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Watching and Weaving
The silence was almost complete as residents of Luang Prabang gave alms to their local monks. At 6:30 every morning, almost 400 monks, colourful in their orange robes, walk a three-kilometre route to collect sticky rice and other food to sustain them. Older monks walk at the front of the queue with younger monks called…
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Cooking and Moving
Thai spring rolls. Pad Thai. Green chicken curry with coconut milk. Mango with sticky rice. Mmmm. All these we made today at the Baan Thai Cooking School. First we met with our instructors, then walked to the market where we learned about the the necessary ingredients while the hosts purchased them. We then donned aprons and headdresses (to keep hair…
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Trekking and Exploring
What a treat this morning proved to be! Trekking through the jungle on an elephant – not something I do every day. We drove about 75 kilometres north of Chiang Mai to the Chiang Dao Elephant Training Centre. About 2,000 elephants in Thailand are privately owned, and about 3,000 are under the control of the…
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Immersing and Wat-ting
The night market called to me last night, and loudly so as it is on the street directly in front of the hotel. The market stretches for blocks and blocks, both sides of the street, with stalls lit by dangling florescent lights. I have to admit to a certain disappointment. I had expected Thai handicrafts…
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Listening and Worrying
Our lecture this morning on the political/economic situation in the Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS – Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Myanmar and two southern Chinese provinces) is an excellent example of why Road Scholar tours are well worth taking – they are interesting, pleasant and educational. Tony Zola came to Thailand in the 1970s as a…
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Oo-ing and Ah-ing
This morning was one of excess of statuary and pavilions and temples and stupas all exquisitely crafted. Our first stop was at Wat Pho, a Buddhist temple set on 20 acres of land. Monks live in this compound and each morning chant in the temple. We hoped to arrive in time to hear the chanting,…
