Larry's Travels
January 11

Well this blogging isn’t the greatest unless you have access to the internet all the time. We were in many remote places and since I was a novice at this program, I had a lot of trouble posting. Either the password wouldn’t take or couldn’t find the blog because it was so slow or just got fed up with trying to post when is was so slow.

Anyway, I am home now, safe and ready to go to work, I guess. A long vacation has its pros and cons. The pros are many but the cons are “you really aren’t interested in getting back to a schedule!” I am working with that con right now!

The flight home was really nice. Eva Air does a very nice job of making your travel enjoyable. They have four classes: Economy, Evergreen, Business, and First. Most airlines just have the three. Evergreen is a class between Economy and Business. You have a wider seat, which is all I am interested in and it is reasonably priced. I have the perks of using the lounge while in the airport and priority loading but not the high price of Business class. My routine is that I leave Bangkok at 4:55 pm (not the 6am flight of Northwest) and have dinner and watch a movie for the 3 hours to Taiwan, spend some time in the lounge and walk around in Taiwan, and then on the long leg home, I take two Ambien sleeping pills and sleep for 8 hours, wake up and in an hour or two land and I get my rental car and drive home. Last night I was home by 10:15 pm. The plane landed at 7:30 pm, went through immigration and customs and out by 8:15, no traffic going home and in bed by midnight.

Allen tried to get on the same flight but Eva was booked on the leg from Taiwan to LA until January 24. He really didn’t want to wait so tried the internet and unbelievably he got a flight the next day. He is incredible when it comes to travel details. He checked the internet and found that by using some miles he could upgrade to business class and get a flight, and then checked by phone and the people there said, “no possible seats in January, February, and March. He didn’t take no for an answer, went downstairs again to the internet and ½ hour later he had the flight. The ticket from Eva is refundable so he had to pay very little and was treated to a flight direct through San Francisco to Palm Springs. It really pays to not take no for an answer. It is crazy what games the airlines play!! No wonder they are all failing. Really stupid to call and be told no flights and then get one by yourself, so much for customer service.

We are now home, Allen is sleeping having arrived at 12:30 pm. It will take a few days to get up back in the swing of things but that is fine, we had an enjoyable time.

Grama is fine, still has some pain but looks great and the pills are working so she is getting around with her walker. Richard said she is weak but sure doesn’t look like it. Eating a lot of ice cream and maintains her appetite. Blood pressure is under control and she seems fine. She keeps saying “she is ready to go but no one wants her.” Her favorite joke! She will probably outlive her mother at 104.

Before our next trip, I will look for another blogging program and maybe just do a website instead. We will see.

Larry's Travels
January 3

While in Pattaya we beached, beached, and beached. The weather here is superb. Sunny, dry and warm! We have only to walk out the front of the hotel and we are on the beach. We were out late last night so slept in until 10 am and watched the guys in a trash truck try to get it out of the sand. They had attempted to turn around in this small frontage road and got the front wheels stuck in the sand. The truck was very heavy and it was very amusing watching a whole group of experts trying to get a consensus of how to get it loose. We finally gave up watching and took showers and had breakfast and by the time we walked out they had gotten it out. Very funny watching a group trying to figure things.

The beach here is very narrow because most of it is taken up by a ceiling of umbrellas. They take them down every night and put them up every morning. Very hard work for the boys but they couldn’t be nicer. They run up and down the little alleys of chairs fetching water, beer, food, and anything else you want. Once you pick out your chairs, they put a beach towel on the seat, put a small table in front of your seats and then anything you want. The water has been a bit cool so I only swam once. Met the nicest, amusing man named Kevin from New Zealand. He has been here for three months and is going back home in about a week. He has a great personality and sense of humor. His travels have been fascinating and all over the world. Spent three years in Bangkok, spent some time in Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and China. Very fascinating to chat and bitch about the same things we bitch about in America. He is quite an historian and I would guess him to be about 60-65. He lives alone and plans next year to spend six months here and six months in New Zealand. He owns about 100 orange trees on a large piece of property and that keeps him busy for the warm months and then comes here for the cold ones. Really a nice plan.

Other than that, not much news to report. We leave for Bangkok (about a 1-1/2 hour drive) tomorrow at noon and will be back to Sathorn Place, our home away from home. Plan on going back to the computer store and making some purchases, MBK (the large department store), visit a chicken farm (no bird flu) for
Aek and visit his father and sister here in Bangkok. My photoshoots have pretty much fallen through so we will have a full 6 days of wind-down. I leave on January 10th at about 11 am.

Allen called me this am from Cambodia and says he doesn’t feel well and may fly home with me on the 10th. That would be wonderful and I will call him tomorrow am and see if he still is interested in coming home early. Will keep you posted.

Larry's Travels
January 1

Well Thailand really came into the New Year with a bang, actually 9 of them. Thankfully they were small and only 2 people were killed but still it was a horrendous start of the year. It seems that these cowardly acts were intended to embarrass and hurt the economy of Thailand because now tourists will think twice about coming to this wonderful country. The backers of the ousted Prime Minister, Taksin, are thought to be behind the bombings. This is the first time these acts were aimed at this sweet and kind country and it is a shame.

They picked strange targets and thankfully they were antipersonnel bombs. One was put in a trashcan and killed an innocent man walking by. A couple of police traffic buildings and the Victory Monument in the center of Town. I think they were meant to intimidate the government and tourists more than really kill anyone but the results were the same. 2 dead and 34 injured.

Aek and I were in Pattaya for New Years and were treated to a wonderful fireworks display. Our small hotel is located right on the beach and we have a nice balcony overlooking the water and beach. Next door was a large dinner and show and they provided fireworks also. So we had a ringside seat for the show on the beach, next door at the hotel, north to the center of the town and south to the Jomtien area. All three were spectacular. We purposely had an early dinner just a few blocks away because there are many people on the streets and there is sometime about an Asian and fireworks and firecrackers. Unlike America, which waits until midnight to celebrate the New Year, these people can’t seem to wait and the fireworks and firecrackers started at about 6pm. I had my doubts whether they would have any left for midnight but I shouldn’t have worried. It was spectacular. Sipping cocktails on our balcony and watching the wonderful show and being private and not fighting the crowds and traffic was great.

Tonight they are having a street party in the Jomtein Plaza area, which is like a two story set of shops, restaurants, and bars. The cost is 200 baht, about $5.00 for a buffet dinner and drinks. Very nice thank you to the people in the area. Then we may go into town to do some sightseeing on the “walking street. ” People watching is at it’s greatest on this street. About a mile long, many shops, bars, entertainers, and just strange and funny people walk from one end to another. At least you don’t have to watch for cars.

