March 13, 2008

Well, guess this will be my last blog message. We arrived back in Bangkok on Monday, March 10 to the sweltering heat. I sit here with the sweat just poring off my brow and down my back. No, I’m not really looking forward to coming home to the rain either. However that’s better than the snow Ottawa just received. The picture is of our brother-in-law having just finished shoveling.

The other bad news was Oliver broke his elbow last Friday – playing on thebed and fell off. He’s handling it pretty well right now but if this heat keeps up I’m not sure how well he’ll be. Gone had to go up to his village so Jenn’s not having much fun coping on her own……….

Spent today finishing up shopping for food items to bring home. Have to run out to the store tomorrow to pick up just a couple more things. Met Jenn and boys at the train and went into Siam Paragon to see a movie – 10,000 BC. Not a great movie but at least it was in a cool place. We also did dinner and then home. That was out last hurray seeing as how Jenn won’t be home till 9:00 PM tomorrow.

Well, our last week in Mui Ne was every bit as wonderful as we had hoped and expected. It was hot, but sitting on the beach with the wind blowing you’d hardly even notice. We stayed at Bamboo Village Resort and it was a lovely spot. Our room was a nice size and we even had a bit of a view of the sea from our balcony. There was a lovely spa that a visited a few times and even got Tom to go once for a “hot stones” back massage. That was a really different but enjoyable experience. My favorite is still a foot massage though……Our days were virtually the same – get up early, head down to the beach and get our chairs. We actually were only able to get chairs under an umbrella once and that was because I got up and put towels on the chairs at 6:00AM. Most of the tourists there are Russian and as was noted in the guest sign in book on numerous occasions – these tourists usually sent one person to put towels on all the umbrella chairs at 6:00AM and then didn’t show up to sit there till about 10:00. I was so cross about it. We usually walked for about an hour and then had breakfast – beautiful buffet that included mini chocolate croissants and loads of fresh fruit!! Then we’d read, talk, watch the kite boarders and walk some more. It was interesting walking up and down the beaches and noticing how much beach erosion has gone on in two years. The place we stayed at 2 years ago was about 3K north of where we stayed this time and it has absolutely no beach now. The area where all the kiteboarding and watersports was done from has very little water front. It was fine where we were but makes you wonder what will happen in another couple of years. The area has really built up with Resorts one after another all along the beach and more watersport areas and then restaurants and shops on the other side of the road. It was amazing to watch the kiteboarding. The mornings were quiet, but in the afternoon the winds came up and then all the boarders came out. I often wondered how they didn’t crash into each other or into people on the beach. Of course there were a lot of novices out there and it seemed like they could only go one way cause there wa always a parade of them walking back along the sand clutching their kites in their arms. The beach was an interesting place to sit and people watch. Friends we made on the cruise were staying at Novotel Ocean Dunes and Golf Course in Phan Thiet (15K away) so we met up with them on the Thursday. We took a taxi to their place first and spent the day there and then around 5:00 they came back to Mui Ne with us and we wandered abit and then had supper at an excellent Italian place. Both locations had their good and bad points. They enjoyed the golf course but said if you were a serious golfer they thought it would be considered too easy. They liked the fact that we had so many good eating places to choose from. I tried to make a goal of eating these huge tiger prawns everyday. They were so fresh and so good and soooo cheap. Cashews are grown in Vietnam so I made a point of helping out the economy by consuming more than my share. And I musn’t forget the spring rolls - the deep fried variety – that was usually lunch along with a beer. There were a number of day trips you could take but we decided all we wanted to do was take it easy and consume more food and drink – haha. But all good things must come to an end. We left on the 9^th and spent one more evening in Ho Chi Minh and that’s always an event. I can’t imagine another city quite as insane with traffic and noise. Within 10 minutes of walking the streets my eyes were stinging and watering. Crossing the streets was even more of an adventure now that there are even more cars and motorbikes. It was amazing to watch youngsters doing it……We flew out at 6:30 so were able to view the city at night from above. It is a huge place.

