Cyn's photos and a few comments on our amazing adventure
 

So hard to believe that it is our last day of our amazing trip! I was not able to keep my journal up, but I <b>did</b> manage to keep my photos in order. The following link will take to to my journal photo page so you can pick and choose what you want to see. http://mysite.verizon.net/cynstalker11/id10.html

We're packing up today; special dinner tonight at the New York Grill at the Park Hyatt, Tokyo, and then the long journey home starts early tomorrow morning.

I will work on a proper trip report when I get settled back at home, but for now I have to say thank you to everyone on this amazing board - the advice I received from here was spot-on - truly a gift, and an incredible resource.

Believe it or not, we're not ready to go home yet (even after 56 days!), so that should give you an idea of how much we loved the countries we were so fortunate to visit.

The natural beauty of the countries and parks was astonishing - even given the horrible air pollution we experienced in a few spots; the history we glimpsed was amazing...but it was the warmth and kindness of <b>everyone</b> we met that was humbling and inspiring and of course most memorable.

Gosh, I just don't want to leave!

<font color="green">Cyn</font>

fantastic pics....such rich colors...such clarity

bokmarking

Really enjoyed seeing your photos
Cyn and looking forward to the report.

Loved your photos. Looking forward to reading the trip report.

Thank you for posting! Wonderful photos.

Beautiful photos and well organized!

WOWIE! Awesome photos, you have a real gift there. One question. In the photo set of Chiang Mai there were a bunch of different artisans, where is that? I would love to see all those artisans at work.

Gorgeous. if you email me - chrisc987 @ yahoo.com - I'll talk itinerary.

I love your photos - although I only looked at the Southern ones so far - it's not Africa ;-)

So sorry I forgot to check in and comment on your itinerary - but it looks great and sounds like you ahd a fantastic time. I will not request a trip report - 56 days could be a little much to write up!! I am really interested in how the Thai wildlife experiences went though... very little about that on this forum.... except for the elephants of course ....

Sorry for my delay in responding - it is HARD to get back into the swing of things! (yeah, yeah, excuses excuses :-) )

<b>laartista</b> - hope this is not too late for you - those artisans were all on one road in Chiang Mai. Unfortunatley, I can't remember the name of the road, but this is what our itinerary said about them:

&quot;Chiang Mai is famous for the quality and uniqueness of its local handicrafts. Visit Sunkampaeng, with its Thai Silk and cotton looms; Bo Sarng, the paper and umbrella-making village; the Celadon kilns, with its exquisite, traditional high-fired stoneware; lacquerware, teak-wood carving, jewelry, and silverware factories. This half day tour shows you how Chiang Mai craftsmen produce their crafts by hand from the first stage to the finished product, and give you an idea of what there is to buy and take home as souvenirs from Chiang Mai&quot;.

Perhaps someone else will know? It was really a lot of fun to go to all those different places - some astonishing talent on display!

<b>kimburu</b> - nice to hear from you. The wildlife went as I expected - not too much. We did see some fresh ele dung in Kaeng Krachan National Park, but no actual siting. We saw a Dusky Langur at that same park, a small variety of birds and some other monkeys all over. One of the coolest-although-possibly-saddest experiences involved 2 gibbons - one was about 2 months old, and the other about 18 months old - they were a joy, as we got to hold them and play with them. They were being cared for by the manager of the rustic lodge we stayed at in Khao Sok, and were not tied or chained, but simply had free run of the place. The manager claims that they can leave if they want (although I'm not sure they know how to feed themselves), and that their mother still comes to visit them, which I HOPE is true, and that she was not in fact killed to obtain the babies as I've heard is sometimes the case.

Part of the problem with sighting wildlife was that we did not have guides who were knowlegeable about the native species and habits/habitats. Our guides were for the most part outstanding - just not experienced in wildlife. I guess another problem is that there is not the government support for wildlife as there is in the African parks. The last problem was the air quality while we were there - it was so bad in the north, that we simply could not spend much time outdoors.

Even without the wildlife, the trip was terrific - we knew going in that spotting wild elephants and tigers etc would be an amazing bit of luck, so there was no huge disappointment on our part. And Khao Sok and Sam Roi national parks have gorgeous scenery.

Thanks everyone else for your kind comments on our photos - sorry I have so many of them And I still intend to put together a report!

<font color="green">Cyn</font>