Luang Prabang, Laos

(Katherine)  We arrived in Luang Prabang, Laos on the 29th after a short 1-hour flight, which was a pricey but time saving alternative to the 2 day, 1 night slow boat that most people take to reach this French-influenced, Unesco-protected city.  And what a beautiful city it is!  Travelers here should know that you need a photo for visa upon entry, and $35 in USD - they don‘t accept any other currency.  As soon as we walked out of the airport we immediately felt a sense of calm - no one was hassling us to take our bags or give us a ride.  In fact, we had to walk up to the taxi stand and inquire about a ride, something which we haven’t had to do in months!  We finally found a gentleman who took us to our guest house for 50,000 kip, the going rate in Laos currency.  We checked into the Villa Laodeum and took off almost immediately to explore the town.

Luang Prabang is not very big, around 50,000 residents.  There are only a few main streets with restaurants and bars which cater to tourists, so we set off to find Kingkitsarat Street which is dubbed “Entertainment Village“.  We located a bar that Robert had read about online called Hive and coincidentally, they were set up for entertainment that night!  The owners daughter had put together a fashion show called Ethnik Fashion which featured models wearing traditional clothing representing 20 different ethnic groups from Laos and the surrounding area.  It was set up just like a show that you might see in LA including a series of several well-lit stages, beautiful 18-year old male and female models, and house music playing in the background. 

Just prior to the start of the show we met a couple from San Francisco, Darin and Song, and learned that Darin was a photographer who was hoping to create a Vogue-inspired fashion spread of the event as his final project for the Academy of Art.  It sounded like it would be a win-win for him and Hive, because this would provide exposure for these Asian ethnic groups while giving Darin a unique subject for his final project.  The show was amazing, so I can only imagine that his photo shoot will translate into stunning images.  We stayed until the end of the show, and then headed to Sisavangvong Street to settle on a restaurant called Coconut Garden for a late dinner.  It was nearly 10:00, and with the town’s 11:30 curfew we were lucky to get served!

We had allocated the following day for exploring the town and its many temples, which meant wearing appropriate clothing (skirt/pants covering the knee, shirt covering the shoulders).  We rented bikes and rode to a gorgeous and well maintained temple next to the Royal Palace Museum called Vor Prabang.  We then took off for Wat Xieng Thong at the tip of the peninsula formed by the Mekong and Nam Khan rivers.  We then rode to Wat Wisunalat (Visoun) on the east side of town, where we saw several young monks lounging around what I would assume to be their housing.  Each of these location were peaceful and rather vacant, a welcome change from the attractions in other cities. 

We timed everything out so we could start hiking up to the top of Phu Si (a huge hill in the center of town) at 4:30 to catch sunset.  The hill consists of about 400+ steps straight up, so it’s not for the faint of heart.  But the incredible statues, shrines and view at the top make it worth the trek.  We snapped several images, and were also amused by a group of Japanese tourists who became infatuated with a tall blond model-looking girl and asked her to pose with them in dozens of their own photos.  The sun seemed to be taking forever to set, so around 5:15 we started walking down….just as about 5 huge tour groups started trudging up the hill.  We rode off to a restaurant along the Mekong river to enjoy the last few minutes of sunset in a peaceful setting, away from the huge crowd that had now formed at the top of the hill.

The next morning we awoke early to start our first scheduled tour, a boat ride to the Pak Ou Caves.  This consisted of a 2-hour boat ride up the Mekong river, along with a stop at Ban Xang Hai, or “Whisky Village”.  True to their name, they offer up homemade whisky in a variety of glass bottles, many of which contain snakes, lizards and scorpions inside for dramatic effect.  We befriended the first whisky peddler we encountered and also sampled his rice wines before we decided up on a 375ml wicker covered bottle of whisky, sans dead creatures, as a remembrance of our experience.  This is the kind of liquor that will put hair on your chest - yow!

 We finally landed at the two caves which are tucked into a limestone cliff and jammed packed with a variety of Buddha images that have been abandoned by their owners.  The upper cave is perched at least 300 steps up the side of the cliff and has no electricity so a flashlight is recommended (you can also rent them).  I wouldn’t allocated too much time for this cave, as it is difficult to see the Buddhas and they are not very well displayed.   The lower cave is the main attraction, but it’s also the most crowded with tourists.  The Buddhas are visible with the available sunlight, but many are damaged and quite dirty.  It’s actually a pretty anti-climactic site, but it’s still interesting to see this graveyard of unwanted statues.  The ride back along the Mekong river was definitely one of the highlights of the adventure due to the lush hills and greenery which line each side of the river.

Back in town we jumped into a van to set off for our next destination, the Kuang Si waterfalls.  A public park surrounds the series of limestone waterfalls, which create an amazing display of beautiful light bluish-green pools of water.  The trail keeps taking you up level by level until you finally approach the main attraction - a huge waterfall off an enormous cliff which provides the momentum for the stream below.  Several people were jumping off a rope swing into the water, but we decided it was far too cold to be that daring.  I was more interested in trying to take photos of all the falls, each of which looks like a perfect computer screen saver.

