TravelStream™ news feed for member kytravels on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/kytravels en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Mon, 28 Sep 2009 20:56:00 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kytravels/3/1252271958/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kytravels/3/1252271958/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kytravels/3/1252271958/tpod.html Mon, 28 Sep 2009 20:56:00 -0400 Back again in Asia.

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Tokyo, Kanto, Japan

Trying to get from point A to point B in Japan is extremely frustrating to figure out. When we first arrived at a train station in India confusion overwhelmed us so much we just left. We were saved when we realized we could book all our train tickets on-line. We never had to enter an Indian train station to buy tickets again.

When in Japan we stood in the train station dumbfounded at all the crazy symbols and figured there must be a better way, unfortunately there wasn't. The only way to buy tickets on-line is if you order a rail pass, and you have to do that out of the country. We already decided against getting the rail passes since it was cheaper for us to buy individual tickets to the places we wanted to go.

We really wanted to try and get all the tickets before Kelly arrived. We went to various train stations 3 times before finally buying them. First we tried to buy the tickets from an actual person, the problem there is he needed our credit card pin number to process the transaction. Who memorizes that?? Secondly we tried to use a credit card in the ticket vending machine, we had to have an attendant walk us through the whole process, only to get our credit card rejected. Then we decided to pay cash. Except the only bank that took our U.S. debit card was Citibank. So we had to take the subway to find a Citibank and then take the subway back to the train station that sold long distance tickets. Finally after depositing $400 into the vending machine, which is really, really scary, the machine spit out 6 tickets. We only needed 3. Good thing we found a guy to explain to us that one ticket was for the bullet train, which we did actually want, before we freaked out.

In between all the transit debacle we had to take shelter from the rain. So besides walking around Ginza, where our hotel was, we did little site seeing. The second night it was raining so hard we ended up just copying the locals. First we bought fruity malt liquor in a can from the convenience store and stood around under an awning drinking with a bunch of other business men. Then we followed some other business men into a tiny restaurant with a sliding wood door. I was really intimidating at first as the bartender glared at us as we sat down at the tiny bar. We pointed at other people and soon some sake and meat sticks were in front of us. He warmed up to us after a while and even spoke a few words of English to us, including that he loved New York. How he traveled there with his extremely limited English I will never know!

The next day Kelly, finally, arrived by shuttle bus directly to our hotel, The Westin in Ebisu. Her flight was delayed 3 hours in the air because they had to fly around an active volcano, which they did not find out about until they were on the plane!! 3 extra hours of flight time, ugg. We had to sneak Kelly in the hotel each time since we only payed for 2 people in our room.

The first night we stayed in Ebisu, eating dinner at a restaurant that advertised "English menu" as most of the other restaurants looked pretty intimidating! We ate really yummy salmon sashimi salad. Then we headed to a tiny bar at the end of the alley and drank beers. This is where we first saw the rows of vending machines! So funny. You can even get beer in the vending machines. But for some of them you need a Tasbo card, which we found out the hard way. Later on that night I ended up riding around on some guys unlocked bike for fun.

The next day after our daily breakfast of onigiri, triangles of rice filled with meat and wrapped in seaweed, and canned iced coffee from a convenience store we headed to Shibuya Station to see the largest pedestrian crossing in the world. All the cars stop and people cross in 6 directions. You can get a coffee at starbucks and watch from a window on one of the top floors.

We then had some high sodium udon soup and gyoza from a lunch stop where you ordered and paid from a vending machine, but then real people cooked and served your food. They love their vending machines. But they also love good service, which they definitely take pride in.

From there we walked through the park where Meiji Shrine is. It was pretty, if slight boring. We then exited and walked to Takeshita Street in Harajuku. Here is the birthplace for the crazy Japanese fashions. Kids dress up in full costume and parade around here on sundays. It was not sunday, so while the street was packed with kids, most of them where not dressed too crazy. It would have been fun to see some of those super eccentric costumes.

That night we went out in Roppongi, which is one of the posh, clubby areas to hang out. There were a lot of African man trying to coax us into this club or that one. But we just ended up having beers at a chill bar called Bar Milwaukee. It reminded us of home!

