Cape Reingal to Russell Island

Sunday morning we drove from Tapotupotu to Cape Reingal. The latter is situated on a high bluff jutting into the sea, with a 19th century lighthouse overlooking a great 270 degree view. From the lighthouse's signposts, we were able to discern that we were still much closer to the equator than the south pole, something of a disappointment. Oh well, we still have much further south to go.

Our route took us back south, to a couple of stops along the forbidding 90-mile beach and its giant sand dunes, and then past Doubtless Bay, then Kaipapa, and lastly, via another ferry, to Russell Island, a very scenic and comfortable little island community in the Bay of Islands. We dined at Gannett's, where I had an extraordinary mussel chowder (coconut milk, saffron, ginger, lemon-grass, and mussel reduction) and then a plate of steamed mussels. The chef, a German, came out to see who was eating all the mussels.

Northwest Coast

Saturday morning we drove back south through Dargaville and then Te Kopuru. One of our guidebooks had mentioned a home in Te Kopuru which the residents had decorated entirely in buoys and ballcocks, something we had to see. After Dargaville, we visited the great Kauri forests on the coast. The Kauri are enormous trees, mostly all gone, but preserved in a few places, especially in the northwest. We walked to the largest known Kauri, a hugh tree, and got a chance to experience a bit of the “bush.” The rest of the day we spent driving north along beaches and bays, ferrying from Hokiana to Kohukothu, and then further north through Kaitaia, a nice town, and then on to the farther northern shore, the 90-mile beach, toward Cape Reingal, the North Island's northernmost point. We spent the night camped on the beach at Tapotupotu Bay, grilling steaks we had bought in Auckland. The whole northwest coast is very sparsely settled.

To Baily's Beach

Friday, we spent the morning sorting and provisionally arranging the camper. From the Top 10 Friday morning we wandered west to the coast and had lunch on the beach, at Karekare, I think. The northwest coast is largely beach and bay...enormous beaches and bays. The beach sand is sometimes grey (volcanic) and sometime white, mostly white. The bays are estuary-like, connected to rivers. Our route took us around Kaipura Harbor, north, then west, then north again to Dargaville. We spent the night at another Top 10, this time at Baily's Beach. At this point, the beaches start getting enormous, many miles long, many hundreds of feet wide. No settlements or habitations. The tide is only a few feet, and, at low tide, a 4-wheel vehicle (not the Bongo) can drive for miles and miles.

Typical Weird New Zealand Tree

Think Left

I say we “boldly set forth” because in New Zealand, a Commonwealth sort of place, when driving a car, you sit on the right but drive on the left. The layout of the instruments, controls, etc., is thus reversed, except that the accelerator and brake pedals are in the “right” places. It is difficult to adjust to, although I have done it many times before. This is, however, the first time I have done it in the “upside down” part of the world. I will comment later on the many other aspects of NZ that are confusing to me. When driving now I often fell that my head is going to explode.

Bongo and Me at Tapotupotu

Millennium Bongo

On Thursday, after more shopping and the inevitable returns, we packed, checked out of the hotel, and picked up our “camper.” It is really an eight-passenger Mazda van, an older model diesel, with a roof that raises and houses a bed, like the old VW campers. (We owned two). The theory is we will store all our gear below and sleep in the “loft” above, cooking, etc., outside. It might work, except for stealth camping.

This model of Mazda is know as the Mazda Friendee Bongo (sic). Among our previous camping vehicles was a Falcon van, a really nice fully-equipped Class B that we owned when we lived in Dallas. I dubbed it the “Millennium Falcon,” after Han Solo's starship. We will have the Mazda for 6 weeks here or more, worthy of a name, so I have dubbed it the “Millennium Bongo,” or “Bongo,” if you're into the whole brevity thing.

Following slight delays with the rental agency (replacing the Bongo's dead battery), we boldly set forth from Parnell (central Auckland) to a shopping center in the southern suburbs, Silva Park, where, we were told, a store called “The Warehouse” could provide us with various things needed for van camping (table, chairs, ice chest, etc). The Warehouse proved a great disappointment—a Walmart would have been perfect (for once)--but we managed there and at a supermarket where we provisioned up. Then we boldly set forth back across Auckland to the north shore, where, at length, we stayed at a Top 10 Holiday Park, in a very spartan motel room, since the camper was not yet habitable.

First Days in New Zealand

Our first several days in New Zealand were in Auckland on the North Island. Auckland is the big city, a million and a half—the whole nation is only 4 million—and our hotel, the Auckland City Hotel, is downtown, on Hobson St., 3 blocks north of the main downtown shopping area, Queen St. The hotel is an older 1912 structure, but very recently modernized and re-done. Somehow we got upgraded to a suite, US$46 a night. The Sky City Tower (300m space needle/bungy jump) is a block away. It's hard not to like a country. where sheep outnumber humans 19:1, and there are bungy jumps at every major intersection. Bungy is the original spelling here in NZ, where the sport originated and was perfected. New Zealanders invented adventure tourism, we understand. And bungy-jumping is now considered unremarkable, here.

We cruised the downtown shopping area on Tuesday, getting oriented...lots of interesting stores and shops, including an unusually high number of bookstores and “second-hand” bookstores. The two gear shops, Bivouac and Kathmandu, were having their Christmas sales, so we began such camper-outfitting as was needed immediately. Both Vicki and I also purchased shirts, increasing the size of our wardrobes by a third. We also looked into devices for connecting the laptop to the internet while on the road and camping. They are expensive, and it is unclear they'd work elsewhere (e.g., the US and Europe), so we have decided to rely on free wifi, cyber-cafes and campground computers. Not as convenient, but at least affordable. Dinner was at Mezze, a middle-eastern sort of restaurant, where I began my personal assault on the NZ green lip mussel population. They are even larger, tenderer, tastier, on their home ground (as it were).

