We were picked up this morning from our hotel by our tour guide Kay. We went to the Doi Suthep Temple which is on top of a hill overlooking Chiang Mai. This was a beautiful temple that contained a relic of the Buddha which was denoted by its four parasols. The temple is considered a royal temple and the royal family visits at least once a year. Chiang Mai “New City” used to be the capital of the north.

After this we stopped at the Jolie Femme silk factory. We got a quick tour and explaination as to how silk is spun by the silk worm. It was also amazing to see the workers weave fabric. An average worker making a basic weave (no pattern) can produce about 10 meters per day. I got measured for my first custom made shirt from 100% silk. Pretty nice!

We headed back to the hotel and then for a walk around the city. We ended the evening with one last trip to the night market, but were unable to find a local ping pong show

-Allen

This morning we went to a local market. This was very different from the other markets that have visited as it was not geared towards tourists. I think we were the only white people in the market. There were buckets of live eel, meat (chopped to order), whole suckling pigs on a stick, and many other interesting local favorites.

We then went to a temple that is currently being built and is being funded by a well know Thai actor. We then visited rock paintings dating back 4000 years. At this location there was an interesting anti-abortion statement (fetus in a jar).

To end the day we traveled back to Bangkok with some of the people from our tour and learned about their different cultures. Most importantly we also learned about what ping-pong show is. If you are not familiar with this just search for more information.

We flew to Chiang Mai and went to our hotel the Puripunn. This hotel is actually located amongst Thai houses so it feels like we are part of the community. We went to the famous Night Market and tested our bargaining skills.

-Susan

Today we traveled to Khao Yai National Park with a group of travelers staying at the lodge. There were people from France, Spain, Germany and the US. After we entered the park they gave us these funny looking socks (pictured below). Can anybody guess what they were used for? (Post a comment with your guess.)

We started out with a trek through the jungle where we saw the Great Hornbill, Gibbons, and claw marks on trees from bears. We stopped at a lookout tower with a beautiful view of the landscape, but no sign of wild elephants (just giant elephant dung). We continued through the park and ran into a tribe of Macaques. They were fun to observe as many carried their young. They didn’t seem to mind that we were there. We also saw a scorpion and water monitor keeping themselves warm on the pavement. There were two waterfalls that we visited, but one of them had a limited view as they were filming a movie in that location. This sight was also used in the movie “The Beach”.

We went out on a night safari with a park ranger in search of wild elephants. Unfortunately, all we saw were many deer. Overall it was a great day in the park.

-Susan

We were picked up at the Hilton today to start our journey to Khao Yai National Park. After a 2.5 hour ride we arrived at the Khao Yai Garden Lodge, ate lunch and prepped for our afternoon tour.

At 3:30 we made our way to a cave with temples where monks retreat to meditate. We headed down into the cave and the pressure and humidity got to be so intense that we had to abort. It was extremely difficult to breathe and you could feel the pressure change in your ears. After our ascent we walked down another corridor and saw hundreds of bats flying around and several large spiders. I thought I would be more scared than I was, but I quickly conquered my fears.

After the cave, we traveled to an open field in front of a mountain where there was another cave. At dusk, more than 1 million bats fly out and leave their day time home in search of food at the National Park. Before we walked out into the field we noticed a millipede which we picked up and it wrapped itself around my wrist and made a Thai bracelet for me.

Back at the lodge, I became a local hero as I was able to fix Internet access on one of the computers which was not functioning for several months. It took me less than 3 minutes of troubleshooting. I received a standing ovation from the locals that live at the lodge. The Internet access at this lodge was free, compared to the Hilton which charged about $16 USD per day and the room was about $200 USD more per day at the Hilton. Guess Paris needs some extra money for the attorney/doctor fees.

-Allen

We started our day at 7am for a journey to the Damnoen Saduak (floating market). Here we traveled through klongs (canals) by boat while people sold flowers, fruit, spices, clothing, and meat from their boats or shops on the water’s edge. We tried local fruits and a local favorite, noodle soup. Some of the fruit that we sampled included mangosteen, rambutan, and bananas fried in coconut oil. You can negotiate the price of the goods that you are going to purchase. Some locals still barter for goods.

We then headed back into Bangkok, to Jim Thompson’s House. He was an American man who fell in love with Thai silk while he was in Thailand during World War II. He returned to Thailand after the war and is responsible for the revival of the Thai silk industry. During a trip to Malaysia he disappeared into the jungles without a trace.

After this we headed to the Grand Palace, which included Wat Phra Kaew (sometimes spelled Wat Phra Kaeo) The Temple of the Emerald Buddha. The figure is actually made of Jade and has 3 different outfits. These are only to be changed by the King. Currently the Emerald Buddha is wearing his Summer outfit and in the beginning of July he will change to his Rainy Season outfit. These outfits are made of gold and precious gemstones.

After walking around the Grand Palace we went to Wat Pho where there is a 46 meter long Buddha image (about 150 feet). So which came first, the temple or the Buddha image?