From there we took a cab to shinjuku too look for a bar street called Golden Gai. It is expensive and supposedly unfriendly to foreigners, but we wanted to go there to take pictures. We never ended up finding it, so we just went to some basement bar and drank there until dawn. We decided to stay up until early morning to go to Tsukiji Fish Market to see it in action. I started to feel sick and tired and decided to go home so Chris and Kelly dropped me off on their way. I can't believe they made it! The market was crazy busy and a little too much for them on no sleep, but I think they were glad to see it. They were not in the mood for sushi at that hour though. Plus while cheaper, the sushi was still expensive.

Later that morning we were on the train to Kyoto!

]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kytravels/3/1252274271/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kytravels/3/1252274271/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kytravels/3/1252274271/tpod.html Mon, 28 Sep 2009 20:55:39 -0400 Back again in Asia.

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Osaka, Kinki, Japan

We arrived in Osaka, checked into the Sheraton in Kita area, and again snuck in Kelly. You had to pay $30 to use the gym, but the Internet in the room was free. So instead of working out we bought drinks and snacks at the convenience store downstairs, played drinking games, and pranked family and friends on Skype.

There is much to really "see" in Osaka, it is really known for its cuisine and nightlife. We also were hoping to catch an Osaka Tigers game, which the locals are passionate about, but they were playing out of town.

So what we did do the first night is walk down the main strip called Dotombori. It is very visually stimulating with huge neon signs and restaurants lining each side. It is also along a river and it is nice to sit on the bridge and look over the water, although I highly doubt it is clean. From there we hit up Murphy's Irish Pub. It was really more of an Irish dive, but we ate a bunch of good Irish food, which was a nice change from the Japanese food we have been eating all week. The local people at Murphy's were very friendly and they all wanted to chat us up!

The next day we were on a mission to eat at Endo Sushi, all we really knew was a subway stop. We walked the the direction we thought it would be and then asked a security guard who luckily spoke a little English. He actually walked us all the way there! It was like 6 blocks away. He was so nice because we definitely would not have found it if he just pointed us in a direction. It was a tiny sushi shop right outside the fish market that served up the catch of the day. We all ordered the miso soup and a special plate of the day. The miso was chock full of seafood and the plate of the day way 5 sushi pieces. I didn't know what they were but they were all good except for one, which Chris told me was uni, sea urchin. He has been trying to get me to eat it for a while and since I was here I figured, why not? He ate it and said "it was the best uni he ever had." not very descriptive. I tried it and could not get it down, frankly it tasted how diarrhea looks. After gagging, I scared Kelly into not trying it! We were really scared how expensive all this was going to be since we saw a few prices written on the way, but could not read what the food was. But it turned out to be way less than our worst case scenario.

From there we headed to Osaka Castle. The grounds are very pretty to walk around, but we did not hear great things about the inside of the castle, so we opted out of paying the entrance fee for that.

That night I wanted to try a sake bar I had read about online. We had the address written down but could not find the number on the street. We asked a bunch of different people and the ones who understood English all took us to the same place. It was a cool place, definitely a sake bar from all the sake bottles on the bar, and nothing was in English. But we were not convinced it was the same place we were looking for. We ate there anyway by pointing to pictures on the menu. I chose some multi-color stacked thing, and Kelly and Chris thought it looked disgusting! I was slightly offended at the time, but in reality it wasn't very good. I still have no clue what it was!

The next day we ate at Matsubaya in the Minami area, again we had to verify with a few people before we realized we were at the right place. It is famous for its Kitsune-udon, which can only be made in Osaka. Kitsune is made with a-ge, a sort of aged, fried tofu. We all liked it very much!

From there we had a chill day which mostly consisted of walking down the main shopping street. The night we decided to try okonomiyaki, famous Osaka pancakes. I researched a good restaurant that was authentic but had an English menu and we headed over there. Unfortunately it was closed and we had no plan B. So we went up to the concierge at the Hilton, someone we figured would speak English, and she showed us on our map a close place to go.

I was afraid once we left her we would never find it, but it ended up being in this fancy underground mall. We ordered way too much food! I really wanted to try not only the okonomiyaki but also the yakisoba. It was all so good, and so filling!

