Catching up! March 12, 2008

Sunset from the front porch of our first night thatched hut on Bamboo Island. Not bad.

These are photos of the way the jungle and the ruins at Ta Phrom compete. Bob and Vivian in front give a sense of scale... the tree goes up another 100 or more feet. The sounds of the cicadas in unison and the moisture in the air... all lend to the majesty and mystique of this place. The movie Tomb Raiders was filmed here.

Another photo from the same area of yours truly. Red stands out well doesn't it? Ha!

Yesterday, Tuesday, was a business day here in Bangkok getting our train tix for Thursday nights overnight train down to Trangdown the southern Thai peninsula. We also met with Willie again at an upscale restaurant in our area near Rambutri called Hemlock... great name for a place to eat, no? Good food, some claiming to be "ancient" dishes, jazz playing in the background (first time I've experience that in Thailand), good conversation and a chance to meet Willie's very nice friend Pim(?).

This is a photo of a group of musicians seated outside of Ta Phrom who are all landmine survivors... note the prosthesis laying off to the side... nice touch! The sound was beautiful. I have a CD of music from these guys from my trip here four years ago. What spirit.

This next picture is of Bob on the front porch of our second thatched hut on Bamboo Island.

Our second place in which we stayed for two additional nights was also just 30 feet (if that) from the water's edge. Tranquil and some snorkeling possible on this side though the water was murky probably due to the rainstorms at night.
Today we will head toward the pottery island 20 minutes by water taxi from our base in Bangkok. This is a culture of Mon people who settled on this island in the middle of the Chao Priya river here in Bangkok and started making pottery. I was there in '04 and want to show it to B & V as well as to see how they are doing now.
At my end, it does appear these photos are posting so I think I will quit while I'm ahead. I hope you are all well. -Mark