bkk to chiang mai

[janel's first post]

after an opulent opus dinner last night, i came home to a mega-ill fuzzhead in my room. poor guy - there was no way he was going to be able to accompany us to chiang mai as planned, but i did my best to make him comfy for the time being. we read a heartbreaking work of staggering genius til some kind of witching hour, when my eyelids finally gave out and i succumbed to sleep.

then - suddenly - my alarm went off at some ungodly morning hour, and i knew it was time to arise, finish up work on a commercial script i have been working on, and make some muffins. oh yeah, and that packing thing too...

mom had woken up far too early and gave the coffee lady a go, but found her crusty-eyed and unready to prepare that most caffienated of morning beverages. it took a second go-round a few hours later to secure the best "cafe yen mai wan" the city has to offer (but consensus has it that is was well worth it).

i threw some classy clothes in a backpack and was ready to move. mom did an excellent job of snagging a taxi from down the street and directing it to the bags, then we were On Our Way!

... until, 25 minutes into the journey to the airport, mom jokingly asked if i had my passport. nnnnnope!

the taxi driver got a kick out of us heading all the way back to praram kao, soi sip sam, just so i could sprint upstairs for my passport (and a very vicks vapo-rub smooch), but we headed back towards suvarnabhumi afterwards without a second hitch. mom's nerves were a bit rattled, but we arrived with a good hour to spare. i had grabbed a bag of chocolate-flavored yam chips (yes, really) from the kitchen, so we munched them during the wait. dad and i assembled the toy that came with the snacky goodness, which took some doing, but ended in immense fun, involving repeatedly launching a plastic disc at the wall.

the plane ride was a dream, really just like a bus journey. perhaps a little over an hour long, although i conked out through the whole thing, and thus really haven't a clue.

CHIANG MAI! this is where my vacation really began (as bangkok is pretty much permanently categorized under the "Severely Stressful" category, totally regardless of presence of family members). i'd heard on various occasions from both thai and farang friends of mine that it's an absolutely lovely place to be, but other than these vouchers, i really had no idea what to expect.

the taxi trip to our guesthouse quickly demonstrated the enormous sense of calm that permeates this city. we'd completely ditched the hustle and bustle of bangkok. the traffic already seemed a memory.

the sawasdee chiang mai guesthouse turned out to be just as super-cute as trip advisor had advised, and we loved it immediately. sam, the owner, meeted and greeted, plus gifted us with a map of the city all highlighted with points of interest, particularly the area for the sunday walking market being held this night.

i had a cozy room on the first floor (although it would be much cozier with more curls in the bed next to mine...) and the parents had their hideaway positioned on the fourth. they were very pleased about the extra stairs as they always seek out opportunities to stretch their legs.

we headed out right away and hit up the indispensable 7-11. mom secured her black tea and dad eyeballed the tamarind candy. then - we found ourselves starving, so we sought out khao soi, local chiang mai specialty. oh MAN was it ever excellent. spicy coconut sauce, crunchy noodles, succulent chicken... definitely one of the pinnacles of our culinary journey thus far.

we wandered. the beginnings of the sunday walking market were appearing wherever we looked, and we let our gaze meander from pashmina to earrings to meat on a stick. dad was seeking a breezy white shirt for use on the beach and boat, but other than this, we had no defined goals for the impending spending spree.


soon enough we made our primary purchase, a set of hand-painted coasters with case for the tork home in arizona. they were most lovely, and the vendor demonstrated her painting skill for us in person.


mom also decided that, given the comparatively absurdly low price of massages here, we ought to be getting one every day. i had no objections. here on the corner, we watched the market being assembled while our toesies were being carressed by expect thai women. i also learned the phrase "sitting in the catbird seat," which i look forward to using with glee.


the walking market had a much higher concentration of handmade goods than chatuchak, and we quickly zoned in on handmade ocarinas. upon seeing our interest, the vendor immediately played zelda's theme, then the theme from the lost forest. it was most excellent.

