Step Over Chicken Noodle

After talking to a couple people about bus tickets to Chiang Rai (including a really nice man who drew us a map of northern Thailand) we found out that the easiest and cheapest way to book seats was to head to the station the day we were leaving. Buses leave Chiang Mai to Chiang Rai every half hour and for a VIP a/c bus it only cost about 6 bucks each.

The bus ride was very smooth and went through gorgeous forested areas on a windy, hilly road. We arrived in Chiang Rai and since we booked our tickets that morning we were not able to arrange pick up with our hotel. No worries though, we had the phone number written down and our tuk tuk driver called and got directions.

The hotel is a little ways out of town but very close to the Chiang Rai beach on the banks of the Kok river. Our hosts at the Baan Nattawadee resort are charming and wonderful. As soon as we got out of the tuk tuk they offered us a welcome coffee and some dried bananas (which were very yummy). They showed us to our room which is spectacular and the grounds of the entire hotel are lush and full of flowers.

After getting settled in and relaxing for a little while we hopped on the bikes that are provided to us by the hotel and headed out to find a store which the hotel owner told us was about 2km away. We found it no problem and grabbed some snacks before heading back to have dinner.

Our first dinner at the hotel was an amazing experience. We weren't sure what to expect because there are no menus however we were in for a treat. Ryan went to ask how we go about ordering food and he was then invited into the kitchen. He came out to grab me to go in too and then we watched and learned how to make our own dinner. Ryan was given the job to chop up the chicken. He started chopping but apparently it was not quite right because the owner (who was cooking) grabbed the knife from Ryan and said "Farang chop (shakes his head), I chop". The entire time we were in the kitchen helping the staff would pop their heads in and giggle at us. The food was amazing and it wouldn't be the first time at this hotel that we will be amazed at the food.

The next morning we got up late and went out to see if there was any breakfast still available. There was coffee and toast so we figured that would do. As we snacked on our toast the staff came to our table with some tasty little cakes. We thought that was quite a bonus and a wonderful addition to our toast and coffee. Little did we know that they were preparing an entire Thai breakfast for us that arrived shortly after the cakes. We ate until we were totally stuffed and then there came - mango! Well, as we've said there is always room for mango so we finished that off as well.

The owner of the hotel supplied us with a map of the area and pointed out some sights to see. We hopped on the bikes and headed into town to get some errands done before going to the Rai Mae Fah Luang Art and Cultural Park. We rode up to the gates and paid our admission. The lady at the counter told us that we could take our bikes around the whole park. We rode around for a couple hours looking at all the amazing flowers and picturesque scenery. The museum that is on site was a definite highlight. It was a large teak building filled with items that had been collected from temples around northern Thailand. It was wonderful and we pretty much had the entire place to ourselves.

We pedaled back to the hotel and were treated to another amazing dinner experience. The soup that they served was way too spicy for me. It was very tasty but it was making my eyes water, nose run and eventually I had to give up on it. Lucky for Ryan though, he can handle spicy way better that I can but it still packed a punch for him too. The owner told us that Thai people have this soup when they are stuffed up or have a cold because it really clears out the sinuses. Step over chicken noodle soup!

More photos of Chiang Rai...

No, not big bird!

There is a saying that you don't know what you've got till it's gone. Well I would like to add that sometimes you don't know what you were missing until you get it back. That is how we feel about coming back to Thailand. There is a friendly relaxed vibe here that we felt as soon as we landed back in this paradise.

Our day of travel to Thailand started with a taxi to the Hanoi airport which is about 45 minutes out of town. Once we arrived we had some time to kill so we ordered some breakfast from the airport cafe. Well I ordered breakfast, Ryan tried to calm his apprehension of flying by ordering a coffee with baileys which turned out to be more like a baileys with coffee or possibly just some warmed up baileys. It was strong!

The flight to Bangkok went well, as did our entry through customs. Our next flight to Chiang Mai was delayed by an hour but our hotel pickup was still waiting for us when we got to the airport. As soon as we walked into the Aitsawarisa Hotel we knew that it would be difficult to leave. We were greeted with a welcome drink while we checked in and then brought up to our amazing room with the most stunning hotel bathroom we've had so far on our trip (I know, an odd thing to get excited about). The pool at the hotel is quite spectacular and is also environmentally friendly. It is a salt water pool that is heated by the waste energy from the air conditioning. We headed down for a dip as soon as we'd gotten settled in our room because it had been a little while since we've had the luxury of a pool.

