It's not really jet lag as much as it's 20 hours on planes and in airports. Your body will just ache as it acclimatizes to sealevel pressure, humidity, and uneven sidewalks. We got to the hotel room. Nice room with a balcony overlooking the Chao Phraya. We went on a walk. I wrote about that yesterday, but when we came back it was NAP TIME!
We didn't bring a watch, neither did we pack our phones. We have no idea what time it is. Much the same situation as we found ourselves last year in Hanoi. There Dave picked up a "jewel" of a traveling clock for 30,000 dong ($1.50 or something) which lasted all the way until day 6 of Saigon. Faced with the same dilemma we are in the position of being "that kind" of annoying guest in a hotel, the kind which calls down every fifteen minutes asking for something inane. In our case, it's "What time is it?"
It was quarter to 4. We asked for a wakeup call in two hours. The wake up call came in, I answered, "uhrmph, uh-huh, yeah, thanks, erg", rolled over and went back to sleep. Next time we woke up, the Chao Phraya was lit like a Seattle neighborhood at Christmas time. All the dinner cruises were out trawling the river. Their flashing green or gold or red lights, thumping music, has me a bit worried about what I should expect to see on our dinner cruise.
That said, watching the boats go by from our balcony was spectacular. The restaurant was lit below us with candle light, the servings were quiet, the heat had cooled to balm. There should have been the scent of flowers, but the gardens are not extensive here.
We dressed and walked the narrow river walk along the sea wall to another restaurant noted on our Nancy Chandler's Map. The Restuarant is called "Old Phra Ahit Pier." We had a Tom Yum with huge river shrimp - larger than the length of my hand and a group fried in garlic. The garlic itself was crispy, almost like a panko covering. The fish perfectly cooked. We asked for a side of rice after copying some people (from Spain!) sitting at a table next to us. I poured some of the Tom Yum over the rice. The rich coconut soup softened the heat of the chili, but left its bite. The shrimp were split in half and perfectly cooked. We've had times where the shrimp tasted like rubber b/c they were so over done. The flesh pulled easily from the shell, but was still easy to chew. The only drawback was the lemongrass had separated so I had slivers of it all the way through the soup. Mojitos were not as good as I got at the Navali bar (Aquatini). Which Mojito does deserve its own writeup.
The Navali River Resort is right on the water. The bar is built out over the water. Love this. We're in the tourist district, but Bangkok pulls tourists from all over the world, French, the above-mentioned Spanish, British, Germans, Japanese. Apparently the Thai like to travel as well as the person who drove us from the airport to the hotel had travelled to Hanoi and Halong Bay, so we traded stories. The Aquatini bar at the Navali River Resort has an amazing Mojito. There's lots of mint and the lime is devine. The drink is well muddled, but at the same time not all the sugar has been dissolved, so you have something to lick with as you spoon up the mint from the emptied glass. Lovely to cool down with.
Well, we're off to the Chautchak weekend market. We got up a little early for the Thais, but 5am for us is "right on schedule", so I think we've made the sleep transition. Just another hour now until the market starts up.
Friday, February 26, 2010
We are in Bangkok!
and so far, only our ankles are swollen. We've walked less than a block away from our hotel when we followed some schoolgirls turning down what looked to be an alley. It's this whole other world off of the street. I didn't realize we'd come so far away from the water, or maybe this is just another peninsula.
The 13 hour flight was unpleasant. The plane was packed and so Dave & I became quite familiar with the poor soul who sat between us. The best part is that it was an overnight flight, so we all slept most of the time. We both swear that sitting on the wooden seats at the bar of Navali River Resort is more comfortable than the EVA Air economy class seats.
So, we get checked in. We have a balcony over-looking both the Chao Phraya river and the bar of the hotel. There's a soft breeze. Luckily for us, we're on the side of the river opposite of where the sun is beating down. We can actually enjoy sitting out on the deck watching the water ferries come in. We're right at the stop of #3 of the Phra Arthit pier. Here's where you can buy tickets for the klong tours, or the long-tailed boat rides.
This Bangkok neighborhood is not lived as much open to the street as we experienced in Hanoi, but the doors are open. The streets are clean. It's not as noisy, but the pollution is really bad. It looks like a grey day even with the sun beating down. But there's gold paint and flourishes to all their finishes here. I'm looking forward to being able to spend more time in the streets. So is Dave, but he's pretending he can do the afternoons in the tropics. I know better.
