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.