Vietnam-Hanoi/Ha Long Bay (Photos)

Foods of Thailand- Noodles

I have a friend who swears if you push on her tummy she automatically says "NOODLES!" It's certainly one of my favorites. You can get them pretty much any time of day but the best ones are to be had late at night because they're considered one of the great post-bar foods. If you're flexible, judge your noodle stand by what you see. If there is chicken in the window---order chicken. If you see fish---go for fish. You'll have a few choices after you pick your stand.

1. What kind of noodles. White noodles (small "lek" or big "yay") or yellow egg noodles "bamee".
2. Dry "hang" or with broth "naam".
   
3. Toppings generally include fish "plaa", fish balls "lukchin plaa", pork balls, red pork, ground pork, chicken "gai", various wontons, duck, tofu "dao huu", and many more. Although the items in the window are a good indication, many stands will have several different topics.
   

The photo is of dry yellow noodles with red pork. Vegetarians who don't eat fish will have trouble but there are lots of vegetarian restaurants in Thailand- and many of them will have noodles. Don't forget your condiments once you get your noodles! Red pepper flakes for spice. Peppers in vinegar for tang. Fish sauce for salt. Sugar for ...well...you can figure that one out. Oh and for my friend with an allergy--"mai sai phong cherot" means you want it without MSG.

Doi Tao- Thailand

Some friends invited me out earlier this year to Doi Tao, which literally means turtle mountain (in Thai) but turned out instead to be a lovely reservoir. We rented a house boat for the day and a nice guy in a motor boat drove us around the whole day. We ordered food and ate our lunch out on the water. It was a fantastic day and I highly recommend Doi Tao! It would be particularly nice if you plan to swim and I hear you can spend the night out on the boat as well. It's located about 133km from Chiang Mai and you can reach it by public bus.

Nara, Japan- October 2007

We arrived late in the afternoon into Nara and checked into the lovely little Ryokan Matsumae and headed straight uphill to the Nigatsu-do Temple to watch the sunset over Nara. As the sun was setting, the deer were making bizarre calling noises to each other. The deer in Nara were once holy creatures, now they’re pests. They did, however, provide great amusement for the hundreds of Japanese school children who filtered through the sites everyday. I think seventy-five percent of the photos most of these children took were of deer peeing, deer loving other deer and deer eating biscuits.

Nara was one of our favorite places. It was smaller than Kyoto but had many sites. It was easier to walk around the city, easier to find a nice place to eat and easier to get a hotel. We discovered our favorite sushi restaurant (in the covered market). We visited the largest wooden structure in the world. We had some excellent green tea ice cream. Most of what we loved was just strolling through the city. For those who have trouble, the only ATM that would accept our card was the convenience store in the covered market near the Kintetsu train station.

Here are the places we visited.

• Todai-ji Temple: The temple complex stretches through much of Nara and features the largest wooden structure in the world. The Buddha inside has fingers the size of a person!
• Shosoin Treasure House: We weren’t able to visit the place inside, but the outside was interesting and a good example of traditional azekura building style.
• Nara City Museum of Photography: A bit out of the way but a nice stroll through the woods if you take the right route. Great building!

Here are the places we ate that we liked:

• Kaiten Sushi Totogin was our favorite sushi restaurants. We wondered in off the street because it looked nice and we were very pleasantly surprised. The sushi seemed fresher on the conveyor belt than what we’d had before and the sushi chef kept surprising us with excellent choices.
• Ten-Ten Cafe was a cute little place we stopped into when we were starving. I can’t verify that the food was excellent but it tasted great at the time. Great tea!

We caught the train out on our second evening back to Kyoto then the night train to Tokyo.

Kyoto, Japan- Photos

Golden Pavilion in Kyoto.

Lanterns in Kyoto.

Just a sign on a fence in front of a rice field.

Kyoto, Japan -October 2007

I was surprised to find that there was no hint of the speed we were traveling once we were on the shankisan. It didn’t feel any faster than Amtrak, but I know it was. The train was comfortable and gave me time to read up on Kyoto and do some serious people watching.

I was surprised at how incredibly fashionable everyone is in Japan. All the women looked like they belonged in a fashion magazine and even the men were well dressed with great shoes. Perhaps it was the lack of flip flops (which abound in Thailand) and Birkenstocks (which popped up everywhere in Oregon) which gave me this impression. The train speeds through some interesting but very suburban areas of Japan giving me plenty of time for watching and reading.

We arrived late afternoon then settled into the Ryokan Kyoraku where we would spend the next three nights. It was good to have one location for a few days. We ended up in Western beds with our own bathroom because the traditional rooms were full but the place was nice and the folks very friendly. It is a newer ryokan in the Welcome Inns listing (which is probably why they had a vacancy when no one else did) close to the Kyoto JR station.

We saw the city on bikes the first day, subway the second day and on the morning of the third we squeezed in a few more sites before we left for Nara. I think we could have spent a week here and still not seen everything.

