Thailand

Sticker in our first van, symbols are interesting...

This post covers the first country in our 5 country, 19 day southeast Asia tour.  This part will cover travel to Asia and through Thailand.  There were 4 planes (3 Singapore Air to get to Thailand and one Thai Air in Thailand) on this leg.  There were 2 boats and three hotels.  There will be four more posts for each of the other four countries we visited. (Apologies for the format, I had to give up the fight)

December 15 and 16
These were travel days. We flew overnight from Houston to Manchester and then overnight again from Manchester to Singapore. The first flight was close to 9 hours and the second close to 13 hours.  After reaching beautiful Singapore, we had to get on one more flight to Bangkok.  It was a lot of time flying. None of us slept well so we were pretty beat.  At the end of the long flights though we reached Sidney’s 7th continent. 

December 17

We arrived in Bangkok at around noon Bangkok time and 13 hours ahead of Houston time.  Bangkok is a city of 10 million people and 8 million cars. The roads were not designed for 8 million cars and traffic was awful. Lights are red for a long time in what seems to be the wrong direction causing long back ups.   When we have been in any other country with that bad of traffic, drivers would be laying on their horns. However our driver honked his horn only twice in three days in Bangkok.  

The Thai people are pretty relaxed and extremely pleasant to everyone.  When we were driving in the mountains later in the trip the driver used his horn more as a communication tool to people about to pull out in front of him or around very sharp corners with no visibility.  All of our vans had a sticker indicating no Durian fruit was allowed.  Durian is a very smelly and offensive fruit.  Also another observation is that the power poles are made of concrete. I do not think I have seen that anywhere else. 

After we dropped our bags off we went to eat near by at Coffee Beans by Dao.  We ate pepper and garlic pork, pad Thai with crunchy noodles (amazing) and spring rolls. We also had really, really good iced lattes.  After the late lunch my friend went to his room and fell asleep. Sidney and I went to a massage place and I got a 30 minute leg massage for $10.  Sidney I went back to the room and as hard as I tried to stay awake until 8 pm, I only made it to 7:30.  






December 18

The hotel we stayed at, the AETAS Bangkok had the best breakfast. There was sushi and boiled rice (like a rice soup), a variety of noodle and rice dishes, an egg station, many types of pastries and salads, bacon, pancakes and waffles. It was very good and they also had good coffee. 

After breakfast we got on our van to go to where we boarded a small boat for the Damnoen Saduak floating market.  On the way we saw that what we thought were rice paddies when we flew in, but they were actually salt flats.  Sea water is piped in to the flats and allowed to evaporate. This is repeated several times before the salt is collected to get cleaner salt.  Before we got to the market we stopped and got fresh coconuts.  Coconuts are a major export from Thailand to other Asian countries and other continents. We got both fresh and cooked coconuts.  We drank the water from them and ate some of the meat.  We liked the fresh coconuts better. 



















The market is in the canals and before we went to the actual market we went through the canals of the residential areas.  There was wide variation of living conditions.  Some people appeared to live quite well and some lived in falling down shacks.  Most of the people who live along the canals work at the market.  They either own a boat for moving people around, sell cooked or frozen goods from a boat or have a stall in the land market to sell food or wares.  There seems to be a desire by the boat owners to have the biggest engine.  They are very loud and have very long shafts from the engine to propeller.  The bows of the boats have flowers on and hanging from them.  The vans have flowers hanging on the mirrors.  These are all to honor the Buddha.  

















You can buy anything from the boats or in the small market on land near the canals.  There are many fruits and vegetables as well as things for tourists of course. I bought a pair of really comfortable pants and spoons for rice made from palm wood. Sidney bought some small elephant key chains for friends. We also got to see wild water monitors which was totally cool. They live in and along the canals. 

After the market we went to lunch in Kanchanburi along the river Kwai Yai River before visiting the famous bridge.   The storied history of the bridge was made famous by the book and movie Bridge Over the River Kwai.  Lunch there was garlic chicken, red curry pork, and cashew chicken.  The curry pork and garlic chicken were our favorites.  

We the walked over the bridge, which is partially the original bridge. It was bombed by the Allies during WWII and the pilings still bear the scars of the bombs.  The curved sections are original and the rest are war reparations from Japan.  After the bridge, we went to the Thailand-Burma Railway Center, a museum about the bridge and it’s construction.  The railway is known as the death railway.  It was a 258 mile long railway from Ban Pong Thailand to Thanbyuzayat Burma and built by Japan to move supplies and equipment from ports in Thailand to Burma.    

