Caroline

Aug 03 2017

Five Days in Lovely Lisbon

Considering I’ve lived in Spain for 10 years and traveled extensively throughout Europe before then, I had amazingly never been to Portugal (ever!!) Eager to change this, we booked an Easter getaway to Lisbon and had 5 wonderful days in this lovely city. We’ll be back for sure!

With so much to do just in Lisbon itself, it can be overwhelming to plan a trip there. Personally, I can’t imagine spending less than 5 days and ideally it would be more like 6 or 7 to really take full advantage of what it has to offer. A couple of extra days would also allow for some scheduled chill-out time to avoid the burn-out we encountered on our last day in Sintra. 🙂

Here is a run-down of our full-tilt, all systems go visit to Lisbon!

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Day 1 – Mouraria, Alfama, Baixa

Our flight arrived in the early afternoon, and we used public transit to get from the airport to our apartment in Mouraria. We opted for the Zapping Card where you just load the card with any amount you wish (we used just shy of 20 € for our 5 days). When you board a bus, train, tram, or ferry, you just swipe the card and the appropriate amount comes off. In Spring 2017, the costs were: 1,25 € for bus/metro/tram, 1,80 € for the train to Sintra, and 1,18 € for the ferry. These are much lower than paying as you go (especially for the old electric trams that cost almost 3 € for a single ride!) More information about fares and routes can be found on the Carris website.

Being our first day, we did a mirador route that brought us to several viewing points: Miradouro da Senhora do Monte, Miradouro da Graça, Portos do Sol, and Santa Luzia. Lisbon is a walker’s paradise (if you don’t mind hills!) Our sunset location was at Miradouro de São Pedro de Alcântara.

Read the full post about our first day in Lisbon here!

Day 2 – Baixa, Chiado, Bairro Alto

Our second day began the quest for our favourite Pastel de Nata. You can’t throw a stone in Lisbon without hitting a café or bakery selling these rich treats. The rest of the morning was spent exploring Rua Augusta with its impressive arch and Praça do Comércio at the end. We continued along the river until the Time Out Market at Cais do Sodré where we stopped for lunch.

Filled with energy after our lunch break, we climbed up to Bairro Alto via Bica to watch the famous tram make its trips up and down the steep hill. We walked all the way to Basílica da Estrela and then took Tram 28 all the way back to Bica and continued our wanderings back through the city centre.

This was very much an orientation day as we just walked and walked and walked to get to know the city.

The details of our day can be found here!

Day 3 – Baixa, Chiado, Alfama

We retraced our steps from Day 2 down Rua Augusta to Praça do Comércio and then took the subway up to São Sebastião station to see the views from Parque Eduardo VII.

A stroll down Avenida da Liberdade brought us back to our area for lunch and a brief rest before tackling the castle. The best advice I can give for visiting the castle is to take the little bus #737 from Praça da Figueira right to the gates of the castle. We never did take Tram 28 from Martim Moniz up through Alfama since the line was always so incredibly long (and everyone wanted a seat so the trams would leave with all the standing room available.) We used Tram 28 as a means of transit from other points of town but always avoided that mayhem (and always stood!)

The castle was nice to ramble around. We timed our visit to be able to see the sun set over the city. It wasn’t nearly as overrun as I expected it to be, so it was actually a peaceful sunset.

You can read all about Day 3 by clicking here!

Day 4 – Belém & Cacilhas

Day 4 brought us further afield to Belém and then across the river to Cacilhas. We went up the Discoveries Monument which was a great view. The lines were long (and the sun was hot) for both the Monastery and Torre Belém so we chose to appreciate those only from the outside. We loved our stroll along the waterfront between the Discoveries Monument and Torre Belém.

No trip to Belém is complete without trying the famous Pastéis de Belém. Avoid the insanely long line at the counter by just going inside and taking a seat at one of the hundreds of tables available inside. The place is huge….please don’t wait in line!!!!! 🙂

Back in Lisbon, we took the ferry over to Cacilhas for another waterfront walk and delicious lunch. We walked all the way to Cristo Rei (via the elevator to take us from the waterfront up to the town centre of Alamada). It was worth the visit, for sure. Even if you don’t want to go up to the viewing platform at the statue, the views from the garden area are also wonderful. We enjoyed the sunset from Cacilhas.

