Day #16 March 26th: Chiang Mai to Bangkok

This was probably our most exhausting day!  I was so tired at the end of the day that I actually fell asleep before I could write in my journal.

Our day began with a 5:00 wake up call.

Breakfast was at 6:00.

We left our hotel at 7:00.

Our tour guide, Dare had a sweet parting gift for us.  His mother-in-law made large packages of tasty rice crackers for each of us. We saved it to bring with us to Bangladesh to have with our son.  Yes, we did give him a nice additional tip for his services. (Evan, our tour coordinator in Hawaii told us that all country tour guides are already tipped by Vietnam Travel ahead of time.)

Dare regaled us with more jokes all the way to the airport.  Hmmm... maybe we should have given an even bigger extra tip.

We were met by our Bangkok tour guide, Ms. Lucky.




We'd heard some rather disturbing news reports of violence in Bangkok with people being killed in government protests.  We saw signs of the struggles.  Barricades were still evident on the streets but Ms. Lucky seemed unconcerned.

We went directly from the airport to the Grand Palace.

We saw tuk tuks here too.  They were similar to the ones in Cambodia.


Grand Palace

The Grand Palace is a complex of buildings at the heart of Bangkok, Thailand. The palace has been the official residence of the Kings of Siam (and later Thailand) since 1782. The king, his court and his royal government were based on the grounds of the palace until 1925. The present monarch, King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX), currently resides at Chitralada Palace, but the Grand Palace is still used for official events.
                             -- Wikipedia

Those of our tour group who were wearing shorts had to rent long pants to enter the complex.

It's unfortunate that Ms. Lucky left us mostly to our own devices.  We didn't always know what we were looking at.  Still, it was all very grand... very gold... very glittering.

And it was very impressive.

The large gold stupa is supposed to contain some relics of the Buddha.

The detail on the decorations were absolutely eye catching and mind boggling.

We couldn't take enough photos... but we tried.

I didn't realize we would be going to all these sites directly from the airport so I didn't have my larger camera with me.  I had to make do with my tiny point and shoot.  However, between Art and me we managed to take enough photos.

It was an extremely HOT day and I didn't have my umbrella with me.

Doggone it!

This is a scale model of Angkor Wat.  This giant monitor went scuttling by us.  Ms. Lucky told us that they do eat monitors in Thailand.

I was glad we were able to have a group photo taken in front of the Grand Palace (Chakri Maha Prasat) so I could remember everybody.  I have been blurring out people's faces who were not comfortable being on a blog.

Below is the Aphorn Phimok Prasat Pavilion.  Art had to research what all these places were on the Internet when we returned to Hawaii because we really had no idea then what we were looking at.

Ms. Lucky forgot her cellphone on the bus when it drove off.  She therefore couldn't tell the bus driver where to meet us. 

Her solution was to put us into these teeny tuk tuks to take us to our restaurant for lunch.  Can you believe Art and I, along with Mike and Julia rode in the back seat of this tuk tuk?  Mike must be over 6 feet tall.  We were quite cozy!  It's a good thing we like each other!


The restaurant was on this ship. 

The buffet lunch was lovely and restful.  We needed to sit down.

We got back on the boat and headed to the Temple of Dawn.  We saw a huge poster of the king and his heir in their younger days. The king is 86 years old and the queen is 81 but is said to look half her age. 

This is a view of the Temple of Dawn from the river.

Little did I know I'd soon be climbing up to that high tower.

Wai Arun Ratchawararam Ratchawaramahawihan or Wat Arun "Temple of Dawn" is a Buddhist temple (wat) in Bangkok Yai district of Bangkok, Thailand, on the Thonburi west bank of the Chao Phraya River. The temple derives its name from the Hindu god Aruna often personified as the radiations of the rising sun. Wat Arun is among the best known of Thailand's landmarks and the first light of the morning reflects off the surface of the temple with pearly iridescence.
                                                                                                 --Wikipedia

"You can do it," coaxed Art cajoling me to make the climb.

I just made sure I didn't look down.

