Phang Nga National Park

Phang Nga National Park is a preserve in Phang Nga Bay in the Andaman Sea northeast of Phuket Island. We took a daylong boat trip that explored this beautiful area that is dotted with 48 islands that are mostly limestone karsts. The limestone forms caves and rooms and takes unusual forms.The map above indicates the area and route of the trip. The beauty in this area gave many photo opportunities...so many that I'll put this trip in 2 posts to the blog.

The first place we went was Koh Hong...meaning Room Island. The limestone center of the island has caved in leaving an open space surrounded by cliffs that reminded someone of a room. It left a beautiful area for swimming, snorkeling and being lazy. The first photo under the post title above is a panorama of this place. The water was warm, very clear and schools of small blue and yellow fish appeared from time to time. We spent about an hour and a half at this spot.



We had lunch at a Muslim village that was attached to a small island and was built on stilts above the water. The villagers were fisherman and merchants that had small shops and large restaurants to serve the local tourists. The island's name is Punyee Island. The lunch was good and the setting wonderful.
This a typical fisherman's long-tailed boat from the village:

Patong

Patong is the largest, most developed area on Phuket. It has many budget and mid-priced hotels and guest houses as well has a large variety of discotheques, go-go bars and just plain old bars. There are also many souvenir shops and one quite large shopping mall. It also has a very nice beach. The water is very clean and clear and is great for swimming. The crowd here at this time of year is mostly Scandinavian singles and families...a more upscale group than one finds at Pattaya. There are several direct, nonstop flights from northern Europe during the winter.


There are the typical fast-food places such as McDonalds, Burger King, KFC, Subway, Dairy Queen, Swensen's, Hagen Daz and Starbuck's of course.
Ronald McDonald welcomes you with a classic Thai "wai":

The seafood here is very fresh and plentiful

Surin Beach on Phuket Island, Thailand

Friday, December 12
We arrived on Phuket yesterday afternoon after a quick, comfortable flight in a 2/3 full THAI Airways 744. This stay here has also required some flexibility in plans as I was notified by email last week the Marriott Courtyard at Patong Beach was not opened on schedule because of construction delays. They offered a room at the new Courtyard in Surin Beach about 30 min north of Patong.....and they said it would be complimentary and returned the 95,000 Marriott Reward points I used for the reservation! And we were upgraded into a 1-bedroom suite because I'm a Marriott Gold Level member. It's a 5 minute walk from a lovely, quiet beach and has a beautiful pool area and facilities. So I'm pleased.
The pool area from the room:

The beach is relatively small and has the typical umbrellas and chairs common at Thai beaches. The back border is lined with small restaurants that have enclosed or open and shaded areas for service. There are 2 relatively luxurious Beach Clubs that offer upgraded service and facilities.




As the sun dipped into the western sky the reflection caused a beautiful scene:

Wat Po

Wat Po is a temple complex just south of the Grand Palace. It is most famous for containing the largest reclining Buddha in the world. It is 46 meters (151 feet) long and 15 meters (49 feet) high! It is brick covered in cement with an overlay of gold leaf. Not like the 5 tons of solid gold of the Golden Buddha.


These photos give you some perspective on how large it is..... the back of the head and the front of the head:




There are several buildings in the temple complex which are all quite beautiful. A walk around the grounds is lovely.


And in one of them is this elaborate Buddha shrine
Tomorrow we will proceed to the Island of Phuket via THAI Airways which is now functioning normally.

The Erawan Shrine

The Erawan Shrine is at a corner of a major intersection in the area of large, expensive hotels and large shopping malls. There usually is a human traffic jam there as all sorts of Thai people stop to show their respect and offer garlands of flowers and joss sticks to gain favor. A statue of the 4 headed Hindu god of creation Brahma is located there. The idolatry that occurs here would make one think that there is great sacred religious significance to this shrine. However, people stop here to gain favor for material success, wealth, and good luck.
It all started in the 1950's when the forst Erawan Hotel was being built. Several mishaps delayed the opening so the Brahman shrine was erected to ward off injuries. Construction proceeded with out problems and the hotel did a booming business so the shrine was celebrated as a harbinger of material success.
If wishes are granted then thanks are shown by commissioning shrine musicians and dancers to perform. So there is a constant hum and tinkle of music, joss stick smoke, worshippers and onlookers at the site.

Leaving Pattaya for Bangkok today

Today, Sunday 7 December, we are going back to Bangkok for 4 days.

The stay in Pattaya has been very nice. Very lazy. Have gone to the beach to read under the umbrellas, get lunch, have a massage and even got a manicure one day....the manicurists, masseurs, and other vendors circulate among the beach chairs so you don't really have to move for 4-5 hours. Luckily the hotel has a nice fitness center.

