It feels good to get back on the road again,the past few months since finishing the Camino have been a little unsettled. I have spent time on my house in the hopes of selling it, and resigned from my position as a board director for of one company, and president of another. Sold my stock in the one company, prayed the stock in the other would take off, and promised to stay retired.
I broke a three tooth crown over Xmas which the dentist wanted $5,000usd to replace, two weeks ago I broke another one, so the bill, with two root canals is going to be in the vicinity of 14,000 to 16,000 US dollars ( this story gets better), so when I found this opportunity to go back on the road to two countries I have never travelled in, then convinced one of my greatest friends and travel buddies to join me, life was good again.
Like me, Caroline has been to Thailand before, but not Cambodia and Vietnam, so the Hawaiian hurricane was all excited to go and we booked on the spot. Very few times do I do an organized tour when I travel, but this felt right and the little boy in my needed to be pampered a little. I listen to him more and more these days.
From Los Angeles to Shanghai to Bangkok, 24 hours on a plane, normally I am good watching movies etc, and eating crap airline food, but this was a tough trip for some reason, not to discount the effect the lady next to me had on the journey. She seemed nice enough, from China , had an unbelievable propensity for regular, consistent, silent gas. 13 hours of it, REALLY, why couldn't she just settle for crappy airline food, and spare my the broccoli. One of the attraction of India and Asia for me, are the sights, sounds, and smells of the cities,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,today,,,,,,,,,,,,,,not so much.
I staggered off the plane in Shanghai, and had two beers, I never drink and fly, it dehydrates me, but this felt right.
Arrived at my hotel in Bangkok at 2.30am Thai time and died in bed, till my body clock said wakey wakey about an hour later, travel is so much fun.
I meet my best buddy who I have travelled many times with for breakfast in the morning, really looking forward to seeing Caroline, as she continues her barrage of "why Hawaii is where I should move to". The last trip she and I were on, with John and Jackie, was Nicaragua, about 4 years ago.

breakfast day one, along the river

Why this trip, well I am a bit of a seeker and there is something very serene about budism, and the people who practice it. I myself use some of the budist teachings in my daily on goings. There is also a lot of fascinating history here that still hasn't been westernized of commercialized . The food is great, and the noise and colors are enlivening, plus it's a new day in a new place.
Namaste

Sunday March 14th
Ignore the date stamp, I am manipulating the publish time so the read is top to bottom, this is easier to read.  Had breakfast on the river, then headed to the Chatuchak Markets, Thelma ( AKA Caroline/ well hung ( she was a wall paper hanger once)) needed a new sun hat, she got one and now I walk ahead of her, its a bloody ridiculous hat,

but that's our Thelma. The markets were really interesting, and if you didn't know how to barter, you were screwed. They covered many blocks, dark dingy alleys, and smelly back streets, but a great experience.

 From there, I dropped into a dentist office who I had been emailing, I was suitably impressed, so tomorrow I find out if they can do anything for the broken teeth.
There is something strange about all this human mass and vehicles bustling  along the crowded streets, they don't drive here, they dodge. Then I realized what was missing, and found out it's illegal to blow your horn in Bangkok, they should try that in other parts of the third world.

Thailand was originally known as Siam, there are 67 million people here, and 12 million live in Bangkok, its rushed and crowded, but somewhat peaceful, maybe because 90% of the population are buddists.  Contrary to popular belief, Buddhism is not a religion, its a way of life ,but here Buddhism is strongly influenced by the Hindu religion.

I never realized that Bangkok is Thailand's 4 the capital city, and is the only country in S E Asia that was never colonized. You have Burma etc colonized by the British on one side, the French on the other, the Dutch and America along the other border, but never Thailand. Apparently this was because the king was a great negotiator, and befriended the Russian Czar, who said " if anyone invades you, I'll take care of it,,,,,,mate".
Anyway, King Rama founded Thailand in 1782, the King Rama the 4 the, ( the king and I) was the one who brought in the European influence and Western education.
Dinner tonight was at a street vendor, good old Street food which for me is the best. Tomorrow the group have a tour to do, I have a dentist.

