Destination: Chiang Mai

The Wat at the top of Doi Suthep

When we visited Chiang Mai in April, it was Songkran, the water festival.  We had been told that if you really wanted to experience Songkran, you had to do so in Chiang Mai.  I believe they must have been right since thousands of people traveled the streets in trucks with huge barrels of water and adults and children with small buckets, dousing walkers on the streets.  Packs of people armed with super soaker squirt guns roamed the streets, taking aim at anyone in close proximity.  It appeared that everyone, young or not so young, was involved in the craziness.

Fast forward to July of 2011:  This time around, decisions on where/what we wanted to visit was not impacted by water of any kind (well, sometimes the rain). We stayed in Mae Rim, about 15 minutes from downtown.  It was a lovely place in the country.  Chiang Mai is absolutely gorgeous.  The tall, lush mountains are breathtaking.  Having our own car afforded us the opportunity to drive paths not taken by many other than locals.  One day’s excursion took us through hill tribes and to the Royal Gardens of Queen Sirikit.  I couldn’t get enough photos of the stunning flowers and plants that we saw.  On our ride home, we weren’t exactly sure of where we were so we decided to use the GPS on the iPhone.  We ended up taking these little-travelled dirt roads in the middle of what appeared to be rice fields, not knowing if our car might sink at any moment.  It was quite an adventure as we raced against time to find our way back to our lodging before the battery died.

Our home away from home for the week

Of course, food is always a main attraction of any trip we take.  We enjoyed returning to one of our favorite Khao Soy (thick, savory soup with noodles) “restaurants” that we had discovered on our last trip.  It is always amazing to us the quality and quantity of great food we can get for 60 – 90 baht ($2-3 dollars).  Our friend Jenny is a vegetarian so we are always looking for good veggie eateries.  We found a fabulous vegetarian restaurant that David insisted we return to at least once or twice more before we left. It was amazing what they could do with tofu (da-hu). 

We also took our obligatory trip up to Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep, the Buddhist temple atop Doi Suthep Mountain.  It is probably the most visited spot in Chiang Mai by foreigners.  It was a wet and rainy day, so navigating the 309 steps to the very top was a feat in itself.  When we reached the top, we enjoyed the view of a number of golden buddhas, huge chimes and a golden chedi.  It was worth the climb.

The Chiang Mai Countryside

After five days, we said goodbye to one of our favorite destinations in Thailand.  But if all goes as planned, David and our friend Duff plan to film a documentary of a trip from Bangkok to Chiang Mai in one of David’s golf carts.  The working title of the film:  David and Duff Do Doi Suthep.  Watch for it in your local theater soon.  JK

The State of Affairs: Flooding in Bangkok

Flooding in Nonthaburi

In and around Bangkok, it is a sad and uncertain time.  Flooding up north in Ayuttiah, Kanchanaburri and Sukothai is making its way to the ocean via the Chao Praya River which runs right through Bangkok.  Nonthaburi and Pakkret, communities along the Chao Praya closest to us, have been flooded and parts evacuated.  Where we often catch the water taxi to Bangkok, the water is 2-3 meters higher than normal.  Thousands of people have lost their homes and belongings.  People have parked their cars on the expressways to get as far above ground as possible.  This has caused up to three lanes deep of cars in certain areas.  This has also resulted in tremendous traffic because of only one or two lanes available for transport.

All schools in Nonthaburi (where ISB is located) have been closed since last week.  We have just received notice that the Ministry of Education has mandated that all schools remain closed until November 7^th.  ISB will continue e-school for students during the interim.  How this impacts the rest of the school year will not be known right away.  Many of the ex-pats from our community, after securing their homes and preparing for flooding, left town last week for the October holiday and are extending their holiday to stay away from Bangkok until the threat of the high tide this weekend passes.  Although many members of the Thai staff at school have lost their homes and are now living with family and friends, they still showed up for work on our last day to make sure the school was prepared for the threat of flooding.  It is amazing how resilient the Thai people are through such difficult times and how everyone has stepped up to help one another.

From Railay to Phi Phi ~ Please tell me this was just a nightmare!

Recall our stress from the last post regarding water transportation?  If we were to rate that journey on the TSS (Tammy’s Stress Scale) from 1 to 10, 10 being most stressful, that situation would have probably been rated an 8, had I not had the experience you are about to read.  Now let us tell you about our “10.”

