Le Meridien Chiang Mai

... twisting its way from the Tha Pae Gate to the river front. There was lots of floats with girls on carried by young men, dancers, fire performers and musicians. It was really stunning. Unfortunately we didn't bring our camera so you will have to trust us when we say it was beautiful. <br>The festival went on for 3 nights which were mostly spent by people lighting lanterns into the sky, or Loy Krathongs into the river. We witnessed many westerners join in on the lantern lighting and ...

... retiree from Wales, marries to a Thai woman who opens the massage shop downstairs from his apt. This is another norm in Thailand &#8211; a lot of local women marry foreigners who are much older, and seems to me they are not a union of economical reasons only. A female American resident whom I met here told me that she could see love in most of these marriages, including those involve gay couples (again, the Thai guys in this kind of relationships are usually much younger). May be the Thais ...

... me feel a little travel sick so I shut my eyes and actually fell asleep for a brief period, wow I can truely sleep anywhere. Once at the top, all that was left between us and the Wat was 300 steps!<br><br>The temple was beautiful. Nestled among the clouds, the view to Chiang Mai below was spectacular. The outside of the complex was decorated with beautiful trees, ornaments and Buddhist figures. The inner sanctum housed a gold chedi surrounded by four ...

... to 3 more drivers with the same rap. I still did not believe it, as these cats are in the business generation mode all the time. In Bangkok they telly you that the temples are closed for Buddhist holiday but they know a terrific gem store "cheap cheap." <br><br>(Anybody know any religion where the house of worship is CLOSED on a religious holiday? Gotta put your analytical skills in a blind ...

... as physically demanding as the elephants. You have to shovel disguisting buffalo poo into a wheel barrow then dump the wheel barrow out, hose down the shed and use brooms to get the rest of the poo up. There were kids that were only staying at the park for a day that helped the first time we did it. It was pretty funny because the younger of the two boys was trying to help but was flinging his shovel in the air with poo in it and got it all over his arm ...

... from a stack and gave it to me to sit on, failing to tell me that he noticed it was cracked in several places. I, exhausted from walking around all day, plopped down with all my weight on the stool, the legs of the stool literally flattened and I landed on my butt on the hard ground. I instinctively let out a scream and then heard gasps and people speaking in fast Thai all around me. The loud cracking of the plastic and my scream attracted everyone's ...

... We said goodbye to a couple of litters of puppies that were living around our hut, and walked on for the next stage. We stopped for lunch at another village. All of us were happy to rest for half an hour to an hour, but the guides wanted their siestas, so we ended up doing very little for three hours. We continued walking on a much flatter route than the day before, going through rice fields and jungle, arriving at the hut for the second ...

  I am typing this as I take the 12 hour train ride north to Chaing Mai.  The heat today has left me pretty wiped so I am not sure how much energy I have to put into anything coherent.  But here goes....   On the surface, Bangkok is a big, loud, dirty, hot, frantic, cheap city. But dig  a bit deeper (in some parts, REALLY deep), you'll find a small town with a happy vibrant soul.  Sure there are rats under foot, traffic crossings that lessen your ...

... for a reasonable price. 600 Baht for two people for 6 hours! Let's go! First we went to visit a Hmong hill village. They had a big flower garden as well as some cheap touristy things to try. Next we went to the Bhubing Palace. This is a royal residence complete with guest house for foreign dignitaries. Since it is a royal residence, no shorts are allowed so I had to wear some awesome (sarcasm) rental pants. The flower gardens ...