Thai Cooking and Fighting

Yesterday morning we attended one of the many Thai cooking schools in Chiang Mai. We were picked up around nine and started our day at a local market. Our teacher taught us about all kinds of Thai herbs, vegetables, and proteins. We sampled some tropical fruit and traditional snacks, some of which were great while others were unappetizing. When our visit was over we headed back to the kitchen to prepare six different courses.



The local market



Our snacks

Our first course was Phad Thai. Our instructor quickly explained how to prepare all of the produce and other components, but other workers had already done most of the work for us. After a few of our own chops and cuts we headed out to the woks to cook. We watched the instructor cook his own meal, then we followed right after. The woks were a bit hot so the Phad Thai turned out well, but was a little crispy.


Yum! Phad Thai

The same process followed for our next five dishes. We learned out to make and wrap spring rolls, then made chicken coconut soup, green curry with chicken, fried bananas, and green curry paste. It was great to eat each course that we prepared and we had a lot of fun making them. Overall, our experience was a success. Maybe we can show you what we learned when get back.






Chicken coconut soup



Grinding some curry paste



Green curry with chicken

After the cooking course we relaxed for a few hours before heading to Muay Thai event in town. We met up with our travel buddies Aldo and Gabriela at the stadium and watched the night's fights. It was interesting to see how dedicated the fighters were and how the event is more than just a fight to those involved. We saw action-packed fights before we said goodbye to our friends and headed back to the guest house.







Today we woke up for, sadly, our last day in Chiang Mai. We had a massive breakfast of banana pancakes, fruit and yogurt, and homemade peanut butter toast. After gorging ourselves we explored the city before relaxing with massages, shakes and cards. This evening we picked up a couple of suits that I ordered and had a couple beers at a local pub. Tomorrow we have an early afternoon flight to Bangkok where we will enter chaos and excitement.

Location:Moon Mueang Soi 1,Mueang Chiang Mai,Thailand

Leaving Phuket, Arriving in Chiang Mai

Our last few days in Phuket were spent laying by the pool, eating delicious dinners and relaxing. We woke up each morning and had breakfast at the hotel while we planned out the day. However, on Sunday morning, our second to last day, we both got food poisoning. We think we got it from the cream we put in our coffee as it was sitting out warm. We spent all of Sunday in the room, trying to heal before our flight at 10am on Monday. On Monday was woke up and felt about 60%. After a long hour drive we arrived at the airport for our two hour flight to Chiang Mai, in northern Thailand. Once we arrived, we jumped into a taxi and went to our guesthouse. Our guesthouse is inside the old wall of the city and is very near to many of Chiang Mai's temples, restaurants and other sites. We were still not feeling well, so we went for a quick late lunch before relaxing all night.



Dinner in Phuket



Delicious Pad Thai

Today we felt much better and decided to explore the city. We stopped at a nice restaurant for some breakfast and then set off in search of Thai temples. As we explored, we found three gorgeous temples. All were similar in design, however they each had their own unique features such as a crystal Buddha. After our adventure in the city, we stopped for an hour long massage. Being relaxed and calmed, we then headed for a tailor that was recommended to us by two different people. We have learned that Thai people, especially in non-tourist areas, are very warm and friendly. Numerous people have pointed out things on our map, helped us plan our routes, and offered us their advice. After the tailor, we headed to Chiang Mai's Night Bazaar. We walked around and browsed the shops before having some dinner. Now we are relaxing in our room as it is pouring rain. Tomorrow we are taking a Thai cooking course. We are excited to learn how to make these delicious foods and cook them once we return to Minnesota!



Watchediluang Varavharn


















Bhuridatto Viharn


The crystal Buddha


Our first Tuk-Tuk ride




The old wall




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Phuket, Thailand

On Monday afternoon we took a short flight from Kuala Lumpur to Phuket, Thailand. We were not really sure what we wanted to do when we arrived, so we decided to stay in Phuket town for the first night, then figure out our plans from there. We found a nice hostel near the bus station where we had a room overlooking the main street. After checking in, we went to a few information stands in the area, then to a nice roadside restaurant. The food was the best that we have had on our trip and the owner was very friendly. She kept offering us her opinion and helped us decide where to spend our week. We ended up deciding to head to Kata Beach. We found a nice resort with hostel-like prices due to low season.



