INDOCHINA/ Sights of Saigon/ River, Post Office, Embassy (former US), Notre Dame Cathedral, street markets, Vespa

Our guide, the inimitable Larry Jo Abbott, had told us that Saigon had a really exciting vibe to it, and he was spot on with this assessment.  The city pulses day and night with youthful vigor and abandon.  It is one of the most exciting and interesting cities that I've ever visited.

View of the inside of this historic post office

View of the post office, built by the French in traditional French colonial style

The Notre Dame Cathedral of Saigon

Presidential Palace

Woman in the market place

Meats are butchered out in the open no refrigeration

 Noodles anyone?

This spiked fruit is unique to Asia and is called Durian

The pungent (and that is a kind adjective) aroma of the durian fruit has been described as "turpentine and onions garnished with dirty gym socks."  While we were touring the market, I smelled it long before I actually SAW it.  It smells so bad that the fruit has been banned on the Singapore Mass Transit!  Anthony Bourdain, who is arguably one of the most adventurous humans on earth when it comes to food, has described the flavor as "something that will make your breath smell as if you'd french kissed your dead grandmother!  Uh, no thanks.

Larry Jo persuaded most of us to brave a walk (or rather a Vespa ride) on the wild side.  We were each assigned to a very young driver for the night who took us to various restaurants and bars.  At first I was really frightened because it feels very much like a death sentence in that crazy traffic.  By the third stop at a bar, I was ready to let my freak flag fly.  I haven't had that much fun in quite a while, and I loved my driver.  At one point on our stop, we found a Vietnamese band and many of us danced the night away.  Just before we left, someone in our party asked the band to play John Denver's ALMOST HEAVEN WEST VIRGINIA!  What a highlight for this old West Virginian to hear Vietnamese, Canadians, and people from all over the good ole USA singing our state's theme song!

Mama Jo seated on her Vespa!

INDOCHINA/ Chiang Mai Province, Thailand (former Siam), Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep Temple

Golden Mount at the Temple

 Wat Phra That Doi Suthep is a Theravada wat in Chiang Mai Province.  Theravada is the more conservative branch of Buddhism that is mostly practiced in Southeast Asia.  Chiang Mai (Rose of the North) is the former kingdom of Siam! 

The temple is often referred to as Doi Suthep although this is actually the name of the mountain where it's located.  A sacred site to many Thai people, the temple is perched atop a 3, 542 foot peak and 15 kilometers from the city of Chiang Mai.

Another view of golden mount

 The wat can be reached by climbing 309 very steep steps or by hitching a ride on the funicular! Needless to say, most of us chose the funicular.  We were told to wear respectful clothing (nothing too short or too revealing that might tempt the many celibate monks who worship there).  Unfortunately, one of our fellow tourists was wearing shorts that were considered inappropriate by the guards, so she was given a temporary traditional silk wrap skirt while on the site. 

Orchids can be found just about everywhere

a carving of the Hindu god Ganesh

In 1383 the first stupa was built in this area.  According to legend, a monk from the Sukhothai Kingdom had a dream.  In this dream he was told to go to Pang Cha and look for a relic.  Upon this quest, he found a bone that he believed was the shoulder bone of the Buddha.  The relic displayed magical powers as it glowed, was able to move and vanish.  When he presented this magical relic to the king it displayed none of its super powers so the king told the monk to simply keep the relic for himself. 

Another king in northern Thailand had heard of the relic and summoned the monk to bring it to him. Once there, the relic broke into two pieces. One piece was enshrined at a temple in Suandok; the other was placed by the king on the back of a white elephant which was then released into the jungle.  Legend is that the elephant climbed Doi Suthep Mountain, trumpeted three times, then dropped dead which was perceived as an omen.  The king immediately ordered construction of a temple at the site. 

The shoes of hundreds of visitors had to be removed before entering the temple

Sacred inner sanctum of the temple

The temple is kept in pristine condition and the public is very respectful of the very holy shrine.












