Chiang Mai, Thailand, December 27, 2015

Here I am again, the first access to the internet in four days. For some reason,the Google site is controlled, and connection is lost as soon as you try to connect. I will have plenty to say when I get home. For the same reason, this page will be short. I enjoy this place more than any other in Thailand. I enjoy doing the daily walk around the about six kilometer of the canal...a square of almost two kilometers per side. My hotel is within the square, as I have always done here. Yesterday, I took a tuktuk...pronounced took took, so I took a took took to the Royal Park Prajapruek, and just walked the grounds. The plants and decorative work is beyond description. The flowers are at their best, and one area is all orchids....absolutely grand. I took a lot of photos. Today, I took a tuk tuk to the Chiang Mai zoo and spent a number of hours there...walking the grounds and taking pictures. It is impossible to think that it is winter some places. This is the third year that I have been here in December or January and it just fits in with all the other nature here. I am here until Thursday, and will be taking the train for a twelve hour run to Bangkok where I will spend New Years. I hope to get to the Royal Barge Museum, and a few other places that I have never seen while in that great city. I return home January 7. and have already had a number of requests for driving seniors to events towards the end of January. If I can get on the net again, will write before departing here. I wish everyone a happy new year!!!

This Is Chiang Mai, Thailand

Hello everyone; I am now back in Thailand, and will be reviewing the sights and sounds here. The two flights today with Lao Airlines were good, and both arrived at destination on time. The weather was nice and the flights were very smooth. I was not comfortable travelling with these aircraft, but there was no choice. The aircraft used are the ATR-72 aircraft which are not permitted in Canada and the northern United States. At least, that was the law one year ago. These aircraft do not have a good safety record in cold weather, thus must operate in warm climates. The latest incident was a crash near Buffalo New York, involving an American carrier. All on board were killed. It was that investigation that shut these machines down in the area noted. After some problems getting onto the internet, things seem to be going ok now. I will do a full page tomorrow if all goes as planned. This evening, I went out and took photos of the decorations.

Vientiane, Laos December 22,2015

I will be unable to include any photos on this blog until after my return to Canada on January 7. While I can get them on this laptop, I am unable to import them from the file to this site. Yesterday, after a lot of city traveling, I went on this site and removed almost half of the older postings, going back and removing everything before 2014. Yesterday, I hired a taxi for a few hours and had a good overview of the city, and of some of its famous sites. The best way to see it all is to walk, but that would be a lot as it gets rather hot during mid day. I do have lots of photos for when I can show them. Upon the completion of the tour, we ended up at a pizza place for lunch. It was the first time the driver had been there...it is too expensive for locals. This morning, before it got hot, went for a walk through the inner part of the city and to a major park along the Mekong River. It was clean, and I was able to get many pictures of plants, flowers etc. On the way back to the hotel, I felt obligated to stop at Swensen's and make sure their strawberry sundaes were as good as in Thailand....they are. The web works good here, no problems. Tomorrow, it will be the hotel shuttle to the airport for seven A.M. and a nine fifteen departure for Luang Prabang north of here a one hour flight.I have a three hour stopover, then west to Chiang Mai Thailand. Based upon the wifi problems in Thailand, I am not sure how much I will be able to send. Time will tell. I wish everyone a happy holiday season, and all a very Merry Christmas.

