February 22 - Bangkok to Kathmandu

We all woke up early again, giving us plenty of time to pack for the next leg of our journey. The Hotel car took us to the airport where we checked in and then met up with Dr Erica and her family, with whom we will be travelling with for the rest of the trip. It was a fairly quick 3 hour flight to Katmandu, but we unfortuntely had to wait another hour to land due to air traffic congestion - not something I would have expected in Nepal. The exit formalities were insane involving multiple forms - although what used to be three different lines has not fortuntely been streamlined into a single line. Once we got to the front we learned that Owen needed to be in a different line since he was under 10. Somehow we got through, payed our Visa fee, and got the visa and our passport stamp. An hour later we left the airport and took the van to the Hotel.

Immediately on leaving the airport it became obvious to everyone that Nepal was very different from California (or even Bangkok). Streets were narrow and dusty, mostly unpaved, and filled with people, traffice, carts, dogs, cows, and anything else you could imagine. Sammy asked me if they had different traffic rules in Nepal, and I replied that they did not have any rules. I didn't see a single traffic light, although cars just plowed through intersections with barely a concern. There were policemen everywhere, some direcly traffic, and some just walking around.

In the afternoon we met with the World Wildlife Fund who were going to be our hosts for the Chitwan visit. I am very impressed with this organization - most think of their purpose in terms of saving endangered species, but they are also firmly commited to improving the lives and health of the people. They are strongly pushing the use of biofuel stoves for cooking, which over the years has prevented the destruction of countless acres of forest. Areas that were once barren have now been reforested, and WWF has been able to use the carbon credits from this to fund new projects. They have also been trying to create corridors connecting the national parks so that the animals can freely move around rather than being imprisoned in one area.

Back at the Hotel Owen had fallen asleep again so Cathy and Owen had a light dinner in the room while Sammy and I and the others ate at the buffet. Again we all fell asleep really early.

February 21st - Bangkok

Today was our rest and "jet lag recovery" day. Despite not getting to sleep until 2am, we all woke up really early. It was a sunny day but you couldn't tell by looking at the sky which was a murky brown color. We ordered breakfast, and then headed down to the pool. We grabbed the last cabana/beach temple thingy and dumped our stuff there. The pool was a refreshing respit from the hot humid weather outside, and the kids spent the time jumping from pool to pool. Sammy made friends with a young Korean boy who spoke perfect English, and they ended up playing a game of baseball on the grassy area.

Cathy booked her massage for noon and afterwards we had a light lunch. Cathy and Owen then took a nap while I took Sammy out to see one of the temples. We rode the water bus from the Hotel, watching the hectic life go by on the river. We quickly left the fancy hotel area, to see a more traditional and less affluent example of life. Rickety warehouses and homes build on stilts on the water, all of which looked like they could have fallen in at any moment. Barges and river boats plied up and down the river carrying anything you could imagine. One barge had a traditional Thai house built at one end, in which the workers presumably lived. Our boat was packed full of tourists and locals and we barely had room to stand.

Leaving stop number 8, we had to navigate a narrow and crowded wooden walkway surrounded by shops on either side. Once on the street the temple complex could be clearly seen on the other side, with no obvious way to cross the busy traffic. We eventually followed the other tourists and  risked our lives by running for it.

Wat Pho is one of the oldest temple complexes in Thailand. Unlike in Christianity where a place of worship usually comprises a single church, the Buddhist sites are more like campuses containing gardens, courtyards, and multiple temples. I have visited many temples in Japan, and was struck by how ornate the Thai temples are. Everything is covered in gold leaf and reflecting tiles.

Sammy had a look of amazement on his face on stepping into the complex - he had never seen anything like it. Each of the temples consisted of a large Buddha statue, and a carpeted area at the front for praying and meditation. A smaller Buddha statue was nearer the front and one could pay 20 Baht for a small package containing gold leaf with which one could adorn the small statue.

The temple is famous for containing the "Statue of the reclining Buddha" which is one of the largest Buddha statues in the world - about as long as a football field.

Finally we made our way back to the Hotel looking forward to a nice meal at the outdoor Thai restaurant overlooking the water. Unfortunately poor Owen had fallen asleep so we ended up ordering room service. Sammy and I then took another quick swim, and everyone was asleep by 8pm.

February 18th - San Francisco to Bangkok

Long day of travel. Left our home at 9am and arrived at the airport at 10am. Our 15 hour flight to Hong Kong left at noon. Flight was comfortable - we had four seats together. The kids did amazingly well despite a period of 10 hours between lunch and dinner when there was no food to be found anywhere. Mostly played computer games, watched movies and slept. The flight took a northern route over Alaska and Siberia and then down passing almost direcly over Beijing. At one point we passed over a cool and barren mountain range in northern Sibera. We finally got to Hong Kong at 7pm giving us under an hour to make it through security and on to our next flight to Bangkok.

View from the plane passing over northern Siberia

At Bangkok we successfully made it through customs, despite our large box of 600 toothbrushes (destined for Bhutan by request of the Ministry of Health). We finally found our ride to the Hotel. At night Bangkok looked just like any other city - although the extreme heat hit us in the face the moment we left the airport. Took about an hour to get to our Hotel by which time it was midnight. Checked into one of the most amazing Hotel rooms we will ever stay it - situated right on the river on the 31st floor. Sammy and Owen were so happy to be not travelling any more and immediately started running around checking out the place. Since we were still hungry we ordered some Chicken Sate and then finally got to bed around 2am.

Sammy and Owen outside the Peninsula Hotel

TV in both our bathrooms