Last days in Asia

Hey guys :)

So this is my last post about Southeast Asia as we will continue our itinerary to New Zealand. 

After getting back from Chiangmai, we spent one night in Bangkok. This time we stayed hear the Kai San Road, also known as the backpackers' road. It's full of clubs and bars and many street stalls sell souvenirs and food in front of them. We walked around, bought some stuff, and ate delicious Pad Thai on the street. 

On the next morning we boarded a bus that took us to the south in order to get to our next destination: the island of Koh Chang. We arrived at he harbour oun the late afternoon and got on the ferry to the island. 

For the first five nights we stayed at the Pajamas hostel. This was definitely one of my favorite hostels!!! It was right next to the beach and had a very nice swimming pool. For the first couple of days all we did was relaxing, reading, and sunbathing. :) 

 

 

 

On our third day, we did a snorkeling trip. Along with lots of other passengers we boarded a boat that took us to some small islands nearby. We had the opportunity to snorkel in two different spots and go to the beach on two different deserted islands. The water was so clear and had a beautiful color! It was amazing!!!! :) 

 

 

 

 

After we got back from the trip, we got a last glimpse of the beautiful sunset: 

 

 

After spending five nights at the Pajamas, we went to another hostel nearby that was a little cheaper. It didn't have a pool so we snuck into Pajamas and spent our days there and on the beach. 

One day, we rented two scooters to explore the island. 

We first went to a beach called Lonely Beach which was really beautiful.

On the way there we discovered a viewpoint with an incredible view:

 

 

After relaxing at Lonely Beach for a couple hours, we drove further south to the Bang Bao. That was a little town in a large bay with a long pier where you could eat, shop, and watch the boats. At the further end of the pier was a lighthouse. We walked around and looked into the many cut little shops on th pier. The atmosphere there was awesome. ;) 

 

 

On our last evening on Koh Chang, we went to the island's best pizza restaurant and enjoyed the best pizza in Asia so far!! A great end to a great time on Koh Chang. :D

On the 27th we packed our stuff and went back to Bangkok (again by ferry and bus). 

Our flights home (for sofie) and to New Zealand (for Taddi and me) were on the 31st,  do. we had four more nights in Thailand's capital city.

On the 28th, we went to the Chatucha weekend market. We've been to a lot of markets here in Asia so far and still, this one totally amazed me. It was gigantic! Bigger than any other market we've seen. We spent hours walking through the tiny alleys and looking at the abundance of goods. You can find literally anything at this market!! 

 

 

On the next day, we went to Lumpini park to see some Chinese New Year festivities. The people had put up many small booths with all kinds of goods and food spread over a large are of the park. The market was divided into different sections: North, Northeast, and south Thailand and an extra one for the Chinese New Year. They had also installed stages in every section on which different acts were performed. Unfortunately, we were too early, so we didn't see any performances and some of the booths were still closed... nevertheless, we enjoyed walking through the park and looking around. :) 

 

 

 

 

 

We spent our last full day here in Thailand with packing our bags (poor sofie gets to take home all of our souvenirs, dexter was literally on the brink of exploding!) and then, we went to an amazing vegan restaurant for lunch. We also skyped with our families and had one last dinner together at a Thai restaurant. 

As Sofie's flight was in the morning of the 31st, we all got up at 5am, so we could say goodbye. It was such a weird feeling to see her go after spending every day of the past 3.5 months together!!! We will sure miss her a lot! She will always be a part of our pack. Hope you have a safe trip home! <3

Taddi and I still have until 4pm because our flight will depart in the evening. We will meet our friend Anja on the plane. She will travel with us through New Zealand. I can't wait to see her again and start the second part of this amazing journey!!! 

Asia has been totally awesome and I hope that we will have as much fun (or even more!) in New Zealand!! 

We 

Stay tuned ;) 

Love, 

Anne

Thailand: Chiangmai and Pai

Hello everybody! :) 

We arrived in Bangkok on the 2nd of January. We only spent one night and one day there because we wanted to go straight to Chiangmai in the northern part of Thailand. 

On that single day we decided to go to a hospital to get Sofie's ankle examined because it was still swollen and hurt. The hospital was huge and felt more like a 5-star-hotel than a hospital. 

 Sofie was greeted by an armada of staff who provided her with a wheelchair and a blanket. She even got a personal "wheelchair-pusher" who accompanied us through the hospital. :D

 

View from the 20th floor of the hospital

After getting examined by a very competent and well English-speaking doctor, we were glad to hear that Sofie's ligament was not ruptured but just overstretched. She got a brace for her anand we left the hospital with relief.

On that evening we got on a night bus to Chiangmai where we arrived early on the next morning. 

On that day we caught up on sleep (the night bus was not very comfortable...) and went to a vegetarian restaurant for dinner.

The next morning, we decided to go to the "3D arts in paradise"-museum because it was raining. The museum was so much fun and we had a great time!! :D we took so many pictures, here are some of the best ones:

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

We only stayed in Chiangmai for two nights since we wanted to continue our journey further north to the town of Pai. 

So on the next day, January 6th, we got into a minivan and drove up 762 curves to get to the beautiful little town. 

