Just one more sight to see

Arriving in Bangkok on Tuesday, we did a lot of nothing. We checked into a nice room for our last two nights in Thailand and made use of its roof top pool. We spent a very enjoyable evening with friends and made plans for Wednesday, our last full day.

We decided to visit Ayutthaya, since it is just 1.5 hours outside of Bangkok by train, making it a good day trip. Ayutthaya was the capital of the area from 1350-1767, containing beautiful temples and royal facilities. It is believed to have been a hugely international city of nearly 1 million inhabitants. Thanks to war (mainly a Burmese invasion that burnt the entire city to the ground) and time, these structures are now all ruins. Some are restored and others are still left as is. I had wanted to visit during my last trip to Thailand, but hadn't, so I was excited to get the opportunity this time. I love sights like this, with all the history and stories that the bricks must contain. I have a feeling that Jeff doesn't find them quite so interesting, but he humors me!

Although we arrived to the city later than planned, we had no trouble picking up a tuk tuk tour guide who would take us around to all of the better sights. We spent a few hours exploring the various wats and royal constructions before heading back to Bangkok on one of the evening trains. While we know that we certainly didn't see everything we could, we had a great time with what we did do. 

The start and end to our day

A Buddha that has been restored to modern standards and enclosed inside a Wat.

We witnessed some sort of blessing ceremony.

One of the most iconic images of Ayutthaya, a plaster Buddha head encased in the roots of a Bodhi tree.

Remnants of original plaster

A surviving Buddha statue. Few exist in such good condition.

The original brick base of these stuppas are now exposed. The crowning spire of the foreground stuppa has fallen.

This amazing Buddha was restored in the 50's

We noticed that all of the ruins housed many street dogs. These guys had climbed a wall, trying to beat the heat.

One of the more intact sites

I apologizing to those who would have liked to know the names of the Wats and ruins seen above, but we saw them in a rather short time span and I simply wasn't paying attention!

On a side note, I have to say that I just love train travel. I know it's probably due to the novelty of it all, since train travel is not nearly as established in the United States as in other countries, but it was just so much fun!

Leaving Chiang Mai

Even though I am now home as I type this, there are still a few sights and activites that I'd like to share with you. Our last week was wonderful and busy and lazy, all at the same time, so I just didn't manage to get to the blog.

Last Monday was our final day in Chiang Mai. There was only one place more that I wanted to see before we left, which was Wat Doi Suthep. This is a particularly important temple in Northern Thailand. The story behind it says that a white elephant, which is highly sacred, was discovered in Thailand and a relic of the Buddha, a bone, was placed in a shrine on the elephants' back. The elephant was then set free. As the story goes, the elephant eventually died on the top of a large hill outside of what is now Chiang Mai, so in the late 1300's the Buddha relic was installed in a memorial on that spot. In the early 1900's a monk gathered support to build a temple around the memorial, and we now have Doi Suthep.

One of the more notable features of the temple are the 305 stairs that bring you up to it. I loved the beautiful green scales of the two dragons that line the stairs.

Dragon heads

Stairs up to the temple

The sky that day was amazing, moving from slightly stormy to bright sun while we were there. This lead to some great photos. I had such a hard time picking just one or two to share with you, so I'm sharing a bunch!

Entry at the top of the stairs

The central stuppa, darkened by storm clouds

One of many shrines

Prayer bells lining the roof

Central stuppa after the sun came out fully

Incense and lotus flowers left as offerings

The incredible view of Chiang Mai

After Doi Suthep, we headed to the train station to catch the night train south to Bangkok. The night train is a very comfortable way to travel, since they have a full dinning car and you get a full bed to stretch out on. The landscape outside of Chiang Mai is beautiful, and we were lucky enough to see an amazing sunset before turning in for the night.

Train travel

Sunset over a rice paddy

 Stay tuned for more of our last week!

Piranhas and hippies

In my last post I mentioned that we left Chiang Mai for a few days to visit a small town called Pai. Pai is a very small town located in the foothills of the Himalayas that is generally known as a laid back hippie hang out. Growing out of a history of opium trade, current day Pai now has more of the earth loving, peace seeking vibe than anything else. It's surrounded by peaceful green valleys and amazing views.

Shot from the back of the motor bike

I had read that the drive up to Pai was incredible for the views it presented, but not to be undertaken by those with sensitive stomachs. Since neither Jeff nor I have any trouble with motion sickness, I truly didn't give it much thought. Yet, as we found ourselves bumping along in the far back seat of a mini van with terrible suspension and inadequate ventilation, being thrown from side to side as the van wove its way back and forth (and back and forth...) along the twisting 's' curves of the mountain road, we both found ourselves feeling more than a bit urpy. Thankfully, the trip only lasted a relatively short three hours.

