter and magnificent architecture and art everywhere. Once again I was impressed with the pristine condition of everything despite the hoards of tourists from around the world.

The major attraction was the Emerald Buddah that is really cut from a huge piece of green jade - the color of emerald. We had all expected it to be huge like the Golden Buddah, but it was only about three feet tall and looked smaller because it sat up high atop a big fancy altar. The Audience and Coronation Halls were also spectacular.

It was hot, so when time came to return to the bus, we were all ready to go. For the first time we experienced one of Bangkok's legendary traffic jams. We sat for thirty minutes without moving.

Lunch was on our own, so a group of about ten of us went to the fancy schmancy Shanghai Hotel for a bite to eat. Beer was 210 TB instead of 120 TB for example.

Back at the hotel we rested up for our river dinner cruise. I was able to do my yoga exercises because our room was plenty large. To my surprise and delight I found myself to be more flexible than normal. I wonder if that was a result of the massage.

At 5:30 Nui and Pen drove us to the river. We had our very own dinner barge and cruised up and down while we ate and drank and talked and laughed and celebrated the memorable two weeks we had spent together discovering Thailand.

Ya's boss, the man who had helped us when we were trying to connect with our Cambodian tour group, joined us. He was anxious to get our feedback from the trip, and we were happy to oblige with glowing complements.

Back at the hotel we said our good-byes. One of the gals even gave Flat Stanley a hug good-bye. All of our group except five of us who were going on to Viet Nam, were returning to the States the next morning at 3 a.m..

March 24 (Friday) Bangkok to Hanoi, North Viet Nam

At 10:30 Ya took us to the airport and stayed with us until we were checked in and had paid our airport tax ($15 USD or 500 TB). At check-in we were advised we would be delayed one hour, and we were given a ticket for a free meal at the Thai restaurant. (Again I say, "Western hemisphere airlines take note!") Later when we were advised there would be an additional two-hour delay, we were given vouchers for another bigger meal. When all was said and done, we finally took off at 6 p.m.. During our wait we met two cute sisters from England who were on a seven-month trip - mostly in this part of the world. We also struck up a conversation with a young British ex-pat who had married a Thai woman and was living in Bangkok. He said he was in the import-export business. We all had a jolly good time while we waited.

On our flight we were served a nice dinner and drinks that we enjoyed all the more because we had space to spread out. There were 100 empty seats and all the seats were larger than normal.

Dung (pron. Zung) our Vietnamese guide, and Hi, our van driver, were waiting for us when we arrived. They took us straight to our hotel. Dung joined us for dinner and explained our itinerary for the following day. It looked like he was going to be another GREAT OAT guide - nice personality, experienced, age 32, married with one daughter age 3.

March 25 (Saturday) Hanoi (My 65th birthday)

When I went to get Flat Stanley to join us for our days activities I could not find him. I soon realized I must have left him on the computer table the evening of March 23rd - our last night at the China Princess Hotel. What a lousy way to start off my birthday!

There was no time to mope or do anything about it. We were on our way to a Grand Circle elementary school. This one had a special program and dormitory for blind children. March 26th would be a major national celebration of children, and this day there were special activities at the school.

The children were all happy and friendly as they participated or just watched the various activities. Some practiced their English with us. We watched four older children play an exciting game of badminton. There was also a lively tug-of-war. In the auditorium there were three groups of children competing in quiz game about literature, geography, and arithmetic. The onlookers here were as enthusiastic as those watching the sports.

Dung took us to see the blind boys' dorm. It was pretty bare-bones and shabby but functional. There were four to six sets of bunk beds in each room. Each bed had a locker attached for personal belongings. The beds all had mattresses. Blankets were piled by the wall. I did not see any sheets or pillows.

Outside the boys moved around their area without canes because they were very familiar with the layout. They do use canes when they venture out. They take their classes with the rest of the student body. Besides being given a general education, they are taught a trade such as music or massage. Some of the massage grads have a "parlor" set up on campus, and it is open to the public. It, too, was a little shabby, but not too bad, so Sandra and I had a nice twenty-minute massage. It was very nice - different than the Thai massage. There was more rubbing. The Thai massage was more stretching.

