Thailand Adventure--Day 9

This morning after our usual hotel buffet breakfast, we headed off to visit The Golden Triangle, Myanmar (Burma), Laos and to cruise the Mekong River.

 

We arrived in Maesai (may-sigh) a border village with Burma and the northern most point in Thailand. Here most of our group spent about an hour and a half on the Burmese side of the border. We elected not to after the hassle we went through planning to go.

Months before this trip we were told by the tour company that a visa would be required to cross into Burma. We took it upon ourselves to send our passports off to the Myanmar (Burmese) embassy to have the visa put in our passport. It cost us nearly $100 to have that done and when the passports finally (another long story) the visas were marked with an expiration date that was before  we would arrive. We tried everything we could to get them to change the date but they insisted we would have to resubmit the paperwork. Another $100! Sound like a racket? We thought so too. So we didn't do it.

Fast forward now to the day our group was to actually go into Burma. Our guide, Anil, tells us he will get us across the border, that we don't need any visas. Only the equivalent of about $40 each. That was to bribe the border guards to basically turn a blind eye. Sound like a racket? We thought so too. So we didn't go.

So while the rest of the group crossed the border and wandered the small town just across, we wandered the small town on the Thai side. Sad, but we just weren't willing to fill the pockets of these crooks. Especially for a one hour visit.  

The group finally back together, we traveled about a half hour along the still under construction Asian Super Highway. This highway is supposed to connect several of the countries in this region making transportation much easier and faster.  

We stopped at the Opium Museum. It chronicles the development of this drug in the Golden Triangle region of Thailand, Burma, Laos and Vietnam. It is an incredible building and some of the exhibits are interesting, but it is heavily propagandistic, praising the queen mother for her efforts to change the drug problems of Thailand and for building this museum. The building is way over the top in its construction including a tunnel through a mountain leading from the entry building to the museum itself. The tunnel must be 300 yards long and does nothing to further the story trying to be told.

Back on the bus we headed to small Mekong River town where we had lunch and then headed down to the river for a ride on a modified long tail. This boat was much more accessible to passengers than our experience at the Floating Market or the trip up the Kwai River. We ran up stream about 15 minutes where we crossed the Burmese side of the river. Hey, we made it into Burma after all! We sat off a sand bar watching Burmese fisherman net fishing, up to their waists in water and flinging the circular nets used the world over. 

Then we let the current turn us downstream and we accelerated toward the opposite bank. About a 10 minute run and we turned back upstream and came along side a dock on the opposite shore. Stepping out of the boat, we walked into the Laos village of Done Xao. Nothing much more than a tourist spot with lots of street vendors. There were no cars or traffic of any kind. A few very dirty children begged for Baht but a firm "no" would usually scatter them.

The funniest place was a shop Anil took us into where we were invited to taste flavored whiskies.  It was what they were flavored with that was so outrageous. Soaking in one of the jars was a cobra. Another held a tiger's penis, another frogs, you get the idea. Each is said to help a certain ailment. The men were encouraged to sample the booze marinating the tiger penis. I'll try pretty much anything so I tossed back a shot glass full of  that. It didn't taste bad, it just wasn't good whiskey and the added critter parts only added another odd layer of flavor that didn't improve it at all. It was a genuine novelty that's for sure. We did not buy a souvenir bottle.

A quick cruise across the Mekong, all of about a 1/4 mile across and we disembarked back in Thailand. We had a few minutes to wander through the shops in the riverside village and then re-boarded our bus for the drive back to the hotel. Along the way we drove past fields of tobacco, the number one source of income for the government which has a monopoly on this crop in Thailand.

We made an unexpected stop when Anil spotted a celebration going by on the other side of the road. We made a U-turn and pulled up beside a line of cars and trucks all of which were decorated with plastic trees covered with money, useful household items, all sorts of things. Very loud Thai music poured out of many vehicles which were also loaded with passengers all waving and celebrating. Neighbors were out on the street drinking and dancing. They shared their bottles of whiskey pouring a shot in a glass and encouraging even us to toss back a drink. When we did they all cheered and laughed. There were dozens of vehicles all headed to a local temple with their gifts.  Anil explained that this is a rare opportunity to see a part of Thai life few outsiders get to see. What a treat to be a part of it.

Back at the hotel we headed for the pool and then spent a quiet evening in our room.

