Gary Underdahl

Standards in the Panorama, Tuesday, November 24, 2009

2009-11-26T17:31:00.000-08:00

I got up at 8, stretched, had some OJ, worked on my diary and finished watching 'Shortcut to Happiness' and showered.

At 11 I walked to the BTS station, rode the skytrain to the Asok station and transferred to the MTS and rode to the Hua Lumphong station. From there I walked into Chinatown, looking for the Monk's Bowl Village. I was in the wrong area and walked around for over an hour, before I got my hair cut. The barber was Chinese and didn't understand English, so I looked at his poster showing men's hair styles, all longer than I wanted. I finally pointed to the King's portrait to show the type of cut I wanted. He used the electric cutter, then the scissors and comb to get my hair short enough. I had not cut my hair in about 2 months and really needed it cut. Cost was 50B plus a 10B tip.

As I was leaving the barbershop I asked the barber if he knew where the Monk's Bowl Village was. He didn't understand, but a customer, an older Chinese man, motioned with his arm down the street and a left turn. I had no indication of how far to go, but in the next block I found the street sign I had looked for, Ban Bat. I walked down a few hundred feet and was asked by a taxi driver 'Monk's Bowl?'. I nodded yes and he motioned to the right where I could see an open air shop, with glass display cases. Two men said 'Sawadee Krab' and motioned me to the cases which had a lot of bowls, most painted black, some with gold design painted along the top edge. There were some smaller versions and one large one wrapped in a colorful cloth cover and strap. I looked at all of the bowls and tapped one after the man demonstrated it, to hear the tone. I asked about cost. One man said 1000B, and 1400B for the covered bowl. I had about 1200B left, so I showed them my charge cards and one of them said 'ATM'. He led me on a 5 minute walk to a bank ATM down the block and around the corner. I was hoping they had some way of charging the purchase. I tried my debit card and found the fee was 150B for any amount I wanted up to 2000B. Since my bank might have another fee and an exchange fee, I decided the cost was too much. I told the man, and he motioned to the bank door. I asked the teller if they could give me money on my charge card. She asked if I had a PIN and I said 'Only for the debit card', so she shook her head no and said 'ATM', then 'Bangkok Bank'. The Bangkok Bank was next door. I knew they wouldn't be able to charge the purchase to my Visa, so I checked their ATM and found the fees to be the same as the first ATM. I told the man it was too much and we walked back. I put all my money on the top of the case and asked if that would be enough for the covered bowl, which the other man had already put in a plastic bag. The 2 men looked at each other, said something in Thai, then gave me back 82B and said 'Tuk-tuk'. So I got the bowl for 1140B, and I took photos of the cases and 2 workers pounding on bowls.

The walk back to the MTS was all the way through Chinatown and took about half an hour. I walked part of the way in the street because the sidewalk in some stretches is clogged with vendor carts and shoppers. Some of the clerks and others recognized the bowl and smiled. One older Chinese man spoke enough English to ask what I was going to do with it. 'Souvenir', I told him. He asked if I was Buddhist and said some Thais use it to for offerings to monks. About 3, I called Bill to confirm that I was on my way to the apartment and we didn't need to go to IT City.

I walked to Bill's from the Ekkamai station and bought 2 packs of instant noodles at the stand in the parking lot, for 12B. Since I shouldn't need enough Baht to pay $10 for a cash advance, I decided to exchange some of my remaining $114. I checked the camcorder and tripod so I would be ready when I arrived at the restaurant.

Bill and I left about 4:40 and caught a songthaew to the BTS station. I borrowed 100B from Bill to add value to my BTS card just because it is easier than buying a ticket for each ride. I got off at Phrom Phong, as Bill suggested, and went out of the gate to the stores on the walkway. There were 3 currency exchange booths. I changed a $20 to Baht, getting 648.8B, a rate of 32.44B to the dollar. Traveler's checks get a better rate, 33.02B per dollar.

I decided to go onto the sidewalk to find a food cart with something to eat, since I hadn't had anything today except my morning OJ. There were lots of carts, most of them showing meats, with relatively few vegetables in sight. I found one cart on a side street sidewalk, just before the Asok station, with tables and chairs, and an English menu. I ordered the only thing I knew was mostly vegetables, Dom Sam (green papaya salad) and sticky rice. The salad had the usual vegetables, with peanuts a few tiny shrimp in it. It was very good. Cost of both dishes was 45B. Walking further I stopped to look at the bootleg DVD movies on a sidewalk table. They were each 100B, so I got 'Julie and Julia', for Trish, as a souvenir of Bangkok.

I climbed the steps up to the BTS walkway over the street, to cross over the intersection to the MTS station, stopping only long enough to drop a baht coin in the cup of a little girl asleep face down on a landing. There are a lot of beggars in Bangkok, mostly on or near the BTS stations, but I've just passed all the others. Many are crippled and some young women have babies. It is hard to just pass any of them. Couldn't just pass the little girl. One baht is little more than a gesture, but maybe it will help.

My MTS card was low, so I added 100B to it, resulting in a 96B card. I must have been 4B short on my previous trip. There are no add value machines in the station. The agents are in a booth and can add value only outside the gates.

I rode to the Silom station, then used Bill's map to climb the steps to the walkway over the street, then down to the sidewalk by McDonald's and onto the Pan Pacific Hotel. I started the video outside to show the street and the hotel entrance, then rode the elevator to the 23rd floor, arriving about 6:30. The MaitreD led me toward the dining room, but I told her I wanted to see my friend play, so she led me to a table in front of their set. No other customers were in the area. I nodded to them as they were performing and started video recording with the camcorder on the table, propped up with my coin holder. That didn't work well, so I soon pulled out the tripod. I recorded all of their songs, and between sets, got the tripod adjusted to make panning from one to the other performer relatively smooth. I changed batteries before I needed to change the memory stick.

The piano player, Jimmy Cicero, is personable and talked to me briefly on the breaks, mentioning he was from Hayward and hadn't been back there for 8 years. Bill and Chang sat with me most of their break time. We talked about their work and my travels, and I showed Chang the 2 photos of Bill's sister. Their contract is not being extended, so it is completed at the end of December. Bill may travel to India then. Chang may go to London to a language school. She knows a lot about Chiang Mai because she stayed there growing up as her family had a home there. She also stayed on Ko Pha-Ngan, so knows about snorkeling around there, in the Gulf of Thailand.

A group of 3 men sat and applauded the music for a few songs during the last set. At 10 the music finished and I thanked them. Jimmy Cicero said goodbye and Chang said she hoped I would visit Thailand again.

Bill and I stopped at Tops Produce Store. I bought 2 Australian Murcott Oranges, for 40B, and 2 cans of tea, 32B, and 2 bags of soup, 40B, for a total of 112B. We rode back on the MTS and BTS, then a songthaew. I gave the DVD movie to Bill to copy and filled my liter bottle with purified water, for 1B.

Today, I paid out 1671B, about $50. I have left about 250B, but probably need only enough for the ride to the airport.

Bangkok Movie Theater, Monday, November 23, 2009

2009-11-26T16:57:00.000-08:00

I got up at 6:30, stretched, started on the OJ, worked on my diary and backup of photos and video. Later I showered and went to the Coffee Art shop to upload some photos and update my blog. I emailed a birthday greeting card and messages to Brett for his 18th birthday on the 25th. About 11:24 Trish called and asked about pre-ordering the Susan Boyle CD for $9.99. Shipping is free if the order is at least $25, so Trish called Bill to see if he wanted anything else from Amazon. He didn't, and called me again after 12 to let me know. I checked through a lot of things on Amazon and found a motorcycle travel book I wanted to read, so I added that to the order to get free shipping. I was in the shop from 11 to 1:30, so my charge for the computer use was 90B.

On the way back I sat down at the lunch cafe in the apartment parking lot. The man was busy cooking for about 8 young people, and wasn't caught up, so I decided to go up to the apartment and heat up a bag of steamed rice and the tray of stir fried mama noodles with sp, from the refrigerator. The sp is spices, and it was good. The Pepsi didn't taste like much, probably because of my congestion.

I watched parts of the movie 'Gabriel' but found it too bizarre and violent. I started to watch 'Shortcut to Happiness', which is OK so far.

Trish had mentioned that Bill wanted to go to a movie today, on his day off work. Bill and I talked for a short time before he went to the dental appointment at 4. The movie he wanted to see, '2012', was at the theater near the Ekkamai BTS station. He called me at 5 and said the movie started at 5:50 and we could meet in the lobby. I showered and put on long pants and carried a long-sleeve shirt and wind breaker, expecting the theater to be AC cold. I walked down to the theater and looked around in the mall shops for 20 minutes til Bill walked in.

Bill was wearing a new cap, with the name of his proposed dance movement workshop, Fo Cuz, stitched on it. We got senior day tickets, 100B for this movie rather than the expected 80B, and found the 5:50 showing was in Thai. The English version was at 6:35. With over 45 minutes to go, we walked next door to the FamilyMart. I found the sandwiches sold out and bought a 450ml bottle of strawberry drinking yoghurt for 19B and a long bun filled with sweetened butter, for 17B. We still had a lot of time, so we sat down at the Black Canyon cafe in the mall. Bill had a Thai tea and I had a coconut soup, Tom Kha, for 80B. The soup was very good, although it still had some inedible stems and ginger in it. I left a 10B tip, so my cost was 90B.

We found our preselected seats and I put on my shirt. It wasn't as cold as the last bus I rode, so I was warm enough without my jacket. There were ads and previews that went on for half an hour. The movie is a doomsday story, with very realistic special effects, and good acting. Billions of people die, off camera, with thousands being saved in huge high tech arks.

During the movie I ate the bun, which was good and sweet, and drank half the yoghurt. Indigestion started soon after and I realized that the yoghurt probably didn't have any acidophilus culture that I expected because it is in all of the US yogurts I've tried. I quickly swallowed an acidophilus capsule and was able to stay through the movie, and the indigestion did not get worse, but didn't go away either.

The movie finished sometime after 9:30. Bill got a call from Ajahn Sumano on the way out. He needed some reference book, I think Bill said. We took a little songthaew back to the apartment, and Bill paid the 10B each fare. The fare increases from 5B to 10B after 10pm.

So my outlay for today is 315B, about $9.45.

Bangkok Chinatown, Sunday, November 22, 2009

2009-11-22T21:29:00.000-08:00

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I was up about 8 this morning, stretched, showered and finished the OJ. I worked on diaries, imported and converted my underwater video, and read some more from the guidebooks.

Before noon I started the DVD creation of the UW video, then I walked down to the BTS station, stopping on the way for a plate of Som Dam, which is green papaya salad, and sticky rice, at a street vendor on Soi 4, for 40B. It was very good, quite spicy. I toned it down with the cabbage and a green bean, then washed it down with water.

While waiting for a BTS train, Trish called and we had a nice talk. She has been tired and doesn't sleep well, but forced herself to get out to the senior dance Saturday. I told her the weather in Bangkok since I returned has been mild, cooler and drier than when I left a week ago.

I rode the BTS train to the Asok station, then transferred to the MTS (subway) and rode to the end of the line, at the Hua Lumphong train depot. From there it is a short walk to the nearby Chinatown. Crossing the bridge over the canal, a Chinese man about my age stopped to tell me to come to the Old City tomorrow at 10 for a holiday, at some wat, but I couldn't understand the name. I showed him my map, but the place was to the west of the map. He goes on the Skytrain, then takes buses to get there. The canals shown on the map go to the Old City, he said.

I walked the 2 main streets in Chinatown and took a few photos, but the battery I had changed to is the one which does not always charge up. Apparently, the charge contacts don't touch the charger contacts unless the battery is pushed sideways. I was able to shoot by reinstalling the battery. I could get one shot at a time that way, using the small charge left in the battery. Many stores are closed on Sunday. A small Canon camera store was open, but it didn't have the charger or the aftermarket battery. It had a Canon battery, for 3900B, but I declined because I don't have the Canon charger and the new battery might not be charged, and the price is higher than on Ebay. Traveling back to get one of the other 2 batteries would take too much time, so I kept walking and taking in the sights. There were a lot of people on the narrow and often blocked sidewalks. The blockage was from street vendors, of food and souvenirs, mostly.

Restaurants and food vendors on the street both advertised Bird's Nest and Shark Fin soups. I didn't check the prices. Some jewelery stores were open. One, with gold chains hanging on the back wall, was busy, with Asians lined up 3 deep at the counter. Probably putting their money into gold, or gifts for the folks back home.

I tried to walk to the Monk's Bowl village, but turned the wrong way and ended up near the subway station, so I took it to the Phra Ram 9 station and IT city. I went up to the 3rd floor and asked for a charger at the first camera store I found. The girl had only a battery and charger set, for 1050B. More than I wanted to pay, but the charger was a tight fit on the battery, so I bought it. I also wanted screen savers and was sent down to a camera repair store, on the same floor. They were able to cut down a screen saver for the rear screen, for 100B. Next, I bought a 50 pack of blank CDs and a 7 port USB hub for Bill, 530B. Then I bought a grounded to ungrounded outlet plug, for 10B. I also asked about the serial number for the Adobe programs I bought last month and was told it was in the package.

I felt hungry, so I got a 100B card at the ground floor food court. I tried 2 dishes, not Thai, but Asian, for 45B and 35B. The first was stuffed noodles, sliced pork and green leaves, with a side of broth, and the second was Kyoza, or something like that, 5 stuffed dough crescents, thinly slice cabbage and a dipping sauce. Quite a bit of meat in all that, and not enough green veggies. Both looked good, but neither was great or filling, so I finished with a traditional dessert, for 20B. It was gelatin and fruit, cut into small cubes or that size pieces, topped with crushed ice and brown sugar. Tasted OK. My congestion is still interfering with the tastes or the odors, from food.

I returned to Roger's apartment, using the MTS and the BTS, which is now kept too cold, then walking. I stopped at Big C for a liter of OJ, a small tray of cooked noodles, a bag of soup, and 2 small bags of steamed rice, for 99B. At Roger's I filled my liter bottle with purified water, for 1B.

I finished to cookies in the apartment and watched 'Miss Potter' a very good movie, and started watching 'The Piano Player', a not so great movie.

So my outlay for today is 1930B, about $58.

Rest Day in Bangkok, Saturday, November 21, 2009

2009-11-22T21:22:00.000-08:00

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We arrived at the Southern Bus Station about 4:15am, Saturday morning, although I walked around a lot before I figured out where I was. Wanted to make sure I was in Bangkok. I was too tired to try to find a bus into the city, so I asked a taxi to take me to Ekkamai, Soi 12 (1, 2). He drove like mad and I was back at Bill's at 5am. I paid the 241B fare with 260B. I found Bill's door too hard to open, like it was locked, so I let myself into Roger's apartment, drank some of the OJ I had left in the refrigerator and went to bed, falling asleep quickly. Bill said later that the trip can take over 2 hours on local buses.

I woke up about 8, and remained tired all day, having had less than 3 hours sleep. I stretched and showered, then had more OJ and started to update my diary, which I was unable to do on the Surins, both because I was too tired, and because the electricity wasn't available til 6pm.

I talked with Bill, about 11. He has a dental appointment on his day off, Monday, so we won't be able to go together to Ayuthaya.

I had lunch just before noon at the nearby cafe, a soup with big noodles, bean sprouts, fish balls, some other meat and bread rounds, for 40B. Tasted good, in spite of my sinus congestion.
I needed a walk to loosen my back so I walked down to the Big C where I bought tissue, 15.5B, Listerine, 57.5B, 1L of mixed fruit juice, 69B, 4 steamed dough buns, 32B, a small tray of fried rice, 10B, and 2 small bags of cooked rice, 10B, for a total of 194B.

About 2pm Trish called. She had talked to Mom who had just done some eye surgery on her good eye. Results won't be known for a while, but it is only intended to preserve the remaining sight. Trish sounded fine, but is tired from the IRS problem tension.

I ate the dough buns while they were still warm. They were wet on the bottoms and dried out on the tops, and the fillings were nearly tasteless, although that may be partly because of my sinus congestion, which causes most foods to have little taste. They weren't nearly as tasty as my memories of ones I've bought from street vendors. I drank the mixed fruit juice during the afternoon and finished it with dinner, a bag of rice mixed with the fried rice, which had small pieces of sausage mixed in it. I also ate most of the bag of creme cookies I had left in the refrigerator.

When I tired of the diary entry typing, I watched some DVD movies, checking all of the setups and menus til I found the culprit for the lack of voice. The sound for the DVD player output was set to 5.1Ch, so when I changed it to stereo, the DVD sound was fine on all of the movies. So I rewatched 'The Gathering Storm', then watched 'District 9' which was hard to follow and too bizarre for me, 'The Other Boleyn Girl' which was a fine story and well done, and the beginning of 'Miss Potter' which seems like a family film, as it probably should be.

I rested a lot, hoping to get rid of the cold.

So my outlay for today is 494B, about $15.

Surin Islands, Day 3, Friday, November 20, 2009

2009-11-22T21:14:00.000-08:00

I woke with the sun and got up around 7, in time for breakfast at 7:30. We were served rice soup. Tasted fine to me, although I still prefer citrus fruit or juice.

Mikey pointed out a lemur in the tree near the main building. It was up over 20 feet and looked like a lump of gray fur on the tree trunk. I took a video clip, but it didn't move.

The 3 of us tourists, plus Mikey and the 2 crewmen, went out in the long-tailed boat about 9. We went to 2 snorkel sites, skipping one other because the waves were too high and the tide was too low. On the 2nd site, I saw an eel and called the others over to have a look. The eel was in 3 feet of water, and was small. It stayed put, with less than a foot of his body showing out of his home.

About 11:45 we rode over to the Moken Village, a tourist version of the sea gypsies village. The huts are built of native vegetation and are on stilts, on the beach. There is a small exhibit building, a souvenir shop, with T shirts, and women offering Pandanus mats and boxes, and model Moken boats for sale along the path through the village. There are about 50 families living there and they have a clinic and school.

We went back a little after noon for the bounteous Thai lunch. Trish called partway through lunch and we had a nice talk, although she feels the bank is not going to help her with her IRS problem, since they did nothing wrong. Bill called right after that to tell me that Oye had left to be with her grandmother, so I won't be visiting her village.

After lunch I said goodbye to Jamie and Eric, who went out on the long-tailed boat with Mikey. I packed, left the 2 lead weights in Mikey's tent, on top of a 400B tip. On my way down to the beach, the lemur was just climbing back up the tree. I didn't have any cameras out. It looked like a gray squirrel, and it went high up, out of sight.

I waited til 3 when I and many others got in a long-tailed boat to get into water deep enough for the speed boat. The waves were enough to keep the boat off the beach. We boarded the boat about 3:40, after another group, and filled the boat, probably 25 tourists and a crew of 6. I went to the back and found a seat in the center of the side bench. The ride back was the roughest I've experienced in a small boat. The sea was choppy, with a lot of white caps. The boat surged on the waves and dropped in the troughs, pounding again and again. There are no side curtains, so the spray soaked the rear passengers, and there wasn't enough room for them to move out of the way. I was in the drier portion of the boat and was dripped on only a dozen times or so, when the waves were bigger than normal. We didn't get out of the rough water til we were near shore. The trip in to the mainland took about an hour and 40 minutes, about 30 minutes longer than the trip out to the Surins last Wednesday. Fortunately, the seats were padded, although some people stood the entire trip and one woman sat on the very hard ice chest. I am no longer in love with small boats on the open ocean.

Back at the pier, we turned in our towels, fins and snorkels, and I rinsed off in the toilet, because I was very salty and there are no fresh water showers that I could see. I asked one woman Greenview worker about my bus ride to Bangkok, and she immediately told one of the young men to drive me to the bus station, several miles away in the town of Khuru Buri. I paid the 550B for the VIP bus, and waited only about 25 minutes for the bus. I couldn't find the seat numbers and sat in the front til a young couple asked for their seats. I apologized and moved back to the only empty seat. We were given a lunch of a red bean paste filled baked bun, a small waxed box of soymilk and a small water bottle. The seat reclined and their was a thin blanket and small pillow provided, but the seat was too small for me and the AC kept the bus too cold for me to get warm with the blanket. Would have been OK if I didn't already have a cold. Couldn't sleep during the entire 10 hour ride. We stopped once at 10pm for a 20 minute break at a Muslim food court. All of the rice dishes I saw, on signs in Thai and English, had meat in them, so I bought a small tray of roasted hemispheres, of dough with a jam filling, for 20B. There was no English sign for it. Tasted good.

So my outlay for today is 970B, about $29.

Surin Islands, Day 2, Thursday, November 19, 2009

2009-11-22T21:04:00.000-08:00

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Being exhausted, Sofie and I both retired early last night, before 9. I fell asleep quickly, even on the thin pad and packed sand.

I woke up with the sun, about 6:30. Got up about 7, stretched, put on my trunks and T shirt, and walked 200 feet for breakfast. We had a fried egg, sunny side up with a soft yolk, on a lettuce leaf, with onion slices, 4 slices of white bread, 2 hot dogs, and slices of cucumber or something else, but I forgot what it was. There was salt and pepper on the table, which I used on the egg. I ate everything because I was hungry, and I liked the egg.

This morning Sofie decided she wanted to go back on the afternoon speed boat and would not risk infection by going snorkeling. So, Mikey and I went out in the long-tailed boat, with the captain and a crewman to 4 snorkel spots, leaving about 9. At each spot, the crewman, Mikey and I fell into the water, with both Mikey and the crewman looking and finding things for me to see and video. Mikey was able to take the camcorder underwater and point it to grouper under a ledge. I had accidentally left the camcorder zoomed out and got nothing that can be watched.

We came in at 11:30 and had lunch at noon. Sofie was still certain she needed to go for treatment, partly because she flys out on Sunday and wants to be healed as much as possible before the long flight. We had a good Thai lunch, with more than we could eat. A weight wrapped in paper was given to Mikey at lunch. It was addressed to Mr. Gary and had other Thai words on it. There were no zip ties and Mikey asked around and found none on the island, so I fastened the weight to the bottom weight with one end of the neck cord.
After lunch, about 1, Trish called and we had a good talk.

We both said our sad goodbyes to Sofie, then went snorkeling. The crewman found a nylon cord from which I cut 2 lengths and tied the weight on a little more securely. The 2nd weight made the case nearly neutral, but there was still a slight positive buoyancy, so that was almost perfect. I shot a lot of video, and hope some of it is watchable. We stopped at 4 sites, all quite clear, with fairly calm water.

We were back about 4 and I put on my socks and shoes to walk the nature trail. The trail is closed because of damage from the Tsunami of 2005?. The other improvement on Surin Islands, including the tents and most of the equipment were washed away. The people had enough warning to go to higher ground. I carefully walked about a half mile of the trail, which goes through the woods a short distance above the beach and rocky shore. A large fallen tree blocks the beginning, and one section is covered with a debris flow. I stopped where a board walk had fallen away, requiring a rock scramble to continue. I wasn't about to risk falling on the rough granite, although if I had been more rested, I probably would have continued. I saw no animals, but clearly heard the Cicadas, which create a chorus of chirping which continues most of the day and evening.

I returned in time to watch the sunset and join Mikey and the new young couple for dinner at 6:30, Jamie and Eric. They are from Houston and are starting a 2 week trip. Eric works as an assets management consultant and Jamie is finishing her internship in Dermatology. They had a good time snorkeling today and are staying in one of the tents. The Thai dinner was great with 2 bowls and plates of everything.

After dinner, we 3 were tired and went to bed early, although I stayed up til 10 waiting for a camcorder battery to finish charging. The electricity doesn't start til 6 and I forgot to plug it in early.

So my outlay for today is nothing extra.

Surin Islands, Day 1, Wednesday, November 18, 2009

2009-11-22T20:50:00.000-08:00

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I woke about 4, then twice more before 6, when I got up, packed as quietly as possible, since no one else was moving, and left about 6:30. I turned in my key and got my deposit, then waited. A few minutes after 7 the minivan showed up 5 other young people. We stopped at the Ramada Resort for another couple, then rode comfortably in the van driven like mad, as many drivers in Thailand do.

We arrived at the Greenview Tours building and dock before 8, signed in and picked up masks, snorkels, fins and a towel. I left the mask, since I use my 20 year old prescription mask. I tried on 3 fins before finding one that fit well. The staff was all very helpful and polite. There were probably 25 tourists, many from Germany, or thereabouts, judging from the voices. We boarded the speed boat, a small, probably 20 foot long, fairly new plastic, I think, hulled cruiser, with 3 outboards. On the boat we were given life jackets, and a short talk about the boat and safety, and took off at 8. The boat ran fast over the fairly calm sea, with very little bouncing. The engines and wind noise made conversation impossible, but I guessed which one was Sofie, the only one in our minivan without a partner, and said hello. In an hour and 10 minutes we were at the beach.

Mikey found us and introduced himself, then left allowing a Greenview staff member to show us to our tents, about 200 feet away, near the beach on the other side of the only nearly flat piece of ground in the islands. We left our packs in the tents. I was the only one with a lot of stuff, because I had asked Paul to allow me to get on a northbound bus to Bangkok, in Khuru Buri, rather than return south to Khao Lak first. The bungalows would have been safer for my stuff, but I didn't want to pay the extra 2000B per night that some couples did. I think they were all booked up anyway. Demon Diving subcontracts for the minivan, boat rides, food and tents, providing only the snorkeling guide.

Greenview showed us one tent and said 'for you', meaning both of us, thinking we were a couple or family. Sophie immediately said 'No, we each paid enough to have our own tent.' And there were 3 tents in a row, so Mikey had one, Sophie had one and I had the middle one.The tents were self-supporting, large, probably 10 feet by 10 feet, with netting and floors. We were on the sand, so couldn't keep the sand out completely. We were also provided with a thin pad, a thin sleeping bag and a small pillow. The pad was too thin for comfort, but I was tired enough both nights that I slept soundly.

About 10 almost everyone who came over on the boat got back on with snorkel equipment and we went to 2 different snorkel sites.The water was warm and the nearly calm, with visibility of 20 to 30 feet. Much clearer than Pattaya or Ko Tao.

Sophie wore long pants and a long-sleeved shirt in the water, which I found out later was because she had a bad sunburn, with blisters and swelling, on her legs and feet, and probably on her arms. She had gone kayaking in Ko Phi Phi, alone, on Sunday and the sun screen washed off and there was wind on the way back.

I took only my UW Olympus camera in the morning. I got no good photos, but tried a lot. My sinuses were congested, so I couldn't get more than about 5 feet deep. The guides were the Greenview staff. Mikey was on the long-tailed boat with a couple who were going back later that day.

We came back to the beach for lunch, all Thai food, and all very good. We sat at picnic tables in a roofed area and had plates and bowls of rice, soup, seafood and beef or chicken with vegetables. All our meals were similar, with enough variety to keep it interesting. Most of the meals also had a baked fish.

After lunch we went back out on the same boat and with the same people to 2 different sites. The sites differed mostly in the coral types and depths. Most of the fish were the same in all locations, with no sharks or other large animals, in sight, although they were in the area. We did see thrashing water nearby from the boat, possibly from turtles.

I tried out the camcorder again with the weight zip tied to the bottom of the case. The weight helped, but the case was still too buoyant for me to go underwater with it. Unfortunately, the sun is too bright to allow anything to be seen on the screen, except the white Handycam name on startup. I usually listened for the tone when I pushed stop, to know that the recording had stopped.

We were called back to the boat at 3:30 because rain was starting and the wind picked up a little. There had been almost no wind til then. The rain was light and it stopped shortly after we returned to the beach.

I asked Mikey about another weight and checked around the area, which took only a few minutes because there is only one large building for almost everything. The dive guy has a belt but needs the weights on it. I called Paul to tell him and he said he would send down another weight.

After dinner, we 3 talked for a while. Mikey Gaus grew up in Lawrence, Kansas, from the age of 5. His father moved around til then, because he was in the Air Force. Mikey doesn't want to live in Kansas, and has lived in Australia, where he learned to dive, and spent 6 weeks, I think he said, last summer on a car-with-small-engines rally from London or western Europe somewhere, to Ulan Batar, Mongolia, driving with a teammate in an 1100CC Citroen which broke down often. He flew into Thailand a month ago and got this job as a dive instructor and snorkel guide.

Sofie Goossens is a journalist with a women's magazine in Belgium and is debating whether or not to accept a promotion to manager. She is suffering, on this snorkeling tour, which was to be the highlight of her vacation, because of the blistering sunburn, which she expected would heal overnight, but is so far getting worse. She had rejected a shot of Cortisone, on Tuesday, because she thought it would make her more sensitive to the sun. The swelling in her ankles and feet got worse after that. She wore the long pants and shirt to keep the sun off her skin, but she is in pain and feels she needs to go back to the mainland for treatment, to make certain that the blisters don't open and become infected.

So my outlay for today is nothing extra.

Khao Lak, Tuesday, November 17, 2009

2009-11-22T20:39:00.000-08:00

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I woke up when I heard the boat motor slow down. The cabin lights soon came on and everyone quietly got up and picked up their packs and left. Everyone had slept dressed or almost dressed.
It was about 5:30 and still dark but the boat lights and some lights on shore allowed us to carefully walk the narrow pathway off the scow. Slipping and falling into the scow or off the side could have hurt. There were no handrails, and both sets of steps are small and narrow.

We were each asked 'Where are you going?'. I said 'Khao Lak', and was told 'Let me see your ticket.' I showed it and was pointed to the minivan nearby. I climbed into the back with all my bags. The van was full and we were driven to a cafe a few miles into town. Someone said 'Khao Lak, stay here.' The passenger by the door got out and I hunched down and squeezed between the others to get out. I was glad my back was not sore and I had done some stretching before I got up.