When we were leaving Railay Beach, David had arranged for a tractor device to take us out to the long tail boats, providing an easy transition into the boats.  We were able to board quite easily (a 1 on the TSS).  However, what we weren’t informed of is that this long tail boat took you out to sea and then you had to board a ferry there. We learned of this as all of the long tail boats leaving Railay were hovering out at sea.  Soon a small ferry arrived.  I could feel the anxiety swell within me.  Later, I would learn that David was anxious for me, as well, but would have never let me know.  As usual, I waited until after everyone else had disembarked the long tail.  David would also tell you that as he watched fit, young, athletic women with two good legs struggle to board the ferry, he could only think, “Is there a hoist onboard?”  Now imagine a small ferry filled with probably 100 backpackers all sitting along the outside edges of the boat, watching us board.  Between David and three Thai workers, they all tried to "help" me get my leg up on the edge of the long tail and then a big step up to the ferry.  Unfortunately, my leg doesn’t move that way.  No such luck.  As part of me left my body and observed from above, I watched myself do some version of the worm (think of the dance) on the deck of the ferry, with the Thai men pulling on my arms and David pushing on my back side until I finally got my entire body up on board.  I glanced up and saw too many sets of eyes on me.  The entire front of me was filthy from scraping along the deck.  I made a bee-line to the cabin so that I could settle in to cry.  I’d like to say that I didn’t develop a cold sore or popped blood vessel from the stress of the situation, but that would not be the truth.  Ninety minutes later we arrived at the Pier at Koh Phi Phi and my nightmares from less than two hours earlier were replaced with the beauty of an island paradise!

Destination: Railay Beach, Krabi

From Phuket, we headed towards Krabi.  This was a place I had wanted to visit since we arrived in Thailand and a friend said, “If you don’t go anywhere else, go to Railay Beach in Krabi.”  I keep thinking that we’ve seen so many amazing places in Thailand, it can’t get any more fabulous.  Well, the drive to Krabi was spectacular.  The tall limestone structures were breathtaking. 

Boarding the long tail boats to Railay Beach

As far as we knew, we were on our way to Railay Beach.  We had read about a place to stay and put the address into David’s iPhone.  We followed the directions down an unpaved road and ended up at a little Thai resort called Arawan instead.  We discovered there that you can only reach Railay Beach by boat.  There must have been some kind of glitch in the GPS.  But it ended up a great mistake as we stayed at Arawan and met some lovely people.  We were even invited to dinner by the owner, as he had some friends visiting from Federal Way in Washington and he wanted us to meet.  It ends up that they own two Thai restaurants – one called Wild Orchid in Tacoma.  So if you are in the Tacoma area and have a hankering for some Thai food, please check it out.

We spent a couple of days at Arawan before we headed to Railay Beach.  From a pier not far from the resort, we took a long tail boat to Railay Beach. We had to walk out into the surf and then climb into the long tail boat.  This was challenging for me, but I persevered and was able to board with minimal embarrassment and no popped blood vessels in my eye. 

David on the West Side of Railay Beach

Railay Beach has two sides.  The east side has a view of mangroves.  It’s not the most beautiful sight, but it is pretty.  After a short 5 minute walk through the middle of the island, you arrive at the west side.  As we passed through the trees to the beach, it seriously took our breath away.  Again, these huge limestone cliffs hovered overhead on the left and the right with the beach inbetween.  We had lunch at a cute little café right on the beach.  The beauty of Thailand overwhelmed us.

Our few days at Railay Beach were lazy and restful.  We would rise late, grab some brekkies, walk to the west side to lie on the beach, read, eat, swim, read, walk the beach and eat some more.  This is definitely a place that we want to revisit with Amanda and Caryn.   