All of the stories and hints from Day 4 can be found here.

Day 5 – Sintra

It seems that there are certain things that simply must be done during a visit to Lisbon: eating copious amounts of pastel de nata, taking a tram ride, tasting the ginjinha liqueur, and taking a day trip to Sintra. We took the train from Rossio at 8:40 am and stepped back off the train at about 7 pm. Needless to say, it was a long day but certainly worth it.

We took the tourist bus (5,50 €) straight up to Pena Palace. Although the bus ticket was good for hop-on/hop-off we actually ended up walking the rest of the time so in the end a taxi to Pena Palace for 10 € would have been much better value and faster. From Pena Palace we walked through the park to the Cruz Alta Mirador and then down to the Valley of the Lakes. From that lower exit we had a short walk to the entrance of the Moorish Castle. After exploring the castle walls, we walked down to the town centre (path was signed and although they left you hanging in a few places, you could always make an educated guess on the correct way!)

Once in town we had lunch and then walked the 15 minutes to Quinta da Regaleira. We were starting to get burnt-out so we prioritised the Initiation Well and then called it a day! The train station is about half an hour away on foot from Quinta da Regaleira so we had our last walk of the trip!

Sintra is popular for a reason and crowds will always be an issue during the mid and high seasons. Patience is necessary along with the ability to just go with the flow. For all of the details of our visit, take a look at the Day 5 post here!

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Aug 03 2017

Day 5: Beyond Lisbon in Sintra

This is it!! The big kahuna! All of our training (walking and heat resistance) has been leading us to this day: Exploring the Palace Town of Sintra!

We caught the 8:40 am train from Rossio (included on our Zapping transport card). It took about 40 min to travel the 30 km to Sintra. The train wasn’t very crowded, but we were a bit down the platform so enough people were ahead of us that we didn’t get on the first bus of the day (9:30 am). I enquired about a taxi, which turned out to be 10 € to Pena Palace. In hindsight we should have taken it since we only used the bus once (and it was 5,50 € each).

The bus ride felt really long so we were glad to have seats. There were several people waiting in the town centre for the bus – they are probably still there waiting since the buses were always packed! The road is narrow and windy and the big bus could only just make the turns. We rode all the way up to Pena Palace and started our adventure from there with a combined ticket for the Palace and Moorish Castle.

From the ticket office you have to walk about 10 minutes (*uphill*) to reach the palace. There is a shuttle for 3 € that will take you up (complete with a long line of people waiting for it). To me, it is not good value at all. If you are not able to walk up the hill, there is a little hop-on/hop-off cart that costs 3,50 €. Not only will it take you up to the palace, but it will also take you all around Pena Park (and if you aren’t able for the initial 10 minute climb, you won’t be able to explore the park since it is huge with many ups and downs.)

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Once we reached the palace, we decided to explore the terraces first. They are so colourful and different. We walked the rampart walls and enjoyed the views of the Moorish Castle below. So reminiscent of the Great Wall of China!

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The inside of the palace was a bit of a gong show but organised into a one-way system that you just follow through as if you were in one big line (“In Line in Lisbon”, the title of my next book?) I hope Semana Santa is just like summer high season and that it doesn’t get much busier?? I can’t imagine having to deal with more people….or more heat but I know it would be way hotter in summer!

After leaving the palace, we climbed up the 600 m or so to the Cruz Alta Mirador. Actually “mirador” is a big of a stretch since there was one rock from which you could see the palace and only one person could fit at a time. They need to trim some trees!!! Checking my notes afterwards I noticed that someone recommended continuing on 300 m to the right to get another view but I forgot to check that! And truthfully 300 m more would not have been desirable with the heat and required energy.

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We walked down to the Valley of the Lakes to exit that way since on the map it looked to be right beside the entrance to the Moorish Castle. Of course, “right beside” involved another uphill climb. I never thought I’d say this but, we are so over hills!!!!! Haha!

The castle area was cool but quite a bit smaller than I expected. I thought there would be more walking on the walls to climb up. Nevertheless it was nice but could benefit from a one-way system or at least directions to start from the right hand side behind the ticket booth and toilets etc., which in retrospect seemed to be the logical flow.

