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Trip start
November 20, 2024
Thailand Traveler
Day 315/316: Bangkok Boat Tour
November 21, 2024 in Thailand ⋅ ☁️ 91 °F
Can’t believe we’ve entered our last country in Asia (minus a planned two day layover in Singapore)! We bit off more than we could chew, originally planning to stop in India, Indonesia, and Laos. Learning from mistakes in South America, we cut those countries and sprinkled those days between Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand to enjoy these countries more thoroughly!

The bus between Siem Reap and Bangkok was 8 hours so Wednesday was shot. It was fun crossing the border between Cambodia and Thailand because there are long lines and no air conditioning 🥵 we lost a passenger along the way because he didn’t have enough information to cross.

The drive into Bangkok was beautiful at night; so many tall and colorful skyscrapers. We also got to see an incredible sunset from a bridge. After arriving, we grabbed some noodles and dim sum for dinner and crashed.

For Thursday, Kieran planned for us to visit the Grand Palace and Wat Pho temple; however, we messed up on the dress code. Even men need long pants. Changed plans and toured the Tha Suphan Alley road along the canal. We stopped in the Pak Khlong Talat Flower Market which had tons of flower stalls and vegetable stalls; these flowers are used to adorn shrines, boats, celebrate weddings, and photographs of the king. So many markets sold golden marigolds and purple flowers.

Kieran started to feel the “big sad” and stressed about remaining activities to be planned in Thailand. We stopped in a cafe, got him a beer, and just relaxed in the air conditioning, talking about skiing and videos games (distractions).

Around 2 pm, we joined a boat tour of the city in the Chao Phraya River canal. Based off London’s Camden lock system, we experienced the magic of boats lining up to enter the smaller canals. The locks operate at certain times and boat drivers weave in and out in order of arrival to claim their spot. Our boat was the last boat in a group of 9 for the lock chamber. The gate closed behind us and the front one opened, sinking us deeper as the water poured out.

These lock systems are in place to protect the local communities living on smaller canals against the changing sea and river conditions on the main canal. Along the smaller canal, we witnessed locals living on the water with their clothes drying and grandpas sitting outside drinking coffee. There were Buddhist temples and schools along these canal systems.

Beyond families, the canals are also home to catfish and Asian Water Monitor lizards that eat dead catfish. Our tour guide told us to shout “money money money” at the lizards for good luck 🤣

We got to see the famous, large Buddha from the water but he is under renovation at the moment. Other highlights included feeding Cheetos to the catfish and accidentally walking through a university to get back home.

Ended the evening walking through backpacker haven Khao San Road for street food and people watching. Got Kieran pad thai, dumplings, and a big beer to drown out those final “bad feelings”

Hotel: Pilairat Bangkok

Food:
Pad thai
Drunken noodles

Spots:
Pak Khlong Talat Flower Market
Wat Arun
Chao Phraya River
Wat Paknam Phasi Charoen
Khao San RoadRead more
2 likes
Thailand Traveler
Day 317: Grand Palace and Wat Pho
November 22, 2024 in Thailand ⋅ ☁️ 91 °F
Take two for Grand Palace and Wat Pho. We dressed in long pants and arrived 15 minutes before opening to beat the crowds and heat. 10/10 solid decision. We flew through ticket purchase and started touring the palace at 8:30.

We spent majority of the time studying a huge mural that lines the walls; it’s a painting but they placed gold flakes on certain characters to create beautiful imagery. There are 143 different stories depicted across the mural.

The Grand Palace included the Green Emerald Buddha and the previous King’s home before he moved out of Bangkok. The whole place was extravagant and maximalist. Tiles, characters, statues, and patterned ceilings everywhere.

After lunch, we visited Buddhist Temple Wat Pho which houses the famous reclining Buddha. The reclining Buddha is a depiction of achieving Nirvana; we wish we could recline as hard as he did in this heat. The Buddhist temple also contained a water garden, Buddha with Naga, and our favorite: air conditioned Buddha with a place to sit. There was also a museum on Thai massages and the history/science behind the practice.

We outlasted the heat for the 5 hours and hiked our way back to the apartment for naps. Emerged for sushi and beer for dinner and reclused back home for more sleep. When did we get so old?

