Lindsay and Igor

December 14th – 15th, 2016

Days 260 – 261: Bangkok – Part III

Our short trip to Cambodia was awesome – we if could do it all again, we’d stay there a lot longer and explore outside of Siem Reap. Unfortunately, the “Asia portion” of our trip was coming to an end, and we had to return to Bangkok to wrap up a few things before our long journey to South America.

Our flight back to Bangkok was short and easy, but as it was scheduled for the middle of the day, it limited our ability to do any sightseeing. Instead, we made plans to meet up with Pim – a former Best Cellars colleague of Lindsay’s – and have a little dinner party in our hotel suite! Even though traffic from the airport was practically gridlock, we had just enough time to run to the tailor for Igor’s final suit fitting and pick up some groceries before 7PM. We spent the rest of the evening catching up on the last *seven* years since we had seen Pim, and getting an insider’s introduction to the world of Muey Thai kickboxing.

Grabbing lunch and getting some work down in the Executive Lounge in the Siem Reap Airport

Farewell, Cambodia!

So glad to be back in the Oriental Residence in Bangkok! It feels so much like home, Lindsay decides to play hostess and invites a friend over for a little dinner party!

Our last day in Bangkok was busy with last-minute errands before our South America trip. We had decided to take a road trip to Patagonia when we go to Argentina, but when we looked for a rental car, we discovered the only 4×4 vehicles available were manual transmission. While flying down to Patagonia was an option, the route down to southern Argentina was supposed to be breathtakingly beautiful – we didn’t want to miss it!

How hard could it be to drive a stick shift anyways? Igor found an English-speaking driving school in Bangkok, and asked about lessons – the instructor suggested we could learn the basics in 4 hours – DONE! We took the metro to the end of the line and caught a taxi to the driving school (we were about an hour late for our appointment as we stopped to shop for shoes and got horribly lost due to Google Maps’ wildly inaccurate directions) – sure enough, after 3 hours of practicing in the school’s closed course, Igor was able to hold his own in Bangkok traffic! Sure, he stalled the engine about half a dozen times, but he recovered quick enough – bring it on Argentina!

Taking the Bangkok Metro, as traffic in the city is a nightmare

SHOES! We get distracted by a store selling second-hand dress shoes for men – only USD $3! *Exactly* what Igor needs for our upcoming cruise’s formal nights – now he can wear one of his new suits, and we don’t have to bother shipping the shoes back to the States

Driving around an obstacle course for about 4 hours, learning how to drive a stick shift

Our instructor was a “tiger-lady” teacher – she kept screaming at Igor in broken English, “Put clutch down ALL the way! You stall car! Put in first gear! You stall car again!” Basically, she showed Igor how to shift, drove around the course once, then switched seats and made him do it. After riding with us for about 15min, she gets out of the car, saying, “I go teach someone else now. You practice. Don’t drive too fast.”

So, back when we were in Krabi, Igor got two cuts on his right foot when he stepped on some sharp shells and rocks on Railay Beach. Two weeks later, the cuts still hadn’t healed and were looking pretty nasty. Igor was convinced they were infected (Lindsay told him he was overreacting, and that he just needed to stop suffectating the wounds with bandaids and let them air out so they could scab over). He looked up the cost of visiting the ship doctor when we get on our cruise next week – not cheap. If there *was* a problem with his foot, he figured it would be less expensive to visit a doctor in Bangkok, so after we picked up Igor’s completed suits and dress shirts, we walked a few blocks over to Bumrungrad International Hospital to see how long/expensive an appointment would be.

Guys…this hospital…was AMAZING. After this experience we can totally see why medical tourism is a thing, and (God forbid) if we ever get seriously sick, we are totally coming back to Thailand for treatment. Let’s start with the hospital building itself – the place looked more like an upscale hotel than a medical center. The receptionist in the lobby greeted us with a smile and told us we first needed to visit the 10^th floor to register as a new patient in order to get an estimate on wait time and price estimate. We were a little wary of the multi-step process, figuring this was going to be a huge waste of time, but it turned out to be extremely efficient – we took a queue number for the next representative (just like if we were at Zabar’s cheese counter!), and when two guys tried to cut in front of us in line, the hospital rep took no time telling the guys that we were next and they had to go take a number (I swear – Thailand is the anti-China!).

After Igor was registered (he got an ID bracelet and everything!), we went directly up to orthopedic surgery (yeah – totel overkill for a little cut on his foot, but the hospital rep said it would be cheaper to see a specialist as we would get charged for each doctor visited) – estimated wait time was 15min and price range was anywhere from USD $30 – USD $150, plus cost of medication. Just…take a second to let that sink in. Can you IMAGINE walking into a doctor’s office without an appointment or an emergency room in the USA and getting this kind of service? Oh, and the waiting room had complimentary bottled water, juice and tea.

By the time the doctor saw Igor, we got our bill, bandages and paid, we had been in the Bumrungrad hospital for just under and hour. The total cost of the visit was USD $60 (when we get home we’re going to try and get our travel insurance to reimburse us J). What was the diagnosis? Not infected – stop wearing bandaids and let it dry out and scab over. THANK YOU, DOCTOR LINDSAY.