On our second full day, we took the ferry to Devonport, a touristy old town on an island in the harbor—it is a huge complicated harbor—and climbed Mt. Victoria, an old volcano remnant, a whole 90m high, for the view. Unfortunately, the view was mostly of the incoming squall. But Auckland has a beautiful skyline, especially from the water, with all the marinas and sails. It is called “The City of Sails.” From what we have read, 1 in every 4 Aucklanders owns a boat. Main street in Devonport had three 2nd-hand bookstores, and the pier had two. Lunch was pulled-pork bar-b-q in a joint owned by a Pennsylvania native.

We ferried back to Auckland and then took the bus to the Auckland Museum, a beautiful old structure set on a hill in the Domain overlooking the city. The Museum is known for its Maori and general Polynesian collections, and also its war memorial collections, including a Zero and an Spitfire (two aiircraft, I submit, that never met in war). The Maori stuff was incredible, in diversity and size and intricacy. The hundred-warrior canoe was especially impressive. Even more impressive was the tree from which it apparently was dug-out. Dinner was at a crepes place a block from the hotel. Auckland appears to have just about every conceivable cuisine.

Sold on Sydney

We had a marvelous 2 and 1/2 days in Sydney. Friday evening we braved the torrential rain and wind to eat at a nearby hamburger joint...real hamburgers, made from—we are sure—cows, something we had been dreaming of for weeks. We are still luxuriating in drinking actual tap water, brushing our teeth in it, not wondering what the next toilet will be like.... And we also are enjoying shopping, being able to evince interest in something without being assaulted by the shopkeeper, his minions and family members, extended relatives, touts, assorted hangers-on, passers-by, et al., all extolling its virtues, its low asking price (generally three times what they'll settle for). But I digress.

Our Saturday was entirely on foot in “downtown” Sydney. The Y Hotel is just west of Hyde Park, and so we set forth through the gorgeous park, noting the huge ficus trees, Norfolk Island pines, and others, statues, fountains, and people on family outings. Also museums, government houses, the Cathedral, and more. Hyde Park took us into The Domain, another park. There we visited the Art Museum of New South Wales, then continued on our way past the Domain and into our major goal for the day, the Royal Botanical Garden.

Sydney is a city of 3 or so million ranged around a long narrow harbor, filled with coves, inlets, harborettes, beaches, cliffs, and so on. There are huge CBDs on both sides of the main harbor, beautiful homes, condos and the rest lining the hills from shore to ridge-top all around. The Royal Botanical Garden is a large affair, many acres, set on a finger of land jutting into the harbor, just east of the main CBD. Judging from the size of the trees, the Garden has been there for a while. We spent a couple hours marveling at species new to us and at familiar species in larger sizes and shapes than we'd ever seen before. The ficuses in particular are huge, a few spreading hundreds of feet across, with large aerial roots that become trunks. Then there were the cacti and succulents. And bamboos, and palms. And camellias. And a fernery with the largest tree ferns I have yet seen. And also fruit bats (grey-headed flying foxes...about the size of a large chicken). And on and on, a tropical plant lover's paradise. We had a light lunch at the Garden's restaurant, then continued to the harbor and Mrs. Macquarrie's Chair, a cliff over-looking the harbor. The center of Sydney harbor is a familiar site—the tall arch of the 1932 bridge, the Opera, the skyscrapers. One takes all this in from the cliffs.

(Aesthetic note: although the Sydney Opera is one of the world's great and distinctive architectural pieces—perhaps on anybody's top 10 list—I personally find it repulsive, qua opera house. Viewing it from different angles (e.g., the harbor ferry) only makes it worse. It reminds me of the Lotus Temple in Delhi).

From the Gardens we crossed to the Circular Quay, headquarters for the harbor ferry system, a beautiful shopping and restaurant area on the water. Next we walked on to the Rocks, the old city, not much gentrified, very atmospheric and proud of its history. We walked back to the Y mostly along George Street, the main drag, fine shops and hotels, stopping for dinner at a small restaurant where Vicki had a salad (also avoided in Asia) and I had fish and chips (fish with no bones!).

On Sunday we bought day-tripper tickets—a pass for all buses, metros, trains, and ferries in the city— $12USD per person. Sydney has it public transportation act together. The metro alone is more extensive than any US city's I know of, except NYC. We took the double-decker metro from the Y's nearby Museum station back to Circular Quay. From there we returned to the Rocks, strolled its wonderful market (it is the only artsy-craftsy market we have ever seen that has NO CRAP; only neat, imaginative, interesting stuff, most of it affordable), and stimulated the local economy. After a scones snack, we boarded the east-bound ferry, taking in the harbor scenery, many stops, the aforementioned coves and inlets, each with a marina and beach, all the way to Watson's Bay. Here we debarked and walked across the Gap, a few hundred feet, to the top of the cliffs overlooking Sydney harbor's narrow entrance, and, The Pacific. The views of the cliffs, the rocks below, the sea, sailboats evidently racing in the distance, were superb. I had not before seen the Pacific, well, the Tasman Sea perhaps, from this particular angle. It was impressive. We walked along the cliffs some distance, then back through the town to the wharf.

One of the Sydney harbor traditions, we were told, was taking the ferry to Watson's Bay and then having a meal at Doyles', a fairly legendary (and very large and popular) seafood restaurant on the water. We had been promising ourselves a real steak (CBA) for some months and had determined that Australia would be the place for it. The menu at Doyles' is almost entirely seafood—but Vicki had the one non-seafood item, a filet (and shared a few bites) while I had the seafood sampler. The surf and turf aspect thus required I sample both red and white Australian wines. The sauvignon blanc was excellent; the shiraz OK.

We re-barked and rode the ferry back west through the harbor, stopping at Luna Park, McMahon St., and Balmain East, a residential area, where we got off and strolled (and scavenged) a bit. Back on the ferry we rode to Darling Harbor, on the other side of the main CBD, and walked nearly its length of shops, restaurants, pubs, museums, the IMAX, and more. Sundown (note alpenglow on the buildings around Darling Harbor) found us taking the last ferry back to Circular Quay, then the metro back to the Y. Two wonderful tourist days.

