#SeabournSojourn – Don't Gel Too Soon

Angkor Wat, Mostly in Photos.

ANKHOR MOAT — The moat surrounding the temple complex

We are at the end of our stop in Hong Kong – such a special time with good friends. But after Angkor Wat I was so exhausted that I never wrote about it. Here is a bit – mostly in pictures.

As you can see above, the approach is stunning. The complex is surrounded by a moat, and because of the heat we arrived very early so it was especially lovely. It’s a mystical place, massive and beautiful. Below is a Buddha guarding a series of hallways. It’s one of the few who still has a head. As you can see in the next photo, many were detached and sold by smugglers. I was surprised to learn, when I asked, that for all the horror they created, the Khymer Rouge never touched one Buddha. I had assumed that they would be like the Taliban or ISIS in their rampant destruction of holy places but oddly, that was not the case.

Finally, at Angkor Thom, the Bayon Temple,studded with Buddhas, and the Ta Phrom Temple, where parts of a Tomb Raider film were shot. That’s us, too!

Vietnam, Its Tragedies — and Ours March 2016

Ho Chi Minh - his image is omnipresent — Ho Chi Minh – his image is omnipresent

We’re leaving Vietnam and I’m still astonished that we were here! I keep remembering the history and the battles and pain and rage and guilt of those years. We had a long discussion with our guide on our Mekong River cruise. His father fought for the South Vietnamese, his uncle for the North. His dad spent 8 years in a prison camp after Saigon fell; to this day he doesn’t speak to his Viet Cong brother. So much pain. So much might have been. So powerful to pass signs that say Ho Chi Minh City or Saigon, Tan Son Nhut Airport, Mekong River, China Beach.

People here are definitely not as poor as those in Cambodia – not nearly, although the South is definitely better off than the North, and there’s a sense of forward motion that isn’t as present in Cambodia.

In both countries, it’s been important to think beyond the history so traumatic to them – and to us – and see them for what they are moving toward today. Just look:

Japanese covered bridge — Japanese Covered Bridge Hoi An, Vietnam

IMG_5597 (1) — Cruising on the Mekong River

flower maket row — Mekong River Floating Market

Lots more to come; Internet troubles right now…

Two Days in Thailand: Bangkok and the Beach (Mostly Pictures)

Temple of the Emerald Buddah

These are pictures from Bangkok’s Temple of the Emerald Buddha, where we spent much of Tuesday. So much beauty and mystery here. Above is part of the multiple-building temple. Below are a couple more scenes. It was really really hot and really really crowded as so many people, both the devout and the tourists, gathered to see the painstaking work that created this beautiful place.

A small closeup of the beautiful work that covers all these buildings — executed, I learned, by both men AND women.

One of a series of panels from the Ramayana that wanders through the Temple complex.

I couldn’t resist this adorable little guy, sitting on a small block outside the building where Thailand holds coronations.

Our next day was fun – lounging and picnicking on the beaches of Ko Kut.

I had to include this; you’ll never guess what it is. Part of our adventure was “Caviar in the Surf” which is just what it sounds like. It was really weird – not the event but what it looked like. Droves of our fellow passengers moving together from the beach out into the sea to the tables of caviar — kind of spooky looking from the shore but a great treat for all.

We leave in the morning for Angkor Wat. More from there.