Destination: Phuket

The view of Kata Beach from Aspasia

Our next adventure would end up a 14-day journey to several islands and beaches.  Our first planned stop was Phuket.  It was such an amazing drive from Bangkok to Phuket.  The landscape was beautiful.  We stopped along the highway on several occasions to purchase fruit or roasted chicken from a stall on the side of the road.  We got a kick out of the response of the vendors each time we pulled over to make a purchase.  They would approach our vehicle.  I would roll down the window.  They would see that we were farangs.  They would giggle and then walk away.  Our take on this was that they didn’t know what to do because they didn’t speak English.  Luckily, David and I know enough Thai to get into trouble, so we were usually able to communicate what we wanted.  :0)

Halfway to Phuket, we happened across the amazing Pun Ya Ban Waterfall.  We have to say that it is the most spectacular waterfall we’ve come across so far in Thailand. It was located close to Ranong, where we ended up staying the night.   Ranong is known for its hot springs.  We checked into a local hotel.  We love finding establishments like this where there aren’t many westerners and generally the price is usually really good.   We ended up finding a great local restaurant for dinner and then had a good night’s sleep before resuming our journey to Phuket. 

Pun Ya Ban Waterfall near Ranong

The next day, we continued our drive.  All along the way, we saw signs to different beaches.  We decided to turn down one road and ended up at Pra Pat Beach.  It reminded us a lot of some of the beaches we have frequented near Newcastle in Australia.  It was a surf beach and there were small crab everywhere. The surf would come in and the little crabs would scurry as fast as they could across the sand.   

A couple of hours later, we arrived in Phuket.  We were surprised at the size of it.  There was the busy area of Patong, where tons of tourists explored.  We stayed up on a hill overlooking the ocean.   At the bottom of the hill was Kata Beach, a surf beach.  Our time in Phuket was wonderful, mostly because we stayed in a lovely place with a qualified and friendly staff.  We had several yummy meals, enjoyed a couple’s massage, took drives around the island and stopped at Karon Viewpoint.  Would we come back to Phuket?  Probably because we didn’t take the opportunity to sea kayak around James Bond Island this time around.  But that will be another adventure.

Destination: Koh Chang

Khlong Phlu Waterfall

Just a four hour drive and a car ferry ride from Bangkok, we arrived on Koh Chang.  “Koh” in Thai means island and “Chang” means elephant. It was truly beautiful there.  David loves ferries, so the car ferry ride from the mainland to Koh Chang was right up his alley.  We stayed at a nice bungalow near the beach. The weather cooperated half of our stay.  On the rainy days, we drove around the island, checking out the various viewpoints.  It was breathtaking. There was a road that went almost all the way around the island.  It would climb very high and then drop really low - very dramatic.  In our minds, we think our little Soluna is a 4-wheel drive so we often drove down roads that led to who knows where and I think we were lucky to get ack. We had to really pay special attention as the rain, at times, was coming down so fast and hard that parts of some roads were flooded.  The drives were quite adventuresome! 

On one of the drier days, we took a hike to Khlong Phlu Waterfall.  David encouraged me to try the mile hike each way.  It was rugged terrain - no paved paths here.  One would think that at the end of such a hike, I would have experienced sore legs, calves, etc.  Not me!  I had sore arms as I must have been tensing them as I grabbed for branches, rocks and David's hand along the way.  I even popped a blood vessel in my eye from the stress.  Ahhh, but the view was well worth the hike.  

View on a road trip around the island

Always at the top of our list when exploring is where/what our next meal will be, whether it be street food or a restaurant.  Italian food was EVERYWHERE – not necessarily GOOD Italian food, however.  We used Trip Advisor and a traveling magazine to choose our dining options, but everywhere we went, the establishment had either gone out of business or was closed for the season, since this is the rainy or “green” season.  We did manage to find a cute little German bakery, good pizza and of course, yummy Thai food.  One of the highlights of our stay on Koh Chang was having dinner on the beach.  We stopped at a restaurant in one of the little villages and ended up walking through the restaurant directly to the beach.  We had some Thai dishes but we were most impressed with the 10-inch long prawn that they BBQed for us.  Yummy!  While on the beach, David also experienced something climbing on his back.  It was some sort of many-legged insect, hairy and about 4 inches long.  We think it might have been dangerous since the waiter got a stick and carefully removed it from David's back and gingerly took it away somewhere - we don't know where.  All in all, we really liked the feel of the island with its little villages every few kilometers.   It was a beautiful island, with beautiful views and beautiful people!

