Leaving Vietnam

Quick entry. Am leaving Saigon and jumping on a plane to Thailand. Not sure if I will have internet for final notes.

Been a great trip. Thanks to any and all viewers.

Cu Chi Tunnel Tour

You've probably seen them in any number of Vietnam movies (We Were Soldiers, Forrest Gump, Casualty of War to name a few). The tunnels were a famous part of the Vietnam War and worth seeing.

It is a major attraction for tourism and about 2 hours north of the city. I would say the top 4 tours that are promoted are the city tour, Mekong Delta, Cu Chi tunnels and trips to the beaches. Perhaps even a temple or two. I booked it through the hotel, since I could not decide between the many tour operator options available on the web. We meet Diet, our guide promptly at 8:00 in the lobby and we walked out the front door to a waiting black Mercedes. Very stylish with lots of room, it was different from the go cart we took down to the Mekong the day before that topped out at 30 mph. This had power and the driver was the private driver of the hotel GM. He looked the part with his formal attire and blue tooth secret service earpiece look. He was on the phone a lot and his ring tone was a rooster which I might have to download my treo when I get back. Every time the phone rang it brought a chuckle from the back seat.

Diet's English was very good; better than 10 or Mr Teng and she had a pretty good sense of humor. We asked lots of questions about the war and the people and it was nice getting her perspective as she detailed her view on the many differences between north and south. In all tours the drivers never talk. They just drive and all communication goes through the tour guide. You never really know how much English they know until they pipe in with a question.

The tunnel complex is a sprawling affair that already had a number of tour buses parked out front that had offloaded the usual diet of Aussies, Koreans and Chinese. Again, not as many Americans. I am sure the 20 hour plane ride is hard to compete with the 5-8 hours the other countries enjoy. You pay at one end and walk through a large underground walkway to the other end, passing by a number of armed guards along the way. They smiled and I smiled. Always be nice to dudes with guns. They have a great link for the tunnels if you want more detail on the history and the official line.

Walking down the paths with Diet, the first pop quiz you get to play is "find the tunnel entrance". Of course this was next to impossible even when you are given the clue that you are within 3 feet of it. The rectangular hole you drop into is very small, about the size of a Byerly's bag. If I hadn't seen what they looked like from pictures I would never known what to look for. One of the guards lifted up the cover and jumped in to his waist demonstrating to the group of 20 or so, how it was done. Anyone else want to try it he says? Recognizing the photo op for what it was I quickly volunteered. I went in feet first after peering down (to make sure it was not a 20 foot drop that required a ripcord) and worked my way down. Oops, not so fast. I made it to my hips and bam, was stopped at the waist like a 10 pound sausage in a 5 pound skin. With a diet of Tiger beer and pasta, this kids was going no further. Shoot the picture quick and pass the butter for my hips to slide out of here.

We were told that they had shortage of weapons and conventional combat supplies. To compensate for this, they devised cheaper alternatives with materials that were readily available. We were then introduced to the traps. There were deadfall style traps and about 10 others all designed to do one thing: kill enemy soldiers. This little shop of horrors we were introduced to, were all ways conceivable to step or fall into sharpened poison tipped jaws of death. Know what the poison was? Feces.

After seeing how that was accomplished, we hit the entrance of a tunnel. There are various levels of depth with these tunnels: 10 feet, 30 feet and deeper yet. They expanded a sample tourist tunnel to accommodate Western body types and you were able to follow a guide for about 30 feet at the 9 foot level. This was not a Hogan's Heroes complex with lots of space to move around. This was something so small it was hard to picture what the production model would look like day to day. The best way to move forward is to assume a Joe Mauer crouch and shuffle forward. I zipped through pretty well. Brian had a bum knee and was bit too tall and had about as much fun as he could stand at the 9 foot mark. We made it to check point Charlie where a hard left turn took you to the surface by way of stairs. Do you want to continue our guide asked me? Sure. The tunnel size shrunk to 2/3 of the original size to the real war dimensions, what a great way to get a feel for what it was like. My guide had pen light he was using and I shuffled behind him as we descended down to the second level. At first it was like being at Universal Studios and you were doing some Indiana Jones thing. Lots of fun and adventure. Then we went deeper. Then deeper yet. My knees were fine but it sure felt stuffy down here. Shuffling another 30 feet, stuffy gave way to hot. Then really hot. The air got thin and the temperature soured and it felt like I was a clay pot sitting in a kiln. This went on for a while until we made our way back up to an underground small room with a small desk. Great, I made it and headed for the stairs. I felt hot and looking down at my shirt I looked like I had been lactating. Covered in sweat, I became more drenched by the minute. I looked like someone threw me into Ottertail Lake and wondered if they were going to let me climb back into the Mercedes like this.

