Thailand - Temples and Wings

2-23 February

Yak, gate guardian giant, Wat Arun

Thailand? We probably would never have considered it as a destination if Matty Senior had not been running a tour there. We had gone with Matty to Nepal for a flying tour and had had a great time, and people who had done his Thailand tour had good things to say about that experience, too. After some discussion, we decided to go on the early tour before the dry-season temperatures climbed beyond our narrow comfort zone; but that would also mean that we would not find the cross-country potential of the later tours. To make the most of a long flight from Seattle to Taipei to Bangkok (BKK), we decided to stay an additional ten days so we could explore Bangkok, and catch a one-hour flight to Siem Reap in Cambodia to visit the Angkor Wat temple complex, a UNESCO World Heritage site. The plan was to spend two nights in BKK acclimating before the tour, do the ten-day tour, return to BKK for two nights, fly to Siem Reap for three nights, and return to Bangkok for our last two nights. We made reservations in advance for lodging at MHC Guesthouse in the Sukhumvit neighborhood, but we waited until we had more information before booking a flight and hotel in Siem Reap. It all worked out amazingly well.

2 Feb, Tue – We had been packing and preparing for days so by 1900 we were ready enough that we felt like we could go to our usual square dance on the way to the airport. Leaving the Cedar Grange at Maple Valley shortly before 2200, we were at the Sandstone Inn and parked ($120) early enough to get a shuttle ride directly to the departures area for EVA Air at 2240. That made it a little easier to lug our stuff in along with Matty’s big bag of tandem paragliding gear. Fortunately, I found a loose baggage cart and we were able to negotiate the long line of (mostly Asian) people, many with big boxes of stuff. Maybe they were heading

Ministry of Defence near Grand Palace

 to visit family during the Lunar New Year holidays.

 At Sandstone we had met a 60-something couple who were also going to Thailand but they were joining an adventure tour and would be biking, hiking and kayaking and returning from Cambodia. After checking in we got through a short line at the TSA security checkpoint quickly enough even though we had to go through the whole screening since we were not TSA pre-checked this time. C.J. lost her keychain Swiss Army knife to the TSA when she forgot that she had her car keys with her in her carry-on. At the gate we met up with Jenn and her dad, Jack, who were also going to 300 Peaks Paragliding in Pak Nam Pran with us. We had already made arrangements with Matty and Graham to drop our wings with Jenn at the Meeting Point at BKK for transport to PNP, leaving us with just our wheeled carry-ons to bring into Bangkok.

3 Feb, Wed – Our flight left at 0100 and we managed to sit together by switching with the passenger who was in the middle seat in our row. It was something like 12 hours to Taipei and it was dark all the way. We got a dinner soon after reaching cruising altitude and a breakfast about an hour before we landed. Otherwise, I tried to sleep as much as I could. C.J. slept and watched The Martian, recommended by Mark Forbes. Once in the Taipei airport and through their security screening, we lost track of Jenn and Jack (and the other couple from Olympia) but we figured that they would show up at Gate C9 for our flight in four hours or so. We were surprised when they never did and assumed they must have gotten an earlier flight. This would mean that they would be in BKK at least a couple of hours earlier than we so we would miss the chance to get rid of our heavy bags. Bummer! We got another meal on this much-shorter leg of our trip and I watched The Martian and read. We did not have seats together again but by doing some swapping, we got seats across the aisle from each other.

4 Feb, Thu - When we deplaned we could feel the heat and we packed away our fleece which had been comfortable on the plane. There was the usual long line for immigration and then a quite long wait for our bags to appear on the carrousel but customs was a perfunctory glance (although others had to put their stuff through a scanner). While waiting for our bags I took 7000 Baht from one of the many ATMs. We found the Meeting Point at Suvarnabhumi airport easily enough and there were lots of people there with signs, but none from 300 Peaks. I left C.J. with the two carts and all our bags and went back to the crowded DTAC booth to get a SIM card  for my NZ phone. I couldn’t get one for C.J. because I did not have her passport. When I tried calling Graham, the phone said it was on roaming but I used it anyway. Graham said we were much later than he had expected (1430 instead of 1245) partly because our plane was a little late leaving and partly because we were delayed by Immigration and Baggage Claim. Anyway, we were stuck with all our bags –and Matty’s – and had to find a large enough taxi to fit it all in. The taxi system, although somewhat expensive compared to hailing one’s own taxi at the departures level, was efficient and the queue moved right along. We got assigned to a larger hatchback taxi  and were soon on our way on the toll road into Bangkok. Once off the highway, traffic was snarled and it took more than half an hour to reach MHC Guesthouse on Sukhumvit, Soi 28. The girl at the desk helped us bring all our bags in and store the big ones downstairs. Our room was on the second floor, DC-6, and had an air conditioner for which we were very thankful. We changed into lighter weight clothes and, after consulting with the desk and an ex-pat Australian, we headed out to find some food and get a little accustomed to the Sukhumvit area. We walked east to the Phrom Phong BTS station and took the stairs to the ticket booths and shopping area. That level also provided an entrance to a new supermall building, EmQuartier, which was having some kind of Lunar New Year celebration with dances and most notably a huge dragon with an animated head and mirror-like scales. We saw a True telecom booth where they were giving away SIM cards and bought a seven-day package for C.J.’s phone. Then we descended to the street level and continued east maybe a quarter mile or more to the next station, Asok, where we ascended again and this time entered another supermall, Terminal 21. We had been told that there was a food court on the fifth floor and we found it as well as many other places to eat. The food court, Pier 21, was busy and there were many choices, none of them fast-food franchises. We bought a card for 400 THB which allowed us to buy from any of the food stalls and then tried to choose which one(s) we would get food from. C.J. went for a plate of sesame noodles with duck and pork, I went for a soup described as pork and offal with rice noodles. All the stalls had descriptions in Thai and English as well as pictures. We also got fresh fruit smoothies and, later, a scoop of ice cream each (Nutella, choc-banana). Then we walked back along the street in the early evening darkness. There were lots of opportunities for street food and the traffic was still just as tied up. Back at our room we didn’t stay up much past 2100.