When we arrived home that night we had a great idea to find out what happens when you use the bidet in the toilet. Most of the toilets in Japan, even in public restrooms, have a built in bidet, heated seat, and play music. They are so nice. Well watching the bidet in action turned out to be hilarious!

The next day all we did was take the train back to Tokyo and then took the train to the airport. We separated here to our own flights. Our flight home had awful turbulence and I was not enjoying it at all!! It made me think about never getting a plane again, especially long distance. But now as I sit here in New York I still remember how scared I was, but I am also thinking about all the places I still have yet to see. So I wonder where my next trip will be?! This time is is going to have to be a normal vacation just like most everyone else.

]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kytravels/3/1252273692/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kytravels/3/1252273692/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kytravels/3/1252273692/tpod.html Mon, 28 Sep 2009 19:25:53 -0400 Back again in Asia.

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Kyoto, Kinki, Japan

We arrived at Bon's Guest-house in the evening. We actually saw an ad for this place while in a hostel in Cambodia, and it looked clean enough so we booked it. It was very clean! We had a little bigger room upstairs while Kelly had a small room downstairs. We slept on futons on the floor and sat around a recessed table in the living room.

He picked us up from the train station, which was very helpful! When we arrived he gave us maps, Kelly forgot the Japan guide book at home, so we would have been sort of lost without something! The one map we used a ton was the bus map. We ended up taking buses everywhere.

Bon also gave us some recommendations about where to eat for dinner. We ended up going to a quaint sushi and sake joint, which was an excellent recommendation, even if we did have to totally guess what we were ordering on the menu! It was such a traditional Japanese scene.

The guest-house was full every night and everyone went to bed fairly early. Fortunately for us, or unfortunately for everyone on that street, there was a beer vending machine across the street from the guest-house. So at night we would sit in the alley and have some drinks. We thought we were not disturbing anyone, but apparently we were louder than we though because Bon would have to yell at us to be quiet a few times a night! We thought he did not like us by the end of our stay, but he still brought us to the train station when we needed to leave and even bought our train tickets for us!

While in Kyoto we went to many Temples and zen gardens. Some of the highlights were Ginkakuji Temple, Silver Pavilion. It was up in the hills so you had a great view over Kyoto. Also after we walked down Philosopher's Road to see some smaller, much less crowded temples along the way. Along this road you can also stop at one of the cute cafes.

One day we took the bus over to Kinkauji Temple, a.k.a Golden Pavilion, and Ryoanji Temple. The Golden Pavilion is stunning. You can stare at it for a long time. Not only is the Temple beautiful, but also the lake and forest setting around it. Ryoanji Temple grounds are also beautiful with a lily pad covered lake and little wooden bridges. The temple has a zen rock garden, which is suppose to be the best in the world. This to me is sort of like the big, plain red painting, I don't understand the artist value. I can appreciate it though, and I wish I had the spiritual insight to understand it.

If you walk around Hanamikoji dori street in Gion section of town at just before 5pm you will most likely see a geisha. They will be arriving for their 5pm appointments. The geisha is still a well respected career and Japanese men will spend a lot of money to be in the company of a geisha. I hear it can be thousands of dollars. I thought is was funny to see a taxi full of geishas drive down the street. Although most of the cabs would go around back so the geishas could exit out of public view.

We ate dinner in Gion that night at another recommendation from Bon. Gion is full of tiny alleyways with no names and the restaurants have no English signs. So we would just call the Japanese characters what they look like. As in "look for a box, then a standing man, then 2 rivers, etc. . ." This actually worked out pretty good for reading streets compared to the map as well.

The last notable place is a cobblestone and stair pathway called Ninen-zaka and San-nen-zaka paths. They are lined with cute shops and restaurants and you can see temples off in the distance. The Yasaka shrine is very pretty over the town, but it was nighttime and could not get a good picture.

The next morning we took a quick train ride to Osaka, but not before stopping to eat some conveyor belt sushi in the train station. It was surprisingly good. The sushi chefs cut up giant fishes right in front of us and put them in dishes on the belt. This restaurant also had one of the best fake food displays around! It was an automated plates of sushi going around in a circle! The japanese take pride in their fake food displays, which to me mostly end up looking pretty gross! But it really helps when you are trying to order food to someone who does not speak English.