Here are the things we saw:

• Kyoto Train Station: Opened in 1997, this place was highly underrated in our books. You can take escalators all the way to the 15^th floor observation level. Inside a building an escalator to the 15^th floor isn’t that big of a deal. But this is an outdoor atrium and it was lovely at night.
• Kiyomizu Temple: This temple is not for anyone with a fear of crowds! It’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site and was full of tourists from Japan and beyond. The grounds have some spots which are a little off the beaten track if your agoraphobia kicks in somewhere around the “love stone.”
• Kennin-Ji:The oldest Zen temple in Kyoto was one of my favorite places in the city. You have to abandon your shoes at the entrance and pad your way through many lovely little rooms, over rock gardens and through moss gardens (they provide you with little rubber clogs for this part of the journey). This place was so peaceful and lovely. Be sure to check out the dragon paintings on the ceiling created for the temple’s 800^th anniversary.
• The old streets around Gion Corner. This is a good place particularly if you’re traveling with an architect or anyone interested in traditional Japanese arts. I think there are approximately 200 photos of this street on my husband’s computer now.
• Nishijin TextileCenter: This place was a tourist trap. I expected a museum but it’s really exhibits surrounding salespeople. I wouldn’t have wasted my time if I’d known.
• Kinkaku-ji: The golden pavilion is picture perfect and full of about 1000 Japanese school children on any given day. This is one of the “must sees” in Kyoto and when you’re there you do see everyone.
• Ryoan-ji: This is a temple famed for its rock garden. It was lovely and (when we were there) full of fat American tourists with a fascination for the inane. We overheard one guy asking his tour guide what this car with writing on the side was. Her answer, “That’s a taxi.” Wear ear plugs and try to enjoy the peaceful surroundings.
• Konchin Temple: We didn’t get to see much of this except for the aqueducts. The place was lovely but be careful on the slippery gravel walkway path when going downhill. Particularly when you’re tired. I’ll heal.
• Nijo Castle: This place was interesting to visit but, honestly, the best part was the “nightingale floors” which the Shogun had installed to protect him from sneak attacks. We expected the floors to creak or squeak like the wooden floors in our old New York City apartment but instead it was like hearing tiny birds chirp at every step.
• Area around the Museum of Modern Art: There is a tiny park near the Museum with art installations that was very quirky and fun. Everyone needs to have seen a 10 foot long duck made out of tissue paper complete with fairy wings and buxom breasts at least once in their life.
• Covered markets in the Nishiki area: Shopping and food. A great place to people watch. Be sure to try the Takoyaki if you eat octopus.

and the places we ate:

• Kane-yo: This place is listed in the Lonely Planet so I feared a tourist Mecca. Instead, we found a local tea house frequented by mainly older Japanese couple serving only delicious grilled unagi (eel) on rice. This place is highly recommended for all those unagi lovers out there! Alas, the barrels of live eels were gone.
• Misoka-An Kawamichiya: These folks have been making noodles for 300 years. I think they may have figured out how to do it right by now... Delicious! Had some fantastic sake here too.
• We stopped at a little cafe in the Gion area because a lady outside lured us in with a free sample of sweet Yatsuhashi (which were delicious!). The food was good and the price wasn’t bad but I didn’t catch the name.

Narita, Japan- October 2007

In late September/early October, we flew back to the US for a whirlwind trip through the Carolinas and Oregon. We’re moving back to the US soon and we’re kind of in the market for a new hometown. For a variety of reasons, we’ve selected the Raleigh-Durham area in North Carolina. On the way back to Thailand, we were connecting through Japan so we thought we would stop in and see a bit of the country. I was in Japan many years ago with my parents but that was a very brief trip and I only saw the airport town of Narita. This time, my husband and I figured we would see a bit more. Our travel itinerary this time included Narita, Kyoto and Nara. Because we did so much during our one week, I will blog each city separately. This one is for Narita. I know the photo isn't really what you expect for a blog on Japan. But I took it in Narita and loved the way it turned out.

We arrived in Narita in the afternoon and headed for the Kirinoya Ryokan in Narita for our one night in this little airport town. In many places, the airport is built in locations to avoid bothering locals and in areas without a real town to speak of. This doesn’t seem to be the case in Narita. Narita is a lovely little suburb of Tokyo with a great rail system and good downtown area. I would happily stay here and commute into Tokyo to avoid the expense and hectic feeling of th big city. Indeed, our innkeeper (Mr. Katsumata) was happy to tell us about all of the Olympic (and near Olympic) athletes that came from the local high school and his own family.

A ryokan is a traditional Japanese inn usually with a communal bathroom, tatami floors, hard pillows and cozy floor futons. We stayed almost exclusively in ryokans during our travels. They are usually cheaper and more comfortable than western hotels or business flop houses---according to our sources.

Mr. Katsumata settled us into our room with a tray of green tea and rice snacks. After tea, cleaning up a bit and airing out our clothes for the next day, we headed out to dinner. We selected a little sushi restaurant walking distance from the downtown. We love our sushi restaurants in New York City, but the spectacle of watching sushi plates riding around on a conveyor belt as sushi chefs took orders for specialty items is one that really shouldn’t be missed. It wasn't until two nights later we had sushi that was better than what we had in Brooklyn, but this was cheap, good and a fun experience. After our dinner, we walked back to our ryokan buzzing with too much green tea and sushi.