It was a great tour and gave profound insights to the war on a tactical level on how the war was fought. More on that later.

The Majestic Hotel

A view of the Saigon River from the hotel room balcony and the rooftop bar. The hotel is famous for it's mutli-level rooftop bar and panoramic view of the river.

Cu Chi Tunnel Tour Photos

Link for Tunnel Tours

Vietnam Saturday Afternoon Random Reflections

Vietnam is not what I expected economically. Being a communist country, I was expecting all the command and control usually associated with Cuban style communism. This place is different. They employ a form of "limited capitalism" here much like the current China model. Even though the press is controlled and there is not a 2 party system, you do have more control than most would think.

General factoids:

• You can buy property both here and abroad choosing where you live and how to spend your money.
  
• The country is growing at the sizzling pace of around 10%
  
• Sales tax (VAT) on foreign built car is 250%. For electronics it is 100% with very little in the way of income tax. It is mostly based on consumption rather than earning. We could learn something from this general philosophy.
  
• They have to pay for their schooling. I thought the commies funded all that stuff.
  
• There is no public transportation, which explains all the scooters and motor bikes.
  
• Starting in December there will be a helmet law going into effect. Everyone is not happy with this because of the heat and how slow they drive in the city anyway. Frankly I cannot picture it but the fines will be very high for those not following the rules.
  
• Downtown District 1 looks just like a happening downtown in any major US city. Cabs, cell phones, young people and tourists are everywhere. The Tourist Police are unarmed and where a lighter green uniform. They have a strong street presence to be sure that the money rainmaking they are making with the tourist trade gets no bad press. Again, with all the extensive walking we have done these past few weeks, I have never felt unsafe at any time. Uncomfortable maybe, but not unsafe.
  
• Aussies could be the worst dressers you can ever imagine. Brian describes them as an un-kept Brit. Who wears socks to the knees with sandals any more?
  
• The women wear the masks and the long gloves on the motor bikes because of the heat and the sun. Fair skin is considered a sign of wealth and prestige, meaning you don't have to work outside. No tanning booths in site that I have seen.
  
• Bartering is a way of life around here. If you want something be prepared to walk away. I have filled up a large back of trinkets for less than $20.
  

Maybe it is because of the heat but this town rolls up pretty much by 10:00. It is a good time anyway to grab a scotch on a rooftop bar, but somewhat counter intuitive. Part of the reason may be that because of the heat, the days get going very early. Most will take off at about noon until 2:00 for lunch and whatever the Asian version of a Latin siesta is. The kids all come home for lunch and do not eat at the school.

Google Talk has been fantastic. I have spoken with my family almost every day. Since I have a laptop Wi-Fi is in almost every hotel, giving them a call has been a great way to stay connected. It's the cheapest say I know to make a call.

When asked about the, most people say it is history and a long time ago. They have moved on. They call it the American War understandably. We are now in the South, and they say that is a bit different than the North above the old DMZ area. Because most of the bombing happened in the North, they have a more bitter taste in their mouths than those from the South. I have been told that the differences in attitude, dress, food tastes, and music from North to South are very different. The South is very market oriented, while the North is the seat of government and more conservative. Most of the people you see in the street are quite young so the War is not even a memory, but a chapter in the history books.

When touring the palace and the tunnels the expected propaganda was much more limited than I expected. I thought it would be the usual Communist doctrine, war atrocities, yada yada yada. Not so much. They have stuck to the facts and kept the political statements to a minimum. They do not like references made about Viet Cong, rather they prefer being call guerillas.