We visit two hill tribes tomorrow, something I have been looking forward to. We also head to Chiang mai, our last base of operations before returning to Bangkok.

Thailand Adventure--Day 8

Early to bed and early to rise. Our alarm went off at 6:15. We dressed

and headed to the hotel breakfast buffet. Back on the bus and away we went again. We were headed into the northern most regions of Thailand and as we did the landscape began to change dramatically. From the lowlands we began to climb into the mountains where thick groves of teak grew. Much of the Thai teak was deforested after years of unregulated logging. The wood was sent abroad and used in the furniture and boating industries. My own boat has a lot of teak embellishments which most likely came from these forests. Today Thailand is replanting its forests and prohibits the harvesting of teak. It takes about 70 years for a tree to mature, so eventually, with good forest management, the forest will be harvestable once again.

We stopped at a lakeside town where we had lunch. Anil stopped us at a street food spot where the vendor made

up a lunch dish of various herbs and spices and then, at the last moment, threw in a scoop of living, fresh water shrimp that hopped all around in the mixing bowl as they

were stirred into the mixture. Then it was passed around so people could try it. I had a spoonful that squirmed in my mouth before I chomped down and chewed it all up. Talk about fresh fish!

We also bought a latte at a really nice coffee shop.

When the cup arrived at our table it was a work of art! The top of the coffee had been decorated sort of like a piece of spin art. It was too beautiful to drink, but down it went, carefully so as to make the design last as long as possible.

We found most of our group sitting in a restaurant down the street. We didn't have time to sit down and order but the display the place had out front showed luscious chunks of pork that we couldn't resist. We had them slice off a styrofoam container full and we walked with it across the street to a park right on the lake and scarfed down the succulent morsels of BBQed pork.

Traveling a little further on our journey we visited a temple in progress of being built by an eccentric local artist with decidedly eccentric tastes. The temple is like no other we'd seen so far. It's builder is apparently quite arrogant and difficult to deal with. He takes only small donations of $300 or less which he believes saves him from the potential political influences on his work of larger donors. The temple buildings look like frosted wedding cakes. But the first look was not all there was to see. In one place a pond of hands reached upward as if attached

to unseen bodies below. Little adornments here and there caught the eye, some fanciful, others disturbing. Interesting.

A half hour on we arrived in the city of Chiang Rai and Le Meridian, a very posh hotel. Very upscale and modern in design with Asian influences in the decor. After another very long day on the bus, it was a welcome site.

We headed for the pool, showered, did laundry and, of course, I caught up on my journaling.

About 6:30 pm we all gathered in the big open air lobby to head out for the night

market. My night market experience was pretty disappointing. A vast market that only opens in the evening, it held small market stalls that sold local and distant crafts, tee-shirts, mostly junk. The market also contained food stalls.

Everything from Japanese food,

Chinese, Thai, even unusual treats like fried insects of every sort and

size. We ate at a large open-air space with dozens of tables served by a single restaurant. At one end of the table area a stage showcased talented (rather talentless) performers including a drag show with a half dozen beautifully dressed men who danced around and lip-synced to music. Their performance, while showing no real talent, did attract lots of attention from folks who stopped to gawk.

Classic Pozole!

Time for a short break in the Thailand action. I'll get back to it tomorrow but I really wanted to share this Pozole recipe before Spring sprouts and the thought of warm, tummy satisfying soups has been replaced by sunnier thoughts of the beach and the family BBQ.

I blogged about another Pozole recipe I liked a while back and it is great. The best thing about that recipe was that it was quick and what with our busy schedules, quick is a good thing.

This recipe will take more time, but I assure you it is well worth that time. It is deeply satisfying. I served this at two separate dinner parties recently and as my wife put it, everyone thought

it was "lay your head on the table" good. It comes from the Cafe at the Heard Museum in Phoenix, Arizona as reprinted in the January 2012 issue of Bon Appetit magazine except I have made one important change which is the cooking method for the pork. I cut it up ahead of time and saute it. Instead of it being pulled-style pork it is in chunks. It cuts down on the cooking time by several hours and the pork is caramelized all over the little pieces instead of just the outside of the shoulder. Quicker and I like it better.