We both awoke before sunrise and stayed in our futons reading until a decent hour to get up and bump around without waking our innkeeper. The Japanese bath is an interesting experience but I have to say I was a bit too freaked out by the water from the tub that is never drained so I just took a normal shower and left the boards over the tub intact. We dressed and ate breakfast downstairs then walked up the hillside behind the high school to a lovely overlook and then back down to the Narita temple complex. By the end of our week long trip, we were getting a little “templed-out” but this was our first temple in Japan so we delighted in the sloping rooftop, the serene duck pond and the lanterns lining the forest paths. We then spent the rest of the early morning trying to work out our train tickets to and accommodations in Kyoto.

Let me now provide three pieces of advice I wish we had listened to in our book Japan by Rail (that we picked up at Powell Books in Portland).

1. Buy a Japan Rail pass BEFORE you leave for Japan so that you can travel cheaply. These passes are not available inside Japan and will make rail travel affordable and easier.
   
2. Book your ryokans via the Welcome Inn book or website. It includes all the same places as Lonely Planet (and more) but they’re easier to book because the information is complete and correct.
   
3. Book your hotels well in advance if traveling during the popular leaf-peeping season of October. This last piece was more difficult for us because of the way we were traveling to Japan, but if you can book well in advance, I recommend you do it. October is a fantastic time to travel in Japan with great weather and lovely autumn colors. Many Japanese families know this and are booking in the same ryokans you are.

We eventually worked out our next leg of travel and headed out on the noon shinkansen (bullet train) to Kyoto.

Foods of Thailand- Sticky Rice

Kaow Niew or "sticky rice" is wonderful stuff they eat here in Thailand (and a few other countries). It is pretty time consuming to cook so you usually find it pre-cooked in little wicker baskets at restaurants or markets. We learned to make it at the Thai Farm Cooking Class. It is usually rolled into a ball and eaten with curries, spicy salads or grilled chicken. It can also be served with fruit and coconut milk as a dessert. Be careful! The Thais say it makes you very sleepy! Also it's bad luck not to replace the top on your basket when you're done eating your rice.

Dhamma Park

Near the city of Pasang about an hour from Chiang Mai is a little place called the Dhamma Park. Venetia and her husband, Inson, have created a haven for peace, art and reflection on the teachings of the Buddha. It's a very quiet and lovely place to visit if you have a chance.

Uttaradit- July 2006

Tales from the Bucket Brigade

Back in July 2006 we went to Uttaradit, a province south of Chiang Mai. One of the ladies I worked with was connected to a group called Siam Volunteers and they organized a weekend trip for us (7 Thais and 6 expats) to go down and help victims of the flood. In May 2006 the area between Chiang Mai and Bangkok experienced severe flash flooding. A number of people were killed, houses were destroyed and many people were homeless for months. We joined about 150 other people digging mud out of people's houses so they could leave their temporary shelters and return home. It was hard, hot, dirty and very rewarding.

We took a bus at (gulp) 4:30am from Chiang Mai 4 hours to the south. We arrived in Uttaradit Province at 9am and then climbed into the back of a pickup truck and (after breakfast at the Tesco Lotus) drove another half hour down to one of the worst hit regions in the Province. Around noon, we started working. My husband was assigned to work with the men using shovels to dig out mud and toss it into buckets. Then those buckets were handed out the door and swung from person to person down a line and dumped close to the river. I was a bucket swinger and it was not an easy job. We worked until 4pm then stopped for dinner. We were housed in different places in the village. My husband (with the guys) spent the night in a local school. I (with the girls and the katoeys) spent the night in an old Lanna house. All of us slept on the floor on sleeping bags but the girls had the benefit of mosquito nets which improves our sleep considerably.

After showers, dinner and more snacking we all passed out and awoke the next morning to the same work. It was hot, sweaty, muddy, mucky, smelly and made us all very, very sore. But it was also great to work as a team with my Thai colleagues and hundreds of others. I also learned lots of useful Thai- bucket, empty, tired and muddy place- for example. We were able to see another province and the scenery both ways was lovely. We returned late at night and after about 10 showers trying to get mud out of finger nails and hair we ate at Pizza Hut and passed out on the couch watching a movie. The next day we could barely lift our arms!

Karon Beach- October 2006

Last October we traveled back to visit our family in the US and on the return trip we stopped off in Phuket to burn off our jetlag. We flew 12Go from Bangkok in the afternoon. Actually, I am sad to say that it seems that the same flight we were on a year ago crashed into the Phuket airport killing 87 people. We weren’t terribly pleased with 12Go. The flight was late, as were all the other flights we flew on with them, and the return flight was terrible. At least the water was free!

Once we arrived, we immediately took a minivan from Phuket to the quieter Karon Beach and checked into our hotel Baan Karonburi Resort This was a very nice place but a little too Holiday Inn- like. The food was good, the air conditioner was great and the rooms were very clean but it just felt a little fake. The beach was lovely and I really enjoyed the day just reading and resting out on the beach.