Went to the beach, called home, and wrote a note on the internet to let people know we are safe and sound 2 hours south of Bangkok. No problems, no worry.

December 29

Have been having a bad time trying to get into the Internet with wifi in Kuching. And now since the earthquake in Taiwan it is even worse. I will try to update the blog in a little while. This computer is not equipped with wi-fi so I have to compose on this one and then go to Internet place downstairs and update.

Anyway, we made it to Kuching with very little problems. The nice people at Air Asia got us again for overweight luggage. Seems they make more money on overage than with the price of the ticket. But all is not lost. We spent the first three days in Kuching just roaming around the city, doing some gift shopping and eating. The restaurants are quite nice here and inexpensive. The city itself is really very modern. You would think that you were in America. Many upscale buildings, high-rises and many new cars. Not many motorbikes as in Cambodia and Bali. Oil money we think. The name “Petronas,” (as in the tallest building in the world in Kuala Lumpur, is very evident.) They are oil and gas people so that may be where the modernization is being funded. Many new three story complexes housing shops downstairs and living quarters upstairs. Seem to be in groups of about 20-25 units in each building and lots of them. The river winds through downtown and is very clean and upscale. Nice walking paths with eateries and food kiosks along the way. Beautifully lighted and very well used by the people. See many couples strolling along the riverside enjoying the nice weather.

Weather here has been very nice. Raining everyday but we have been fortunate to be inside when it does rain. Mostly at night the thunder and lightening presents quite a show from our 13th floor apartment. We have a very nice two bedrooms, two-bath apartment much like the one is Bangkok. Large living room, kitchen, and dining room. Very nice.

The country is mainly Christian, so that may be the reason for the very big show of fireworks, firecrackers and related celebrations on Christmas Eve. At the stroke of midnight the world light up, much like New Years Eve. The celebrations went on for about 30 minutes and were quite spectacular. About 3-4 different places were seen from our high vantage point and it was quite enjoyable. I wonder what they do on New Years?

We spent a quiet Christmas, just walking, eating and shopping. Most shops were open but many Christmas decorations were around. Two days after Christmas, on Wednesday we took a memorable tour. We visited Bako State Park. About an hours drive outside the city, this is a very large reserve. We drove to the dock and onto the boat, very small, and cruised up the river (very fast) for about 30 minutes to the entrance to the park. A series of Ranger station building in the middle of nowhere, many monkeys, and jungle greeted us. Our guide, Paul, was a very nice 30 year-old, and I mention his age for a reason. We are a gaggle of ages of 67, 63, 27, and 19. He is 30. The reason will become quite evident as I continue. We started our trek by walking across a series of elevated walkways, really quite nice and well designed to keep us elevated above the mangrove swamp of mud. The tides are really tricky here and they were in as we arrived at about 10 am. The boat docked and we could very easily jump onto the dock, not the same at the end of the day, but I digress.

We walked for about 20 minutes on these elevated walkways looking for different types of birds, rather elusive monkeys, and various plant and fish species. It is known for the populations of little silver monkeys and proboscis monkeys with the “Jimmy Duante” noses. Really strange looking, just sitting in the treetops and eating leaves. Well after the walkways came a path, little did we know that the path through the dense jungle would last for about 3-1/2 miles of uphill, narrow, tree root crisscrossed narrow, steep and not so friendly trekking. After we reached the top of the plateau, we found that we were in for an education of the three different species of “pitcher” plants. There are carnivorous plants with very unique apparatus for catching and digesting bugs and other insects. OH “did I mention that on about the ½ mile marker, it started to rain??????” Well it did! Were we prepared, NO! No slicker, no hat, except for an umbrella that we brought (only good for one) and too big for getting through the jungle and the steep climbing. Well let me tell you this 67 year old made it to the top, soaked to the skin, and the others made it quite well also. I was very proud of myself, albeit a bit wondering why we did this to ourselves. After seeing three out of the four species of pitcher plants we stopped the guide and said we have had enough. Seeking shelter in a small shelter, we rested and watched as the rain increased. After climbing the 3-1/2 miles, we were not looking forward to descending in a downpour but that is exactly what we did. While we were resting a couple from Singapore joined us and we enjoyed some talk with them. The wife was from Kuching and the man was originally from Australia, now working in IT in Singapore. He was an avid photographer with a large Nikon digital D-200 camera and enough lenses for National Geographic. They, unlike us, had been here before and were spending the night in the park. They were wearing rain gear and hats and we must have looked very strange to them. He turned out to be rather an odd geeky type of guy but nice. We visited a bit after we made it down the mountain.

After looking like five drowned rats we arrived back at the ranger station and were treated to a buffet lunch which surprisingly was quite good and welcomed after our trek. After lunch, the rain at stopped and we again set out to see some more monkeys. We had nothing to lose because we were about as wet as we were going to get but again we were treated to another long narrow uphill path. This time however we were a bit smarter and only went for about 1-1/2 miles, about 45 minutes and we said that was enough. The guide was very nice but I think he was disappointed in not going further. We had opted out of walking across the mangrove mud to see another species of something. We just looked at the mud and said “no thanks”. So we turned around and back to the ranger station. This was about 2:15 pm and we then were informed that our boat was scheduled for 3:30. The guide tried calling but failed so we sat and visited with the geek photographer and his wife for another hour. Meantime the weather had cleared and it was bright sunshine. Ah but the sage continues.

The tide was now wayyyyyyyyy out. Probably about three football fields from the shore, and the only way out. So off came the shoes and we slogged through the muddy flats to the shoreline, into the ankle deep water and to the boat. Back the 30 minutes to the dock and into the van for a very wet and soggy ride home. What a day. Needless to say the hot shower was very welcomed and we slept the night very well.

Amazingly, there were only a few sore muscles the next day but a lot of mosquito bites on this old body. I seem to be the sweetest of the bunch because I was bitten the most. After an itchy night, we set off again for another trek, this one much better prepared for. Of course with our mosquito repellent, rain slickers, sandals, and plastic bags for the camera, etc. The skies were clear and there was very little walking.

We visited the Orangutan Park and saw none of them. This is the fruiting season and they tend to have enough food for themselves so they don’t come to the feeding station where we were. We were a bit disappointed but certainly not heartbroken and took off for our second visit of the day, a typical “longhouse.” This is a series of apartment type houses all built to house the entire village. One long house with many different rooms or “dwelling” probably very important in the older days of the “headhunter” for protection but not so much anymore. No headhunters now but still some people chose to live in this fashion.

