One of the things I really value about traveling, is that we have to learn to put our “Americanness” aside. We realize that, while sometimes it does seem so, the whole world does not speak English. The concept of “keeping up with the Joneses” is entirely different in other countries. Safety regulations are wildly different. … Continue reading
Asiatique was one of the places our hosts said was a “must see” while in Bangkok. Since I had seen it listed, repeatedly, on tourism websites and travel books, I was hardly going to argue. But I did have to ask, “What exactly is Asiatique?” Because while site after site listed it as something you … Continue reading
My husband, who has gone from Mr. Meat and Potatoes when we met and got married, to Mr. Texting Me Pictures of Silkworm Larvae and Octopus Balls (I’m not being crude there, that’s what it’s called on the menu.) when he is eating out for business travel, order this over our hosts frantic objections and warnings. Continue reading
Growing up in the United States, we don’t grow up with old. When a building is 200 years old, we’re all “Ooooohhhhh, can you imagine? This was built before great-grandma was born!” The oldest structures we have to oooohh and aaaahhh over are things like the Richard Sparrow House, built in 1640 and the Wyckhoff … Continue reading
At some point when you are planning your trip to Thailand (especially Bangkok), you are going to read in a guide book, or someone is going to helpfully insist, that you must go to a Thai mall while you are there. And you are going to think, a mall? Why would I take my precious … Continue reading
It seems many of our memories of Thailand revolve around food. (Come to think of it, a lot of our memories of a lot of our travel revolve around food. Note to self, examine our family’s relationship with food…) Anyway! On this particular day, we took a walk down an easy-to-miss back street, near the … Continue reading
Ah yes, the Tuk Tuk ride. The day we had a reasonable concern part of our party had been whisked off to parts unknown, never to be seen again. That was an exciting time. I’m telling you, we made memories on this trip! We had had our yummy lunch at <<Shoshanna Restaurant>>. We had politely … Continue reading
As we left Wat Pho, our friend had an idea for what he assured us would be a great, inexpensive lunch: Shoshana Restaurant. He was also confident this was easily walkable. Ok, the first part was quite true – yummy lunch. No arguments there. The second part… well, let’s say that it can be walked, from … Continue reading
It’s hard to imagine the humble origins of Khao San Road as layered sign after neon-colored sign beckons to you, offering everything from sustenance, to chachkies, to items of questionable legality. Those origins of the road are only alluded to in the name, which means ‘milled rice.’ The first hotel was a small one, serving … Continue reading
The Reclining Buddha behind us, and one of the oldest temple complexes in Thailand is laid out around us. The colors, the details, and the architecture are not at all western at all, which is, of course, exactly as it should be. But it’s also a little disorienting to me. I don’t know what the … Continue reading
Stepping over the threshold into Wat Pho, I was surprised – and then surprised at my surprise, if you can follow that – at the size of the famous Reclining Buddha. After all, in today’s day and age, we can easily view not only the professional, perfectly lit photos – but also a neverending supply … Continue reading
Today, we remember with fondness(ish) the experience that is the Water Taxi on Chao Phraya, in the heart of Bangkok. As the wise philosopher, or hubby Scott, put it: The Water Taxi on Chao Phraya is… an adventure for the senses. The people crowded around you, the rocking of the boat, the smell of water, … Continue reading
Our one non-medical outing while staying at the Mercure, was when the Moms decided we had to go into “town” in the daylight – instead of during an emergency run to the pharmacy. When we announced our plan, two girls decided they wanted to come along, as long as it involved a lot of shade. … Continue reading
As I said in my previous post about the Mercure, we had a very nice, restful few days on Koh Chang after our boat trip. The one hitch in the whole thing was that my girl, Katie, managed to get badly sunburned the last day on the boat. Her face was RED. It looked so … Continue reading
Although billboards in Thailand clearly showed people with my Galaxy S7 taking underwater pictures… I just don’t have the faith that the ‘water-resistant up to 5 feet for up to 30 minutes” means I can put it under water in the ocean and take pictures. Unfortunately, that means you don’t get any cool underwater shots … Continue reading
This day on Koh Kood was to rest, relax, and enjoy the beautiful tropical weather. And to have what turned out to be maybe the best meal we had out in a restaurant our whole trip. The meal we compared the other meals to… but we’ll get to that. We had anchored off the coast … Continue reading
After the excitement of our Klong Chao waterfall experience, we had some well-earned downtime. Most of our time on the sailboat was actually motor propelled, travelling from island to island. But on this evening, we took some time to purely sail, including some time with the 1980 Christopher Cross hit ‘Sailing’ wafting through the boats … Continue reading
Our first morning sailing the islands we took our dingy ashore for breakfast and a half-day trip. Breakfast was at the Captain Hook Resort, which had some Thai, other Asian, and also a couple of western options on their breakfast bar. Sort of. Be careful of the fish sauce dangerously close to the pancakes. Not … Continue reading
For three nights and four days, we sailed around islands in the Gulf of Thailand, near the border with Cambodia, while we anchored each night off the coast of -and visited – Koh Kood, Koh Mak, and Koh Chang. Being on a boat for 3 nights was totally new to my family. We weren’t quite sure … Continue reading
Our sailboat for the next 4 days was waiting for us closer to the southern end of Koh Chang. So to get there, we first took the ferry across to the island. Do you see that van at the back on the left? The one that looks like it is right on the edge of … Continue reading