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By this time we were hot, tired, thirsty, and hungry (probably in that order!) so we headed for the town centre. I found it really hard to get information beforehand about walking down to town but within the castle area there were signs to guide you (for the most part!!!) We met some people who were walking up and they were really struggling so I would definitely recommend getting transport to the Pena Palace and then weave your way down on foot. It is a looooong walk up. 🙂 You can see in the photos above how far down town is.

The town centre is quite small (and packed!) so we just played a round of restaurant roulette and stopped at the first place that had a spot. We ended up on the main square at an Italian restaurant with a couple of salads and a big beer!

To get our first sweet fix of the day, we stopped by Piriquita II for a typical Sintra pastry: travesseiro. It is a puff-pastry “pillow” filled with almond cream. It was lovely and made a nice change from all the pastel de nata!!

We walked off the travesseiro with a visit to Quinta da Regaleira on the outskirts of town. This mini-palace is famous for its gardens and especially the intriguing Initiation Well. Needless to say, the place was crawling with people but it was still cool to see. We were still hot and tired so we really just focused on the Initiation Well and then started the walk back through town to the train station.

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We had some time to pass before the next train so we stopped at Queijadas da Sapa to sample the other typical pastry of Sintra: queijadas. They were good, but I’d prefer a travesseiro! It’s a cute little café though and worth a stop (besides, you have to try the queijadas for yourself!!)

The train ride back to Lisbon was uneventful and we even had time to dash back to the apartment to stow the camera before the evening’s activity: watching the Real Madrid vs Bayern Munich Champions Game. And not just watching the game, but watching it at CR7 Bar & Bistro which is owned by none other than Cristiano Ronaldo! How could we not? Sitting under “your love makes me strong, your hate makes me unstoppable” emblazoned on the wall pretty much sums up Ronaldo!

There was no room in the bar area so we sat in the bistro where things were quite calm even when Ronaldo scored 2 goals and became the first player to score 100 goals in UEFA competitions. The icing on the cake of the win for Madrid was the amazing burger that we had. It was SO GOOD! And I do not dole out burger praise easily. Everything on the varied menu sounded delicious and dare I say it, actually sounded healthy. But I needed a burger after all this walking!

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I used my running watch to track our Sintra mileage and it came up with 14 km. There was a bit of confusion in the park trees and inside the Pena Palace, but otherwise the tracking seems pretty good. I should have tracked all of our days!!! Or maybe I wouldn’t want to know….

So overall, Sintra was a success but the key to this was our early start to arrive in time for the first bus that leaves the station at 9:30 am (even though we didn’t fit on the first bus). With every train that arrives, this bus line just grows and grows. Alternatively, you can plan to take a taxi and skip the bus all together especially if you are planning to walk between Pena Palace and the Moorish Castle and then down to town. The walk at the end of the day to the train station from town was very easy.

Looking for more Lisbon adventures? Click on the links for Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, and Day 4! Or maybe you just want the Coles Notes Version?

Aug 02 2017

Day 4: Beyond Lisbon in Belém & Cacilhas

No visit to Lisbon is complete without a trip down the tramline to Belém. As the tram (#15) starts at Praça da Figueira we opted to go back to Confeitaria Nacional for breakfast. Thinking ahead to the famous Pastel de Belém that we would simply *have* to try, we decided to go custard-free for the moment. We repeated the divine Bola de Berlim and tried an Africano (or at least that is how it appeared on the receipt). It was sensational!! So moist and flavourful and coated in delicious coconut.

When we went in for breakfast there was no one at the tram stop, but when we came out it was a bit of a zoo (go figure!) So as usual, it must be said….”go early”!! The tram was packed but being of the modern variety, there was good air conditioning and standing wasn’t too much of an issue.

In the high season it really seems that you have to pick one of the main sights and just accept that it is the only one you will go into (if you don’t fancy standing in line in the baking sun all day). The tram lets off at the Monastery of San Jeronimo and the ticket line stretched almost around the corner. So we continued on to the Discoveries Monument where we encountered no line at all. We paid our 4 € and enjoyed the bird’s eye view of Belém in relative tranquility. It is a very small space at the top so there was no need to linger for too long.

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It’s easy to forget that you are actually on a river and not the ocean as you stroll along the boardwalk towards Torre de Belém. The day was just perfect!

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There was another huge line at the Torre de Belém (naturally) so we just enjoyed it from the outside.