I was the only one getting off. The minivan took off and I was in the main office for the Fame Tour Company, which is also a cafe. I ordered a fruit, yogurt and muesli, for 80B, and it was good. It was now about 6:30 and I needed more stretching, so I walked down the sidewalk to the train station, then down the main road til 7, then walked back.

I had been told to be there at 7:45, but when I got back at 7:25, a woman motioned me to follow her to her scooter. I got on back with my bags and we rode a half mile, slowing down for 2 speed bumps, to the old bus station. She said she would be back in 20 minutes to buy ticket. She road across to the pickup taxis, and rode off with a little boy on the back. She returned in 20 minutes, bought a ticket for me and I got on the big bus.

I had both seats to myself the entire 6.5 hour ride to Khao Lak, except for a few minutes when the ticket taker sat next to me. I asked him when we would be in Khao Lak.He said '1440'.

Sometime in the morning, probably as we came to the Andaman Sea coast, I glimpsed a waterfall not far away from the road, among the trees, then saw a green valley with small islands along the edge. Wish we could have stopped to look longer and take photos.

At noon we stopped at a large cafe, and small store building. I showed my free meal ticket, which I had received with my bus ticket, to the ticket taker and he waved his arm toward the cafe. When I asked how long, he said '10 minutes, then 15 minutes.' I saw others using the same meal ticket in exchange for a plate of rice with a choice of 8 toppings. I pointed to the vegetables, and nodded yes when she pointed to a deep fried patty of something, so I had 2 toppings. The patty looked and tasted like a mixture of finely chopped vegetables and spices, but could have been a fishcake. Everything tasted good. A cup of water was also provided.

We stopped about 2:30 by several pickup taxis and a plastic sheet shelter. The rain was pouring down. I was 'told Khao Lak', and I got off, taking my backpack from the luggage compartment, then moving under the shelter. The taxi drivers wanted to know where I was going. I told them 'Tiffy Cafe'. One said '700 meter' and pointed the direction we had come from and said 'this side'. I said I would wait, and in 20 minutes the rain stopped.

I walked aways and started looking for a sign. At one rooming place a woman, probably Indian, called out 'room?'. I said 'Tiffy's Cafe.' She said 'Cheap.' I said 'Yes', and she pointed down the road and said 'near.' And it was just beyond the sign blocking the view. Tiffy's Cafe and Backpacker Inn. There was one dorm bed left in the 6 or maybe 8 bed room, all bunks. I got an upper bunk, for 180B, with a key deposit of 200B. I met only 2 of the other guests, both young women. The one I spoke to very briefly was from Wales.

Although I had 2 meals enroute today, I was still hungry, so I had a bowl of coconut soup, Kha Tom, for 90B, and mango juice, 60B, and rice, 40B, at the cafe. The hard vegetables, the carrots and beans, were undercooked, but edible. The 4 large slices of ginger were for flavor, since they were very hard. I chomped down part of one, anyway. Right after that I brought out my netbook and logged onto the internet with the code they gave me. I started uploading photos, and checking sites about snorkeling and liveaboard boats in the Similan Islands and Khao Lak area, but when I took the netbook back to the room, the upload failed. I called Demon Diving because the site was informative and easy to read, but got no answer, and left no message, but Paul returned my call. They were booked for diving and liveaboards now, but could send me on a snorkel tour of the Surin Islands, which are better for snorkeling because the shelf in the islands is wider. I knew that the 3 day tours offered by other companies were 9500B to 9900B, so when I found the price to be 9900B and I could go tomorrow, I said I would finish my dinner and walk down there to sign up. I had started on my evening meal, a vegetables, squid and rice dish that was very good, for 100B. My total for food there was 290B, about twice what I had been paying in most of Thailand, but I was in the high rent tourist area, in high season.

At Demon Diving I could understand everything Paul said since I think he is from the US, although I forgot where. The charge on my American Express failed, but the Visa accepted the charge. I was told to be ready outside Tiffy's Cafe at 7:10 and that Sophie would be going along. We were to be driven for an hour in a minivan to Khuru Buri to get on the speed boat for the hour long ride to the Surins, where we would meet our guide, Mikey, born in the Bay Area. I asked about weights to neutralize the buoyancy of my camcorder housing. Paul gave me a dive weight to use, about 2 pounds size and 2 zip ties.

When I returned about 9:30, the dorm room was locked because everyone was out. I had showered when I arrived and so I locked the door and went to sleep quickly.

So my outlay for today is 550B, $16.50, plus the tour charge of 990B, almost $300

Ko Tao Tour, Monday, November 16, 2009

2009-11-17T03:56:00.000-08:00

I got up at 7, stretched and took my camcorder and housing and other cameras up to the reception at 8. I paid the 650B for the tour and was picked up at 8:40 in an open pickup, with bench seats in the bed with 2 other couples. We drove directly to the Turtle Welcome Tours store, signed for the fins and mask, then walked down to the boat. There were 39 tourists, mostly young couples from Europe.

The diesel motor boat, probably 40 feet long had benches in the front and sides. The guide spoke English but I understood very little of what he said, other than lunch, coke for 30B and beer for 50B, and none of the place names except Mango Bay. Didn't really matter. We got in the water when the boat was tied up and got out when the guide yelled and whistled. Snacks after the first location were pineapple and watermelon. Lunch at noon was light, a tray with a small bag of veggies and meat, white rice and a cold fried egg, a little too oily. Ate it all anyway.

The visibility was much less than expected, probably 10 feet. We probably didn't get far enough away from the island and the sand beaches, but there were dive boats in the same locations, so maybe there aren't any locations much better. I saw only the small reef fishes I've seen in Hawaii, not as many as I remember from Guam, and the water around Guam is much cleaner. The coral outside of the small roped off sanctuaries appears to be all broken, probably from trawling.

The final stop was a nearly 2 hour stay at the pier of a small private island. For 100B we could walk around the island on a boardwalk and climb the 100 feet or so to the top for a higher view. I and 4 others stayed on the boat. I had a beer and finished the watermelon. The girl next to me on the return to the dock said there wasn't much to do except float in the water and lie on the beach, on one side of the island. I feel my day long tour was really a half day tour, plus lunch. Paid the 50B for the beer when the guide returned.

At 4 we walked our fins and mask to the store and were driven back to our resorts.

I asked Mr. J about a joint trip to Khao Lak. He called and quoted 800B, taking the night boat, then a bus. I walked away to check for other deals. The first place had the same deal. I found one store that had promotional prices. 700B for the same trip, so I bought a ticket. The night boat leaves at 11pm for Chumphon, arriving in the morning. The bus takes 4 hours to reach Khao Lak, where I plan to take a snorkel tour in the Andaman Sea.

I walked to the Bam Bam cafe and had red curry soup with vegetables, a plate of rice and a mango shake, for 100B. The red curry was again yellow.

Mr. J was gone when I returned. I noticed smoke down the road, and when I asked about it, I was told 'for mosquitos'.

I checked out of Mr J at 7:50, getting my Sundog neck wallet out of the safe and my key deposit of 100B. The walk to the pier was short and I was directed to the right one after going first to wrong one. I checked in at the desk on the beach and took an upper bunk after 4 Aussie guys got theirs. The boat is a garbage scow, with trash, recyclables, a pickup and scooter in the front, and the control room and bunks on the upper deck on the rear half. The bunks are really double decks on both sides of the room, with no separation, and nearly double size mattress pads. The room filled up before 10:30, with one couple using a pad on floor.

The boat took off at 11, the sea was calm, and I fell asleep quickly.

So my outlay for today is 1500B, $45.

Ko Tao, Sunday, November 15, 2009

2009-11-17T03:43:00.000-08:00

The train arrived in Chumphon just a few minutes late of the scheduled 5:47am time, and I was ushered off and pointed in the direction of the bus. The bus was nearly full. The bus ride took an hour, from 6am to 7am. We walked a long, probably 100 yards, uneven board pier to the catamaran. On the bus and boat there were a lot of young Europeans, judging from the voices, with big bags, probably full of diving equipment.

Bovie was right. The gulf water was calm. The cat hummed loudly, shutting down only once. Why, I don't know, although I felt a miss in the hum just before that. The boat trip took just 2 hours.

At the Mae Hat pier, I called Mr. J Resort and asked if they had rooms and how was the best way to get there. I didn't understand what he said at first. then he repeated that he had rooms and he would come get me. In 15 minutes, after I turned down the 100B pickup taxi ride, a man approached and identified himself with 'Mr. J'. I followed him to his scooter and got on. He drove the short distance, less than a half mile, to a unique resort, bottoming the scooter only twice on little bumps. He showed me a nice room and said '300B'. I asked if they had a lower price and he looked disappointed. He said 'discount more 2 nites.' I said I'd like to stay 2 nights, and paid the 600B plus a 100B key deposit when I went up to register and leave my money and passport in the safe.

I talked with Mr. J and understood most of what he said. He has his philosophy, a variation on Buddhism, printed up on large laminated cards which are all over his store and are for sale. I bought one, the Ko Tao Bible, for 20B. I then asked where it would be best to get Thai food. He offered to take me on his scooter this one time, but I would have to walk back. Seemed very generous, so we went less than a half mile to a little cafe. I had the sprouts, broccoli, I think, and some beef, over rice, for 50B. Tasted good. Food here is more expensive than on the mainland, as expected. When I returned, I asked about a snorkel tour and was told that the big boat day long tour, with 5 stops around the island, snorkel equipment and lunch, costs 650B. I can be picked up at 9.

Trish called about noon and we had a nice talk.

About 3 I walked down the hill to Pranee's Kitchen and had a plate of red curry vegetables and rice, but the curry wasn't hot spicy and was yellow. Tasted fine, so I ate it and paid the 50B cost. I then walked to the south end of the beach, Sai Ree Beach, through a luxury resort, and took a few photos of the beach and the town. Bought a 950ml bottle of water for 5B. Got back at 5 and took a nap.

I went out again at 7 and sat down at a cafe across from the only gas station I've seen in town. Couldn't find a name on the cafe. The sign just read 'Thai food'. I had sweet and sour vegetables and tofu, with a plate of rice, for 80B. The serving was larger than I've had in most cafes, so I think the price was right.

Came back to the room at 8:30, showered and went to bed.

So my outlay for today is 805B, $24, plus a 100B deposit.

Bangkok & Train, Saturday, November 14, 2009

2009-11-17T03:34:00.000-08:00

Up at 8:30, stretched and showered. Read some more and backed up my photos and diary. About 9:45 I walked to the nearest cafe on the main road and had a bowl of soup, with wide noodles, some veggies and several kinds of meat: beef, chicken and fish, for 40B. I planned on getting on the internet at the Coffee Art, but they weren't open. I checked back later,and they didn't open all day. When I first came down the street, I saw a young man on a stretcher who was quickly carried off in the ambulance. A car had knocked down his scooter at the intersection. He looked good, so hope it wasn't serious, and hope it wasn't anyone connected with the Coffee Art shop.

After the soup I was still hungry, so I went into a 7-11 and bought a liter of vegetable and fruit juice, for 43B. Didn't notice it was only 40% juice til after I bought. It was very sweet. Probably had sugar added. The ingredients list was in Thai. I also stopped at a second cafe to buy their toasted rice cookies, 3 five cookie packages, and some jam in small crackers, for 30B total.
Trish called about 10:30 and we had a nice talk. She was able to attend the concert where our neighbor, Georgina, sang.

A little later in the morning I walked down to Big C and bought a six pack of Pepsi, a liter of OJ, a bag of green curry with chicken, 2 little bags of rice, a bag of creme cookies, and a small tray of cooked noodles, for 174B. I ate the noodles first, along with some rice cookies and crackers.
About noon the thunder started, then the rain came down heavy for 20 minutes or so. Within an hour the rain had stopped.

I called a friend recommended by the singer in Bill's combo. Her name is Bovie and she owns or works at the Ocean View Resort in Ko Phangan. She said the weather is expected to be calm for the next 4 days. Monsoon rains are normal in November. She also recommended the boat I took, and the name of a resort on Ko Tao.

About 1 I called Roger to ask about the DVD player. He didn't know what was wrong. Later in the afternoon I watched 'Gathering Storm' and just read the subtitles. Later, I was able to get the settings right for 'The Taking of Pelham 123' and was able to hear it in English.

After noon the washers were free, so a washed a load, for 20B. I hung the clothes all over Roger's apartment and kept the fan running.

Oye, Bill and Ben, 2, now known as Elf by his family because of his elfin ears, came in for a short visit, before Bill had to go to work. Oye wanted to know what I can eat because her family wants to make something for me when I visit. I don't want them to go out of their way. I told Bill I might take the train to Chumphon tonight. They run only at night.

I ate the green curry and one bag of rice, and a Pepsi for dinner, and watched the 2 movies. Then I packed enough for the trip and closed my suitcase, and left it in Roger's apartment. He isn't expected to be there before I leave Thailand.

I left about 6 and got into a bus which was stalled in heavy traffic, and paid the 7B fare. I expected light traffic because there should be very little commute on Saturday, but I had forgotten that people go out on Saturday night. The traffic in the other direction was moving fine. Took nearly an hour to get down to the next street, Sukhumvit. The ticket taker asked where I was going. She said 'fourteen' and held up 4 fingers. She looked in the next lane and motioned for me to get on that bus. It was a number 40, and the ticket taker said 'yes' when I asked if they were going to the train station. I paid the 14B fare. The traffic was mostly stopped. Most of the passengers got off and walked, although others got on. After another hour, with very little progress, I got off at a BTS station. It was the Asok station, the transfer point for the MTS. So I kept walking down to the subway and took the 20 minute ride to the huge Hua Lamphong Train Terminal. The next train to Chumphon was at 10:50, almost 2.5 hours away. I knew the train was after 10, but didn't want to wait til the last minute to arrive and possibly find the seats sold out. The agent showed me a pamphlet advertising a joint ticket. One price for travel to Ko Tao, which is where I wanted to go. The joint ticket cost 1030B, about the same as buying separate tickets, for the train, bus and boat, but the convenience was enough reason to buy there.

While waiting I had a Burberry shake, for 20B. Tasted good. Mostly chopped ice.
The train left within 4 minutes of the departure time. I had both seats the entire trip. The sleeper car must have been full because I wasn't offered that ticket. The AC was too cold. I had 2 blankets. I used one for a cover and the other for a cushion, because the seats are hard plastic.I couldn't stretch out, so I slept very little. Had to keep moving around to avoid cramping.

So my outlay for today is 1378B, $41, plus some baht deducted from my MTS card.

Back to Bangkok, Friday, November 13, 2009

2009-11-17T03:16:00.000-08:00

Up at 7:30, stretched and dressed. I again had a breakfast of mixed fruit. After working on my diary I packed and asked for a ride to the bus station, paying my bill of 2160B. The tours were 1500B, the room was 400B and the food was 260B. I paid 2500B, saying 'tips.' She seemed to understand. Joseph seems like the kind of person who would do the right thing with tips. I asked where I could dispose of my pants. The woman took them and said thanks. I don't think anyone will wear them again.

The pickup taxi arrived by 11 and I had my 139B ticket to Bangkok by 11:30. I bought 2 dough buns filled with a rice mixture in one and red bean paste in the other, for 12B. Ate them before the bus arrived. I got on the bus about 11:50, giving my backpack to the ticket taker for placement in the luggage compartment, as directed. I had both seats to myself all the way back. The bus didn't stop except to drop off passengers along the way. Someone handed out cokes at the beginning, which I refused, and cold water later on, and a small hand wipe towel, in a sealed bag, at the end of the ride. I was in the rear of the bus. Not right in front of the toilet, but I got a whiff of the odor from it every time someone used it.

The trip took just over 2 hours. I walked to the BTS Mo Chit station, about 25 minutes, then rode for half an hour to the Ekkamai station, then walked nearly 20 minutes to Bill's apartment, arriving at 3:25. Oye and child had arrived at noon, after a 16 hour minivan ride, and were sleeping with Bill. Oye heard me and woke Bill. We talked briefly and Bill went to work. Oye went back to bed.

I moved my suitcase to Roger's apartment, then went out to get an add on card for my phone. The 100B card added 15 days, making my phone good til the 28th, 2 days after I fly out of Bangkok. I rested and read some, then went down to get something for dinner. I was too tired to go any distance, so I bought 2 instant noodle packages from the parking lot vendor, for 12B. Roger's hot water pot soon heated enough water for the noodles. I tried to watch a movie, but couldn't get the sound track to play. I went to bed early, about 10.

So my outlay for today is 2763B, $83, which includes the 2 night and 2 tour Greenleaf GH bill and 100B on the phone, plus 40B deducted from my BTS card.

Khao Yai tour, Thursday, November 12, 2009

2009-11-17T03:05:00.000-08:00

Up at 7, stretched and dressed. I had breakfast of mixed fruit, bananas, watermelon and pineapple. I took my 3 cameras, with spare batteries, and the camera case with the 100 macro and the flash. I had the 70-300 on the Canon and left the 28-135 in the room. I wore my long pants over my swim trunks and the long sleeve shirt, and my white socks and deck shoes, and hat.

We 5 tourists, Eva and Julian from Holland, Natalie and Dennis from Belgium, with our guide, Mr. Nine, and the driver, got on the road shortly after 8. The tourists rode on the benches in the pickup bed. Must have been a half hour ride to the park. The entrance fee of 400B was included in the tour price. All of the tour in the park is in or on the forested mountains. We rode til 10:30, stopping often to get out for viewing of the valley and mountains, and the wildlife, seen mostly with binoculars and the telescope the guide set up when needed. Some animals, like the deer, monitor lizard and macaques were in or on the road. Others, such as the hornbill and many other birds were high up in the trees. Many of the birds are brightly colored, but we needed the scope to see the colors.

At 10:30 we got bottles of water and leech socks and were driven to a trail entry point. On the way I pulled up my pant leg and ripped the pants just above the knee. I took more care after that in pulling up on my pants. We started our 3 hour hike through the forest. We were in shade, but not deep shade. There were openings for the sun to shine on the ground. We stopped frequently, to view the wildlife, mostly with a scope, although we saw the gibbons, both black and white, without the scope. The gibbons stayed high up in the tall trees. Mr. Nine gave me his 300/4 L lens to use. I couldn't get any good shots when I had it, but it is the best lens I could have had to try. Mr. Nine was able to get some good shots of the gibbons jumping between branches. He had good anticipation reaction. We saw many more birds, but no ground creatures other than a chameleon and insects and spiders. We saw claw marks on a tree, maybe from a tiger. No sign of any leeches, and no snakes.

Trish called during the walk and we had a nice talk. She had talked to Mom and Tony. Mom has a bad cold.

At 1:30 we walked to a viewing tower and had lunch of fried vegetables and tofu on rice and a sweet coating on rice for dessert. Eva gave me her dessert because she couldn't eat any more. Didn't see any animals from the tower, which looks over a small lake, and a salt lick nearby. The salt lick is a bare soil ledge gouged or cut into the slope. After lunch we walked for 10 minutes to the pickup. We rode to the visitor center and were treated to a drink of our choice from the little store. We watched the macaques, one of which walked onto the lawn, then, when the area was clear, dashed onto the counter and ran off with a small bag of chips. She ran back to the edge of the woods, opened the bag and ate the chips, pausing only long enough to climb up a tree when other macaques came toward her.

We were driven to a waterfall at 3, and Eva and Julian were taken to the campground, where they are staying overnight. We 3 had an hour to look and photograph. The sign says no swimming, but several dozen of the tourists swam in the large pool below the falls. It may be unsafe during the rainy season when the water flow is higher and faster. The water was not as clear as the pool yesterday, and I decided to stay out of dirty water. I just took photos, and walked back up with Natalie and Dennis, the hundred or so steps, before our hour was finished.

We rejoined Julian, Mr. Nine and the driver, at 4 and rode through the park, looking at the scenery. The forest flora changes with elevation, and we drove up and down, mostly up, til we reached a high view point, next to a radar station. It was now 6 and the sun had set. The haze in the valley obscured the view. We had a treat of watermelon, then rode back down the mountain, to the campground where Julian got out. The air was quite cool and the front opening was covered with a rolled down plastic sheet to stop the wind.

Before we left the park, we saw several cars stopped up ahead and heard Mr. Nine call out 'Elephant on the road!'. The pickup stopped, then backed up with most of the cars. An elephant was walking on the shoulder of the road, and turned toward the salt lick by the time I saw him, or her. I was able to take out my camcorder, put it on night shot, and get some video of the elephant in the salt lick, shooting first from the pickup, then from the road. The cars headlights were too weak to shoot with anything other than night shot, and the elephant soon walked out of view. The elephant was wild but calm.

We were back in the cafe at 7. I had dinner with Natalie and Dennis, and another 3 guys who just arrived, from Holland. I again had fried vegetables with tofu on rice, but this time I drank a small can of Singha beer.

Took a cold shower, and got to bed about 10.

So my outlay for today is nothing, but I will owe for the room and tours and meals when I leave tomorrow.

Greenleaf Guest House, Wednesday, November 11, 2009

2009-11-17T02:25:00.000-08:00

Up at 6, stretched and showered. Finished the orange juice. Finished packing and left the apartment at 6:40. Walked to the Ekkamai BTS station to loosen my back, rather than risk pulling it getting in and out of cramped tuk-tuks. Got off at the Mor Chit station and walked to the Northern Bus Station, stopping only once to ask for directions, at a 7-11, where I also bought a small OJ drink for 18B. The clerk didn't speak much English, so she asked one the customers to help, and she called someone, who told me on the phone to go to the stoplight and turn left, with her friend pointing me in the right direction.

I saw the terminal from the stoplight corner. I walked to the first ticket window open and asked for a ticket to Pak Chong. The clerk pointed down the long row of windows, and then back. He didn't say anything. I understood that there was another ticket booth location. I walked in the indicated direction. When I didn't see any windows, just more buildings, a man in a room full of cars asked me where I was going. I told him 'the ticket counters'. He spoke English quite well. First he said to go back and turn right and go to the 3rd floor. He asked where I was from. Then he said, 'Come this way', and he led me through the building to a shortcut to the escalator to the 3rd floor hall AC room with ticket windows, offices, shops and seating. There was a window just for Pak Chong. I bought a 108B ticket for a bus which was to leave in a few minutes. The man stayed with me even though I said 'you're doing too much for me'. He walked with me down to the bay and shook my hand just before I got on the bus. Since I hadn't asked for this much help I didn't feel like tipping him. I would have found everything anyway since I was close to the right place. I hope he was just making merit as a good Buddhist, but I suspect he expected money for the help.

The bus left about 15 minutes late. At the first stop vendors walked through and I asked for chicken on a stick and the little bags of cooked rice. She gave me a small bag with both in it and I asked 'how much?'. She said 'Thirty baht.' I gave her two 20s and instead of change she pushed another chicken on a stick in my bag, then quickly walked down the stairs in front of my seat. I had 6 sticks with chicken and the 2 bags of rice. The chicken was in thin pads, possibly beaten to that shape, and tasted of unknown herbs and spices. They tasted good, so I ate all 6 and both bags of rice, which was moist but had no particular flavor.

I had an empty seat next to me for the first half hour, then the bus filled up, after making numerous stops. I was moved to the aisle seat by the ticket taker to allow a young monk to use the window seat. The monk and I both dozed before I received a call from Trish. We had a brief talk because she was going to a music concert at the nearby school where a neighbor was singing. I felt drowsy the rest of the trip. It could be just because I ate so much, or maybe the chicken coating had enough MSG to cause drowsiness.

We arrived at a bus stop, by a 7-11, in Pak Chong, at 11:40, a 2 hour 45 minute trip. I called Greenleaf GH and was told I would be picked up. Within 20 minutes, a pickup arrived and the driver asked if I was going to Greenleaf, by showing me the brochure. A 12 minute ride and I was greeted by Joseph and shown a 200B room, number 14, which I said looked fine. I had lunch at their cafe, of Pad Thai and water, and rested for 2 hours. After the rest I felt awake again and ready for the half day tour.

At 3, I met my fellow tourists, Victor and Linda, from Holland. We got in the pickup taxi, while the driver and Joseph, our guide, rode in front. We stopped a short distance down the road to view and hold a small white whip snake. There were several in the area, moving around on the tree branches just a few feet off the ground. We proceeded to a cave with concrete steps into it, and some Buddhist shrines in it. Joseph pointed the creatures living in the cave, including a relatively few bats, scorpion spider, tarantula, beetles and other insects. We then stopped at a swimming hole, fed by a spring. The water was cool and clear, and there were others, mostly boys, playing in the water. The pool looked natural and was about 7 feet deep in the middle. There were other stops to view small creatures. The drive to the bat flight viewing area was long and we didn't arrive til twilight. We then had to walk about a quarter mile down a muddy trail through a corn field. The bats were coming out of the wooded hill, or small mountain, in long wavy lines. We could not see the cave entrances. There are many caves in the mountain and they are on private land. A few hawks dove into the lines of bats, looking for a meal. When we were in position, near the edge of the trees, some of the bat lines would pass overhead, fairly low, and we could hear the hum of the wings beating the air. We slipped and slided in the dark on the way back to the pickup. The driver had caught a large gecko to show everyone. We arrived back at the Greenleaf GH at 7:30, and we had dinner. I had fried vegetables with basil and tofu on rice, with a bottle of Ice Tea. The tea wasn't good, but the entree was very tasty.

Got to bed about 10:30.

So my outlay for today is 148B, $6, and I will owe 200B for tonight's room plus about 100B for the meals and 200B for the half day tour (discounted of 200B from the 300B full price because I am taking the full day 1300B tour tomorrow).

Rest in Bangkok, Tuesday, November 10, 2009

2009-11-17T01:32:00.000-08:00

Up at 8, stretched and showered. Drank more orange juice. Read some more from guidebooks. Helped Bill move his computer into his bedroom in am.

Had lunch at 11:45 to avoid lunch crowd, again at the 2nd cafe from Bill's. This time I had flat noodles in my soup, just for variety, for 30B. At 12:06 I was in the Coffee Art shop uploading photos and my diary into the blog. Read some more info about tours in the Khao Yai NP. The Greenleaf Guest House and their tours looks like the best of anything shown on the internet or in the guidebooks. Bill came in to check his emails. I showed him the site for Social Security. Bill had just had a visit from his friend, Art Barfield. Bill left before I finished, to rest, then get ready for his session. After Bill left, I had a yogurt smoothie, for 65B. I finished uploading at 4pm. I paid 140B for the Internet.

I called the Greenleaf GH and let the man know I would be coming up tomorrow and would like to take their tours. He said to come in the morning to take the half day tour in the afternoon and to call for a ride when I arrive in Pak Chong.

At 5, Bill went to work. Then I walked to the Big C to get dinner. I picked out 3 items, but found that I had not taken my fanny pack with the money, so, I was able only to buy one of the items with the coins I carried. I had 30B with me for the 29B bag of vegetarian broth. Back at Bill's I cooked a cup of rice and poured the green broth on it. There were a lot of chopped veggies in it and it had a nice spicy flavor. Good that I didn't buy the other items because this filled me, and it was very good.

I watched 'Vanilla Sky' and went to bed at 10.

So my outlay for today is 264B, $8.

Rest in Bangkok, Monday, November 9, 2009

2009-11-09T21:16:00.000-08:00

Up at 8, stretched and showered. Started on the orange juice. Not as sweet as expected. Talked to Bill about the trip and plans for the day.

At 10 I was in the Coffee Art shop uploading photos and my diary into the blog. Read what info I could find about tours in the Khao Yai NP. Everything shown was high rates. Just before noon I crossed the street to have a bowl of soup at a small cafe that Bill likes. I didn't know what to ask for other than soup with veggies. They didn't understand, and pointed to the types of noodles in the case. I selected one and the cook prepared a bowl with noodles, dark sliced meat and a separate plate with bean sprouts and a minty leaf and a glass of ice. The water pitcher was on the table. It all tasted good. For 30B. Shortly after I sat down the place filled up with the lunch crowd, and Trish called. The traffic increased at noon and the noise was too much for a quiet conversation with Trish. So it was short, but nice. Back at the Coffee Art shop I finished the uploads before 12:30 and was charged for just 2 hours, 70B.

Afternoon I read about the park and tried calling the Royal Forest Department. The number was busy the 3 times I tried.

Bill was invited to go to a talk by a monk this evening. We left about 6, traveling by tuk-tuk and BTS (80B off my card for the round trip), to the Ari station, then walking a short distance. First to a Tesco Lotus convenience store at an Esso gas station for Halls cough drops, 9B, and a small ham and cheese on whole wheat, for 35B, and a dough bun with some meat filling, for 8B. I ate the bun, but arrived at the room for the talk before I could eat the sandwich. We were early enough to get chairs up front. Most 100 or so people in the room sat on mats. There were also a large group of people on chairs and mats outside the full height glass wall. The talk was amplified and heard on speakers outside. A large screen on the side wall showed a close-up of the speaker. One monk, Ajahn Pandit, gave an introduction for the visiting monk, Ajahn Jayasaro, shown in the photo. The talk was about some basic Buddhist beliefs and comments and stories, and lasted an hour. That was followed by a 20 minute meditation, then a Q and A session, mostly about intent and meditation, of about 20 minutes. At one side were 2 monks from Sri Lanka and a monk, Frank Newbold, a man nearly my age who was ordained 7 months ago. Frank introduced himself, thinking that he recognized me. He had lived 25 years in Berkeley. I forgot to ask him what he had done in Berkeley. I don't remember meeting him, but the name, Newbold, seems familiar. We took a couple of free books and a 2 CD set of Ajahn Jayasaro's talks.

Ate the sandwich when we returned to Bill's place. The ham and cheese slices were very thin and the bread was cake bread. Had to add chili sauce to give it some flavor. The sore throat and congestion is nearly gone.