Food:
Meatball noodle soup
Sushi
Gyoza soup

Spots:
Grand Palace
Wat PhoRead more
2 likes
Thailand Traveler
Day 318: Chinatown & Calypso Cabaret
November 23, 2024 in Thailand ⋅ ☁️ 91 °F
Began our day with breakfast inside a local’s home; the mother and daughter cooked in the back while the husband took orders and delivered them on his motorbike. The “restaurants out of houses” have been our most cherished experiences through Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand. There is something precious and loving about families who turn their living rooms into tables/chairs and serve the communities out of their home. Children run up to pick up food for their parents or neighbors stop by for coffee. The food is also amazing. We order fried morning glories, coconut chicken soup, and pad ew see with crispy pork.

Inspired by yesterday’s museum, we go for a Thai massage today. Thai massages are different than other techniques because they focus on stretching and assisted yoga positions to relax and strengthen the body. Our two ladies were very sweet because they recognized how tight we were and our limitations (ticklish feet and sports injuries). What should have been quiet and serene turned into a giggling session between us and the ladies, and it was perfect. The massage lasted an hour and you are served tea afterword.

Next on the docket, Bangkok Chinatown! Motivated by KPOP group Blackpink’s Lisa who is from Thailand, we visited the famous Yaowarat Road. She paid an entire block of vendors to shut down for her music video celebrating Thai culture and her new label (freedom from YG Entertainments strict rules).

Bangkok Chinatown is probably our favorite street food night beyond Taiwan! So many stalls, colors, smells, food, and diversity jam packed in this area. Highlights include crispy friend pork belly in hand rolled noodles, Mary surviving Thai spicy salsa on octopus, and delicious oysters from Tung Chae oyster bar, who yells at customers and creates a fun environment. He even gave us free mangos for sitting down in front. Other food included stir fried noodles, Thai mini pancakes, and dumplings. Love love love this Chinatown.

Final celebration of Thai culture for the evening, we located Calypso Cabaret which is a Thai transgender cabaret with kathoey, ladyboy, and drag performers. The cabaret opened in 1988 in defiance of perceptions that the Thai ladyboy culture was “seedy”. This would be Kieran’s first official live drag show and he was a bit nervous. We discussed it a bit beforehand because straight men at drag shows in America are occasionally singled out and heckled a bit. We also talked about sexuality and how it’s okay to find performers attractive.

We pregamed the show with 3 bottles of soju and a lovely call with friends tailgating back home in 30 Fahrenheit degree weather. Thank you Steph and Tommy for setting up the call and we are sorry the phone died towards the end. It was amazing (stole a screenshot of Dan because he looked like the terminator).

The Cabaret group performed 12-13 acts in 60 minutes; songs included a mix of modern pop songs with Taylor Swift and Rihanna, big jazz cabaret numbers, and a few traditional Thai dances and costumes. We had so much fun; the performers and costume changes were amazing, they included humor in the pieces, and the Thai numbers were immaculate.

Kieran loved the show and even got a “big sexy man” compliment during pictures. We didn’t drink enough water so pretty toasted after 1.5 soju bottles each. Either way, great night of food an entertainment!

Food:
Fried morning glories
Pad ew see with crispy pork
Coconut chicken soup
Hand rolled spicy soup
Grilled octopus
Fried noodles
Dumplings
Oysters
Thai salty and sweet pancakes

Spots:
Chinatown
Asiatique on the River
Calypso CabaretRead more
2 likes
Thailand Traveler
Day 319/320: Chiang Mai
November 25, 2024 in Thailand ⋅ ☁️ 86 °F
We made plans to train up to Chang Mai in the far north, however we had issues booking the train online. We found a travel agency who helped us and apparently they do underhand deals with police officers and monks for their beds on the train 🤣 it’s a night train so we used Sunday to finish planning out ski America trip and book more accommodations in New Zealand.

The train was wild: it’s a sleeper but you don’t have private shared rooms. Instead, you were out in the open with lights on and people walking through at all hours of the night. The train was very bumpy, the sleeping sections were not long enough for Kieran, and the mattress pads were extremely firm. We both got only 2-3 hours of sleep from the 13 hour train.

We arrived to Chiang Mai around 8am and taxi'd to our hotel to drop off our bags. Fortunately, we were situated right in the center of town with easy walking access to restaurants and temples. We found a small mom-and-pop shop for breakfast and a local monk walked us through the restaurant and food options. We like that you can easily pop down some sidestreets to find restaurants that are much cheaper and have a more authentic feel.