]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kytravels/3/1252006779/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kytravels/3/1252006779/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kytravels/3/1252006779/tpod.html Thu, 03 Sep 2009 16:09:47 -0400 Back again in Asia.

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Bangkok, Thailand

We spent our last days in Bangkok eating, drinking, and shopping! They have great deals on clothes both on the street and in the mall. Since we were at the end of the trip we left behind some of our most worn out clothing and packed in the nice new clothes.

Since we were also leaving Thailand we had to eat as much Thai food as possible! We ate at our favorite breakfast spot every morning ordering the same thing: ka pow gai khai dao (chili basil chicken with fried egg). We also ate som tom (papaya salad) as much as possible. While still good, the Thai food is just not the same in the US.

Finally we partook in some Thai style nightlife. We drank while sitting out on the street at a little bar by the highway and gambled. We played some dice game where you have to get every number 1-9. Everyone pays the winner 10 baht. We had to hide our money under little towels so cops driving by would not know we were gambling! Everyone was getting really into the game!

Now we are off to Japan!!


]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kytravels/3/1249099015/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kytravels/3/1249099015/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kytravels/3/1249099015/tpod.html Thu, 03 Sep 2009 15:39:07 -0400 Back again in Asia.

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Koh Mak, Thailand

From the ferry to the mainland we got in a truck and were shuttled to what we thought was going to be the boat pier. Instead we were dropped off at a travel agent. She sold us boat tickets, which ended up being the same price we were expecting, and then tried to get us to book a hotel on the island. Because it is low season, she convinced us no transport to any hostels would be available at the island, so we decided to book a room for a night through her.

The one hour speed boat to the island was smooth sailing. Our hostel ride was not waiting for us at the pier so a nice foreigner who lived on the island gave us a ride to our hostel. The hostel was okay but we had tons of mosquitoes in our room. Also since the hostel was one of the only ones open on the island for low season it felt a little crowded. They did have really fun dogs that followed us around though!

That afternoon we went for a run around the small island and way at the end of the beach we found an awesome bungalow called The Big Easy. We tried our luck and talked to the owner and she said we could stay there for 900 baht ($27) a night down from 4000 baht ($118) a night. We couldn't pass it up! There was no ATM on the island so we did the math and figured we could afford 2 nights there.

Early the next morning we arrived to our big, beautifully constructed bungalow on our own private beach front. We showed up at the bungalow restaurant for breakfast and she admitted to us she has not had a person stay there in a month and she had no food! So she ran out and got us some stuff to eat. We just soaked in the view. We spent our days laying on the beach or in a hammock on our porch reading, playing frisbee on the beach, walking to the nearby island in low tide, chilling in the restaurant, playing cribbage, and running around the island. Pure rest and relaxation!

The Big Easy was probably the best value find of our whole trip! It pays to go to the islands during low season. While it may rain from time to time you get great discounts and feel like you have your own private island!

Then back to Bangkok!

]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kytravels/3/1249096935/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kytravels/3/1249096935/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kytravels/3/1249096935/tpod.html Sat, 29 Aug 2009 13:58:34 -0400 Back again in Asia.

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Ko Chang, Thailand

We lived the lazy, island lifestyle while stationed on Koh Chang for 9 days. The first 2 days we stayed in a cheap motel on the street in Kai Bae Beach just to get our bearings. This is Chris's 3rd time on the Island, the first being 10 years ago, the second was with me, five years ago, in April 2004.

When we came together 5 years ago it was at the very beginning of our first 1 1/2 year trip. I did not end up seeing much of Koh Chang because I decided to get my Scuba Certification the week we stayed here. (Upon talking to people I found out my scuba dive master had died. He was a middle-aged, grumpy English man, but I had nothing against him so it was sad to hear.)

When we arrived Kai Bae this time we explored the beach and found the Bungalow that we stayed in 5 years ago! Since it was the start of rainy season and very low season for tourists we got a great deal on the bungalow. To our surprise they also added a big pool, which was great for hot, lazy afternoons. There was a German family also staying there and we found ourselves playing catch in the pool with the older kids. There was not much communication besides "sorry" when someone would throw a bad toss.