Friendly, informed, and efficient service at the Bumrungrad International Hospital in Bangkok

We returned to the Oriental Residence around 7PM for our final night in Thailand. While Lindsay repacked our bags and cooked our last quesadilla dinner, Igor ran out into the city one last time to pick up some cheap camera accessories for our upcoming dive trip in South America. Thailand – you have been the easiest, safest, and friendliest country in our southeast Asia adventures – we can’t wait to come back!

MBK Center – the mall that has it all! Igor finds all the odds and ends on his shopping list while Lindsay packs our bags and makes our last quesdailla & guac dinner

December 13th, 2016

Day 259: Kampong Plouk

We only had one activity planned for today, so we were able to sleep in and get a later start. After stuffing ourselves with omelets, waffles, muesli, fresh fruit and several types of pastries at the FABULOUS buffet breakfast, we met up with our driver and headed out to the fishing village of Kampong Plouk.

Siem Reap is located 50km from Tonle Sap Lake – along with the Mekong Delta, this body of water is the main life-sustaining food source of the country, providing irrigation water for rice fields and, of course, lots of fish. There are several floating villages in the area, where everything from the homes to the stores are on boats that move around the area depending on the season. When we asked our driver for recommendations as to which one was the most scenic to visit, he suggested we skip the floating villages and go to Kampong Plouk instead – a pastoral Venice, where the entire village is built on towering stilts within the river.

Buying our tour tickets to visit the fishing village of Kampong Plouk

Rice fields flank the riverbanks

The river is the only way to access the village, as the roads can disappear completely depending on the water level – at one point we pass a true “Bridge from Nowhere to Nowhere”

Lindsay & Igor riding down river in a Cambodian longboat

Driving down “main street” of Kampong Plouk – a fishing village of about 3,000 residences

Unlike the “floating villages,” Kampong Plouk is a permanent settlement where the buildings are built on stilts

All the houses tower above the river on stilts – some up to 10m high!

A colorful neighborhood in Kampong Plouk

A very important building in the village: both the school and fishery office are located here

Unsurprisingly there is an ornate Buddhist temple sitting on a riverbank hillside, but the village also has a Christian church on stilts

Our driver points out cages floating the river that are full of small crocodiles. Given the many leather stores in Siem Reap, we’re guessing these are farm-raised for meat and leather

Flooded mangrove forests surround the area

During the rainy season, these women make their living fishing in the mangroves. But in the off season, they make additional income by paddling tourists through the trees

Leaving our motorized longboat for a slow, quiet tour through the mangrove forest

Here’s our floating market! A half dozen boats wait for us in the mangroves to try and sell us snacks and drinks. We bought some bananas to be polite, but passed on the drinks (our tour tickets actually included a free drink each, that we still hadn’t opened as we weren’t really thirsty). However, once we made one purchase, the woman seemed to think she had a chance to upsell us, and started suggesting we buy USD $3 candies or a USD $1 soda as a gift for our driver – we decline as we are pretty sure the driver isn’t going to actually eat or drink anything we buy her, but is more likely to return the gift to the floating market and split the profit. Instead, we give her an unopened can of Coke and a cash tip at the end of the tour – she reluctantly took the Coke, but her eyes lit up at the dollar bill!

Breaking out of the dense mangrove forest to the open waters of Lake Tonle Sap

The lake is massive, at 6,000 sq mi it looks more like a bay than a lake – we can’t even see the opposite shore!

We are visited by another floating minimart as we float in Tonle Sap Lake

We return to the resort for a relaxing afternoon in our room

Filling up on snacks and bubbles during Happy Hour

So, the night before, we had some rather noisy neighbors check-in upstairs (they sounded like giants, with ridiculously loud, thumping footsteps and for some reason, they kept dragging furniture all around their room). We were so exhausted from our full day of activities, that we didn’t have the energy to complain, and quickly passed out despite the noise. Tonight, however, we knew the annoyance would keep us up, so we asked our concierge if there was another room available that we could switch to. As a result, we got upgraded to a bigger “Sunset Suite” on the top floor! Seriously, we’re losing track of how many “second honeymoons” we’ve had at this point.

Living it up in the lap of luxury in Cambodia

December 12th, 2016

Day 258: Angkor Wat

Hope you’re ready for a monster post, because day was a LONG day. We set our alarm for a 4:45AM wake-up call – one of the most popular to-dos in Siem Reap is to visit the main Angkor Wat temple at sunrise, so we had to be out of the hotel by 5AM to go buy our tickets and try to snag a good viewing spot.

Buying our tickets to Angkor Wat at 5:15AM

Angkor Wat – the “Temple City” – is the heart & soul of Cambodia (a silhouette of the monument is on their national flag). Built in the 12^th century by King Suryavarman II during Cambodia’s Golden Age, Angkor Wat is still to this day the largest religious complex on earth. When it was built, the Khmer Empire was the most powerful kingdom on earth – while London was still a small port city of 50,000 people, Angkor was a thriving metropolis of over a million residents. The main temple was designed as a representation of the Hindu heaven, Mount Meru, and was dedicated to Vishnu (although nowadays it is used as a place for Buddhist worship).