Welcome back to Glen & Lois from the Middle East. Can’t wait to hear about your adventures and see all your pics. And also to Jo & Gid from their cruise. Will be so nice to see everyone and hear all the news. So, 1 more sleep and we’ll be sleeping in our own bed. What a pleasant thought!! And, wondering what on earth to eat because we won’t have access to all the wonderful fresh fruit and veggies. Anyway, it’s been another wonderful journey. As hard as it will be to leave Jennifer, Gone, Oliver and Nicky it will be nice to see Steve, Jenn and Isabelle and the rest of you too.

March 3, 2008

Hello from Mui Ne, Vietnam. Our trip is very quickly coming to an end! We arrived here around noon on Sunday March 2^nd and it didn’t take too long to remember why we wanted to come again. We’re staying at Bamboo Village Resort right on the South China Sea. We do have a bit of a view from our balcony and of course can hear the sound of waves crashing on the beach. Again there have been many changes in 2 years. There seems to be a lot of beach erosion especially along the areas we frequented before. And, there has been tons of development – so many more resorts and little shops and restaurants. We’re meeting up with friends from the cruise on Thursday who are staying about 15K away so will be interesting to see what that area is like. Other than that we plan to spend our time on the beach, on our deck or eating “huge prawns” at wonderful restaurants.

Guess we should go back in time to our RV Tonle Pandaw Mekong river cruise. It was absolutely fabulous. There were only 43 of us on board with something like 26 crew members. After talking to many of the passengers I know I’ll never get Tom on a regular cruise now. However we will do another Pandaw cruise in Burma in a couple of years. So, here’s something for all you travelers out there to think about. This cruise is 22 days traveling up the Chindwin and Irrawaddy Rivers to some very remote areas on the same size boat as we were just on. The cost is $10,000 - $12,000 per couple and the only other cost involved would be for laundry or wine. All local beer and liquor (rum, gin whiskey) is included. Of course there would be your flight too…………... The trip is in September as the rivers would be too dry at other times. So, just tuck that thought away till 2009 - 2010.

Everything about the ship was fantastic. The stateroom was great (little but not an issue) as was the washroom. Breakfast was buffet, hot and cold items and someone to do your eggs any way you wished. Lunch was also buffet – again hot and cold. The salads were to die for. Dinner was a planned menu – some nights with choices and some planned themes. We had special cocktails each evening on the sundeck – our last night it was “Zombies”. We met for 15 minutes before dinner each night to go over the itinerary for the next day. Our cabin was on the main deck and we had a small table and 2 deck chairs right outside our door (as did each cabin). The dining room was also on the main deck. Tables were set for 6 and you just sat wherever you wished. The next level up was also cabins, a massage room and the “saloon bar”. The top level was the sundeck. Our group was divided into 2 groups – about 18 German speaking and the rest English speaking. There were 2 other couples from Canada and both were from Bracebridge Ontario area - and neither knew the other was going, 4 from France, 2 from Belgium, 5 from Britain, 2 Aussies and the rest from the States. We had some amazingly interesting people too – some professionals and some very wealthy. We met wonderful people now have new places to go visit. The one British couple that we spent most time with (Peter and Jenny) are from Winchester and Tom and Peter kept talking about house swapping - we’ll see.

You never had to “dress” for dinner which was good cause you know Tom is only traveling in shorts! We had loads of excursions - sometimes once a day and often twice a day – nothing compulsory of course. At the end of an excursion you were handed a refreshing towel when you came back aboard and all the shoes wee collected for a washing. Visited a few different villages, temples, markets, fruit orchards, brick factory, fish farms, bonsai gardens, orphanages - stuff like that. Went for a rickshaw ride and had the opportunity to hold a python – NOT!. Visited one place to see how rice papers for spring rolls were made. The lady here is 75, had been doing this for 50 years and could make 800 in a day. Another day we visited a traditional teak Viet home and gardens. This home was obviously one belonging to someone with money – not your average family. The owner was home and welcomed us. She is 87 years old and very regal looking. Had a whole day in Phnom Penh. In the morning we visited their National Museum and the Royal Palace. No shorts were allowed so Tom had to wear my beach sarong. He looked really cute!! Then we went to a huge market. They spot the buses coming and jack up the prices. It’s pretty funny. In the afternoon we were supposed to go to the “Killing Fields” but that Khmer Rouge guy that is currently being tried was at the “Fields” defending what he had to do….. So, we went to the genocide museum Tuol Sleng (the former Khmer Rouge S21 prison). It’s pretty sick the atrocities committed by people against people. Apparently there were over 20000 prisoners held in this prison over “the terrible times” - as they refer to it – that lasted 3 years, 8 months, 20 days and only 7 survived. I sometimes think it’s necessary to see these places to know and understand what went on but man is it a downer.

