Extreme Freedom In Travel: July 2012

Some History of The Songkran

Songkran (Thailand)

The Songkran festival (Thai: สงกรานต์, Khmer: សង្រ្កាន្ត; from the Sanskrit word saṃkrānti,^[1] or literally "astrological passage") is celebrated in Thailand as the traditional New Year's Day from 13 to 15 April. It coincides with the New Year of many calendars of South and Southeast Asia.

The date of the festival was originally set by astrological calculation, but it is now fixed. If these days fall on a weekend, the missed days off are taken on the weekdays immediately following. Songkran falls in the hottest time of the year in Thailand, at the end of the dry season. Until 1888 the Thai New Year was the beginning of the year in Thailand; thereafter 1 April was used until 1940. 1 January is now the beginning of the year. The traditional Thai New Year has been a national holiday since then.

Songkran has traditionally been celebrated as the New Year for many centuries, and is believed to have been adapted from an Indian festival. It is now observed nationwide, even in the far south. However, the most famous Songkran celebrations are still in the northern city of Chiang Mai, where it continues for six days and even longer. It has also become a party for foreigners and an additional reason for many to visit Thailand for immersion in another culture.

New Year Traditions

The most obvious celebration of Songkran is the throwing of water. Thais roam the streets with containers of water or water guns (sometimes mixed with mentholated talc), or post themselves at the side of roads with a garden hose and drench each other and passersby. This, however, was not always the main activity of this festival. Songkran was traditionally a time to visit and pay respects to elders, including family members, friends, neighbors, and monks.

Besides the throwing of water, people celebrating Songkran as a Buddhist festival may also go to a wat (Buddhist monastery) to pray and give food to monks. They may also cleanse Buddha images from household shrines as well as Buddha images at monasteries by gently pouring water mixed with a Thai fragrance (Thai: น้ำอบไทย) over them. It is believed that doing this will bring good luck and prosperity for the New Year. In many cities, such as Chiang Mai, the Buddha images from all of the city's important monasteries are paraded through the streets so that people can toss water at them, ritually 'bathing' the images, as they pass by on ornately decorated floats. In northern Thailand, people may carry handfuls of sand to their neighborhood monastery in order to recompense the dirt that they have carried away on their feet during the rest of the year. The sand is then sculpted into stupa-shaped piles and decorated with colorful flags.

Some people make New Year resolutions - to refrain from bad behavior, or to do good things. Songkran is a time for cleaning and renewal. Besides washing household Buddha images, many Thais also take this opportunity to give their home a thorough cleaning.

The throwing of water originated as a way to pay respect to people, by capturing the water after it had been poured over the Buddhas for cleansing and then using this "blessed" water to give good fortune to elders and family by gently pouring it on the shoulder. Among young people the holiday evolved to include dousing strangers with water to relieve the heat, since April is the hottest month in Thailand (temperatures can rise to over 100°F or 40°C on some days). This has further evolved into water fights and splashing water over people riding in vehicles.

Nowadays, the emphasis is on fun and water-throwing rather than on the festival's spiritual and religious aspects, which sometimes prompts complaints from traditionalists. In recent years there have been calls to moderate the festival to lessen the many alcohol-related road accidents as well as injuries attributed to extreme behavior such as water being thrown in the faces of traveling motorcyclists.

The water is meant as a symbol of washing all of the bad away and is sometimes filled with fragrant herbs when celebrated in the traditional manner.

Songkran is also celebrated in many places with a pageant in which young women demonstrate their beauty and unique talents, as judged by the audience. The level of financial support usually determines the winner, since, to show your support you must purchase necklaces which you place on your chosen girl.

SOME GOOD ADVISE FOR SONGKRAN

*The celebration of Songkran marks the start of the traditional Thai new year. From the 13th-15th April, Thai people will be dressing up in new clothes and visiting the local temple to make merit and to their grandparents in order to receive blessings.

*It will start early and finish later, right up to 19th and 20th April. So be prepared.