Next we went to the Confucius Temple of Literature. The Chinese brought this philosophy to Viet Nam. It used to have a stronger influence than it does today. It started out as a school for men who wanted to get the equivalent of a PhD in Confucian philosophy. Those who achieved this goal have their names etched on stone tablets in the courtyard.

In the afternoon we visited the Museum of Ethnology. Its displays portray the history and life styles of the more than fifty ethnic groups in Viet Nam. One especially charming display consisted of people, a TV, a bike, CD player, boat and other things all made of paper. They are used in honoring the dead. They represent the things the deceased will need in the next life. Outside there were about six houses and a community building representing the abodes of six different groups.

The highlight of the day was the water puppet show. The puppets were three-dimensional and made of wood with some moving parts. They were mounted on the ends of long sticks and manipulated by puppeteers who stand in a pond of water behind a screen. The water is colored green so the audience cannot see below the surface of the water.

The show started with one puppet coming out and talking to the audience. Gradually other puppets joined him and the action became much more complicated as they danced and chased each other around. The choreography and special effects were funny and spell-binding.

After the show we went to dinner. Sandra and I had read in the airline magazine about ca tru singing - a traditional Vietnamese style of throat singing. No one else wanted to go so they dropped us at the theater.

The setting was charming - a long dimly-lit marrow room with a stage in the back. Along each side there were cushions and small low tables set with tea pots and tiny cups, a small bottle of rice wine and little bean cakes. Admission and refreshments were free. I sat next to a man who told me he was born and raised in Viet Nam. He went to Harvard Business school and had been living in France the past few years. He helped us to understand what was going on. The show was charming, and the three ca tru singers were amazing. One was only eleven or twelve. Almost as interesting were the men who accompanied the women with their traditional musical instruments. Toward the end of the show things became more informal with some audience participation in the music and a question and answer session with the performers.

Dung had written down the name and address of our hotel, and so we had no problem finding a cab to take us there.

March 26 (Sunday) Hanoi to HaLong Bay

Today was an important day - a celebration of the children of Viet Nam - and it was Sunday. When we arrived at the Ho Chi Minn Mausoleum and surrounding complex there were already there were already thousands of people in line to view the preserved body of Ho Chi Minn lying in state - nd thousands more arriving all the time.

The "procession was well-managed, and the crowds were quiet and somber for the most part. The Russians worked with the Vietnamese to preserve this body as they had Lenin's, and they had built the mausoleum.

Ho Chi Minn looked like a sleeping sweet loving old man lying in his coffin encased in glass. He was well-guarded and nicely lit. Afterwards Dung told us something of this national hero. He was born in central Viet Nam to a prominent but not especially rich family. He never married and had no children. He always lived a simple life style. When he was twenty one he began thirty years of traveling abroad and became fluent in many languages. He spent most of this time in France and helped to form the French Communist party. When he returned to Viet Nam he was a well-known Communist and quickly became popular with the people. He was able to unite them under the banner of Communism in 1945. Eventually he led them in becoming independent from the French who were oppressing them. In the most famous and decisive battle at Dien Bien Phu in North Viet Nam the French thought they had an impenetrable fortress. They had built it up high with the aid of helicopters and heavy equipment. The Vietnamese, under the leadership of Vo Nguyen Ziap, using manpower only, managed to get all kinds of artillery up the hill and around the fortress. Then they mounted a surprise attack. The French commander committed suicide, and the French were defeated. Vo Nguyen Ziap is still alive at the age of 95.

As the result of a compromise they did not leave Viet Nam altogether, but moved to the south. Then they turned around and decided to fight to regain their power in the north. Eventually the United States allied with the French. The line was drawn at the 17th parallel, and the war was on.

We left the mausoleum and walked around the grounds to visit the old French headquarter building that is now used for offices. Ho Chi Minn could have lived there in opulence but chose, instead, to live in a vacated electrician house on the property. Later the people built him a traditional house on stilts, and he lived there for eleven years until he died in 1969 at the age of seventy nine.

