{"product_id":"2940016375076","title":"Japan and Thailand: Armchair Travel Series","description":"Pauline and husband lived in JAPAN for over two years, 1994-96. One weekend they spent a night at an authentic Japanese ryokan (Inn) at Nikko National Park. Unfamiliar with the rules of the inn, they committed several faux pas, not knowing which slippers to wear in the bedroom, how to bathe before entering an onsen (spa) and which clothes to wear for each meal. Pauline describes the lobby, the bedroom, the spa, and the reaction of the Japanese diners inside the restaurant. This is a modified chapter taken from her book Memoirs of an American Housewife in Japan.\u003cbr\u003eAnother chapter from the same book recounts a seven day trip to Thailand. To see as much of the country as possible in 7 days, the Hagers hired a tour guide. Their first encounter was a scene viewing four monks in saffron-colored robes standing in line to receive their daily alms. Three ancient temples \"Wat\", begun in 1345 and now in ruins, was another first. The evening consisted of an interesting Thai dinner and dance show, very different from Western-style entertainment. Following morning their guide drove them to Chiang Mai, 450 miles north of Bangkok. Pauline describes a stop at the Meo Hilltribe Village. They paid a tribesman to enter his home and watch him demonstrate how he smokes his opium through a long pipe. From the Golden Triangle they climbed a steep slope in a monsoonal downpour to view where the rivers of Thailand, Burma and Laos converge. Next was an elephant work farm, experiencing a harrowing elephant ride, climbing up a steep hillside on soft, soggy ground, sensing they were on a seesaw. Visited a snake farm housing poisonous and nonlethal snakes and attended a show where the trainer treated them to a riveting persormance, tossing reptriles at the audience. They returned to Bangkok in time to experience the Royal Barge Procession on the Chao Phraya River in a driving, monsoonal rain storm, celebrating the King of Thailand 50th year on the throne. Parade consisted of fifty-three guilded royal barges rowed by Royal Navy oarsmen, twenty miles upstream from the Gulf of Thailand, ending at the Grand Palace. Next day a visit to the Grand Palace, expecting to see a palace similar to those they had seen all over Europe. This palace was completely different; more like a Siamese version of Disneyland. Their final significant tour was the JEATH War Museum, named after the six countries involved in the construction of the \"Death Railway\" over the River Kwai, linking Thailand and Burman during WWII. The prisoners who constructed the railroad and bridge were from six countries, England, America, Australia, Thailand, Holland, and Japan added, thus the name JEATH. Next to the museum sits a bomb enclosed in a glass stand. Dropped by the English, it didn't explode and is on display with the words \"The Bomb\". Large letters above the bomb read: Forgive But Not Forget. Their final visit was the Kanchanaburi War Cemetery. Rows of marble headstone inscribed with the names and countries of the fallen soldiers, are bured here. It was an emotional experience. The following day the Hagers left this fascinating country and flew back to Japan.","brand":"Pauline Hager","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47146602561776,"sku":"2940016375076","price":1.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/2940016375076_p0.jpg?v=1763634595","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940016375076","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}