Credit Cards
There has been a lot of discussions recently in travel magazines about the trouble with credit and debit cards while traveling. I really have had no problem, nor has anyone on a tour expressed having difficulty using a credit or debit card. While the new pin and chip cards are being used in Thailand, they are still very willing to put up with our old fashioned credit and debit cards. It may take a little longer for them to key in the information instead of just swiping it but they are always willing to do so and do it with a smile. I have found that MasterCard and Visa are acceptable in most areas and that ATM machines are available so that you might get cash (Baht) if your banking institution is a member of CIRRUS or PLUS. However, to get cash you must know your pin number. American Express is accepted at a few places but usually only in the more tourist orientated businesses.
|
 |
Future Tours
Well, after two and a half years of planning I was finally able to post a tour of the northeast (Isaan) part of Thailand on my web site. It is listed as 2011 Tour 2. I have had several people show interest in such a tour but it has been difficult to plan to say the least. It is such a large area and there is so much to see. Most tourists never see this area and that is really a shame. I believe it is by far the friendliest area and the most interesting region of the kingdom. The tour will include one day in Laos. On the first day we will leave Bangkok by air conditioned bus and stay the night in Khao Yai, the first National Park established in Thailand. It just keeps getting better, sites include small villages, with special handicrafts, major archaeological sites, a UNESCO World Heritage site, several more National Parks, follow the Mekong River from Changwat Loei to Mukdahan, and of course, you will see temples, Buddhist as well as Christian. This is just an overview. Please check out the web site and see the complete daily itinerary for this truely once in a lifetime tour. We will have one half day in Bangkok for seeing the Grand Palace, the Klong Tour and a few major temples that everyone should see. Of course if you would like to spend some time at the beach after this, I could arrange time at Koi Samoui or Cha Am.
|
| |
Comments, questions, additional information , and suggestions on articles in this newsletter many be posted on the Facebook page for Hand Held Trips to Thailand.
|
|
|
|
Once again I hope to send this newsletter out while I am traveling. This time I should be in Colorado and reminising on my time in Thailand as a Peace Corps Volunteer. We arrived in Colorado in early June to attend a family reunion and have been enjoying relatives and friends ever since.
I am a member of the Thailand Group XII. That means I was fortunate enough to be part of the 12th group of volunteers to go to Thailand. We served in the mid 1960's. We were a small and very eclectic group but one that has kept in touch for all these years. One member of our group died in an accident while we were in Thailand and several more have passed on. However, many of us will once again gather with our family members, and the families of some of those that are no longer with us in Estes Park, Colorado for a three day reunion. I am sure we will all enjoy the work of those who have worked so hard to make this reunion come about.
Reunions of Thailand XII have been going on for many years and numerous mini reunions have occurred whenever and where ever a few were able to get together. All of the large reunions have been held in the United States except for the largest one which was in 2000 in Bangkok. What a reunion that was! Among the outstanding events was an audience and lunch with Her Royal Highness, Princess Mahachakri Sirindhorn at the Chiltralada Palace, a meeting with the American Ambassador to Thailand, and visiting with many of our beloved language teachers. Most of us had not seen any of our language teachers since our Peace Corps training days at the University of Missouri in 1965-66. Each reunion is a joy and it is wonderful to meet and catch up on all the happenings.
I must share my good news with you. After trying for two and a half years, I am finally offering a tour of the Northeast part of Thailand. Please read the article of future tours in this newsletter and hopefully you will understand my joy and excitement. You can also view the daily itinerary for this tour.
|
|
|
Phra Pramote Permpol
 Phra Pramote
Photo by Lee Porter 2010
The flight to Bangkok for the first tour of 2010 started like all
others. First a quick flight from DC to Liberty Airport in Newark,
NJ. Then the long flight to Anchorage, Alaska and a one and a half hour
lay over while the flight crew changed. Once air born from
Anchorage, it is a direct flight to Taipei, Taiwan. Usually I stay at
least one night in Taipei so I can arrive a little refreshed
in Bangkok, which is only three and a half hours away. This year I
decided to fly onto Bangkok, without staying in Taipei so, I had about two and a half hours to stretch my legs and get ready for the final
part of the flight. I proceeded to my departure lounge and it was
already bustling with passengers. I was looking for a place to sit when
a young Buddhist monk indicated that the seat directly across from him
was empty and available. He was wearing his orange robe, with white
stockings, sandals, and a bright orange stocking cap that had the
distinct Texas long horn logo. I thanked him in English for
waving to me to indicate that the seat was available and of course I asked about his hat. During our short time together at the Taipei
airport, I learned that his English was very good, and that he was going to
Thailand from Texas, by way of Chicago (this explained the socks and
the stocking cap). He had been in the United States for five years at a
Thai Buddhist Monastery, Wat Saddhadhamma, near San Antonio. He was returning home for a
short stay before he returned to Texas. I still did not know his name. He asked me where I would be staying in Thailand and one of the
hotels in Bangkok turned out to be very close to the monastery where he
would be living. We said our goodbye's and I promised to try and go to
his monastery if I could. He gave me his name and directions written in Thai so I