As the sky slowly starts to brighten, we see the outline of Angkor Wat emerge from the darkness

There are two ponds in front of the temple, behind which the crowds of tourists gather to try and capture Angkor Wat’s reflection as the sun rises. While it’s tough jockeying for a good spot, and the atmosphere in person is anything but tranquil, the water landscaping helps to keep everyone’s shots relatively clear from photobombers, giving us several Instagram-worthy pics

Once sun is up, Lindsay and Igor walk forward to enter the Angkor Wat temple

The galleries within the temple have stone carvings illustrating stories from Hindu mythology – the walls are in incredibly good condition

Unlike many of the other temples surrounding the area, Angkor Wat has been in continuous use since it was built over 800 years ago, so it is in great condition. Some sections – like the giant naga heads at the entrance – have been restored over the years

Angkor Wat – the pride of Cambodia

Once the sun came up, a troop of mischievous macaques woke up and started digging through the trash cans. Many tourists had brought a packed breakfast to snack on during the sunrise, so the monkeys have a fresh delivery of scraps to eat

After a quick stop at the hotel for breakfast, our temple-tour continued. There are over 50 temples that make up the ancient city of Angkor, but there are three that stand out as particularly famous must-sees. After Angkor Wat, our second (and favorite!) temple was Ta Prohm – AKA the “Indiana Jones Temple.” Unlike Angkor Wat, Ta Prohm was abandoned for centuries after the fall of the Khmer Empire and has since become overgrown by the surrounding jungle. Huge, gnarly, twisting trees grow out of the moss-covered ruins – it’s a majestic example of Mother Nature destroying manmade civilization.

Feeling like Indiana Jones as we explore Ta Prohm – the “Tree Temple” (actual filming location for both “Tomb Raider” movies: Indiana Jones and Laura Croft)

The roots of this enormous tree spill over the crumbling temple ruins

Throughout the Ta Prohm temple, Nature is reclaiming the grounds

Piles of rubble lay all over the place – conservation efforts at Ta Prohm are a careful balancing act of maintaining the “look of neglect” while making sure the jungle doesn’t encroach on the temple further

The moss-covered outer walls and inner sanctuary of Ta Prohm

While Angkor Wat was originally a Hindu temple, Ta Prohm was built as a Buddhist monastery by King Jayavarman VII

The mighty, towering trees of Ta Prohm

The ancient ruins of the Ta Prohm Temple

The final of the Big 3 Angkor temples was the “great city” of Angkor Thom, also commissioned by Jayavarman VII as the new capital of the Khmer Empire in the 12^th century. While there were are several buildings within the complex, the most stunning temple was the iconic Bayon temple – an emormous structure with over 50 four-sided towers, each bearing giant stone faces that smile serenely down at us as we explore.

The giant, smiling faces of Bayon Temple at Angkor Thom

Bayon has 216 giant stone faces, watching over the temples’s visitors

Unlike all the other Khmer kings, Jayavarman VII was the only one to convert to Buddhism, although many of the stone carvings still show a lot of Hindu influences

We pass a small troop of macaques as we leave Bayon – we watch as one clever monkey figures out how to unscrew the cap of a water bottle (no doubt stolen from an unsuspecting tourist)

We walk over to Baphuon – another Aztec-like temple within Angkor Thom. As we leave the temple, we can see that the retaining wall in the rear was altered to look like a reclining Buddha

Walking down the Terrace of the Elephants – a long walkway where the king would hold public parades

The Terrace of the Leper King (legend has it that as least one of the Khmer kings had leprosy) decorated with beautifully carved apsaras (Buddhist angels)

Since we had such an early start to the day, we were finished with the major Angkor temples by noon. We wanted to make the most out of our all-inclusive package & all-day driver, so we needed more places to visit! Unfortunately for us, the resort’s chauffer deal did not include locations that were more than 20KM outside the city, meaning we would have to pay DOUBLE if we wanted to visit Banteay Srei (the pretty pink-stone temple) and Beng Mealea (another overgrown, Indiana Jones-esque location).

Our driver could tell we were disappointed when we discovered the extra cost, so when we started suggesting other alternatives, he suggested, “If you stay silent, I’ll stay silent,” and only asked us to pitch in USD $5 for the extra gas so his boss wouldn’t know we bent the rules! We were able to squeeze in visits to the Cambodia Landmine Museum and the Angkor Butterfly Center, before wrapping up the afternoon at two smaller temples. We would have stayed out for sunset, but the sky was so overcast and dull, we decided the photos wouldn’t be worth the wait.

The Cambodia Landmine Museum – founded by former child soldier Aki Ra, who has spent his entire adult life locating and deactivating live landmines throughout Cambodia. The museum started as his personal collection of landmines that he had found – over the years, tourists kept coming by his house to see the huge collection, prompting him to put the weapons on display

None of these bombs were replicas, but they were supposedly certified as “safe”. Sadly, the USA was responsible for a huge percentage of the landmines dropped on Cambodia (part of Kissinger’s mass carpet-bombing of the Ho Chi Min Trail during the Vietnam War…seriously, how was this not a war crime? He indiscriminatly dropped bombs on civilians in a country we were NOT at war with!), although we learned that Russia, China, Vietnam and Thailand had also contributed significantly to the bloodshed. As a result of foreign interference, Cambodia’s countryside was litered with hundreds of thousands of landmines – every year (even to this day!!!) hundreds of farmers and children are killed or maimed by stepping on anti-personal mines, although thanks to the efforts of Aki Ra and many other organizations, the number of victims is dropping every year

Igor listening to the audio guide as we tour the museum

After a sobering visiting to the war museum, we head over to the Butterfly Center for a more lighthearted activity

So many pretty butterflies!