Unlike the Buddhist Temples in Kathmandu that had prayer flags strung throughout, these temples had large scrolls on which the pilgrims could write messages and prayers to Buddha.

Woman writes a prayer to Buddha

Lighting candles to Buddha

Jade Buddha

The monks worship and study here

Reclining Buddha

A reclining Buddha is an iconic representation of the Buddha just before his death.  These statues are always lying on their right side with their heads supported by their right hands. 

Gene and I decided to walk down the 309 steps to exit the temple.  The view of distant Chiang Mai was spectacular.  At the bottom, several street vendors were selling brass chime bells and we bought one for our Christmas tree ornament collection. 

309 steps as seen from the bottom.  Note the serpent handrails. 

Time to return to the glorious Four Seasons Resort in the jungle outside Chiang Mai. Tonight we plan to dine in the authentic Thai restaurant at this resort, complete with authentic traditional Thai food and dancing.

Beautiful Thai dancer

View from the pool and terrace

INDOCHINA/ Siem Reap/ Angkor Thom/ Tonle Sap Lake Boat Ride

Banyan Tree is a fig tree that starts life as an epiphyte, a plant that grows on another plant when it germinates in a crevice of a host tree or human edifice

Today began with a coach ride to the ancient walled city of Angkor Thom.  The city lies on the west bank of the Siem Reap River, a tributary of Tonle Sap. It is surrounded by a moat and has 5 monumental gates, 20 meters in height decorated with stone elephant trunks and crowned by 4 huge faces of Buddha or the king.  Roads lead from the gates to the Bayon at the center of the city.  As the Bayon itself has no wall or moat of its own, those of the city are interpreted by archaeologists as representing the mountains and oceans surrounding the Bayon's Mount Meru.  A causeway spans the moat in front of each tower.  These have a row of devas on the left and asuras on the right, each holding a naga (a serpent deity in Hindu religion) in the attitude of a tug of war. "This appears to be a reference to the myth, popular in Angkor, of the Churning of the Sea of Milk. 

Within the city is a system of canals.  Most of the land enclosed by the walls would have been occupied by the secular buildings of the city, of which nothing remains.  This area is now covered by forest.

The temple ruins were being painstakingly restored by laborers with modern materials

hollowed out tree

Amazing growth of a Banyan, very photogenic

Bas-relief depicting the various gods, goddesses and other worldly beings from mythological stories and epic poems of ancient Hinduism, modified by centuries of Buddhism.

This structure has already been restored.  It will take decades for restoration to be complete, but in the interim, the structures are quite beautiful with the intermingling of mother nature's artwork with the ancient ruins-the best of both worlds.

Restored structure

Cathy photo bombed Bruce

Buddhist nun who gave me a blessing among her yarn ties and incense.  She was gracious about having her photo taken, too!

Cathy getting her Buddhist blessing

Among the mythological deities can be found real animals.  Our guide asks, "How did they know about the Stegosaurus?

Our guide judged this sculpture to be the happiest Buddha on the property

Later in the day, we took an open boat ride to the floating villages of Tonle Sap Lake!  Fascinating to see people living in floating houses, attending floating churches, and eating in floating restaurants.  The juxtaposition of an ancient way of life with evidence of solar panels was quite exciting, too.

Floating house

A Neighborhood of floating houses

Floating church

The baby girl with a baby boa around her neck

 A grandmother pulled her leaking boat up beside ours and held up this baby in hopes of garnering money and sympathy (which of course she did).  Even though the guides urged us to ignore her, it is the spirit of Americans to be soft-hearted about infants sporting boa constrictors around their necks.  We estimated that she made over $50 American dollars, quite a large sum in Cambodia.

A tiny spirit house to house spirits of the river and farmland

The spirit houses could be seen throughout the floating villages.  Community spirit houses are called Neak Ta and an individual's spirit house is known as Tevada.  The practice dates back to Angkorean times.  They are places to house the spirits and also areas where residents go for solace and advice during hard times.

House in the floating village with TV antennae and solar panels