A.S.I.A. (Ann and Sue in Asia) [Apr. 23- May 8, 2011]

Bangkok, Thailand

April 23, 2010

So let's bear in mind (bare in mind?) that these next few tales of travel occurred over a year ago, but nevertheless they remain a huge part of my experience over here in Thailand and I'm really looking forward to finally catching up and completing my journey...not to mention I still have a huge amount of recent posts to put up too. Well it's better late than never, so let's begin from the first day that Mom and Sue woke up in BKK.

I made my way into the city after having made sure that Mom and Sue got to the Century Park hotel alright the night before (I was crossing my fingers that they weren't aware of the red shirt bombs that targeted the BTS as their plane was landing!) It was surreal to have them visiting me and it took a few minutes to realize that they were actually here! After dropping my stuff off in the room and about 10349803298 hugs we made our way down to a glorious breakfast buffet filled with all the luxuries of western eating that I hadn't had in months--needless to say I ate myself sick.

Fresh off the 20+ hour trek I was impressed that they were so excited to hit the ground running. We decided on a day of Bangkok sightseeing and had the hotel arrange us a car to take us to the Chao Praya river for a longboat tour of the canals. I'd been on rides like this before, but never in BKK and it was really eye opening to hit the backwaters and motor our way through the watery neighborhoods where people literally live off the river (swimming, bathing, washing, cooking, fishing, boating, etc.) We got dropped off at the pier near to the Grand Palace and realized how unbelievably hot it was when the river's breeze wasn't blowing in our faces.

As we were making our way to the entrance to the Grand Palace, we were approached by a tuk tuk who told us that the palace was closed until later in the afternoon due to a Buddhist holiday. He said that he would take us around to see some sites and then bring us back when the processions were over. When he said the price of the tour (60 baht) I had a really bad feeling about it as I wasn't aware of a holiday and when I asked him which holiday it was he couldn't give me an actual name--I was a bit wary since being cheated in the Great Cambodian border incident of March 2010. We debated for a bit, but in the end I decided it would be better for us to see for ourselves if the palace was actually closed! Good thing we did, because it was definitely not closed and the tuk tuk was definitely a tout (I read later in the Lonely Planet guide that that exact tout is very common and tourists usually end up at some gem store where they are more or less forced to buy jewelry) Thailand-0 and Minnesota-1

It was literally the one of the hottest days I'd been through in Thailand, but there the 3 of us were traipsing around the non-air conditioned grounds of the Grand Palace. Having been there before I tried to draw on some memories of what the different temples/buildings/paintings represented, but it was difficult to process thought through the incessant pouring of sweat. Still, it is a really really impressive and beautiful place to visit with each watcovered in shimmering squares of glass and porcelain and each individual painting and sculpture telling a piece of the very intricate history and lore of Thailand and Buddhism. After Mom and Sue almost passed out in the Temple of the Emerald Buddha it was a unanimous decision to take a cab back to the hotel. Thailand-1 and Minnesota-1

After a shower and a much needed leg up, we felt refreshed. We decided to make our way to the lobby for a nice happy hour and some snacks. I can't describe how great it is to have visitors and just sit and talk (in English) about familiar topics and get totally caught up on everything that's been going on at home (hint hint to any of you who haven't come over here yet!) We made our way to Ajarn Place for dinner, a hole in the wall Thai restaurant our friends at the hotel desk recommended to us, and indulged on some pretty good food before hitting the hay. Day 1: Success.

A.S.I.A.: Ann and Sue do Kanchanaburi

April 24, 2010 (Ann and Sue-Day 2)

Kanchanaburi and Bangkok, Thailand

We decided to make a day trip to Kanchanaburi on day 2 to see some countryside and get some fresh air outside the city. Despite the rain, we made our way to the bus station after another gluttonous buffet and got all settled for the couple hour journey to one of my favorite places. We were lucky to find a tour company that was willing to let us hire a driver for the day and be back in time for the bus to the city and away we we went to our first destination.