Dung told us that the biggest black mark on Ho Chi Minn's record is the Land Reform policy that was implemented during his tenure. However, he was the president of the country - not the chairman of the Communist party - and he had to do as he was ordered if he wanted to maintain his country's autonomy and independence.

Next we stopped at the lake to see the memorial stone that makes the site where U.S. senator John McCain was captured after he parachuted from his bomber into the lake in the center of Hanoi. (The stone says he was in the USAF, but he was really in the US Navy.). Then we went on to visit the "Hanoi Hilton" (what's left of it) to see the prison where he was held for about seven years.

For the most part the displays focus on the years when this french-built prison was used to hold and torture Vietnamese dissidents. A photo display shows American soldiers eating, playing games, and getting their Red Cross packages. It seemed that the Vietnamese treated their prisoners much better than the French treated them. Dung said that at the time of the "American War" all Vietnamese had a very hard life and that the life of the prisoners was not significantly worse. However, conditions were way worse than any they had experienced in the States.

After years of hearing what a monster Ho Chi Minn was and what a horrible system Communism is, it was most interesting to come here and get "the enemy's" slant on that time in history and to see how this Communist country is starting to prosper.

.Note: There is one side to a story, and then there's the other side, and then there's the truth. Now I'd like to get Osama Ben Laden's side of the 911 incident.

A light lunch was just what we needed after such a "heavy" morning. We went to a Vietnamese soup restaurant. Then we were off to HaLong Bay. Half-way we stopped at the Hong Ngoc Humanity Center where they train people with various disabilities to sew, embroider, make lacquerware and pottery. They teach others how to sell these product in their store. Customers are served free tea and bean cakes - charming.

Just before we reached our destination we came upon some women making coal bricks to be used as fuel in little cookers. Like Ya in Thailand, Dung made a "discovery stop". The workers explained that they compress the coal chips into bricks and let them harden in the sun. Every day they take 200# of them to town five miles away in side baskets on their bike.

When we arrived at HaLong Bay it was dark, foggy and cool. We had a nice dinner at the hotel and went to bed.

March 27 (Monday) HaLong Bay

I got up early to check my e-mail for news of Flat Stanley. (I had e-mailed the China Princess Hotel.) They had gotten my e-mail and replied that no one had found a "flat doll". After breakfast I went to the post office to mail a drawing of Flat Stanley to the China Princess in a last-ditch effort to recover him.

At 9a.m. we visited a local market where we saw some things we had not yet experienced. There was dog meat displayed for sale to eat - even the little paws. There were also dogs in cages on the back of bikes headed for the butcher and then the table. As we strolled through the market we knew we were observing the people and their wares, but we were unaware of being observed until one lady laughed and asked Dung why one of the gals in our group was wearing shorts when it was so cold out. (Vietnamese women never wear shorts.) Another commented on the big stomach on one of the men, and a child said that he looked like Buddah. We all had a good laugh.

At 10 a.m. we boarded a boat to take a tour of HaLong Bay. By this time the weather had improved, but the sun stayed behind clouds - perfect. Dung told us we were in the Bay on Tonkin - the beginning of the Ho Chi Minn Trail. As it turns out, the Ho Chi Minn Trail is not just a path in the woods but a whole system of waterways and roads used for moving military things.

We sailed in and around a lot of islands which are part of a mountain chain, so I guess we were really boating among the tops of mountains. It was most serene. We passed a floating village of sorts. It did not have nearly as many people as the one in Cambodia, and the residents were more affluent. Many has fish farms attached to their houses.

About noon we pulled into a bay and dropped anchor for lunch. On our way back to the city we actually got off onto a houseboat/fish farm. Dung sat and talked with a 90-year-old woman about her addiction to beetlenuts and tobacco. She had not teeth, so she had a small metal mortar and pestle to mash the nuts before chewing /gumming them. Then she sowed us how she fixes her hair and her head covering. Her daughter-in-law shoed us the kitchen/cooking room.

Dung took us to the fish farm and showed us the different sea creatures they collect to sell to local families and businesses. We saw a man mending his nylon net. Some children/vendors came by in a small boat. They sold two shells to one of our group then wanted them back. As a compromise, she gave them one and kept one.

