Recently in Chiang Mai there was a funeral for a monk that passed awya a year ago. The structure is about 30 feet high, 50 feet wide and the same in length. As in The tradition of budhism, the monk will be cremated.

This gives a good idea of the size of the structure that was built ovr the year since the monks death.

These are not "Lady Boys". They are part of the funeral.

There were many monks at the funeral, close to 100. This monk did the eulogy and prayers for the deceased monk. Many monks have tatooes but he seems to have an extrordinary amount on his exposed arm.

The elephant is a big part of Thai culture. They even named a beer Chang, which is Thai for elephant.

There were fireworks, as in all Thai celebrations, all around the structure, as the funeral progressed the fireworks did also.

They burned the entire structure to the ground.

If you look closely you can see the monks body. His head is to the right side.

At the intersection near dowtown Hanoi there are at least half a dozen beer joints that sell organic beer. No preservatives and little alchohol, but cheap a 10 ounce glass was 3,000 Dong ,6 for a dollar. Very popular place as you can see.

The stores were so narrow, some no more than 6 feet wide and less, that on a small street there were dozens of them. The reason is that when they were built they were taxed by road frontage. So the stores are narrow and deep.

Bamboo ladders are the thing here in Se. Asia. Even the utility companies use them over what we consider conventional aluminum or fiberglass ladders.

Some pictures I thought I had lost when my camera was stolen. Hanoi had several booths that sold Roast Rover, Baked Benji, Fricasse of Fido, Poodle Pate, Maltesse Meatballs. I did not sample any of the choices as eating Lassie al la carte does not appeal to me.

A garden in the back of your pickup? Rednecks in Georgia of Thailand possibly?

Ice cream here sucks unless you can find a Swenson's and the occasional Baskin Robbins. This guy comes into my complex every night selling his ice cream. It's cheap about 10 cents.

I'm not sure what the function of this is, but it's connected to a pump in the moat around Chiang Mai. I didn't try it, but I'm sure there is some cost to it. There are four of these along here and a guy sitting at hte end so I'm sure he wants some baht.

The gardens are in the mountains and it was cool but not cold. I was glad I had long pants.

They ended the night with fireworks that went on for quite awhile.

The music was great and the performance was facsinating and informative. And the best part it was free.

They showed the kings and queens that ruled the province and what acomplishments they achieved during their reign.

Part of the celebration was a depiction of the history of Chiang Mai starting in 1250 AD.

Told you they were hot air balloons.

Those aren't UFO's, they are hot air ballons.

There was a night celebration also. Which included this band there were 4 wooden xylophones and various native instruments. There are thirty members in the band.

The blooms ranged from the size of a dime to a saucer. Some of the plants were 6 feet tall.

We have a lot of orchids in the states but I don't recall as large a variety as I saw here.

Those are all orchids. The display was about

10 feet wide and 6 feet high.

I can't pronounce nor spell any of the names of these orchids. But I enjoyed them anyway, I don't think they'll be offended if I don't know their names.

There was an orchid competition going on and there was 100's of orchids on display.

I believe these were called bearded

palms for obvious reason.

I can't tell you what type of palm this is but the trunks are a bright red and remain red.

I was impressed by the imagination in the landscaping. It appears that the bushses were designed to look like the roots of the trees.

The gardens were alot like a theme park. There

were many countries represented with a little touch of their culture.

The gardens covered more than 400 acres and was meticulously maintained.

In celebration of the Kings 82nd birthday they opened these gardens for free admission.

The landscaping would have put Disney to shame.

Again in Chiang Mai zoo the aviary was great. You walked among the birds and sometimes had to almost push them out of the way.

This is some kind of rooster.

Chiang Mai zoo was a little different than other zoos I've visited. Here some of the animals you could hand feed, like the Hippos. They were real beggers and also very vocal.

The roofs of the Hmong homes are metal, but the sides are either cypress or in a lesser degree thatched bamboo. Some have dirt floors others are elevated with wood floors. There is no set pattern for the buildings, they put them where they will fit and according to the hilly terrain.

The gardens at the Hmong village were well cared for and had many plants that we have in Florida.

A small attrctive sculpture of Buddah in a garden at a Hmong hilltribe village near Chiang Mai.

Orchids at the King's Palace. It is no longer used by the king but it is still called the Kings Palace. He has several. This one is very modest but has massive grounds.

That's me. Those pants are not my normal attire. I had to "rent" them in order to visit the King'spalce next to Doi Suthep. The fern in this garden were huge and so many varieties, all native to Thailand.

Just a butterfly on a huge Poinsettia. But he looked like a bird he was so large.

These are children from a Hmong hilltribe. They are doing a harvest dance.

The description on the plaque for this sculpture was not clear as to what exactly this is about. I do know that when a sculpture or picture of Buddah is shown standing with the right hand raised that he was to be helping the angels.

There were several schools and organizations that were at the wat to accept donations for their cause. The entertainment was cute this dance was a harvest dance, hence the collection baskets.

This Buddah sculpture is carved out of marble. The picture really can't capture

the beauty of it.

Buddah sculptures are in abundance at Wat Doi Suthep, which is the most sacred place in northern Thailand.

Orchids in Doi Suthep.

Orchids are in full bloom here and they are magnificent. These are in Doi Suthep.