We served it with our "best cornbread you'll ever eat" recipe also written about in this blog, a green salad with lots of nummies including homemade croutons, nuts, blue cheese, sliced apple and, of course, a homemade dressing. I NEVER use store bought salad dressings. They are

an abomination to any salad. So easy and quick to make and no odd after taste from any of the myriad unnatural ingredients--xantam gum, Polysorbate 60, Potasium Sorbate, EDTA (whatever the hell that is and you probably don't want to know), Caramel Color (sounds innocuous enough except that it contains 4-methylimidazole, a known cancer causing agent).

I'll write a future blog and show you just how easy it really is and then you can judge for yourself.

So, back to our Pozole!

The recipe makes enough for 8-10 servings. I serve it with bowls of sour cream, sliced limes, minced shallot or red onion and chopped, fresh cilantro. Diners can doctor it up to their own liking.

The Ingredients:

For the pork--

1 T ground cumin

1 t garlic powder

1 t smoked paprika

1 2-pound boneless pork shoulder, with much of the fat removed and cut into 1-inch chunks

kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper

1/2 red onion, sliced

2 T vegetable oil

For the Pozole--

1/4 c vegetable oil

1/2 red onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 plum tomatoes, diced

6 cups of chicken broth

1 28 oz. can undrained pinto beans

1 28 oz. can white hominy, drained

1 28 oz. can diced tomatoes with juices pureed in blender until smooth

1 T oregano

2 t ground cumin

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the pork--

In a medium enameled Dutch oven, add oil and heat up pan. Add pork chunks, stirring until browned all over. As he pork is browning add cumin, garlic powder and smoked paprika into dutch oven. Continue to stir the pork is well coated. Continue cooking until the pork is caramelized.

Set aside the pork and in the same dutch oven, add oil and over medium heat add onion and saute until translucent. Add garlic and stir often until fragrant. Add the diced fresh tomatoes and cook until softened. Stir in broth and next 5 ingredients. Bring to a boil then simmer for 30 minutes. Add pork and any juices that may have collected. Continue to simmer until the pork is tender.

Now, I let it cool and refrigerate it over night. The next day, when you are about ready for dinner, take out the Pozole and reheat it on the stove top. Overnight the flavors have m

arried and done some really naughty things in that darkened fridge! The Pozole is richer and more flavorful.

Serve it up in bowls toped with any one of the ingredients I spoke about earlier. It looks fabulous and tastes even better. This recipe easily doubles. Just cook it up in a larger Dutch oven and you've a got a fiesta for a real crowd!

Thailand Adventure--Day 7

Another long day was in store for us on the next leg of our journey through Thailand. We left at 7:30 after the usual hotel buffet breakfast. We'd lost three members of our entourage who had signed up for a shorter tour. Now we were only about 13 making our full-sized tour bus kind of ridiculous but certainly even roomier. Today, we mostly drove. With still a great distance to travel to get to the northern most parts of the country, we had a long way to go.

The country-side was very rural, mostly rice fields, some tended by farmers, all a lush, newly planted green. The flood that recently inundated the country washed away the crop that should be ripening about now so the farmers had replanted in hopes of a March/April harvest. Sadly, the forecast was for the El Niño effect influencing so much of the world weather right now, to drop more rain potentially ruining a second crop in a row. We experienced rain on and off throughout our trip. Nothing that caused us any trouble but enough to cause local concern since this was supposed to be the dry season.

Anil, our courier, spent a lot of time explaining Thai religious traditions, day to day life, etc. He was a fount of information and had ways to make comparisons with our own culture so that, whatever he was trying to explain, it was much easy to understand. He had statistics and facts at his fingertips. Amazing.

The Thai language is based on the languages of Sanskrit, Mon and Khamir. Anil helped the time fly by giving us lessons on the bus to help us better understand this complex language. Perhaps the most interesting and difficult part to understand was that a particular word's meaning is changed by the way you subtly pronounce it, a lift at the end or a dip can completely change the meaning. That could get you in a world of trouble! And the lettering of their alphabet looks nothing at all like our own english alphabet. Add to that the accent marks placed above and or below the writing and, well, I don't understand how anyone could possibly master the Thai language.