Our next rip was on the local ferry. Right now it is the only way to get from the tourist side of the city to the area where most of the locals live. Looming over the ferries is the new suspension bridge under construction - due to open in July. The ferry was very efficient and carried all sorts of vehicles, so its fate was undetermined at the time. It was great fun being part of the bustling local scene.

From the ferry we took a van ride up to the top of the city and looked down on the seaside. There were six-story hotels with no elevators. These places are popular with the Vietnamese who vacation here in the summer. The big seaside places are used by the foreign tourists who come during the winter-spring season.
I spent my free time catching up on my journal and making a "Spirit of Flat Stanley" doll to replace the one I had lost. It made me feel only a little better.

In the evening Dung took us to a traditional Vietnamese restaurant for a delicious fondu-type progressive soup. A wok full of hot broth boiled on a hot plate while our waiter added a couple of ingredients and served then added a couple more and served - until we were all satisfied. It was fun, delicious and different - a discovery.

March 28 (Tuesday) HaLong Bay to Hanoi

By 8:30 a.m. we were on the road with the horn-honking Vietnamese. No one seemed upset. They were just driving along honking their horns for no apparent reason.

One of our bus lessons was about how the houses here a built. They used to be made of brick with a mortar mad of lime and sand. Nowadays they cover the brick with concrete to waterproof them. Brick houses are the most comfortable especially in the hot weather. All floors are tile.

The Vietnamese flag is red with a yellow lone star. The red represents the blood of the soldiers, the yellow the yellow people. The five points on the star represent the five continents (America, Asia, Africa, Europe and Australia).

We stopped to observe some "buffalo boys" who were riding their water buffalos out in the field. They came up to our van. In talking with Dung one explained that they control the animals by putting stones in their noses. I didn't understand how that worked.

One thing we had noticed here and in other countries were the tremendous loads the people can carry on their motor bikes as well as their regular bikes. One man had four very large live pigs strapped to the sides of his motor bike. A woman was riding her regular bike with four 8-foot ladders attached.

Further on down the road we stopped to take a walk through a farming village. We came upon a family have a death ceremony for their mother who had died about four years ago. (The Vietnamese celebrate death days rather than birthdays.) The adults were in their 60s. They eagerly invited us to join them. Once inside the house they showed us pictures of two brothers who had fought in the American War in South Viet Nam. One was buried in a cemetery in the Central Highlands of South Viet Nam. The other was missing in action. They welcomed us like old friends and invited us to share tea. With Dung as interpreter, the outgoing spokesman for their group told us that we were the first Americans any of them had ever met. He told us how wonderful it is that our countries are becoming friends and Viet Nam is recovering from the war. One of the men in our group explained that he had been in the service at that time but had never left the States. The two men hugged. It was all very moving and healing.

Overall the village seemed to be on the upswing with new roads and new houses. Dung explained that in North Viet Nam farmers live in villages like this and go into their fields to work then return to the village at night. In South Viet Nam the farmers live far apart each on their own farms - like in America.

I asked Dung how Buddhism and Communism are getting along these days. He told a story of his uncle who is in the military and also a fortune teller in the Buddhist tradition. Early on the Communists labeled all religions and spiritual philosophies "superstitions" and strongly discouraged their practice. Some temples were vandalized. His uncle was criticized for his fortune telling and passed over for promotions but was never attacked or imprisoned. Nowadays he continues to be a fortune teller without any negative consequences. The government is restoring the temples.

Back in Hanoi we had a few free hours before going out with Dung for our farewell dinner. The restaurant was charming - done in the style of the mountain tribes - food and decor.

March 29 (Wednesday) Hanoi to Bangkok

On the way to the airport Dung pointed out all the houses and apartments that are being built. He told us about the local and foreign investments in tourism development. I asked him how Communism and Capitalism are getting along. He said the government continues to control most utilities, but the phone service is now competitive. They have also given up control of tourism, and few large private companies have sprung up. So although Viet Nam calls itself a Communist country, there are some capitalistic and democratic practices. The people choose their representatives, and those representatives choose the leaders - sort of like the electoral college in the States. The current leader, whose name I forget, is not popular.

