After arriving at Amari Airport in Bangkok, they flew to Chiang Mai, a fairly large and sophisticated city in Northern Thailand, which houses an important medical school.

The old city, its market places, and temples were visited.

     

We need to let Buddha know we are here by ringing the bells.

          

Later, the group travelled to Tha Ton Landing to see elephants in training and to move on to Chiang Rai, a smaller town with an elegant Dusit Island resort hotel.

     

We visited villages down twisting dusty roads to see how backwards some parts of Thailand are.  The third world nature of Thailand was revealed in an outing to see the hillside villages.

The next stop was the North end of Thailand to visit the Golden Triangle.
At the border between Thailand and Burma, there is a bridge that must be crossed and smugglers and pick-pockets are regularly captured in this area.

     

Then a boat ride down the Mekong Delta where in the past, much fighting had occured but now is simply a waterway, one of the longest in the world, past water buffalo and their young attendees.  The sailors from Spain, Jose and Terresa DeMoragas, were enthralled as were one of our leaders, Mark Everett and his stepson, Michael.

     

     

On the next day, the group travelled to the most sacred and elegant temple at Doi Tung and the beautiful gardens at the Princess Mother Palace before returning by flight to Bangkok for the meeting and to see the huge Reclining Buddha.