We did make occasional stops at roadside gas stations which also hadconvenience shops, bathrooms and a few street food vendors. We tried various local concoctions like Pomelo candies, mochi, snacks in little chip type bags that would surprise you with extruded spirals or chip-shaped dried and salted fruit, seaweeds, and various local foods. Mostly delicious and exotic, we all had fun sharing our little discoveries with each other. Anil also bought things he would share with us then, when we said we'd like to buy some to take back home, he invariably said that it was only available in that little locale so we couldn't get anymore. Agriculture is king in much of Thailand. The tropical climate allows multiple seasons for growing rice, bananas, mango, coconut, tamarind, coffee, corn, oranges, pomelo, mangosteens, papaya, tomatoes, chilies of all sorts, tapioca, which is made from the root of that plant, and many things for which I have no word to name or describe. The list goes on and on.

In front of nearly every house or business is a raised platform usually with two shrines placed on it.

One with a single pedestal, that is the taller of the two, is for the spirit of the house. The other with four legs is for the family's ancestors. Offerings of food are placed there. Inside will be little statues of animals and people. The spirit house usually looks like the real house. Where it is specifically placed on your land is very important. A Brahmin priest must be brought in to tell you where to put it.

Our destination today was Sukhothai (soo-koh-TIE) another UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is the first capital of Thailand. The name is translated First Dawn of Happiness. This is where the tribes of Thailand first came together to create this lovely country.

We stopped at a Big C for lunch.

It is a local chain which apparently bought out the French Carrefour chain a few years ago. They had a food court inside where you bought a pre-paid card and then walked from stall to stall picking out what you wanted. We bought 6 chicken satays, our favoritepapaya salad plate, a bowl of duck soup with won ton and an iced chocolate drink and only spent $3.It was a feast for a king. Unbelievable! The store itself sold

anything you could want, from cameras to toothpicks, cosmetics to cucumbers. Quite a place.

We arrived in Sukhothai and spent an hour and a half on a walking tour of the ancient 10th century temples now in ruins but still stunningly beautiful. Water was also everywhere in the form of canals, lakes and ponds. Lilies of all varieties flourish in these waters.

At one point we spotted a group of school children out on a fieldtrip. They happily posed for our cameras while their teachers stood close by watching.

The temple ruins expose the inner construction of these sites.

Made primarily of red bricks, the buildings

originally would have then been covered with plaster and decorated.

Our hotel was a welcome final stop for our day. The Legendha Sukhothai, Thai Village Hotel, was set amid lush tropically landscaped grounds. Our rooms were lovely. Polished hardwood floors and thatched roofs. Right outside our door was a beautiful infinity pool where I headed as soon as I could and enjoyed the cooling, pristine water.

We had spent so much time grazing along our travels today that I didn't feel hungry at all. So, we spent time in the pool, read and relaxed before heading off to bed. Tomorrow, we head further north toward the Thai border with Mayanmar (Burma).

Thailand Adventure--Day 6

Up early today. Our baggage had to be out by 7 and we needed to finish packing before a quick breakfast. Then down to the boat landing where the long tails took us back down the River Kwai to the bus. It was difficult to say goodbye to this resort. Stunningly beautiful place.

We have a couple of long days driving towards the northern part of Thailand. Our first stop is Ayutthaya (pronounced ah-you-tee-uh with the emphasis on the second syllable), the first capital of Thailand. Along the way we stopped at the Bang Pa-In to visit the Royal Summer Palace. The weather is much cooler here. Still warm, but with a nice breeze and perhaps 10 degrees cooler, it is much more tolerable. The current Bang Pa-In Palace was constructed in the late

1800's though a palace of some form has stood here since

the 1600's. The current palace sits in a vast, beautifully landscaped setting surrounded by lots of water. Several stunning buildings dot the landscape with both European and Asian inspired architecture. We were able to visit several of the buildings while others were off limits to all but the royal family and their guests.

Back on the road, our guide, Anil, had the driver stop along the way at a couple road-side stands.

The first one sold Bamboo Rice. Lengths of bamboo about 2 inches in diameterwere filled with sticky rice mixed, each flavored with a different local ingredient. We loved the pumpkin and the coconut ones. They split them open with a machete and then we scooped out the cooked mixture inside. It is cooked over coals for a couple of hours and the result is just delicious. The inner layer of the bamboo adheres to the sticky rice inside binding it together. It looks a bit like a tamale when you see it opened up.