Scaffolding on spire of Wat Arun

 5 Feb, Fri – Up EARLY partly due to jetlag and partly that we were already pretty much caught up on sleep. No one was around downstairs to make breakfast so we tried doing some planning and studying until the girl who seems to do everything showed up around 0730. It looked like she had been out shopping already. We had the lighter of the two English Breakfasts – eggs, a sausage that looked a lot like a hot dog, toast and tea or milk; we skipped the corn flakes. Then we headed out to get a day pass for the sky train at the Phrom Phong BTS station. We took the train to the Siam station where we switched to another line and went to Saphan Taksin station where the pier is located for the various river boat companies. Instead of getting a 40B one way ticket, we got the full day pass for the tourist boat so we could hop on and hop off. It worked pretty well but there were somewhat long waits for the boat sometimes. We got off the boat for the first time at Pier N6/1, Pak Klong Talad Pier (a klong is a canal) and made our way to the flower market which was part of a much bigger market selling vegetables and other things. Then we walked east/north along Mahraj road heading for Wat Pho, home of the “reclining Buddha”. It wasn’t obvious where we were supposed to turn to get in there and a tuk-tuk agent latched onto us as we looked at the map. He was a real salesman (aka scammer) and talked us into going with one of his drivers to visit several other sites and then return to Wat Pho in the afternoon all for only 60, no, 50B. Once we were on our way and were stuck in traffic we figured out that we were going to happen was that we would

Stupas at the Grand Palace

end up at a souvenir or jewelry or whatever shop and get the hard sell. So, while we were idling in heavy traffic we jumped out. I gave the guy 100 just for the experience of the thing and we scooted on across a klong on an old lift bridge. C.J.’s phone was able to get a fix on our location and we were able to walk through the Royal Gardens to reach the Royal Palace, one of our destinations for the day. [But not without a little adventure – the Garden was surrounded by a fence and there was no exit on the side toward the palace. Fortunately we lucked upon a Chinese woman and child who had talked the guard into unlocking a gate and letting us all through.] The wall around the palace seemed to go on for a long ways but eventually we reached the entrance gate (after passing several other gates guarded by armed soldiers). There was a huge crowd at the entrance both coming and going and it was just as busy inside. [A warning was being broadcast near the gates about not letting anyone prevent you from entering freely. We related to that as we had been told by the tuk-tuk agent that Wat Pho was closed.] Inside the walls, the scenery was magnificent but it was hot and the crowd was thick. When we found out that the entrance fee was 500B each and that C.J.’s capri pants might not be modest enough, we decided to leave and get back on the tourist boat where it would be cooler. The first boat to arrive at the Maharaj Pier was going up the river (well, north west anyway) but we hopped on anyway. By now we were somewhat dehydrated and it was after lunchtime for sure. There were plenty of restaurants and smaller food places but they were all in the tourist area and were expensive compared to the Pier 21 food court from the previous night. I did stumble upon a DTAC stall and got the girls there to look at my phone to see why it was telling me that I was on Roaming every time I tried to make a call or use the cellular data. They did a few things and told me that it was working fine (later – it’s still telling me that I’m Roaming). Everyone had to get off the boat at N13, Phra Arthit Pier which wasn’t near anything that we were interested in. We finally succumbed to a restaurant that had a jug (three glasses) of multi-fruit smoothie for 90B. It tasted and felt really good. Since we had missed the next boat down the river, we had a bit of a wait for the next one but not even 30 min. We got off this boat at N8, Tha Tien Pier and immediately hopped on another boat that took us across the river (5) to Wat Arun, an amazing group of temples with Buddha statuary including one large one in a temple that we entered after leaving our shoes outside. The main temple was covered with scaffolding and was being renovated, and another one was getting a new coat of steel roofing. We took lots of pictures before we felt the need to head back toward “home” and find something to eat. We took the shuttle boat (5) back to the other side and got in the line for the tourist boat. Everyone in the crowd got aboard when the boat arrived and we returned to the Central Pier (N-0) and the Saphan Taksin sky train station. We backtracked to Siam, changed trains and got off at Asok where we returned to Pier 21 “food court” and had a late lunch/dinner of stir fried noodles and seafood, another stir fry that came with rice, two smoothies, and ice cream for dessert. Later we found out that there was a Swensen’s ice cream parlor on another floor in the Terminal 21 Mall. We ate near a window with a good view out over part of the city. When we were finished we crowded onto the rush-hour train and rode the short distance to the Phrom Phong station and walked the rest of the way to the guesthouse. I had my key but could not find the tag which had come loose. The tag had the transponder that unlocks the door so we couldn’t get in. No one came when we rang the bell. Finally I had to try to call the owner, Captain Max. No one answered but the manager came down and let us in, and spotted the tag just behind us in the street. It must have been pulled out of my pocket when I pulled the key out. (Whew! That would have been expensive to replace.) I was still thirsty so I bought a Singha beer which I drank while downloading and looking at our pictures with C.J. Later we both got showers. C.J. tried working on her journal but kept falling asleep, so went to bed early. We got a SMS from Graham that his driver would pick us up at 1130 on Friday. That works because we don’t have to check out until noon. C.J.’s charger for her camera blew out and tripped the circuit breaker – our room got really dark until the manager flipped the breaker back on. It looks like C.J. can charge either from the computer or by using a cell phone charger. We may look into other options on Friday morning.

Matty, G at Khao Kalok on scooter tour

6 Feb, Sat – We had breakfast at the guesthouse again and then went got packed up and went for a walk in the Benjasri Park just past the Phrom Phong BTS station. On the way back we went through the Emporium Mall and asked about a Dtac shop. There was one in the newer Emquartier Mall across the street so we went there to the 3^rd floor and the agent reset my phone and told me not to worry about the roaming messages I was getting just so long as I was calling within the country. There was also a True shop where C.J. asked about topping up her phone since it was registered for only one week. The agent said to top up on or before the 10^th. We got back to the guesthouse by 1115 and the taxi driver was already waiting so we gathered all of our stuff and helped him load it into the van. The trip out of the city was slow due to the traffic but once on the highway, we made better progress. C.J. and I grabbed some grilled pork on a stick and a container of rice for lunch at a gas station/rest area. After driving through Hua Hin the driver took a couple of wrong turns trying to get to Pak Nam Pran and had to turn around at dead ends. Finally, he called his boss and got directions that took us to 303/11 in the Tropical Seaview villas. Matty showed up within a couple of minutes and paid the driver. After greeting Jenn, Jack and Marcie (a friend of Jenn’s son who is teaching in NE China), we put rusty motorcycling reflexes to work following Matty on a scooter tour of the coast from Khao Kalok (Skull Mountain) Rock north to Happy House where we were scheduled to have a welcome dinner. We returned through the center of Pak Nam Pran and stopped for gas across from the market and a Tesco convenience store (ATM). Back at the villa, we unpacked and visited with Jenn, et al.  While waiting for the other three pilots to arrive; they were scheduled to be lodged in the villa next door. Matty and Graham returned with a car and truck to take us all to dinner to avoid any problems with driving the scooters in the dark. While waiting for dinner to be served, we had a drink and Matty gave an introduction to local flying. The weather had been windy from the north all day and was supposed to continue at least for another day. Saturday’s plan, then, would be a hike into the Khao San Rhoi Yot National Park and an afternoon cooking class taught by Om from the Happy House.