The second day, we took a nice snorkeling trip with the Leisure 4 group to Phi Phi Khai Island. It was an all day affair. The first half was spent at some horribly touristy sites filled with giant tourists crunching over delicate coral. The second half they took us to some less touristy places and left the kiddies on the beach while the adults did more serious snorkeling. We saw some beautiful things and really enjoyed this part.

The beach was beautiful, the water was warm and the sunsets were gorgeous. I highly recommend Karon Beach over Phuket. Where ever you stay and whatever you do the beach is quieter and more relaxing. Which is more than I can say for our trip home.

We traveled home to Chiang Mai and had one of the most ridiculous trips ever! The flight connected through Bangkok and ran late. In order to connect on 12Go you have to go out through arrivals, come back through ticketing, check in, go back through departures and get on the plane. Because the flight ran late, we had to run for it with our backpacks to make our connecting flight which departed 20 minutes after our arrival. We sprinted through the airport, picked up our tickets at ticketing dashed through departures and ran onto...the same plane we had just got off from Phuket. We actually sat one row away from where we sat on the previous flight which we knew because the sound system was broken in the back so we couldn't hear the safety video and the tray table in our old row kept falling down. Other passengers with checked bags or without our sprinting skills actually missed the flight. Karon Beach I can recommend, 12Go I cannot.

Krabi and Ko Lanta- September 2007

Having just quit my job to enjoy more time in Thailand (and being far away from a wretched boss), we decided to explore some of the beaches in the south. Last time we made it to the islands was Phuket in October 2006 so it was about time that we made it down to see more of Thailand’s lovely beaches and islands.

September is not supposed to be the best time to visit the beaches. We’re in the worst month of the rainy season, the jelly fish are fond of popping up for a visit, and most of the resorts are closed. Or so we heard. We’re not overly fond of beaches and figured the low season sales would make up for rainy days indoors. The result was not what we expected: five perfect days of sunshine and calm waters, no jelly fish and the resorts welcomed us with open arms as their first customers of the season. Besides the fact that I’m now burnt to a crisp, it was an amazing trip!

We flew Nok Air which I have been trying to do since we arrived. All of the airplanes are painted like birds (nok is bird in Thai) and the flight attendants all wear bright yellow 1960’s style dresses. This is another low cost airline in Thailand, and again, you get what you pay for. Water and peanuts aren’t free and the planes aren’t young. But we were very impressed with both the service and the timeliness of the flights. Their in-flight magazine had some amusing editing mistakes, though. Also, check out their promotional items! I bought some very cute “arm sleeves” with Nok Air’s friendly beak just above the wrists. I was a sucker for their advertising- particularly when it told me that they would control my arm muscles and protect me from harmful UV rays.

We flew from Chiang Mai to the old airport of Don Mueang. Don Mueang is now a freezing ghost town because most of the flights come and go out of Suvarnabhumi. But if you cross the pedestrian bridge, you can reach a nice market with noodle stands and tasty drinks, which is much better than Suvarnabhumi which is locked in the middle of nowhere! We then flew on to the shiny new Krabi airport. Caught the shuttle bus for 250 Baht a person to Napphara Thara Beach near Ao Nang. Our logic was that Ko Lanta would be too hard to reach so late in the evening and we wanted to take our first scuba diving class. I have a sneaky suspicion than our shuttle was actually a public bus- mainly because that’s what it said on the outside of the bus- and that Thais were paying less than half what we were- but this public bus brought us to the door of our resort, so it was worth it.

We opted to say at the Sabai Resort which was nice but rather sterile. The owner (who is Italian) serves very nice Italian food in his restaurant and some of the cheapest wine I’ve seen in Thailand. We were up early and out for a “Discover Scuba Diving” course with the Sea Fa diving company. I have to say that, as this was my first dive, I can’t compare this company to others. However, I was very impressed with their professionalism and their patience. Particularly with someone (like me) who panicked the first time a little water got in her mask. Our instructor, Richard, was fantastic, calm, clear and fun. The owner, Peter, was also very helpful in recommending accommodations and seemed ready to sit down and have a chat with us (except that he had a business to run).

We dove down to about 12 meters and Richard kept a close eye on me as I calmed down and enjoyed the beauty of being underwater. We saw puffer fish, sergeant major fish, corals, brilliant anemones, clown fish, rays and barracuda. I swallowed a lot of sea water when I freaked out and decided against the second dive so that I could amuse the fish by throwing the water back up into the water. Despite this minor problem, I really enjoyed my first experience at diving and most importantly- I know I can do it. My husband is totally hooked and ready to go for his PADI certification as soon as we have the time and money.

Back on dry land we walked around the area a bit and hit some of the noodle stands in town. I’ll try to post another blog about the food of Thailand but, let me just say, for goodness sake- please don’t order off the menu when you go to an outdoor restaurant. Once you find a few dishes you like and learn a little bit of Thai you can generally get what you want where ever you want. Ordering off the menu is generally more expensive and not as tasty. Our noodle stand had all sorts of curries and rice dishes on the menu but when you walk up and see a giant pot of bowling water, a chicken hanging inside the glass case and three different kinds of noodles on the counter...order noodles...not rice! We had a good chat with the waiter half in Thai, half in English and enjoyed a nice meal that cost less than $3 (including drinks). We also stopped in a restaurant for a sunset drink but I didn’t catch the name and the place wasn’t particularly tasty.