Koh Chang Coastline

The Summer of Beaches, Islands and Mountains

Being new on the international school scene, the end of the school year took me by surprise.  Saying goodbye to newly made friends was so difficult for me.   I don’t like goodbyes and I had to say goodbye to a good number of people who I had really enjoyed getting to know.  Also, most of my colleagues were heading back to their home countries or some exotic places around the world.  David and I decided that this summer would be the best time to explore Thailand.  In our 25 years of marriage, we have never both had time in the summer to just take off and see where the road took us.  In May, we purchased an economical car, created our wish list of destinations (to be referred to from this point on as “The Summer of Beaches, Islands and Mountains”) and started researching.

What you need to know about this time of year in Thailand:  Between May and September/October, Thais experience the rainy or “green” season.  That means that one can expect rain anywhere from a huge downpour/wind storm all day, for just an hour, or no rain at all.  Rain or not, it is generally still hot and humid.  This reminds me of a conversation I had with an Aussie 4^th grader early last year. Like me, it was his first year living in Thailand.  We were talking about the seasons and he asked, “When will it be winter?”  I said, “Honey, there really isn’t a winter here.  There are three seasons:  the hot season, the rainy season and the cold season.  But it really isn’t cold during the cold season.”  His mouth dropped open and his face scrunched and he said, “You mean it’s ALWAYS going to be this hot?”  It was hilarious.  The good news is that it IS hot here.  I have never had to wear a down jacket (although we have seen some Thais wear down jackets), a sweater or closed toed shoes.  If I didn’t have to dress up for school, I could live in shorts and capris.  I can swim outside almost every day of the year.  I have never had to turn on the heater in the car.  In fact, there are no heaters in the cars here.  And when it does storm, it is AMAZING!  Huge storms with lightning, thunder, gale winds that knock planters over, etc.  My friend Susan says that on days like that, she cranks up the air con, they put on some winter clothing and eat chili for dinner.  As long as they don’t go outside, it seems like winter to them.  Most people do not travel through Thailand at this time of year because of the weather.  However, this can be the perfect time for visitors who are traveling on a budget because hotels/resorts WANT YOUR BUSINESS!  So starts the first of many road trips during The Summer of Beaches, Islands and Mountains.

The next few posts will be dedicated to educating you on some of the most beautiful places to visit in Thailand.  If you do not come away with an urge to travel this way, you are probably dead.  Ha! 

Six Weeks of FUN, FUN, FUN!

Amanda, Matt & Allie in Ayuttiah

March and April were a whirlwind.  Within 6 weeks, we had a total of 11 visitors from all over.  Jan and Gregg (our brother and sister-in-law) arrived in early March.   It was great to have some time with both of them in our new stomping ground, even though both Jan and Gregg have been to Thailand many times before.  We had several adventures like when we tried to get into a rooftop bar with VERY casual clothes on.  There was also the time when, after waiting an hour in a taxi line, the taxi driver wouldn’t turn his meter on and insisted we pay 4x the price of a metered ride to a nice bar/restaurant across town.  Gregg used his “powers” of persuasion and we ended up at our destination.  Jan reconnected with her old tailor and found some great shopping spots, took a day trip to Ayuttiah with David, and fell in love with our favorite restaurant, Chai.  She also met up with some friends from Hong Kong who are now teaching at ISB.

All six young women at Monkey Mountain

A couple of days after Jan left, the group of six lovely ladies arrived.  This group consisted of Amanda and Allie (a good friend since club volleyball days) and Caryn with Nat, Sarah and Becky (all SOU teammates).  Our apartment was ROCKIN’!  We did so much and the girls were open to trying all different foods, learning as much about the culture as they could in a short time span and speaking as much Thai as possible.  David started their Thailand adventure by taking them to Cha’am to hang out at the beach and explore Hua Hin and the infamous Monkey Mountain (see previous blog post…).  We took a trip to Ayuttiah, the once capital of Thailand. At this point, Matt, our nephew, joined the party.  David was glad to have some additional testosterone in the place.  We saw some beautiful wats, took a long tail boat down the river, were drenched by an elephant and had tasty morsels at the floating market.  We then went to Kanchanaburri (home of the Bridge on the River Kwai) and Sai Yok.  Ken, Matt’s dad and David’s brother, flew in to join the group.  We stayed in a floating hotel on the river.  We hiked Erawan Falls, one of the most beautiful falls areas in Thailand.  Did I mention that we also rented a 10-passenger van for all of our travels.  We nicknamed it the “party van.”  In between all of these trips, the girls managed to eat heaps of Thai food, ride motorcycle taxis and tuk tuks, help David coach some middle school volleyball players (the ISB players are still talking about the VB visiting coaches), shop at Chattachuk market, hit an “ice bar” and rooftop bar in downtown Bangkok, have massages, manicures and pedicures, and drink too many “buckets’ on Kao San Road.  It was such a great time and a time that we will never forget.  We even hear that Becky plans to come back next summer!!!