The second stop was far less appealing to us but still fascinating. It was a stand that sold rat! Yes, that is what I said. These are field, wild rats trapped

in the rice fields. They used to have a natural predator but the predator has become endangered and so the rat population has gotten out of control. How do you solve the problem? Well, the Thai solution seems to be to eat the rats. They call it star meat (rats spelled backward), to make it more appealing, I guess. They still looked like rats. They are quite a local delicacy. No one in our group, however, was enticed to do more than take photographs. Even I, usually willing to try just about anything, was unable to bring myself to give it a go.

We arrived at our hotel for the night, the Krungsri River Hotel in Ayutthaya, one of the old capitals of Thailand. After checking into our rooms, the group met in the lobby at 4:30 to bus over to a couple of the famous temple ruins burned

down in a war with Burma in the 1760s. The recent floods rendered one of the sites off limits to visitors right now but even from a distance it was a stunning view. We also walked along the river which was adjacent to the temple giving us another view of the temple and a great look at the river traffic going by.

As we re-boarded our bus to return to the hotel, a half dozen elephants walking by attracted our attention and cameras. These were the first elephants we had seen since arriving in Thailand and the fact that they were just walking down a major street in a fairly large city was, as you might imagine, an attention getter.

They had handlers riding them and as they walked up the street they collected money from locals and tourists alike. For most of us, having seen elephants only in a zoo, this was quite an opportunity.

Back at the hotel for dinner, we ate, of course, Thai food. We were safely back in our room for the night by 7:30. Very long day, indeed.

Thailand Adventure--Day 5

Here at the River Kwai resort for the next couple of days. After the incident between my big toe and the long tail boat yesterday in which I came up on the losing end of things AND after yesterday's blistering heat, I was very ready for a break.

Leslie fretted over whether she, too, would stay behind but in the end I think her curiosity and frugality won out and she headed off after breakfast to join the small group going on the outing to the Hellfire Pass, the railway ride and 4 km hike along the trail used by the prisoners

who built the railway between Thailand and Burma.

I choose to stay in the lodge and write, catching up on the journal that will become the basis of my blog entries about this trip when we get home.

With ceiling fans gently twirling above and really bad piano environmental (I call it space music) music playing through the speakers, it was a calm, much cooler, stress free day in a perfect setting.

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An aside. Please indulge me or skim ahead if you really don't want to hear this. But I really must. As I sat enjoying the relative peace and quiet in the open air lodge, my bliss was interrupted only by the few people who insisted on sitting around talking too loudly and using language that should be reserved for only in time of war or in the privacy of their own home. Certainly not in public and especially with enough volume that the entire dining room could hear it. What seems lost on far too many people nowadays is the idea of boundaries, of self-awareness, of realizing you are not the only person in the room, of being aware of what is going on in a room when you enter it and modeling your behavior on that of others around you. I used to think that label could only be applied to the so called Ugly American, who travels abroad with the idea that they own the place and everyone needs to get used to it. And I would have ashamedly had to agree with any foreigner, forward enough to share that observation with me, of many Americans at one time.

Having experienced traveling all over the world now for the past 40 years of my life, I must say that just isn't the case anymore. Yes, some few Americans can still be a pain in the tukkus. But either because Americans have generally become more savvy travelers or because more people from countries that weren't able to travel are now, I am seeing far more examples of poor behavior coming from travelers from other countries. Asians, whom I once thought of as the quintessential polite travelers are more often acting more outrageously, especially the younger generation. Russians, whom I never crossed paths with before can be very loud and rude, especially when they've had too much to drink. I don't mean to focus specifically on those two groups as if they are a special problem. The people who triggered this little tirade were sitting here in the lodge and happened to be American young ladies. The examples I am using are just examples of those whose behavior I have most recently experienced.

The bottom line is, Americans still have a lot of work to do in this area. Our reputation is sullied enough by the decisions our government has made in the past few years. We must, as travelers in the world, be better ambassadors, reflecting a more understanding, more open, accepting attitude towards other ways of thinking. We need to educate ourselves before we travel so we can represent a country of open minded citizens rather than that of a closed minded conservative, with an unbending view of the world. So walk softly out there. Listen more, talk less. Ponder. Observe. Open yourself up.

Okay, I feel better now. Thanks.