The next day we moved on to Ko Lanta. As the crow flies this isn’t a far distance. In fact, when the boats are running full services it’s easy to get from Krabi to Ko Lanta. But this time of year your only option is really to take a minibus from Ao Nang to Krabi then to Ko Lanta over two very slow and crowded ferries. Please don’t think (like a very irate couple did on our minibus ride back into Krabi early in the morning) that this ride takes exactly two hours. It can take two hours, or it can take four. Everything depends on the tides, the crowds, the weather and the luck of the draw.

We arrived rather late in the afternoon to the island and were picked up by a truck from Baan Phu Lae. I simply cannot say enough wonderful things about this resort. I should caution that if you are looking for AC, screens on the windows, hot water showers, internet access and staff in uniforms this is not the place for you. If you are looking for sheer bliss without frills, this is the place for you. The food was amazing and full of vegetarian options (I don’t like meat but will eat it when I have to) as well as fresh fruit shakes without all the added sugar. The beach is right out the front door of your bungalow. The staff twiddles around with guitars late into the evening under the stars. Two cats and a puppy named CoCo frolic under, around and (if you’re eating something fragrant) on your table until being led away by the staff. A nearby walk (down dirt roads) takes you to light houses, a national park, a water fall, and monkeys eating coconuts. We were the first customers of the season and so we were asked to give our opinion on the latest decorations, the new recipe for apple cobbler and whether the roof leaked in our bungalow. Oh such hard work!

I better head off and put more aloe on my sunburn. Tell the folks at Baan Phu Lae hello if see them!

Luang Prabang- Phousi Hill

Luang Prabang- Weaving Class

Luang Prabang, Laos

We traveled to Luang Prabang twice and I have to say it is one of my favorite places. The first time we went for Christmas. We had waited too long to get tickets back to the US to spend it with our families, so we figured a trip would take our mind away from being far away. The second time was when one of our dear friends came to visit us from New York City in May 2007. The best way for us to reach the city is to take Laos Airlines direct. Everyone has a different opinion on this little airline and their safety record. We never had any problems and settled our nerves with a free can of Beer Lao. If the reviews make you nervous, your short on cash or have a great deal of time, you can also take a boat down there river which I’ve heard from some is amazing and others a tourist rip-off.

Don’t forget your two passport photos and your Dollars (or Euros or Baht) as there are no ATMs. It costs $35 to get into the country and the line is usually a bit on the long side. If you want to get out fast you can hoof it off the plane but you'll be missing the point of being in Laos! Slow down and relax. On the upside, you meet some nice folks in line! In Thailand the greeting is sawasdee (ka/krap). In Laos the greeting is sabaidee. In Thai, sabaidee means "I am doing well." I find it interesting that the greeting is an affirmation of happiness and health rather than the usual sawasdee, sabai dee mai ka? ("hello, how are you?").

Once out of the airport shuffle up and catch a tuk tuk for $5 to your hotel or the main part of the city. For this trip you can pay for anything in either/or dollars, kip, euros, baht...even the noodle stands will have calculators. You should fix the exchange rates in your head when you get off the plane and get ready for a little bit of mental math. Or really you can trust the folks at the noodle stand. You may be out 20 cents but they're unlikely to do anything too dramatic. Just remember that kip is not exchanged anywhere else so try to leave with zero kip...

The central part of the city is surrounded by water (the Mekong and Khan Rivers) on either side and is so small you can walk quickly and easily to just about anywhere you want to go. The food is fantastic. The city is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and tourism is just now beginning to have an impact. The main site is the lovely Wat Xieng Thong which is so beautiful and peaceful it’s hard to describe. Other sites not to miss are:

• Mount Phou Si: Climb a lot of steps to the top of the hill overlooking the town. The Wat itself is interesting but you’re really up here for the view. I’ve heard that it’s best at sunset.
• Pak Ou Caves: Also known as the Buddha caves. Take the slow boat (unless you like risking life and limb to save time) up the river and enjoy the scenery. At the end is a cave full of Buddha status of all shapes and sizes that have come here from all over Laos and beyond.
• Kwang Si Falls: We still haven’t made it out to these but we’ve heard good things. Take a picnic lunch or buy your food out there. Also heard good things about the Tad Sae Waterfall.
• Ramayana Play: At the little playhouse near the National Museum (which is also worth a stop) you may still be able to buy tickets for a play featuring one story from the Ramayana. I read in my Bangkok Airways magazine that this play disappeared from Laos for 50 years and is just now returning. I understood very little of what was actually happening, but it was a lovely play to watch and the singing is lovely.
• Hill Tribe Cultural Museum: A friend of a friend just opened a museum in the area and although we haven’t seen it, we hear it’s amazing. The gift shop sells handicrafts from various ethnic minority groups in the area and I think she was also planning on putting in a little snack shop.