Mom and Sue Elephant Riding

Upon arrival at a local elephant camp we were greeted by sunshine and some very friendly mahouts (elephant trainers) waiting to load us up onto our large Pachyderm friends. It was hilarious watching Mom and Sue bobbing up and down on the back of the elephant as their mahout had it doing tricks and showing off. My pairing, however, was a bit of a dud as the mahout didn't say a word and didn't have my little fella do any tricks...not that it would have anyway as it's main focus was trying to go offroad and forage for leaves amdist the farthest reaches of the trail. No worries though, I don't think many people can say that they've ridden on the back of an elephant more than once in a lifetime :)

Mom and Sue rafting down the River Kwai

After dismounting we traded our 4 legged friends for a bamboo raft and began our trip down the River Kwai. There aren't many things more peaceful than sitting in the sun with your legs dangling in the cool water as you stare out at jungle-covered mountains against the bright sky. Our boat paddler decided to show off a bit for us and pulled over to a bank where he proceeded to climb up a mangrove tree and swing and flip from a well-used vine as we cheered him on. Our driver was waiting for us at the end and we made our way into town for a visit to the market and the infamous Bridge over the River Kwai. It still amazes me that so much history is involved with the bridge and that so many people lost their lives building it over and over again. I think the coolest part is that the bridge is still in use by the railways and that tourists are able to walk across it and look at the speedy current of the waters below through its slatted framwork.

The Bridge over the River Kwai

Another eventful day came to an end as we headed to catch a bus back; don't worry, Mom and Sue got to fully experience Thai transportation as the bus was delayed. We made the best of our situation though and got some handmade spring rolls and local drinks to tide us over as we waited...and waited...and waited. Yea, it was really delayed, but in the end we made it home safe and sound and ready for our cozy beds.

A.S.I.A: The Willage

April 25th, 2010
Bangkok, Thailand

Day 3 was upon us before we knew it and there we were gorging ourselves on the breakfast buffet we had become such fans of. After breakfast we headed out to Bang Phli to visit my village and school-it was really fun to get to show off where I’d been spending the majority of my time for the past few months and I think Mom and Sue had fun putting a picture to the stories. It was funny seeing their reactions to the construction on the road to school and the NASA-rocket ship sound my ceiling fan made. We strolled around in the heat after meeting P. Pen and made our way to P. Jiep (Smoothie Lady)—Mom and Sue are such good sports as I’m not sure there are many moms who would be excited walking around in the midday Thai heat. After a brief look through the gates at home we hopped in a taxi and made our way to Chatuchak (JJ Market) for an afternoon of shopping and people watching.

Per usual the place was an absolute zoo filled with every person, thing and animal one could imagine. I had to take them through to the animal section where we ooohed and aahed at the squirrels in frilly dresses and the miniature puppies and kittens wrestling in their pens. We made our way through the maze of stalls and vendors and were able to pick up some souvenirs before reaching our literal boiling point and heading to the outside world for a cool drink and a nice stool. The people watching at JJ is probably the best Asia has to offer—for those of you familiar with the MN State Fair (and how much I love it) it’s like sitting on a bench and sitting open-mouthed at all the, uh, interesting people walking past. I had a pretty hilarious time explaining the concept of the ladyboy to Mom and Sue and we had some fun trying to pick them out of the crowd. Our favorite spectacle, though, was a funkily dressed woman and her Chihuahua who was dressed to the nines; it was wearing a studded denim jacket with cut off jean shorts, a bling bling collar and 4 little denim Chuck Taylors to top it all off. Maybe it was the heat, but we couldn’t stop laughing especially when Sue snapped a shot of the ordeal! It reminded us of the time I was studying abroad in Spain and the two of them came to visit and Soup asked a crotchety old woman if she could take a picture because she reminded her of someone!

That evening we went on a wild goose to book airline tickets for the following day when we would be heading off to Krabi for a relaxing beach holiday. Day 3: Success.

A.S.I.A: No being crabby in Krabi

April 26th, 2010

Krabi, Thailand (southern)

SVC Bungalow (our Krabi home)

Stepping off a plane onto the tarmac surrounded by palm trees and tropical sea breeze never gets old. We had arrived safe and sound at Krabi’s Airport and, although it wasn’t the sunniest day, we were ready for a break from the hustle and bustle of the city. A bus brought us first to Krabi Town and then to the doorstep of our home for the next few days: Krabi Resort at Ao Nang Beach. It’s a really beautiful resort with a hotel, big swimming pool and loads of various bungalows scattered around the manicured grounds. We were taken by golf cart to our bungalow which turned out to be a bit smaller than we had imagined (aka the roll-away bed was literally at the foot of the main bed) so Mom did what she does so well and got us upgraded to the SVC Bungalow (whatever that means) complete with separate living room and view of the sea.

