Then I remember: I love traveling. I long to see China again. And mostly, I love seeing my travelers being amazed, sometimes astounded, by the sights I show them. For two weeks, my husband and I work harder than one can imagine, day and night, but for two weeks, we are able to provide one incredible experience after another for our people- the sights, the entertainment, the experience of being with a group of people who are there to see and to enjoy something totally new.

So as I prepare, I also remind myself that in under two weeks, a wonderful adventure begins!

Two of our travelers enjoying the Great Wall of China

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The Blind Men and the Elephant
John Godfrey Saxe (1816-1887)

It was six men of Indostan
To learning much inclined,
Who went to see the Elephant
(Though all of them were blind),
That each by observation
Might satisfy his mind.

The First approached the Elephant,
And happening to fall
Against his broad and sturdy side,
At once began to bawl:
“God bless me! but the Elephant
Is very like a WALL!”

The Second, feeling of the tusk,
Cried, “Ho, what have we here,
So very round and smooth and sharp?
To me ’tis mighty clear
This wonder of an Elephant
Is very like a SPEAR!”

The Third approached the animal,
And happening to take
The squirming trunk within his hands,
Thus boldly up and spake:
“I see,” quoth he, “the Elephant
Is very like a SNAKE!”

The Fourth reached out an eager hand,
And felt about the knee
“What most this wondrous beast is like
Is mighty plain,” quoth he:
“‘Tis clear enough the Elephant
Is very like a TREE!”

The Fifth, who chanced to touch the ear,
Said: “E’en the blindest man
Can tell what this resembles most;
Deny the fact who can,
This marvel of an Elephant
Is very like a FAN!”

The Sixth no sooner had begun
About the beast to grope,
Than seizing on the swinging tail
That fell within his scope,
“I see,” quoth he, “the Elephant
Is very like a ROPE!”

And so these men of Indostan
Disputed loud and long,
Each in his own opinion
Exceeding stiff and strong,
Though each was partly in the right,
And all were in the wrong!

This is one of the reasons that the best way to travel if you want to really understand what you are seeing and its historical and cultural context, is on an organized tour. But, nonetheless here are my impressions…

We flew from Bangkok to Chiang Mai, Thailand’s second largest city. It has a population of about 1.6 million in the province, 250,000 in the city. It is located in northwestern Thailand. Once we checked into our hotel we saw this sight

Chiang Mai from our hotel room

Notice the rainbow! Our visit to Thailand really did feel like being over the rainbow– so many beautiful things to see…

We arranged for a tour that took us to an elephant camp. We saw the elephants do tricks like lifting their trainers with their legs or trunks, playing soccer, and painting.

Here come the elephants!

Holding each others' tails

Sitting

Painting

Notice, however, that the elephant has tusks. The elephants dipped their brushes in the paint and painted, but each had a trainer holding a tusk and it appeared to me, they were helping the elephants to aim. So was this really freetrunk drawing?

Another artist

It was impressive to watch them painting!

Soon it was time for us to climb the steps to a platform for our own ride on an elephant.

The platform

My croc getting onto elephant's back

Riding the elephant

On the road there were a number of platforms where they sold bananas and sugar cane to feed the elephants. Although we were pretty far back on the elephant, he was able to direct his trunk toward us and “inhale” the bananas as we fed him. As a “thank you” he would puff hot air from his trunk at us! I thought it was amusing, especially since I had read that among Cambodians, a kiss traditionally consisted of placing one’s nose next to the other person and blowing air out of it!

After about 45 minutes, we arrived at a small market and for our return trip, rode on an ox cart.

The ox carts

Sitting behind our driver

It was a partly cloudy day and there had probably been some rain earlier in the morning. The paths were muddy and uneven. Shortly after we started moving, our driver went over a bumpy part and fell off the cart. the oxen continued moving and we both feared the cart would run her over. But in a fraction of a second, she popped up from the ground and hopped back onto the cart all the time laughing- and for the next few minutes, telling her colleagues what happened to her and laughing again.

