Happy Elephants in Thailand
When I heard you could hang out with elephants in Thailand, I admit I was hesitant. I’d heard stories of animal abuse – drugged tigers you could pet, and overworked elephants carrying tourists around and around on their backs. But then someone told me about Happy Elephant Home, a rescue refuge that takes elephants out of hard labor and gives them a life of supposed relative ease, And I have to admit, they look pretty happy! A young man who loves elephants decided to rescue one who was suffering with wounds from a box that carries...
read moreThe Artsy Town of Chang Mai, Thailand
Why did I return to Thailand after a week in Cambodia? Because the artsy town of Chang Mai was calling me, as were my new friends from the meditation retreat. As an American, you get a month tourist visa in Thailand, then if you leave the country, even for an hour or two, you can get another month. I had thought I’d continue on in Cambodia and Vietnam, but when friends suggested that, as an artist, I might appreciate Chang Mai, I decided to check it out. And I wasn’t disappointed! Chang Mai has many artsy galleries and...
read moreThe Art of Making Silk
Just outside Siem Reap is a silk farm, where for free, you can go on a tour and see the whole process. They will even give you a free ride on their shuttle bus. Yes, they have a gift shop at the end, a very lovely one, but there is absolutely no pressure to buy anything, although you might be tempted to! And it’s nice to tip your tour guide. I was amazed at what it takes to go from a worm to a single piece of fabric. I think you will be too! It all starts here, with mulberry leaves. A mulberry leaf diet creates the finest silk. In the...
read moreThe Magical Tale of Mr. Yen
He grew up in a village in Cambodia, and was working in the rice fields with his parents, making very little money and getting nowhere, so he decided to try his luck by moving to the city of Siem Reap to look for a job, which he found as a tuk tuk driver at the guesthouse where I was staying. “I have a confession to make,” he told me, as we ate lunch on my day trip to Angkor Wat. “The reason I was late this morning to pick you up was because I was sleeping. I have a second job.” He explained that his first job in Siem Reap is at a...
read moreSights and Sounds of Siem Reap
Siem Reap, Cambodia, is the gateway city to Angkor Wat, with exotic appeal, as well as the ease provided by being set up for the tourist trade. If you are looking for adventure, with all of the comforts of any major tourist destination, and a much cheaper price tag than most, you might want to consider a trip to Cambodia. I’d booked a guesthouse ahead, based on a recommendation from a traveler I met in a hostel in New Zealand (hostels are great for swapping travel tips!) The Okay Guesthouse was $18 a night for a private room with...
read moreCambodia – Exploring Angkor Wat
Angkor Wat. If it brings up visions of a long-ago faraway place, something you might have seen in a dream, this is an accurate picture. It is part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Cambodia, built in the 12th century, and the complex covers miles of ground. It is the largest religious monument in the world! A wat is a temple, and the famous Angkor that you see in a lot of the photos is but one of many temples here, the best preserved of them all. Originally, Angkor Wat was a place of Hindu worship, however that changed to Buddhism long ago....
read moreLiving Like the Locals in Thailand
Udonthani, like most of Thailand, is a blend of old and new, low tech and high tech… …local market and super market. What’s it like to live like a local in Thailand? I was lucky enough to find out, thanks to a connection made by another Travel Angel, my friend Lee in California, who introduced me via email to what turned out to be two more Travel Angels, Paul and Joi. They live in Udonthani, which is a fairly big city in the northeast of Thailand, however they live in the outskirts, so in effect, more like a village, with quick...
read moreThailand Island Paradise – Bottle Beach
Paradise can be had for a song in Thailand, just head south… After 10 days at a bare-bones silent meditation retreat, I needed to recover, meaning a beach, a cold beer and a hammock! Sabine, a woman from Germany that I met at the retreat, had reserved a little island bungalow on Koh Phangan for $16 a night and invited me to share for a few nights. $8 a night for paradise, how could I turn that down?! Having heard about the wild full and half-moon parties on this island I was slightly leery, until she reassured me that first, the full...
read more12 Top Things to Take When You Travel
Following are 12 items that you might not think to pack, but that I find indispensable: 1) Pack towel – They’re a little bit of an investment, but well worth the price as they’re super absorbent, anti-microbial, and take up a fraction of the space of a regular towel. Most hostels don’t provide towels, or charge extra, and camping you need to bring your own as well. Staying in hotels? These pack towels still come in handy, from laying over your pillow if the fabric softener smell is a bit too strong, or to throw in your...
read more10 Days of Silence in Thailand, Part 2
Suan Mokkh Monastery Retreat, Days 2-10 The schedule was virtually the same every day, however each day was also different. Day 2 you were given bananas with breakfast, and your new friend Sabine handed you a beautiful yellow flower in passing. And you got to go shopping! 2 rolls of toilet paper and a tiny package of laundry detergent from the little dining room store so you can wash your clothes in a basin. Since you can’t talk, you just point to what you want. Day 3 you are really happy you balled up your fleece jacket into a pillow...
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