our trip: thailand outings

I hope you're not getting tired of our trip yet!  We had two outings at the end of our trip - the elephant sanctuary and Wat Phra That Doi Suthep.  Let's start with my favorite animal - the elephant!

I would have loved to ride an elephant - until I learned about the conditions the "tourist" elephants are kept in, and the mistreatment that forcing elephants to carry humans for hours a day will cause.  If I really love elephants, I can't support tourist traps that allow riding. So instead, we went to an elephant sanctuary, which rescues those elephants!  

We spent a little over an hour riding in a truck to the tribal lands that make up the sanctuary.  In Thailand, anyone can buy an elephant - there are no requirements or restrictions.  So the sanctuary raises money to buy elephants from the groups that mistreat them.  The elephants then get to wander the land, being spoiled with sugar cane and bananas.  

There are 8 elephants at this sanctuary - this one is the baby at 2 years old.  It surprised me that the elephants are covered in hair, and their eyelashes are ridiculously long!  I had never touched an elephant before - their skin is thick and rough, and their trunks are so muscular.

When we arrived we got to feed bananas to the elephants.  They knew the treats were coming, and weren't shy about reaching those trunks out!

The elephants lined up at the fence, but the fence doesn't keep them in - there are no fences on either side of the pergola.  The elephants wander around, and after feeding them we rubbed mud all over them in the mud hole, then washed them off in the river!  We couldn't take cameras to the mud hole or river unless they were waterproof (ours wasn't), so I don't have any photos.

This girl, at 72 years old, is the oldest elephant on the grounds.  She was delighted by a guest's toddler daughter, and nothing fazed this old gentle soul.  I could have stayed with her all day.

On Monday, we went to Wat Phra That Doi Suthep, an iconic temple in the mountains.  When you arrive, you are greeted by 306 steps up the mountain.  Sure, they've got a cable car, but part of the experience is wearing yourself out on the climb up!

And when you reach the top, you are greeted by gold!  The temple itself was large, with many tourists roaming around.  I bought a "singing cup" (a bell) from a shop just to the left of that temple below, as the perfect souvenir.

Of course, you can leave the bells there, as most people do, since the bells represent Buddha's voice in Buddhist Thailand.  

The view from the mountaintop - hazy and smoggy, but still a beautiful sight.

Coming up next - our last stop, in Singapore!

our trip: thailand eats

We spent multiple meals at one particular restaurant in Chiang Mai - Som Tam Soi 5.  Set up in Nun's out building (maybe a garage in its previous life?), it housed 8 tables and a tiny kitchen.  Nun is the owner, chef, waiter, and makes incredible food.  I was nervous before traveling to Asia - would I like the food?  Would everything be spicy?  What if I couldn't figure out the menu?  Luckily, most menus we encountered had pictures, so I could point out what I wanted, and when asked if I wanted it spicy I could shake my head "no"!

The hubs got the same things every time we went here - papaya salad (som tam), minced pork with holy basil, and we shared mango sticky rice for dessert.  I alternated between wide rice noddles with sweet soy sauce and pad thai.  Our dinners were less than $7 - TOTAL.

On Friday afternoon, we went to explore the Warorot Market.  This market is more of a local market, located in Chinatown of Chiang Mai.  There is an indoor section (below), then most food stalls are outdoors lining the streets.  The market was packed because of the Chinese New Year, and the weather was really hot, so we walked through then headed back to the hotel!

Food options:

Little quail rotisserie

Outdoor sushi at 90 degrees is still a no-no in my book!

I saw this little pink Volkswagen bug on our way out and had to grab a picture of it.  Not until I downloaded my photos did I notice the couple next to the bug, with their wheeled luggage and umbrella!

We spent all day Saturday at May's Thai Secret cooking school.  They picked us up at the hotel and our first stop was a local market about 20 minutes away.  This is a true local's market, and May took us on a tour of the local ingredients we'd be using during our cooking session.  May, like most residents, go to the markets daily.

It was hard to get pictures during our class because May had us working fast!  

Our class was comprised of a Canadian couple (Dave and Robin), a couple from Hawaii who are both operating nurses (Danielle and I can't remember her husband's name), and Neil, who runs the comedy section of Australia's public television.  It was a fun bunch and we all had a good time cooking together.  

The hubs made the papaya salad, and I made the spring rolls!  I also made yellow curry, mango sticky rice, and pad thai.