I am still wondering what the downside of Sydney is. Cruising the harbor as we did, there was no evidence of ugliness. Even the old wharfs have been gentrified, converted to condos, etc. Surely there are poor neighborhoods and poor people. They are not easy for the casual tourist to find, however. Vicki observed that the downside, so far as we are concerned, is the cost of everything. 2U$D for a coke, at 7-11. 3$ for coffee anywhere. Our hotel room, at the YWCA, FCS, was our steepest such yet.

Monday we packed, breakfasted (the Y has great granola), metro'd back to the Rocks to pick up a few purchase items we liked, and then re-visited both the Royal Botanical Garden and the art museum, especially the contemporary Melanesian section. We walked back along the south side of Hyde Park, affording me the opportunity to visit the Cathedral. I now am reading Pillars of the Earth. Plus I really like visiting churches where you don't have to take your shoes off.

Australia. We seriously considered extending our stay here. In our earlier planning, we had decided to short-shrift Australia. New Zealand is more compact, more interesting to us. Australia is vast (and expensive), and the interesting bits, to us, are spread all over a continent. But we are already compiling a list of places to which we might like to return: China, especially western China, the Everest region (the Chinese side), Thailand. And now Australia. When we come back, perhaps we'll rent or buy a camper, and stay a while.

Vicki adds:

December 14—Sydney

We really enjoyed our last days in Bangkok—a very livable city, but too many shopping opportunities. The amount of clothing for sale boggles the imagination—even in a city of 12 million plus tourists, I don't see how they could ever sell half of it.

We had an overnight flight to Sydney and Mark and I each had a row to ourselves. I have been reading Myer's Twilight series and so didn't get much sleep, but I got a lot read. I've finished all four now and I can see why they have been so popular. My ebook has been on the fritz so that has been a disappointment. Hopefully, I can get it working again in New Zealand.

Sydney has been expensive but wonderful. Everything here is about double what costs were in Bangkok. Hotel with breakfast—Bk $46. Syd--$100. Coke $1 vs. $2 etc. However, still much less expensive than a US or European city. Also, many things here are free. We are staying in the YWCA Hotel which is very close in. Yesterday we walked to the harbor and back without too much travail. Sydney has a huge park right on the harbor next to the Opera House. Part of it is the Royal Botanical Garden and also the Art Museum. Both were free and we barely saw 10% of each. Today we bought an all day transport pass and took the metro to the Quay (pronounced key) and then two different ferries around the harbor to other areas. Only $12 each. We had scones and tea at The Rocks (oldest settled area) and visited the weekend market. Fabulous booths of unusual handicrafts. I picked out my two Christmas gifts and a gift for Rebecca. I could have bought dozens of different things.

I am sure Mark will elaborate in his blog on the rest of our day. Australia is definitely on our “return again” list. It would be a great place to rent a camper and travel around for a couple of months. Tomorrow afternoon we are off to Auckland.

Bangkok in Three Days

Tuesday we spent some morning time in the international Sukhumvit neighborhood and then taxied back to the old city to see what has to be the highlight of anybody's Bangkok tour: the Grand Palace. It is a walled city of sorts—not as sprawling nor as old as the Forbidden City in Beijing—but like the Forbidden City, was originally the royal residence and seat of government. It is as stunning visually as anything we have ever seen. It goes on, acre after acre of golden buildings, temples, residences, stupas, spires, and so on, porcelain and gold and gold-leaf and mirror-mosaic everywhere. The focal point is perhaps the “emerald Buddha,” and, certainly, its golden temple. The Buddha is not emerald (actually, it's jade), and is less than life-size, but it has much to do with national pride and history. In an important seasonal (winter, rainy, summer) ritual, the King himself changes the Buddha's attire, which is solid gold, of course. Sort of like the Mannequin Pis in Brussels, Vicki observed. The whole area is surrounded by arcades with hundreds of murals, drenched as it were in gold-leaf, depicting the Ramayana (the Thai version). Just when you think it can't get any more awesome, it does. We have seen some pretty great things, on this trip and earlier trips, but I can't recall anything that kept me wowing as long or as consistently. Photos can't do it justice.

We had lunch at a great little Thai hole-in-the-wall restaurant in the neighborhood and then walked back to Wat Pho, which we had seen at length on Monday (also Monday the Marble Buddha Temple, which I neglected to mention). Everyone says if you're going to have one Thai massage in Thailand, have it at the national massage school at Wat Pho. Vicki, who has had several Thai massages, had one more at Wat Pho. (I refuse to pay people to hurt me; read H. L. Mencken's essay on chiropractors for deeper insight).

Wednesday we joined a small day tour to nearby Ayuthaya, the capital of Siam from 1350 to 1767, when the Burmese captured and razed it. Neither the scale nor the level of construction (mostly brick, not stone) compare with the sites in Cambodia, but Ayuthaya must have been fairly impressive in its day. The Burmese evidently used the chedi and other monuments for artillery target practice. In visiting the variety of ruins, temples and monuments, one has to use considerable imagination.

On the way to Ayuthaya, we stopped for an hour or so at the royal summer palace. It is a sort of Thai Epcot, a variety of mostly European buildings, intended in part to educate 19th and early 20th century Thais in the ways of the outside world. Thailand was one of very few places in this part of the world that was never colonized. Thais are justifiably proud of this. Their king in these times, Rama V (of Rodgers and Hammerstein fame), was an especially skillful leader, I surmise, and is particularly revered. The highlight of the summer palace for us was the Royal Raft (a houseboat), tied up inconspicuously on the canal...thatched roof, but marble bath, five rooms of beautiful Victorian furniture, a hoot!