So my outlay for today is 152B, $4.50, plus 80B off my BTS card.

Rest in Bangkok, Sunday, November 8, 2009

2009-11-08T19:33:00.000-08:00

Slept in til 10. Stretched and showered. Sorted through my things, trying to get ready for the next leg, to the Khao Yai National Park.

I connected the DVD to my netbook and burned a DVD of all my video so far, about 1.5 hours worth. Took about 6 hours to convert and burn. Made a second copy very quickly so I can leave one with Bill. I backed up all my photos, raw video files and text, nearly 25GB, onto the 500GB pocket hard drive, so my 16GB flash drive can be formatted and used for future backups.

Talked to Bill for a few minutes before he left for his Sunday buffet session, 11 to 1. At noon I walked down to Big C. Had planned to stop at a cafe on the way for lunch, but the one closest to Bill's is small and was full, probably because it was Sunday noon. At Big C I bought a liter of OJ, a 6 pack of Pepsi, 2 foam tray entrees, and 2 wrapped sweets, for 184.5B. The OJ is 59B, the Pepsi is 62B, the entrees of rice and omelet with sausage and veggies are 10B and 13.5B, and the sweets, one a white paste in little woven leaf cups and the other a green gel cut into squares, are 20B each.

I cooked a cup of rice in Bill's rice cooker, and ate that with the entrees. The omelet was too oily, but the veggies had a thin, probably egg, batter on them and tasted good. Had a Pepsi and some of the sweets a little later. The sweets are not pure sugar, but have a good flavor. Bill doesn't know what they are.

Bill came home between sessions, and was full, from the buffet, and rested for an hour or so before going in for his evening session.

I watched 2 of Bill's DVD movies, 'Sweet and Lowdown' and 'Mrs. Palfry at the Claremont' in the afternoon and evening.

About 7 I was again hungry, so I walked into a large cafe across the street from the little one that was full at noon and was closed now. Bill had never mentioned going to this cafe before. Probably because the prices are much higher and there is very little vegetarian food. I ordered the roast duck salad for 80B, sticky rice for 12B and water for 20B. The salad was fried chopped duck with onions, chilies and a few greens, on a lettuce leaf, with mint leaves on top. Slightly spicy. I had asked for no chilies, but it tasted very good. The table set included a bowl with string beans, cabbage and some leaves on ice. I was able to eat some of these for a green salad. The bill was 110B. I gave 120B to include a tip.

On the way back I bought a pack of 5 rice cookies, for 5B, and a jelly sandwich, for 6B. The sandwich wasn't much good, but the rice cookies, which are crispy and have a caramel drizzle on top, are very good.

The sore throat and congestion stayed with me all day, but I have no fever, and feel OK otherwise.

So my outlay for today is 315.5B, $9.50.

Mae Salong to Bangkok, Saturday, November 7, 2009

2009-11-08T19:24:00.000-08:00

Got to bed early again last night, about 9:30 pm. Didn't sleep well. Kept waking up. Probably rested too much during the day. Got up at 6 am, stretched and showered, then packed. At 7 I paid my tab of 525B to Shin Sane, had oolong tea and waited for a ride. A young woman tourist needed $30 US dollars to pay Laos customs so she could cross the border and get a new Thai visa. So I gave her a ten and a twenty for 1000B.

At 7:35 a pickup taxi showed up and I boarded for the ride to Mae Chan. I had been told there would be a mini-bus, but the pickup showed up. This one didn't smoke as badly as the one coming up to Mae Salong 3 days earlier, but the fumes were bad anyway. Other passengers got on and off as we went along. The ride was up and down, and around. It took 1.3 hours to get to Mae Chan. Everyone got out and I was pointed to a pickup taxi across the street. I had expected to get on a regular bus, but there were none in sight, so I got in the pickup bed and slid to the front of one of the bench seats. The driver was the first woman pickup taxi driver I have seen in Thailand. After we started I saw 2 regular buses, and they were packed, standing room only. A little ways down the road a large bag on top fell off, so the driver stopped and backed up to retrieve the bag. The owner, probably a high school girl looked depressed but said nothing. The pickup stopped frequently to add passengers, and drop off some a short distance down the road. Most of the riders were school students. When the benches were full the driver had to climb up her ladder on the back and pull down a narrow bench which she slid into the bed for passengers to sit. At one point there were 17 passengers in the bed and 2 in the front passenger seat. Most of the passengers got off before the old bus station in Chiang Rai. I paid 55B, about 3 times the regular bus fare, but I would have stood for the entire 1.5 hour ride on the bus.

I looked around the old bus station to make sure there were no offers in English of a ride to Bangkok, and found none, so I boarded another pickup taxi for the 10B, approximately 10 km, ride to the new bus terminal. I asked at information about going to Bangkok. She said 'now?'. I said 'yes'. She said '1' and pointed to the other side of the building. The only windows on the other side were for Sombat Tours. They had a second class bus leaving at 1 pm and first class and VIP buses leaving at 5 and 6. The 2nd class trip would take 13 hours and the bus has no toilet. The first class and VIP trips are an hour shorter because they don't need restroom and meal stops. It was nearly 11, so I thought about it a while, and decided that arriving in Bangkok at 2am was as good as anything else. The later buses would cost more, but it would be morning and I could take BTS back to Ekkamai. However, there would be tuk-tuk costs getting to BTS and up to Bill's from the Ekkamai station. The taxicab ride would cost more, but not that much. So I bought the 1pm ticket for 475B.

While I waited, I bought 3 dough rolls, 2 with the red bean paste filling and one with a green coating on the dough which was rolled up, for 36B. I saved these for the trip and bought a small tray of rice and an omelette. The omelette was too oily and had no taste. I also bought a 920ml bottle of water for 7B.

The bus left on time. I had a front row seat, which I picked so I could see out the front; however, the driver compartment is separated by a partition, with a door and windows, so I could see down into the driver compartment. The passenger seats are higher than the driver compartment, and the high windows on the front of the bus had curtains pulled over them, so all I could see out the front was the pavement right in front of the bus. I was on the sunny side so my curtains were shut. I could see out of the other side most of the time, so I was able to watch some of the passing scenery: the tropical greenery, fields, orchards, buildings and green-covered mountains in the distance. After 6:30, it was dark and all I could see was the lighted areas along the road and in the cities and towns.

I had forgotten about the video that these long distance buses play. I was just below the screen, so I had to look up to see it, but everything was in Thai so I couldn't understand it anyway. The sound was sometimes too loud, but I think there were speakers throughout the bus. First they played 3 movies, 2 horror films and one Disney film, something about the National Treasure. All American films, dubbed into Thai. After that there were Thai music videos, not too bad since they were all a type of ballad. After 9 the video was turned off.

The AC was left on all the time. I closed my vents as well as I could but still felt the cold air. The outside air wasn't hot, so AC wasn't really needed at all. After dark I needed a blanket, just like nearly everyone else on the bus, even though I was wearing long pants, a Tee shirt and a long-sleeved shirt. Could not stretch out well enough to sleep, but I dozed a little at times.

The bus stopped over a dozen times, sometimes letting off passengers with no sign of a bus stop. The city bus terminals were the only times, other than the 6pm dinner stop, where everyone had at least 5 minutes for a restroom visit. The 6pm stop was at a roadside cafe, where I had the same as the guy in front of me, pork and hardboiled egg over rice, for 30B. Tasted OK. My only other purchases on the trip were a bag of 5 small ears of cooked corn, still in their husks, for 10B, and a bag of 12 candied fruits, probably plums, for 15B. I saved the corn and had only 3 of the fruit, because they were too salty and had big pits.

We arrived a half hour early into Mo Chit station, in Bangkok. The station is the most cluttered station I've ever seen, because of the myriad vendors. On leaving the bus I was immediately asked by 4 men 'Where you going?'. I figured out that each driver has a man to solicit passengers. I told all of them 'Ekkamai, Soi 12.' I was told 'I can take you.' I asked 'How much?'. And was told '35 kilometers, 480.' When I said no, I was told '380'. Then, 'How much you pay?'. I told the driver, the only one still offering, that I would wait for the Skytrain. He laughed and said 'wait 5, morning.' I walked away to look around, use the restroom, for 3B, the same cost as at other bus terminals, and sit down to look at the guidebook. The guidebook only mentioned using a metered taxicab, and that a taxicab ride anywhere in Bangkok should cost no more than 180B. When I finally saw the metered taxicab sign, which was well lit, but hidden from my view when I first got off the bus, I walked over. I was asked my destination and guided to a cab. The cabs were lined up in 4 rows, with guides on each row. It was very efficient and quick. The driver looked Indian. He repeated my destination as though he understood and he drove as fast as anyone on the road. We arrived at Bill's place in less than half an hour, only slowing down once where hundreds of young Thais were milling about, and cabs clogged the road, with police directing traffic. The driver said 'Saturday' as we crept through this area. The meter showed 143. I gave the driver 150B and said 'keep it', being the big tipper that I am.

So my outlay for today is 1400B, $42.

Mae Salong, Friday, November 6, 2009

2009-11-06T05:15:00.000-08:00

Got to bed early again last night, about 9 pm. Got up at 6:30 this morning, and stretched. I had an American breakfast. There was no orange juice at the cafe, so I ordered toast and scrambled eggs, for 25B, and lemon juice, for 20B. That wasn't satisfying, so I went to the 7-11 and bought a liter of orange juice, plus a pack of clorets and Halls mentho for my sore throat, for 87B total. On the way back I bought 3 Chinese pastries for 5B. Probably should have bought the hot soymilk to go with them. A little later I drank about half the orange juice. That would have been enough for breakfast.

I gave yesterday's dirty clothes to the girls to be washed (no extra charge here to wash clothes), then walked up to the day market for exercise and would have bought a steamed bun but they were just being put in the steamer. When I looked for them afternoon, the steamer was gone.
I rested and read, which is what I did most of the day. Trish called about 11 and we had a nice long talk.

For lunch I again walked to the day market and had noodles in red curry with some pork and liver, rice, and Jasmine tea, for 55B total. I was still hungry so I had fried veggies and tofu, oolong tea and rice, at the Shin Sane, which should be 40B on my tab.

Mae Salong is in the mountains, so the weather is cooler than most of the surrounding lowlands. The high during my visit is probably 75F and the nights are cool, probably in the low 60s.
I called Bill about 5, on his way to work, to check in and confirm that it was OK with him for me to return to his place tomorrow evening.

For dinner I had fried rice with veggies, at the Shin Sane, which should be another 30B on my tab. Wifi connection at the Shin Sane is 10B an hour for guests, so I'll upload some photos.

So my outlay for today is 147B, $4.50, and I still owe another 50B for the room and 120B for the meals, plus something for wifi.

Mae Salong, Thursday, November 5, 2009

2009-11-06T04:31:00.000-08:00

Got to bed early last night, about 9 pm. Got up at 7:30 this morning, stretched, showered and packed. I asked the manager about a 50B room. None was ready, but the girl workers were cleaning a room and he gave me the key. I moved my bags into the room, locked it and took a look at the 2 ponies being used for the village tour. They are small. The tour was to leave at 9. I left a little after 8.

The map is not to scale, but I was able to follow it, mostly because there aren't many side roads, except in town. I took 2 side trips, the first was probably 200 yards to a small Akha village, where I was called with 'Hello' by an old woman in traditional clothing. When I kneeled down she got up and brought out a small plastic stool for me to sit on. There were 2 young women and 2 children with her on the porch of their home. When I pointed to the camera and asked 'OK' the woman said nothing. Since no one said no I took 2 photos and offered a 20B note. She smiled and nodded a thank you. I have no idea how much to offer. I didn't pay anyone else for their photo, although one the the 3 boys playing with tires hid when I pointed the camera at them, and said something to me when he ran by, probably scolding me for not asking, or not paying.
The rest of the walk, sometimes on concrete pavement and sometimes on clay soil, was entirely on a single lane road, after leaving the town road. The road was up or down with very little level ground. The second side trip, about 6 km roundtrip, was to a Lahu home stay village, Ja Bu Si, where guests can sleep in the village, in a separate building. The posted cost is 100B, plus 50B for food, probably for each meal. The road was nearly all downhill going there, and it took me over 1.5 hours to reach the village, although I was able to walk faster uphill and returned in an hour.

Trish called on the return from Ja Bu Si. Reception was broken up when she called and she called back later when I had nearly finished climbing back up the ridge. We had a good talk. She may be able to go to the pet store permit hearing tomorrow.

The map doesn't show all of the distances. With the side trips, I estimate the distance was 21 km, about 13 miles. Took me over 7.5 hours, and I was exhausted. The last 5 km took me 1.3 hours. I carried only the camera, camcorder, 2 extra lenses and the 1.5L bottle of water. Don't yet have my hiking legs back. The left hip is still too weak.

When I got back at 3:40 I took a cold shower and rested for over 2 hours. I had my meal for today at the guest house restaurant. The vegetable curry and 2 plates of rice, plus oolong tea, and a banana shake all tasted great. Cost should be 80B, on the tab.

So my outlay for today is 20B, $0.60, and I still owe another 50B for the room and 80B for the meal.

Mae Salong, Wednesday, November 4, 2009

2009-11-06T03:55:00.000-08:00

Got to bed early last night, about 9:30am. Got up at 7:10 this morning, stretched, showered and packed. Left my key with the manager at 8 and walked to the songthaew stand, about 1/4 mile. Got ride with 4 others to the bus station, for 15B. The 4 were an old man, a young woman and a small child, and a young monk. The child turned away from the monk, but changed when the monk gave the child a small sealed treat.

The ticket clerk told me 'number 5, pay on bus', and I was able to get right on the same type of bus I rode yesterday. This time I sat in the back bench seat which had a large floor space in front of the seat for my backpack and other riders bags. The bus pulled out at 8:47. I told the ticket agent 'Ban Basang' and 'Let me know?'. She nodded yes and I paid the 25B fare. The bus was full, with some standees. The police stopped the bus once at a check point and checked the passengers' IDs, but ignored me. The agent motioned to me when we reached Ban Basang at 9:30. I still saw no sign.

I walked across the divided 4 lane road at the T intersection, to the 2 lane road. I was called by the taxi driver sitting at the side of the cafe, with a monk. The driver spoke no English, but the monk did. He told me the fare to Mae Salong is 50B with 8 passengers, and we could leave now if I paid the 400B fare. I told him there was no hurry. The monk and I talked about a few different things. He was going to Mae Salong for the first time. He has a small Wat near here, and he has a sister somewhere in California. After a couple of hours wait he said he had to go back to the Wat. Guess he got tired of waiting.

After nearly 3 hours Trish called and we had a nice talk. I decided to catch a bus to Chiang Rai, and motioned my plan to the driver. He said 'wait' and called on his cell phone. A man and a young girl were waiting at the table. After 15 minutes I again motioned my intentions to the driver. He said 300B. I said 200B. He shook his head no. I decided 300B was the lowest cost I could expect to get to Mae Salong today, even if I took the bus to Chiang Rai and rented a scooter, and the taxi would be faster. So I agreed to the 300B. The man and girl were happy.

At 1, we got in the back and I soon regretted my decision because the road became hilly and the pickup smoked a lot, with some of the fumes coming into the bed. The taxi stopped after 20 minutes and the man and girl got out and talked to the driver. Then they got back in and the taxi proceeded, turning to a side road at a fork. He stopped in 5 minutes, at the end of the paved road. The man and girl got out.

The driver motioned for me to move to the front seat. We proceeded onto the rutted and rough dirt road, mostly packed clay. We passed through a couple of villages. The driver said 'Akha' at the first and near the second said 'Me Akha' and pointed to his chest and then to a house in the village down the hill. I said 'blue' for the only house, or hut, with a blue roof, and he nodded yes. The huts looked small and crowded close together, and the others had brown thatch or grass roofs, probably rice straw.

The road continued through the forest, with only one good view point of the valley below. After about 15 minutes we came to a paved road. The driver went in back and moved my pack back to the front of the bed, then must have told the highway maintenance truck to move. It didn't start with the starter, so the driver let it roll a little ways and it started. The truck backed up out of the way and the taxi crossed in front and proceeded uphill, passing a sign showing 20km to Mae Salong. The original distance was 26km.

The view from the front seat was great. The road is in good shape, but has a lot of up and down and some hairpin turns. As we approached Mae Salong the driver motioned sleeping and I said 'Shin Sane'. He said 'Akha'. I thought he meant I should stay at the Akha Mae Salong Guest House mentioned in the guidebook, but he stopped at the Shin Sane. It was 2:20.

A man at the Guest House took my backpack as I moved it out and asked if I had paid the driver. He is Chinese and speaks English quite well. I said no and gave the driver 300B. The man with my backpack walked up the walk to a bungalow. When I asked how much, he said '200B'. I asked if he had any 50B rooms, with shared bath, and he said 'full'. The room looked good, and I was too tired to go next door, so I agreed. I was given a key and an area map.

I called Bill to let him know I might return to Bangkok in one or two days. Roger is staying in his apartment near Bill and Sumano is coming in for dental work and will give a talk on Friday.

Later I went down to the cafe table and was offered oolong tea. The waiter/helper and I talked for a few minutes. He is from Burma and his parents are from Canton. He said the horses are ponies and too small for me. Also, the villages trail can be walked as fast as the ponies travel.

I walked up hill to the Wat Santakhiri, buying a 2 pastry roll package for 20B. The flattened rolls have a paste filling. Nothing special, but I needed something since I hadn't eaten yet. The climb to the Wat is all uphill and includes 718 steps. The view from the top is very good, of Mae Salong and the entire valley and mountains, and at least 2 small hilltribe villages. The air is smoky, probably because the farmers burn ground cover in the fields and the cuttings. Most of the fields are on steep hillsides. Crops include all the usual, plus a lot of tea.

The Wat appears to be unused, but has 2 open buildings and is clean. There was one small structure on the 3rd floor of the larger temple, and a Buddha in the smaller temple. The grounds include landscaping with trees and poinsettias and yellow sunflowers, which look like large daises.

Going down I continued down the main road and found a cafe mentioned in the Lonely Planet guidebook, the Sui Hai. I ordered a Shitake Mushroom salad, rice and tea.The salad was spicy hot and delicious. Cost 80B for the salad and 15B for the rice. I left a 5B tip, for a total of 100B. As expected there are several tea shops in the village and only one 7-11, where I bought a 1.5L bottle of water for 13B.

So my outlay for today is 473B, $14, and I still owe 200B for the room.

Mae Sai, Tuesday, November 3, 2009

2009-11-06T03:38:00.001-08:00

Got to bed late last night, about 1:30am, after trying to help Trish burn a CD with some photos. Very hard for me to do over the phone. Got up at 8 this morning, stretched, showered and packed. Left my key at the desk at 10 and walked to the old bus station.

The ticket clerk at the bus station told me to board the bus at stall 5. The driver there said 11, so I sat down til several others boarded about 20 to 11. The bus is old and small, with cramped seating. The bus was nearly full and I used half of my little bench seat for my backpack. The bus backed out at 11. There were several stops before we were out of town. The bus filled up and several people were standing. The ticket agent collected the fares. I handed her a 20B bill. She said something in Thai. I said Ban Basang. She said 39B. I had expected 15B or 20B, so I thought the fares must have gone up recently. I kept looking for a sign for Ban Basang. Never saw one, although there were many stops and each had a name. I didn't remember how long the trip should take, but I did see signs for Mae Sai and the distance. I also didn't know the distance from Mae Sai. We finally pulled into a bus terminal. It was Mae Sai. Everyone got off. I asked the driver and he confirmed that I missed my stop.

This is the most northern city in Thailand and a border crossing point to Burma, so I decided I should look around and get a few photos. The bus terminal is 4 km out of town, so I found the pickup taxis and asked the fare to go downtown. The first one wanted 150B, but he was a tour taxi. When I said too much, he pointed across the way to the other pickup taxis. The fare was 15B. I was the only rider, but he stopped at the nearby Tesco Lotus store and picked up 11 more riders, who got off at different locations on the way. There were only 5 of us when we got downtown, near the border crossing. I had asked to go to the Bamboo Guesthouse and was pointed in the direction. It was about a quarter mile down the way, through a street full of vendor stalls and covered with a very high fabric roof. I was immediately offered 'man power', some pills in a blister pack. Must have been Viagra. When I said no, he asked what I wanted. I told him I was just taking photos.

The Bamboo Guesthouse had rooms available and I took one, with shared bath, for 150B. I signed in and paid, then walked thru the market area. Bought clip-on sunglasses at the first sunglasses stand I found, for 80B. They seem fine, although they are not polarized. At a cafe nearby I ordered fried rice and basil, with shrimp and cuttlefish, for 35B. It came with a small bowl of broth and free water. All very good.

I explored by walking east out of the commercial zone and into the residential and into part of the countryside, with fields of bananas and other unidentified plants. Nothing of note photographically, other than local people working, the mountains in the distance and a giant walking Buddha. I walked back the same way and went about a half mile back toward the bus terminal on the divided boulevard, full of shops of all kinds. Bought a 950ml bottle of water at 7-11, for 6B. I walked back to the border crossing, sampled a roasted chestnut. Couldn't see why they were so popular. Sampled a couple of candied fruits and bought a small bag of something that tasted and looked like a date, for 60B. Two little girls pestered me, with their hands out, giggling. Followed me for a little way. I kept telling them 'No chance'. After 50 feet or so, they turned back to the shop selling the fruits. Nearly all of the shops are small and there are many copies of each type.

I turned west and walked to a big Buddha at the base of a hill, with big steps up to the Wat Phra That Doi Wao on a hill. Took a few photos on top and my battery died, so I went back for a charged battery. I took my headlamp and the pocket camera and walked in the direction of the cave mentioned in the guidebooks. There were no signs in English on the way and I didn't understand the guidebook directions, but I finally saw a wat on a hill, Wat Tham Phah Jom, nearly hidden by the forest. It is being remodeled and is the location of the cave, Thumpha Joem Cave. The lights were turned off in the cave, probably because it was after 4:30 and the workers had gone home. The main entrance was not locked, so I went in. The cave is a Buddhist temple, with concrete steps and walkways, and ceramic tile floors on some areas, and a lot of Buddha statues and other religious items. There are no stalactites or stalagmites, and very few signs of flow or drip structures. The cave appears to be a solution cavity and may have been mined for the crystals. The air was still and seemed dusty, although that may be candle smoke.

Walking back through the markets, I saw that most were closed or closing before 6. The border crossing closes at 6:30 and many of the shop workers drive across the border to go home in Burma. I found another map and realize the first map had the river names reversed at the Golden Triangle, so the larger river, between Burma and Laos, is the Mekong, and the small river at this border crossing is the Ruak or a tributary.

About 6 I sat down at the restaurant next to the Bamboo GH and ordered fried vegetables and a bowl of rice, and a Sprite, for 70B. The prices are higher than in most Thai cafes, but the serving was larger, so the price is not bad. Talked briefly to a Belgian who was with his Thai fiancee, but needed another paper to marry, which he was going to send to her when he got back home. He was probably nearly my age and the Thai woman was not young. Seems strange.

So my outlay for today is 451B, $13.50.

Loy Krathong

2009-11-02T10:07:00.000-08:00

Chiang Rai, Monday, November 2, 2009
Got up at 7 this morning, stretched and finished uploading photos onto Flickr.

About 10 I walked to the Siam Commercial Bank and bought 15,000B on my Visa card, first stopping to buy 4 small paste filled sweet dough rolls for 10B. I walked through the street market selling fruits and vegetables on the way over and walked through the very extensive covered stalls market on the way back.

Getting near the Chat House, Trish called. During our call a free-lance guide offered to show me around Chiang Rai on a motorbike which apparently I would rent, since he was walking also. Didn't say what he would want for this service, but he would probably have done a good job because he spoke fairly good English. But I intend to walk around to the few places I'm interested in seeing. He proceeded ahead while I talked to Trish and left the Chat House reception saying he paid for me. Don't know what that meant and no one at the desk said anything to me. I paid the 100B rent while I finished talking to Trish. She had a good time at Halloween, both Friday and Saturday, dressed as Toe-Bee, the clown.

Left the Chat House again about noon going toward the Hilltribe Museum. I had chicken and rice at a small cafe in the big covered market, for 25B. Had a large dark brown mass on the plate. Looked like liver, so I ate it, with some chili sauce for flavor. Not much flavor in the rice and chicken without the sauce. The meal included with a small bowl of broth. The broth had good flavor the the rest tasted good with the chili sauce. I felt full and lethargic after the meal, in contrast to the feeling I usually have after an all vegetable meal. The veggie meals are better for my digestion. A street cart had good looking pastries so I bought a small paste filled wedge for 5B. The woman said 'peanut', but it was yellow paste. Must have been something that sounded like peanut.

Arrived at the Hilltribe Museum about 1:30. The information, displays and slide show are interesting, but I was done in less than an hour, including shopping in the crafts store, and buying a water bottle bag with a shoulder strap and a zippered money or check book bag, for 90B each, both made by the Hmong. Got a 950ml bottle of water at the 7-11 for 6B, and it fit perfectly in the bag.

I then walked to 4 wats, Wat Jetyod, Wat Phrakaew, Wat Doi Ngam Muang and Wat Doi Thong. The second one has the replacement Emerald Buddha, made of Canadian Jade. The last 2 are on hills in the northwest part of town.

I returned to the Chat House at 4:30 and rested til 5:30 when I checked on a tour for tomorrow and found nothing, so I walked to the restaurant on the street and ordered a plate of rice and veggies, with a small bowl of broth, for 25B. I walked toward some hot air lanterns and found that they were rising from a nearby wat. I took some photos of the young monks lighting firecrackers and lanterns. I was given a lantern to release, so my prayer went up also.

After dinner, I watched Christopher and Loa loft a couple of hot air lanterns. At 7 I started walking toward the river to watch the launching of the flower and candle boats, as part of the celebration of the Loy Krathong buddhist festival. I was joined by a young fellow backpacker from British Columbia. He had ridden a bike through the area in the afternoon and knew where the stages and chairs and booths were set up. It seemed like at least a mile to the field and river, near a bridge. Road traffic was heavy. We walked past the parking area into the vendor area and the crowd. We became separated when I started taking photos. I walked down to the river to watch the boats being launched. Coming back to the field I bought a 330 ml can of Leo beer for 30B. After drinking that I had a small tray of fried noodles and veggies for 10B. I watched singing on 2 stages and dancing in front of a third. At the end of the field a covered dance room for the young people required an admission charge. Leaving the field I bought 4 small crepes for 10B, one filled with brown sugar, one with meat and probably a small egg, and 2 with a sweet white cream. As I left the area at 9 people were still entering. I returned to the Chat House by 9:30.

So my outlay for today is 451B, $13.50.

PDA tour 10 and Golden Triangle

2009-11-01T07:15:00.000-08:00

Chiang Rai, Sunday, November 1, 2009
Didn't wake up til 6:30 this morning. It was again cool enough overnight to use a blanket most of the night, with the fan turned off. Stretched and got up about 7:30. I paid 100B for the room tonight and asked about the tour. I was told someone would be here soon. I walked to the road and bought a 200ml juice box of 100% mixed fruit juice for 18B, and drank it all. In the next store, I found a liter bottle of 25% OJ, with 13% sugar, for 25B. Drank nearly half of that. Worked some more on the upload and diary.

Checked back with the receptionist, about 9:30, and found the guide, Kai, who said the tour was to the Golden Triangle, for 700B. I said I wanted to go, and joined frenchman Christopher and his daughter, Loa, on the tour, who were refunded part of their money because the tour group was now 3 people. Kai took us in a very comfortable compact 4 door pickup. Took about 1.5 hours to reach the view point over the Golden Triangle, where the borders of Thailand, Burma (Myanmar), and Laos join, marked by the confluence of the Mae Khong (Mekong) and larger Ruak Rivers. Burma and Laos both have new or nearly new Casinos along the river nearby.
We all walked through the Opium Museum, the 50B admission price being included in the tour fare. The displays and information were good for a small museum. I bought a snuff bottle, which the clerk said was made of coral. The carving on it is crude and I suspect it is made of soapstone. I was allowed to charge the 380B on my Visa card.
We took Kai up on his suggestion to take a boat to Laos. We each paid 300B and got a life jacket for the long-tailed boat ride. First we rode upriver and went by the Burma Casino, then we turned downriver for a half mile or so to a tourist shopping area, complete with a mailbox. The area is on a large island and does not require a visa to visit, although it is in Laos. Christopher and I were each given a small sample of Laos whiskey from a bottle with a snake in it. Against common sense I bought a bottle of Laos whiskey with a scorpion and snake in it, for 220B. Walking through the small village behind the shops I saw a young bear pacing in a small cage. When I got close enough to get a good photo through the bars, the bear lunged and swiped at me with his paw. There was no sign of any claws. So sad.

We rode back and looked around at the Big Buddha in his boat, then I walked up the hill to the view point and further up to the wat. Peaceful because it was above the busy scene by the Big Buddha, and no one else was around.

Went into the Opium Museum shop on the way down and bought a trekking stick for 550B, and 2 small bamboo flutes for 20B each. Charged on my Visa card again.

Looking for something to eat, I was called by Christopher invited me to join him and Loa, and offered to share the rest of his fish stew, so I bought a bowl of rice for 10B and had a good lunch thanks to their generosity.

Kai next drove us to Chiang Saen and looked at some wats and the city wall, then on to a wat on the top of a hill, with a good view of the Mekong and fields and village. We had a talk with the monk who speaks perfect English and has a tattoo from his time in Oakland, California, when he was in the Thai Navy.

We drove through some of the countryside, stopped to take photos of the buffalo, and looked at the rubber trees and the processing shed for the rubber sheets, which bring the farmer 70B per Kg.