Ao Nang Beach, Krabi

As it was cloudy we headed up to the pool for happy hour where we met Ming, a staff member who took a quick liking to the three of us. It’s still up in the air as to whether or not she is a lady boy, but one thing is for sure: she is one of the nicest people I’ve met. We sat around talking for awhile and learned about Ming and her family until we realized we were starving. Ming recommended us a restaurant down the road called Wangsai where we headed after a quick shower and BBC news update (Soup loves the news!) The restaurant was within walking distance and had a beautiful view of the sea and the sunset which was the perfect backdrop for a seafood dinner. Mom and Sue got to witness another Thailand-ism at the restaurant when mom tried to order the white snapper off the menu and the simple response was just ‘no have.’ I always laugh when this happen as there is no explanation for why, just ‘no have.’ Then the waiters usually stare at you rather than suggesting something else that they do have, so as Soup and I were laughing Mom tried ordering the Red Snapper…’Have.’ Phew, that was a relief as I’ve definitely been to places where you ask for 4 or 5 things and they ‘no have’ and you finally are just like ‘what do you have?!’

Weary travelers that we were, we decided to head back and put our feet up at the hotel. We hit the sack with hopes of a sun-filled beach day tomorrow!

Even if it's raining: No being crabby in Krabi

A.S.I.A.: No being crabby in Krabi II

April 27, 2010
Krabi, Thailand

Unfortunately our prayers went unanswered and we awoke to more gray skies. No worries though, a day is always an adventure with Mom and Soup! We headed over to the breakfast buffet and, as we’ve become so good at, ate our fill of the various western/Thai dishes before making our way for a stroll through town. Ao Nang itself is really just a main street lined with shops, restaurants and guest houses on one side and the beach and Andaman Sea on the other—can’t beat the ocean while you’re shopping and eating!

As we made our way up and down it began to pour, so we jumped through the first doorway we could find and there, at Dragon Restaurant, we sat out the storm. It may not seem like we were really getting up to a whole lot, but if I were able to record some of the hilarious conversations we had during our stints in various restaurants/shops, you would understand what filled our time. Finally, everything cleared up and we made our way to meet Ming back at the pool. She was faithfully there with new tropical drinks for us to try and plenty of conversation to be had. Our routine lead us back to the room for some post happy hour snacks, more news and off we went to dinner.

Unsure where to eat tonight we walked into town and examined some menus here and there. We ended up at Ao Ning restaurant where wound up eating some really good food (my pizza was awesome!) We decided that it was time for Mom and Sue to experience their first Thai foot massage after all our walking today. Our feet lead us to a small massage ‘shop’ down an alley near our hotel. I use the word ‘shop’ lightly as we literally entered a small room with sliding glass doors and 4 mattresses— we started laughing at our situation and hoped we were only in store for a massage! The ladies were very nice and got started on our feet; my lady was putting Tiger Balm lotion on my legs and stopped, looked up at me and said ‘Mista, I wax your regs (legs)?’ We burst out laughing and I kindly told her I was going to have to pass on that for tonight.

Things were going well and we were chatting and relaxing until suddenly Sue and I heard a THUD next to us. We turned our heads to witness Mom gasping for breath as this 4’ 9” Thai woman was tossing her around like a rag doll. It’s pretty common for the masseuses to spend some time on your neck and head during a foot massage, but Mom was discovering an elasticity that none of us (including herself) knew she had. One second she would be lying next to us and the next she’d be in the air with one foot touching her head and her arms twisted in a pretzel formation. Not wanting to be rude Sue and I somehow kept our laughs inside, but the second we got through the sliding doors the 3 of us were rolling on the ground in hysterics. For those of you who know my mom you can see why the image of her being bent around like a trapeze artist would be so funny, especially her facial expressions—well it’s really funny to see it happen to anyone!

We couldn’t stop laughing all the way back to the resort and even into bed. What started and ended as a foot massage for Sue and me was actually a lesson in gymnastic flexibility for Mom :)

Even if you're discovering new muscles and tendons you never knew you had: No being crabby in Krabi

A.S.I.A. No being crabby in Krabi III

April 28th, 2010 Krabi, Thailand

On the death march to Tonsai

Another cloudy morning found us on the beach waiting for a longtail boat to take us to the famed Rai Leh beach--an island the bay known for it's scenery and rock climbing.  We decided to explore a bit while we waited for the sun to come and headed off to find Tonsai beach on the other side of the island.  What started as a nice hike past the local monkeys and through a little town quickly turned into a death march through a jungle in every literal sense of the word.  I kept pushing us to keep going, but as we ascended what appeared to be an endless vertical path up the side of a mountain Mom put her foot down.  I think the heat and humidity mixed with dehydration and the constant buzz of what were surely malarial mosquitoes had gotten to my head and I realized it probably wasn't actually worth it to make us continue on--especially if we got to the beach and it wasn't that great.  So back we headed to the main beach which looked even more like paradise as we settled our sweaty bodies into some beach front adirondacks. 