*Afterwards, the youngsters will be out on the street taking part in the world’s biggest water fight.*

*If you go out during Songkran, then you are fair game. Don’t complain if you are squirted in the face with a water pistol or someone rubs white powder on your face. Although it might not seem like it, they are actually taking part in a centuries old tradition of paying respect to their elders. Let them do it and smile. Resistance is useless.*

*If you are a woman, try not to dress provocatively – particularly spaghetti strap tops or white t-shirts that become revealing when wet. Thai people are traditionally conservative, but some young men will take advantage of Songkran to grope you. Many of them have been partying all night and are drunk.

* Keep your cool at all times. Everyone is just having fun. Be prepared for the buckets of water which have been pre-chilled with ice. Also beware that people might come up to you from behind to smear white powder on your face. If they are polite they will ask first. But, you won’t see that happen often.

*Try not to move too much when they are doing it as you might end up with the paste in your eyes. However, that is inevitable the longer you stay out.* Don’t wear your best clothes. If you take your camera then make sure you also have a plastic bag. Better still, buy a camera that is waterproof.

*Last year, many people ended up with soggy mobile phones that stopped working. The mobile phone vendors do good business during Songkran repairing them.* By law you have to carry your passport at all times.

*However, during Songkran you are running the risk of your important documents getting wet. Make photocopies of your passport to take out with you and leave all important documents in the hotel safe. You can laminate a copy of your passport.

* If you don’t want to take part in the water fights then you will need to stock up for at least 3-4 days. Some expats go out to buy enough DVD movies and food to last them the holidays. If you do venture out, the chances are high that you will get soaked by one of the mobile water units on the back of a pick-up truck.

* The shopping malls and movie theatres are all open during Songkran. So, you can use these places as a safe haven. However, getting to them safely might be a problem. If you have to use public transport, make sure you use an air-conditioned bus or meter taxi. If you use a normal bus with the windows down or a tuk tuk then you will get soaked.

* If you are going away for the Songkran holidays, please be aware that thieves are very active during this period. For your piece of mind, leave a house light on to make it look like someone is at home. Better still, buy a gadget that will turn the light on and off at random times during the night-time.

* If you are going out in your car, try to stick to the main roads. There is no point in washing your car before or during Songkran. Wherever you go your car will get plastered with white paste.

* Make sure that you have topped up your windscreen wipers with plenty of water. You will use them often. Whatever, you do, don’t forget to LOCK all car doors. If you stop at traffic lights or in a traffic jam, they will try to open your doors.

* Lot’s of people drink day and night during Songkran and this new year period in Thailand sees the most horrific crashes on the roads. Most deaths occur on the side roads and in the evening.

* On the main roads most accidents are caused by speeding. If you are driving take extra care. There are a lot of drunk drivers out on the roads during Songkran.

* Songkran is not just about water fights. Do make an effort to see the more traditional side. Early in the morning Thai people will be going to the temples to make merit. They will also bathe the monks and Buddha images with rose scented water. In the afternoon, they will build sand pagodas in the temple grounds.

* Don’t make the mistake of thinking that the waterfights are only on 13-15 April. This year this is up against the weekend and so the 16th April has been added to the holiday. Some kids might still be playing on this day. In addition, some areas of Thailand have their Songkran celebrations a week later. For example, Pattaya, Bangsaen and Koh Chang will be having water fights at different times between 16-19 April. The last of the waterfights will take place in Phra Pradaeng District of Samut Prakan on 27-29 April 2012.

* If you are in Thailand, then hopefully you go out and have some fun! The temperature is above 35 degrees Celsius and this is a good way to cool down. However, if you are not in Thailand, then try visiting your local Thai temple. Many of them will be holding Songkran activities this month.

HO CHI MINH CITY ( SAIGON )

Saigon was originally part of the kingdom of Cambodia, and, until the 17th century, was a small port town known as Prey Nokor. As more and more settlers moved south it was absorbed by Vietnam and became the base for the Nguyen Lords.