Our final visit was to a Chinese Buddhist temple and school where we watched the young monks perform a chanting service in the temple.

We said goodby to Kai at the Chat House about 5:40 and I gave him a 100B tip.

So my outlay for today is 1373B, plus the 970B charged on my Visa card, about $70.

Chiang Rai, Saturday, October 31, 2009
Got to bed about 10:30 last night and didn't wake up til 6:00 this morning. It was again cool enough overnight to use a sheet and blanket most of the night, with the fan turned off. Got up about 7. Stretched as much as possible. Still can't do sit-ups. Showered and packed, turned in my key. Paid 195B for the room and a Sprite.

Waited outside for the ride for the tour. A PDA van came at 9:16. There were already 2 tourists riding. We went to the Chat House, where 2 tourists got in and I registered and left my bags. We then picked up 2 more tourists at a nice resort near town and went to the PDA office for the refund coming to the first 3 tourists, who had paid 2300B for the tour which now costs each of us 1700B. There were 5 tourists from Switzerland, one from Montreal and me.

Our guide is a Thai named Homey. We were driven to the boat pier and boarded a long tailed boat for a nearly hour long ride upriver on the Mae Kok River. The ride was smooth and seemed fast. The water is brown and much of it is shallow, as shown by men who were standing in the middle, scooping gravel into their small boat, using bamboo baskets as sieves. I saw only one large rock in the river. Most of the bank appeared to be sand where there was no bank protection or the few rock exposures, which appeared to be sedimentary limestone and shale. There are some hills near the river, and mountains in the distance, all covered with green trees and plants. Most of the hills are steep and probably are remnants of a limestone plateau.

The boat stopped at the Ruammit Village, a Karen tribe village which manages a herd of elephants. We were first encouraged to buy souvenirs or drinks at the riverside market and pose for photos with some large snakes. I paid 100B to have one of the tribesmen take photos of me with their largest snake. We were encouraged to feed the elephants bananas and sugar cane, by buying small bags of these treats for 20B each. No else wanted to have a photo with a snake or buy treats for the elephants. I gave out all treats before I saw the elephant I was to ride. The other 6 had already climbed onto their benches and started on the trail before I realized they were waiting for me. I'm sure my elephant saw me handing out the treats and was angry I didn't give him or her any, because the ride was so rough. I was expecting a slow walk like I had on Ko Chang. This was about twice as fast, still not much more than a normal man's walking pace. Homey, who rode with me said he usually walks, probably when the group is an even number. With this pace the seat lurches back and forth constantly, even though the bench seems securely fastened to the elephant. Everyone had to hold on tightly to the seat frame to stay in the seat. The trail goes thru the forest, and past fields of rice and other crops, and up and down some streams. Some of the slopes are steep. I would have been tossed over the front of the elephant on every step down if I hadn't held as tightly as I could with one arm. I needed my right arm to hold my camera and camcorder. My left leg was on a short rail at the front of the seat designed to help the passenger stay in the seat. My right foot was on the pads or on the elephant's neck, trying to help push myself back onto the seat. Partway through the ride Homey told me to move toward the middle of the bench, for balance, because I am much bigger than Homey. I took some video on the gentlest portions of the ride, but I'm certain it isn't watchable because of the motion.

Homey was able to talk most of the way and told me some of the stories and information he later told to the group. He talked about the PDA's work, about his family, about the crops and the tribes. He has 4 children despite family planning but only because he has married twice, with each wife having 2 children. All the elephant handlers are Karen tribesmen. Ours was 18 years old and going to school to study agriculture. I told him 3 of my 5 grandsons were that age and older. Each of the tribes has subgroups, with the Karens being the red, white and long-neck. Most the Karens in this village were white, and were Christian, Baptists, while the other tribes were Buddhists.

After the nearly 2 hour ride we came to a platform where we walked off the elephants and were given bunches of bananas to feed them before they started walking back. Next to the platform is a covered set of tables where 3 Yao women were selling handicrafts, mostly bags and belts. I bought a small bag with an elephant design on it, for 60B. Their pronunciation of sixty sounds like fifty. We walked through the village. Most of houses in all of the 4 villages are on stilts, some high enough to walk under, and are of simple design, often with grass roofs. Very few people were in the villages, mostly women and children. The villages are small and most have one main road, with pavement or concrete on at least part of the road.

We walked only a short way, probably a quarter mile along the pavement before we came to lunch, an open-air roadside cafe, where pad thai was prepared for each of us, with 2 extra portions. I ate 2/3 of one of them. I don't think anyone else had extra. Dessert consisted of pineapple and bananas. Bananas here are the stubby variety, firmer and not as sweet as the variety usually sold in the US.

We them were taken in a pickup taxi to the next village, an Akha village, stopping to see Buddhist gates, built to keep bad spirits out of the village, and a Buddhist swing, a large tripod made of poles with a rope swing, although it is not used by just anyone. Homey told us about the tall young tourist many years ago, who couldn't get away from the villagers and their opium. The tourist was so happy. We then watched 2 women spinning thread for their cloth. I bought a shell bracelet for 10B.

Our final village was a Lahu village, where I bought a 450ml bottle of a green cantaloupe drink, with 10% juice and 12% sugar and fructose, for 15B. It was so hard to refuse the little girls offering more bracelets for 10B each, but I did.

Next we stopped at the Huaymaesai Waterfall where some waded and I swam under the water fall. Cool and refreshing, but not cold.

We arrived back at the Chat House about 4:45. I tipped Homey 100B and thanked him.
I was tired and laid down but found the bed pad to thin in the middle, so I asked the receptionist if they could add a pad or change it. She offered to replace it with a seating pad like the ones in the reception area. I agreed and my pad was replaced with 3 pads. Very hard pads, but better than the thin one. I rested for a couple of hours, after getting my photos upload and diary started. Noticed my bruised left arm for the first time, caused by the bench frame during the elephant ride.

I walked a few blocks to the Saturday Night Market, which is a closed off street, with small spaces on the sides and in the middle of the street. Most people walk on the left. I watched and videoed the end of some dancing, then sat down in a busy cafe and ordered fried veggies and rice, for 60B. It was a good size portion and I ate it all, because I was so hungry by this time. I wanted to get water at the 7-11 across the street and looked for a crossing, going against the flow. Couldn't get across, because the vendors have it all blocked off, so I had to go to the end of the street first. I stopped to watch some Thai social dancing in the adjacent park and started watching a stage show, but the 2 hosts talked Thai for 20 minutes, so I left before any music started. Finally got to 7-11 and bought two 950ml bottles of water for 12B, total. Walked back to the Chat House and worked some more on uploading and my diary before turning in about 12:30.

So my outlay for today is 572B, about $17.

Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai, October 27-30, 2009

2009-10-31T09:41:00.000-07:00

Chiang Rai, Friday, October 30, 2009
Got to bed about 9:30 last night and didn't wake up til 6:20 this morning. It was cool enough overnight to use a sheet and blanket most of the night, although I kept the fan going. Got up about 7. Stretched as much as possible. Still can't do sit-ups. I finished the OJ. Still tasted good, but not as good as Valencia OJ. Showered and packed, turned in my key.

Walked a short distance and hailed a tuk-tuk pickup taxi. Hoped for one which had people going to the bus terminal. This one was empty and the fare is 40B. Seems like too much for a mile or so, especially when the bus fare to Chiang Rai is 132B for the 180km, 3 hour, trip. And in a pickup bed bench seat. The side openings on all these vehicles is too low for me to see out without bending down, and the low roof requires crouching to get in.

I arrived at the bus terminal before 8. Only 2 ticket windows were open and the line on each was 20 people long. I was already standing for the national anthem at 8 when everyone stands. The next seat available was on the 9:30 bus. I walked around the terminal, looking at everything, including something to eat. Nothing looked, except the skewered meats, and they had flies on them.

The bus pulled in at 9:30. I checked my bag into the luggage bay and found my seat, by a window pillar and next to a young Thai man who spoke no English. The bus pulled quickly, at 9:45. The bus looked fairly new but had hard suspension, more like a truck than a big bus. I was near the back and bounced a lot. The road is paved, but has a lot of patches, apparently done poorly, causing the bus to bounce. The air blowing thru the overhead vents did not seem cold, but that was fine, because it wasn't too hot, definitely cooler than Bangkok and the south.
There was a stop at a bus terminal long enough for everyone to get off. I bought a doughy bun with a black paste filling, for 10B. Tasted OK, not too sweet.

The bus pulled into Chiang Rai Bus Terminal 2 about 12:45, and I found by asking several times and showing my ticket that this was the final stop, contrary to both my guidebooks, which state the bus terminal is in the center of town. The central bus terminal is the old terminal and the new one is 7 km away. Tuk-tuk rides are given to the old terminal for 10B. I got on the second one and the driver waited 10 minutes hoping, I guess, to add a 10th person to the 9 of us on the pickup bed seats. As he left the terminal, he stopped and made us slide forward for 2 more passengers.

At the terminal, a man offered to take me to the Ben Guesthouse, by showing me the brochure. I hadn't read about it and resisted at first, but the brochure offered free transportation to the bus terminal and had wifi. So I agreed to go. He led me around the building to his pedicab. I squeezed in with my backpack and he pedaled me probably half a mile. Ben GH is in a residential area and quite a ways from the center of town and the other guesthouses. It looks fairly new and is being worked, including putting in a pool. The pedicab driver wanted to be paid. I asked the clerk about the free transportation and she said they would 'give ride, first call.' The driver had nothing to do with the guesthouse. He probably had told me I would pay him, but his English was very poor and I didn't understand that. I paid him the 30B. The room rates on the sheet showed a low rate of 120B for one with a shared bath. The clerk said the rate was 180B, higher, but she didn't or couldn't say why. Probably, this is the new high season rate. The room has twin beds, and I was not going to walk any distance for another room or pay the pedicab to take me somewhere else, so I took the room.

It was still early afternoon, so I felt like walking around to get my bearings. I found a crude map at the reception desk and walked out til I found a major road, probably only a few hundred yards. I guessed at the orientation and walked along til I found a small cafe with photos next to the Thai names of their dishes, on the wall. I pointed to a fried rice dish and sat down. A glass of ice cubes was provided and the table had a small pitcher of water. The rice dish was large enough and had little taste, so I added some sliced chilles from the jars on the table. Tasted good. There was also a small bowl of broth, which I drank. Cost 30B.

I walked a little further and saw a shop selling cell phones. Many of these shops are more like open stalls, with no front wall, just a roll up door. The young woman could speak some English so I asked her if she could help get my phone to work. She was able to get a message showing the baht remaining, 85, and some other instructions on some long string of letters and symbols to dial. I didn't understand the instructions and neither did she. Finally, she took out the battery and reinserted it. When the phone started up it worked. She said 'You call'. I called Bill and talked for a few minutes. He was getting ready for work. Apparently, it just needed to be reset this way. I hadn't thought of doing that. I considered adding minutes to the phone, but the minutes are good til Nov. 13, so I'll wait a while.

At the next intersection I saw a sign for a wat which was shown on my map, so I could see where I was at. I walked a few block and looked at the wat. I couldn't find an English name anywhere so I just looked around and took no photos.

I found signs for the Chat House and walked in. The room with shared bath is 100B, so I said I'd take it tomorrow, and come by at noon. It is smaller, older and much shabbier than the Ben GH, but there is free wifi.

I walked into another wat and found the same lack of an English name. The 3rd wat had one sign to photograph, so I took some photos. Later, I found another wat with a name sign, so I took a few photos.

I walked over to an island to look for the Aka River House. There were signs pointing the direction. First I stopped into the YMCA Town Center. A woman who spoke pretty good English said it is a school. The Y hotel is out of town. I walked another quarter mile and found the Aka River House. There were no attendants, only a few workers. One said 'No, maybe tomorrow' when I asked if there was a reception area. I did not see any sign of an office, just a 2 story set of rooms.

I walked back toward the Bus Terminal and turned toward the Hill Tribe Museum. It is on the 3rd floor and it was nearly 5. The museum closes at 6, but the tour desk was still open. I asked for a brochure. One little old man, probably a guide, suggested I go on a tour tomorrow. The clerk, a young woman who spoke very good English, said the only tour tomorrow was No.10, a boat ride, an elephant ride, a visit to 3 villages, walking and a ride back. The tour is all day, 9 to 5, and costs 2000B if I go, making 4 people. There were only 3 so far, but 2 more walked up while I looked over the descriptions of all the tours, and told the girl I wasn't ready to decide on a tour. I asked about going on my own and she said there are no signs and the guide is needed stay on the trail. With 6 of us the cost would be 1700B each, so I decided to go. Another woman walked up and decided to join because she didn't have days to wait for another tour to form. I didn't have enough Baht with me, so the girl accepted my Visa card and charged It. The tour includes a hotel pickup. I said that it would be good if they could pick me up before the other 2 because they are at the Chat House and I could leave my things there while they pick up those 2.
On the way back to the Ben GH, I passed a park with a large group of young people doing aerobics. I stopped at a shoe store long enough to buy a pair of slip on sandals, for 69B. I can really use those for the Chat House, to go out to the bath. Fortunately, Ben GH has a lighted sign pointing the way off the main road, because the street name I was looking for, Soi 1, was not in sight, and it was dark.

USAID is having a convention or something in one of the buildings at the GH, and the clerk/manager asked if I wanted to eat at the BBQ being prepared for that group. The cost was 150B and I first said yes, but looking at everything, I wasn't hungry enough to join in, even though it looked like a good selection of salad, noodles and several kinds of meat. So I crossed off my listing on the sheet with my room no. on it, sitting on the reception desk.

Heard only three firecrackers or cherry bombs here today, much better than in Chiang Mai, where firecrackers, cherry bombs and small rockets were going off almost continuously every evening. Apparently, there is some festival coming up soon, maybe on the weekend, or on the full moon of Nov. 2.

So my outlay for today is 1981B, including the 1700B tour for tomorrow, about $60, but not including tonight's 180B room which I'll pay in the morning.

Chiang Mai, Thursday, October 29, 2009
Got to bed about 10:30 last night and didn't wake up til 6 this morning. Got up about 7. Stretched a lot. Feel better and can stretch more than I have since my back seized up.There is still some swelling which will take a few more days to go down, so bending over still hurts. I can't bend over enough to easily tie my left shoe.

Decided I needed more rest for my back before travelling, so I asked for another day at the Smile GH, and paid the 200B for the room, for tonight.

Walked down to a 7-11 and bought a liter of OJ for 67B, $2, and drank over half. Took my laundry over to the lowest advertised rate to wash and dry, 15B per kilogram. My bag weighed over 1.5kg. When I picked up the clothes about 4:30, the charge was 25B.

I rested and read before lunch and walked to Tein Sieng again. This time I was early, before noon, and I got a plate of rice and 2 toppings, one looks like papaya in sauce and the other is fried veggies. Tasted good. 20B.

About noon I walked into the Thai Massage Conservation Club, a studio which uses blind people trained in Thai massage. The agents are sighted. Paid the 150B for the standard one hour session. The masseuse places the sheet on the leather covered bed and pillow. A man was massaging a woman on the bed next to mine. The massage started with me on my back, first massaging the feet. Most of the massage consisted of pressing hard, sometimes with the full body weight, on nearly all of my muscles, with turning one side, then the other and finally on my stomach. The legs were twisted near the end and I was sitting up at the end. Only a little kneading, of the shoulders and head, and a light pounding on the back. I expected the left leg to hurt more, but the pain was about the same all over and the leg twisting was just to the limit for that leg. I felt less back pain after the massage and have less pain than before. I was so relaxed after the massage that I walked back to my room, after buying a 950ml bottle of water for 6B, and slept on and off for 4 hours, with a break to get the clothes.

About 6 I went again to the AUM restaurant for dinner. I had tempura veggies with tamarind sauce and a banana shake, 85B, plus a 10B tip. Bought another 950ml bottle of water on the way back, 6B.

I worked on the diary, then swam for 15 minutes in the pool, the same as last night. The cool pool water is very refreshing.

So my outlay for today is 569B, $17.

Chiang Mai, Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Woke up before dawn. Moved around on the bed to loosen my back. Still very sore. Carefully got up at 7 to use the restroom. Went back to bed. Couldn't get comfortable. I rested til 8:30, and got up after the other 2 had gone out. I stretched more and felt a little better. I walked around to loosen up and look for a better room, one with fewer stairs and a better bed. Julie and one other low priced place were full. Other places looked like they were upper floor rooms or were expensive, 250B or more. Finally walked a side street and saw a Chinese clinic, the Mungkala Clinic. I asked about acupuncture. The nurse asked me to have a seat. I said I would return later.

On a side street near the clinic the Smile guesthouse had a room for 200B, with a shared bath. The guesthouse is very Asian, with shoes left at the entrance. They have a lounge, computers table, tour desk, restaurant and small pool on the ground floor. I asked the girl to reserve the room. I looked for other places near the clinic, and bought a passion fruit shake, for 15B, on the way back to the Same Same. Picked up my stuff and left the key, then looked some more for a cheaper place. Didn't see any that looked better or lower in price, so I checked in to the Smile Guesthouse, and paid 200B.

I rested and worked on my diary, and showered. I left about 1 to check in at the clinic. They were closed til 2 for lunch. I walked over to the same restaurant I ate at last night and had a bowl of veggies and noodles, with ice water, for 20B. Bowl wasn't as full this time. Different cook, maybe the owner. Still tasted good. I added a little chilli powder. Made the broth quite hot. Drank a lot of water to thin it down. On the way back I looked at hand sewn bags, made by the Karen people I was told. I got a large flat bag with a shoulder strap, to replace the plastic bag I often carry, and a passport bag with a neck strap, for 160B total, 8B off the marked prices.
Checked into the clinic at 2:30 and was told a half hour acupuncture treatment was 500B. The clinic is licensed and I didn't have time to shop around for anything cheaper, and might not trust just any acupuncturist. The treatment was as expected based on other treatments I've had, new needles, in the lower back and back of the legs, with electric current to feel, and heat on the back. Three times the cost of the senior center treatment, but still a low price. I now have a patient number and was asked to make an appointment for tomorrow. I hope I feel well enough to travel tomorrow.

I returned to the Smile GH and rested in a soft chair near the pool, and read from one of the guidebooks. About 4 I read that the Tein Sieng Restaurant, which serves a highlighted vegetarian dish, closes at 5. I arrived at 4:25 and they were sold out. I walked to the 3rd of the highlighted wats, Wat Chiang Mun, and looked around and took photos. Feel sorry for the birds in the little cages, which are sold by temples for people to release as part of their offering. Didn't buy any, though.

Walking toward the east gate I checked the front rack at the 'On The Road' used bookstore. Bought a Joseph Conrad paperback novel for 60B. Checked 2 different stores that sell add-on cell phone minutes. No one understands why my phone does not make calls. A check by one girl shows 88 minutes left on my account. She didn't understand the rest of the message and it made no sense to me. Got a 600ml bottle of water for 7B, and drank it all.

About 6, I saw a vegetarian restaurant, the AUM, which looked good and was mentioned in the LP guidebook. I ordered 2 of their best dishes, a Thai soup, called Kausoi, and springrolls, and an unsweetened papaya shake, 50B, 50B and 35B, for a total of 135B, with a 10B tip. Very, very good. Too much food for one meal, but it was too good to leave any.

Returned to the Smile GH about 7 and took the netbook down to a table by the pool, to work on my diary. Talked briefly to Angie, from Canada, who loves this city and the GH, and has been here a week already.

So my outlay for today is 1107B, $33.

Chiang Mai, Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Got up at 6, stretched, showered. Heard the frenchman call 'Gary', but he was gone before I could look into the courtyard. I packed quickly and left my key with a man at the reception desk. At the Coffee Cup I ordered an orange juice, for 30B. It tasted like it had come out of the juice box from a grocery store, not fresh squeezed. The clerk said the taxi would stop here. A large sonthaew, painted with red, white and blue stripes, with 3 long bench seats in back, stopped in front. I was the second passenger. As I climbed up the step and bent down to get under the roof, I felt my lower back muscles squeeze the nerve, and tighten harder. I sat down and straightened my legs as much as possible and tried to relax the back muscles, but I could not lean back very far.

The songthaew served as a bus for about 10 students, all in uniforms, who got on after me and got off at 2 different schools. Only 2 other women rode as passengers to other stops. I was the only passenger for final and longest portion of the 20 minute ride to the bus terminal. I gingerly climbed out of the songthaew and paid the driver the 20B fare.

We had stopped near the ticket windows. I was shown the Chiang Mai ticket window and paid the 218B fare. The agent gave me a receipt and tag to print my name on. He attached the tag to my bag, knowing the bag would not fit in the overhead tray and that the bus would fill up, which it eventually did. I waited with the other bus passengers on the plastic seats in the open air terminal. An empty bus pulled into the correct space within about 20 minutes. I gave my bag to the driver at the bag bay and boarded. The bus was nearly 2/3 full. I had an empty seat next to me, which allowed me to stretch out a little and do some twisting to try to loosen the back muscles. I kept the empty seat for over an hour, but then a Thai woman needed a seat, so I had to hold my camera for a few hours til she got off. Later, I put it in the overhead along with my camera bags and hat at the second of the two 20 minute stops on the way. The first was at Tak and the second at Lampang, where I got off and bought a 600ml bottle of water, for 10B.
Out of all the passengers only myself and 4 others looked like tourists. The 4 were young, one couple and 2 guys, one from France and one from Switzerland. The 2 guys and I agreed to take a songthaew together for a better price, 30B each. We each wanted to go to a different guesthouse. On the way the 2 guys decided to share a room to save money, and they decided to go to the same one I chose, the Julie Guesthouse. The 2 guys got off first and walked the 100 feet or so down an alley to Julie's. There was only one room left and they took it.

The clerk suggested the TR Guesthouse nearby. It had a promotion sign out front stating a price of 200B. I walked back down the street, which had a lot of guesthouses and other shops, tour companies, restaurants, etc., catering to tourists. A sign out front of the Same Same Guesthouse stated a rate of 100B for a dorm bed and free wifi. The dorm had 2 bunks. I got the last bed. The room is on the first floor. The ground floor contains a reception and restaurant, and has high ceilings; and is open to the 3rd floor in the front. The second floor has a common area and 2 rooms. Toilets are on the 3rd and 4th floors and showers are on the 4th floor. Great for young backpackers with their young legs. Two guys were in the other bunk and a girl was above me.
By this time, about 3, I was hungry. So I ordered a bowl of veggie Khao Tom, for 50B, and a mulberry shake, for 50B. Mulberries were from Laos. The soup and shake were both great. The soup was mild and the mulberries had a very strong and sweet flavor. Shakes are usually sweetened with sugar.

In the room I turned on my netbook and found the network. I went down and got the password, and began uploading photos to Flickr. When I got to a folder with a lot of photos, I decided the best thing for my back, now that I had stretched all I could, was to walk to try to loosen the muscles. It was nearly dark, but I saw that one of the 3 wats recommended as highlights in the old city was near. I found it, only because there are street signs here, and I took a free map at the guesthouse. The wat has some spot lights on it after dark. I decided the walk was helping my back, so I walked to a second wat, a little further away. It also had spotlights. Neither wat had visitors, altho there were a few people, including some monks, in the area, and a few vehicles going in and out. All along the way I was offered rides by the songthaew drivers, both as they drive by, often just by a honk, and when they are stopped, asking 'Where you going?'.

I was still hungry, so I looked at several restaurants on the way back. Finally saw one simple place with tables and stools. The kitchen was a small area in the front corner. I asked for vegetable soup with the flat noodles. The bowl was larger than normal and ice water was provided, all for 20B. The soup was several veggies and noodles in a beef broth. Mild, but good flavor. I added only a little bottled sauce, from the holder on the table, for more flavor.
Walked back to the Same Same GH and checked on the upload. Not finished, but I posted a new blog entry, with 3 days of my diary.

I was alone in the room most of the night. One guy and the girl went out early in the evening and didn't return till after I fell asleep, probably midnight. The other guy said there were bedbugs biting him and he moved out into the hammock in the common area. I couldn't sit up on the bed because the bunk was too low, so I did the work lying down, with the netbook in my hand or on the night stand. I did a lot of stretching to try to loosen the back, but it was too sore to stretch very far.

I did a lot of turning all night to try to find a painfree position, but there was none. The pain in the prone, back or stomach, was low pain, so I eventually fell asleep. The back probably went out because of the long train ride on the hard bench coming up to Sukhothai.

So my outlay for today is 528B, nearly $16.

Bankok to Sukhothai, October 24-26, 2009

2009-10-27T07:16:00.000-07:00

Sukhothai, Monday, October 26, 2009
Woke up at 6:30 and fell back asleep til 9. Started the diary, stretched, showered and went to the pool. Talked to the frenchman in the pool. He wanted to change to a room next to the historical park also, so we decided to check out and meet at the entrance. I showered again and packed. Checked out before the check-out time of 11 and paid the 430B tab. The clerk suggested hiring one of the tuk-tuks just outside. One of them agreed to take both of us for 100B, more than the 30B I expected for the taxi on the main road, but the extra baht saved us a short walk and some time. The driver stopped at the Vitoon Guesthouse, which had rooms starting at 300B. The frenchman had a recommendation for the Old City Guesthouse, about 100 feet along the road and setback 50 feet from the street. The driver drove us there.

I liked the 150B room because of the price, although the bed is a pad on a board. The pad is thicker than the one in Chanthaburi, so it should be OK. The bed at the J&J was a box spring, but was extra firm, and was OK for sleeping. The room is on the second floor and the bathroom is shared. The frenchman took the larger first floor room, with bath, for 300B. While I placed my pack in my room and registered, paying 150B for the room, the frenchman paid the driver, and I reimbursed the frenchman for my half, 50B. The room included a 920ml bottle of water, a towel and a small roll of toilet paper.

The frenchman decided to rest during the middle of the day and visit the park later. I walked to the park, stopping first to buy a little bag of cut pineapple, for 10B. The LG guidebook recommended the museum so I paid the 150B admission and followed a tour group, apparently from Canada. They spoke English and one man wore a Toronto Maple Leafs T-shirt. I listened to their guide for a few minutes then walked around on my own. They left quickly. The museum is not large, although it is 2 story. The museum added little to what I had read, so it wasn't worth much to me. No photos allowed in the museum. I looked at a small display behind the museum and looked thru the gift shop. Bought a 300ml bottle of OJ for 20B.

Hadn't rented a bike even though the guidebook and the frenchman had recommended it. I wanted to get a better idea if I needed one by getting closer to the park. The entrance is set back a quarter mile from the road and I could see at the entrance that the park was very large and the restored temples were widely spread out, so I rented a bike inside the entrance. The entrance fee was 100B and the bike, a girls bike with fenders and a covered chain, was 30B. A small chain and padlock were included.

At the first, and largest, wat I bought a small tray of fruit, for 20B. The fruit, I think, is pomelo. It looks like large grapefruit, but has very little flavor. A small packet of sugar, with salt and chilli powder is included. I used all that and it tasted good.

I pedaled from wat to wat and walked thru all of them. Outlying areas have more wats, but that would have taken more than the 3 or 4 hours I spent, and there were separate admission charges to the other areas. I saw the frenchman pedalling around and talked briefly, before I turned in the bike, about 4. I walked back and kept walking past my guesthouse, looking for another wat. Found out later that I had walked the wrong direction.

About 5, I returned to the room, took a shower and rested for a couple of hours.

I had dinner at the Coffee Cup, right next to the guesthouse. Only one other couple eating there when I sat down. The menu is a book of hundreds of items, less than half is Thai food, but with photos of most items. I ordered the Sukhothai noodle soup, with vegetables, for 35B, fried ginger with rice, for 30B, mango juice, for 30B, and water, for 10B. It was all very good. Everything tasted fresh and full of good flavors. The vegetables in the soup included mushrooms and so many others I couldn't begin to list them. The mango juice was full strength, like eating ripe mango. After all that I ordered a papaya shake, for 20B. It was blended fruit and ice. Had the flavor of fresh, ripe papaya. Great taste. Had to eat it slow to keep from freezing the roof of my mouth. Charged me 125B, less than $4.

So my outlay for today is 885B, nearly $27, but that included 2 rooms.

Sukhothai, Sunday, October 25, 2009
Woke up at 4, got up just after 6, stretched and showered, said goodby to Bill, finished packing, took my key, and walked to the bus stop. Caught a tuk-tuk to the Skytrain, BTS, for 5B. Took the escalator up and rode the BTS to the Asok station, for 20B off my card. Then took the subway, MTS, to the Hualumphong Rail Station and arrived 7:30.

The information desk clerk gave me a schedule and circled the 8:30 train to Phitsanulok. I was directed to the proper ticket window, after walking along the entire row of about 20 windows and seeing most of them closed. When I asked for the ticket circled by the info guy I was told 'all book'. I didn't think to ask for a fan seat. The agent said the 10:50 train had seats. Maybe Sunday wasn't the best day to travel. I thought I had better buy it before they sold out of those seats, so I paid the 449B for the 2nd class AC seat.

Didn't see any juice or fruit stands in the very large station seating hall, so I went in to the food court. No fruit there either, so I asked for the only juice drink listed and was told they were out. Frustrated, I ordered a papaya salad, for 30B, expecting something like I had a couple weeks ago. This was not like that and wasn't very good, but I was hungry and ate it.

I didn't want to wait till 10:50 so decided to change to the 9:25 regular, 3rd class, train, even though it would take an extra 3.5 hours. The agent sold me a ticket. There are no assigned seats. He refunded me the difference, minus the penalty for cancelling a ticket. I had read that in the guidebook, but had forgotten about it, so the exchange cost me an extra 75B and the refund was 155B. Hopefully, that is the only contribution I make to the well being of the Thai rail system.