Dozens of cacoons are organized and hung up in a protected cabinet – everyday they have to open the doors so newly hatched butterflies can fly out

Bright and fuzzy caterpillars munch away at leaves, next door to some GINORMOUS stick bugs!

Our driver takes us to two smaller, less visited temples before returning to the hotel. When we arrive at Banteay Samre, we have the complex all to ourselves!

Exploring the stone carvings, shrines, and empty galleries of Banteay Samre

Our final temple, Pre Rup, is supposed to be a great location for sunset – on a clear day, the sandstone towers will glow orange as the sun goes down

Since the sky is overcast by now, we decide not to stay for sunset (another 3-hour wait) – we just climb to the top to check out the view…where Lindsay can see some dogs running around on the ground! She hurries down the steep stone steps to play with a sweet little puppy

Since our all-inclusive package included unlimited Happy Hour appetizers and drinks, we decided to stay in for dinner tonight. We asked our driver if he could stop at a grocery store on the way back. We are shocked at the AMAZING selection of food at the store: cheese, baguettes, avocados, and a HUGE wine selection! (Not that we needed to buy any wine for tonight, but still, Lindsay likes to know her options…) Bon appetite!

We pick up some groceries and have a delicious picnic dinner in our hotel room after filling up on endless canapes

December 10th – 11th, 2016

Days 256 – 257: Bangkok to Siem Reap

We spent the next two days travelling – first returning our rental car to Bangkok, then heading to the airport our flight to Cambodia. The road trip back to Bangkok was easy, but uneventful – just taking turns driving for about 10hrs.

No offense, but we do not dig Thai music (everything on radio was putting us to sleep), so we busted out our MP3 thumb drive from our Africa road trip for the long haul back to Bangkok

Driving in Thailand is super easy and tourist friendly – the roads are in such great condition, we feel like we are in the USA (especially when we pass tacky alligator statues – is this the Orient or Orlando?). Even the police check points are a breeze – we passed about four on our way down, and the cops mostly just wave us through. One had us pull over, but after asking where we were coming from and where we were going, he immediately let us go…which was a tad odd when we thought about it: after all we were two foreigners driving from the Golden Triangle (a drug producing hotspot) to Bangkok in one day – you’d think they’d at least ask to look in the truck before waving us off?

Easy-to-read bilingual road signs makes driving in Thailand really simple – many areas even include photos of the nearby attractions to help tourists find their way

Our airport hotel – only USD $30/night for a decent room which was surprisingly well insulated (A bus load of Chinese tourists were checking in just after us – even though there were are least 150 of them, for once we didn’t hear any noise in the hallways nor smell anyone smoking cigarettes! We have a feeling that Thai tour guides may go to extra lengths to make sure Chinese tourists are aware of the proper etiquette in this country, as they seem far better behaved in Thailand than they are in China)

Regardless of the Chinese tourists’ improve manners, we still didn’t want to fight a rush of over 100 guests at the hotel restaurant for dinner, so we went to Burger King, which was within walking distance. We were a little bummed as it looked inevitable that we would have to break our vegetarian streak (going on two months without meat!), but we were delighted to discover that Burger King now has a veggie burger option! Not sure if this available in the States too, but it was pretty good!

Since we had originally picked up the rental car at 8AM when we first got it in Chiang Mai, we had to return it first thing in the morning to the airport in Bangkok. Our flight to Cambodia wasn’t until 1PM, but we figured we’d just camp out in the DMK Executive Lounge again. What we didn’t realize, however, is that our Priority Pass only got us into the lounge in the *domestic* terminal – we had nuthin’ in the international wing! So instead of grazing a loaded breakfast buffet and loading up on free coffee, we had to content ourselves with the slim pickings of the various fast-food chains in the terminal and hunker down next to an outlet to charge our devices. Oh well, at least the airport had free Wifi.

Since we were denied a breakfast buffet, we gorge ourselves on sugar-coated lard masquerading as donuts (GOD, I love Kristy Kreme)

Airport lunch at Micky D’s. After compiling all these photos I now realize that we ate A LOT of fast food in a short period of time. Granted, it’s not like we had many alternatives, and it was kinda nice to try out all the new veggie items that chains are starting to offer

Taking a cheap, cramped (but thankfully short) AirAsia flight to Cambodia

We were expecting Immigration in Cambodia to be a mess, but it was surprisingly efficient! US citizens can pay for an on-arrival visa (luckily we brought spare passport photos with us which helped speed up the process) – there were about a dozen government agents working behind the visa counter, passing each new passport to the next agent like a fireman’s brigade – we were in and out in about 5min! Well done, Cambodia.

We spent the rest of the afternoon in our swanky resort, planning our sight-seeing itinerary for the next two days. The hotel offered an all-inclusive package for an additional USD $60/day which would get us a driver for the day plus unlimited mini bar and Happy Hour drinks and appetizers – while we could certainly have visited the sights cheaper had we hired an outside taxi or tuktuk driver, we decided to splurge. Once again we had a lot to see and very little time, so the convenience factor was worth it (plus, a hotel chauffer was not going to drag us to souvenir shops or restaurants where he gets a kick-back).