In Ayuthaya, we also visited yet another temple famed for its giant golden Buddha. About this time Vicki began singing (softly) “Here a wat, there a wat, everywhere a wat....” Oh, yes, a wat is a temple, and Thailand is said to have about 30,000 of them, an estimate clearly on the low side, we believe. Our return from Ayuthaya was a late lunch cruise (another!) down the Mae Nam Chao Phraya back into downtown Bangkok, viewing all the river-born commerce and tourism, as well as some pretty nice boats and houses...and a number of temples.

Somehow, we felt the day needed more excitement, and fewer temples, so we spent a few hours in the evening strolling and eating in Patpong, the once-infamous-now-mostly-touristy red-light district. At the night-market I bought myself a really cool Mt. Blanc pen that actually writes.

Thursday we spent the morning packing and checking out of the hotel, and then we toured the Dusit area, stopping by the Throne Hall, touring the Vimanmek Teak Mansion, a former royal residence, the world's largest teak structure, and, my personal favorite, the Royal Elephant Museum. (No rides, unfortunately). Toss in the Jim Thomspon House later in the afternoon, and you will appreciate that we saw a lot of teak this day. I did enjoy the gardens at the Thompson House, and the artwork.

We spent the early evening exploring and dining at MBK, one of Bangkok's colossal shopping malls. The food court on the fifth floor surpassed any such thing we have ever seen. (OK, we're from Montana, and the food court at Southgate Mall in Missoula would not impress many people). Great, reasonably-priced food from just about every cuisine there is, prepared to order as you watch. We both had our final Thai dishes there.

We taxied to Suvarnabhumi about 9 PM and cruised the duty-free shops, buying nothing, till our Thai Air flight to Sydney left, at midnight. It was only about 1/3 full. This normally would be the high season in Thailand, but tourism is already down by about 50%, the papers say, a result of the world economy, in part, but mostly a result of the airport occupations/closures two weeks ago. We both had room, a whole row each, to stretch out and sleep some on the 9 hour flight. Disappointingly, there was no ceremony about crossing the equator. It was a red-eye flight, of course, and I am sure the pilot was the only person awake (I hope) when we crossed over. We arrived in Sydney in the afternoon, got to our hotel, the Y at Hyde Park (as in YWCA), and promptly crashed. It has poured rain, in torrents, all day and night here. I will look for the Southern Cross tomorrow night if it clears.

At the Grand Palace

Another Root-Bound Buddha

Aboard the Royal Raft

Patpong

Tuesday we spent some morning time in the international Sukhumvit neighborhood and then taxied back to the old city to see what has to be the highlight of anybody's Bangkok tour: the Grand Palace. It is a walled city of sorts—not as sprawling nor as old as the Forbidden City in Beijing—but like the Forbidden City, was originally the royal residence and seat of government. It is as stunning visually as anything we have ever seen. It goes on, acre after acre of golden buildings, temples, residences, stupas, spires, and so on, porcelain and gold and gold-leaf and mirror-mosaic everywhere. The focal point is perhaps the “emerald Buddha,” and, certainly, its golden temple. The Buddha is not emerald (actually, it's jade), and is less than life-size, but it has much to do with national pride and history. In an important seasonal (winter, rainy, summer) ritual, the King himself changes the Buddha's attire, which is solid gold, of course. Sort of like the Mannequin Pis in Brussels, Vicki observed. The whole area is surrounded by arcades with hundreds of murals, drenched as it were in gold-leaf, depicting the Ramayana (the Thai version). Just when you think it can't get any more awesome, it does. We have seen some pretty great things, on this trip and earlier trips, but I can't recall anything that kept me wowing as long or as consistently. Photos can't do it justice.

We had lunch at a great little Thai hole-in-the-wall restaurant in the neighborhood and then walked back to Wat Pho, which we had seen at length on Monday (also Monday the Marble Buddha Temple, which I neglected to mention). Everyone says if you're going to have one Thai massage in Thailand, have it at the national massage school at Wat Pho. Vicki, who has had several Thai massages, had one more at Wat Pho. (I refuse to pay people to hurt me; read H. L. Mencken's essay on chiropractors for deeper insight).

Wednesday we joined a small day tour to nearby Ayuthaya, the capital of Siam from 1350 to 1767, when the Burmese captured and razed it. Neither the scale nor the level of construction (mostly brick, not stone) compare with the sites in Cambodia, but Ayuthaya must have been fairly impressive in its day. The Burmese evidently used the chedi and other monuments for artillery target practice. In visiting the variety of ruins, temples and monuments, one has to use considerable imagination.

On the way to Ayuthaya, we stopped for an hour or so at the royal summer palace. It is a sort of Thai Epcot, a variety of mostly European buildings, intended in part to educate 19th and early 20th century Thais in the ways of the outside world. Thailand was one of very few places in this part of the world that was never colonized. Thais are justifiably proud of this. Their king in these times, Rama V (of Rodgers and Hammerstein fame), was an especially skillful leader, I surmise, and is particularly revered. The highlight of the summer palace for us was the Royal Raft (a houseboat), tied up inconspicuously on the canal...thatched roof, but marble bath, five rooms of beautiful Victorian furniture, a hoot!

In Ayuthaya, we also visited yet another temple famed for its giant golden Buddha. About this time Vicki began singing (softly) “Here a wat, there a wat, everywhere a wat....” Oh, yes, a wat is a temple, and Thailand is said to have about 30,000 of them, an estimate clearly on the low side, we believe. Our return from Ayuthaya was a late lunch cruise (another!) down the Mae Nam Chao Phraya back into downtown Bangkok, viewing all the river-born commerce and tourism, as well as some pretty nice boats and houses...and a number of temples.

Somehow, we felt the day needed more excitement, and fewer temples, so we spent a few hours in the evening strolling and eating in Patpong, the once-infamous-now-mostly-touristy red-light district. At the night-market I bought myself a really cool Mt. Blanc pen that actually writes.

Thursday we spent the morning packing and checking out of the hotel, and then we toured the Dusit area, stopping by the Throne Hall, touring the Vimanmek Teak Mansion, a former royal residence, the world's largest teak structure, and, my personal favorite, the Royal Elephant Museum. (No rides, unfortunately). Toss in the Jim Thomspon House later in the afternoon, and you will appreciate that we saw a lot of teak this day. I did enjoy the gardens at the Thompson House, and the artwork.

