End of the northern hiatus

Somehow, I feel like I went on 'break'. But I am back at the beaches in the south, now, back to having the tsunami in the forefront of my mind, visually, and mentally, rather than on the back burner.

Our week in Chiang Mai was unplanned, and a must needed recooperation from what transpired, and didn't transpire in Ranong. Although I was somehwat disappointed in the whole thing, I haven't lost my drive to help, nor have I lost any respect for United Planet. I have already been in contact with one of the coordinators, and if nothing else, I believe it is and will be a grand learning experience all the way around.

Jamie and I took a day trip to Ayyuthya, the second capital of the Kingdom of Siam (now Thailand) about an hour north of Bangkok. It was really interesting and fun. We took a bus to get there and stopped at the summer palace, which was strange architecturally. It looked like the king who built it couldn't make up his mind whether to build it Thai style, or European style, so there are mixes everywhere. For example a statue of Venus, or the like, stands tall along the bridge, and in it;s background is an enlarged Thai spirit house in the water. Another strange one was a traditional Thai cottage, with lattice added, and a pink a white paint job that made it look like an English Tea House.

The ruins of Ayyuthya were beautiful, and a bit sad, as most of the Buddhas had been beheaded by the Burmese from a previous war. After viewing many ruins and temples, we headed back to Bangkok on teh Chao Praya river. Also in Bangkok, we visited the Royal Palace, Wat Pho, and Jim Thompson's house. All very interesting, and I won't go into detail.

Shana arrived, and the three of us headed to Siem Reap, Cambodia, to see the ancient ruins of Angkor Wat. It was like being on a field trip- our guide taught us so much and was so gracious. This, I will go into detail on in another posting, but I need the pictures to jog my memory, and there is a sunset over the beach, behind an enormous rock covered in palm trees that needs my immediate attention.


Peace to all of you!
Rebecca