Saigon was captured by the French in 1859, and named the capital of Cochinchina a few years later. The city served as the capital of the Republic of Vietnam from 1956 until 1975, when it fell to advancing North Vietnamese forces and was renamed Ho Chi Minh City by the Hanoi government.

The official government census only counts those who have official residence permits, and, today, as many as one-third of the population could be living here illegally.

Some of these illegal residents lived in the city before 1975, but their residence permits were transferred to rural re-education camps after reunification.

Many have simply sneaked back into the city, although without a residence permit they cannot own property or a business.

Explosive growth is evident in a slew of satellite suburbs beyond the centre and a glut of high-rise buildings, joint-venture hotels and colourful shops downtown.

Downsides include the sharp increase in traffic, pollution and other urban ills, but a more openminded new generation may infuse HCMC’s chaotic growth with a more globally conscious attitude.

MEKONG RIVER DELTA

The Mekong Delta (Vietnamese: đồng bằng sông Cửu Long “Nine Dragon river delta”) is the region in southwestern Vietnam where the Mekong River approaches and empties into the sea through a network of distributaries.

* The Mekong delta region encompasses a large portion of southwestern Vietnam of 39,000 square kilometres (15,000 sq mi).

* The size of the area covered by water depends on the season.The Mekong Delta has recently been dubbed as a 'biological treasure trove'.

Over 10,000 new species have been discovered in previously unexplored areas of Mekong Delta, including a species of rat thought to be extinct.

HISTORY

The Mekong Delta was likely inhabited long since prehistory; the empire of Funan and later Chenla maintained a presence in the Mekong Delta for centuries.

Archaeological discoveries at Oc Eo and other Funan sites show that the area was an important part of the Funan Kingdom, bustling with trading ports and canals as early as in the first century CE and extensive human settlement in the region may have gone back as far as the 4th century BCE.

The region was known as Khmer Krom (lower Khmer, or lower Cambodia) to the Khmer Empire, which likely maintained settlements there centuries before its rise in the 11th and 12th centuries.

The kingdom of Champa, though mainly based along the coast of the South China Sea, is known to have expanded west into the Mekong Delta, seizing control of Prey Nokor (the precursor to modern-day Ho Chi Minh City) by the end of the 13th century. Author Nghia M. Vo suggests that a Cham presence may indeed have existed in the area prior to Khmer occupation.

Beginning in the 1620s, Khmer king Chey Chettha II (1618–1628) allowed the Vietnamese to settle in the area, and to set up a custom house at Prey Nokor, which they colloquially referred to as Sài Gòn.

The increasing waves of Vietnamese settlers which followed overwhelmed the Khmer kingdom—weakened as it was due to war with Thailand—and slowly Vietnamized the area.

During the late 17th century, Mac Cuu, a Chinese anti-Qing general, began to expand Vietnamese and Chinese settlements deeper into Khmer lands, and in 1691, Prey Nokor was occupied by the Vietnamese.Nguyễn Hữu Cảnh, a Vietnamese noble, was sent by the Nguyễn Lords of Huế by sea in 1698 to establish Vietnamese administrative structures in the area.

This act formally detached the Mekong Delta from Cambodia, placing the region firmly under Vietnamese administrative control. Cambodia was cut off from access to the South China Sea, and trade through the area was possible only with Vietnamese permission.

During the Tay Son wars and the subsequent Nguyễn Dynasty, Vietnam's boundaries were pushed as far as the Cape of Ca Mau.

In 1802, Nguyễn Ánh crowned himself emperor Gia Long and unified all the territories comprising modern Vietnam, including the Mekong Delta.

Upon the conclusion of the Cochinchina Campaign in the 1860s, the area became Cochinchina, France's first colony in Vietnam, and later, part of French Indochina.

Beginning during the French colonial period, the French patrolled and fought on the waterways of the Mekong Delta region with their Divisions navales d'assaut (Dinassaut), a tactic which lasted throughout the First Indochina War, and was later employed by the US Navy Mobile Riverine Force.

