Jim did a tour in Vietnam during the war and he was very sad that he couldn’t revisit that country when I traveled there in October last year. We resolved that one day we would do a “Jim and Rob Great Adventure”.Sometime around the middle of February we decided that this spring would be a good time to take a trip. Both of us figured we had the world to choose from for destination locations, but, alas, we knew we had to settle for someplace where we wouldn’t hear from our wives, “Oh, I always wanted to go there.” This restriction started to shrink the world quite a bit.
There was much searching on the internet for the best dates and days of the week to travel to and from Bangkok. It turned out that coming and going early on Tuesday mornings had the best fares. I learned through the searching that United had the cheapest rates. The discount sites, like Travelocity, presented cheaper prices but those didn’t include taxes, etc. I booked Jim and me to leave on April 16th and return on May 1st. Roundtrip United airfare cost us each around $960.
Larry Miller, Jim’s son-in-law’s father, and retired dentist, was al
ready on-board as a fourth trave
ler. We needed a replacement for Tim to utilize the time-share space that had been reserved. Luck was with us in Bob Kramer. Bob, like Jim, is a retired primary school teacher and a long time acquaintance of Jim’s. Bob and his wife have traveled extensively and they had recently spent a couple of days in Thailand. Bob was thrilled with the opportunity to return for a longer visit. The team was set.The flight to Bangkok was long. We left San Francisco at 1:30pm on the 16th. Eleven hours later we landed in Tokyo at 4:30pm on the 17th. An aircraft delay out of Tokyo meant that the 11:30pm Bangkok arrival didn’t happen until 2:30am on the 18th. The Tokyo to Bangkok leg of the journey took a little over 5 hours.
ocessing into Thailand was very easy. However, when you unload a 747’s worth of passengers onto the inspectors’ windows there’s going to be some waiting. We negotiated a van to drive us the 50 kilometers to our first RCI location. This was the Quality Suites Airport Resort. The trip cost us 1000 Baht. One dollar converts to ~34 Thai Baht, so the total for the four of us for this cab ride came to $30.
We wanted to see Bangkok, as it represented the capital of Thailand; Chiang Mai, with it being the northern center of Thailand; and somewhere on the southern coastal area to do some fishing – Maytee recommended Pattaya. When it all got laid out we had six days in and around Bangkok, four days in Thailand’s northern provenances, and three days on the coast. A couple of the days involved hotel transfers and air travel.
To our gluteus’ relief the driver pulled off the highway onto a narrow graveled road and stopped under the shade of a palm forest. We had arrived at one of the many longboat boarding stations for entry onto the canal that feeds the Floating Markets of Damnoen Saduak.
The four of us were shown to a table where coconuts had been prepared for our thirst quenching enjoyment. The young green coconut can be easily shaped and opened with a chopping knife. The water-clear content sucks down very flavor ably with a straw. The liquid is not the same as coconut milk; which is made by pulping and straining the nut’s white lining. The clear fluid is called coconut water and is known to be one of the world’s most potent anti-oxidant sources. Due to its sterility, pH, mineral, and sugar content, coconut water has been successfully used as liquid in intravaineous therapy in emergency situations. Log that for future jungle reference.King Rama IV had the canal dug to ensure provincial
The long-boat is powered by a four cylinder automobile engine. A propeller is attached to the end of a drive shaft that extends some 10 feet aft of the stern. The entire assembly sits on a sturdy swivel which permits control, in much the same way as a normal outboard engine. The long shaft advantage is it permits the boat to float in very shallow waters.Vendor’s open air shops and moored long-boats lined both sides of the canal. Women in drifting long-boats loaded with fruits and vegetables eagerly hawked their produce. Satisfaction of the tourist trade was evidenced by the scores of shops selling nothing but souvenirs. All prices are to be negotiated and our long-boat came home with its share of the floating merchandise. Our time on the water was about an hour and half.
The Big Pagoda:
A Wat is a Buddhist temple and school, with resident monks. A Wat has typically three structures: a chanting hall, with at least one Buddha image; a novice monk, or training, facility; and a pagoda, where the remains of a prominent individual are kept.
Phra Pathom Chedi is the highest stupa in the world with a height of 127 meters. It is located in the town of Nakhon Pathom. The name Phra Pathom Chedi means Holy chedi of the beginning. The stupa at this location is first mentioned in scriptures of the year 675, however archaeological findings date a first stupa to the 4th century. In the 11th century it was overbuilt with a Khmer style prang, which was later overgrown by the jungle. The ruin was visited several times by the later King Mongkut during his time as a monk. After his coronation he ordered the building of a new and more magnificent chedi at the site. After 17 years of construction the present chedi was finished in 1870.Photographs can’t fully capture the enormity of this chedi. This day the temperature was over 100F. The sun made it difficult to stare upon the brilliantly reflective surfaces of this mountain of glazed tiles.