When eating the safest strategy for me has been to mix up the local fare with a base of Western food. I no longer trust their interpretation of a cheeseburger, they never seem to get that right, but pizza, pasta and chicken are all pretty safe options.

I have a lot of thoughts and impressions on what it would have been like to fight in the war over here. I will save that for a different entry because you get a better idea of the Hell it would be like during a rainy season here.

Again, as a collective group, these are the nicest people you will ever meet. This includes the Thai's, Cambodians and the Vietnamese. It is hard to get the Asian thing unless you put the boots on the ground and see it for yourself.

More later.

The Mekong Delta

I was expecting rice paddies and straw huts. Instead I saw a sprawling mass of humanity from Saigon to the Delta. There are a lot of people here without break between these 2 areas.

Our tour guide was great, I give her a solid 8 on my scale, about the same as Mr Teng. We took a taxi from our hotel to our jumping off point which was their office base of operations in My Tho, the regional center for the area.

From there, we hopped in a boat and did a general river survey before getting on an island area to watch them make coconut products. It was interesting, but clearly a stop to get you to buy coconut stuff and the same ticky tacky stuff you see all over the place. Prices are of course negotiable.



The boat was very interesting in that the design makes it so that as the big barges float by it sheds the water from the wake so it does not come inside the boat. This is not what I would call a good dive destination either; the water is a caramel brown and very muddy.

An interesting part of this tour was all the different food sampling they had us do. We had everything from their version of a single malt, to fruits. to the really gross stuff they were pulling out of the river. Sorry, a catfish is ugly no matter where he is. Our fish in the picture was called an elephant ear. It wasn't too bad to eat, they shaved the meat off the sides of the fish and placed it in a rice paper wrap with veggies. Some of the other offerings I was not game for are listed to the left. They were pushing the snake for $10 pretty hard. I passed, Brian considered.

Mekong Delta Tour

Just returned from out Mekong Delta tour from today and checked into our downtown hotel. Just had enough time to upload pictures from my camera (will do Brian's camera later) and post them on the Picasa site.

We are going to head out for some dinner in the area, since walking around holds little appeal at the moment. Our hotel rooms face the Saigon river and are quite nice.

Click here to view shots from the Mekong Delta. I will post narrative from the trip later tonight to help with the context.

Good Morning Vietnam

Another great morning in Vietnam today. Weather looks good for a day trip down to the Mekong Delta.

My feet are still sore from all the walking around yesterday in Saigon, but there will be plenty of time to rest next week on the plane.

Saigon reminds me a lot of NYC with it's intensity and sprawling shops. Not long ago Vietnam had a poverty rate of over 68%; that number is now down below 20%. That is some amazing growth that is evidenced by the retail shops and cars you see in the street. Again, you never feel there is a safety issue here, at least not during the daytime.



Not much in the way of Americans around here, mostly Aussies and Western Europeans. The language barrier has not been a problem because English is posted everywhere, even on most menus and you learn to use a passable sign language with people to get your point across when you have to. The national currency is the dong and it is easy to have a couple of million in your pocket on any given day trip. I think 100,000 dong equals about $6.00.

Great trinket shopping and very cheap. Can't say too much about it without spoiling what I am bringing back.

Loaded up a lot of pictures up on the Google picture site. Click on this link to view them.

So far the only people to drive on the left side of the road have been the Thai's. All others are on the right, when they choose to use that guideline.

I have been mostly drinking the locals beers: Tiger, Saigon and 333. Both are lager style and very good. Since I know I won't get sick off beer, sometimes it is the safest beverage to have. My buddy Davis asked "what is Harlow eating over there?" A reasonable question considering my sense of culinary adventure usually means that I am putting an exotic cheese on my burger. The rule of thumb is a lot like going to Mexico. If it looks like it was hand washed in the gross water you see around here, don't eat it. My stomach has been in mild knots most of the trip, but nothing too difficult to deal with. When eating the malaria pills, you have to be sure you do it on a full stomach, which can be tough at times since you don't know when you will have a proper full stomach. Also their version of pizza is very big around here and I will usually carb up if I have hit a food wall. The granola bars and beef jerky I brought along have been lifesaver.