Our first adventure out had to be the Chiang Mai Zoo and Aquarium. Neither of us knew what to expect but it turned out to be the nicest zoo facility that we have been to on our trip so far. The area that the zoo is located on is gigantic so there is a monorail and a tram to take you around the park. We figured that we hadn't done enough walking lately and decided to hoof it. There was so much to see in this lush and hilly zoo including elephants, lions, penguins, and many different species of gibbons and monkeys. Ryan had the pleasure of feeding one of the elephants some bananas and sugercane and then we both had our picture taken with it. The walk-in aviary was also very well done. After walking for a few hours and many kilometers it was time to head back to the hotel for some dinner.

On the way to the zoo we took a tuk-tuk but on the way back we used a songthaew (Thai for two benches) which is a pick up truck with benches in the back that drive around town. You hail them from the side of the road and then ask them if they are heading where you need to go. If so, you hop in the back and then when you are nearing your destination you hit the button that is on the roof and he will pull over and let you out. It's the Chiang Mai version of the bus.

Our second adventure was a gastronomical one which we could have easily done without. There is a restaurant a couple blocks away called The Big Bird Kitchen. They serve nothing but turkey and ostrich dishes. Since neither of us have ever tried ostrich we figured why not, can't be that bad right? Probably tastes like chicken right? Nope! Ryan had the big bird taco and I had ostrich curry and they were both really bad. Ah well, never try, never learn.

For more photos of Chiang Mai click here...

Amazing Indeed!

Our arrival in Hanoi was 1 and a 1/2 hours earlier than expected which meant that we were hanging out in front of the train station at 4:30 in the morning. This caused a small problem because our pickup from the hotel was not due come until 6. So after waiting in the rain (we heard it had been raining for 3 days straight before we got to Hanoi) for a little while trying to figure out what to do we decided to get a taxi.

The taxi seemed great at first. He had some great techno beats going and we zipped around the empty streets of Hanoi. Then we noticed that his meter was jumping up quite quickly. We probably should have got out of the taxi but it was really early and we weren't sure that we'd be able to get another one so we sucked it up and paid. Oh well, lesson learned.

Our hotel is located a couple blocks away from Sword Lake which is a gorgeous place to go for a walk after dinner or have a coffee at the cafe. Our first day we just wandered around the lake taking in the scenery and relaxing in the room after the long train ride. The next day we headed out to the Temple of Literature which is Vietnam's oldest university. There are turtle statues that have the graduates of the university's stories inscribed on them and we went up and down the isles of turtles petting their heads for good luck.

We grabbed a taxi back to our hotel and stopped on the way to buy tickets for a very Vietnamese art form, Water Puppet Theatre. The show started at 5pm the next day and although Ryan thought that there needed to be more explosions and some puppet ninjas it was very cool. After the theatre we went back to the room and started packing for our Halong Bay tour that was scheduled for the next day.

The bus that was due to pick us up and take us to Halong Bay arrived a little late because we switched hotels and although we informed the tour company the message did not get passed on. After a 15 minute delay they found us and we were on our way out of the city for the 3.5 hour drive. We arrived at the our amazing boat and had a wonderful lunch before checking into our cozy little room. Words cannot even begin describe Halong Bay. It was way more impressive and awesome than either of us could have ever imagined.

The tour's first stop was Amazing Cave and it was indeed amazing. As we walked in it was a little underwhelming because the first area in the cave was a little small but each area got bigger until we were in a huge cavern that was stunning. They had some of the spots lit up with colored lits which gave the cave a very surreal feeling to it.

Once we got back on the boat we had a little time to change to get ready for kayaking. We hopped into a tandem kayak and paddled into a small cave which had a roof about 6 feet above you. At the other end of the cave, it opened up into a lagoon and the only entrance to the lagoon was the cave that we had just passed through. It was beautiful so we took our time and slowly paddled around enjoying the scenery and watching the birds circle over the large peaks jutting out of the water. I must admit that Ryan did most of the hard work during the kayaking and I'm really glad that he knew how to steer and has such strong arms!