To wash out the taste of the salad I ordered an ice milk, which is mostly ice, with a red liquid syrup, tasting a little like strawberry, topped with a little condensed milk, for 15B.

I tried to board early, at 9. From the outside it looked like all the seats were taken. I went on one middle car and found one empty seat. The seats are wood benches, alternating throughout, one facing forward and one back. The other 3 young Thai men didn't seem to speak English. The overhead rack was large, so my pack and camera bags, and water bottle, fit easily. I kept a seat the entire trip, moving to the window side, still facing forward, when the young man got off after about 6 hours.

The train pulled out about 10 minutes behind schedule and by the 3rd or 4th station, the aisle was clogged with standees, and food vendors, trying to walk the aisle and announce their food and drink, all in Thai. The toy vendor had left before the train pulled out. Most of the vendors were barely audible, but 2 of the women were loud and therefore, irritating. Probably would have been worse if I knew what they were saying. They weren't both on at the same time, because the vendors walk for a while, then get off and are replaced by a different vendor. They are of all ages, both men and women.

Trish called about 1 and we had a nice talk.

I expected that I would see more on this slower train. I did, but mostly I saw a lot of repetitive scenes and most could not be photographed well. Either they were too fleeting or the scene was marred by wires and/or trees, buildings, or other things. A lot of the extra time was spent in stations and on sidetracks, waiting for other trains, including freight trains to pass. Much of the way is single track, so timing is tricky, and the 3rd class does a lot of waiting, as well as stopping at most of the stations. The seats become harder as the time drags on. The standees gradually left until there were none after the first 7 hours.

The schedule showed 8.5 hours. The train was 50 minutes late getting into Phitsanulok, arriving about 6:40pm, after dark, I won't intentionally take a long 3rd class ride again without a cushion and some reading I want to do, because the seat is too hard, and the waits are boring, although I like the fresh air. I probably won't take the AC.

On leaving the station, I asked a samlor driver if the bus to Sukhothai was still running tonight. He asked someone else, who said yes. The driver said the ride to the bus station was fifty baht. A large sign by the samlors listed the price at 60B. He drove as fast as vehicle, looking like he was going to run into the scooters. The samlor has only one front wheel and is small and narrow, and runs close to everything. I was the only passenger. He stopped near the ticket windows, but in the traffic lane. I gave him 70B and he gave me 10B change, so his fifty really meant sixty. Too dark to get a photo of the samlor.

I looked for a window with a Sukhothai name. Found 2, but they were empty. One agent was directing people and pointed the direction, but I got it wrong. He meant on the other side of the row of windows.

The fare was 39B and the bus was ready to leave. The only seats were the back bench. I used my backpack for a backrest and shared the bench with 3 adults and 2 kids, until the kids and one woman got off after a half hour. The ride was much more comfortable than the train and lasted only 1 hour.

At the station I was looking for a place to set down my pack and pull out my guidebook. One Thai asked me where I was going. I said I wanted to find a room. He told me J&J Guesthouse was very good and the driver with him could take me there. If I didn't want it I 'can go other place near.' I remembered the name J&J from the guidebook and decided it must have been in the budget section. So I agreed to go.

The ride was in the front of a motorcycle taxi, like a motorized push cart, with a cover, probably the real tuk-tuk. Great for viewing the passing scenery. Not so good at night because it is too dark to see much and there are lots of bugs hitting me in the face. J&J is alone on a backstreet, with no visible lights of any adjacent business. I pay the 50B for my ride.

The lowest room price is 300B. The room is nice, with a toilet and shower with hot water, fan, and twin beds. Very clean and like new. I feel too tired to look elsewhere and I don't want to pay to ride elsewhere, so I take it.

J&J has its own restaurant at the entrance. I register and order Panang curry with vegetable and chicken, because they are nearly out of shrimp, plus a papaya shake, because mango is not in season, a bowl of white rice, and a large bottle of water. The charges go on my room bill. The curry dish is spicy hot and the shake tastes like papaya. Both are very good. The rice is essential for me to lower the 'hot' of the curry.

The pool is open from 9:30 to 8. I start on my diary and shower, and turn out the lights at 12:30.

So my outlay for today is 494B, about $15, plus BTS and MTS card reductions, and a bill to pay in the morning for the room and dinner, 430B.

Bangkok, Saturday, October 24, 2009
Slept in til 9, stretched, drank last of the OJ, read and worked on repacking to fit everything into my pack and camera case and fanny pack. I'll leave 3 of my lenses and flash in the suitcase. Still have 5 lenses with me.

Found that the external DVD does work without the power cord. Must have been stuck, so it wouldn't open til I pried slightly. Works fine. I installed the camcorder programs and imported the files from the camcorder, then made a DVD for Bill and a copy for myself.

Had yogurt and the rest of the mango for lunch, along with the first of my malaria pills.

Did one small load of wash for 20B, while Bill and I went to the Coffee Art shop to download a music video for Bill, and upload my blog and photos. Took about 4 hours and then Flickr hiccupped, so my upload froze at 88%. Only charged me 105B for all that time even though the rate is 35B per hour.

Bought a broom and pan for Bill, 70B.

Didn't have time to make copies of the northern sections of the guidebooks, so I'll pack both of them. Would have been 200 pages anyway.

Finished the last of the green tea and cooked rice for dinner.

So my outlay for today is 195B, about $6.

Another rest day in Bangkok

2009-10-23T23:55:00.000-07:00

Bangkok, Friday, October 23, 2009
Awoke before 6am, after going to bed at midnight and talking for a few minutes to Bill when he came in about 20 minutes later. Heard children talking in the hall. Heard a small thud and then a baby crying. Children went away.
Got up at 7, stretched and showered, drank some OJ. An hour later I had a 140 gm cup of yogurt. Then a cup of green tea.

Started reading the guidebooks northern Thailand sections. Found out the Lonely Planet's USA office is in Oakland.

Trish called about 9:30 and we had a nice talk. Trish is still tired from work and I'm still tired from my travels.

I need to rest another day, although the train ride to Chiang Mai should be easy and relaxing. The train ride to Chiang Mai, the second largest city in Thailand, in the north, will take 11 hours, over a distance of 685km, 425 miles. All around Chiang Mai the foothills of the Himalayas are forested and much of the area is relatively natural. Tribes from neighboring countries, primarily Burma, have moved into Thailand, and have villages in the hills, some of which depend on tourists for income. I will probably break the trip into 2 or 3 legs.

Bill had a mango in the refrigerator. He had his fill of mangoes a few days ago and told me yesterday I could have the last one. I ate half of it. Very good.

Talked to Bill about 10:30. Showed him the card reader on his computer and he was able to upload photos and burn them to a CD. Played the CD on his DVD player. Tried to make a CD of some music video from his flash drive, but it wouldn't play on the DVD player.

Bill went shopping at Big C and brought back his lunch. He couldn't finish it so I cooked some rice to mix with his extra sauce. Tasted good.

About 4pm, we went shopping at IT city, via tuk-tuk for 5B, skytrain and subway. We found a power cable for 80B to work with Bill's battery charger and a USB cable at 120B, for my netbook, all of which I payed for. Bill looked for a remote control at one store and at shirts at Tesco Lotus, but couldn't find what he needed at either. Bill left for work after a call from Oye and I stayed to look for an adapter at Tesco Lotus. Didn't find what I wanted. Stopped at the food court on the way out and had a Crispy Fried Mussels plate. It is an egg omelete with mussels, bean sprouts and chopped green onions, and a red sauce, served on a heated plate, all for 35B. Tasted good, but was too oily for me.

Took the MTS, subway, back to the Sukhumvit station, which took 9B off my card, each way. I decided to forego the skytrain and walked back to Bills. Sukhumvit is a busy street, with all kinds of shops, restaurants, bars, massage parlors, food carts, tailors, and shopping malls. I bought a small bag of popcorn for 10B, and it was kettle corn, but not as good as I've had in SF.

Back at the apartment I heated up the leftover rice and put some chilli sauce on it. I ate the rice, popcorn, coke and a cup of green tea for dinner.

Tried to connect Bill's computer to my netbook with the USB cable, but my netbook wouldn't recognize his computer as a drive. Probably need some utility program for that to work. Then I found the USB in my suitcase, so I didn't need to buy the cable. May take it back.

So my outlay for today is 250B, about $7.50.

Rest Day in Bangkok

2009-10-22T09:25:00.000-07:00

Bangkok, Thursday, October 22, 2009
Slept in til 8am, to make up the previous night on a hard bed. After I showered, and had some OJ, Bill got up and we talked about the trip and plans, then Bill meditated and I tried out the UW housing for the camcorder and found I don't have a USB cord to connect my netbook to Bill's computer. I showed Bill how to download his photos to his computer and make a CD backup copy. We found that I hadn't given him the power cable for the battery charger, or the power cord for his camera, which would also recharge the battery. The battery retainer in the camera is broken, so the battery must be held by hand when the door stays open to connect the USB cable to the computer.

We bought lunch at a nearby cafe, consisting of the broth in one bag and the vegetables in another, which we mixed back at the apartment. Bill also got a bag of spicy bamboo shoots. Cost 110B. We stopped at the food cart in Bill's parking lot and got a small coke for 10B. Bill had a 100B note so I gave him the 20B. Tasted very good.

Late afternoon I walked to the Big C to look for laundry soap and a USB cable. Couldn't find a USB cable in Big C or the Office Depot upstairs. Got some chili sauce, a 6 pack of Coke, a liter of green tea, hair shampoo and a bag of laundry soap, for just under 400B, half of that for the soap. The soap was on sale and the bag should be enough for Bill forever, since he handwashes only a few things and sends out most of his laundry. Also got a tube of anti-fungal creme for my feet, for 45B, at the pharmacy above the Big C. Stopped at the Siam Commercial Bank and got 5,000 Baht, on my debit card, altho they may have used it as a Visa card. I'll need to check my bank acct in a few days to see what it cost me.

The laundry consists of 2 machines along the parking lot. The smaller machine runs a load for 20B. Bill left for work before I finished the load and I couldn't find the folding drying rack. Probably taken by Oye, who took quite a few things, including the soap. Bill plans to join Harry at the Sheraton Jazz club, after work.

After I started the laundry, I took my netbook to a nearby cafe/bar, the 'Old Skool' which offers free wifi, after buying something. I bought an iced Thai tea, for 70B. Internet time at the nearby Coffee Art cafe is 40B/hr, so I may pay more here, but I had an iced tea and now I'm having a mango & peach smoothie, and a free sandwich, and I've been here over 6 hours, with photos from Ko Chang being uploaded. The set is 143 photos, just over a GB total. And, I'll have photos from Chanthaburi to upload after this first set. Probably wait a while to upload those. I may leave for northern Thailand before I do anymore uploading of photos.

So my outlay for today is 440B plus the drinks at 'Old Skool', probably 200B.

Ko Chang and Chanthaburi

2009-10-22T02:47:00.000-07:00

Tour and bus to Bangkok, Wednesday, October 21, 2009
The bed was too hard for me to sleep all through the night and I woke up at 4:30. Couldn't get back to sleep, but didn't get up til 7. I packed and went down to pay for the room. Only people there were 4 little kids watching Thai cartoons, with English subtitles. After about 15 minutes the woman manager or owner drove up on her scooter. I said I was leaving and gave her a 500B note. She took off on her scooter and came back in 5 minutes with my 350B change.

I walked on down to the River Guest House, got there about 8 and waited 10 minutes for the manager couple to drive up on their scooter. I asked about a tour, Choice 2 to Wat Kaosukim and Krathing Waterfall. The man called someone, then told me the price would be 700B, not the advertised 600B, and I would pay the 400B for the park. I agreed and he said the taxi would be there in 10 minutes. In 20 minutes, the driver walked up and led me under the bridge to his songthaew, which was parked in a traffic lane, since there are no parking spaces along this part of the road.

I was the only passenger and sat in the front, with my backpack in the back of the pickup. The pickup was an old Toyota, with no AC, which was good for me because the camera lens always fogs up when leaving AC. The temp was not high and the wind through the window was enough to keep us cool. The ride took about 50 minutes, passing through a valley with orchards and fields of many different plants. I recognized only the banana and papaya. The driver spoke no English, although he seemed to understand a few phrases. I could smell smoke, which was from small burn piles of plants and brush in some of the fields. Tropical vegetation along the ditches hid most of the views.

After we arrived at the Wat, the driver, San, said 'one hour" and pointed to a parking space. I was the only Caucasian at the Wat. Everyone else looked like Thai. There were probably 100 or so, with many school-age children in groups, and families with children.The parking lot for cars is near a small lake and some Buddhist images and figures. A larger parking lot a little down the hill had 4 tour buses parked in it. The Wat is up the hill, or mountain, probably a couple hundred steps to the fairly large level bench, or plaza, in the hill. However, 2 cable cars go up and down continuously, so no one needs to go all those steps.

Shoes must be removed to walk into the visitor portion of the Wat, which is a story higher than the plaza. The visitor portion of the Wat appears to be mostly a museum, with one large room and 2 smaller separate rooms filled with imagery, vases and carvings of different objects, some in glass cases. There were baskets of foods, wrapped in cellophane for people to buy for the monks, I would guess. There was one monk sitting in each of the smaller rooms and a couple in the larger room. The Thais knew what to do, with waiing, or bowing, and giving gifts and sitting in front of the monk so they could have photos taken by their friends. One man asked me where I was from and my age, and if i travel alone, and took my video with his phone, asking me to talk. He said he was 47 and pointed out his young son and the son of the other man with him. He had me stand by his wife and the other man to get me on video and in a photo. All done very politely. The view from the Wat, outside the small building, takes in the entire valley and mountains beyond.

Steps up the hill led to other building, a dormitory, a library and many other unidentified building, surrounded by the natural forest. I walked up the steps til the steps became too uneven and my hour was nearly gone. Never got another view of anything and I suspect there were no good views up there because no one else went up there, other than a couple of monks I met on my way down.

The driver was waiting and he drove to the park in half an hour. All of the roads except for one stretch of about a mile were paved with AC and in good condition. The unpaved, gravel road, needed grading because of all the potholes and eroded ditches.

The entrance to the park is guarded by military men, and the entrance fee was 100B for foreigners, til the end of October. Obviously, the River Guest House guy was not properly informed.

First we walked into the reception building which was a small restaurant and San pointed to water in their cooler. I bought the smaller, 600ml, bottle for 10B. San asked if I wanted 1 hour or 2 and I said 2. I took my 2 cameras, and camcorder, and an extra lens, although I used only one camera and one lens. The waterfalls is a series of 13 falls, I started up and found the first one to be #3. A swinging bridge connects to the other side of the falls. The other side is actually an island, because the river splits somewhere up hill. The forest is thick, so there is no good view of the overall area. I continued up the rocky trail, with steps formed over most of the trail. It was hot and muggy, so I was wringing wet during the entire climb. I reclined in the pool below Falls #8, which helped me cool down. The water was cooler than the air, but not cold. As I neared the bottom of the trail, rain, with thunder, began. I continued on to Falls #2 and #1, before washing my feet and socks of sand. I made it back to the parking lot with 10 minutes to spare.

San drove back, through the rain. I called Bill to ask if it was alright to come back to Bangkok tonight. He said 'sure.' Then I asked San to drop me off at the bus station so I could go to Bangkok. San was always very agreeable, accommodating and very polite. Probably should have tipped him. Only shook hands on parting.

We got to the station about 1:30pm and I bought my 187B ticket for the 1400 bus to Ekkamai station in Bangkok. The bus left at 2:16pm. I found a cellophane wrapped roll and many 250ml water bottles in the overhead tray, so I helped myself to the roll and water. The roll had a brown paste inside. Not much taste, so it probably is nutritious. After we started I still had an empty seat next to me and I was able to keep it all the way, even when other passengers got on and there were no other empty seats. The ticket taker handed out the little bottles of water, a 250ml juice box of strawberry flavored green tea and a wrapped roll to each passenger. My second roll had a green paste in it. This one had a little flavor. No idea what it was. The TV screen, right behind the driver, played movies on the way, the first 2 being 'Shaolin Soccer' and a similar movie, then 'Aliens vs. Predator 2', all in Thai, with no subtitles. Rain continued til we arrived at the Ekkamai station at 6:30, about half an hour of that time caused by the stop-and-go rush hour traffic in Bangkok.

I walked back to Bill's apartment, stopping at the Big C to buy an unknown batter-fried meat in a styrofoam box for 15.25B, a liter of orange juice and a 4 pack of yogurt, all of which totaled 113.75B, about $3.40. Bill was at work, so I let myself in, showered and cooked a pot of rice to mix with my unknown meat. The first bite of the meat I chomped on a very hard black substance, which broke into several pieces and had to be found and spit out. I checked my fillings with my tongue and they all seem to be in place. Added some soy sauce and chili oil for flavor and had a yogurt for dessert.

Found that I had a small hard piece of something on my ankle. Picked it off, but couldn't tell what it was. My ankle itched there and in 2 other places. I put neosporin on my ankle and that took care of the itch. I had knocked some large red ants off my ankles on my falls climb, so they may have bitten me. Also squatted some mosquitoes, even though there were very few mosquitoes in the area. At the River Guest House in the morning I had picked up a copy of Lonely Planet's guide and read that the parks here are malarial, so hope the mosquitoes were carrying that. I was told by someone that malarial mosquitoes are active at night, so I shouldn't need to worry. Also hope they weren't carrying Dengue fever.

Ko Chang to Chanthaburi, Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Slept soundly for 4 hours, using the blanket for cover, as I've done the last 3 nights. Woke 3 times toward morning and finally got up at 8. Stretched and showered. Put the 100 macro lens on the camera to look for small creatures to photograph. Found the tiny crabs along the creek to be very shy and most of the butterflies to be too quick. Could get only a bad shot of the crab and another bad shot of 2 mating butterflies, one of which paused for a second. Walked to the road and went north a quarter mile. I was passed my Michele, from Australia, apparently walking fast for the exercise. Went back to the beach at the Nature Resort, at the north end of the sandy beach. I walked along the beach and thru Treehouse Resort, and back to my bungalow.

I rested an hour and read a little, then packed up and left at 10:30, leaving the key with one of the 2 women who clean the resort. I walked to the road and waited for a Taxi. The first one passed by without stopping, at 11. The second stopped when I waved it down, but it wasn't going to the pier. One of the men running my resort stopped to ask if I was leaving and wished me a good trip. The next taxi, or songthaew, came by at 11;20 and was going to the pier. Only one other passenger in the pickup bed. The 30 minute ride cost 100B. The other passenger in the cab was a minibus ride seller. I told him I was going to Chathaburi and he was no longer interested. I walked down to the pier and found I needed to buy a ticket, back at the vehicle entrance the taxi had passed, to give the minibus seller a chance to talk to the passengers. I got a 100B ferry ticket and walked fast to get on the ferry, as the last car was driving on. I wasn't late, because the ferry waited for 4 more vehicles to arrive, before leaving the pier, at 12:10.

The sea was quite calm and the skies partly cloudy. After the 25 minute ride I followed the other passengers to an exit with a small building and a tourist office. The tourist office was small and crowded with a small party. Outside, some Thais offered to let me on a songthaew, going to Trat, for 20B. When I said I wanted to go to Chanthaburi, one of them motioned to the minibus next to us and said 250B. I asked the girl where was the regular bus to Chanthaburi and was told 'go to Trat, get bus'. I asked what that big bus across the way was doing and she shrugged her shoulders. I walked over to the bus and asked the driver 'Chanthaburi?'. He nodded yes and when I asked how much he held up 7 fingers. I thought he meant 52B, but after I got on the bus, the ticket seller came back and said 77B. So I gave him 102B. He didn't come back with change til we had made one stop. He gave me 30B change, so the ride cost 72B. He also walked the aisle with a basket of candy and gave out half liter bottles of water to anyone who wanted one. The bus had less than 10 passengers when I boarded and picked up another 10 or so at the 2 stops it made along the way. The trip to Chanthaburi must have taken a different route, but the time was still only a little over an hour. The seats were comfy, I had an empty seat next to me, and the bus had AC.

Most of the road to Chanthaburi was divided 4 lane; however, the route to the bus station was over city streets, with some very narrow streets and a lot of turns. I recognized the bus station from the stop I made before, and I used the Let's Go description to find the Arum Sawat Hotel, making only one wrong turn for a couple of blocks extra walking. The LG didn't say the hotel was over a half mile from the bus station. I was thinking a short walk. I would have taken a taxi if I had known, but I made it just fine, with a lot of sweating, even though is was overcast and there was a slight breeze. Good exercise. Glad I'm not carry more stuff. I will probably leave some of my lens at Bill's when I go through Bangkok. I need to make room for the camcorder housing, somehow. The room is on the first floor, the floor above the ground floor, and is twice the size of the bungalow I just left. The bed is a thin pad on a board. There is a ceiling fan and an indoor squat toilet and wash basin and shower, but only one small fluorescent light in the window by the corner; and only one electrical outlet, by the door. The rate is 150B.

Going back to the main road I found a shoe repair store. The front is open wide, having only a roll down door to close shop at night. One old man near the front was cutting pieces for a shoe. The younger man, a little further back said 'repair shoe' when I asked if they could do a shoe lift. I showed him my left shoe and took out the 2 spacers to indicate a thickness and showed the sole to indicate that I needed that thickness added. He smiled and shook his head no.
On the main road, going toward the old town, I stopped at the first cafe that had someone speaking English. The menu was in Thai, and the cafe is no more than a food stand with table and chairs inside a small building. I ordered by pointing at the glass noodles and saying 'vegetables and rice'. I picked out a soda with a nice green color. The soup had bean sprouts, bean curd, onions, sliced mushrooms, basil, thin bread chips and 3 crisp corn chips on top, and probably some other veggies, with the noodles, in a mild broth. I added a little chili sauce for spice. The soda was very sweet. Came to 40B, even though the soda was 10B.

I asked the man in the cafe how I could get to the national park. I know there are 2 near here, but couldn't remember the names and knew they were well out of town. He said I could walk to the park and gave me directions. I was able to follow the directions and came to a large park with a lake and statue of Taksin, a national hero. Lot of joggers in the park.

I found my way back to the hotel and looked for directions to a place that offered tours, since I hadn't seen any place offering tours on my walk. I found out the tourism office is next to the park, but I didn't see it. The LG book suggests booking through the River Guest House. I walked toward it and stopped to look at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, the largest Catholic cathedral in Thailand. It is being remodeled. Crossing the river I watched 2 long boats being paddled rapidly in unison, by 20 or 30 young men, keeping pace with a chant. One boat was much longer than the other. Probably rowing clubs.

I continued on the street listed for the River Guest House, but couldn't find it, so I stopped in a shop offering tours. They didn't speak English, but called someone who did. He said they could have a car take me to the national park, the closest one, since the other one had nothing to see and was closed, for 1000B. I told him I would get back to them.

Since I couldn't find the River Guest House, I turned to look at the river, just a hundred feet or so further on, and there was the River Guest House. Don't know why the address is the street I was on. The place is far more impressive than the hotel I'm in. And the rates are the same, altho the bath is shared for the low rate of 150B. The manager and his family were eating dinner, so I apologized for the interruption. He said the tour I asked about is a half day tour and he can arrange it in the morning. The cost is 600B, plus the park admission of 400B, double the LG listing price.

I made it back to the hotel with only one wrong turn. I could hear the rowers chanting as I walked near the river.

Washed my shirt and took a shower and went to bed at 9:30. The bed pad gives very little, not enough for me to be comfortable. I didn't get to sleep until after Trish called just after 10. We had a nice talk. Found out there was a heavy rain shower in SF yesterday.
Total outlay today is 312B, about $9.

Ko Chang, Monday, October 19, 2009
Woke up at 4:30 and 6 and got up at 8. Stretched and showered. Rain was light til 9 when it came down heavy. The resort manager? told me it could be sun in other land. It looked like a large storm that would cover the whole island. The pickup arrived at 9:40 and I was the only passenger, so I sat in the front seat. Going over the headland with switchbacks was a little dangerous, because the pickup is so light that the rear wheel spun going up one grade and the driver had to cross over to the other lane to make one hairpin turn. On the other side of the headland the road was dry.

We arrived before 10am. The elephants were benched up and ready. We got on from a platform, by stepping on the back of the elephant, right behind the driver who sits right behind the ears. The seat is a wide bench. I was the only passenger, again. Two girls, from Switzerland, got in the second elephant. That was the whole party.The elephants walk slowly, grabbing vegetation quite often along the way. We went up a drainage, thru the forest, with rows of rubber trees on the slopes, mixed in with the native vegetation. The elephant stepped carefully into the foot deep tracks in the soil areas and between rocks in the creek bed. Rain started after a half hour and I put the rain hood on my camera, but the rain quit within 10 minutes and the sky began to clear. I didn't see the pomelos, although the plants with large yellow flowers could be pomelo trees. Trish called about half way through the trek and we had a nice, but brief, conversation.

The route circled back past the entrance and along the road, then down the steep river embankment, under the bridge and along the edge of and in the river. The river is small, probably 20 feet wide in this area. A dock on the bank next to a pool, probably no more than 8 feet deep, was used for us to get off. The benches were removed and we sat in the driver's seat on the elephants. They were led into the deepest part of the pool and told to kneel so we could slide off and swim with the elephants.The water looked very clear, although there were elephant dung balls floating nearby. I kept my mouth closed, but water went up my nose when I fell off the second time. We took turns standing on the rear part of the back and being lifted up on the elephant's trunk. Four helpers stood on the river bank and took photos with their camera as well as with our cameras, including my video camera. They did a great job of taking stills and video. I left a 100B tip, like the last of the big spenders that I am.

The benches were replaced and we rode back the way we came. While still riding the elephant, the driver offered to sell some necklaces and bracelets with tiny elephants carved from ivory, but only from elephants that died naturally, his sign stated. He said they were luck. Bracelets were 500B and the necklace was 1000B. Probably a bargain, but I passed.

Water and pineapple were waiting for us after we finished the ride. We were all offered souvenir framed 6x9 photos of ourselves on the elephants, both in and out of the water. The colors looked faded. The girls didn't want any, but I took one, for 200B.

I asked for an hour to walk around before my ride back. I walked toward the nearby waterfall for 25 minutes, but didn't see the falls, so I walked back, and rode back to the resort. I read more about different areas in the Let's Go guidebook and took a nap til 5. No more rain this afternoon and a little bit of orange in the sunset, which I watched from the sand beach. Back at the resort I had coconut curry with vegetables, 40B, and steamed white rice, 15B, and a 2 liter bottle of water, 50B, for dinner, for a total of 100B. The curry was not too spicy, and delicious.
Total outlay today, 400B, about $12.

Ko Chang, Sunday, October 18, 2009
Rained most of the night, which kept the air relatively cool. Didn't need a fan, and used the blanket toward morning. Got up about 7, stretched, showered and had breakfast at the resort kitchen, about 9, when the rain stopped. Mixed fruit, papaya, pineapple and banana, with yogurt, granola and milk, all in one bowl for 60B.

Walked along the beach past Treehouse resort to get a few photos, then walked to the road for photos of the macaques on the wires, then stopped at a minimart to buy a small towell and soap, for 58B and 12B. Took them back to the bungalow and walked back south toward Bailan Beach. Followed a group of about 20 Thais celebrating and dancing as they walked in front of a pickup with a combo playing what sounds like Thai music. The store owners came out and gave something, probably money, to some of the people in the group. Took a photo and a short video. I went into the Sunflower minimart, near my resort, and asked the German owner about the group. He said they were Buddhist holy day people raising money for the temple. Bought a mirror, 15B, a small roll of tp, 10B, and soap, 6B, the same bar which the other minimart charges 12B. I tried to buy an umbrella for 140B, but was told it was a hammock. Took the items back to the bungalow.

I resumed my walk down toward Bailan Beach, passing through Paradise Resort, which appears to be in a remodeling phase. The land south of the resort is undeveloped and the jungle extends down to the beach, with water draining off the slope, making walking through the weeds very slow and wet. I stayed on the beach most of the way, carefully picking my way over the cobbles and pebbles, and ducking under the low hanging branches in some spots.

Came to Bailan Beach, which has a few resorts. The first one appears to be closed and falling apart. The next one looks nice and is expanding. From the beach a headland juts out, leaving no room to walk along the shore. I rested a short while on a seawall, then got in the water and exchanged my saltly sweat for sea water. Felt good and cooling. The road winds uphill from here, so I elected to wait for a taxi. The first one was going south and offered to take me back to Lonely Beach for 50B. I was tired enough to agree. The road back goes up only a small hill before dropping down to Lonely Beach, so the walk would have been easy. We passed one group walking the road, but there is no shoulder most of the way, so the taxi has to move out of the lane to pass. Not the safest walkway.

Got back about 1:30 and had a lunch of glass noodle soup with veggies, 30B, and a half liter of 7up, 25B. I rested for an hour and started to walk toward the sand beach for a swim. A light wind and rain started, so I waited at the restaurant to see if it would clear. Watched some men catch fish with a net strung out from a small motor boat, which was then driven through the circled area, beating the water with a paddle, before the net was pulled in.

While I waited for the weather to clear I called Bill and found out Oye is going home tomorrow, and I wont be going to see her village. Bill was resting between shifts. I booked the elephant ride, 900B, and paid for an extra night, 100B.

The rain stopped, so I went for a swim. The waves were the biggest I've seen out here, but still small, probably no more than 2 feet high. The rain resumed about 5, mostly very light.

