Well, our time with John is officially over, as he drove a scooter back to Chiang Mai this morning (brave soul...there are about 768 curves between the two places), while we're awaiting an evening bus to the Laos border. We really enjoyed travelling with John and think that more people should come join us between now and October!
Pai, as I mentioned in my last post, is a sort of hippie town, a bit like Woodstock or Montezuma in Costa Rica (minus the beach). It's not much of a hot spot for Thai culture, but it's a fun little town with nice, laid back people, good food, and beautiful mountains and rice paddies surrounding it. Pai is also very self-aggrandizing, with its name on just about every souvenier here. Anybody need an "I love Pai" shirt?
Debbie and I spent our days here mostly wandering through town, swimming in the pool at our hotel, and reading. John rented a scooter and drove around the countryside a bit, but I somehow failed at scooting on my first attempt. For some reason I couldn't teach my brain not to turn the accelerator when I meant to slow down. After fifteen minutes and a number of tries, the guy trying to help teach me suggested I give up. I'm sure with more practice I could get it, but remember, I only learned how to drive relatively recently! It's worth noting that Debbie actually got the hang of it but was kind enough not to abandon me, so she didn't do much scooting either.
We did, however, take another Thai cooking class here, where we learned how to make Pad Thai, red curry paste, stir-fried vegetables, mango with sticky rice, and Tom Ka Kai soup. Again, a lot of fun and really delicious! During this class we also got to walk to the local market and try some fun things there, including bananas in sticky rice, mangosteins, fish cakes, and a delicious coconut milk & flour pastry. We also learned that in choosing pineapples, when the eyes are the same size, the pineapple tends to be sweet. When the eyes at the top are a different size than those at the bottom, it's sour.
Yesterday the three of us did a yoga class (my first, I believe), which was really intense but lots of fun! Suffice it to say that the number of poses we couldn't do (or at least couldn't hold for more than a split second) inspired us to want to do more yoga. In the evening we went to a local hot springs, where we were almost the only people there (a Japanese couple showed up about 15 minutes in, and when we were leaving we saw another couple in one of the pools on the way out). It was definitely the most natural of the hot springs we've been in, as it was in a national park (as opposed to a spa as in New Zealand or resort as in Costa Rica).
Tonight Debbie and I begin an epic three-day journey to Luang Prabang in Laos. We're on an 8:00pm mini-bus to the border with Laos. We arrive at 2:00am and stay overnight on the Thailand side, then in the morning go across to Laos, where we catch a slow boat down the Mekong river. We stop about half way for the night, then continue on the rest of the way the following day. So we're leaving Pai (and Thailand) today, which is Thursday, and will arrive in Luang Prabang on Saturday. Should be an experience!
In the meantime, as Debbie noted to her sister, we probably won't have internet access on the Mekong River, so no posting for a few days. But feel free to comment so that we have something to read when we finally get to Luang Prabang!
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Blog special...Mike speaks!
Hi! After five great days in Chiang Mai, we arrived this afternoon in Pai, a small hippie village in northern Thailand.
We really enjoyed our time in Chiang Mai, thanks to some good recommendations from friends who'd been before. I don't want to speak for Debbie, but I would say overall the city itself was just okay...it's pretty easy (and cheap) to get around, and there are a number of beautiful wats (temples), but nothing about the city really struck me as that incredible.
That being said, we really enjoyed ourselves (even despite the 8pm-6am curfew that the Thai government institued starting on Thursday). Our first full day we did the Lonely Planet walking tour of the old city, hitting up a number of important wats. It's been interesting to see how different the Buddhist temples are in Japan, China, and Thailand. Japan's, I think, are the most meditative and secluded and mostly feature dark wood. China's are more ornate, with some gold and lots of reds, and have really large (somewhat impersonal, I think) complexes. The Thai ones are extraordinarily ornate, with gold trimmings abundant. It's almost as if the beauty of the buildings is meant to inspire reverence, as opposed to the austerity of the Japanese temples.
On our second day we took a songthaew (basically a small open red bus) to a wat in the mountains called Doi Suthep. Among other things, Doi Suthep features great views of Chiang Mai. This was the only time that we noticed any disturbance from the red shirts, as we saw a plume of smoke rising from the middle of the city. Turned out that a fire truck and possibly a building in the night bazaar had been set on fire. Thankfully we didn't hear about or encounter any other signs of violence, though that was enough to give us a mild scare.