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By this time we were getting ready for our second breakfast, so we retraced our steps past the Discoveries Monument (now with huge line!) and continued to the main street. Belém is famous for their version of pastel de nata (the original some might say?) This fame comes with…long lines! haha! But what you have to know is that even though the long line zigzags out into the sidewalk, all you have to do is go through the door to the left of the entrance and grab one of the hundreds of tables available. The place is HUGE and the seated entrance is signed so it’s not even a secret tip! I’m trying to remember if you could order boxes to take away with the table service. I’m pretty sure you could. So there is really no reason to join the long line.

Wow – the line actually distracted me from reporting on the actual Pastéis de Belém! They were certainly good, but not our favourites by a long shot. The pastry looked sooooo flaky but then didn’t live up to its appearance. It was fully loaded and the filling was very eggy. So if you prefer the eggier variety of natas, then you would probably rate them higher than us. 🙂

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Another quirky treat that makes an appearance on the main street is Pastéis de Cerveja (yes, Beer Cake!) We went to Pastelería Nau (gritty bar manned by an older gentleman instead of the shiny bar next door with a youngster serving – why do I always go for the gritty dark bars?!) The Pastéis de Cerveja is basically cake in a pastry cup. Sure, why not? It was a bit much after the Pastéis de Belém but we powered through.

It was still early afternoon by this point so we decided to get the tram back and take the ferry over to Cacilhas from Cais do Sodré. The ferry is also included in the Zapping card so we were still working off our initial 20 € charge from the airport. We happened to arrive at the other side just as a cruise ship was leaving Lisbon. I am a sucker for ships so we had some fun on the waterfront watching it sail by.

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We continued along the waterfront and its derelict buildings until we reached Atira-te al Rio – the perfect restaurant in which to while away the afternoon! We scored a table right on the water with fabulous views over to Lisbon and wasted no time in ordering a set of canecas to rehydrate! It was difficult to choose what to eat but in the end we went with octopus salad (recommended by the waiter for good reason!!! Amazing!), sardines in lemon with roasted peppers (hello, amazing!), and a tabla de embutidos with, wait for it, carrot jam. The jam sent it through the roof! The embutidos were quite different to what we are used to in Spain so that was nice. All of this with 4 beers came to just 35 €. The sunburns were on the house!

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Finally we managed to tear ourselves away from the table and continued following the waterfront until we reached the elevator that would take us up to Almada. (1 € for a return trip, not included on Zapping!) From town we walked about half an hour to the Sanctuary of Cristo Rei. We arrived very close to the closing time of 6 pm but still had enough time to take the elevator up to the base of the statue. The views were fabulous, and it was impressive to look up at the immense statue.

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Back on the ground, we spent an hour taking photos and enjoying the views. Another cruise ship left port so we were treated to another sighting.

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We wanted to be back on the water’s edge for sunset so we started back towards Cacilhas at about 7 pm. It took an hour to stroll back via the elevator and waterfront. The sunset did not disappoint. Great Balls of Fire!!

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Back in Lisbon, we sought out a craft beer pub in Baixa that I had read about: Trobadores (Rua de São Julião, 27). It had a medieval vibe to it with some of the beers being served in clay cups. Very cool! The guy was really nice so we had a couple of different brews each to try and just enjoyed the scene.

Luckily the beers gave us a bit of an appetite for dinner. We kept tonight’s choice super-local with a couple of bifanas from Casa das Bifanas on Praça da Figueira. Lisbon gets full marks for sandwiches: first the prego (beef) on Day 2 and then tonight’s bifana (pork). Yum!

Tomorrow SINTRA!!!

Looking for more Lisbon adventures? Click on the links for Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, and Day 5! Or maybe you just want the Coles Notes Version?

Jul 30 2017

Day 3: King of the Castle in Lisbon

We woke up to the church bells at 8 am. Lovely! The only plans we had for the day revolved around food so we just headed out to see where the wind would take us.

Breakfast brought us to A Brasileira for definitely the best coffee so far….you could almost taste the beans!! Local coffee lore reveals that A Brasileira was the first place to serve a bica. We also had a pastel de nata and a pão de Deus (bread with coconut). The bread was very bready (oddly enough) and not very exciting. The pastel was acceptable – not eggy but the pastry didn’t hold up to Confeiteria Nacional’s. We then moved along up the street to Manteigaria to watch the pastels pastry being rolled out and the custard being made. And then we tasted them. OMG amazing! There was no trace of egg flavour, pastry was light and flaky, and we really liked them!!! The current favourite!