Viantiane, Laos, December 20, 2015

Today was one to explore this capital city, and to see the French influence.Near my hotel is a copy of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris; at the other end of rue Lane Xang is the Presidential Palace. These structures are about one and one half kilometers apart. In the cool (30 degree) morning, about nine, I set out to explore. The Arc was never finished, due to civil turbulence in the 60s. It was finished to where it is now in 1962. The area around is a wonder of fountains, gardens and the like, and today was extremely popular with tourists. I presume this is a common occurrence. I did a slow walk down the avenue, and around the palace, but not on the grounds. It was out of bounds for today, as the king of Cambodia is due to visit...he outranks me. I have found that, in all my travels, the people who have the least, seem to be the happiest, and the most willing to stop and chat. Laos is the poorest country in South East Asia, or next to the poorest...Cambodia is close as well. The poverty is visible in the infrastructure, buildings and every aspect of life here. Yet, the people are ready and willing to assist. The country is socialist, but will a seemingly free voting assembly. In new laws that will govern the next election, anyone over 18 can vote, anyone over 21 can run for the assembly. One important rule is that a candidate cannot talk bad about any other candidate. Maybe Canada could take a look at this novel idea!!!. Food is real inexpensive here, will a full meal in the range of about two dollars. While either Thai Baht or the Lao Kip are often used, some places only take local currency. It is often said here in Asia that the only people you cannot trust are lawyers and taxi drivers. When they say on a menu that chicken, pork, beef or fish is available, they are not lying...it includes the animal from the tip of the tail to the nose, and all in between...and inside. A few days ago, I went to a buffet for lunch in a mall. The restaurant was Chinese. I took some rice, and salad items that were identifiable. When I got to a pot that said, "Chicken with gravy", I took a ladle full to look at it. At the top was several items that I know come from the inside, and also a left foot......how do I know it was a left foot....I left it there, along with all the rest of the bird. It is so nice to have wifi, and be able to get on line, check news and sports, emails, etc. Tomorrow, I plan to do a tour of the city, if possible, and then some walking within the inner city. They have many new buildings and others under construction, so the face of the city is gradually changing. That will be my thoughts for today.

Greetings from Vientiane, Laos

Today is Saturday, and I have just arrived at my hotel in Vientiane. I will be here until Wednesday, when I fly over to Chiang Mai, Thailand via Luang Prabang, Laos. I discovered that the internet in Thailand is basically monitored by the military, who run the country. All internet communications are monitored for content negative to the people in charge. As a result, it is impossible to do much work on the net because they have slowed the flow down to almost zero. It was taking up to 15 minutes to get on Google Chrome, and, sometimes, it was not possible at all. That is the reason I have been quiet for a while. Here in Laos, they drive on the right side of the roads, and I noticed that there are few traffic lights, and no lane markings. Traffic seems to flow quite well. Vientiane city center is about 30 kilometers from the border, which is the Mekong River. I walked the river edge in Nong Khai, Thailand..a wide boardwalk with an easy view of that section of the river, and just beside that is the Indo-Chinese market, a huge area selling everything imaginable, much of it is knock-off items, such as Seiko and Rolex watches at 15 dollars each...three for 30 dollars. I may have missed the boat on those deals, but decided my Timex was a better option. Back in Pattaya, I could have had the same make of watches for ten dollars each...sold from the back seat of a motorcycle at ten in the evening. I passed up that deal also, but sent the guys across the street where two Englishmen were having dinner. They ended up with three watches....thought they had found a gold mine. I will be exploring this city for the next few days, and have more comments then. In due course, I will have more to say about things in Thailand, and also some interesting observations on something we hear a lot about in Canada...Globalization. Since I must get a Thai visa for the rest of my stay in Thailand, I will reserve those comments until I return home. I must fly into Thailand, because by doing so, they give me a free VISA for 30 days again. If I went by land, the Visa would only be good for 15 days...and I need it for 16 days. Speaking of Visas, I have had no further problems with the Visa credit card, so am not certain what the problem was. The currency here is called the Kip,..pronounced "Keep." Today, it is 8200 Kip to the US dollar. That's about it for today. Good to have a good wi-fi.

