Hong Kong

We are now in our last day of the trip. We will be eating and sightseeing our way around Hong Kong today and leave tomorrow for USA. All is well. We had an excellent Peking Duck dinner last night. We all suffered trying to use chopsticks for noodle soup!

Kayaking in Ko Lanta

Today's outing was kayaking and a long-boat ride to another island (BuBu Island).  We enjoyed it and had a cover or shade most of the day so did not add to our sunburn.  We feed the monkeys twice--bananas on the way and leftovers on the way back.  We swam on our break and had a surprisingly good picnic lunch.  It was curry,  rice, chicken with peanuts and marinated fresh vegies.  Plus pineapple and watermelon for dessert.  We have enjoyed the fruit!!!

Tomorrow we head to Krabi to Raylay beach--which some say is the prettiest beach in Thailand.  We are there one night and then on to Bangkok airport for one night since we fly out early on Saturday to Hong Kong.  We will spend two nights in Hong Kong.

Phuket & Krabi

Our phuket meal on the ocean.  Good view and good food and good friends!

This is our tent at Relax bay.  We each have a tent next to each other.  

Phuket beach walking.
Our view from our dinner at Phuket.
Phuket beach.
Hello:  It is Monday.  Today we traveled by boat from Phuket to Ko Lanta.  We are staying at a resort called "Relax Bay".  Finally we had an afternoon to relax--every other day has been very busy.  Yesterday at Phuket we walked and walked on the beach--and forgot to apply sunscreen during the day--so we are very red in places.  We will spend 3 nights here.  We have tent/cabins right on the ocean--equipped with hammocks.  The weather is hot!  The scenery beautiful.

What we are eating

We had a request for pictures of our food.  So here are a few.  Our breakfasts have included lots of fresh fruits--the pineapple is wonderful.  We are experts on Curry--we actually have had some food that we needed to add more spice--so we are learning to handle the heat (food heat--not weather heat).  The weather in Phuket is hot--in the 90's.  But the ocean water is perfect--probably 85.  Our agenda today is beach walking. . .tough!  And, of course, finding our next meal is high on our agenda.  We have been so busy--we have not played many card games.  But when we did the Espersens are dominant (3-0).

Back from trek (Part two)

Thai massage at Lasu Resort-- very nice after two days of hiking. So nice that we had one the next night also!
The elephant rides (1 hr) were fun. Ron and Sharon had a beggar--every few steps he would like his trunk for a banana.
Day two hiking down--Sharon Solheim is upright in this picture--but she didn't always stay that way.

In addition to elephant rides, we had a raft ride, cooking classes, village visits, dancing by the hill tribes. We have been kept very busy. Tomorrow (Sat) we go to Phuket to have a week of relaxation on the beach. We will keep you posted on our adventures. We are all having a great time. Ron and Sharon are enjoying some new experiences in addition to the repeat from three years ago. Everything is new for Dick and Sharon.

Friday--back from Trek! Part 1

This is our breakfast on the second day. Very nice toast, fruit and scrambled eggs. Lots of coffee and tea.
This is on the first day of the trek--mostly uphill. Quite warm (hot)--4 hrs of hiking.
We stayed the first night at Lahu Outpost. Shower helped us feel refreshed to start day two which was two hours of hiking most downhill. At least it was in the morning so it was not as hot--but still warmer than we are used to having.
Sorry I don't know how to rotate once it is in the blog. This is our guide--ChongChi cooking our evening meal. It was excellent: five courses including chicken curry, fish, lots of vegetables and fruit. All cooked over wood.
These are our dirty, tired feet after the four hours of hiking!

Chaing Mai Pictures

The top picture is Dick and Sharon at the orchid farm.

The middle picture is all of us at the 4 Seasons hotel--very beautiful but not in our lodging budget.

The bottom is at the elephant camp.  There was a 10 day old baby elephant also.  Fun to see!

Chaing Mai

We have had 24 hours now in Thailand.  We are feeling tired, warm but pleasantly full!  We saw the elephant camp today, the orchid garden and Doi Sothep temple.  We have had some great Thai food.  Sharon Solheim is having to adapt to spice!  Dick and Ron have no problem as long as the beer is plentiful.  We start our 4 day/3 nite trek tomorrow.  We will probably not have internet until Saturday.

I will publish this and try to enter pictures.

PDX--On Our Way!

Hello everyone--we are about to board our first flight--PDX to SFO.  We will board our flight to Hong Kong at 12 MN. . .and then another flight to Bangkok and finally a flight to Chiang Mai.  We will let you know when we arrive.  Have a great weekend!