  

Karst formations

Longtail boats take you to Rai Leh from the mainland

Rai  Leh really is incredible as you gaze out on the luminous green water (the sun had come out at this point and everything was vibrant) and see limestone protrusions dotting the horizon while behind you local adventure-seekers are emerging from the jungle clinging to the island's similarly formed cliffs (some with and some without ropes.)  Top that off with an ice cold drink and life is a 10 out of 10.  We headed back to the resort after lunch and spent the afternoon doing what we do best: reading, lounging and swimming at the pool-with grade A service from the lovely Ming.

That night hunger got the best of us and we found ourselves at a new restaurant called Jesaeo for dinner.  It was owned by a group of extremely welcoming Indian/Pakistani people who made our dinner all the more pleasant.  Within 5 minutes our waiter, Forkas, was chatting us up (using his well honed English) to learn about where we were from, our trip, etc. and was more than happy to let us know that he was here working for his cousin and so appreciative for the opportunity, etc.  As we were eating our amazing food-pizzas, pastas, curries-Dahbal, the owner himself, came over and spent a fair amount of time talking with us before making the rounds to the other tables.  It's really impressive to see that kind of service as most places you venture in Thailand are very much sit, eat, order, pay, leave.  Granted, we were in a pretty touristed place it was still a great meal.  On the way back we stopped by a couple travel agencies and booked a speedboat trip for the next day and off we went to bed.

Even though you want to stop marching...you march on (until you realize it's not worth marching anymore): there's no being crabby in Krabi.





A.S.I.A.: From Krabi to the Muddy Estuary

April 30, 2010

Krabi, Thailand-->Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Our time in Krabi had come to an end and after a bite to eat and some packing we were ready to head back to the airport.  Ming was there waiting to see us off in the van and as we waved goodbye we couldn't help but laugh at the hilarity that had taken place on our short visit.



Petaling Street, KL, Malaysia

The flight was uneventful, as was customs, and we made our way outside of the Kuala Lumpur airport to search for a taxi.  The service is run pretty well at the airport, with everyone paying a set fare to get into the the actual city without having to worry about bartering/getting duped.  Our driver was a Chinese Malaysian and provided us with literally non-stop talking for the entire drive (which turned out to be about 2 hours.)  The airports are about an hour outside of KL itself and, with rush hour traffic, we were kind of at the mercy of our driver's endless stories about the palm trees, his Chinese heritage and his very obvious racism towards the Malay government.  He kept ranting about how when he was growing up kids learned 'real' English, but that the new implementation of Bahasa Malay as the national language had all but butchered the language with awkward phonetic spellings and pronunciations.  We weren't really sure how to react so we kind of nervously laughed along as he described the differences in how we say and spell cucumber and how his kids were being taught to say it.  I guess it was nice though that he taught us that Kuala Lumpur means Muddy Estuary... We were very relieved to reach our hotel.

Sizzling Chinese dinner

The Swiss Hotel definitely seemed nicer online, but as we had just gotten to the city we decided it would do for the night and made our way to Petaling Street.  This street is probably the more famous in KL and is known for it's endless shopping and hawkers.  Seriously anything fake or knock off you can imagine is available on this street.  After looking around and feeling a bit suffocated by the crowds we eked our way out to a less packed side street for some dinner.  We ended up at a delicious Chinese restaurant with streetside seating giving us prime real estate for people watching and giving us our fill before we headed back to the hotel for bed. 

A.S.I.A: A few hours doesn't mean 8

May 1, 2010

Kuala Lumpur-->Kuala Perlis, Malaysia

Petronas Towers

We woke up early the next day and headed downstairs for a filling breakfast before making our way to the famed Petronas Towers. When we got to the Towers we were all set to get our tickets to head up to the observation deck only to find that the rest of KL and its tourists had had the same early morning idea. After standing for a bit-and Soup being hit on by an overly friendly Iranian man-we decided instead to walk through the city to the KL Tower. Walking around KL you realize that it is an overall very nice city with clean streets and well manicured landscaping, however, it seemed to me more empty and less lively than BKK. Anyway, we finally reached our destination and took a free shuttle up to its base. Basically, the KL Tower is a giant communications tower that also has a revolving restaurant and loads of cultural activities, all while being surrounded by a nature preserve.

