Hua Hin: May 20th-22nd

This resort town is well known for being the place locals from Bangkok go to get away from the city and enjoy the beach. A three hour bus ride and 250km later we arrived in the center of Hua Hin. A stop at the tourist information center and we were off and pointed in the right direction to find reasonable accommodation. We checked a few guesthouses, some good and some bad, and then ran into a fellow American (Lindsay from Santa Cruz) who suggested the “funky” place she was staying at on the pier. Mode Guest House was definitely funky and then some. Literally located on the pier you could hear the waves crashing below your feet and out the window. For 200 baht ($6.25) a night we decided to go for it and make it our last ‘roughing it’ accommodation before splurging over the next three weeks when some of Ben’s family will join us on the road. A quick cold shower to cool us down and we were out the door to see the town. Lindsay joined us as we walked through the evening market that was set up in the heart of town. We picked up some of the usual - fresh fruit, small corn cakes, and soy milk. Seafood stands and restaurants were plentiful in the market, so we decided to go over budget and try some of the local catch. The first course was a standard favorite of Liya‘s, a hot pot of Tom Yum Kung (spicy soup). This particular version had fresh prawns and fish and probably wins the award for most spicy soup we’ve had. Course two was a big mixed plate of crab, clams, squid, and prawns all grilled on the open fire. Our favorites were the squid and clams while the dipping sauce that accompanied was full of aromatics and spice. A cold beer and Pepsi followed by fresh pineapple for desert and that was it. A fresh seafood dinner for two and less than $15 - did we mention we love Thailand? The remained of the evening was spent walking the night market. Lots of shopping, snacking here and there on some of our favorite foods or trying something new.

After a good sleep in we set out for our full day in Hua Hin. After some internet time catching up on email and calling family on Skype we headed to the beach for some sun. The walkway there was lined with vendors selling everything anyone needs to make it a great day on the sand. We bought a fresh coconut to make ours a cool one and continued on our way. To our surprise Thai men mounted on horseback awaited us with shouts on the beach. We weren’t in trouble, they just wanted to know if we were in the mood for some horseback riding. Liya said she was not about to get on a pony no taller than her, so we decided to use our own two feet. The tide was way out so heaps of beach was bare and all of the clam/mussel diggers were out to load up for that night‘s supper. Tiny sand crabs littered the beach with small balls of sand. Strange looking coiled piles of sand were all over the beach so we tried to come up with some educated guesses on what makes them and how. That resulted in us not feeling or sounding very educated…We sat under a balm tree and watched the world go by for awhile. We then carried on and walked with our feet in the water for about a mile. We made our way through construction site after construction site to the main road back into town. We stopped along the way and had brunch - pad thai for Liya and pad see eww for Ben, both were very good. Another great $3 meal! The walk back took us past a pasta factory, more construction sites and eventually to a big shopping mall. With A/C as the main attraction we walked in carrying a snack we picked up just outside. Fried bananas are a local favorite throughout Thailand and have become a favorite of Ben’s. This vendor had taro fries as well, so he couldn’t resist trying something new - 50 cent bag of goodies. The mall was big and beautiful with all of the big name brand retail shops. We looked at the list of movies playing at the theater and decided to wait for the new Indiana Jones film that opened the next day. Back outside in the hot weather we walked towards our guesthouse and decided to stop at the beach for a quick swim. The tide had come back in and Ben jumped in the warm water to do some laps. Liya stayed out and took some pictures as the sun began to set.

Showered up and refreshed we headed out for another evening in the night market. We scouted out some of the vendors that were popular choices among the locals during the previous evening, so our minds where made up on what to have for dinner that night. Stop one was at a stand where Ben has a bowl of jow (rice soup) with pork and tofu. He claims it is some of the best 20 baht (65 cents) he has spent in Thailand and was very very pleased with it. Liya has a bowl of noodle soup with chicken from a popular stand just next door - not too bad was the verdict. After some shopping only done with the eyes (no more room in the suitcases) we stopped at another stand where locals were eating the pad thai and chicken skewers with satay sauce. We had a plate of each and were pleased for the most part. If his stomach had the room for it, Ben said he would have gone back for more rice soup! More strolling and shopping took us past stands filled with: food, hats, colorful flowers hand made from soap, pirated DVDs and Cds, scarves and pashminas, more food, fresh fruit, counterfit wallets, sunglasses, and handbags. Just another night in the Thai life.