Entrance "sign" for San Rhoi Yot NP

At the market with Ane and Om

7 Feb, Sun – The wind continued to blow hard from the north so the alternative plan was a go. Graham picked us up at 0800 in a big Toyota HiAce van with a driver. Matty was banished to Graham’s pickup as he was still coughing. We drove along the coastal road to the south passing places where it was clear that the wind waves had reached the road in places. At the entrance to San Rhoi Yot (or Yod) National Park there were a number of open-sided eating places and souvenir shops. We had breakfast there – omelet with pork and an order of chicken fried rice, tea and a mango smoothie (230). Then we paid our entrance fee and started the hike up a trail that went over the ridge and down the other side to a sandy, coconut palm beach, Hat Laem Sala, with a park visitor center, toilets (no tp, flush with dippers of water), and a restaurant. We followed the signs for Phraya Nakhon Cave trail which also climbed steeply up and then down into the sinkhole. We were right on time for the sun to be illuminating the temple on a mound in the center. We got lots of photos and Matty may have gotten some footage with his drone. We hiked back out against an increasing stream of other tourists – good that we had gone relatively early. From the national park we drove toward the Tesco superstore in Pran Buri, with Graham pointing out possible bailouts and stopping to look at the “base of the mountain” LZ. At Tesco C.J. and I used the ATM to get another 10,000Baht and shopped for drinks, snacks and possible breakfast stuff then went to Swensen’s for a shared strawberry hot fudge sundae and a scoop of chocolate rain forest ice cream. Then we went back to the villa for a couple of hours of rest. We put a load of laundry in the front-load washers along with a few ounces of a mystery liquid that we hoped was detergent. Matty showed up sometime after 1600 and drove us and Loren to Ane’s restaurant where Om and she were going to teach us how to cook Thai food, First they helped us choose what we wanted to cook, then we walked across the street to the market and bought veggies, shrimp, chicken, kale, green papaya and squid (the local area is a well-known squid fishery). Back at the restaurant we cut and chopped and then cooked each dish one at a time: green papaya salad, massaman curry, squid tempura, green curry w/chicken, shrimp with wide noodles, stir-fried kale with carrots and ? Once everything was finished, we all sat down (Matt and Graham had returned from whatever they had been doing) and enjoyed the variety of dishes. (200 – for beer and gratuity; Matty paid for the cooking class and materials). We were back to the villa around 2000 and Graham came back to drop off a blender for our use. We went to bed early again.




C.J. in the "bling van"

8 Feb, Mon – Up at 0715, muesli and liquid yogurt (I thought I was buying milk) with mango for breakfast. Matt picked us up with another bling-y rental van and driver and we headed off to Pala-U Waterfall in Kaeng Krachan National Park NW of Hua Hin, about an hour-and-a-half from home base. Entrance fee was 600 for the two of us. We walked down the road from the parking area and crossed a bamboo bridge, then another higher bridge. From there it was 150 m to the first falls. We continued up alternately on trail or hopping from rock to rock until we reached the 7th fall (or pool) where there was a Do Not Enter sign. [Later Matt pointed out that we were near the 


G at Pala-u Falls

border of Myanmar.] We didn’t get back to the van until nearly 1300 and then it was about an hour drive to the Sanae Beach Club, a resort on the coast just south of Hua Hin in Kao Tao village. We had good but not spectacular food (too spicy green curry even though I had asked for “little spice”) served slowly in a dramatic setting with the waves crashing on a nearby granite dome. It was a short ride from there back to the villa where those who needed to work on their flying gear brought it over to Graham’s house. C.J. got to hang in her harness again and figure out where her radio and Delorme InReach were going to go. I took the scooter and rode back 

Thai flags at Sanae Beach Club

to Pak Nam Pram to buy some laundry detergent and to try to get some more fresh fruit. It looked like there was no one at the market; in fact I missed seeing it the first time past it because I was concentrating on the roundabout and traffic (which drives on the left in Thailand). Later Jenn told me that I should have turned left because the market was in a different place on Monday (Oh well, at least I got the laundry powder . I stopped at the villa to pick up my fleece jacket and Jenn’s, too. When I returned to Graham’s the equipment work was wrapping up. We had a short meeting about how things were done and when/where we would go on Tuesday. We have to pay a deposit of 3000 B each for the tow bridles to make sure we don’t forget to return them. Graham showed me how he whacks the top off a green coconut to access the juice. We scooter-ed back to the villa in the dusk. Jack and Jenn were going to Happy House to meet Chase and Marcie and then go to dinner. They invited us to join them but I didn’t want to ride all the way up there and back in the dark. So C.J. and I decided to drive down along the coast road and see what we might find; Graham had pointed out that there was a place called Ley Café that served ice cream which sounded like a possibility. We found it easily and had stir-fried seafood with rice and garlic prawns and broccoli. Both were good but a couple times more expensive than the food in the Pier 21 food court. We each also had a scoop of gelato – mango and passion fruit. We were warm enough eating outdoors and the wind was not a problem. Pretty soon the strong winds are going to abate and we’ll be wishing for cooler weather. Driving the scooter at night, at least on the not-busy coast road, was not a problem and we didn’t have far to go to get home. Jenn and Jack didn’t get back until much later. We’ll probably eat a light breakfast at home and then go out for a late brunch on Tuesday. There’s no place to eat at the Pran Buri lake/reservoir (“dam”) so no food until 1800 or so.




G on tow at Pran Buri Dam

9 Feb, Tue – We had the morning free to do whatever so we caught up on our journals and I looked into places to stay in Siem Reap, Cambodia. After talking it over I went ahead with a booking for a guesthouse with good reviews and free airport shuttle for $108 for three nights. We went out for an early lunch to a beach restaurant with Jenn, Jack, Chase and Marcie. Debu, our SIV guide, met us with the less-blingy van and we drove the hour-plus to our launch point on Pran Buri Reservoir. Graham and Matty were already there and had two shade shelters set up along with chairs and a cooler of cold drinks. We got the gear sorted out and added tow bridles and inflatable PFDs. Matty took the first tow to show how it worked. I went next, towed to 700-1000m and did recovery from surge, front collapse and B-line stall. Lorenz, “Sam” (Georg), C.J. and Jenn did the same program (although C.J. did not get high on tow and could not complete the whole thing). Then I went again and did asymmetric collapses – steer straight, and asym collapse – steer 180 to 360, then big ears with hard, quick weight-shift to lose altitude. That was enough for me but C.J. was up for another round before we packed up and left for the villa. So she had three tows/flights and everyone else had two. Debu did a debrief on the way back and Matty invited us to go to a restaurant with him at 1930. After getting a much-needed shower, we rode the scooter along the No. 2 road to the “little girl restaurant” where the only person in the family to speak English was the youngest girl (who was about six, Matty guessed, when they ate there the first time; now she is a couple years older). The beer was available only in 620 ml bottles so C.J. and I shared one Chang. The food was very good – vegetables with prawns, and fried chicken with cashews (yum). The bill was in Thai and it wasn’t clear how to figure who had what so we just split the 1250 B nine ways. We had no change, only a 1000B bill so next time we owe the group 280B. No problem driving the scooter on the 2^nd road in the dark because it was not much traveled. The plan for Wed is to do a foot launch and soaring flight somewhere 1hr15min to the north.