Now that we found the place we were going to stay we rented a motorbike to see the rest of the island. The only other way to travel the island is by saengthaew, which is a rip-off, especially since we could bargain on the price of the motorbike. While the island is more developed since the last time we were there there are still places you cannot reach by road. Everyday we would pick a beach, drive there, have lunch, and usually get stuck there longer than we intended because of a passing thunderstorm. But the rain really didn't bother us, we could still do everything we wanted and the as a bonus the beaches were mostly deserted.

One beach highlight included buying big, sort of cold, beers from a shack set up on Hat Wai Chek beach a little past Ban Bang Bao fishing village. We lounged in broken wooden chairs in the sand and watched the waves. Another highlight was strolling down the big Khlong Prao bay and stopping to push each other in the massive swings hanging from trees on the beach.

One day we took the challenge of driving all the way around the Island to Long Beach. It was a really long time on a motorbike, but we stopped along the way. The road at the end is really, really bad. Its dirt and rocks sort of made in a path, but with deep valleys and big boulders in it. When we arrived at Tree House Hostel in Long Beach we were shocked to see other people there. Its funny to think about how they got there or how long they have been there. It is one of those hippie-commune-type places where you could disappear for weeks. Especially since it is set up on a beautiful beach. It was worth the trek there.

After our days on the beach or chilling in the pool we would go for a run on Kai Bae Beach with stray dogs chasing us and jumping at us thinking we were going to play with them. Not too many runners on this island! At dinnertime most of the bars and restaurants were deserted so you couldn't help but feel bad for them. But we felt especially bad for the tailor shops. Who wants to try on a suit in this weather?! I barely wore anything but a swimsuit! But the shop keepers are so nice that I wished I needed a dress made!

Our favorite place for a cocktail was Little Tree Bar. The bartender was so excited to see us and made the best drinks! Fruity, tropical things that would take her 10 mins to put together and they were always delicious and not sickly sweet like you would think! The bad thing was Chris' other favorite place was Paddy Palms Irish Bar in White Sand Beach, a 15min drive away. So if we were going there we could only have one cocktail at Little Tree and she was always sad to see us leave. Most nights we were her only customers!

Paddy Palms was an Irish Bar that served awesome food, who knew there would be amazing steak and Guinness stew on an island in Thailand! The owner being Irish may have something to do with it. But the real draw was the TV, we went there to watch Wimbledon while sitting in nice couches being served good food. Poor Roddick!

But for Thai Food you could not beat the authentic Isaan Thai food at a restaurant in Hat Kai Mook (pearl beach), on the road to White Sand. I can't remember the name, but the sign outside says "isaan food", which is always a draw. This food is what I am going to miss!

On nights we did not feel like driving we would hang out at this random bar in Kai Bae that we found also had a TV. They would even pull down a screen for us, but there was no sound or comfy couch. And the cocktail waitresses would yell in annoying voices at anyone walking by the bar, trying to draw them in i guess.

Also while in Kai Bae we found the organic coffee and tea shop we used to go to 5 years ago. It was at a different location, but we recognized the owner, a Thai guy who is passionate about fair-trade and organics and would chat with us often 5 years ago. He is exactly the same now! So even through all the new development some things never change.

We were feeling so comfortable in our routine and nostalgic for our old bungalow at KB resort that it took us a lot of motivation to leave. Our original plan was to Island hop from Koh Chang, but due to it being low season all the boat service to other islands had stopped. But after asking around I found if you go back to Trat on the mainland you can get a speed boat to Koh Mok, another island.

The morning we were leaving I woke up early to go to an internet cafe to watch my friends Erica and Billy get married in Las Vegas on live streaming video. It was so crazy to see them get married by Elvis that evening while at the same time I am on a Thai Island sipping a morning coffee! So glad I could "be there". Congrats!

Then I convinced a roadside vendor to quickly make me some som tom and sticky rice before our saengthaew picked us up. It was such a tasty treat to have on the ferry back to the mainland. Chris was still not thrilled with me for dragging him off Koh Chang, but the som tom made the journey slightly better!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kytravels/3/1249096668/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kytravels/3/1249096668/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kytravels/3/1249096668/tpod.html Sat, 08 Aug 2009 01:53:12 -0400 Back again in Asia.