The following day we spent the day at the Elephant Nature Park. Elephants are a big business here in Thailand (apparently many street beggars and salesmen used to use them on the streets of Chiang Mai to draw tourists), but the Elephant Nature Park is unique in that they treat their elephants really well and don't force them to do anything. We didn't even ride the elephants, as most of the harnesses that are used for that purpose are harmful to the elephants. Instead, we really got a chance to commune with them...feeding, bathing, petting, and getting kissed by them. I must say, it's pretty intimidating to stand next to an animal that large and powerful. Sometimes when they grab the food out of your hands with their trunks you get the sense of just how quickly they could dispatch with you if they weren't such peaceful animals! We did encounter one feisty baby boy who likes to suddenly run towards people, which can be scary considering his much larger parents tend to want to protect him from newcomers. Anyway, it was a great experience, and I have a profound appreciation for how truly awesome elephants are.
Yesterday we took a Thai cooking class, which was really fun! I'd never really thought about doing cooking classes before, but after that one I think it could be a fun and effective way not only to learn about local cultures, but also to inspire me to cook more and be more creative! We learned how to make Pad See-Ew, yellow curry with chicken, chicken with cashew nuts, steamed fish in banana leaves, spicy prawn salad, and bananas in coconut cream. Delicious! I have a new love of coconut milk and coconut cream and am really excited to cook up some mean curries when we get home!
We'll be here in Pai for about four days. We're probably going to rent motor bikes, as there's not much traffic here, and head out to the local hot springs and waterfall. We may also take a yoga class! Definitely on a bit of an "adventurous" streak, so why not. We're leaving the next few weeks pretty flexible, but plan to head to Laos next after John departs on the 28th. We're also considering going to some places we weren't originally planning on, such as Kuala Lumpur and Bali. With at least another five or six weeks in Southeast Asia, we've got some time to bum around a bit, which we're really excited about. As always, more to come...
We really enjoyed our time in Chiang Mai, thanks to some good recommendations from friends who'd been before. I don't want to speak for Debbie, but I would say overall the city itself was just okay...it's pretty easy (and cheap) to get around, and there are a number of beautiful wats (temples), but nothing about the city really struck me as that incredible.
That being said, we really enjoyed ourselves (even despite the 8pm-6am curfew that the Thai government institued starting on Thursday). Our first full day we did the Lonely Planet walking tour of the old city, hitting up a number of important wats. It's been interesting to see how different the Buddhist temples are in Japan, China, and Thailand. Japan's, I think, are the most meditative and secluded and mostly feature dark wood. China's are more ornate, with some gold and lots of reds, and have really large (somewhat impersonal, I think) complexes. The Thai ones are extraordinarily ornate, with gold trimmings abundant. It's almost as if the beauty of the buildings is meant to inspire reverence, as opposed to the austerity of the Japanese temples.
On our second day we took a songthaew (basically a small open red bus) to a wat in the mountains called Doi Suthep. Among other things, Doi Suthep features great views of Chiang Mai. This was the only time that we noticed any disturbance from the red shirts, as we saw a plume of smoke rising from the middle of the city. Turned out that a fire truck and possibly a building in the night bazaar had been set on fire. Thankfully we didn't hear about or encounter any other signs of violence, though that was enough to give us a mild scare.
The following day we spent the day at the Elephant Nature Park. Elephants are a big business here in Thailand (apparently many street beggars and salesmen used to use them on the streets of Chiang Mai to draw tourists), but the Elephant Nature Park is unique in that they treat their elephants really well and don't force them to do anything. We didn't even ride the elephants, as most of the harnesses that are used for that purpose are harmful to the elephants. Instead, we really got a chance to commune with them...feeding, bathing, petting, and getting kissed by them. I must say, it's pretty intimidating to stand next to an animal that large and powerful. Sometimes when they grab the food out of your hands with their trunks you get the sense of just how quickly they could dispatch with you if they weren't such peaceful animals! We did encounter one feisty baby boy who likes to suddenly run towards people, which can be scary considering his much larger parents tend to want to protect him from newcomers. Anyway, it was a great experience, and I have a profound appreciation for how truly awesome elephants are.
Yesterday we took a Thai cooking class, which was really fun! I'd never really thought about doing cooking classes before, but after that one I think it could be a fun and effective way not only to learn about local cultures, but also to inspire me to cook more and be more creative! We learned how to make Pad See-Ew, yellow curry with chicken, chicken with cashew nuts, steamed fish in banana leaves, spicy prawn salad, and bananas in coconut cream. Delicious! I have a new love of coconut milk and coconut cream and am really excited to cook up some mean curries when we get home!
