Good memory in Myanmar - Day 4

Maha Myat Muni Pagoda in Mandalay.
The original image was made out of alloy but fine foils of gold were glided on and it now weights over a ton. The golden crown of the image is decorated with diamonds, jades, rubies, sapphires, and emeralds. It is the most ancient Buddha image in Myanmar. It was cast in the life-span of Lord Buddha in the seated posture of relaxed deportment, namely Bumi Phasa Mudras, symbolic of His Conquest of Mara.



An old Palace at Mandalay.



Our wing at the hotel in Bagan



The deluxe wing of the hotel.



We climb up this pagoda to view the field of pagodas in Bagan.



Sunset in Bagan.

Good memory in Myanmar - Day 3

Visit the Kyaikhtiyo Pogoda before departing to Mandaley.

Kyaikhtiyo Pagoda is a 7.3 meter pagoda on top of a bigh "Golden Rock". The massive golden boulder is right on top of the Kyaikhto mountain. Legend says that the boulder maintains its precarious balace due to a precisely placed Buddha hair inside the Pagoda.

Good memory in Myanmar - Day 2

We start our day around 5 a.m. in the morning to visit the magnificent Shwedagon Pagoda again. It is the most sacred pagoda as it enshrines the relics of the three earlier buddha and the eight haris of the Gautama Buddha.


As the pagoda sits upon holy Singuttara hill, one can walk up using stairs, an escalator or an elevator. Wow!! how modern!!!



Kyaik Pun Pagoda at Bago.



A Burmese lady selling postcard and "Thanaka". She is a nice and good natured girl that finally Noo Ta buys one of her products.



Mer and Noo Ta at Shwemawdaw Pagoda.



Shwethalyaung Buddha - a new image one.

Our last destination for tonight is at Kyaikhtiyo Pagoda.

Good memory in Myanmar - Day 1

After arrival in Yangon this morning and deposit our backpacks at the hostel, we start our trip at Chauk Htat Gyi Reclining Buddha Temple.



Sule Pogoda near the hostel.
It is said to contain a hair given by the Buddha to two Burmese merchants.

Our last visit for today is at Shwedagon Pagoda.

Spring USA Trip - Day16

In front of Khun Jum’s house.
We spend the day shopping around town and went to have Korean dinner hosted by Jum and Khun Robert. It is very delicious one, sorry no picture.

And that’s the end of my trip.

Spring USA Trip - Day15

Visit Golden Gate in the morning. Couldn’t resist driving at the Lombard street. Victorian House. Was this one in the scenes of TV show long time ago: พริกขี้หนูและหมูแดง starring by my favorite actor and actress: ก้องและหมิว?? Then we walk along at Fisherman's Wharf at Pier 39.
Tonight Eak goes back to Thailand while Koh takes a flight to Seattle to visit her friend.

Spring USA Trip - Day14

Camel-by-the-Sea, a small lovely town. It is also one of the entrance to the 17-mile-scenic-drive.
Stop by at the Pebble Beach Golf Club for the golfers to view one of the famous golf courses; though impossible to play there. :-)

Spring USA Trip - Day13

We enter the park through the I-40 road on the southwest entrance and stop to explore the Yosemite Valley
From http://www.nps.gov/yose/
“….Yosemite Valley is world famous for its impressive waterfalls, meadows, cliffs, and unusual rock formations….”
Million of years ago, the granite block of Half Dome was larger, but there never was a matching half. Undercut by glaciers near the base, slabs of rock fell away form a broad vertical crack in the granite, leaving a sheer face. Remnants of the missing rock still project from Half Dome’s rim. There are more granite domes at the park than in any other place in the world. Massive granite domes form when large curved layers of rock “exfoliate” or slab off.
Half Dome is perhaps the most recognized symbol of Yosemite. Rising nearly 5,000 feet above the valley floor, it is one of the most sought-after landmarks in Yosemite.
Then we drive to the southern part of the park to visit the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias. “….The Mariposa Grove is located 36 miles (one hour) south of Yosemite Valley, near the park's South Entrance. The Mariposa Grove is the largest stand of giant sequoias (also known as Sierra redwoods or big trees) in Yosemite….”

Spring USA Trip - Day12

Too bad that we have to continue our journey since Lake Tahoe is a lovely town with superb view. I wish to come back here sometime in the future, especially in the winter; although I am not sure that I can stand the cold weather or not.

Along the road to Yosemite National Park, the road is so winding that we all agree that our road to Mae-Hong-Sorn comes to second.

Tonight we stay at Bug Hostel near Yosemite National Park. The only hostel for this trip.

Spring USA Trip - Day11

In front of Boyd's house

Longest day on the road from West Yellowstone, Montana to Lake Tahoe, Nevada. We get there around 9:30 p.m. and have dinner hosted by Boyd at his restaurant, Thai One On. Its decoration is nice; it is our first Thai meal of this trip. We stay overnight at Boyd’s house.