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We retraced our steps from the day before down Rua Augusta with the 200 mm lens to take more photos. The street was packed with people enjoying the day. Being Easter Week there were definitely lots of fellow Spaniards.

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We hopped the subway at Baixa-Chiado and went up to São Sebastian to see Parque Eduardo VII. I’m so glad we didn’t walk!!!!! The park was cool, and I would imagine sunset would be nice. We then walked down Avenida da Liberdade enjoying the cool shade of the trees and dreaming of being able to shop in the shops!

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We reached the bottom right at 2 pm so perfect timing for our chicken lunch at Bonjardim. The cheese to start was amazing as was the bread. In Lisbon it seems to be typical to be brought bread (and possibly other nibbles) immediately. You are usually charged for this unless you ask them to take it away. The chicken was great too, but the breast meat was dry. The fact that it was still good means it must normally be amazing.

We passed on dessert to save room for yet another pastel de nata and bica; this time at Fábrica da Nata. It was an amazing fully-loaded pastel that could barely be contained by the delicate pastry. There are a couple of locations in Lisbon with one right at Praça dos Restauradores, which is where we went. It was a lovely (and refreshing) setting in the back room.

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As we headed towards home for a rest, we tried our next ginjinha. This time it was just a few blocks from the apartment at the legendary (and tiny) Os Amigos da Severa. After an nice pastel and ginjinha-induced siesta, we were ready to take on the castle!

Dreading the walk up, we decided to take the wee bus #737 all the way up to the castle gates from Praça da Figueira. Let me tell you, it was worth it’s weight in gold! Apart from the lovely views, another highlight of the castle visit was the peacock community – they were very entertaining! There were loads of them all “chatting” to each other on the ground and even in the trees. The coolest moment was seeing one in flight since that is something I had never seen before.

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We had a ramble around the castle and ramparts until sunset and then settled in at the café terrace with a beer to watch night fall.

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Once it was dark, we circled around to Miradouro da Graça to check out the city lights. We then took Tram 28 to Praça do Comércio to see the arch and everywhere lit up. We were still very full from all of the various afternoon treats so we opted for a ham & cheese brioche supper from one of the many bakeries lining Rua Augusta. This was pretty much the only food fail of the trip, but also the least important so I’m okay with that! 🙂

Looking for more Lisbon adventures? Click on the links for Day 1, Day 2, Day 4, and Day 5! Or maybe you just want the Coles Notes Version?

Jul 27 2017

Day 2: Lisbon Rambles

I woke up bright and sort of early at 7:45 am fully rested thanks to the one hour time change. We lazed about and marvelled at the lovely castle views. We finally headed out the door at 10 am for our breakfast at Confeiteria Nacional. We indulged in a bola de Berlim (Berliner doughnut) and pastel de nata plus 2 bicas (espressos). The pastel de nata was much eggier than the one on the airplane and less sweet. The pastry was divine. The bola de Berlim was yumsters…super fresh. The coffee was great too.

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After breakfast we wandered around past the Elevador de Santa Justa, down Rua Augusta through the arch and then along the river at Praça do Comércio towards Cais de Sodré. The river walk was full of people enjoying the beautiful Sunday morning and afternoon.

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By the time we made it to Cais de Sodré it was late enough to justify stopping at the Time Out Market for lunch. Prego Peixara was our focus and it was well worth the 15 minute wait. You get a buzzer so we found a seat close by and took in our surroundings as we waited. Every plate of food that walked by looked delicious. We had a “Clasico” and a “Dandy” and both were delicious. We also tried a bolinho de bacalhau which was fab. We will have to find some more around town.

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Eventually it was time to move on. Our goal was to have ice cream but that plan took a while to come to fruition. We ended up at the Bica street again and watched the trams for a while. It’s hard not to be fascinated by them – especially on that street!

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Our wanders eventually brought us to the Basílica da Estrela and wow, I’m so glad they did! The basilica is one of my favourite churches ever! This could be in large part due to the amazing Jesus rays that were streaming in and illuminating the altar of Fatima. WOW.