We visited 3 different temples in the area. As per requirement, long pants and shoulders covered (even when the weather is 93 degrees each day). We particularly like the Buddha statues where they incorporate Naga, the seven headed snake that protects Buddha. One temple included pigs head offering and another wouldn’t let women inside 😒

In additional to temple exploring, we watched a local game of peewee soccer next to a temple.

Hotel: Sakura Guest House

Food:
Panang Curry
Pork Noodle Soup
Khai SoiRead more
2 likes
Thailand Traveler
Day 321: Thai Cooking Class
November 26, 2024 in Thailand ⋅ ☁️ 86 °F
We loved our Vietnamese cooking class experience so much that Kieran signed us up for a Thai class with Grandmas Home Cooking. This cute little farm and cooking school was created by a grandson aiming to share his grandmother’s recipes. The school resides on an organic farm where they grow mushrooms, rice, basil, and other herbs used in the recipes. They also have chickens for fresh eggs and meat.

Upon arriving, we toured the farm and got to try herbs right off the stem. Our chef Levan talked through how the herbs are used and the variations between them. For example, we tried lemon basil, Thai basil, and holy basil. The mushroom shack was the coolest part; have never seen one!

Before starting, we are asked to pick out the recipes we want to make. Of course we selected different options on the list to try everything we could. Our selected dishes included coconut chicken soup, tom yum, pad Thai, panang curry, khao soi, and mango sticky rice.

Levan made cooking the recipes so easy and he would provide substantial detail on the herbs and recipes; we got to use a real mortar and pestle to make fresh ground curry paste. In between dishes, we befriends a couple from The Netherlands who successfully bid and won a house yesterday…while on vacation!! They were so stressed and the cooking class was truly the start of their vacation, even though they had been in Thailand for a week. The husband also works in music festivals designing the campsites for the events!

Cooking class was a hit again and we would claim it’s the best Pad Thai we’ve had thus far. Shout out Kieran for planning an awesome cooking day.

Food:
Tom Yum Soup
Tom Kha Soup
Pad Thai
Panang Curry
Khao Soi
Sticky Mango Rice

Spots:
Grandmas Home Cooking SchoolRead more
2 likes
Thailand Traveler
1
Day 322: Pai
November 27, 2024 in Thailand ⋅ ☀️ 81 °F
North Thailand is dotted by mountain ranges, rivers, and deep valley villages to explore. On advice from Toby from Germany, we rented a car and drove 3 hours through Daen Lao mountain range to get to Pai. Hilariously enough, we went to the wrong car rental place and the rental ladies drove us to the airport 🤣

The road curved and tilted up the mountain; there were remnants of past land slides that tore up the road and partially blocked sections. In a few cases, the road was crumbling on the cliff. With single lanes we ebbed and flowed with traffic, occasionally passing a really big truck struggling up the hill.

Pai itself is nestled in a geothermal valley. We began with the Kong Laen Canyon which was shaped by rainwater and wind. The cliff’s erosions resulted in collapses or landslides that created deep gullies and channels. We scrambled between crevices to reach certain viewpoints; the ground was sandy so carefully placed feet and hands were key to avoid slipping down. Well worth the bouldering.

Next we hit Mo Pang waterfall where young people swam, sun bathed, and slid down a natural slide. There was a local guide who showed where to jump off the rocks, slide down them, and even slid with them. Mary forgot her swimsuit so we elected to watch everyone else live dangerously. Eventually we climbed up higher into the waterfall.

Our final stop included Santichon Village. The village was settled by Chinese people who fled the Chinese revolution of Mao. The people are a mix of Yunanese, Thai hill-tribes people and former Chinese soldiers. Traditionally, opium was the village crop but has been replaced with tea fields; apparently old Chinese soldiers use to run around the streets in their old Republican uniforms, automatic rifles in hand.

We ate a delicious Yunanese meal and wished we dedicated more time to Pai. The drive home with the sunset was beautiful. If you do visit north Thailand, we insist to give more days to Pai and the surrounding villages in the north.

Food:
Yunanese noodles
Yunanese soup
Moo Pan Pee

Spots:
Pai
Kong Laen Canyon
Mo Pang Waterfall
Santichon Village
Yun Lai ViewpointRead more
Traveler Awesome pictures! I wish we were there!
11/30/24Reply
2 likes
Thailand Traveler
Day 323: Thanksgiving in Phuket
November 28, 2024 in Thailand ⋅ 🌧 81 °F
Today, we flew from Chiang Mai to Phuket, with the eventual destination of Koh Lanta. The original plan was not to stay in Phuket. We heard that it is very touristy and not worth staying for a few nights. Unfortunately, the ferry schedule with Koh Lanta had a mismatch with our flight schedules, making it impossible to get a ferry and flight on the same day. Plus a bus would be 24 hours.

