Monday, October 30. I walked through the morning market. Skinned hog’s heads. Caged birds (to release, thereby gaining good luck). Blood in baggies. 

Most of the day involved a boat ride up the Mekong. A discussion about the significance of the river to Laos. Dams for power first and irrigation second. Forced relocations with limited compensation. Virtually all the tour boats are exactly the same design and paint job. Communism at work?

Visited a very poor village. Food making for commercial sale. Rice cakes, flavored river-weed wraps. 

Very popular small caves (Upper and Lower) with thousands of buddha statues. I climbed to the Upper. Numerous women and children selling bracelets along the path.

Lunch on board. I skipped it.

The Mekong is mostly wilderness with occasional fishing activity. 

Returned to visit wood carving shops, silk factory, paper-making factory. The silk was overpriced, but the paper was both beautiful and inexpensive. Would have liked to buy some, but why? Our return to the hotel was in the rain via jumbos.

Rained a lot, putting a slight dampener on the evening’s festivities. Fortunately, the rain stopped. It was interesting to see how the locals handled the rain. Scooters riding with one hand, an umbrella in the other. Pedestrians essentially ignoring the rain. Few raincoats.

The celebration was about the end of the rainy season. Huge crowds. Huge. Paper floats of dragons, apparently made by high schoolers. We had an Italian dinner on the outskirts of town and spent twenty minutes in jumbos trying to make the eleven minute “walk” back to the hotel. Eventually we got off and indeed walked. Most bypassed the hotel to view the party. I had already grown frustrated with the crowds and turned in. Sporadic Fireworks.

Sunday, October 29. After a brief stop at Bangkok’s Flower Market (huge, but repetitive), we flew to Luang Prebang, Laos. Though the airport was Bangkok’s secondary one, there was a lounge I could use. We had a long wait, so it was nice.

Laos from the air is green wilderness. At the airport we took a short big bus ride to connect with “jumbos”, three wheelers, moderately larger than tuk-tuks. The city doesn’t allow buses. It’s not very advanced, looking very much like a third-world community. Small hotels, few buildings above two stories. Many, many, many kiosks along the roads. I found the local post office and sent a post card to Japan. The card cost 20 cents, postage cost $1.

We took jumbos to the river and walked through the historical sector to dinner. French style mansions, pretty run-down. Temples everywhere. Tomorrow there is a BIG annual celebration and the city is clearly preparing for it. Huge crowds everywhere. The temples are all lit up with colorful paper lanterns. Tomorrow the river will be full of floating lanterns. Should be a sight to see. After dinner I walked back to the hotel through the night market. Very slow going. Really nice merchandise. Must. Not. Buy.

Saturday, October 28. Ayutthaya was an early capital of Thailand. Its ruins are more complete than Roman, but still ruins. The main attractions are three large stupas, or mausoleums, which are still standing. All the structures were built with red bricks, covered in plaster of some kind. The area is a UNESCO site, which was seriously delayed any kind of restoration effort. The stupas were restored before UNESCO designation, but everything else is just bricks.

A modern adjoining temple houses a 40 foot tall and a 6 inch golden Buddha.

At our next stop everyone crowded around the outdoor stove of a shop that makes roti samaj, a form of cotton candy. In the rain. The stove was unbearably hot for me, so I didn’t watch. We sampled the product later and it wasn’t too bad.

Lunch was reached in the rain. I was wet from sweat and rain, a departure from just sweat.

After lunch we took a boat ride on the Pa Sak River. The Captain and crew was a wonderfully cheerful woman who was 35 but looked 18. She gave us lots of information about her life and the river. It was a very mixed experience, some countryside and some industrial area. Evidence of higher water than when the houses were built. A large seawall is being constructed. Many temples. A few people fishing (it’s Saturday). People feeding bread to hundreds of catfish, all fighting for a share (catfish having a catfight).

Back at the hotel I once again choose to visit the Irish bar for more cricket. I realized that Drunken Noodles was a menu item! When I ordered it, the server was very concerned. “Very spicy! Medium spice?” Yes. Even medium, it was very spicy. 8 on a scale of 10. I usually have a 4. But it was delicious.

Last day in Thailand. Tomorrow we fly to Laos.

Friday, October 27. The obligatory thing to do in Bangkok is to tour the Grand Palace. It was the usual hot and humid day, so it wasn’t the most comfortable morning. Crowds. A lot of guards to make sure no one violated the rules. It was all overwhelming. Because of a strict dress code (no shoulders, no knees, no tight pants), many people were wearing elephant pants bought or rented just outside the grounds. Most of the buildings were closed, so we only saw the exterior. The exception was the chapel with Thailand’s crown jewel, the Emerald Buddha. No shoes, no photos, no pointing your feet at the buddha. However, oddly, one can take photos through the doors and central opening. My camera worked nicely. The buddha is stunning, though relatively small (about 26 inches). The rest of the chapel is incredibly busy with art and statues.

