Strickfaden

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 bridges with trash strewn anywhere and everywhere. Once reaching Bangkok, we hopped over to the subway for a short distance and then onto the Skytrain (elevated train) to reach our hotel. There's a Skytrain stop ... read more

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 quickie flight to Bangkok, we grabbed a taxi to the city of Ayutthaya which is north of Bangkok. After 1 hr, we arrived at 11:30am and checked into a fantastic Thai style teak guesthouse (Luang ... read more

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 our hands in it for more than half a second. Tammy has a pretty high heat tolerance and could not even submerge her whole hand before yanking it out. How do people soak in their ... read more

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 daughter, 2 sons). Prince Mahidol's brother became King of Thailand (King Rama VII) and Prince Mahidol and his family lived in Boston and Switzerland and traveled between Thailand & Europe. Prince Mahidol received his doctorate ... read more

After a few amazing but exhausting days, we leave Siem Reap, Cambodia and head towards Chiang Rai, Thailand. We start with a 2 hour drive back to the border and the uniquely distasteful city of Poipet, Cambodia. I hate to be disparaging of other cultures but this town gives me the creeps. It's just a dirty slimy lil craphole. It's just an overall feeling of "confuse then screw the tourist". The car trip back to Poipet though was uneventful and beautiful ride through the countryside. That's all due to the road from Poipet to Siem Reap being completely surfaced now. Just 6 months ago, it was still a dirt road with potholes that swallowed trucks alive and took about 6+ hours to reach Siem Reap (on a good day- heaven forbid it rained and turned it ... read more