The weather since I arrived in Thailand has been quite nice, with daytime temperatures in the low to mid 80's and much less humidity than usual and nice breezes so it is very comfortable.
Last nite we went to the restaurant called Cabbages & Condoms which is at the Birds & Bees Resort. It's a quiet, lovely place on a quiet cove not far from Pattaya. It is owned and run by the Population Association (PDA).....an organization founded 30 years ago to deal with population control and now is involved in HIV/AIDS work. The founder believes that birth control methods and condoms should be as readily available as vegetables, hence the name. They have 11 restaurants and 2 resorts across Thailand from which the profits go to the PDA. I ate at their restaurant in Bangkok a few years ago and the food was excellent... as it was last nite.

This is my friend "Aong" getting a beach side massage by a roving masseur named "Bam".
Most Thais have short nicknames as their real names are quite long and complicated...Aong's real name is Vitoon Mahavangsavash. Some people can have lifelong friends and never know their real name; they only know the nickname. Egg, Nut, Lek, Wut, Pae, etc.

A few photos from a morning walk in Pattaya

The beach:

A child and mother:


A sign which sums up the culture of Pattaya:


Chairs available for rent:


Fron the pooldeck at the hotel:

The gardens at the hotel:
A couple of noisy employees at the hotel pool:


An "artsy" photo of the beachside:
Remember you can click the photos to enlarge.

The Airport Siege Ends!!

The protesters have decided to end the occupation of the airport as of 10am Wednesday. It will take a few days to get the airport systems up and running again before commercial flights can resume. They hope that on Friday that will happen. So it looks like I can fly to Phuket on 11 Dec....unless there is a change.

The anti-government forces claimed victory after the countries High Court ruled that the the government was illegal because of voter fraud in the Dec 2007 election and dissolved 3 political parties and banned their leaders from politics for 5 years. So they said their goal was achieved and they could leave the airport. Of course they will start a new Party and the non-banned members will join it and try to form a new government. Politics is a complex charade here.

First Day in Pattaya

Above is the view from my room at the Pattaya Marriott Resort & Spa

Today I decide I was going to try to deal with some of the loose ends from the cancelled flights caused by the blockade of the Airport. My flights to Vietnam and my flight next week to Phuket are on THAI Airways. Since I couldn't reach them on the phone during the last 5 days and the Bangkok office was a mob scene, I went to their local Pattaya office. It was crowded but orderly. I took a number for the line and was number 521. They were serving number 103 at that time. The doorman estimated that it would be 3-4 hours before I got to the head of the line. He suggested that I go across the street for a whiskey or two. I decided to go back to the hotel and return in 2 1/2 hours.
Once back at the hotel, I decided to try the phone line; lo and behold after 8 tries I got connected and was put on hold for 10 minutes and then got an agent to talk to. She cheerfully said my Vietnam leg deserved a full refund and it would be credited to my credit card in about 45 days. She said I must call back 2 days before my Phuket flight and if it was not flying I would get another full refund.
My plan then would be to hire a van or car with driver for the 10 hr trip to Phuket. The airport in Phuket is functioning and so I would not return to Bangkok at the end of the stay. Instead I would fly to Singapore where I could get on United back thru Tokyo to catch my flight to LAX on the 23rd. I hope.

I did get a waiver of the cancellation fee for my hotel at Nha Trang, Vietnam and I was able to cancel my Saigon hotel online. Myone nite in Hanoi hotel was not refunded. And my tour guide will send me the info about the cancelled Vietnam Airlines flights and what I owe him.

Here are a couple of photos of the beach in front of the THAI Airways office:

I'm ready to change location!

I am tired of Bangkok right now so I have arranged to hire a limo service to take me to a beach town about 2 hours drive away called Pattaya. I will use Marriott Reward points to stay at the Marriott there for 5-6 days.

Last nite there was a delayed Thanksgiving Dinner at Cousin Jean's friend's house. There were 8 adults and 3 children...a couple from Spain and their son...an American couple that were journalists and their daughter...and an American that works for AP and her son. The children were all 4 years old and they each spoke several languages. We had turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, wine, apple tort dessert, Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream...it was very nice.

There is not much prospect of opening the airports in the next 4-5 days. So that is why I will go by car to Pattaya. My next flight is scheduled to Phuket on 11 Dec. I hope the situation is improved by then.

No Changes in the Situation

The situation with the airport here is so far unchanged. The anti-government people are not backing down and it looks as if they will have to be forcibly removed. And Thai Airways, with whom I have tickets for the trip to and from Vietnam seems to have disappeared. So it looks as if I will be here for a while. So far it has been safe and business as usual in the city of Bangkok...only there are definitely less people on the streets. I hope when force is applied to re-open the airport that violence is kept to minimum, but I fear demonstrations may metastasize into the city. If it does, I feel very safe as my hotel is in a side street with some very plush aparment buildings with excellent private security. We'll know more soon.
The locals, at least those who deal with tourists, are very apologetic about what is happening. I have been constantly reminded of why I enjoy visiting...and it is the people here. They are lovely, polite, smiling and laughing at every encounter. The politicians are clowns.