We had a surprise evening our 3^rd day out. The captain moored the ship at a sandbar. Tables and chairs had been set out on the sand while we excursioned. They brought out music, lit a fire and we had cocktails and appies out under the stars. It was incredible. The crew did some Cambodian dancing and then they played some Western music and got the passengers up. It was so much fun. There were a few firecrackers to end the evening and then it was back on the boat for a late dinner. Also had a folkloric Cambodian dance performance one evening and a Vietnamese traditional cultural music performance another evening.

We had an afternoon time learning from one of the chefs how to make fresh spring rolls. I know I’ve made them a few times but this new way is even easier. We all watched and then took turns making them. This became our appie of the evening.

One of the best things about the excursions to the villages was talking to the children. We were never allowed to give money or presents to anyone as it wouldn’t be fair but we could make a donation through the Pandaw company. They do a lot of good work supporting orphanages and even whole villages. As we came into a village there would be a bunch of kids standing waiting for us to disembark. The little ones mostly wanted to hold your hand as you walked around but the older ones really wanted to talk. They all learn English in school but mostly only get to practice it when these tours come through. They were just so darn cute. They especially liked it when you showed them the picture you had taken of them – they laughed their heads off. And always everyone seemed so happy, content with their lot in life. Sort of made you want to rethink your own life – sort of…..

And of course there were the enjoyable times just sailing down the rivers and canals and seeing every day life happening. Everyone waved from their boats and the kids would all come running to the riverside yelling and waving. Some of the canals were so narrow you wondered how 2 boats could pass. It was amazing to watch the women row the boats, standing on the back with 2 oars/sticks and the way they moved. I can’t even manage that kind of balance standing on a sidewalk. We’d marvel at the homes on stilts so high. Can’t begin to imagine how things look in rainy season

We arrived in Saigon/Ho Chi Minh city on Saturday around 10:30. Made our way to the travel office and immediately booked our bus tickets to Mui Ne. Checked into our hotel and then wandered the streets. Man that is one busy hectic city. We were so disappointed that our main watering hole “The Allez Boo Bar” was closed. It was the perfect spot for people and traffic watching. Had lunch at “The Rex Hotel”, ran into a few people from the boat and then headed back to the hotel for a little rest. Walked around the streets in the evening and settled on an Indian restaurant for dinner. Had to catch the bus at 7:15AM so made it an early evening. And now, here we are in Mui Ne

February 23, 2008

Sorry, couldn't send all the pics I wanted and I think I might have a couple out of place but hope you enjoy what is here..............

February 20 - A new adventure begins. Up early for a 5:00 AM taxi ride to the airport. Now, let me tell you…………for any of you who watch Amazing Race…if the contestants ask the drivers to go faster I’m sure they’re not traveling in SE Asia. The drivers over here are insane – but I must admit it seems to work. Driving in Cambodia is another new event to overcome. Steering wheels are on either side of the car but at least they do drive on the same side of the road as us – for the most part. If you’re turning left onto a road then it seems you just drive down the left side as all the bikes and motorcycles scatter until there is a break for you to move over to the right side. I’ll soon need to take a valium before I walk out the door – haha!! Anyway, back to the flight. We were to leave at 8:00 AM but it was 9:00 before we got away. Seems one of the two take off strips needed to have work done on it (after only 2 years in operation??) It’s only a 35 minute flight to Siem Reap so it didn’t much matter. Got through immigration no problem and the visas were only $20.00 each. Got a cab to the hotel - the Borei Angkor Hotel - for $5.00. Our hotel room was a pleasant surprise. Apparently they were fully booked with tour groups so upgraded us to a small suite. It’s very lovely – a lot of wood. Has a lovely large balcony too. Our drivers name was Ranet and he is now our driver for sightseeing for the rest of our trip – until the 23^rd. Really nice young fellow, speaks English very well and isn’t a crazy driver. He came back to the hotel at 2:00 PM, I’d made a list of what I felt was important to see and we went from there. We’re paying him $85 for 2 full days off driving us around. He then took us to a restaurant to make a reservation for the evening and then dropped us off at the old market. We just can’t get over the changes here in 4 years. Of course there are way more tourists and therefore tons more hotels. The old market had previously been mainly for the Cambodian people. Now that area has become tourist mecca with bars and restaurants lining the streets. The old market caters to the tourists and has loads of mass produced trinkets and T-shirts so that was a little disappointing. We then walked back to the hotel, had a rest before going out for dinner at 7:00PM.