A group of young travelers asked me if I wanted to join their BBQ. They grilled potatoes, chicken and beef, fish, tofu and veggies, on leaves and on skewers. The grilling was done next to the reception and laundry area and the food was taken to the porch of the last bungalow, past my room. The group of 10 is from all over, Holland, Bali, Australia, Germany and where else I don't know. All early 20s or at least under 30, I think, mostly young enough to be my grandchildren. Wonderful, fun, beautiful people some of whom probably work to travel. Julian, Thomas, Arm, Joshua, Michele, Nunda; wish I could remember all their names. I should have taken some photos; maybe they will email me some of theirs. They all stayed up late to party. I was tired and went to bed early.

Total outlay today, including tomorrow's tour and another night here, is 1266B, about $38.
Ko Chang, Saturday, October 17, 2009

Slept well last night, with mosquito netting keeping out bugs, and fan blowing to keep cool. Used blanket to keep warm toward morning. Not many mosquitos in this area, so netting probably is not really needed. Got up at 7, stretched and showered, and finished the pineapple juice.
Walked along the road for a half mile and decided the fast traffic and lack of shoulders ahead, especially in the hilly, switchback area, made the idea of walking to the waterfall, probably 7 miles, too dangerous. Trish called near the start of the walk and we had a nice conversation. Renting a scooter to drive there was also rejected because of the fast vehicles and switchbacks, and wet spots. I checked on tours. The one I think I'd like, a jungle trek, isn't offered in low season. The island is covered with mostly pristine rainforest. The next best tour is an elephant tour, which I may take tomorrow or the next day, depending on the weather.

On my way back along the road, a family of monkeys, probably macaques, walked on the phone wires, looking for food, I think. I bought a liter of orange juice, for 75B, at the nearby minimart, and drank half immediately and the rest in the afternoon. I checked with 3 tour sellers and found the prices to be all the same. A snorkle tour is 500B, the elephant tour is 500B for 1 hour and 900B for 2 hours.

Late morning I swam out from the sand beach, taking my mask and camera. The water was not clear, so I took no photos, just swam and floated for an hour to get the exercise. For lunch I finished my jam sandwiches. I walked around the area, mostly along the beach, in the afternoon to try for a good photo. Talked briefly to one american who was on a year long vacation in SE asia, and planning to spend 3 months in Thailand.

For dinner I walked over to the Treehouse BBK, and had a coconut fruitshake, for 30B, and a grilled chickenbreast, with sticky rice and green salad, for 80B. I ate out on the deck and tried to get a photo of the lightning before my food arrived. Got 3 with some light among the clouds. When it began to sprinkle I moved under an umbrella to eat. Everything was very good. Back at my resort I bought a 920ml bottle of water for 10B. So my total outlay today was 195B, about $6.

Ko Chang, Friday, October 16, 2009
Got to bed 11:30 again last night. Didn't sleep well, thinking about my travel in the morning. Woke up several times. Checked the watch when it seemed like the time to get up and found it was 5:30am. Too late to try for the 6am bus, so I rested and got up at 6:30 to try for the 7:30 bus. I finished packing, drank some pineapple juice and showered. I took my still damp clothes off the rack on the entryway and left the condo shortly after 7, throwing the keys into the garage, as Roger asked. We had said our goodbyes last night, with Roger saying he would see me in Bangkok Nov. 1.

I asked the scooter driver where I could get a ride to the bus station. He pointed down the road and said 'bus, 100 meters'. I walked a little ways and remembered that Roger said to go the other way, so I hailed a passing, empty, songthaew and asked to go to the bus station at Sukhumvit and Central Pattaya. He understood enough to say it would cost 100B. When I offered 50B, he shook his head no and gave me an explanation in Thai. I couldn't argue in Thai, and I didn't have time to look for another ride, other than the scooter. I decided that saving some baht wasn't worthwhile when I had quit a bit to carry, so I got in. I was the only passenger all the way. We drove up to the bus stop at 7:30 and there was no bus and none in sight going away. So, the bus had come early or was going to be late. A scooter driver asked me where I was going. I said Trat. He said 8:30, then 10:30. I knew the sign said 11:00. I waited. Three buses stopped in succession. The scooter driver and the ticket agents said no to the question, 'Trat'? Each bus has a driver and a ticket agent. At 7:50, as I was finishing my last yogurt, the scooter driver pointed to the next bus. I asked the same question of the agent. He said 'Chanthaburi', and motioned with his arm, which I understood that I would change buses there. I found 2 empty seats near the front and used one seat for my bags. When we were moving the agent collected fares and told me 119, but gave back 885B for my 1000B note.

The bus filled up after a few stops and I moved some bags to the overhead shelf and held my backpack and camera on my lap. Trish called about 10 and we had a nice conversation. The scenery was everchanging, from jungle and fields of corn or trees in rows to settlements and towns, with numerous stores and food stands along the way. Sometimes, bright sun, but mostly cloudy, with a few heavy rain showers. More people left the bus than got on at each stop, so there were no more standees by the time we arrived in Chanthaburi, at 11:20, a 3.5 hour trip. The seat were cloth covered and comfortable, not any narrower than bus seats in SF. The AC worked fine, almost too cold part of the way.

The bus station resembled an old Greyhound station, with buses in stalls and everything open air, but sheltered. I asked the agent, in a booth, if I needed to buy a ticket from him for Trat and if I could get a ride to Laem Ngop from there. Laem Ngop is the port for the ferry to Ko Chang, or Koh Chang. He said yes and the bus would be there in 10 minutes. I paid the 52B for a ticket. He wanted to know how much is my camera. I said I wasn't selling it, but he pushed a blank paper and asked me how much. I wrote $3000 and he gasped.

I waited a half hour. Two buses arrived together. Most of the people, Thais, went to the second bus. The agent was standing by the first. He said 'Laem Ngop', which I understood to mean this bus went direct to the port. Since I had no need to go to Trat, I boarded. The agent on the bus looked alarmed when I showed him my ticket, and said 'Laem Ngop'. We were already moving and I said that Laem Ngop is where I want to go. I hadn't known about the direct bus. The Let's Go guide didn't mention it. The agent didn't ask for more money, so the fare must not have been more, even though it is nearly 20km further, as I discovered when we turned right, where a sign showed 20km to Trat and 39km to Laem Ngop. When I got on the bus the seat I sat in had a 2B coin on it, so my fare was really 50B.

We left just after noon. The bus trip from Chanthaburi to Laem Ngop took 1 hour and 10 minutes. I stood in line to buy a 100B one way ticket. The ferry boat is a large car ferry, carrying probably 50 vehicles. It loaded quickly, but not before I ate 2 of my jam sandwiches. I had a full loaf bread, with most of the bread made into jam sandwiches, to finish off the strawberry jam. We started across the water a half hour after arriving at the pier. The trip over was 35 minutes long. I took too long getting off and was in the 3rd or 4th songthaew. The capacity is 12 and the driver didn't want to leave with only 9, so we waited 20 minutes until some passengers agreed to pay 20B extra, each. When I gave the driver 120B for the 100B trip to Lonely Beach, he gave back my 20B note. Either a senior discount or the off-season rate is lower than posted on the back of the cab.

Three of us went to the 4th and last beach on the west side, Lonely Beach. The other 2 were a young couple from Portland. They were looking for the original resort on this beach, Treehouse. I had read on Travelfish.com that Treehouse had closed and the Gecko Garden and International Yod were recommended as low priced resorts. The Portland couple walked down toward the beach and I walked up the road. I found several resort signs, with rooms at 250B and 200B, going to the end of the developed area.

I walked back along the road and found nothing lower or with the names I had, so I went down to the beach. There is very little depth to the development and I saw no sign of any resorts up the hill. The road I took was an ungraded clay dirt road, and it led to a resort which one couple walking out said had rooms for 300 to 500B. I followed them a little ways and asked an old man on a porch of one bungalow where the cheapest rooms were at. He said there were some 100B rooms in the other direction. I walked over some rough vacant land, very pebbly, as the beach is all pebbles here, to a weathered reception and restaurant building. I asked about a room and was told they had one with, meaning with a bathroom, for 200B. I asked if they had any 100B rooms and she showed me a large group of bungalows behind the reception area. Many of the bungalows are over a dry creek bed and on stilts.

I liked the first one I saw and took it for 3 nights. It is very small, a foot longer than the bed and 4 feet wider. The steps up to the covered porch are a branch ladder. The room has mosquito netting to drop down over the raised box spring mattress, a light, an electrical outlet and a fan on a stool. The bungalows each stand alone and look alike. Mine has a 2x4 frame, with clapboard sides and floor, with a corrugated tile roof. Two small door covered openings serve as windows. The cold water showers and bucket flush toilets are about 30 feet down the dirt walkway, built of mortar and stone with concrete floors and no roof. Almost as good as camping.

The beach along this area is closed, with barbed wire fence. A sand beach is about a quarter mile away, reached by walking a pebbly path and crossing the wood deck at the Treehouse Resort. On the beach side of the deck is a small dive shack, the Eco Divers. I talked a few minutes with the couple, apparently running the place. He liked my camera and said his Canon D9 had recently quit on him, so he was going to send it in for repairs. He has a great UW housing for it. The company offers several dive courses, Discovery Scuba Diving for 4,500B, about $135, all the way up to Dive Master, for 30,000B, about $900, with a 10% discount for off-season. Snorkel trips are 850B and 1000B for 2 different areas.

The resort I am is called Ice Beach, I found out later. I did not get a receipt, although I registered in their book.

I started a diary for today and kept it brief because I couldn't plug in the netbook cord. The electrical outlet is 2 slot and my netbook cable is for a grounded outlet. Then I drank some more pineapple juice and ate 4 jam sandwiches.

I asked about an adapter at the reception area and was told they did not have, but that the minimart nearby 'can have'. The minimart did not have an adapter, although I got a small bar of soap, for 6B. The owner sent me up the road. The next minimart clerk said to go to the 7 Day minimart, farther up the road. They were bigger than the first 2 and had an adapter, for 35B, about $1.

Walking past the shops about 7pm, the Ting Tong club was starting their party, on an open deck, with a girl playing the guitar and singing 'Over the Rainbow' in her version of Izzy's recording. Sounded very good.

I stopped at my resort's restaurant and ordered glass noodle soup and pad thai and a 7up. I was the only customer, other than the owner's family. The dining area has a corrugated tile roof, withgrass thatching along the edges, over a low bench and cushioned room, open air, and next to it are several bamboo tables and chairs. I chose the table and chair. I don't think I can sit cross-legged, yet. It was about 7pm and dark except for the small lights in this area. The air was still, warm and humid, and pleasant. The only sounds were the crickets or toads, or frogs and the waves washing on the shore, and the distant beat of the party music from the next resort, the Treehouse. Glad I didn't stay there. When I finished and gave my dishes to the cook, the guy totaled my bill by looking at the menu. He said 85B. I gave the girl a 100B note and she gave back two 20B notes. I think the dishes were 60B and she didn't charge for my 7up. Maybe she thought I had already paid for it. Anyway, I wasn't sure and I was not going to ask for a recount. I think I got a good deal.

So my outlay for the day is 866B, about $26, including the 3 nights at the resort.

Floating Market, Thursday, October 15, 2009

2009-10-15T08:52:00.001-07:00

Got to bed 11:30. Woke up twice in the night, then slept til 7:30, and got up at 8. I stretched and showered, then microwaved an egg for a sandwich and finished the bread with 4 slices of toast and jam. I finished Sumano's first book and read again about Trat and Ko Chang from the Let's Go guidebook. Crossed the road to get a liter of pineapple juice and a loaf of bread, for 52B and 32B.

Roger got up at noon and we drove out to check his Vitara, then went to the floating markets, a popular tourist attraction. It consists of shops and walkways on wood posts in a large pond, with small wooden boats giving rides and selling food. We had lunch from a little cafe. I had the Kao Cluk Ka Pi, a scoop of white rice covered with red something, surrounded by mango, cucumber, onion, peppers, egg, fried meat, probably pork, and a separate bowl of chicken broth, and a glass of iced and sweet Chrysanthemum tea. Mine cost 40B plus 20B and Roger's was 45B total. I paid for both.

We went to the northern bus station, the only one Roger knew about, to see the schedule for Trat. I was told to go to the Central Bus Station, which Roger knew nothing about. We found it at the intersection of Sukhumvit and Central Pattaya Road. It is no more than a curb side stop, with a chalked listing of the towns and times. The buses to Trad, not Trat, leave at 6am and 7:30am. No price listed. Let's Go states the cost from Trat to Pattaya is 173B. Roger thinks I should buy 2 side by side seats because the bus seats are so narrow.

Roger stopped at a store for some small electrical items, then we came back to the condo about 3. I washed a load of clothes and watched "Charlie Rose". Roger cooked chopped sausage with onions, broccoli and rice for dinner. We watched a History channel documentary about the battle of Okinawa, then 'Burn After Reading'. Going to bed about 11.

Tour Prices, Wednesday, October 14, 2009

2009-10-14T09:21:00.000-07:00

Last night I watched the last 2/3 of the Monday Night Football Game, between the Dolphins and the Jets, and didn't get to bed til 12:30. Woke up at 4:30am and finished uploading photos to Flickr, then slept til 7:30, and got up at 9. I finished the OJ, stretched and showered. I read from Sumano's book and the Let's Go guidebook, and finished the cornflakes and milk and had 4 slices of toast and jam for lunch. I also read travel info on Travelfish.com. Someone suggested going to Ko Chang from Pattaya by minibus, but only guessed at a price, estimating 300B.

Roger had the gardeners working this afternoon and another crew changing his 6 or 7 water filters.

I walked down to the beach, just below Cabbages and Condoms. On the way down I stopped at the Birds and Bees Resort to ask about a tour to Ko Chang. I was told the bus leaves every hour from the central bus station, and given a city map. On the way back to Roger's I asked about a tour at the tour desk in the only large hotel on the street. The woman said there is a minibus trip which leaves every morning at 7:30 for a price of 850B which includes the ferry boat ride.

Farther up the street there was another tour office, with a sign out front listing a price of 1260B round trip to Ko Chang. Let's Go reports the bus trip from Trat to Pattaya as 173B, plus 50B for a songthaew to the pier and 100B for the ferry boat trip.The minibus would be direct to the pier, and would be much quicker.

I read some more of Sumano's book and ate dinner with Roger, who made a very good pasta salad. We watched a History channel show about the Underground tunnels and rooms in New York City, then the movie 'No Country for Old Men'. Trish called during the movie before she went to work. She sounded good, but was tired from yesterday's work.

Spent nothing today.

Ko Laan, Tuesday, October 13, 2009

2009-10-13T10:14:00.000-07:00

Woke up about 7am, stretched, had OJ, showered, and read some more on Pattaya and Ko Chang. Had a nice call from Trish at 8:50am. Left at 10:30 and bought a 100B top up for my cell phone, at the FamilyMart store. Needed help from the clerk to call in the added minutes. 100 minutes were added; good for a month. Tried calling Bill, but got message that the number was incomplete. Found out this evening from Roger that the number was too long. Didn't need the 1 at the beginning.

I walked on down to Beach Street, then over to Bali Hai pier and bought a 20B ticket to Ko Laan, or Ko Larn, or Koh Laan, depending on which map you have. The ferry boat left at noon, from the end of the 200 yard long pier. The boat was nearly full, probably 100 passengers, noisy, with constant vibrations, and slow. It took 40 minutes to cover the 5 miles. The boat ties up to the Na Baan pier, next to the town which is a cluster of small building crowded together, with narrow paved stone streets. There is no sand beach, just a seawall along the town. Scooters are rented, and songthaews are available at the pier. I walked on the only road out of town to the sand beach at the south end of the island, Nual Beach.

On the way I photographed a small Buddhist temple, and further down the road, bought some barbequed meat tied between 2 thin sticks, from a road side food cart. The meat was probably chicken, chopped into short pieces, with lots of little bones. Good flavor. Cost 10B.

The road branches off part way, to go to the west side and another 2 sand beaches. I spent an hour or so, on the beach, relaxing, and floating and swimming. There may have been 100 people on the beach, but the end I went to was almost deserted. There are a lot of lounges, umbrellas, food stands and a table and chair eating area, with a bungalow resort at one end of the beach. The water looked clearer than at Pattaya, probably about the same as at Ko Rinn. I didn't bring my mask, but I should have, because I could see dark areas, indicating rocks and probably coral, within a few hundred feet of the shore.

I walked back in time for the 4:30 boat, but there was none. I was thirsty, so I bought a little bottle of coke, 250ml, at the 7-11, for 10B. The boat left at 5pm, and again, it was 20B for the ride.

I again walked down Walking Street, to see it in lights, since the sun was setting. Most of the lights were not yet turned on. I continued onto Beach St. and turned inland at a narrow street to find a cheap place to eat. The side streets have bars, with lots of girls in some of them. Probably the start of their shift, with no customers. One group clapped and called out to me as I walked toward their bar. Many of the bars are open air and right next to the sidewalk or street. The girls stopped as soon as I passed. The street did not go through as a young man walking toward me, informed me. He asked where I was from and said he was expecting a friend to fly in next week from Seattle. The girls ignored me as I went back past them.

I found the bigger street, which did go through, past Boyz Town, and onto 2nd Road. I stopped at a sidewalk restaurant and looked through the long menu book, complete with photos. Being hungry, everything looked good. Lots of choices, including all kinds of seafood. It all looked asian, although I can not tell the difference among the types of dishes. I guess that it is all Thai, although I don't know what makes it Thai. I ordered fried mixed vegetables and chicken, for 80B. It was served in a bowl, in a broth. Also, got a helping of steamed white rice, for 20B, and a bottle of coke for 15B. The broth had a nice gentle flavor, although I don't know what it was. I left a 5B tip. After I got back I found the place was named in Let's Go, the Pakboongloyfa. The place is near Boyz Town and some of the waiters acted like 'boys'.

I was still thirsty, so I bought a small bottle of orange juice from a food cart. Fresh squeezed from small oranges. Unusual flavor, but strong. Cost 20B.

I went back through Walking Street. It was now dark and more of the lighted signs were turned on, so it had more character. I kept on walking up the hill to Roger's condo, perhaps a mile distance. I was talked to only by the songthaew drivers asking 'Taxi?', and a couple of girls asking 'Where you going?'. Not as direct as some of the streetwalkers, or possibly decoys, in SF. The walk would have been a little scary because some of the land is brushy, but the roads are lighted and the traffic, mostly scooters, is almost continuous. Got some good walking exercise and saved a few Baht.

Finally got the number right and talked to Bill tonight, on his break. Harry will be in for one day tomorrow, and Oye and kids come in on Friday.

Total outlay today 300B, including 100B for the cell phone minutes.

Big Buddha and Big Scam, Monday, October 12, 2009

2009-10-12T08:29:00.000-07:00

Had a nice call from Trish at 11:40pm last night. I had already gone to sleep, after a long day riding on the bay and snorkeling, so I was exhausted. But it was good to wake up briefly and hear her voice.

I woke about 7 this morning, had OJ, showered and checked on my washed clothes. They were still damp so I moved them to my room where the fan could help finish the drying.

Later Trish called and we talked for half an hour. She called again after talking to Bill, and told me he hadn't heard from me. I will call him when I have my schedule figured out for a return to Bangkok. I would like to go to Ko Chang, an island just of the coast from a 4 hour bus ride down the coast, with a national park, and possibly clearer water for snorkeling.

About 10am I talked to Roger, dozing in his recliner while watching the History channel airing a story about Nostradamus. He had watched Raiders and the 49ers games in which they were both beaten badly. Roger decided to get some sleep and said we should go out after he got up in 4 hours.

I did some more reading in the Lets Go book and the Sumano book.

At noon I went for a walk, first to the nearby overlook. Walking up the hill, a scooter stopped and motioned for me to get on. I didn't realize til I was riding that this was a taxi. His shirt was the same blue as all the scooter taxi operators wear, but it was a knit pullover rather than the usual shirt. The hill was steep and he had to go in first gear most of the way. He was short but stocky, so our combined weights probably exceeded the scooter's rated capacity. However, I have seen many scooters in Thailand which were obviously overloaded, either with people or loads of various items. Two days ago, I saw a family of 4 riding, and 3 on a scooter is a common sight. A lot of food carts are bolted to scooters, as if they were a sidecar. And they go quite fast when the traffic allows, rain or shine. Most riders wear helmets, but not all, and there is no other protective gear worn.

The ride up the hill was short, no more than a quarter mile. I asked how much when he stopped and he shook his head and showed me his English book which stated the ride was free and he was deaf and dumb and was raising donations for the Boy Scouts of Thailand. He showed me his register with columns for name, country and donation amount. The amounts were all 200 and up. I wrote down 100 and gave him that amount. He shook his head and showed me the page stating the donation amount was 200B. I realized finally that it was all a scam and gave him the extra 100B, because it was easier than being disagreeable. He smiled gratefully and pinned me with a small blue pin showing a yellow sliver moon with a face on it and 7 stars. I felt that being taken was my fault for not recognizing that he was a taxi driver in the first place. Probably the smallest amount I've ever been scammed.

I walked onto the large viewing platform, took a few photos of the bay, and Pattaya, and a statue a prince. I walked on down the hill to the main road, Phra Tumnak Road, which goes past Roger's house and crossed it to go up to the Big Buddha. On one side of the roads intersection a food cart had a container of fried chicken. Made me hungry, so I asked for a piece. The largest leg and thigh I have seen in Thailand was on top, so I asked for it. It was placed in a bag with a small bag of some type of pepper oil for 35B, about $1. A separate kitchen and tables and chairs in an open air building, more like a sheet metal shed, stood behind the cart. I was motioned to sit down when I asked for steamed rice. Appeared to be run by a family, parents and 3 girls, possibly their daughters. The man motioned his arm to the glass front cooler for drinks. I declined that and waited for the rice, which was served in about 5 minutes. Apparently, it was already cooked, and just needed some steam to heat it. The chicken did not have a batter, but had some type of coating, which was tasty but too oily for my taste. The bag of pepper oil was not hot, so I mixed it with the rice. The chicken meat was good and filling. I paid an extra 15B for the rice. So the meal was 50B, about $1.50, total.

Walking up toward the Big Buddha, I came upon a Chinese Confucius park, with one of the buildings probably being a temple, so I looked in and took some photos. At the base of the of steps leading up to Big Buddha several little shops sell food and souvenirs, palm reading and tattoos. Little birds in small cages are also sold by the side of the walk. Apparently, they are bought and used as part of the Buddhist offering, because the birds are released near the statue, after raising hands, palms together, as though praying. The birds scatter, into the trees, although one flew into a shelter, and was chased by a couple of cats, who otherwise act very lethargic, as do the dogs, because of the heat and humidity. It rained for about 15 minutes, so I stood under the roof of the temple to stay dry.

I walked down the hill and turned left to follow a new road around the hill. After a half mile I came to another good view point from the south side of the hill, just above a new children's playground, empty now, possibly because kids are in school.

Since the road I took did not have shoulders, I took a footpath back to the base of the Big Buddha, then walked down and back to Roger's condo, arriving before 2:30. I started the blog. Roger got up and suggested that we go out. He needed to check with the body shop regarding his Suzuki, so we went there first. He confirmed that the rear bumper was what he wanted.

We drove to the electronics mall. At the 3rd store I checked with, Boss and Boom, there was a replacement charger for my Olympus batteries, for 540B, about $16, probably twice the price on EBay, but then, that is the one that shorted out. The charger box has no model listed; the battery model, Olympus LI50B, is written on the box in ink, by hand. When I opened the box to charge batteries I found the battery model on the charger is L105B, perhaps the Asian model no. The specs are right and the battery fits, so it should work OK.

We continued on to a view point, which was the same one I went to this am. Roger had not understood me when I told him where I had been this morning. But I got a look at the bay and Pattaya in the afternoon. Not much different, since the sky was cloudy both times.

Next, Roger drove to Walking Street, the bars and girls part of Pattaya. It is a one way street now, which Roger didn't know since he hadn't been down there in years. He had to turn around and get on the street from the other end. Cars are banned from this street at night; hence the name. It really is just the south end of Beach Road, where piers cover the beach. Most of the stores look old and rundown, although the names are often suggestive or racy, all with English and Thai names. Names like Molly Malone's. Didn't see any Trader Vic's but it may be there somewhere, because franchise names are often used without permission, I suspect.

On the way back, Roger tried one ATM machine, which was not working and couldn't see the next one at a hotel, so we didn't stop.

As we were near Cabbages and Condoms Restaurant, I asked Roger if he had eaten there. He said that would be a great place for dinner, since it was 5:30 and we stopped there. The restaurant is part of the Birds and Bees resort and is built the way a tropical rain forest restaurant should look. Trees everywhere, even coming through the open air decks, with roof cover for the eating area, and on a low cliff above the sand beach and view of the bay.

I ordered a Lychee shake, for 80B, and one of their specials, a spicy mushroom salad, for 120B, and steamed Jasmine rice, for 30B. Roger gave me 3 of his fried tofu sticks. Tasted very good with the peanut sauce. My salad was spicy hot. I needed all the rice and shake, plus the last swallow of Roger's water, to wash it down. Roger got a pineapple shake, water, tofu satay, a chicken salad, apparently the Yam Tra Krai, and ebony rice. A 10% service charge and 7% VAT is added, so my share was 305B.

I had intended to be frugal today to help make up for the expensive snorkel trip yesterday, but this turned into another expensive day with on outlay of 895B, about $27. Hopefully, the lesson of the scam will prevent future scam losses, the charger will work a long time to justify the cost, and the profits from the meal will be put to good use, by the charity it supports.

Mermaids Snorkel Trip, Sunday, October 11, 2009

2009-10-11T05:45:00.000-07:00

It was raining heavily, with thunder and lightning, for a short time when I went to bed about 9:30pm last night. I woke up several times during the night. Even so, I felt rested enough when I got up about 6:30. I worked a little on my blog and flickr, showered and took everything I thought I needed for the snorkel trip. I was outside waiting when the songthaew arrived just after 8am. The sonthaew is a pickup with seating benches along the sides and a roof, and entry at the rear, bigger and higher than the tuk-tuk pickups in Bangkok. Two young Japanese girls, Nao and Ayumi, I later learned, were already on board and were also snorkeling.

At the Mermaids shop, I paid 1000B, about $30, which was my total outlay for the day. I received a snorkel and fins to go with my mask. Three songthaews and a van were loaded with people and equipment for the ride down to the nearby Bali Hai pier.

The approximately 40 foot-long boat, the Mermaids boat 4, left the dock at 9:15 and arrived at the small island of Ko Rinn about 11. After instructions, the 5 snorkelers and 11 divers, and 4 instructors, suited up and jumped off the platform on the stern.

I swam around and took some photos. The visibility was not good, probably 15 feet or less, and the coral is limited, with the bottom showing mostly broken limestone rock, some very blocky. The island was used in the past as a bombing range, which may explain the rocky nature. The only fishes I saw were small and skittish.

After an hour swim we had a lunch of fried chicken, steamed white rice, cooked mixed vegetables and a vegetable soup. All quite good except for the chicken, which was too oily.

The boat moved a half mile or less to another very small island, called North Island, and anchored on the down current side. We were told to stay between the points to avoid the current. The visibility was only slightly better and I found very little to photograph.

We pulled anchor after an hour in the water, at 3pm, just as an intense monsoonal storm began. There was thunder and lightning and heavy rain all the way back to the pier. One lightning bolt was close enough that I felt a shock in my hand, which was holding onto the metal railing, as I was sitting with my feet on the steel deck. I did not hold the metal railing after that.

One of the divers told me her group had seen a baby shark, a ray and an eel.

One street on our ride back to the shop had 6 inches of water flowing in it. The rain stopped shortly after we got back to the shop. I looked around the shop at the equipment for sale and was tempted to buy a snorkel and fins, and a tee shirt, but thought the better of it because I want to travel light and my camera equipment takes up too much of my backpack.

I was given a ride back to Roger's house. He was nowhere to be found. I showered, put my dirty clothes in the washer, had dinner of flakes and milk, toast and jam, and tea. The charger for my little Olympus popped while recharging one of the batteries, and now doesn't work. Roger told of a burned out power supply on a DVR from a power surge in the past, so maybe a surge was the cause, although the netbook still works.

Pattaya, Saturday, October 10, 2009

2009-10-11T05:27:00.000-07:00

I got up about 8am, got ready, and walked down to Pattaya Beach, taking the wrong, right, fork on the way and finding a locked gate at the property on the beach. I crossed over a vacant lot and walked a few blocks to the left fork, which turned left at the entrance to the beach. The brown sandy beach is nearly covered with umbrellas and lounge chairs and large shade trees above the water line. The chairs appear to be attended by someone, who probably charges to use the chairs, although many of them may be owned by the hotels or condos just back of the beach. A brick walk extends along the back of the beach sand, although the wet sand at the water line is firm enough for walking.

I walked a mile or so south to Jomtien Beach and obtained maps at a tourist office on the beach. I left the beach and found Mask and Finns. The price for a day trip, in a boat, to snorkel is 1600B, as listed on the website. The only one in the place was a young woman whose accent made it difficult for me to understand everything she told me. I walked on back toward Roger's and found a tour office along the sidewalk near a large hotel. The young woman there was easy to understand and the cost of a day trip to snorkel was 1500B. I walked on and found a sign for the Mermaids Divers. Two caucasian guys there said the price for the same trip was 1000B and they went out every day at 8am and would pick me up at my hotel or house. One of the guys, Dave, used to live in San Francisco, but hadn't been there in 6 years.

