Cruising the Malacca Straits -April 15, 2001

Position: Port of Call Phuket, Thailand -May 15, 2001

The island of Phuket is just off the western shore of the mainland in the Andaman Sea. It has become one of the better resort areas of Thailand. There are deluxe 4 and 5 star hotels, golf courses with beautiful mile long beaches, upscale shops, deluxe spas and all the needed facilities. Off shore there are many islands with shear walls going into the sea. Some peaks are 1500' with many large caves at the water line to explore by kayak along with nice beaches and clear water. The rocks have beautiful colors of copper, iron and sandstone and are blanketed in green trees and foliage. Beautiful to look at, snorkel and explore. Rock climbing is another sport enjoyed by many. The numerous picturesque tour boats take tourists and locals by the hundreds to these unusual islands for a day at the beach, diving and snorkeling or a stay in one of the hotel. We were there during the off-season so enjoyed the quiet and good prices. These islands have also been the setting for James Bond in "The Golden Gun" and the latest movie "Beaches".

John and Mike played golf on two courses. The Bruce Canyon was the best we have seen in our travels. There are two 18-hole courses, well groomed and difficult with lakes and doglegs. It was hot but with the lady caddies holding an umbrella over you while putting it was bearable. No carts, we had to walk with the caddy.

While in the Indo China region we took a land tour to Northern Thailand and Cambodia. In Cambodia, which has only been open for tourism since 1997, we found a country that is recovering from their years of living under torturous ruling by the communist Khmer Rouge. Millions of the locals were killed when they were forced into slave labor and had everything taken away from them. The children were taken from the families, families separated, with little hope of ever being reunited. Cambodia was the site of the movie Killing Fields. We did not appreciate the horrible conditions of life in this area until this visit. We now understand the purpose of the Viet Nam war as the Americans tried to help stop these torturous conditions.

In Cambodia we went to the city of Siem Reap to view the temples of Angkor built between the 9th and 14th centuries. There are 60 some temples. The most famous is Angkor Wat, the largest and most breathtaking of the monuments of Angkor. Built of stone from northern Cambodia it is in reasonable condition compared to most of the other temples. It was constructed as a funerary temple for King Suryavarman 11 to honor the Hindu deity Vishnu. It is surrounded by a rectangular moat that is 600 feet wide. It has five main towers, the main one 700 feet tall. It is a GOOD climb to tour the many rooms and view the wall carvings, some of which are still in excellent condition. We visited 7 of the temples built by different rulers of this period, most in various levels of decay. Many countries are trying to help with the restoration; currently France and Japan are most active. There is a great amount of activity in the city building roads, large hotels and infrastructure looking forward to the influx of tourist from around the world. We are glad we chose this side trip before it becomes over crowded.

In Northern Thailand we visited Chaing Mai and Chaing Rai. This is the older part of the country and borders on Burma and Laos. The original India to China trade route traveled through this area. Opium, silks, and spices were traded with the wares from India. The silk factory is still hand crafted. The silk is spun by the local silk worms, wrapped on a spool, boiled, dyed, loomed, and woven into silk cloth. The umbrella factory, also hand crafted, takes paper from the bark of the mulberry tree, boils it into pulp and then is made into paper. The umbrellas are made from the paper, cotton or silk and the frames are hand made of bamboo. The covering material is waterproofed by the application of a paste that includes the juice of persimmons. The hand painted designs are both traditional and modern. The most impressive lacquer ware is painted from black sap drained from local trees and beautifully painted onto local woodcarvings and woven baskets using eggshells, blossoms etc. and other colored paints for the designs and textures. The delicate and intricate designs are all done by hand and sold at the right prices.

Elephants are still being used for work. We were able to take an elephant ride through the jungle, across, down, thru the rivers and over hills. A fun trip! The Mahouts do a wonderful job training these magnificent animals and put on a most entertaining show. Different after being on the boat. However, we did do a lot of rolling and hanging on.

We also enjoyed a trip to the top of a 3000-foot mountain overlooking the city to visit the beautiful Golden temple Doi Suthep. This was celebration week of Buddha's birthday so there were many people paying respect with flags decorating the roadside, burning candles, ringing the many bells and all dressed in their finery. One night of the week they carry candles and walk the road to the top. Quite a sight.

There are 300 steps to climb on reaching the summit to view Golden temple. Two enormous brightly colored dragons line the full length of the staircase as railings. There also is a cable car for those who prefer to ride. It has been a great experience to travel this Indo China region.

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