We'll be here in Pai for about four days. We're probably going to rent motor bikes, as there's not much traffic here, and head out to the local hot springs and waterfall. We may also take a yoga class! Definitely on a bit of an "adventurous" streak, so why not. We're leaving the next few weeks pretty flexible, but plan to head to Laos next after John departs on the 28th. We're also considering going to some places we weren't originally planning on, such as Kuala Lumpur and Bali. With at least another five or six weeks in Southeast Asia, we've got some time to bum around a bit, which we're really excited about. As always, more to come...
Friday, May 21, 2010
Elephant!
doing some elephant bathing in the river
Mike with my bestie, a 1 year old female, aka cutest animal ever
Us with some plain old scenery
Getting kisses
Does this shirt make me look fat?
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Now presenting...Phi Phi Island Pictures!
Beaching it up at our resort!
Fish nibbling the dry skin off our feet!
John, ready to snorkel
Sunset from our beach... because we needed to share
Final morning, on our beach at Koh Phi Phi
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Thailand!
So, we’re in Thailand, although we flew in on the day of the potential truce, things look no better (and sometimes worse) in Bangkok, so we are steering clear for the foreseeable future. However, we did decide that most of the rest of Thailand seems to be safe enough for now. We flew in, hung out in the Bangkok airport for a few hours, then straight to Phuket and to a hotel (phew, long travel day, although John’s was much longer). The following morning John came! For those of you who don’t know, John is one of my best friends from college, and currently the only person (besides my parents) who is meeting us somewhere (bonus points for John). The three of us set out for the ferry to Ko Phi Phi (which unfortunately is pronounced Pee Pee…) The ferry took a couple of hours, but was a pretty pleasant ride. Then it was a long tail boat ride from there to our hotel. A long tail is essentially like a stretched out row boat with a crazy jerry-rigged motor with a super long metal shaft with a propeller on the end that serves as both propeller and rudder (hence, long tail, ha). Not that we had done any research to speak of, but our hotel ended up being awesome, cheap and peaceful. It’s just around the bend from the main town (about a 5 minute boat ride, costs about $3), but on a sort of remote peaceful stretch of lovely beach, with nice swimming, hammocks, chairs a beach side restaurant and a place that does massages for about $9.50.
We have had a really awesome few days, I got both a coconut oil massage and a Thai style neck/shoulder/back massage (where at one point she was standing on the backs of my thighs with my feet tucked behind her legs walking her hands up my back…woah). We’ve each read a couple of books, had some tasty food, had dinner in town a couple of nights and…. The first time we went into town we found this place that has tanks of these little fish where you pay them like $3 to put your feet in the tanks for 20 minutes and the fish eat all the dead skin off of your feet! It was hands down the weirdest thing I’ve ever done, hilarious, and I have to admit, our feet were soft.
Today we rented a long tail to take us around Phi Phi Ley (a small uninhabited island just off the coast). We spent a couple hours boating around swimming and snorkeling. It was lovely. John learned that he enjoys snorkeling (happy to share), Mike and I saw a sea snake (which was awesome looking) and our Thai boat driver had a really good time aiming chunks of bread at us while we were trying to get out of the water so the fish would go insane…
We have loved our time here, it is pretty much paradise. I have to say, the low season here is pretty awesome, it hasn’t been crazy hot, the water is nice, it’s not crowded (and cheaper) and the rain has been pretty minimal (one afternoon we got a crazy cool rainstorm that lasted about an hour, we watched from the bar palapa with beer…rough life). Tomorrow afternoon we are going to take the ferry back (boo) to Phuket and spend the night there before catching a flight to Chiang Mai in the morning. We’ll keep everyone updated.
We have had a really awesome few days, I got both a coconut oil massage and a Thai style neck/shoulder/back massage (where at one point she was standing on the backs of my thighs with my feet tucked behind her legs walking her hands up my back…woah). We’ve each read a couple of books, had some tasty food, had dinner in town a couple of nights and…. The first time we went into town we found this place that has tanks of these little fish where you pay them like $3 to put your feet in the tanks for 20 minutes and the fish eat all the dead skin off of your feet! It was hands down the weirdest thing I’ve ever done, hilarious, and I have to admit, our feet were soft.
Today we rented a long tail to take us around Phi Phi Ley (a small uninhabited island just off the coast). We spent a couple hours boating around swimming and snorkeling. It was lovely. John learned that he enjoys snorkeling (happy to share), Mike and I saw a sea snake (which was awesome looking) and our Thai boat driver had a really good time aiming chunks of bread at us while we were trying to get out of the water so the fish would go insane…
We have loved our time here, it is pretty much paradise. I have to say, the low season here is pretty awesome, it hasn’t been crazy hot, the water is nice, it’s not crowded (and cheaper) and the rain has been pretty minimal (one afternoon we got a crazy cool rainstorm that lasted about an hour, we watched from the bar palapa with beer…rough life). Tomorrow afternoon we are going to take the ferry back (boo) to Phuket and spend the night there before catching a flight to Chiang Mai in the morning. We’ll keep everyone updated.