Decenber 23

Well we have been out of touch for a week because the internet is either very slow of nonexistent. We are now sitting in the Kuala Lumpur Airport because our flight has been delayed for 2 hours. Allen is very impatient but it is fine with me. More sitting is nice except after a three hour flight from Bali my butt is sore. We had a very nice time in Bali. Hip and Allen were toured by Gede, our guide on Monday, Tuesday, and Friday. On Wednesday we took a speedboat to Lambogan Island, just off the coast of Bali about 40 miles. It takes about 35 minutes by speedboat (bumpy) and then we spent the night in one of the cottage hotels there. Very nice separate modules with AC (which we needed) and took part in the water activities. Snorkling, banana boat, glass-bottomed boat and just swimming. The boys really enjoyed the banana boat (just a long raft with handles pulled by a speedboat. They try to dump you by swinging back and forth and usually success very easily. Got very wet. This was the first time Hip had ever even seen a snorkel and he thought you just put on mask and breathing tube and then swim. Took about 10 minutes to get him acclimated but then it was difficult to get him out of the water. Both boys really enjoyed the water sports.

After the afternoon in the water we had a good rest and then a nice dinner. There were very few people in the hotel so we had the dinning room all to ourselves. Very relaxing. The next day the boat returned us to Bali mainland at 3 pm. In the morning we rented motorbikes and took a tour around the island. Allen drove one motorbike and Aek drove the other one. Allen insisted we see the “underground house.” Really a ripoff. Some one craxy man dug a series of holes in the ground and living in the “molehole” for a number of years. We paid a man $2.00 each and crawled down into the ground like a gopher. “This is the living room, this is the kitchen, etc” he said and pointed to other side holes. Bumped my head twice and had to crawl in a squat position. And you ask why?????? Because Allen leaves nothing unseen!!!!!!!!

The days that Allen and Hip toured, Aek and I relaxed by the beautiful pool and spent some time with a friend who I met last year when we were in Bali. Very nice guy who is majoring in English Literature at the University and who is working as a clothes model. We shot some pictures and I gave him some pointers in photography and photoshop. We also walked to the beach and into some of the shops.

After the bombings here in Bali the tourist business has just stopped. Many very nice restaurants but no people. We had one restaurant across the street from out hotel that was very nice and had some people but mostly the restaurants had staff just sitting around waiting for business. There was a very beautiful restaurant called the Bawrak (means duck). Beautiful facility with about six staff but we were the only ones in the place. All decorated for Christmas. I just love it!!!!! Here we are in a Buddish and Hindu country and everywhere there are Christmas Trees and Christmas decorations. Weird.

Gede, our guide, has been doing a nice business since I set up his website. He is very charming but quite shy and I think a bit lazy. He is happy with just having a few customers. Doesn’t go out of his way to get business even though he calls me his “marketing manager.” Quite amusing!

Now we are on our way to Kuching (means cat) in Borneo and since we are delayed a few hours here we are hoping to be picked up by our service apartment. We have a nice two bedroom place and look forward to seeing some animal life and maybe some more water sports. Stay tuned.

December 16

Well everything has to come to an end and today is the end of Siem Reap. We accomplished a lot of things, including three temples, which we hadn’t seen before, meeting and hiring an on-the-ground administrator, Saltean. Signed up one more boy for school, met with some really nice people doing some great work for kids and families in Cambodia. Chris and Debbie doing the thing with the villages and the water filters, Tanya and Rem with Green Gecko, taking the street kids off the street for short times anyway. And Steve who has done a photographic project that is being displayed in the city and makes money for the street kids and gets them away from begging. Many good things going on in Siem Reap.

We are very happy to have found an administrator here in Siem Reap who is well known by the people we respect to be an honest and upright guy. He is 29 years old, married, and has one child. We are also sponsoring

Also had a chance to see the new private, very large, new museum, which will become a center post of cultural antiquities in this city. The building is huge and we just wonder how they are going to fill it and with what. Most of the artifacts have been stored in the National Museum in Phnom Penh, which is very run down and not very nice. They even charge you one dollar for taking a picture of their garden. After you take the picture of course. I’m sure the money goes into the guard’s pocket. Not the greatest interaction with the tourist. Sure turned me off.

Siem Reap has really cleaned it self up and is much nicer than Phnom Penh by far. I have no intention to go back to PP for any reason.

Anyway on the airport this morning at 9am for a 11:35 flight to Kuala Lumpur and meeting Aek. He had an 8-hour bus ride from his home to KL and then after arriving at 4 am, he has to wait until 2:30 pm until we arrive. We will have two hours if our flight is on time and this airline makes you go through all the immigration and pickup up your bags and then go back the check-in counter again and go through the board process all over again. This way they get the luggage overage charge again. Well done but a pain in the ass and very expensive. We do have heavy bags and they get us every time. We arrive in Bali at 9:40pm and hopefully the hotel will have a big enough transport for four bodies and 10 pieces of luggage.

Am planning of having a class on PhotoShop, general photography, and FrontPage – a website creator, and shoot three models. Don’t know how much will be accomplished in such a short time but I will do my best and also try to get in some much needed rest. Since I did the touring last time, I don’t have that to take time so Allen and Hip will do that. Looking forward to going to the Lomponang Island again and spending the night. Very beautiful place just one hour off the coast of Bali.

Gede, my friend and guide will take Allen and Hip to see the sites and that should free me enough to attempt some classes.

We are very happy to have found

December 14

We are still in Siem Reap. Went to the temple about 1-1/2 hours from here called Ban Maelia. Rented two monks so we could do some interesting photography but the temple was more in ruins than I had anticipated. We had to do a lot of climbing but I think I still got some good shots. The monks were 24 and 25 years old and varied their stay as monks from 8 months to 7 years. They were very good sports and I think they enjoyed themselves. The weather was wonderful, warm in the sun but quite nice in the shady areas. This temple was proposed to have been the model for Angkor Wat, built by the same King who built Angkor. The temple is in ruins more than Angkor and this has been both good and bad. The good was that they have built wooden ramps and the bad news is that they built wooden ramps. It sort of kills the original look of the place. I did manage to shoot around these obstacles but the difficult part was the climbing. I do feel my age when climbing up rocks and large pieces of broken temple walls.

This was the first temple we have visited on this trip and today we will visit two more places. Going by car as opposed to tuk-tuk was a live-saver. This is too long a drive for a tuk-tuk. You would be shaken and bounced and be very uncomfortable.

We have been doing mainly visiting “Green Gecko” and talking with another NGO who are working with building schools, drilling wells, and providing water filters for many of the small villages outside Siem Reap. These people are really saints in doing the work they do. They use the principle that teaches a man to fish and he will be self-sufficient for the rest of his life. They set up well-drilling companies with donated equipment and the village people all share in the benefits. Along with the water filters the village health rate climbs and everyone we better off.

