We visited Thailand for three weeks in June of 1998.
Here are some highlights.
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Our first adventure was five days in Chang May.
Here is Gloria crossing a river with our hotel in the background
On day one we went grocery shopping.
Then we took a taxi to the Doi Suthep hill top monastary.
Gloria thought it was too warm.
As we walked around town we ran into this nursing home.
Residents were performing crafts outside.
They all were in a good mood.
Residents enjoing the 95 degree weather.
Daily exercises
The next day we took an all-day tour to the north.
Here I am outside our hotel waiting for our tour bus.
Along the way we stopped at several temples.
This was the first one.
Now a boat ride in the Golden Triangle.
We refueled at this pier in Laos.
Burma/Myranmar across the river.
An abandoned resort hotel in Burma.
The northernmost point in Thailand.
The crossing to Burma in Mae Say.
Grocery store in Mae Say.
Our bus then took us to two local tribal villages
Here is Gloria in a Keren village.
Formal dress for the Akah Hill women.
Kids everywhere love a sandpile
Their homes were sparce, but they had electic light and TV sets.
Yao people chewed a red root (beets?).
Note the overhead powerline to the left.
Pigs and Akha people shared quarters.
Next stop was at an elephant farm.
Hi there
Goodbye.
We then took a local taxi to our next adventure.
A rafting trip.
No, he did not fall in.
Finally on day five we boarded our plane to return to Bangkok.
In Bankok we stayed at The Royal City Hotel.
The hotel was quite nice, but far away from everything else.
They were expecting us.
View from our hotel window. The big highway was not busy.
Our host in Bankok was my student. Akachai.
Akachai and his mom took us everywhere.
She was a great bargainer.
Shopping for a dress.
Typical food market.
Its hard work!
Sanitation was completely missing.
One day we visited a "drive through" zoo.
Good idea to keep the car windows closed.
They also had a fantastic stunt show.
We enjoyed the show a lot!
Visitors could photograph the performers after the show.
Our next adventure was a river cruise.
There were numerous pagodas along the river.
The river was full of very fast boats.
Dinner at their home.
Mom, Akachai, and two employees
I lost count of the number of pagodas that we visited.
They were all spectacular.
A speciat treat was a visit to the floating market in Damnernsaduak.
This was a working market, not a tourist trap.
Breadfruit?
Change please!
Seafood.
The toilet is up-river.
Cleaning fish in the bath water.
The "side streets" were peaceful.
You could even buy dresses from your boat.
We made many visits to Akachai's home.
Here we are with Akachai's sister in front of their home .
Here I am next to Akachai's dad.
THE END
We had a great time.