Jenn launching at Khao Dhen

10 Feb, Wed – We had muesli with mango again and left around 1000 for a foot-launch site NW of Phetchaburi, Khao Den (or, Dhen), a 250m takeoff above a 65 m LZ, both operated by a local flying club. We made a junk food run at a gas station, then stopped for lunch near Phetchaburi and had a couple of hardboiled eggs, mushrooms in broth and another indeterminate dish served on rice. We shuttled to the LZ over a rough road in Graham’s 4WD pickup. We waited there in a grass-roofed shelter for a local ex-pilot to arrive with another 4WD pickup. The road to launch was definitely fit only for 4WD and appeared to be a wide streambed in some places although it was unusually dry. So dry, that there were small ground fires all along the route to the takeoff. Matty showed Lorenz, Sam (Georg) and Jenn how he recommended we deal with hooking in and clearing our lines on a windy launch. Debu launched first and sank out. I took off 10-15 min later and caught a decent thermal right away and never got below launch until I went out to land 50 min later. It was a long wait for someone else to launch and when C.J. took off she caught a bad cycle and had a 15 minute flight. I went left (north) along the ridge and climbed to 833 m, at least 1000 ft over launch and above the tallest peak on the ridge. I returned to launch and then flew north paralleling the ridge, then out to the east where I hit strong lift of over 1000 fpm. I toured a little bit of the flats out in front and then set up to land in the thermally LZ. Jenn landed shortly (short) after I did and everyone else was down before I landed except maybe Sam who launched late. We all packed up and went back up to launch. Jenn decided not to fly again but everyone else did including Matty who got up right away and could have gone XC. I launched after Lorenz and then C.J. launched. I had already had a good flight so I went down to land in a still-thermally LZ after 30 min. C.J. got high with Matty and Manu, getting above the highest peak and flying for 1hr15min. By the time we had packed up it was after 1800 and it was full dark by the time we got back to Tropical Seaview around 1945. C.J. wasn’t up for dinner out again so she stayed home with Jenn while I and Lorenz went with Matty, Graham and Debu to the Very Good Restaurant. I ordered barbecued pork and also chicken and veggies in oyster sauce  because I wasn’t sure how much vegetable I’d get with the pork. The chicken dish was more than enough so I brought home most of the skewers of BBQ pork for C.J. Meanwhile, C.J. had done a load of laundry and we hung it on the outdoor rack to dry. Tomorrow the guides are offering a hikeup, early morning ridge site which we are going to skip, and then towing on Paradise Bay north of Pak Nam Pran. We’ve got to get C.J.’s phone working by adding $$, mine, too.

11 Feb, Thu – As the wind dies down, the temperatures increase. Although, Matty tells us that this is cooler than usual. Jack made a big American breakfast feast this morning – fruit salad, bacon, eggs and toast, a nice change from muesli every morning. Around 1000 we got picked up by Graham in the truck with the boat in tow. We stopped at the 7-11 near the octopus roundabout and bought 400 Baht each of cellphone credit. Then we drove to the marina on the north side of the river and C.J., Jenn and I rode down the river with Matty past many fishing boats. The beach we were towing from was just north of the Milford Paradise resort hotel on Paradise Bay. Just to the north of the beach was a rocky headland and behind that was a royal compound where we were forbidden to fly. The wind was not what the guides were expecting since it was still slightly north of east and they were hoping for southeast and a bit stronger. We were all able to do a first tow which got us close to 2000 ft above the sea. I went last hoping that the wind would switch and/or get stronger so it would be soarable. No luck, even though I came back from the tow (to near the mouth of the river) high enough to fly out to the end of the headland and then back to the 30 (?) story resort building where I made a few passes before landing – about 15min in the air. Matty and Graham suggested we take a lunch break since it was a little after noon and the conditions hadn’t improved. We ate at the Milford Resort – pad si ew and a smoothie and Graham worked on C.J.’s phone depositing the credit we had bought (I had already done mine) and trying to install a package for data. Finally he had to call True Mobile and do a bunch of inputs to get it to work. When the lunch bills came, we paid for his just to show we appreciated all his effort. Back on the beach, we did another round of towing with the same results although I carried my instruments and heard a couple of beeps as I flew back and forth in front of the resort -17 min On his landing, Lorenz landed with his feet just barely in the water and dropped his wing into the sea. Luckily, there was no surf and his wing was easily retrieved. The rest of us did a third tow (except for Jenn who was tired). On my turn, I went right across the bay to the headland hoping to find some lift. There was nothing and I left and, still high, flew behind the tall building over the golf course and a low hill still finding no lift. However when I started flying directly over the resort building, I was getting zero sink and sometimes, near the ends of the building, I’d get a little pop of lift. I was able to hang in there and at times even climb a little bit. I soared the building for ten minutes or so before leaving as C.J. arrived (and Sam behind her). I went back to the rocky headland and found no lift, but also very little sink so I was able to make several passes in the smooth air close to the rock and trees. I landed easily in the slightly increased wind for a total of 30 minutes, almost twice what we were getting before. I had been flying in shorts and t-shirt all afternoon but apparently the sunscreen was doing its job. We packed up on the tarp under the tree that had been providing shade all day. Then we returned to Seaview where Marcie was making cocktails. After a shower I figured out how to convert about 200 Baht of credit on my phone to 500 MB of data using the DTAC Smartphone Monthly 199 package (100-min FREE calls to all networks, 500 MB internet at maximum speed of 42 Mbps (After complete, able to use internet at maximum speed of 128 kbps)). We joined Matty and the rest of the clients (and Chase, Marcie and Jack) for dinner at the Venezia. I had an excellent lasagna, C.J. had tortellini and we shared a big mixed salad. During dinner we discussed the plan for Friday – Dolphin Bay towing and a trip over to Monkey Island (aka Chicken Drumstick Island).

12 Feb, Fri – 0900 or so found us on our scooters and heading south to Dolphin Bay. We parked at a resort and set up on the grass and sandy beach across the street. Originally we were going to go over to Monkey Island in the morning and wait for conditions to improve but there was a decent breeze blowing into the beach from the ENE on the ground. Debu launched first and was able to fly to the mountains to the west and stay up. I launched next even though I wasn’t quite ready: I hadn’t turned on the AirTribune live tracker and I hadn’t put my phone in my flight deck. The tow went ENE then curved to the south where I was pulled to 2600 ft. On release I went directly toward the highest point on the mountain ridge trying to remember where the LZs were that we had visited on the ground the first day. I finally spotted the school LZ by the markings on the soccer field and then I felt more comfortable. The bailout z was pretty obvious when I got closer to the mountain. As soon as I got close in to the slope, I began to climb in what I think was ridge lift. I made several passes and got back up to 1900 ft or so. Then, since nobody was going to join me (C.J. had not been high enough to cross to the mountain because the wind direction had changed to SE or S), I started back toward where I thought the Dolphin Bay TO might be. I used GOTO on the GPS to head in the right direction and as I got closer I could see someone taking off. I used some speedbar to push into the wind and made it to the beach with altitude to spare. [During the flight I had noticed my phone was sliding out of my pocket and pushed it back in, but as I approached the beach, I could no longer feel it in my pocket. I landed (34 min?) and immediately searched the area where I landed for the phone which I was hoping had fallen out of the harness as I stood up to land. It was nowhere around on the ground and did not seem to be in my harness. I was bummed and spent time looking on the beach and in my gear without any luck. Finally, I asked C.J. to call my phone and we could hear it ringing somewhere under the seat of my harness. That made me feel much better about my flight.] I was the last person and only client to make it over to the mountains but later people were able to soar a low ridge north of the takeoff. The wind picked up still more and we broke to have lunch at the resort – sweet and sour pork and pork fried with lime leaves. After lunch Matty took C.J and me on a boat tour past Monkey Island part way up the river where they launch the boat. We saw two big (monitor?) lizards swimming and crawling in the mangrove forest. Then we beached on Monkey Island and handed out four bananas to some pretty aggressive monkeys (rhesus macaques?); one even climbed up onto my shoulder. We got lots of photos while waiting for Matty to bring the rest of the clients and family over. Returning to the resort beach we got Lorenz and Jenn launched and they were able to soar the ridge. By the time it was C.J.’s turn, the wind was gusting and she got jerked into the air several times before calling it a day. I didn’t have any better luck and the wind was starting to come around offshore. Lorenz got his glider wet and so did Sam; C.J. discovered an L-shaped rip in her wing tip. After packing up we rode our scooters back to Seaview and got showers. Matty met us at 1900 and took us to the night market in Hua Hin. We had a lot of fun in the food court trying various dishes. Afterward we looked at some of the stalls but found nothing we had to have. We met at the truck at 2130 and headed home.