This marked the end of our tour with Pat from Destinations Plus. We would highly recommend having Pat as your guide if you travel to Bangkok.

For dinner we decided to go to the Gallery Cafe. This time we walked instead of getting in a Tuk-Tuk.

-Susan

Our tour guide Pat greeted use with Jasmine flowers at the Bangkok airport. This is a traditional offering to the Buddha image. We proceeded to check in at the Millennium Hilton. After we were settled, we headed out for a boat trip along the Chao Phraya River. We got to see traditional Thai houses as well as modern day living along the canals. There were Thai’s in boat that would stop at the various houses to sell food and other goods. Instead of going to the restaurant, it comes to your house! We also visited the temple of the old Royal Palace. The pictures that we took do not do justice to the beauty of the temple.

After going back to the hotel and getting cleaned up, we headed out for dinner. We were met by a Tuk-Tuk driver who was going to take us to the Gallery Cafe, a restaurant recommended by Pat. What was supposed to be a 5 minute drive ended up being a detour to some other restaurant that we did not request. Apparently this happens often to unsuspecting tourists. A lot of these drivers get gas vouchers or other forms of commission from these businesses for dropping off tourists.

Today we noticed a lot of Thai’s wearing yellow shirts with an emblem. Everyday has a color assigned and yellow is for Monday. Bhumibol Adulyadej, the King of Thailand was born on a Monday, so the shirt is worn in his honor. Thai’s love and respect their king, as he has treated them well during his 60 year reign.

-Susan

Susan and I jumped on the Singapore Airlines Hop-On Hop-Off bus around the city to take in the sights such as Sulton Mosque and City Hall. We also headed over to Sentosa to see the beach. There was a beach volleyball tournament going on so we watched that for a while and walked around.

Tonight we went to the Singapore Zoo to see the famous night safari. Before we boarded the Tram, we watched a fire show just inside the entrance. While I was taking pictures one of the people in the show asked me to come up with them. I didn’t know what to do so I just handed the camera to Susan and up I went. I had two tasks, put a flaming stick into one guys mouth and then to put one out in mine! The first task was pretty easy and I was not looking forward to attempting the second one. They ended up putting it very close to my face and taking it away. I was dripping with sweat right after from the heat and nervousness.

We boarded the tram and rode around the zoo. We were not sure what to expect on this “Night Safari”. Essentially it is a tram that rides around the zoo with a tour guide. After the 45 minute tram ride you can walk around the zoo. It was cool to see all of the animals at night. This has excited us to consider booking a trip to Africa soon!

Pictures coming soon. I am taking too many to keep up with the post-processing.

-Allen

After checking out from the Royale Bintang, we departed by car with a stop in Malacca. Malacca has a history of being occupied by the Japanese, Dutch, English, and finally the Malay. We visited the Baba-Nonya Museum to see how the Chinese and Malay traditions blend in to create a unique culture. We then stopped at Cheng Hoon Teng Temple, the oldest Chinese Temple in Malaysia. We walked down Jonkers Street, which should have had the “o” replaced with a “u” as it was a lot of stuff we don’t need. Lastly, we visited the ruins of St. Paul’s Church where St. Francis Xavier was buried. Before we got in the car to head out of the city, we purchased a couple of drawings/sketches from a local artist.

Upon arrival in Singapore we checked into the Marriott which was newly renovated. This hotel was unbelievable. The rooftop pool and basketball court were some of the amenities that we enjoyed as well as access to the Executive Lounge which had plenty of free food and drinks 18 hours a day. Good thing Allen is Platinum Elite!

-Susan

Today was our last day in Malaysia. Susan and I booked a tour (which really ended up being a car ride) to a rain forest at the Forest Research Institute of Malaysia (FRIM). The driver warned us about leeches and gave us a lighter to burn them off in case one got attached to us. I couldn’t get any pictures inside the rain forest as the camera lens fogged up immediately. We walked around for a while through the forest and then the rest of the land at the FRIM.

The driver took us to the Batu Caves on the way back. This is a Hindu Shrine in a group of caves just north of Kuala Lumpur. The site is also loaded with macaque monkeys, which got seemed to scare quite a few people on the way up to the caves. Susan and I observed some prayer ceremonies after the walk up.

For dinner we headed back into KL, and went to Feast Village which is in the JW Marriott. This place has a wide variety of restaurants from around the world. We stopped over at the Fisherman’s Cove and I must say it was well worth it. The roast duck was by far the best meal I have had in quite some time! The next time I come to this area, I will be staying at the JW!

Check out the pictures from today’s adventures.

-Allen

After many meals, stories, labs, and technical information, it has to come to an end. Today I finished up delivering the Train The Trainer class here in Malaysia. This was my first international teaching experience. Everybody in the class was extremely nice and I look forward to working with them in the future. (Pictured Left to Right: Yudhil, Jakapong, Chung, me, Sanjeev, Albert, Val. Not pictured: Cheng Pei. Click the picture for the full size image)

-Allen