The Green Gecko is a couple who lives here. The woman is from Australia and the husband is Cambodian. They take street kids off the street and give them some education for a few hours a day, one hot meal and help get them off the street and into productive small businesses, like selling greeting cards and books. We were happy that we introduced the idea of greeting cards to Tanya just at the time they were looking for something else to sell and they ran with the idea and the first day they sold 35 cards. Most of the money goes to the kids themselves and some to the school for the materials. They learn the cost of doing business and prices of raw materials. We were very impressed by the organization.

Everyone here has been very charming and doing good work for the common people. Lots of good people in the world giving up much time working and making peoples’ lives better.

Touring two temples today and other than that everything has been fine. Aek has called and his farm is back in good repair and he will join us again in Kuala Lumpur for our trip to Bali and Borneo. Look forward to seeing his smiling face again.

December 10

We are now in Siem Reap. I was here one year ago and it had grown quite a bit in one year. This time I haven’t noticed the growth but I have noticed how much cleaner it is. Maybe the fact they are the host city for a very large Korean Expo has something to do with it. I do know that they were jailing the beggars on the street because they wanted to give a good impression so maybe the cleanup was generated by the city to impress the tourists. If so, it worked because compared with Phenom Pehn it is night and day cleaner. Trash in the trash cans and even saw a garbage pickup truck. First one I’ve seen.

Met the “brat” Hip right after we arrived at the Golden Banana. This is a small guesthouse and the owners have built another upscale guesthouse across the street with a swimming pool. Very big change in this neighborhood! There is a Muslim temple or mosque that alternates playing very annoying “ice cream truck” type of noise and men’s voice reading something also annoying over a loud speaker. Where is it written that you must share your shit “music” or readings with the neighborhood? I have to wear earplugs when I want to take a nap. Also at certain times of the day they start banging bells at the temple to let people know the time I guess. Just enough to wake the dead I think.

Everything here in Cambodia is spirit-related. Spirit houses outside the home so the spirits will stay in these houses and not come in the family home. It must work because I haven’t seen any spirits yet. Been raining in short spurts today but hasn’t bothered us. Bunson, our original tuk-tuk driver from three years ago has now graduated to driving a taxi so he met us and we drove “dry” to the big central market to buy some clothes for Hip for the trip. Allen is taking Hip to Bali and Borneo and he only has about 10 articles of clothing to his name so we bought him some shorts and shirts for the trip. This will be his first time out of Cambodia other than a couple of days in Thailand. First airplane ride and first real travel. It will be interesting to see him out of his “element.” Some of you know that we first met him on a boat/souvenir shop on Tonle Sap (the lake) outside of Siem Reap. He is the middle child of three orphan boys who we have “adopted.” Hip’s older brother, Hun, was the boy we saved from rather certain death from TB. He weighed 60 lbs and was 19. Had breakfast with him this morning and he looks great. Now weighs 102 lbs and is healthy. All three boys live with Grama who we support each month with food money for the family. She is only in her 50s but looks very much older but has taken care of the boys for years on next to nothing.

Hun, the oldest, is studying English every day but has had very little education and cannot read, but everyday he rides his bike 45 minutes to school. He seems very dedicated and is very sweet. Has no concept that he was as close to death as he was. He just knows he was sick and is now better. The youngest boy, Serun, is the only boy that works. Seven days a week and sleeps at the construction site where he works. He is also very sweet and very quiet and unassuming. Very hard worker and brings money home to Grama every payday. So of the three boys, only Serun works, Hun has an excuse but Hip doesn’t and just bumps though life with his smile and “street smarts.” Only thinks of today, never any farther but is a good family.

So after buying some clothes for Hip’s travels, very cheap, we had lunch, used the internet phone to call home and check on Grama and came back to nap now. The annoying “ice dream truck” noise has thankfully stopped so am going to try to nap.

December 7

We spent only one night at the OK Guesthouse. It is a backpacker’s paradise but a bit rustic for us. The shower was good though with lots of volume of hot water. Rooms were small but not bad. On interesting thing was that instead of a blanket, they had a silk sheet. Remarkably it was warm enough but the outside noise was too much. A $10 a night, what really do you want? I am continually surprised at the number of backpackers of all ages in evidence in Cambodia. Some very well educated and successful people love trekking and backpacking and staying in very cheap accommodations.

Before dinner, we checked out a couple of other hotels but when you added the price for two rooms it quickly became evident that a Service Apartment was a good deal. These apartments are really nice, two bedrooms and two baths, first-rate televisions and furniture, security and very clean. Meant for executives who are staying for a week or more, they are a bargain.

We met Tmao, an accidental acquaintance of Allen’s who helped with Hip’s passport and Thailand visa. Very sweet and bright he is just starting his tour business and I think he should do well. Very personable and outgoing and very knowledgeable about Cambodia. We had a nice dinner by the river, which was actually the Phnom Pehn end of Tonle Sap the largest lake in Cambodia. There is a walking area by the side of the late where at night people congregate and socialize. May restaurants and bar line the street along the river and you certainly don’t have a difficult time finding a place to eat.

After dinner we crashed and had a lovely night’s sleep. The next day we toured the Grand Palace. Nothing particularly different from other Palaces we have visited except this one was not in as good repair. Seems like everything in Cambodia is just not very well maintained. Still lots of gold and fancy woodwork but sort of showing its age. We were wearing shorts so because of “respect” we had to rent long pants. So looking like we were wearing pajamas, we roamed the grounds. If I never see another Palace or temple I will be very happy. They represent vast amounts of money spent on these edifices when a lot of people are staving. Just a waste.

That night we met another friend of Allen’s who was just starting a job in PP. Very nice and very proud of his country and city. He told us of some unique places to visit, so it was nice to see someone who had some suggestions. We were really at a loss as to where and what to see besides the torture museum of the Pol Pot regime and the killing fields. I was not interested in seeing any more brutality. Allen had seen both places and “Aek and I were just not interested, and since Allen had already seen, we passed.

To sum up Phnom Penh, it is a very large city, very dirty, and very crowded. People sleeping on the street sidewalks, trash piles everywhere, extreme poverty, begging on the street, and overall not a place you would want to visit very often. However, the food at the many restaurants was good

Yesterday we received a message that my mother had taken a fall and was in pain at home. Richard was unsure whether or not she had another vertebral fracture and was taking her to the pain doctor that day. Not good news. She suffered a fracture last November and was just getting back on her feet. This is a setback. We will know more in a few days.

Also the typhoon that devastated parts of the Philippines seems to have skipped south of us but hit Aek’s home town with lots of rain and wind. His little chicken farm’s roof collapsed but he lost no chickens. He is worried about them however so we thought best he returns home for a week and rejoins us in Kuala Lumpur. He has been to Siem Reap a number of times so the time would give him a chance to check out things at home and repair the damages and still rejoin us. His home is in the southern most part of Thailand and only about five hours from Kuala Lumpur by bus.