KL Tower

At the top we did a 360 degree walk around with a headset and handheld video guide that pointed out the various landmarks around the city. I'm actually glad we went here, because we were able to see the Petronas Towers in the distance and got some great shots looking down on the city. Included with our ticket was a walk through the cultural village so we spent some time taking a look at traditional houses, food and dances of the various Malaysian subcultures from throughout the country before we got a cab back to the hotel and then to the bus station.  As the main bus station was under construction we were driven to a massive tent in a parking lot outside the city. It was one of the most chaotic and insane places we'd ever been. You step foot in the tent and within milliseconds you're hounded by about 33098 people all trying to direct you to their bus and their destination. We finally found a bus that would take us to Kuala Perlis which they said was just a few hour bus ride that would get us to the pier in time to get the ferry to our actual destination, Langkawi.

Sue and Mom are happy listeners

Getting on the bus we were in fairly high spirits with spacious seats, loads of leg room and plenty of Dots for eating (think we ate about 25 boxes of Dots during the 2 week trip.)  We made a stop on our way out of the city where we were uprooted from our seats by some unhappy women, even though we were told that we could sit where we wanted.  Needless to say those women were not offered any Dots (although a bit later, after the steam had stopped pumping from our ears we realized they were actually really nice and helpful...still, no Dots.)  The bus ride was pretty smooth and I was so impressed at Mom and Sue being up for a cross country trek through Malaysia.  The scenery was really beautiful as we went from the city to some flat lands and suddenly up amongst the greenest highlands you could think of.

A view from KL Tower

We made a pit stop a little while into the trip and the 3 of us indulged with a bit of corn-in-a-cup.  I know, I know it sounds like a really exotic treat but it's pretty much exactly as its name states: corn with butter, sugar and coconut milk served in a cup with a small spoon.  It's one of my favorites and I'm pretty sure Mom and Soup are converts as well as we couldn't stop raving about it (and it's kind of an unwritten rule that you have to refer to it by its full name which lends to a bit more fun when discussing this relatively simple dessert.)  Anyway, I digress.  The ladies went off for a touch of rest stop shopping while I headed back to the bus and I'm really glad I did.  About 30 seconds after I got on the bus started to pull away and I jumped up to say they were still shopping, but the seat-stealing ladies were already on it (you remember the really rude and nasty ones from before :) )  The bus honked it's horn for about 2 straight minutes until we were able to see Mom and Sue sprinting through the parking lot in the rain and fog until they reached the bus and we could continue on our journey.

It started to feel like this was taking longer than it should as we realized that everyone else seemed to be getting off the bus except for us.  Then it dusk came, then sunset, then darkness.  We kind of figured that we probably weren't making the 6pm ferry when our bus pulled in after 9pm to a seemingly abandoned bus station in a seemingly abandoned Kuala Perlis.  Not seeing much other choice we made our way to the nearest hotel, the KL Seaview, which, according to its brochure, was at one point very high class--something had changed.  We were immediately greeted by the overwhelming odor of Durian fruit which can at times literally smell like a mixture of onion, puke and sewage.  I went out to help Soup with her bags and was met with an excessively overwaxed and sllippery ramp on which my feet slid right out from under me and I landed completely flat on my back on the hard ground (thankfully I'd kept my back pack on or I think I would have cracked my skull!)  In tears from laughing so hard we went back in to meet Mom and see our rooms, which weren't terrible; I mean what more can you ask for than aircon, enough clean beds to sleep on and arrows on the ceiling pointing us in the direction of Mecca...oh yea, this part of Malaysia is very Muslim.

Starving from our endless bus journey we ate at a pretty lively restaurant, Azira, which was serving local and very tasty Muslim dishes next door.  They clearly didn't get many foreigners in there, but we tried to blend in as much as we could, bobbing along as the locals stepped up to karaoke one after the other.  Our facade was shattered however, when Mom decided it would be a good idea to launch her chocolate milk across the table and spill it over everything.  Embarrassed we continued to bob along and speedily ate up before sneaking away to the luxurious Seaview for the night.