Monday, May 17, 2010
We're in Thailand! Nowhere near bangkok, don't worry
I wrote an awesome blogpost on our computer but then didn't have access for a few days, so here is a short lame public keyboard update (i think tomorrow you'll get the goods, maybe even pictures, be still your hearts). We spent the last 5 days on Phi Phi Island (unfortunately pronounnced pee pee...) which was spectacular, we got massages, hung out on the beach, went snorkeling and had little tiny fish eat the dead skin off our feet for $3. It ruled. We're in Phuket (pron. Poo-ket... what is with these toilet thai words?) and flying to Chiang Mai tomorow morning where we should get some awesome culture and maybe some time with ELEPHANTS!! Also, tonight we went to a totally non Irish Irish bar and had an epic game of Jenga. I lost, but it wasn't my fault, we were on story 36...
And don't worry, we are neither near Bangkok nor do we have any plans to be... So far everything else in Thailand seems to be business as usual.
And don't worry, we are neither near Bangkok nor do we have any plans to be... So far everything else in Thailand seems to be business as usual.
Monday, May 10, 2010
Hong Kong and China wrap up
For the last 5 days we have been in Hong Kong! We are staying with our good friend Debbie (Lyons Ellis... not me :)'s brother and his family which has been a lovely change of pace. It is always nice to have people to give you advice and show you where the locals hang out. We've been taking it a little easy, getting ready to head to South East Asia tomorrow (via Bangkok) to meet up with our friend John!! Yay guest! We love guests. Everyone should keep that in mind.
While we've been here we have managed to do some fun stuff in between all of our relaxing. Yesterday we took an amazing gondola ride out to the Big Buddha on Lantau Island. It's supposedly the 'largest outdoor bronze buddha in the world' which is a lot of qualifiers but it is big, majestic and beautiful.
We also spent a day out at the 10,000 Buddha Temple, which is super fun (see pics) with golden monk/buddhas lining the sides, and temples at the top with toooons of buddhas, and one big one and one mummified monk covered in gold gilt...
Today we went to the Hong Kong History Museum, which was really great to give us good context for Hong Kong, and it's place in this part of Asia. The most interesting parts for me were understanding how little of Hong Kong exsisted when the UK took possession of it. What we really think of as Hong Kong, was really built as a British colony.
Also fun? The longest escalator in the world (although non-contiguous) is a series of escalators here which are about 800 meters long! Hong Kong is built into a hill, so downtown is at the bottom and people mostly live built into the hill. Steve and Erica live at the top, so every night we get to ride it all the way up! (Even funnier.. it runs down hill from 6-10 am for commuters, then uphill from 10:20-midnight... don't you wish you could say that you commute by escalator?)
We also spent a night out on Lan Kwai Fong... which is essentially the restaurant/bar area of any college town on steriods, it's where all the westerners hang... best burger I've had in Asia though! It was a really fun night.
All told, it's been a great time, and we are super excited for our South East Asian unplanned extravaganza!
While we've been here we have managed to do some fun stuff in between all of our relaxing. Yesterday we took an amazing gondola ride out to the Big Buddha on Lantau Island. It's supposedly the 'largest outdoor bronze buddha in the world' which is a lot of qualifiers but it is big, majestic and beautiful.
We also spent a day out at the 10,000 Buddha Temple, which is super fun (see pics) with golden monk/buddhas lining the sides, and temples at the top with toooons of buddhas, and one big one and one mummified monk covered in gold gilt...
Today we went to the Hong Kong History Museum, which was really great to give us good context for Hong Kong, and it's place in this part of Asia. The most interesting parts for me were understanding how little of Hong Kong exsisted when the UK took possession of it. What we really think of as Hong Kong, was really built as a British colony.
Also fun? The longest escalator in the world (although non-contiguous) is a series of escalators here which are about 800 meters long! Hong Kong is built into a hill, so downtown is at the bottom and people mostly live built into the hill. Steve and Erica live at the top, so every night we get to ride it all the way up! (Even funnier.. it runs down hill from 6-10 am for commuters, then uphill from 10:20-midnight... don't you wish you could say that you commute by escalator?)
We also spent a night out on Lan Kwai Fong... which is essentially the restaurant/bar area of any college town on steriods, it's where all the westerners hang... best burger I've had in Asia though! It was a really fun night.
All told, it's been a great time, and we are super excited for our South East Asian unplanned extravaganza!
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