We went to a buffet dinner with an Aspara show of Cambodian Classical dance. The whole thing was very well done. We then took a tuk-tuk (motorcycle pulling a cart), driven by a very young lad home had a beer and went to bed.

February 21 – Another early start. Up at 5:30, breakfast at 6:00 and Ranet picked us up at 7:00. The breakfast here is wonderful – a huge buffet including fresh waffles and eggs any way you wish as you wait. Unfortunately these countries have no idea about herbal tea so I have to settle for Lipton yellow label tea with lime. And then we were off and running. I’ll only bore you with a brief description of all the temples we visited – taken from a guide – so that I can include pictures more easily. We’re saving Angkor Wat for the end though………….. Walking around all these ruins gives me a strange sense of being in the middle of an Indiana Jones movie. It’s all so surreal!

1) Banteay Kdei – Constructed in the late 12^th century atop a pre existing 10^th century site. The site was extensively cleared in 1920 – 1922 but stands of tall trees remain, some still attached to portions of the building.

2) Ta Phrom – For many the highlight of a visit to Angkor, this jungle covered site really is straight out of a Lara Croft (Angelina Jolie) movie. In some places the trees are destroying the monument and in others, they’re all that hold it together. It was the centre piece of a town of over 10,000 and was an active Buddhist monastery

3) Banteay Srei – Undoubtedly Angkor’s most beautiful temple. It was consecrated in 967, is one of the smallest temples and built of soft pink sandstone. The name translates to Citadel of Women and some believe it was actually built by a woman as no man could have created something so beautiful and with so fine a hand with all its exceptional carvings. The French came across the site in 1914 and it was totally covered by forest and partly buried by the earth.

4) Preah Khan – Completed in 1191 it was thought to have been a religious university home to in excess of 1000 teachers. Some of the “asparas” (celestial dancers) remain in excellent condition

5) The Bayon – One of the most written about and most photographed of Angkor’s monuments, it is also one of the most unusual in the world. Originally it was comprised of 54 (or 47) towers each of which supported 4 faces looking north, south, east and west but only 37 remain standing. The site was cleared in 1911-1913 and it was thought that it was only a matter of time before it would be completely ruined. There is a complete restoration of the library going on now

We were last at Angkor Wat in 2004 but only saw #2 and #5 of today’s visits at that time. The changes in those 4 years are amazing. While there is more restoration completed and going on there seems also to be more blocks falling. It will be interesting to compare our pictures when we get back. We came back to the hotel around 3:00 and called it a day. Had a shower, grabbed a beer and a sandwich and downloaded the camera. Have quite a bit of work ahead of us as we took 270 pics today – big clean up needs to happen. Will get to bed early tonight in preparation for another day of temples tomorrow.

February 22 – Well, had a bit of a rough night. Got up at 2:00AM and took some zithromax and that seemed to do the trick. My stomach is a little queasy but I was able to get through my temple day. We had a later start at 9:00 AM which is good in some ways but not so good in others. Today was so hot and our last two hours at Angkor Wat was really tiring. Sure was glad we’d already seen it. Again the changes were quite something. Where we had taken our lives in our hands 4 years ago climbing some of the stairways, they now either simply don’t let you up or they have new wooden stairways in place. And of course some of the reconstruction that has been completed is amazing. I can’t imagine what an undertaking it must be to put this gigantic structures back together. Our day started off with the Roulos Group of 3 smaller temples, much smaller than than Angkor and therefore fewer tourists which was good for us.