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Trat, Thailand

We arrived in Bangkok and went straight to the train station and bought tickets for that night take an overnight train to Chumpon. From here we were going to go to Koh Tao and hopefully scuba dive one last time. We put our backpacks in storage at the train station and went off to spend the day in Bangkok.

I am not sure what happened but at some point in the day we made the decision to miss our train. (which is very unlike us, if only because we are cheap and wouldn't waste the money.) We had a lot of fun that day at the bowling alley, seeing a movie, and watching Wimbledon at an irish pub. Way later, after our train had gone, we headed back to the station to retrieve our backpacks. From there we checked into our usual hostel, The 4 Sons Village. The best value in Bangkok and thank god it was low season so they had a room.

We loafed around for another day in Bangkok and realized we didn't want to go to Koh Tao and changed our mind to go to Koh Chang. So we took a bus to Trat and waited here for the boat the next morning.

While in Trat we checked our email at an internet cafe and met the very nice owner. We then went out with him for a beer at his favorite bar/restaurant Sal's. Sal a Thai women who is a jack of all trades there. She also made us the most spicy ka pow gai (basil chicken) we ever had!! We almost felt sick after eating it. We were sweating and tearing up. It was very good but way beyond foreigner spicy level! We kept torchering ourselves and eating more.

]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kytravels/3/1246589869/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kytravels/3/1246589869/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kytravels/3/1246589869/tpod.html Sat, 08 Aug 2009 01:37:02 -0400 Back again in Asia.

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Chiang Mai, Thailand

We arrived in Chiang Mai after a looonng night/day of flying. We were worn out, and gross from sitting on planes for so long. We learned from our guide book there was a bus from the Chiang Mai airport into town. So we waited, and waited, and waited. We had to wait outside in the blazing sun for over an hour. This heat was shocking after the cool winter in Australia. Finally a bus came and we just got on. After a lot of hand gesturing, pointing, and trying to communicate we realized we were on the wrong bus. Frankly I didn't care. I was just happy to be out of the sun. We jumped off the bus where they told us to, and didn't have a clue what our next move was.

We were dropped off in front of an electronics store which oddly enough had a coffee shop inside. So we had a coffee while Chris brushed up on his Thai. He then felt confident enough to ask the worker how to get to town. He said to take a Sawngthaew, an over-sized covered pick-up truck. We saw many of these trucks and they have a total monopoly in the city. To top it off they are a total rip-off. But since the sawngthaew association is mob-like, they have almost shut down the bus system. As soon as we got settled we rented a motorbike, which is ridiculously cheap.

After checking in we ate, funny enough mexican food, and then slept. We were hot and tired and now full.

The next day was more productive. We walked to a few different temples in the city, as they are the city's main attraction. My favorite was Wat Chedi Luang which is very old and in partial ruins. It has more character than the gold and glitzy temples.

Also that day Chris got a thai massage, for very cheap of course. I passed, I have had some bad experiences with the random massages. Apparently there are very good massage parlors in Chiang Mai, something else the city is known for, and Chris enjoyed his. You basically have to ask around to find a good one as there are tons.

After that we drove to The Mall and happened upon a food market in the parking lot. Success! Even though we had thai food for lunch, we realized it did not satisfy our thai food craving and we went to town! I think we might have bought something to try from every vendor. It was all so good!

The final day we drove further out to Wat U Mong, with spiritual tunnels under their temple. There was a very relaxed vibe at this temple and if it wasn't so hot we could have just hung out in here for a while.

Then we drove up, up, up to Wat Phra That Doi Suthep. You have to walk up, up, up the stairs to the temple and stupa. It provides a great view over Chiang Mai. They also have traditional bells and lots of benches in the shade to people watch.

That night we took care of the last thing Chiang Mai is famous for, Sunday Walking Street. This place is nuts. So many vendor selling crafts and food. And of course people playing music in the streets. I wanted to buy so many crafty things, like this great paper lamp. Unfortunately it did not fold down and I realized I did not want to haul it around for the rest of the trip. So we just bought and ate lots of yummy, crazy cheap, street food. I seriously can't get enough. This is very much missed now that I am back in the states. Except for the crispy rice ball thing that ended up having a mass amount of raw pork in the middle, that I almost ate! It looked so good and locals were lining up to buy it, but its not worth getting sick over.

