Post by thread:[OT]: Coming to a City, State or Country near you

Hi Russ-- Since you're outdoor types, I would suggest trying to change your itinerary from Bangkok to Chiang Mai's international airport. Barring that it would be better to transit directly from international arrivals terminal to domestic departures terminal ;-) Chiang Mai gives you forests and mountains, along with wild orchids, river rafting and elephant treks. If you're seaside, sailing or diving buffs, then rebook for one of the islands or even Phuket, if you want to travel half way around the world to stay among a bunch of foreigners (as in non-Thais). I've lived here over 15 years and have yet to find an excuse to travel to Phuket, even though I have several friends who live there. Seriously, this is not a family vacation type city, especially if you only have 2 days. Two weeks, I can show you a happy time "around" (as in mostly outside ...) the city. The Tourism Authority of Thailand pushes BKK real hard because it is a shopping revenue generator. Of course it is an excellent choice if you are into exploring beautiful temples or Buddhism in general. Regards/Roger, in Bangkok -- http://www.piclist.com hint: To leave the PICList .....piclist-unsubscribe-requestKILLspam@spam@mitvma.mit.edu>

You forgot Capitol Reef National Monument... and Zion National Park, two more "must see" Southwest parks. I know Russell won't have time for them, but they're in that area, and maybe others who haven't visited will consider it. Capitol Reef is an amazing quiet place no one ever remembers to visit, out in the middle of darn near nowhere, and the history surrounding it is quite amazing. The original one-room schoolhouse still stands there, and when you think about trying to live there, you're completely amazed people survived the harsh climate. The fruit tree grove standing there from the original settlers in the middle of the desert, is still producing fruit which can be purchased when in season for a modest donation, as well. Other historical records indicate that numerous "Old West" criminals hid out in the canyons of the Capitol Reef area when hiding from the lawmen of the day, as well. Zion is a bit too crowded anymore, but is still one of the most beautiful places I've visited. To truly appreciate it you must be prepared to spend at least one day with hard hiking (climbing using steel cables blasted into the rock to help you hold on in some places) to look out from the high points to the valley below. The water pools have been irreversibly damaged -- they used to be a beautiful green, but too many people diving in long ago and introducing filth and chemicals (sunscreen, etc) and this has killed off the algae and changed them to clear -- the Park Service now has them roped off and is attempting to recover them to original state, years and years ago, but they're still one of the most beautiful spots to go see in the Park. There's also the Great Sand Dunes in southern Colorado and the lesser-known Pink Sand Dunes State Park in Utah, where the red rock has eroded over the years to form giant pink-rose colored sand dunes. Your mention of Arches reminded me that I need to get over there this summer. It's one of the only parks I haven't seen and it's very close. I want to hike the riverbed and go out to some of the far-out arches. And there's always a huge number of beautiful places and interesting things to see here in Colorado, which is my home State. If you haven't seen the Rocky Mountains, Colorado's a good place to start... of course the Northern Rockies are gorgeous also as you continue north along the range. If you like Old West mining history, there's no better place than the Colorado high-country to visit mine-shafts, mills, see the old still-standing cable transport systems, and even a crazy idea to use paddle-wheel steamers as dredges which are still in what's left of the river-bed near Ouray, CO today and still partially afloat -- people are allowed out on them, they've been relatively stabilized and you can walk across a plank bridge and stand on some crazy guy's idea -- from the early 1900's. Not much left of them but rotting carcasses, but with a little imagination and the help of a couple of old photographs, you can picture these grand boats chugging up and down the river ... panning for gold. I love it... this discussion makes me want to get out of Denver and get the heck up in the Mountains RIGHT NOW... 4-wheel drive trails to ghost towns I haven't visited yet are calling. Nate Duehr, nateKILLspamnatetech.com {Original Message removed}