madkhemist
Tuesday, July 26, 2005
Not Buddha
You can tell that it is not a statue of Buddha because it is wrapped in red. Buddha is always wrapped in yellow or orange.
madkhemist
madkhemist
Monday, July 25, 2005
Temple floor
The following photos have no real captions. I have all the information as to what wat (temple) but they all really start to blend into one another. It is no different than traveling through Europe and by day three you have been in more Catholic churches and cathedrals than you can remember.
The sad thing is that most were in ruins, not because of neglect or abandonment, but because of invading armies over the centuries. Most of the damage was done by the Burmese in previous centuries.
madkhemist
The sad thing is that most were in ruins, not because of neglect or abandonment, but because of invading armies over the centuries. Most of the damage was done by the Burmese in previous centuries.
madkhemist
Friday, July 22, 2005
Wednesday, July 20, 2005
Wat Phrasisanpeth I
I do not understand why a person would deface a religious symbol.
Humans are horrible animals.
madkhemist
Humans are horrible animals.
madkhemist
yes it is what you think it is...
It is a good source of protein and only eats rice.
No I did not try any.
madkhemist
No I did not try any.
madkhemist
The purveyor
They catch them in the rice fields and sell them to the farmers. I Guess this would be like KFC here in the states.
The item hanging to the right is a fries snake.
No I didn't try that either.
madkhemist
The item hanging to the right is a fries snake.
No I didn't try that either.
madkhemist
Drying chicken
If the meat doesn't sell it is set out to dry. No different than dried beef or smoked fish.
madkhemist
madkhemist
Thai market
The riot of smells and colors can never be justified by these photos or descriptions.
madkhemist
madkhemist
feeding time
These are unemployed elephants. They were used in logging until Thailand restricted the logging industry to save its forests. Now they are used mostly to entertain the tourists and to push the rafts back into the center of the river.
madkhemist
madkhemist
another view
If only the light had been better while we were there.
The River Raft hotel is something I would recommend if you ever travel to Thailand.
madkhemist
The River Raft hotel is something I would recommend if you ever travel to Thailand.
madkhemist
give and get
There is a Buddhist belief that if you support a mountain or tree that it will support you. There were hundreds of bamboo poles tucked up into the cliff.
This was right before we came to a cave where a Buddhist monk lived. He was a wonderful man that gave us bracelets for good luck. He then asked if I would like to join him in a life of meditation. He was not trying to recruit or convert a guess he just saw something in me.
It is a tempting offer.
madkhemist
This was right before we came to a cave where a Buddhist monk lived. He was a wonderful man that gave us bracelets for good luck. He then asked if I would like to join him in a life of meditation. He was not trying to recruit or convert a guess he just saw something in me.
It is a tempting offer.
madkhemist
water bowl
Honestly I have no clue what this is, I just liked the shot. I should have brought along my flash to brighten things up a little. The sky was still overcast and it drizzled a little while we walked.
madkhemist
madkhemist
Mon village students
These are the students attending the one room school in the Mon village. You can see they are of various ages and the there is only one teacher for the group.
This is not the only education they will receive. This is a preschool situation. Once the children are older they will travel into town where they will attend classes. The young man to the back is unable to attend school in town because his family does not have enough money to pay for transportation, books, supplies, and uniforms.
madkhemist
This is not the only education they will receive. This is a preschool situation. Once the children are older they will travel into town where they will attend classes. The young man to the back is unable to attend school in town because his family does not have enough money to pay for transportation, books, supplies, and uniforms.
madkhemist
village school
This is the village school. When we walked up there were several children playing soccer in front and there was no teacher around. After a few minutes they stopped playing and sat down and opened their books. When asked why they stopped playing we were told that play time ends at 2:00 and it was now time to study.
The school is an open building with no electricity or running water. The students work out of old text books and school supplies are hard to come by.
You never know how good things are until you see how bad they can be.
madkhemist
The school is an open building with no electricity or running water. The students work out of old text books and school supplies are hard to come by.