For a night cap we decided to splurge at the ubiquitous ice cream shop, Swensens. Wanting to order one of everything form the menu we finally chose ‘chocolate millionaire.’ Four scoops of ice cream, fresh banana, ice cream truffles, fresh whipped cream and hot fudge to dump on top. Wow! we were in heaven! It was a perfect way to end a great time spent in Hua Hin.

The following morning we made our way to the bus station for our 9:20am departure back to Bangkok. We grabbed some fresh pineapple from a vendor on the street and some cold water from good ol’ 7-11 (which, by the way, are located on every block in each Thai town we have visited - 60 cent Slurpees!).

It’s back to Bangkok, and this time around the special occasion is Ben’s brother, Nick, joining us from NYC!

Jatujak Market, Northern Bangkok: May 18th

The largest and most crowded weekend market is the Jatujak Market (aka “JJ”) in northern Bangkok. We took the BTS Sky train all the way from where Liya’s great uncle lives to the market (25-minute ride). We decided that every major metropolis in the world should have a system like Bangkok’s Skytrain. It’s amazing - it’s clean, fast, and very convenient. Seattle needs one for sure!

We have never seen a market of that size. JJ’s the world’s largest outdoor market apparently and there was no doubt about that! The market was organized into different sections to make it easier for the consumer to find his/her way around the ‘mini-city’. Everything you could think of was being sold at this market: Boos & magazines, ice cream, Thai food, clothing, illegal DVD/CDs, tattoos, furniture, coffee, Thai massages, stolen Adidas/Nike apparel, accessories, and the list goes on. We were only able to browse through the main street and that took us nearly 3 hours!

Our favorite thing to do at markets is to eat and boy did we eat at the massive JJ market! We had way too much ice cream, assorted drinks (coffee, a black jelly drink, fruit smoothies), irresistible mini-cream puffs, a Thai chicken & rice dish, and plenty of fresh fruit with our favorite salt & chili seasoning to dip in.

We left the market around 3:30pm and headed down to the Silom District downtown to meet up with Liya’s family. We had a fabulous dinner at a famous hot pot restaurant in Silom, a favorite of the family’s. The specialty hot pot was the tom yum soup with fish. Not only did we order two of those, we ordered pork skewers with satay sauce (Ben’s favorite kind of sauce - it’s basically peanut sauce), crab in a hollandaise sauce, an oyster with bean sprouts omelet, a tasty vegetable dish, and ice cream to end the night. We were incredibly full after our dinner and knew that we would all sleep well that night!

Another great weekend with the family :)

Damnoen Saduak (Floating Market) - May 16th

The highlight of this town was the local floating market. We followed the signs down a long road as we walked toward the big market on the water. 2km later we still hadn’t found our way there yet, but luckily we were picked up by two locals that dropped us off at the entrance. Such a big help, thank you!

Within seconds of arriving we could feel the energy of the market around us. Buyers, sellers, and those there simply for the experience were all around. The main canal that plays host to this market is at most 40 feet wide. With both edges of the water and platforms on either side covered with vendors, this little market packs a big punch. We wandered one section to get a feel for what was available and the prices being offered. We took a relaxing break to the tune of freshly peeled pomelo (similar to grapefruit) and a big coconut with straw and all. We watched in amazement how business on the floating market carries out. Boats are filled with big pots full of soup or piles of fresh fruit Lunch was a delight as we had a great bowl of guey theu right next to the water. The women that prepared ours and all the other customers dishes sat in her boat on the water and worked as efficiently as anyone in a state of the art kitchen. Half way into lunch, rush hour began on the water - a total traffic jam. Ben mentioned a few times how happy he was to be on solid ground eating a great bowl of noodle soup and not stuck in the middle of the canal not moving. 15 minutes or so later and the applause began as boats started moving.
We bought plenty of fresh fruit to enjoy for the rest of the day, and Ben couldn't help himself and bought one of his favorite Thai treats off a boat - fried bananas covered in coconut meat. We left the floating market a little before noon to check out of our hotel and head back to Bangkok to spend time with Liya’s family for the rest of the weekend.

