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Well ita about time I did some blogging.
Its still hard to believe we are on our way after all the years of talking about it but now we are actually doing it - Our big Family OE !!
WE are now in the northern city of Chiang mai, where the central old city is ringed by a moat and the old city wall.
It is a bit cooler than bagkok, but still hot, as it is the hottest time of year.
Thailand is quite different to the modern clean and wealthy Hong Kong. So far we have seen very few tourists, so the down turn is having a big effets, with numbers down by 60%, good for sightseeing though.
The british influence was obvious in HK with double decker busses, and street names from the UK.
The star ferry was a hit in HK, with these 50 yr old boats plying thier trade across the short stretch of water to Kowloon, which provided a great vista of the HK skyline.
We saw NZ lamb in the super market for NZ$100/kg!!, I should have brought some with me !!
Bangkok was a culture shock for all with its traffic, pollution,dirt and heat.
Our hotel was like an oasis as you walked through the door, leaving the poverty and filth behind and entering another world of serenity and smiles.
Thailand is the land of smiles, and they are evrywhere. We have met numerous helpful and smiling Thai people, who will strike up a conversation and try and give you help and advice.
Even on the Bangkok canals, where the filthy living conditions have to be seen to be believed, and the water is so bad you wouldnt touch it, let alone swim in it, the small children beam out happy and contented smiles from their ramshackle homes.
Bangkok is an example of consumerism gone mad. The Siam centre down the road from where we were staying, houses three massive shopping malls. Take riccarton mall and multiply it by ten storeys, and there are three of them on one corner!!!
Theses are all up market shops, so who buys all the stuff!!!
The legendary Bangkok traffic is amazing, with taxis trucks and tuk tuks, all battling for the same road space. A tuk tuk trip is worth the 40 baht, weaving in and out, running red lights, and taking short cuts down foot paths is great fun!!
Luckily we can fit all four of us in one tuk tuk.
We have had an action packed few days in Chiang Mai, traditional dancing and feast, elephant riding, trekking, rafting, visiting tigers, the monkey school and a buffalo camp.
WE have seen the whole process of silk making, form the moths laying the eggs to the worms feeding on Mulberry bushes, to the forming of the cocoon, which is then boiled, and the strands of silk separated(2.5km from one cocoon)
The silk is then woven into beutifully fine fabric, so fine that Jen and Vanessa had to buy a dress each.
We have seen how rice is produced, sugar produced from the fields of cane.
It is great to see the childrens minds being broadened and their eyes being opened every day.
I think the highlight so far has been the elephant trekking, both kids got to drive thier elephants and at times the mahout was away down the track taking photos, leaving you to handle the driving.
Vanessa also got in the cage with the tigers at the tiger school, lIam was too small and looked too much like food so wasnt allowed in.
Well tomorrow its off to the coast for some welcome Rand R as it has been full on for our first week.
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