The museum is well done and honors those POWs and conscripted Thai people who died during not just the construction of the bridge, but the entire rail system.  At least 100,000 people died, 90,000 civilians and 12,000 prisoners, some due to accidents with dynamite or accidental impact from Allied bombing.  But most died due to the incredibly hard and dangerous work and unfathomable living conditions.  The majority of the POWs were British. Others were from Australia, France and other Allied nations. There were also a few Americans.  The living conditions were unbelievably harsh, especially in the rainy season. Malaria, thirst, and starvation took many men.  It was the first of many humbling experiences of the trip. 

After the museum we walked through the cemetery where many of the remains are now after having been moved from some of the original small cemeteries. There are almost 7000 graves in this cemetery.   Many more men are still buried in the jungle or in smaller cemeteries near to where some of the camps were.  The cremated remains from 300 men are there also.  The whole thing was so very humbling.  



On the way back to Bangkok we stopped briefly at Prasat Muang Sing Historical Park where remains of two Khmer temples from the 13th and 14th centuries are protected.  These were Hindu temples.  It was very beautiful at sunset.  

Thailand’s King is Rama 10.  Rama 1 reigned in 1782 to 1809.  Rama 9 was a beloved king who died in 2016.  He reigned from 1946 until 2016, one of the longest reigning monarchs.  

After all of the tours, we had what was supposed to be a three hour drive back to Bangkok.  That turned into a 5 hour drive due to traffic. We sat in one place at a light for 20 minutes or more.  Once we got to the hotel, we were tired and hungry and just went next door to get some ok pizza.  Then we passed out.


December 19
We stayed in Bangkok today up until we went to the airport to catch a plane to Chang Rai.  We started the morning walking through the temple at Wat Arun.  It was a beautiful Buddhist temple named after the Hindu god Aruna.  The central prang is covered in porcelain.  Other parts of the temp,e are adorned with broken porcelain and shells.  The temples have naccas which look like dragons.  Gold is also used frequently, like on the Reclining Buddha.  
After that temple we took a boat ride through the canals.  This included going from the Chao Phraya river to the canals and back through locks.  We stopped to get Thai ice tea too.  Tai iced tea is very sweet and was quite nice after being so hot, even in the boat.  We walked through the fruit and vegetable and flower market.  I have never seen so many marigolds before.  They are used exclusively for arrangements for Buddha.  Flowers are not used to decorate homes, only to honor the Buddha.  After that we went to see several more temples including the 150 foot long reclining Buddha at Wat Pho.   This temple is the first of the first class royal temples.  Some of Rama 1’s ashes are enshrined at this temple.  The reclining Buddha is very honored and we received a blessing from a monk there.  All of the donations by the people are used to maintain and improve or build new temples.  Wat Pho also houses a school for Thai massage and all around are diagrams showing parts of Thai massage teachings. 


Temples are both religious locations and places monks live.  They are also a central place in the community for meetings and activities.  They were always busy when we visited, with both tourists and locals. 






After lunch of now typical Thai food we went to Wat Phra, also known as Temple of the Emerald Buddha.  It is the most sacred temple in Thailand and is the historic center of Thailand.  It is actually very small, only 26 inches tall.  Only the Thai king and crown prince may touch this Buddha.  The king changes the cloak on the Buddha three time a year with each cloak representing a season.  The doors in the temples are guarded by a pair of mythical giants called yakshis. There are paintings and murals and metal covered things everywhere.  Most kings have added their own addition to the temple.  One other well known part of the temple grounds is the gold colored stupa enshrining the ashes of Buddha. Touching the stupa is supposed to bring luck and good fortune. 



We also walked around the extremely crowded and beautiful grand palace.  The Grand Palace is a combination of European design with Thai touches. For example the main palace building looks European until you look at the roof.  This palace is not lived in because it is too small.  It is used only when the king visits. 

After all of that we got on a flight to Chang Rai.  There are beautiful orchids in every airport we have been to yet, from the smallest to the largest.  The hotel we stayed at was a little ways from town so we ate in our room.  We had a chicken sandwich and fries. After the constant noise and crowd of Bangkok, we were grateful for the peace and quiet of both the smaller town, slightly cooler climate, and very peaceful hotel.  We sat out on the patio of the room overlooking a quiet courtyard and pool and just enjoyed the peace. 