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The rest of my day was spent quietly relaxing while Leslie was off adventuring. Quiet that is until Leslie returned to the room late in the afternoon. When she tossed open the door she stood in the entry looking like she had been hit by a truck.

It turns out she had gone into a cave and in the darkness and accidentally fell into a hole up to her chest. She was pretty beat up with lots of scrapes, cuts and bruises. We got her cleaned up, doctored up and bandaged up. She was pretty shaken up but I slowly got her calmed and she began to feel a bit better. The resulting injuries, however, continued to give her trouble and we would have o deal with them even after we returned home.

We were finally able to take a short nap before dinner and then after dinner went off to the room intending to head for bed early. Leslie, trooper that she is and despite her earlier brush with death, choose to go to the Mon dancing performance for a while. The Mon are a tribe from Burma. She didn't stay long and was soon back in the room and ready for bed.

Thailand Adventure--Day 4

We spent today traveling across country to the mountains above Kanchanaburi and the Kwai River not far from the border with Burma or the country presently called Myanmar. It was a long tedious day on the bus but broken up by amazing, unforgettable, once in a lifetime experiences.

The scenery slowly changed from the urban landscape of Bangkok and its suburbs to one of a more rural and agrarian environment.

Our first stop was along the road side where we walked out across a field to get a close up look at workers harvesting salt. The workers, many of whom work in bare feet, raked salt crystals into piles after ponds of salt water had evaporated. We tasted the little crystalline salt bits handed to us by a worker. Yep, that's salt! Bags of salt were sold at roadside stands along the way.

We stopped in Maeklong, a small city whose main attraction was a Train Market. I wasn't aware that this was the actual place we were headed until we got there and I suddenly realized I've seen this place on TV. The Discovery channel or some travel or food channel, I don't know which. We walked into one end of the market led by our courier. The narrow gauge train tracks, were our path. The trains here operate on a narrow gauge system so the tracks are

much closer together than in our U.S. train system.

As we walked down the tracks, locals sold vegetables of every imaginable type, and some you certainly couldn't

dream up. Also, seafood, dried and fresh were sold along with lots of housewares. Suddenly, in the distance, we heard a train horn. Suddenly, the activity among the vendors and the buyers became a bit frenzied. Everywhere you looked the awnings and colorful umbrellas that shaded buyers and sellers alike, began to be folded up against the adjacent b

uildings away from the tracks. The items for sale a minute ago now disappeared out of harm's way. Everyone ducked into narrow walkways here and there except for a few of us tourists who remained, despite the exhortations of the in-the-know to get out of the way. We stood in the center of the tracks taking pictures of the whole event. Only at the last minute as the train slowly approached, did I duck into one of the passages. I felt safe standing in the way of the train until it had approached within 50 yards or so. Then as the train rolled by very slowly and disappeared into the distance I realized the unstoppable power that mammoth beast had if anything was too close to it as it passed.

As the train disappeared into the distance, the vendors began opening their umbrellas and pulled out their wares in a method reminiscent of The Wave at a football game or a Busby Berkley dance routine. Within seconds, life at the market was back to normal as if nothing had happened at all. Money traded hands, the shouts and arguments between buyer and seller went on as it had only moments before.

This accommodation between the train and the market vendors apparently works for everyone involved due to the Thai philosophy pronounced My Pen Rye. That isn't the proper spelling. This philosophy pervades the culture accounting for the reasoning behind the way so many things are done here. It can't be helped--whatever it is. To loose one's temper in Thailand is to lose face. It will also get you nowhere with a Thai because their natural politeness will only get you a sort of passive aggressive reaction.

My pen rye or, basically, live and let live or Que Sera Sera. It seems to fit the Buddhist style of life here. Life and death are just a part of life and neither event can really be helped. Besides, in your next life you'll reincarnate a little higher on the food chain if you have enough merit marks. Loosing your temper, honking your horn in traffic, etc, etc. won't get you merit marks. So, why worry?

We finished our walk through the market and came out the other end at the very train station the train had been stopped at before coming through the market. A right turn and we wandered down main street stopping to buy this or that, mostly intrigued by the curiosities for sale--how about a decorative coffins or platters of deep fried bugs.