we then decided the day had been hard on us, and we returned to the guesthouse for a half-hour catnap and subsequent shower. i also changed dresses, because i am on vacation and feeling fabulous. i have lifted pennie's amazing asymmetrical pink ensemble because she has foolishly left it in my closet, and it is breezy and sexy. i feel tops.


the walking market was crowded, but the ambiance was still infinitely chiller than the chaotic chatuchak. we saw unbelievable amounts of artsy whatnot, including paintings, handmade earrings, screenprinted shirts, carved soap...

we grazed for dinner, which included a steamed pork bao bun for all, steamed dumplings, smoothies of various sorts, meat on a stick, and unbelievably scrumptious fried chicken (which thailand does far, far better than you might ever expect).


it was a special day for buddhism, and we passed many wats on our shopping journey. near the end of our stamina, we elected to enter one of the most intriguing temple areas, and were immediately assualted with what seemed to be tens of thousands of lights. young monks tended the candles and kept them burning (i very badly want to make an earlham joke here, but will leave it be).


our spines were collectively shivering in tune to the chanting music thickly filling the air. we had absolutely no idea what we'd walked into, and it was marvelous, completely distinct from anything any one of us had ever experienced. even though i'd been here for six months now, i still had to remind myself just a little bit - "hey, this is the real thing - this isn't some sideshow set up in the name of cultural awareness, no. this is thailand, and these are monks, and this is all actually happening, and you are actually here." incredible.

our dogs were a-barking, so we headed back to the guesthouse, enormous bag of purchases in hand (including several breezy white shirts for daddles). it took approximately no time to enter into dreamworld, anticipating the cooking class to come tomorrow morning.

---

also: happy un-birthday mama!! hope it was a great one, even if i am already older than you. and THANK YOU for the phi beta kappa key - i absolutely love it; it's the kind of gift i will treasure for a very long time to come!

Shopping!

SATURDAY

Today was our designated shopping day. We started off completely on the wrong foot, however, when we walked down to get "old woman" coffee and she was not there! How dare she take a day off! We trudged back to the house where Janel calmed us down by making us coffee in her new cafetera. She then presented us with a delicious breakfast delicacy of mango and sticky rice with coconut milk on top - unbelievable!

We saddled up and headed out via taxi to Chatuchak market deep in Bangkok. I hesitate to try and describe the place - it actually defies description. It is a HUGE indoor/outdoor conglomeration of stalls/people and anything/everything you want/need or don't need. If you need something - you can find it there. Well. . .you might not actually be able to "find" it, but rest assured it is there: clothing, housewares, jewelry, shoes, electronics, art, flowers, knick knacks, pets, and food stalls of all kinds. It is not a touristy place (although tourists do go there), but rather a place where Thais actually shop for necessities. It is hot, stuffy, crowded and fun!

Entering the market - the tip of the iceberg

We had previously decided that we would be "grazing" the food stalls today and started right in the middle of the market. We zeroed in on some bubbling woks of food and followed our noses. We had no idea what anything was, so we just kind of pointed and got two huge plates of some kind of curried chicken and rice. It was delicious.

bubbling wok filled with ???

Lunchtime

I realize that much of this blog revolves around food, but seriously, I think Thai people must eat all the time! There is food everywhere and people eating and enjoying all around. It is quite a food culture. Of course, we love it.

After lunch we start the serious browsing. It is so overwhelming that I don't even make a single purchase. Janel bought a great dress for about $6. Carlos purchased a few items, but mostly we just wandered and ate "meat on a stick" whenever we wanted a nibble.

Rich and Carlos contemplating housewares


Janel looking at earrings

Janel bought sunglasses for 50bht ($1.50)

Trying to diagnos the "creeping crud" she had last week. . .

When we were almost at our point of exhaustion I spied an oasis - a stall for massages! Janel and I indulged in a 30 minute neck/shoulder massage that was heaven - 150bht each ($4). Next time we will add a foot massage. Finally we had to try and fight our way through the traffic to get home.

How do we get through this???

When we get home we relax for a bit and then head out for dinner. Tonight's dinner was supposed to be a treat for Janel and Carlos for letting us stay at their house. However - it is just Janel/Rich and me because Carlos is not feeling well. He probably has finally come down with what Janel was fighting last week. We hope we don't succumb.