One great activity is to take a weaving or dying class from Ock Pop Tok. I did the one day dying, spinning and weaving class. You pick the materials, dye the silk, spin the resulting thread then sit down to a long afternoon of weaving. It’s really hard work and will help you appreciate the quality and craftsmanship of what you buy in the night market. I bought a lovely silk wall hanging during my last visit from one of the Ock Pop Tok shops. I adore it!

Places we ate and recommend:

• L’Elephant: What can you say about this amazing little restaurant that will do it justice! We went here for a set menu Christmas Eve dinner which cost us about $60 (with a nice bottle of wine) and I still remember it fondly. They cater to vegetarians as well as carnivores serving Lao/French fusion.
• The Three Elephants (or is it the 3 Nagas?): We are still debating which of these is the name. It’s directly across from the Villa Santi and serves great fish laap. A little spicy!
• L’etranger Books and Tea: Catch up on your National Geographic Magazines from 30 years ago. The food is good although the staff is less than friendly.

Place to stay:

If you can afford it (we couldn’t) by all means stay at the lovely Villa Santi. If you cannot we recommend the Thong Bay Guesthouse. Although Thong Bay is a little out of town the staff is great, the views very nice and the bungalows were very comfortable. Order breakfast out on the porch of your bungalow in the morning and start your day out relaxed.

One place NOT to stay:

We stayed at the Kongsavath Guesthouse when we went for Christmas and awoke after the first night to find that I had been totally mauled by bed bugs. This was an expensive place for us, as well, making it all the more frustrating to wake up to about 30 itchy bites. I spoke to the owner at breakfast and she blamed us – saying we had brought them with us- no one had ever complained to her before- HER guesthouse didn’t have bugs. I looked around for another guesthouse but started to feel guilty knowing that I would bring the little bloodsuckers with us where ever we went. So we stuck it out for two more nights. It was hard to sleep. I covered every inch of my body with clothing (which wasn’t too hard because the room was freezing) but they still bit my hands. When we came back to our apartment, we were pretty worried about bringing them back with us. We have friends in NYC who faced these evil creatures and we know how awful they are. We took EVERY precaution and we still ended up with them. It took us two months to get them out of our apartment. I have to highly recommend against the Kongsavath Guesthouse if you want to avoid this nightmare.

I don't want to end on a negative note so I will write a bit about shopping. Luang Prabang has some of the best! I don't want to say anything negative about my adopted home country (where the silk is amazing) but you can generally buy it cheaper in Laos. If you are looking for some inexpensive scarves for yourself and your family, I would get them in Luang Prabang. I picked up several for about $8 a piece. I am terrible with bargaining- I know there are some folks who will walk away from a purchase over $1, but that is not me. On weekend nights (and probably every night during the high season) they open a walking street market lit by bare bulbs and candles. It's a great place to browse.

Melaka- February 2007

We took the early morning Transnational Bus from Kuala Lumpur to Melaka. The bus was very comfortable (except for the dripping from the air conditioner) and arrived two hours later at the bus station just outside of Melaka. We took the #17 bus to Chinatown and checked into the Hereen House. This was an amazing guesthouse and the owners were positively charming. The husband travels the world shopping for textile arts and the wife makes an amazing scone. The room had a four poster wooden bed and antique furniture.

Melaka is a fantastic old port city where the Indians, Chinese, Malays, Portuguese, British, Dutch and Thais blended their cultures together in architecture, food and the arts. The famous Straits of Malacca run just off the city center. I have no idea what these Straits looked like once when they were the main thoroughfare for shipping, but now the shoreline floats with trash and crawls with walking fish. There are some sites in Melaka which are flooded with the kind of tour bus tourists that can ruin any city. However, the Chinatown area lacks hotels big enough for such a large group and so retains a more local flavor. The best part of the city is just walking the streets. Two guys Lim Huck Chin and Fernando Jorge hit the streets with a camera and did an amazing amount of research on the city. Their book Malacca: Voices from the Street is totally worth the 50USD we spent on it but you can also pick it up and thumb through it in most of the city’s book stores.

I highly recommend the following sites:

• The Architectural Museum of Malaysia was very interesting and seemed like it didn’t have a lot of visitors.
• The Baba-Nonya Heritage Museum has a lovely tour and a chance to go back in time.
• St. Paul’s church at the top of the hill provides a nice view of the city and interesting ruins.
• On Sunday nights, the area has a local night market on the main street with great food and good shopping.
• On the street Jin Tonkong you can see the Kampung Kling Mosque (Muslim), the Sri Poyyatha Vinayagar Moorthis Temple (Hindu) and the Sanduo Temple (Chinese shrine) all in a few blocks.

The following places are lovely restaurants we stopped in:

• The Best Cafe had good food and very helpful staff. The food throughout Melaka is an amazing fusion of different cultures and very spicy!
  
• Geographer’s Cafe was a bit touristy but great for a late night drink.
• Limau-Limau Cafe was a great place to stop for tea or coffee.

Not so great...

We hiked out to the Villa Sentosa but found it a bit odd. The little old man was very proud of his heritage but the place was kind of like being trapped in your elderly aunt’s house being forced to page through old albums and look at souvenirs from someone else’s life. We stayed longer in the Sultanate Palace than we planned because of the rain; it was an interesting place but full of silly mannequins.