Back at the hotel we showered up and ran out to grab a traditional Laos dinner before we headed to Hive for their Halloween party.  Knowing that Robert hates to dress up (plus being pretty lacking in costume accessories) I thought I put together a pretty low-key and creative idea - Professional Heineken Tasters.  We still had out wristbands from the brewery in Amsterdam, and I used our Velib metro passes from Paris to create lanyards with our new titles.  Hive had permission to stay open until 1am that night, and right around 11:00 dozens of young backpackers started rolling in wearing very elaborate makeshift costumes.  One guy had taken toilet paper and tuned himself into a mummy.  Another guy took a black garbage bag and made it into a caveman outfit.  Feeling a bit inadequate in our costumes, plus a bit old and tired, we elected to head to bed to rest up for tomorrow’s adventure rather than keep celebrating Halloween.

The next morning we met up with our tour guide for a mountain biking and kayaking excursion.  We were paired with a couple from Scotland, Graeme and Paula who had just gotten married last month and were on a 1-year honeymoon; the first long-term honeymooners we have met on our journey!  Our bike ride started off with a visit to a gorgeous golden temple on the outskirts of town, where the roof it so bright you can see it clearly from far across town.  We then set off for a 15km trek which was mainly uphill along dirt roads.  It was a painful reminder of how long it has been since I have taken a spin class at the gym!  We stopped at one of the rice fields where we snapped some photos, then Paula and I helped out the workers by taking turns beating the stalks of rice against a wooden board to extract the grains.  I will never look at a bowl of rice the same way again while in this region now that I appreciate how much work goes into it!

The second half of our journey was a 15km kayak adventure, although after the first kilometer we stopped at the Tad Se waterfalls for lunch and a dip in the water.  Similar to Kuang Si, the white limestone creates clear bluish-green pools of water which were perfect for taking a quick swim.  We got back in the river and started paddling…and paddling…  There was absolutely no current in the river, so they only way you could move forward was to propel yourself by paddling.  We spent 14km complaining about the lack of current, but karma and the river struck back on the last kilometer, which happened to be a pretty tethered rapid.  The Scottish couple flipped in front of us, and in a panic to avoid hitting them we lost control of our steering and flipped ourselves.  I’ve never actually been thrown out of a kayak before, and it’s a pretty scary experience - thank goodness for helmets and life preservers, along with waterproof bags.  Robert and I managed to survive with just a few scraped and bruises, but Graeme lost his new wedding band in the process.  Later that night after a much needed shower, we met back up with the Scots at an amazing waterfront bar and restaurant called Utopia where we discussed our near death experience over wine, shisha, and our new favorite beer, BeerLao.

The morning of the 2nd we grabbed breakfast and debated over whether to spend our last few kip on a souvenir or an activity, and we elected for massages over material items.  Robert got a 45 minute foot massage, while I opted for a Laos style massage.  In case you’ve never had one, this type of massage is extremely active, where your masseuse is constantly twisting, pulling, punching, slapping and cracking your body into alignment.  I was warned that it would be pretty rough, but I thought it was worth the overall mental and physical sense of balance that is supposed to be accomplished.  We tore ourselves away from our massages to dash off to the airport for another hour long flight out of Laos.  This is definitely a beautiful and relaxing community that should be included in any trip to Southeast Asia!

Chiang Mai Adventures

(Katherine) Our journey to Chiang Mai was filled with mishaps that challenged our patience and faith in our transportation decisions.  Our ferry out of Koh Phangan was 3 hours late, yet we almost didn’t get on the boat because we never knew our voucher wasn’t a real ticket. Our overnight train from Chumphun to Bangkok was another 3 hours late, and we had an unwelcome guest who liked to lounge near our seats (a cockroach).  We arrived in Bangkok on no sleep only to discover our train to Chiang Mai had been cancelled due to flooding.  Luckily, there was a bus leaving an hour later…though it was double the price of our original train ticket.  I think we were a bit too optimistic when booking all of these consecutive travel plans, but we did finally land safe and sound in Chiang Mai on the evening of the 26th.  We checked into The Rainforest Boutique Hotel and elected to enjoy some room service and an early bedtime rather than explore our new city.


 The next morning, Robert had booked us a class with the highest recommended Thai cooking school in Chiang Mai on Trip Advisor, Siam Rice Cooking School.  Our instructor, Pot, picked us up at the hotel and also picked up two other students, Christine from Vancouver and Nancy from San Jose (small world!)  Pot has a great laugh and a very dry sense of humor.  He took us to a market where he showed us all of the key ingredients for Thai cooking and got a real kick out of our collective ignorance for identifying each item.  He purchased all of the necessary supplies and took us back to his house/school.  We were then given menus where we were each able to select 6 dishes which we would be taught how to prepare.  Robert and I each chose different options so we would have the knowledge of 12 dishes between us. 

 The classes consisted in a fair amount of instruction, a lot of laughing, and a huge amount of eating.  We learned how to use a mortar and pestle to make curries, and how to make a huge flame in our frying pan for dramatic effect.  Our dishes consisted of appetizers, soups, entrees and desserts, and Robert made a beer run so we could all properly enjoy eating our meals in between the cooking lessons.  We’re hoping that our newfound cooking skills might help make us more appealing houseguests for when we return to the states and are homeless!