You never know how good things are until you see how bad they can be.
madkhemist
village market
It is a village market providing some things that the villagers may need but mostly it is for the tourists.
Pictured here are Janet (left) and our guide Beer (middle). Beer is his nickname and he does not drink beer!
madkhemist
Pictured here are Janet (left) and our guide Beer (middle). Beer is his nickname and he does not drink beer!
madkhemist
to the Mon village
The Mon are an ethnic group in Thailand. They came to this area around the river from Myanmar (Burma) to the north. The owner of the River Raft Hotel has allowed them to live on his land and hires them to work in the hotel. The owner has also provided many improvement to the village; these covered walkways for one.
madkhemist
madkhemist
taxi stand
A quick shot taken while walking back from the bridge. I really wish the light had been better.
madkhemist
madkhemist
taxi!
This was rush hour on the river. If you did not live in the Mon village on the shore behind the hotel you had to take a long tail boat to work.
I really need to do something about this lens, I keep getting this weird white spot in the middle of the low light shots.
madkhemist
I really need to do something about this lens, I keep getting this weird white spot in the middle of the low light shots.
madkhemist
a room with a view
This was the view from the dining hall of the River Raft Hotel. To the right is a bar that sold cold beer and weak drinks.
This was taken while we waited for our two hour Thai massage.
madkhemist
This was taken while we waited for our two hour Thai massage.
madkhemist
relaxed
This was the "front porch" of the hotel. It was so relaxing to sit out here with a book.
madkhemist
madkhemist
out the back door
This was my view every morning while on raft hotel while I took my cold water shower. I didn't want to know where all the waste water from the bathroom went.
The weather was bad our first two days; overcast and a little rainy. But for the next two weeks it was great!
madkhemist
The weather was bad our first two days; overcast and a little rainy. But for the next two weeks it was great!
madkhemist
Tuesday, July 19, 2005
so lets begin
This was our first hotel in Thailand. It's a river lodge in the truest meaning of the word. They are a series of rafts that sit in the middle of a tributary to the River Kwai. Yes I did see the Bridge over the River Kwai.
Please remember - Delta Airlines is the worst, help drive them to complete bankruptcy and do not fly them. I'll tell you more later.
madkhemist
Please remember - Delta Airlines is the worst, help drive them to complete bankruptcy and do not fly them. I'll tell you more later.
madkhemist
Thursday, July 14, 2005
Next Stop Bangkok
Okay, this will most likely be my last post with out photos. We are now on the island of Koh Samed. A nice place, primitive, with a laid back atmosphere. The scenery is wonderful and I hope will make for some great photos. It looks that the base of the island is a metamorphic rock that have been worn into some wonderful shapes by the waves.
We leave in the morning for a short boat ride then a 3 hour dive back to Bangkok. I am not really looking forward to this part of the trip. I am ready to go home and get started on other projects. I have several photography and multimedia things I need to get done before the summer break ends.
We leave in the morning for a short boat ride then a 3 hour dive back to Bangkok. I am not really looking forward to this part of the trip. I am ready to go home and get started on other projects. I have several photography and multimedia things I need to get done before the summer break ends.
Monday, July 11, 2005
More from Chiang Mai
Spent the day trekking up a "hill" (seemed more like a mountain to me) to spend the night with a hill tribe. It was a tough walk, much harder than the moderate difficulty the tour led us to believe. But it was worth it. About two hours into the walk we stopped at a waterfall. We were the only people there for a good 30 minutes. It was paradise. After that we walked another 2 hours up hill to the village. There we were greeted by the Karen people. They were very kind in opening up their village to all of us. We ate a wonderful meal of soup, green curry and fried vegetables; food never tasted so good. The trek guide talked to use about the Karen people and his life, I got the impression he was trying to convert us to Christianity. It was funny to listen to him call non Christians enemies while the person who is our tour guide is Buddhist and they are food friends! We also met the village shaman and he sold us blessing to ward of evil spirits and bring good luck. For 50 baht ($1.25) it was worth it.