Update on VISA Issues December 13, 2015

Further to my posting of yesterday. The main problem with credit cards, as explained to me by both the bank and this hotel; is the fact that most credit cards contain two areas and types of information. Most cards have a chip inserted at one end, and some also have a coded strip on one side of the back. Apparently, the information is not the same on both areas. In the instance yesterday at this hotel, the card was inserted into the slot, and was rejected by the bank; the bank told me that if it had been swiped, it would have been no problem. I pointed out to the person in Toronto that to date, I had never swiped the card, only used the insert method. The problem seems to be that the "artificial intelligence " used between the terminal at purchase point, and the bank of record can be misunderstood by one or the other. The hotel here had no problems with other cards, including VISA cards. The problem seems minor, but can be a major issue, if one gets caught up in the matter. I thought it would be useful information to those of you who do travel from time to time. The best thing to do is just relax and think it out. After paying cash, I just went across the street and read a copy of The Bangkok Post newspaper, and had a strawberry Sundae at Swensen's the large American ice cream company which is now in every Thai city. But this matter gave me to wonder, what if, with all the testing of driverless cars going on in the world.....what if one of those driverless cars has a case of Roadrage!....just food for thought.

It IS TIME FOR CHANGE

Up until recently, traveler's were asked to call their bank and tell them of their travel plans, so the bank would not stop card use if it was suspected to be fraud. Recently, that has all changed with most banks. The following horror story only applies to the Toronto Dominion Bank-TD Trust, Canada, but could apply to other banks. When preparing for this trip, I made the call to the number on the back of my VISA card. After going through the press this press that routine to get to a live body, I got a recorded message.;"Our security system is now so great that you no longer need to call us with your travel plans...we know everything",....or words similar. NOT SO FAST TD. Imagine the shock to arrive at your hotel, as I did yesterday, and be told that VISA had frozen your card. Now, to solve such a problem, you must make a collect call to your bank...back in Toronto Canada, in my case. The hotel set me up with the call, and again, I pushed numbers for this and that. When I got to the choice that was for travel problems, I got a message. SORRY, this office is closed, and it gave the hours, nine to nine Monday to Friday, nine to six on weekends, all Eastern Standard Time. Just before that, this automated voice gave me my amount owing on my card....nil, and that I had fifteen thousand available.!!!!!! FRUSTRATING. In Thailand, we are twelve hours ahead of Toronto. It was two in the afternoon, in Thailand, two in the morning, Toronto time. I had to wait for at least seven hours to get to speak with someone. Imagine if it had happened at the airport, or some other such situation, where time was critical. For some people I know, this would be PANIC time. Now, for me, I had just gone to an ATM before heading north, so was able to pay with Thai Baht, and get into my hotel. About seven hours later, I made another call to Toronto, got to speak with someone and had good reason to get upset, but did not. After some time doing some research, I was informed that the problem was here at my hotel check in desk......their card reader was kaput. I advised the TD person that if possible, she should point this type of situation to the brass in the bank, and consider the thousands of people travelling, and the type of problems that can arise. The Toronto office was twentyfour hour until this new smart technology went into effect. In talking to others here, I understand many banks are going the same route. I will be taking this up with the bank upon my return, and also with The Superintendent Of Financial Institutions, the overseer of banks in Canada. The flight from Bangkok to here in Khon Kaen was excellent, and now I will explore the city.

Update December 5, from Pattaya

After spending two hours yesterday and another half hour today at a Travel Agency, I have now completed the planning for this adventure. On December 12, I will fly up to Khon Kaen, then work north to Udon Thani, Nong khai and then across the border to Vientiane, Laos. After four days there, its on to Luang Prabang, Laos, then over to Chiang Mai in Thailand. The last two destinations will be via air. It will be travel with a small group, and using a van. Because of Visa issues, I had to be careful of the days away from Thailand. When a Canadian arrives in Thailand by air, they receive a free 30 day Visa at the airport. If one arrives by land, ie bus or car, the Visa is only for 15 days. One must stay out of Thailand for a minimum of four days before returning. This is a new law, and prevents people from running across the border, and then returning to Thailand the same day. This short trip Visa business was quite lucrative for some people doing the trips, but people were staying here in Thailand for months, and just crossing the border, sometimes for less than an hour. The weather is in the 30s, and, some days the rain is very heavy. Some times, just showers. Have met a few people here at the hotel...all Canadians, mostly from Alberta. I am just relaxing, doing some walking, several kilometers each day, and enjoying the walks by the sea side. I will probably not have much new to post until I move north; I do not have any contacts here, except for the folks at the orphanage, where I will be some days. This is a long weekend in Thailand...today is the King's birthday...88, and also Fathers Day. On my above itinerary, I will be returning to Bangkok on December 31 via the express rail car....about 12 hours. By Next posting, I hope to have some photos to post....if I can figure out how to transfer them from storage to my website. Thats it for today;