Brian, being a boy scout leader, always seems to have the right drug at his fingertips and also knows which one to take. That is helpful since is I usually cannot even pronounce most of these drugs beyond aspirin.

Leaving today to go to the Majestic Hotel. We have been upriver at a residence style hotel called the Domain Hotel Saigon, that has been fantastic. 700 square feet usually reserved for executives on an extended stay for business.

The Palace with Ho Chi Minh

Walking the Saigon Streets

It was a long day walking the Saigon streets. After 10 hours on our feet in every conceivable area of District 1, we settled in for a beer to wait out a thunderstorm. This is a great city to visit.



Tomorrow we head to the Mekong Delta which is about 2 hours south of Saigon. We will spend time on the river going where the river boats once patrolled. My Tho is the regional city for the area and will be our jumping off point.

Also on the tour list is a rubber tree plantation and some village visits.

Trip Photo Link

It is really hard to get a feel from about the destinations without a proper photo gallery. A gallery that is just not quite reflected in the occasional blog photo when you get lucky with a speedy internet connection over here.

In Saigon I have a great connection for a couple of days and have taken the opportunity to spend a night with a Tiger beer and upload pictures. Click on this link to take you to the SE Asia web albums. Also there is a hot link to the right in the links frame.

http://picasaweb.google.com/GRHarlow

Also check out Brian's blog link under the links frame.

The photos are a best of breed collection of the most notable from both Brian and Gran.

Danang walking tour

In front of our new favorite restaurant.

The Danang River Walk

Cambodia: On the Lake

Angkor Waht Temples

Danang and Central Vietnam - Tuesday

The meat of our trip was to be exploring Central Vietnam. This included the Citadel city of Hue (Full Metal Jacket) and Hoi An (Down the coast near China Beach). We were going to tour these very historic cities and then hit the old war DMZ. Things change when you travel when typhoons enter the picture.

With it all under water around here, there is no touring and Danang has thousands of Western visitors looking for a way out, either through HMC (Ho Chi Minh City) or Hanoi. Hotels are tough to come by and the flight system here is a joke. Getting what should be a 2 minute transaction took over an hour and we still did not have confidence that we had an economy seat heading south. We decided walking to the airlines HQ and confirming would be a good use of time while walking the mean streets of Danang. There were some long faces and sad stories today at the airport.

Danang during the day is a different place than viewing at night. When it is buttoned up at night, it looks like the Lower East side of Manhattan without the crime. We have done a lot of walking all over many neighborhoods today and never felt threatened. Pretty interesting. I am not sure if it is because the prospect of the consequence of messing with a tourist is so distasteful or just not part of their culture. They are a very nice people.

We will get up at 6AM and head to the airport to Saigon. We spent part of this afternoon logging onto Expedia and securing decent hotels for the rest of the trip. We had Friday forward locked down but had to work to set up the next 2 nights.

Anticipated sites and tours will be the Vietcong tunnels north of the city, the beaches and the Mekong delta. This is Swift Boat country that most will remember from the movie Apocalypse Now and John Kerry's questionable tour of duty.

I am sorry to have missed all that the Central would have offered. We are restructuring the trip to be a great general survey of the South. Leaves more for the next trip.

I will post later tomorrow to recap more of the other events and backfill.

Vietnam: Day 1 in Danang

A quick blog entry from the local Danang internet cafe. I am surrounded by a bunch of locals and they are pretty much doing what kids do in Minnetonka which is IM with their friends. Crazy to watch.

This keyboard stinks and has Viet characters so I will either keep it short or chuck it through a window and get arrested.





Hoi An and Hue tours are out. The entire Central area is flooded and under water. We were at the airport today and the horror stories were endless about the flooding. One couple kept moving higher in their rooms as snakes and rats began making their moves.



We ended up at a dump called the Golden Gate Hotel. It was a bad theme party for the hotel. My room was in a half inch of water with no sheets and only a bed spread. It was on the 5th floor and the elevator was busted. The guys next to me had their door open, looked Korean, and were smoking cigs watching loud Asian game shows.