The dollar can go *really* far with accommodations in Cambodia, so we booked an extra special room in Siem Reap – the “Privilege Floor” is a hotel within a hotel, and boy was it fancy! Welcome flowers (garlands of fresh-cut jasmine!), welcome drink, welcome fruit, and even a welcome jellycake wrapped in a banana leaf

After we check in to our spacious room, we head up to the restaurant for free cocktails and canapes (even though our all-inclusive package didn’t technically start until tomorrow, our concierge gave us a little *nudgenudgewinkwink* and told us to help ourselves)

We decide to go into downtown Siem Reap for dinner, so we take a USD $2 tuktuk to the lively Pub Street, which is packed with restaurants, bars and Western tourists. The majority of the restaurants are Western (a lot of Italian and Mexican places) – it feels like a backpacker Disneyland and strongly reminds us of the Thamel neighborhood in Kathmandu

Walking through the night market along the river

Grabbing dinner at the only Cambodian-food restaurant we can find on the Pub Street strip

There are lots of tuktuks rolling around (some for them pretty pimped out!), so we have no trouble getting a ride back to the hotel (although the fare has mysteriously gone up in price by a dollar…)

December 9th, 2016

Day 255: The Golden Triangle

We finally reached the end of the trail in our journey of northern Thailand – the tripoint border of Thailand, Myanmar and Laos in a spot called the Golden Triangle.

The Golden Triangle is not only a geopolitical landmark, it is also home to one of the largest opium-producing regions in the world (only recently surpassed by Afghanistan in terms of drug production). We started out the day with a visit to Thailand’s “Hall of Opium” museum to learn about the history of the area – we spent a good two and a half hours there and time just flew by! (No, not because they were giving out free samples.)

Buffet breakfast in our mountain resort

Visiting the Opium Museum for a little “edu-tainment.” Helpful hint: we arrived right around 9AM when the museum opened…along with three school groups and a large group of orange robe-clad monks – when we left at noon, the place was deserted. It doesn’t pay to go to the museum early.

Rad school buses, kids! To be fair, even though we were sharing the museum with at least 500 school kids, they were pretty well behaved (even Thai children are polite!). Had we been in an American museum with the same number of ankle biters? Forget it! Understandably, the kids weren’t as interested in reading all the plaques as we were, so whenever a group came into the same room we were in, all we had to do was stand aside and wait for about 5min for the group to pass, then we would have the exhibit to ourselves again

The entrance to the Hall of Opium – photos weren’t technically allowed here, but the hallway was so spooky we just had to document it! The walls were covered in haunting sculptures – as if the victims of heroin abuse were trying to warn visitors about the dangers of drugs (Kids – Just Say NO!)

A small plot of poppies grows in the atrium of the museum entrance. Once we enter, we learn about the history of opium trade in Southeast Asia. Long story short: the British are drug dealers who get the Chinese so addicted to crack that they are able to swidle the Middle Kingdom out of ownership of Hong Kong for the next 99 years. Gangsta.

OK, I have no idea why there was a freaky wax statue of a little Chinese girl in the corridor of the museum – there was no explanatory plaque, she didn’t seem to be a part of the exhibit. Igor wanted Lindsay to sit next to her for a picture, but she refused as she was sure the thing would come to life at any second

Teddy bears and the soles of shoes – just some examples of the many ways people have tried to smuggle drugs from the Golden Triangle in the modern era

Contemplating words of wisdom and the effects of drugs in the museum’s “Hall of Reflection”

After learning about the historical Golden Triangle, we drove down the road to visit the physical Golden Triangle along the Mekong River. While Myanmar and Laos had a small scattering of buildings along the shore, both countries looked very sparsely inhabited compared to Thailand, which practically had a permanent street fair along the riverbank. In addition to the multiple Golden Triangle photo op locations, the border had several tour operators running boat rides along the river to skirt the edge of Myanmar and even step a toe into Laos – USD $30 and a one hour tour gets us an unofficial visit to another country (no stamp in the passport, tho).

The Sop Ruak – the dead center of the physical Golden Triangle, where three countries meet

The Golden Triangle is the meeting of three countries along the Mekong River: Thailand, Myanmar and Laos

While it won’t give us a stamp in our passports, when we find out we can take a 30min trip across the river to Laos, we can’t resist the temptation to visit yet another country! We bravely surrender our passports to the tour company (since we didn’t pay USD $100 for a Laotian tourist visa we are not allowed to go through Immigration and enter the country proper – we can only visit a tiny island in the Mekong River with a big souvenir market) – hey, this still counts!!!

Crossing the river into Laos

Our boat driver points out a Burmese casino upriver in Myanmar (the building with the big crown), before heading down to the Laotian island of Don Sao

WE IN LAOS! Just to prove it, we buy and mail a couple of postcards. Sadly, we only have two mailing addresses memorized, so y’all reading this probably didn’t get one.