We immediately fell in love with Pai! The beautiful mountainous surroundings, the relaxed atmosphere, the hippie cafes and restaurants,...

We rented two scooters for three days and drove to a waterfall, a canyon, the "land split", and to hot springs. 

 

Pai river

 

Waterfall 

 

A bamboo bridge leading to a hidden temple 

 

Wild water buffaloes 

 

The "land split", after an earthquake a couple years ago, the land of a local farmer had split up and this little canyon appeared destroying his crops. He made a tourist attraction out of it and earns his money from their donations. 

 

Lunch at the land split: Rosella juice, berries and jam; potatoes, roasted peanuts, banana chips, fresh papaya and passion fruit (not on the picture) 

 

Beautiful landscape :) 

 

Pai canyon 

 

Sunset at Pai canyon

 The white Buddha, a giant statue on top of a hill

On the third day we wanted to go to hot springs. They were about 20km away from Pai in a national park. The drive there was pretty adventurous: 

 

One of our motorbikes got a flat tire. Literally in the middle of nowhere... We remained calm, hid the damaged motorcycle in the bushes next to the street and continued the way on the other bike. (With 3 people!) 

 The second motorcycle gave up because the streets were too steep, so we tramped the rest of the way to the springs on the back of a very friendly Thai's pickup :) 

 

Finally, we arrived at the hot springs and relaxed in the warm water. 

 

After spending some time in the hot springs, we tramped back to our broken motorcycle and called a repair service. After getting the tire fixed, we drove back to Pai. What a day! :)

Ever evening we spent in Pai, we went to the amazing night market for dinner. Lots of stalls offered handcrafted jewelry, clothes, bags, and lots of awesome food!! The big question ever night was: what am I gonna eat today? XD 

 

 

This is black sticky rice. Yep, it's actually rice and is served with sweet milk and sesame seeds :) 

 A man cooking "Pad Thai", a typical Thai noodle dish with vegetables, tofu, and cashew nuts. 

 Sweet rice treats 

 

Streets of Pai

We liked Pai so much that we decided to extend our stay for two nights. In total, we spent 6 nights in the beautiful town before we went back to Chiangmai on the 12th. 

We stayed in Chiangmai for 4 nights. On the first day we went to the Elephant Nature Park. This is a park that rescues animals from other parks, circuses, or the logging industry where they suffer from malnutrition, severe injuries (like broken backs or legs from the elephant riding tours), and have many mental health issues. The people from Elephant Nature Park buy them out and take care of them. The animals get a medical checkup, the medicine they need, etc. Then they meet the other elephants in the park and can find a new family.

On our one day tour there, our guide Ten explained a lot about the park, its inhabitants, and their goals. We were allowed to feed, pet, and wash them in the river. It was just amazing and we enjoyed every single minute with those beautiful creatures! <3 

 Sofie feeding the elephant Lucky 

 This one was so soft!!! :D 

 One family with their baby (literally the cutest thing ever!!!) 

 A shower for Lucky :)

The park also rescues many dogs, cats, water buffaloes and monkeys 

After having the most amazing day at Elephant Nature Park we spent the three remaining days in Chiangmai exploring the city and its various night markets, driving through the surrounding landscape with scooters and visiting different sights.

 The old town of Chiangmai is surrounded by a canal 

 

There are also remnants of the old city wall

 Doi Suthep, a temple on a mountain next to the city 

 Doi Suthep

 Doi Suthep

 Doi Suthep 

 After visiting the temple we went to Chiangmai Canyon. This huge canyon is filled with water and is used as a giant swimming pool :) 

On our last day here in Chiangmai we decided to join another cooking class. We picked out a very good vegetarian Thai restaurant called "Morning Glory". 

We went there on Monday morning at 9am. Together with our teacher Diana and two other German girls we went to a local market right next door. Diana showed us lots of weird vegetables and let us try different sweets. 

Then we returned to the restaurant and started cooking. 

We cooked more than 10 different dishes!!!!

After every one, we took a break to taste and eat it. I'm not lying when I say that every single one was absolutely delicious! Some of the best food I've had on this journey so far. 

Here's what we cooked:

1. Pumpkin hummus 

2. Pumpkin soup, potato soup and mixed soup

3. Peanut sauce 

4. Fresh spring rolls

5. Fried veggies with cashew nuts and Pad-Se-U (a special kind of rice noodle) 

6. Pad Thai

7. Tom Yam Soup

8. Tom Kha Soup 

9. Masaman Curry 

10. Green Thai Curry 

11. Green Papaya salad

12. Sticky rice with mango and banana

 

Pumpkin hummus

 

Fresh spring rolls 

 

Pad Thai

Green curry 

 

Green papaya salad and fruit salad

Black sticky rice with mango and banana

As I said: all the dishes were amazing!! I think my favorites were the Masaman Curry and the sticky rice though. :) 

After learning so much about the Thai cuisine and eating way too much, we said goodbye to Diana and returned to our hostel. 

Right now, we're waiting for our night bus back to Bangkok. We'll arrive there tomorrow morning, spend one night and then go on to the island Koh Chang where we were will spent the most of our remaining time here in Thailand. 

I can't wait!! :) 

Lots of love to all of you,

Annette