We took bus #78 back to Bangkok from Damnoen Saduak. We passed through Nakhon Pathom on our 2-hour drive. When we arrived in Bangkok, we changed buses at the Southern Bus Terminal and took #511 local bus all the way back to the family’s home. Even though we were already in the city of Bangkok, it took us a good 1.5 hours to drive through the massive concrete city to the house. We didn’t mind because we got to ride like locals and enjoyed watching city life from our seats.

That evening, we enjoyed a feast at home with the family. We were spoiled with tom yum soup, grilled pork, papaya salad, spicy chicken ka pow, sticky rice and of course, fresh durian for dessert. The rest of the night was spent catching up with Liya’s 2nd cousin, Oh, and watching the movie “Knocked Up.”

Nakhon Pathon- Home to the World‘s Largest Chedi: May 15th

Two bus rides took us from Pattaya in the gulf of Thailand all the way NW of Bangkok to a town called Nakhon Pathon. The bus driver was nice enough to drop us off right in front of the hotel we were looking to stay at, and we walked in just as the rain began. To our disappointment, the blogger that recommended this place was way off on his/her description. Our room ranked very high on our current list of ‘jail cell’ style hotel rooms. With the only choice in town and the rain falling, we went for it anyways. We quickly got settled in and headed out to see the town. Luckily we entered the streets to find the rain had subsided for the time being.

Our first stop was at a very popular food stand packed with locals. There were about 15 different dishes in big silver pots that people were choosing to eat over rice. We choose two: one was the spicy kao pao with chicken and the other was a bamboo vegetable dish. Not the best we’ve tried, but a great 66 cent snack! We continued down the road and walked along a market that seemed to go on forever. Both sides of the street had fresh goods of all sort available. This road eventually took us by the train station with the typical circle of tuk tuk and taxi drivers waiting. Liya grabbed her daily supply of soy milk along the way. Around the next block we walked past a noodle soup stand that stood on its own. The three people working there must have been Father and two daughters. Our ‘eye test’ passed as the wontons and pork looked fresh and very nice. The eldest daughter (probably in her late teens) told us in well spoken English what was being served. We decided to give it a try and were happy to help out the nice family. The noodle soup was solid, and made for another great 66 cent treat.

Next we walked toward the center landmark that stretches high into the air. The Chedi in Nakhon Pathon is the largest in the world. We were very impressed with the size and beauty of this impressive chedi. Marble stairs took us up to courtyard that wraps all the way around the chedi. At the top of the stairs was a large, golden Buddha with flowers, candles and gifts that presented all colors of the rainbow. We enjoyed a lovely walk around the outside of the chedi where we gazed at trees with ultra colorful flowers and said “sawaisdee kaa” (aka hello) to the monks that passed by. Finishing full circle, we walked to the parking lot where a big night market was happening.

In usual fashion we walked up and down the long isles to scout out what was being offered and note what the locals seemed to be drawn towards. We walked back to one noodle stand where a family of four were pumping out noodle soup dishes at a feverish pace. We sat down at an empty table and watched the process unfold. About five minutes of waiting and we wanted to get our order in. We got the attention of the man in charge, he looked at Ben, then looked directly at Liya and starting speaking in Thai (just as most do, everyone thinks Liya is Thai or knows the language). We pointed at a gentleman’s dish nearby and got a simple response. The man who was eating the dish we wanted to order stood up, came to our table and told us, “he said you will have to wait 30 minutes for your dish.” Not sure why we asked the man and he told us, “he’s having really good business.” So to our surprise, the family working at such a fast pace were doing so because so many people were ordering the dish that ours would take 30 minutes to arrive. What is this, the Olive Garden? 30 minute wait for a noodle soup dish that takes less than 40 seconds to prepare? Wow, the locals must love this stuff! In no hurry, we were happy to wait. Luckily, the stand right next door was serving one of our favorite dishes. A simple dish, steamed rice with boiled chicken on top with a side of vegetable soup. Super simple, great flavor, and consistently good. By the time we finished that favorite, the noodle soup had arrived. Egg noodle, a good broth, bacon, wontons, and fish balls made up this popular dish. Long story short, it was pretty good, but not the best we’ve had. Two dishes for two dollars, we love Thailand!