At the airport we said farewell to Dung. Then we ran into Donny the ex-pat we had passed time with in the Bangkok airport. We told him about our meeting with the Vietnamese veterans and their families whom we had met in the farming village and how amazed we were with their warm reception. He said that he notices more tension among the southeast Asians themselves than between the southeast Asians and the Caucasian foreigners.

We arrived in the Bangkok. For Sandra and I it was our fourth time, so we can now say "We have been to Bangkok many times." Who should be there to meet us but Ya. What a pleasant surprise! I told him about losing Flat Stanley, and he immediately called the China Princess and described him to them in Thai, so we could be sure they knew what I was talking about. He said that Flat Stanley was so cute, someone might have picked him up and kept him, or heaven forbid, a maintenance person might have put him in the trash. I was hoping that whoever picked him up would notice the address of his class on the back and send him home - but then - the address was written in English with western letters. During our free time I e-mailed the sad news to Mrs. Edwards and the class.

At six we met our fellow travelers in the lobby lounge for cocktails. Four of us went to the Japanese restaurant in another building of the hotel. This time the experience was excellent. The food and service were very good, and the prices were reasonable.

March 30 (Thursday) Bangkok to London

Sandra and I had all day to explore Bangkok one last time because our flight was not scheduled to leave until 11:30 p.m. At Ya's suggestion, we went to the Bangkok International Auto Show. It was a glitzy affair. Just outside the main entrance The Ford Motor Company was celebrating King Rama IX's 60th anniversary as monarch by giving him two of their top-sellers - a sedan and the Ford Ranger pick-up truck - to use as he sees fit. Inside there was a big fancy shrine to the king. He is one of the longest-reigning monarchs in the world, and we had never heard of him.

In addition to cars, trucks, vans and SUVs of all sorts, there were boats, motor scooters, and even coffee/food trucks on display. Pretty girls were everywhere - Thai girls dressed in western-style sexy outfits. Too bad. Their traditional clothes are so much more elegant.

After we saw it all we went to the international food court and had a bite to eat before venturing onto the public transportation system to go into the city to visit the major Jim Thompson silk store. (The store at his house/museum was just a small one.) The place was huge - about six stories - and included furniture, bedding and other things. Sandra bought a scarf.

The charming store cafe was calling us, so we went in and had a refreshment. Then we took the skyway to the area where we hoped to pick up the Rama Gardens Hotel shuttle. We waited at the central plaza until 6:30. When it had not come, we took a cab. Lucky for us cabs charge on distance only - not for time spent waiting in traffic. Traffic was bad. Bangkok is one of the three worst cities in the world for traffic problems. Back at the hotel we saw a sign at the bell captain station that said there would be no shuttle service to central plaza because of demonstrations in the area against the prime minister. It seemed that even though he had done a great deal of good for the country, he feathered his nest with insider information, and a number of very vocal citizens were calling for his resignation.

We had just enough time to freshen up and catch the 8 p.m. hotel shuttle to the airport. Shortly after we checked in we learned we would not be leaving until about 2:30 a.m. Storms were causing delays in Sydney, Australia and Thailand. Luckily the waiting areas were not crowded, and we were able to stretch out across three seats and sleep for a couple of hours.

When the plane finally took off it was full (350 people), and we were in the center section. I was in a center seat to boot. Actually it wasn't as bad as I expected. The gal next to me was pleasant to talk with, and there was a good selection of movies. Plus, I was able to sleep a little.

March 31 (Friday) London to Ludgershall, England

We arrived at Heathrow at about 9 a.m. and took a train to Paddington Station. There we caught a cab to the Waterloo train Station. London was enjoying its first nice day in weeks. Temps were in the 50s, the sun was shining, trees in Hyde Park were blooming pink, daffodils were smiling. Our ride took us past Buckingham Palace and around the horse barn where the changing of the guard was taking place. Straight ahead we saw Big Ben looking out at us from Stewart Tower. Off to the right we could see Westminster Abby and the Houses of Parliament. Overlooking it all was the huge ferris wheel slowly turning on the edge of the Thames River.