Once in Pai and settled into a guest house (our room had a fun open air bathroom!) we set out to see what the town had to offer. We shortly came to the conclusion that sights and activities are short on hand in Pai, and that the town appears to be more of a place to do very little. We were, and still are, more than a little perplexed by the schedules, or lack thereof, that the store owners keep. As we wandered we passed innumerable stores that we closed or appeared open but completely unattended. As we searched for a place to eat, we were hard pressed to find one that clearly was open and serving food. Since we were looking for lunch around 3pm that first day, we thought that perhaps businesses were open during the more normal breakfast, lunch and dinner times. As we later observed, there really was no rhyme or reason that we could find for the opening or closing of business, so we assume it must simply be at the proprietors will.

Fun towelepant waiting for us on our hotel bed

Huge bug that was almost the length of Jeff's hand.

 The next thing we noticed about Pai was the abundance of comforts tailored toward the new age set. Meditation masters, reiki sessions, yoga classes for all skill levels, health shakes, raw food restaurants, artist retreats, mountain foothill communes, even a restaurant with a decidedly Wiccan slant (and awesome food) surrounded us on all sides. Bars invited patrons to join in for open mike jam sessions and cafes advertised the benefits of homemade herbal products. Men and women with flowing clothes and dreaded heads wandered the streets. Pai definitely knows who it caters too.

The next day, we rented a motor bike and went in search of one of the local waterfalls. After a few wrong turns, we managed to find it and spent an hour or so splashing around in the surprisingly warm (for mountain water) pools. I'd show you a picture, but where ever water is involved we use our waterproof camera to snap shots. As this is the camera with the missing cable, it keeps its secrets for now. But, picture a low, sprawling waterfall that spills over multiple levels, creating many shallow pools, and you'll just about have it.

Coincidentally, there happens to be a somewhat unusual attraction found near this waterfall: piranha fishing. A British man named Dave owns and operates a guest house built next to 3 man made ponds, with which he stocks many varieties of fish. Piranha happen to be one of them. You don't have to be a guest to stop in and fish, so we went over for lunch and two hours of fishing. While we didn't catch the big ones, we did have a lot of fun with the three little guys we did manage to hook. I caught a tiny tilapia, and Jeff caught two juvenile catfish. We were warned that the catfish were the only ones to watch out for, due to having spines laden with ouchy poison. Of course, Jeff managed to catch two. Thankfully we were well warned on how to handle them. By the way, everything was catch and release.

Cruising through a small village

Time to fish

Jeff's first catch. The second was roughly the same size.

My own tiny catch

Finally, to wrap up our day, we got caught in an absolutely torrential down pour as we walked back to our guest house. Within minutes we were soaked to the skin, so there was no point in taking shelter. I personally loved it, since the rain was warm and fun to play in, but Jeff wasn't so thrilled!

Two days was enough, so we made our way back to Chiang Mai the next day. Thankfully, this time the van had better seats, better air, and better suspension, making for a much more pleasant descent!

A little culture

Wow, I hadn't realized that it's been almost a week since my last post. It's probably due to the fact that we're not running around like crazy, and are mainly based in Chiang Mai. We did spend two days in a small mountain town called Pai, which I'll post more about shortly, but for the most part have been enjoying slow days and our comfy hotel room.

After our cooking course last Monday, we didn't do a whole lot on Tuesday. Looking for a little activity, we came across a brochure for dinner at the local cultural center and decided to give that a try. The evening included a traditional Khantoke dinner, often served at weddings and gatherings, and multiple demonstrations of traditional dances.

Our Khantoke dinner. We sat on the floor in traditional fashion.

The food was very good, and seemingly endless. As we ate, waiters were quick to come around and refill our dishes as much as we liked. I particularly enjoyed the Burmese pork curry, and we both ate way too much of the sweet crispy noodle dish!

After dinner, the show started with a bit of music that was followed by the dances. Each dance was fairly unique, with different style costumes and music, but all followed a definite style of dance that focused on hand movements above movement of the feet. We saw traditional dances from Burmese tribes, Northern Thailand and Laos hill tribes, modern incarnations, and even dances created just for special royal functions. Even some local hill tribe children were included in the show. (The lighting made getting good photos very difficult, but I think these give you some idea of what we saw.)

Fingernail dance

I got to join in! They brought lots of us up on stage to teach us a simple dance.

Teens from a local tribe performing a fantastic drum dance.

A rice harvest dance.