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We lucked out with Tram 28 arriving just as we were leaving. We had to stand but it was no big deal. I should add that our Zapping transit cards were valid on the electric trams so it was easy to just hop on. We hopped out after Bica and then continued our search for ice cream. We found a snazzy place with lots of sorbet options so we treated ourselves there. Walk walk walk (this city is a walker’s paradise – even with the hills!) We eventually found ourselves at Ginjina Sem Rival. Naturally we had to stop to try our first ginja. As far as liqueurs go, it is quite tasty!

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Nearby is the Santo Domingo church. It looks unassuming from the outside but wow when you walk in!!! It was extensively damaged in a fire in 1959 and rather than rebuilding, they just patched it up so you can see all of the original stone. Very different.

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And then it was back home for a well-deserved rest before the day’s sunset and dinner activities!

The rest was a little too intense so we left the house at 7:15 pm which was putting us a bit late for sunset. So we did the unthinkable and decided to leave the camera at home!!!! What??!!!! We still headed for Park Bar on Calçado do Combro (located on the roof of a parking lot!) for a pre-dinner drink. We were a bit peckish so we picked up a big cod croqueta at Casa Portuguesa do Pastel de Bacalhau. The specialty there is to add a sheep’s cheese (Serra da Estrela) to the mix. It was good but for our tastes, there was too much competition between the two strong flavours.

We accessed the Bairro Alto via the Ascensor da Bica which was actually pretty cool. I thought it might be a bit gimmicky but I forgot how steep the hill was so I was glad to be carried up! We found the entrance to Park Bar through the side entrance and elevator of the parking structure. Unfortunately it had just closed! We weren’t the only ones arriving so people were kind of like “get your story sorted online so we don’t waste our time”!

We continued down the street towards Taberna da Esperança, our dinner destination. We had some extra time so stopped in at a bar for an imperial. This was a super-local bar which was highlighted when our beers were only 0,75 € each!!!!! There were lots of people eating (around 8:30 pm) and everything on the menu was 6,50 € and under! When we left I tried to find the name of the bar and it didn’t have one!!!!! Fab!

Dinner was fantastic again. Goat cheese with rosemary and honey on toast, cod with roasted peppers on toast, and lamb cataplana for main. It was all amazing as was the bottle of wine that I so expertly chose! We had no room for dessert so the recommended 2 starters plus main for 2 people sharing was a bit much. But I do think that I was happy to sacrifice dessert instead of one of the starters (they were both so good!) Of course the real culprit could have been the cod croqueta snack earlier that evening…!

Although we were just in time to take the last Tram 28 all the way home, we ended up walking to try and settle our stomachs a bit! It was a beautiful night!

Looking for more Lisbon adventures? Click on the links for Day 1, Day 3, Day 4, and Day 5! Or maybe you just want the Coles Notes Version?

Jul 26 2017

Day 1: At Home In Lisbon

We don’t take short breaks in Europe nearly enough so this Easter we decided to change that! Portugal has been in my sights FOREVER (hello, one of only two Western European countries that I had never been to! Finland, you are next!) It was a toss up between Lisbon and Porto for our first visit to our neighbour on the Peninsula, and in this case, Lisbon won out. We stayed 5 nights and could have stayed 5 more!

The flight on TAP Airlines was great! So short! But long enough to cross a time zone and be served our first pastel de nata. It was actually quite good so we are now super-excited to have a “real” one. We flew in right over the city but we were sat on the wrong side of the plane. From the left side though we could see Belém including the Discoveries Monument and the Torre de Belém. I even caught a glimpse of the Ponte 25 de Abril bridge but as we were right on top of it, it was just a glimpse of one of the towers.

Upon arrival we had to wait about 10 minutes for our bag – it was the third to come off! Then it was a short walk to the metro. There were two banks of machines immediately visible with a short line at each. It seemed the machines kept switching to “out of service” so we went around the corner to the kiosk in case there was a mad dash by everyone else. There was a lone machine there with no one at it so we successfully and easily bought our travel cards (0,50 € each for the cards and then 20 € on each to do Zapping). It was very straightforward and Zapping is definitely the way to go.