We walked to dinner for some warm beer and rice. More on that later when I have a working keyboard.

At the Angkor Waht Temples

Angkor Waht: Plan for the Day

7:30 Get some breakfast and lay down a good food base. Who knows about the next meal.
8:30 Meet Mr. Teng and take the Temple Tour
4:30 Back to the hotel for a swim and sauna
6:30 Cocktail in lobby
7:00 Siem Reap for dinner

Mr Teng comes with great reviews. When you book on line, who knows what you will find, but that is part of the adventure. Meet Mr Teng.

See you all after the tours.

Siem Reap Cambodia

My word doc just crashed and I lost about 10 paragraphs of entry. I am trying to shake it off and it being 4AM (cannot sleep) my patience and frustration is wearing thin but let's try again. Another lesson in being disciplined about saving your work as you go.

The flight from Bangkok yesterday was about an hour aboard some airline that I had never heard of, but the service was top notch with the leather package seats and cheerful service. With most of my flights on Sun Country or NW I was thrilled with the attention not present on either of those two airlines. On approach to the airport, there were no visiible paved roads and since the city is located in a valley like Winnipeg, you could see a very long way in any direction. Most of the landscape that I observed was under water, so I am assuming that we were in rice production country. No buildings out there, just water and some dirt roads. Maybe it was an airport zoning thing like Denver where they make it a buffalo camp to buffer the airport, who knows.

Upon landing, we headed to the International terminal which was very modern and up to date. Clearly this is where the money is for the local economy. We had to get a local visa, which was an extra step we should have done on-line in hind sight so we stood in line to wait our turn. Brian hit a cash machine to get a few bucks of the local currency and guess what, a few US Grant's and Andy Jackson's spit out of the machine. All the currency they use for the area was US dollars which explains why Cambodian currency was not an option at the Bangkok airport.

Rows of government bureaucrats lined the counter as I paid my $20 entrance fee for the country and hoped they had no problem with the scotch I had stashed in my luggage. I was waiting for the whiskey sniffing dogs to come my way and send me to a Cambodian prison after a lengthy and uncomfortable cavity search. It didn't happen and I snapped back to reality like cartoon Calvin. The customs official returned my passport calling out the name Granville in a way I had never heard. (trouble with the L's), got our passports stamped, walked past the guys with guns and headed for the taxi stand.

What a different ride than Bangkok! Bikes and motor bikes were everywhere weaving in and out of traffic with obvious enjoyment of paved road driving. Police were stationed about every 100 feet, all armed and looking intense. We could not get a straight answer out of our driver about all the cops and security so we assumed it was part of the "protect the tourists and the money trade". Again, lots of people cruising on the street, fun to watch.

It took us about 20 minutes only to get to our hotel; great hotel and very impressive upon approach. We were greeted by the usual abundance of Asian staff and told to have a seat in the lobby as they disappeared with our passports and credit cards. I never like parting with my credit card in a 3^rd world country. Maybe the bell boy will use it for the Cambodian "Nordstrom" shopping spree. They put a cloth garment around our necks, like we were catholic priests, and brought a beverage in a martini glass for us to sip while they processed us. Hoping it was something with alcohol, I was disappointed to find out it was only a well garnished mango juice. It was here that we found out the Prime Minister was staying at the hotel to dedicate a museum or something. Imagine my surprise when we were asked to join him for dinner that night. (just kidding, I was seeing if you were just skimming the blog).

Rooms are great, click here if you did not already to check out the hotel. (pausing to save the doc)

We dumped our stuff after getting the rundown on the rooms from the bell hop and shared a scotch while we sent emails out to family that we had arrived safely. Buying that scotch in Thailand was a great investment, toasting our arrival at each destination.

