Thailand - My Chiang Mai Life

Frangipani Hotel - $40.00 per night including breakfast & free laundry service! New hotel as only opened for 4 months. Lunch in the country of rice noodles and chicken soup - our cook Mrs Sam! The rice harvest was over and a small village has celebration! Typical country road..... Local street-side barbershop complete with aquariums and "spirit house"!! A new meaning to "This little piggy went to market"!

A little history: THE LARGEST MAN-MADE LAKE OF THE ANCIENT KHMER CIVILIZATION A “baray” is a water reservoir built by the ancient Khmer people. The West Baray is the largest example of such a reservoir, and the only baray that still holds water. Visitors to the baray are stunned by its enormity and natural appearance. It is difficult to believe that the West Baray is an artificial lake and not a natural one. This gargantuan reservoir is navigable by boat, up to 5 meters deep in places, and even contains its own man-made island. To construct the West Baray, the Khmer people erected four earthen dikes in an 8 km by 2 km rectangle. Once the dikes were completed, rainwater filled the baray. Originally, the West Baray blanketed 1760 hectares of land with an average depth of 7 meters. Today, only the western two-thirds of the baray is filled with water and the average depth is about 4 meters. Divit, Arwind, my next door neighbor, and Ken enjoy a lakeside lunch.... Waiting for a hand-out! BBQ

A day trip to Phenom Kulen outside of Siem Reap. Siem Reap is located in a flat valley but an 1 1/2 hour ride and you are in the mountains. Cambodians eat breakfast around 11 a.m so stopped while our guide Divit filled up. Now on to the mountain and Phenom Kulen which is where the Khmer Empire started. Phnom Kulen is the holiest mountain in Cambodia and a picnic destination for Khmer families. But few foreigners visit. On this peak in 802, King Jayavarman II declared himself a Hindu god-king and kicked off the four-century Angkor period of Khmer history that produced the Angkor temples, constructed of Phnom Kulen's sandstone. The Khmer Rouge used the mountain as a final stronghold for two decades after losing power in 1979 Also, on the mountain is a river that contains over a thousand "lingas" carved into the bottom of the river. The linga is the male fertility symbol which assures a good harvest and lots of children. I am pouring water over the linga and then you

I got invited to a Cambodian Wedding Party. Probably over 250 people and all served a sit down dinner AND lots of free Angkor Beer. The custom is to just throw your empty beer bottles under the table! The pictures are of people that were sitting at my table. I don't know who they are - just friendly Cambodians enjoying a night out. Picture of bride & groom and the "little brother". The last pic shows the crowd and size of the room. It is a little out of focus but gives you an idea.