Gig's Last Week In Chiang Mai

Here are photos I took during my final week in Thailand, saying good-bye to Trudi, Don, folks at ThaiThai Coffee, Gade at Ellibum's, friends at the AUA Library and the Sunday Market.



Since our return home, things have not been well in Thailand due to political unrest. Our friends there say not to worry and, to be frank, the only thing I really worry about is how this bad publicity impacts the economic health of the country and the people. It would be difficult to describe the politics of Thailand in even a long email - there is complexity due to a combination of the influence of the King, the volatile and mercurial political parties, long-held tradition and Bhuddism.
But I believe the good people there will prevail.

Jim's Last Walkabout in Thailand

Chinese shipping at Chiang Saen

Mar 21, 2009
After I returned to Maine, Jim hitched to the small historical town of Chiang Saen, one of his favorite Thai towns, which is a major port for trade between China and Thailand. It lies along the south bank of the Mae Khong in the Golden Triangle, so many tourists go there. He went there at the end of March during his walk-about in northern Thailand before heading home.

Chiang Khong is another charming small town on the Mae Khong. Many tourists come here to cross the river to Laos. It's another one of his favorite places in Thailand.

March 28, 2009
Jim wrote, "On one of my last nights in Thailand, I was invited to a graduation/birthday party by some of my Thai friends. There was plenty of food and drink. About 30 friends and family were there. Good time had by all.

Batik Chronicles

Here are photos taken in the Batik Factories.

Tina writes to us:
While in Malaysia I became fascinated with the batik technique. I took a four-day class in Melaka to learn the canting style, which is drawing designs by hand using a wax filled pen and then painting the fabric with dye.

The other traditional batik process uses caps (pronounced chops) dipped in wax and pressed onto the fabric. The fabric is stamped, dyed, stamped again, then dyed again, and repeated for each color. Once the capping and dying is finished, the colors are set, then the fabric is boiled to remove the wax. It's an amazing process that requires several days to complete one piece.

It was difficult to find the small traditional batik factories. But once I found one place, I could get information and directions to another shop. Din was a big help and knew every batik shop within his kampung (village).

Tina in Malaysia

Tina spent a few months traveling in Thailand, Malaysia (where we reconnected) and Sumatra. These are pictures from Bangkok and Malaysia.


She wrote:
I was unable to fly south when the Bangkok airport was closed, so hung around the city for awhile before finally catching the train to Butterworth, on the mainland across from Penang in Malaysia.


From there in Georgetown, I went to Sumatra for a visit, then back to Malaysia to visit the Cameron Highlands, Ipoh, and Taiping, before going to Georgetown again to meet Rod. From Penang, we traveled to Pangkor Island before Rod headed back to Thailand and I continued south to Melaka.



The next set of pics, is from Kuala Lumpur and the east coast.

These photos are great!