Anyway - we dress up fancy and grab a taxi to head to Opus restaurant. Janel had been there last week to review it for her Wine Bar article coming out in the March issue of Look East magazine (be sure to check in in March). She really loved it and wanted to take us there. It was fabulous. It is an Italian place (we figured we are going to get plenty of Thai food) where they recognized her when we walked in. They treated us like royalty. We chose a wonderful Nero d
avola wine from Sicily and enjoyed it with our meal.

We started with a Burratina - a creamy, creamy fresh cheese (yes, Janet - I have had burata once again and yes it was phenomenal) and a beautiful Tapas platter. We finished by sharing a perfect small platter of Australian tenderloin. Oh - of course tira misu for dessert. The manager then complimented us with limoncello. All in all a perfect evening of quiet conversation and food.

Linda and Janel with the tenderloin

Does this photo show how happy we are to be together?!

Another great day in Bangkok. Today we leave for Chiang Mai. The blog might get a little lighter since I am not sure about internet access during our travels.

Laid Back Day

Yesterday (Friday) was nice and laid back. Rich and I ventured out ALONE to get coffee from the coffee lady. Janel had written down what we were supposed to say and we were successful! Janel had fixed us Brown Sugar Oatmeal Pancakes - yummy. After breakfast Janel had a little writing work to do so we lazed around and read. Finally everyone was ready to get moving. The plan was to go out and get the 2 most quintessential Thai Foods: Som Tam and Pad Thai. We were also going to pick up some ingredients at the market to cook tonight - whatever looked good.

We headed out in a taxi and ended up at Carrefour which is a HUGE indoor supermarket that is filled with nicely packaged food and beautiful displays (certainly NOT where we want to shop for our ingredients. . .!)

Janel begging to buy some Monster Munch

We glanced up and down a lot of the aisles and then headed outside to Janel's favorite Som Tam lady. Janel asked her to make it just the way she likes it - 2 chiles, dried shrimp, green papaya, lots of other secret ingredients which she puts in a big vessel and begins to mash and mix. the "chef" actually tastes it when she is done to see if it will be what you ordered. Evidently Som Tam is very customizable. We pay her the 30 bht (about $1) for a huge portion (in a baggie, of course) and move on to the Pad Thai man.

Ordering the Som Tam

Janel insists that this particular Pad Thai man makes the best. His wife also cooks at the stand on occasion, but her Pad Thai is not as good as his. Watching him cook it is a thing of beauty. He add ingredients to his simmering flat pan one at a time and gently stir-frys them as they cook. He puts in noodles, sugar, fish sauce, sprouts, scallions, dried shrimp and other goodies. The crowning glory when it is finished is a fried egg that he cooks very thin and then wraps up the whole thing in it.


We sat at the communal tables and enjoyed our 60bht ($2) feast. I think I could live on Som Tam - it is refreshing and filled with sooo many flavors. Delicious. The Pad Thai was a little more spicy, but wonderful. We loved them both.

Our Feast

On to the market to secure our dinner ingredients. We decide that we want some clams and mussels to steam, some large (and still alive) prawns to grill and some chicken for the grill. We quickly locate a sea of chicken parts and I zero in on the thighs. I hold up 4 fingers to signify that I want 4 thighs and they are quickly selected and bagged. Rich pays and we move on to the seafood.

"I'll have 4 of those"

The mussels and clams are easy to find. We ask for a 1/2 kilo of the clams and are successful. We try the same tactic for the mussels and the woman keeps filling the back while we are all protesting - "no - too much" "half" etc. We are gesturing wildly for her to put some back but before we know it the huge bag of mussels is closed and handed to us. Oh well - for 25bht (less than $1) we can throw away most!


Rich thinks he remembers where the live prawns are located so we go on a hunt. We quickly locate them and they are beauties. We decide we would like to have 8 of them and the guy indicates for us to pick them out - YEW - I am not sticking my hand in a vat of live prawns who are squirming and pinching. Rich begins to choose some and the guy helps out. Somehow we end up with 7 prawns, but we are very happy with our 120 bht ($3.50).