December 4th

It has been some time since we have had access to the internet so the blog is not up to date. We have had an ok time in the northeastern part of Cambodia but since my experience with Cambodia has been limited to Siem Reap and Angkor Wat I had no idea how much the infrastructure was lacking. As Allen puts it, “it is so difficult to build or even maintain any part of the infrastructure when so much money is in private accounts of the country’s officials.” I think he is correct in saying that the "C” in Cambodia stands for corruption. We have not had problems except for the roads and the trip from Stung Treng to Ban Lung. This trip took four hours.

Using the word “road” may be a misnomer as it is more of a series of interconnected craters, ditches, gullies, potholes and ruts in red dirt. A short distance from Ban Lung, our destination in Ratanakiri (and the provincial capitol) we stopped to see the Kinchaan Waterfalls. I think we’ve always taken waterfalls for granted, but it seems that in southeast Asia, at least, they are a big deal. This was “just” a waterfall. But the most fun was watching the little kids who followed us down the hill to the falls, strip off their clothes and show us how they could jump from boulders into the water. They were a joy and having a lot of fun. I think we got some good pics of the kids with their showoff, smiling faces. After settling into our hotel, called the Tribal House, we rested a while and then our guide took us to the protected area of Boeng Yeak Lom which includes an intriguing circular crater-lake believed to have been formed 700,000 years ago by a meteor. The minority people living in the area consider it sacred and it situated amid pristine jungle. It is one of the most peaceful and beautiful locations Cambodia has to offer. It was soothing and relaxing and fun to watch the people enjoy the lake.

Ratanakiri Province has played its part in Cambodia’s tragic contemporary history, serving as a base for the Khmer Rouge leadership during the 1960s. Pol Pot and Ieng Sary fled here in 1963 and established their headquarters.

Most everything is very limited in Ban Lung, especially accommodations and eating places. The owner of our hotel, Mrs. Kim, has pretty good English and her daughter is attending Fresno State University in California. The snitzel was very good, but the service was slower than molasses. Tre, Mrs. Kim’s nephew is the waiter and his English is not bad, but he had trouble processing more than one thing at a time. Another character was Grama, who sat in the corner or slept, and another woman of questionable taste in fashion finished out the place. The rooms were adequate but the bathrooms had a unique plumbing system. The shower was fine, lacking some volume of water but at least hot, and the sink had a mirror. The uniqueness came in the sink drain. It just drained out onto the floor of the bathroom. So anything that was supposed to go down the drain, just went onto the floor and into the floor drain. Not the greatest design.


We started the next day with a 1-1/2 hour (to go approximately 18 miles) bone-rattling trip in a 4-wheel drive SUV to an indigenous cemetery which was supposed to be very unique. Well, let me tell you that after the ride over a road with four-foot deep ruts, back and forth, whipping forward and backward as well as the expected up and down and the worst part sideways, it was not worth the brutal punishment. This road was even worse than the road from Stung Treng to Ban Lung. Finally we got to the end of the road and to the river, got on a small boat with no seats, just sitting in the dug-out hull for about 60 minutes and arriving at a dirty set of stairs leading to a small village. Many of the people were sitting around in groups staring at the crazy foreigners wandering through their community. Others apparently were out working the fields in the forest. As the guide was rather unfamiliar with the village, he led us the wrong way and after about 200 yards, we turned around and went the other direction. Finally coming upon the cemetery, if that is what you would call it, we saw about ten graves with little fences around them with carved figures representing the deceased. The cemetery was very overgrown and uncared for and I couldn’t help wondering who made this a tourist attraction. There are many ethnic minorities in this area of Cambodia, many of whom I suspect don’t know or care what country their land is actually located in. The cemeteries are called chunchiet cemeteries and this one was of the Tampuon minority and the village is called Kachon. Typically, when a lengthy period of mourning has passed, the villagers have a big celebration and add two carved wooden likenesses of elephant tusks to the structures. Some of the structures date back many years and the ones in this village had no dates. Our guide told us that the ones in the Lao village have dates.

Back to the boat and back down river to a typical Chinese village. These houses, which were supposed to be typical, were actually unique in this country because they were so clean and tidy. Everything was neat and orderly and the trash was in the trashcans, not like the typical Cambodian house where the trash was all over the place. Somehow the Cambodians just don’t have much pride in cleanliness. After getting something from a roadside stand, they just throw the wrappings on the ground, thinking maybe someone else would pick them up, but alas no one does. The Chinese homes were very clean. And most have a shop where they sell goods to their neighbors in the next village, the Lao village. At one such shop one of kids had just brought in a python captured in the forest. It was really quite big and fortunately was contained in a netted bag. They will take it to the market in Ban Lung and sell it. We walked further to the Lao village, but didn’t go all the way.

Back on the boat and to the shack by the end of the road which was a makeshift restaurant. Fried rice was about as brave as we were able to attempt, which was actually quite good. Back into the car and another 1-1/2 hours of bad road back to the hotel.

After questioning the tour guide, Ra, we determined that the next day would be to see the gem-mining operation, again about 1-1/2 hours away with even a worse road, according to him. I elected to pamper my back and stay behind. This was a very smart move because my back felt a bit better. (Allen) I found the gem mining interesting. It is only about a 1 km walk from the road. It was interesting to see people under awning digging holes in what looked like a quarry. Everything is done by hand and apparently anyone can come here and dig for gems. I could never determine who actually owned the land. I kept thinking of blood diamonds from Africa, but here there is not a company involved as a slave driver. It is the individual’s choice to dig and with their fingers comb through the dirt, or not. Ratanakiri is one of the three gem rich areas of Cambodia and produces good quality zircon (blue and yellow, depending on the length and intensity of heating) as well as amethyst. Many of the stones are cut and polished in Ban Lung. There were several women digging while holding their babies or while their small children played close by. Everyone was very friendly and smiling. All of the stones I saw in Ban Lung were set in gold or gold plated metal or some other gold colored metal that no one could explain to me. It looked and felt to me like brass. We didn’t buy any jewelery there as both of us prefer silver to gold. However, in Phnom Penh we bought ourselves blue zircon silver rings as a 42nd anniversary present. Our anniversary will be December 29.


