Day 22

The last day of my one month vacation.
My friend cooked "Happy Early Birthday Breakfast" for me this morning.  How nice!
In the morning I went to Fotan to see my friends to have lunch.  We have known for one another for 20 years.  It's been about 1 year and a half since we met last time when I went to Nepal via Hong Kong.
We went to the newly opened restaurant and ate so many dim sum.  After lunch I went back to my friend's place.  There I could see her again.  She prepared some birthday presents for me.  How kind!
I left her place and headed for Hong Kong station by Taxi to get on the Airport Express.  We can check in the luggages at the Hong Kong station, which is very convenient.
I took the flight leaving at 16:15 and arriving at Haneda at 21:30.  When I got home, it was already midnight.
I am glad to be back safe and sound.

I really enjoyed this one month vacation.  I met old friends in Thailand and Hong Kong, and have made new friends in Thailand, Cambodia, and Hong Kong.  I have visited some UNESCO's World Heritages.  I enjoyed eating the local foods and shopping.
There are still many places to visit here and there.  I hope to travel as much as and as long as possible.
Thank you very much for everyone who helped my vacation make possible.

 

Day 21

It was slightly raining.  In the morning I walked around the Victoria Park.  There were many people practicing T'ai chi ch'uan.
I checked out the hotel and headed to the Times Square where I met my friend from Expo 2005.  It's been about 5 years and a half since we met each other in Venezuela last time.  We went to her apartment and met her two Japanese friends.  They and I went to Macao together.
It was the second time for me to visit Macao.  When I went to Hong Kong last time, my friends said "These days I go to Macao instead of Hong Kong."  So I was wondering how it changed, then decided to visit.
We walked around the UNESCO's World Heritage Sites and ate lunch and went to see "The House of Dancing Water" at the City of Dreams.  It was one hour and a half show and cost HK$580.  I recommend you to see it if you have a chance.
After that I walked around the city by myself and came back to Hong Kong by ferry.
My friend and I went out for dinner at a famous crab restaurant.  I like crabs very much, so I ate crab at lunch and dinner today. 

Day 20

It rained heavily in the morning.
I went shopping at ISETAN which is a Japanese department store.  I bought a knife for fruits and soap curving there and two books regarding curving at KINOKUNIYA which is also famous Japanese bookstore.  Both were in the same building and very convenient for those who live in Bangkok.
I ate Thai suki which is like Japanese shabushabu for lunch.
I happened to visit the Erawan Phum where I wanted to go. There were many people there and I could see the Thai dance there.
In the evening I went to the airport and flew to Hong Kong.  There is one hour time difference between Thai and Hong Kong.  When I got to the hotel, it was almost midnight.

Day 19

In the morning I went to the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum by Tuk Tuk passing some nice places.
It was very  hot outside, but when I went inside the museum, I got goose bumps.  What a sad history they have....  Two of the suvivors were selling their books.
Next I went to the National Museum.
Then I ate lunch at the riverside and went back to the hotel to check out.
I went to the airport by Tuk Tuk.
I came back to Bankok.

Day 18

I took a 8:30 bus to Phnom Penh. I thougt it would take 5 hours, but it took 6 hours having a half hour lunch break on the way.
The person next to me was from Australia. He said he retired at the age of 48. I thought it is too young to retire, so I asked him why. He said his father passed away two weeks after the retirement, and he could not enjoy his retired life, so he is now traveling here and there very often.
After arriving the bus terminal I went to the hotel by Tuk Tuk.  When I got there, there was no electricity.  The room was somehow different from what I saw from the Internet.
In the evening I walked around the city.   At the Wat Phnom, only foreigners had to pay the entrance fee.
I like to see water things, and there is a lake on the map.  So I went to see the lake.  But there is no lake there.  Such a disappointing!  Maybe at the rainy season, it may appear.
I saw the beautiful sunset on the river.
At night I went to the night market, but it was rather small compared to other places.
I enjoyed Khmer dinner.

Day 17

Today I went to one day tour to a very far place.  Since the cost was $60 for a car, the more the cheaper per person.  So I found two tourists who could join me yesterday and three of us shared the car and the cost became $20 per person.
First we visited Banteay Srei where there were many beautiful relieves remained.
Second we went to Phnom Kulen where there were two waterfalls. It was a resort place and there were many huts to rest.  There were many butterflies.
Third we visited Preah Ang Thom where there is a big statue of lying Buddha.
Finally we visited Kbal Spear where we had to walk 1500 meters to see the waterfall.  If I did not see the guide there, I may have missed seeing the waterfall and some carvings on the rocks and water floors. My two companions went under the waterfall and refreshed but I did not.
We walked and walked more than 20,000 steps today.
After coming back to the hotel, we decided to have dinner together and enjoyed whole day having one another's company.
Then I enjoyed shopping at the night market.  After coming back to the hotel, I enjoyed the Traditional Khmer Massage for Full Body for one hour which was only $6.
It was a nice day.

