1. Traffic! Traffic drives on the left side of the road. Between having to look the opposite way and dodging motorbikes, it was an adventure just to cross the street. We took two taxi rides during rush hour that took a long long time.
2. Oranges. You remember Tang, the orange-flavored drink? I was positive when I ordered an orange juice that they had used Tang instead of real oranges. But there was pulp and all of the subsequent orange juices tasted the same. Thai oranges taste like Tang!
3. Apparently I look Thai. At least in Chiang Mai, I was asked several times if I was Thai.
My highlights for the trip: Thai massages (we all got massages in Chiang Mai and then Daddy Geek and I each got one more in Bangkok), elephant rides and zip-lining, temples, and the food!
Some pictures from the trip. You might notice they tend to be food-oriented...
This was our first lunch in Chiang Mai:
We were looking for lunch before going to a temple. The guidebook had mentioned a roadside stand, but we couldn't find it. We kept walking and saw a lean-to with a kitchen and seating. We walked over and found an empty table and everyone looked at us... Daddy Geek went over to the cook, and with the help of a passerby with some English and lots of repetition (one pork and veggies no spicy, two pork and veggies, spicy) we ordered lunch. Here's the cook at work:
This was our first lunch in Chiang Mai:
We were looking for lunch before going to a temple. The guidebook had mentioned a roadside stand, but we couldn't find it. We kept walking and saw a lean-to with a kitchen and seating. We walked over and found an empty table and everyone looked at us... Daddy Geek went over to the cook, and with the help of a passerby with some English and lots of repetition (one pork and veggies no spicy, two pork and veggies, spicy) we ordered lunch. Here's the cook at work:
Note: lunch was about $2.30.
My only culinary goal for the trip (Daddy Geek and Geek Girl had a separate goal that they'll tell you about later) was to find the "Chinese donut" place mentioned in an Eating Asia post. On Saturday we had wandered through the market and couldn't find the place. However, on Sunday morning, after Daddy Geek ran the 10K part of the Chiang Mai Marathon, he found the place (it had closed up shop by the time we had gone by on Saturday).
Here's a dinosaur donut and "chromosome" donuts:
And after pointing at the sign above displaying the shapes and prices, Geek Girl ordered an elephant:
My only culinary goal for the trip (Daddy Geek and Geek Girl had a separate goal that they'll tell you about later) was to find the "Chinese donut" place mentioned in an Eating Asia post. On Saturday we had wandered through the market and couldn't find the place. However, on Sunday morning, after Daddy Geek ran the 10K part of the Chiang Mai Marathon, he found the place (it had closed up shop by the time we had gone by on Saturday).
Here's a dinosaur donut and "chromosome" donuts:
And after pointing at the sign above displaying the shapes and prices, Geek Girl ordered an elephant:
On our first day in Bangkok, we took a boat ride up to the Grand Palace complex. Here's Geek Girl hot and tired while we get our bearings:
We had hoped to visit a couple of additional temples that day, but it was just too hot so we took a taxi home. Somehow after the large hotel buffet breakfast (contained American, Indian, Japanese, Chinese, Thai, British, and European items) we skipped lunch. Well, Geek Girl had an ice cream and we all had cold drinks. On our way back to the hotel, we grabbed some fried chicken balls from a stand. Here they are after being fried and then covered with a yummy chile-vinegar sauce:
A couple days later we woke up earlier to take the river boat again, this time to Wat Pho. This is the temple that President Obama and Secretary of State Clinton visited in November 2012. Wat Pho is home of Thailand's biggest reclining Buddha statue. It was truly amazing.
Here's a picture of the head:
And the view from the foot:
And the three of us outside with chedi (mound-like structures containing relics):
We have many more photos (and videos from zip-lining) and hopefully will be sharing the with you soon.
We had hoped to visit a couple of additional temples that day, but it was just too hot so we took a taxi home. Somehow after the large hotel buffet breakfast (contained American, Indian, Japanese, Chinese, Thai, British, and European items) we skipped lunch. Well, Geek Girl had an ice cream and we all had cold drinks. On our way back to the hotel, we grabbed some fried chicken balls from a stand. Here they are after being fried and then covered with a yummy chile-vinegar sauce:
A couple days later we woke up earlier to take the river boat again, this time to Wat Pho. This is the temple that President Obama and Secretary of State Clinton visited in November 2012. Wat Pho is home of Thailand's biggest reclining Buddha statue. It was truly amazing.
Here's a picture of the head:
And the three of us outside with chedi (mound-like structures containing relics):
We have many more photos (and videos from zip-lining) and hopefully will be sharing the with you soon.
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