Now in search of dessert we were able to get some fresh jackfruit (one of Ben’s favorites) and a new item we had not seen yet. It was essentially a big thick round waffle folded over with fresh coconut shaving and coconut milk in the middle. Pretty good! The walk home took us by a stand serving Liya’s favorite dessert, so we had to stop for one more treat. Super full, we watched a movie (There Will Be Blood - pretty strange film) and let our food digest before heading to bed. Oh yea, the blogger forgot to mention the pet bird that swaks and yelps all night long…

Next morning we got up, packed up, and walked around another part of the town before check out. We made our way to the area where a large university is and one of the royal palaces. We crossed a bridge that took us by a mini zoo with all kinds of animals in cages. We saw tons of tropical birds, crocodiles, a leopard, bears, monkeys, deer, rabbits, turtles, and a few others. We were very disappointed with the quality and upkeep of the pens that the animals were kept in. Being so close to the royal palace we expected higher standards of care. Pretty sad to see…On we went through town and we walked by a small restaurant that seemed like a good place for a quick meal. The A/C was a welcome extra while we ordered from a menu with no english to a waitress that spoke only thai. We said a few of our favorite dishes - kao pao, guay thiew, and pad si ew - and she was able to understand. It was quite an experience. The three dishes were good and reasonably priced, a good way to start the day. We then made our way back to the hotel via a new stretch of town that we hadn’t see yet and checked out. A short walk to the police station where all of the buses stop just outside of the gates is where we found our #78 bus to Damnoen Saduak.

Check out our pictures!

www.benandliya.shutterfly.com/action/

Click on the link above and it will take you to our Shutterfly collection of photos from our Asia trip thus far. Recently added "Rest of Vietnam", "We LOVE Thailand", and "Laos". Enjoy!

Pattaya: May 14th -15th

An adult circus. That is what comes to our mind when we think of Pattaya, Thailand.

We arrived into the beach town of Pattaya from Bangkok yesterday afternoon. We immediately noticed how touristy it was, and in a bad way. There is hardly anything throughout the city of Pattaya that is authentic-Thai which we found to be disappointing. All we noticed were the many old Caucasian men fondling young Thai women all around us. We witnessed an older man at the beach negotiating prices with two Thai women out loud in public - it was something.

A lot of Thai people mistake Liya to be one of the locals, so throughout Thailand and especially in Pattaya, she has had to speak English out loud randomly to let others know that she is not an escort and that Ben is not a sleezy man. Otherwise, we receive a lot of looks. We're just tourists! :)

Today, we enjoyed a nice long sleep-in. We walked a few kilometers up to Buddha Hill to get a nice panoramic view of Pattaya City. At the vantage view point on Buddha Hill, there was a small Wat (Buddhist Temple). Cool thing we saw at the temple was a marble table with "Liu's Family" written on it - they must have donated money to the temple. Go Liu's! Afterwards, we walked down south to Jomtiem Beach where we thought the beach would be nicer than the one in central Pattaya. Unfortunately, it wasn't. It was a thin strip of gravel-like sand with hundreds of umbrellas lining up all along the water. It was a spectacle! We saw a lot of European men in their tight speedos (not the most pleasant sight) do their best to find themselves a Thai girl. The Thai girls would lay out under the umbrellas and make flirtatious comments while these men would walk up and down the beach figuring who they would want to spend the day(s) with. Let's just say we didn't stay long at Jomtiem Beach.