More later!
The 13 hour flight was unpleasant. The plane was packed and so Dave & I became quite familiar with the poor soul who sat between us. The best part is that it was an overnight flight, so we all slept most of the time. We both swear that sitting on the wooden seats at the bar of Navali River Resort is more comfortable than the EVA Air economy class seats.
So, we get checked in. We have a balcony over-looking both the Chao Phraya river and the bar of the hotel. There's a soft breeze. Luckily for us, we're on the side of the river opposite of where the sun is beating down. We can actually enjoy sitting out on the deck watching the water ferries come in. We're right at the stop of #3 of the Phra Arthit pier. Here's where you can buy tickets for the klong tours, or the long-tailed boat rides.
This Bangkok neighborhood is not lived as much open to the street as we experienced in Hanoi, but the doors are open. The streets are clean. It's not as noisy, but the pollution is really bad. It looks like a grey day even with the sun beating down. But there's gold paint and flourishes to all their finishes here. I'm looking forward to being able to spend more time in the streets. So is Dave, but he's pretending he can do the afternoons in the tropics. I know better.
More later!
Saturday, February 20, 2010
The Itinerary
As I did last time, I'm posting our itinerary. Since we haven't worked as closely with a tour operator, I don't have the lucious write-ups we had last time. I've since come to find out that plagarism is rampant in the tour industry. I found the source of many of the write-ups as I tried to navigate making my own tours & finding my own guides.
In the end, I did work with a tour agency, a hotel, and a private guide. We'll see how it all works out. I've embedded hyperlinks for you to browse around. I've also updated my Southeast Asia Map with our hotel locations & itinerary. This trip we'll be flying from Seattle to Bangkok, Thailand via Taipei. From Bangkok we will do an overland border crossing to Cambodia & drive to Siem Reap via the Aranyaprathet / Poipet border crossing. We'll visit the temples of Angkor Wat while we're in Siem Reap. Then we're driving (will be driven) to Phnom Penh. From Phnom Penh we fly to Taipei where we'll spend a few days before we take our direct flight back to Seattle. We actually arrive in Seattle earlier in the day than we take off from Taipei.
Wednesday, 2/24/2010
• cab pickup 10pm
Thursday, 2/25/2010
• depart 12:50am
Friday, 2/26/2010 - Bangkok
• Arrive 11:05am Flight 211 Thaitour driver will pick us up at door 3 and deliver to hotel.
• Hotel: Navalai River Resort
Saturday, 2/27/2010 - Bangkok
• Chatuchak Weekend Market
• Dinner booked: 19:30 @ the Bangkok Marriott - Manohra Dinner Cruise (Turn on your speaker, it's got nice music, if a bit repetetive after the 2nd go around)
Free river taxi from Taksin Public Pier every 15 min to Manohra / Marriott
Sunday, 2/28/2010 - Bangkok
• email The Pavilion – reservation@thepavilion.asia -
This is the hotel we'll be staying at in Phnom Penh. They require an email confirmation of arrival 7 days in advance of the booking. I'm all nervous about forgetting about it.
• 9am – guide picks us up at the hotel to visit Wat Pho (massage), Amulet Market, Nat’l Gallery Weekend Art market, Grand Palace
This time I worked with a travel agency to book guides & car in Thailand. We'll see how they work out. The company is Thaitour Service. We've asked them to arrange the airport transfer as well as a few of these tours. We've also booked the drive from Bangkok to Siem Reap, Cambodia with them. Now that will be telling.
Monday, 3/1/2010 - Bangkok
• 8am pickup – Ayutthaya. Return to Bangkok by 16:30
• Dinner: Baan Rabiang Nam
Tuesday, 3/2/2010 - Bangkok
• Chinatown
• Dinner booked: 19:00 dinner @ Jok’s kitchen
Jok Kitchen
We used the Thaitour Service tour agent to book us this reservation at Jok's Kitchen. At least with them, we could communicate via email. Otherwise, it would be an attempt to speak to someone in Thai via an international phone call. Not a high probability of that one actually happening.
Wednesday, 3/3/2010 – Siem Reap (Angokor Wat)
• Depart by car – 7:30am
• Arrive in Siem Reap
• Hotel: Golden Banana Boutique Resort
This is going to be an interesting day - I hope. I've heard that the border crossing isn't as "adventurous" as it used to be. I'm fine with that. I mean, what with backs getting thrown out, pneumonia, antibiotic resistant strains of staph, dogs dying kind of things happening when Dave & I travel, the idea of an uneventful border crossing is heavenly. We got our Cambodian Visas on line.
