Today Jeanine and I spent much of the day walking around Hanoi. Our first stop was the Temple of Literature where we found the most beautiful bonsai trees and wonderful gardens.

The Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum and Ho Chi Minh Museum were next on our tour. Once again the gardens were magnificent and we enjoyed watching the changing of the guard.

The Hanoi Botanical Gardens proved to be disappointing so we walked back to the Old Quarter where we could have spent days enjoying the the shops, people and food.

After lunch having already covered 10 miles on foot, we hired an electric tour car to take us to some of the remaining sights including the Quan Su Pagoda and Hao Lo Prison where John McCain spent part of his time in captivity.

Jeanine was sad that we did not get to see puppets while in Thailand so I surprised her with tickets to a water puppet show to cap off the evening. Water puppetry is a tradition that dates back as far as the 11th century when it originated in the villages of the Red River Delta area of northern Vietnam.  The puppets are made out of wood and then lacquered. Shows are performed in a waist-deep pool. A large bamboo rod supports the puppet under the water and is used by the puppeteers, who are hidden behind a screen, to control them.

We are staying at the Cinnamon Cathedral Hotel located across the street from the Saint Joseph Cathedral.  Our fifth floor suite offered an unobstructed view of the profile which I photographed at night (last image). The hotel manager was so impressed with the photo that he offered us a nice discount in exchange for the right to use the image in their marketing materials.

Tonle Sap Lake is the largest freshwater body in Southeast Asia. Over the course of a year its size varies from 1000 square miles to 6000 square miles.  It is fed by the Tonle Sap River for half the year which then reverses to drain it for the other half.  Villages are either built to float on the water or upon very tall stilts to accommodate the huge variation in water depth.

This morning Jeanine and I visited the lake and a small village adjacent to it.  We had lunch on a floating restaurant which featured a collection of live alligators,  presumably there to be harvested for the alligator based dishes on the menu. We arrived by long tail boat which are well suited to navigating the narrow and shallow rivers and lake provided the propellor does not get fouled.

Depending on the season, inhabitants of the lakeside village either dock their boats at their front door or need to travel several miles to reach the edge of the lake.  I enjoyed photographing the people of this community whether they be resting, playing, or at work.

Shrimp are spread out on tarps and dried in the 100 degree air.

With the rainy season still months away, boats can be found everywhere, temporarily abandoned along the once full rivers that feed the lake.

On the return trip to our hotel we drove past the scene of an accident. It is a wonder that we did not encounter more of these given the extremely free-for-all approach to driving that is common to this part of the world.  After collecting our luggage we made our way to the airport for our flight to Vietnam.

Today Jeanine and I spent most of the day apart. She signed up for a Cambodian cooking class and had a massage.  I hired a tuk-tuk and returned to the Angkor complex.  I started at the Sras Srang reservoir for sunrise and then over to Pre Rup for early morning light. King Rajendravarman constructed Pre Rup sometime in the 10th Century and it remains one of the most architecturally and stylistically noteworthy structures in Angkor. The name Pre Rup means “turning the body”, referring to Khmer cremation traditions. Although cremation may’ve taken place at Pre Rup, this modern name seems to negate the enormous historical significance of Pre Rup as one of the capitals of the Khmer Empire.

Preah Khan, which means “Sacred Sword”, was built towards the end of the 12th century as a part of King Jayavarman VII’s massive building campaign. Unlike many of Angkor’s larger monuments, which served primarily as worship centers or military headquarters, Preah Khan was also a Buddhist University. At its zenith, Preah Khan supported more than 1000 teachers and countless students.

After revisiting my favorite temples, I spent the remainder of the day  focused on people and wildlife.

 

Banteay  Srei ( “citadel of the women” or “citadel of beauty”), is an exquisite 10th-century Hindu temple consisting of low walls surrounding peaked structures of deep red sandstone.  It is said that the reliefs on this temple are so delicate that they could only have been carved by the hand of a woman. Completed in 967, Banteay Srei was the only major temple at Angkor not built for the king; instead it was constructed by one of king Rajendravarman’s counsellors, Yajnyavahara. The temple was primarily dedicated to Shiva.

Adjacent to the temple I noticed a new born water buffalo and her mother.

Banteay Kdei, meaning “A Citadel of Chambers”, also known as “Citadel of Monks’ cells”, is a Buddhist temple built in the mid 12th to early 13th centuries AD during the reign of Jayavarman VII, it is in the Bayon architectural style, similar in plan to Ta Prohm and Preah Khan, but less complex and smaller.

 After returning to Siem Reap late in the afternoon, I went out for a long walk to photograph some of the local people, a nice break from shooting ancient monuments.

After dinner we attended an acrobatic circus performance put on by the Phare Performing Social Enterprise which seeks to provide gainful employment to Cambodian youth from difficult social and economic backgrounds and financially sustain a school dedicated to the rebirth of Cambodian modern art.  I was selected to perform on stage as the base of a human pyramid. Let’s just say I was the source of great amusement for the rest of the audience.