"Give me the jumpy ones"

We grab a few fruits (jackfruit and some other orangy round delicious fruits)and things and are ready to head home. Once we get home we are hot, hot, hot and decide to jump in the pool. There is a fantastic pool at Janel's house and nobody uses it. Janel, Carlos and I grab a beer and head out the door. Rich decides to stay in and finish his book in our air-conditioned room. We all relax in the pool for a couple of hours and I think we solved some of the world's problems.

relaxin'

Time to make dinner. After discovering that the light out by the bbq is blown out we determine that we should sautee the meat/prawns. Rich makes us a spice mix from items found in the pantry and takes over the prawns. I season the thighs simply and brown them in the skillet. We also saute the mussels/clams in butter and garlic and steam for a couple of minutes. Dinner is served! Everything is delicious and we chow down.

Ewwwww!

We are all pretty tired tonight and turn in early. Tomorrow is a BIG shopping day so we need our strength. All in all another great day with our girl.

A Blur

Janel's Soi (street) - quiet and peaceful

What day is it today? Where am I? Why is it so $#%& hot??!!

Yesterday went past in a blur caused by jet lag and the introduction to life in Bangkok. We woke up relatively early and enjoyed a peaceful morning at Janel's house. We took a very short walk down tree-lined streets to her favorite "coffee lady" where we had the absolute BEST iced coffee I have ever had. A person could get seriously hooked on this stuff. I really didn't watch the process of making it because I was already in sensory overload. It came to us in little plastic baggies with a straw (as are served most drinks on the street). Sinful.

Janel's Coffee Lady

We also bought some pineapple from a little fruit stand and headed back to Janel's house where she prepared muffins. A great way to leisurely start our whirlwind. We sat around and gave Janel her late birthday presents and other goodies we brought from Arizona. We gave her a digital photo frame filled with tons of family pics. She loves it! She also received a treasured Phi Beta Kappa key from Mama/Papa.

Fixin' Breakfast

Wearing the PBK Key

After breakfast we decided to venture out and start the insanity. Janel's house is Northeast of the city in a pretty quiet area. We took a taxi to a local market and spent time just wandering through the stalls of produce, meat, fish and anything else you could possibly want. The colors were beautiful, the smells were overwhelming and the amount of items for sale was vast. We didn't recognize most of the fruits and veggies, but they looked awesome. Rich wished we had a place like that to shop at home. Carlos purchased a few items for tomorrow's meal - corn, carrots, mango and sticky rice.

Carlos scoring some fruit

Bird's eye view

Shoppin'

Carlos and Janel do a fantastic job of being able to ask for what they want and communicating in general. Rich and I were totally at a loss. I am not sure we could navigate on our own around here. We have certainly traveled to many places where English was not the native language, but somehow it feels different here. I have never visited a place where I felt like I couldn't even say "hello" or "please and thank you" or "Where is the bathroom???" Very strange feeling. I suppose it is because in say France or Spain or Italy the language is all Latin-based and you can sometimes get close to the word you want to say. Here - I can't even guess what any of the signs say.

general hustle and bustle

Did I mention how HOT it is??? Oh sure - we live in Arizona where it gets pretty hot. But this is nothing like our heat. This is STEAMY. Janel says you get used to it.

After the overload of the market we decide to head into "town" (Bangkok proper) and Janel negotiates the BTS - metro system. We wind up at one of her favorite places - Lhimpini Park. It is an oasis in the middle ot the bustling city. Wandering around this beautiful park is Janel's idea to "ease" us into the city. We finally come to a spot where Janel says there are lizards and we begin to look for them. I think I am looking for some small creature or maybe even an iguana-type animal. But then out of the lake comes this huge monitor lizard!

Chillin' at the park

He's HUGE!