We have about half an hour to window shop in the market in Laos before we have to return to our boat – we see a huge variety of violent-looking souvenirs (what’s with that?), and kick ourselves when we see the huge wine selection – we *just* bought a crappy USD $6 bottle of Thai “fruit wine” at the local 7-11, as we figured the 2PM-5PM ban on alcohol sales would leave us literally high & dry that night. Word of advice: if you are in the Golden Triangle, do your booze run in Laos! There is a bigger selection, better prices and no time restrictions!

Snake-marinated brandy – now that will put hair on your chest!

We stop in a local market on the way back to the hotel to see if we can find food to bring back to our room for dinner – while there is plenty of fresh seafood and veggies, there’s nothing we can prepare without a kitchen

Another awesome sunset in our remote mountain suite

When we inquire about the corkage fee for bringing our own cheap bottle of wine into the resort restaurant, we are appalled to find out it costs USD $9 just to open the screw-cap bottle! We want to boycott the restaurant purely on principle…but we also don’t want to drive anywhere for dinner. We compromise by ordering the CHEAPEST items on their room service menu – not only do we get to have our own beverages, we also avoid the 15min hike to the lobby – score!

December 8th, 2016

Day 254: Chiang Rai

While there is probably A LOT to see and do in Chiang Rai, we had to limit ourselves to just the truly unique – and we found it with the White Temple! Wat Rong Khun – or as it is more commonly known, The White Temple – is a modern-day interpretation of a Thai Buddhist temple, designed by artist Ajarn Chalermchai Kositpipat. From a distance, the complex appeared to be a stunningly beautiful, glittering white palace. As we entered, however, the serenity was broken by scary monsters, haunting hands, and bizarre Hollywood movie characters. The temple is totally freaky, but it works! Fun visit.

The White Temple – while it maintains a lot of the fancy, pointy roofs and bling we have come to associate with Thai architecture, there are a lot of pop-culture and “modern art” elements throughout the complex

Lindsay walks over the “Bridge of Rebirth” to enter the main temple

Underneath the bridge is a writhing sea of outstretched hands and demonic faces, representing worldly greed. The idea is that you have pass over temptations in order to reach heaven

The “guardians of heaven” glare at the visitors entering the temple

Walking around the White Temple

A mix of conventional and nonconventional depictions of Buddhist ideology – cartoonish murals illustrating the evils of the modern world morph into more traditional images of serene, meditating Buddhas as visitors progress from the “real world” to the metaphorical “heaven”

Hundreds thousands of leaf-shaped pendants hang from the walls, walkways, and decorate tiered holders throughout the complex – each one contains a message or wish from a visitor (only 30 Bhat!)

We forgo the lucky leaves and toss coins in the lotus well instead – since your wish only comes true if you land your coin in the center lotus, we lose a good 30 Bhat regardless since we have terrible aim

Pop culture meets Buddhism: figurines from Disney & Marvel comics can be found all around the temple, along with a bottle of demon whiskey

Two huge Lost & Found cabinets sit within the Dhamma Hall – not sure if this is a genuine claim center or if it’s part of the art installation…I mean, the thing is full of iPhones, car keys and even bank cards (which the temple has kindly left the numbers and expiration date visible!)

About 26km down the road is the Baan Dam Museum (AKA – Black House), another arty, temple-like compound. If the White Temple is supposed to be “heaven,” then Black House is “Hell.” Designed by another Thai artist, Thawan Duchanee, the place is a creepy, gothic playland, with “temples” full of animal skulls, skins and furs. We wander around the complex for a little while, but the “message” here (if there even is one) wasn’t as engaging as the more optimistic White Temple (at least there seemed to be a path of redemption there!), but it was on the way to our hotel so, why not stop for a visit?

WARNING: one of the pictures below is NSFW!

Visiting the Black House – Baan Dam

THE ANGST. With his long hair and ponytail, Igor can totally pull off the tortured artist look!

The “Sanctuary Hall” of the Baan Dam Temple – with all the snake skins and bull horns, the place looks like Satan’s dining room

Well, that’s a big, black penis.

While the majority of Baan Dam is either frightening or intentionally grotesque, many of the chapels have gorgeous naga (snake) wood carvings – all made at the onsite studio. They are so intricately detailed, they actually remind us of the Maori carvings we saw in New Zealand

Since we are self-driving, we can access more remote hotels, hidden in the mountains of Chiang Rai. We end up with a GINORMOUS suite in a near-deserted resort. Seriously, the bathrooms in Thailand just keep getting bigger…

Enjoying the sunset from our balcony

Oh course, that great view comes with a price: our room is a good 15min uphill walk through the empty, dark resort to reach the restaurant. When we finally arrive, we perk up when we see it decked out for the holidays (they even have a wood-burning fireplace!)

Another problem with this resort is that you are a truly *cap* audience. Since we are a good 10KM down a one-lane mountain road away from the main street, going off site for dinner is not an option. We have our most expensive meal in Thailand to date: USD $50 – ouch!

December 7th, 2016

Day 253: Chiang Dao

We had to backtrack through Chiang Mai as we continued our road trip up north, so we left the hotel early in order to make it to Chiang Dao by midday. While Chiang Dao is also a mountainous area, we were blessed with sunshine and nice weather instead of fog and clouds. The main draw in this area is the eponymous cave temple – a maze of stuffy, dark tunnels that meander through the mountain, filled with Buddha statues and small shrines. We had plenty of time to leisurely explore the Chiang Dao Cave, as well as a few other pretty mountain temples during the afternoon.