During the Vietnam War—also referred to as the Second Indochina War—the Delta region saw savage fighting between Viet Cong (NLF) guerrillas and units of the United States Navy's swift boats and hovercrafts(PACVs).

* Following independence from France, the Mekong Delta was part of the Republic of Vietnam and eventually the country of Vietnam. In the 1970s, the Khmer Rouge regime attacked Vietnam in an attempt to reconquer the Delta region.

* This campaign precipitated the Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia and subsequent downfall of the Khmer Rouge.

Thai

Mai pen rai
You will hear this phrase many times. You are in a traffic
jam and miss your plane.
You are upset and desperate, but you should relax and tell
yourself
mai pen rai.

Translated it means: IT DOESN'T MATTER

Don’t think the Thais don’t care. Don’t misunderstand this
phrase. Everybody just tries to cope with one’s fate and tries to stay calm whatever happens.

There is no point to get upset. The plane won’t come return.

You will never see a Thai person upset in the traffic.
That's why it is so relaxing to be here. Us westerners could learn alot.

PATTAYA

SRI RACHA TIGER ZOO

Sri Racha Tiger Zoo covers 250 rai in Tambon Nong Kham, Siracha District. It is established with the intention to conserve and breed wildlife such as the Bengal Tiger which is the identity of Asia.

The zoo now has over 200 Bengal tigers. There is also crocodile farm as well as other animals.
The zoo features tiger show, pig show, elephant show, crocodile show and the demonstration of cohabitation of tiger, pig and dog. Elephant museum, animal breeding learning centre, animal training centre are featured within zoo

Location : 341 Moo 3, Nong Kham, Sri Racha, Chonburi 20110
Contact : Tel: 038-296-556 038-339-111 Fax: 038-296-559

Website: www.tigerzoo.com

Opening Hours : Daily from 08.00 am. - 06.00 pm.
Admission : 120 Baht for adult and 60 Baht for children (Free admission for children under 100 cm tall)

TUK-TUK

Songtaew literally means two rows. It is a minibus or sometimes called a Baht bus in English. Songtaew in Pattaya is small pick-up trucks in dark blue colour with canopy on the top. The service is available all around Pattaya.

White songthaews run on Sukhumvit Rd. and go towards Si Racha and Sattahip.
You can wave at them wherever you are and press the buzzer when you reach your destination. They will pick up other passengers all the way they run. The routes vary. Therefore, it is best to ask before boarding.

Usually, the fare is around 10 Baht for short destination. For longer destination for example from Jomtien to Naklua costs around 20 Baht. Songtaew can also be chartered for private group or alone. The fare should be negotiated beforehand

MOTORCYCLE RENTALS

Motorcycle is a great way to get around. There are numerous motorbike rentals throughout the town. The rental costs around 150 - 200 Baht for a short time rental.

A lot of motorcycles for rent are automatic gear. However, manual-geared ones are also available. Usually, driving licence is not required but tourists are asked to provide their passport as security.
Some places accept photocopy of passport. Cash deposit are often required but insurance is not included. Wearing a helmet is a must.

Pattaya Floating Market

The 4 Regions Floating Market is increasingly popular among tourists. There is a set of Thai style houses built in different regional architectures located in the middle of a large pond. The pond has small water alleyways as well as a wooden bridges that allows visitors to walk around and buy products from all 4 regions in Thailand. The market also offers boat service for those who would like to sit down, cruise along and experience traditional Thai lifestyle.

A numerous types of food are available in those houses at reasonable price. Furthermore, there is an adventure sling activiti\y which guests can hang themselve on a sling across the water alleyway.

Wood carving Museum is located within the market. At the gate of the market, Thai house with a replica of the Lord Ganesh carved from wood for those who would like worship. There are also Thai cultural shows including Thai traditional dances and sea boxing show.

Location: Sukhumvit Rd., Pattaya, Naklua, Chonburi 20150

Opening Hours: Daily from 10.00 am. - 11.00 pm.