After the lesson, we got dropped off in the old section of town located within a large stone wall.  This is where a majority of the temples are located, and they are plentiful and varied in size.  We stopped by one just in time to witness the monks beginning their evening prayer and chanting.  We went by another that was enormous, and looked a bit like a preview for what we might see in Anchor Wat.  We also decided to stop for dinner in this part of town, and after the abundance of Thai food earlier that day, pizza was a welcome change of pace.

 The next morning we had an early pick up to take us out of town to an Elephant Camp where you volunteer (pay money) to feed, ride and bathe rescued elephants. They spent a great deal of time giving us a history of the camp itself and where they find most of their elephants - performance shows and street begging.  Their goal is to keep elephant families together and to keep them happy and well cared for.  Once we all changed into lovely denim uniforms, we went out to start bonding with the elephants by feeding them bananas and sugar cane.  The trainers had a baby elephant give me a big kiss on my cheek, which was both adorable and disgusting at the same time due to some serious banana breath.  We then had a lesson on how to mount an elephant bareback, and then learned how to ride the elephants by barking four commands:  pai (forward), how (stop), quay (turn), and no-long (sit down).  We were ready to go!

 Robert and I were assigned Mae Dom, the largest elephant in our group.  She was a 7 year old rescue from an elephant show, and apparently had an insatiable appetite for anything green and leafy.  Robert rode in front and I was at the back, so he had to deal with barking out constant commands to get her to stop munching on all of the shrubbery along the trail.  It actually got to be pretty hilarious, the number of stops she wanted to make.  Once we got to the top of the hill they let her graze for quite a while, and we chuckled as we watched another elephant use a tree as a back and bum scratcher for about 15 minutes. 

 We got back on Mae Dom and I took the driver’s seat while Robert uncomfortably fidgeted in the back.  I personally felt very connected to Mae Dom and that she took orders very well, and that this amazing animal and I understood one another.  Robert, on the other hand, was starting to lose his patience with his elephant experience.  Things only went downhill for him when we moved to the last part of the camp….the elephant bathing.  We were instructed to remove our shoes and get into a muddy pond with these huge creatures and give them a bath to say “thank you” for the ride.  Let’s just say that the elephants become very comfortable when they are in the water, and really let loose, so to speak.  They have people with pails trying to collect the “floaters” but all the while your feet are sinking many inches down into a combination of mud and elephant poop under the murky water.  You really have to try and mentally cut off the sensation under your toes and focus on the task at hand, washing your elephant, in order to not get completely grossed out.  Robert lasted about 5 minutes before he literally threw in the towel - although in his defense he had picked up the same eye infection I had earlier and needed to keep his eye clean (thank goodness we still had medicine!)  I stayed with Mae Dom and even climbed up on her back to scrub her head until it was finally time to ride her out of the pond.  The shower that ensued moments later would probably have to rank with the top 5 showers I have ever taken in my life…or at least the 5 most necessary!

After a hard day of work at elephant camp, we decided that we deserved a nice dinner out and ventured down to the river to find a restaurant called Riverside Pub and Restaurant.  This place has been around forever and offers a huge menu and live music in the bar area.  I would definitely recommend sitting outside where we were lucky enough to enjoy the annual lights festival.  Balloons which carry small baskets of lit candles are launched into the air creating a stream of flickering lights floating up into the sky.  We were very fortunate to be in town this particular week and witness the event.

The morning of the 29th we packed up our bags and  caught a van to our final Chiang Mai activity, Flight of the Gibbons.  This sis a series of zip lines that were set up in the rainforest by a group of New Zealand adventure enthusiasts.  We met a lovely couple from Australia in our group named Andrew and Joanne who became our zip line partners.  Our guides were pretty funny and gave us a quick tutorial on how everything works.  Basically, let them do all of the work (clipping and unclipping on the lines) and you just have to have the nerve to jump off the platform.  You definitely have to fight your natural inclination to NOT leap into thin air, but once you get the hang of it the zip lines are really fun!  We completed at least 16 platforms in total, including double lines where we rode together, vertical drops, and a “superman” line where you’re connected on your back instead of your front.  I could definitely see this as an addictive extreme sport.


It had rained for most of the morning, which seemed like it would make the experience more scary, but if anything it just made our surroundings seem more lush.  After the zip lines, we were dropped off at a waterfall where Robert and Joanne lost interest in the muddy trail, but Andrew and I were determined to trudge all the way to the top.  After a couple hundred vertical steps we got as far as we could go and took victory photos of our summit….just as the rain began to fall again.  We were then whisked off for a delicious lunch back at base camp, and were lucky enough to then negotiate a ride to the airport for our flight to Laos.  After our overly adventurous trek to Chiang Mai, we decided that our departure out of the town was best done via an airplane!

Koh Phangan Island

After a long overnight train from Bangkok to Chumphon, a morning bus ride with a transfer to a high speed catamaran on Lomprayah, our 14 hour trek finally brought us on the lovely island of Koh Phangan on Tuesday morning, October 19th. After two weeks in the hectic city of Bangkok and 8 days of hospital visits, the warm island breezes immediately rejuvenated our tired bodies and provided a much needed sense of tranquility. We checked into a beautiful resort called The Grand Sea Resort just north of Thong Sala where we were able to negotiate an upgrade to an adorable Thai style bungalow by the pool for 1000 baht (about $33). It is considered “low season” here because it is supposed to be monsoon season, but we have completely lucked out with beautiful weather every day and more flexibility for negotiation.