13 Feb, Sat – We ate breakfast using up the milk and the last mango and then continued to pack up for our departure at 0900. We took one rolling carry-on plus our backpack, and of course our wings. We had a new van and the driver had brought along his wife/girlfriend. Our first stop was about 20 minutes down the road at Red Mountain Temple which was actually several temples set against the steep rock walls of the Sam Roi Yot (300 Peaks). I never saw the monkeys but C.J. got some photos. Quite a ways down we stopped for fruit (bought mangos) and for a detour to look at a launch at Pho Am which requires permission from the military to fly it, and only on the weekend. [This site is closed at present because a foreigner flew it without permission.] Then we went into the town of Prachuap Khiri Khan (which has a big teak temple with a Hollywood-like sign in Thai script on the hill above town. We had lunch at a restaurant right across the street from the beach. We arrived just before a two-bus tour group arrived. They were finished before we were. I had squid tempura and C.J. had fried sea bass and Chinese vegetables. It was another two hours plus to the Khao Phang LZ, carved out of a palm oil plantation where we met Tim, an ex-pat from Australia, the owner, who drove us to the launch up a really rough road in his 4WD pickup. The non-flyers stayed in the LZ, but Lily, Sam’s wife, came up with us to fly tandem with Matty. Launch was right above the LZ at about 860 ft near a radio station antenna. I launched after Matty and climbed above the ridge in mixed ridge and thermal. I made several circuits of the 3km N-S ridge before heading upwind to the east as far as the river. It took more than a quarter hour to get low enough to the LZ to make an approach and land near the center of the slightly down-sloping, grassy field. (1hr19min). I think I got as high as 1800ft but C.J. got to 2270 and stayed up for 1:40. By the time we landed the LZ was in shade but that didn’t keep it from being lifty. After everyone from our group had landed (1830 or so) we drove to the resort area of Chum Phron (Thung Wua Laen Beach) to our hotel room where we would stay for the next two nights (Talay Sai)  We were really glad to get into an air conditioned room and take a shower. At 2000 most of us met in the lobby to go to a nearby restaurant on the beach for dinner. We could see the bright green lights of the squid boats on the Gulf of Thailand. C.J. had cashew chicken and I had a very good omelette with crab. We also had a couple of magnum bars for dessert. Tomorrow we are scheduled to go out on a boat and do some snorkeling and, if anyone is not too tired, fly again in the afternoon. It’s really hot down here in the south so I might not be up for another flight.

14 Feb, Sun – We got up at 0700 and tried to find a place to have breakfast since it wasn’t included in our room. Nothing was open and we ended up paying for a mediocre breakfast at the hotel buffet. We met at 0815 for a short ride to the office of the outfit that was doing our snorkel trip. We got our fins and then took a truck shuttle to the marina in Chum Phon. We got a big boat all to ourselves (Matty, Jack and Marcie did not go) and cruised down the river lined with fishing boats of all kinds. Out in the Bay of Thailand we motored out to the islands of the Mu Koh national marine park. We snorkeled at three small islands in shallow water (near the steep, rocky shore) and had lunch after the second swim. C.J. and I wore t-shirts in the water to avoid getting sunburned (except for the last island where I skipped the covering and ended up with moderate sunburn, also on the tops of my feet). We returned to the marina after 1500 and got a ride back to our hotel where we grabbed our flying gear and went back to Khao Phang. Tim drove us up again and we launched after 1700. Lorenz and Sam took off first in light conditions and sank out. C.J. had several aborts and let me go next. I got off with a reverse and went right, around the corner, to where the SE breeze should have been creating lift. I didn’t find anything and returned to a point just below launch where there was enough lift to keep me from joining the P-2s in the LZ. C.J. launched and soared above me on her way to the SE point where she had no trouble getting up. I headed north and climbed above the ridge. During my flight I reached 1250 ft and flew for about 0:47, making several circuits of the ridge. As the sun began to set, I headed out to the E as far as the river again. On returning to the LZ, I was low enough to not have to make any S-turns, but I landed a bit beyond the spot Graham had put out. Matty hit the spot and C.J. came in the opposite direction in the no-wind LZ and had a good landing. Sam and Lorenz had already gone back with the van and we drove back with Matty and Graham via a circuitous route. At the hotel we took quick showers and then at 2000 walked with Matty, Lorenz and Graham to the MaliBlues Bar and Restaurant which was pretty busy. It took a while for our food to get to us but the beef in oyster sauce and the chicken with cashews were both good. C.J. and I walked back to the hotel along the dark beach with the green light of the squid boats to light our way. Tomorrow we leave at 0830 and go right back to Tropical Seaview, then south to the edge of Sam Roi Yot NP to scooter tow on the beach.

15 Feb, Mon – We ate some mango and had a hot drink before venturing out with our stuff all packed up at 0800. Matty, Graham and Lorenz were eating breakfast at Pirates Café so we joined them for a bowl of fruit, muesli and yogurt (200). The van took off around 0830 and we made only two brief stops along the way arriving Tropical Seaview around 1145. There was just time to get sorted out with the gear we needed for flying before the departure time of 1245. First we tried to find a restaurant south of Khao Kalok but they were either closed or too busy so we drove the short distance back to the restaurant in the forest on the side of Khao Kalok where the breeze kept us relatively cool and there was a view of the fishing boats, most grounded due to the low tide. Food was inexpensive and quite good; C.J. had prawns and asparagus and I had fried rice with pork plus drinks. We drove south to a small beach village on the south border of Sam Roi Yot NP (Kui Buri?). The beach was roomy enough for towing but the sand and mud looked kind of wet for laying our wings down. Also the wind was light, too light to soar as Matty showed on two flights. On the third flight, however, he found enough lift to stay up and I decided to give it a try – it would make the sixth new site in seven days. The tow was really easy after one abort when Graham was not ready. I climbed to 525 ft, released and turned 180 degrees to fly quickly back to the 100m ridge behind where we launched. It was just barely soarable when I got down to the top of the ridge and I managed to eke out 17 min by flying close to the rocky slope covered with trees and cactus. I landed right behind C.J. who was in position to get towed up. She ended up with 21 minutes and was the only other person in our group to fly. We returned to Seaview by about 1830, took showers and were ready to go to the end-of-the-trip banquet at Happy House. The barbecued skewers were tasty, the green curry was spicy and we had a gin and tonic each. By 2130 we were ready to head back and get packed up for our trip back to Bangkok leaving at 0830.