We took the taxi back to central Pattaya in the evening and enjoyed a delicious bowl of wonton noodle soup with BBQ pork and steamed chicken w/rice for dinner. And of course, we bought a nice big order of mango with sweet sticky rice for dessert! YUM!

Tomorrow, we will take a bus back to Bangkok's Southern Bus Terminal, then take a bus either to Hua Hin along the Gulf or N.W. to Nakhom Pathom.

Sawaidee!

In Bangkok with Family: May 9th -11th

We arrived in Bangkok late evening on Friday, the 9th. A taxi drove us outside the city center to where Liya’s great-uncle and his family lived. They were so happy to have us with them for the weekend. We were welcomed with an abundance of fresh fruit: mangosteens, durian, and mangos. Ben was loving all the fresh durian - the best we have had thus far!

This was a great occasion for Liya - she has now met all of her ‘great-family’ on her mother’s side. She met her grandmother’s youngest sister and older brother in Can Tho, Vietnam, and has finally met her younger brother in Bangkok. Her other two great-aunts are currently living in Portland, Oregon.

Liya and the rest of her family are so lucky to have such a loving great family. To continue to receive the warm and loving embrace from family she has never met before has been amazing. The language barrier at times provides problems but actions speak much louder than words. These experiences have shown us the importance of family and love despite language barriers, despite living thousands of miles from one another, and despite never meeting each other.

On Saturday morning (10th), the whole family sat around the dining table and ate fresh fruit - lychees, mangosteens, mangos, durian, and a few other exotic fruits we don’t know the name of! We were spoiled-rotten!

For lunch, Liya’s 2nd cousin, Oh, took us out to eat at her favorite Guey Thiew (Thai noodles) street stall near her home. It was mighty tasty! Following our filling lunch was a trip to a Buddhist temple along the river near the city center where we prayed and paid our respects to our loved ones who have died. Later was a trip to the mall where we were both treated to a 1-hour foot and shoulder massage. We had such a great experience eating with our eyes in the food court on the bottom floor before our massage. It was filled a bunch of vendors making and selling all sorts of fresh food. We bought a kilo of lemongrass-flavored fresh mussels for 40 baht (<$2!); if only they were that cheap back home!

For dinner, we all went out to eat sukiyaki, Thai’s version of hot pot, at a famous restaurant chain called MK. We were so stuffed by the end of dinner - the amount of food we ate was ridiculous! Ben really enjoyed the roasted duck which came with the most amazing dipping sauce made from the duck drippings.

It was a mighty fine day with the family. :)

Back in Thailand

Ubon Ratchathani: May 5th-6th
We spent 2 days in the far Northeastern city of Ubon Ratchathani relaxing and resting. There, we found our favorite sticky rice with mango combo! It was heavenly…

There wasn’t much to do in Ubon - just a big concrete city that lacked much character, unlike Bangkok.

On Wednesday, we rode on a train for 6 hours to our next big N.E. Thailand city, Khorat.




Khorat & Phimai: May 7th-8th

The main attraction to staying in this city was the nearby town of Phimai, an ancient city with a series of wats dating back pre-Angkor Wat.

In Phimai, we explored the main ancient Wat site which contained a series of pagodas, galleries and courtyards. Following our wat exploration, we enjoyed walking through the evening market eating plenty of fresh mangosteens, mangoes with sticky rice, pad thai and Thai granola.

Back in Khorat later in the evening, we walked to the Night Bazaar and had Chinese noodles w/BBQ pork on a nearby street - the most tasty Chinese noodles we’ve had thus far throughout S.E. Asia!

We would return to Bangkok on the 9th to visit Liya’s relatives.

Heading back to Thailand: May 5th

After having a disappointing week in Laos, we have decided to head back west to Thailand. We will cross the border this afternoon from Paske and arrive in Ubon Ratchathani, Thailand, this evening.

We have opted to skip the 4000 Islands down south in Loas and Siem Riep/Angkor Wat, Cambodia, to spend more time in Thailand. We are having a hard time justifying spending so much time on the road and money to just see Angkor Wat in Cambodia. We plan to visit the famous site sometime in the future when we have the time and money.

