Sukhothai: The Old City

On our way south to Bangkok, we spent one day in Sukhothai, the heart of the ancient kingdom of Thailand.

We renteds bicycles for the day for 30 baht ($1 US) and paid our admission fee to the central zone of the "old city" ruins (100 baht). We also purchased an audio tour  (150 baht) that came with a map taking us to 20 stops around the ruins. Having a head phone splitter has proved to be helpful, as we Alan and I can plug into the same device.

One of the main attractions was Wat Mahathat, built in the 13th century. This complex features several Buddha figures, as well as a large bodhi tree.

We also pedaled to Wat Si Sawai, built in the 12th and 13th centures. It was originally a Hindu temple.

After lunch, we visited Wat Sa Si, loacted on an island.

And one of the last structures we visited, Wat Sarasak, featured restored elephants around the chedi base, a lovely sight.

From Sukhothai we took a bus to Bangkok, where we will spend our last few days in the Southeast Asia.

Other Great Things In Chiang Mai

Of course getting to feed, ride, bathe, and scrub elephants was a spectacular experience! Nothing could compare. But we did several other great things while in Chiang Mai.

Our friend Maria had played an Ultimate Frisbee tournament in Bangkok before joining us, and met some folks who live in Chiang Mai, as well as other travelers who were going to be in Chiang Mai at the same time. So on Wednesday (Feb. 11) we met up with these folks at the gates of Chiang Mai University to go for a hike together. Graham, who lives in Chiang Mai, was going to show us his favorite trail.

We wove our way through the University to reach the trail head. Then we started climbing, and it was a rather strenuous climb up. (I blame the food poisoning.) Our first stop was at what Graham calls the "Waterfall Temple." I have no idea what it is really called, but it was a beautiful oasis beside the cool running waters with temple ruins spreading far back into the forest.

At the top of the mountain, we all ate lunch, then visited Wat Suthep. (I have started to distinguish between the temples by classifying them as either "shiny" or "ruins.") This was a shiny temple. Gracyn, in dressing for the hiking, had neglected to pack proper layers to be allowed into the temple (no shoulders or knees), so Alan ventured in and took pictures.

That day ended up the hiking group joining in on Ultimate Frisbee pickup at the University, which was a lot of fun. Most folks went out to dinner at a place called Lemon Tree, and we enjoyed being a part of that outing as well.

On our last morning in Chiang Mai, we walked to Wat Chedi Luang. Yes, another temple. This one was built in 1441.

The plaque in front of this statue tells the story of a monk who was so beautiful that he caused others to desire him, so he became fat to help those people.

This is John in front of a reclining Buddha.

Elephants!

When we finally boarded the bus for Sukhothai, I felt like this guy.

Oliphants, Mr. Frodo!

We were recently in Chiang Mai, Thailand, where we met up with our good friend Maria Mendiburo and her friend/now our friend John Fei. Maria suggested we do what many people do in Chiang Mai and ride elephants, so we did. A big thank you to all of our sponsors, and special thanks go to Mary Bancroft for an advance on Alan's birthday present.

The nice folks from the elephant farm picked us up at 8:30 AM and we set off with a van full of other elephant adventurers. After a quick stop along the way so our hosts could buy food for lunch, we made our way through the countryside to the elephant grounds. We parked the van at the top of a hill and walked down into the valley where the elephants live with their trainers. The skin of the elephants is quite coarse, and we would end up pretty dirty, so the company provided us with outfits to wear for the day. Once everybody was suited up, the trainers brought a couple of elephants close, and we learned how to feed them. With the right commands, they would raise their trunks and we put bananas right into their mouths. Then, with another command (choop choop), the elephants would reach out with their trunks and give you a kiss, some of them quite slimy.

After the morning feeding, we all took turns getting up onto the elephants and learning to ride them, complete with commands for forward, backward, turn, and stop. As you'll see in the pictures, we rode on their necks, right behind their ears. Once everybody had been on an elephant and learned the commands, we climbed on in pairs to go for a ride through the surrounding forest area. We started with Gracyn in front and Alan midway back on the elephant's back and switched halfway through the walk. Our elephant was a little quicker than the one in front of us, so she would sometimes wait patiently and then move quickly to catch up. In the end, we didn't really need to give that many commands, as she clearly knew the route.