We spent the early evening exploring and dining at MBK, one of Bangkok's colossal shopping malls. The food court on the fifth floor surpassed any such thing we have ever seen. (OK, we're from Montana, and the food court at Southgate Mall in Missoula would not impress many people). Great, reasonably-priced food from just about every cuisine there is, prepared to order as you watch. We both had our final Thai dishes there.

We taxied to Suvarnabhumi about 9 PM and cruised the duty-free shops, buying nothing, till our Thai Air flight to Sydney left, at midnight. It was only about 1/3 full. This normally would be the high season in Thailand, but tourism is already down by about 50%, the papers say, a result of the world economy, in part, but mostly a result of the airport occupations/closures two weeks ago. We both had room, a whole row each, to stretch out and sleep some on the 9 hour flight. Disappointingly, there was no ceremony about crossing the equator. It was a red-eye flight, of course, and I am sure the pilot was the only person awake (I hope) when we crossed over. We arrived in Sydney in the afternoon, got to our hotel, the Y at Hyde Park (as in YWCA), and promptly crashed. It has poured rain, in torrents, all day and night here. I will look for the Southern Cross tomorrow night if it clears.

Back to Bangkok

Sunday we flew back to Bangkok from Siem Reap. (That's a picture of the West Baray (see December 6) from the air). We even landed at the once Forbidden Airport of Suvarnabhumi. We had considered trying to fly from Phnom Penh to Sydney, our next major stop, but Bangkok is of far greater interest and the hassle of making flight changes seemed hardly worth it. So we are in Bangkok. Strolling and shopping in the area around our hotel (the PJ Watergate, in Pratun), you would not guess this place is in the midst of political turmoil and crisis. The PM has been deposed by the courts, the King failed to address the nation on his (81st) birthday (first time ever; sore throat), and also failed to reconvene the parliament to form a new government; and so on. We are hoping they can keep the lid on till midnight Thursday, when we jet away beneath the southern cross. In the meantime, the Thai are eminently likable people, and Bangkok one of the world's eminently interesting places.

Monday we did a morning tour of temples (part of the hotel deal), most notably the enormous reclining Buddha (46 meters of gold leaf) and a variety of other interesting sites at Wat Pho; and also a drive around the old town and the government district. Wat Pho was a treat with its great variety of monuments, artifacts, and institutions (e.g., the original official Thai massage school). In the afternoon we shopped and window-shopped the huge shopping district our hotel is in, most notably the giant electronics center at Pantip Plaza...five floors of all things digital, including some pretty interesting deals. The Asus 900 I am typing on was $560 in the US last July. It, or rather its successor model, was $285 at Pantip.

Vicki adds:

December 7—Bangkok, Thailand

We made it here with no problems and were able to book a reasonably priced hotel in central Bangkok from the tour desk at the airport. It certainly isn't a 5 star, but so far clean and quiet with tv, fridge, and even a nice bathtub for only $46 with breakfast and taxes. It is a few blocks to the skytram but only 1 block to McDonalds and Kentucky Fried Chicken. Yes, we will eat lots of the wonderful Thai food, but tonight we had KFC, which tasted exactly right. When everything is so different and everyday an adventure, you have no idea how important a taste of home can be! My arm is considerably better—still achy, but I am not taking double pain meds every four hours to get through the day. That means I can answer email again and would really like to hear from any of my friends and relatives willing to write. Take pity on a woman who has had no one to talk to for 14 weeks but her husband!

By the way, I promised to comment on the practical from time to time. One of the most important things away from home is the toilet or lack there of. As you know, Nepal was awful. It has been interesting that in India, Thailand, and Cambodia all the facilities for tourists have been Western toilets—no squatters, but they have all had hose and spray attachments next to them attached to the wall—exactly the type that we use to rinse dishes with at the kitchen sink. Of course Japan has the best in the world—wash and dry with warm water and air, freshener, and even sound effects to cover up any bodily noises you don't want to inflict on the neighboring stall occupant. And all that was just at the airport! When Mark and I win the lottery, a Japanese loo will be a definite purchase.

I also did a recent tally of our expenditures and so far we are staying within our budget—except spending more on gifts than I thought. We divided our budget into one part for Asia where costs are relatively low and one part for Australia, New Zealand, and Hawaii, where costs are much higher. Once we get to New Zealand I will run the final figures on the Asia part. Mark and I were just talking today about how if we wanted to come back, we could travel so much more cheaply the second time around. This time we have been willing to spend more in order to avoid uncertainty since we have never traveled in Asia before and really never done the hotel type thing either. (We still think camping is by far the best way—just not available in Asia at all.) Also we wouldn't be going back to India and that ended up costing the most per day as traveling independently there is for the young or the crazy.

Another Day, Another Cruise

Saturday was a great tour day, just a half day with Mao and our driver, but superb nonetheless. Despite lukewarm recommendations from the guidebooks, we drove to Boeung Tonle Sap, a lake about 10 miles from Siem Reap. It is a remarkable lake, one of Asia's largest. In the dry season, it covers about 3,000 square kilometers. But it in the wet season, it swells to 5 times that size. How it does this is the remarkable part. The lake is on the Tonle Sap river, one of the Mekong River's many, many tributaries. With the spring run-off in the Himalayas, a thousand miles or more away, and then the monsoon, the Mekong rises so much that water is forced back up the Tonle Sap, swelling the lake to 15,000 square kilometers. So the Tonle Sap river runs “downstream” half the year and “upstream” the other half. The lake itself is said to provide half the fish consumed by Cambodians.