We emailed this photo to our little granddaughter, KC.  She used to always give us the "I love you" hand sign from the time she was about four years old.  We try to remember to do this whenever we go abroad.

Then we went from the boat onto a bus to our next stop!

 








The Golden Buddha

It is 5.5 tons of SOLID gold! 

The Golden Buddha, officially titled Phra Phuttha Maha Suwan Patimakon is the world's largest solid gold statue. It is located in the temple of Wat Traimit, Bangkok.       --Wikipedia

The Golden Buddha was definitely impressive and very shiny.

The bus took us to The Reclining Buddha next.
 

Wat Pho is a Buddhist temple in Phra Nakhon district, Bangkok, Thailand. It is located in the Rattanakosin district directly adjacent to the Grand Palace. Known also as the Temple of the Reclining Buddha, its official name is Wat Phra Chettuphon Wimon Mangkhlaram Ratchaworamahawihan.
                                                                                                        --Wikipedia                                                                                        

The statue is concrete covered in gold leaf.  It's HUGE!!!

There were more barricades on the Bangkok streets.






We were so tired, I'd have settled for fast food and an early bed time.

It was not to be.

We had a Thai dinner at Silom Village Restaurant.  The food was OK...

and there was another cultural dance show.

 

We fell into bed around 11:00.   Half of our tour group were so exhausted that they decided to skip the following day's activities to have a more restful, last day in Bangkok.

Us?  Are you kidding?  Art would never let exhaustion stop him!

Day #15 March 25th: Chiang Mai

The first half of this day was something I would have been happy to miss.

We visited a high end jewelry store and Persian carpet store.

I think it was Persian.  I nearly fell asleep during the lecture along with a few other tour members.

Undoubtedly, the carpets were a good deal and extremely well made.  I'm sure all those gem type jewelry were also good deals.

Maybe.

I just wasn't interested.

Although...

Yes, I did buy a $7 pair of earrings which I do love.  I didn't buy anything else, certainly nothing that was over  $1000.  Most of the jewelry was out of my price range.

Lunch was a lovely Thai buffet at Nantawatsa Restaurant.

Folk Craft Factory:  Dare showed us how mulberry bark is used to make paper.

This folk craft factory displayed how fans and umbrellas were made.

I could have used one of those fans in Bangladesh.

Information from Dare:

• In Thailand the year is 2557 because they count from the year after the Buddha died.  You just add 543 to our years to get the Thai year.
• There are spirit houses in Thailand also to appease land spirits with offerings.
• Similar to Cambodia, Thai people clasp their hands together in greeting.  They say Sawadeeka (women) or Sawadeekrup (men).

Dare also told us that smoking is not allowed at our hotel, but he realizes there are advantages to smoking.   1.  No mosquitoes   2. Burglars don't come because they can hear you cough.  3.  Your hair stays black.  (because you are apt to die young)

After the folk craft factory some people opted to stay at the hotel.
 (I need to mention that although the tour director should have scheduled Doi Suthep Mountain for the morning and the shopping expedition only for people who were interested in the afternoon, I think I understand the reason.  It wasn't because the view is better in the afternoon as Dare told us.  I'm sure the tours are paid to bring people to their stores.  That helps to keep the cost of the entire tour down.  This was a reasonably priced trip, which means the cost had to be offset by these shopping stops.)

We were tired but decided to go on to Doi Suthep Mountain and see the Watprathat Temple.  We were glad we did!

We all took the cable car to the top of the mountain.  Art decided to walk up.  Dare told us that on the Buddha's birthday (usually May 15th) celebrants walk up these stairs to the temple.

We were seeing such awesome sights that we felt sorry for our tour members who opted to miss this.  They'd been worn out from the rather wasted morning of encouraged shopping.

Legend of the White Elephant
According to legend, a monk named Sumanathera from Sukhothai had a dream; in this vision he was told to go to Pang Cha and look for a relic. 

Sumanathera ventured to Pang Cha and is said to have found a bone, which many claim was Buddha's shoulder bone. The relic displayed magical powers; it glowed, it was able to vanish, it could move itself and replicate itself. 

