Before leaving Bangkok, we squeezed in some more dining. Isan Thai, or northern Thai cuisine has become our favorite. Roger even has become fond of drizzling chili powder or, better yet, chili paste oil on his "sticky rice". We also managed to squeeze in a ferry ride across the river but elected not to do a "rooster tail" boat tour because of the high waters from recent rains. There has been flooding in the northeast due to the rains and the river in Bangkok was high enough it had flooded some of the pier from which the ferries operated. We all had to walk bent over on hastily constructed platforms to reach the ferry. In addition to visiting a couple more wats, we stopped in a neighborhood known for its craftsmen and bought a handmade alms singing bowl. Alms bowls are utilized by the Buddhist monks in collecting donations for their temple's support. The singing bowls resonate like a bell when stroked with a pestle. Most are now made by machine but there are three families of Chinese ancestry in a small crafts neighborhood near Bangkok's famous "Golden Mount" that still shape and form these bowls by hand on an anvil. Our Ecuadorian friends will get to try their hand at making our purchased bowl "sing" when we return in January.
There's so much we did not get to see and do in Bangkok but it was time for us to head to the former capitol of the Lannae kingdom, Chiang Mai. We took the one hour flight via Thai Airlines northward to Thailand's mountain country. As we descended into the green and lush Ping River Valley and flew over the historic, moat-surrounded old city founded over 700 years ago, we held hands...so very grateful to be juntos en el camino de la vida.
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