December 20


















Breakfast was pretty good and after breakfast we headed for the hills.  We spent the day in the mountains on the border with Myanmar.  We first stopped at several villages including the Long Neck Karen Village.  The women here wear rings on their necks making them longer.  From the time the girls are 5 until they are 21, a ring is added each year to their neck.  These people relocated from the Thai Myanmar border due to unrest.  They live in houses made of bamboo and uses bamboo for everything.  They also have to cook everything outside since the house is made of bamboo.  The visit was a little uncomfortable because of the treatment of women but also the limitation of the people in Thailand. 














We also stopped near the Myanmar border higher up close to the top of Doi Mae Salong.  Doi means mountain. Wat means town in Thai.  Sidney and I ate a dried bamboo worm while we were in the village.  It was ok. Like a dried pea texture but with really no flavor.   We went up on the highest peak on the border, Doi Tung.  We also visited a few other tribal villages.  We also saw a plant that grows a fruit called nipple fruit.  The day was full of beautiful views, impacted by smoke from fires to clear land however.  





We learned about rice farming and were able to see paddies in various states of growth from just seeded to harvested.  We saw corn growing on super steep hills.  We saw a wide variety of fruits growing including jack fruit (which we tried and I think it tastes like cantaloupe), loofah, papaya, guava, eggplant, and others.  We played with a plant that closes in its leaves when you touch it. We also saw rubber trees and put a small cut in one to see the sap that comes out and will be turned into rubber.  We also saw the most beautiful and large poinsettias.  They are almost and annoyance here because they get so big. 




The area we were is part of what CIA called the Golden a triangle where Myanmar, Thailand and Laos meet at the confluence of the Mekong and Ruak rivers. It was on of the largest opium producing areas in the world since the 1950’s.  Until Afghanistan became the largest producer more recently, this area was the largest. 











We stopped at a tea plantation and looked at the tea bushes to learn about the harvesting and processing of tea.  We tasted several varieties of Obulong tea, with a variety not being different tea plants, but different processing.  We also tried two teas made from two different flowers.  The first was made from a small white flower.  The second is made from the outside petals of a white flower but the outside petals are red.  We actually tried the red flower fresh as well and they were pleasantly tart.  Both flowers make a pleasant caffeine free tea.  






















We went to the Princess Mother’s flower garden up in the mountains. The mother of the prior king conceived of and had built a truly beautiful flower garden.  It was intended to help divert opioid production.  It also was intended to allow local people who cannot travel overseas an opportunity to enjoy more temperate flowers.  It has a Swiss inspired design because she loved Switzerland.  The garden is just below the Doi Tung temple.  It provides work for hundreds of local villagers who maintain the gardens.  There are many beautiful orchids on display here. One of the varietals is the Lady’s Slipper  orchid. 


On the drive to Chiang Khong after visiting the flower garden, we were able to see the remnants of the original capital and city before the capital was moved to Bangkok.  We spent the night in Chiang Khong.  Our rooms overlooked the Mekong River.  Dinner of spaghetti with mushrooms and ham, egg rolls, and very very spicy basil chilly pork.

Barcelona

Tuesday June 5

We drove to Houston after school and work.  Sidney is missing two days of school.  The last day plus an extra day to make up for the day school was cancelled while we were in Antarctica.  We spent the night at a hotel where we could leave our car while we were gone and we could get a shuttle to the airport.  It was a very good deal, only a few dollars more than just spending the night.  However, upon our arrival I was informed we had no reservation.  As it turned out, the reservation was for the next night.  The very nice person at the desk got us straightened out and we got a barely adequate nights sleep before a very early morning. 

Snail in the grocer

Barcelona Gas Station

Wednesday June 6

As I said, it was a very early flight after not much sleep.  We got to the airport and checked in.  This was the first time I ever tried to board the wrong plane.  I just got in the first line available but it wasn’t the line for our flight.  Oops.  Once we boarded we were both fast asleep most of the way to New York.  

We did arrive safely to New York and had to take a shuttle from La Guardia to JFK (or maybe it was the reverse....).  We had tons of time and had slept some on the plane so we

actually enjoyed the ride.  While we were picking up other passengers for the shuttle at the first airport we saw the coolest little robot.  I think it was part of security.  Later that evening we boarded the longer flight to Barcelona. 

