Eyes open on a trip to the Orient

Christine Carrillo

With an interest in the Orient and time to spare, four women from

Newport Beach joined a tour group and headed off to Thailand and

Cambodia for nearly three weeks to learn about their cultures and

enjoy some of their customs.

From visiting one of the wonders of the Eastern World to riding

elephants through the jungle, Sandy Farwell, Donna Card, Barbara

Hertzberg and Grace Deutsch were busy feeling their way through the

two countries and getting a real understanding of the different

worlds they had traveled so far to see.

“I got much more of a sense of the culture than before I went,”

said Hertzberg, who has always had an interest in the Orient. “It’s

just how beautifully they do things; how beautifully they serve their

food, their clothing, their surroundings, and it is something that I

sort of grew up appreciating and liking.”

After their trip in November, Hertzberg’s interest in Oriental

things intensified as her knowledge of the two the countries

increased. Seeing one “killing field” after another in the two

countries, reminding them of the Cambodian genocide, and after

visiting one temple after another, the women began to better

understand the importance of the different historical sites.

“It was just fascinating what they could accomplish,” Hertzberg

said about their trip to Angkor Wat in Cambodia, a stone temple built

between the 9th and 11th centuries A.D. “I was just open to what we

saw, because you can’t be disappointed if you don’t have a

pre-conceived notion of what it was going to be like. It’s fabulous

how creative people can be and how creative mankind has been for such

a long time.”

After visiting some of the most beautiful Buddhist temples and

being pampered with the most exquisite Thai massages, the women

relished the idea of a vacationing in the Orient with the girls.

“This trip was very relaxing ... it was so kick-back,” Card said,

adding that the highlight of the trip for her was the elephant rides.

“We didn’t wear any make-up and didn’t do our hair. It was very

relaxing, and normally, I don’t get that when I travel.”

But since they traveled to two countries with so much to offer,

they always had something to do.

“We were on the go everyday. ... We met many wonderful people,”

Card said. “I just knew it was going to be a fantastic trip. I would

do it again. ... I’d recommend it to anyone.”