A few days after they all left, my friend Shannon arrived.  She was in Bangkok to present at the NESA conference, as well as work with our coaches at ISB.  We had a fun week and learned a lot from her visit.  We ended her time here by heading to Koh Samet, a beautiful beach a few hours from here.  We hung out on the beach, had a lot of tasty beverages and continuously pinched ourselves that we were truly in a beautiful paradise.  Hopefully, Shannon will make several more trips this way to work with us!

Although this time was crazier than crazy, we wouldn’t have changed it for the world.  

Right before we were drenched by an elephant in Ayuttiah

The LAST Visa Run to Vientiane, Laos

I know that many of you have been waiting with bated breath for the conclusion of the Visa Drama.  Finally, here is the last chapter:

The last, and I might add successful, visa trip was to Vientiane, Laos.  David had researched the train system.  We decided to book the overnight sleeper train to Nong Khai, the end of the Thai train line.  You have to love public transportation!

Anousavari Monument

Our train departed Lak Si around 8:00 p.m.  We grabbed some cart food and snacks and headed to our seats to play a little cribbage (I think I won!).  Within the hour, dinner and drinks were offered and an attendant arrived to make up our bunks.  The sleeping arrangements consisted of two bunks which were curtained off to give privacy.  David slept on the top bunk and me on the bottom.  We hit the hay and 7 hours later, we were awakened by the attendant to make up the bunks and serve us some brekkies.

Once we arrived at the train station at Nong Khai, we took another train across the Friendship Bridge into Thanaleng, near Vientiane, our destination.  This train had a schedule – but not really.  It left whenever the passengers from the Thai train arrived and everyone cleared immigration. 

We had a great time in Vientiane.  Besides spending several hours at the Thai Embassy, we spent a few days exploring the city. It was interesting to hear a mixture of both Thai and French speaking people.  Much of the architecture reflected the French influence, as did many of the restaurants.  We were anxious to try this $2.00 French lunch mentioned in Lonely Planet (we are always looking for a good deal).  To our delight, we had a fabulous French meal for $2.00 each. 

Our Favorite French Restaurant

Sights included Anousavari Monument, a Thai version of the Arc de Triomphe.  It was beautiful.  We also walked the night market, tried some delicacies,had  the best smoothie either of us has ever had, roti and some of the ABSOLUTE best beer we’ve had in Southeast Asia – Beer Lao.  (okay, not exactly a micro-brew, but darn close)

We left Laos with an admiration of the country and a longing to return this summer, this time to Luang Prabang.  And most importantly, after several attempts, David left Laos with a valid visa!

David’s footnote:  The visa drama was actually not over.  I had to now spend ½ day with a driver going to the visa office in Nonthaburi district (1-1/2 hours away) where money was paid, smiles and wais given and then I had a multiple re-entry through October (same as Tammy).  And BTW:  I’m sure I won at cribbage! 

THE Best Cart Foods

Cart Snacks We Enjoy
Thailand is full of restaurants.  However, we enjoy a regular snacking from the many carts we find along the road anywhere and everywhere.  Most of the items on this list can be bought for 20 baht or less (approximately 60 cents). 

·      Corn:  corn kernels tossed in butter, sugar and salt.  You can also buy it boiled or roasted on the cob.

·      Waffles:  4 inch diameter waffles.  You choose whether the batter includes maple, almond, sea salt & sesame and more (no syrup)

·      Satay:  mostly gai (chicken) or moo (pork)

·      Fruit:  bags of saparod (pineapple), tang mo (watermelon), mamuang see kiew (green mango w/salt, sugar and spice dip), farang (guava)

·      Ice cream:  with a variety of toppings including coconut, nuts, a variety of gelatinous squiggly things, sweetened condensed milk, fruity stuff.

