Unusually affordable flights allowed us to travel to Asia during the fall of 2016. We first flew into Hong Kong. As a modern, industrialized, port city of 7M+ - with signs in Chinese and English - H.K. was relatively familiar and extremely user friendly. H.K. was 5, fun-filled days of adventure. From H.K. we visited Beijing - which was exactly the opposite. Beijing felt foreboding and unwelcoming. The fact that the only signs in English were near the Olympic Stadium made wandering and discovering next to impossible. (Thank goodness we hired a tour guide here). Next was Bangkok. The Thai people - as you’ve likely heard - are magnificently warm, gracious and accommodating. The city of Bangkok - however - was overwhelming. Organized chaos. There were many aspects of Bangkok that we enjoyed - but by the end of each day we felt we had gone 12 rounds. From Bangkok, we caught a flight to Chiang Mai and found (like many tourists) our nirvana there. We had too many wonderful experiences in Chiang Mai to list here - but a highlight was visiting the Wat Phra That Doi Suthep (a 30 minute ride west of and 309 steps up from the Old City). After seeing the sites, we were able to find a quiet corner for ourselves - and take in the slow, low moaning of Buddhist monks and the soft tones of bells and gongs.