Day 16

The third day in Siem Reap.  Today I visited Preah Khan, Neak Pean, Ta Som, East Mebon, Pre Rup, Lolei, Preak Ko, and Bakong from 8:30 AM to 16:00 PM.  It was a very hot day but it rained a little bit in the afternoon.
At the Preah Khan a woman approached me and started explaining.  Usually I refuse the guides, but she told me many useful information and took many interesting pictures.  I was not sure how much I should pay and I was going to give her the small changes I had but she said $3.  I did not have three one dollar bills so she asked to exchange to the girls selling souvenirs there.  After all I bought some souvenirs from them too....  You had better bring $1 bills as much as possible.  There are so many small children who sell souvenirs here and there saying Japanese "10 postcards for a dollar" or something. 
Today I met many Japanese.  I will go to see waterfalls tomorrow with two of them.
At night I went to the restaurant Bayon I to see Subaek which is a shadow play.

Day 15

Second day of Siem Reap.  I started very early today to see the sun rise at Angkor Wat.  I got up at 4:30 AM  and the Tuk Tuk driver came to pick me up at 5:00 AM and we went to Angkor Wat.  I waited the sunrise in front of the sacred pond.  There were many dragon flies.  There were so many people there from so many countries.  Sunrise was very beautiful. 

The good thing was Angkor Wat is open from early morning, I could see inside soon after the sunrise.  I walked and walked for more than 2 hours.  There were monkeys inside.  They say they try to get food from tourists.  The third corridor opens at 7:40 AM, so I had to wait for half an hour or so.
After Angkor Wat I went to see Angkor Thom, Chau Say Thevoda, Thommanom, Ta Keo, Ta Prohm, Banteay Kdei, and Sras Srang until 3:00 PM or so.  Angkor Archaeological Park is so big that I walked and walked, nearly 30,000 steps for 9 hours.  The most impressive place was Ta Prohm where has big trees on the walls and buildings.
I went back to the hotel once and went shopping at Night Market tonight.

Day 14

I left Bangkok to Siem Reap this morning.  At the Bangkok airport I could use Free Wi Fi after signing up.  The flight delayed a little bit.  I happened to be seated next to a Japanese businessman.  He came with a group of three, but in Bangkok there are more people he said. All of them came from different flight and stayed at the different hotel, but sometimes they get together and enjoy golfing or eating.  Two of them have been to Thailand more than 20 times and the round ticket from Bangkok to Siem Reap was from the frequent flyer's program. That is very nice, isn't it?
I asked the guesthouse to pick me up at the airport.  I was surprised to see the person because he came by motorbike.  I was wondering how he would bring my suitcase.  He put it in front.  The guesthouse was introduced by my friend.  I could stay at the suit room.  At the reception I consulted about my travel plan for 5 days and he arranged everything.
First program was to see the sunset at Phnom Bakheng which is a hill and popular place to see the sunset.  There I saw many Japanese there because it is the Golden Week in Japan.
There were clouds but I could see the sunset somehow.
After that I went to Apsara Dancing Show and Buffet Dinner. 

Day 13

I wanted to go to the Erawan  Falls or other waterfalls today and checked the one day tours, but there was no tour available today unfortunately.
It rained heavily in the morning therefore I should be glad not going.
I booked the hotels in Phnom Penh and in Hong Kong through Internet and felt relieved to fix the latter schedule.
At night I went out for dinner at Thai Foods stand.  The container of the fish dish was fish shaped.  Isn't it interesting?

Day 12

My train was supposed to arrive at Bangkok at 8:30 in the morning.  However, again it delayed as a matter of course.  But I did not expect such delay.  It arrived around 10:15 AM.  I have booked the fruit curving lesson at 10:30, but of course I could not arrive at the venue on time.  Fortunately an instructor was also late, and I didn't miss anything.  I expected to curve watermelon or pineapple or something, but we made flowers from a piece of carrot.  In two hours lesson I made 2 flowers and some leaves.
In the afternoon I tried soap curving.  Since I know how to do basically from the morning lesson, it took less time to curve the soap.
Both lessons were about 750 bahts each.  I enjoyed a lot.  They say there is a school for fruit curving in Tokyo.
At night I went to see Siam Niramit, must see spectacular show in Thailand.

Day 11

In the morning I went to the H.I.S. in Chiang Mai to get the ticket of the soap curving class for Saturday afternoon.  In Bangkok branch, if you have a skywalker card, there is a discount, but in Chiang Mai branch they don't have such a thing.  I also booked the flights from Bangkok to Siem Reap, and from Phnom Penh to Bangkok.  At first I was going to Cambodia by bus or train, but time is limited, therefore I decided to use the flight.  In Thailand to have cash is important.  If you use the credit card, they charge about 3% for the commission.
I went back to the hotel to check out around noon.  And I have walked around the old city of Chiang Mai visiting many temples for 4 hours or so.  In Kyoto or Nara there are so many temples and shrines, but I felt there are more temples here.
After coming back to the hotel to pick up the luggage, I went to the train station.  Then I met the person who arranged my 3 day tours and his wife.  I bought something to eat and drink and got on the night train around 17:00.  Train left at 17:30.
Cars were a little bit different from the one in which I came to Chiang Mai.  There is no air conditioning but fan, so it was so hot and humid inside. 