Spring USA Trip - Day10

Wake up with the snow in the sky, I almost could not believe my eyes since it is “May”, Spring season!!!
We have to borrow the snow scrapper from the hotel to remove snow from the windshield.
Contrary to Grand Teton, here at Yellowstone, we see bison and elk so often that we just pass them without slow or stop our car for taking pictures anymore. Our main interest is at the Mammoth Hot Springs located in the northern part of the park.
“…the location of springs and the rate of flow changes daily, that "on-again-off-again" is the rule…” So the mammoth hot springs that we see today rarely has any water on. So we have to imagine that…..“…Travertine formations grow much more rapidly than sinter formations due to the softer nature of limestone. As hot water rises through limestone, large quantities of rock are dissolved by the hot water, and a white chalky mineral is deposited on the surface….”
We then drive to the northern part of the park, stop our car whenever we see a group of cars parking along the road. Most of them use the binocular to view wildlife. We see three of white foxes baking in the sun, a mom and a child grizzly bear playing together, a red fox and a group of pronghorns.
We then visit the Yellowstone canyon;
“…..Mineral stains mark the sites of hot springs and steam vents in the canyon walls. For thousands of years, upwardly percolating fluids have altered the chemistry of the rocks, turning them yellow, red white and pink….”
Fishing village that it is still cold that the surface of the lake frosts.

Spring USA Trip - Day9

Since the south entrance to the Yellowstone from Jackson is still closed, we have to detour by entering Yellowstone through West Yellowstone , Montana. Our first visiting point is at the Old Faithful Geysers.
From the website: http://www.nps.gov/yell/
“….Established in 1872, Yellowstone National Park is America's first national park. Located in Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho, it is home to a large variety of wildlife including grizzly bears, wolves, bison, and elk. Preserved within Yellowstone National Park are Old Faithful and a collection of the world's most extraordinary geysers and hot springs, and the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.
With half of the earth’s geothermal features, Yellowstone holds the planet’s most diverse and intact collection of geysers, hot springs, mudpots, and fumaroles. Its more than 300 geysers make up two thirds of all those found on earth. Combine this with more than 10,000 thermal features comprised of brilliantly colored hot springs, bubbling mudpots, and steaming fumaroles…”

Spring USA Trip - Day8

Today is another long driving day from Salt Lake City, Utah to Jackson, Wyoming to visit Grand Teton National Park. The weather is so cloudy and cold with strong wind chill. Though the view is quite superb, we are quite disappointed with the park since we expect the see many wildlife in the park such as bison, elk, mouse. But end up seeing only 1-2 bison, 1 group of elks and 1 fox. The small town itself is full of wildlife decorative and a good place to stroll; however, I prefer to stay in a hotel taking a hot shower, while the rest of the gang go out to visit the town.

Spring USA Trip - Day7

Today we will be back to town, Salt Lake City; some of our gang may looking forward to civilization.



Capitol Canyon

Gas Station

On the route to Salt Lake City, the capital of Utah, we stop by at Provo recommended by Pe Arm. Brigham Young University main campus is located here. The town seems to be one of the good living places.

http://www.visittemplesquare.com/home.asp
We walk in the downtown to visit Temple Square.






Salt Lake City is well-known for Mormon pioneer history
Temple: This building is a worldwide icon of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the heart of Temple Square. The massive granite edifice was constructed in a neo-gothic style over the course of an astounding 40-year period between 1853 and 1893. However, only members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are permitted to enter the temple.
.”………… Four days after entering the Salt Lake Valley on 24 July 1847, Brigham Young designated where the temple would be built, and on 6 April 1853, he laid the cornerstone of the temple foundation. That event marked the beginning of a long construction process……..”
Note: Brigham Yong was the leadership of the Mormon pioneers traveled from Illinois to Utah and established a rich society and culture in Utah.
On the southwest corner of Temple Square is the Assembly Hall, a charming Gothic-style building with lovely stained-glass windows. This jewel of a building was constructed by Latter-day Saint pioneers in 1877.

Spring USA Trip - Day6

Last night we checked in at one of Days Inn, of which the lady owner was very nice. We came to the place quite late, though it was about 60 miles from Bryce Canyon, but it seemed to take forever for me since the road was so winding and twisting. By the time that we reached the place, we were so hungry. We asked to use the microwave to warm our food and the lady was so willing helping us: providing hot waters, no complain that we used her breakfast room for dinner.
Today we continue our trip as planned to visit Arches National Park; of which one of the Arches, Delicate Arch, is on Utah car template.
And I am glad that on the route we follow from the GPS, it passes the Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park. It is the 3,730 acres of fine salmon-colored grains, surrounded by red sandstone cliffs, and deep emerald forests. Who would think that there would be forests next to the sand dunes. It is a massive playground for hiking, off-highway vehicle riding.