Back on the road we stopped along the way at a national chain restaurant called Cabbages and Condoms. Yes, I spelled that right. Thai food served with a decor of condoms. There are framed condoms, dresses on display made entirely of condoms and magazines here and there with parenting themes. This chain was created with the idea in mind of spreading the news of planned parenthood throughout Thailand. Interesting concept. The food was okay. Nothing special. We are finding so far that the food here in Thailand has not been any better than that found in our favorite Thai places in Bellingham--Busara and On Rice. That isn't a bad thing. It's really good to know that what we have so enjoyed over the years is actually so close to what you can enjoy in the country itself. Of course we are far from the end of this trip so the jury is still out.

Back on the bus, we next headed for the Floating Market in Damnoen Saduak, another place I realized I had seen on some TV show but never imagined I would ever see. We stopped at a wide spot in the road where the long-tail boats were parked waiting for the next bunch of tourists to arrive. These curious boats are long, narrow, colorfully painted water taxis which have had installed on their stern, an engine which looks like it was yanked out of a 1960's car (huge engines) and had a shaft attached to the transmission end with a prop attached. The shaft and prop can be dipped or removed from the water quickly in order to accommodate the changing depths of the water and flotsam that threat

ens to foul the prop. When dipped below the water level and accelerated, these boats can really get moving.

We all crawled into one of two long tails that would navigate us to the floating market. This market is one of the few of these left in the world. Primarily a tourist attraction now, it does still offer some food prepared right on small boats that park next to the shore where large souvenir stores are open to accommodate the tourist trade. I spent most of the time after we got off our boat, wandering along the water taking photos of the colorful action. We bought a few bananas and some saffron as well. What a wonderful place it is and a real shame that this type of place is a dying scene as people's lives become more hectic and more homes purchase refrigerators that eliminate the need to shop everyday.

Our next stop was Kanchanaburi and outside the city along the

Kwai River we stopped to see the bridge on the River Kwai, made famous by Hollywood's portrayal of this tragic story. Hundreds of thousands of Allied prisoners of war who were forced to build this railroad bridge over the Kwai River. Parts of what remains is the original bridge, the rounded supports we're not bombed when the center part of the bridge was blown up by the Allies taking it out of commission. Hundreds of thousands of these slave laborers died of over work, starvation, torture and disease at the hands of the Japanese Imperial Army.

We also paid our respects at one of the Allied cemeteries and stopped at the museum along the river. The cemetery was beautifully maintained and it's rows of gravestones were polished and kept neatly trimmed.

The museum was another story. It was built in the style of the squalid barracks the prisoners lived in when they were even allowed to live under a roof. Mostly they were forced to live outdoors where they worked, along the railroad bed they carved out of the mountain sides and nearer where the bridge was being built. The constant exposure to the elements, mistreatment, lack of medical care killed them by the thousands. It was only one of many tragedies during the war by an army that paid no attention whatever to the rules of war set down in the Geneva Conventions.

We were miserably hot by this time in the day, ready for the cooling breezes that awaited us next. Our bus began to climb into the mountains that surround this area. I could feel the temperature dropping just by feeling the bus window.

Our bus slowed and made a turn down a narrow poorly paved road that headed back into the jungle. We also began to descend, often steeply, toward the river. At the end of the road were parked a half dozen busses the size of ours and a small dock with a few long tail boats waiting.

We disgorged from the bus, glad to finally be out of it for the last time for the day. We loaded into the long tails and the drivers headed up river. After about 10-15 minutes of turns and bends in the river, another dock came into view on the opposite side from our embarkation point. At the dock we were all helped out of the boats. On my way out, I didn't quite get my entire foot out of the way and I cracked my big toe hard against the side of the boat splitting the nail. My toe went numb thankfully. I hobbled up the hill toward the lodge, not really able to enjoy the beautiful setting due to that throbbing toe.

We checked into room 605 at the River Kwai Resotel which was a

perfect little cabin made of teak and with a thatched roof. It was like something out of a movie or a travelogue. Not something I would ever experience. And yet, here we were. Air conditioned and quiet, it was just paradise. I was in for the night, fair

done in by the heat and the activities of the day. What a day it had been. Amazing sites, sounds, smells, tastes. Everywhere we go, the people are wonderful, friendly, helpful, respectful and so accommodating.

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If you'd like to see the entire collection of our photos from the Thailand Adventure or any of our adventures, click on the photo slideshow on the right margin of this blog. Many photos have captions that will help give them more context.