Rose Garden:
I imagined our visit to the Rose Garden to be an opportunity to stroll among beautifully manicured plants shaded by lazily waving palm trees. The Rose Garden
turned out to be the Thai Village Culture Show. The show depicted many aspects of Thailand life: as the young man is introduced for a period into the Buddhist Monkhood; the grace and beauty of the Northern Thailand Fingernail Dance is used as a gesture of greeting and welcome; Thai-style boxing is a full-body sport which includes kicking; and, what presentation of Thai culture would be complete without elephants.
fully dressed and gracefully slim Thai women dancers. The high pitched “twang” created by the Thai stringed instruments, however, is best listened to in short doses. Hey, how much culture should a guy get?
contract order. Many of the pieces took the artisan over a year to complete. Price tags displayed figures from the low thousands to over 30 thousand US dollars. It would take a very special home to display some of this artwork.Thailand is the only Southeast Asian country which has
never fallen under the domination of European powers. Formally known as Siam, the nation is surrounded on the west by the Adaman Sea and Myanmar, formally Burma; to the northeast by Laos; and on the southeast by Cambodia. The Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia are to the south.River Kwai:
Bridge Over the River Kwai is a movie I want to see again – along with The King and I. The movie depicts some of the atrocities associated with the construction of the
Thailand-Burma Railway, or the Death Railway, undertaken by the Japanese during their WWII occupation of Thailand.The bridge is located at Kanchanaburi where the Kwai Noi
and the Kwai Yai rivers converge into the Mae Klong river. Today, the bridge is made of steel and is an integral piece of the western spur of the national railway system. In 1942/43 the bridge was constructed of wood. The movie depicts the bridge being destroyed by hand-placed explosives. In fact, the bridge was taken out with the American’s first use of the “smart bomb”.
A short walk from the bridge is Kanchanaburi Station. Here we boarded a train which was to take us over the Death Railway for about an hour’s journey westward to Wang-Po Station. We rode in open-window coaches and watched the vastly productive agricultural acreage pass by; rice, corn, cane, and litchis were all represented in the fertile red-brown river loam.
Elephant Trek:
A short while after leaving Wang-Po station we arrived at the Elephant Park. This park had been etched out of the jungle alongside the river. Access to the park requires a walk down a steep graveled path.
Raised on a dairy, I knew the meaning of the phrase, “Watch where you walk.” “Cow-hand, you ain’t seen nothing yet.” Now that that’s out of the way, the rest of the visit was very special.
like they were all youngsters. Their stature is much smaller than the cousin African elephant. However, when you get up close, they are mighty big. The lifespan of wild elephants has not been accurately determined, however, domesticated individuals are known to parallel, or exceed, man in their longevity.
about 10 feet to a boarding/dismounting platform. When passengers dismounted their elephant, the handler guided his animal to the corral for a rest. A fresh elephant was brought forward for every two new riders.
raise and lower its hips by a foot or more. The rhythmic undulation would cause a related throw, to the left or right, of the benched passengers. If an elephant galloped, I think its hips would stay more level. Our beast was following the one in front of it. Together, they managed to kick up quite a bit of dust. As passengers, our primary concern was to make sure we didn’t get wacked by a limb. At a fork in the trail the neck mounted handler would shout an instruction to his elephant, which would then take the left or right option. The animal would stop or start with other shouted commands. To me, the yells all sounded like “who”, or “ha”.
There were six to eight elephants in the river at the same time with us. We happened to get behind a mom with a calf. The calf was tethered to its mother with a length of chain. The chain didn’t stop the youngster from taking full roll-over and play advantage while it had it. Sometimes all I could see was the end of its trunk, which seemed to be scouting out if mom was angry yet, above the water line.Shortly after we climbed up to dry ground the handler slid off and permitted the elephant to follow unaided on the trail. When she would stop to wrap her trunk around what seemed like a small tree for a snack, the handler would command her back into action. Have you ever thought about being
on an elephant when it decides to say something to its handler, like, “Up yours.” A couple of times I thought the moment may be near.
I felt real bad about grabbing so hard on the elephant’s left ear, but it was going to be either her sore ear or me under her right front foot. This reaction to rolling sideward with the neck folds seemed intuitively obvious. I quickly realized the gimmick to stability atop an elephant’s neck was to press my lower legs against her jowls. I recalled my youth on horseback and tried desperately not to give our elephant the impression that I was trying to steer it with foot movements. With many things in life, doing the opposite is not always as easy as just following steps in reverse. Climbing onto the elephant’s neck was kind of like just sliding off the seat and wiggling a little bit forward. One doesn’t simply just do the opposite, and slide up an elephant’s shoulders to a seat. In fact, I don’t think the process is even describable.
Chatuchak Weekend Market:
Today we had a transfer to our second RCI hotel, the Grand Tower Inn. This meant that we had a free afternoon. Rumor had it that one of the best things to do on a Saturday in Bangkok was to spend it at the market. Lots of walking was not something that Bob wanted to do, so Jim, Larry, and I took a taxi to the market place.
Chatuchak Weekend Market, also known as Jatujak, started out as a flea market. This predominately weekend center is not only the largest open-stall market in Thailand; it is the largest in the world. The market covers over 35 acres and contains upwards of 15,000 stalls. It is estimated that the market receives between 200,000 and 300,000 visitors each day. Most stalls only open on Saturdays and Sundays. The market offers a wide variety of products including household items, clothing, Thai handicrafts, religious artifacts, collectibles, foods, and live animals. A short walk in from the taxi drop is a large clock tower. The tower is known as the center of the market and it is the only landmark visible from any of the lanes between blocks of stalls. The clock tower was to be our home base should we become separated.