Ok - enough relaxing. We decide to go full on into the downtown area of Bangkok. Once again Janel negotiates the transit system. We travel first by metro underground and then by skytrain. We wind up at the Siam Paragon a serious shopping/entertainment mecca. The "mall" is 6 stories of luxurious shopping with all the designer names you know and love - Gucci, Versace, Bottega Venetta, Chloe, Hugo Boss, etc, etc. (we all decided that Janet would LOVE this place!!) They even have several car showrooms - lamborghini, BMW, etc. It is amazing! We wandered into the food area which is larger than any other actual mall I have ever seen - the choices were endless. We ended up getting a few snacks (including a Sweet Bomb) and smoothies. Your credit card could take some serious hits in this place. We bought nothing.

Outside the Paragon

Shot from the SkyTrain

Inside the Paragon

Sweet

Time to try and head back home to change for dinner. Easier said than done. It was now around 6pm and traffic was decidedly thick. Janel attempts to get a taxi and gets turned down 3 times! I don't understand how they can refuse to take you - they are at a dead standstill with no passenger and they would rather tell you "no" than accept a fare? Oh well, we walked a few blocks and were finally successful with getting a taxi. However it really didn't matter since it took us almost an hour to drive a few km. . . Traffic is a nightmare.

We quickly showered, changed and headed back into traffic gridlock to get to a wine tasting that Janel had been invited to. It was a very cool setting with interesting people. We sat around nibbling and drinking wine and then after 10 we retired upstairs to the Nest. The Nest is a rooftop bar/restaurant with a great view over Bangkok. We relaxed with new friends and hung out for a bit until we all were about to drop from exhaustion. A short cab ride later we were home again and passed out in our beds.

I am not sure what is on the agenda for today, but I know we can't spend every day like the last one! It is great just hanging out with Janel and Carlos and I can't wait to see what happens today.

typical Thailand

THAILAND!!!

We are HERE!!! It was a loooong flight, but seeing Janel (and Carlos) made it all worthwhile. We stayed up until about 2am and then crashed and burned. We got up around 9 this morning and walked down to the "coffee lady." Unbelievable.

Janel's house is wonderful - we have a really nice room to ourselves. We are going to go exploring as soon as we get our "sea legs."

This is just an update only to let you know we are here. I'll blog more later.

Yaaaaay!

Happy 23rd Birthday Janel!!!

Happy Birthday Nellie! We are leaving in just a bit to jump on the plane to see you - can't wait!

Golf Day!

The Three Amigos

MONDAY Today was great. That's it. Just great. We headed out this morning for the Original Pancake House and had a delicious breakfast in preparation for the day ahead. Then we headed to Ko'olau Golf Course. Amazing. Ko'olau is gorgeous and treacherous. Alan rode along in his own golf cart and even putted a few balls. I actually made par on TWO holes!! I was very proud. Rich and I played fairly well and had such a great time. Alan is ready to go back just to ride around the course again - it is that beautiful.

"Where in the heck is the flag???"

Unbelievable scenery

We came home, invited Gina and Simplicio over for drinks and sat around and laughed and talked story. Then, Alan fixed some super steaks for us.

We are all packed up. I even was able to chat with Janel (who is really starting to feel better). It is Janel's birthday (not here, yet - but it is already the 23rd in Thailand). HAPPY BIRTHDAY NELLIE!!! We get on the plan tomorrow and fly to Bangkok. We are so excited to think about the adventures that await us. I hope I can keep up with this blog - Janel says she will help. Wish us safe travels and keep reading. . .

Island Tour

SUNDAY
Yesterday was a laid-back island tour. After Rich recovered from his bike ride, we drove into town to return the bike. The Bike Shop just happened to be very near Leonard's. . . For those who don't know - Leonard's is a bakery that is famous for Portuguese Malasadas. If you haven't ever had them - you MUST. If you have - I am sorry - I know you are salivating right now.

We ate our Malasadas hot and fresh in the car in Leonard's parking lot just as nature intended.

After we were refreshed, we took off for the Pali Lookout. We drove on the Old Pali Highway - a beautiful drive through lush jungle and mountains. We ended up at the Pali Lookout where you can get a view of the entire Windward side of the island.