The rest of the palace had lots to see. Thailand Buddhism seems fixated with Devils.

Lunch was at a fine restaurant. Lovely AC! Next was a theater show of traditional Thai dance and storytelling. Thailand’s unique tradition is the women’s ability to bend their fingers backwards. I cringed to see it. I also napped. It was a fine performance. Live music.

We all took tuk-tuks back to the hotel. Eight tuk-tuks was quite a promenade through the streets. During our two hour siesta I went to the gym. How I had the energy, I don’t know.

The evening was our welcome dinner, on an open boat. A nice, though the waters were very choppy. Dinner was excellent, as was the view.

Thursday, October 26. The Base Adventure began today, meaning I had to sit through One More Introductory Briefing. Yada, yada, yada. Six new fellow travelers.

Drove out into the suburbs to a family “Home” which doubled as a showroom. They gave a cooking demonstration for red curry paste and red curry with chicken. Not my cup of tea. Everyone else was fascinated. Had lunch with the usual assortment of dishes. Then had a tour of their Spirit Room, which was filled with family memorials, mementos and keepsakes.

Because the day was supposed to be temple-free, I had chosen to have both my pants put in the laundry. But Trip Leader “Are” had to change the schedule and added a temple with a reclining buddha. Since I didn’t have pants to cover my knees, I couldn’t go. Just as well, as I actually wanted to go elsewhere. I took an exhilarating ride in a tuk-tuk (three wheeled motorbike) to Jim Thompson’s House. Even more than others, he drove as though he was late to a wedding. I lost my hat at one point and he deftly turned around to retrieve it.

Jim Thompson was one of the most famous foreigners in Southeast Asia in the 50s and 60s, having nearly singlehandedly rebuilt the Thai silk business. His silks dressed the actors in The King and I. He built a house (more accurately, a series of connected structures) using wood from demolished old houses to hold his collection of old Asian fashion and art. Beautifully built, though with odd twists. No two doors were exactly alike. The required tour was sadly quick, focusing more on the contents than the house itself. The tour ended in the silk store (duh), where a tie went for $100. Discounted shirts $150. Part of Thompson’s fame is that he went out for a simple walk in 1967 and disappeared. It was quite a sensation.

Walked back to the hotel. About 2.5 miles. Hot and humid, but I’m adjusting. Got a good photo of one of the strangest skyscrapers I’ve even seen. Walked through two malls to cool off. Halloween is a very big thing here. Walked through some neighborhoods that are not on anyone’s tour route (past an exceptionally ugly Russian Embassy). Ate at an Irish bar, once again watching cricket. I’d like to eat at one of the kiosks, but I’m afraid of their sanitation.

Wednesday, October 25. Leisurely traveled back to Bangkok, stopping at another WWII memorial and an Australian cemetery. Had lunch downriver from the River Kwai Bridge. Walked a bit around Bangkok. So many food kiosks. Massive number of motorbikes. Many are taxis, with passengers perched precariously behind the driver. Some sit sidesaddle, calmly looking at their smartphones while the bikes weave through traffic. Commonplace Insanity.

Tuesday, October 24. Quiet day. Visited a WWII memorial. Then took a Long-Tail Boat ride down the Kwai River. Saw a few herons and one beautiful sandpiper. There is very little wildlife larger than a butterfly here. Multiple floating resorts sit along the Kwai. Some remarkably odd in shape. There were elephants carrying passengers. Saw one deliberately dumping its passenger into the water, then lifting him back up on his trunk. It looked fun for the elephant, but the mahout was holding a pointed stick, so I’m not sure.

Visited a small market where I asked, when faced with four snack shops selling essentially the same thing, how does all four profit? The answer is that they are hidden cooperatives. Interesting.

Stopped at a home-based basket weaving outlet. The husband splits bamboo trees, the wife weaves the (very large) baskets. Husband has a machine to help, wife does not. Hmm.

The rest of the day was just relaxing high above the river. Hot and buggy. At night we experienced a cloudburst. I woke up to so much noise I thought it was a mechanical problem. Incredible sound of rain hitting the tent.

Monday, October 23. Transfer day. Flew to Bangkok, then took a very uncomfortable bus ride to our camp on the River Khwae Noi (Kwai). We stopped for lunch at the famous Bridge, which in fact didn’t cross the River Kwai when it was built, but the river that the Kwai flows into. The author of the book got it wrong. But the movie was so successful (creating a tourism sensation) Thailand renamed the main river above the merge “Khwae Yai”. Most of the bridge is original, with only the part destroyed by bombing replaced. We were lucky enough to be on the bridge while a train passed. (They have platforms at intervals for pedestrians to escape to for such times.)