We arrived in Siem Reap last night and arranged for an early visit to Angkor Wat where I setup to capture the sunrise. The temples of Angkor, built by the Khmer civilization between 802 and 1220 AD, constitute the  largest religious monument in the world, with the site measuring 400 acres.  The structures one sees at Angkor today, more than 100 stone temples in all, are the surviving remains of a grand religious, social and administrative metropolis whose other buildings – palaces, public buildings, and houses – were built of wood and have long since decayed and disappeared.

At any given time of day, hundreds of the thousands of daily visitors can be found taking the iconic picture of the temple with its reflection in one of two ponds.

I normally take great pains to exclude tourists from my photographs and arriving early in the day is the best formula for success but does constrain which views will be best lit. I also tend to shy away from selfies but am not immune to taking a few.

Monks make for great photographic elements and I was constantly on the lookout for opportunities to include them in my photographs.

Unlike other temples at Angkor, Ta Prohm has been left as it was found, preserved as an example of what a tropical forest will do to an architectural monument when the protective hands of humans are withdrawn. Ta Prohm’s walls, roofs, chambers and courtyards have been sufficiently repaired to stop further deterioration, and the inner sanctuary has been cleared of bushes and thick undergrowth, but the temple has been left in the stranglehold of trees.

During half-millennia of Khmer occupation, the city of Angkor became a pilgrimage destination of importance throughout Southeastern Asia. Sacked by the Thais in 1431 and abandoned in 1432, Angkor was forgotten for a few centuries. Wandering Buddhist monks, passing through the dense jungles, occasionally came upon the awesome ruins. Recognizing the sacred nature of the temples but ignorant of their origins, they invented fables about the mysterious sanctuaries, saying they had been built by the gods in a far ancient time. Centuries passed, these fables became legends, and pilgrims from the distant reaches of Asia sought out the mystic city of the gods. A few adventurous European travelers knew of the ruins and stories circulated in antiquarian circles of a strange city lost in the jungles. Most people believed the stories to be nothing more than legend, however, until the French explorer Henri Mouhot brought Angkor to the world’s attention in 1860. The French people were enchanted with the ancient city and beginning in 1908 funded and superbly managed an extensive restoration project.

Angkor Thom was built as a square, the sides of which run exactly north to south and east to west. Standing in the exact center of the walled city, Bayon Temple represents the intersection of heaven and earth. Bayon is known for its huge stone faces of the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara, with one facing outward and keeping watch at each compass point. The curious smiling image, thought by many to be a portrait of Jayavarman himself, has been dubbed by some the “Mona Lisa of Southeast Asia.” There are 51 smaller towers surrounding Bayon, each with four faces of its own.

Baphuon was erected in the reign of Udayadityavarman II, who ruled from 1050-1066. It served as the state temple of Yasodharapura, the capital city of the Khmer empire in the 11th century.

As with Angkor Wat, the Baphuon was converted to a Buddhist temple in the 16th century. This involved the demolition of the outer galleries, causeway stones, and other structures to reuse the material for construction of an enormous reclining Buddha statue on the west side of the temple. The work was never completed, however, and the half-finished Buddha is only barely distinguishable.

The Terrace of the Elephant King is an 8 foot tall terrace that stretches a thousand feet through the core of Angkor Thom.  It is considered to be the magnum opus of King Jayavarman VII’s kingship, and perhaps the grandest royal terrace in Cambodia.

 

We connected with Kyle again today for a stroll through the Chinatown area of Bangkok. We were highly focused on food as we searched for a nice place to have lunch. As usual we looked to Jeanine to make the final choice and as usual we were not disappointed.

With an afternoon flight to Cambodia we said goodbye to Chinatown, returned to our hotel to collect our baggage and bid Kyle farewell. We will see him again in less than a week when he joins us in Vietnam for the weekend.

 

Wat Pho, or the Temple of the Reclining Buddha, is the oldest and largest Buddhist temple in Bangkok. It is home to more Buddha images than any other Bangkok temple and it shelters the largest Buddha in Thailand, the gold plated Reclining Buddha (150 feet long and 50 feet high.) What Pho is also considered the birthplace of Thai massage. Jeanine and I started the day here while Kyle was still sleeping.

At noon we rendezvoused with Kyle at the entrance to The Grand Palace. In addition to the palace, the 54 acre complex contains the  Wat Phra Kaew, also known as the Temple of the Emerald Buddha.

After a nice lunch we walked to Wat Saket, popularly known as the Golden Mount.  It is a low hill crowned with a gleaming gold chedi. The temple grounds feature mature trees and typical Buddhist structures including a main chapel, ordination hall and library. Its origins can be traced back to the Ayutthaya period (1350- 1767 AD).

We bypassed some amazing looking street food for a highly recommended restaurant which lived up to its reputation. After dinner Kyle returned to his apartment while Jeanine and I made a long walk to have a peek at the infamous Red Light district for which Bangkok has much fame.