Three retired men looking forward to a shopping center visit – who could have imagined it? If one could have looked at the site from above, they would have seen what appeared to be a half-million bumping, crowding, over-heated, and sweaty people with nowhere in particular to be. This was the reality of the weekend market.
There is a master plan as to where to find certain categories of things at the market. We came upon vast numbers of stalls selling fabrics, or maybe ceramic ware, or maybe food. Every item seemed to be available at a hundred different stalls somewhere on the grounds. It is unimaginable that one could not find, eventually, exactly what he was looking for at this place.
The Chatuchak Weekend Market is certainly a must-see when passing through Bangkok, Thailand. Ladies, you could have a spree rivaled by no past, present, or future neighbor. Dream about that!
Siam Niramit:
Evening is a time when men can pretend they have some couth. Ours started with a buffet dinner followed by a walk through a made-up rural village. In the village we were treated to authentic displays of homes, canals, and workplaces. We saw how silk was pulled away from the emptied cocoon, and how mortar and pestle was converted by levers into a foot operated rice grinding machine. Following the village walk we had reserved seats at the Siam Niramit Cultural/History Show. This was to be a journey to the Enchanted Kingdom of Siam.
Siam Niramit is one of the largest stage productions in the world, in a 2000 seat theater. The show is loaded with special effects and features 150 performers and over 300 costumes. This is an eye-boggling performance of Thailand’s art and cultural heritage.
We have been observing that the Thai people are very proud of who they are, and of their unique cultural history. Through three main acts we were taken back in history to The Ancient Kingdom of Lanna; through a Journey Beyond Imagination to the Blissful Heaven; and, a Journey Through Joyous Festivals. The music and scenery was wonderful. This was an enjoyable way to wind down the day. Who said, “Men don’t do cultural things.”
Ayutthaya & Summer Palace:
The kingdom of Ayutthaya was a Thai kingdom that existed from 1350 to 1767. Over these four centuries the kingdom expanded to become the nation of Siam. Siam’s borders were roughly those of modern Thailand, except for the north, the Kingdom of Lannathal. By the end of the fourteenth century, Ayutthaya was regarded as the strongest power in Southeast Asia.
In 1765 Thai territory was invaded by two Burmese armies that converged on Ayutthaya. After a lengthy siege, the city capitulated and was burned in 1767. Ayutthaya's art treasures and its historic records were almost totally destroyed. The city was left in ruins.
The country was reduced to chaos. The Thais were saved from Burmese subjugation, however, by an opportune Chinese invasion of Burma and by the leadership of a Thai military commander, Phraya Taksin. In 1768, Taksin was crowned king of Siam. King Taksin established a new capital at Thonburi across the river from the present capital Bangkok. All that remains of the old city are some impressive ruins of the royal palace.
King Taksin had to fight almost constantly for most of his reign to maintain the independence of his country. Thai historians indicate that the strain on him took its toll and the king started to become a religious fanatic. In 1781Taksin showed increasing signs of madness. He believed himself to be a future Buddha, and he flogged monks who refused to worship him as such. With the Burmese threat still remaining, a strong ruler was needed on the throne. King Taksin was declared insane and a coup removed him from the throne. Although he requested to be allowed to join the monkhood, the deposed king was executed shortly after the coup 1782. He was sealed in a velvet sack and was beaten to death with a scented sandalwood club, in accordance with the ancient tradition that no royal blood should touch the ground.
General Chao Phraya Chakri ascended to the throng, as King Rama I. The Rama dynasty maintains the throne today. Although not through royal proclamation, King Rama IX is revered by his subjects as if he were a deity.
Due to the ancient views of medicine and the human mind at the time, King Taksin's peculiar behaviors were often described as madness. With the advent of modern views of the human mind and psychology, many modern historians now believe the symptoms that were recorded in historical records more closely resembles signs of a midlife crisis. Spouse and children of mine take note.
The sites of ancient Ayutthaya were those of massively wide redbrick walls which used to surround the royal palace grounds. Today, they, and the buildings they once protected, lay in eroding ruin. It is difficult to imagine the Burmese forces it took to wreak such destruction on those massive structures.
The Summer Palace presented a striking visual contrast to the sights of the ancient palace grounds. This palace sees current use by King Rama and his family. Of course, it is a very large estate; complete with elaborately decorated buildings dedicated to every possible royal use. Lawns are carefully manicured and no damaged tree or hedge could be seen.
No one enters a tourist site without the necessary paid vouchers. With vouchers in hand we passed through the first stage of a visitors’ processing. To my surprise, we were walked through a metal detector. Armed soldiers guarded the passage. My thought was, “Oh boy, this thing is going to make some noise.” And it did. No one seemed alarmed, however, and I was waved on through. I guess somehow the guards knew that the bag I carried was full of just camera equipment.
Immediately outside the tourist entry building is a row of golf carts. The main walkway circumscribes the estate. For a few baht a party of four can be spared the climatic fatigue brought on by the otherwise lengthy stroll.
River Cruise:
The city of Ayutthaya is located at the junction of the Chao Phraya, Lopburi and Pa Sak rivers. No 10-hour day of touring is complete without a luncheon cruise. Today was not to be an exception.
