Craig Buhrendorf and traveling/life partner, Jeane, have long enthralled our members with their photo journalism from travels abroad. This morning Craig, soon to be a permanent resident of Norman, North Carolina, entertained us with highlights from travels in South Asia during from 2005 to 2015. Without the beautiful pictures this write-up will not do justice to the presentation--you had to be there!
Bankok, Thailand, is a favorite city and country for Craig and Jeane. The Grand Palace is the former home of the Kings of Siam.
Cambodia and Angkor Wat were the next stops. With $1300 raised from personal and club donations, they visited a school to present supplies to the children.
Myanmar (formerly Burma) requires all cash to travel--no banks, ATMs, etc. A private guide is need to help negotiate. Craig and Jeane traveled by balloon one day and spent time at Inle Lake. They were able to celebrate Jeane's birthday at the home of their guide.
In Vietnam they visited the Ho Chi Minh Museum and a Military History Museum. The latter had a lot of US military hardware on display. The Hanoi Hilton was a very dreary looking place. Craig said it wasn't hard to imagine the ordeal suffered by our POWs. They spent an overnight on a Junk and traveled by train to the Hmong tribal region.
Bali is a land of terraced rice fields and Hindu temples. Most of Indonesia is Muslim but Bali remains Hindu. The scenery is beautiful.
Sri Lanka is a trouble country which had an ongoing civil war while they were visiting. They were not able to travel to some areas. A Tsunami had hit the country not long before their trip. While there, they went on a mini-safari. They also saw the renowned fire-eaters and fire-walkers. They stayed in an old home and traveled along the "tea trails" in the land of Ceylon Tea.
The Kingdom of Bhutan measures its gross national happiness over its wealth. This trip included another school visit to hand out supplies. They were also there at a time of costumed parades and festivals.
The Taj Mahal was the backdrop for the India trip. They were able to take an elephant ride--a practice that has since been banned. A tiger safari included a stay in a tent camp. To see the rare tigers, they traveled by jeep. Udaipur is a favorite place. The city palaces are magnificent. At one point they came upon a school talent show. They highlight of this trip was meeting up with Chloe Gummer, a former Rotary Exchange student from Canton sponsored by our club.
Thanks to Craig for the series of travelogues that he has presented over the years. We hope that you will come back to visit and entertain us in the future.