 

The primary motivator for our visit to Thailand was to visit with Kyle who is stationed here for three months. His demanding 2pm to 2am work day is timed to worldwide financial markets and consistent with the long hours expected at a start up. He joined us for breakfast and then gave us a tour of his nearby apartment before heading to work on the back of a MotoTaxi.

Jeanine and I spent the rest of the day visiting some of the sights including a stroll through Lumpini Park where we encountered a five foot long monitor lizard out looking for lunch.

We then walked on to the Jim Thompson House which includes beautiful gardens and an eclectic art collection housed in a complex of six traditional Thai-style houses made of teak. Thompson, gained great wealth by developing the Thai silk industry. He disappeared while trekking in the Malaysian jungle and to this day much mystery surrounds his death. Photography is not permitted within the complex but I did get a photo of two Thai dancers that were performing in the courtyard.

Bangkok features many canals which support water taxis of all manner.  There is scarcely room for two to pass each other and yet they do so at incredible speeds sending waves spilling over the banks of the narrow waterways. The canal shown below is directly behind the Jim Thompson house.

We then hopped into a “tuk-tuk” (three wheeled motorcycle with covered seating for two passengers) which took us to the Chao Phraya River where we hired a “long-tail” boat (long narrow boat with a pivoting V8 engine connected to a long shaft with a propellor at the end) for a tour of the canals and passage to the Wat Arun temple.

There are over 31,200 Buddhist temples spread around Thailand. Wat Arun or the Temple of Dawn, is named after Aruna, the Indian God of Dawn and is regarded as one of the most striking riverside landmarks of Thailand. It is an architectural representation of Mount Meru, the center of the world in Buddhist cosmology. In the mythology of Tibetan Buddhism, Mount Meru is a place that simultaneously represents the center of the universe and the single-pointedness of mind sought by adepts. Thousands of miles in height, Meru is located somewhere beyond the physical plane of reality, in a realm of perfection and transcendence. The four-corner prang of Wat Arun, which house images of the guardian gods of the four directions, reinforces this mystical symbolism.

After completing our boat tour we walked past the Ministry of Defense before returning to our hotel by taxi.

Our 26 hour journey to Bangkok took us from Boston to San Francisco to Hong Kong before reaching Thailand.  We were originally booked to fly through Chicago but changed our routing when inclement weather in the Windy City caused many flights to be delayed or canceled.  Pictured here is the Continental Divide viewed from 35,000 feet.

A visit to my cardiologist this morning to review the results from my recent nuclear stress test proved a great relief.  Although I have an EKG pattern that is indicative of coronary artery disease, the nuclear test revealed that my high stress arterial circulation is the same as my resting circulation indicating no constrictions.  My cholesterol numbers are higher than they should be and I will need to make some dietary adjustments to bring them down.

In other news related to stress reduction, I have stepped down as the head of engineering and operations at Markforged and will now serve as a management consultant to the company.  My boss and I enjoy the most productive conversations when we are not arguing about schedules.  Less stress for both of us and an amicable outcome all around.

I leave for Thailand early tomorrow morning with a light and happy heart.  I will try to post updates from the road (perhaps temporarily without photos) but it could also be a few weeks before I can catch up.

Why the picture of a horse?  It just makes me smile and I have much to smile about today.

This is an x-ray of my left shoulder.  During a visit to my orthopedist, I learned that my rotator cuff is NOT torn as suspected by my chiropractor.  I have a bone spur that is rubbing on an inflamed tendon which keeps it from healing and the cycle never ends.  The original inflammation was caused when I replaced a bunch of storm windows and overused the joint.  I received my first of three shots of cortisone which will be administered over the course of 12 weeks. If the inflammation can be reduced then the cycle will be broken.  If not, a minor surgery will be needed to remove the bone spur (much less invasive than rotator cuff repair).  All-in-all I am happy with this outcome.  Now I just need to get through my cardiologist appointment tomorrow morning.

I hope the older of my two sisters is keeping up with this blog and taking note of the fine cook her son Johnny has become.  Each week his Sunday dinners just seem to be getting better and better. Jeanine provides a modicum of advice but it will not be too long before the roles will be reversed.

Jeanine and I spent a good part of the day finalizing our travel plans for our upcoming trip to southeast Asia.  We leave Wednesday for Thailand where we will connect with Kyle through the weekend. Our next stop will be Cambodia and then on to Vietnam before returning to the southern part of Thailand.  It speeds things up if you bring passport type photos with you for the various visas that are prepared as you enter each country.  Here are the shots we will be using.

Jeanine and I will be traveling out of the country during the Primary Elections in Massachusetts.  We generally support the same candidates but this year our votes will only serve to cancel each other out.  Had neither one of us voted we could have saved the postage.  Still, there is something about participating in the democratic process that feels empowering and uplifting.