The flight was an hour back to Bangkok, 3 hour layover, and then one more hour to Phuket. When we landed, we missed the public bus by 2-3 minutes so we had to wait 1 hour for the next one. This caused us to hit traffic so an hour bus became 2 hours.

So after waking up at 5am, we completed a 12 hour travel day on Thanksgiving 🥴 sometimes travel be like that…

We both felt pretty tired went searching for food. We ended up at burger joint selling Smash Burgers, drinks, and playing Metallica. We caved and chose hamburgers, dirty martinis, beer, and Metal for our Thanksgiving meal.

We took the long way back to our hostel and found a small event that looked like a celebration of Phuket. It had several artistic pieces, food trucks, and a dance show. We ended the evening calling family and friends.

So lessons learned, you can have a really tough travel day, but even venturing out a little can lead to wonderful and memorable experiences.

Hostel: Sunny Hostel Phuket

Food:
Hamburgers

Spots:
PhuketRead more
2 likes
Thailand Traveler
1
Day 324: Ferry Ride / Maya Bay
November 29, 2024 in Thailand ⋅ ☁️ 82 °F
To get to our next destination, we ferried across two island chains with two boats. The most famous sites in this region are Phi Phi Island and Maya Bay. We chose to skip these locations because accommodations are costly and you can’t swim in Maya Bay for conservation reasons; we also decided to not book any tours to these spots.

To our surprise, our ferry ride to Koh Lanta stopped in Maya Bay and Phi Phi for the transfer; we got to “see” the bay anyway without paying an egregious tour fee! While standing on the ferry deck snapping pictures, we meet an older gentleman named Peter who is on a 6 month gap year! He retired during the pandemic and wanted to get back to traveling. He spent a month in Bali and planned time in Vietnam until he got sick and flew to Bangkok for a hospital. He had zero plans so we chatted with him and got his number to meet up later. He was kind enough to share his taxi ride as well.

Koh Lanta is an island farther south and is known for less touristy spots. We booked the perfect accommodation with air conditioning, fridge, kettle, and a big bed; 5 minute walk to the beach. Plus the owner has 4 fat cats!! We spent about 15 minutes petting a cute orange one and a chunky cookies and cream cat we named chubbers. We got settled, dropped off laundry, and went swimming until sunset finished.

Hotel: Serendipity

Food:

Spots:
Phi Phi
Maya Bay
Koh LantaRead more
Traveler Interesting cucumber
12/5/24Reply
2 likes
Thailand Traveler
Day 325: Long Beach
November 30, 2024 in Thailand ⋅ ☁️ 86 °F
Plan: relax

Woke up and hunted for mom and pop shops for breakfast. Nothing feels better than findings delicious meals for good prices.

After breakfast, we went straight to the beach. The day was a bit overcast and we liked it that way because it provided shade without decreasing the temperature too much. It can get so hot in Thailand that the clouds are always welcome. After a few hours, we decided to head back to the AirBnB for a quick break inside. Less than 5 minutes later, it started to downpour. We got so lucky that our bags and phones weren't soaked in the process.

We finished the day with some snacks and ramen back at the AirBnB

Food:
Thai Pancakes
Ramen
Noodles and Gravy

Spots:
Long BeachRead more
2 likes
Thailand Traveler
1 1 1
Day 326: Snorkling at Koh Roh / Koh Haa
December 1, 2024 in Thailand ⋅ ☁️ 84 °F
Snorkeling day! We found an online tour to snorkel in three spots as well as enjoy Thalu Beach; we coordinated with Peter to join us. It was an hour boat ride to the first spot and the first true day of sun.

Koh Rok Noi island was beautiful. While snorkeling we saw large sea clams, starfish, and the usual Finding Nemo characters. We hopped back in the boat and hit another spot where the water was rough and the boat was close to shore. Here we saw huge sea slugs and barracuda schools.

We stopped on Koh Rok Yai island for lunch, where sea monitors circled the tables waiting for scraps. The lizards were not afraid to walk right up until the guides would swat them away. The tour included an extra hour of beach time so we frolicked in the warm water.

The final snorkeling spot was at Koh Haa and they saved the best for last. This reef was between three large rocks and cliff faces with a little sandy beach built into the side. More colorful sea clams and Kieran also found a huge eel.