Hello From Pattaya, Thailand, December 2, 2015

Hello all; I arrived at my hotel here about noon, after a taxi ride down from hotel at Bangkok airport. The Air Canada flight from Vancouver was great,(and for me to say that about Air Canada is a first) . The aircraft was the newest plane flying, the Boeing 787-800 series. We had a very smooth flight of 11 hours even, landing in Seoul, South Korea on schedule, then after some confusion, another good flight with Korean Airlines to Bangkok. The new Seoul airport is at Inchon, a peninsula out side of Seoul. They have two terminals, connected with an automated underground train. Passengers, including me found directional signs to be lacking, and no one around to ask questions. When the flight was called, they gave the usual boarding announcement in five languages. This included the order of boarding. As soon as they called for the first group of passengers, everyone got up, and into line and on board they went. There was lots of jostling for space and luggage, etc. The aircraft was an Airbus A330 series. This aircraft holds about 350 people, and most seats were filled. The seating on this flight was 2, aisle, four, aisle then 2 for eight abreast. I had a window seat, passenger next to me had aisle. His seat video did not work, so I offered to change seats, as I do not watch video, but do follow the flight tracking. He went into a tirade, stating that he chose that seat so that he would not have to disturb others when he went to the washroom, etc, etc. He said if I wanted an aisle seat, to go find one. He totally missed the point. End of conversation. When they handed out the customs forms enroute, he did not have a pen, so, after doing mine, offered it to him. He took it, but no "Thank You". I had the last word. As we were taxing in to the terminal at Bangkok, I showed him where the ON button was for his video. It was a six hour flight, so he had fidgeted all the way, with nothing to amuse himself. I want to say a bit more our Banff experience. Although Calgary was dry and no snow, Banff had received about 15 inches in the week before we got there. They had cleared the streets, but had not removed the snow, so there was no on street parking available. The gondolas were not operating yet, at either location, so we did not get to go up either mountain. The bunny hill was the only slope in use, and that was more than I cared to try.....no ten year old kid is going to show me up. We drove out to the Hope slide, but that road at the site was also closed for the season. We found Vancouver to be a very expensive city for fresh produce, and most other things. It seems that prices went up for the Olympics four years ago, and just stayed there. We compared prices at a Loblaws Superstore with the one we use back home, and found all items we use to be much higher. I am going to just relax here and take it easy for a few days, then head north. I went out after getting settled, talked to a travel agent, and will start north on December 12. I was going to have some Thai food for lunch, so went walking, and ended up having some.....chicken nuggets and frys at a Mcdonalds. While walking, I noticed that a lot of the Russian signage has been removed . That means less of them here....and to me, that's a good thing. Will update in a few days./Don

Photos Posted February 22, 2015

February 22, 2015 Update

Hello All; As I indicated in my last posting, I am soon to be moving a few blocks away from where I now live. The Condo that I have been renting is on the market for sale, and I have rented a smaller apartment nearby. Telephone and email addresses remain unchanged. I will be receiving the keys to the new place this week, and will move small items as time allows during March.
While I have not yet made any plans for more travel to Asia, I am however thinking of a trip back to Thailand for the month of July. The full extent of that trip has yet to be decided. I also intend to return to South East Asia for next winter, possibly remaining there for three months. I do want to visit the Philippines, and the winter time here is the best time to go there.
I have a few more photos to show you, and have a few comments. Since, for some reason, I cannot caption the photos, I will do that here. I hope they come up in the same order. They will be a following page.
The first is a walkway in the Kings Garden at Doi Threp.
The Budda ( from a different angle), at the Golden Triangle.
The Christmas greetings in downtown Chiang Mai
This scene, near Chiang Mai would scare someone who had too much to drink!!.
This man sets up on the street, near a power outlet, works for five days, leaves everything on street, covered up at night...no problems....sewing while you wait.
This is what happens when someone forgets to record the combination. It took three days to get into the safe.
A park just on edge of Chiang Mai city.
A water Lilly flower in the same park.
I will write again at end of March, after my move is complete.