After I got back to Roger's I tested my 30 year olf prescription mask in Roger's community pool. It works fine, so I decided the Mermaid's trip would be a good idea. I called to make a reservation. The woman was hard to understand and she couldn't understand my pronunciation either, so Roger spoke loud and gave her my name and address and phone no.
Roger wanted to go to the computer store, part of 4 level shopping center. We left about 7 and had dinner at the S&P restaurant. The waiter and staff know Roger and know what dish he wants. They didn't had any cashews and couldn't make his favorite, so he had a fried sea bass. I ordered a steamed vegetable and shitake mushroom dish, with steamed white rice and Roger's favorite drink a Thai Iced Tea frappe. The vegetables were in a bowl and immersed in a mild flavored broth. Very good. My portion came to 160B, my outlay for the day.

One of the techs at the computer store knows Roger and has an offer from Roger for a cut if he can find someone to buy Roger's condo for 20M Baht. He showed an interest in my camera and asked if I could take photos of Roger's house for him to advertise, probably on the internet. He will call Roger when he can get over to the house. Roger looked at lots of things but didn't buy.
We got back by 9 and Roger made tea for both of us, then went into his computer room, so I turned in early to get rested for the snorkel trip.

Pattaya, Friday, October 9, 2009

2009-10-10T17:19:00.000-07:00

I stayed up til about 2:45am last night working on the blog and reading, after watching the NFL Patriots/Ravens game with Roger. The netbook connects easily with Roger's wireless network.
This morning I woke up about 8, drank some juice and ate a small yogurt, then took photos of the interior of the house and some views from the rear deck. I read a little from one of Sumano's 3 books. And I read some of the Let's Go guidebook and some internet sites about snorkeling from Pattaya. I planned to ride down the coast to Ko Samet or Ko Chang to find good snorkeling sites. A boat out of Pattaya takes divers and snorkelers to 2 dive sites off the Pattaya coast, for 1600B for snorkelers, about $50, and this includes snorkel and fins, and a lunch. It might be a better deal than the ride to another area and the other costs, including a room, even if I could walk into a good coral area rather than take a boat.

I started uploading all of my 460 photos onto Flickr. The upload speed is slower than I expected. After about 10 hours about 42% of the photos are uploaded. There are at least 6 photos that didn't upload, possibly because of power fluctuation.

Roger has a lot of entrances to his house and all are securely locked, with a padlock on each of the sliding metal gates and the garage gate. They are all keyed alike and I could not get my key to open the locks. So I didn't want to leave, in case Roger left after I did and I could not get back in. I read and took some photos of the house interior. Roger came down afternoon and tried my key. It works fine. I was just pushing it into the locks too hard.

I walked across the street to take a few photos, including this one of Roger's condo, then went into the FamilyMart Store and bought a small carton of milk and another of orange juice, for 107.75B, about $3. The store is a franchise owned by Roger's girlfriend's family. Roger paid for the franchise, and gave it to her family.
About 2pm Roger wanted to do some shopping and show me the beach area. The car engine wouldn't turn over, and it is a loaner, so he called the body shop and they sent a mechanic. In a half hour the mechanic jump started the car. Roger and I went to the body shop so he could check on the progress of the customization of his Suzuki Vitara. It is being rebuilt to look like a concept version of the car, base on a photo from a recent car show. Roger discussed the design with the body man and was told it would take another month to finish. Roger doesn't need the car til the end of next month, so he is happy about it, but they needed more money to keep getting the parts.

Next we went to a high rise mall along Beach Road. An upscale food court on the ocean side has a great view of the bay and beach from above the tree tops, on the 3rd floor. The building has an attached parking structure. The air over the bay was hazy, probably from an earlier light rain. The bay looked busy for the off-season, with many sport boats, tour boats, jet skis, paragliders, and people on the beach and crowded sidewalks along Beach Road, plus all the car and scooter traffic on the road.

Roger had a Vietnamese salad and a sandwich, and I had a Korean dish of River Prawns and fried rice, with basil, and a lemon grass drink. The food was very tasty. Came to 185B, about $5.50, more than a meal from street vendors, but a real treat. After lunch we looked in a few of the stores in this 5 story mall. When we left, the car wouldn't start, so Roger called the body shop again. Took nearly an hour for the 2 mechanics to find us. They went to the wrong mall first. They changed the battery 3 times, finally using the battery from their pickup. The car started.

We drove to a Foodland store for some groceries. I recognized a few items. None of the fruit looked cheap enough to buy. I found some strawberry jam, loaf of white bread, cornflakes, 2 liter of Pepsi, 4 pack of strawberry yogurt and a small bottle of Listerine, for a total of 322.25B, about $10.

Pan Pacific and Erawan

2009-10-08T11:34:00.000-07:00

Erawan Shrine and Jim Thompson's House, Thursday, October 8, 2009
Woke up a few times during the night, but felt quite rested in the morning. Got up about 7 and left before 8. Caught a bus to the skytrain the rode it to the Chit Lom station. I thought the first shrine I saw was the Erawan shrine because it was large and people were bowing and placing lighted sticks and offerings in front of it. At the west end of the block I found the real Erawan shrine, set back from the sidewalk. It is in a small plaza in front of the hotel, with benches, and a small covered area to sell offering items and room for the 9 Thai dancing girls to do their makeup, a Thai drummer and a Thai marimba player, and a floor for the dance. The dancers alternately kneel, stand, then stand on one leg, while moving their hands in gestures and singing, to the music. The traffic noise drowned out the softer sounds.

I went back up onto the skywalk, a wide pathway below the skytrain, which is directly over the heavy traffic on the very boulevard, named Ploenchit Road to the east and Rama I Road to the west of the intersection with Ratchadamri Road. I bought and drank a strawberry milk, in a plastic bottle of about 300 ml, from a very small 7-11 store on the skywalk. Then I continued west to next exit to the street level to enter the Wat Patum Wanaram. A Thai, who was with security, he said, told me I could take the skywalk and asked a few other questions: 'Where are you from?, How long you stay in Bangkok?, You come here alone?, Where you stay?'. I would be suspicious in some parts of the world, but he was polite and I think he was just practicing his English, which he spoke quite well. I'm easily identified as a tourist by my appearance, being Caucasian and carrying a camera case and a large camera, and wearing a fanny pack. The wat is being renovated, at least on the outside, and was not open to anyone. On the street side of the wat, a monk was seated on a low carpeted platform, under a large cover, speaking into a microphone to a few Thais. The Thais, singly or in small groups, took off their shoes, and knelt in front of the monk with gifts, which could be bought at an adjacent stand.

I walked to the rear of the wat, away from the street, and found the adjacent area was a tree covered Buddhist site, with some buildings for food and items for sale, but with a large garden with benches and shrines. A small group of small laughing Buddha statues, the first I've seen at a religious site here, were at the entrance to the area. Buddhists in the garden removed their shoes before walking onto the carpet and kneeling, and bowing to the shrines. I took a photo before a woman came toward me and pointed to the sign by the center shrine which stated in English 'No Photography Allowed'. I hadn't noticed and it is the first open air place I've seen which doesn't allow photography. I walked around a little more and made up for my mistake a little by buying a thin green ring, for 50B, at a small stand near the shrines. Looks like jade, but is from some other stone; and could be colored. It's probably bad karma, but I'll keep the photo.

I went back onto the skywalk and went as far as I could. I went down on the north side and walked north to the canal, then west along the canal about half a block to the Jim Thompson House, which is now a museum. It was built after WWII when Jim Thompson started his silk business. Jim Thompson disappeared in Malaysia in 1967. The house is 2 story, with most of the living area on the second floor. The English tour started a couple of minutes after I walked, after paying the 100B admission charge. There were 7 of us and the guide was a young Thai woman whose English was very good and whose accent was light enough for me to follow almost every word. As in many other museums, we took off our shoes and had lockers to put all bags, although we were allowed to carry our cameras, although we could not take photos, except for views of the central garden out one of the windows. After the tour we could take photos outside of the house and in 3 smaller, servants, buildings, and some carvings, including a teak wood print used to print a design on the silk fabric. There is a souvenir shop, restaurant, gift shop and a second story exhibit area on the grounds. The exhibit shows textiles, which the company apparently is now involved.

I retraced my steps, starting along the canal with its passenger boats, and entered the huge MBK center to shop for a power adaptor. Couldn't find any, but had lunch of a noodle and fish balls and a hard boiled egg in a curry sauce and a sweet ginger tea for 55B. I walked to the Siam station and took the skytrain to Ekkamai, buying a small chilled drink, lemon grass and pandan, and sugar, for 15B. Good flavor, but too sweet. I walked to Bill's apartment, arriving about 2, at the same time as Bill. I packed my backpack and started my blog. Roger and I left with his driver about 3:30. Roger has his Suzuki Vitara being customized, and the driver owns part of the body shop, so he took Roger both ways from Pattaya to Bangkok at no charge. Roger bought a Jasmine flower freshener to hang from the rear view mirror, from a vendor walking the road between cars on the stop and go road leaving Bangkok. The drive was mostly on 8 lane roads with 2 tolls along the way, and was very fast, less than 2 hours. The speedometer was reading just over 110 kmp (nearly 70mph) on the 8 lane portion.

Roger set me up in one of the guest bedrooms, on the 3rd floor of his hillside condo. About 8pm we went out for dinner at his favorite Italian restaurant in the area. We each had a green salad and pasta. The salad was fresh and the dressing was tangy. My pasta was spaghetti with a pesto sauce. The bill, with bottled water, totaled 400B, I treated Roger for the first time. He left a 20B tip.

After we returned to the condo, Trish called and we had a nice talk. She had just gotten up. Roger made peach and passion fruit flavored iced tea for us and we watched last Sunday's Patriots and Ravens game, til midnight.

Pan Pacific Hotel, Wednesday, October 7, 2009
After stretching, eating the final hard orange and drinking orange juice, and showering, about 8am, I put in a load of clothes, along with my sheets, pillow cases and our towels to wash. I tried the second of the 2 machines and didn't realize until I had put in the clothes and soap that it was bigger than the first one I had used. The cost is 30B, rather than the 20B needed for the smaller machine. I also filled the water bottle, paying 3B of the 4 because I ran out of coins.
I uploaded my blog and a few photos at the Coffee Art shop. Took a full hour, and cost 35B. I took a nap shortly afternoon.

Later, Bill and I took the bus, then the skytrain to the Sala Daeng station. The Pan Pacific hotel is next to the station. Bill showed the Panorama dining room he plays, 23rd floor. There is outdoor seating for a view of the skyline. Bill picked up his check and we took the subway, the MRT, from the adjacent Si Lom station to the Phra Ram 9 station and walked to the shopping center and rode up to IT city. We couldn't find the power block for my DVD player. Bill found some DVDs to buy. We had lunch at the food court. Cost 45B for Pad Thai something. I repeated my order from Bill's suggestion. The cook repeated the order. It sounded OK and I said yes. Bill said he had never seen it prepared with egg, like an omelet. Tasted good. I also bought a chicken stick for 12B, 3 batter fried lumps of chicken on a stick, to go.

About 4:30, Bill took the subway from the shopping center to his work. I left Bill at the Sukhumvit station, to transfer to the skytrain Asok station. I walked to the apartment from the Ekkamai station.

I cooked rice and ate that with my chicken, and a yogurt for dinner. Went to bed early, about 9pm.

Rest Day, Nanthaburi, Sumano and Vimanmek

2009-10-06T19:27:00.000-07:00

Vimanmek, Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Bill and I were up til 12:30 last night talking, while I worked on my blog and backed up photos, and Bill copied some DVDs and CDs. Don't know how he could stay up when he so little sleep the previous 2 nights and had a long day on Monday.

I slept til 6:30 and got up about 7:30. Trish called at 9 and we talked about our days activities, past and future. Bill was up 9 by 9:30. We took a tuk-tuk to the Bangkok Bank. I tried to get money with a cash advance on my American Express credit card. The teller took the card and walked to the back. Another teller returned and said I needed a 4 number. Apparently, they think I can use the card as a debit card. I don't think I can, so I left Bill at the bank and walked down to the Skytrain Ekkamai station.

I had told Bill I planned on seeing the Vimanmek Mansion, using the ticket I have from the Grand Palace admission. I got off at the Victory Monument station, and walked west on Ratchawithi Road. After a few blocks I saw a small Siam Commercial Bank and used my Visa card to get 10,000B. I needed my passport, as Bill had predicted, and the transaction took a lot longer than it had at the airport, but it was easy.

I saw 2 signs for the mansion, the second one pointing left, or south, just past the Dusit Zoo. I walked along looking for another mansion sign. I passed the parliament building right away, then past a hugh classical European style building, then along a walled compound. There were no entrances or signs, and the next block looked like it had all small buildings. I was sure I had gone far enough, so I turned west and found the compound was a police station. I turned back east to go around the block and found a sign for the mansion pointing back toward the zoo. I stopped at another fenced compound and asked the officer inside the gate 'Where is the mansion?'. He confirmed that I meant Vimanmek and pointed toward the zoo. I walked back to the 2nd sign I had seen and saw in small print that the distance to the mansion was 200m. I had walked probably half a mile beyond that distance. I again walked til I knew I had gone over 200m, crossing at the parliament crosswalk, in the middle of the block. After I walked along a few feet, a tuk-tuk driver asked me where I was going. He said the mansion would be open at 3 and he asked for my map. He circled 3 sights nearby and said he could drive to all 3 and be back for the mansion, for a fee of 50B. I said 'No' and began to walk away. He said 'I can go 4 places and circled another and crossed off the 50B and wrote 20B. I persisted in saying no to all his reasons for taking the tour, then walked into the parliament gate. A guard caught me and asked where I was going. When I said the mansion, he pointed back to the south, the direction I had just come from. The tuk-tuk driver was gone, and I walked the 100feet to the next gate. There still was no mansion sign, but inside the gate was a ticket booth. I showed my ticket and she stamped the date on it and gave me a map of the compound, which includes the mansion.

I toured 3 building over the next 3 hours. Photos, shorts and shoes were not allowed in any of the buildings.

In the first, the Abhisek Susit Throne Hall, my shoes and camera were put in a keyed locker and I was given a skirt to wear over my shorts, which I returned as I left the building. There was a cold water fountain by the locker, which I used to fill my little bottle 4 times before I left the grounds, with cold plastic tasting water. The E shaped building has a front of floral design fretwork, and is full of recent Thai arts and crafts, the result of a program set up by the queen to restore native arts and crafts, including jewelry, basketry and weaving.

The second building, at last, was the Vimanmek Mansion, a 3 and 4 story high, 70 room, golden teakwood royal palace built in 1900. It was unused for most of the years since and was restored 27 years ago and is set up almost as it was originally, with period furniture. My shorts were covered with long pants loaned out at the ticket counter. The cameras were put in a locker which cost 20B to rent. We then crossed the large lawn area on pavestones to a room behind the front stairs where we put our shoes on open shelves. Visitors can only see the mansion on guided tours. I waited 25 minutes for the English tour and could understand some of the talk, because of the accent and distance created by the crowd of probably 30 visitors on the tour. Some stops were too small for everyone to get close. Also, other language tours were close enough to be heard. Her grammar was perfect, but she was short, her voice was high pitched and the accent made it impossible for me to follow everything she said. The parts I understood made the tour worthwhile. The mansion was used for only 5 years by the royal family, and included not only the Queen's room but the royal consort's room.

The 3rd building, the huge Ananda Samakhom Throne Hall is a long way from the mansion, as much as half a mile. I had found on the ground a ticket receipt, at the mansion, and, thinking I had just dropped it when I was taking photos of the outside of the mansion, took it to the last building. Partway over I realized I didn't have my map and that my ticket was with the map, which I had placed on top of the lockers when I left my cameras. Since the ticket I now carried had the name of the hall and my left foot had 2 sores from walking so much in these sandals, I continued to the hall, where I was told the ticket had been used by someone. The agents were extremely polite. The stamped date apparently told the girls at the counter that it was used already. I was told the admission price was 150B. I thanked them and walked back to the mansion. The entrance was closed because it was after their closing time of 4pm. I walked back to the exit and went over to the lockers. There was no map and ticket on top, so I asked the girls at the nearby desk. One of the girls was holding my map and ticket, which I said I had left on top of the lockers. She smiled and gave it to me. I walked back to the hall and was shown the free lockers for my cameras. I was then told I could rent a 'something', a name which I didn't recognize for 40B. I was told I could take it home. 'It' was a skirt. I was able to pick any color. I chose dark green. The skirt is a large flat fabric, shaped like an apron, with 2 tie strings at the corners, which has a lot of overlap and is held up by tying the strings together. It is long enough that it acts like a hobble, requiring short steps. The building and artwork were well worth the trouble to get in. The building is 2 story with the self-guided tour beginning on the top floor. The ceiling is very high and there is a dome in the center. The interior floors and columns look like polished marble and the ceiling has painted scenes, mostly of the royalty. The artwork is mostly very large pieces of silver and gold and gilded and bare wood carvings. The items include a model royal barge, thrones, baskets and bowls. Too much to remember and all of it as beautiful as anything of this type I have ever seen. The ground floor has a room to textiles and a room of embroidered scenes, all very beautiful, and a souvenir shop.

I missed the Thai dancing at 2pm and didn't have time to look into the elephant museum.

I walked back to Ratchawithi Road and stopped at the first bus stop. I caught a non-AC bus and paid the 5B fare. I could not understand the map so I just hoped that it was going to Victory Monument. It did, although the rush hour traffic made it a long ride. At the biggest intersection, we waited 20 minutes without moving. After 2 buses and some cars passed up by crossing the centerline, then pulling over at the light. our driver followed suit, and we got through the intersection. The right-turners had kept our lane blocked. I rode the skytrain back to Ekkamai and walked back to Bill's apartment, stopping at Big C to buy a 4 pack of yogurt and a liter of mixed juice, for 76.5B.

I showered and finished the cooked rice and chicken.

Sumano, Monday October 5, 2009

I woke up at 4:30, then dozed to 7, stretched, showered and ate an orange and orange juice. The 3 oranges I bought yesterday were hard but are a bright orange color, so I thought they might still be ripe. The first one had very little flavor, so they probably were picked too green and gassed to change color.

Bill got up and showered after I finished, ate a yogurt and we were joined by Roger just before 8. The taxi was waiting. I got the front seat and we rode for a couple of hours in air conditioned comfort, pulling off the freeway only once for a pit stop. There were 2 toll stops, 30B and 40B or thereabouts, on the way. The way on the road out of Bangkok, about 100 miles to the north, to the home, or retreat, of an American Buddhist monk, Ajahn Sumano Bikku, who became ordained in England about 40 years ago. His home is at the base of a hill containing a cave partway up, where he lived for 19 years.

The cave, the Double Eye Cave, is in limestone and has been lived in before, most recently by the communist rebels in the 1970s. All of the ends of the stalagmites and stalagtites are broken off. There are flat stone steps up to the cave and concrete steps down the steepest part of the interior. The high portion of the cave extends perhaps 200 feet back to what looked like the pinched out end; however, there were no lights in the cave and my flashlight was too weak to see any distance. The flash photos I took didn't show any pathway into the dark end. I took photos in natural light and flash, of the cave walls and of the Buddha, and skeleton, and sparse furnishings, which include a bed and a propane hot plate. There are bats hanging out in the cave, as I could hear clicking sounds and see the guano on the floor, in the central area. The cave is called Double Eye because there are 2 large openings fairly close together, the entrance being in the slightly lower one.

Part of the impetus for the visit with Sumano on this day was to give him a ride back to Bangkok for his dental appointment at the Phyathai Hospital. We left his place before noon and planned to eat at the Chokchai Farms hamburger restaurant. It wasn't open Mondays, so we drove down the road to a new place, the Vegan House. I had a very delicious Green Papaya Salad. It has bean sprouts, tomatoes, carrots, lettuce, peanuts and some tropical fruits and veggies in a slightly spicy chili sauce.

We arrived at the Phyathai Hospital in time for the 3:00 pm appointment on the 4th floor. Sumano went in for his root canal work immediately and we read magazines for a while. Sumano came out part way through his treatment and suggested that we go down to the S&P Restaurant and Bakery on the ground floor of the hospital. It was only about 4:30 and I wasn't hungry enough to eat, so I had a very good Chai tea frappe. Sumano finished before 6 and we saw him go down the hall as we came back up to the 4th floor. After a few minutes we were told he was waiting for us at the S&P, so we went down the way he had gone and visited while he drank cappucino. He told us 2 stories, about the Irish catholic who did not become a protestant and the duck plasterer, and stated some philosophical ideas, at least as equally profound as the stories, such as 'Just say the right thing'. Easier said than done, I believe.

We took a taxi to leave Sumano at a minivan ride service place so he ride to Pak Chong, and we walked through the crowded markets near Victory Monument to the Skytrain station and back to Ekkamai. Bill and Roger got massages at the Sai Tarn Massage shop near the station and I looked through the adjacent mall, then took a tuk-tuk up to Soi 23 and walked back to Soi 12 and the apartment, probably half a mile, to look a the night life. Nightlife in this area is very tame, with most stores closed, although sidewalk food vendors were still working at 8 pm, and there was a lot of street traffic.

Paid out very little today, a total of 20B for an orange drink at the pit stop, 40B off my BTS card and 5B for the tuk-tuk ride. Bill got our lunches and Roger paid the taxis, and the Chai tea.

Nonthaburi and Banglamphu, Sunday, October 4, 2009

I slept in til nearly 8am, got up, had breakfast of peach and mango juice, then rested and read parts of the tour guides. Trish called and we had a nice hour on the phone. Bill left for work about 11, because he works 2 shifts on Sunday. The first shift is 12 to 2 for the buffet lunch crowd and then his regular dinner shift, 6 to 10. The buffet cost is about $60. Bill said he went to a club to listen to some friends play free jazz (a type of jazz), so he didn't get in til 1:30am. He intends to do the same tonight and still be up for a ride to a monastery with Roger and me tomorrow at 8 am.

Lunch was rice noodles with a ginger sauce, yogurt and the peach and mango juice.

Roger got up about 1:30 and we left an hour later, taking a bus, the skytrain (BTS for Bangkok Mass Transit System Skytrain), and the public ferry on the Chao Praya River up to Nonthaburi. (pronunciation of the Thai rule #? is: the second consecutive syllable is silent). We rode past the Baan Chaopraya, a modern high-rise condo building on the west bank of the river, where Roger had a condo on the 23rd floor for a few years when he first moved to Bangkok 9 years ago.

We walked only a short distance off the pier at Nonthaburi, to a 7-11 for a 7B 600 ml bottle of water. (7-11s are everywhere in Bangkok). Didn't see much of the place. A juvenile elephant was being used for amusement near the pier. People could buy treats from the handler to feed it. Elephants have been banned on the streets of Bangkok, but now I can say "Its ok, I've seen the elephant". We caught the first boat back. The boat stops at nearly every pier on the way. At one pier, probably by Chinatown, the water next to an outdoor dining area was teaming with fish, probably carp. I imagine they were being fed for the amusement of the diners, or maybe, feeding the fish brings good luck. The river is a muddy brown, so the fish could only be seen as they broke the surface. The river is probably polluted but boys still play in the water.

We got off at the Phra Athit (Banglampoo) pier and walked thru Banglamphu, the backpackers hangout, because of the low prices on rooms and everything else, and the proximity to the sights in the Ko Ratanakosin, or old city, and across the river, the original city, Thonburi. The main street is crowded with mostly young tourists and vendors and small shops, bars and restaurants, and rooms for rent, with a few large hotels. No cars on the main street, but a few scooters running among the people to make it more crowded and noisy. There is a lot of variety in the types of shops and restaurants, with probably every kind of food, including the typical American fast food, as evidenced by all of the chains, including a 24 hour Burger King. Roger walks quickly and we were through the area in little time.

We came within sight of the Democracy Monument on the Ratchadamnoen Klang Road. Roger hailed a taxi to drive us to the National Stadium station of the BTS. I contributed a 10B tip for the driver, who drove quite fast, when possible. We got on the skytrain, with Roger getting off at the Siam station for some shopping and I continued on to the Ekkamai station. I added 500B to the card because I was down to 25B on the card, then walked to the Big C market and bought a cooked chicken, a 5 Kg bag of white rice, 3 oranges and a bottle of orange juice, for 258B.

Tonight I feasted on the rice I cooked in Bill's electric rice cooker, with ginger sauce, and the leg and thigh of the bird, and a Coke. The bird is small, less than half the size of chickens in the US.

I will revisit Nonthaburi and Banglamphu again, if I have the time.

I took 50 photos, but missed most of the sights I would have liked to shot, because I was too slow getting in position or something got in the way. Today was hot and mostly sunny all afternoon. The sun sets about 6, so cooler winter temps should be starting soon. It did rain, but only briefly, about 7pm, after I was in the apartment.

My total costs today were 374B, plus 500B on the BTS card. I don't know the exchange rate, but these initial 5000B I got at the airport put a charge of $149 plus a $10 fee on my Visa account, so 1000B is about $30.

Rest Day, Saturday, October 3, 2009

I slept in til 9, stretched, showered, ate the last orange and finished the guava juice, then did a half load of wash, and hung the clothes out to dry on the back landing, on Bill's nifty collapsible clothes dryer. I filled the water jug, for 4B. The wash cost 20B, and I borrowed powder soap from Bill. I posted yesterday's blog using the computer at the Coffee Art shop, and uploaded a few photos, taking an hour, for 35B. Bill copied some DVDs and CDs today. There were a few failures, so it took longer than expected. For lunch I heated a small bowl of green noodles and veggies, and another bowl of noodles and mushrooms, with some chiles. Both dishes were good, with the second being medium spicy hot.

The air was hot, humid and nearly still most of the day. Roger, night owl that he is, got up about noon or later and went out about 2 to pick up a repaired DVD player, which wasn't ready. Bill and I met Roger at a mall along the subway. We first took a bus to the skytrain and the skytrain to the Asoke station, then took the subway to the Phra Ram 9 station. I bought a subway pass for 230B. The deposit is 80B so I have 150B value on it. The senior rate is half price, apparently taken on the card. The subway ride cost 9B each way. The mall has several floors. We went to the computer, or IT City, floor. I bought 2 computer programs, Adobe Photoshop Elements 8 and Premiere Elements 8 and an assortment of CD/DVD ripper programs, for 280B. Bill left for work about 5. Roger and I looked at DVD movies. I bought none and Roger bought 12 for 1600B, as well as a stack of 50 blank DVDs for 250B.

Except for my cargo pants, my clothes were dry by the time we returned, about 7. I heated the frozen entree of chicken with basil and rice for dinner, and drank a little peach/mango juice, while I watched Bill's copy of 'Elegy', a love story. Dozed through parts of the movie. Roger went out to the jazz club to listen to Jeremy.

Rain began about 8pm.

Wat Arun and the Grand Palace

2009-10-02T21:30:00.000-07:00

I went to bed early again, about 10, and slept soundly after Bill came home about 11, til about 4:30, then dozed til 6:30, when I felt rested enough to stretch, shower, feast on an orange and orange and guava juices, then take the same route as the last 3 days. I caught a tuk-tuk pickup right away for the 5B ride to the Ekkamai Skytrain station. The skytrain was not as crowded yesterday. Maybe fewer people work on friday or maybe being a half hour earlier made the difference. I or the machine reads the ticket wrong at times, because the fare deducted sometimes shows to be 40B and other times as 60B, each way. So far the fare calculates, based on the last amount remaining, to be 40B each way.

I walked off the public boat at the Tha Tien pier and took the cross river ferry, from the adjacent landing, to the pier next to the Wat Arun, or Wat Aroon, or Temple of the Dawn, depending on the map or book you look at. I looked at the wat from every angle I could, and walked up and down all the steep and tall steps, steeper and taller on each of the 3 levels allowed for visitors. And took many photos. Admission was 50B. The area is fenced, but I'm not sure I saw everything. The adjacent building may be part of the wat, but there was no map and no signs telling me what else I could look at, so I left after an hour. Since It wasn't yet 10am and there was no rain, just partly overcast, I took the ferry back to Tha Tien pier and walked the half mile or so to the Grand Palace. I was warned by a blue uniformed man, a government official, I believe, that some men would say the palace is closed today. Three tuk-tuk drivers, with the 3 wheeled machines, told me just that, and I smiled and said no to their offer of a tour to other places. One driver drove up the block to again tell me the palace was closed, pointing across to the driveway in the high wall of the palace, which had a sign saying no admittance. I said no again and walked down and around the block to the main entrance, where I joined a horde of tourists buying the 350B tickets, which includes tickets to 3 other places, a 10B ticket to the Pavilion of Regalia, Royal Decorations and Coins and a good-for-7-days ticket to the Vimanmek Mansion Museum and the Arts of the Kingdom Exhibition.

The entrance was divided into 2 lines, one for foreigners and one for Thais. The Thais get in free. There was one family going in that line when I baby-stepped my way in thru the turnstile. The Thais were welcomed with a wai and bow by a uniformed official. They must have been special guests. A sign inside listed 4 times for a free english tour, with one beginning in 10 minutes, at 10:30. I signed the book and waited. There were over 20 in the tour and the guide was a Thai, with a heavy accent, so I understood about half of what he said. The parts I understood were informative, although the grammer was basic. The Grand Palace grounds are surrounded by the high stucco wall and cover at least a city block. There are numerous buildings and a covered mural covered wall, illustrating probably a hundred stories, all myths as far as I could determine. A lot of mythical characters, many based on animals and half man-half animal. The tour just looked a the major buildings and one story, because of the large number of buildings. All of the buildings and other structures were extremely colorful and ornate, being covered with colored porcelain pieces, mirror pieces and gold leaf. No photography allowed in any of the buildings. The tour went from the first walled area to a second, through a guarded opening. I took too much time with photos and lost sight of my group. I thought they had gone into the 'buckingham' palace because I saw shoes on the steps going up the very high entrance. The sign at the foot of the stairs said no entry and when I started up the steps, a guard opened the door and said 'no', so I left, even though other men were still going into that entrance. Apparently a select group. I decided I would look around at the places we had pasted too rapidly and found the wall opening back to the first area had signs saying 'one way, no entry'. I hesitated, but saw other people, not workers, going the wrong way, so I walked past the guard. He frowned a little, but didn't say anything, so I continued through and took the next 1-1/2 hours to look around, read, eat 5 baby size bananas someone else had thrown away, and some candy I had brought along, and take many photos. There were 2 cold water machines along the mural wall, so I filled my little bottle 4 times. The water had a slightly plastic taste, but it was clear and cold, and many others, including the workers, drank the water, the workers using the cups tied to the machines.

