We spent the day at Patara Elephant Farm on a magnificent adventure. Elephants are lovable animals, BUT, they eat constantly and they poop every 2 hours, about 6 or 7 bocce-ball-sized whoppers. And you don't want to stand behind them.... This particular operation is unique in the Chiang Mai area in that their mission is to increase the elephant population by natural means, as opposed to the artificial insemination done at other places, which, as Pat says, produces babies, but also produces mothers who have no idea why they are pregnant and thus don't develop maternal instincts. An interesting tidbit is that all the domestic elephants in Thailand have microchips embedded in their skin and they are licensed, not like a cat or a dog, but by the Department of Commerce, just as a truck is. ... read more

Onward Here it is, my usual 3:30 wake-up time. I think I'll try to keep this schedule, as it allows me to write this blog after a good night's sleep and with nothing else to do. It will also hold me in good stead for the anticipated rooster early wake-up calls, the witnessing of the giving of alms to the monks at dawn and the sunrises at Angkor. Since the sun sets around 6 PM in this part of the world and since night life is not a part of OUR life, we can feel free to go to bed by 8 and everything will work out just fine. This morning we were picked up at our hotel by Dara, Tu, and Tu's son. Dara was a school teacher in Nakhon Phanom in 1965 when Bruce ... read more

Bangkok Photos Here, belatedly, are a few photos of Bangkok. I tried with no success to get my wifi fixed on my netbook, so I am still having to copy the blog and the photos onto a flash drive then go to a public computer to upload both to TravelBlog. We'll be on to Luang Prabang, Laos today for 5 days so hopefully I'll be able to find somebody there to fix it ... read more

Gettin' Antsy The plane tickets are purchased, the itinerary is set, the hotels booked, the clothes bought, the shots endured. It's 7 days and counting! What have I forgotten (whatever it is I'll be sure to remember it as soon as I get on the train headed for the airport)? What will go wrong (hopefully only things that will result in a fun new adventure)? I hope that I can do as promised and provide you with some interesting stories, observations, and photos of our 50th anniversary trip to Southeast Asia! We leave October 24 by NJTransit train to NYC, then Long Island Railroad to Jamaica Station and the Monorail to JFK Airport. It's amazing to me that, except for a mile-long ride to the train station, we can go from our house to Bangkok without ... read more