Mr. Max

The man himself - one of the best tour guides ever. Our small goup of 5 agreed that he was the best guide possible. He had a great combination of limitless energy and patience, sense of humor, and deep love of his country. The tour started at 8 and was supposed to end at 1pm. We were still going strong at 6 pm. Being Bhuddist, he was able to give us a rare insight into the religion and the significance of so many of the temples and statues that we saw. He even took us through some breathing and meditation exercises at one of the temples, (a place where these types of exercises probably originated!)

The Emerald Bhudda

This perhaps the most revered statue out of the thousands of Bhuddas in the city. Twice a year the King himself comes to the Palace to place a special golden cloak on the statue that is appropriate to the season.

View From the Grand Palace Monument

Fear of Heights

This is as far up as I could climb but even from there the view was incredible.

My Starring Role

Mr. Max, our incredibly energetic tour guide insisted on posing each of us as he took pictures. Once you see the photo you can tell that he's an old hand at this. As much as I resisted I finally got into the act for him and understand his direction.

Thai Dancers

Dancers were at the Palace and happily posed for the tourists upon request.

Royal Grand Palace

There really is a person in this photo..

Palace Temples

Each temple has such a unique style and everything is located so closely together that it creates sensory overload.

Royal Grand Palace

In Bangkok, if you visit only one thing - it should be the Royal Grand Palace and surrounding temples. When the city became the capital of Thailand in the mid 1700s this is where the King built his palace, as well as the dozens of surrounding unique temples.

On Dry Land in Bangkok

Boats are actually the most efficient and cheapest way to get around the city, but if you do need to travel on land, the Tuk tuks are the most fun way. Traffic is insane and driving follows British rules of driving on the other side. The only way to cross a street is to literally step out into traffic and have faith that they will stop. It took me almost 20 minutes to get across one street this morning on my own. One incredibly modern twist is that there are electronic maps hung over the roads that show upcoming intersections and possible traffic problems while you are driving, to help you make decisions about driving routes.

Don't Fall in the Water

This water monitor is about 3 feet long but they get much bigger. There are also crocidiles.

The Thai Royal Navy

Appropriately, the Thai Royal Navy sits side by side with one of the temples.

Canal Living

Very rich homes exist side by side with houses that seem almost completely open air. I can understand the need to have everything open and airy. It is the middle of winter now in Thailand and each day has been around 90 degrees F with very high humidity. I can't imagine what it's like in the summer heat.

Canal Living

When you leave the main waterway (Mae Nam Chao Phyray) and head into the canals, you find an eclectic mix of lifestyles and structures.

The Indian Connection in Thailand

Many of the temples show a strong Indian influence. Even the Thai language and its written form are borrowed from the Indian Sanskrit.

Thai Condo 4 Sale

Spectacular river views - 4 Rms for 2 1/2 million US Dollars.

If You Meet the Buddha Along the Way...

If you meet the Buddha along the way, you are probably in Thailand. There are 20,000 Buddhist temples in the country and 300 in Bangkok alone. No matter where you are in the city, you can look up at the horizon and see a temple nearby. The city is 95 % Buddhist and 4 % Muslim, but you can still find Christmas decrations throughout the city. Max explained that the King was very accepting of all religions.

Bangkok:The Venice of the Orient

Bangkok is all river and canals and my first day here was spent hopping from ferry to ferry to follow my guide, Mr. Max through the city. It was the perfect way to meet this vibrant city for the first time.

Greetings From Seoul Korea

Still trying to get to Bangkok and the journey has been interesting. The time thing is very difficult for me. Here it is 8:00 am Monday morning but according to my computer it is 4 PM Sunday afternoon - a 16 hour difference with the loss of one day. The 12 1/2 hour trip from Los Angeles to Seoul adds to the disorientation. Plenty of time to regroup with a 10 hour layover here in Korea. This is one of the newest and most beautiful airports in the world but I still feel trapped in designer store heaven. I thought about going out and actually seeing some of Seoul. I've been through this airport 5 times and I've never left it to see this country. It may not be the best time to try this. There is some huge quarentine process that anyone officially entering the counry has to go through. On top of that, it's 20 degrees F outside and I'm dressed for hot and humid Bangkok.
I guess the most important thing for me is to see if this blog entry actually goes through. It took almost 2 hours just to get to AOL from here. I've actually downloaded an entire Korean interpreter program just to get this entry out. Fingers crossed and hopefully the next check in will be in Bangkok Thailand, (where my new Korean interpreter program will be of absolutely no help). Cheers from Finally Ramblin!

The Countdown Begins

As of today I have 8/13 before the big trip - 8 days in this house until the movers arrive and 13 days in Santa Fe before flying to Bangkok. At this point the house looks like a terrorist group has come in and destroyed the place. I have to keep reminding myself that I did that! It's all part of packing up everything to put into storage.
Packing for the trip is difficult in another way. With snow still on the ground, trying to pack for very hot and very humid requires a lot of imagination. All I can think of is my warm hoodie and ski jacket. My guide book recommends that I not bring any clothes and just buy everything there. After all, Thailand makes many of the clothes that we wear, so why not buy it there and cheaper? This is really tempting as I try to pack 8 months worth of clothes in one suitcase.
To date, the most difficult part of the trip is leaving Kitty behind. She has moved to her new temporary home with a wonderful couple and seems to be settling in. I visit to see how the transition is going, but I think the visits are more about me getting used to leaving her behind.
It's all coming together and soon I'll be ramblin again and hopefully, sending you photos and updates along the way.

On The Road Again

All the stars have aligned so that the next world trip will begin in a few weeks in Bangkok (Dec 7 - Jan 11), Dubai (Jan 11-Jan 26), Cairo (Jan 27-Feb 24), Johannesburg (Feb 25-April 26), Prague (April 27-June 26), and Oslo (June 26-July 17). My hope is to be settled back into Santa Fe around Aug 1. In the meantime, stay tuned as we travel the world together. Maybe we'll run into Anthony Bourdain while we're out there.

It Takes a Village...

Travelling for any amount of time takes home support. Teddie from AAA was a great help in arranging the world trip. She is originally from Bulgaria, one of the countries that I hope to visit.

5am Surprise

I woke up this morning to a blanket of snow covering the neighborhood. Ski season isn't far away.

Santa Fe Sunrise

Trip Change

The only thing predictable about traveling is that unexpected things will happen - and - the longer and more complicated the trip - the more things will happen. The trip around the world has been delayed a month and plans now are to leave Santa Fe on Dec 5 for the flight to Bangkok. From that point the trip will go as originally planned, except that now, another country can be added on to the end. One rule for using frequent flyer miles for their round the world trip is that you have to keep going in one direction. No backtracking is allowed. Also, you get to stop and be picked up in 6 different locations. Now that I have one extra stop, I can add it to the end of the trip. This means that I can pick a country somewhere between Santa Fe and Prague for the last leg of the trip. Cuba??Greenland??? There are some interesting possibilities, so stay tuned.
On another note, I received some feedback that having photos in an album would be helpful. If you would like to see the photos from the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta in a slideshow format, go to
http://picasaweb.google.com/ramblinme
Click on the picture of a balloon and then click on the slideshow button.
Enjoy!