Asia
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Don’t Worry Be Krabi
I ventured from the Gulf of Thailand to the Andaman Sea to check out Krabi, a province in the southwest of the country. Most of the region is devoted to tourism so there has been an influx of visitors to their beaches and national parks in recent years. Get out your geography books boys and girls! I’m constantly getting to brush up on my knowledge of land masses and this is no exception because Krabi is an archipelago. An archipelago, if you remember, is a group or chain of islands and the word is a mix of Latin and Greek translating to “chief sea”. Ao Nang I used Ao Nang…
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Celebrating Chinese New Year in Thailand
Lunar New Year I’ve been to many Chinatowns throughout my travels, but there is something a little more exciting being in an Asian country during an Asian holiday. In Thailand, the most noted Chinatown is in Bangkok, but I happened to be in Chiang Mai during the Chinese New Year and was delighted to be able to immerse myself in the sights, tastes and sounds celebrating the lunar new year, or spring festival. The streets in Chinatown were full of vendors selling all different types of foods and drink. Street food here is inexpensive so you want to come with some cash and an empty stomach so you can taste…
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Island Life
This is my second trip to Thailand so this time around I decided to go be a beach bum for a bit and do some island hopping before heading up north to Chiang Mai, taking in the easy, breezy island attitude. Koh v Ko As an American I think the Thai language sounds beautiful but trying to speak it myself is a whole other story. I sound like I’m choking on Pad Thai while native speakers seem to sing their way through their sentences. The Thai language, like Chinese is tonal, so it is how you say the word that matters making the Koh versus Ko debacle almost a non-issue…
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My 13 memorable moments of 2013
It’s the last day of 2013! What an amazing, exciting and rewarding year I’ve had and I can’t wait to see what awaits in the coming year. Until then, here is a list of my thirteen best moments of 2013 in no particular order! Enjoy and have a happy new year! 13. Behind the scenes at Aquarium of the Bay in San Francisco, California. As a child you dream of being an oceanographer, a Sea World employee (until you watch Blackfish) swimming with the dolphins or in a job surrounding yourself with wildlife for your 9 – 5. The Aquarium by the Bay in San Francisco makes you feel like…
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World Elephant Day 2013
What kind of elephant lover am I that I was unaware of World Elephant Day until the eleventh hour! Once I found out I immediately took the opportunity to pull up my hundreds of photos from my experience at the Elephant Nature Park in Chiang Mai, Thailand and write about my experience. When I first was planning my trip to Thailand, I excitedly did some research into what exotic things I could do and see while there and the first thing I looked into was going on an elephant trek. Riding elephants, I mean what American wouldn’t love that right? The more I looked into riding the elephants the worse I…
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Wats Going On?
The beaches of Phuket were nothing short of amazing but I was ready to explore another side of Thailand to get a better idea of the diverse culture and climate of the country. We headed up north for our last week to Chiang Mai. Chiang Mai is one of the oldest cities in Thailand and used to be the ancient capital. Only a few hours from the Myanmar (formerly Burma) border it is an amazing contrast from the white sand and blue waters. Surrounded by mountains and soaked in culture, Chiang Mai meaning “new city” was founded in 1296 so there is a constant mix of the ancient and the…
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Tongue Thai’d
I have had some of my more interesting and delicious meals here in Thailand. An exotic cuisine that is becoming increasingly popular in the US I thought I had an idea about what Thai food would be like when I came here. As a farang (westerner, or foreigner) I have learned far more than I had expected. I’d be wise to add a disclaimer to this list noting that I have what I like to call a “particular palate”. For me this means that I’m not averse to exploring something new on my plate but I would definitely fall into the category of a more “American” eater, sticking to things…
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Asian Vegas
Nai Thon has been a perfect place to relax and enjoy the beach. It has been a quiet week with little traffic and we have gotten a chance to get to know a lot of other vacationers that have been staying in and around our hotel. The residents of Nai Thon Beach Mansion or what we have dubbed “the mansion” all have congregated in a peaceful section of the beach not too far from our guesthouse. A group of us have become regulars at Peter’s Restaurant and Bar and it has been fun having a hang out for the week where you can sit and chat with our new-found friends…
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Phuket, It’s Valentine’s Day
So after 3 flights and 30 hours of travel I made it to Thailand. The long journey is completely worth it. The people are quiet and friendly, the beaches are serine and beautiful, and the food is exotic and delicious. If my first few days here were any indication of how the rest of my trip turns out, this will make for an amazing journey. I barely had any time in Bangkok and in a blink I was back on a flight again and headed south to Phuket. Phuket is an island located in southwest, resting in the Andaman Sea it boasts some of the most spectacular beaches. Snorkeling and…