While our trip to Chiang Dao was a bit of a fly-by on our way north, we discovered that we would be missing out on a couple other cool attractions: sadly, we were a day late for the Tuesday Market, when the hill-tribe villagers come to town and sell produce and local handicrafts; there’s also a two-day trek to the summit of Doi Chiang Do. Oh well, next time!

We arrive in Chiang Dao right before noon, so we register at our hotel (where we get a generous plate of welcome fruit – yum!) before heading off to the temples

The entrance to Wat Tham Chiang Dao – a Buddhist cave-temple

Buddha statues fill the chambers of the cave temple. Certain rocks inside the cave are also wrapped with cloth and have offerings left nearby – locals believe spirits live there (an element the leftover Thai Animism religion – similar to the “spirit houses” that Thais build outside their homes)

The best part of the temple is the interior section of caves. Tourists are not allowed to explore this section solo – we had to hire a local guide for about USD $6 who carried a gas lantern to light to way. We felt very Indiana Jones, as there are many narrow tunnels where you have to crawl thorough on your hands and knees to pass into the next chamber!

Lindsay admires the odd and beautiful cave formations in Chiang Dao

After the guided section, we are allowed to walk ourselves into the colorfully lit cave of Tham Phra Non

At the very end of the Tham Phra Non cave is a reclining Buddha statue – unlike most we have seen up until now (where the Buddha is laying on his side, facing visiting devotees), this Buddha is lying flat on his back, facing the ceiling

Back outside in the sunshine, we see HUGE catfish swimming in the pond below – the temple sells fish food so visitors can feed the fish for good luck – as well as some colorful goldfish in the potted fountains

As we walk along the mountainside, we see lots of Buddha statues – some covered in gold, some covered in moss – hidden in the trees

The Chiang Dao Mountain has several gorgeous temples in the area

Before we left the hotel we asked for sight-seeing recommendations – Wat Tham Pha Plong is a quiet temple at the top of a steep 500-step staircase (which explains the lack of visitors!)

We were entertained by Buddhist quips during our climb up to the temple – some were motivational, some were more somber – kinda reminded us of the cynical “Commuter’s Lament” verses in the tunnel between Port Authority and Times Square

The scenic temple of Wat Tham Pha Plong, in Chiang Dao

The monks living in the temple follow a strict schedule set up by Pha Plong’s Late founder, renowned Thai monk Luang Pu Sim, including a 3AM daily wake-up call! No wonder the place is so quiet – people must be exhausted…

Igor admiring the scerey at Wat Tham Pha Plong

Our hotel is run by a German guy who married a Thai woman, so the menu has a few Western options, including a really tasty fish mousse. As we were chatting with the owner, we found out that his wife will give free “mini cooking lessons” to interested guests – all you have to do is come to dinner early and she’ll teach you how to cook whatever you ordered for dinner! What a shame we are only staying one night – Lindsay would have loved to take a Thai cooking class

December 6th, 2016

Day 252: Doi Inthanon National Park

We decided to rent a car and self-drive our way around Northern Thailand, giving us way more freedom than day-trip options from Chiang Mai and tour buses, and the opportunity to see more of the countryside. We headed to the airport and picked up a car first thing in the morning and drove west toward Doi Inthanon, “The Roof of Thailand”.

While Doi Inthanon was puny in comparison to the mountains of Tibet and Nepal (even though it’s Thailand’s highest peak, it’s only 2,565m – Lhasa was 3,500), we did experience a big change in climate. While Chiang Mai was sunny and a bit steamy by mid-day, the top of Doi In was covered in a cold, foggy cloud (which kinda sucked as there was no view). We walked around the top as much as the poor weather would allow, then headed down below the clouds where it got significantly warmer for a few more short hikes, before driving off to our quirky accommodations for the night.

Igor walks around & inspects our rental car taking pictures of every scratch and ding before hopping in the front seat

Rolling up to Doi Inthanon National Park

Sirithan Waterfall – one of the misty mountain’s many waterfalls

The twin chedis atop Doi Inthanon – Naphamethanidon & Naphapholphumisiri were dedicated to the the King & Queen (respectively) on their 60^th birthdays

Each of the chedis have Buddha statues inside – white “good luck” strings are tied around the wrists of the Buddhas

Riding the escalators up to the chedi…getting major China flashbacks…

Brrr! It’s 14⁰C and Lindsay’s wearing sandals – it’s cold!

Too bad we left our couple of boots in Bangkok – there’s a 3KM nature trail through the cloud forest but we have to pass since we are not dressed appropriately

The Ang Ka boardwalk trail is more our speed for today – it’s a little 10min loop that is better protected from the wind, so not as chilly

Not sure if it’s the moss, the mist or the monk, but the cloud forest of Doi Inthanon feels a bit magical

Making an obligatory stop at the “highest point in Thailand” – since the mountain is almost constantly covered in clouds, the park set-up an indoor sun lamp with a faux view so visitors can still leave with a sunny picture – LOL!

Taking pictures at Huai Sai Lueang Waterfall

As we head back down the mountain, we pass a large farmer’s market and pull over to check out the tasty (and colorful!) selection

Fresh strawberries, a variety of pumpkins, and even Thai wine! (from mulberries tho, not grapes)

We skipped lunch, so we’re a little peckish (and still a little cold, too) – we never would thought a baked yam was snack food, but it totally hit the spot!

