We visited the famous dancing pancake man in Koh Tao for some banana nutella pancakes. Oh wow.
Thursday, May 31, 2012
The view from the top
We have little to report from our four days on the island of Koh Tao. That is, little that won't make you ridiculously jealous. The terrain in Koh Tao is pretty rough and the roads are so janky that the only way to get around is either by motocross bike or 4x4 truck. We would have opted for the self-sufficient moped option, except that the street rules are all a little fuzzy. (You can drive on the left or the right. Or on the sidewalk. Stop signs are optional. Motorcycles attached to food carts have the right-of-way when the grease is still hot.) That, and the fact that downtown Koh Tao ("Sairee") was a little too gap-year backpackery for us (we're not exactly stoked to drink volumes of booze out of sand pails), we stayed mostly to ourselves in the comfort of our private villa perched on a double black diamond incline. Can you blame us?
(The view of our pool from our villa at The Rocks.)
(Yes, we ARE a Pantene Pro-V commercial)
Tuesday we took a break from our busy schedule (of sunbathing and talking trash about characters from our beach reads) and hired a speed boat for a snorkel trip. The island is supposed to have some of the greatest reef-scoping around and our lovely British captain Charlee made sure we knew exactly what sorts of fish we were seeing. At one point though, the fish got a little too personal and started to "gently exfoliate" the dead skin from our bodies (i.e. EAT US ALIVE) so we calmly (OHMYGOSH IT IS BITING ME!) resolved to stay in the boat and reclaim our places at the top of the food chain.
These days we absolutely cannot go five days without a spa treatment, so we spent the better half of Wednesday in a horizontal position while Thai ladies applied oils, and muds, and masks to every surface of our bodies.
(Post-spa hydration)
Now we're in Koh Samui for the last night of the Thailand portion of the vacation and tomorrow Verna, Brenna, and I head to Vietnam while Vanessa returns to real life in San Francisco. She will be missed!
Tuesday we took a break from our busy schedule (of sunbathing and talking trash about characters from our beach reads) and hired a speed boat for a snorkel trip. The island is supposed to have some of the greatest reef-scoping around and our lovely British captain Charlee made sure we knew exactly what sorts of fish we were seeing. At one point though, the fish got a little too personal and started to "gently exfoliate" the dead skin from our bodies (i.e. EAT US ALIVE) so we calmly (OHMYGOSH IT IS BITING ME!) resolved to stay in the boat and reclaim our places at the top of the food chain.
Now we're in Koh Samui for the last night of the Thailand portion of the vacation and tomorrow Verna, Brenna, and I head to Vietnam while Vanessa returns to real life in San Francisco. She will be missed!
Shop, pamper, eat, repeat
Back in Chiang Mai (after the hellacious Thom Lod ordeal) we spent an evening at a popular Thai hangout where karaoke singers belted hits by artists such as R Kelley and the Spice Girls. This was also the first time we were served food at the Thai level of spicyness (rather than the toned down western variation) and though we felt hardcore at the time, the intense heartburn that followed was a reminder that we are "farang" (foreigners) after all.
Two flights (and two mysterious in-flight meals) later, we arrived on the island of Koh Samui just in time for the daily downpour. We ate by candlelight (electricity is about as regular as BMs in Thailand) and practiced our newfound bartering skills at a night market. Sunday morning we ferried to the tiny island of Koh Tao, again, just in time for a torrential downpour, and we'll be drying out on the beach for the next 4 days. Rough life.
(In the back of a "red car." Kind of a taxi, kind of a camper.)
We spent a full day shopping in boutiques, malls and markets, where we took turns bartering and learned that most things here are one size fits all, and that size is XS. The grueling heat required that we take an intermission for a "deluxe" mani-pedi that set us each back a mere $10. Steal! All that shopping really takes it out of you, so we hit up a spa the next morning before heading to the airport. Lucky for us, the massage ended with a bonus treatment: prom-worthy up-dos!
Two flights (and two mysterious in-flight meals) later, we arrived on the island of Koh Samui just in time for the daily downpour. We ate by candlelight (electricity is about as regular as BMs in Thailand) and practiced our newfound bartering skills at a night market. Sunday morning we ferried to the tiny island of Koh Tao, again, just in time for a torrential downpour, and we'll be drying out on the beach for the next 4 days. Rough life.
Thursday, May 24, 2012
One way ticket to hell. And back.
When we planned this trip, we all agreed that, though we're on sort of a budget, we're too old to rough it. Hostels and home stays were nixed, and midrange resorts seemed to be the consensus. (Generally, I don't stay anywhere that is BYO toilet paper.) Our hotel in Chiang Mai, The Rim, was tres fab: in-suite massages, complementary bottles of wine, chilled lemongrass towels after hot outings, wifi, A/C, and all-you-can-use TP. We thought, surely everywhere in Thailand is this ritzy.