·      Roti: crepe like pancake with anything put inside.  Folded into a square.  We like gluay (banana) and nutella.  Topped with sweetened condensed milk.

·      Kow Niow Mamuang (mango and sticky rice – seasonal.  We are craving it ALWAYS! 

·      Mien kam:  little bundles of dried shrimp, lime, ginger, onion, peanuts, cilantro/ parsley, hot peppers, toasted coconut and secret sauce wrapped up into a betel leaf.  A delightful mouthful!

·      Coke in a bag:  forget the can or bottle of coke.  We enjoy coke in a plastic bag filled with ice and a straw.

·      Chicken – any part.  We buy it roasted whole.  You can get chicken knuckles, but lots of cartillage.

·      Khanoms: These are little treats.  There are many different kinds including savory with chives or corn.  We generally eat the sweet ones that look like tablespoons filled with coconut milk, browned.  These are ready when they are somewhat set (but still a little jiggly).

·      Donuts:  Little ones that are drizzled with sweetened condensed milk or a pistachio pudding like sauce.

Get on over here and try some of these out!

The Quest for a Visa

When we were making arrangements to come to Thailand, David was working in Australia.  He had a multiple entry visa.  Once his contract in Australia ended in October, we didn’t realize that he needed a different visa.  So began the saga of the ever-elusive visa.

Missed Visa Opportunity:  Spain

Not being very savvy about world travel and visas, we were informed RIGHT AFTER we returned from Spain, that David needed to apply for a new visa.  Because he was no longer traveling to Australia regularly, the multiple re-entry visa would not work for him.  Had we realized this even a week earlier, we could have applied for the visa when we were in Spain.

Visa Attempt 1:  Cambodia

David had researched different ways that he could acquire a new visa.  One way to extend your visa is to drive into another country.  The easiest and least expensive way is to take a bus to Cambodia.  Right before the border, you have to take a tuk-tuk across.  It is quite a scam.  The tuk-tuk drivers try to get the farangs to pay an arm and a leg for the short trip.  Luckily, David knew what to expect.  Once he got to the border, he then needed to get to the embassy.  He had read that you have to be careful at the border because people will try to “sell” you a visa.  In actuality, they were really just selling you the paperwork.  But the naïve farang wouldn’t know any different. At the end of this trip, David had a 10-day extension to his current visa.

Visa Attempt 2:  Malaysia

Now David had ten days to figure out what he was going to do next.  A few days later, he arranged a trip to Malaysia.  He was still after the ever-elusive visa – this time hopefully a 30-day visa.  He had arranged passage in a luxury van and this plan had him sleeping in the van on the way there, filing paperwork at the embassy when he arrived the next morning, spending the night at a pre-arranged hotel, picking up the visa the next morning and then home that night.  He had to travel about an hour to get to Bangkok where the van picked up.  He got there in plenty of time.  As he was boarding the van, they were checking passports and paperwork to make sure everyone had the necessary documents.  Problem ~ not enough pages in his passport.  The embassy would not have issued a visa because of this.  Thankfully, they checked this BEFORE he got to Penang.  The next day he was in downtown Bangkok paying the $50+ to get extra pages put in his passport.

Visa Attempt 3:  Hong Kong

Time was getting tight!  David needed to leave the country but we were on a time crunch now because the girls were coming and he didn’t want to have to leave while they were here.  He was looking for another 30-day visa so he could get by until the girls left.  So we scoured Asia Air to find the cheapest flight ANYWHERE outside of Thailand.  Thankfully, David found a fairly inexpensive RT flight to Hong Kong, his old stomping ground.  The departure date arrived and he left our place early for Hong Kong.  Interestingly enough, he ran into some Norwegians who are making a visa run, as well.  They were spending the day in HK and also catching a flight late that evening. David became tour guide and showed them all of the Hong Kong sights.  He made some good contacts for our future, as of yet unplanned, trip to Norway.  He returned home late that night with yet another 30-day visa. 

At this point, I am thinking that David has a pretty good thing going on here!  In about two months, he has traveled to Spain, Cambodia, Hong Kong, ALMOST Malaysia and now he is planning to go to Laos.  Hmmmm!

Next post:  Finally getting the visa!

Christmas = Family, Friends, Frolic, Food & Fun!

