It was sad checking out of our posh hotel in Bangkok. We could've stayed a few more relaxing days but we were off to the next destination. A hop, skip, and a jump flight to Singapore left us in the 88F humid air of this large city. Once again, we had a great luxury hotel (Conrad Centennial) but Tammy scored a Priceline.com deal for $79 (tax included). The hotel is next to a ton of shopping complexes and has a HUGE fountain out front. The fountain is called the Fountain of Wealth and is located in the middle of a gigantic [View Full Entry]

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With one last day left, we say goodbye to Ayutthaya and take the train south to Bangkok. We ended up taking a cheapo 3rd class train. We left at 6:40AM so lack of air conditioning and other amenities was fine and for basically $1 total for both of us, it's a bargain. Took 2 hours to reach Bangkok since we stopped at every lil po-dunk crossing in rural Thailand. It was an enjoyable trip and we liked the countryside. There were a few very squalid places along the way with people living on pieces of lumber over stagnant water or under [View Full Entry]

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Ayutthaya, the land of endless sun. Beautiful blue endless sky with not a cloud in sight. Nice wind but all it does is disguise the fact you're searing your flesh. We had a wonderful night's sleep last night (not that we hadn't before in other guesthouses but our room was pitch black with all the shutters closed so we had no idea how late it was). We slept almost 12 hours and arose at 9AM to be the last guests up and about. Rick was anxious to head out to the Aranyik knife village that is about 40min outside of town. [View Full Entry]

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Today was another travel day. We left the comfortable and welcoming guesthome of Baan Rub Aroon to fly back to Bangkok. Nong and her staff were so kind and we thank Nine, Ploi, and Tip profusely for their help. Special thanks and most warmest regards to Nong for being a wonderful hostess and making sure we ate well and experienced as much Chiang Rai and area as possible. We wish her the best with the guesthouse and her new venture which is opening a new guesthouse that is located in a leechee orchard. We'll definitely be visiting her again! After a [View Full Entry]

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It was a quiet day in more than one way. We slept in late today and walked around Chiang Rai to see some of the markets in the daylight. Apparently, we had been doing so many other things during the day that we'd always wander into downtown Chiang Rai at night for shopping and food. A very different look and feel during the day. It was also quiet today because no more firecrackers and fireworks were going off. We had gotten used to 4 days of continuous firecrackers for Loy Krathong festival. But today was deadly silent. It's strange to sit [View Full Entry]

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Today we decided to visit the Karen Hill Tribe in Ruammit Village, Thailand. To split the cost, we paired up with a couple from Belgium who were staying at the guesthouse too. We took a long tailed speedboat up the Mae Kok River to the mountains north of Chiang Rai. It took us about an hour before coming to the Hot Springs. There was a swimming pool, foot bath, and the hot spring itself. A sign said the temperature was 87C (186F). That's pretty hot. The foot bath temperature is probably straight out of the spring and we couldn't even keep [View Full Entry]

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Today is the Loy Krathong Festival in Thailand. It's the festival of lights and is celebrated nationwide like our Fourth of July. Fireworks, parades and food except the Thai make a float that you light and send down the river and light paper lanterns to soar into the sky. It's celebrated on the full moon night of the 12th lunar month (November). The Krathong (a vessel made of banana tree trunk) is decorated with leaves from plants, a candle, 3 joss-sticks (incense) and flowers. Each one is uniquely different as they are made by the person who will float (Loy) the [View Full Entry]

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Doi Tung is the current King of Thailand's (King Rama IX) mother's summer palace and gardens. She lived from 1900-1995 and was born a commoner who through fortunate circumstances became well educated during her youth, a nurse, and winner of the Queen's scholarship to study in America. She met a Thai young man in Connecticut who cared for the people of Thailand and the environment as much as she. They fell in love and this man decided to marry her. He was Prince Mahidol - the son of the King of Thailand. They married in 1920 and had 3 children (1 [View Full Entry]

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A relaxing day for the Strickfadens in Chiang Rai after all the travel and climbing of temples in Cambodia? We think not. And now for a completely different kind of temple...Wat Rong Khun or "The White Temple". Wat Rong Khun is white to represent the purity of the Buddha. Almost all temples use gold but the artist who is creating this masterpiece thought gold creates greed and wanted to be purer. There is nothing like this temple anywhere. It is completely unique and just blows you away when you see it. Basic construction is concrete covered in little silver mirror tiles [View Full Entry]

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Sorry for the late blog but finally finishing up the Cambodian temple descriptions and pics. By the way, Prasat is Cambodian for "temple" ...go figure. Prasat Ta Som Temple is also in a fantastic ruined condition. It is still unrestored. At both the entrance and waaay at the back are those great King Jay gates with his face at the top. The one in the back, on the outside face, has a magnificent tree embracing it. Tammy is dwarfed by both the size of the gate and the tree in the pic. There wasn't so much climbing this one as navigating [View Full Entry]

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