Explanation of The Previous Two Pages; January 31, 2015

The Golden Triangle is where Myanmar, Laos and Thailand join. The River to the right is the famous Mekong. It flows through about eight countries, forming some boundaries. It is very muddy, or silt laden. All boats here are long and shallow...the water being only a meter in places.
A bike parking lot. With millions of these on the road, parking is a problem.
Two prize fighting roosters. This so called "sport", is legal in Thailand.
Most of the furniture is made of horns, from cattle, water buffalo, and any other such beast.
 A Buddah  at the Golden Triangle city of Mae Sai
Rings as worn by the Long Neck ladies...brass.
Hot Springs about 60 kilometers north of Chiang Mai. The baskets contain eggs from different fowl, and these are being cooked to sell to tourists. The larger brown eggs are duck eggs. (You may wish to stop here). A duck egg takes, on average about 28 days to hatch. Within each of these duck eggs is a 24 day old duckling, which, under normal circumstances would hatch in about four days. When nicely cooked, ie boiled, these become a delicacy in this part of the world. I have not tried them. To me, they are right up there with squid. Not for human consumption. I just about got sick in Tokyo airport while waiting for connecting flight to Chicago on way home. A number of Vietnamese had arrived from Saigon, and were going on my flight to Chicago, then Washington. They sat beside me, and unpacked a large buffet lunch. They had these eggs, and I happened to look over once, and saw the feathers, and all in half of an egg. I moved to another location.
The food photos are mostly self identifying. The sea food and noodle dish has a large lump of a brown substance on the left side. This is blood, another item enjoyed by some here.....same category as squid, for me anyway.
The small birds are BBQ Pigeons. Gac fruit is supposed to be a cure all for almost everything.
The BBQ fist is good, but is coated with sea salt to cook. The huge mass is a pan of Pad Thai, ready for customers. It will not last long. Sushi is plentiful here, and one of my favorite dinner dishes, with the Wasabi of course.
Some of the photos here may have been in other pages, but that is bound to happen, as I do not remember every photo posted, and did not take the time to look.
At minus 25 outside, it is nice to review these memories.

Photos from Thailand, Posted January 31, 2015

Comments on the photos, January 30, 2015

In Asia, people sell everything imaginable, often by carrying the product, or by pushing or pulling a small cart. Some people sell from their motorbike, and it is hard to understand how they can balance the bike. They make it look easy.
The first photo is of three ladies selling hats and ladies blouses. They walk the beach area, and you will notice each has at least seven hats on their head. I just have to say this;...there is no Overhead in this operation.
There were places where Christmas was evident, such as this tall tree outside a mall. It is decorated with Snoopys, and you will note a Santa two thirds of the way up the tree. The next photo is looking down on the tree from inside the mall, about four floors up, with a view of the Gulf of Thailand in the distance.
This photo is of our Thai guide and one of the Long Neck women, with a view of the Long Neck village next. These people live in sparse conditions, and where the temperature is a bit cooler...down to 16 at night at that time...December. It is in the mountains of Northern Thailand.
The English name for these fruit is "Nipple Fruit".
The next photo is of me relaxing in The Kings Garden at Doi Thung, which is at the top end of Thailand, on the border with Myanmar. (Burma). The place was at one time a summer residence for the Thai King. The gardens are pictured in one of my previous blogs.
The last photo is of tourists buying a "well balanced meal", from a vendor on a motor bike, also at the Doi Thung resort.

On this recent trip, I took about 720 photos, and will do some more random shots as time permits. I leave you with the photo of another tour guide;

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