Traveling family explores Thailand

By JEAN BOLDUC chh@herald-sun.com; 933-8883 Chapel Hill Herald Sunday, January 14, 2001 Final Edition Front Section Page 1

THAILAND - While Chapel Hill has been in a deep freeze, 9-year-old Max Lewis and his parents have been swatting flies, sweating themselves to sleep, participating in a wedding, keeping ahead of scam artists and struggling with intestinal distress.

Scheduled to return to Chapel Hill in June, the Lewises have now reached the farthest point of their yearlong trek around the world. The family's dream trip soon will focus on making their way home from Australia, where they've just recently landed.

Arriving in Thailand, Julie Lewis was excited as her mother, who lives in Colorado, arrived to join in the adventure for 12 days with her, Max and husband Mark.

"It seemed like it had been forever, and we had so much catching up to do," Julie Lewis said. "It was a great chance for Max and Mom to really get to know each other."

Max immensely enjoyed the attention his grandmother lavished on him, and Julie Lewis said the touch of home was like a tonic for her as well.

"It is a wonderful feeling to watch your parents with your own children," she said. "I got so much joy from being with my mom and watching the two of them together - a really special time that I will not forget."

Touring Thailand presented the Lewises with a choice - north or south. They couldn't do it all, as the country is long and narrow. They chose northern Thailand, rented a van to drive them for five days, then took a seven-hour night train to Chiang Mai. From there, they hired another driver to explore the hill tribes and sights along the way to Mae Hong Son.

Arriving for two days in the big city of Bangkok, Julie Lewis was thrilled with a sight for sore eyes.

"We walked the city only to find a Starbucks, the first we had seen since home. There was a 'Grande Cappuccino' with my name on it!" she said.

Bangkok has all the trappings of a metropolis, including scam artists. While there, the Lewises were approached by a chatty local man who described a gem center where shoppers could get jewelry at cut-rate prices.

They decided to go and whistled for a tuk-tuk, a three-wheel vehicle that is part tricycle and part motorcycle. They hopped in the back and quickly had "tuk-tuk trouble." The driver asked them to get out and sit on a bench while he fixed his tuk-tuk.

He took the motor apart, and another chatty gentleman approached with lots of advice about what to do in the city.

"When we told him we were going to the gem center, he looked astounded," Julie Lewis said. "He wanted to know how we heard of it and then preceded to show us, on paper, how there is no middleman, which allows them to sell for quite a deal. He said he worked for the U.N., but when my mom inquired as to what he did for them, he said it was a long time ago."

The tuk-tuk was quickly "fixed," and the family went on to the center where they were given a drink, parked in front of a video, marched past gem polishers and jewelry designers and sent on to a showroom with two saleswomen who Julie Lewis said attached to them like Velcro.

"The deals were not that great, the designs average, and we left without buying," she said. "It was later that we realized that the 'chatty Thai guys' worked for the center and the tuk-tuk was part of the act."

The Grande Palace was high on the Lewises' must-see list.

"Golden temples, perfectly pruned grounds, bright flowers and wild statues greeted us as we entered the palace," Julie Lewis said. "Max enjoyed the weapons display and posing like the statues."

Buddhist monks, who are not to be touched by women, roamed the palace in their saffron-colored robes.

"[They] jumped up when Mom got too close for a picture with them. She decided that a game of 'monk in the middle' could be fun if you had enough women to play," Julie Lewis said.

The Lewises stopped at what was the famous "Bridge on the River Kwai" built by the prisoners of war in World War II.

"It is an amazing story, but the site itself was average and tourist-infested," she said.

They continued their drive to Ayutaya, the Siamese royal capital, with several red-brick historical monuments built hundreds of years ago. The Burmese, Julie Lewis said, defaced many of the Buddha statues during attacks.

Next stop, Pitsanaluk, a small quiet town conveniently located on the way to Sukothai.

"We drove for six hours that day and were all a bit zoned," Julie Lewis said. "We stayed in a great hotel with another Thai show at night, more karaoke from beautiful girls with absolutely no voice talent!"

With prevalent prostitution, the AIDS epidemic is a serious problem in Thailand. Lewis said that it's one that the local government pays only lip service to, not wishing to discourage visiting businessmen from bringing their dollars to Bangkok.

"Instead of reducing the number of prostitutes, they now recruit much younger girls - under 15 - touting to the tourists that the girls are less likely to be infected, and it's working!" Julie Lewis said. "In Bangkok, row after row of strip clubs line the market area downtown. From prom dresses to G-strings ... they have it all!"

Leaving the seedier side behind, the family spent the next day visiting the waterfalls in a national park as the Thai prepared for the Loi Krathong Festival. It's an annual celebration of the moon that the Lewises would celebrate the next evening in Sukothai.

"It is celebrated on a chosen full moon night, and hundreds of small boats made of banana leaves, candles, incense and flowers are floated down the river," Julie Lewis said. "The center candle is lit and a wish made prior to it being sent down the river.

"If the candle blows out before the krathong [the boat] is out of site, you will not get your wish, which is why the local boys are often paid to jump in the river and free the krathong should it get stuck.

"We picked out our favorite krathong, made our wish, lit the candle and watched as it slowly floated in the pond. My candle burned out immediately ... so much for world peace!"

The Lewises' trek to the national park was slow, Max's mother said.

"The locals headed to the historical park with tons of generations packed in the back of their trucks. Max was yelling an exaggerated 'hello' out the window, and everyone would laugh! The traffic was thick and slow, so we passed the same car several times. Each time, they would crack up and giggle at Max, who loved it," she said.

On their way, they stopped for a cup of famous Rain Forest Coffee and discovered a hidden resort.

"Wild orchids, birds of paradise and flowers filled the resort, it was an absolute delight," Julie Lewis said. "We walked the grounds, enjoyed the car traveling, which left plenty of conversation time with my mom."

While visiting Chiang Mai for a couple of days, the Lewises went to a snake and reptile farm. There, Max discovered he could really move when necessary.

"We watched the trainers tease the cobras and assorted scary snakes to make them fight," his mother said. "At one point, they talked about the amazing flying snake and then tossed a rope in the audience. Max flew!"

Moving on to Bali, Mark, Julie and Max were invited to a local wedding after Mark Lewis befriended an art gallery's owner - the groom. The 6 a.m. ceremony is normally reserved for family only.

In the heavy, humid air, dress is surprisingly difficult, with the women sporting their golden sarongs and large golden headdresses.

The bride and groom ushered the Lewises to their seats after greeting them with a plate of black rice with sugar, pudding and caramel cake. Another ceremony that followed offered a duck wrapped in lavender ribbon, a hair snipping ceremony for the wedding party, songs and prayers and a coconut filled with holy water splashed on the wedding party by the priest.

As Max struggled to get a good view of the ceremony, one of the grandfathers present brought him to the front for a better angle.

"Their kindness to Max and their generosity towards us was eye-opening," Julie Lewis said.

After a day at the beach on Bali's famous black sand - it's volcanic - and a coconut oil massage, Mark Lewis found the "fly in the ointment." He suffered a nightlong bout with an intestinal bug.

He's had tummy trouble every couple of weeks since Nepal, Julie Lewis said, and once settled in Australia, they plan to get him to a doctor for treatment.

"We will identify the bug in Sydney, where we can ensure a clean needle for a blood test," she said. "Then again, it could be that he ate an entire fish, a whole duck and a half chicken in one three-meal stretch. We'll see."