old tiger's Blog

So..we reached Don Muang..got through the customs..
taxi to a hotel..which we booked at the airport..
beware for taxi scams..it's just like New Delhi..
taxi drivers try to take you somewhere else...
where they get a commission..they tell you..
that the hotel where you wanna go..
does not exist anymore etc..don't believe it..
we got a 2nd class hotel near Silom Road..
3 days Bangkok was enough..hectic traffic..
tuktuk taxis..noise..we visited the temples..
wat Arun..wat Brenchamabopit..so many temples..
the Grand palace..emerald Buddha..wat Pho..
Thai's are Buddhist mostly..the city lies on a river..
called Chao Phraya..full of khlongs=canals...
this first day..was filled with visit temples..
in the evening a walk through Patpong..the bar area..
watch out for touts..folks who just are after your money..
we took food in a Chinese restaurant..funny story..
we went into this small restaurant..full of local folks..
one can point out a fish in a tank..they'll fish it out..
and prepare it for you..rather quick...fish was called..
under a local name plakapong..don't even know what it was??
but it tasted damn good..on the way back to Silom road..
we visited a Thai supermarket..it's a different world...
Thai's are very curious and helpfull..but their knowledge..
of the English language..was mostly non existent..
I'll try to find a good link on Bangkok city..
http://www.bangkok.com/information/
Tiger

So..we booked a ticket with Bangla Biman Airlines..
Brussels-New Delhi(stop)Dacca(Bangladesj)
then we had a connection Dacca-Bangkok..
my wife got an aunt living in Dacca..we got a visa..
we only stayed 2 days in Dacca..hectic place..
overpopulation..lots of ricksjahs..lovely people...
http://www.discoverybangladesh.com/capital.html
the East Bengali's were separated from West Pakistan..
after a bloody war..the country Bangladesh..is poor..
they suffer from floods quite often...but the soil is fertile..
I bet they could easily have a few rice crops in a year..
political corruption,fervent religious activists..make this place..
not a tourist country..but I found it damn beautiful..
if you fly from Calcutta and look out of the plane window...
the landscape displaced looks fascinating...my wife's aunt..
lived in a nice area of Dacca..they were well off..nice house..
they took us to a Chinese restaurant in Dacca town..
we did not see much of Dacca town anyway..
it was more like a cosy family visit..I really enjoyed it..
Dacca airport was quite fancy and modern..we flew to Bangkok..
we were gonna stay 10 days in Thailand..Bangkok+Chiangmai..
then we flew with Thai airways to Calcutta(India)
we reached Don Muang airport(Bangkok)on an october day..
I will relate about my Thailand adventures in next posting...
Tiger

So..back to Poznan by train..stayed 1 more night..
that last evening..we attended a service in a church..
damn..these Polish churches..are just beautiful inside..
lots of baroque..the church was packed like a sardine bottle..
now..Marian did us a proposal..in these days..if any Polish..
wanted to visit a foreign country...they needed a prove..
a financial back up..an invititation..a sponsoring..
he wanted to visit Belgium one day..so..he gave us..
a whole table set..of silverware,plates,Polish crystal..
point was..you couldn't take it over the border..
not even as a tourist..not in that amount anyway..
we agreed..to welcome him in our place..we took the set..
with us..went by train back through East Berlin..
we were damn nervous..but..damn lucky as well..
the customs did NOT search our stuff..otherwise...bingo..
up till today..when I'm writing these lines..I got some plates..
from Poland..I broke some in these 25 years or more..
but..fact is..Marian never made a request to come over..
we damn lost contact..I remember his sister Elisabeth..
and his 2 kid brothers..baboeska...his grandmother..
I bet..Poles..are hippies at heart..I've noticed East Europeans..
OFTEN get another mentality about what life is all about..
Poland is free now..so is the DDR...the Berlin wall is broken down..
I worked in the bloody coalmines..with Poles,Turks,Italians..etc..
fact is..in a coalmine..we were all BLACK..it's different..
once we came into broad daylight..then religion,race,life attitudes..
were creeping up..point is..we are all humans..reaching out..
for inner peace..happiness?hippies fought for their ideals in the 60's..
I think we lost that battle...open your television set..listen to the news..
then..we all know..peace..is far away indeed..but peace..
can survive only..if you're at peace with yourself..
so..we came back home in Belgium..with our Polish adventure..
next trip was one to remember..we flew..with Bangla Biman airways..
to Dacca(Bangladesh)then to Bangkok(Thailand)stayed 10 days..
in Thailand..flew to Dacca..and visited India again..only Assam..
flew from Calcutta via stopover in New Delhi..to Brussels..
will keep you peeps engaged with my travell adventures..
Tiger..

This place was about 15 kms away from Krakow town..
the salt mines there...are worthwhile a visit..it's fabulous...
this mine is in use for a very long time..we went down by lift..
for a coalminer like myself..a daily routine..it was part of my job..
as a coalminer in Belgium..I worked at level 789m below ground..
it was dusty...hot..claustrofobic..dangerous..but I loved the job..
the pay was good..and we got the possibility..to take leave..
as we wanted..so..that's how I could do this trip towards Poland...
this saltmine..got lots of tunnels..what's amazing...is the carvings
done into the salt..a whole cathedral is carved out in one corridor..
furthermore we saw statues,monuments etc...all carved out..
I believe it was about 130m below ground??the visit was excellent..
felt bit cold there..in this mine.there's an underground sanatorium
for treatments of respiratory and allergic diseases..
we bought some *sol*=salt..as a souvenir..good for footbaths..
if you peeps ever be around Krakow..please visit this mine....
a link for this mine.. http://www.kopalnia.pl/home.php?action=&id_language=2&
we went back to Krakow..and then by train to Poznan..
our Polish holiday was a really great experience..
Tiger

So..up to Silezia territory..Katowice+Bielsko Biala.
Katowice is coalmine and industrial country..
very industrial place..I didn't like it at all..
Krakow was reached..we put up in a nice hotel for 2 nights...
now..let me tell you all about this town..the market square..
is a wonderfull place to stroll around..it's very alive...
lots of shops..markets..Poland is known for embroidery on clothes.
we bought a nice skirt for my wife..flowers and roses embroidered..
Krakow is a student's town..full of pubs,cosy caf?'s,restaurants..
the old town is great to make a walk..Kazimierz is a popular area..
with Jewish backgrounds..Krakow is full of musea..historical buildings..
we did have a glance at the Wawel castle..we didn't visit..
it looked very impressive..next day my wife wanted to visit..
Auschwitz..concentration camp..but since it was my wife's birthday..
Marian suggested NOT to do it..to grim..to depressiv..
instead we visitied a saltmine called Wielickzka..
it was an experience..never to forget..I'll report in another posting..
http://www.krakow.pl/en/turystyka/?id=wawel.html
Tiger