Day 10

I wanted to go to Sukhothai and asked the travel agencies if they have one day tour or not. They have, but since there is no participant, there was no tour on the day I wanted to go.  Therefore I decided to go there by bus by myself.  They say it takes 5 hours to go there.  That is 10 hours drive for a day.  And I may not have enough time there.  So I was wondering if I should go or not.  But after all I decided to go.
I left the hotel at 7:00 AM and walked to the bus terminal for 45 minutes.  I could get the ticket for 8:00 AM bus .  It was supposed to arrive at Sukhotai around 13:00 PM, however it was delayed, of course.  I wanted to get off at the historical park, but they insisted to take me to the bus terminal.  I did not have enough bahts, so I needed to exchange money.   Tuk Tuk driver offered me the tour at the bus terminal.  It was rather expensive, but I did not have enough time and since he was kind, I decided to ask him to go to the bank first, show me around the historical park next, and take me back to the bus terminal by 17:30 when the bus was supposed to leave.
At the bank I tried to change $50, but they did not accept under $100, so I exchanged yen 10,000.
At first we went to 8 temples or so and returned to the bus terminal by 17:30.  But they said that 17:30 bus was canceled because of the accident, and that the next bus is 19:00.  So I asked the Tuk Tuk driver to go back to the historical park and I could see what I missed.  After all he showed me around Wat Mahathat, Wat Sri Sawai, Wat Traphang Ngoen, King Ramkamhaeng The Great Monument, Wat Sra Sri, Wat Phra Phai Luang, Thurian Pottery Klin, Wat Chang Lom, Wat Sopham Hin, Wat Chetuphon.  Wat means temple.  There were so many temples and I can't tell which is which by pictures.....
When I went back to the bus terminal by 19:00, they said the bus has already left.  So I had to go to another bus terminal by minibus and buy another bus ticket to Chiang Mai there.  At the Tak Station the bus was supposed to come at 20:30, but of course it delayed again!  I had to wait for 45 minutes or so, and finally I arrived at the hotel around 2:00 AM.
But I am glad to have been there because I am not sure when I can come back to Thailand next time.  If I went there by one day Japanese tour, it would cost more than 4,300 bahts, and the English tour for 1,900 bahts or so, but the bus round tickets were like 500 bahts or so.

Day 9

The third day in Chiang Mai.  I attended another one day tour.  It started at 8:00 AM and finished 21:20 PM because it was the tour to the far away place, Golden Triangle, where the three countries (Myanmar, Thailand, Laos) meet.  There were about 12 participants.  They were from the USA, Germany, Ireland, Denmark, Oman, and 2 from Japan.  That is there is another Japanese besides me.  The driver was happened to be the same person as yesterday.
First we visited Hot Spring in Chiang Rai.  There were two places where the hot springs were spurting. Unlike the one in Krabi, I could not bathe.
Second we visited the white temple called Wat Rong Khun.  It was very beautiful.  Everything was white.  There were white carps too.
Third we visited the village where I could see long neck tribe and others.  Women start wearing the rings around their neck at the age of 5 and they add the ring every year.  There was a woman wearing 30 rings.
Fourth we visited Mae Sae, the northern most of Thailand.
Fifth we visited the border of Thailand and Myanmar.  If you pay for 500 bahts, you could pass to Myanmar, but we only had 30 minutes or so, therefore I did not go.
Sixth we went to Golden Triangle.  We took the boat and visited Donesao Island in Lao. It is a special economic zone.
Seventh we visited the temple called Wat Chedi Liuang.
I made 2 friends and enjoyed this trip very much.

Day 8

The second day in Chiang Mai.  I attended the Doi Inthanon National Park tour which I wanted to visit most because we visited two waterfalls.
We went to Karen Village, then Sirithan Waterfall, the summit of Doi Inthanon, Pagodas, local market, and Wachirathan Waterfall.  It started at 8:30 AM and finished at 4:00 PM.  There were 8 people in total, 3 from Oman, 2 from the USA, and 2 from China and 1 from Japan.
After coming back I went to H.I.S. to book the soap curving class in Bangkok, and visited night market later and ate dinner there.

Day 7

The train delayed.  In Japan the transportation system is quite punctual, but they say in Thailand trains are usually delayed.
At the information I asked one day tours and the person in charge arranged everything.  Unfortunately I could not use the credit card, so he took me to the exchange and to the hotel later.  There were 4 places I wanted to visit during my stay in Chiang Mai, and I could book three of them there.
For lunch I ate oven baked rice in pineapple.  Usually I do not like fruits in the dishes because I want to eat fruits as they are.  But it was more delicious than I thought.
In the afternoon first one day tour began.  Today's guide was his wife.  She took me to the craft village, Wat Phrathat, Doi Suthep, and the Tiger Kingdom.  I liked the Tiger Kingdom very much because I could take pictures touching the tiger.
After finishing the tour I visited Wat Mahaman and Wat Bupparam by myself.  There are so many temples in Chiang Mai.