Igor buys a bags of clementines and just INHALES them

Lindsay braves a cold shower for a photo op at the next waterfall

We spot some baby ferns and a wicked looking beetle at the Siribhume Waterfall & Royal Garden

Our digs for the night: a USD $30 “Swiss Chalet”

The décor at the Touch Star Resort charmingly tacky

It’s our lucky night – a large group was having a celebration at the hotel restaurant and hired a musician, so we had some live music to go with our (huge!) meal

December 5th, 2016

Day 251: Chiang Mai – Day 2

Surprisingly, we covered a lot of ground yesterday, so we only had one more must-see temple to visit. Wat Phra Singh is Chiang Mai’s most revered temple – a 14th century complex that is home to the “Lion Buddha” and a beautiful, gold-covered stupa. Afterwards, we didn’t have much on our itinerary, so we walked through town to the Suan Buak Hat public park and back to our hotel. Once again, the highlight of our day was food-related – we skipped lunch and went all out at a fantastic vegetarian-friendly restaurant for dinner. Hey Mama…WE GOT OUR GREENS!

Early morning visit to the Wat Phra Singh

Thai tourists make offerings and pray at the temple – then turn around and take a selfie in front of the Buddha! Interesting how Buddhist temple etiquette differs from Nepal to Thailand…

Gold, gold, gold! Shiny, gold stupa!

Quiet contemplation in front of the “Lion Buddha” at Wat Phra Singh

Are you talking to me?

Once again, THESE ARE NOT REAL MONKS – these wax figures are so realistic, it’s scary!

Suan Buak Hat – the only public park in Chiang Mai

Lindsay works off her evening Pad Thai on the park’s gym equipment

Hidden gems walking through the inner streets back to our hotel

Hiding from the afternoon heat in our cool hotel room

Venturing out at night for more of Chiang Mai’s culinary delights!

Veggie spring rolls, a potato salad-stuffed cucumber, and tofu stir fry with the most perfectly cooked egg EVER

December 4th, 2016

Day 250: Chiang Mai – Day 1

Since we were only 10min away from the airport this morning, we were able to enjoy a leisurely morning before our flight to Chiang Mai – the capital of Northern Thailand. It’s a short flight, so we have plenty of time after we arrive to walk around the city and explore a few temples.

We absolutely LOVED Chiang Mai. We were staying in the “Old City” neighborhood of Chiang Mai, which had a great vibe – while the main drag was full of tourist-friendly restaurant and sparkling temples, the narrow inner streets were quiet and mellow.

The thing that really made us fall in love with Chiang Mai was the Sunday Night Market. Normally we aren’t that excited about markets (especially on this year long trip, since we can’t really buy any souvenirs and carry them with us for the next few months), and we would never had gone out of our way to visit this one. However, we got lucky and we just happened to arrive on a Sunday – what a happy accident! Easily the best street fair we’ve ever been to (so much better than the traffic-congesting crap we have in Manhattan!) – and THE FOOD. Seriously, Chiang Mai is worth its own trip simply for the DELICIOUS street food!

Our last moments at the beach before flying to Northern Thailand

Chillin’ at the Koh Samui Airport Lounge before take-off

Temple Time! Exploring Wat Chedi Luang where Igor contributes to the temple’s fund for dogs

As with other temples in Thailand, we must make sure we are dressed appropriately (Lindsay brought her own wrap this time!) – in addition to scantily clad tourists, looks like the temples are also experiencing a nuisance of wedding photoshoots

The Lak Meuang or “City Pillar” – raised by the first king in the 1200’s. Igor had to take pictures for Lindsay as women aren’t allowed in the shrine

Chicks are permitted in the main assembly hall tho, so Lindsay sits her butt down and takes her sweet time admiring Phra Chao Attarot (the giant golden Buddha), and all the bling decorating the room

Colorful “good luck” ribbons and crystal chandeliers make the Chedi Luang temple very pretty!

Twin dragons guard the main assembly hall

The ancient Lanna-style chedi of Wat Chedi Luang – built in the 14^th century, the top of the ruins was destroyed in the 16^th century by an earthquake along with the elephant statues surrounding the base. Only one of the original elephants remains, recently joined by four replicas as part of a UNESCO restoration project

More restoration work – before and after on the naga (snake-monster) stairways at the base of the chedi

So several of the temples in Chiang Mai have wax statues of renowned monks sitting in the pray halls, which really freaked us out at first, as we thought they were real people. The calming sight of the fat Buddha (his belly is full of wisdom!) restores our nerves

Next door to Wat Chedi Luang, we visit the smaller Wat Phan Tao, where a beautiful Buddha sits inside a teak cathedral, with more good luck ribbons fluttering nearby

As we walk through town we spot a postal box – time to send our tropical Christmas cards!

Just by chance, we arrive in Chiang Mai on Sunday – the day of their famous Night Market! We head out into the street just as the sun begins to set

The market is packed with interesting souvenirs – some a bit odd (WHY would someone want plastic poo?!?), but most are beautiful! We watch a craftswoman hand-carve some decorative soap – it’s too pretty, I’d never want to use it!