The hydrologic facet is one reason to see the lake. The other is the floating villages that inhabit it year-round, moving with the water levels and fishing prospects. We rode a long-tail boat well out into the lake proper, beyond Chong Khneas, and got to see such village life up-close, at least briefly. In addition to the hundreds of fishing/residential boats moored among the vegetation, somewhat reminiscent of Florida mangroves, there are also floating general stores, repair shops, restaurants, saloons, schools, churches, police stations, a gym, clinic, and on and on. An entire village, and not a small one. Mao said 14,000 people live on the lake year-round, 4,000 of them Vietnamese. Over-fishing has become a serious problem.

A short drive on the Phnom Penh highway took us to the so-called Roulos group, a cluster of three temple sites that were the first instances of Khmer capital-building, all 9th century. The largest of these is Bakong, where the mountain-temple style of the next 400 years was first attempted on a large scale. Preah Koh is a short distance away, more brick than stone, but nevertheless impressive. The third Roulos site is Lolei, mostly brick, and far more ruined, but still with good carvings on the lintels. Lolei is significant in that it was set in the first baray, and thus was the first island temple here. The Roulos group is a bit off the tour-bus-beaten track, and so we had all three sites virtually to ourselves.

We spent the afternoon by the Angkor Le Meridien's pool and spa complex, sipping cocoanut milkshakes and tanning ever so slightly—this is what you are required to do at 5 star hotels—and then took a tuk-tuk to the old market downtown. There we strolled and shopped, gawking at the meat and fish and vegetables (“Cambodians eat everything” Mao had informed us), stimulating the local economy modestly, and then had dinner at the Angkor Palm, a seven-dish Cambodian sampler for me, and spare ribs for Vicki.

Further culinary note: tamarinds. At Moore Park, in 1950s Miami, near where my family lived, there was a tamarind tree. My father and I used to walk in the park, and he introduced me to this sweet and very sour shelled, bean-like fruit. I would see them in supermarkets occasionally when we lived in Columbus in the 1970s, but not in the last 20 years or more (and certainly not in Montana!). Tamarinds are native to SE Asia, and an ingredient in Thai cooking especially, and I saw several tamarind trees among the Khmer ruins the past few days. Tamarinds were all over the old market in Siem Reap, and so I bought a dollar's worth. Well, it was probably a nickel's worth, but who's going to bargain when re-connecting with his inner Floridian child of the past? Alas, the tamarinds I bought were not nearly so sour as I'd had in the past. You can't go back.

Further note: vegetation. Many, if not most, of the more interesting and exotic plants ones sees in Florida—and with which I grew up—come from SE Asia, where they are far larger and more prevalent. Every plant I look at here, from cacti and calamandons and hibiscus and orchids to gigantic gum trees and more, evokes memories. Hedges of ming aralias I have seen also evoke memories of the dozens of these fragile plants I have killed, regrettably, over the years, trying to make them thrive in places like Columbus and Dallas and Missoula. And then there are my favorite rhapis palms, everywhere, all the way from northern China to here...rhapis palm trees! My last two potted rhapis palms I left in the care of The University of Montana student center, which has an incredibly large and diverse tropical atrium. I hope to visit them again some day.

Khmer Sites, II

We visited half a dozen or so more temples and other sites today...Baksei Chamkrong, Banteay Kdie, Banteay Srey, East Mebon, Neak Pean, Pre Rup, Preah Khan, Ta Keo, Ta Prohm, and Ta Som. The manner and varieties of construction are becoming familiar, as are the representational styles, subjects, and methods. Our guide, Mao (I swear I am not making this up), a 32-year-old former school teacher, is giving us the history of every scene and depiction. He is Buddhist but is quite knowledgeable about Hinduism as well (but seemed unimpressed that we had visited the Brahma Temple in Pushkar; oh well). The Khmer wavered between Hinduism and Buddhism for several centuries (each eradicating all traces of the competition and fighting off the Muslims when not otherwise engaged...isn't religion great?!) until Buddhism finally won out. The country is currently about 85% Buddhist, Mao says. Tourists in the monks' saffron and orange robes are all about, and it's not unusual to see a saffron robe on a motor scooter.

Among the sites, our favorite by far was Ta Prohm, originally a gigantic 13th century Buddhist monastery. The government has deliberately and wisely left it in a semi-over-grown-jungle state. We visited in the later afternoon, when the light was perfect, and the effect was magical. (The closure of the Bangkok airports has kept the number of tourists well down; there were fewer than a hundred of us at Angkor Wat yesterday). At Ta Prohm, the enormous trees are nearly as old as the ruins, and their roots have spread throughout and within the ancient sites. (See illustration). I suppose part of the magic is imagining you are seeing what the European “discoverers” might have see 150 years ago. But it is still magical.

Today's sites ranged from the 9th to the 13th centuries. It is interesting to recall what was going on in Europe in the 9th century and what was being built. Not much and damn little that has survived. I recall a 10th century abbey in France, Tournis, I think, where the stone construction was primitive, transparent, and unadorned...near the confluence of the three great rivers of Burgundy, the Rhone, the Saone, and the Beaujolais. ;-). (I guess I missed the first 2008 Beaujolais, a pity).

One of the tourist treats here is a helium balloon and gondola on a cable that ascends a few hundred feet to give a view of the countryside as well as the major sites like Angkor Wat. Vicki has always wanted to do a balloon ride, but has never been willing to risk the uncertainty (where will we land? when?) nor the hundred(s) of bucks required. Nor have I. But today, between the AM and the PM temples, we did the balloon ride, 15US$ each, up and down, getting a great view of Angkor Wat, Phnom Bakheng, and, especially, the West Baray. The Khmer were builders not only of great cities and temples but also of reservoirs. The major sites all have (or had) enormous moats, miles around, partly defensive in purpose. The West Baray is a perfectly rectangular 10 square km 12th century artificial lake, west of Angkor Thom, that provided for irrigation supporting three rice harvests a year in those times. It continues to irrigate the land around Siem Reap.

