ANCIENT KINGDOMS - MARCH 2014

Our trip to the Ancient Kingdoms of Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam with Overseas Adventure Travel was eye and heart-opening.

  

Astonishingly beautiful temples and palaces are juxtaposed with heart-breaking poverty. Smiles beam from the faces of the squatting women, and the children, although not always sparklingly clean, are cherished and held close.  Survivors of the Khmer Rouge Holocaust teach forgiveness. The comforting smile of the Buddha is everywhere. Young saffron-robed monks silently stroll in the streets. 

The Chinese are in the process of deforesting much of the land. The Laotians are planning eleven dams on the Mekong River which will wreak havoc downstream on local fishermen and villages already struggling to survive.  The Cambodians are destroying mangrove swamps where the fish lay their eggs to increase arable land for rice farming. Charming landscapes are ruined by mounting trash.  The waters in which fish are farmed are polluted. Temperatures have risen to well over 100 degrees in the dry season, and the monsoon floods devastate the land.  

In the face of that gloom and doom, we were charmed by the people's gentle spirits and were totally in awe how anyone survives the chaotic traffic "patterns" (there are none) in Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City). There are literally millions of motor scooters, and accidents are the main cause of death.

We returned home thankful for our blessings, our conveniences, our experiences, and for each other.

A street market outside of Bangkok.

Our first lunch let us know we were in for some very special presentations of delicious and fresh food.

Note the wires.  OMG!

Rooflines and monkeys at the Royal Grand Palace in Bangkok. 

     

We visited Wat Yai Chai Mongkol whose stones were laid in 1357. 

The site still functions as a meditation center.  

The devout stick sheets of gold leaf on the Buddah.

No shoes, no hats, no bare shoulders.

The Buddah is expressed in many forms. We saw thousands.

The long ear lobes of the Buddah remind one to listen.

Young monks outside of the ancient temples of Wat Phra Sri Sanphet.  It was the capital of Siam from 1353 to 1767 and was once a place of fabulous wealth with 2,000 spires clad in gold. 

Sights on the shores as we cruised on the Chaophraya River 
to Bang Pa-In, the Summer Palace.  Below are stupas which 
contain the ashes of the deceased.

At the Summer Palace

A not-so-friendly monitor lizard on the palace grounds.

Statues outside of our hotel in Bangkok...

...and fish in the pond in the garden.

Japanese tiles left over from decorating the King's residence were used at Wat Xieng Thong, the oldest temple in Luang Prabang, Laos.  Luang Prabang is the ancient, royal capital of Laos.

The right hand pointing to the ground is to connect to the earth 

and calm the "monkey mind."

Little ones cooling off.  I couldn't resist snapping a photo.

I asked permission to photograph her, 
and she coyly smoothed her hair before posing.  

On the banks of the Khan River in Luang Prabang.

A young monk demonstrated how to properly wrap his robes.

A little one playing with a plastic bubble at the night market.

We stopped in a local village, Baan Xang Kong, to learn about the art of paper making using mulberry flowers and other plants.

Along the Mekong River, we stopped at a local rice whiskey mill.  
And yes, we drank some.  

We cruised to the Pak Ou Cave, filled with thousands of Buddha icons.

Grandma's love is the same the world 'round.

Lunch on the boat ended with tamarind for dessert.  
Gummy and delicious!

Our local mode of transportation, the tuk tuk.  
These were fun!

We arose before dawn to participate in the ancient Buddhist tradition
 of alms-giving to local monks.

An elderly woman in prayer.

It was on to the local morning market where we were each given an assignment to purchase items for our lunch.  My pronunciation was so bad, one young woman took pity on me and led me to the ຖົ່ວງອກ (bean sprouts.)

We visited the Hmong village of Tin Keo where we met with the local chiefs and school children.  OAT's 'parent' company, Grand Circle, funded new sidewalks in the village and bought looms for the women so they now have an industry.

These bamboo cylinders were connected to bamboo pipes that serve as a bellows for the local blacksmith.