At Waterloo we caught the train to Andover. Our friend, Kathy's sister, Phyllis and her husband, John were there to meet us and took us straight to Kathy's apartment in Ludgershall. We had a nice visit and a light dinner trying to stay awake until evening. Finally, at 8 p.m. we turned in.

At about 8:30 p.m. Sandra's brother, Tommy, called with the sad news that their mom, Maydee, had passed away on Wednesday, March 29 at about 5 p.m. at the age of 95. Her caretakers and a minister from hospice were by her side. The funeral was being postponed until after Sandy returned home on April 4. We were all very sad and spent some time remembering her.

April 1 (Saturday) England

No one thought of April Fools today. Kathy fixed a soothing pot of English tea, and we remembered more of Maydee. Then I walked to town to get a wine bottle opener and a couple of other things. Ludgershall is a picturesque, little town with friendly people everywhere.

Later in the morning Kathy's brother, Dougie, and his wife, Doreen came over for a visit. In the early afternoon Kathy treated us all to lunch at a cute country pub in the village. When they left Sandra took a nap and I taught Kathy how to play Hot Dice (aka Farkle). We had a drink or two which added to the fun.

April 2 (Sunday) Ludgershall

John and Phyllis picked us up for church. The Anglican church they attend, St. James, was built in about 1300. It has a set of bells that are played on Sundays by award-winning bell ringers. They were peeling out as we arrived.

After the service, John took us on a tour of the building. In one nook on a wooden tablet are the names of all the vicars since 1300. There were not as many as I would have expected. In the front to the right of the main altar is the resting place of Sir Richard Brydges and his wife, Jane (nee: Spencer), a relative of Princess Diana, Princess of Whales. They were prominent in the community circa 1550. Their statues are resting atop their coffins. Nearby, in a sort of bas relief, are likenesses of their five children playing with a dog.

From church we went to the home of John and Phyllis. It is a lovely, two-story, four-bedroom, 2 ½ bath house. Phyllis has the inside decorated beautifully, and John keeps the yard looking grand.

After a nice chat we went to the Red Lion country pub - Kathy's treat again. It was good to be back in a land of meat and potatoes, but I actually had enjoyed the Asian beers more than these British brews.

We returned to Kathy's where we intended to watch a rowing competition, but PMS (post meal snoozies) took over , and most of us nodded off. The rest of the day, the three of us visited and watched T.V.

April 3 (Monday) Ludgershall to London

It was another beautiful day so I walked to town and mailed my post card to Hannah's class. When I returned Sandra made us a batch of Bloody Marys, and we played some hot dice. Then company arrived, Kathy's grand niece, Karen and her two lovely children. They were followed by Kathy's cleaning lady and her little dog and then the gardener. At 11:30 John and Phyllis arrived to drive us to the train station. We said a fond farewell to Kathy. Our visit with her had been the perfect transition in our trip home.

Getting to Gatwick was a little more difficult than we had expected. We had to negotiate some stairs with our luggage without benefit of escalator or lift. On the last flight of stairs a nice young man carried both of Sandra's big heavy bags, and we made our connection. The universe takes care of fools and old ladies - and foolish old ladies.

Per instructions that came with our hotel reservations we found area eleven and used the free phone to call our B&B for a free ride. They knew right where we'd be waiting. What a convenient system.

Our first order of business was to walk to town and find a pub. The bar tender was cute young man with a gap between his teeth that made him even cuter. He kept the cider and Stella Artoise coming. We got a kick out of listening to the mates at the bar even though we could hardly understand a word they said.

In the evening we went to the nice pub at our B&B/hotel. I had sausage and mash. Sandra had fish and chips. The place was full of fellow travelers, so we had some nice chats while we ate.

April 4 (Tuesday) London to Houston

Sandra and I slept the sleep of the dead for eleven hours and awoke ready for our trip home - at least I was. Sandra generally does not look forward to long airplane flights.

At breakfast