Chronicle April 2009.qxd 07/04/2009 16:01 Page 13
tracks a visit to the museum was arranged.
Part of the town of Lopburi is overrun by monkeys. They are every-
where! In the street, on top of buildings and at the tourist sites. We
were very pleased that a guard with a stick was provided to fend off
the monkeys who were quite aggressive.
We then made our way to the Golden Triangle, where Thailand,
Burma and Laos meet. We were able to take a ferry across the
Mekong River and land in Laos where the shore was lined with
market stalls selling ‘genuine’ Rolex and LaCoste tee shirts.
The highlight of the tour for both of us was a visit to an elephant
sanctuary in Chiang Mai. We rode on the back of an elephant through
the jungle and across a river. The elephant ate large bunches of
bananas including the skins and the string they were tied up with on
the journey. The ground was very uneven and the only thing prevent-
ing us from falling off was a rope with a knot in the end. No Health
and Safety rules here!!
We had stayed in eight hotels some excellent some not quite so good.
One was built on a cemetery (Our tour manager kept this a secret
until the next morning).
Rickshaws, elephants tuk tuks, and a raft were among the thirteen
different modes of transport we had pleasure in experiencing whilst
on the tour.
After living out of suitcases for over a week we were really looking
forward to our week on the beach. We flew to the Island of Koh
Samui where we spent the next seven days doing nothing much at all
except sunbathing and eating delicious Thai food.
Pete White
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