Our home-cooked meal of watercress soup, sticky rice, pork and vegetables cooked in banana leaves, and a banana.

Items in the fresh air kitchen.

The master weaver and pattern maker of the village.

The jungle oasis of Kuang Si Waterfall. 

 We swam in the pools beneath the falls.  

Dragon heads outside of the Royal Palace Museum built in 1904-1909 during the reign of King Sisavang Vong.

Playing checkers with bottle caps on the sidewalk of Luang Prabang.

This sweet statue just caught my eye.

After arriving in Vientiane, Laos, we strolled on a promenade overlooking the river.  This little one has quite the rig.

We were treated to some local delicacies - cricket, fried frog skin, cocoon and grasshopper, and grilled dried squid.  
Ken partook.  I had an upset tummy and decided to abstain.

 One of my favorite Buddahs.  The hands in this position are a sign of peace.

There are more than 10,000 Buddah images at Wat Srisaket in Vientiane.

Our entire group of sixteen decided to visit the COPE center which is run by a non-governmental organization that helps fund the removal of bombs still littering the countryside in Laos. The organization also provides prosthetic limbs to victims of explosions.  Laos was the most heavily bombed country per capita during the Vietnam War which is referred to locally as the American War.

The photo is of a single bomb containing hundreds of cluster bombs.

http://www.copelaos.org/visit.php

After dinner, we were entertained by dancers. Notice the hand positions.  Yikes.

There is no way to describe the traffic in Saigon, (now Ho Chi Minh City) in Vietnam.  Scooters, thousands of them, zoom in every direction, even on the sidewalks.  Crossing the street is quite a challenge.

This little one danced around her mother's shop 
while we tried our hand at cooking rice cakes.  

At the Cu Chi Tunnels in Vietnam.  
I did not even try to imagine the horrors they held.

Here I am ready for my cyclo-rickshaw ride 
weaving in and out of the scooters in Saigon.  It was wild!

Kids we met at a small brick-making operation.

We traveled overland and by ferry to the town of Chau Doc, Vietnam.  Thank goodness we did not have to ride in their version of the rickshaw.  Ouch.

I can't remember what it was - some kind of starchy root - 
but it was delicious (and very filling.)

Here's the whole gang outside of our hotel in Chau Doc.  Anna, our local guide, is on the left and Joe, our fantastic tour guide is on the right.

The next six photos were taken as we cruised along the Mekong River leaving Vietnam heading toward Phnom Penh, Cambodia.  

The Royal Palace in Phnom Penh, where the son of former King Norodom Sihanouk, Norodom Sihamoni, still resides today.  

Our visit to the Killing Fields of Choeung Ek was an upsetting reminder of the holocaust under Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge.  The Buddhist memorial commemorates the 1.7 million victims of the 1975-79 genocide. 

We met Chum Mey, a survivor of the Tuol Sleng Prison.  

His story moved us to tears.

This young woman uses only a hammer and small chisel to create designs on a copper bowl that is then coated with silver.  
The pieces were astonishing.

Can you believe these eyes?

Little ones offering lotus flowers from their lotus farm.

A local woman supports herself by digging up tarantulas, defanging them with her fingernails, and then frying them. 

Our local guide, Jack, partaking.

We ate them, too.  They were delicious, especially the legs.

Our transport to the floating village on Tonle Sap Lake in Cambodia.

The battery man.  His job is to charge folks' batteries!

The journey wouldn't be complete without a ride in a cart 
drawn by water buffalo.

Another delicacy served at the night market in Siem Reap, Cambodia.  We passed on these, but earlier had tried delicious snake jerky.

You have no idea how much a fish foot massage tickles.

Monks at work and play on the grounds of Angkor Wat.

A detail of the miraculous stone carvings on the temple walls.

And finally, the masterpiece of Khmer architecture, the temples of Angkor Wat.  Built between 1113 and 1150, surrounded by a moat 570 feet wide, and sprawled across an area of 96 square miles.  It was definitely impressive.

It was a wonderful trip.

We are so lucky.