could ask for help in case I got lost. Getting lost turned out to be very easy. It took a couple of tries and three stops for more directions before the taxi finally found the monastery I was looking for. I visited Phra Pramote twice at his temple and I would have loved to have spent more time with him. He is young, 35, and truly embodies the spirit of the Buddhist monk hood. He is humble, gracious, giving, and teaches by example, word and deed. I found out he not only speaks English and Thai, but also Lao, Vietnamese, Spanish, Cambodian, and Pali the language of the Buddhist religious texts. Phra Pramote became a monk while he was living in Roi Et. He has been living in monasteries since the age of 10. I hope to continue developing my friendship with this special person and learn more about him and Theravada Buddhism. He has since returned to Texas and is hoping to visit the Washington D.C. area this year. I hope the opportunity arises so we will be able to meet and visit again.  Phra Pramote Photo by Lee Porter 2010
|
|
Jade
 Jade Koi
Photo by Lee Porter on tour in 2010
Many tourists will find the gem and precious stone market in Thailand to be a real temptation.There are many great bargains and a wonderful variety of beautifully designed and crafted items available for all price ranges. However, if you are unfamiliar with gems it might be wise to stay with known dealers. For those truly knowledgeable with precious gems you will find a great many wonderful deals. For those of us that are not, then paying a little more is the best way to go, That way we can be assured we are getting what we think we are purchasing. Fake and faux gems are common and buyer beware. Jade is one of the stones that many people go to Thailand to buy. Not because it is mined there, but because the center of jade craftsmanship is now in the Chiang Mai region of Thailand. There are many stores that sell jade but one of the best is located near Wat Doi Sutep and it is well worth the visit. First they give you a short history of jade, next they show you how to tell different kinds of jade and then explain the characteristics of each. In the 1860's, it was discovered that two different minerals, both beautiful and both used for the same purposes, were both being called jade. The metamorphic rocks we call jade are Nephrite and Jadeite. They are made of different materials but are sometimes very difficult to distinguish. Jade is found in many locations, but because of its alure and popularity many types of faux jade are also being marketed as jade. All jade is not green. Beautiful carvings of jade in all shades of green, as well as brown, white, yellow, orange, grey, black and violet have been produced over the centuries. Jadeite is the rarer form and is known to come from only 12 places worldwide, including Guatemala and Myanmar. The primary modern day supplier of Nephrite jade is Canada. Jade has been used by man for over 7000 years. First known uses were for utilitarian purposes such as axes and other tools. By 3000 BC it was being used in China as a precious stone. In the western hemisphere, (from what is now Guatemala) pre-Colombian cultures such as the Olmecs and Maya, prized the gems. |
|
A view of Bangkok
 Looking north from the 29th floor of the Royal Benja Hotel Photo by Lee Porter 2010 Many times the only pictures one sees of Bangkok are of the Royal Palace, the beautiful temples, and of Chinatown. While all of these are certainly worth seeing, they should not be construed as the representative view one sees when first arriving in Thailand. Likewise the two photos shown with this article cannot capture the spirit or feeling of the city. However, they do show another aspect of this huge, growing, thriving, wonderful, crowded, and busy metropolis. Both photos were taken from the 29th floor of the Royal Benja Hotel. One is a view looking north and other is looking south. The Royal Benja is a tourist hotel on a Soi (little street) off of Sukhomvit. Sukhomvit is a major street east of the old city. It is populated with large hotels, shopping areas, and businesses and is known for its terrific traffic jams. An elevated train runs down the middle of street for many kilometers, but nothing has helped curb the traffic. The old and the new sit side by side in Bangkok, wooden houses on stilts, next to office and hotel towers. Small parks and gardens may be found in areas where you would only expect to see commercial buildings. The city has many distinct districts which are known to most travelers. There are areas for shopping, some for sight-seeing, hotel districts, parks and grounds for relaxing, historical areas such as China town and the old city. Everywhere the old and the new are intermingled. One cannot find an area that is devoid of eating places. Also, people live in all sections of the city even in the financial district. The city never seems to sleep and yet it is fresh and alluring every morning. Maybe it is not the building but the Thai people that make this one of the most wonderful cities in the world to visit.  Soi 5 Sukhomvit Road from the Royal Benja Hotel
Photo by Lee Porter 2010
|
|
As always, I thank you for taking the time to read this newsletter. Hopefully each of you know at least one person who might be interested in reading some of the articles here and I would appreciate you forwarding the newsletter to them.
I would like to welcome new
readers to this newsletter. The idea is to share information about
Thailand, including, but not limited to it's culture, history, people
and food. I try to have a newsletter every other month and I honestly
try to pick topics I think you will enjoy. I welcome ideas of interest
from you and hope you understand that these are my impressions and
thoughts and should be treated as such.
If the scheduled tours do not meet your needs because they
are too long, wrong month, or not varied enough, etc. etc. etc.-- let me
know. I would be happy to try and accommodate a travel group, family
group, Sunday School class, or any other grouping of six to twelve people
for a trip to Thailand. Let me know what you are looking for and maybe
we can work out a wonderful trip for you. If I am going with you, I
need at least eight people. If you would rather go without my tagging
along, I can arrange a tour that would include guides, hotels, in
country transportation and admission to the sites you want to see.
Remember, most of my tours are scheduled during the cool dry season in Thailand. But, even then, there is a chance for rain, especially in the south. If travel to the south is on the agenda, it depends on which coast you go to. The Andamann Coast and the Gulf of Thailand have different rainy seasons. It can become cool in the mountains in the winter time and this is true for both the mountains of the north as well as the northeast (Isaan).
|
|
Sincerely,
Lee Porter
H2T3 Tours, LLC
571-244-4363
|
|
|