We were sorry to leave Melaka, even though we’d seen all the sites we’d hoped to see, the atmosphere was fantastic and I hope we’re able to return.

Loi Kratong- November 2006

The Loi Kratong festival is something that really has to be seen to be believed. For nearly two weeks in Chiang Mai the nights are beautiful and noisy affairs. Everyone lights floating paper lanterns which carry away all of your bad luck. Many people launch banana boats in the Ping River as thanks for another rainy season. And every night the fireworks go off all night, all morning, all day... ALL THE NOISE NOISE NOISE NOISE!

If you are fortunate enough to be planning a trip to Thailand in November (when the weather is amazing) you should try to visit Chiang Mai for this festival.

Kuala Lumpur --February 2007

I switched jobs in February 2007 and had to take the obligatory “visa run” that so many expats in Thailand have done before me. My husband teaches architecture and had to switch from a work visa to a tourist visa for the term break. If you’re not familiar with this insanity, I will summarize it: in order to stay in the country, you have to leave the country, go to the Thai embassy in another country, get a new visa then return to the country. The Thai government has significantly cracked down on the hordes of backpackers who want to hang out here for life without official paperwork and so those of us WITH the right paperwork have found it harder and harder to deal with the bureaucracy. So we searched the internet for many “visa run” reviews, talked to a travel agent and chose Malaysia. We had to spend at least two days in Kuala Lumpur at the Thai embassy obtaining our visas but the rest of the time was up to. We’ve been traveling since we met ten years ago but I think that as we get older, we’re becoming less and less organized. We booked our tickets 5 days before left, let the travel agent pick us a barely affordable hotel in KL and picked up our Lonely Planet for Malaysia on the day we flew out on Air Asia (a direct flight from CNX). Air Asia is another low cost Asian airline that charges for water and has tickets that look like they’re for a bus but they’re safe and highly affordable.

We stayed at the Equatorial in KL (booked on Asia rooms) which was nice and had a fantastic buffet breakfast. I’m still very fond of my western-style breakfast but the spicy soup that Asians love for breakfast is growing on me- this buffet had both. I think the time we spent and the amount that we ate means that I should really emphasize the glory of this breakfast. It was fantastic! Full and rested we were off to explore the city. Our impression of Kuala Lumpur was that after nearly a year in Thailand and four years in Manhattan, it felt very clean and orderly. Here are the places we visited, the places we ate and what we liked best (**) in the city.

Chinatown: We like the Central Market (mainly because it had AC and the outside world was a bit hot) and hated the tourist stalls of the Jalan Petaling. We liked the Sze Ya (Taoist) and Sri Mahariamman (Hindu) Temples but they were mobbed with people and steaming with incense so we didn’t spend long at either. We agreed with the Lonely Planet that the Old China Cafe** was rich with atmosphere and served fantastic laksa. We also loved the Purple Cane Tea Restaurant** and I loved the beautiful tea pots they had for sale in their store. I still kick myself that my frugal husband talked me out of “another” tea pot!

Golden Triangle: We stayed here because of the proximity to the Thai embassy but it wasn’t really a highlight of the city. The malls were interesting (I’m always up for a good bookstore) and we enjoyed the giant Ferris wheel inside the Mid Valley Megamall. We spent one evening bowling at Mid Valley and it was an interesting experience as the only woman without a headscarf in the whole place.

Masjid Negara area: We wondered out to the old KL Train Station (built in 1911) and loved the Malayan Railway Administration Building** across the street. The Masjid Negara Mosque was a nice place to hide from the rain but I was less impressed with the building. Our next stop was a hike up the hill to the Islamic Arts Museum** which was fantastic. My friend Ian highly recommended this place and I have to agree with him.

That was all we had time for in our short visit except I have to mention the famous Petronas Towers. Thanks to a hot morning at the embassy (and some bacteria or virus that wanted to hitch a ride in my gastrointestinal system) I wasn’t well for this part of the trip so our last night in town we ended up at the adjoining Suria KLCC mall. We did not go up in the famous Towers, instead we followed Ian’s advice again to go to the KL Tower** which is much shorter but the crowds (and cost) are lower and the view is fantastic at night. We spent several hours walking around the glass windows to see all of KL (including the Petronas Towers) and then spent an embarrassing amount of time trying to hold my husband’s digital camera at arm’s length to capture us with the Petronas Towers in the background.

One place we didn’t stay but wish we could have was the Number Eight Guesthouse which looked fantastic but wasn’t available for both nights of our visit. If anyone goes here and has a different experience, please do let me know as we plan to stay there again if we have the chance.