The air-conditioned luncheon buffet treat was put on by 
River Sun Cruise. No sooner had the vessel left its mooring then we began our meal. I stuck to my instincts and ate the stir fried veggies and rice which had become my three-meal-a-day mainstay. I also dabbled in the fruit and meat sections of the buffet line.
The Chao Phraya River is at least 100 yards wide. Our ship stayed its main course down the middle. After lunch we climbed to the upper deck which featured an enclosed sitting area and access to the rear deck. Sights along the busy banks of the river can be easily photographed from the deck.
Upstairs we watched factories, mansions, wats, and hovels of working class homes, mounted over the water on fragile poles, pass by. The river teemed with barges laden to the water line with sand. Connected with a couple hundred feet of hemp tow line to a dilapidated appearing tug, the three to six barge units slowly made their way. The river also had many single-manned pole boats being used to bring in a marketable catch, or even just the next meal.
No relaxing river cruise drifts by so many diverse sights without the occurrence of a personal highlight. The images I captured this afternoon were both beautiful and depressing. Imagine my glee when the Singha Brewery sailed into view. Native to Thailand are only a few brews. The oldest and most popular of them is Singha. Jim and I had been occasionally imbibing this enjoyable all-weather treat since we arrived. The other prominent ones are Chang, Leo and Tiger.
The view I had of the brewery, with its neighboring grain silos, appeared to be that of any American brewery you may drive past on the freeway. The brewery boasts of using artesian wells; coupled to a water treatment and purification plant. Now, why exactly had Singha built this plant along such a dirty river?
Chiang Mai:
Chiang Mai is the largest and most culturally significant city of northern Thailand. Chiang Mai formally became part of Siam in 1774, when King Taksin, suffering from a small midlife crisis, captured it from the Burmese. Chiang Mai rose in cultural, trading, and economic terms to become the unofficial capital of Northern Thailand, second only in national importance to Bangkok.
The city has both old and new sections. In the center of the urban sprawl is the ancient city of Chiang Mai. Founded as the “new city” in 1296, Chiang Mai was surrounded by a moat and a wall. Gates of the old city wall are still prominent sights at the four main compass points inside the moat section.
What a difference there is between Chiang Mai and Bangkok. Like Bangkok, Chiang Mai has very good highway infrastructure. It is natively easier to orient oneself in Chiang Mai, however, because it is built in all directions away from the central moat; much like the familiar palace area in Washington D.C. The greater metropolitan area has a population of around 700,000; the city only about 150,000. Chiang Mai seemed clean and fresh compared to Bangkok.
Maytee, the tour organizer, had private van 
transportation and Thai Air Asia tickets ready for us at the airport. The flight took a little over an hour to cover the 700km to the north. Our new guide and van driver were waiting for us when we left the baggage pick-up room. The guide’s name is Kay, and the driver’s name is Jimmy. Hunches are that if we were German travelers, their names may have become Gilda and Rolf.
Jimmy had the air-conditioned van curb-side and ready to go. Toyota is, by the way, the dominate vehicle purveyor in Thailand. Jimmy’s van was, like all of the 
others we were to see, a nicely outfitted, complete with chilled bottled water, gray Toyota. Jimmy’s English communications didn’t go much past, “No”, “Yes”, and a nice grin. Kay, however, is a linguist who, over the years, had even picked up many Yankee idioms.
We had exhausted our reservations at RCI exchange hotels. The Mani Narakorn Hotel is a very new one located on one of the city’s main streets. We knew this place would be good, it even had free internet. The hotel is also only a few blocks away from one of Chiang Mai’s main nighttime attractions: the Night Shopping Street.
Night Shopping Street:
Changkran Road is the most famous shopping street in Chiang Mai. By day Changkran Road is a busy two-way street curbed with modern shops, including world 
known logos. By 6pm the street has morphed into a multi-block scene which would rival Bourbon Street during Mardi Gras; without the festive music.
Crowded onto the now one-way street are hundreds of curbside vendor carts competing for a piece of the enriched sidewalk traffic. The once demure daytime clothing store has tabled its fashions in front of open doors. Barkers vie for your attention as you try to dodge walkers whose eyes have strayed from their protection zone. Ladies: Chatuchak Weekend Market in Bangkok by day; Changkran Road in Chiang Mai by night. Who said you can’t have your cake and eat it, too?
As you walk down the street you discover an alley which opens up to a large parking area nestled between stores. At night the parking lot is like a flea market offering everything from freshly cooked dinners to foot massages; oolong tea to beautifully carved soap dishes.
Standard Thai, also known as Central Thai or Siamese, is the official language of Thailand. When traveling about Thailand one could expect to come across 11 or more small provincial to large regional variations of the Tai root language. Most people, however, also speak Central Thai, since it is the official language used in schools.
Numerous languages, not related to Thai, are spoken within Thailand by ethnic minority hill tribes people. If you travel northeast of Chiang Mai to Chiang Rai, you will come upon some hill tribes people such as the 
Akha, Yao, and the Karen.
The Thai written language is an adaptation of Khmer script. The alphabet has 44 characters. Tones, inflections, etc. are all carried above or below certain characters to lend emphasis to important implied points of a word or sentence. Now, here is something we English speakers can relate to – in Thai, it is Subject, Verb, and Object. Just like us, only the object is often left out.