Sumanathera took the relic to King Dharmaraja who ruled the Sukhothai.

The eager Dharmmaraja made offerings and hosted a ceremony when Sumanathera arrived. However, the relic displayed no abnormal characteristics, and the king, doubtful of the relic's authenticity, told Sumanathera to keep it.

However, King Nu Naone of the Lanna Kingdom heard of the relic and offered the monk to take it to him instead. In 1368 with Dharmmaraja's permission, Sumanathera took the relic to what is now Lamphun, in northern Thailand. The relic apparently split in two, one piece was the same size, the other was smaller than the original. The smaller piece of the relic was enshrined at a temple in Suandok. The other piece was placed by the King on the back of a white elephant which was released in the jungle. The elephant is said to have climbed up Doi Suthep, at the time called Doi Aoy Chang (Sugar Elephant Mountain), trumpeted three times before dying at the site. It was interpreted as a sign and King Nu Naone ordered the construction of a temple at the site.     --Wikipedia

We were absolutely stunned by all the glittering gold plating.

At this altar, you could pour water over the shrine.  It reminded me of Hanamatsuri (Buddha's Birthday) when I was little.  I remember water being poured over the statue of the Buddha.  Since I am Buddhist, it was interesting to see how the religion is celebrated in other countries.

Dare said trees were tied with colorful ribbons to denote the tree spirits living within it.  This is a Sala tree.  The Buddha was supposed to have been born under a Sala tree.

Instead of riding in the cable car, we all decided to walk down the beautiful stairs.

The bottom of the stairs had a magnificent dragon.  At least, I think it was a dragon.

Dinner was again at an outside restaurant.

The food was delicious.  I had to have a Thai iced tea.  Yum!

There are Night Markets everywhere filled with shoppers.

The security chain on our door was hilarious.  I tried to secure it but the chain on the frame just couldn't reach the door.

We would be flying to Bangkok the following day.  I should have taken a vitamin pill because we would all need energy for the terribly exhausting day it would be.

Day #14 March 24: Maetamann Elephant Camp

This would be a day that I would not soon forget.  It was a day packed with places to see and adventures to experience from 7:00 until late at night.

Dare said there are over 300 temples in the Chiang Mai area.  The river was being purified by the government for a new year celebration where water would be thrown at everybody.

Information from Dare:

• Tourism is Thailand's #2 economy.
• Born in 1819, the reigning king has ruled for 67 years.  The heir is a playboy.
• Thai people haven't seen King and I because it is not factual.
• At 21, young men must take part in a lottery.  Blind folded, they pick from a container containing red or black pieces of paper.  If it's red, they must enter the army.
• 90% of most men spend at least 3 months in a monastery because then they will be looked on favorably by prospective in-laws.

We visited a Long Neck Karen (Village)

In the late 1980s and early 1990s due to conflict with the military regime in Burma, many Kayan tribes fled to the Thai border area. Among the refugee camps set up there was a Long Neck section, which became a tourist site, self-sufficient on tourist revenue and not needing financial assistance.

^--Wikipedia

It is a controversial site because it's been called a "human zoo".  Much of their proceeds are said to go to Thai tour conductors.

Still, on the other side of the coin, it enables the Karen people to have an income since they are unable to return to Myanmar (Burma).

Dare told us that the necks are not really any longer than anybody else.  When the rings are added to their necks a little at a time, their collarbones and shoulders are pushed down. 

When we asked our daughter, Tiffany what she would like us to bring back for her from southeast Asia, she'd said the only thing she could think of was a little stick for her hair.  Well... we couldn't find one anywhere.  When I saw the silver colored stick in the hairstyle of the young woman on the left, I asked her if she was selling any in her stand.  She wasn't, but she promptly pulled it out of her hair and offered it to me.  I didn't bargain and paid exactly what she asked.

Tif sent this photo to me recently saying the silver hair stick works beautifully to hold up her hair.  I'm just surprised you can do this with a little stick.