Cambodians.... Our guide, Mao, is 32 and our driver is perhaps 40, an old man. One sees very, very few people of greater age here. They have all been killed in the wars that have ravaged this land, all during our lifetimes. Fear of land-mines is everywhere. The last in this region were removed in 2004. Cambodia still imports much of its produce from Thailand: land is not tilled for fear of the mines. At every historic site there is an ensemble of legless men, playing traditional music, asking for donations for land-mine victims. The Cambodians we have met in three days appear to be kind and gentle people, honest and generous. What they have been through, for generations, is unimaginable in our world.

Siem Reap, Angkor Thom, and Angkor Wat

                                            

We hired a guide and driver and car to show us around here and will take at least a couple days to see the main sites. Today we did much of Angkor Thom, the 12th century Khmer capital, including the Terrace of the Leper King, Phimeanakas, Baphulon, and Bayon. Later in the day we toured Angkor Wat itself. All these sites are monumental and range from the 11th through 13th centuries, built upon laterite and then faced with sandstone, every inch of which is intricately carved in bas relief and other kinds of representation. Both Hinduism and Buddhism are represented, as well as much of Khmer history to that point. Yes, these are the extensive and enormous jungle ruins that were not known to westerners until the mid-19th century. Later in the afternoon we ascended the hill to the late 9th century Phnom Bakheng for its views of Angkor Wat. This evening we went into town for a Cambodian buffet and cultural program, dancing and music. Internet is very expensive at this Sheraton property, so posts from here will be brief!

Vicki adds:

December 6, 2008—Siem Reap, Cambodia

Obviously we made it out of Thailand—in fact, on the day the demonstrators finally left the airport. We flew through the alternative set up outside of Bangkok and it was a zoo. However, Cambodia has been a delight. We are using our Starpoints from our credit card to stay at a 5 star hotel. I really like the lap of luxury! In Asia we can stay for 25-35% of the points that would be needed for a hotel in the US. This will be the end over here since both Sydney and Auckland want way too many points for a hotel stay. We had a car and driver with guide for 2 ½ days to see the many temples and also a trip to the floating village. Though it has been 90 every day, the ruins have been terrific. Mark is describing them in detail in his blog.

Tomorrow we fly back to Bangkok and hope we can leave late Thursday night for Sydney without more demonstrations getting in the way. We considered just trying to go out through Cambodia but the things we really wanted to see were in Bangkok and not here. We have had two very good Khmer meals—however, they tend to be heavy on bananas—at the buffet the other night there were at least 9 different preparations.

So off to Bangkok.

Anger, What?

We got out of Thailand this morning (December 3) and are now in Siem Reap, Cambodia, at the Angkor Le Meridien. (Interestingly, “Siem Reap” means “Thai defeat”). Our departure from Koh Samui was relatively trouble-free until the Bangkok Airlines staff there figured out they could not ticket us and our bags through to Cambodia. So we had to re-ticket and re-check baggage in U-Tapao, the former Viet Nam era airbase that the Thai government has hastily converted into Bangkok's commercial airport during the “People's Alliance for Democracy” occupation of Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang airports. Hey, at U-Tapao they even have one (1) metal detector and one (1) X-ray machine. It was near pandemonium there, and would have been except that everyone waiting was so happy to be getting out of Thailand. The illustration shows only the final departure lounge. Before that were similar scenes to get in the terminal, to get through baggage security check, to get ticketed and bags checked, to get in and through customs and immigration, then through security, and then into the final waiting area. There was no signage, and if either airlines, airport, government or military people knew what the passenger procedure was supposed to be, they weren't telling. So we are in Siem Reap, already liking Cambodia, and studying up on the vast and ancient temple complexes here, reputedly the world's largest religious site. We'll begin a 2 or 3 day tour program tomorrow morning. Our plans beyond that are a bit cloudy, depending on what's going on in Thailand. Rumors were flying (as well as a few airplanes) at U-Tapao that the PAD was threatening to re-occupy the airports December 12 if their new demands are not met. Whatever. Our tickets to Sydney, from Bangkok, are for December 11.

We'll Always Have Paris...I mean, Koh Samui

"Look, Rick, do you know what this is? Something that even you have not seen. Letters of transit signed by General de Gaulle. Cannot be rescinded, not even questioned...."

Anyone seen those letters of transit?

Thai'd Down

Tonight! Tonight!
9 PM! 9 PM!
The best Muay Thai! The best Muay Thai!
Super fight! Super fight!
Champion of champions! Champion of champions!
Chaweng stadium! Chaweng stadium!
Get your seats earlier! Get your seats earlier!

We're still (Sunday) in Koh Samui. Our afternoon flight to Bangkok was indeed cancelled--the Bangkok airport is now officially closed through December 1--and so now our plans must change. The prospect of more widespread civil unrest is looming and is being openly discussed on BBC and other places. So we're looking into options for leaving. These of course are limited on this small island and with thousands of others similarly trying to leave. But we'll get out in due course. It's a sad prospect for us: we really like what we have seen of Thailand and the Thai people. And we'll also miss Angor Wat.

On Koh Samui you'd never know what's happening on the mainland. For us, yesterday was more sun, walks on the beach and along Main Street, and a really nice dinner and traditional Thai dance program at Poppies' (http://www.poppiessamui.com/uk/uk-samui-home.html) next door...shrimp cakes with plum sauce, spicy prawn soup with mushroom and lime leaf, stir-fried morning glory, fried chicken with ginger, roast duck curry, ice cream and banana fritters. Oh yes, and not to forget the pina colada and "Get Your Seats Earlier."

Coup de Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to friends and family. Vicki and I remain on the island of Koh Samui in the Gulf of Thailand. Somehow we managed to schedule a cooking class for Thanksgiving, so our Thanksgiving dinner, which I cooked (Vicki joined as a guest), consisted of Panang Curry with Chicken, Steam Fish (red snapper) with Ginger/Soy Sauce, and Stirred Flat Noodles with Pork. All very, very zesty and good (if I say so myself). And lots and lots of steamed rice and stir-fried vegetables, some in fact new to us. The class was at the Samui Institute for Thai Culinary Arts, www.sitca.net.