We then began exploring the complex and getting a lay for land. The hotel complex was huge with a swim up bar by the swimming pool and extensive gardens everywhere. At about $160 per night, it was the lap of luxury, but I had not seen any of the other hotels lining the street, so I am not sure what category this one falls in yet. Since the PM is here, I will assume that it is not the local Comfort Inn. The lobby had a great bar and since the White Mice Trio (see earlier entry) was not in town, we decided to try one of the local beers. Ordering up a couple of Angkor lagers we watched the lobby activity and marveled about the hotel quality and pondered deep thoughts about Asia emerging and what this will mean to the US.

I was ready to settle in for a hotel dinner but Brian was sold on heading into town and exploring. Since it was 6:30, the hotel was full and there was not a soul in the dining room we figured there was something we were missing so we got a restaurant recommendation from the front desk and headed into town. A tuk tuk pick us up and we began the 20 minute ride to the "uptown" section of Siem Reap. I was initially concerned with safety but this gave way to wide eyed amazement at the energy of the area were heading to. I mean , it was a Saturday night and the streets were hopping as we cruised down one of the few paved roads in this part of the country.

The Tuk tuk pulled up to our destination restaurant, a place called the Red Piano, that evidently has a regional reputation for great dining. Click on the link and check it out.

We were blown away by what we stepped out of the tuk tuk and saw. Total high energy and almost all European. Bars were packed and it was like being at Hennepin and Lake street in Minneapolis. We looked at the menu at the Red Piano and agreed we needed to explore the street. It was not a long area to explore, maybe 4 square blocks, but it pulsed with people and party spirit and it was easy to get caught up in the moment. We ended up back at the Red Piano and placed our order of Angkor beer, hot curry something (Brian) and pork with French mustard sauce. We hung out for about an hour then closed out the $10 tab (yes, that was correct) and headed to the street for some more people watching. There were some great trinkets and trash shops with the usual haggling over pricing. If you pay full price for anything around here you might as well put Stupid on your forehead.

It was back to the hotel on a tuk tuk to rest up for our touring day with Mr. Teng and the temples.

Landed in Cambodia

Just arrived in Cambodia at the Angkor Waht Palace Hotel. Very nice place. The Prime Minister is staying here this week which explains all the added security. I thought it was dangerous and they were protecting the "Gold Coast" of hotels and their tourism dollars.

Check out the hotel:

http://www.angkorpalaceresort.com/en/index.php

More later.

Thailand Fun Facts

Always interesting when visiting a country to get a better feel of how it is constructed. A few thoughts.

These people love their King and the Royal family. You can say anything about anybody except the King.

Top industries: Rice, rubber, Tapioca, and Sugar Cane

There are 30,000 Americans living in Thailand

Only 3% of the tourists visiting are American.

Top visitors are: China, Japan, France, Great Britain, Germany and Sweden

There is a Spirit House in every yard. (little worship house)

Local Beer: Singha Beer

Very little trash in the street

Great Roads structure

Three Mice Trio

After agreeing that consuming the cuisine of Chinatown would be like declaring war on our digestive tracks we decided that a better course of action would be to dine at the hotel. After grabbing the a tuk-tuk back to the hotel we settled on a dinner of cheeseburgers and Norwegian salmon sandwiches chased down by a couple of cold Thai beers. It was a pretty tame way to wrap the evening but when you consider the intensity of the day it was a welcome change.

It did not take long for the lounge band to begin their first set. The band was what looked like a German group going by the name of the Three Mice Trio. Seemed like a silly name and they appeared like they were the typical cruise ship venue you get when you are departing Miami. The piano player was a Captain and Tenille dude without the hat and the 2 blonde singers tag teamed all of the hits from the last 20 years. There were no Aerosmith selections offered despite my repeated requests, but they did settle into the usual Abba and Carpenters routine. It is always interesting listening to foreign singers sing American songs because they don't quite get it right. They over enunciate the words and somehow the accent just does not quite carry over even though their voices were quite good. Why is every bar band has to do Dancing Queen badly!

Can't wait to hear what the lounge act will be in Cambodia.