In the middle of our trip, we took a bus 2 hours to the city of Melaka (or Malacca) where we spent several nights. I consider Melaka the highlight of my trip to Malaysia. This will be the subject of my next blog.

photos from Cambodia

Cambodia- August 2007

We traveled to Phnom Penh 11-13 August 2007. We live in Chiang Mai, Thailand and we’re basing our traveling on the availability of cheap tickets these days and Bangkok Airways had a sale. In order to get most places from Chiang Mai we have to connect through Bangkok. We took Air Asia to Bangkok the night before and spent the night at a hotel which wasn’t bad. Air Asia is one of the many low cost airlines in Thailand and it is a situation where you definitely get what you pay for. The water costs money, the flights run late and the airplanes seem to be hand-me-downs from one of the low cost Chinese airlines. But they’re cheap, safe and convenient. After a very short night at the hotel in Bangkok, we boarded Bangkok Airways. Bangkok Airways calls itself a “boutique” airline and it was much nicer. The food is descent and free. The airplanes are all painted with unique, if slightly silly images. The flight even ran on time!

We arrived in Phnom Penh before 9am and caught motorbike taxis to the guesthouse. We stayed at the Boddhi Tree del Gusto off Street 113 near the Tuol Sleng Museum. There are three Boddhi trees in town and ours was the one further from the genocide museum. They all have great food and lovely rooms. We splurged on the aircon double bed with a private bath. At some point after I turned 30, I stopped dealing with the shared bath and hot rooms. Once we settled in, we were faced with the fact that we hadn’t really had the time to research where we were going and what we were going to see. We had in our possession a print out from Travelfish, the Cambodia section we’d chopped out of a Let's Go Southeast Asia 2003 and a copy of the free Khmer Architectural walking tour. Since many things in the city close for lunch, we decided to plan to go to Independence Monument followed by Monument Books then see some of the architectural walking tour. We knew we had to see S-21/Tuol Sleng on Saturday since they were closed on Sunday so we figured we would head there in the afternoon. Sunday we planned to go to the Central Market, followed by brunch, finish the architectural tour and then do a bit of shopping. And this is what we did.

Monument Books had fantastic tea, good coffee and wonderful baked goods. Since we’ve spent the last year and a half in Thailand, we tend to seek out non-Asian goodies on our travels. The book prices were ok but the place had a great sale book section. I grew up walking cities all over the US and my husband’s an architect --- so the architectural walking tour was perfect for us. I had a great pair of Chacos, a Nikon SLR (I refuse to go digital), a good tour guide and an umbrella. I think this tour was my favorite part of the city. It wasn’t just the buildings we saw but also the detours we took. Phnom Penh is very chaotic and where ever I walked I was heckled by cries of “Taxi Miss?!?!” but the city was fascinating. We took a taxi to Tuol Sleng and prepared to be depressed. The country is too poor to really develop this museum but walking from room to room in this high school that was converted into hell was very powerful. The photos of the people who lost their lives here were the most arresting part. There were so many children! Men, women and children stared back at you from these photos with fear, defiance, anger, hopelessness and most of all pain. It’s too much really to put into words so I won’t try.

We had dinner that night down on Sisowath Quay at a place called Frizz which was decent. We had Cambodia curry which was good but not remarkably different from something I might have ordered in Thailand. We followed this with martinis at Metro and some ice cream. We had heard that Phnom Penh can be a bit dodgy after dark so we took a taxi back to the guesthouse.

We awoke pretty early and walked a long way up to the Central Market. It was an interesting market but I’m not used to aggressive markets anymore. I felt like I was back in Turkey with all the heckling. We headed over for a fantastic brunch back at Metro and spent a lot more money than we planned. It wasn’t that expensive; no more than breakfast at a diner back in NYC. But we’re used to $2 lunches and $5 dinners. We picked back up on the tour and saw so much of the city our feet were beginning to ache. We stopped by a few shops. We climbed the stairs to Madam Penh’s hill. Tried to get into the Royal Palace (but it was too crowded) and ended up visiting two Wats (Buddhist Temples) instead. Both were very interesting. Wat Botomvatey was the first and Wat Prayuvong was the second. Wat’s in Thailand are always open, clean and free of people except for monks or nuns. Both Wats we saw in Cambodia had people camping out under every eave. Laundry was draped between monuments to the dead. In addition, the Wat seemed shuttered and locked. But we met a very nice monk who showed us some of the murals and we discussed differences in how the Buddha is depicted in various countries.

We finished our day with a shower and dinner at the guesthouse. The Boddhi del Gusto has a very nice balcony upstairs where we could sit and listen to the sounds of the city over a glass of wine and very nice cheese. The next day we returned home though Bangkok. It’s nice to return to something so familiar. I have to suggest avoiding the Black Canyon Coffee in Suvarnabhumi Airport.The food was mediocre and a roach tried to hitch a ride with us in my backpack. We thought we were rid of him until we popped upstairs to the Sky Lounge for dessert and he came crawling out when I was looking for my book.

It was a great trip. I'll post my favorite photo once my film is processed. Next post I will review our recent trip to Singapore. I’m working backwards in time.

Traveling via CNX

Publishing my mess
So this blog is just my way of reviewing the places I've traveled. I have all of these notes and photos and they're just sitting in my computer, on my shelf or in boxes. People always ask me for advice as to where to go, what to see, airlines to use and more. So I figured I would start blogging so I don't have to keep sending the same emails. Basically I'm just lazy. So my first blog will be Cambodia.