Final Stop in Southeast Asia: Bangkok

We were quiiiite sad to be leaving Anantara but all amazing things must come to an end so you can appreciate them that much more. We flew from Chiang Rai to Bangkok. When we landed in Bangkok, we had to take a bus from the plane to the terminal. I swear we were on that bus for like 15 minutes - the airport is like its own city!

We arrived at our hotel at around 10pm so we grabbed some dinner and then hit the hay.

Bangkok from our room

The next morning we went searching for a breakfast place we had read about - turns out it was on the 7th floor of a massive mall and left much to be desired. It was interesting to see the culture of malls in Asia! We went to this cafe called After You instead and realized it was a "breakfast dessert" place - I wasn't complaining! We had 2 sights we wanted to make sure we saw in Bangkok - Wat Pho (with a huge reclining Buddha) and the Grand Palace. It was too far to walk so we decided to find a tuk tuk.

The first tuk tuk we asked told us it would cost $15 when we had just taken a taxi from our hotel which was the same distance and it was $2.50. Sorry sir we are not idiot tourists!!! We then decided we should take a taxi since it would be metered anyways - well turns out taxis can do whatever they want so they quoted us $15 again. Ridiculous! A taxi can't "quote" a fare, it's called turn on your meter.

We came to an agreement with the taxi for $5 (annoying!) and arrived at Wat Pho to find hundreds of people. We haven't seen that many people in one place in awhile so I was kind of overwhelmed! Little did I know what the rest of the day had in store for us.

We saw the massive, I mean huge!, reclining Buddha. At 150 feet long, it's pretty hard to get a picture of all of it and not with a tourist in it.

150 feet long!

Attempted panoramic

The Grand Palace was next to Wat Pho so we started walking towards the entrance. A group of tuk tuk drivers told us we were going the wrong way and directed us the "right way." I will never listen to a tuk tuk driver ever again. We walked 10x longer than what we should have and normally I would be happy for the exercise but at 1pm on a sunny day at 95 degrees with 100% humidity - I was not pleased.

We finally arrived at the Grand Palace (heavily guarded by the military) and were told our outfits weren't "appropriate" and that we had to put a deposit on clothes to borrow to tour the palace which also has the Temple of the Emerald Buddha. I was wearing capris and a tank top (I always have a scarf with me to cover my shoulders in temples but this did satisfy them!) and Stace was wearing a long skirt and a tank top. We both got shirts since that was the only problem with our outfit and went to buy our ridiculously overpriced tickets.

I'm sorry but if you ever go to Bangkok, the Grand Palace is NOT worth $20!! There are no signs anywhere to say what each building is so basically you just walk around aimlessly with hundreds of other people. Oh and I forgot to mention - LOTS of Chinese/Korean tour groups.

We finally found the entrance and I was told my outfit was still not appropriate. The ticket collector pointed at my legs so I wrapped my scarf around them. This did not please him. I then wrapped Stace's scarf around my ankles so literally none of my skin was showing. STILL didn't please him. And at that moment, I knew I had arrived at my breaking point. Traveling is stressful - the thrill had worn off. Not knowing the language and sticking out as a 5'10 blonde had gotten old.

After a few choice words with him that he probably didn't understand, I went back to the clothes rental place and got a skirt. Turns out that women are not allowed to wear pants - only skirts or dresses. I am so thankful I can live in a country that lets me wear pants...

So after all that I was hoping it would all be worth the trouble. Well it wasn't. The coveted emerald Buddha was tiny and so high up on a platform that you could barely see it and apparently it's not even the real one - cool.

Thailand - known for its very ornate temples.

Replica of Angkor Wat - unsure why this was here...?

Grand Palace - I think? 

The Grand Palace was pointless (or maybe I was just a bit biased) but you weren't allowed in any buildings and nothing was labeled...

So after all that we decided to call it a day and go back to the hotel pool to relax. Every taxi/tuk tuk we talked to again quoted us $15! We walked around for an hour trying to find a form a transportation but no taxi would ever use their meter and no tuk tuk would go under $15. We were literally stuck and walking back to our hotel would take 1.5 hours. So we grabbed some lunch and then the first tuk tuk we talked to agreed to our price. Really???

We were excited for the next day because we scheduled a 5 hour bike/boat tour aka no taxis/tuk tuks involved!! The tour, Co van Kessel Bike Tours, took us around the back streets of Bangkok which was awesome to see, especially after our previous day. We were in a group of 20 people (mostly Dutch because the company is Dutch!) and I was surprised how well it went! You'd think giving 20 bikes to tourists would be a terrible idea but no one got lost or hurt! Bangkok is known as being the "Venice of the East" though I'd have to disagree even though I've never been to Venice. The river was quite dirty and crocodiles (not the huge ones but still big) were everywhere! We biked around this jungly area with small paths and our guide told us to concentrate so we wouldn't fall off the path to be greeted by a croc - she wasn't kidding!