Pattaya Floating Market.

Thai Culture and Heritage from the four regions of Thailand Pattaya Floating Market was opened to the public in November 2008.

The area of Pattaya’s latest attraction which is situated on an approximately area of 100,000 square meters. It is divided into 4 separate parts, each with its own unique location, represents the four regions of Thailand: Northern -, Central -, North-Eastern and Southern region and offering a special blend of differing traditions.

More than 80 paddle boats are on standby to ferry visitors around the compound along many Thai style teak wood buildings, linked by a network of canals, bridges and a number of different sized islands with exotic plants and trees.The boat trip will slowly expose the richness of the surrounding architectural and cultural river side living.

Water vendors moving with their paddle boats from dock to dock and offering their unique range of freshly cooked delicious traditional Thai dishes.Pattaya Floating Market provides daily several cultural performances, native to the four regions of the country, like Thai classical dance, martial art demonstrations,as well as water boxing where the fighters perform on a horizontal slipery pole above the canal.

Painters do show their artificial works, like umbrella and portrait painting.Pattaya Floating Market has recently provided Amphibian-boat rides, an agricultural rice field demonstration, authentic House-boats for home stay, and 10 mud-houses just right beside the rice field zone.

More than110 boutique-shops presenting wooden hand carvings, silks and cloth weaving, special Thai herbs and herbal products, many OTOP products and other native items from all over Thailand.

The Nueng Siam Woodcarving Museum has on display rare pieces of crafted 200 years old teak and is home for the impressive and beautiful carved image of the elephant god Ganesha.

Pattaya Floating Market, the biggest man made floating market in the world, is located on the outskirts of Pattaya on Sukhumvit Road, on the way to Bang Saray and Sattahip. Easy access from Bangkok by Tour Service, public regular bus, taxi or coach.

Phratumnak Hill.

Phratumnak Hill is located at the border of South Pattaya and Jomtien. The top of the hill is one of the best viewpoint overlooking the crescent bay of Pattaya.
It is a popular spot amongst the tourists, especially at the sunset and at night when the city is lit up.
Wat Khao Phra Bat, the Monument of Kromluang Chomphonkhetudomsak, the founding Father of modern Thai Navy, Phra Phut Sukhothai Cholatan, Buddha image in Subduing Mara gesture and Thai Navy's radio station are also located on the hilltop. At the foot of the hill, there is a public park. TAT office is also located nearby.

How to get there:
From Sukhumvit Rd., turn right at the road sign to South Pattaya. Turn left at the first traffic light, continue until reaching a-5-way intersection. Turn left to Phratamnak Rd. and turn right again towards Royal Cliff Beach Garden Resort. Drive uphill. There is a parking lot catering up to 40 - 50 cars.
Opening hours and admission:
Phratamnak hilltop viewpoint is open from 07.00 am. - 10.00 p
m.
Admission: Free

Bali Hai Pier

Bali Hai pier provides the ferry and speedboat to Koh Larn.

Yellow Submarine, a tour company situated nearby offers services for an underwater sightseeing.

Location: South Pattaya (end of Beach Rd.), Chonburi cated nearby.

North Pattaya

Mini Siam is the home for miniature replicas of important places and historical sites from all over the world covering the area of 30 rais. It was built in 1986 from the idea of Kasem Kasemkiartisakul at the ratio of 1:25 of the originals.

Significant Thai buildings such as the Phra Sri Rattanasasadarm Temple, the Victory Monument, the Bridge over the River Kwae, Phraram 9 Bridge, and the Phimai Stone Sanctuary are also displayed here.

In addition, there are also miniatures of famous European and American buildings such as the Eiffel Tower, the Tower Bridge, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the Statue of Liberty, and the Grand Canyon. Mini Siam is the place where you can see the world in one location

Location: 387 Moo 6, Sukhumvit Rd., Pattaya City, Naklua, Banglamung, Chonburi 20150
Contact:
Tel: 038-727-333 038-727-666 Fax: 038-421-555;

Website: www.minisiam.com

Opening Hours: Daily from 07.00 am. – 10.00 pm.