After a 45 minute ride, we returned to the staging area to find an abundant feast waiting. We particularly enjoyed all the fresh fruit. We enjoyed talking about our ride and how awesome it was to ride an elephant. Apparently the elephant behind us wasn't quite as cooperative as ours was.

Following lunch it was time for another feeding, and this time sugar cane was on the menu. It was cool to watch the elephants strip the stalks clean and mash them up for eating. There was also another round of elephant kisses, as well as some pictures.

Once everybody was fed, we made our way to the river to give the elephants a bath. They all lay down in the river and we set to work scrubbing their hides and splashing them with water. The elephants also did some splashing with their trunks. Once the bath was over, we did some posing for pictures in groups (the company provided us with a disc of pics that will be uploaded when we can get access to a computer). As we stood in front of the elephants, one of them sucked water up in his trunk, put his trunk on the back of our heads and sprayed us.

The final experience of the day was meeting a four year old baby that they have. He came running up the hill when he saw the crate of bananas we were going to feed him. He would put his trunk around our shoulders and kiss us on the neck.

We eventually had to say goodbye to our elephant friends and head back to Chiang Mai. It was a really great experience we won't soon forget.

Finding Zen in Luang Prabang

We spent two days in Luang Prabang, in Laos, over the weekend (February 7-8). This town is famous for its "alms giving" or "procession of the monks". Each morning at sunrise, Buddhist monks from each of the 80 temples walk the main street with their bowls, receiving food from the local people and the tourists. People prepare sticky rice, or give bananas, or even packaged food. The monks, in turn, give back a portion of what they receive to the community and hungry children.

One kneels, or sits, in order to place one's head below the monks' as a sign of respect. Alan and I had bananas, mandarin oranges, and tamarind to give.

Being part of the sanctity of this ritual was very meaningful to us. To participate in the ancient observance, the symbiosis of the people taking care of the physical needs of the monks,  and the monks caring for the people spiritually, was very special.

Our time in Luang Prabang was also spent visiting the Palace Museum, former residence of the royal family.

We climbed the many stairs to Phu Si, a 100 m hill in the center of town. We had a great view of the city, and saw the footprint of Buddha, the many statues and altars, and the gilded stupa called That Chomsi.

Still, for us, the magic of Luang Prabang was feeling the presence of the monks, and seeing a bit into their day to day lives. Which includes hanging the laundry up to dry.

Cycling Around Vang Viang

Vang Viang, in Laos, has been known as a party town. I get the impression that it is trying to reinvent itself as an adventure sports mecca instead, with business offering all kinds of outdoor activities.

Alan and I rented bicycles to cycle around 7 km out of town to the Blue Lagoon, a swimming hole, and Tham Phu Kham cave. When we crossed the bamboo footbridge, we saw boats, kayaks, and tubes. On our very bumpy ride, we saw motorcycle, four wheelers, two-seater carts and other vehicles tearing along the dirt paths to various attractions.

The Lagoon turned out to be quite small, and we simply enjoyed watching the folks jumping off the tree or swinging into the water. We climbed up to the cave, luckily arriving at a time of day when light streamed in, illuminating a Buddha shrine and paths deeper into the cave.

In the evening, as we were cycling around town, we were lucky enough to be near hot air balloons, taking off, rising up, for a sunset tour over the town and the river.

Alan's Charlie Brown Vortex

Sometimes travel includes beautiful bays, captivating cities, and lovely landscapes, complete with smooth running transportation and energy-filled bodies. Sometimes, however, travel includes other, um, variables. Here's a quick recap of two days that included not-so-great travel experiences.