Paske and Bolaven Plateau: May 3rd -4th

We arrived early morning in Paske, a town of 66,000 people. We would make this town our home base for our Bolaven Plateau experience. When we arrived at the bus station, we were overwhelmed by the numerous tuk-tuk drivers offering their services. It was laughable at first in our travels but after a while, you get irritated by the irrational prices tuk-tuk drivers want for their service. Out of all the S.E. countries we have visited thus far, collusion is at its best in Laos. Everything from moto hires to admission fees to accommodation to food are all set at the same ridiculously high prices. Being a less developed country with a weaker economy compared to Thailand and Vietnam, the prices for Laos’ services and goods are much more expensive while the quality of service is under par. Not the best combination one could ask for…

For the rest of the day, we took it easy and did some research for our adventure on the plateau the next day. We had duck foe, similar to Vietnamese’s pho (noodle soup). However, unlike pho, it lacked the savory rich flavors. With the exception of Lao’s traditional ping paa, we have found Laos food to be under par in comparison to its neighboring countries. The food in Laos has been terrible and incredibly expensive that we have turned to Chinese and Vietnamese restaurants to satisfy our tummies. We took a brief walk around the city center which turned out to be only a few blocks before enjoying a nice afternoon nap. For dinner, we ate seafood hot pot at an open-sided Vietnamese restaurant. The family who ran it were very friendly and were very good cooks. It was nice to use Vietnamese to converse with locals again.

We had an early start the next morning. We rented a moto and set off for the small village of Paksong in the Bolaven Plateau 50-km away. Bolaven is famous and popular for its cool climate, greenery, national parks, minority villages, impressive waterfalls and COFFEE. According to Lonely Planet, Laos apparently grows some of the world’s best coffee beans. After having a few cups of Laos coffee in the region, we agreed with the book*s statement. The coffee we had was the real deal. There is a Bolaven free-trade coffee co-op; Starbucks should look into brewing Bolaven Plateau coffee!

Before arriving in Paksong, we visited one of Lao’s famous waterfalls, Tat Fan. It was a very impressive 120-m waterfall. Following Paksong was another impressive waterfall (40-m), Tat Yuang, which we were able to view at close range. With our 100-cc motos and rough roads, it took us close to two hours to make it back to Paske. To make the best of our very expensive moto hire, we rode our moto all around the city and along the river till the gas tank read “E”. On our evening ride, we enjoyed watching brilliant lightning storms in the distance.






More pictures from Laos: www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2261846&l=b2d39&id=10708181

Vientiane: May 1st-2nd

This was the first capital city where we didn’t need to spend more than two days to be satisfied! Exhausted from our ride from Vang Vien, we spent only a few hours out enjoying dinner in Chinatown and walking along the river. Dinner was a hit but overly priced in our opinion. We enjoyed baked pork balls with lettuce and thinly slices of raw beef cooked in coconut juice.

The next day we rented cycles and visited the most important National monument in Laos, the golden Pha That Luang. Vientiane isn’t really a large city so we covered most of it by bike in a matter of hours. For dinner, we ate at one of the many outdoor ‘restaurant’ stalls along the Mekong River. Along with our large Beer Lao, we enjoyed ping paa, a large fresh tilapia that was rubbed with sea salt and stuffed with lemon grass then grilled over charcoal. The fish was so moist and fresh and the lemongrass was a wonderful touch. Sadly, that meal was the best part of Vientiane in our opinion. We weren’t really impressed with the overly priced goods and services offered and the people weren’t as friendly as we were told by others.

We took an overnight bus down south to Paske, a small town outside of the large Bolaven Plateau.

Vang Vien - April 30th-31st

A very interesting town. We arrived off the bus in the early evening and quickly found a decent place to stay. We noticed that this small northern town was overrun by backpackers and most amenities are suited towards them. It was difficult to enjoy an authentic Laos experience in Vang Vien.