I can’t believe how tardy I am at sharing the fun times we had when the girls were here for Christmas.  Lucky for David and I, they are coming back in March (with 4 friends).  David will play tour guide and companion to six beautiful women between the ages of 19 and 23.  I had better blog about our great adventures before they arrive.

Frolic:

View of Rayong

Amanda and Caryn’s number one goal for their visit to Thailand was to go back with a tan.  So it made sense that we take a couple trips to the beach.  We sunned ourselves at Rayong Beach as well as Cha’am.  In both places were right on the beach.  We took advantage of massages, great eats, dvds, games, time at the pool and on the beach and quality family time.  And yes, they did return home with a tan.

Friends:

With friends at Chai

One exceptionally fun evening took place on Kao San Road.  This is a road of pubs, food carts, souvenirs, etc.  It is one of the places you can find a whole lot of farangs (foreigners).  We told the girls about the fun atmosphere, so it was a definite destination before they left.  That evening, we ate, we drank and we made new friends.  We were sitting outside a little place where one could order “buckets.”  While enjoying our buckets, a rose arrived at our table.  Three strapping young blokes introduced themselves and we joined our tables.  We learned that they were on holiday for a couple of months and that they were in Bangkok for only a couple of days.  I guess we all looked like we were enjoying ourselves because soon enough, a table of two Thais pulled their table to join us.  They didn’t speak English, but it really didn’t matter.  We all spoke the language of fun!  Not long after that, four Brits pulled up their tables.  We were now a party of 13.  It was so much fun hanging out with everyone.  The next morning was not quite as enjoyable.  David and I are not as young as we used to be!

Food:

·      Cabbages and Condoms Thai

·      Exotic Fruits

·      Que Pasa Mexican

·      Coke in a Bag

·      Sharja Indian

·      Thai Home Cooking by Da

·      Milano’s Italian

·      Thai Food Carts

·      River Tree House

·      Toast

No wonder I’m not losing any weight in Thailand!

The Watsons Visit Thailand!

Tammy, Pat, Bill & David on a water taxi

Breakfast at Chattachuk Market

The little over a week we spent with Bill, Pat and Dave Watson in Thailand was like a whirlwind. We had so much fun!  Included in this fun were many fabulous eats including dinner at the River Tree House, joining the locals at the outdoor Chai restaurant, a “western” breakfast at Chattachuk Market, drinking coke in a bag on our river taxi ride, several yummy Thai dishes and beverages at Cabbages and Condoms (Don’t ask!  Or better yet, ask Pat, Dave or Bill about this one! - www.pda.or.th/restaurant/restaurant.asp) and of course Pat and Tammy’s delightful lunch of quiche and chocolate souffle at Amante’s (http//www.amantee.com).  There was plenty of shopping at Chattachuk, the 20 acre outdoor market with upwards of five thousand stalls, and MBK where we found many good deals.  There was time to exercise, as well.  David, Bill, Dave, Amanda and Caryn all took themselves and their bikes on the ferry to Koh Kret.  They picked up some great pottery there.  Bill hiked around Koh Samet, an island off the eastern seaboard of Thailand (while the rest of us were lazy hanging around the pool at Rayong).  Pat and I enjoyed biking to my school and getting the grand tour.  Of course after all of that exercise, we needed to treat ourselves to massages – okay we needed to do this a couple of times.  And our poor tootsies needed some TLC, so we had to treat ourselves to pedicures, as well. Bill and David made it their mission to utilize as many different modes of public transportation as they could in Bangkok.  This included the water taxi, tuk tuk, long tail boat, BTS (sky train), MRT (subway), taxi and pick-up truck taxi.  I’m sure I have left some out.  Then the three Watsons took off for Chiang Mai, a destination at the top of our “to do” list.  We are so jealous of them.  It was hard to say goodbye, but we were happy with the time we were able to spend with them and get to know Bill and Dave better.  We hope they all come back through again soon.

Hanging in the pool at Rayong

Caryn, David, Amanda, Bill & Dave on Koh Kret

Our Last Hurrah in Portugal!