Our last adventure there was being poled down a river on a bamboo raft. It was very beautiful and relaxing.

The raft

On the river

But the day wasn’t done. Next time: the tigers and the orchid garden

The post Thailand – Chiang Mai appeared first on Travel Kosher.

You can find our itinerary here

and read about the tour here and here

Vietnam and Cambodia are photographers’ paradises. I am including just a few more photos, but I could have easily added another 50. Please come and join us on this fantastic tour!

My email is drsavta@gmail.com

Inside the grounds of the Temple of Literature

Traffic in downtown Hanoi

Walking beside rice terraces in the north

Girls talking in the market

The post Vietnam & Cambodia this August!! appeared first on Travel Kosher.

Our time in Cambodia was magical. There were magnificent edifices, beautiful scenery, and the kindest, most beautiful people to meet. We stayed at a hotel that had a lovely swimming pool, surrounded by tropical plants. Each day we would leave in the morning after breakfast on the terrace beside the pool. we would see magnificent things, and we would return to the hotel for the hottest part of the day. Some of our people swan, some read books, some napped, and some went to the market just next door to the hotel. Later we left for our afternoon excursion and then returned to the hotel for dinner on the terrace.

Two of the evenings we were in Cambodia were particularly memorable. On one evening we ate dinner out of the lawn beyond the swimming pool where there was a stage set up. They brought out two round tables and set them adding flowers and candles and they served our food to us there. As we ate, we were treated to a full performance of lovely Cambodian Dances. Here is a short glimpse at what it was like.

Here is some more dancing by the lovely Cambodian ladies.

The night was truly magical.

But there was yet another night that had its own magic. Outside our hotel were cyclos — drivers who has motorcycles with a cart attached to the back. We all took cyclos into town to the night market. It’s a beautiful market with lots of wonderful things to buy– jewelry, clothing, and all sorts of objects produced locally. For us, though, the highlight was the massage that our feet got. Here’s the sign:

Doctor Fish

The small fish eat the dry skin on one’s feet and the sensation is totally hysterical. Here we are enjoying the experience

In short, our tour, although off to a rough start, turned out to be the tour of a lifetime!

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One of the last places we visit in Cambodia is one of the most amazing places in the world. We go to Tonle Sap which is the largest lake in Southeast Asia. Tonle Sap flows into the Mekong Delta for part of the year, but when the waters of the Mekong, coming from as far away as Tibet, rise in the spring, the flow of water reverses as the Mekong Delta overflows back north into Tonle Sap. The area of the lake in dry season is 2,700 square kilometers. During the rainy season, from June to October, its area increases and gets up to 16,000 square kilometers! This shifting of currents, bringing fish up from the Mekong Delta to the lake provides enormous numbers of fish and those fish account for 60% of Cambodia’s protein intake.

The homes around the lake and on the lake are small and virtually unfurnished. Some are up on stilts to prevent them from being flooded. Other people move their homes on trucks to other areas before the waters rise. This is possible because their construction is light and simple.

Here are a couple of homes:

Home on Tonle Sap

Notice contents of home: clothing and a TV

Of course some people choose to live on the lake in houseboats and the schools too are located on boats.

Children in the basketball court at their school

There are grocery stores that are on boats too.

For those who would prefer home delivery, there are also boats that sell fruits and vegetables.

Service to your door

Life on the lake seems to be pleasant for this child who was just about to go swimming.

Anyone want to join me?

We travel on the lake in a motorized boat. Of course, on this trip, nothing was predictable, so it almost didn’t surprise us when the engine gave out and we were sitting stuck on the lake. The weather was lovely. The sun was just starting to descend giving a golden glow to the water. There were other boats. No one panicked. Eventually, after trying to start the motor a large number of times, the young boy who was assisting the pilot waved down another boat of the same type, threw a rope to them, and tied us to the other boat. We then were towed most of the way to the dock with the engine finally starting as we arrived there. After all, we had had days with no adventure. It was time.

