thailand biennial 2012

[paulgila]

moving right along(ok,after 3 months) to part II of my epic SE asia triad--vietnam,thailand,malaysia. the vietnam(& malaysia,eventually) chapter can be found in the "travel log" section of PT.

after an awesome 5 days in saigon we arrive in bangkok,representing the PRA team at the IPS 2012

biennial in thailand!

the airport in bangkok is huge,in case you didnt notice.

after a prompt pick-up we arrive at the hotel to join 200 other rabid palm enthusiasts.

but 1st jes takes advantage of our amazing hotel room desk/office to make some "executive decisions,"

just like mitt romney.

already the palmtalk illuminati have gathered.

PRA team enforcer bob weas with jes at the IPS meet-n-greet.

[paulgila]

after the initial shock of meeting people you have only interacted with via computer we decided to hit the pool.

we still had beer left over from vietnam.that has nothing to do with bs mans behavior,however.

great view of the city & a good way to unwind.

gileno & jes chat it up in the bar before dinner.

northern & southern hemispheres meet somewhere near the middle!

bob is pretty quick to whip it out.

i mean the camera,obviously.

here i pioneer the "have your picture taken with the hotties" thing.

[paulgila]

early morning clouds over bangkok.

after a hectic breakfast its right onto the buses. we were on bus # 2,the best of all the buses,

of course. bob & wal were there to kick our seat-backs whenever we started to doze off.

the witticisms seemed un-ending...

until right...about...here.

school children actually had all the deluxe buses

here is our scout leader--sam.definitely black ops.

mushroom mobile just like in mario cart--and you thought that was just a video game

[MattyB]

Why are Bo and Kim driving?

[bgl]

Why are Bo and Kim driving?

Tempting as that certainly was, we left that delicate task to our excellent driver, who did it in his bare feet. Sorry about the photo being slightly out of focus.

Now back to you Paul - enjoying the memories and looking forward to the rest of the excitement!

Bo-Göran

[Trópico]

Paul you're days ahead of me! Something tells me you may not be posting every pic there is to show?

Matty, the driver is actually next to guide Sam's left foot - the driver's seat is on the right side and the buses are tall with space for luggage below and a happy room...

[paulgila]

not sure what you mean,frank.

[Jeff Searle]

not sure what you mean,frank.

Now wait a minute, Frank is NOT mean. A nice guy from Orlando. Watching you......

[paulgila]

heres a better one from the pool of four wings hotel with the PRA team

splashing about.

artsy pic jes took from our room at the four wings. she took alot of these pics

and cleaned some of them up nice & purty.

fixed-up pic of the school bus,the colors are really vibrant,now.

this is genius--"pick-up hammock."

the group arrives at the 1st destination,which i promptly forgot the name of,and disembark the buses

in order to be trucked up the mountain in the style that we are accostomed to.

like so.

[paulgila]

everyone was excited about seeing some actual palms in habitat.

1st we had to endure gale-force winds for a brutal 20 minutes or so.

but the sun was out & it was a nice drive.

when we reached the visitors center there was a big feed.

you can see that people are already wearing the infamous "leech leggings,"

which actually worked pretty well.

this desperate looking character goes by the alias of "OB Burt."

the food was simple but pretty good.lots of local fresh fruit on hand was a nice touch.

[paulgila]

what do they call thai food in thailand? i think they just call it "food."

then it was off over the bridge of doom into the jungle.

jes had multiple ponchos on,just to be safe.

not sure we'd recognize a palm without a book.

oh,theres one.

bob: "any leeches on me?"

me: "yes."

[paulgila]

someone said there were palms on the other side of the pond.

maybe there were.

so we kept trudging merrily forward.

i was reminded of the bataan death-march.

some of the local fauna we encountered.

deer.

beetle.

leech.

[paulgila]

when we returned to base camp(the visitors center) we had to triage the wounded.

we almost lost OB Burt,if that IS your real name,burt.

revenge was sweet.

the jungle inhabitants came to the roadside to bid us farewell.

dense forest along the treacherous level,paved,2-lane road.

a nice croton where we re-joined the buses.

colorful gateway to the park.

[paulgila]

it looks good enough to eat,& i should know, i tried.

some wandering minstrels asked if they could join our merry band.

we replied in the affirmative.

there was great rejoicing.

then the acid kicked in.

again.

then jeff searle interrupted the rejoicing i mentioned by bleeding all over everyone...

and not in a good way.

back on the road.

their bus stops are much more fun than ours.

[paulgila]

our tour guide & bus driver under-study,sam,did his best to keep us entertained,as always.

heres where i went to high school.

the evenings accomodations were a welcome respite to the rigors of the road.

in plain english we all needed a drink.

disembarking had its share of hi-jinks.

then we all swam in the warmest pool ever.

but it was better than the bus so no one complained much.