A.S.I.A.: Langkawi or Bust

May 2 and May 3, 2010

Langkawi, Malaysia

May 2, 2010

Our First View of Langkawi

Breakfast was nothing to write home about with cold hot dogs and some traditional Malyasian dishes which were a bit salty and fishy in flavor.  A plus, however, was that our hotel was within walking distance of the pier where we were to catch our ferry to Langkawi.  Whilst we were waiting for our boat to arrive we were met by yet another overly friendly man who took a liking to Mom; we thought Sue's Iranian man (who offered her a tour) was funny, but hs guy took the cake.  He had one arm and knack for talking.  You have to give him credit for his confidence, but I think what made us have to bite our lips from laughing was the fact that he kept talking about his arm and how due to his situation he had a special pass (laminated around his neck) that allowed him to ride the bus and other modes of transportation for free.  He even used the pass as a pick up line for Mom saying he could get her free rides too; at this point Sue and I couldn't even watch for fear of bursting out laughing. 

Jacuzzi, Pool and Swim Up Bar

The ferry finally came and we made our way to some seats only to be found once again by our new friend.  I think he realized Mom wasn't going to be travelling to Langkawi with him and he moved on a little bit into the ride.  We got of the ferry and were greeted by lightning blue water and warm tropical sun.  We walked through the duty free shops (which are a huge deal, because as a Muslim country, certain goods are heavily taxed on the Malaysian mainland) and made our way to a travel agent counter to book a hotel.  Malaysia is known as one of the countries with the most and cheapest 4- and 5-star resorts in the world, so we had a fairly large selection of very nice places.  We opted for a 4-star recommended to us by the agent and, man, were we happy about that!

Our Own White Sand Beach

We were driven from the port to the Holiday Villa Resort by an extremely nice man named At who helped us bring our bags inside and taught us some basic phrases to practice during our stay on the island.  The resort was absolutely beautiful with wonderfully cool rooms, and an incredible series of pools/jacuzzis, beautiful gardens and it's own private white sand beach.  Paradise.  After a quick bite to eat a Chinese restaurant up the road we grabbed our gear and headed to the pool.  It was exactly what the doctor ordered after our bus fiasco the day before.  We made our way to the swim up bar for a nice happy hour (how can you not be happy when you can have whatever you want without having to even get out of the pool!) and then to the beach for a perfect sunset over the water.  After some great pictures and washing the sand from our well-rested feet we showered and went do dinner at one of the resort's restaurants.  It's amazing how one day you can be so tired and exhausted and the next day you are in a state of complete relaxtion and everything seems to move calmly--if you hadn't guessed it that's how we felt that night and went to bed some very happy travellers.

 

May 3, 2010

Perfect Langkawi Sunset

Today was our full on, no plans, relaxation day.  We ate a nice breakfast after which we immediately claimed some prime real estate next to the pool for late morning/early afternoon ray soakage.  It got a bit cloudy around lunch time so we decided to do a bit of exploration near the hotel (a.k.a. Mom and Sue were ready to get some shopping in.)  There some really nice strips of shops featuring a cool mix of local and tourist-oriented goods and being the curious shoppers they are, Mom and Sue were actually able to get a store to unlock it's doors to let us in because they said they liked something in the window.  The people were really friendly and told us about their restaurant that was going to be opening for dinner later and were so happy and excited about us being there that we naturally said we'd come back later to eat dinner.

Traditional Malay Dinner

Continuing on with our theme for the day we headed back to the hotel for some more pool time and then some room time.  Don't you wish every day could be like this?  When hunger struck we kept our promise and headed back to the Sunday Bistro from excellent food and wine.  We were even treated with some dinner entertainment as an extremely rude and vocal group of Russians wouldn't stop complaining about their food.  Our waiter kept apologizing for them and how much time he had to spend with them (he said that groups of Russians and tourists alike come in all the time and order the expensive fish and then continue to send it back to the kitchen and moan about the service in hopes of getting the meal free.)  Who does that?!  The food was extremely good--I indulged in a traditional Malaysian multi-course meal--and the service was the same if not better, so were more than happy to sympathize with the staff.  In a state of food coma we waddled back to the resort for another night's sleeep.

A.S.I.A: All Day, All, Night

May 4, 2010

Langkawi, Malaysia

Despite it being our last day on Langkawi (oh, how we wished we’d had more time) we took full advantage of the morning sun down by the pool. Around lunch time we had At come pick us up and he agreed to take us on a half day tour of the island before we had to catch our flight back to Kuala Lumpur. It was the perfect way to end our stay as At drove us to many sites and was able to give us the lowdown on the history and life on the island.

