Goodbye Thailand. Hello Laos.

The official border crossing along a small paved road.


The Mekong River. After jumping into a long boat, two mins later we were in Laos. And just in case we had any doubts:

We're a little behind on our posts but the cold/wet weather we're experiencing today is keeping us indoors and will hopefully help us get caught up.

Busted!

This is an old photo from Bangkok. I'm no expert on Buddhism or anything, but something about this seems a little off..

Wat Rong Khun

after a tiny breakdown on the highway (yes, that is our driver climbing under the bus to fix a broken ?(as in, who knows) with only his bare hands)

we arrived in Chiang Rai and went in search of Wat Rong Khun ("The White Temple"). Actually, we made the detour to Chiang Rai to specifically see this wat. I mentioned that we were completely "wat-ed out" in my last post, and yet here we were. BUT as you'll see from the photos this wat is one of a kind and we were really impressed.



Covered in mirrors to reflect sun (symbolizing the Buddha's wisdom) and all white (representing the purity of Buddha), this temple looked like a huge ice palace. Funded by an independent artist (he does not accept large donations in order to preserve his artistic freedom) construction began in 1998 and is still ongoing.

The whole temple represents the life of Buddha. The small semicircle before the bridge represents the human world. The big circle with fangs represents the impurities in the mind, and the hands are a representation of hell and suffering.


The temple is also surrounded by depictions of "evils" and the head's of sinners hang in the trees.

Inside the temple, murals cover the walls. On one of the walls there's a giant snake with a portrait of Bush in one eye and Osama bin Laden in the other eye.

The temple was incredibly beautiful and we're really glad we went but now, "wat" we need is a break from wats.

Burmese day

After Lampang, we went to the northernmost city in Thailand, Mae Sai, a legal border crossing into Myanmar and a very busy trading city.

Janet found some comfortable shoes in Mae Sai for $4.

Travel is highly restricted for foreigners in Myanmar, but it was easy enough for us to get in. The authorities held on to our passports and issued us cardboard ID cards. As we crossed the border, we could immediately feel the difference. Men selling cartons of cigarettes and women selling Saddam Hussein playing cards incessantly approached us in the bustling border market. We watched our possessions closely because we had the feeling that there would be many pickpockets, though this precaution was probably unnecessary. Myanmar is supposed to be the safest country in Southeast Asia to travel in, in part because of the gentleness of its people, and partly because the punishment for stealing from a tourist is death. (If someone stole from us, we wouldn't have told the police.)

Large market in Tachileik near the Thai border. Thai and other foreign tourists cross the border to shop here.

After walking around aimlessly for a bit through the busy border market, we stopped at an open air restaurant to hydrate. Immediately we were befriended by a Burmese man named "Danny." Danny spoke excellent English and was talkative and intelligent. He explained a lot to us about Burmese culture and the local situation. He had worked as an engineer on a ship for some years, where he learned English and had a chance to visit many countries, very rare for a Burmese. After drinks, he took us to a local monastery, the only thing to see in the city.

Walking meditation at the monastery

Danny had previously mentioned that he lived in New York and Miami for several years, and he knew a lot about the US politics of the 1990s. Apparently it turns out that he was in an immigration detention center for that time, and knew so much about the US because he read a US newspaper daily for several years while detained.

Danny and Janet

While detained in the US, Danny designed the hybrid gas/electric engine, and this design was stolen from him by the CIA. The CIA tried to assassinate him with poison in Miami, and he was hospitalized there. He commented on how many Filipino nurses worked in the Miami hospital. Two days before we met him, he was approached by the CIA. They said they were Belgian, but Danny knew that they were really from the CIA. They offered him $15 million, but he declined. He would accept no less than $40 billion for his hybrid engine design, its true value.

Hearing all of this, and having gotten a feel for Tachileik, we handed Danny $2 and went back to Thailand.

the road to diabetes

is paved with Thai Iced Teas and Thai Iced Coffees. Mmmm.

lazy Lampang

traveling another 5 hours north by train, we found ourselves in lampang. Planning to stay only one night, our guesthouse on the river nan drew us in another night, and then another, and then another. Though the town boasted some old Burmese-Thai teak Wats and other historical sites we are honestly "wat-ed out". On our first day we rented a motorcycle and rode to Pha Tai caves, the largest limestone caves in Thailand. After a false start in the wrong direction - we were off!

Safety First!

And after 2 hours, we hiked up the 330 steps to the entrance of the cave. The cave was approximately 400m long and filled with stalagmites, stalactites and bats. Lots of bats. We were the only people there and had a private tour.

A stalagmite over 10 million years old

On our way back, we stopped at a local "gas station" (think of three kegs filled with gas) and found the most incredible "SAUSAGES".

Even though they appeared to be made of some mystery meat, at this point we were starving and they smelled amazing! And to our surprise, these were stuffed with rice, vermicelli and pork.

Isan Sausage on a stick

After trying one each we ordered another four. DELICIOUS! Worth the six hour bike ride, numb butts and sunburn. The road was surrounded by pineapple farms and we also stopped to purchase a freshly picked pineapple.