Upon our return from Halong Bay (thanks, again, to all who donated to help us have that great experience) we checked back into our hostel and went out in search of dinner. We had enjoyed some tasty food from a food stall/street restaurant a few nights before and decided to try a similar place. The food was tasty, but within a couple of hours of returning to the hostel, we were both feeling fairly queazy, and by 9:00 pm, we had both experienced the various effects that accompany food poisoning. We'll spare you all the details, but it was a rough night for both of us, and for the other eight people sharing our dorm room/bathroom. There was also a fairly drunk young woman who came in, lay down to sleep in three different beds before finally passing out...in the wrong bed. That was an interesting interchange when the guy whose bed she was in returned at 2:00 in the morning.  But, I digress.

We had to be up early to catch a flight to Vientiane, Laos. The shuttle ride to the airport was fairly uneventful, but we took turns needing breaks as we worked our way through check-in, security, and boarding the flight. Alan actually sat on the ground as we waited in line to go through passport control. The long and short of it is that once we arrived at our hostel in Vientiane at noon or so, we both crawled into our bunks and passed out. Gracyn rallied us to get out and find something to eat around 5:30, and we were back in bed by 7:30 where we both stayed until the next morning.

As an aside, what is up with the person sharing a room with 10 other people who decides the air conditioning is too chilly and then turns it off? That happened a couple of times during our time there, once in the heat of the afternoon. Seriously, just turn it down a couple of degrees. Oy!!

We both woke up the next day feeling better, if not exactly 100%. We had a pleasant day exploring Vientiane and then caught a 2:00 (but really 2:45) bus to Vang Vieng that was supposed to arrive by 6:00 pm. All was going smoothly until 4:30 or so when the bus pulled over, we were asked to get out, and eventually told that another bus would arrive in "One hour" to take us the rest of the way. Sure, there was a food stand across the street, but after our recent 24 hours, there was no way we were going to eat anything there, and we weren't exactly ready for a big bottle of Laobeer. In the end, the bus arrived after two hours, we TOWED the other bus for a few miles, and then we slowly made our way to Vang Vieng, arriving around 11:00 pm.

So, while much of out trip is wonderful and amazing, there's a little look into 48 hours we're glad to leave behind.

Stay tuned for stories of Vang Vieng where we escaped Alan's Charlie Brown Vortex and things took a turn for the better.

Cruising in Halong Bay

Alan and I both rank this experience as one of our favorites of the whole trip. Our cruise was a 24-hour overnight stay on a Chinese junk boat, amidst the breath-taking limestone karsts (some 3000 of them) rising out of the bay. We were told two of the creation myths for this area-- one involves the sea god and mountain god fighting over a woman, and the other involves a dragon.

On Sunday morning, we were picked up in Hanoi by the cruise shuttle. Several hours later we had reached the coast, and were taken by shuttle boat out to our ship.

We were welcomed on board with glasses of passion fruit juice, and lunch was served shortly after. I had no idea that our meals would be so incredibly lavish, so it was a surprise to see a parade of 6-7 dishes each meal, including pumpkin soup, grilled mango salad, grilled oysters, chicken curry, grilled bass with mashed potatoes and ratatouille, and fresh fruit for dessert.

In the afternoon, we were taken to the "Surprise" or "Amazing" caves. We were shown around the 3 chambers of the cave, and told about various formations and their names.

Our second activity of the afternoon was visiting Soi Sim beach. The temperature was in the 60s, so instead of taking a dip (with the jellyfish), we climbed the 400 stairs to check the view from the top. Unfortunately, we did not see the monkey.

Once we were back on the ship, we took in a demonstration on the ingredients and assembly of the traditional deep friend Vietnamese spring roll. Alan so impressed our host (in the middle), that he was  challenged to a rolling competition. Alan wants to thank all the burritos he has eaten, which have prepared him for this moment.

I know what you've been thinking. What happened to the beer pictures?? Sadly, beer in Asia all tastes pretty much the same. So while we've been tasting the local beers, like Halong Beer below, we don't feel the need to document their existence.

We anchored for the night amidst many other ships, as this is a popular tourist activity. It was so quiet and serene, a welcome change from the cities and towns.

In the morning, we visited Leon Cave, an entry into a bay contained by a karst. We were very near to golden monkeys swinging, climbing, jumping and playing together.

After a final decadent meal (including chicken soup, vegetable salad, pock ribs with rice and squid, and cantalope) we were back on the shuttle on the way to Hanoi.