Hannafords take overseas adventure to Southeast Asia
By ROWENA PLETT
Staff writer
Bud and Lavonne Hannaford of Marion recently took a three-week trip to Southeast Asia. They were the oldest among a group of 14.
Although most of their time was spent in Thailand, they took short trips to Cambodia, Burma, and Laos.
During a three-day trip to Cambodia, they visited ancient Angkor Wat, a large, historical Buddhist religious site.
In Thailand, they visited Bangkok and other cities. But they also took many trips into the countryside and visited various hill tribes.
"We did so many things that its impossible to name them all," Lavonne said.
Because the country is 95 percent Buddhist, Buddhist temples were everywhere. Many of them were made of gold or overlaid with gold.
A special stop for Bud was the war memorial on the River Kwai, where there was a prison museum.
The Hannafords rode in all manner of transportation including rickshaws, tuk-tuks, boats, rickety buses or trucks, and trains.
They also took a trail ride on an elephant. The trail led through water as well as jungle. The elephant liked to be fed treats and asked for them by lifting his trunk to them. Lavonne said the elephant handed her a rose, then took the rose back and ate it.
Another adventure was a ride on a bamboo barge through the jungle. They were provided with special hats to shield their faces from the sun.
Water canals are a general means of transportation in Thailand. The Hannafords visited many open markets set up alongside the canals or floating on the water. Much produce was sold directly from boats.
The couple visited many "factories," usually cottage industries operated by families. Goods of all kinds as well as flowers and fruit are produced in that manner.
The Hannafords saw farmers working in rice paddies. Their main tool was a motorized machine known as the "Iron Buffalo." It is used in rice fields and has a flywheel which is used to power other equipment.
Grain elevators function similarly to our own, Lavonne said, except the rice is dumped on concrete slabs.
"No matter how poor people were, everyone had electricity and a TV," Lavonne said. "They might not have a stove or refrigerator, but they had a TV."
The Hannafords were impressed with the friendliness and accommodation of the people in Thailand.
"We didn't find any anti-Americanism," Lavonne said. "They are a gentle people."
Bud didn't tell her about his plans until two months after he booked the trip. He said it required a lot of walking and climbing steps and he didn't know how she would feel about that.
But, other than the 24-hour trip there and back, she enjoyed the adventure immensely and has a photo album full of pictures to show for it.
"It was a lot of fun," she said.