16 Feb, Tue – C.J. had a rough night with an upset stomach but was more or less feeling better in the morning when we got up at 0630. Everyone was gone having caught their ride at 0200. We ate some of the fruit with our muesli and took some of it with us. Our van was there at 0800 to pick up Lorenz, Sam (Georg), Lily and us. Three and a half hours to BKK and then another half hour or so to MHC Guesthouse. We paid for the second night and made a reservation for the last two nights in Bangkok for when we get back from Cambodia. We walked over to Phrom Phong (stopping at an ATM to take out 7000 B) and went into Emquartier on the ground floor where we found a gourmet grocery store and gourmet food stalls. After consulting the mall directory we took the elevator down to Emquartier’s more-expensive version of a food court. It was more internationally-oriented and it took a bit of looking to find just what we wanted – C.J. had stir-fried phad Thai with glass noodles and I had Tom Yum soup with squid. Then we went back to the ground floor where we had spotted an upscale gelato stand. The chocolate was excellent, the coffee, oreo and miele were not as flavorful (180). We walked back to the MHC Guesthouse and cooled the room down enough that we could nap until after 1800. About an hour later I went out to see about getting a replacement battery for my Samsung S4 at the Samsung store in Emquartier. They didn’t stock anything so out of date but the salesman tried to explain where to get one (MBK Center 5^th floor). I dropped down to the basement food court and had a mini pulled pork pie and a mango smoothie then headed back to the guesthouse.

17 Feb, Wed – Up at 0700 for a much-needed shower (should’ve taken one last night). We had eggs for breakfast downstairs and talked about taxi vs train/shuttle to the domestic airport 380 vs 160. Around 0930 we left enroute to the Sky Train station at Phrom Phong where we bought discounted day passes. We rode the crowded train to the Siam station and changed to a train that took us to the Central Pier at the Saphan Taxsin stop. We bought the day pass for the tourist boat again just to give us the freedom to decide what we might do on the fly. There was only a short wait before we got on the crowded boat. It was pretty clear that it was going to be a hot day when it wasn’t a whole lot cooler on the Chao Praya R. We got off at Tha Tien and went directly to Wat Pho. Right near the entrance on Tha Maha Rat was the temple of the reclining Buddha. It was huge – the largest in the world. There were scores of other Buddhas including the one in the main temple, lines of them in the collonades, and one in each portico. The stupas/pagodas, resting places for the first four kings of the Chakri Dynasty, were fascinating, fanciful works of art. We covered almost everything in the temple and the only crowds we encountered were at the reclining Buddha. In addition to all the temples (we took off our shoes numerous times) there was a school for traditional Thai massage and a children’s school (and a crocodile pond which we never got to see). A nice aspect of the entrance was that the ticket was also good for a free bottle of cold water, much appreciated on such a hot day. After leaving the temple grounds and walking down Maha Rat (or Maha Raj) for a ways we retraced our route back to Tha Tien Pier and boarded our boat. I thought C.J. was tired and hungry/thirsty enough to want to head back to the Sky Train and home but she had had a serving of mango sticky rice gaining some energy and wanted to get off at Ratchawongse Pier and do the Lonely Planet Chinatown walk. We walked along that street to the unmarked junction with Sampeng Lane and ducked into the narrow alley which was crowded with vendors selling stuffed animals, cheap jewelry, cosmetics and other unnecessary stuff. At the first major intersection we turned left and walked out to Tha Yaowarat and went right along the street of the goldsmiths for a couple of blocks before turning back to Ratchwong and our boat. Somewhere during the day C.J. bought a pair of lightweight pants printed with elephants and two pashmina scarves. We caught our boat, or at least a boat, and returned to Central Pier and the Sky Train. We got off at the end of the line at National Stadium and went into the MBK Centre through the Tokyu entrance. (C.J. finally found the bubble tea she had been looking for. I was looking for the electronics section of the mall and didn’t find it until much later. But it was interesting to see another, and different, kind of mall. Eventually we made our way to the sixth floor and the MBK Food Island, another buy-a-card place and use that to pay for the food you order from any of the 20-30 food stalls. C.J.’s stomach was still upset so she did not order a meal but I got fried noodles with seafood and a serving of lemon-lime soda with lots of ice. Once we slurped the soda out of the cup, I poured in my bottle of water and we had nicely cold, slightly flavored water. Down on the 5^th floor on the way out we found the electronics warren and I asked about a battery for my four-year-old phone – no luck. We exited MBK and walked the short distance through the Siam shopping area to the Sky Train station and rode to our stop at Phrom Phong without having to change trains. It was a relief to get our air conditioner running and cool down our room. And get a shower.

18 Feb, Thu – taxi to Don Mueang Airport at 1100,  had a Blizzard  for a snack (nothing served on the no frills Air Asia flight). When we arrived at Siem Reap, first we had to apply for a visa ($40) and since we didn’t know that we were required to submit a passort photo, we had to pay a fine for that (14). That took quite a bit of our US cash. Our driver was waiting for us when we cleared customs and we took the tuk tuk to Oriental Siem Reap. Stopped at an ATM near the Cultural Center to withdraw $200. Booked tuk tuk for the day incl sunset ($18) and a guide ($35). Hotel three nights ($108). Dinner near the Old Market at Father’s (Cambodian Amok, stir-fried Khmer noodles and pork). Oatmeal, TP, and liquid yogurt at mini mart. We walked through the Old Market but didn’t go as far as Pub Street.

19 Feb, Fri – Up at 0630 to give us time to shower and make breakfast before meeting the tuk tuk driver and our guide at 0800. It was a short drive to the entrance station (but that may have been because we were concentrating so hard on understanding what the guide was saying). We got a three day pass which cost the same as two one day passes; we might want to go back into the temple area on our last day. Our first tour was Angkor Wat. We entered at the West Gate after crossing the 200m-wide moat on a causeway, and eventually came out through the east gate where the driver picked us up. It was near 1100-1130 so after a toilet stop (our guide had some digestive upset) we went to Ta Prohm, the temple which is well-known for its walls covered with the roots of Spung trees and strangler fig trees. Once again the driver met us on the far side of the temple. We drove to a restaurant and had lunch (pork and eggplant, stir-fried chicken with “hot basil” and green peppers, rice) – more than we wanted to eat, but then we would not need a full supper. Around 1400 we started off for Bayon, famous for the 216 sculptural faces on its 54 towers. We stopped on the way at the Elephant Terrace to view the bas-relief elephants on a long wall. Bayon was one of the best sites for the big faces and all the intricate carved panels. By then it was about 1600 and we were beat, hot and ready to head home without staying for the sunset which we were told was going to be crowded and require a long time standing in a line anyway. Back in Siem Reap we stopped so I could get another $200 from an ATM then returned to the hotel. While we waited for the room to cool down, we sat out on the patio and I uploaded all of our photos to my computer. C.J. was not at all hungry so we did not go out even to find any ice cream.