Publish


]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kytravels/3/1249094651/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kytravels/3/1249094651/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kytravels/3/1249094651/tpod.html Sat, 08 Aug 2009 01:34:37 -0400 Back again in Asia.

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Chiang Rai, Thailand

It was very low season when we were here, so this town was very quite. It is a small town with not much going on except for a large Night Market. This is where we ate dinner every night and got our som tom (papaya salad) fix.

We knew we wanted to hike and set up a hiking trip for the next day. We stayed at City Home hostel, very nice. And used the travel agent which was next door. We shopped around a little for a good travel agent and quickly realized she was the best, and since it was low season she could guarantee it would only be the 2 of us on our hike.

Our guide, Tom was awesome. He was extremely knowledgeable about the area and fun to hike with. A HUGE bonus was he was an excellent cook. He made us one of the better meals of authentic thai food we have ever had.

The day started off at Wat Rong Khun (White Temple) which is blindingly white, and supposedly this is where the current king, King Bhumibol, will be buried under. Then we drove for a little while and hiked a few hours to Doi Tung and Doi Mae Salong villages. We stopped at one for a while and this is where he prepared our feast. We lounged in a stilted bamboo hut with other village men. I also decided to buy a couple crafty purses.

From there we hiked to a waterfall and took turns shoving our heads and bodies under the pounding water from the ice cold waterfall. After being refreshed we set out on our long walk back. We got involved in a deep political conversation along the way as Tom describe his beliefs about the current tumultuous political situation and the King.

After arriving back he even offered to buy us broad bean snacks and a spicy cucumber salad. We accepted the food, of course, but we paid. He gently begged us to go on a tour with him again tomorrow since it is low season and he had little work. One of the tour options was to go to the Burmese border, The Golden Triangle. We have already been to Burma, so the long drive to the boarder seemed silly. (Although I was curious about the Opium Museum at the boarder.) The other option was more village hiking around the more famous of the Karen tribes, the long neck tribe. Chris had been here before and he basically said you feel like you are at a zoo. So I had little interest in that either. So we felt badly but declined the next day tour. He then offered to make dinner for us at his village home! I forget why but we ended up declining that too! We should have taken him up on that.

We had already bought our flight to Bangkok and had another day in Chiang Rai with really nothing specific we wanted to do. So we went for a long walk and a run and ate at the Night Market. Then off to Bangkok!



]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kytravels/2/1222610040/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kytravels/2/1222610040/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kytravels/2/1222610040/tpod.html Fri, 03 Jul 2009 19:15:29 -0400 Africa with a side order of Europe

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Ruarwe, Malawi

We almost didn't make it to this piece of paradise because we almost missed the one-time-a-week ferry. We hiked from our hostel to another hostel where we could get a boat ride to the ferry. The boat to the ferry left really late. Thankfully, the ferry stopped for us after having already departed from the jetty. We had to scramble up a ladder onto the ferry from the boat.

We sat in the 1st class upper deck. The weather was beautiful, the local people were friendly, and the Carlsburg beers were cheap. It was a good time.

The hostel (formerly known as Wherearewe) consists of spread out bungalows built on rocks over Lake Malawi. It is very beautiful and the water is great to swim in. The first night was crowded but everyone left the next day on the ferry. So we stayed there all by ourselves eating great vegetarian food, swimming, and Chris jumping off our balcony into the water. Because of the ferry schedule, the only options are staying 1 or 7 nights. We chose option 3: to hike out.

We hiked 4 hours to the next town, Usisya. We passed through small villages and children flocked to us. At one point I felt like Hulk Hogan with three children hanging off each arm. Our guide Ben has a big help because he would tell the kids to leave us alone. Otherwise the trip would have taken ages!

We got super lucky by hitching a ride out of Usisya. Otherwise we would have waited for the 2am pick-up truck to come. And this town is full of nothing but a lot of dust and sun.
]]>