Our first day we just enjoyed the pool and a dip in the ocean, which was 10 steps away and incredibly calm and warm. The water is so low that you can almost walk the entire way to a set of small islands nearby. Later that night we walked into town to find a lovely Japanese restaurant where we enjoyed sushi for the first time in ages. On the walk home we began to notice how sleepy our side of the island appeared to be and a severe lack of nightlife. But as we neared our resort, we heard some very chill house music coming from the beach and followed the tunes to a wonderful beachfront bar/restaurant full of bean bags and hammocks called Ann’s. We ended up adopting this place as our regular spot for the rest of the trip. We also met a wonderful gentleman named Dan that evening who is in the process of becoming a Parisian ex-pat, and he gave some great advice about the island.

The next day we decided that we needed transportation to truly explore the island, so we rented the resort Jeep and drove around the coast, learning of another delightful café just up the hill called A’s Beach Resort which had an amazing ocean view. We continued straight north to Chalokum Bay and then south towards Paradise Waterfall. It was a pretty treacherous climb up to the top due to the heat and a pretty disappointing “waterfall“, but there was a cool pool of water waiting for us at the top for a refreshing dip. Just after we left the waterfall, we had to make a stop to meet Bee, a 35 year-old elephant we had noticed hanging out by the side of the road with his owners. Bee’s main purpose is to serve as a trekking elephant providing rides for tourists, but you can also just feed him bananas and take photos for 40 baht. We couldn’t resist the opportunity to feed him, so we took turns while we each snapped photos. It’s a little daunting having an elephant direct his trunk straight at you, but once you understand that he is just trying to wrap the trip of his trunk around the fruit it makes feeding much easier. He was so sweet and very gentle - what amazing an animal!

On the way home we stopped at a venue called Amsterdam Bar which is perched at the top of a cliff and is riddled with backpackers and ridiculous views. We just missed sunset, so we promised ourselves we would return another day. After a shower and a change at the resort, we decided to do some recon by visiting the southeast corner of Haad Rin to prepare ourselves for the upcoming Full Moon Party - a monthly debaucherous night of drunken 20-something year olds dancing to DJ music on the beach. I wanted to make sure I understood the layout, and also knew how to make a quick escape in case the kids and drunkenness became a bit overbearing. We had a chance to explore the town and figure out the taxi stands and main entry way into the beach front bars. We also enjoyed a fairly quiet dinner and a movie being showcased on a huge LCD screen….an actual date night!

Thursday became a leisurely day of dining and sun exposure. We had a great lunch at A’s Beach Resort where the manager, Sophie, let us check out their Glass Cottage, a large luxury bungalow that is completely enclosed in glass and overlooking the ocean. It is a true honeymooner’s retreat that I would definitely recommend to anyone on a romantic getaway! The rest of the afternoon was spent enjoying our pool and watching a long and incredible sunset. I think the sky took on an entirely new look every five minutes, as is evident from the 40 photos I captured. For dinner, we went into town to enjoy a scrumptious meal at A’s Café, the sister restaurant to the beach Café and met Sophie’s husband, Mike. We are hoping the encourage them to list their Glass Cottage on Airbnb!

Friday morning we took a taxi over to Haad Rin again to pick up a boat tour which departs from the Haad Rin pier every day at 12:09 called Munchies. The boat took us all the way around the island making several stops along the way including an unimpressive waterfall (Thaan Prapad), a delicious lunch in Nai Pan Yai, and great snorkeling in Koh Ma. Our captain, Chris, was super cool and even served us rum and Coke drinks at the end of the tour. I highly recommend their tour - no need to book in advance, just show up! It’s a great deal for 700 baht (lunch included).

We raced back to our resort to shower and also meet up with our Airbnb friends, Lisa whom we’ve known since Paris, and Daniel and Justin whom we just met in Bangkok. We introduced them to Ann’s bar where we enjoyed some cocktails and catching up. The next day we rented the Jeep again and took them for a tour around the island, where our first destination was a secluded beach on Chaloklum Bay. We then took an adventure trek through the jungle to Haad Thong Nai Pan Yai (TNP Beach) where we enjoyed lunch at the same place we dined during our Munchies tour. We then raced back to the resort to shower, have a small pre-party at our bungalow, and then dinner at Ann’s to prep for our big night out.

We caught a taxi across the island to Haad Rin around 11:30pm to make our way to the Full Moon Party. It’s hard to explain the experience, but it’s basically beachfront bars which pump out a variety of different music and try to entice young partygoers to dance on their section of the beach and purchase their “buckets” (booze and mixer served in a kid’s beach pail that you consume through a straw). Many of the clubs also have black lights lining their pr9operty, so it is extremely popular to have your face, arm, or possibly your entire body painted so you glow in the light. I have to admit, I was particularly impressed with a group that painted their entire bodies in blue and went as Navi from the movie Avatar. The evening was actually quite entertaining, and once we found a sound system with some fun music the five of us danced for quite a while on the beach. However, as the night wore on and tiredness set in I was very grateful to know where to quickly pick up a taxi to take us back home.