Interesting tidbit #1: Though “The Bridge Over The River Kwai” is immensely popular, the movie “The King and I” is and has always been banned in Thailand.

The rest of the way to the camp was bordered by Thai-focused tourist stops. I remarked again about the lack of trucks on the road and learned;

Interesting tidbit #2: Trucks are banned from roadways during daylight hours.

The camp is 100 steps up from the river. I know this because the natural pool is at the bottom. The refreshing feeling of being in the pool is cancelled out by the climb back up. Tent clamping. The individual toilet/shower room is solid. The tent has an AC unit. Thatched floor. Wifi, lights, fridge. But canvas walls. Dinner was outdoors with canned American music. Wide range of delicious-looking foods. (Until today I’d gone well off my weight management program, so I fasted most of the day to adjust.)

Sunday, October 22. On the way to the Golden Triangle we made an unscheduled stop at Tham Luang Cave, where in 2018 13 boys and their soccer coach were trapped by rain water for about two weeks. There is now an impressive statue of the diver who died in the attempt to rescue them. The cave system is now closed off except for the first 400 meters, and today even that was closed due to water. It was a good detour for us.

Next was the Opium Museum. Exhaustive history. Included was a video on how to convert the opium “juice” into the end product. Thailand is properly proud that they successfully eradicated the crop thirty years ago, using both the carrot and stick. They also had a display room of other northern Thailand features. The Mekong Catfish is the world’s second largest fresh water fish. (They say it’s the largest, but the Russian sturgeon has that honor.) Also shown were the Long-necked people.

Rode in third-world jalopies to lunch. 10.5 hp single cylinder engines. The location is a multi-purpose collection of crafts and skills. Out front were cheerful small children selling their crayon drawings for $1 or less. Lunch was grilled pork and steamed brown rice.

The last stop was a view of Myanmar and Laos. This is my second three-country viewing (Paraguay, Brazil, Argentina). The Mekong is already a wide, fast moving river, though it is still far from the Pacific. The main building seen in Myanmar is a casino. The city in Laos is developing rapidly thanks to Chinese money, Chinese workers and Chinese tourists. One building still under construction is a casino.

Dinner was spaghetti, Thai style. A little bit spicy with much more sauce than noodles. Meat was disturbingly undercooked. I selected the restaurant primarily for their featured wine (19 Crimes), which I’d had before. Hopefully the wine will counteract any aftereffects from the meat. I stumbled upon a beautiful clock tower on the way to the local Irish bar to watch some more cricket.

Saturday, October 21. Drive to Chiang Rai, stopping at a few sites. First was an umbrella factory, making (mostly) paper umbrellas. (Amazingly, it began to rain just as we entered their outdoor but roofed over facility and stopped just was we were leaving. Karma.) It’s an assembly line process with women (all seniors) doing one step in the construction process. The paper is made exclusively with mulberry tree bark. Virtually no machinery. The workers are paid about $9 per day, without any benefits. The one woman we interviewed said it was better than having to commute to the city. It was clearly a no-pressure kind of job. Gift shop prices were insanely low. A side-business has begun where the painters will paint cell phone covers and such while you wait.

The drive was unremarkable. The roads here are just fine. Traffic is sedate. Yes, there are your normal scooter crazies, but that’s commonplace worldwide. Everything seems fairly modern, as opposed to other countries where the further you are from the main city, the less advanced everything appears. No oxcarts.

Lunch was on a patio looking out over rice fields. Very pretty. Beautiful food, literally. Edible flowers were the garnish.

The day’s main attraction was a visit to the White Temple complex. Thailand’s National artist is using his own money to rebuild and massively expand an existing temple, using artwork that can be described in various ways by various critics. I thought it was over-the-top quirky. Gaudi gone wild (well, wilder). The main buildings are all white with small inlaid mirrors. They truly sparkle. The complex defeats any attempt at a short description. It’s still a work in progress, due to be finished decades from now.

Our introduction to Chiang Rai proper was to walk through an incredibly massive Saturday night market. Exceeds in size anything I’ve ever seen. Crowds. Food of all kinds. Narrow lanes between booths. Crowds. Line dancing. Stir fried worms and crickets. Did I mention crowds? In spite of all the food in the market Are suggested we eat at an actual restaurant. Excellent food. Because I’d been bending his ear about pineapple fried rice, that’s what he ordered, along with most of the others. I had sweet and sour shrimp and chicken.

Later I sat at a wine bar and had a nice Sauvignon Blanc for $5.