Nam Ou river After landing in Luang Prabang, Laos, my pals Shirley, Judy and I headed north, with our friend-guide Ticky. Meanwhile, Tommy jubilated in town with croissants and coffee. Sharp, agile, quick to laugh, Ticky was born in a cave. The first bite his Khmu parents fed him was bat meat, so he’d be […]
Nothing establishes that you are in a non western culture quite like a visit to the Black House and White Temple. Probably the major tourist attractions in Chiang Rai, located at opposite ends of the city, one north and one south. The symmetry of opposition seems hard to avoid. Black to White, Earthly to Heavenly, […]
Chiang Dao to Mae Salong She appeared out of the forest onto the road in full Akha tribal dress. Then she stepped up into the pickup truck taxi, and we immediately resumed our mountain climb. After a few miles of twists and turns, she jumped off, disappearing into the green once more. We were […]
Getting from Chiang Mai to Chiang Dao, Thailand Visualize the inside of a bus that looks like a 50’s dinner, with lots of chrome. We grabbed the last two seats, or so we thought. Turns out that what looked like two-to-a-row seating is three-to-a-row seating, which we found out as folks piled in at each […]
[wpvideo Csu0N4EA] Elephant Nature Park is a sanctuary and rescue center in Northern Thailand, about 40 miles from Chiang Mai. (See travel information at the bottom of this post under Practical Stuff.)
Walk the streets of Chiang Mai, past the vendors hawking tours, selling chatzies, and you’ll spot dozens of ancient wats. (Buddhist temples.) Curlicue dragons, stone elephants, the works. It was festival time when we arrived, and the town was jammed with tourists. So, we decided to forgo the classic wat best picks, like the Phra […]
We’re near the Chang Phuak Gate in Chiang Mai, in Northern Thailand. It’s around 6pm, and the bevy of food stands sit behind long tables filled with eating Thai and tourists from all over, mostly China. A woman in a cowboy hat dips into an enormous aluminum pot of rich stock, filled with large bobbing ham […]
I love trains, always have. Something about the sound, the rush of scenery, the anticipation of arrival. Their history and lore in books and films. But I knew the 15-hour night train from Bangkok to Chiang Mai would not be like the Some Like It Hot train scene, with lots of upper bunk lower bunk fun, and Marilyn Monroe playing […]
You can’t go home again? My new self, a woman of 62, visited my old self on my first trip to London in almost a half century. I’d lived there for a spot then, but, when I got off at my old tube stop, I found myself looking for someone not there. Like my roaming […]
USDA approved school-tested local food recipes and a supplement for educators.