Last nite we went to the Silom/Patpong area for dinner and then entertainment at a few bars....it was crazy as usual. Today I decided to visit Chinatown as I figured it would be safe because of the typical clout of the Chinese community throughout Asia. We took the Skytrain to the River and then the tourist boat to Chinatown. Walked for about 2 hours thru the narrow, packed streets and visited the Temple where the 5 ton Golden Buddha resides. Got back to the River and returned to the hotel.

Stay tuned.

The streets of Chinatown:
The Golden Buddha..... 5 tones of solid gold! :
School children messing around:

Bombs, Attempt at Government Takeover, Closed Airport, Stranded !!!!!

My original Plan today was to take a 0750hr Thai Air flight to Hanoi to meet my guide and spend 13 days in Vietnam sightseeing in the central and southern areas. However, the simmering political situation here in Thailand came to a boil. The anti-government side had occupied the Prime Minister's offices in August and recently Parliament Buildings to try to provoke the government into resorting to force and violence...but the police and Army have generally responded by avoiding confrontation. The anti-government forces decided escalate the provocations last nite by blocking the roads to the airport and storming the Control Tower. So the airport closed at 9pm and all flights were canceled. Worst of all there was no information about what was happening; the Thai Airways phones on interminable hold; vague info from airport authorities. Only rumors and shoulder shrugs. So I went to the Airport this morning to hope to catch a 0750 flight. The taxi driver charged double but knew back roads thru a maze to get me to the terminal. No one was working: no airlines reps other than Malaysia Air; no immigration; no air traffic control (therefore no air traffic). No announcements. Nothing. It looked like a strike in sympathy with demonstrators. I stayed 4 hours chatting and exchanging rumors with Aussies, Americans. General drift was it would take at least 3 days to get it up and running again. One bomb was rumored to have been heard. Protesters were chanting and marching and sitting blocking the departure level driveway. Most of us decided to return to safety of hotels in Central Bangkok. Again a double fare!
Since tourism is way down because of the troubles so there are lots of hotel rooms are available for those stranded.

Everything else in the city seems to be working as usual but with fewer tourists. Lots of shoppers, lots of traffic. Many pissed off tourists especially Americans who will not be home for Thanksgiving.

I will try to get to Vietnam this weekend if the Airport starts functioning again. But will forfeit some hotel and air fares that can't be refunded. In the meantime, I'll enjoythis crazy city.
The only problem is that the government may have had enough and will declare a state of emergency and will try to move out the anti-govenment folks. It could get a bit edgy then.
Stay tuned.
As Cousin Jean who has been here 10 years says "well, it is Asia so you have to be flexible with plans"

An anti-government protestor trying to be noticed:

Arrival in Southeast Asia

I have arrived in my Bangkok Hotel after over 24 hours of travel from San Diego.
Most of the trip was very nice....except the last 6 hour leg from Tokyo to Bangkok.
The United flight had to be delayed 13 hours because of Flight Crew work rules......but we weren't informed until 9 hours into the Los Angeles-Tokyo leg. United handled it pretty well arranging to have me and my luggage transferred to a Japan Airlines flight that arrived in Bangkok at the same time as I was originally scheduled. However they couldn't arrange a Business Class seat like I was originally supposed to have.... so I was in Economy during that 6 hours next to the galley with restricted recline seat.
I was in my hotel in the center of Bangkok with 90 minutes of our midnite arrival.

I slept for 4+ hours and called my Cousin Jean Walzer, the 81yo who is retired here, to arrange a meeting. I had purchased and brought with me about 10 bottles of he favorite Trader Joe's vitamins and minerals as well as a bottle of her favorite 12 yo single malt scotch. We met at the Four Seasons for lunch at a wonderful Italian restaurant. I transferred the "goods" to her and we talked and ate for a couple of hours. This is the evidence:

This afternoon I will nap a bit and go out this evening. Hope to have my brain in this time zone in a day or two.
Tomorrow I must be at the airport at 6am for a flight to Hanoi, Vietnam to meet my guide, Tran Van Bay.

Ka'anapali, Maui, Hawai'i

Last week I went off to spend a week on Maui in Hawaii at a timeshare that I traded for.
It was beautiful and relaxing.

I played golf 3 times at a local course actually breaking 90 once.


Watched Sunsets:

We went on a day trip sailing and snorkeling to the island of Lanai:
And spent time at the pool.
One evening we went to the weekly Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar Concert at Kapalua/Napili.
And another evening we went to the Old Lahaina Luau.