Our travelers were a wonderful group and we all left the lake having had an enjoyable time. What they didn’t know was what was in store for them in the evening. Next time: two fabulous evenings in Siem Reap. You won’t want to miss them. Once you see them, you will sign up for our next tour!

Continuing…

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A short digression from our tour…

I am about to show you a place that stands as a metaphor for what happens when we don’t pay attention to the little things. There are all sorts of metaphors that we use. We talk about things that you don’t pay attention to coming around and biting you in the back. We talk about a cancer left unchecked and the destruction it can ravage. Well, here is the standing proof of this idea.

Ta Prohm was allowed to remain as it was found (although there is still some construction going on there.) Take a gander at what nature has done to this temple.

The spong tree that ate Ta Prohm

Yes, indeed. It’s unbelievable. Small seeds found their way into the roofs of these temple buildings. As time went by, the seeds sprouted roots that sought soil. And yes, they made their way down the building into the ground and at the same time grew high into the sky.

My husband standing near some roots

Another tree

Standing among these trees and looking at what they have done to the temple, one is completely amazed. All of this happened when small trees were allowed to grow from the roofs unchecked. As one looks at the other temples, one can see the beginnings of trees- little branches with leaves protruding from the roofs. Much of the preservation work that is constantly being done at the other temple complexes has to do with removing these small invaders before they cause destruction.

Still stunned by Ta Prohm, we made our way to one of the more beautiful temples, perhaps the most beautiful temple of Angkor, is Banteay Srei, the women’s temple. It’s an almost pink color with exotic carvings. Like most temples, it had a formal entrance and was surrounded by a moat. Most of the temples we visited didn’t have visible moats, but Angkor Wat and Banteay Srei did.

In the moat

You can see a very different style in this temple.

Approaching the entrance

Detail of entrance gate

And here is a little of what one sees inside. This temple is a real favorite and therefore full of visitors. It’s really something very special to see.

Inside of Banteay Srei

Our local guide explained to us the rationale behind the design of this temple. Its components are the same as others including a library and a prayer hall and other chambers. But in this one, the separate buildings represent parts of the body– the trunk, the legs, the arms, and the head. Fascinating!

Next time: some of the people we saw and the largest lake in Southeast Asia and its amazing ability to change fundamentally twice each year.

Continuing…

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Angkor Thom is a temple complex that dates from the late 12th century. It is nearby Angkor Wat, but of a different vintage and it contains elements that differ greatly from Angkor Wat. Although its architecture is similar, the emphasis is less on Hindu tales and tradition.

The word Angkor is Khmer for “city.” Angkor Thom is thought to have been a city of between 80,000 and 150,000 people. It was built by the Khmer king Angkor Jayavarman VII as his capital city. One inscription found in the city refers to Jayavarman as the groom and the city as his bride.

Angkor Thom is surrounded by walls on all four sides with a total of only five entrances. One of the most visited temples in the complex is the Bayon Temple.

Bayon Temple, Angkor Thom

As you can see, the restoration of the Bayon Temple is under the auspices of UNESCO and sponsored by Japan. All of the temples are constantly in a state of restoration, a necessity that you will understand better when I show you Ta Prohm. In this case, the temple is being restored because many of its structures have been damaged and they are being rebuilt with original materials that were found at the site. Of course it is a bit like assembling a 100,000 piece jigsaw puzzle with pieces that could either be from it or from other puzzles and so the identification of which stones were from which structures is only the beginning of the job. They are doing a magnificent job as each year I see more and more of the construction.

Here is what Bayon temple looks like as one approaches.

Walking toward Angkor Thom

The Bayon Temple, like Angkor Wat, has massive bas reliefs. However, instead of mythical battles, these bas reliefs are taken from the daily life of the people and as one walks around the base of the temple, it feels as if one is peering through windows and watching people go about their daily life.

