Today is the start of a unique adventure to South America, where in a 49 day period I will be exploring Bolivia and Brazil. These two countries share a common border, and two of the world’s most prominent ecozones – the Amazon rainforest and the Pantanal, an expansive wetland region - cover a large portion of Brazilian landscape as well as straddling the eastern portion of Bolivia.

These two countries are very, very different.

• Bolivia is a Spanish speaking country while in Brazil the language is predominantly Portuguese.
• Bolivia was once a stronghold of the Incan empire and the majority of the populations are descendants of these Incas, while Brazil’s population is an exotic mix of Europeans, blacks - descendants of African slaves - and indigenous Indians.
• Physically, Bolivia is an Andean country dominated by the high rugged mountains of the region and is landlocked, while Brazil has miles of coastline on her Atlantic seaboard and the huge Amazon Rainforest dominates the interior.
• Also Bolivia is the poorest country in South America and probably the least expensive for the traveler, while Brazil is relatively prosperous as well as one of most expensive countries to visit in South America.

I will be covering a lot of ground on this trip. The journey starts in La Paz, the capital of Bolivia, which at 11,500 feet above sea level makes it the highest capital of the world. For one week, I will stay in the highlands – taking in La Paz, Lake Titicaca and the Island of the Sun, the birthplace of the Inca.

From the Highlands of Bolivia, I will proceed to the Lowlands – starting at the colorful town of Rurrenabaque, the gateway to the Bolivia’s Amazon Basin and Madidi National Park. The most exciting part of this excursion will be a 4 day/3 night stay at a nature lodge located deep in the rainforest and owned by indigenous peoples of the area.

Finally, before crossing into Brazil, I will finish my stay in Bolivia at the hip mountain resort of Samaipata located in the Bolivian Oriente (Southeastern Bolivia). The village/resort town is a couple hours drive from Santa Cruz, Bolivia’s most populous city.

Then onto Brazil for the 2nd half of my long journey! You are welcome to join me if you are an adventure seeker and love the hot, muggy weather of the tropics. See my wild itinerary!

I have traveled to some fairly obscure and off the beaten path places in Northern Thailand, none more so than Uttaradit. Unknown to most Westerners, Uttaradit is a very pleasant and laid-back city with a very rich and interesting history as well as many beautiful places in the countryside.

Spared from excesses of tourism, Uttaradit offers the visitor a genuine
opportunity to experience Thai life and culture. Because the tourism infrastructure is somewhat rudimentary, finding a knowledgeable tour guide who speaks decent English can be a real challenge, although recruiting a capable driver for touring is relatively easy.

Visiting Uttaradit for the first time, I had the manager of my hotel set me up with a driver so I could tour and explore the area at my leisure. While I was able to take in the “Highlights of Uttaradit”, my experience would have been 200% better if the driver had some facility with English. Needless to say, an English-speaking driver/tour guide is a real luxury in this region of Thailand.

Highlights included the very impressive Sirikit Dam and Reservoir (located about 1 hour outside the city), the largest earthen dam in Thailand as well as nearby Lab Lae, an historic village surrounded by gardens and temples – sort of a throwback to the Thailand of olden days. Entering Lab Lae District – only 7 Km from the city of Uttaradit - there is a beautiful golden archway above the road. The crafts complex and the local museum at Lab Lae were very well done, and the gals who worked there were gracious enough to pose for series of very unique pictures.

In addition to Sirikit Dam and Lab Lae, we also stopped at the Uttaradit Municipality Museum. Inside were many detailed and colorful paintings and murals which depicted Uttaradit during the 18th and early 19th century when the city was very important trading center and the site of many important battles between the Kingdom of Siam and the Burmese.

Standing in front of nearby city hall, is a very unique monument of Phraya Phichai , a fearless Siamese general from Uttaradit province who fought valiantly against the hated Burmese in latter half of the 18th century. Because of his heroic deeds in battle, he earned the nickname of the Thai Superman.

Very few tourists have been to Uttaradit, a small, relatively obscure city of roughly 60,000 inhabitants located in the lower half of Northern Thailand. Lying on the banks of the Nan River, historically Uttaradit was once an important trading center. Like most cities in upcountry Thailand, there are some real beauty spots and some lovely scenery in the surrounding countryside.

Why go to Uttaradit? I have always been intrigued by places “off the beaten path”. When I discovered that a Thai friend of mine had often stopped in Uttaradit during her travels in Northern Thailand, my interest was peaked. Moreover, I fell in love with the name “Uttaradit”, which translates to Port of the North. With that logic in place, I had a good excuse to visit Uttaradit on my next trip to Northern Thailand.