A must question to be mastered by new travelers is: ห้องน้ำ อยู่ ที่ ไหน (hông nám yùu thîi năi) or, “Where is the toilet?” Less formal or immodest visitors may just use simple hand and body gestures to communicate their inquiry.
Chiang Rai & The Golden Triangle:
The van trip from Chiang Mai to Chiang Rai, 200 kilometers northwest, takes a little over 2 hours. Compared to the gargantuan urban sprawl of Bangkok, the suburbs of Chiang Mai dissolve away quickly into rural agricultural tracts. Short distances from the highway are the mountainous terrains of Thailand. It was to be over an hour before we actually began to intermingle with the slopes.
One series of hills to the north was pointed out by the guide as, “The world’s tallest mountain; taller, even, that Everest.” The mountain is called The Sleeping Woman. Lying on her back, with her hair laid out flat to the earth above her head, her profile facial features came to life. It is said that if she were to ever stand up, her stature would exceed the height of Mount Everest.
Thailand is not remembered in world cellars as a source of fine wines. It was surprising, as we ventured further north, to start coming upon stands alongside the highway which sold bottles of locally produced wines. Strawberry is the most abundant wine produced. The other prominent wine is Litchi.
The Litchi fruit is about 3 cm in diameter. The outside is covered by a red, roughly-textured thick outer skin that is inedible but easily removed. The inside consists of a layer of sweet, translucent white flesh, rich in vitamin C, 
with a texture somewhat similar to that of a grape. The fruit is quite good and is a ready item at all Thai food counters.
The driver pulled over to a roadside stand sitting under the shade of some ditch-side trees. The guide passed over a 20 baht note and brought back some pieces of 1-inch diameter bamboo; each piece was about 10-inches long. She passed the sticks around and told us how to eat them. 
The bamboo sticks had been stripped of their outer, glossy, hard surface and what remained was an easily peel-able inner bark. The hollow tube had been stuffed with a mixture of sticky rice, sesame, and coconut.
Access to this dessert delight was gained by removing a small end-plug made from ground bamboo. Peeling back the thin bark layer revealed a section of the mixture which was then grabbed by the fingers. This was a nice treat, and leftovers could be saved by replacing the plug and holding the bark sides closed with a rubber band.
Chiang Rai was the first capital of the Kingdom of Lannathai; not originally part of Siam. Chiang Rai lost its prominence when Chiang Mai was ordered built by the king. As was common during the middle-ages, Chiang Rai was conquered by Burma and held under its control for a couple of centuries.
Agriculture, tourism, and handicrafts built by area hill tribe people appear to be 
what keeps Chiang Rai going. At least a sixth of the population of the city comes from the hill tribes. A few kilometers northeast of Chiang Rai the center of the area’s tourist activity: The Golden Triangle.
The Golden Triangle is where the borders of Thailand, Burma, and Laos meet at the confluence of the Ruak and Mekong Rivers. From a viewpoint high on the hill side we were able to look down on the triangle and to read the history of the opium traffic which took place in the mountainous areas of Laos, Thailand, Burma, and Vietnam within a 150 kilometer radius of this central point.
Nearby were two hill tribe villages we visited. The first was home to the Akha Tribe. The Akha people migrated from China, beginning in the 20th century. These hill people live in thatch roofed, bamboo huts held a few feet above the ground by pole stilts. The huts are divided by gender - one side is for the women, and the other side, occupied by the men, is used as 
a more public area. The Akha subsist through an often destructive form of slash and burn agriculture. They are expert farmers who focus on mountain rice, corn, and soybeans that are planted in seasonal shifts. The Akha are also very efficient hunters.
In these tourist-friendly areas, the Akha supplement their income through the sale of handicrafts and woven clothing made 
using traditional hand skills. Like many other hill tribes of the region, they have, for many years, also cultivated opium as an additional source of income. Akha women enjoy chewing on a mildly intoxicating bitternut preparation. This leaves their mouths drooling and their teeth stained black.
The second tribe visited was the Yao people. The Yao people began their migration from southern China in the 15th century. The men and the women cover their heads with a black or red scarf. Some women substitute this scarf by a turban that can adopt different forms. The traditional suit of the women is of bright colors. They also decorate their shirts with artifacts made out of silver.
The Yao building is less primitive than those of the Akha people. Made of wood planked floors and bamboo, the Yao home sits directly on the ground. They are the only hill tribe to use a written language. They are a very peaceable and friendly people, who pride themselves on cleanliness and honor.
Yao women are noted for their magnificent cross-stitch embroidery, which richly decorates the clothing of every member of the family. The costume of the women is very distinctive, with a long black jacket with lapels of bright scarlet wool. Loose trousers in intricate designs are worn and a similarly embroidered black turban.
Mount Doi Suthep:
According to legend, a monk named Sumanathera had a dream; in this dream God told him 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 Budda's shoulder bone.
Sumanathera took the relic to northern Thailand. The relic apparently split in two, one piece was the same size as its original; 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 then released into the jungle. The King declared 
that where the elephant finally stopped would be a holy place. After a slow and arduous trek up the jungle covered Doi Suthep mountainside, the tired white elephant trumpeted three times and died. This was interpreted as the holy sign. The King ordered the construction of a temple at the site of the elephant’s death.
