2024 - Sonja's Farewell Tour (SE Asia)

 I wasn't going to post again this soon, but these last two days are unlike any two days we've ever experienced.  I don't even know if I have words to express the "shock and awe" that Sonja and I have felt.  I know the pictures cannot do justice.  I only hope that when I post the YouTube video you can get a sense of how wonderful these experiences have been.  So, here goes... Friday began leisurely enough.  We had breakfast at a little restaurant owned by an older Thai couple.  We've made friends with them and enjoyed a couple of days of breakfast there as we figure out our game plan for the day. There were evening activities already on the calendar, but the day was pretty much wide open. We settled on traveling a bit out of town to see the making of some of the items that we'd seen at the markets and bazaars. We hired a driver and after a final coffee from our favorite street vendor and we were off. These drivers are very low paid.  For a 4-hour ...

After Malaysia, we both realized we had been living our lives in black and white.  Just our short stay in that beautiful country with its sounds and smells and colors... has changed us. We are really going to miss Malaysia.  Sonja was actually very sad when we were in the car headed to the airport.  We made some amazing friends there. Kumar Diana (from Maldovia) And, now, the adventure continues in Thailand. Chiang Mai, Thailand As you step off the plane in Chiang Mai, you're immediately hit with a wave of "hello!"s and "welcome"s from the friendly locals. It's like they've been waiting just for you to arrive and share in their warm Thai hospitality. Arriving after dark, we didn't have a chance to see much but what really stood out to us... on the plane, on the streets around our Airbnb and also in the lobby of the building... were the amount of white people here!  Thailand is by far the most popular tourist destination in Southeast Asia and people f...