Tight alley ways with our 20 Dutch friends on bikes

'"Venice of the East"

Our time in Bangkok had highs and lows but overall I love Thailand; the people, food, temples, history - it was all amazing.

On Monday we flew to Hong Kong and while we were waiting at our gate, a group of Chinese girls were taking SO many selfies. It was ridiculous and hilarious. Stace and I started to get in their pictures and take selfies ourselves and the girls caught on. Welcome to Asia!

Selfie!

New friends!

I fly home on Thursday...I can't believe it. I feel like I've been here forever and I've gotten so accustomed to the lifestyle here that it will definitely be an adjustment going back home! I'm so incredibly thankful for every minute of my time here, good and bad, as I've learned so much about myself and how to be on my own!

Thanks for reading and see you soon!
Love
Whit

The Golden Triangle - Relaxing Times Away From a Bustlin' City

We took a bus Wednesday morning from Chiang Mai to Chiang Rai where our hotel picked us up to take us to Chiang Sean (so many Chiangs!).

We decided to splurge for a 2 night stay at the Anantara Elephant Camp and Resort after a friend recommended it and wow it completely worth it! It's all inclusive with multiple restaurants and you get an activity for each night that you stay at the resort. We of course chose the Elephant experience and also 2 spa treatments.

I didn't realize how tight/somewhat stressed I was till I was able to completely relax in such a serene place. We've been to a lot of loud, crazy cities so it was such a lovely getaway. Our room had a three country view, Thailand, Burma, and Laos...I mean where else can you get that??

The main event - the elephant experience. We knew we wanted to do one in Thailand but also wanted one that were humane and had effective conservation efforts - Anantara was just that. When we arrived to the camp, I couldn't believe it. I mean sure I've seen elephants in zoos but to be walking right next to them and be able to touch them? It was unreal.

The camp had a 4 month old baby elephant named Sam that was so clumsy and cute I couldn't handle it! Then we met our elephants. I had Lanna and Stacey had Pepsi and I soon figured out that Pepsi had a lot of tricks up his trunk!

We were told commands (though they really only listened to their mahouts - elephant trainers) and we were on our way! To feel how a massive yet giant animal walks was unbelievable. We sat right on their necks and held onto their heads, I couldn't believe how stable they were walking up and down hills.

Our first stop: the pond for a bath. The pictures really explain all that happened - Pepsi loved to surprise me with a trunk to the face!

We carried on through the hills to have an amazing view of the Golden Triangle. The elephant camp truly takes care of the elephants and allows them to roam these hills at night so they are held by chains which is typical of other elephant camps.

Lanna was getting a bit stubborn towards the end though I can't blame her, I would be tired too! We met Pepsi's "wife" along the hills and she blew her trunk to make that trumpet sound - so awesome!!

I hope everyone is able to do this once in their life and at a place that is humane! It's given me a whole different perspective.

Our last dinner was at their intimate Italian restaurant. Every dish was amaaaazing. Bruschetta, pumpkin soup, margherita pizza, black truffle pasta made in a parmesan wheel and then we ordered 3 desserts. Yep 3 - hey it's all inclusive! Of course mango sticky rice was one of the three :)

Every morning at 8:30am they bring a baby elephant (well baby meaning 6 years old) to breakfast for the guests to feed! Am, the elephant, came one morning and we were able to feed her bananas. She looooved them - stuffed her mouth with as many as she could! It was so fun to get one more dose of an elephant!

Here are lots of pictures - Enjoy!!

Mojito complete with a cute littol stirrer!

Three countries in one photo!

Lil' 4 month old Sam with his mom

Meeting Lanna

Almost there...

I'm on!

Stace with Pepsi

Traffic jam in our practice course

Ready to explore!

Add caption

My first of many sprays from Pepsi - so weird to watch his trunk find my face with the commands from the mahout!

Getting into the pond - thanks Lanna!

Lanna and Pepsi searching for food at the bottom of the pond - I felt like I was about to fall off!

Thank you again Pepsi!

Three country view on top of an elephant - wow!

Time to say goodbye

Feeding Am 

Trunk searching for some food

Am enjoying the view

Cheers to Anantara! Unforgettable experience.

Laos -> Thailand!

So I've failed on updating this...we've been moving around a lot and I've been so busy/exhausted I haven't been able to write! I guess that's a good thing. I fly home on Thursday - what???????? Mixed feelings about it.

Right now we're in Bangkok but let me back track to Laos.