[paulgila]

nice garden touches.

a 2 or 3 ton elephant staue doesnt hurt,either.

the sun sets on a day that was too short.

evening brings a nice dinner & time to get to know palmtalk pals.

"i love the smell of (na)palms in the morning."

ok,i stole that line from some movie.

bob never took off his IPS badge. he told me he even wore it in the shower.

[paulgila]

back on the bus & la hoagie & i notice our watches are exactly 1 minute off.

"coincidence?" you ask.

then bob proposed to one of the staff.

no one was surprised when she accepted.

the happy couple.

disclaimer: none of that really happened.

the fish-eye lens thing was big for about 10 minutes.

[bgl]

No wonder bus #2 was referred to as "The Fun Bus"!

[BS Man about Palms]

more fun. now!

[Rafael]

Each one with his report style.

Paul, yours is a must have here, always!

But that warm pool is a bad memory, i forgot my swimsuit in the luggage sent to Nong Nooch and could not swim

[Trópico]

No mere coincidence- she traveled exactly one minute into the future! Or she was having more fun than you.

More palms too, now!

[paulgila]

everyone had to get into the act.

i love the giant pieces of toast on the roof.

then we stopped at the next place,where there were palms & a weird truck.

i liked the palms better.

corypha flower. happy,but sad.

there was an appropriate amount of "ooohing" & "aaahing."

[paulgila]

you'd think climbing the national monuments would be frowned upon.

scary teeth on these awesome palms.

i am glad they are coming around to our way of writing because theirs is just squiggles.

a peaceful moment.

seedlings galore!

annika found a new friend.

[paulgila]

i thought i saw the thai version of "nessie" in there but didnt get a pic.

maybe next time.

boots!

our next stop was one of the growing areas for nongnooch.

the amount of palms is insane!

lindsey was saving up her enthusiasm for later.

at least thats what she said.

they were growing a bazillion c.renda.

sorry if thats too scientific.

plumeria never cease to amaze.

[paulgila]

paul: "gileno,don't tell bob about us,he gets very jealous."

country roads,take me home,to the place i belooooooooonnnnnnnnggggg!

i didnt think this many c.renda even existed.

they are so valuable that they have to hire a special guard dog,

whose name,strangely,is the thai word for "croton."

new use for concrete pipe.

[paulgila]

jes in the shadehouse.

workers potting c.renda seedlings to put inside the plastic tent/tubes.

i like to travel incognito.

then a worker got trapped in the plastic tube. she was never heard from again.

me n jes.

me n col.

[Walter John]

Carn Paul, how about another post or two ?

[Rafael]

Carn Paul, how about another post or two ?

Paul will continue, he's just resting a bit

[paulgila]

i'd be happy to,wal. i'll get some more up over the weekend.

[paulgila]

the palmy fields of thailand.

another link of a notorious international crime ring is nabbed by the long arm of the law.

new leaf.

kim & i.

[paulgila]

how can you resist a nice c.renda? thats not a rhetorical question,bradford!

"palm enthusiasm" is my middle name. really.

these are actually quiet delicious.

outside the shadehouse there was less shade.

and yet more palms.

the wonderful palm collection.

[paulgila]

some of my faves.

areca sp.with golden hue was a standout.

detail.

bob & bs man had an eating contest.the results are still being bitterly contested.

next is bs man's dangerous,death-defying, & fascinating adventure over the raging river!

ok,its over,move along.

[paulgila]

ice cream was a popular way to assuage the tropical heat.

and now for a message from some religion.

the end.

pelagadoxa henryana.

a cultivar of c.renda that they have been propagating at the garden.

not sure on the ID but very striking with its sagitate leaves.

salacca magnifica.

[paulgila]

then its back on the bus & on our merry way to the BIG nongnooch.

a rest stop on the highway provided a chance to stretch the legs & a moment to indulge our curiosity

about other cultures.

and it gave jes an opportunity to feed her fascination with asian chip flavors.

ummmm,"lobster hot plate," where have you been all my life?

& of course there was "chili squid." we all grew up with that,right?

this one is just called "get into my mouth" flavor.

then it was time for wals royal "command" performance,in which we all commanded him to stop.

every nation has to get into the "mt.rushmore" act.

[paulgila]

we FINALLY arrive at nongnooch & check in. the best view from our room was from the stairway landing 4 flights up.

we only had time for a quick dip & then its get cleaned-up & rush to the welcome dinner.

bob finds his date for the evening.a date neither of them would ever forget.

"who does your leis?"

bs man became the pope of something.

bob was lonely so i held him the rest of the night.

[BS Man about Palms]

I am always the pope of something... now there's proof.

[Pedro 65]

Great pics and entertainment thanks Paul. Pete

[MattyB]

So...... day 1 right?

[paulgila]

yep,pretty much.

[Walter John]

and then...............