Bas relief, Bayon Temple

Looks like a class to me!

The most interesting feature of the Bayon Temple is the carvings of faces. There are faces wherever you look.

How many faces do you see?

Of course, one of the things that happens is that people get quite creative with their photography (or if not, they watch others and get ideas) and so here’s a picture of my husband rubbing noses with one of the faces.

Up close and personal

Climbing up and seeing the temple from all different levels is fun and interesting and every once in a while, there’s a surprise, like these people dressed in traditional Khmer costumes. Our people enjoyed having their picture taken with them.

Happy people!

Visiting Angkor Thom was a lot of fun and we enjoyed seeing many of the temples and structures in its complex. However, nothing we saw prepared us for Ta Prohm! Next time…

Continuing…

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By now, I am sure that you have forgotten the details of our arrival in Hanoi. To give you just the important facts, I will remind you that we waited for a very long time to receive our visas, even though the group visa application form had been mailed from Israel and it was approved in Hanoi and mailed back to Israel, and even though we all filled out the required forms and attached relevant photos (relevant being the kindest adjective I can think of for passport photos, but I digress.) While all this was happening, I asked if we had to fill out any other forms. I seemed to remember a form that we needed to hand over as we entered the country even though by then we had our visas. At first I was told yes, we must fill it out and so I asked for the appropriate number of forms. Then I was told, no, we really didn’t need it. We all got through passport control and then waited a very long time to have all of the lost baggage forms filled out. Only after that did we leave the airport.

“Well, what’s the relevance?” you might ask. As well you should.

At the time we were leaving Vietnam via the airport at Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC)/ Saigon, we checked in at the desk, got our boarding passes and proceeded to security and passport control. About half the group had gone through and I purposely waited to be the last in case there was any problem. It was a good thing. For first one and then another of the people in our group had been stopped and asked for the form that we had never filled out which should have been stamped at entry. Of course the fact that half the group had gotten through without it made me certain that this was not an insurmountable difficulty. One of the passengers was very concerned. “Suppose they never let me out of Vietnam…” Um, right. I said, “Don’t worry; I’ll take care of it.”

I may have mentioned that my Vietnamese consists of thank you and Pho? (and Pho doesn’t come in handy all that much.) But still I realized that anything is possible if one believes it is. (Well, not anything but this should be). I told all of the people who were not allowed out to come to my line and I picked the kindest looking clerk. I pointed to my yellow hat and said, “I am the leader. We entered Vietnam without filling out any forms, but we all have visas. We have no forms to give you.” I am pretty certain that he didn’t understand one word of what I was saying, but he smiled and nodded his head and he allowed everyone through.

And so finally we were on our way to Cambodia.

Cambodia is an amazing country. If China farms out its work to Vietnam where workers are paid less, then Vietnam farms out its work to Cambodia where there is real poverty. Vietnam is a country on the move. The educational system is constantly improving and children are encouraged to study and achieve. Cambodia is not there yet.

Of course Cambodia is still reeling from its years under the Khmer Rouge when an estimated 1.7 million Cambodians were killed or died as a result of the cruelty of their own people. This was at a time when the entire population of Cambodia was only about 7 million. The country suffered such trauma that it is only this past year that the first trial of a Khmer Rouge officer commenced. There was debate as to whether the trial should be held because of the issues of retraumatizing the population.

But arriving in Cambodia, one sees green fields and blue skies and people with sweet demeanor and once there, one falls in love with the country.

We stayed at the Apsara Hotel, on the main road from the airport to the city, not far from the temples of Angkor. After a lovely dinner in the garden overlooking the pool, we all went to sleep and bright and early the next morning, we headed out to Angkor Wat.

Angkor Wat means the temple of Angkor. It is only one of many temples built from the ninth to the thirteenth centuries. It is perhaps the largest and certainly the most well known. In fact, it is the only building that appears on its nation’s flag.

To say that it is impressive is an understatement.

