Uninvited Visitor

Dear Friends,

This cat made himself right at home on our patio for an afternoon.  No matter what we did to encourage him to leave, he would NOT go. He finally gave up on us the next day when he wasn't getting any affection or food.  Sure he found both somewhere else.

Love,

H & B

Snorkeling

Dear Friends,

Ko Kradan has some of the most amazing blue water.  The beach in front of our bungalow was shallow and then dropped off at a reef.  Hours were spent snorkeling around with the fish, eels and sea urchins.
Love,
H & B

Bats

Dear Friends,

On our snorkel trip around the Thai islands in the Andaman Sea, we saw these little guys. There were about 100 hanging around above the boat while we snorkeled around in the aquarium-like waters below. 

Love,

H & B

Ko Lanta Sunset

Dear Friends,

With our time in Thailand dwindling down, we decided to make one more trip to the beach.  We spent two nights on Ko Lanta and were greeted with beautiful sunsets each night.

Love,

H & B

Made it!

Dear Friends,

After a month traveling around Laos and northern Thailand, we were happy to be back in Bangkok.  The trip from Chiang Mai was an adventure on our 13 hour (really 17 hour) over night train. To add to the long ride, the train was about 2 hours late in leaving the station. Getting off the train never felt so good!

Love,

H & B

Flower Parade

Dear Friends,

We decided to stick around Chiang Mai for the flower festival.  It was a fascinating street fair for 2 days.  The big event was the parade on Saturday morning. It was the LONGEST parade we had ever seen.  Yes, there were a lot of flower floats, marching bands and Thais dressed in their regional dress. However, the never ending parade was due to the traffic that would cut in and the participants in the parade stopping for water/bathroom breaks.  We finally decided that it would be faster for us to walk to the end of the parade instead of waiting for it to pass by us.

Love,
H & B

Girls

Dear Friends,

We saw these girls at the Doi Suthep temple near Chiang Mai.  We think their dress is from the Hmong tribe in Northern Thailand.  At a young age, these girls were already helping their family earn a living. As people snapped their photo, they would run up to them yelling, "money, money" and take it back to their mothers sitting on the steps. It looks like they are approaching school age.  Hope they make it there!

Love,

H & B

Mountain Biking

Dear Friends,

Mountain biking was another thing we wanted to make sure we did in northern Thailand.  It was an amazing trip down the mountain in Doi Inthanon National Park. My road biking experience did not quite prepare me for the steep downhill decent though narrow paths over sticks/logs and bumpy, unpredictable terrain.  I spent much of the time clutching my brakes following the others.  We had two guides who often split us up into two groups.  The more adventurous group (Brad) and my group. He had a great time and can tell you all about it when you see him next. Let's just say, there is a reason we have all the arm and leg protection on!  Heading to Chiang Mai? Definitely check out the mountain biking!

Love,
H

Doi Inthanon National ParkD

Coffee Republic

Dear Friends,

All over Chiang Mai, we found small tuk tuks, wagons and vans used to sell coffee, tea and  cocktails.  We especially liked this one. It had an entire expresso machine and kitchen inside.  

Love,

 H & B

Thai Farm Cooking School

Dear Friends,

One of the things we (ok, Heather) really wanted to do in Thailand was take a cooking course. We jumped in a truck at 9 am and were off to the local market with our teacher for the day. Next, we went to the farm where she took us around to show us the locally grown ingredients. Then our day of cooking began...red/green curry, Tom Yum, Pad Thai and some mango sticky rice. We need to practice our new cooking skills... let us know when you want to come over for dinner!

Love,
H & B

Bells

Dear Friends,

Most of the temples we have visited (and there have been MANY) have bells lined up around them. Our research into why they were there yielded various reasons. One of the more common one was to awaken "the spirits or God" to let them know you are there.  All this time, we thought they were bringing us good luck...something we could always use.  

Love,

H & B

Pad Thai

Dear Friends,

We have been eating a lot of Pad Thai on our trip. Green Chicken Curry and Pad Thai are our staples. Anywhere else in the world, you get it  served one way from the kitchen.  In Thailand, you get to add the spices yourself.  Pretty much every table has chili, sugar, peanuts and red peppers for you to spice up your own meal. Even the street vendors serve it this way.

Love,

H & B

Noodles

Dear Friends,

This man was moving so fast, it was difficult for us to see what he was doing, let alone capture it on camera.  He was taking the large pieces of dough and stretching and folding them into long, thin noodles. It all happened amazingly fast. Not sure we'll be able to do that at home.

Love,
H & B

Elephants

Dear Friends,

The Thais love their elephants. We have seen them all over - on clothing, key chains, jewelry, etc.  This colorful elephant was one of our favorites in Chiang Mai.