Highlights included: Cycling out to the famous cave overlooking the city and tubing down the Mekong River for half of the day. The latter event is an inner tube ride down a river on steroids! Bars on stilts lined the river banks on each side with locals throwing sticks and rope to reel you in. Loud music and signs for free ‘lao-lao’ (terrible cheap whisky) act to entice backpackers. Ben’s favorite part of the floating experience were the extreme rope swings all along the river. Aside from the tourist jargon, the views of the surrounding greenery and limestone karsts were spectacular. We unfortunately were unable to capture these views on camera. We did enjoy playing volleyball with an international group at one of the bar spots. All was good until Liya was bitten by red ants in five different spots - ouch!

Only after a couple of nights, we felt it was time to move onto the next destination - the capital city, Vientiane.

Travel Day - April 28th -29th

20 hours devoted to nothing but travel. Overnight bus from Chiang Mai to Thailand/Laos friendship bridge border (12 hours), bus to Vientiane, bus to Veng Viane. A very long, long day.

Chiang Mai - April 25th-27th

An early morning arrival to Chiang Mai brought the typical crowd and questions, but this time we met the self-titled ‘Momma Honey’ from the Royal Guesthouse who took us to our place to stay. Hundreds of steps and seven floors later, we found ourselves moved in to our room. A good strong fan, clean room and facilities for $5 per night made the workout to get up there worth it. A refreshing dip in the pool followed by a quick shower and we were ready to hit the town. We walked along Chiang Mai’s old town that is surrounded by tall stone walls and moats. With no particular agenda we wandered the city and enjoyed seeing daily life in Thailand. Chiang Mai has markets everywhere - outdoors, street-side, undercover, inside, rooftop markets markets and markets! It brought Ben great joy to run into a mobile shaved-ice cart. Five baht (17 cents) for a cup full with two flavors, yes! A walk through Chinatown was uneventful, but we did find fresh-made Thai style macaroons that were a hit. A bowl of local favorite kay soi was sadly a disappointment but we remained optimistic. We bought what we thought was going to be a sauage on a stick, but ended up being rice-stuffed sausage on a stick. We almost felt like they were playing a trick on us. Lots of walking and too much food was day one’s theme in Chiang Mai.

Day two: we rented a motorbike, set our bearings, and headed towards the hills. A large temple set atop the city was the first destination. Steep steps outlined by handrails in the design of a continuous dragon’s tail led the way up and up. A golden temple with a surrounding view of the city was our prize once at the apex. Various fruit trees, ringing bells, and Buddhas made up the overall grounds. Back down and down the steps we hopped on the moto and continued up the hill where we rode by the Royal winter home of the King and Queen of Thailand. Since we weren’t invited in for supper or a game of cards we rode back down the hill and into town. We stopped by a large shopping mall where there was something for everyone - even a Sizzler! We opted to pass on the salad bar for the local food court that was set up outside. We enjoyed a cup of fresh coconut ice cream as walked around and ate everything else with our eyes.

We took an evening stroll through the popular Night Bazaar nearby and enjoyed an array of Thai food - pad thai, banana and honey rotti, mango with sticky rice, Thai ice tea, and Thai multiple-colored dessert which consisted mung bean, sweet kidney beans, water chesnuts, tapioca and coconut milk.

Day two: We rented a motorbike, set our bearings, and headed towards the hills. A large temple set atop the city was the first destination. Steep steps outlined by handrails in the design of a continuous dragon’s tail led the way up and up. A golden temple with a surrounding view of the city was our prize once at the apex. Various fruit trees, ringing bells, and Buddhas made up the overall grounds. Back down and down the steps we hopped on the moto and continued up the hill where we rode by the Royal winter home of the King and Queen of Thailand. Since we weren’t invited in for supper or a game of cards we rode back down the hill and into town. We stopped by a large shopping mall where there was something for everyone - even a Sizzler! We opted to pass on the salad bar for the local food court that was set up outside. We enjoyed a cup of fresh coconut ice cream as walked around and ate everything else with our eyes. That evening, we enjoyed the Chiang Mai City Gate Market, Saturday’s most popular market. For dinner, we enjoyed a delicious bowl of thai noodle soup with chicken and pork at a street stall next to the city gate. We walked around the market for the rest of the evening, enjoying all the different colors of products offered and of course, the selection of desserts (mango with sticky rice, fresh coconut juice with young coconut meat, three-colored dessert, etc.)!!!

