Flower along the moat
The Grand Temple of Chiang Mai
Along the Mae Ping River
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In Bangkok once again, we treated ourselves to the five-star Amari Watergate Hotel with aneighth-story rooftop pool overlooking the sprawl.
I successfully haggled two cheap tuk tuk rides down to the Lumpini Park (named for the Indian birthplace of Buddha), where we saw at least a dozen group Tai Chi, aerobics and weightlifting sessions taking place, lest we thought Thai people stay slim and healthy-looking merely on their diet alone. It made for good people watching. Standing on a bridge over a man-made lake in the center of the park, we could have been in the Boston Public Garden.
We then took the public sky train to the Chao Phraya River water taxi (I figured out all of this!) to check out the Grand Palace-home of the King of Thailand. It is so unbelievably ornate and detailed and beautiful with so many Buddha images and guardian statues and gold and jeweled columns and arches and entry-ways. To count each sparkling piece of colored glass inlay and jewel would be a task to fill eternity.
Mum and Auntie safely departed Thailand after one last meal of steamed rice with stir-fried vegetables and tofu. By the end, they were off on their own in the streets of Bangkok, buying fresh fruit and perusing the Pratanum Street Market. I am proud of them-two hip mid-fifties (er...thirties) American women hoofing it with backpacks around a country who's culture is so very different from ours.
I have arrived safely in Siem Reap, Cambodia after a seven hour bus ride and crossing the boarder on foot (crazy!). I have re-united with Kevin. I can check a cheap dental visit (no cavities) and Thai gifts and souvenirs off the list.
The language lesson I took during my first trip to Chiang Mai is already paying off. I can't understand a darn thing, but i can meet and greet and haggle in Thai like a pro.
Angkor Wat awaits.
pop kan mai
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