| After a week in Phuket, we flew to Bangkok and stayed in Dave's apartment. What an interesting city! The Bangkok skyline is full of surprises... |
| Lavish temples and palaces are scattered throughout the capital |
| Towers, called chedi, surround the temple buildings; these are adorned with ceramic mosaics |
| Intricate stone statues guard the temple door |
| A glimpse of the immense gilded statue of the Reclining Buddha |
| One of the most unusual Buddha images in the world, the shrine is open to tourists after they remove their shoes |
| About 40 ft from his topknot to the whorls on his toes |
| The Chao Phraya is a major thoroughfare |
| Through the middle of bangkok flows the Chao Phraya River |
| In cosmopolitan Bangkok, nothing seems out of place, an incredible city, it is the gateway to everything Thai! |
| From Bangkok, we traveled by train to Chang Mai in northern Thailand. We happened to hit town on Walking Market day |
| Once a week, the street market takes up over ten city blocks! |
| Eager to see some of Thailand's back country we booked a short trek in the northern mountains. It began with a very civilized luncheon al fresco in the village |
| The guided trek went through varied terrain, here a mountain stream overgrown with bamboo |
| There were two guides for our group of ten |
| The river is plied by ferries of all descriptions and states of repair |
| The trees were tall second growth temperate forest |
| The views of the northern mountain ranges, softly defined in the humid air. |
| An incredible wild orchid |
| We arrived in the village of the Karen hill tribe at the same time the buffalo heard returned |
| We gave them right of way |
| Our guide Po with a local Karen tribeswoman |
| Why weave traditional baskets when plastic bags will do? |
| The wild orchid |
| Two villagers were preparing for their wedding feast by getting the groom drunk, and happily invited us to share! |