The Chedi at Doi Suthep is said to be 
where the bone of Budda is buried. The glistening mountaintop temple can be seen 15 kilometers away from the streets of Chiang Mai. To reach the temple and pagodas from its lower base, one must climb over 300 steps to the top. The sidewalls of the steps are capped with two ferocious dragons. Their open mouthed heads are at the bottom of the steps, protecting access, and their colorful scaled bodies snake to the top. When viewed from the bottom of the steps, the scales are yellow-gold; viewed from the top, they are green.
The first figure one sees before entering the holy area is the statue of the white elephant which gave its life to reach this point. Within the site are pagodas, statues, bells, and shrines.
We had enjoyed the afternoon free from scheduled touring. Jim had scheduled a much needed golfing sortie, Bob looked forward to calmness and rest, and Larry and I decided that the two of us would hire a tuk-tuk (a small motorcycle taxi with windscreen, lid, and padded back bench seat) to take us to find postage stamps and then for a tour to unseen places around Chiang Mai. We negotiated a driver who would first deliver us to a 
stamp vendor, and then, for a few baht take us for an hour tour, show us a fan & umbrella factory, and deliver us back to our hotel.
Why would two guys want to see how they make fans and umbrellas for women’s fashion and comfort? Well, this was the deal, and the factory was going to be first. Neither of us, of course, suspected that we were about to be “fiscally managed”.
Believe it or not, the factory was a treat to see. A manager met us at the entry to the open-air, covered, working area. We were showed how bamboo was hand sliced 
into thin paddle stick of various lengths, how the paddle sticks were connected together so a completed umbrella or fan would open and close properly, and how the finish fabric was cut and attached.
Of most delight was watching the artists free-paint Asian scenes on the silk or cotton fabrics. It was like watching a well programmed machine applying precision placed strokes. In moments, jungle scenery would come to life.
Each artist had a design paint board beside them, which displayed their specialty images. They welcomed the opportunity to pocket some commissioned baht by doing a special piece for visitors. I volunteered my belt-mounted passport case and within 3-minutes it was handed back with a wonderful sketch of two bull elephants raising trunks at each other. Detail on the sketch is superb.
Each of us spent a few minutes in the factory store selecting a sampling of artwork to ship home. After 
seeing how the fans were so carefully built, I wasn’t going to leave for home without one.
We had completely forgotten about the tuk-tuk driver. The driver hadn’t minded, as he was found in the parking lot visiting with a lady friend. Maybe he didn’t get a cut of what we purchased, after all. It was time to head home to prepare for our dinner cruise.
We had just crossed the moat from the inner city when the tuk-tuk driver answered his cell phone. This in itself wasn’t unusual; except we were motoring in rush 
hour traffic and only one loosely attentive hand was guiding our fates. We pulled off the side of the road where the focused conversation continued. When the driver hung up, we were told that his father had just been pushed into the drink while navigating his tuk-tuk, and he was currently being taken to the hospital.
The driver’s conversation had been with a friend who was, at that time, coming to pick us up, so he could go to see to his father’s needs. In a moment a shiny new, extended cab, 4x4 stopped behind the tuk-tuk. The driver was the lady friend from the parking lot. She was coming home from work with her daughter enjoying the breeze in the back, while reading a storybook. Larry gave the lady an address card we carried from the hotel. Both of us hopped in back with the girl for the rest of our outing.
There were no close encounters with traffic on the way to the hotel. However, she did take us to the wrong hotel. No worries, and a few minutes later we were dropped off at the front door. She refused to accept any money for the aborted tuk-tuk trip or for the portion she completed. She and her friend saw this whole affair as a gross inconvenience for the two of us. Alas, Larry managed to foist a few baht into her palm before she left.
Mae Ping River Dinner Cruise:
At 6pm the driver and van were at the hotel door to take us to our dinner cruise dock. When we arrived, Larry turned the pre-paid dinner vouchers over to the maître-de. We had arrived at a popular riverfront restaurant, and dining while cruising was one of their guest’s options.
We were welcomed aboard and shown to the tables of our choice. Each of us ordered a pre-dinner beverage, not included in the voucher, and waited departure. Funny, we were the first ones on the boat.
Within a few minutes, engines raised their tone and ropes were heaved. We were moving away from the dock. Funny, we were still the only ones on the boat. What the heck, it’s paid for.
I enjoyed the spiced Thai dishes as the lighted nighttime businesses slowly floated past along the shoreline. Several riverside restaurants sparkled with lights and music; one was even pushing away its loaded boat of dinner passengers. We shouted, “Ahoy, Mate.”
The Mae Ping River runs through Chiang Mai and past Bangkok. Because of several dams along the way, the only point-to-point passage was by kayak. The trip was relaxing, but uneventful.
One of the aspects about Thailand we were all most thankful for is its apparent lack of flying insects; as crowded and busy as a place like Bangkok is, there had to be hoards of bugs. Not in the cities, not on the canals, rivers, or in the jungle did any of us notice a fly or a mosquito. Or, maybe there was something in that shower water we used the first night we landed.
Mount Doi Inthanon National Park:
In 1954 the forests around Doi Inthanon were preserved as one of the original 14 National parks of Thailand. This vast forested parkland forms the primary mountain watershed for central Thailand. Mount Doi Inthanon has Thailand’s highest point, at 2565 meters, and it is called The Roof of Thailand.
