Hole In The Donut

You just GOTTA love Thailand. Check out this short video of a train running through a Bangkok market:

It’s my last full day in Thailand and I did what any good Thai would do - I went shopping! Everyone knows that I am not much of a shopper, so it will really shock to learn that I spent eight hours at activity that I normally detest. At 11 AM my friend, Joan, and [...]

The trip to Phi Phi Island was ten hours long and not particularly pleasant. It began with an hour flight to Krabi on the southern peninsula of Thailand. From the airport we got a taxi that took us to one of the myriad tour companies in Krabi Town, where we purchased tickets for [...]

One of the pleasures of Bangkok is the ability to get lost without worry. Yesterday we took the water taxi from the Taksin Bridge, on our way to see Wat Arun, the Temple of Dawn. We hopped on board and grabbed a couple of seats on the left side of the boat, soon to [...]

They say things come in threes. I’ve found that to be true more times than not, and it certainly was accurate where my most recent animal encounters were concerned. It all started two nights ago, as Joan and I were walking back to the hotel from a night stroll down Khao San Road.
We’ve made it [...]

“Madame, where you go? Grand Palace open. Wat Pho closed. Open this afternoon. Holiday this morning.”
We must have heard this two dozen times on our walk between the Grand Palace and Wat Pho. This is perhaps the most famous of the Thailand scams. Men and women stand on the sidewalks surrounding the Wats (temples), [...]

I’m back in Bangkok after an uneventful (thank God!) flight back from Siem Reap, Cambodia. This time I’m staying at the O Bangkok! Hotel, which is in the backpacker district, but a couple of blocks away from Khao San Road, so it’s not so noisy and crazy. This place is pretty nice. It [...]

Yesterday morning dawned clear and the sites outside my hotel beckoned, but I have been without a good Internet connection for days, so I just had to catch up on email and blog posting before hitting the pavement. It was noon before I finished. I grabbed my backpack and headed out the front [...]

What a birthday I had this year! First, I was tickled that my family and so many of my friends wished me happy birthday by email or comments on the blog. Then, I arranged to spend the day of my birthday with my friend Monika, who lives in the south of Bali. [...]

When I travel long term I have a tendency not to make a lot of hotel reservations. For example, for this six month journey, with the exception of the Safari I have booked in Africa, I have made reservations for six nights.
I always make a reservation for the very first night and perhaps even the [...]

I arrived in Bangkok safe and sound, if a bit travel weary, and am now ensconced in a flea bag hotel in the backpacker district on Khao San Road. More about that in the next day or so, after I get settled. I just wanted to let everyone know that I uploaded lots [...]