The weekend markets

So the tooth debacle, as it turns out, where the one bridge broke off, it left enough tooth to save, but needs a root canal , two of them, and two posts to support the new bridge.
Six hours all told, in the chair, and the work is done, I come back in two weeks on my way home for the temps to be removed, and the new bridges to be installed. I have been blown away by the service, the professionalism, and cleanliness, and the courtesy,  I would recommend anyone who needed a significant amount of dental work to be done, to consider coming to Thailand. What was going to cost me between 14 and 16 thousand US Dollars at home, cost me 4 thousand here, and they did a great job.
Tomorrow I am off to the Grand Palace and the famous Emerald Buddha. But for now, a little Street food will do the trick

Mouth felt like I had been run over by a fat tooth fairy this morning, but I'm not surprised. Had breakfast with Thelma on the river and we headed out to the Grand Palace.  No shorts allowed, which seems insane in this heat, but, it is what it is. Stopped in at the Pakklonttalab Flower market on the way, very interesting, and I'm having trouble inserting photos to my blog, but when iI get it organized, I'll drop some in.
The government, in order to curb the drug industry ( opium) of the Golden Triangle near Chang Mai, are encouraging the farmers to grow cash crops now, hence the huge growth in the flower market industry. A very fun place to walk through, Caroline is a gardener, I though she was going to have a cadenser..

The Grand Palace was spectacular, remenicent of the Forbidden City in China, but so interesting. I didn't know you could fit what seemed like 10 million people into the 65 acres of the palace, but you can.

THE ROYAL PALACE

 Most of the palace and the Stupa's are covered in gold filament. Gold is an inert metal, so over the hundreds of years , has not corroded.

The other buildings that are covered in ornate ceramic tile, well that's clever because when the Thai send goods to China by boat, the boat came back empty, so because you needed balast in the hull to stop the boat capsizing, the Chinese would fill the hull with their broken pottery, the Thai would then use the pieces to build the mosaics around their temples.
The Golden pinnacled buildings are Stupas, solid temple like buildings, often containing buried relics, or a bone from a priest or something.

The Emerald Buddha (photo above) was very interesting, but tiny. I expected to see something large. That's what you get for assuming I guess. Kind of underwhelming, like the Mona Lisa.
In North Thailand in the 15 the century, they had a huge storm, a bolt of lightning hit this old Stupa and broke it in half. A priest saw that a ceramic Buddha had been buried in this Stupa, so he saved it. One day cleaning the Buddha, some plaster came off its nose, and there was the Emerald Buddha inside that. A bit if a surprise once again. Sothe Emerald Buddha was sent to the palace as a gift, put on display and held in much reverence. One day a geologist got to inspect it to see if it was made from a single rock, it was, but it turned out to be green Jade. Can't win em all I guess, but it'sstill known as the Emerald Buddha.

Going to the night market tonight, yay for Streetfood. again, and i just might treat myself to a big Belgium beer.

Wednesday the 16th,,,,,,got up early and headed for the airport. Was an easy commute but a bit of a run around at the airport. A short flight to Cambodia and off to lunch before the hotel.

this was the best lunch so far. A banana flower salad and a coconut vegetable soup, unbelievably tasty. We are at an open air restaurant and finally got to get to know some of the others on touran hours or two in the pool at the Royal Empire Hotel, staying here is like stepping back in time, quite humbling.

Dinner at a restaurant down town, with traditional dancing. I love this country, it has a warm feeling about it, the food is great, the people very friendly, and the preserved traditions are everywhere.
I noticed that it's very flat, and that's emphasized by the fact that there are no tall buildings either, I then  learned that no building can be erected that stands taller than the Ankor Wat itself.

Coming into Cambodia, we skimmed down the border of Laos. Originally, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam, were collectively known as Indo China,  Cambodia being the oldest kingdom in South East Asia.  Got a bit of a shock when I changed money, the exchange rate is 4000 Reils to a US dollar, I became an instant millionaire, and they have no coins either. This is the only country that uses Reil money,,,,,,,,,,da dum!.
This too is a Buddhists nation, but different to Thailand, the people are calm and its not so manic when your walking around. There are lots of trees as well which makes it more pleasant. Like I said, i really like it here, would like to stay longer. Tonight I took a ," tuk tuk " motorcycle up to the night market, this place hums along like no where else, and PUP road was abit of a sensory overlaod, music Street food, clothing, everyone going 100 miles an hour. I brought some loose pans for the Temple tomorrow, the came home, I'm going back tomorrow after visiting what I really came here for. Angkor Wat
Looking forward to tomorrow, early start