20 Feb, Sat – Same as Fri: up at 0630 and met our tuk tuk driver, Sarith, around 0800 for the “Grand Tour” (just means the larger circuit, not an increased level of grandeur). Thank goodness we had bought the three-day ticket because there was a real crowd at the ticket booths; we were able to bypass the whole mob by showing our tickets at a brief stop on the road. Then we drove past Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom (Bayon) to our first stop at Preah Khan. Being without a guide felt a little strange at first but we enjoyed moving at our own pace. We went in through the west gate and out through the east where we found our driver. C.J. couldn’t resist a bargain price on two silk scarves that a persistent young girl was selling. Next was the water temple of Neak Poan (or Pean) which had a central square pool with a temple on a circular island, and four surrounding square ponds, all on a 300m mebon (island) in the baray (reservoir) of Preah Khan. On the way in we bought a guidebook Ancient Angkor for $10 from a young man who said he was a student ($10). The book appears to be of high quality and the list price is shown as $27.95 on the barcode but it is probably not the genuine edition. We crossed a long causeway to reach the four ponds surrounding the central pond and retraced our steps. Next was Ta Som (12-13 c.), a semi-ruined miniature version of Ta Prohm, and has faces on the gopuras (gate towers) like Bayon. Next was East Mebon (mid 10^th c.), a temple on an island in the East Baray (now mostly dry). The construction of the base was the usual laterite but the towers were made of brick which once had been faced with stucco. The lintels were supposed to be the most interesting features, but we found the large elephants at each corner to be more worthy of photos. After returning to the tuk tuk we took a lunch break at a restaurant across the road from the Srah Srang, a small (700m x 350m) baray (10^th c.) We shared a stir-fried pineapple and pork dish and two drinks on the second floor porch overlooking the lake. Just as we arrived there were several water buffalo browsing at the edge of the water and I took a couple of pictures. Our last temple was Pre Rup (mid 10^th c.) memorable mostly for the very steep stairway to the highest part of the temple-mountain; the risers must have been close to 14 inches high. I was glad to find a wooden staircase with handrails on the north when it came time to descend. A Cambodian man convinced us to enter a shrine and burn incense in front of a Buddha on the upper level, a strange experience. Much of the temple mountain was made of bricks on a base of laterite again, like East Mebon. Back at the tuk tuk we headed home even though it was only 1500. We passed on suggestions from Sarith that we go to the National Museum or get a massage; we were hot and tired. At the hotel we paid for our day and got a shower, downloaded photos and cooled off. Around 1800 we wandered over toward the Old Market and Pub Street. First we got some ice cream at Blue Pumpkin in the Kings Road Center. Then we crossed the brightly lighted bridge and wandered past a plethora of restaurants and bars. It was early enough that there was not a lot of action but there were an incredible number of tourists. It reminded me somewhat of Lakeside in Pokhara, Nepal. We finally settled on a place in The Lane which turned out to be Le Tigre Papier, recommended in Lonely Planet. It was the “stir-fried lotus roots” that drew us in. We also ordered some fresh spring rolls, a draft beer and a water. It was all pretty good but we were sweaty again by the time we finished and walked back to the hotel.

21 Feb, Sun – We slept in until 0745 then wrote and read until we felt like eating our last batch of “overnight oatmeal”. Around 1000 we went out to wander around to see what we could see nearby. We crossed the river one bridge upstream and arrived at the gate of a temple that was not-a-ruin. We took some photos before moving along to the market near Pub Street. Today there was a food market that spilled into the aisles so the way was narrow. There were lots of fish, a forest of chicken feet, and tons of veggies. We crossed the old pedestrian bridge to another market, the “art center”. It had the same souvenir t-shirts, elephant pants, jewelry and carved wood. The day had been reasonably comfortable up until we got out of the wind in the art center and it was pretty sweaty as we walked back to the hotel for our noon checkout time. After clearing out of our room we turned in our key and sat on the third floor balcony in the shade where there was a decent breeze. At 1330 we met Sarith, our tuk tuk driver and rode with him to the Airport. We were a little early for checking in but the counter opened a few minutes later and we dropped off our one checked bag and got our boarding passes. The airport was pretty interesting as it had art that related to the main attraction of the area - Angkor Wat. C.J. got some photos of paintings, statues and timelines (including a reproduction of the horse sculpture at Peak Pean; we had seen it on our arrival in front of the terminal but we didn’t know what it was then). Since we had not had any lunch I was hungry enough to order a Burger King Whopper meal (part of it – the $0.50 – we paid using some of our Cambodian riels. Boarding went quickly and we walked out on the tarmac to the plane. We were seated near the front just behind the mostly empty “Hot Seats” which cost extra, and in front of the wing. The view was not great because of the hazy air; we climbed up into clear air above some building cumulus. On arrival at Don Muang Airport, we weren’t sure what to do about a visa; we hadn’t done anything about applying for one before the trip or on our first arrival in Thailand, so we just went to the Immigration/Passport check and sailed on through. There was no check of our bags at Customs and the airport was a contrast to the crowded Suvarnabhumi. We went to the taxi stand and had no wait, but the fare would include not only 120B for the tollroad but an additional 50 B for the driver over what the meter said (440B). The driver claimed not to have any change but the MHC manager came to our rescue with change for 1000B (actually, we made the exact change ourselves by taking C.J.’s 200B and opening the suitcase to get out 20B in coins. We got a new room – this one on the second (up two flights) floor – Comet, with a view of The Address  condo across the street (Soi 28). After getting the room cooled down and unpacking somewhat, we went out for a light dinner. We grabbed four pork skewers from a street-food vendor and then went looking for a shake or something. We ended up at Harrod’s Café in the Glass Quartier of Emquartier where we had small scoops of mango-passionfruit and caramel-sea salt-macadamia. We took the plastic bowls and spoons with us so we could do a self-catered breakfast early Monday and get an early start to the Royal Palace. 7-11 supplied us with some drinkable yogurt for the rest of the muesli we had left in the rolling duffle.