On the main road to the summit of Doi Inthanon stand the two Napamaytanidol Chedi. These temples were built to honor the 60th birthday of the King and Queen in 1987 and 1992, respectively. The Queen’s temple casts off a pinkish hew, while that of the King’s is bluish. The hillside below the two temples is terraced with flowers and hedges.
On the lower slope of Doi Inthanon, near the Karen hill tribe village Ban Sop Had, are the Vachiratharn waterfalls, where the river Vachiratharn tumbles over a granite escarpment. A sod trail leads you beside pools of escaping river as it further plummets its way past resting boulders.
Karen Hill-Tribe People:
The Karen people have had a long and persecuted history as a hill dwelling ethnic group in Eastern Burma (Myanmar). Population estimates are up to 7 million 
native Karen living in Burma. With nearly half million, the Karen People make up the largest portion of the hill tribe people in Thailand.
We stopped at the Karen hill-tribe village of Ban Sop Had, near the Vachiratharn waterfalls. In this village the women are known for their woven works. Under the shade of a stilted bamboo and thatched home we found a small clutch of women 
balling spools of yarn as it came off an improvised spinning wheel. Further along the well worn sod path between the structures was a room with two women sitting on a plank floor. They had tethers around their waists tied to a harness point a few feet behind them. With their hands working the yarn and shuttle, and their feet applying and releasing pressure on the loom, they were buckled in for an afternoon of weaving creativity. A partition in the room displayed their draped finished products. The price of a piece of fabric was determined by its size; there was small, medium, and large. It was a treat to sort through the work of the several weavers and pick just the right one to take home.
The unseen men of the tribe 
were at work, too. The Karen people, as with virtually all of the northern hill tribes, are agriculturists. In the jungle mountains the tribes are not blessed with being able to plant only on natural clear plots of land. They have to first clear acreage by slash and burn labor. As we drove through and beyond Chiang Rai, it was evidenced by the hazy blue sky that forest burning was taking place.
Pattaya:
This was a part of the trip most looked forward to; deep sea fishing and a bit of time on the beaches. We were shuttled to the Chiang Mai airport and said our well meant sad goodbyes to Kay and Jimmy, or whoever they really were. From Maytee’s itinerary, we located the check-in counter for our Thai Air Asia flight to Bangkok.
In Thailand one isn’t issued a ticket 
for country operated airlines. Instead, you receive the equivalent of a cash register receipt, which is collected from you at the boarding gate. Seat assignment stubs aren’t necessary, because all flights are open seating. This means first on gets choice, the rest get leftovers. No worries, the flights in-country are all short, and there wasn’t any overbooking.
As we had come to expect, we were met outside baggage claim in Bangkok by two people. One was waving a sign with our names. In this instance, however, neither were a guide and neither one spoke English. We were assured they knew where we were going.
I admit it; we had been spoiled by our past drivers. This pair parked the van in the parking garage, which was some luggage packing blocks from our last air-conditioned container. I think they were fairly new at the chauffeur trade.
Pattaya is over 200 kilometers southeast of Bangkok. In the early afternoon 
we weren’t troubled with rush hour traffic; it was just thick and slow. We got the impression that they entire highway between Bangkok and Pattaya was currently being replaced by new freeway. It was shortly past 4pm when we arrived at the Pattaya Park Beach Hotel.
Pattaya Park is at least a 3-star hotel. That rating had never meant anything to me before today. We were shown to a cooled, two bedroom corner room on the seventh floor. This room definitely showed its age. Besides, it only had three beds; two singles and a king. The manager assured us that they would have more suitable accommodation when rooms emptied tomorrow, if we could weather the one night. All was good.
As part of the tour package we had bought into a “fish & swim” package for Pattaya. As we were driven to the docks the next morning, the more serious fishermen among us were getting concerned that we may be boarding a many passenger charter, where no constructive fishing was going to be done. Fears of that were put aside when we were led aboard a clearly not for fun and partying 60 foot fishing boat. Whoa, this thing looked scary.
The skipper was friendly, but all serious business. We were shown to shaded seats on the top deck, behind the helm. Diesel engines came to life and we backed carefully from the mooring. Pattaya has a busy commercial fishing harbor, and it is also filled with small luxury cruise vessels and lots of one-man jet skis.
We passed several islands in the Gulf of Thailand in route to the perfect fishing spot. The captain slowed engines and started circling the boat at one spot. He had spotted activity on his scope. Our first sight of the first mate was when the captain told 
him to lower the anchor. We had arrived.
The front deck had a cargo hold that was full of live squid. The mate fetched squid as the captain readied four poles. Lines were out. No one had any idea what we were fishing for, but we flipped coins to decide who would be first to reel should something eat one of our swimming squid. Larry won the tosses.
The mate set to cutting a squid for bait pieces to use on double-hooked hand lines. Each got a line with a sinker on it for bottom fishing. We started to catch fish right and left. Since Larry caught the first bottom fish we told him he had just forgone the opportunity to reel in the first pole catch. This didn’t really trouble him, since we knew that Jim, despite the coin tossing, was going to be our main fisherman.