Their website was extremely easy to navigate, clearly written, and quick to use. Loved it. Probably one of the best sites to work with in SEA.
Thursday, 3/4/2010 - Siem Reap (Angokor Wat)
I haven't made a lot of reserverations in Siem Reap, okay, any b/c the hotel says that we can do that once we get there. From everything I've read, that appears to be true. We'll find out. It's a town built around tourism, but it doesn't "sound" as aggressive as Hanoi or what I've read about touts in Bangkok. Again, we'll find out.
One of my favorite websites about Cambodia is the one by
Canby Productions. This is the site where many a travel agent rips off the verbiage to add to their tour descriptions.
Friday, 3/5/2010 - Siem Reap (Angokor Wat)
Saturday, 3/6/2010 - Siem Reap (Angokor Wat)
• Depart by car. Arrive Phnom Penh between 3-6pm.
• Hotel: The Pavilion
Sunday, 3/7/2010 – Phnom Penh
We'll have 2 full days in Phnom Penh. I haven't really figured out what we're gonna do when. We hope to pick up a tuk-tuk driver we like to take us around.
Monday, 3/8/2010 – Phnom Penh
Tuesday, 3/9/2010 – Taipei
• Depart 12:45pm – EVA Air
• Arrive 5pm. Airport pickup arranged by hotel.
• Hotel: Just Sleep Hotel (Ximending)
• Meet with the guide Lulu Huang at 7pm @ hotel.
o Lung-Shan temple & visit the night market next to the temple.
We booked a local Taiwanese guide through the Our Explorer website. We were originally going to arrange to have her pick us up at the airport, but found that it would be cheaper going through the hotel. I have no interest in making things more difficult for myself, so things like trying to navigate the frustrations of making it from the airport to the hotel by finding the exit, finding a taxi, communicating with said taxi driver... forget it. This isn't my job, this is supposed to be fun. I'll help the global economy and pay someone to pick me up at the airport. Much nicer.
But back to the guide, Lulu, we're going to meet her at the hotel in the evening for our first tour - night markets in Taipei.
Wednesday, 3/10/2010 - Taipei
• Cave Gallery in the morning (9am?)
• 6pm go to Baoan Temple & Shilin night market
Thursday, 3/11/2010 - Taipei
• 10am reservations at Villa32
This is a hot springs resort in the Peitou (Beitou) district of Taipei. We'll catch the MRT red line & walk from there. We're only going for the day. We'll rent a private room for our soak, then each have massages, finishing off the day with tea.
Friday, 3/12/2010 - Taipei
• Check out noon
• National Art Gallery
• Departing 11pm from Taipei, arriving 6pm in Seattle
Ttttthat's all folks! (for now, I have to make some plans for Phnom Penh & find some more restaurants in Taipei)
In the end, I did work with a tour agency, a hotel, and a private guide. We'll see how it all works out. I've embedded hyperlinks for you to browse around. I've also updated my Southeast Asia Map with our hotel locations & itinerary. This trip we'll be flying from Seattle to Bangkok, Thailand via Taipei. From Bangkok we will do an overland border crossing to Cambodia & drive to Siem Reap via the Aranyaprathet / Poipet border crossing. We'll visit the temples of Angkor Wat while we're in Siem Reap. Then we're driving (will be driven) to Phnom Penh. From Phnom Penh we fly to Taipei where we'll spend a few days before we take our direct flight back to Seattle. We actually arrive in Seattle earlier in the day than we take off from Taipei.
Wednesday, 2/24/2010
• cab pickup 10pm
Thursday, 2/25/2010
• depart 12:50am
Friday, 2/26/2010 - Bangkok
• Arrive 11:05am Flight 211 Thaitour driver will pick us up at door 3 and deliver to hotel.
• Hotel: Navalai River Resort
Saturday, 2/27/2010 - Bangkok
• Chatuchak Weekend Market
• Dinner booked: 19:30 @ the Bangkok Marriott - Manohra Dinner Cruise (Turn on your speaker, it's got nice music, if a bit repetetive after the 2nd go around)
Free river taxi from Taksin Public Pier every 15 min to Manohra / Marriott
Sunday, 2/28/2010 - Bangkok
• email The Pavilion – reservation@thepavilion.asia -
This is the hotel we'll be staying at in Phnom Penh. They require an email confirmation of arrival 7 days in advance of the booking. I'm all nervous about forgetting about it.