Day three: We took it easy on our third day in Chiang Mai. We enjoyed brunch at our favorite Chiang Mai restaurant where our palates were satisfied by savory panang curry and spicy tom yum kung soup! We rented a moto for another day and rode it all through and around the city. We rode as long as we could along the river and up through the hills once again. Butts and backs sore from hours on the bike, we indulged ourselves with an hour-long Thai body massage - heavenly and only for $4! In the evening, we spent over three hours walking through the very crowded Sunday street market in the middle of old town. It was definitely overwhelming! Plenty of food, paintings, hand crafts, clothes, foot and body massages, and Thai souvenirs were offered on the 2-km stretch.

Lop Buri - April 24th

A quick day trip took us around Lop Buri to experience a little of rural Thailand had to offer. To our surprise it had monkeys to offer, and lots of them. Like pigeons to NYC and Venice, or squirrels to Seattle, Lop Buri has tons of monkeys simply running a muck around town. On power lines, tops of buildings, squatting on street signs, dodging cars (sometimes riding on them as well), the monkeys were everywhere and certainly to our amazement. The two of us probably seemed strange to some of the locals as we walked, jaw dropped and taking photos, of Lop Buri’s monkeys - I would imagine we were not the first, however.

Enough with the monkey business…we wandered the town and found that there wasn’t much to see or do. So as we knew best we found the street that was lined with food carts and started sampling. Liya was finally able to find a bowl of Tum Yum Soup (a spicy shrimp soup with lemongrass), and she and her palate were pleased with the results. One dessert stand had traditional Vietnamese three color dessert that was so good that we returned later to have it again. The remainder of the evening was more walking and sampling of the local goods. At 9pm we boarded our overnight train (always an adventure) and started the course north to Chiang Mai.

Ayutthaya - April 23rd & 24th

A two hour, third-class train ride took us from Bangkok to the ancient capital city of Ayutthaya in the north. Visualize a 100 mile trip shared with locals, all the windows down, a consistent line of vendors prowling the aisles with food and drink for sale, and wooden benches for your personal comfort. It was a true Thai experience - all for just shy of $1 for the two of us. The views outside were sun-soaked countryside littered with palm trees and bamboo huts.

Hopping off of the train brought the typical questions from awaiting locals, “tuk tuk ride?” and “where you going?” We decided find a place by foot and ran into a solid guesthouse just down the road. We rented a couple of bicycles and headed out to pedal around town. We immediately found Ayutthaya to be a unique mix of ancient and modern. The first big avenue we rode down had ancient 1,000 year old temples on the right and ‘college of international business‘ and ‘college of manufacturing and technology‘ on the left. Continuing towards the center of town we approached elephants walking on and along side the road. Tourists were perched on top with cameras while locals were at the helm with one hand on elephant ear and one had on whip. It was new adventure navigating a bicycle around elephants in the middle of the city.

Stop one was to an beautiful temple where a 12m tall sitting Buddha rests. Monks, both young and old, in their traditional and colorful robes added to the magic of the moment. Next door were the grounds to an old wat. We walked around to take in the sight of the old temples and enjoyed the view from high on the stairs. The skyline lacked high rise buildings, but showcased tall temples that have dominated Ayutthaya’s city and sky for centuries. Back on the bikes we rode past more temples on our way to check out the local markets and get a taste for the local food. The spicy papaya salad was a hit, noodle soup was solid, and fresh corn on the cob made Ben feel like he was back on the farm in Madras. The went down with a dramatic display of color and quickly brought the thundershowers. The ten minute bike ride home was a legitimate replacement for an evening shower - not!

The following morning began by breaking the fast with a local bowl of noodle soup and a thai iced tea. We jumped on the local ferry that takes you across the river on a two minute ride. We wandered the markets and purchased fresh fruit and snacks for the train ride north to Lop Buri.