Thursday June 7

Conure Apartment

We arrived in Barcelona at the same time as our friends, Kevin, Dawn and William.  We were able to hire a private van from the airport for the five of us. Our friend Aaron was arriving later so Sidney and I went exploring after we checked in.  We had a great time wandering around.  We walked down to the ocean, played in a park, and just took in the sites. Barcelona is a lovely sitting. We wandered into shops on the walking street.  We love to look at local foods and we went into an organic grocery.  They had fun stuff including a rather larger snail wandering around on the broccoli. Sidney felt that he needed to be rescued so she took him outside to a tiny patch of grass.  We got a great giggle out of that.  When Aaron arrived he came to the hotel on public transportation. Very brave for a guy who had never been to Europe.  We met him at the metro stop and walked to the hotel with him.   We all got together dinner later which was the first time Aaron and Kevin’s, Dawn and William met.  When we met for dinner I discovered Aaron didn’t know how to turn on. The electricity in his room. I had forgotten to tell him that you have to put your key card in a slot to turn on the power in your room.  I got a good giggle but also felt bad. 

There are lots of dogs in Barcelona and although not are all on leashes we don’t think we saw a stray.  They all seemed well fed and loved. I am thinking there are strong spay and neuter laws. 

I don’t entirely remember what we had for dinner but we ate outside on the walking street.  We were starting to turn into zombies since leaving so early the previous morning.  After dinner we crashed. 

Friday June 8

On Friday morning we went to a shop for breakfast and ordered cake thinking it was like coffee cake. It wasn’t, it was cake.  It was good but sweet. The coffee was amazing.  

Our first real adventure and tourist destination was Sagrada Familia.  You had to buy tickets well in advance and we did so on line.  I however made another mistake and had purchased tickets for the previous day.  After much, a lot much, consternation, and apologies on my part to Aaron and Sidney, I was able to purchase more tickets to enter just an hour after Kevin, Dawn and William. 

Sagrada Familia is a large unfinished Roman Catholic Church designed by architect Antoni Gaudi. Groundbreaking was in 1882 and it should be finished in 2032. It will have 18 spires.  Because the project is funded solely on private donations it has progressed in fits and spurts and impacted by wars.  The church is very unique with unending character and meaning behind every amazing detail.

With the delay in getting into the church, the time fir the tour and free exploring, and the warm temperatures, I was at a near crash when we left to find lunch. I was way past hungry to the point of nearly passed out. 

After we had lunch we took the hop on hop off tour. We saw wild conures in the trees, much of Barcelona and stopped at Park Güell.  It’s a lovely active park with gardens and architectural elements and also designed by Gaudi.  It’s filled with colorful mosaic walls and animals.  It was lovely to walk through although steep.

After a short rest, we went to dinner of tapas and sangria. My friend Kevin got tricked into buying a dozen roses by a street vendor so he started giving them out to random ladies who walked by much to his wife’s chagrin.  It was very entertaining.  Some ladies were gracious and easily excepted the rose.  Others crossed to the other side of the walkway.  After a fun evening of talking, catching up and getting to know each other we retired to get some sleep. 

Saturday June 9

We made our way to the cruise port and boarded the ship. Being that we had been on the sister ship and Aron hadn’t, we spent a lot of time dragging him around from the top to the bottom and end to end.  It was fun to be back on the ship.  We also got settled and had our lifeboat drill before getting dressed for dinner.  

We lucked out and had our first dinner of seven nights at Animators Palate, our favorite restaurant.  We had a table with just the six of us but there were nice families around us that were fun to talk to and watch their kids. 

After dinner we went to a Disney Cruise original musical, Twice Charmed.  The musical is a twist on Cinderella and a little two complicated to try to explain.  It was very good though. 

Sunday June 10

Sunday was a day at sea to just relax and enjoy the amenities of the ship.   It also was a chance to rest before a busy four days although we didn’t know it.  

I started the day at an indoor cycle class.  I struggled at the class for a few reasons.  One it was hot and humid and second even the slightest movement of the boat gave me vertigo.  Finally I was uncomfortably close to my neighbors and slightly nauseated.  It wiped me out. 

However I did get a break later with a three hour spa, massage and facial.  Such things make me almost go into a comma.  After dinner at the restaurant themed from Rapunzel, we went to a shoe called Junk.  It was excellent.  The instruments were all junk and the artists were very entertaining.