• 9am – guide picks us up at the hotel to visit Wat Pho (massage), Amulet Market, Nat’l Gallery Weekend Art market, Grand Palace
This time I worked with a travel agency to book guides & car in Thailand. We'll see how they work out. The company is Thaitour Service. We've asked them to arrange the airport transfer as well as a few of these tours. We've also booked the drive from Bangkok to Siem Reap, Cambodia with them. Now that will be telling.
Monday, 3/1/2010 - Bangkok
• 8am pickup – Ayutthaya. Return to Bangkok by 16:30
• Dinner: Baan Rabiang Nam
Tuesday, 3/2/2010 - Bangkok
• Chinatown
• Dinner booked: 19:00 dinner @ Jok’s kitchen
Jok Kitchen
We used the Thaitour Service tour agent to book us this reservation at Jok's Kitchen. At least with them, we could communicate via email. Otherwise, it would be an attempt to speak to someone in Thai via an international phone call. Not a high probability of that one actually happening.
Wednesday, 3/3/2010 – Siem Reap (Angokor Wat)
• Depart by car – 7:30am
• Arrive in Siem Reap
• Hotel: Golden Banana Boutique Resort
This is going to be an interesting day - I hope. I've heard that the border crossing isn't as "adventurous" as it used to be. I'm fine with that. I mean, what with backs getting thrown out, pneumonia, antibiotic resistant strains of staph, dogs dying kind of things happening when Dave & I travel, the idea of an uneventful border crossing is heavenly. We got our Cambodian Visas on line.
Their website was extremely easy to navigate, clearly written, and quick to use. Loved it. Probably one of the best sites to work with in SEA.
Thursday, 3/4/2010 - Siem Reap (Angokor Wat)
I haven't made a lot of reserverations in Siem Reap, okay, any b/c the hotel says that we can do that once we get there. From everything I've read, that appears to be true. We'll find out. It's a town built around tourism, but it doesn't "sound" as aggressive as Hanoi or what I've read about touts in Bangkok. Again, we'll find out.
One of my favorite websites about Cambodia is the one by
Canby Productions. This is the site where many a travel agent rips off the verbiage to add to their tour descriptions.
Friday, 3/5/2010 - Siem Reap (Angokor Wat)
Saturday, 3/6/2010 - Siem Reap (Angokor Wat)
• Depart by car. Arrive Phnom Penh between 3-6pm.
• Hotel: The Pavilion
Sunday, 3/7/2010 – Phnom Penh
We'll have 2 full days in Phnom Penh. I haven't really figured out what we're gonna do when. We hope to pick up a tuk-tuk driver we like to take us around.
Monday, 3/8/2010 – Phnom Penh
Tuesday, 3/9/2010 – Taipei
• Depart 12:45pm – EVA Air
• Arrive 5pm. Airport pickup arranged by hotel.
• Hotel: Just Sleep Hotel (Ximending)
• Meet with the guide Lulu Huang at 7pm @ hotel.
o Lung-Shan temple & visit the night market next to the temple.
We booked a local Taiwanese guide through the Our Explorer website. We were originally going to arrange to have her pick us up at the airport, but found that it would be cheaper going through the hotel. I have no interest in making things more difficult for myself, so things like trying to navigate the frustrations of making it from the airport to the hotel by finding the exit, finding a taxi, communicating with said taxi driver... forget it. This isn't my job, this is supposed to be fun. I'll help the global economy and pay someone to pick me up at the airport. Much nicer.
But back to the guide, Lulu, we're going to meet her at the hotel in the evening for our first tour - night markets in Taipei.
Wednesday, 3/10/2010 - Taipei
• Cave Gallery in the morning (9am?)
• 6pm go to Baoan Temple & Shilin night market
Thursday, 3/11/2010 - Taipei
• 10am reservations at Villa32
This is a hot springs resort in the Peitou (Beitou) district of Taipei. We'll catch the MRT red line & walk from there. We're only going for the day. We'll rent a private room for our soak, then each have massages, finishing off the day with tea.
Friday, 3/12/2010 - Taipei
• Check out noon
• National Art Gallery
• Departing 11pm from Taipei, arriving 6pm in Seattle
Ttttthat's all folks! (for now, I have to make some plans for Phnom Penh & find some more restaurants in Taipei)
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