How was my trip? After flying into Phitsanulok, I caught a local bus for the 90-minute journey to Uttaradit. I stayed for 3 nights at the Seeharaj Hotel, a traditional Thai style hotel located in the city’s small tourist quarter. The hotel was acceptable, but as an older property it should some signs of wear and tear. For Thai people, it represented a first class hotel and the place to be. Although I was the only farang at the hotel, I had a wonderful time during my brief stay.

Adjoining the lobby was a large lounge/nightclub. At night, the place really rocked as the house band (forgot their name) played a mix of Western pop hits – like Joy to the World and Black Magic Woman - as well as Thai pop standards. One of their female singers did an outstanding rendition of Hava Nagila.

On my 2nd night there, I discovered that one of Thailand’s premier rock bands “Carabao” was performing upstairs in one of their large ballrooms. No wonder, there were so many young couples parading upstairs decked out in their finest threads. In another section of the hotel, a transvestite – ladyboy show took place several times a week. On my last night there, I wandered over to check it out - the music was a little bit loud and the crowd was a little bit “exotic” for my taste.

Directly across the street, there were two bars popular with the young University Crowd, including one, which featured a live band performing Thai folk music nightly. In addition, one block away (and across the street) was Friday’s, a large complex which consisted of a sprawling department store and Uttaradit’s only other major hotel. On the top floor of Friday’s, there was a nightclub with a live band and an adjoining karaoke bar. Needless to say, entertainment options were not lacking in the small tourist quarter of Uttaradit.

I have come to the conclusion that people from Southeast Asia - Thailand and Malaysia in particular – are friendlier, more accommodating and hospitable than Americans as a whole. It could be that as an outsider and a tourist, Thais and Malaysians give me special treatment and they just enjoy mingling with American travelers.

Although Tourism is far more important to their national well being than us Americans, their friendly attitude towards western tourists may be just a cultural thing. In any case, I have been made to feel very welcome in Southeast Asia.

As a traveler in Southeast Asia, I have discovered that most people enjoy posing for a photograph, and thank me for taking their picture. Last year while staying at Phoom Thai Garden Hotel in Phrae, the young gals at the front desk willingly posed for set of photographs, as did the ladies who worked at Crafts Center in the village of Lab Lae (Uttaradit). These ladies really hammed it up in a group shot.

I have been welcomed at bars popular with the young University crowd in Chiang Mai and invited by a newly married Chinese couple to join their Wedding reception at a popular Chinese restaurant in Taiping, Malaysia.

In comparison, I really cannot see my fellow Americans being so openly friendly and accommodating to foreign tourists. Admittedly I receive the VIP treatment as a foreigner in a strange land but I am treated like the invisible man at home. I guess it’s just a cultural thing!

When I attended the local Carnival in the rural village of Boklua located in Northern Thailand’s Nan Province, it brought back wonderful memories of my childhood and I had terrific time.

The Carnival was a fundraiser for the local medical clinic, so all the monies went to a good cause. A variety of novel games were going on, including one which involved tossing rings on coke bottles. I played one game but failed miserably as my throws were way off the mark.

Another game was drawing quite a crowd and generating a lot of excitement (and noise) so I moved in that direction. Moving closer to the scene, I could see many people gathered around a small makeshift ring with chutes around the circumference. Suddenly, a young lady appeared and jumped into the ring, collecting bets from the frenzied spectators. The bets were in denomination of 5 baht. Not knowing what was going on, at first, I thought it was some version of the old crab race game.

Boy, I was way off base. I finally realized what was happening, when a young man let loose a small furry critter out ofa thick bamboo tube – the critter was a mouse. The little mouse scurried around the pit for a bit, accompanied by banging sticks and the clamor of the crowd, before dodging into one of the marked chutes. I had never seen anything like this before and I had good laugh.

Caught in the Spirit of the Carnival, I decided to make some bets on the next contest. First go-around, I selected only two chutes and I lost; 2nd time around, I selected 8 out of the 12 possible chutes. Pretty good odds, if you ask me! Needless to say, the little mouse dashed into chute #6 – which was one of the many that I bet on, so I came up a big winner.

My prize? It was a bag of sunflower chips which I later gave to a young lad who worked at my hotel. Who said that “an old fart” like me couldn’t have any fun in Thailand?