Going abroad

Traveling in Thailand

A last posting before I am off to the Land of the Rising Dragon. Sorry I travel light so no laptop with me. So no postings while on the road. See you back later!

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Koyaanisqatsi

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Following is just a personal rant and is not specially related to Thailand or traveling. On the day of writing 6 May 2020 (75 years after the end of world war 2) we are still in the middle of the Corona Crisis, although because the curves of statistics are flattening (less people are confirmed to have the Corona virus and less people die of the Corona virus) some people seem to think that it is almost over. Mind you we actually do not know much of this virus, history could have learned us that a virus not just disappears. But never mind people just want to go back to the old normal from the pre-corona era. Back to normal?

Really? Back to normal? Back to being a consumer in a global world where a small elite of people make more money as the all rest of the world? Back to a normal where we rape & destroy the world just to benefit that elite? Where we fight wars & kille people for natural resources? Where a small part of the world population can live in absurd prosperity while t…
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Visiting the former royal city Luang Prabang in Laos

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Although I did make some postings about Luang Prabang, I saw that I actually not made postings from my latest trip to Luang Prabang in 2008. Yes some years ago already. The first time I was in Luang Prabang was in 1997 when we had planned to stay 2 or 3 days but stayed for about 1 week at the then brand new Say Nam Khan River View Hotel (and it is still there). The next time I did return I was on a tour of duty in 2004. The next time and last time (until 2020) was in 2008 when we stayed at the lovely Lotus Villa in the historical quarter. Luang Prabang is the former capital and former royal city of the former "Kingdom of Laos" and still the capital city of Luang Prabang province. Located at the confluence of the Mekong River and Kan River, about 300 km north of Vientiane. And it is world famous as 'Unesco World Heritage Site" with beautiful old temples and French colonial style houses. Following are all photos from 2008.











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Visiting Prasat Hin Phi Mai in Phi Mai

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Reposting from 2017 but it must have been about 2014 that I was the last time at Phi Mai Historical Park. The historical park is located right in the middle of the modern town of Phi Mai and it is about 60 km north of Nakhon Ratchasima. Prasat Hin Phi Mai is part of the many ancient temples in Thailand and Cambodia that were build during the time of the Greater Khmer Kingdom. Prasat Hin Phi Mai is build in the 11th - 12th century. As said the historical park is located in the modern town and opposite the entrance is a nice air conditioned coffee-shop and of course some souvenirs shops. When you enter the park you see the entrance with the Naga bridge on your left hand side and on your right hand side toilets. Walking to the rear side of the park you will have a beautiful view over the complex and see the main Prang surrounded by the smaller Prang's. The complex is build in perfect symmetry which gives you a beautiful view when looking trough the doors. Of course the Buddha image …
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Visiting Sangkhlaburi in 2005

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I did write about traveling to Sangkhlaburi already a few times so you might have seen some of the photos shown here. This photos are from visiting Sangkhlaburi in 2005. The previous posting is about photos from 2004. In 2005 I tried to make some photos of the same location, what makes a nice comparison. Sangkhlaburi is famous for its location along Khao Laem Lake (Vajiralongkorn Lake) in the Songaria River, about 230 km west of Bangkok. It is famous for its sunken temple in the lake, the longest wooden bridge of Thailand and the Wat Wang Wiwekarn. And Sangkhlaburi is a popular weekend destination for people from Bangkok. It is also the gate-way to Myanmar at the famous Tree Pagoda Pass. In 2005 the water level of the lake was low and the lake was transformed back to the Songaria River. And the sunken temple was not sunken anymore. But we could still rent a house boat to spend a day on the water. Following are more photos of Sangkhlaburi.






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Week 6 of Voluntary Self Isolation at StayHome

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As there will not be any traveling in the next few months I will update you about living in Social Distance at StayHome during the Corona Crisis in Thailand. I started this StayHome thread on 22 March 2020 but actually since 15 March 2020 we are in a kind of self chosen isolation, we only go to town for shopping. This is week 6 at 2 May 2020. As usual I will start with the air pollution. According to Air Visual we now have a US AQI of 65 (moderate) with an pm2.5 of 18.1 µg/m3. Photo above was taken at 5:45am from our garden, just before I did ride to Viewpoint 1715 along route 1256 in the mountains of Doi Phu Kha. For that see the photos below.

Another week has passed and we did about the same as the week before. A bit of working in the garden, a bit of shopping, watch TV and play on Facebook. I use the time to update my travel blog and 2 other websites under my management. In the meanwhile many people seem to think the Corona Crisis is almost over and start to relax and getting off …
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Temples in Bangkok

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Reposting from 2016. Last week I was again in Bangkok for a few days and made a little tour. And although I have been at these temples at least 20 times they are still fascinating. Photo above is a detail of the world famous Wat Arun (Temple of dawn) along the Chao Phraya River. In 2013 they started to renovate this temple and it seems to be almost finished. Job well done, it looks beautiful! For more information see Wikipedia Wat Arun. The photo under is a part of the Wat Traimit in China Town that houses the famous Golden Buddha. It is said to be 3 meters high and have a weight of 5.5 solid gold. There is an interesting story about this Buddha image, for more information see Wikipedia Golden Buddha (statue)

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Visiting the Jim Thompson House in Bangkok

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The Jim Thompson House in Bangkok is the home and Asian art collection of the late James H.W. Thompson, also known as the “Thai Silk King”. It is an old Thai style teak wooden house in a tropical garden in the middle of hectic Bangkok, a oase of tranquility. When living in Bangkok I would visit this place many times. All photos were taken in 2002. But who is Jim Thompson? The short story : he was an American working for the OSS and stationed in Thailand in 1945. He reinvented the famous Thai silk and created the famous Thompson Thai Silk company on Surawong road in Bangkok. A part of his fortune he did spend on a diverse collection of Thai art (one could consider that some actually would belong in a temple) and in 1950 his House on the Klong (now Jim Thompson House) was build. In 1967 he mysteriously diapered in the highlands of Malaysia. For more detailed information see Jim's Story. For more information about the House on the Klong see Jim Thompson House.






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Mural paintings at Wat Pho Chai Na Phueng in Na Haeo

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Reposting from 2015. I love riding upcountry, the roads less travelled. You "find" the real Thailand, like the Wat Pho Chai Na Phueng in the district Na Haeo, about 20 km north of Dan Sai. This temple is believed to be from the 17th - 18th century A.D. I think that was before the village of Na Phueng was ever build. There is an old Wihan with both inside and outside beautiful mural paintings of the Lord Buddha and Vessantara Jataka. Currently the roof is under renovation, and it looks like it will be done the proper original way with wooden parts. It was a magical experience to visit this temple at 6:30 in the morning while clouds and fog were filling the valley. A monk walked me to the Wihan and unlocked & opened the door for me and I stepped into a dark dusty mysterious room full with Buddha images. It took a while before the monk with my help did find the light-switch .... unfortunately for beautiful photos the room was now lighted in TL-light.  But shown now all aro…
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