The next morning we all headed straight to Ann’s for some breakfast and learned about their Sunday night BBQ later that night which meant our dinner plans were set! After some much needed pool time, we headed up the hill for a proper sunset at Amsterdam Bar and took some great scenic shots. We headed back down the hill just as the BBQ was in full swing. We were served a huge whole red snapper, three shrimp, baked potato and salad. I think we all literally licked the bones clean because the meal was so delicious! One of the local cats also tried to infiltrate my meal several times and pretty much sat on my lap the entire time I was eating waiting for scraps. Our friend Dan also showed up later that evening and pulled up a chair to chat with our group, and we also hung our with our favorite waiter, Karl. It’s amazing how just within a few days time you can establish your own “Cheers” type of venue where you get to know the regulars.

The next day we had one final breakfast at Ann’s with the Airbnb folks and finally had to say goodbye to them and the crew at Ann’s. While we were sad to leave Koh Phangan (and start a treacherous 2 day journey to Chiang Mai) at least we knew we were returning to this island next month, and we are certain to meet up with our Airbnb friends again - perhaps next month!

The Grand Temple and Reclining Buddha

(Katherine) With no doctor’s appointments scheduled, today would mark our first real day of cultural activities - hurray! We began with Bangkok’s top tourist attraction, The Grand Palace, with a 350 baht entrance. This complex was established in 1782 and was built to contain a royal residence, government offices, and the renowned Temple of the Emerald Buddha. It also features the Phra Siratana Chedi, which is a huge dome completely covered in gold mosaic tiles.

The entire grounds are covered in multi-colored tiles which line the rooftops, pagodas, and huge Buddha statues. It was a particularly overcast day so we didn’t really get to see the tiles sparkling in all of their grandeur, but whenever the sun did peek out from behind the clouds it was certainly a site to behold! We took our time to walk along the interior walls of the palace to relish in the mural of gold leaf paintings; each panel depicted a different story, but they were difficult to fully decipher. We also got to see a model of Angor Wat, a temple we plan to visit later in our journey. We finally made our way to the temple, a mammoth structure that is completely covered in shiny colored tiles. We removed our shoes and walked inside to be met with a beaming tower of gold. Seated at the very top of a golden throne was the Emerald Buddha, which is made from a single block of green jade. He is surrounded by gold candle holders and statues, along with fresh flowers brought by devote Buddhists.

We quietly slipped into the room and took a seat behind a couple of monks while trying to make our blond heads blend into the sea of dark hair as best as possible. We assumed the proper seated position (feet pointed away from the monks) and I began to focus on clearing my mind in an attempt to meditate. Not one minute into the process, the entire temple was interrupted by a young Thai girl’s cell phone which was playing a ring tone of Celine Dion’s My Heart Will Go On, the theme song from the movie Titanic. I was rather tickled by the irony of how consciences I had been to dress properly, sit properly and not offend any of the locals….and yet this gal’s phone provided about a 10 second concert for the whole temple. Robert and I were both giggling for a few minutes, and it then became quite difficult to clear my mind - I now had Celine Dion stuck in there.

After exiting the temple, we had an extremely difficult time navigating our way around the rest of the property. We finally made our way around to some other buildings, but the extreme heat prompted us to pass them by and sit at a café and cool down with a cold beer. Bangkok visitors, allow yourselves at least 2 hours to visit this site, and know that your ticket includes the Mansion Museum (although we couldn’t find it) and the Teak Palace located much farther north up the river - we hope to visit tomorrow.

We negotiated with a tuk-tuk to take us about 4 blocks south to our next destination, Wat Pho, or the Reclining Buddha. This temple is one of the largest and oldest in Bangkok and holds more than a thousand Buddha images including The Reclining Buddha which measured 46 meters long and 15 meters high. His entire body is plated with gold and he has mother of pearl on his eyes and on the soles of his feet which display 108 individual designs. This Buddha is massive! It takes quite a while just to walk around his entire body….and even longer to fight your way for a decent photograph. The back side of the Buddha is lined with buckets, and you can trade in a $20 baht bill for coins which you can drop in sequence for good luck. We exited the temple and made our way through the grounds which are littered with mosaic tiles pagodas. There is also a building for learning meditation techniques….something that would have come in handy during our recent cell phone interruption!

Vimanmek (Teak Palace)

This morning marked my final trip to the hospital where I was given a clean bill of health for my eye infection - thank goodness! Just a few more days of no contacts and prescription eye drops and I should be fine; plus my vision appears to be normal again. We celebrated by treating ourselves to a leisurely lunch at our favorite restaurant “shack” and then hopped in a cab to attempt a bit of sight seeing before the rain started up again.

We arrived at Vimanmek, The Teak Palace thinking that it would be open until 4:00. Bangkok travelers, be aware that you must arrive before 3:15 because all visitors are sent on a very structured guided tour of the building; you do not just wander around as we had assumed. We learned the reason why when we were on our tour - the building is still in use by the Royal Family. This palace was constructed in 1901 to be a royal residence constructed entirely of golden teakwood. It was closed for many years but renovated in 1982 and opened to the public as a museum. But apparently, the family will still drop by and play the piano in the sitting room or entertain guests in the receiving room. I also noted that each of the guides bowed down to the images of past royal Thai figures as they spoke about them which was a lovely sign of respect. We finished the tour just before closing time, and just before the rain began to fall.

