Thailand

Prologue: Winter Adventure

Jan — Mon, 17 Dec 2001 00:00:00 +0700

Miami, Florida
Monday
December 17, 2001

My Dear Family and Friends,

Sawat -dee,

I just checked the temperature readings on my Internet Home Page:

Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Mae Hong Son: Happy New Year

Jan — Mon, 31 Dec 2001 00:00:00 +0700

Mae Hong Son

Thailand

December 31, 2001

Dear Family and Friends,

Please click on the image for more photos

of Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Mae Hong Son.

I am writing from Mae Hong Son, a small town in the mountains in the northwest corner of Thailand, near the border with Myanmar (Burma).

Tonight is New Year's Eve and the hotel is providing a "gala dinner" and entertainment. I have also found two noisy clubs with live music, so there will be no lack of celebration. The town is fully booked with Thai people on vacation and an assortment of "farangs" -- foreigners.

Phi Phi, Krabi: Happy

Jan — Sun, 20 Jan 2002 00:00:00 +0700

Bangkok, Thailand

January 20, 2002

Dear Family and Friends,

Please click on the image for
more photos of Phi Phi, Krabi.

Thailand was a wonderful winter adventure. After Bangkok and Pattaya, I spent few days in the North. I visited the Hill Tribes and drove through the mountains near Mae Hong Song.

Prologue: Ready, Excited, Anxious

Jan — Fri, 14 Jun 2002 00:00:00 +0700

Miami, Florida
June 14, 2002

Dear Family and Friends,

Well, I am off again.

To hell with the money; to hell with the stock market; to hell with caution and trepidation.

I got my typhoid, diphtheria, yellow fever, hepatitis A and hepatitis B shots and I am ready.

On Monday I leave for a return trip to Southeast Asia. I fly from Miami to Los Angeles on American Airlines. Then to Hong Kong and Bangkok on Cathay Pacific. I will arrive on Wednesday June 19 in the early afternoon, just in time for a cold one at my favorite Bier Garten. (I think I have finally mastered the international dateline stuff.)

Trat, Thailand: Breakfast with the Monks

Jan — Mon, 24 Jun 2002 00:00:00 +0700

June 24, 2002

Thailand

Sawadee krap,
Hello Everyone,

Greetings from the “Land of Smiles.”

Please click on the image for
more photos of Trat.

I arrived uneventfully in Bangkok on Wednesday afternoon. The trip, door to door, was thirty-three hours. That includes the three times I had to remove my shoes for inspection at Miami International Airport. (What price security?)

Bangkok, Thailand: Small World

Jan — Tue, 16 Jul 2002 00:00:00 +0700

Hua Hin

Thailand

July 16, 2002

Please click on the image

for more photos of Thailand.

After Angkor Wat I flew back to Bangkok. I strolled through a large park in the center of the city and practiced my Tai Chi with a Chinese master. I went to the zoo.

I attended Friday evening prayers at the ornate Wat Suthat. A huge gold Buddha and mysterious chanting.

Epilogue: Happy, Sad, Moved, Determined

Jan — Mon, 19 Aug 2002 00:00:00 +0700

Miami, Florida August 19, 2002
	Please click on the image for more photos of Thailand.

Wherever I travel, an unexpected emotional moment may arise - an encounter with someone or something that can move me to tears of happiness.

West of Bangkok, in Nakhon Pathom, I was wandering around a very large market place. Everyone stares since I am the only farang (foreigner) around.

Prologue: Bah in Bangkok

Jan — Thu, 05 Jun 2003 00:00:00 +0700

Miami, Florida
5 June 2003

Dear Family and Friends,

Do you remember that optimistic quotation from MAD Magazine? "What, Me Worry?” Like Alfred E. Newman, it is my mantra for this summer.

Thailand2003

Jan — Thu, 19 Jun 2003 00:00:00 +0700

Bangkok

Thailand
Dear Family and Friends,

Please click on the image for
more photos of Bangkok.

I have a buddy in Miami who has a very short attention span. He doesn't like my long-winded travel letters. He says he "skims" them but actually I don't think he reads them at all. He doesn't even share them with his wife.

Sukhothai - Si Satchanalai: Motorbike with Aun

Jan — Wed, 25 Jun 2003 00:00:00 +0700

Sukhothai
Thailand

(My fan mail is unanimously in favor of my detailed ramblings. Sorry "Blinky!" Print it out and read in small doses.)

Please click on the image for more photos of Sukhothai and Si Satchanalai.

I flew north to Sukhothai, checked into The River View Hotel (crummy view of a muddy river) and hired a driver and his tuk-tuk - a small cart with a roof and benches powered by a motorcycle in the rear.