Goerwitz

This is the Compassion International Thai headquarters.

We visited here at the request of Amy's mother, to make a connection with a child she helps through Compassion International. (Amy, my wife, is on the right. Jariya, my daughter, is beside her.)

Compassion International is a Christian aid organization.

Although I don't think there there are really any elephants in the wild left in Thailand (except maybe in Khao Yai National Park), elephants are raised widely, mainly, we gather, as tourist and recreational attractions. Elephants brought in for rides and general amusement have actually become quite a problem in Bangkok.

Here Jariya feeds an elephant a piece of sugar cane at the Elephant Conservatory in Lampang. Elephants are remarkably adept at handling small bits of food handed to them.

This is a fun picture of the Thai family who invited us to their home then took us through some of the major sights around Chiang Mail, Lampang, and Sukhothai.

This picture was taken in the Phetchabun Mountains. The young guy in the middle, Pannavit (all Thais have nicknames, by the way, and his is "Benz"), lived with us in the US for ten months.

On the way back from Wat Phra That Phanom, probably the holiest site in northeastern Thailand, we saw this bridge spanning the Mekhong river, to Laos.