Discoveries Monument

It’s funny when I think about planning our trip to Spain.  David was looking at all of the places we could see in our 7 days of travel and at the top of his list (right below seeing Blayne in Cadiz) was going to Portugal.  I really knew nothing about the country other than it was next to Spain.  In the almost 30 years I have known David, I had never heard him speak of Portugal.  But here he was telling me that it was a place he had always wanted to travel to.  Our first few days in Portugal at the beginning of the trip had been fabulous, so we made sure that we left two days at the end of our trip so we could explore Lisboa.  We ended up spending most of those two days in Belem, along the Tagus River.  We visited the Mosteiro dos Jerónimos, crossed the Portuguese version of the Golden Gate Bridge and viewed the Cristo Rei Statue (huge statue of Jesus with arms spread), and rode on the oldest streetcar in Lisboa.   Our culinary experiences were of course at the top of our list.  When we returned to Lisboa, it was mid-day and all of the eateries were closed or were closing.  We tried to get into a little café and they sent us across the street to a snack bar (I think because they didn’t want to try and communicate with us).  The only thing we knew to ask for was sopa (soup), so we ordered that.  We tried to express how yummy the soup was.  I guess he understood because he soon came out with bread.  This was followed by pork and clams (a regional speciality).  Yummy!  That evening, our concierge sent us to a restaurant on the waterfront.  We got to try bacalao, a fish specialty of the area (thank goodness for our school library where David read about all of these luscious foods).  And of course, one of my favorites was to have a pitcher of Sangria with loads of fruit in a luscious fruity juice.  Unfortunately, the end of our adventure ended the next morning as we headed to the airport for our 16 hour flight back to Bangkok. 

  

25 de Abril Bridge and Cristo Rei Statue

David in a Lisboa Cable Car

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 Mosteiro dos Jerónimos

Spain - We can't wait to go back!

Blayne posing next to Rodin's Thinker

A pueblos blancos

We spent several days in Cadiz, Spain because that is where our niece, Blayne, was living and studying (she is now back home in Gig Harbor, Washington). We have always gotten by in any culture or any country with limited language, pointing and smiling skills.  Our adventure in Spain was fantastic and a much richer experience because Blayne is fluent in Spanish. It was fun to watch her communicate so seamlessly with everyone we came in contact with. We were quite impressed.   For the most part, David and I would explore during the day when Blayne was at school and then we would meet up in the afternoon or evening. In our rental car, David and I would head out to explore towns and villages throughout Spain.  On these drives, we saw many pueblos blancos (white towns of Andalusia).  We would be driving on these country roads and up would sprout a white village in the midst of a sea of green.  We drove through several of them and they were very quaint. One day, we headed to Ronda with its many steep cliff faces.  We walked through a park that overlooked a huge valley.  A woman was playing her guitar and singing.  It was a beautiful setting. Most evenings we would meet up with Blayne for drinks and tapas. Our goal was to try as many different tapas as possible in the short time that we were there.  Another fun experience was having lunch at Blayne’s host home, where we met her host mom, Carmen, and her host sister, Michella.  Blayne had told us what a fantastic cook Carmen was and that was no exaggeration.  We had also heard about the large quantities of food she prepared.  She didn’t want Blayne and Michella to become malnourished.  No worries there.  There was enough food to feed an army. We knew that Carmen spoke Spanish.  I don’t know Spanish and David only knows a bit. But no worries there – Blayne was fluent in Spanish. What we didn’t know was that Blayne had told her mom that I spoke French.  Throughout the afternoon, Carmen tried to engage me in French conversation.  I actually took French thoughout college, but I won’t bother to tell you how many “decades” ago that was.  By the end of the afternoon, however, I was quite proud of the French that I actually could speak and understand.   Another delightful culinary experience was having churros and tea/coffee at a local café. Now we’re not talking Taco Bell churros.  These were snake-like deep-fried something or others that one dipped into a chocolate pudding.  Yummy!  I’m still craving them.  On the last day of our time with Blayne, we headed down to the Cadiz waterfront where we were able to admire the yellow-domed Cathedral of Cadiz.  The view was simply stunning. From there we headed to Jerez de la Frontera where we sampled local sherry at a distillery.  That evening, we put Blaynie on a train back to Cadiz and said farewell to our fun time with her and the beautiful Spain.  Thanks, Blayne, for sharing yourself and your temporary home with us.

Blayne and Tammy waiting for Churros

Cathedral of Cadiz

David and Tammy at Ronda, Spain