Tuk Tuk Taxi

China Town Friday night

Quick thoughts on Chinatown:

• Much more intense than the Thai areas, which is consistent with the Chinatown markets in the US.
• It was the only time I felt unsafe, when walking off the beaten path.
• Smells are intense! Like most of Bangkok there is a sick sweet smell that is a combination of the river, street food being cooked, garbage, car exhaust and sewage.
• First time in a tuk tuk taxi. Farangs are regularly upcharged for fares, know what the going rate is before you get into the cab and be clear on your pricing. One guy wanted to charge us half price but make "1 stop" along the way. Yeah right. Move to the next guy who then tried to charge us 4 times market for the ride. Move to the next guy who wanted to take us to a "club". Sorry dude, we need to get back to the hotel. Shot some good camera video off the side of this Universal studios ride they call a taxi.
  

Thailand - Cambodia Schedule for Saturday

Morning: Poolside at the hotel (pictured left)

After lunch depart to airport for Siem Reap, Cambodia

Thailand Friday Schedule

8:00 Depart Hotel
9:30 Arrive speedboats for Floating Market
10:00 Arrive Floating Market
11:30 Depart Floating Market
12:30 Veteran Cemetery for River Kwai
1:00 Tour replicated prisoner barracks and museum
1:30 Take River Kwai Train
3:00 Head back to Bangkok
7:00 Take tuk-tuk to Chinatown

Floating Market Pictures

The Floating Market

When told we would be going to the Floating Market I thought it was like a farmers market on a barge and you arrived by some kind of boat. I was very surprised by the reality. The Market is about 2 hours outside of Bangkok and is due West.

Ten and our driver pulled up to some speed boats that were parked in a canal. They are more like a gondola that you would see in Italy except with an extended motor and the driver and is not on a raised platform but rather on your level. You sit single file and move through some man made canals. Here is a picture of them parked before we jumped in and headed up river.

We spent 30 minutes navigating the various turns, looking at the locals hang out at their houses. Since these people don't have a Target or Costco ,The Market is the place to be to socialize and hang out.

When shopping it is all about the haggling. Whatever the stated price, the rule of thumb is to cut it in half. Having shopped a bit in Bangkok markets you get a sense of the going prices and how much they are trying to take advantage of you. It becomes part of the fun if you don't take it personally.

Thailand: Up Country: Part 1

After getting too late of a start with our guide, Ten (no relation to the movie), and driver we headed to the country today. Our final destination was the River Kwai (the locals pronounce this KWAY unlike the movie title) with a stop along the way to a floating market and the veterans cemetery.

A quick word about our guide and driver. The driver never said a word the entire trip, just cruised the car through busy traffic with an ear bud on when he would occasionally talk to HQ about something very important. This is how I knew he was not a mute. Ten was different. Picture an Asian Danny Devito with a small backpack on, and you have our guide. She was a better organizer than communicator. The various transitions for our trip went seamlessly, but her commentary (there was none) is why you pay to have a guide in the first place. Also the English was a little weak, but she got us there and back without incident and was very well meaning.

It was great getting out of the city. After 2 days in Bangkok sharing the intensity with the 10 million residents, a change of pace was welcome. It would be like visiting America with only NYC as your guide to what the country is all about. Not a very realistic depiction with such a narrow slice. It took us about 2 hours to get to the floating market in our surprisingly well appointed Toyota.

A couple of observations: there are a lot of nice cars on the road in this country. At first I thought this must be because of the area were in near our hotel, but the quality of vehicle did not change the further out we travelled. Also the quality of roads was very impressive. I pictured something closer to what I experienced in Costa Rica, which has potholes that could swallow a small pick-up truck and break the axel of something larger. Not so here, great signage and very well maintained infrastructure.

These people love their king. I am not referring to Elvis but rather the 80 year old monarch sitting on the thrown who is now out of the hospital with the masses jumping for joy. Everywhere you go, they are celebrating this guy. There are 2 flags you will see on the road; the one for the country and the yellow one for the King. I am not sure why they picked yellow, my associating with that color is closer to cowards and kitchens, but that is just me. My observation is he has 50 percent of the billboard action, roadside with photos of him dating back to 1944 and his college days. In our country the only people getting this kind of ink are Brittany, Paris and Lindsay.

More on this later, we are going to head to Chinatown for dinner.

The River Kwai