We went to bed early, 8:15, because there was nothing to do because there is no electricity or running water in the village. "Bed" was a mat on the floor under mosquito netting. Not the best thing for my back. Even with a sleep aid I was wide awake at 3:00 a.m. with crowing roosters, barking dogs, and one of our travel companions snoring.
Finally around 6 all of us gave up pretending to sleep and went out to watch the sun rise, then a breakfast of soft fried eggs, toast, and the local tea. We were supposed to walk back down the mountain, but it was the same path we took up and were not going to stop for the water fall. We opted to pay a driver 100 baht each to take us to the bottom. From there we took bamboo rafts along the river, it was a beautiful experience. We are now back in Chiang Mai and are trying to leave either tonight or early in the morning so we can get some extra time at the beach. We are meeting again with Beer, the tour guide at 1:30 to see what he could do.
More to follow for my next stop that has Internet access.
We went to bed early, 8:15, because there was nothing to do because there is no electricity or running water in the village. "Bed" was a mat on the floor under mosquito netting. Not the best thing for my back. Even with a sleep aid I was wide awake at 3:00 a.m. with crowing roosters, barking dogs, and one of our travel companions snoring.
Finally around 6 all of us gave up pretending to sleep and went out to watch the sun rise, then a breakfast of soft fried eggs, toast, and the local tea. We were supposed to walk back down the mountain, but it was the same path we took up and were not going to stop for the water fall. We opted to pay a driver 100 baht each to take us to the bottom. From there we took bamboo rafts along the river, it was a beautiful experience. We are now back in Chiang Mai and are trying to leave either tonight or early in the morning so we can get some extra time at the beach. We are meeting again with Beer, the tour guide at 1:30 to see what he could do.
More to follow for my next stop that has Internet access.
Friday, July 08, 2005
Greetings from Chiang Mai
So the adventure continues.
I don't mean any disrespect, but honestly how many Buddhist temples does a person need to see in one day let alone a life time. Most than been destroyed by invading armies. We've only seen one temple still standing. It was amazing. Most temples that are in use today are modern (less than 500 yrs old).
I have been keeping a photo log for this trip. More of what I've taken pictures of and not so much how I took them. I don't have time for the technical details of the photos; shutter speed and f-stop. The image is the important thing.
I don't mean any disrespect, but honestly how many Buddhist temples does a person need to see in one day let alone a life time. Most than been destroyed by invading armies. We've only seen one temple still standing. It was amazing. Most temples that are in use today are modern (less than 500 yrs old).
I have been keeping a photo log for this trip. More of what I've taken pictures of and not so much how I took them. I don't have time for the technical details of the photos; shutter speed and f-stop. The image is the important thing.
Wednesday, July 06, 2005
Hello From Thailand
I am having a blast here, but it is moving much too fast. I have burnt through 7.5 rolls of film so far and it looks like I will keep up a 2 roll per day pace. I read that I was only allow to bring in five rolls and that film would be inexpensive. I found that Kodak costs as much as 180 baht ( 40 baht = 1 US dollar) for a roll of 400 36 exp. I was able to buy some 200 ISO 36 exp in a department store for 90 baht. I guess that's about what I would pay back in the US. Everyone is here and we are off to the first Thailand capital. More later
Sunday, July 03, 2005
Hello from Singapore
WOW I thought we would never get here, bad weather and bad airlines in the US kept us from catching our flight out of JFK on Monday. I amactually be typing this from the old capital of Thailand; I think.
No matter we are having a blast and we have made it this far without and major incidents other than meeting some neat people that were stranded in NYC just like us.
More to come soon, hopefully with pictures if you can find an internet cafe with an open USB port
No matter we are having a blast and we have made it this far without and major incidents other than meeting some neat people that were stranded in NYC just like us.
More to come soon, hopefully with pictures if you can find an internet cafe with an open USB port
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