As scheduled, we checked out of The Rim yesterday morning after a breakfast of egg noodle soup with prawns, and were chauffeured in a roomy resort van north to our next destination. We convinced the driver to make a pit stop in Pai where we would fit in an elephant trek on the way. 2.5 hours of windy road later, we were face-to-trunk with our newest form of vehicular transport. The Mahouts (elephant operators) helped us -ahem- gracefully board the beasts bareback, and we took off for a one hour tour of the mountains. It wasn't really a comprehensive overview of the area since elephants walk at a rate of about 3 kilometers per hour, but it was well worth the laughs and photo opps.
Moving on. The Rim Driver Man drove us another 1.5 hours to the address of our next stay in a town called Ban Thom Lod in the north, not too far from the Burma border. I'm telling you, this place was in the middle of effing nowhere. Twice we had to stop at checkpoints so official-looking military men could make sure Driver Man wasn't trafficking Burmese refugees. Four gals with iPods and Pringles convinced him that we were indeed American. Our driver found the Cave Lodge (tricky, it's not on a map), and warily deposited us and our baggage at the main house. "House" gives the wrong impression. Let's call it, Rickety Platform with Thatch Roof and Stray Dogs.
Pat, the concierge/cook/bartender/maintenance person/cave tour guide led us to our accommodation. Advertised as a cool bungalow, the amenities were, how do I put this, "rustic." In Vanessa's words, "this is my personal version of hell." It all felt very, Deliverance. After the initial horror burned off, we promptly phoned The Rim, scheduled a pickup for the next afternoon, and booked two more days in Chiang Mai. DEETed and determined to discover why we chose this location in the first place, we ventured to Thom Lod cave at twilight to witness the daily commuter traffic of thousands of swifts. The cave is impressive, but it smells like guano. Somebody, Febreeze that.
Back at the Rickety Platform with Thatch Roof and Stray Dogs, we stuck out the evening with tofu, Taboo, and our newest friend:
Now we bring you a checklist for a bad night's sleep!
1. A monsoon, check!
2. The sound of gushing water from a shower that won't turn off, check!
3. Bug infestation, double check!
4. Cicadas the size of housecats that sound like they're sawing down the rainforest? Check!
5. And finally, barking gibbons between the hours of 4am and 8. CHECK.
We tore out of that "bungalow" this morning like our asses were on fire and parked ourselves and our bags under the Thatch Roof before the stray dogs were even awake. Pat escorted us on a tour of two caves: Meditation Cave, where we saw some huge stalagtites and bats, and Coffin Cave, accessible only by walking beneath the Thom Lod swift swarm (heads up!). All in all, very cool.
Rim Driver Man rescued us and we are now back at our oasis, The Rim, planning our next two days in Chaing Mai. Bliss.
As scheduled, we checked out of The Rim yesterday morning after a breakfast of egg noodle soup with prawns, and were chauffeured in a roomy resort van north to our next destination. We convinced the driver to make a pit stop in Pai where we would fit in an elephant trek on the way. 2.5 hours of windy road later, we were face-to-trunk with our newest form of vehicular transport. The Mahouts (elephant operators) helped us -ahem- gracefully board the beasts bareback, and we took off for a one hour tour of the mountains. It wasn't really a comprehensive overview of the area since elephants walk at a rate of about 3 kilometers per hour, but it was well worth the laughs and photo opps.
Back at the Rickety Platform with Thatch Roof and Stray Dogs, we stuck out the evening with tofu, Taboo, and our newest friend:
Now we bring you a checklist for a bad night's sleep!
1. A monsoon, check!
2. The sound of gushing water from a shower that won't turn off, check!
3. Bug infestation, double check!
4. Cicadas the size of housecats that sound like they're sawing down the rainforest? Check!
5. And finally, barking gibbons between the hours of 4am and 8. CHECK.
We tore out of that "bungalow" this morning like our asses were on fire and parked ourselves and our bags under the Thatch Roof before the stray dogs were even awake. Pat escorted us on a tour of two caves: Meditation Cave, where we saw some huge stalagtites and bats, and Coffin Cave, accessible only by walking beneath the Thom Lod swift swarm (heads up!). All in all, very cool.
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
There's a bug in my bugs
This one goes out to Rhonda, who told me to "try everything." Next time I'm going wings on.
Buddha Bellies
For our last day in Chiang Mai, we signed up for a full day cooking class at A Lot of Thai. Short story: it was A Lot of Food, and A Lot of Fun. The long story starts with a hotel pickup by our chef's husband in a flashy green motor carriage.
Swank ride, check.
Upon arriving at Chef Yui's aire libre car-port-cum-cooking-school, we were stationed at woks where we would assemble our personal portions of six traditional Thai dishes for the rest of the day.