Fred's favorite meal of fish, rice, basil and red chillies.

On Tuesday we taxied to Kata Beach after a late breakfast at the same restaurant. When we checked in, we found out we were upgraded to a poolside room. The resort is great and our room is enormous! We then headed down to the beach, which is only a five minute walk away. After swimming and relaxing for a few hours, we headed to an internet cafe and ordered some sandwiches for dinner.



Our room near Kata Beach



Kata Beach

We woke up early the following morning for a tour to the Phi Phi islands. We spent the morning around Phi Phi Don. We saw some spectacular sites in the area around the island, fed some monkeys at Monkey Beach, and did a little snorkeling.
We had a quick lunch at one of the main beaches on the island before heading to explore Phi Phi Lei and another island. The highlight of the afternoon was Maya Beach, where the movie "The Beach" was filmed. The water was turquoise blue and extremely clear. After one last snorkeling stop, we headed back to Chalong Bay. The sights were beautiful, but the snorkeling was mediocre. After a long day at sea we were exhausted. We relaxed in our hotel room for a couple hours, then headed for dinner. We stopped a small Italian restaurant for pasta and chicken. On our way home we found a cool roadside bar called, "Auto Bar." It was a stationary VW van that was customized to include an entire bar and music system in the back. After a strong drink, we headed back to the hotel.



Limestone cliffs













Maya Bay




Today we woke up, ate breakfast and headed to the beach. We found a couple chairs where we relaxed and played cards all afternoon. Right now we are getting for the evening and a couple more drinks at Auto Bar.

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Location:Kata,Mueang Phuket,Thailand

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

On Friday morning we woke up and took a train from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. After going through customs in both Singapore and Malaysia, we boarded the train for our six hour journey north. The sites were filled with palm trees, mountains and small villages. Once we arrived in headed to our hostel. We were first very overwhelmed by the metro system, the stormy weather and our lack of energy after the long train ride. After walking around for about 20 minutes in the rain, we found of hostel. Once we got settled we ventured out for food. The streets were not clearly marked so we ended up getting lost for half on hour. We finally stumbled into an Indian vegetarian restaurant. After a filling meal we headed back to the hostel.

In the morning we woke up and headed to Batu Caves. These caves are about 20 miles from the city center but are connected by subway. We walked around before climbing the 297 stairs to the entrance of the caves. Along the way we encountered aggressive wild monkeys, willing to take things from sunglasses to water bottles as people climbed the stairs. After we left the caves, we headed for central Kuala Lumpur. We walked around the city and admired the Petronas Towers before relaxing at a coffee shop. Once darkness fell, we headed to the Traders Hotel to have a drink at its famous Sky Bar. Sky Bar is 33 stories high and has magnificent views of the lit up Petronas Towers. Once we left Sky Bar we headed to another bar closer to our hotel. There we were able to watch live singers, a dance show and even a fire-eater. The fire-eater walked off of the stage and came directly up to me to invite me to try the daring feat! We then headed back to our hostel after a very fun Saturday in Kuala Lumpur.



Entrance to Batu Caves



Inside Batu Caves






Petronas Towers



Petronas Towers at night



View of Sky Bar



Petronas Towers from Sky Bar

Today we woke up and headed out for some food. We found a small fusion restaurant mixing Malaysian and Chinese dishes. Fred had a spicy noodle soup and I had a mixed vegetable soup with rice. We then walked around the city until happy hour before we enjoyed some beers and rugby matches. After this we found an Indian restaurant. We had bread, sauces, egg-bread and curry, along with a 1.5 liter bottle of water, for $1.80! What a great find! Tomorrow we have a 12:30pm flight to Phuket, Thailand! We are excited to relax on beaches for an entire week!

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Location:Jalan Pudu,Kuala Lumpur,Malaysia

Singapore: First Impressions

Yesterday evening we arrived in Singapore. We immediately noticed a few differences between Singapore and the rest of the Asian countries that we've been to. The streets are clean, the people are friendly and courteous, and has a diverse population. Our hostel for the first couple nights is in "Little India." We checked into our hostel and headed out to explore the area. We stumbled upon a street that had all kinds of markets, stalls, and food stands. We decided that this was probably the place that we should grab dinner. We stopped at a small Chinese restaurant, where we enjoyed some steamed duck and dumplings. After dinner, we explored the area a bit more then headed back to our room.