My hurting back and Aek’s waining interest in another 10-15 hours of bad roads unfortunately brought to an end our touring of the northeastern part of Cambodia. I think Allen would have gone on had it not been for us but I think he is OK with the decision to cut our touring by car and grab a flight to Phnom Penh. The bustling airport in Ban Lung presented another problem. Only two flights a week!. Monday and Wednesday and only when they have enough people to make the trip worthwhile. Our tour ended on Saturday so we had two extra nights to spend and then to the airport and to Phnom Penh. Our guide, Ra had already returned to Stung Treng, but had arranged for our driver, Mr. Hai, to pick us up and take us to the airport. He had already called us to say goodbye on Saturday afternoon when he left, but called us again to be sure everything went OK to the airport. He has also called us while we’ve been in Phnom Penh just to say hello. The dirt landing strip at the airport is crisscrossed by walking young kids and motorbike drivers before the plane arrives. Then the drivers for the tourist arrive and it’s quite the occasion. Needless to say, there are no security measures of x-ray machines, which is quite a nice change. The flight was fine, though we’ve never heard of the manufacturer of the plane. It had 44 seats and was about 1/3 filled.

We were met at the Phnom Penh Int’l Airport by a young man named Timao. He’s been a wonderful help to Allen in getting a passport and a visa for Thailand for one of our three foster sons, Hip. The need for the Thai visa came up rather suddenly in late September and he fronted the money for it. He also made two long distance phone calls to me during the process and they are expensive since he called from his office. Just 3 months ago he started his own tour company and I think his business is struggling, which makes his generosity all the more noteworthy. It was nice to finally meet him in person, as I had only met him quite by accident, via email during my inquiry regarding the passport for Hip.

He had made reservations for us at the Okay Guesthouse – a backpacker’s haven, for sure. Only problem is that with 18 pieces of matching luggage , we’re not exactly the backpacker type. They do provide toilet paper (with additional rolls costing 15 cents), but you have to provide your own soap. We did have aircon and hot water, but my room had no TV…and it had 3 beds – 2 doubles and 1 single, which meant there was hardly room to turn around. That lasted one night and we moved the next day to a very nice 2-bedroom serviced apartment that I had gotten information about from the internet and the manager.

November 29

Well, today was a banner day. The van picked us up at 9 am and we headed for the border of Thailand and Laos. We had to go through Laos to get to the northern part of Cambodia. We made it in about one hour to the border and easily went through immigration and into Laos. Kissed our guides goodbye (figuratively speaking) and we immediately approached by a nice lady who offered a van to take us to the Cambodian border. How they know we wanted to go there is still a mystery but it was very convenient. After some bartering about price, off we went on the 3-1/2 hour trip to Cambodia. Good roads until about 10 minutes from the border when all of a sudden a what we thought was a detour sign directed us onto a dirt road most of which was still in the construction phase. About three miles of bad road brought us to the poorest excuse of a border crossing we had ever seen. This was right out of a bad horror movie. There was just a shack and a few people from the nearby village standing around. We were directed to the shack by a guy about 30 years old with very few teeth and a t-shirt with the word Police on it. He rather gruffly asked for our passports and opened a drawer with nothing much in it and rummaged trough it to find a stamp. Discarding a few old stamps he finally found the one he wanted and proceeded to look through our passports page by page. Without a word he finally grunted and started stamping. This really encourages great confidence in where we were and what was happening. The two ladies who drove us were standing talking to some of the village people but we were left standing wondering where we go now!!!!! No cars, no official people, no bus, no nothing.

We asked the ladies what we do now and she said in broken English, we go to BBBB and then to Ban Lung to get visa. Oh I failed to tell you that when we asked for the visa, the policeman said no visa, no visa. Then why are we here and what is he doing with our passports??????? Very disconcerting!!!

One of the village guys when he saw how troubled we looked said the car comes, $30 dollars to get visa. No car was there, nothing!!! All of a sudden around the corner, in a cloud of dust, came our savior, Tien. The van was a wreck, he was a wreck, but he knew what he was doing and proceeded to start loading our bags into the back of the van, not through the tailgate but through the side door and into the back seats. Needless to say, we carry a few suitcases. One for Aek, one for Larry, and one for Allen plus the camera bag, the food bag, two backpacks and a total of eight bags. Tien, while smiling, which was a good sign, continued to load the bags, picking them up like they weighed nothing. Fully loaded, off we went, we know not where!!!!!

Well, you all know the meaning of “First Class,” “Business Class,” “Coach,” “Steerage,” this was not on this list of knowns!!!! This was disaster class. The van was filthy, and squeaky, but thankfully the engine sounded like it was fine. The “road,” if you could call it that was nothing but two ruts in the grass and weeds. Overgrowth of weeds in the middle of the ruts gave a very clear indication that this was not a well-traveled road. I couldn’t help but thinking that I was glad that we were the first people to reach the border and not the second group!!!!!!

Bumping, bone-rattling, thumping and jarring, did not begin to describe the ride. Thirteen kilometers of “non existent” road though the country on our way to “what we hoped” to get our visas. We followed the two ruts for what seems like more than thirteen km and finally there appeared a gravel road. One left turn and another 100 yards or so of and there was another small shack and a pull down gate bar. Behind this shack was another building with about 10 guys playing cards and eating. Tien directed us to the house and we were greeted by a man in an old strapped t-shirt, looking anything but official. He did turn out to be a very nice man who incidentally had two daughters in the school where Allen taught in Siem Reap. Quite a coincidence but welcomed in this situation. We started to feel some comfort. We filled out papers and then the stamps and the payment of money (no extra money here like at some border crossings). After the visa, we had to move to the shack because seemingly the immigration officer could only function in his “office.” This was officious!!!!!

After this ritual and many stamps later, we attain joined Tien at the car and proceed on an hour ride on a dirty road but smooth and well maintained. He was a very good driver and as dusk and darkness approached, we were happy about that. After about an hour we saw a few lights and what appeared to be water and Tien pulled to a stop and he said “boat”!!! Oh shit! Where is the boat in total darkness and how do we slep our eight very heavy bags onto this boat and where do we go. Again Tien to the rescue!!!!!!!!! He unloaded the bags from the van and picked up the heaviest one on his shoulder and grabbed another and I followed with two bags. In the darkness it was not easy to see where we were headed but finally approached a narrow wooden plank attached to a very small boat. Tien walked the plank and put down the suitcases and I did the same after almost stumbling off the side. A very young boat boy then started to pull in the plank and I had to yell at him that there were more people coming. Out of the darkness materized Allen, Aek, and Tien again carrying more luggage. We all safely were on board and the plank was pulled up and in total darkness the engine started and we were moving. The river was supposed to be crossed by a bridge the Chinese were building but it was not complete. Later we found that it is to be completed in 2008. In the mean time this small shuttle carries people from one side of the river to the other. It only took about 5 minutes to cross but in darkness we had no idea where and what we were to do on the other side. Tien was in total control, however, and rapidly off loaded the luggage onto the dock. Thankfully we didn’t need a plank this time but I lifted my bad onto the dock and realized I had made a big mistake. By lifting and twisting the heavy bag, it was just right to twist my back and I felt something I didn’t like move on my right side. People were hurrying off and onto the boat and we were trying to figure and count the bags and wonder where we were. At least this side had a dim light and a dock. Tien was off and running up the slanted road up to the street so we followed as best we could. Aek was carrying the heaviest bags, Allen was doing his best and I was limping with three bags following. When we got to the top of the street level, Tien was still walking and we looked like the rose parade without the roses. A bedraggled group of tourists with far too many bags! As we passed a few outdoor restaurants, other people were pointing and laughing at the crazy people looking like they just were saved off the Titanic

Well, Tien, all 4 feet, 8 inches of him, knew exactly where he was going and got us to the “best hotel” in the city of Strang Than. “Best” is a very qualified word, but after his ordeal it was a bed and a shower, even though there was no hot water.