We arrived in Luang Prabang at night but luckily the famous restaurant in town was able to squeeze us in! It was a delicious first bite of Lao food at Tamarind - I had mok pa (steamed fish in banana leaves) and Stacey had pumpkin, ginger, coconut soup and eggplant jeow (kinda like a heavier type of salsa).

And don't forget our Lao basil gin and tonics!

We were so exhausted from Cambodia that we slept in pretty late the next morning! Our hostel let much to be desired but it was functional and had AC (most importantly). The hostel owner, Ninh, was quite obnoxious and nosey and he was Vietnamese, not Lao and only lives in Luang Prabang for 5 months while his wife is in Saigon - there must be some story to this...but we didn't want to be nosey!

So a run down of our 3 full days in Luang Prabang - they basically consisted of going to Joma, this great cafe on the river, for breakfast, explore a wat or two, find lunch, rest, then massage and dinner then shop at the night market. Obviously we had a terrible time! Hahaha. We rented bikes every day which made our time more enjoyable so we didn't have to walk in the heat. One day we visited the Pak Ou Caves, caves with hundreds of Buddhas that are no longer used in the temples in Luang Prabang, which are about 45 minutes outside of Luang Prabang by tuk tuk. We were less than impressed by the caves and our visit lasted about 30 minutes...so not worth it but we saw lots of Buddhas!

Biking over the Mekong to lunch one day.

Wat Xieng Thong - main temple in Luang Prabang.

Young monks - a common sight in Luang Prabang!

Boat to the Pak Ou Caves

Pak Ou Caves

All in all we had an enjoyable time in Laos, though it did rain a lot but it is wet season. The people are so kind and welcoming, just like in Cambodia!

We flew from Luang Prabang to Chiang Mai, Thailand (our last propeller plane of the trip!) on Sunday to spend 2 days in Chiang Mai before heading north to the Golden Triangle. Chiang Mai, the "capital" of Northern Thailand, is a city full of culture - night markets, wats, cooking schools - but is becoming more and more developed as tourism increases which is kind of unfortunate. People said that ten years ago, Chiang Mai was similar to Luang Prabang - laid back, quiet and quaint.

Sunday night is a BIG night for the city of Chiang Mai. The main drag (the city is a square with a "moat" around it) shuts down to cars/motorbikes/tuk tuks and shops pop up, taking over the city. It was quite an experience after I've been to so many markets. The night market went on and on and also took over the side streets. Temples became food courts which was rather odd. We decided against getting street food (though I did grab some mango sticky rice - I have a problem!!) and found a cute Thai European restaurant walking back to our hotel.

Sunday Night Market in Chiang Mai - lots of street performers!

After dinner we continued walking to our hotel and found ourselves walking through a very disturbing and seedy area. We felt safe but seeing all these young Thai women trying to coax men into bars was so upsetting to see. Especially seeing old white men with two Thai women on his arms - just yuck.

The next day we woke up late again - whoops! - and went to explore the main wats (temples) of the city. We ended up shopping a littol and went to this cute store 3 separate times in one day. Yep we're that ridiculous but we kept remembering "ohh I should've got that pair of earrings! Or that painting!" The owner of the shop gave us 2 leather key chains that say Chiang Mai in Thai for free because we were such loyal customers!

Wat Chedi Luang

I thought this monk was meditating REALLY well. Turns out it's a fiberglass replica.

Wat Phra Singh

We needed some yoga after traveling so much so Stace found a great studio, Wild Rose Studio, where we took a restorative yoga class. If you've never done one, go take one immediately (it's for beginners and adavanced yogis!). It was such a calming class and the studio had lots of windows so we could feel the breeze and hear the sounds of the neighboorhood.

Intimate yoga studio - we needed to be stretched out!

We scheduled a Thai cooking class for Tuesday and were picked up from our hotel to go on a market visit before heading to the farm where the cooking class was held. We lucked out with a group because it was all young people and also 2 Americans living in Chicago! I bonded with them over the craziness of this past winter (I forgot - I will have a California "winter" this year and I am rather excited!!)

Our Thai cooking instructor, MB, was a hoot and a half. She was making jokes left and right which were almost more funny because they were in broken English. We learned how to make curry from scratch, coconut soup, pad thai, chicken cashew, and mango sticky rice! We were so stuffed and tired by the end of the day but had just enough room for mango sticky rice for dessert of course! Wow I'm going to miss it so much...

Our cooking class! 4 Americans, 1 French, 1 Dutch, 1 Polish,  2 Belgians, and 1 Lebanese (yeah Lebanon!!!) 

Stace working on her green curry.

I don't think I'll remember how to make any of this.

Yellow curry with sticky rice and chicken with basil!

My true love: mango sticky rice.

Wednesday we traveled by bus to Chiang Rai for our time in the Golden Triangle (Thailand, Burma, and Laos). That will be a separate post because it was an extremely special time.