Admission:

Thais: 100 Baht for adults and 50 Baht for children,

Foreigners: 250 Baht for adults and 120 Baht for children

Location: Moo 6, Naklua, Pattaya, Chonburi

BUDDHISM IN THAILAND

Buddhism in Thailand is largely of the Theravada school. Nearly 95% of Thailand's population is Buddhist of the Theravada school, though Buddhism in this country has become integrated with folk beliefs as well as Chinese religions from the large Thai-Chinese population.

Buddhist temples in Thailand are characterized by tall golden stupas, and the Buddhist architecture of Thailand is similar to that in other Southeast Asian countries, particularly Cambodia and Laos, with which Thailand shares cultural and historical heritage.

Historical background Thai Buddhism was based on the religious movement founded in the sixth century B.C. by Siddhartha, later known as the Buddha, who urged the world to relinquish the extremes of sensuality and self-mortification and follow the enlightened Middle Way.

The focus of this religion is on man, not gods; the assumption is that life is pain or suffering, which is a consequence of craving, and that suffering can end only if desire ceases. The end of suffering is the achievement of nirvana (in Theravada Buddhist scriptures, nibbana), often defined as the absence of craving and therefore of suffering, sometimes as enlightenment or bliss.

By the third century B.C., Buddhism had spread widely in Asia, and divergent interpretations of the Buddha's teachings had led to the establishment of several sects.

The teachings that reached Ceylon (present-day Sri Lanka) were first written down in Pali (an Indo-Aryan language closely related to Sanskrit ) in the first century A.D. and provided the Tipitaka (the scriptures or "three baskets"; in Sanskrit, Tripitaka) of Theravada Buddhism.

This form of Buddhism was made the state religion only with the establishment of the Thai kingdom of Sukhothai in the thirteenth century A.D.

According to many historians, around 228 B.C. Sohn Uttar Sthavira (one of the royal monks sent by Ashoka the Great ) came to Suvarnabhumi (or Suvannabhumi) which some identify with Thailand along with other monks and sacred books.

Buddhist proselytism at the time of king Ashoka (260-218 BCE. 13th-19th centuries Thai novice monks.

The details of the history of Buddhism in Thailand from the thirteenth to the nineteenth century are obscure, in part because few historical records or religious texts survived the Burmese destruction of Ayutthaya, the capital city of the kingdom, in 1767.

The anthropologist-historian S. J. Tambiah, however, has suggested a general pattern for that era, at least with respect to the relations between Buddhism and the sangha on the one hand and the king on the other hand.

In Thailand, as in other Theravada Buddhist kingdoms, the king was in principle thought of as patron and protector of the religion (sasana) and the sangha, while sasana and the sangha were considered in turn the treasures of the polity and the signs of its legitimacy.

Religion and polity, however, remained separate domains, and in ordinary times the organizational links between the sangha and the king were not close.

Among the chief characteristics of Thai kingdoms and principalities in the centuries before 1800 were the tendency to expand and contract, problems of succession, and the changing scope of the king's authority.

In effect, some Thai kings had greater power over larger territories, others less, and almost invariably a king who sought successfully to expand his power also exercised greater control over the sangha.

That control was coupled with greater support and patronage of the ecclesiastical hierarchy. When a king was weak, however, protection and supervision of the sangha also weakened, and the sangha declined.

This fluctuating pattern appears to have continued until the emergence of the Chakri Dynasty in the last quarter of the eighteenth century.

By the nineteenth century, and especially with the coming to power in 1851 of King Mongkut, who had been a monk himself for twenty-seven years, the sangha, like the kingdom, became steadily more centralized and hierarchical in nature and its links to the state more institutionalized.

As a monk, Mongkut was a distinguished scholar of Pali Buddhist scripture. Moreover, at that time the immigration of numbers of monks from Burma was introducing the more rigorous discipline characteristic of the Mon sangha.