Filthy, tired, confused, disoriented, and my case, hurting, we showered and ventured out into the small “town” trying to find something to eat before total collapse. There were only sidewalk eating places and it was 9 am and the first one was crowded but the woman said she was closed for the night. We went on the second one and it turned out to be fine. Good food (fried rice with pork) again but there was one waited named Ra who was also a guide and we planned the next leg of our journey. He arranged a van to pick us up the next morning and in 3-1/2 hours we would be in Ban Lung. After dinner we all collapsed and had a very deep sleep.

November 29


Well, we have breatfast this am and started for the border of Laos at
Chong Mec. Unloaded the baggage, wnet through Tahi immigration and then Laos immmegation and paid for Visa on arrival and off we went. We are now in a van racing at 45 mph toward the Cambodia border. If we are lucky we can make in one day but maybe have to spend the night inh Laos.

Yestewry was rather uneventful with Allen not feeling good after a 6 mile hike up 600 feet to see an early Cambodian temple much like Angkor style. The access to what was really four temples has easier access from the Cambodian side. The first temple has 162 steps reminiscent of of the Great Wall of China with very large steps and very uneven intervals. Not easy to navigate. Past the first temple it didn’t get easier. We did make it to the top with the help of 16-17 year-olds as guides. They really wsatne use to buy their postcards but since we make our own they just told us where to walk. We did pay attention to the signs thqt identified mine fields that were cleared. Smart us!!!! The French have done a very good job of paying for the clearing of most mine fields in Cambodia but still have a lot of site to clear.

The ride here is fine passing a lot of smallout houses with cattle and chickens along the road. Our drives and her co-pilot is a woman and they seem very nice. We have a four hour ride and al least have AC.

November 26, 2006

After a late start, we had breakfast and off for our first stop at Phrathat Bang Phuan. This old pagoda is 34 meters high and houses the holy relics of Lord Buddha. We were approximately 20 minutes out and the van stopped. Overheated again and we are stopped at the moment. We will see how far this will take us.

We never made it to the temple, but we did make it to our next overnight spot – Nong Khai and checked into our hotel. We are excited about being here because it is on one side of the Mekong River and Vietianne, Lao is on the other side. They are connected by the “Friendship Bridge,” built in 1994. The advent of the bridge has turned the sleepy town on Nong Khai into a more bustling place. We’re excited because our friend, Vilai, who was our guide in Vientianne December, came across the bridge too visit us. We were pleased to learn more about his wedding plans. When we met him last December, he had 3 “darlings” (we would call them sweethearts or girlfriends), one of which is the daughter of the Chief of Police. I always kidded him that he wasn’t careful or acquired any more “darlings,” his ass would end up behind bars. This is the darling to which he is now engaged. Vilai is 24 and she is 21 and in her last year of university studies in cultures. The 2 families met at the end of October to come to agreement on the marriage and the dowry, etc. They will be married at the end of December, but there is not yet a specific date, but apparently, the guest list for the wedding party must be somewhat extensive as much of the police force will be invited.

Like Cambodia and Thailand, rather than gifts, the people who attend the wedding party put money in an envelope for the new bride and groom. Like in the other 2 countries with which we are familiar, beer flows endlessly and there is loud music and much dancing. Similar to Cambodia and Thailand, it is also common for the couple to live with the bride’s family after the wedding.

When we talked to Vilai at 2:30, it was our understanding that he could be at the Thai side of the bridge in 30 minutes. After another van overheating and 5 of us hopping in a small tuk-tuk to go to the bridge to meet Vilai, it was 4:30 before he entered the Thai side – a far cry from 30 minutes. But we just chalk it up as ILT (it’s a Lao thing), which is much like ITT (it’s a Thai thing) and ICT (it’s a Cambodian thing)! Now we had 6 people in the small tuk-tuk, which was much like the little train that could, even with Beer sort of hanging off the front right side.

We rode to the Indochina market, which is quite large and very neat, organized and clean (unlike the markets in Siem Reap). But…while these are supposed to be products from all over southeast Asia, to our eyes, there was nothing new or different. However, it really didn’t matter, as we were far more interested in our conversation with Vilai. No serious shopping today!

Eventually we ended up in the courtyard of our hotel for drinks, later to be joined by Beer and A, when they returned from the mechanic’s garage. The list of liqueurs did not include Bailey’s Irish Cream, but did include Benedictine, which is what I ordered. But the waiter returned to say the Benedictine was “finished,” so I ordered Cointreau. A few minutes later the waiter returned with a tray of liqueurs from which I could select my drink, as the Cointreau was also “finished.” I decided to have a vanilla milkshake, with vanilla ice cream instead. The vanilla ice cream was more like vanilla ice milk. During drinks, Beer told us that A would spend tomorrow having the van repaired and that he had hired another van for the trip to Ubon Ratchathani. No more breakdowns would be a good and welcomed thing.

We took Vilai to dinner at a restaurant along the river that he was familiar with. It was just the sort of place we wanted – not crowded or hurried and with a picturesque setting along the river. We told Vilai that we would not be able to attend his wedding, but we gave him a cash gift to help with the expenses. He was very touched and happy. We took him back to the bridge to catch the last bus back to Lao and as we said our goodbyes, there were tears in his eyes, which then touched us. It is amazing the impact that people can have on each other (and the joy that can be received and given), even when knowing each other for a very brief time. It is highly unlikely that we will ever see Vilai in the U.S., but who knows when or if we will ever return to Vietianne!

To be continued.

November 25, 2006

After a rather strange but good breakfast we were off the see the archaeological dig at Ben Chiang Museum. First we went to the pit where a student from a study group accidentally tripped over a tree stump and fell and his hand grabbed some broken shards of very ancient pottery. A dig was started and they were able to date the broken pots from 4,000 – 7,500 years old.