This morning we headed out to the temples of Angkor Thom, these temples built around the old capital and were Buddha temples that were later taken over by the Hindu religion.
but before I continue, I have to tell you about the night markets. We found a Dr. Fish Massage tank, where the tiny 1 inch fish chew away you dead skin. I found a tank with 4 inch fish, all the more fun.
Now, as it turns out, Caroline is a real girl, I had to convince her to put her feet in first by paying for her (that was 2 dollars for 45 minutes, plus a free beer). all the whole night market could hear was her screaming, I had to lay across her legs to keep them in there, by the time we were done, the fish were deaf

my point exactly, what a girly girl

tickles like a you know what

 All the Buddha's in Ankor Tom were removed and slight changes made to accommodate the new beliefs and the gods to Vishnu, Brahma, and Shiva. These temples later reverted back to being Buddhist  at a later date. Today it is no longer considered legal, or respectful, to buy and remove Buddha statues or trinkets from the country.

The faces of angkor Thom are from the Buddhist period, and the photos show how well some have been preserved by the forest overgrow through the years.

After a few hours in Angkor Thom, we headed out for lunch. I had a Khmer yellow curry soup, I can't begin to tell you how good the food is here, I loved it.
 Back to the hotel fora swim after lunch as the temperature was at 112 degrees F.
 At three we headed to Angkor Wat, this was primarily why I came, I was not disappointed.
 This is one of the most impressive religious sights I have been to anywhere, and the scale of the complex is surprisingly large.AND, all my photos have disappeared, I will try get some from Caroline. I now have those photos, thanks Thelma....ANKOR WAT
The photos speak for themselves,, and the Vietnam war has left its marks on the place as well.

I knew of campuchia, but didn't realize that Campuchia and Cambodia were one and the same. When it all boiled down to it, that war was communists fighting communists, the Khymer were nothing but communist Cambodians, who when given the freedom to, committed  the worste of attrocities.

 Our guide was very open about his experiences as a soldier, and as a family who lost a brother, sister, and uncle, and who's father ran away but re materialized again three weeks after the final elections when the Khymer finally signed the peace treaty. But our guide said the attrocities continued all the way up till 1996, unreported.
As for the Temple complex, it took about 60 years to build, and is very much a Hindu  temple, with Buddhist  temples along the periphery.

This was very special, being able to visit the temples here in Siem Reap,

good buddies

this corridor ran 200 meters

the central tower

so I am grateful for the opportunity and hope to return again someday, as for now, it's back to the night market . I want to try some very local cuisine.

It' another day, the 18th, and we are in for a long day today, I had breakfast which was a good idea seeing as I had a late snack on a large Tarantula at market, followed by a large scorpion. The scorpion was quite crunchy, so much so that the shell cut the roof
of my mouth, the spider was hairy, and neither tasted worth a damn.
, not something I would gem
 Generally recommend, but I'm here so if not now, then when?

With that in mind, we left for a visit to an area where people had resorted to living on floating barges of bamboo on the Tonie Sap Lake. On the way there, we got to ride in Ox Carts, pulled by water Buffalo. That's quite the experience.

What surprised me is that these big creatures don't Moooo as you would expect a cow to do, they make this silly little squeek like a small dog with larangitis. Anyway, it was a fun ride,, we arrived at these long boats where you sit in single file, and scoot through this narrow canal waterand out into the lake. The people live on these houses floating on bambo pontoons. Some never leaving the place. One guy I spoke with said he didn't even know how to ride a bicycle!, that seemed ridiculous, but when I looked around, I realised his predicament, if he had ridden a bike, his lungs would have filled with water

Even the school was floating on the lake, the school being supported by the " assembly of God " charities, and the "one child counts program".

The school being free until the 7 th grade. From that point on, school costs, which then makes it unaffordable for the majority of the fsmilies It's amazing how well these guys survive with three batteries and a 12 inch square solar panel. .that's enough to run a TV , and maybe a light at night.

School bus

the barber hard at work.

Tonight we climb  aboard an Air Vietnam plane and landed in Saigon,or otherwise known at Hochiminh City, what a contrast to last night. I am dead tired, so off to bed and tomorrow should be fun.
I am taking off away from the tour, to visit the Cu Chi tunnels. These tunnels were built by the Viet Cong during the French Vietnamese war of1946 to 1954. Then used by the Viet Cong as a base of operations during the Tete Offensive of 1968 against America.