Langkawi Cable Car

1st Stop: Batik.Langkawi is known for its very talented and traditional Batik artistry. We visited a Batik center where we got to watch the artists in action; basically Batik is the art of using cloth, wax and dye to create beautiful designs and motifs. An artist will use a small brush or pen to put wax on the cloth and then dye the visible fabric. In the end you are left with a painting like any other except it’s embedded in the cloth and is visible on both sides unlike paint and brush. We spent a good amount of time in the shop sifting through Batik paintings, clothes, sheets, etc. I had never heard of it before coming to Malaysia so it was really interesting to see it firsthand.

Langkawi Sky Bridge

2nd Stop: The Langkawi cable car.We hopped into our little cable car and made the 2km ascent up the side of Gunung (mount) Machinchang. It’s a bit daunting going up that high as there are points as you’re swinging in the breeze above the jungle at seemingly 90 degrees. Once you’ve made it to the top you climb onto the first observation desk and take in the sheer vastness of Burau Bay and the rest of the island. A short trek leads you up to the even higher second observation deck where you are even more surprised by all that lays ahead—I read online that some of the land in the distance is actually the South of Thailand! The highlight of the trip though was probably the sky bridge which is one of the world’s longest cable suspension bridges. As you walk along this bridge, which is literally hanging in the air, suspended between two mountain peaks (at over 2000 feet), you can feel the wind swaying you back and forth. It’s definitely not for those with acrophobia or vertigo, but the view is stunning and worth getting over your fears for! It’s like a layer cake as you look out and the blue sky meets the deep green jungle which rests gently upon the sea. Wow. Our descent was kind of scary as you are now looking straight down at the jungle below rather than up at the mountain top, but we thankfully made it down safely where At was waiting to take us to Stop #3.

View from the top of Gunung Machinchang

3rd Stop: Krafts Center.No it’s not a center sponsored by Kraft, but rather the way the Bahasa Malay language spells ‘craft’ (one of the words our racist taxi driver in KL was describing.) Here we spent a bit of time perusing the stalls and booths of all the artisans and typical paraphernalia—it seemed to be more geared toward tourists and as such we didn’t really come across anything original. We decided instead to head out and have At take us to one more stop before the airport.

4th Stop: ‘Black Sand’ beach. I use quotations, because the black sand beach was about 4ft x 4ft. It actually just looked a bit dirty as opposed to something unique. At told us, though, that the beach is unique, because the black sand isn’t the result of volcanic activity, as is the case in most of the world, but rather iron oxide. So, I guess we can check ‘see iron oxide black sand beach’ of our bucket list :) It was so nice to see the other parts of the island and At was very proud to show us around.



Black Sand Beach

5th Stop: Langkawi airport. We said our goodbyes and made our way inside the little airport. Realizing we weren’t allowed to bring liquid on the plane with us we decided we need to do something about our extra beverages. Not wanting to offend anyone, keep in mind it’s Muslim, Mom went to Starbucks and got some cups for us and we speedily finished up what we had. We dined at Malaysia’s finest for dinner, Kenny Rogers, which we thought was hilarious; in the middle of this small island off the coast of Malaysia we were eating greasy spoon American cooking. What a treat!

6th and 7th Stops: KLCC/KLIA: Being the ‘experienced’ traveler I am, I convinced Mom and Sue that we didn’t need to book a hotel for the night, because we could just get one near the hotel when we landed. That’ll teach me. We landed at KLCC and hopped in a taxi to the hotel we looked up online where the proceeded to look at us like we were crazy for not having a reservation and informing us that the hotel was hosting a convention and all the rooms were filled. Great. They were nice enough to call the discount hotel next to KLCC (which we found out was also full) and then offer us a spot on their free shuttle to KLIA (the int’l airport where they said was open for 24hrs and had a hotel attached.) Our hopes were soon dashed as the airport’s cheapest room was a couple hundred dollars which wasn’t worth it at that point-it was after 11pm and we had a departure at 7am.

Being savvy as we are, we wove our way through the other travelers who had either chosen or were forced to stay over at the airport and plopped down at the 24hr McDonald’s. We got some food and Mom and Soup got their coffee and we made the group decision to just stay awake all night. I felt horribly that I’d gotten us into this situation, but I lucked out that I was travelling with such easygoing people (I mean how many moms are willing to do something like that?!) Good thing they have such good experience with all nighters due to their nursing and the three of us ended up having a great night talking and laughing. There were definitely a couple of lulls in which we debated catching a quick cat nap, but it was nothing a good story or refill of coffee couldn’t cure. 5am finally rolled around and it was time to make our way to check-in at the other airport for our flight back to Thailand. Selamat tinggal Malaysia!