Upon returning to Koh Lanta, we made plans to meet up at Peter’s apartment for cocktails and dinner. We sipped on whiskey, dirty martinis, and red wine while chatting about Pete’s kids, pets, girlfriends, and life as a building contractor. He retired after the pandemic and always had a travel bug. Born in 1950s, his uncle told him if he learned a new language, he would pay for Pete to travel to Europe. So Pete went backpacking in Europe during the 1970s and we were joking how he didn’t really get to see Eastern Europe. Of course, now retired he’s finally traveling again.

It was a wonderful time and he admitted it was nice to have to kids around for Thanksgiving and we thanked him for being our adoptive dad for the last few days. We said goodbye to Pete and crashed hard at home.

Food:
Pad Ew Sew
Chicken Curry
Noodles with gravy
Fish tacos

Spots:
Koh Rok Yai
Koh Rok Noi
Koh HaaRead more
Traveler The water is so blue. Pretty place
12/5/24Reply
Traveler Pretty picture!
12/5/24Reply
Traveler Love the ears.
12/5/24Reply
2 likes
Thailand Traveler
Day 327: One More Beach Day
December 2, 2024 in Thailand ⋅ ☁️ 84 °F
We opted for one more beach day. Slept in, late lunch, and swam until dinner. Enjoyed a beautiful sunset and headed to bed early.

Food:
Grilled catfish
Spicy beef soup
Beef fried rice
Fried noodles
Rad Nah
Khao Nod

Spot:
Long BeachRead more
2 likes
Thailand Traveler
1 1
Day 328: Phuket, Again
December 3, 2024 in Thailand ⋅ ☁️ 86 °F
Journeyed back to Phuket for our flight out of Thailand. Worked with Bunk from the hotel for our ferry tickets and taxi to the port; soooo much cheaper to work with hotel owners on these things than 12go.

This time, the two boat transfer occurred on the water 🏴‍☠️we felt like pirates commandeering the next boat and walking the plank.

After arriving in Phuket, we ventured to a mall to get last minute affordable hiking boots and socks; this mall was crazy to say the least; they had 50 or so really nice restaurants, a whole grocery store, and then American and international brands all over. Oddly, the restaurants don’t take card or cash, they use some QR code system; we opted for hodge podge food from the grocery store.

No success for boots for Mary because they don’t have shoe sizes for her big ass feet. Kieran got his socks….

We selected an accommodation next to the airport for an early flight out. They had a silly dog and close to more mom and pop spots; grabbed pad Thai and fried glass noodles as our last dish.

Hotel: Sirikul Mansion

Food:
Pad Thai
Sushi
Salami

Spots:
Phuket Grand Central MallRead more
Traveler Yum!
12/5/24Reply
Traveler Looks good!
12/5/24Reply
2 likes
Thailand Traveler
1
Day 329: Singapore Layover
December 4, 2024 in Singapore ⋅ ☁️ 86 °F
Before leaving Asia and heading to Australia, we scheduled a two day layover in Singapore. Building architecture incoming!!

Back into super efficient mass transit, we jumped on a train from the airport and marveled at the modern city. Checked into our hostel and ate classic dish Bak Kut Teh to prepare the body for 48 hours of walking!

Started at the Gardens by the Bay Cloud Dome and Flower Dome where the architects developed a biome for cloud rain forests and aired deserts. This is all designed to be renewable energy where funnels in the Super Grove Forest intake rain water, generate electricity, and supply water to the botanical gardens. They also had a special digital experience on Monet with live dried flowers and a digital art shows. We continued to walk around the gardens, venturing to Westworld Season 3 filming locations like the double helix bridge and art science museum.

We stayed late enough to watch the sunset and a Christmas light show at the Super Grove Forest. Got to see the Marina Bay Sands hotel lit up as well!

Before dinner, we walked around the water front to take in the city. Singapore is extremely expensive so we returned to our little hostel and got local food, where we snuck in 7/11 beers and Kieran accidentally ordered grilled intestines.

Hostel: Wanderlust Capsule Hostel

Food:
Bak Kut Teh
Herbal Chicken
Teow Chew

Spots:
Gardens by the Bay
Cloud Dome
Flower Dome
Art Science Museum
Double Helix Bridge
Marina Bay SandsRead more
TravelerWere the intestines chewing?
12/5/24Reply
Traveler So cool!!
12/5/24Reply
2 likes

Trip end
December 5, 2024