Influenced by the Monk and guided by his own understanding of the Tipitaka, Mongkut began a reform movement that later became the basis for the Dhammayuttika order of monks.

Under the reform, all practices having no authority other than custom were to be abandoned, canonical regulations were to be followed not mechanically but in spirit, and acts intended to improve an individual's standing on the road to nirvana but having no social value were rejected.

This more rigorous discipline was adopted in its entirety by only a small minority of monasteries and monks. The Mahanikaya order, perhaps somewhat influenced by Mongkut's reforms but with a less exacting discipline than the Dhammayuttika order, comprised about 95 percent of all monks in 1970 and probably about the same percentage in the late 1980s.

In any case, Mongkut was in a position to regularize and tighten the relations between monarchy and sangha at a time when the monarchy was expanding its control over the country in general and developing the kind of bureaucracy necessary to such control. The administrative and sangha reforms that Mongkut started were continued by his successor.

In 1902 King Chulalongkorn (Rama V, 1868–1910) made the new sangha hierarchy formal and permanent through the Sangha Law of 1902, which remained the foundation of sangha administration in modern Thailand.

Calls for state establishmentIn 2007, calls were made by some Thais for Buddhism to be recognized in the new national constitution as a state religion. This suggestion was initially rejected by the committee charged with drafting the new constitution.

This move prompted a number of protests from supporters of the initiative, including a number of marches on the capital and a hunger strike by twelve Buddhist monks.

Some critics of the plan, including scholar and social critic Sulak Sivaraksa, have claimed that the movement to declare Buddhism a national religion is motivated by political gain, and may be being manipulated by supporters of ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Sinawatra.

The Constitution Drafting Committee later voted against the special status of Buddhism, provoking the religious groups. The groups condemned the Committee and the constitution draft.

On August 11, Sirikit, the Queen of Thailand, expressed her concern over the issue. According to her birthday speech, Buddhism is beyond politics. Some Buddhist organizations announced the break of the campaigns a day after.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

THE TRIP TO THAILAND AND VIETNAM

Our Tour starts from The Gold Coast, Queensland, AUSTRALIA.

From Brisbane to Perth, Western Australia, wait 7 hours and board Air-Asia for Kualu Lumpur. 2 Hours wait then on to Bangkok. Then we have a 2 hours drive with a Taxi/Limo for the trip down to Pattaya.

We will spend 3 months in Pattaya before we fly to Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam. Former Saigon.
5 days in Ho Chi Minh City includes a Full day Cruise of the Mekong River and Delta System.

After 5 days we take the train towards Ha Noi. ( The Capital )
which is app 1800 km in total and will take a total of 34 hours, but we intent to break that up with several stops.

First stop will be Nha Trang where we will spend a few days.
On to Da Nang and China Beach / Hoi An. Beach Resort where we stay for a week.
Then to Hue, and a few nights later we take the train for the final trip to Ha Noi.
WE will spend atotal of 6 days in Ha Noi and we take a Cruise up tha Ha Long Bay for about 3 or 4 nights.

After a total of 30 days in Vietnam we head back for Bangkok, where we fly up North to Chiang Mai, to spend maybe 2 weeks.
Then fly back to Bangkok and Taxi / Limo back to Pattaya where we will spend the remainder of the 190 day trip.

I am sure this will keep changing as we travel, and that is why I call this Extreme Freedom In Travel.

I hereby invite anybody to write to me with photo's and travel experiences, and I will be happy to include it here on this Blog.

I do intend to make this a great place for future travellers to Thailand and Vietnam to come for ideas and good advise, so please send them in.

We are looking for anything that can help others and also be nice to read about. That means Hotels, tours, places, etc
If you got photo's etc,,,and comments, please send them to me and I will be happy to include them here on the blog including your name ( if you wish ).

send to:

extremefreedompro@gmail.com

Extreme Freedom In Travel

JOMTIEN

Tuesday, 17 July 2012