1) Preah Ko – This small temple was built in 880 and what remains are 6 small brick towers with a few out buildings in varying states of ruin. The main points of interest are the lime mortar lintels and other decorative work that was affixed to the the brick towers. And, they were little bricks, not big blocks.

2) Lolei – This temple - built in 893 - actually sits atop an island. Today the water has been drained for rice cultivation but the island still hosts Lolei and an active Wat. Only 4 brick towers remain and their highlights are again the lintels and the door jams.

3) Bakong – Built in 881, before its reconstruction started in 1937 it was a pile of rubble atop a small hill. It took 7 years to rebuild and the results are impressive. There were 5 levels to climb and the view was quite impressive. There were still some elephants on the corners and even the harness details were still visible.

4) Angkor Wat – “The masterpiece of an unknown Michelangelo”. It is the largest religious monument in the world and considered the ultimate example of Khmer architecture. It was built between 1113-1150 and dedicated to Vishnu – the Hindu god. The outer walls stretch 1.5K east and west and 1.3K north and south and are surrounded by a beautiful moat 200 meters wide. The inner walls display some of the most beautiful carvings telling the tale of Angkor Wat in bas-reliefs.

Ranet brought us home at about 3:30 and we called it a day. That was enough temples for way more than two days. I’m so glad we did it though. I found it all very intriguing. One thing that did come to mind though was that perhaps I should have my own camera. Not that I’m a good photographer – it’s just that perhaps I see something in a different way than Tom. As for Siem Reap proper, I really don’t care for it. It’s growing way too fast and not always improving. I bought a couple of little things here. I tried once to haggle the price but I’m just not comfortable doing that especially when I know how little they have. Oh well, we had some very interesting conversations with our driver Ranet and learned a little bit about how life is lived here.

Decided after a shower and nap just to have dinner here at our hotel. They had quite an extensive buffet happening. And, we even ordered a bottle of wine!! For me the best part of dinner were the salads. They were amazing – so very different. One with slices of marinated eggplant, another - mango, carrot smoked fish, one with asparagus, crumbled blue cheese and cashews. The main courses included a beef dish, chicken dish, pork tenderloin stuffed with cheese, steamed fish and an assortment of vegetable dishes. For dessert numerous fruits, cakes and then some very strange looking concoctions.

February 23 – Had a sleep in – hooray! After breakfast got everything packed up and then spent some time on this blog and working on pictures. We have so many. It’s really hard to choose just a couple for the blog. Will soon make our way over to the Angkor Century Hotel to meet up with the group for our Mekong River Cruise. Hopefully will get this sent off before we go.

Hope everyone is keeping well.

February 19, 2008

Good day all. Have just finished cleaning this apartment, doing laundry and getting packed for our trip to Cambodia and Vietnam. We fly out tomorrow morning at 8:00 AM so will leave from here at 5:30. Finally got my temple days under my belt. I know a lot of people talk about getting “templed” out but we really haven’t seen many and I was sort of missing that.

February 14 – Started the day by going to the boy’s school to take part in Nick’s birthday. We made “cup cakes” the night before and I got to bring them in. First met with Jennifer and managed to get a few pics of her and her students and then we went to Nick’s class and spent some time singing, eating and watching how their day unfolds. Seeing as how it was Valnetines day they (3 kids) were already in the midst of eating some chocolate cake brought in by one of the other teachers. Of course their teacher also had a big chocolate heart for them. To say Nick was a little wound up when he got home would be putting it mildly. Because Jennifer had school we decided to put off the actual birthday party until Saturday. That way we could also celebrate Oliver’s birthday at the same time.