Love,

H & B

Green Curry

Dear Friends,

We've eaten a lot of green curry over the last couple of months. This was by far the fanciest presentation. The floral part of the squash came off to reveal steaming hot curry...YUM!

Love,

H & B

Road vs Air

Dear Friends,

After a 14 hour sleeper train, van with a flat tire and a miserable 9 hour bus ride through the mountains, we decided to splurge. We opted for the one hour flight to Chiang Mai rather than the 17 hour overland bus/van trip.  It was the best money we have spent during our two months on the road. 

Love,

 H & B

Photo Together

Dear Friends,

We finally found someone to take a photo of the two of us. As you can see, we are having a great time. : )

Love,

H & B

Slippers

Dear Friends,

We loved these warm, cozy slippers. Wanted to buy a pair for everyone but we couldn't find room in our bags even one pair.  Maybe next time!

Love,

H & B

Postcards

Dear Friends,

Here is Brad doing one of his favorite vacation activities.  NO, not just drinking beer.. . writing postcards while drinking beer.  Check your mailboxes!

Love,

 H & B

Kmart

Dear Michelle,

We wanted you to know that your former employer is up and running in Laos.  Good thing too, we knew right where to go to get some batteries.

Love,

H & B

Vientiane

Dear Friends,

Vientiane has a reputation for being one of the world's most relaxed capitals.  It was easy to see why. We enjoyed many days here riding our bikes around the city streets, enjoying morning jogs and sundowners along the Mekong River.

Love,

H & B

Gecko

Dear Friends,

As I was sitting with Brad as he enjoyed his pineapple shake, I felt something hit my shoulder. When I looked around to see what it was, I found this little guy struggling along the bench.  These cute little lizards are everywhere.

Love,

H

Vang Vieng - Blue Lagoon

Dear Friends,

The Blue Lagoon is one of the spots not to miss on a visit to Vang Vieng, Laos. We rented bikes and rode about 7 km out dirt roads, through local villages to get there.  The water was an amazing shade of turquoise.  There was a picnic area set up with small thatched huts to relax in and a cave to go explore. Some how, we managed to get this shot without any of the 60+ people that were there in it.  

Love,

H & B

Mekong River Seaweed

Dear Friends,

River seaweed is one of the specialties of Laung Prabang.  We saw adults and children out in the river collecting it and then it sold like this in the markets.  When we saw it packaged for eating or on menus, it had been pressed into flat sheets and dried out.  Yet another food item we didn't try.  So much for being adventurous!

Love,

H & B

Fish Sticks

Dear Friends,

We have seen a lot of meat on sticks around Thailand and Laos.  These whole fish looked the best by far.  Wish we could say we tried them.

Love,

H  &  B

Chickens

Dear Friends,

Everywhere we went in Luang Prabang there were chickens. Our favorites were the roosters outside our bedroom window that woke us each morning.

Love,

H & B

Dragons

Dear friends,

We have seen dragons similar to these at nearly every temple.  Maybe they are guarding the place?

Love,

H & B

Oranges

Dear Friends,

We loved seeing these bright oranges being sold around the city. Apparently, they are in season. They are so sweet and delicious!  YUM!

Love,

H & B

Embroidery

Dear Friends,

We have seen many items with beautiful embroidery in both Thailand and Laos. Since we are on a budget and have NO room in our bags, we have passed up many pillow cases, purses and tablecloths. Of course, it was easier for one of us to pass on these items. 

Love,

H & B

Phu Si Hill Sunset

Dear Friends,

The sunset from the hill was worth the climb. We only had to battle about 50 other people to get this shot over the Mekong. 

Love,

 H & B

Cover Yourself!

Dear Friends,

We saw this sign quite often around Luang Prabang.  This particular sign was near the river. Of course, down on the banks were some half dressed tourists. 

Love,

H & B

Good Luck

Dear Friends,

We saw this man outside of the main temple in Vientiane.  He had small birds (finches?) in these cages. He sells them to you to set free for good luck.  While we could use all the luck we can get, we did not partake. 

Love,

H & B

Luang Prabang Countryside

Dear Friends,

One of the great things about Laos is all the farms around the countryside. There were tons of beautiful green vegetables in the markets. It was nice to know they traveled since a short distance.Humm...maybe we can start a small garden in China.

Love,

H & B

Frogs

Dear Friends,

We came across these frogs in the market. Their days were numbered as next to the tub was a grill with three frogs on each stick. Even Brad didn't try this yummy treat!