A.S.I.A.: From the Islands to the Mountains

May 5, 2010
Chiang Mai, Thailand

One of the gates in the wall around Chiang Mai

It's amazing how drastically the landscape changes with only a few hour flight.  Rather than being surrounded by white sand and blue water we were greeted by majestic mountain ridges and lush northern jungles at the Chiang Mai airport.  A short songteaw ride brought us to yet another beautiful hotel, the Imperial Mae Ping, where we put down our stuff, freshened up a bit and made our way out into the city.

Teakwood Wat

Having been to CM a couple times before I had a pretty good grasp on some of the things we should see and brought Mom and Sue along on a walking tour through the city.  Despite being much farther north than we had been previously it was still shockingly hot as we were walking around.  We were sure to take our time and take ample rests/water breaks amongst the many temples and side streets we wandered.  Now, during this time the red shirt riots were in full swing down in BKK and a large population of the rioters were from the North, CM included.  While we were walking we stumbled across a small vendor stall with some red flags on it and beneath it was sleeping a small Thai woman-actually she looked dead.  A fearless Sue was able to rouse her and, after a bit of confusion as to why a group of tourists had woken her up, asked her if we could buy one of her flags for a souveneir.  She was more than happy to share with us and away we walked with some hand made protest flags (for free!) 



Inside one of many temples

I brought Mom and Sue to one of my favorite sites in CM, the women's prison/ rehabilitation center, for a quick look around-Sue brought some handmade table cloth to support the women :)  Our next stop was at a nearby massage parlor where some of the inmates are given jobs upon their release and where I've had a couple of my best massages in Thailand.  I must say it's a bit strange being massaged in a calm environment with some of the women looking a bit rough and tattooed, but they do a great job! (Unfortunately there was no impromptu comedy show as Mom was actually given the massage she had asked for) I treated Mom and Soup as a Mother's Day gift and after we were all tiger balmed up and relaxed we headed back to the hotel.  As was routine, we spent some time in the lobby with a happy hour special and background music provided by a young Thai girl and her khim (a small stringed instrument that you hit with mallets sort of like a you hit a xylophone.)  After a wonderful dinner we caught a bit of the Elvis look a like who was now performing in the lobby and then made our way to bed--after all, we had stayed up theentire night the day before!

A.S.I.A: The Departure

May 7, 2010
Bangkok, Thailand

A familiar hotel.  A familiar airport.  A familiar plane.  A familiar airport. And, back to the familiar hotel where it all began: the Century Park Hotel.  I have to say there is something so comforting about returning to a place and having the staff remember you and greet you by name and, after the whirlwind couple weeks we'd had, it was certainly nice to feel like we were home again.

Rather than head out into the city we decided to enjoy the view from the pool.  It was a beautiful set up with a shallow and sunny upper pool cascading into a deeper, more shaded lower pool.  We spent the afternoon laughing and rehashing everything we had done and, once you get down to it, we did a lot!  Granted, there were a few hiccups along the way, but those really make for the best stories in the end, right?

Our Final Happy Hour

After the pool we made our way upstairs for one final happy hour whilst being serenaded by a live cover band who invited us to join them for live karaoke after dinner.  We weren't too sure how we'd be feeling about that, but one can never tell with Mom and Soup on board :)  Dinner was amazing with steak and red wine sauce and rich potatoes which were all things I knew I wasn't going to be tasting for a long time without my parents around to foot the bill (Thanks Mom and Dad!!)



Mom Rocking Out to Live Karaoke

Stuffed, we waddled back out to the lounge to listen to the band and were finally coaxed onto the stage (after one or two B-52s) and rocked the night away.  Sue wouldn't get up and sing, saying it was better for everyone that way, but was a great supporter in the crowd as she swayed and cheered for me and then Mom.  I think we closed the night down with a rousing rendition of She Bangs by Ricky Martin and then realized we should probably get to bed if we were to make it to the airport on time.

The alarm always seems to go off 5 minutes after you fall asleep when it's time to go to the airport and so we went through our well-practiced motions of checking the room, finishing packing and checking out.  Our hotel gave us a wonderful goodbye and even packed us individual lunch boxes to take with as we weren't going to be there for the buffet in the morning!  We arrived on time at the airport and I got Mom and Sue off without a hitch (well, minus the tears from Mom, but we all knew those were coming!)  It's amazing how fast a trip can go and how much fun you can have.  I had such a good time hosting yet more visitors to my new home and I can't wait until the next ones (yea I'm talking to you readers) get on the plane to BKK!  That finally (1.5 years later) concludes Ann and Sue in Asia!