The weather has gotten decent, and yesterday we did a tour of the island, hiring a taxi for the afternoon It's only 50-some kilometers in circumference, but is wonderfully scenic and interesting, especially if you like palm trees, mountains, alternating shorelines of rocks, cliffs, and white sand beaches. Also lots of shrines and temples (at least they're Buddhist). Only the northeast shore is heavily developed. The west and north are still pretty much Thai, despite a variety of dubious tourist attractions. We did not do the crocodile farm, the elephant ride, the jeep safari, the monkey jungle, the snake farm.... Today, in addition to the afternoon cooking class, we took another long beach walk. Avoiding sun-burn has again become a concern.

Most of our attention has been focused the last two days on the escalating political situation in Thailand, particularly in Bangkok. Protesters have closed Bangkok's two commercial airports, essentially isolating the country and strangling its economy. Scores of thousands of travelers are stranded. The prime minister has declared a state of emergency, but it's unclear either the police or military will respond. An update with some background information is at http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/28/world/asia/28thai.html?_r=1&ref=asia. (Thanks, Mel).

This morning we explored some options for getting out of the country, to Siem Reap in Cambodia, which would have been our next stop after Bangkok, or to other places. Not much is going from nor coming to Koh Samui (most planes are on the ground in Bangkok), everything's booked anyway, and getting worse as everyone tries to get out. So we are simply holding up here, waiting for the situation in Bangkok to clarify. We have reservations for Bangkok Sunday afternoon. We'll see what happens. We don't feel at all threatened. The Thai are wonderful people. We don't have to be anywhere really until December 11. We can keep our room indefinitely, internet's free, the weather's improving, the food's great, and Koh Samui's actually a pretty nice place to spend a coup. The only US TV news we're getting is Fox, and that has been a bit of a culture shock. Fortunately, there's BBC too.

The political situation and its economic consequences are really going to hurt people in this little nation. The news from India is ever more dire and distressing. Thanksgiving's a good time to count one's blessings, and Vicki and I, and ours, and readers of this blog are very fortunate indeed.

Corn Sundae, Anyone?

Seen at the Chaweng Mall this afternoon (to which we retreated as the monsoon worsened...). I thought I had a fair grasp of the principles of Thai cooking, but this one was new to me.

Revenge of the Carnivores

Seven weeks of Nepali/Indian food, even the occasional non-veg and Pizza Hut, had gotten to us, so last night we splurged at a "Brazilian grill" up the street, Zico's. The food was great, it was a somewhat different dining experience for us, the decor was convincing, the music and entertainment appropriately upbeat. Preceded by an extravagant salad bar, the main attraction was the all-you-can-eat mixed grill. Every night they grill 15 different meat, fish/shellfish, and fowl varieties and slice them onto your plate from skewers (see illustration), accompanied by a variety of sauces. Great lamb, chicken, barracuda, prawn, pork, veal, chorizo, salmon, duck, beef, etc. I cannot say we totally pigged out--we are both very pleased with the weight we lost as result of Dr. Sherouse's Miracle Khumbu Diet (burn 6,000 calories a day; ingest 1,500; get sick; lose your appetite). But we do think we scored one for the carnivores last night. Confession: I tried the grilled shark , but I did not eat the fin. I think it had been removed in China. See Zico's at http://www.zicossamui.com/index.asp for yourself.

Later. Our inactivity continues, aided by the occasional thunderstorms and clouds. Major achievements include: getting my beard trimmed, Vicki's getting a pedicure, getting our clothes "professionally" washed (35 bhat/kilo, folded), editing pix down to a manageable 13 gigs and backing them up, making Bangkok and Siem Reap arrangements, Vicki's reading of Ken Follett's PILLARS OF THE EARTH, not getting sun-burned. Today we did a two-hour walk, covering much of Chaweng Beach. The highlight for me was a great Tom Yum soup with prawns for dinner.

"Still Another Removal!"

$30/night including American breakfast!

After using up our discount we have moved from the luxurious Buri Rasa down the road a few blocks to the less luxurious but still nice Seascape Beach Resort (http://www.seascapebeachresort.com/). A small bungalow, a little less room, a little more spartan, but $50 less per night and still on the beach with pretty much the same features and amenities. After four sunny days, the monsoon has returned, and this also influenced our plans.

We are still lazing about, Vicki reading a novel a day, most recently Terry Pratchett's THUD! (all the hotels/motels/resorts have small libraries of left-behind books, mostly in Deutsch), but today I hope to get some much over-due work done on the 8,000-10,000 photos we have taken so far. By my count, this is our 39th room in the 82 days we have been on the trip.

When we were in Nepal, below tree-line, I marveled at the lush forests--pine, fir, spruce, a particularly beautiful oak (with Spanish moss) and rhododendron tree forest near Tengboche, and more--and also at the fact that (unlike the Rocky Mountains) there was absolutely no evidence of (nor concern about) wildfires. The monsoon keeps everything pretty moist year-round. I also wondered what the monsoon was like. My curiosity is now satisfied.

McThai

So there, right on North Chaweng Beach Road in Chaweng Beach, Koh Samui, is a smiling, culturally-sensitive Ronald McDonald, welcoming you to the McCafe: "Sawadee!" (Click to enlarge). I could not resist the shrimp burger (real shrimp in a patty on a bun) and the creamed corn pie. Both are available only in Thailand (so we were told), as is the pork burger. The Chaweng area contains a remarkably eclectic mix of restaurants for a small place (the whole island is only 50,000), mostly Thai, but pretty much anything else with a cuisine. We'll be doing the mostly Thai, which we both like, hoping to take a cooking course next week. But we could not resist the beckoning Ronald tonight.

Other than walks on the beach and some local exploration we have not done a great deal in the past three days. As planned. "Que bonita es no hacer nada, y despues de no hacer nada, descansar." It is good to do nothing, and after you have done nothing, to rest.