We were quite hungry after our (well Ryan's) strenous excercise but the tour schedule allowed us a little free time before dinner to swim or take photos. Swimming would have been nice because it was crazy hot on the boat but when we looked down into the water we noticed that it was teeming with jellyfish. These jellyfish were not the harmless little kind either, they had tentacles about 5 feet long and looked painful. We decided that maybe swimming wasn't the best idea especially after we heard that one of the other guests on the boat had been stung a little earlier and did not enjoy the experience.

Dinner was served at about 7:30 and there must have been about 8 courses of the tastiest food that was so well presented. There were fruits that were carved in the shape of the boat and a pineapple that was hollowed out with a candle in it like a little pineapple jack o lantern. We were so full after the meal so we went up to the top of the boat and watched the stars from the sun deck. We hadn't seen so many stars in the sky since we were kids and it was truly an epic and romantic evening.

Click here for more photos of Hanoi and Halong Bay

Hot Days in Hue

Our time in Hue has been absolutely amazing! We are a little sad to be leaving here tommorow to head to Hanoi but we are excited for the new adventures that await us. If it is anything like what we experienced in Hue then I am sure that we will not be disappointed.

We are headed there by train which is the same way that we arrived here in Hue and a 18 hour train ride is an adventure in and of itself. We arrived at the station in Ho Chi Minh at around 11am and had a coffee while we waited to board the train. Once onboard coach 10 we headed to our cabin and found our soft sleeper bunks. I had top bunk which I later came to regret because the air conditioning vent was right above me making the bunk very cold. As well, the overhead light stayed on all night. No worries though, I still had a decent sleep considering the swaying from the train that ensued all night as well as the jarring stops when we arrived at stations along the way.

It was about 6am when we got to the train station in Hue. The boss of the hotel that we are staying at was there with a sign to pick us up. Since he came on a scooter he arranged a taxi for us and then paid the tab when we got to the hotel. We were then treated to a surprise. Since the hotel was booked up we had been upgraded to the family suite. We had a living room, 2 beds and a flat screen television that swivels between the two areas. It is a gorgeous room!

We headed out to find a close restaurant and realized that we were no where near the tourist area of town and the eating options with English menus or staff are pretty much non-existant. There is a supermarket close by so we headed there and stocked up on snacks, drinks and got a few slices of pizza. The lack of English on menus didn't stop us when we went to have a coffee at the Violet cafe. Ryan figured out where the section of coffees was on the menu but there were many options to choose from. He picked one at random and we were pleasantly suprised when we got Vietnamese coffee with milk. This wasn't ordinary milk but condensed sweet milk. This is a treat that we will be taking back with us for sure, it was so tasty!

A couple days later we went on a whirlwind tour of the sights in and around Hue. The tour started with a trip to the Imperial Citadel. Next was the garden house where the grandfather of the emperor once lived. Afterwards we were off to the Thien Mu pagoda which sits on the top of a hill and has amazing views of the perfume river and the surrounding area. We flew through these sites very quickly so it was a welcome treat to relax for a little while and have lunch. The meal was done buffet style with many yummy options and we ate our fill before hopping back on the bus and head to the tomb of emperor Minh Mang.

The tomb was on expansive and beautifully treed grounds. Our tour guide gave us a little information about the emperor, he had 400 wives and supposedly got 4 of them pregnant in one night! Our guide joked that the reason this emperor died so early at the age of 50 was due to the fact that he had so many wives (and concubines) and about 160 children.

Tu Duc was the next emperor's tomb that we visited. He was the emperor that was in power when the French took control of Vietnam. He felt that he was not a good emperor because of that as well as the fact that he was not able to have any children due to getting smallpox when he was a child. The stele where the emperor's record their autobiography was self critical and the pond near his tomb that is normally full of water was left empty at his request to show his remorse for what he felt was a poor rule by him. The area that this emperor was buried on was even larger than the last tomb that we visited and we took some time to wander around before getting back on the bus with the rest of the tour group.

On the way back to the city we ditched the bus and instead travelled by dragonboat down the perfume river. It was a very calming way to end a whirlwind trip around Hue.

Check out more photos of our time in Hue here