Got away from the school by 10:00 AM and headed out for “templing”. There is one temple that can be seen from the River that has always intrigued me. You have to take a cross river ferry to get there though. It’s called Wat Arun and is known as the Temple of Dawn. It’s really quite fascinating, the steeple looks like a corn cob adorned with colorful floral murals made of glazed porcelain. It was constructed in the first half of the 19^th century under Rama II and this site is where the king established his palace before relocating to Bangkok. You can climb stairways to the upper levels which we did of course to get quite a view of Bangkok. All these temples have their “guardians of the gates” which really seem quite comical looking at times. I need to investigate the history of them a bit more. After time spent there we headed back across river. Stopped for lunch at a little spot along the street and had a mixed fruit shake – no salt or sugar – and fried rice with chicken and egg. It was really nummy. Tom had a noodle dish with veggies and shrimp in tamarind sauce and enjoyed it too. This place was more like some of our old haunts in Chiang Mia.

Next we headed to the Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew (Temple
of the Emerald Buddha). The temple was closed for a private ceremony to do with the deceased Princess so seeing as we spent quite a bit of time here in 2000 we decided we would move on to Wat Pho (Temple of the Reclining Buddha) We had also been here in 2000 and not much has changed except the crowds are larger. This temple is supposedly the oldest (from the 16^th century) and largest Wat in Bangkok. In the early 1800’s it was an open university and today it is the national headquarters for the teaching and the preservation of traditional Thai medicine including Thai massage. It also has the largest collection of Buddha images (394 gilded images) and the longest reclining Buddha (46m long and 15m high) in Thailand. This Buddha is finished in gold leaf and mother-of-pearl inlay adorns the eyes and the feet. It’s a pretty amazing sight. There are tons of little gardens and figures within the grounds providing shade, greenery and quirky decorations inherited from China. Some of the figures are giant size, carved out of granite, resembling Marco Polo and other political figures. They were transported aboard Chinese junks as ballast. You can spend hours at some of these temples. By 3:30 we were getting hot and tired so headed to Tha Tien pier to make our way home.

February 15 – Another day for exploring……There are some specific places I wanted to go but we also came across a couple of unexpected things that really made the day. Our goal was to get to Wat Saket (The Golden Mount). So we walked, sky trained, and river taxied to Tha Chang pier. As we walked along the street we came across an intersection with a huge Elephant statue. It was beautiful but I have no idea what it was about. Across the road we were heading to Lak Meuang - the City Pillar Shrine. A wooden pillar was erected by Rama I in 1782 to represent the founding of a new capitol. The pillar is endowed with a spirit that is considered to be the city’s guardian. We watched people purchasing scarves to wrap around pillars that were then taken off by another gentleman and apparently resold. Quite a business……

Next store to this place was the Ministry of Defence. The building itself is
beautiful and surrounded by cannons. Of course at one time it was a Palace for some royal family member. There are actually five what were minor palaces in this compound. Tom went to walk up close and personal to some cannons and was told quite clearly in Thai to vamoose. From there we walked along “temple goods” street to the Sao Ching-Cha (the giant swing). The giant swing was just that. Apparently at one time festival participants swung in ever heightening arcs in an effort to reach a bag of gold suspended from a 15m pole and many died trying. In 1932 the Brahmans power was terminated and the festival was discontinued.

Temple goods street was interesting. Here you can purchase - I suppose for donation to a temple – bells, Buddha images and monk images, monk robes, alms bowls whatever you might need.Across the road from the swing was Wat Suthat. It was a very peaceful little spot. This temple is special for its association with Brahman priests. These priests perform The Ploughing Ceremony in May and religious rites at 2 Hindu shrines nearby. From there we walked along the Buddhist bell street and the wooden door street – and they sold exactly that. Our final stop was Wat Sakhet aka The Golden Mount. We climbed 251 winding steps through and around the artificial hill to reach the top. The hill was created when a temple under construction by Rama III collapsed. Rama IV built another temple atop of the mud and brick hill. Then Rama V added to the structure and then in WWII concrete walls were added to prevent the hill from eroding. There are burial walls along the way but all the writing is in Thai so you can't even understand dates. This being 2008 is 2551 in Thailand. Again the views from the top are outstanding. I imagine some of these temples are absolutely stunning to see in the evening. From here we made our way back to Chinatown. We thought it was crazy during the Chinese New Year but that was nothing compared to this day. The crowds were something else. You get on these little lane ways and are competing with people, motorbikes, carts and tuk-tuk’s to get down the alley. Absolutely anything and everything is for sale. We stopped along here for a snack at Hong Kong Noodles then made our way to the subway station and home.