Later that night, we went to dinner at a place called ‘OHungry where we finally had a proper restaurant meal. However, at the end of the meal, I was forced out of my seat by a dangling spider that was waiting for me to evacuate the premise. As soon as I got up, it magically shot strands onto my chair and on the beam above, and it quickly began spinning a web. I felt like we were watching Charlotte herself, except I decided that I should be the one to write the message….to the next set of patrons. I had just written a note on a napkin with a “spider warning” when two little girls came by trying to sell roses. The oldest one dropped her sales pitch as soon as she saw my pen and immediately picked it up and started doodling on my napkin. Then she launched into a full scale portrait session and drew caricature of each of us, all while mimicking the way sidewalk artists analyze their subjects. She continued her imitation by completing her drawing and then pretended to demand money for her work. We were so tickled by her brazen and opportunistic tactics that we started fishing for coins but she walked off before we could find any. This little girl is destined to be a great salesperson!

Flower Market

(Katherine) We started our day with a delicious lunch at one of our new favorite street side vendors. I swear, the food they serve at these temporary kitchens are better than any food we’ve eaten in nearby restaurants! After lunch, we found the nearest water taxi stop. These are long motor boats that can fit at least 100 people and move up and down the river very quickly. You also have to hop on and off very quickly or you will miss your stop - they only pause for about 20 seconds!

We got off at the stop for the flower market which is a series of streets with hundreds of flower vendors where they specialize in crafting beautiful arrangements and have a vast wholesale business. We walked the wet and crowded aisles for about an hour, and I marveled at not only their exquisite designs, but their incredibly cheap prices. It’s almost upsetting to think of how much we spent on flowers at our wedding after seeing these prices - we paid at least 10x as much as they were charging! Maybe we should have gotten married in Bangkok….

We hopped back on the water taxi to take it to the end of the line, the Central Pier. We got off and decided to wander around what I would consider to be a 6-star resort, the Shangri-La. I snapped several pictures and we planned to have a drink and watch the sunset, but the prices prompted us to keep moving along. Instead, we paused to enjoy a can of beer back at Central Pier and enjoy a band that was performing outside. Upon further investigation, we noticed that every member of the band was blind. It was actually a very uplifting experience because these guys were really jamming! They also had a couple of blind children sitting with tip boxes and I was happy to see that many people dropped in their extra coins, as did we.

Back in our neighborhood, we tested out a recommendation from WikiTravel that said Tom Yum Kung was the best restaurant in our area. We now think it should be renamed Tom YUCK Kung for their horrible food and service. We tried to put the meal behind us and go to one of the crazy roadside bars called KinCocktails where you sit on plastic stools and are served drinks in buckets for $300 baht (only about $10 USD, but expensive by Khoasan Road standards.) We were just settling in with our bucket when an Brit next to us got up quickly and ran off while knocking over the whole thing, mainly on my shoes. The couple he was with apologized profusely, and they all pitched in to purchase us another bucket. The incident lead to us chatting with the 3-some all night and swapping stories about traveling. The English couple had just been in Vietnam so they had loads of advise to share. Robert befriended our onetime enemy, and later on met a young Thai man who was moving to San Jose, CA as part of his college program. It never ceases to amaze me how small the world really is!

Monsoon Season

(Katherine) The day began with our 5th visit to the Bangkok Christian Hospital, but this time I saw a cornea specialist. Luckily, she indicated that the infection appeared to disappearing, but my vision was a bit worse than the day before . She assured that I should wait until the infection is gone before I become alarmed, but I’m preparing for the fact that I might need to start ordering a slightly stronger prescription for my left eye. I’ll cross my finger that my vision improves this week!

We enjoyed another lunch at the nearby Derby King and then headed to the Vietnamese Embassy to submit our paperwork for our visas. Our plan is to leave Bangkok and start traveling this weekend, so we literally just submitted everything in time to receive our visa before we leave for Southern Thailand. We fought our way through the traffic back to the hotel to enjoy a lovely evening at our poolside rooftop. The sunset was beautiful against a cloudy sky. Little did we know what we had in store…

We ventured out for an early dinner to our favorite roadside shack and noticed a few raindrops. We didn’t fret, because we haven’t seen a real downpour since we arrived. Just as we finished our meal (under a plastic tarp, mind you) we noticed that the rain was starting to come down - hard. We thought we could make it to our favorite bar before the rain truly struck, but we were not so fortunate. We were completely soaked after just one block and looked like we just stepped out of the shower. Ironically, we then ran the rest of the way home to get into the shower and wash off the “not-so-clean” Bangkok rain. I guess this is what they mean by “monsoon season”!

Jim Thompson House

(Katherine) We started the day with our 4th trip to the hospital to check on my infected eye. Another new doctor, but this one was very nice and was happy to report that the size of my abrasion had reduced - hurray! He set up yet another appointment for tomorrow with a cornea specialist (sigh) but at least I’m making positive progress. Another positive note from this trip downtown came in the form of a wonderful new restaurant discovery just around the corner. It was called Derby King, and the only patrons were locals (a.k.a. we were the only white people there). The food was delicious and prices were the cheapest we have seen in a real sit-down restaurant. We stuffed ourselves silly for less than $8.

