rhkkmk

oh, you too are so observant... look onward young men..

Karen's #2 on her widh list was to see the King's royal barges in action, and we got to do that in early Nov with a few other fodorites. Our vantage point was the supatra Restaurant on the river, next door to the hospital where the King has resided for over a year. We felt we had a royal vantage point.

The occasion was a full dress rehersal for the religious ceremony held on Nov 9 to present new robes to the monks. On nov 9 we did watch on tv as the Crown Prince presented the robes in a very elaborate ceremony.

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rhkkmk

t/s/b two instead of "too"

Hanuman

Bob you have 3 guesses as to what type of fruits are in your first picture. Fess up!

hawaiiantraveler

Peaches or Pluots

rhkkmk

Let me look for the pic...

Now back to the beginning of the trip. Hong Kong does not disapoint, especially when you spend time with a local. On the peak we got into corners and down lanes that only a local could know about.
We have been there many times but always spent most of our time in Kowloon, so it was nice to stay on the island this time. First visit for Pat. We did not do most of tourist route but hit only a few highlights, like the peak and star ferry, plus stanley..


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rhkkmk

i'd recognize them anyplace---those are giant red grapes...

wait a minute, no those are pink chinese apples...NO

how the hell would I know, I hate fruit, but if i have that last guess you promised me i would say they are locally grown (Xian) pommergranites. Had I not been told taht day i would not have known however, but with my superior memory I remembered. I still can't spell however

Hanuman

in picture no. 97 is that a voodoo doll of you? Where can I get one?

kmkrnn

Marija won the prize...pomegranates. They were every where along with persimons.

BostonHarbor

Welcome home Bob and Karen. Loved following your trip! Hope you have a fabulous Christmas with your wonderful family, and we need to plan a Similians lunch soon.

Thanks particularly for keeping us so connected to the gifting for the Moo Baan Dek Orphanage in GPanda's memory. I loved reading about the exhausting shopping trips (I had to stop for a glass of wine half way through your post!) and the photos of the kids--Simply wonderful, spiritual, and endearing.

Good luck with the jet lag.

shelleyk

Bob and Karen-Jim and I just finsished looking at the orphanage photos on Shutterfly. I must say it brought a tear to my eye, as well as a big smile.

If anyone wants to see what some money, and some caring individuals can do to improve a tiny part of the world, take a look at the photos. I am so glad that Beth was able to accompany you to share in the experience.

ElaineK

I just got a look at all your pictures. The pictures of the trip to the orphanage -- breath-takingly touching. Of Xian: We were there in 1980 -- 1 hotel, tiny building for entrance, no KFC but many pomegranates. The King's barges -- Do they close the river to all other traffic when they do that? Lovely! Yul Brynner could relate (did they ban him from Thailand or just the film?)
Hong Kong -- Made me think it's worth revisiting. Thanks for sharing!

rhkkmk

Tong took us one morning to a new, to us, floating market 30 min. from BKK. It operates only on Sundays. She hired a long tail boat and we cruised the canals, getting off at one point and walking to see a couple of home stay places..

The food is mostly in stalls on shore and looked delicious as you will see. There were only about 6-10 boats selling and cooking food, unlike SD FM.


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rhkkmk

they do close a large section of the river to traffic during the practices and during the actual procession. In fact they even have frogmen in the water plus lots of other security. The area closed is upriver from wat arun.

HK is always worth another visit...

Craig

Enjoyed these - especially the orphanage, royal barges, Hong Kong (nice to see photo of Cicerone). I think what we saw of the Terracotta Warriors in Singapore was pretty representative of what you saw, at least based on your photos and if that is all it is, we don't need to go there.

rhkkmk

Craig, you are right... I would not spend the $$ or time to visit there, but K really wanted to.


Some time ago, K saw an an article on TA about a villa in Issan Province, near Udon Thani, and we decided to rent it for a few days. It is all inclusive and sleeps 4-6, with 2 not comfortably--ask Pat.
There is little else to do in the area. There is a nice pool on the deck and lots of DVD's and books. The included food and drink is excellent and served at your pleasure.


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Femi

Like everyone else, I love the pics at the orphanage. Wish I'd been there.

shelleyk

I totally disagree with you about the terra cotta warriors. To see them on site is awesome, not the same as seeing a few in a museum in Singapore, or in Canada, where I saw a travelling exhibit of 5 warriors years before I was in Xian. To see them in situ is definitely worth the trip IMO.

taconictraveler

Most informative group of photos, Bob and Karen. Glad you are home safe and sound. I appreciate the whole story and esp the orphanage series of photos.

Florida1

Great pictures! I loved being able to hear about and see photos from the visit to the orphanage - such cute kids! What a fabulous trip!

rhkkmk

sorry about the poor quality of many of my pics...

OK, so some of you have wondered about the missing food pics... here is my first group. I try not to use flash in restaurants so some are dark. the food and its presentation in Asia is always unique and interesting.


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