Over the next few days we alternated between

playing scrabble (look at the focus on ari's face...little did he know I was only working with AEIO blank, and I)

lounging at our guesthouse. Next to the river, where we successfully completed taxes and Ari had a few other (not so successful) attempts at river fishing.

and eating. Here we are with Michel (a Swiss traveler) at our last dinner in Lampang at Aroy One Baht. Named after the one baht (1/30 USD) rice porridge they serve.

Sadly, we've realized we are running out of time and are going to have to pick up the pace if we want to see as much in Laos, Vietnam and the Philippines....

Janet was displeased

After Ayutthaya, we headed north to see temples even more ancient. Sukothai preceded Ayutthaya and was the first independent Thai kingdom.

We stayed at the Lithai Guesthouse in the town of Phitsanulok, about an hour away from Sukothai. It was as advertised, and we enjoyed several conveniences, though I don't recall dreaming.


In our last visa-run to Penang, I bought a compact fishing rod and reel and some lures for $10. Since Phitsanulok is on a river, I thought it was the perfect chance to try it out.. but I caught nothing. =(


In Phitsanulok, birds come out at night. Thousands of them. Think the movie Birds. There are so many of them sitting on the telephone lines and in trees that the sound is deafening. It's really quite creepy.

We stood under a bird-filled tree while Janet was taking the below picture. Always the clever one, I thought it was a bright idea to scare some of the birds out of the tree so they would fly to the telephone line and improve her picture. I scared the sh*t out of them, literally, right onto her head. Janet was displeased.


And of course, we saw some temples. We took a day trip to Sukothai and rented bikes. There are five zones, four with scattered and less preserved temples, and a very well-maintained central zone. Since the temperature was easily above 35C/95F, we just biked around a bit in the central zone, overheated, and went home.

Look ma, one hand! Taking this picture was easily the most risky thing I've done on this trip.. if I dropped her SLR camera, Janet would have definitely killed me. For those in the know, SLRs aren't really designed for one-handed use.

Ayutthaya

"the pinnacle of ancient Thai history and defined the country's ascendance to regional domination" - Lonely Planet

about an hour outside of Bangkok, this is where Thailand, as it exists today, all started. As Ari just commented "If the Burmese hadn't destroyed this capital, it would be the modern Bangkok and people would tour around and look at the temples and sh*t" (funny enough, they still do that, except there's no skytrain, shopping mall or air conditioning.)

The ancient capital was built at the confluence of three rivers and looks like an island. We rented bikes from our guesthouse and fought our way along narrow streets against the average motorcycle, tour bus and eighteen wheeler. The ruins were all over the city (even one right next to the guesthouse which was poorly maintained and we had mistaken for an abandoned construction site) and in 35C/95F heat we biked/sweated our hearts out and saw as many ruins as we could.

Ari hiding in a patch of shade

Reclining Buddha that used to be housed in a wat. The compound was destroyed by the Burmese

Me, Ari, and Buddha

A buddha head wrapped in tree roots. This is one of the most famous images of Ayutthaya.

Headless buddhas. Far more common, as heads were stolen by looters or destroyed in Burmese attacks against the city.

Having biked for about three hours we headed back to our guesthouse. I was pretty proud of myself that I had managed to steer clear of other vehicles, pedestrians and large gaping holes on the street, but just as we rounded the last corner I lost control and almost took out a lady and her cart of drinks. Luckily, nothing was broken (except my ego) and she only gave me the look of death. I guess it's true though, accidents are more likely to occur within 1 mile of the home.

heading north

having finished my apps last week (finally), we've been slowly making our way north to cross into Laos. Don't worry! Before leaving Bangkok we did get to do a little Karaoke in a barbie inspired/decorated private room. Despite the thrill of singing our hearts out to Avril Lavigne in what felt like barbie's living room, we're excited to be out of the city and on the move again. We've made a few stops, taken a few bike rides, seen more Wats than we can count, and of course eaten some more incredible food...

more when we upload some photos!

my little obsession (this is our 100th post!)

(I apologise in advance for my excessive use of exclamation marks!)

Our adventures with my mom and Karen continued in Bangkok where we had the most incredddddible dinner! I had seen Bo.lan on Bourdain "No Reservations" and then read about it in our guidebook - so was more than a little EXCITED to actually eat there (Note: I've come to the realization that I have a tiny obsession with food). Having Bo actually serve our "pre-dessert" was like meeting a celebrity! We all had the "Bo.lan balance" which was made up of 14 Thai dishes. Despite the spiciest soup we've ever had (Ari said " it's like swallowing razor blades") and some sweets that were questionably soap-flavoured, everything was amazing!!!!!

the Bo.balance menu

Appetizer: Thai rice krispies

First Course: alcohol, sour fruit and chillies

Amuse Bouche - Thank you "Top Chef" For teaching me all these culinary terms

Main: Vegetables and Fruit with Coconut based dipping sauce

Main: Prawns stir fried with chilli-jam (modified from mussels)

Main: Chai Ya salted egg with prawns simmered in coconut milk

Main: Grilled beef curry

Thai Desserts

An amazing meal!!! (have i said that yet?) And a few satisfied customers...

Thanks Mom and Karen for making a stop in Bangkok and helping us collect shampoo!


!!!!! (for good measure)

Phuket

After Penang, we flew to the southern Thai island of Phuket to meet Janet's mother and sister. We stayed at the posh Westin resort for three nights, thanks to Janet's mom. Thanks again Mrs. Lee!

Resort at night