Our next mission was have a “cultural experience”, and unfortunately our map provided some misleading information which lead to a 45 minute walk in blazing sun and humidity - yuck. After making several wrong turns, we finally made our way to the Jim Thompson House. Jim was an American who fell in love with Bangkok during the war and decided to live here permanently and revive the art of hand weaving silk. His prints became famous after they were featured in the movie “The King and I” and also featured in Vogue Magazine. To create his famous home, he took 6 individual teak buildings and assembled them in into one large house in which he both resided and offered tours which benefited Thai charities. In 1967, Jim went for a walk in the woods in Malaysia and was never seen or heard from again.

It’s a sad story, but what he left behind is truly magnificent - a gorgeous red structure filled with rare Buddha statues, exclusive porcelain dishes, handcrafted furniture, and tapestries which are several centuries old. We also learned that when you evaluate a tapestry, you should not only be trying to depict the story it tells; you should also look for the one small unfinished detail. Buddhist believe that you should never truly complete a work of art, because the act of completion is symbolic to the end of life. Therefore, they would always leave an unfinished face, eye, or perhaps a missing finger.

Once we left the house, we decided to indulge in a traditional Thai mode of transportation, a tuk-tuk. These are basically scooters which pull a wagon with seats, and the entire structure is covered by a roof. You see them all over town and they really try to prey on tourists and charge ridiculous prices. However, since we now know the proper taxi rates we were able to negotiate a fair deal before we got in the vehicle. I have to admit, they are quite delightful! They zip through traffic with their horns blazing, so it’s definitely not a means of transportation for the faint of heart. We found it quite exhilarating and will probably be taking a couple more during our stay.

Once back in our neighborhood we enjoyed a dip in our rooftop pool, and then ventured out for some dinner. We attempted a new roadside “shack” but the food just didn’t compare to our favorite place, so we returned to our place for a second meal. It was then time for a little pampering - I finally got a much needed pedicure for about $7, and Robert indulged in a foot massage. We ended the evening at one of our favorite bars, Sawasdee House, where we enjoyed some great Deep House music in the background. Robert also gave into something that has been tempting him since we arrived. Little old ladies walk around with wooden frogs which sound like they are “ribbeting” when you run a wooden mallet down their back. Robert has been obsessed with them since he first heard one, so when he was approached by a particularly adorable lady he had to give in and purchase one. I am proud to say that his negotiating skills earned him a very fair price for his beloved frog!

Dinner with Airbnb Bangkok

(Katherine) We once again ventured to the hospital this morning where a very nice doctor gave me bad news - my eye infection had gotten worse. He recommended that I spend the night in the hospital, but I swore that we would administer my eye drops as diligently as a nurse and he conceded - whew! We returned to the hotel and decided to check out our rooftop pool for the first time. I can’t believe we didn’t head up there sooner because it is lovely! It’s a nice sized pool with a 360 view of the western edge of Bangkok; we will definitely be spending more time up here.

Tonight we also had our first real set of social plans; we had two new people from Airbnb to meet for drinks and dinner. Daniel (Venetia’s brother) and Justin were heading up the Chicago customer service branch (a.k.a. their apartment) until they recently were assigned to focus on building up the SE Asia market. Right now they are traveling from one Airbnb apartment to the next and try to sign up new clients along their journey…what I would have considered to be a dream job back in my 20’s! They met us at Hippie de Bar on Khoasan Road and brought along Julia, a Bangkok host. After a few drinks, she lead the way to a Lebanese restaurant called Namaste where we indulged in traditional dishes. Afterward, we introduced Daniel to Robert’s favorite dessert on the street - Mango with Sticky Rice. It was wonderful to meet more members of the Airbnb family, and we’re looking forward to hanging out with these guys again in Bangkok!

Movie Medicine

(Katherine)  The past couple of days were focused on movie watching while Robert and I tried to nurse ourselves back to health. Friday morning we both woke up with different ailments. He was recovering from one too many cocktail “buckets” the night before, and I was afflicted with a massive irritation in my left eye caused by a scratch from my contact on Monday. I finally conceded to going to a doctor, and we ended up making our way to Bangkok Mission Hospital. They didn’t spend that much time with me, but they were very nice and at least gave me some drops to start treatment. We spent the ret of the night trying to download independent movies on Robert’s laptop so we wouldn’t go crazy watching the same BBC news loop while we stayed in all night - the only English speaking channel on our TV.


The next day we went to a much larger facility to have someone look at my eye, the Bangkok Christian Hospital. There was an actual optometry clinic, which made me feel much more comfortable about the level of care I was receiving. They prescribed two new eye drops and insisted we return the next day for a follow up.  I was very impressed by their professionalism, and the nurses wear very cute traditional uniforms in a lovely shade of lavender.

That evening, we decided to have a low-key Saturday night and visit one of Bangkok’s mega malls called the Siam Paragon Shopping Complex. We started in the food court where there are dozens of restaurants and cuisines to choose from. We decided upon a Thai restaurant, but marveled at how the random street side shack by our neighborhood still seemed to serve better food. Afterward, we went to the top floor of this 7 story structure to purchase tickets for the new M. Night Shyamalan movie, Devil. This Paragon movie theater is HUGE with at least 14 different screens. They even have one called the “Nokia Experience” where you can lay down completely horizontal with a blanket and a pillow… at a cost of about 4x the price of a normal ticket. No thanks, we enjoyed our regular silver screen and a very scary tale about an elevator ride…..from hell…..

