Travel Letters

Udon Thani, Chaiyaphum, Ban Phai, Ban Chiang: "Ancient Swirls"

Udon Thani

Thailand

March 8, 2005

Dear Family and Friends,

I got tired of just sitting around at The Honey Inn so after a few days of R&R I hit the road again, this time heading to northeast Thailand.

It was a short but "monumental" ten day trip. Even a little bizarre.

Chaiyaphun. I thought was going to see a silk-weaving village outside of town but in the searing heat and under the penetrating and debilitating sun I lost my patience. (Another couple I met later in the day had the same problem. On the way out of town, on the bus, we saw the sign, facing the "wrong" direction.)

Pattaya: Viharna Sien: "Never Say Never"

Bangkok, Thailand

March 21, 2005

 

Dear Family and Friends,

Before departing Miami on my very first trip to Thailand, December, 2001, all my buddies who had already been here unanimously "insisted" I "head directly" to Pattaya, a popular beach resort close to Bangkok.

 

My guidebook was considerably less enthusiastic, but my friend Jeff, who had been living here for six months, also "insisted." So a little reluctantly and dutifully, I made the two hour bus ride with Jeff as my "orientation counselor."

Let me say this about Pattaya with a certain sensitivity:

Remember the business card from the movie "LA Confidential"? ...

"Whatever you desire."

I spent two fun days there. Jeff and I did what we did. As I stretched out on the beach, I even had an attractive dragon "tattooed" on my left forearm while I sipped a cold Singha. Tattoos also for my friends Nam and Ann.

I wanted to see Thailand, so I left Jeff and friends behind. I flew to Chaing Mai to resume being a tourist. I figured I'd never go back tp Pattaya.

Never say, "Never."

Hua Hin, Thailand: "Driving Lessons"

Hua Hin
Thailand
March 26, 2005

Dear Family and Friends,

I am well and back at the Hua Hin beach resort where I am relaxing, reading and preparing for a sixty day journey. Yesterday I had a brainstorm. So, today, I began a three -day three-hour course in driving!

My knuckles are white and my shirt and pants are "soaked." I have practiced parallel parking, driving in reverse and highway driving. Tomorrow I switch vehicles - from automatic to manual transmission!!

Thailand: "Heading South"

Bangkok, Thailand

March 29, 2005

Dear Family and Friends,

I leave Bangkok this afternoon for a two month journey. My flights are on Garuda Airlines of Indonesia and my itinerary is as follows:

29 March . . . . . Bangkok to Singapore. Change planes and arrive in the evening in Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia for a two night stopover.

31 March . . . Denpasar to Perth.

25 April . . . . . Perth to Denpasar.

20 May . . . . . Denpasar to Singapore.

29 May . . . . . Singapore to Bangkok.

Perth to Cue: The Outback

Cue 

Western Australia

April 6, 2005

G'day,

I am at the Queen of The Murchison Bed and Breakfast, sitting on the second floor terrace, potted plants all around the perimeter and many more hanging from the edge of the angled roof that protects me from the afternoon sun. The Great Northern Highway bisects this town called Cue, pop.300 - nearby gold mines and mining town architecture.

Basically, I am in the middle of nowhere.

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