Traffic is still slow in Bangkok despite the new elevated skyway.  Help is on the way as the subway opens in June, 04.  We ran out of time and missed a few sights on the agenda.  That made me appreciate the location of the Conrad: around the corner from the American Embassy and near Lumphina Park.  Also within walking distance are the shopping stalls of Suan Lum Night Bazaar where live stage performances are held each night.  In the same vicinity is the strangely named Joe Lewis Theatre. Joe Lewis is really Sakorn Yangkhiawsod (a fan of Joe Lewis) who has revived the art of the meter high marionettes made of paper and wire.  Three dancers, acting in unison, manipulate the puppets.  One dancer manipulates the head and left arm, another the right arm and the third, the legs. The puppet masters train for five year in classical dance and a further two years in puppetry.  The graceful performance of loves lost and found lasts about an hour. 

We flew to Chiang Mai for the New Year's Festival of Songkran. What originally began as a sprinkling of scented waters into the hands of elders as a sign of respect has evolved into a free-for-all with pails of water and bazooka type water pistols. This year the Chiang Mai celebration was special as it would be the first time that it would include eight neighboring Thai provinces as well as Yunnan in China, Burma (Myanmar), Laos and Viet Nam, all of whom celebrate Songkran. This territory represents the Lanna Civilization that existed 800 years ago with Chiang Mai as its capital. To emphasize the importance of this new alliance the Prime Minister, Thaksin Shinawabin, was to be there.  The riverside was festive with colorful flags lining the streets, lanterns hanging from the trees and garlands of red lights outlining the arch under which The Prime Minister and the governors would arrive at the parade area.

Standing not three feet from the ceremonial arch, I nevertheless saw only the flash of a smile above a white silk suit as the Prime Minister sailed by.  After the dignitaries arrived the parade began in a cloud of smoke, clanging cymbals and undulating 15-foot dragons.  My battery lasted through the parade of elaborate floats and marching cultural troops, but stopped dead before we went to the colorful exhibits in Nong Buak Hard Public Park.  There were missed photo ops of traditionally dressed representatives of all the provinces and countries along with their handicrafts.

Not to be missed is the Elephant Conservation Center about an hour's drive from Chiang Mai. The center provides care and employment for the dwindling elephant population whose forests are shrinking. We arrived at ten in order to watch the mahouts take the elephants for a bath and then, after watching a demonstration of working techniques for moving logs, the elephants moved into the artistic program!  In addition to elephants playing the xylophone, there were elephant artists. The pictures were amazingly crisp and bright and I couldn't resist buying two of them. It was quite a bargain at 500 baht as I saw on the Internet where at a fundraiser for the Center, Christi's had sold them for $2,000 to $3000 dollars. 

We were leaving the Center when we saw a sign, "Animal Hospital" and turned into a clearing where three elephants stood under an enormous shed.  One large elephant has an injured foot-blown off by a land mine in Burma. The other was a baby whose hindquarters were in a wheeled contraption.  The baby had fallen in a hole and its hindquarters are paralyzed.  The mother stood patiently beside the baby.  I asked Dr. Sarvn Jansittiwate how long they would care for the elephants.  His reply, "For their whole life."  A touching example of the Buddhist reverence for life.

We had a late lunch that day at the Four Season's Hotel. There wasn't time to attend the open-air cooking school on the extensive grounds but the Lotus Platter, including green papaya salad and roast duck had me making a mental note for my next trip.

Our hotel in Chiang Mai was the comfortable, older Chiang Mai Plaza Hotel, with a large lively lobby where local talent entertained each evening. The hotel is just a few steps from the atmospheric Burmese restaurant, Whole Earth, and just 2 blocks to the night market where shy hill-tribe women moved among the many stalls offering hand loomed purses and silver decorated hats. 

In Phuket, I decided to give up the wonders of sand and sea tours and the multiple pools and restaurants of the Hilton's Arcadia Beach Resort when I read in the guidebook, that "the beach services the tourists, and Phuket the locals".  As the last chapter in the digital saga I forgot to retrieve my battery from its plug.  I hate to admit that I had finally read that the battery charger was dual voltage and all I needed was an adapter which the Arcadia Hotel supplied.  Fortunately I had my backup camera. 