The museum is divided into two parts. The first part stores antiques, old artifacts, ancient Ben Chiang cultural tools and utensils that showcase ancient technology and surroundings as well as earthenware pots.

Then after a somewhat long drive we visited the Naga Palace. The Naga is a spiritual snake said to have powers. A long winding “snaking” path with the naga (snake) on both sides was under construction and wound to a small temple made of while plaster. The interesting part of this trip was the large gong-like circular noise makers. The gongs hung from frames and they were played by little 10 year old girls that had the nack of making them work. These were not struck but rubbed by hands and created a very unearthly sound when rubbed correctly. We all tried to work them but only the kids were able to make them work.

We bought a few trinkets for Grama, bracelets, and things and then took off for the next place. The drive was long and finally we got to back to the hotel, worked on the blog, unsuccessfully, while Aek and Allen napped, and had dinner at a local street-side barbeque restaurant and went home early.

November 24

Well another beautiful day in Thailand. Was picked up by Mr.Beer and Mr. A in the van we have rented for 6 days on our wanderlust journey into northern Thailand. Mr. Beer is from Chaing Mai and 24 years old and in business for himself, touring and driving. Mr. A is the relief driver and owns the van. They are both very nice and fun to be with.

We left in a blaze of dust and proceeded out of BKK north through some heavy traffic and out to the main highway. Going north our first stop was Lopburi, the home of the monkey temples. Young, small, large and medium monkeys all over the temple we had to watch the camera, eyeglasses and cell phones because the little buggers would snatch anything they could grip and run with. Some pregnant ones and many, many babies. Also there were ruins left by the Khmer (Cambodian) people from the 13th century. Rather fouled smell from the monkey business but very small in comparison with the Angkor Wat temples.

We had a nice lunch in a small open-air restaurant and received a phone call from Jonard in the Philippines. Nice to hear from him. He is again requesting a Visa for the US on Nov 29 but if he doesn’t get it he will just go to plan B and continue to with his new company, be trained there for six months and then automatically get a work visa for Los Angeles, ( This is our 24 year old friend with an engineering degree from Manila). Has been dreaming of working in the USA and now has an opportunity.) He is very bright and will soon have his dream come true.)

After lunch we starting heading out of town but had some motor trouble (overheating and had to kill some time in the local mall shopping and have some ice cream drinks.
The time went quickly and we were on the road again.

November 23

After a good night’s rest we left to go the MBK and Pantip Plaza. MBK is very large department store where they sell everything known to man. I had caught the corner of the glasses on my carry-on baggage taking it out of the overhead and broken the nose piece off. So we first when to a glasses place and they fixed it in less than 10 minutes. Then my mobile phone was not working so we went to the mobile-phone floor and fixed that, then to Pantip Plaza where we were looking for a used lap-top computer for Aek. He has a difficult time getting time at the Internet Shop at home in Hat Yai and is much easier to contact him by computer. He has been so wonderful to us over the years and has so little that we wanted to do something special and utilitarian for him. We were very fortunate to get a very nice Acer used laptop with Microsoft XP and a few programs loaded with wi-fi for a bit over $300. Good bargain and very clean.

After that we took a long taxi ride back to the apartment through BKK traffic and finally arrived home about 5 pm. After a much longer nap than planned we struggled up and went around the corner for a less-than-wonderful meal. It as 9pm and there was no one in the restaurant and we suddenly found ourselves surrounded by all nine personnel. I think we were the first people they had seen in some time. They hovered. Very disconcerting when you are eating and trying to carry on a conversation with everyone staring at your every bite. Even the kitchen staff came out of a look. Being the very daring Allen, he ordered “fish cakes” which turned out to be made from rubber and tasted even worse. He was nice enough to insist that I try a bite and after subtly gagging, I passed on helping him finish his meal. Aek and I had pork fried rice which as passable and actually quite good. We finished and left not giving them the greatest recommendation and packed and went to bed.

Larry's TravelsNovember 21

Well my day was blessed then leaving Taiwan, my name was called while waiting to board the plane to BKK. Of course we always awfulize the worst when your name is singled out from 300 other people. I approached the counter and was pleasantly surprised that I was upgraded to Business Class. I have no idea why but I was not about to argue. Unfortunately, after having a big meal on the Los Angeles to Taiwan leg and sleeping for 11 hours I was in no shape to take advantage of the perks of Business Class with the exception of a larger and very comfortable seat. This was a charming addition to the otherwise great service of EVA Airlines. They really do a great job.

I passed on the breakfast and concentrated on reading my book for the 3-1/2 hours to BKK but did enjoy the seat.

Aek met me at the arrival area of the beautiful new and VERY LARGE BKK airport. It is now the largest airline terminal in the world. Very slick and modern but a very long walk from the gate to the terminal. The moving walkways certainly helped but still a long walk. Immigration was a breeze with many slots and since I was one of the first people off the plane there was no line. The baggage was arriving as I got to the baggage area which is incredibly fast considering the amount of people and luggage on the 777. As I watched the first bag came off easily but my large suitcase was the only one that got stuck and landed on the top of a ledge of the baggage carousel. Asking the assistance of the guy handling the baggage was no help because he was too short to reach the bag. Thankfully a generous, very tall fellow tourist reached out and grabbed the bag and it went merrily on its way. Chasing it down, I finally was able to load it on my cart and off I went.

They now X-ray all the luggage as you exit the customs area, so again I had to lift the heavy bags onto the belt and again lift them off the belt and back onto my cart. Someday I will learn to pack lighter or not bring so much stuff to friends in Thailand and Cambodia!!

Aek was waiting with a big smile at the arrival area so I had someone who knew where to go from here. Poch, our first guide and now a friend, was there also with our friend from Bangkok Airlines, Arm. I will never thank Arm too much for getting me out of Phuket the day after the tsunami in 2005. It is nice to have friends in the airlines.

After a short wait, Allen arrived from Phuket and we all piled into a taxi van and off we went to Sathorn Place.

The afternoon was taken with updating Allen’s travels and my experiences for the last 3-1/2 weeks since Richard and Allen were in Asia.

After a short nap we joined some new friends at one of our favorite restaurants, Sphinx, for a very nice dinner. Allen had met two cousins from Napal. We both immediately thought that this was India but learned many new things about a new country for us. Katmandu was their home and one of them at 26 owned his own cosmetics company with over 25 lines of cosmetics. Very quiet and shy he is really on his way to much success. Very nice guys.

After dinner we went home for a very nice good nights sleep.

Getting ready for trip

I am very excited about returning to my friends and places in Thailand and Cambodia. I will be meeting Allen on November 21st in BKK. My friends Aek and Poch will meet me also. For a change I will be arriving at about 11am in BKK instead of 2am like in the past.