Lee Note 124 Trip Report from Marilyn Ash December 31, 2001

Dear Kay,

Seasons greetings to you and hope you have a Happy New Year. This holiday has been busy, busy as usual. After my trip to Bangkok, it just seemed like the days flew by. All of my children came to my house for Christmas and that makes 10 of us in a small two-bedroom townhouse. We had a great time. We did not even mind sleeping on the couch for a few nights. I have been wanting to write about my trip and also my visit with Margie, but just did not find the time, so here it is a few months later.

Notes from Marilyn (Ash) Wilson

Recently I traveled to Bangkok, Thailand to attend a conference and also for a tour afterwards. When I found out I would be traveling to L.A. for the flight, I e-mailed to our friend (Margie Morris Dolezal) and told her I would be in L.A. I called Margie when I arrived and we planned to have dinner together and she would pick me up at the hotel. Margie and I have not seen each other in a very long time, like high school.

After our first glance at each other, we knew each other again. It did not take us long at all to start talking together just like there had not been any time past between us. We drove along the coast and then found a neat restaurant to have our dinner and wine together. It was an exciting evening and so much fun being in L.A. with Margie. Thanks Margie.

The next morning I boarded a plane for a very long flight (19 hours). I thought we would never get there. Well at last, at 4:30 a.m. we finally arrive at our hotel in Bangkok, Thailand. The hotel staff was waiting for us with smiling faces and a glass of juice. The Thai people are very friendly and like Americans. (We have money to spend in their country, that needs money.)

The conference I went to attend was with my travel club (The Friendship Force), and it was a very big success. This is an international organization, so we had people from all over the world attending. Our organization promotes peace and friendships with other peoples and nations, so this was an important conference for us after the recent events on September 11.

We had four fun filled days at the conference making new friends and experiencing the Thai ways. The food was great (spicy sometimes) and the city was wonderful to see. It has a lot of old Temples and history and we enjoyed touring all that we could. The streets are lined with what we called (street markets), everyone in Thailand works and sells something. The city is big and lots of people, but we felt safe and stayed in a very nice hotel.

A big group of us then flew to the north of Thailand and went on a seven day tour of Northern Thailand. The country is very beautiful, plush, and clean. This was just after the rainy season, so the flowers were blooming and the trees all green. We went on several river tours, each city has a river that they use for everything. (Live on, swim, bath, and fish.) The Temples are all covered with beautiful shining gold leaf.

Our guide was wonderful and filled us in on all the history, religion and political aspects of the country. We gained an education also on the customs. We visited two (hill villages) and the children were so cute, they sang for us and just smiled. These people live in small villages and do not have the modern housing that most of the people enjoy.

Shopping was fun and we did that every chance we got. The most enjoyable and relaxing times were the foot massages and body massages. We discovered those and had one each day. The price was so cheep we could afford them. For a full hour foot massage, it cost $6.00 and the body massage the same $6.00. I pay $60.00/hour here in the states.

Each hotel we stayed at was excellent and the service great. Like I said earlier, all the Thai people were so friendly. This was a very exciting and wonderful experience for me and one I will remember for a long time. If you have a chance to go to Thailand, do so. Forget about the long flight, but go to make friends with the people and enjoy the country side.

I have enjoyed my year 2001 and have many memories to put in my storehouse (brain). I wish to all of you a very Happy New Year and God's blessings on each of you.

Marilyn (Ash) Wilson

mlynwilson@hotmail.com