I joined the 1:30 free english tour of about 30 people, about half of which were Indian. The guide, a woman this time, had a similar heavy accent and similar grammar, which is the way they were taught, I'm sure. Most of her tour covered the same locations with a similar talk. As I recall, part of the talk by the model of Ankor Wat was 'You take pictur of model. You show your neighbor. Dey tink you see Ankor Wat. You see wid no travel, no visa.' She knew I wasn't part of her group, and asked me, about half way through, if I wanted to join her group. The guard may have reported me, although no one approached. I did read on the ticket that it was good for only 1 visit, probably meaning they could prevent people from going back to the first area after the tour. This is probably done to reduce crowding in the first area because the building are close together, while the 2nd area is much more open. Many of the buildings are still used for state occasions. Some of the buildings, including the Borom Phiman Mansion, are outside the walled compound and not open to visitors. The Wat Phra Kaew, or Temple of the Emerald Buddha is in the first area. It is a royal wat and no monks have ever lived there; however, there were monks wandering around the grounds. I did walk thru the wat museum at the end of my time there and found it full of interesting objects, but I was too tired by then to do more than a quick look-see. The upper floor is wood, but shoes must be left at the bottom of the stairs.
About 4pm I walked back to the pier, through the same narrow corridor crowded with souvenir and food shops. I was pointed to the right landing and got on the first boat, only to find that it was going the wrong way, upriver. I got off at the next pier and boarded the boat going back downriver. The agent wanted my fare of 13B and said no when I showed her my ticket, a postage stamp size receipt, which is torn by the agent on the boat to show it has been used. I told her I had gotten on the wrong boat at the Tien pier and needed to go downriver. She frowned and moved on.

On my way back I stopped at the locksmith. The door was locked, but one of the 2 women inside opened for me, then called and an older man appeared from the back. I told him I had the key made yesterday and it wouldn't open the lock. He looked and measured, then filed the squared end into a slightly more rounded shape, then handed them back and said ok. I showed him the 2 keys together and asked if the new one looked different. I could see one sloping cut on the new key was not as deep as the original. He placed the keys in a machine and ground that side of the key. When I got to Bill's apartment about 5:30, and tried the key, the lock opened. I knocked on Roger's door to give him his key and he told me he had 2 extra keys already.
Roger invited me into his apartment and we talked for half an hour about the books I had brought and many other interests, mostly common interests, and the health of our mothers and our own health and work backgrounds. Roger's mother is 102, has been living with Roger for the last 3 years, now with dementia, but was still driving her car at 99. Roger asked if he could treat me to a Japanese meal, so we walked down to the Big C mall for dinner at Ootayo. Roger had several dishes and I ordered the fried chicken and veggies. Whatever it was, and it included several different vegetables, steamed rice, a soup and sauces, it was all good. We washed it down with iced green tea. The bill was over a 1000B. We then went into the Big C market for some frozen chicken and basil entrees for me and Bill, as recommended by Roger, and peach with mango juice, one carton for Roger and one for me. I insisted on paying the 303.5B bill.
Roger asked if I wanted to go to a club tonight where we could meet Bill and hear a great jazz pianist, Jeremy Montero. I said sure. We left about 10pm, caught a bus down to the Skytrain and got off at the Asok station. The club is a round room in the Sheraton, with large glass windows facing the skytrain, which passes silently every few minutes. Roger introduced me to Jeremy and someone else, then we sat down and Roger went over to talk with Jeremy. Bill walked in and starting talking to the couple next to us, a drummer friend, Hong, and his girlfriend, then introduced all of us, although Roger already knew the drummer. A trumpet player, Steve Cannon, joined us, after first looking for his brother Randy, another pianist, to join us. Randy could not be found. Jeremy and his trio, Pong Therdsac on the bass and Shawn Kelly on the drums played a set, which were jazz versions of standards, including Stevie Wonder's 'Isn't She Lovely" and 'Desafinado'. Bill was tired, so after the first set we left Roger behind, took the skytrain back, and just missed the bus back to the apartment. It was nearly midnight and there were no busses or tuk-tuks in sight. Bill was too tired to walk, so he hailed a taxi. The traffic in the 2 lanes toward Bill's place was stop and go, so after going more than half the way with a meter running while we sat still, Bill paid the 55B fare and we walked the last few blocks.
So my total outlay for today is 431B, plus 160B off my skytrain pass, and the 303.5B for groceries.

Wat Pho on Wednesday, National Museum on Thursday

2009-10-01T06:38:00.000-07:00

Early to bed tuesday night, about 10pm, resulted in an early awakening, about 4:30. I arose at dawn, about 6:30, and walked down Ekkamai 63 to Sukhumvit, then onto the Skytrain platform, and back. I took photos along the way with my fisheye lens and bought a spear of pineapple from a street vendor on the way back, for 15B.

The sky was overcast, good conditions for photos, and there was a slight cooling breeze. There has been no rain since I arrived, probably unusual for this time of year.

After a breakfast of pineapple, an orange and some orange juice, I showered, talked to Bill about my plans, and, about 10:30, walked down Ekkamai 63 to the Skytrain station. I changed to the Silom line of the Skytrain at the Siam station and got off at the Saphon Taksin station to take a boat from the Sathorn pier, on the Chao Phraya River. I meant to take the public ferry boat, but walked straight into the tourist boat desk and was told I should get a day pass for 150B which would allow me to return anytime, however I didn't realize it was over 5 times what the public ferry would have cost. I didn't know there was more than one system, but I made the most of it by riding for nearly 2 hours after my Wat visit, up river to Bang Po and back down to the Sathorn pier. The scenery becomes less interesting beyond the Khaosan Rattanakosin area, except for the Rama VIII bridge, a fairly new, very noticeable, cable suspension design. The boat went under it twice, so I had excellent views. The Rattanakosin area is an island formed when the city was started, by digging canals around a bend in the river. The area contains the Grand Palace, 2 large wats, museums and other civic buildings.

Wat Pho, or Wat Po, or Wat Phra Chetuphon depending on which map or guidebook you read is a large complex of temples and several other buildings built and rebuilt since the 16th century. I got off the boat at the Tha Tien pier and walked the short distance to the wat, and paid the 50B for admission. Shoes must be removed to walk into the temple buildings, and legs must be covered, which means long pants for men. I wore my cargo pants and slipped out of and into my deck shoes, more difficultly as I became tired from the walking and the heat. It wasn't abnormally hot, and is slightly cooler in this area because of the river, but the sun shown through for a while in the middle of the day, raising the temperature. One place in the temple grounds sells snacks, drinks and souvenirs and has a palm reader. I bought a 600 ml bottle of water for 20B, and another in the market on the way back to the boat for 10B. The reclining Buddha is gold covered and so huge, 46 meters long, compared to the building it lies in, that it cannot be seen completely, except for a long view from its feet. The view is blocked by large square columns next to it, apparently needed to support the building's roof. I didn't realize the monastery across the narrow road on one side of the temple grounds was a part of the wat complex and, so, never looked at it. I didn't see anyone else, other than workmen, going over there, either. Several monks, in their saffron and other color robes, were walking around, with one apparently directing the workmen and calling out on his cell phone. One temple had a row of monks seated, cross-legged-on-the-floor, and against the wall, chanting to a small audience of tourists, similarly seated, and facing the monks, with their feet pointed away from the buddha, as required. The repair work shows that the gold-leaf-covered curvy roof ornamentation consists of carved wood.

On the way back, about 5pm, I stopped at the Big C market and bought 3 food to go packages, 2 small ones of white and fried rice and sausage with an omelet in one at 10B each. The 3rd package was an entree, with no english description, just Thai, for 29B. It had white rice, a few veggies, meat strips and sealed packages of sauce and gravy. I microwaved the smaller rice entrees and was filled up after eating them with a little juice and a coke, and a yogurt for dessert. The larger Thai-name only entree is in the refrigerator.

My cost for today total 294B, not including the 80B deducted from my Skytrain pass, since I paid for that when I bought the pass yesterday. Lodging continues to be provided courtesy of Bill. I don't have the exact exchange rate, but 100B costs nearly $3.

I went to bed early wednesday night, about 10pm, and slept soundly til 1:30, then fell asleep again til 6, so I had a good night's sleep. I didn't hear Bill come, probably around 11pm. I did my usual stretching, showering, eating an orange and drinking juice, before leaving about 8am for the National Museum. It was raining when I awoke and kept drizzling til about 1pm, so I wore my rain jacket. No one else wears rain coats, except a one security guard. Most used umbrellas, although the motorcycle riders wore rain capes, and sandals, and drove just as fast and chaotically as they did on dry pavement. The chaos to me is the way they ignore all lane markings, driving wherever there is room, on all sides of the cars, including crossing over the center line to pass, and moving back between cars when oncoming cars force them back. I wore my deck shoes without socks because I expected my feet to get wet. I walked the 1-1/2 blocks to the bus stop and was lucky enough to hail a tuk-tuk pickup for the 5B ride down to the skytrain station. I again took the skytrain which was so crowded during this, the commute hours, that I couldn't get on the first train and just barely squeezed into the next train. Similarly, I missed the first train I tried to transfer to at the Siam station. Today, I picked the wrong boat to get on, the river crossing boat, and was informed with gestures by one of the passengers that I needed to go to the adjacent platform. I had enough time to get the short distance to the platform before the boat pulled up, but not enough to buy a ticket in advance. I didn't need one because the agent on board collects the fare, 13B, apparently for whatever distance you are going.

I got off at pier 9, the Tha Chang pier, and walked thru the market place in the direction my rudimentary map indicated would get me there. When I made it past the university shown on the map I asked a street vendor the way to the National Museum. She pointed the direction and she was right. The total distance from the pier was probably half a mile. I arrived at 9:45 expecting that I was too late to catch the 9:30 English speaking guide (English tours are only once each Wed. and Thur.); however, the guide was still giving his introductory remarks, so I was able to buy the 200B admission ticket and join the 2 young couples on a nice tour of parts of the museum. We first walked through the red house, a very old former royal residence, a simple house with 2 rooms. The construction was of teak, joined together without nails or metal of any kind. Termites apparently don't eat teak, so the structure is in great shape. We had to remove our shoes for this walk-thru, but were able to finish the tour with our shoes on. The guide was American, probably retired Navy based on the pins he wore, and was easy to understand. He had stories about everything and referred to the museum book often to give the correct dates and names. Most of the objects we looked at were Buddhist statues, showing the evolution of Buddha from a Roman appearance changing gradually to a Thai appearance, both in face and dress. Some of the outside statues, dogs and warriors, were originally brought to Thailand as ballast in ships from China. Even hundreds of years ago people were importing cheap stuff from China. Trish called twice during the tour and we talked only briefly, so I could catch up with the tour, which ended just after noon, a nearly 2-1/2 hour tour. The 2 young couples slowed down the tour and were quiet, probably tired from their trip and maybe jet lagged, although they were not together. There are more workers on one of the buildings than there are visitors to the museum. One elementary school group swelled the attendance for today. I continued to walk through the museum to see the parts we had skipped in the tour and became too tired by 1:30 to keep going. I had a bowl of chicken noodle soup and steamed rice at the little museum restaurant. The noodles were rice noodles and the soup contained chicken, with a few veggies, and a slightly spicy broth. The soup was 35B and the rice 10B, so I gave a big tip of 5B. One B is almost 3 cents.

Passing through the little shops in the market near the pier I saw sandals and was set up quickly by the clerk, probably also an owner. When I said you don't have my size. I need a 12. She said she had a 46, the European size. The sandals have velcro straps for the toes and ankle, and a soft foot pad, and are made in Thailand. I thought everything was now made in China. I was the only customer and now had 3 people in the discussion of the price. The asking price was 650B. I offered 500B and they came down in increments, showing me the price on a calculator. There asking price went down to 620, then 600, then 590. I kept saying 500B and agreed to buy when they said 550B. Probably still more than they are worth is a Walmart type store, but the Tesco Lotus store didn't even have my size, so now I am ready for walking in rain, or at least I will be when I get an umbrella. I could have had one for a 100B but I was afraid it would be too cheap and fall apart or break easily, so I resisted the impulse.

The return trip to Bill's apartment was easier than the morning trip because the skytrain was not packed yet. I left with only 40B on my card, so I added 200B value. Don't know why this day's trip cost 100B. Maybe the costs are higher during commute hours. I walked back from the Ekkamai station in my new sandals, stopping at Big C for 3 more entrees. I got 2 rice dishes and one noodle dish, for a total of 35B. I refrigerated all of them and ate the Thai name ony entree from yesterday, heating the meat strips and rice, and the green stemmed plants. I tried only the one sauce, a slightly spicy reddish liquid. I saved part of it and the gravy. I also had some guava juice and a yogurt.

I talked briefly to Bill before he went to work. After finishing my early dinner, I walked down to the locksmith shop and had a key made for Bill's door lock, a padlock. I paid 40B, but the key doesn't work, so I'll take it back tomorrow. We need it for tomorrow when Bill's friend Roger comes here to stay in his apartment, which is across the hall the one door down from Bill's. They both use padlocks, keyed alike, and I am now using Roger's key.

To post a new blog I am buying time at the Coffee Art cafe near Bill's, at 20B for half an hour, as I did Tue. eve. So today I paid out 1126B including the 550B for the sandals and 200B to add to the Skytrain card.

Flying to Bangkok

2009-09-29T07:24:00.000-07:00

Trish flew back to San Francisco from San Diego on Monday, the 21st. On Tuesday morning I left Mom's about 6am to find the Thai consulate, near Little Thailand, in LA. I needed a Visa stamp before leaving SF because the 30 day visa which can be obtained on landing could be denied to me, since my return flight was not within that 30 days. I had hoped to get two 30 day visas in Thailand but the Thai FAQ website stated I could not do that and that the airline could refuse to board me without the Visa. The visa application must be turned in one day and the visa can be picked up the next morning, 10:30 to noon, but can not be obtained the same day. Aunt Jeanette, in Torrance, was kind enough to put me up overnite. We had a very good visit. The Visa was ready on Wed. morning and I rode up I5, a long and hot and boring ride, to my daughter's home in Castro Valley. The grandsons, Quentin and Kyle, were their usual fun selves and we had a good, but too brief, visit. Claire and Kyle drove me to the BART station for the ride to SF.

Thursday through Saturday, and even on Sunday morning, I spent most of my time selecting my travel things, packing and repacking, with Trish's help, and weighing the loaded suitcase on the scale in the exercise room. I had read the baggage limit was 23 kg, 50 lb, and the bag limit was 2. I assumed that meant together; however, we were informed as we checked in at the Asiana counter, by the very helpful agent, Mr. Eunho Park, that the weight limit was per bag. We had put everything in 2 cardboard boxes and labeled them, so we could send them as the baggage and stay under the weight limit. We quickly checked in 2 bags, one being the larger cardboard box and the other the suitcase, containing the smaller box and my tripod. Probably should have pulled back from the check in and taken off my extra clothing and added some things from my backpack, because the backpack was stuffed full. I had to take off my extra clothes, after I sat a little while waiting at the Incheon airport, and carry them in plastic bags. Too many things to carry on easily, since I also had my small camera case, and hat.

The flight to Incheon was uneventful, except for being passed by a Japanese airliner, fairly close, by my estimate. By the time I took out my camera, the plane was almost out of sight. Our elevation and other flight data was shown constantly in several languages, on monitors overhead and could be checked on the screen in the seatbacks. I didn't see any of Japan because of the cloud cover.

I skipped the first meal because I still had 2 large sandwiches that Trish had prepared. She also included a bag of candy and 2 small photos in a plastic sleeve, one being a photo of her in her Toe-Bee clown suit with a bubble greeting of "Hi Gary, Some little treats for your trip. Enjoy, Love, Trish". The other photo is of the 2 of us in our santa hats. Very thoughtful of Trish. I saw the candy, but wanted to save them for later and put the bag away without seeing the photos til today when I reorganized my things.

My seat mates, 2 American-Koreans, were good company. They both thought I had a very good deal on the flight because of my $694 price. One had paid $1000 for a round-trip to Korea alone, with $200 of that being for an open return date.

All passengers had to go through security at Incheon, just to transfer to the next flight. Didn't need to take off my shoes this time, but the netbook had to be pulled out of the backpack and all my pockets emptied. I had been wanded in SF, probably because of my partial metal leg, and did the same at Incheon. The security at SF padded my upper torso, but Incheon just wanded me, even tho I still was wearing my extra clothes.

The passengers to Bangkok included a group of about 50 grade schoolers, probably 8 to 10 years old. They were well behaved and I didn't see or hear them on the plane. Me seat was near the front. After I sat down I couldn't find my Lonely Planet guide book and, in my tired state, thought I must have left it in the waiting area, where I had been reading it. I was taken back there by a stewardess, but it wasn't there. I resigned myself to getting by without it, but after a short time into the flight I found the book hidden on the floor beside my seat, window side. I thought of telling the stewardesses but the onesI had talked to were never seen. The flight was otherwise uneventful. I saw nothing out the window after take off until just before landing because it was a nite flight.

It was nearly midnite when we landed in Bangkok. I was the last to leave since I knew it would be warmer and more humid off the plane and I would need to wait for my baggage. The wait was not bad, probably 20 minutes after going through the immigration, which was just a formality, with stamping and stapling a paper into the passport. I repacked the suitcase, resulting a very heavy suitcase, probably 70 lb. I then exited, but not before allowing the suitcase to be xrayed.

The taxi line was short by this time. I showed Bill's address at the taxi table and the man copied part of the address onto a form. I walked along the line of taxis to what looked like the front and was quickly ready to go. I showed the driver the address and Bill's hand-drawn map, and he then called Bill as he was driving away. I could not tell anything about the route he took. I couldn't see any street signs. I just know he drove with speed as though he knew the way and we arrived within 20 to 30 minutes. I was still awake because it was daytime in SF, but fatigued because I hadn't slept much in the last 2 days. Bill met us in the parking lot and the driver insisted on taking the suitcase up the steps to the apartment. Bill said to give him 400 Baht to include a good tip for carrying the suitcase. I paid with the baht I had just obtained at the Siam Commercial Bank booth in the airport. I had bought the minimum of 5000B and paid with my visa card, so I'll have a cash advance fee to pay, I'm sure. I forgot to bring my bank debit card, so I'll charge whatever I can on my visa or american express card and look for a way to get baht without paying the cash advance.

I slept well for 5 hours last nite on Bill's couch/sleeper and without covers, keeping cool with the breeze from the ceiling fan. I feel that I am almost over any jet lag, probably because I stayed awake for most of the flight, which left me tired enough to fall asleep by 3am Thai time, which was 1pm in SF.

Bill and I went out after noon for some orientation. We walked a short way, then took a tuk-tuk (a small pickup with bench seats in the bed covered with a shell and a doorway on the curb side, right behind the cab). Traffic is mirror image, on the left side. We got off a short distance down the road and walked thru a food court which didn't have Bill's favorite dish, so we walked a little further down Sukhumvit to a mall and had lunch at the Cheesecake House, 100B for each of us, paid by Bill.

After lunch I bought fresh OJ in a small ball shaped bottle, for 30B. Then we rode the elevator up to the skytrain station, bought a pass for me, at a cost of 300B for 240B worth of rides, because there is a 30B deposit for the card and 30B for charging on my Visa card. We then rode 2 stops to On Nut, for 20B, and went down to the Tesco Lotus store (similar to a Walmart), to get Bill a shirt. I also bought 2 nice, print design, short sleeve shirts, on sale for 199B for 2. What a bargain, but cash only. We also looked for sandals my size, with no luck. Also, for clip-on sunglasses, again with no luck. We took the bus back since it made a stop near Bill's apartment.
Bill rested a short time, while I activated my 12Call sim card on the Blackberry phone I brought over with me. I have 15 min., but can add to it anytime. Bill made us an early dinner of white rice and a vegetarian masman curry, before leaving for his 6pm to 10pm gig.

I walked down to the nearby Big C mall and checked for internet access partway down and at the mall. The only unsecured networks required an account to logon. I shopped in the food dept. at Big C and found some oranges, juices, soda, candy and yogurt. Came to 319.75B (nearly $11) but I had forgotten to take my fanny pack and had no money. The clerk held all of it until I made the round trip to the apt. and paid for it. Walking half speed, because of my hip, and then carrying about 10 lb. causes a lot of sweating in this climate.

Carnival Cruise on the Elation

2009-09-19T21:53:00.000-07:00

The following are my memories of the cruise Trish and I were on from last Monday to Friday. We went from San Diego to Catalina, then Ensenada and back to San Diego.

Monday morning we drove Mom's car to the Nordahl station for Sprinter. Trish and the bags stayed while I took the car back and walked the half mile back to the station. We bought our $1 tickets from the machine and boarded the 10:06 Sprinter train to Oceanside. Most of the passengers on the Sprinter were apparently college students, with some getting off at the Cal State San Marcos station and most getting off at the Palomar College station. We got $3.25 machine tickets for the Coaster to the Santa Fe station, the final stop in San Diego.

From the Santa Fe station we walked the 3 blocks to the cruise terminal, with several other cruise passengers. We checked in our large suitcase and went thru the boarding process, consisting of several stops to show ids and fun passes, xray machines which required a wand check for me probably because of the metal replacement of my left upper femur, registration with our ticket numbers and credit card, and id photos with our new room key/sign and sail charge card. I shot some video as we went thru.

We were on the ship feasting at the Tiffany restaurant buffet by 1:30. We checked out our room about 3 and the suitcase, with our bottles of gin and rum, was by our door about an hour later. Trish checked out many of the facilities on the ship to see what is included and what costs extra. I walked around and took some photos during and after lunch and again during our dinner in the Imagination Dining Room, not to be confused with the Inspiration Dining Room.

Our assigned table, #229, was a round table for 10. Three fine amiable couples, all close to our ages, showed up - Darrel and Marilyn from east of San Diego, Bill and Sue from Spirit Lake, Idaho, and Michael and Pam from near Seattle. Most are still working, with occupations ranging from teacher and librarian to chemist, blacksmith and landscaper. Our waiter, Joel from the Philippines, also very nice, is a 16 year veteran with Carnival.

The Mikado showroom evening song and dance shows have all been well done, with a good sounding band. Tuesday was a sea day with numerous fun activities, including several games, music, singing and dancing. Lots of different kinds of food was available at all times. The crew are all pleasant and helpful and kept cleaning and cleaning the boat all the time. There were hand sanitizer dispensers at the entrances of all dining locations. Our stateroom steward, Paul from Trinidad, kept the room clean and neat, and made fine looking towel animals. We didn't use the pool, but found the adult-only warm whirlpool tubs very nice. The deck had numerous padded deck recliners and large towels were available for a refundable deposit.

Wednesday, we wandered around Avalon on Catalina for a few hours. The weather was very pleasant, as it was the entire cruise. Thursday, Trish stayed on the boat and I walked into Ensenada for the exercise and to take a few photos. We didn't want any souvenirs other than photos, so our only expenses during the cruise were $.50 for bottled water in Ensenada and $1.10 for 3 postcards on Catalina.

Internet connection on the boat costs $24 for 60 min., so I did not connected.

Matt and Christy's Wedding

2009-09-13T08:35:00.000-07:00

Trish arrived in San Diego, via Virgin America, which charges extra for each checked bag while Southwest and others do not, on time last Thursday. We visited with Mom in the afternoon and also did a little grocery shopping and house cleaning, then went shopping at Bed Bath and Beyond for a wedding gift for Matt and Christy. We selected a chip and dip set. Later we shampooed the high traffick areas of Mom's carpet and left the ceiling fan on high to help with drying.

Friday afternoon my daughters, Wendi and Claire, arrived in San Diego, via Southwest, 50 minutes late thanks to a scratch on the cargo hatch. We all visited in the afternoon and evening, with Mom, and looked at old family photos. Dinner was a Pizza Hut Luau pizza, with a baby green salad and white zinfandel wine. Still too hot to cook at home. In the evening Trish and I helped Wendi and Claire shop for a wedding gift, first in BB&B, then at Target. They got a great convection toaster oven, big enough for a 12 inch pizza, and had a roll of gift wrap just large enough to cover the box. Target did not gift wrap for free, in contrast to BB&B, which did.

Wendi and Claire drove Mom's car to Starbuck's for wake up juice. Later in the morning the 5 of us went over to sister Nancy, and Louie's, house in Vista and had a great time visiting and feasting with the Minnesota contingent to the wedding. Louie's brother Lawrence and wife Cathy, my cousin Trisha, her daughter Nicole and 8 year-old granddaughter Kelsey had all flown in specially for the nuptials.

The wedding invitation listed the time as 4:15pm. We knew the ceremony was set for 5 and we left home before 4:30, but didn't take the directions. We went the wrong way. Claire called information for the no. of the Vista Valley Country Club. The directions gave me the clue I needed to get on the right road and we arrived about 5. People were still being driven down to the ceremony site, a nicely tree-shaded glen, along the creek. So we arrived at the perfect time. Everyone was dressed in fine suits and dresses. In keeping with the formal black and white colors for the wedding, the entire wedding party wore new black and white basketball shoes, or tennies. The wedding ceremony was beautiful, short and sweet. I took some video. Trish, and Wendi and Claire, took some stills, along with several other guests. The pro photographer took a lot of stills, before, during and after the ceremony, and during the reception in the club house. The reception, with a buffet dinner, and dancing went on til almost 10pm. We were lucky enough, with a lot of persuasion from my daughters and others to get all 19 of Matt's relatives to pose for a group shot.

Today we plan to do more visiting with Mom. Wendi and Claire fly out about 5pm.

Travel to Mom's

2009-09-09T21:51:00.000-07:00

Yesterday afternoon I took BART to Castro Valley. When I got off the BART car I found the main compartment to my backpack was partly open. Apparently, the zippers slipped open when I picked it up because no one said anything before that and nothing appears to be missing. I had placed both zippers at the top. They opened because the backpack was stuffed full and heavy.

I was picked up by my son-in-law, Greg, and my 2 grandsons, Quentin and Kyle. We went to a playfield for Quentin's soccer practice. At 6 years old the boys spent a lot of the time acting silly, but they all went through the drills and were quite enthusiastic in the practice scrimmage.

This morning I swallowed the last of the 4 typhoid vaccine caps. No negative reactions. I feel fortunate. The only meds I have left from Kaiser are the malaria pills and some pill for diarrhea

Greg went to work early. My daughter, Claire, made breakfast and left at 8 to take the boys to school and daycare before going to her work.

I moved my motorcycle from the backyard storage to the driveway this morning, pumped up the tires, loaded the 3 cases and took off about 9am. The ride down I5, and I405 through LA was uneventful and fast, and very warm, til I got near the ocean in LA and south of LA. Gas prices are rising again. I filled up near Buttonwillow. The pump price was $3.09, but the sign price changed to $3.13 as I pulled away from the pump. I arrived at Mom's, in San Marcos, about 5:40. I made 5 stops, 3 for gas and 2 to eat and stretch my legs.

Thailand trip prep

2009-09-05T10:38:00.000-07:00

I had no reaction to the Hep A shot, so I started on the refrigerated Typhoid capsules Thursday morning and still have no reactions, so this morning I took the 2nd of the 4 capsules needed. With this schedule I'll finish the 4th capsule on Wednesday morning, just before I drive down to Mom's in San Marcos, and wont need to keep anything cool on the way down.

With the help of Craigslist, on thursday evening I bought a used, large Eddie Bauer suitcase in very good condition. The owner wanted $20 and gave it to me for $10, essentially a gift. I should now have enough room for the 36 pounds of books I am taking to Bangkok, in my partial capacity as courier. I will need to travel light to keep the check in bag at less than the 50 pounds allowed, and the 22 pounds allowed for carry on.

I received the cell phone I bought on Ebay and now agree with the reviews by others online, which I should have read before buying, that this model is bad, with covers that slide off too easily, a screen that can't be read in bright light and larger than normal size. It is an unlocked GSM phone which should work fine with a Thai SIM card, which I also ordered on Ebay. I thought a refurbished cell phone would be better than trusting a used cell phone, but I now regret that decision because of the cons of the phone. The seller accepts returns only as credit toward another phone and they have only one other GSM clamshell phone, also rated poorly. So, I'll try to make do with this one.

2009-09-01T09:07:00.000-07:00

Travel Medicine and Immunizations recommended by my HMO

A week ago I called Kaiser to ask if I needed any shots for a trip to Thailand. I was asked to wait for a phone call on Friday at 3:50pm. The consultant at Kaiser called on time and recommended a vaccination, against Hepatitis A, and 3 prescriptions, based on the itinerary of possible travel all over Thailand including the border areas.
I went to the Kaiser facility on Geary Avenue and got the Hep A shot and stood in line for the 3 prescriptions. They are Vivotif typhoid vaccine capsules, Doxycycline tablets for malaria, and Azithromycin antibiotic tablets for diarrhea.
The vaccines may cause mild flu-like symptoms and all of the medicines may cause diarrhea and other side effects. $65 copays for medicines to prevent illness that may make me sick. All in a little paper bag with a leaflet advising me to Enjoy Life. I might enjoy life more without the medicines, but the illnesses wouldn't be enjoyable either. So far I have no reaction to the shot, after about 20 hours.