Love,

H & B

Kuang Si Waterfalls - Laos

Dear Friends,

This is arguably the most  beautiful waterfall we have seen.  We  have many photos of it and will share them all with you when we get home. : )

Love,

H & B

Glamourus Travel

Dear Friends,

Many of you have commented over the years about how exciting and glamourus our travels are. Here you can see how true that really is.  The "mini bus", aka van, had a flat tire 3 hours into our trip between the capital of Laos, Vientiane and Vang Vieng.  Luckily, that was a small delay. The really miserable trip was the 9 hour bus ride between Vang Vieng over the curvy mountain roads.  We could not wait to get off that bus!


Love,
H & B

Street Eating

 

Dear Friends,

All over Bangkok and the smaller cities, you can find food carts and stalls along the streets. It  is amazing what is cooked in these mini kitchens. We have seen anything from pancakes stuffed with bananas and Nutella to Pad Thai cooked up in minutes. As enticing as it looks at times, we usually opt for a more traditional restaurant. 

Love,

H & B

Architecture

 

Dear Friends,

After living in Europe and the Middle East, we are enchanted by the artchitecture of South East Asia.  The temples and many museums are beautifully decorated with gold, green and red.

Love,

H & B

BTS

 

Dear Friends,

While there were lots of tuk tuks and taxis, Bangkok also has a great subway and sky train system. Thanks to our friend, Nancy, this was "our stop" for several weeks.  When the driver said it aloud, it sounded like "planted", which was not really the way we pronunced it. 

Love H & B

Squid Anyone?

Dear Friends,

These carts are fairly common on the streets in Bangkok.  Dried squid...  Anyone interested?  We have to admit, we did not partake in this delight.  Maybe next time.

Love,

H & B

National Anthem

Dear Friends,

My morning runs around Lumpini Park are very entertaining.  As I jog past people having tea, doing yoga and tai chi, I enjoy every minute of people watching. The other day, a whistle blew and music began blaring out of loudspeakers. Everyone stopped what they were doing and stood for what I believed to be the national anthem. When it was over, policeman around the park blew their whistles again and every resumed their activity. Just another morning in Bangkok.

Love,

H 

Pink Elephants

Dear Friends,

We have seen many interesting things in Thailand.  Most things have some sort of explanation or purpose. This pink elephant statue in the middle of a busy intersection didn't seem to have either.  Any ideas? 

Love,

H & B

Gas Station

Dear Friends,

In case you were wondering where all the tuk tuks and motorbikes get their gas...here it is. The gas station. We did not see a lot of these in Bangkok but they are all over the place on the smaller islands. Glad to see the glass bottles are being recycled!

Love,

H & B

Tuk Tuk

Dear Friends,

For those of you that have traveled to South East Asia, these are a familiar sight. They are all over Bangkok. We can barely walk a few feet without asking if we need a ride. For the most part, it is easier to walk or ride the trains than it is to sit in traffic in a tuk tuk.  We did get one ride in out of desperation to get to a location to meet friends on time.  Always an interesting ride!

Love,

H & B

Fruit Carts

Dear Friends,

This has got to be one of our favorite parts of Bangkok. There are fresh fruit carts on nearly every corner in town.  On a warm day, nothing beats a cold, fresh pineapple for 60 cents. (OK, a cold beer is good too!!!)  Other carts sell coconuts exclusiely...nice cold coconut water and a whole coconut for $1.  YUM!!!

Love, 

H & B

San Phra Phrom

Dear Friends,

We often passed this shrine on the skywalk.  Finally had a chance to get down to see it up close. Apparently this Brahma is thought to bring good luck. Every time we have walked by the shrine it has been filled with worshipers laying down marigold wreaths and praying with incense sticks held to their foreheads. There is also a group of dancers that dance to help people thank Brahma for granting their prayers.

Love,
H & B

Tha Saphan Phut Pier

Dear Friends,

Bangkok has extensive water transportation down the rivers that run through town. It is much faster to travel this way than to take a taxi and sit in traffic. As you can see, even the young monks take advantage of the boats.

Love,

H & B

Pak Khlong Market

Dear Friends,

Took a walk down to the flower and vegetable market. Just another regular day for the buyers and sellers but a great place for a visitor to explore.  It made me wish for a kitchen to make something with all the giant bagfuls of cilantro and mint available.  

Love,

H

The Golden Mount

Dear Friends,

I decided to head out for a little walking tour on my own. My friends at Lonely Planet suggested several walking tours of the city. I began this one at The Golden Mount. It was Jan. 2 and felt like all the locals were out visiting all the temples, including this one. I could have spent all day there people watching.

Love,
H

Chatuchak Market

Dear Friends,

The Chatuchak weekend market is AMAZING! You can buy anything you can imagine there.  We spent two hours strolling around and barely saw a fraction of the things for sale. Of course we saw plenty of stalls selling t-shirts. We thought this one was great!

Love,

H & B