Arches National Park offers a 40-mile round-trip paved road for visitors to visit the major sights, including Balanced Rock, Skyline Arch, Double Arch in the Windows Section, Fiery Furnace, and the park's most famous geologic feature - Delicate Arch.
I choose the easy trail first which is the Windows Section and then the Delicate Arch. The Delicate Arch trail is about 3 miles, of which it take about 1.30 hours walking and for me it seems like 3 miles (roundtrip) by flying, not by walking. The trail slopes gradually upward ,the total elevation gain is only 480 feet, but it seems steeper than that as I climb up the slickrock ridge. There is no shade!!! Steps have been carved into the sandstone to make it easy to get up some steep places. In one spot the trail follows a shelf on the side a solid-rock mountain, a sheer cliff falling off one side.

Spring USA Trip - Day5

Our first place for today is at Zion National Park, where a lot of people come to trek. Though one should check the weather before starting the journey since warning signs are posted at the park website.
“………All narrow canyons are potentially hazardous. Flash floods, cold water, and strong currents present real dangers that can be life-threatening. Your safety depends on your own good judgement, adequate preparation, and constant attention……”

For us we enjoy the view by driving.




Red Canyon before entering Bryce Canyon.




78 miles from Zion is Bryce Canyon National Park which many hoodoos to see. (A hoodoo is a pinnacle, spire or odd-shaped rock left standing by the forces of erosion.) It takes a minimum of 3 hours to drive to the 13 viewpoints along the park's 38-mile (round-trip) scenic drive. It looks like แพะเมืองผี (Phae-muang-pee) at Phare province, but in a very very larger scale. We take lots of pictures until sunset and have to drive to find an accommodation since we haven’t booked any for tonight.

Spring USA Trip - Day4

Another day at Grand Canyon, but at the South Rim. The average distance across the North Rim and South Rim canyon “as the condor flies” is ten miles (16 km). However, traveling requires a five-hour drive of 215 miles (345 km). Therefore, we do not have enough time to visit the North Rim.



At the Desert Tower Point.
“…..Building a structure that provides the widest possible view of the Grand Canyon yet harmonizes with its setting was architect Mary Colter's goal when the Santa Fe Railroad hired her in 1930 to design a gift shop and rest area at Desert View Point. The Watchtower opened in May of 1933. ….”




We then drive to Page to visit the Antelope Canyon. It is one of my wish list since I saw some pictures from my friend two years ago. It is a fascinating place. We visit only the Upper Antelope Canyon by buying a tour cost around USD 26 per person. Since it is the last tour of the day, there is no other tourist in our group except our guide’s family. So we all enjoy the tour.





http://www.navajonationparks.org/htm/antelopecanyon.htm
Excerpt from the website:
Gently carved from the Navajo sandstone over the course of countless millenniums, the slot canyons are majestic and narrow passages, just enough space for a small group to walk the sandy floor - and for the occasional shafts of sunlight to shine down from above.
The Navajo name for Upper Antelope Canyon is Tse' bighanilini, which means "the place where water runs through rocks." Upper Antelope is at about 4,000 feet elevation and the canyon walls rise 120 feet above the streambed.
Though dry most of the year, Antelope Canyon runs, and sometimes floods, with water after rains. It is the water, slowly wearing away the sandstone grain by grain, that has formed the beautiful and graceful curves in the rock. Wind has also played a role in sculpting this fantastic canyon.



With the sun still high in the sky, we rush back to visit another interesting place, the Navajo Bridge.

“….Those traveling across the country on Highway 89A between Bitter Springs and Jacob Lake AZ arrive at two bridges similar in appearance spanning the Colorado River. These two bridges, one historic and one new, represent one of only seven land crossings of the Colorado River for 750 miles (1207 km)…..”



End the day at the Horseshoe Bend

“…..the Colorado River makes a wide sweep around a sandstone escarpment. Long ago, as the river meandered southward, it always chose the most downward slope. This downward journey did not always occur in a straight line, and sometimes the river made wide circles around higher spines of rock. Here at Horseshoe Bend, the Colorado River did just that, and as the river cut down through the layers of sandstone, it created a horseshoe-shaped bend in the canyon…..”

Spring USA Trip - Day3

First stop is at Hoover Dam before we visit the Hualapai Indian Reservation at the West-Rim Grand Canyon National Park.



It would be best traveling by a four-wheel car since the dirt road is so rough and rugged with the desert all around us, no facilities at all.



Along the road to the Reservation.



View from the West – Rim Grand Canyon. (no camera on the glass walkway)
The West-rim part is now a tourist spot for the new skywalk opened last month. So there is not many website providing enough information on this new place. We misunderstood that we could buy only the skywalk pass which was USD 25 per person. However, it turned out that we needed to buy a tour and then a walkway was an optional; total price for the cheapest tour was around USD 75 per person. A tour is for 2 places: Indian village and a Ranch including lunch and a shuttle bus.
“….to walk along a curved bridge with a glass-bottom walkway projecting 70 feet out over a section of the canyon with near vertical walls, and so look straight down to the Colorado River, nearly 4,000 feet below….”



The Village consists of dwellings depicting not only the Hualapai Tribe, but three other Arizona Tribes and tipis that represent many Plains Indian Tribes. The dwellings have been constructed authentically by representatives of each Nation.