Our next stop was the Maetamann Elephant Camp and Rafting.  We were encouraged to sit on the elephant's knee and then feed the elephants sugar cane, bananas or money which they handed to their trainer.  Art did buy sugar cane from this woman to feed the elephants.  I can truthfully say I've never been so close to an elephant before.  I would soon get even closer.

I thought for a minute I would fall off the elephant's trunk, but the trainer (mahout) held on to my ankle to make sure I was safe.

The elephant show had the huge animals doing all kinds of tricks.  They piled up logs, twirled hula hoops, played soccer, etc.

Someone sent me one of those forwarded videos a while ago of an elephant painting a picture. 

What a shock it was to see an elephant doing it right before my eyes.

Each elephant seemed to have one type of picture that they were trained to do.

Now that I'm home and researching a bit about these elephant camps, I'm reading about training torture and what is done to elephants to make them perform for tourists.

We had such a good time there, but it's sad to read that there is the controversial side to this experience.

We had an ox cart ride and lovely lunch at the park as well.

Rafting was a fun experience.

Art had to try his hand at poling the raft, of course.

It's a good thing it was cloudy and temperate.

The Orchid and Butterfly Garden was fun.

Coming from Hawaii, the orchids were not very interesting or unusual.

Our dinner was at the Old Chiang Mai Cultural Center.

There was a cultural show featuring a lot of different traditional dances.

The children really drew most of our attention though.

Back at the hotel, we did laundry together and I had to nurse a gouge on my shin that I managed to get from a bamboo bench at the elephant park.  Sigh...  One more scar to add to the collection I already have.

Still in all, it was a wonderful day.

Day #13 March 23rd: Siem Reap, Cambodia to Bangkok and Chiang Mai, Thailand

The very late dinners on this trip were not healthy for Art who suffers from a form GERD (acid reflux).  We discovered that another tour friend had the same problem.

Yae!  Pho!  I love pho for breakfast!  You could choose your ingredients and the cooks would prepare it just the way you like it.

Ummmmmmmmmm........ yes.... I confess.  I had some pastry too.

We had a stop at a handicraft store and I bought a pair of silver earrings that I HOPE were truly solid silver.

Yup!   This is the silver shop.  They said it was 92.5 silver.

I did see elsewhere that it could be 92.5 PLATED silver too.  But how can you know for sure?

Souann posed for Art next to a spirit house.  We saw these spirit houses everywhere in Cambodia.

A spirit house is a shrine to the protective spirit of a place that are found in the Southeast Asian countries of Burma, Cambodia, Laos and Thailand. Most houses and businesses have a spirit house placed in an auspicious spot, most often in a corner of the property. The location may be chosen after consultation with a Brahmin priest. The spirit house is normally in the form of a miniature house or temple, and is mounted on a pillar or on a dais.
The house is intended to provide a shelter for spirits which could cause problems for the people if not appeased. The shrines often include images of people and animals.   Votive offerings are left at the house to propitiate the spirits.     --Wikipedia

Our box lunch in Cambodia was marginal, I'm afraid, but we weren't afraid of starving.

Because Jane, our tour person had gone home to Hawaii with the two couples, the rest of us were left to fend for ourselves.

We managed it OK, but there was quite a bit of confusion and upset as we tried to make sure no one was lost or forgotten.  #1 and #2 were now combined into a larger, slightly more unwieldy travel group.  I loved it that we could now finally spend more time with the wonderful people in Group #2 as well.

We went from Siem Reap, Cambodia to Bangkok, Thailand where we transferred planes to go to Chiang Mai, Thailand.

At last, our travel to Thailand was accomplished and we were happily ensconced at Maninarakorn Hotel.

We met Dare, our new tour guide who kept us constantly entertained with non-stop jokes and interesting information.

Dare told us that Chiang Mai means "new city" and was so-named because it was the new capital, founded in 1296  It succeeded Chiang Rai (founded 1262).  Thailand means "Land of Freedom" and was once called Siam.  I'm sure everybody remembers the musical King and I.

Half of our tour groups had gotten either intestinal or respiratory ailments.  I was keeping my fingers crossed that we would stay healthy for Bangladesh.