February 16 – Got up early this morning to decorate a birthday cake for the boys that we’d made the previous evening in Jennifer’s toaster oven. Jennifer, Gone and boys came up around 10:30 and we did the birthday thing for both boys. Jennifer left for school and we had the boys as they went crazy with their remote control cars and their new Spiderman video game. The batteries were dead within a half hour and the boys were video game crazy in about the same amount of time. Bet Jenn was glad she had to go to school. For dinner we all went to the Great American Rib restaurant. Jennifer and I shared a BBQ chicken salad in a huge taco shell and a pulled pork sandwich. Tom and Gone had a platter with ribs, chicken, pulled pork and tenderloin and corn, onion rings, bowls of baked beans, potato salad and coleslaw. The boys had fish and chips and ice cream. And of course we had pitchers of beer. It was more expensive than usual Thai restaurants but at $75 that’s probably still cheaper than in Canada. There was a bit of a playground for the boys to entertain themselves and a separate smoking area. Thailand has just banned smoking in all entertainment venues……… Will be interesting to see if they follow through with the fines etc. which are quite hefty.

February 17 – A mixed day. The plan was to go to Lumpini Park and Suan Lum night Bazaar. We had already been to the park but on a “dead” day and there was supposed to be some kite flying going on. Well, the heavens opened up and there went that plan. Then we decided we’d all go to the shoe to see “Enchanted”. Jenn and family took a taxi and Tom and I walked and sky trained to Siam Paragon where we meet at the theatre floor. We had made a tentative reservation on the phone based on the online info. Well, seems that was incorrect info and the movie was full – even for the next two showings. We were just going to wander around for awhile (boring) so I said maybe we should just go to Lumpini cause the rain had stopped. Off we went and what a wonderful time we had. The park was packed. There were groups of a hundred people scattered throughout the park doing aerobics, big speakers blasting out tunes to exercise to and a leader on a stage showing all the moves. Tons of joggers doing their thing. Then as we approached this green area, so many people were sitting in chairs and on mats on the ground with picnic baskets at hand and glasses of wine and beer being enjoyed. There were some musicians in a bandshell seemingly getting ready to play. Jenn and family headed off and Tom and I hung around. Well I’m so glad we did as it was the Bangkok Symphony orchestra. Apparently they practice on Sunday evenings in the park. There were 3 young singers making an appearance too. It was awesome. They played classical, show tunes, Thai music and modern music. Because we were originally just going to the movies I had told Tom not to bother with the camera so I was a little pissed at myself about that. After about an hour Jenn called to see where we were as they had found the beer garden at Suan Lum. We hated to leave but off we went. This beer garden was immense. Tom says the size of 4 hockey arenas but I’d say 2, maybe 3. So we stayed there for abit, drank some beer, ate some snacks listened to some more music and watched some dancers – rock stuff. The kids loved that part. By the time we thought of walking around the bazaar it was 8:30 so off we headed home. Again the kids in a taxi and us walking and skytraining and taking the 6 Baht red bus. It actually was an amazing day.

February 18 – Our friends Harvey and Lee were back in Bangkok from their 30 day Indochine trip. Spending a couple of days here before heading back to Canada on the 20^th. We met them at Siam Paragon – one of the major shopping centres – to have lunch and hear about their trip. It sounds like they really enjoyed it and traveled with a great group of people. They would have even been prepared to go on had there been another country. I find it so hard to really describe what SE Asia is like and to explain my feelings about it so I’m really happy when I’ve recommended something so strongly and people come away understanding why we enjoy this part of the world so much. We had a lovely lunch and then home again. Gone cooked us a lovely supper of vegetables with chicken and cashews and a tom yum soup.

So now here we are heading off on another adventure which I’m really looking forward to. Organizing it all has been a little crazy but that’s OK. I should be able to write from Siem Reap in Cambodia but once we’re on board the ship I ‘m thinking we’ll be incommunicado. Hope everyone is well. Take care all.