22 Feb, Mon – Up at 0700 and out around 0830 thinking to get an early start and beat the crowd at the Grand Palace complex. We were surprised to find that the trains weren’t crowded at all after buying our one-way tickets at Phrom Phong, 42 each, instead of the all-day pass which was 140 each. At the Chao Praya Express Boat dock we also bought one-way tickets to Tha Maharaj the pier for the Grand Palace. The boat was really full and when we reached the vicinity of the gate, the place was a mob scene with tons of people and tour groups. We soon found out that it was a national religious holiday (Maghah Puja) and some of the buildings would not be open. We flowed in with the crowd and once we bought the expensive tickets and got through the temple compound gate, the crowd was not quite so dense. Except for trying to get into the temple ordination hall or ubosot (Wat Phra Kaew) containing the revered Emerald Buddha (actually jade). It took a while but we inched in with everyone else. There were a sizable number of worshippers as well as the usual horde of tourists so it was even more chaotic than usual at a temple. After retrieving our shoes from the pile, we toured around looking at the stupas, the huge model of Angkor Wat, demons holding up the pagodas, and galleries with paintings telling the Thai version of the Ramayana. Monks were chanting and were echoed or responded to by other worshippers. It was an amazing scene. Wilting a bit under the sun and humidity (in spite of a pretty decent breeze) we left the temple compound to view the Grand Palace and other buildings (all closed except for the Emerald Buddha Museum which was interesting). To bolster our flagging energy we grabbed a couple of Magnum bars at the snack bar. Feeling a bit revived, we toured the Queen Sirikit Textile Museum which was blessedly air conditioned. Then we left the Grand Palace to walk down along the nearby street looking at all the street vendors. We were sort of looking for a t-shirt for me but never saw any. Eventually we went back to the Tha Maharj pier and had a couple of tasty schwarmas wrapped in a pita bread substitute and drinks. There was quite a large number of fancy stalls set up in the market place near the pier – lots of opportunities for lunch if we hadn’t already eaten. Still on the t-shirt/pillow cover quest we decided to walk down to Tha Tien where the Flower Market was located (and where C.J. got her elephant-print pants). We must have missed Tha Tien, and the Flower Market was winding down (although we did see some boxes of apples from Manson, WA). We ended up on the dock south of Tha Tien, Yodpiman River Walk Pier. We got our tickets and it was only a ten-minute wait and we were soon back at Sathorn where we caught the BTS Sky Train back to Asok and Terminal 21. It was after 1730 and I knew I would be hungry again later so the Pier 21 Food Court was my goal. Besides, I wanted to see if our tickets would allow us to stop before our terminus. Nope, didn’t work – the turnstile kept our tickets when we got out of the station. Pier 21 was pretty busy but there wasn’t much wait time as we each grabbed a fruit smoothie and then I got a plate of chicken yakitori with rice and another smoothie for dessert. We walked all the way back to MHS, although it would only have been 30B to take the train. We stopped to buy another bottle of drinkable yogurt to make overnight oatmeal for breakfast but didn’t think to get any more water for drinking. And there was none in our fridge back at the room. C.J. bought a bottle from the guesthouse and I used the Steripen to purify three more bottles (I had to cut the top off one bottle in order to submerge the head of the Steripen. Not sure what we are going to do on our last day. We have to get a taxi to the airport about 1400 for our 1700 flight, so that leaves the morning for?

23 Feb, Tue – last day in BKK – We got up around 0730 and spent an hour or so packing before eating our last apple with the overnight oatmeal. I got some hot water from the lobby and checked with the manager about a taxi – a larger one, and the cost – 500B (good thing we still have 900B left). When I asked, she told me that Graham had not picked up the keys to Tropical Seaview that we had carried away from there a week ago. I sent Graham a message and he responded that he and Matty had forgotten but had had copies made so we could throw away the old ones. Around 1030 we asked where the post office was and went to get stamps to mail three postcard then we returned by walking down the far side of the street and ducking into a couple of alleys to see if there were any t-shirt/fabric stalls. However, it was mostly street-food stalls so we went back to MHC and asked where we might find that kind of market. The manager sent us Chit Lom on the BTS where we walked NE on the elevated sidewalk a ways before descending to the Rataprasong intersection, then west past Central World Mall to finally reach the air-conditioned Fashion Mall and another market (Pratunam) with a maze of tiny shops selling wholesale and retail fabric/clothing. It definitely wasn’t a tourist place and we didn’t find anything in the few minutes we had before we had to turn back in time to meet our taxi at 1400. I tried a shortcut through Gaysorn upscale mall and then needed help to find my way out (but the air conditioning felt good in the 37 deg C heat). Back on the BTS to Phrom Phong and the MHC where we just beat the taxi to the door. It was a SUV with plenty of room for our seven bags. There was no meter so I confirmed the 500 B fare before we left. The driver took the surface streets to the airport rather than pay the 120 B to use the expressway. It still seemed to take the same amount of time. We were at the airport just before 1500  and got checked in for our EVA Air flight to Taipei and on to Seattle. After getting through Passport Control and Security, we stopped for lunch. Unfortunately the service was slow at the Thai restaurant so we ended up leaving and snagging Blizzards at DQ which got rid of most of our paper Thai money. Suvarnabhumi Airport has the same system of boarding gates as Taipei – passengers gather in a waiting room and then proceed downstairs to the gate waiting area when that area is opened. We had seats together on the aisle for the flight to Taipei, a two-hour layover and then the long trans-Pacific flight to Seattle. As we were going through transfer security in Taipei we ran into Chris and Christine Culler who were returning from a dive trip to Wakatobi, an Indonesian island north of Bali near Sulawesi Is. They were on the same flight to Seattle as we were so we hung out with them while waiting. On the plane we napped most of the time and had two meals before arriving around 1820 at SeaTac. It took the usual long time to go through Passport Control (although maybe less time now that the new kiosks are in use) and wait for our bags, transfer the bags to another conveyor belt after getting through a perfunctory Customs check, take the train to Baggage Claim and wait a short time for our checked bags to arrive there. I grabbed a cart and we donned warmer clothes for waiting for the shuttle to Sandstone. It was close to 1930 by the time we were heading home - a little late to be thinking about attending the square dance, besides, I felt really grubby and my clothes were dirty from handling the luggage. We got home shortly after 2000 and warmed the house up with the furnace and wood stove, sorted some laundry and relaxed a little before going to bed around 2300. Despite the rest we got on the plane we were still pretty beat.

Three weeks seemed like about the optimum time for travel to faraway places and soak up some sunshine as well as a new and exotic culture. C.J. and I do not consider ourselves city people but Bangkok was interesting even if we barely scratched its surface. We visited the three tourist attractions that would rate high in any guidebook: Wat Arun, Wat Pho and the Grand Palace/Royal Monastery and did it on three separate trips. I had thought that we would need to pay for a guided tour but the public transportation was so easy to use that we could get to the attractions on our own. Eating the local food was fun once we determined that everything was not highly spiced and that menus were often available in English and with pictures. Eating in the food courts of the supermalls was simple and inexpensive, but we also ate food from the street vendors a few times. Going to Angkor Wat was a whole new adventure and it was a good break from our days in Bangkok. It was surprising that food and lodging was more expensive in Cambodia, at least in Siem Reap, but tuk-tuk transportation was cheap and, unlike BKK, not a scam. As far as flying went, our total flight time was pitiful (and XC miles were non-existent), but we did manage to fly six new sites in the seven days of flying out of the ten-day tour. Unusually windy weather canceled our first two days on the tour and the other day was a travel day. All-in-all we’d have to give high marks to a flying (and culture) trip to Thailand.