Chinese food stall (no idea what it's called)

This morning we woke up, ate breakfast, then headed out to see the sites of Singapore. The city is relatively small, so we decided it was best to explore on foot. We walked around for about an hour looking at the architecture and unique features of the city. It was really refreshing to see so much creativity after two years of cookie-cutter buildings. We stopped for lunch in the basement food courts of one of the numerous malls in the area. We had wanton noodle soup and some interesting "carrot cake", which resembled bland, sticky mashed potatoes. After lunch, we relaxed and played cards in a park to escape the unbearable Singapore heat. For dinner, we stopped at "Glutton's Bay." It was a small street near the marina, lined with hawkers selling various international dishes. We decided to get the chicken rice and some chicken curry. Now, we are back at the hostel after a long and tiring day. Tomorrow we are planning on visiting the Singapore Zoo. Thursday is the first day of the World Food Festival in Singapore. It looks like we will have plenty to do before our Friday morning train to Kuala Lumpur!



Near Singapore Marina



Near Singapore Marina



"The Durian" and a few skyscrapers



Glutton's Bay

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Location:Singapore

Bali: Island Tour

Today we went on an island tour. We woke up and had breakfast at our hotel before meeting up with Aldo and Gabriela for a tour around Bali. We left at nine o'clock and headed for a Balinese dance show. The performance was very traditional with an unique storyline containing numerous characters. After the hour long show we headed to Goa Gajah Temple. It is commonly known as the "Elephant Temple." We were fitted with sarongs before exploring the grounds. We saw numerous baths before entering the cave temple. It was very dark, which made it difficult to see the two shrines within the cave. After leaving the temple, we headed for lunch. We went to a Balinese restaurant overlooking a volcano and a lake. The food was great, but the view was better. We then headed to our last stop of the day, the one we were most excited for: Bali's stacked rice terraces. We went to an overlook of the terraces and took a bunch of pictures. When we got back to the hotel, we jumped into the cool pool. We are now relaxing before going into Central Ubud for our last dinner in Bali. Tomorrow we have a two o'clock flight to Singapore!






Balinese dance performance



Elephant Temple



Balinese lunch



View of the volcano and the lake




Rice Terraces

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Location:Bali, Indonesia

Relaxing in Bali

We arrived in Ubud, Bali late Thursday evening. Our hotel staff greeted us with a cool drink and brought us to our room. The room is very spacious and nice, with woodcarvings on the walls and a very comfortable bed. We were shocked by how much we were getting for our money. We stayed in that evening and rested up after a long few days of travel.

In the morning we woke up, walked through our garden and headed to breakfast in the hotel's open-air restaurant. Then we headed
out for the day. A couple from Italy, Aldo and Gabriela, went into town with us. We spent the day exploring central Ubud and the Monkey Forest together. The forest was quite an experience. There were wild monkeys roaming around freely within inches of you. The truly brave brought bananas with them, but were soon hounded by the larger, more aggressive monkeys. We walked along the paths and came to the main temple. We both had to wear sarongs inside to be considerate of Balinese tradition. Inside the temple there were a lot of intricate statues and a gold-encrusted monument. After walking around the temple we headed back into the city center, where we each got an hour massage for $5.50. We then headed back to the hotel to enjoy a quiet dinner. It was a very relaxing first day after weeks of hectic preparation.



Aldo playing with one of the monkeys



Temple in the Monkey Forest



Statue of a Monkey Deity

Today we met up with Aldo and Gabriela at breakfast and then headed to the local botanical garden. The garden was actually a path through the jungle. We spent a little more than an hour walking around viewing the tropical plants and animals. Then we headed into town for a roasted pig lunch. Many people pointed us in the way of the restaurant so we decided to try it. I loved everything, but London was a little apprehensive about the meat and skin. It was good to have a meal in traditional Balinese style.










Eating lunch at the Balinese restaurant



Our meal: Pork meat and skin, rice, and veggies



A narrow lane in Ubud Market

Right now, we are at the hotel, sitting on our patio overlooking the garden as we wait for our dinner and Balinese dance show. We have arranged an island tour to several temples and a volcano for tomorrow. Even though we have only been in Bali for two days, we can already tell that we are going to miss it.

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Location:Ubud, Bali, Indonesia