Seeing the beautiful traditional clothing and dance styles was very interesting. Although the day to day experiences in a foreign country are always engaging, it's also important to explore and attempt to understand the history of a new place as well. We both enjoyed the show and were happy to learn more about the Northern Thai people. Plus, as I mentioned above, dinner was yummy! If you ever get to visit Chiang Mai, we'd recommend spending a night at the cultural center (www.oldchiangmai.com).

Speecy Spicy, Hotsy Totsy

In the words of the Swedish Chef, "Bork bork bork!"

Jeff and I learned to cook a little today. Or tried to, at least.We took a Thai cooking class and between the two of us we made: yellow curry, green curry, tom yam soup, chicken in coconut soup, green papaya salad, chicken and cashew nuts, pad thai, spring rolls, banana in coconut milk, and mango with sticky rice. We couldn't even look at food by the end of the afternoon, we were so full!

The class was a whole day affair. Our instructor, Tommy, picked us up at our guest house first thing in the morning. Once we had picked up the rest of the class, he took us to a large local market and began explaining the integral ingredients of Thai food. Since I've shown you markets before, I hold off on the pictures of this one, with one exception.

Mmm, crunchy!

After the market, we headed outside of town to their private farm where they grow many of the fresh ingredients. We learned more about the fruits, vegetables, and spices that go into Thai foods, and then we got down to business. Mortar and pestle at hand, we learned how to pummel our own fresh curry paste. From there, we moved into the kitchen where we boiled, chopped, stir fried, deep fried, and munched the day away.

We had a great time. Tommy, our teacher, was very funny, constantly throwing in unexpected pop culture references all day. The food we made was fantastic, and surprisingly easy to make. I say that now, but I'm sure recreating it all at home might not be the same. At least now I have a better idea of what I should be doing the next time I try!

No powders here.

Jeff, stir frying cashew chicken

The first three dishes I created

The first three dishes Jeff made

By the way, should you ever find yourself here, we highly recommend Thai Farm Kitchen, www.thaifarmcooking.com. Rather than a class in town, they have their own organic farm in the countryside. The staff are great, and the food you make is fantastic.

Keeping cool

Jeff and I are now in Chiang Mai, Thailand. It's rather warm here. So warm, in fact, that even the locals seek shade where ever they can find it.

We found him curled up inside a shrine at a local temple.

Taking time to relax

Seeing that it is our honeymoon after all, Jeff and I decided that it was time to relax and take some time to ourselves. After 3 weeks of moving every 2-4 days, long bus trips, and constant activities, we needed a little down time.

We left Phnom Penh for the beach town of Sihanoukville. We arrived on a weekend when the local population also had holiday time, so it looked like it was going to be very busy for a few days. That, and the fact that we didn't really take to the atmosphere of the town, lead us to look elsewhere. Friends had recommended we head out to Bamboo Island and book a bungalow with a place called Koh Ru, so that is exactly what we did.

Koh Ru is pretty much the only thing on Bamboo Island. It sits on a beautiful, empty beach with no sun lounges, no vendors, no tuk tuk drivers. Heck, no roads. You rent a bare bones, wood plank box called a bungalow and then you do nothing. Blissful nothing. Bathrooms are shared and showers are cold. Koh Ru has one main gathering area that is also the restaurant and bar, so you don't even have to make the choice of where to eat each night. Papasan mattresses that have seen better days are thrown everywhere for your comfort. Your daily activity choices include taking a swim, reading in the hammock, eating, and drinking. You could throw some sunning on the beach or a game of chess in there too, if you wanted. No internet. It was wonderful to be so unoccupied and amongst other similarly minded souls.

Bamboo Island beach

Beach

Chilling

Our bungalow

Proof that I too am on this trip

We stayed on Koh Ru for three nights. Today, we decided the relaxing should continue, although on an entirely different scale. Koh Ru was what you could politely call rustic. If you have serious issues with sand, dirt, or bugs everywhere, then it wasn't for you. While we didn't mind, we did find ourselves facing a necessities day (when you literally have no clean clothes left) so we splurged on a treat and checked into a resort just off of the beach on the mainland. We now find ourselves in the nicest hotel we've ever stayed in, for just $30 a night. It's huge, with a super comfy bed, satellite flat screen tv, wifi in the rooms, granite and tile bathroom with rain style shower head shower and a separate bath tub. The bath tub is huge, and is my dream. It was the first tub that I've ever been able to lay out completely in. Plus, it's next to a window into the room so that I can luxuriate and watch tv at the same time. Oh, but for privacy, it has a remote controlled curtain! The hotel also has a gorgeous pool. It's a great place to wait for our clothes to get back from the wash, especially since we don't have anything to wear other than our swimsuits!

Hotel pool

Our room

Our bathroom

 Now the only thing left to do is to figure out where we're going from here. Find out next time!