Topkapi Palace and Istanbul's Rooftops

(Robert) After having checked-off a good number of must-see sites the previous day, we decided to take this day easy and focus solely on Topkapi Palace. This turned out to be a wise decision since the palace, due to its sheer grandeur, can easily absorb the better part of one's day. 

At the height of its power, the palace was once home to 4000 residents including, most importantly, the sultan. In comparison to Versailles, the Topkapi Palace and its grounds is in need of some renovation and left something to be desired. On the other hand, the collection, which includes David's sword (yes that's David, as in David & Goliath), John the Baptist's skull fragment and strains of Mohammad's beard left us awe-struck. The treasury, which houses an 86 caret diamond, the fifth largest in the world, easily gives the Tower of London a run for the money. There are multiple courtyards and patios that provide outstanding views of the Bosporus and outlining areas of greater Istanbul.

Later that night we ventured into the side streets of Beyoglu for a rooftop dinner at Krepen Deki Kadir'in Veri. While the food at the restaurant is average, it strikes a good balance between value and atmosphere. The combination of stunning skyline views and warm Mediterranean nights, has, not surprisingly, spawned an entire industry of rooftop restaurants and bars. After dinner we walked around the corner to Ritim Roof, a rooftop bar, as the name implies, with a sign out on the street advertising 3-TL beer. Sold! By the time we made it up to the top floor, the beer, all-of-a-sudden, became 5-TL. But with ritzier rooftops bars charging a jaw-dropping 13-TL (that's about $9 US) for a single bottle of beer, Katherine and I were not complaining in the least.

The bar was packed with local people enthusiastically dancing to a wide range of world music. Both of these rooftop venues are located in the Balik Pazar section of Beyoglu – less “bobo” than other parts of Beyoglu and therefore a far better value.

The Basilica Cistern, Aya Sofya and Blue Mosque

(Robert) This was our first full day in Istanbul and we set out to make the most of it. After spending close to an hour just to get a handle on the city’s metro system (nice, new, air-conditioned train cars, shocking lack of maps and signs), we landed in the ever-bustling Sultanahmet district, which is home to the majority of Istanbul’s great historical attractions. We made our first stop at the Basilica Cistern which is located just about kitty-corner from the Ayasofya Museum, which I will get to later.

Built in the 6th-century, the Basilica Cistern is a vast underground chamber that once served as a water source for the neighboring palace. Over time the water source became mostly forgotten by authorities, only to be rediscovered in the 16th-century by a scholar who had heard reports of city inhabitants lowering buckets through holes in their floors to retrieve drinking water and in some cases - live fish.  The cistern now serves as a popular tourist attraction, due not just to its architectural marvel but also in part to the cool relief it provides from the city's scorching sun. Over the remainder of our stay in Istanbul, the cistern remains our favorite attraction. Carefully placed lighting provides an ethereal visual effect, revealing scores of Ionic and Corinthian columns that provide structural support. Visitors walk on a platform elevated from shallow waters that are home to thousands of ghostly fish, that are almost as fascinating as the cistern itself.




Among the most popular attractions are two giant Medusa heads which sit at the base of their respective columns. One is situated upside down while the other is on its side. The other main attraction is an ornately-sculpted column with a conveniently-located hole into which many visitors trustingly insert their right thumb and twist clockwise in a full circle for good luck.  In no position to pass up on an opportunity for good luck, Katherine and I both participated in this time-honored tradition.

After exiting the cistern we made our way to the Ayasofia palace which now serves as a museum. After paying a hefty 20-TL admission price for each of our tickets, we felt a bit let down by the condition of the palace. There is no doubt that the palace is an architectural wonder. Built in the 6th-century to serve as the Church of the Devine Wisdom the structure is absolutely massive in scale. The walls are lined with intricate mosaics depicting Jesus, Virgin Mary as well a number of noble dignitaries.

As with the Basilica Cistern there is yet another column with a hole that attracts visitors. Named the Weeping Column, this hole is purported to heal any ailment should your finger become moist after retrieving it from the hole. Let’s try not to draw any parallels please. To my amazement, my thumb was moist from the hole! Time to toss out the heart-burn medication!

After spending a couple of hours in the palace we made our way to the Blue Mosque.  Having planned to visit the mosque that day, we intentionally donned mosque-appropriate attire, which mandates head, shoulder and leg covering for ladies and pants for men. Before entering the mosque through the “Visitors Entrance” or what is more likely referred to as the "heathens" entrance by the mosque's regulars, we were required to remove our shoes and place them in clear plastic bags, generously provided by the mosque. Visitors remain in the rear of the mosque and are respectfully asked to refrain from speaking while Muslim men partake in prayers up in the front. Even Muslim women are required to remain in the rear of mosque among the multitudes of visitors.

Katherine and I were immediately impressed with not just the grandeur of the mosque, which albeit is impressive, but with the ornate decoration inside. Immaculately maintained in comparison to the Ayasofia palace, it doesn’t taker a rocket-scientist to gather which site is receiving more financial support.  We ended our day walking back across the Galata to our neighborhood where we stumbled upon a rooftop cafe called Perla Kallavi Nargile Cafe where we were able to enjoy a bird's eye view of our neighborhood.  It was a great way to unwind and reflect upon all of the tremendous sites we had seen today.