Woops, it happened. We caught something other than a fish with one of the hooks. In the hand-line process, Larry snagged his right index finger. It was painful for all of us to watch as the captain took charge and tried to remove the hook. Larry held up well. Dirty fingers, rusty and bent needle-nose pliers, and wire cutters were the only tools at our disposal. From past Southeast Asia travel, Bob always carried a roll of toilet paper with him, but that wouldn’t help here.
Realizing that the imbedded hook was only going to come out of the finger point first, I suggested we free Larry from the second hook, sinker, and dragging line. I used the wire cutters to cut the line and eye off the hook. We tried every which way to get that hook to break skin and show us its barb. No luck. Larry was going to suffer a while from “dull hook syndrome”.
The mate rang the lunch bell. 
We had pulled up a dozen or more bottom fish. They ranged in size from about 4 inches to 10 in length. The mate had cleaned and fried them all. Included in the fare were some pieces of deep fried pork, and some spicy veggie soup. We found stowed away in the ice cooler a good stock of Singha beer.
Despite the battle wound, Larry was ready for tucker. He introduced me to a way of removing the back cartilage from the fish. His technique exposed both sides of the rib cage to unimpeded meat, ready to scrape off with the front teeth, or a fork.
The lunch was great and we realized that any leftovers would be shared between the captain and his mate for not only lunch, today, but for dinner tonight. We hand-fished some more to bring the boat’s stock back up.
With no luck at all with the pole fishing, we decided to motor in early and get Larry to the hospital where he could get the hook removed. The captain had called ahead and our van and driver were waiting for us.
Jim had found out through conversation that the captain earned a 4,000 baht, or ~US$120, salary each month, plus he and the mate got to use the boat as a home. We were told by Kay that an average salary in Thailand was between 6,000 and 10,000 baht, or about US$170 to $300.
These small sums naturally concerned us. However, the tourist must keep in mind the effect that over tipping can cause to an economy which relies so heavily on that trade. At the start of our travel in Thailand, we each gave Larry an equal amount that was to be used by him to pay common expenses, such as tipping. With each new occasion, Larry would pole each of us as to what might be the best amount to tip for the services we had received.
Our hearts went out when we considered the small amounts these hardy workers pulled in each day. We learned that the captain spent over 300 baht each week on his smoking habit, alone. Would one weeks’ worth of smokes be enough; and, what about the mate? We finally decided on an amount which wouldn’t embarrass the recipient, by over tipping, and would also show our gratitude. By the way, this was all done in Yankee Think, and not in Thai Think.
Thailand Emergency Room Service:
From the Pattaya docks we were driven to the 
Pattaya International Hospital primary entrance. A nurse approached and quickly grimaced upon seeing Larry’s badly wounded digit. I accompanied Larry and the nurse to the Emergency Room. Larry was shown to a bed, where I helped him off with his sandals. Now is when, Larry will appreciate in retrospect, things started to get fun.
I like to take photographs. As far as the room staff believed, I was Larry’s aide, and I was going to document all that happened to him. Some of the images are priceless.
The doctor on call was a cardiac physician. He was a very pleasant man who spoke fluent English. The doctor and Larry, a retired medic himself, discussed antiseptic drugs which may be appropriate to numb his finger tip, yet leave him with no ill side effects. Having decided that, the photo ops became marvelous.
Larry’s hand was first totally swabbed with an antiseptic iodine solution. This was a medical procedure which came with no prior knowledge of the degree of
contamination that had already been shoved into his finger tip. Next, a tray was placed under his outstretched hand, and a blue cloth; with a hand sized hole cut and stitched into it, was wrapped around his palm and over his forearm. Flash photos were capturing all this preliminary surgery work, and all those in attendance, which seemed two or three more than was probably necessary.
I don’t think the doctor told Larry, “This may sting just a little bit.” All of a sudden Larry’s head shot back, his mouth flew open, and his left leg flung into the air. I guess it may have stung a little more than a bit. Those facials made good shots.
One needle was empty, but the doc needed more. It was a concerned look Larry had on his face as he watched the nurse hold the bottle upside down, so the doctor could insert the needle for its recharge. The reaction to the second injection solicited the same response from Larry. This time, however, I grabbed his raised big toe and gave it a bend. Adding intentional additional pain was a gimmick I used on myself each time I sat in a dentist’s chair. I don’t think it helped this time, however.
In 5 minutes the finger was numb. Larry and I looked with fascination at what came next. There was no way those little tweezers were going to push that hook out. Larry told the doctor to go straight to the big pliers. The doctor, however, was going to use each graduated size of haemostatic forceps, if need be, that he had at his disposal in the sterile solution tray. Finally, with the aid of a small, sharp pointed forceps, starting a new hole, he pushed the hook through.
Newly bandaged, and with thanks passed out, Larry was off to wait at the pharmacy window for some pain killers and a dose of antibiotics. But first, he wanted to take with him the recovered hook. There was some quick jabber about sterility, but I picked up the contaminated hook and released it from the hemostat’s grip into Larry’s dirty coin pouch. We were out of there. The total hospital visit, with medications, set 
Larry back a little over US$90.
That evening, after we readied for our 2:30am checkout from the hotel, Jim and I sat down to have a look at today’s surgery photos. We laughed so hard at Larry’s expressions that we almost had our precious last drops of Singha coming out our noses. What a way to end a great adventure with two new, and three great friends.
Rob Duncan
April 8, 2007
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