On the hubs' bucket list was a visit to the Cowboy Hat Lady.  At the North Gate's food market, you can get a wide variety of local food, but the hubs only had eyes for this woman and her khao kha mu (stewed pork leg).  Her food stall has been featured on television shows and is the most popular one, so we arrived early!  The hubs had two bowls of the pork and rice, with pickled mustard greens and chili vinegar sauce, raw chilis, and raw garlic.  It was incredible, tasted like nothing else I've ever eaten, but my craving was next door - I ate my weight in steamed pork buns!

our trip: thailand temples

Our first full day in Chiang Mai began with some temple tours.  Temples ("wats") seem to be everywhere in Thailand, with each being beautiful and unique in its own way.  One thing I wanted to be cognizant of on the trip was to engage in things I couldn't do anywhere else - eat foods of that country in local restaurants, see attractions like the temples, and try to comprehend how everyday life is in each country.  The temples were at the top of my "to do" list!  T

First stop - Wat Phan On.  Built in 1501.  Seriously.  A few people were setting up a farmer's market outside of the temple, so we checked it out quickly.  The walls were lined with bells, and the welcome breeze blew the bells and flags.  This is the chedi, and the actual temple building (viharn) was behind us.  

 

 

On our way to the next temple, we saw this restaurant decorated for Chinese New Year.  Stunning!

Wat Phan Tao.  This simple temple was constructed of dark teak wood - much different from the lavish gold and white-painted temples we saw.  It was built at the end of the 14th century.

Next door is Wat Chedi Luang.  This is the first temple we had to pay to enter (I think it was about $1 per person) and consisted of multiple buildings within the temple complex.  Locals don't have to pay an entrance fee, as all of the temples we visited are still in use daily for worship.

That's just the gate!

                                     

I cracked up when I encountered the first temple - I wasn't allowed in!  Men only, as you can see below.  In unity, the hubs didn't go in either.

More signs warning that women weren't allowed, in case you missed the giant red sign out front!

This temple is the original in this complex.  You can't climb the steps or go in, but you can stand outside it and stare in awe, which is what we did.

We wandered into a different temple, and found the monks chanting and singing!  I noticed a monk standing in front of me (in the photo below, to the left, in maroon), so I became very apprehensive about taking photos.  There are so many rules when it comes to the temples, and rightly so, because they are places of worship.  You can't: show your knees or shoulders, wear shoes, point your feet towards Buddha while sitting, say or do anything disrespectful towards to monarchy (including stepping on money since the king's portrait is on the money), point at Buddhas or pictures of the monarchy, and more I'm sure.

We were getting templed out at this point, but wanted to see a couple more.  Next step - Wat Inthakhin Sadue Muang, translates to "temple of the navel of the city."  It was erected in 1296, when the city of Chiang Mai was founded.  This isn't the temple's original location - it was moved there much later.

Finally, as my feet were getting sore and the blister on my fourth toe was increasing in size, we decided to make one more stop - the Three Kings Monument.  The statutes are situated in a plaza, and when we walked by we saw people leaving oranges at the alter.

Next door to our hotel was the Wat Dokkham, so we figured we should go ahead and check it out.  From our balcony, we had seen the monks wandering the grounds, and visitors taking photos.

This little statute is the epitome of Thailand - smiling, friendly, inviting.  More adventures in foods, markets, elephants, and one more temple to come!

our trip: hong kong

We flew from Houston to LAX, to South Korea, and finally to Hong Kong.  Twenty-nine hours after taking off and completely disoriented from the 12 hour time difference, the hubs and I were pulling up to the hotel in Hong Kong wide awake at 1:30 am.  But we forced ourselves asleep, because the next day, our first full day of vacation, was being spent with an old friend - Disneyland!  When it Rome, right?  We hopped on the subway and rode out to the Disney-bound train.  Aren't those window and hand pulls fantastic?

And we've arrived!

Mickey and Minnie were dressed up in special costumes for the Chinese New Year - the year of the rooster!  

Hong Kong Disneyland consists only of Magic Kingdom, and it's much smaller than Disney World or Disneyland in America.  It was startling to see the castle with some mountains behind it!

This is "Mystic Manor," their version of Haunted Mansion.  The ride was different in that it centered on an enchanted jewelry box which animated all the objects in the house.  I think there must be something about ghosts and Buddhism that doesn't mix, but I don't know what it is.  They also had a version of Thunder Mountain Railroad with a different name.

 What a fun first day in Hong Kong!  For our second day, we wanted to see the city.  So we boarded bus #15 and rode up a windy road to Victoria Peak so we could see the entire city!

Outside one of the lookouts, I spotted bamboo where visitors had etched in their names.

We made our way back down the mountain, and decided to do a harbor tour on the Star Ferry.  The tour was informative, and I learned so much about the buildings that I wouldn't have otherwise.  It was jarring looking out and seeing this old fishing boats juxtaposed against the modern buildings!

The hubs noticed this - the scaffolding is made of bamboo!

On our last night, we went out for dinner at One Dim Sum (my first taste of real BBQ steamed buns, have mercy), and I spotted this mailbox.

We saw signs for a flower fair and went to check it out.  With the Chinese New Year celebration happening the day after we left, everyone was gearing up for some festivities!  

A carnival set up for the New Year's celebration

 The crowds were starting to arrive in waves as we made our way out of the city.  Every night I was exhausted by 7:00 pm, because my body thought it had been up all night when I'd been up all day.  So we never made it down to the harbor for the light show, but we did have a fantastic view from our hotel room.  Three great days exploring Hong Kong, then off to Thailand!