1. Our pad Thai brings all the boys to the yard.
2. Red and green chicken curry. Ohhh yeah.
3. Tom yum soup with shrimp. Funny thing about Thais, it's hotter than the dickens and they're still eating soup! Seasoned with sweat.
4. Cashew chicken, food of the gods.
5. Spring rolls!
6. And a coconut mango sticky rice that is so good I'd Muay Thai box someone for it.
Midway through the day, the crew took a break from stuffing our sweaty- sorry, "glistening"- faces, for an educational outing to the market. The stalls had some of the most gorgeous produce, much of which I've never seen. We were introduced to delicacies like squid jerkey, 100-day old eggs (vom), and I even tried a flying ant (no it does not taste like chicken).
So how does one round off the most excellently filling vacation day ever? With a dip in the pool and an hour long foot massage, of course!
Upon arriving at Chef Yui's aire libre car-port-cum-cooking-school, we were stationed at woks where we would assemble our personal portions of six traditional Thai dishes for the rest of the day.
Midway through the day, the crew took a break from stuffing our sweaty- sorry, "glistening"- faces, for an educational outing to the market. The stalls had some of the most gorgeous produce, much of which I've never seen. We were introduced to delicacies like squid jerkey, 100-day old eggs (vom), and I even tried a flying ant (no it does not taste like chicken).
So how does one round off the most excellently filling vacation day ever? With a dip in the pool and an hour long foot massage, of course!
Monday, May 21, 2012
Blessings and bracelets at Doi Suthep
Officially blessed by a monk at a Buddhist temple. Wear this bracelet for three days and have good luck. At least that's what we hope he said.
It hurts so good
1. VVV&B kneel in front of a monk
2. Monk takes a swig of a cloudy brown substance from a 1980s Listerine bottle
3. Monk chases moonshine with a juice box
4. VVV&B bow heads and place hands in namaste? We really have no idea what we're doing here.
5. Monk flicks holy water on us with a tiny broom while chanting a prayer
6. VVV&B get bracelets (bonus!) that we're instructed to wear for 3 days for good luck
After "wat"ting it up, we were driven back to the hotel for our hour-long group Thai massage in our hotel suite. If you haven't had a Thai massage before, it involves tiny this women with incredible strength turning you into a pretzel and then walking on you. Delightful.
Hello Chiang Mai!
After a full 24 hours of flying, we finally made it to Chiang Mai yesterday around 4 pm. The flights were great and I think we're all convinced that Asian airlines are far superior to American. (Oh hello, in-flight singapore sling!) The air hostesses are all impeccably put together and apparenty the secret to their flawless Singaporean skin is a daily dose of birds nest tea. We're going to comb the street markets for that!
We checked into our fabulous hotel, The Rim, and opted for a dip in the pool rather than a shower to prepare for our first city excursion to the night market. (Hygiene is our first priority.) Our hotel van dumped us in the middle of a bustling street fair that only happens on the weekends and when we asked how to get back, he said, "you find your way." Find our way, we did, though the multi-sensory feast of what seemed like endless booths of Thai crafts, artists, musicians, and best of all, food stands. Tucked off the main drag, we found a courtyard of food vendors where we just decided to point-and-pay for whatever looked interesting. Five American dollars later, the four of us dined on a pad Thai omelette, spiced ribs, sausage, a mysterious meat substance that had been cooked in a banana leaf and was served to us in a plastic sack, and pineapple. All delicious, and so far our GI tracts are still in tact. We finished the evening with a beer in a bar off the market before taking our first tuk-tuk ride back to the hotel. (The safety of these things is questionable, to say the least.)
Today we're off to the Doi Suthep temple, after which, we'll be treating ourselves to hour long Thai massages and poolside cocktails. This is the life.
We checked into our fabulous hotel, The Rim, and opted for a dip in the pool rather than a shower to prepare for our first city excursion to the night market. (Hygiene is our first priority.) Our hotel van dumped us in the middle of a bustling street fair that only happens on the weekends and when we asked how to get back, he said, "you find your way." Find our way, we did, though the multi-sensory feast of what seemed like endless booths of Thai crafts, artists, musicians, and best of all, food stands. Tucked off the main drag, we found a courtyard of food vendors where we just decided to point-and-pay for whatever looked interesting. Five American dollars later, the four of us dined on a pad Thai omelette, spiced ribs, sausage, a mysterious meat substance that had been cooked in a banana leaf and was served to us in a plastic sack, and pineapple. All delicious, and so far our GI tracts are still in tact. We finished the evening with a beer in a bar off the market before taking our first tuk-tuk ride back to the hotel. (The safety of these things is questionable, to say the least.)
Saturday, May 19, 2012
We're off!
Welcome to the combined travel blog of Brenna, Vanessa, Verna and Valerie. This is our inaugural video post. Please stay tuned, we promise to be more entertaining in the future.
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