I found Phuket essentially a small town (with big-box stores on the outskirts) where almost everyone I met is a third generation Chinese-Thai whose family had come to Phuket because of tin mining. Many original Chinese shop houses, a blend of Chinese and European influences, still have shops below and living quarters above.  Soul of Asia, billed as "almost a museum", is an art gallery in two beautifully restored houses and features not only fine paintings, but also furniture and jewelry. Nearby, Antique Arts, has many curios small enough to tuck into my overflowing suitcase. The numerous small shops made for much more pleasant shopping than the night markets we had visited.

There were two hotels that friends had raved about that I wanted to see, so we made a quick stop at the Banyon Tree.  Located on a lagoon, the very private, super luxurious villas with pools are reached by golf cart. Lunch was at the new JW Marriott Hotel, with numerous pools, its own private beach and turtle release program and time-shares for fully equipped apartments.

At four o'clock our group met at the Massage Training Center, where Dr. Pinit, who studied and trained for 20 years at Wat Pho in Bangkok, now teaches courses that run from 60 hours (10 days) to 800 hours (2 Years).  Dr Pinit, sitting under the small shrine dedicated to his teacher, the legendary Dr. Jivaka Kumara, who is believed to have treated Buddha, started studying at 8 years old with his father who had learned from his father. However his children have chosen to be a teacher, a civil servant and an entrepreneur. "But," he added modestly, "I often have foreign students studying at my school and they are charged the same price as locals."

After our massages, which were becoming a habit, we drove out Lagoon Road to dine alfresco at the Watermark Restaurants located in a marina adjacent to ocean going yachts. While sampling fresh prawns wrapped in crispy vermicelli with honey-mustard sauce, sliced banana flower salad with palm hearts and a seafood stir-fry, we talked with Ken Brookes, an ex-pat who wears a lawyer's hat as well as Managing Director for the tourist guide, Art and Culture.  Lori Ashton is the editor and writes often for the Bangkok Post.  As an ex-expat of Indonesia with a publishing stint similar to Lori's, I felt the  nostalgic pull of this "other life", the lure of discovery and the compulsion to tell. It was a fitting last supper.

To eat in Thailand would be reason enough to go back.  I had had plenty of Thai food in the states, but to dine in situ  is a world apart.  Even Thai Airline served broiled salmon, black sesame rice, mushrooms carrots and turnips in a glass casserole…in economy…along with French wines…followed by brandy.  Of course you expect excellent food at five star establishments, but you couldn't go wrong at a fishing village near Pattaya, or a roadside restaurant in Phuket.

And then there are all those massages, which ranged from $8 to $70 at Spas. Despite the food, pageantry, scenery and shopping, I was most impressed with the respect that every Thai shows to friends and strangers. At first the palms together wie greeting seemed just for tourists, but then I noticed they pause and greet each other the same way.s Before starting a massage, the masseuse gives respect to her centuries dead teacher and the guide in the Royal Palace gives respect to the empty throne which represents the King.  At even at the Phuket Arcadia Beach Resort, tourists joined hotel employees in a blessing ceremony, which in some small way made us feel a part of the culture.

I joined this eight-day tour to see if I wanted to explore Thailand in depth. At first I thought three more weeks would be enough, then a year and finally I wondered how much time be enough. All through the trip I kept thinking of a Japanese haiku that goes something like, "Even in Kyoto I miss Kyoto".  I felt the same way about Thailand.

The small camera must have done the trick.  I didn't fall down once. I loved having my photos immediately and zooming in on them later on the computer.  I haven't decided if I need more pixels and more zoom but I am definitely a digital fan.

Tips for digital:

• Understand your camera before the trip
• Take battery charger and an extra battery
• Take an adapter
• Take sufficient memory sticks-my 128 captured about 135 images
• Delete as you go along and delete carefully
• Remember to retrieve the battery charger and the battery.
• If the camera is small, keep it in the same place so you won't forget it.

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