My husband in front of Angkor Wat

Another view with all five towers showing

We had a very nice local guide, but he didn’t seem to understand that hearing the story of the Battle of Lanka in excruciating detail was not necessarily our cup of tea. It did, however, provide excellent background for understanding the multitude of bas reliefs that decorated the temple. If the construction of the temple itself had not been impressive, and believe me, it is astounding, the bas reliefs alone would have made the visit mid-boggling. They are intricate and they go on forever.

One detail of the devil fighting the monkey

a larger section

And here is a look at the intricacy of the construction

In the interior of Angkor Wat

Detail of one of the towers

It took 37 years to build Angkor Wat– which is an amazingly short time considering its size and intricacy. However, there are some who estimate that about 300,000 workmen were engaged in building it! More info is available here.

Sorry I didn’t get around to Angkor Thom, but that’s for the next time. OK?

Continuing…

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After a wonderful shabbat, our group was ready to discover the wonders of the Saigon night market. Now I am sure that in a city the size of Saigon, there are probably tens of markets, but this one just happened to be about 3 blocks from our hotel, across Le Loi Street from Chabad, a very convenient location. It consisted mostly of clothing, shoes, luggage, handbags, and jewelry. The prices were very good.

The night market

After buying a sufficient number of items, we had to buy a suitcase to put them in… Actually, that really isn’t the truth. We had bought a very cheap suitcase a couple of years ago and by this point on the trip the luggage handlers had pretty much destroyed it, so it was time to get a new suitcase and the one we found was large and not so heavy and seemed practical. However, it does seem to me that you can’t really leave this market without buying a serious amount of stuff, if only T-shirts for souvenirs.

In the morning, after a good night’s sleep and breakfast in the roof garden, bright and early, we made our way through the traffic and the rubber plantations to Cu Chi. Cu Chi is where the Viet Cong had constructed an entire city under the ground. They were able to live there undetected by constructing a series of tunnels at three levels, by directing their cooking smoke through enough conduits that by the time it emerged, it was barely detectable, and by constructing entrances that were invisible to all but those who had placed them there. They had entrances from under the river and through tiny holes in the ground that were completely covered up most of the time.

The opening, in time of war completely covered by leaves

The soldier emerges

We were treated to a tour of the Viet Cong’s instruments of torture and death. They certainly were innovative. There were any number of traps where if a soldier was caught, he would pray for death. It did eventually come because they made sure that the stinging edges of their spikes were also able to infect or poison the soldiers. Of course, when asked, the Vietnamese will all tell you that the war is over and this is another time and there is no reason for any bad feelings.

What was a bit disconcerting was that from time to time we would hear shots fired. There is a rifle range adjoining the area we were touring. It made for some not so pleasant authenticity.

We made our way from Cu Chi to an amazing place. How can I describe it? Well, perhaps only through pictures. In the 1920s a new relgion was founded called Cao Dai. Here is some information about it. Their main temple in Tay Ninh is quite impressive both outside and inside.

Cao Dai Temple, Tay Ninh, Vietnam

The religion attempts to unite all religions and to emphasize kindness toward people and toward the world. High priests are strict vegetarians, and all adherents must follow a moral code.

Inside the temple

During the service which includes chanting, playing of bells and gongs and the people prostrating themselves, visitors are asked to watch from the balcony. Wearing shoes in the temple is forbidden and so a large pile of sport shoes and crocs waited for us after the service.

During the service

Since Cao Dai incorporates several religions, there are priests representing each of the three major contributing religions, they are dressed in red- for Christianity, blue- for Taoism, and yellow- for Buddhism.

Here is another photo of the worship at the Cao Dai Temple.

Worshipers at the Cao Dai Temple

Next: What is Angkor Wat? and why is it special? and what is Angkor Thom? and aren’t all Cambodian temples alike? Find out the surprising answers next time…

Continuing…

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Outside of Banteay Srei Temple, Cambodia

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