Pali Lookout (Ko'olau Golf Course in the background)

Since we will be playing golf at the Ko'olau Golf Course on Monday, we decided to pass by for a look. After being so aggravated and disappointed with the Hawaii Kai course we did not really have high hopes. BUT - Ko'olau is gorgeous! We stopped at the pro shop and they were extremely friendly and welcoming. They informed us that this course is known as one of the most difficult in the US and it is said that you need to bring as many balls as your handicap. . . I have 29 and am contemplating getting more. We peeked at a few holes and I quickly decided that I am ONLY going to use my putter from tee to green. I am not sure yet how I will be able to putt over some of the ravines. Anyway, we are really looking forward to our round there. Alan will go along and ride in a golf cart.

Back in the car, we head towards one of our very favorite spots on the island - Puna lu'u Beach.

The big attraction (for us at least) at Punalu'u is the area in which to play Pooh Sticks. There is a great stream that runs into the ocean and we have become adept at finding objects to race down the stream. Much cheering and screaming is involved. This visit's runaway winner was a choice piece of styrofoam that Rich discovered.

Rich and Alan discussing the floatability of their chosen objects

Rich and Linda "dropping" at the start of a race

After a rousing round of Pooh Sticks, it was time to head to "the Keys" (Wai ki ki) for dinner. We had scoped out the very best sushi restaurants in Honolulu and came up with Morio's in Waikiki. It was described as a hole in the wall that if you didn't know better you would "run like hell" upon seeing it. It was exactly as described and we loved it! We had reservations at the highly coveted sushi bar that seats only 8. There was another couple there and the other seats had "reserved" signs on them. We took particular delight in seeing walk-in guests get turned away for not having reservations.

It was a BYOB place and we purchased a couple of Japanese beers next door. We put ourselves in Morio's skilled hands. We started with a Sashimi plate that was killer.

sashimi

We then asked Morio what we should have and he fixed us a Volcano roll that was not on the menu. Spicy ahi, some kind of sauce, rice, who knows what else? Fantastic. We knew we wanted some unagi (eel) so we ordered a Dragon Roll. Wow.

Dragon roll at Morio's

After the Dragon roll we were almost satisfied but wanted just something else. We told Morio that we wanted something great to finish with - something simple, something clean. He told us we were giving him a headache.

Morio has a headache trying to figure out what to make for us

He concocts something and places it in front of us. When asked what it is he just says "eat it." It is remarkable - seared Ahi, very thin vegetables and ponzu sauce. Perfect. Upon receiving the bill I do a double take - $43! We have been to sushi places at home where the bill has been upwards of $100 for just the 2 of us and it wasn't half as good. We deem our choice a brilliant success.

I must add this - During the time that Morio is fixing our last dish we decide that our parking meter (a few blocks down at the Zoo) is probably going to expire. Rich volunteers to sprint down to the car and feed the meter. He gets to a point across the street from the car and has to wait for the light in order to cross the busy street. He can see a policewoman writing a ticket and putting it on our car. He yells at her. He yells again. Light changes and he runs across the street to our car. He confronts the policewoman who won't budge on the ticket. Holy Cow. Our meter is probably less than 5 minutes expired and he is right there to put more money in. We are in Waikiki spending $. She can't waive the ticket????! Will it get paid? What do you think?

Would YOU pay this???

Home again - another great day.

We sleep late and laze around the house for most of the morning. Finally we decide around 1:00 that we should go get Dave's ice cream for lunch. We headed out to Waimanalo and find Dave's. I have Coconut/Macademia/Kona Coffee, Alan has Lychee, and Rich has Kona Coffee. Just right.

Ice cream at Dave's

After that we head back towards home being sure to stop at BOTH Costco and Safeway (3rd time for Safeway, 2nd for Costco). We pick up Filet Mignons for Monday night and other necessities for Alan.

Tonight we are cooking lamb chops, cabbage au gratin and pureed parsnips. Alan is tending the fire. Alan's neighbor - Simplicio - just dropped by with a huge plate of crab legs for us. Life is tough.

ok - I know I have the fonts all screwed up and I have spent the last 20 minutes trying to fix them. Forget it- you will just have to deal with it and hope I can clear up the next entry.