We had a couple of minutes to wait for the train and then we were off. We had to make one change to get to our station of Martim Moniz. From the station it was a short 5-minute walk to the apartment – Hobbit House Lisbon. Vasco met us and brought us up the steep four flights of stairs explaining some of the idiosyncrasies of the building. The apartment is super-cute but not one you could recommend to just anyone. They need a sense of adventure and humour, little to no luggage, and not mind stooping low to protect their head from the gabled ceilings. Loved it. It is all worth it for the view from the kitchen window!

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We had a quick turnaround since it was 2 pm and lunch time! We swung by Zé da Mouraria but there were loads of people milling about waiting for a table…clearly a good recommendation. So we continued back to Martim Moniz and then up Palma to Cervejeria Ramiro (Av. Almirante Reis, 1) that everyone talks about. Amazingly there was no line so in we went. We ordered canecas (big beers) and shrimp and clams. The bread was amazing!!! With butter!! The food was delicious and fresh but we felt it was quite expensive at 11 € for each dish. I guess we are spoilt in Spain!! I can see how the place is an institution though. The tables were filled with people from all walks of life…from elderly gentlemen digging into plates of mini shrimp, to a family enjoying a day out, to tourists wondering how on earth they are going to extract all the goodness from the massive crab on their plate!! Two beers, shrimp, clams, and bread was 29 €.

Feeling satisfied we headed out and began our first foray into Lisbon navigation. All I can say is thank goodness for Google Maps and free roaming!!! Throughout my research phase I kept a Google Map up to date with all of my points of interest and all of the restaurants and bars that sounded good. This map was worth its weight in gold as we wandered from mirador to mirador. Our first was Senhora do Monte after an impressive climb up a seemingly never-ending staircase! The view was worth it – even with what has to be Lisbon’s ugliest/most boring building in the foreground.

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We could see the Miradouro da Graça across the way so we continued around to it. We visited the church before settling into the terrace for a well-deserved imperial (small beer). The church was different…painted walls and ceilings and the proportions seemed to be off…really small statues in huge areas. My favourite was the chapel of the santísimo which in Spanish is basically the ultimate saint. I was expecting a massive statue but it was just a wee one. 🙂

Next we continued winding our way around to the Portos do Sol and Santa Luzia miradors. These were the least impressive for me but still lovely of course. The view from the Portos do Sol was reminiscent of a fishing village with colourful buildings.

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By now we had joined the tram line so we followed the tracks to the cathedral. The inside was a bit more traditional romanesque. The light was shining through the stained glass and painting beautiful colours on the palm branches that lined the central nave for the next day’s Palm Sunday services. Naturally we hung out for a bit waiting for a tram to pass in front of the cathedral for the classic postcard photo.

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After a bit of a rest and organisation back at the apartment, we set out for our sunset viewing at São Pedro de Alcântara. We were a bit late and missed the best light but it was still great ambiance with lots of food and drink stands. The Ascensor da Glória terminates right at the park so we had fun watching it climb the hill and then proceeded to photograph it from all angles! Just across the way is the Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e do Porto so we simply had to stop in for our first port of the holiday. Awesome!

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Unfortunately we couldn’t linger over the port since we had dinner reservations at Carinho do Vinho (R. Nova da Piedade, 23). This wine shop turns into a restaurant on the weekend and it was simply wonderful. We had salmon, roasted mixed potatoes, baked zucchini, mascarpone mousse with oranges, wine, and port. It was all amazing. Just simple food that was prepared with love. Total was 33 € and was so much better value than Ramiro. Walking home we passed Rua da Bica (with the famous tram) and we were so glad that we weren’t staying on that street (we had an apartment short-listed there). Undeniably a great location and cool with the tram, but the street was packed with people drinking. This was 11 pm but I don’t imagine they were going home at midnight!!!! Meanwhile we were tucked in bed by midnight in our little Hobbit House!!

Looking for more Lisbon adventures? Click on the links for Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, and Day 5! Or maybe you just want the Coles Notes Version?

Feb 16 2017

Western Canada: A 2-Week Itinerary

To all you wanderers out there seeking beauty, nature, and adventure, look no further! British Columbia and the Rocky Mountains are all you need!! 2017 is the perfect year to explore since Parks Canada is offering free admission to all of their sites (this includes National Parks) to celebrate Canada’s 150th birthday. What are you waiting for? Get out there!!

A lifetime would be an ideal timeframe to explore this wonderland, but recognising that this is rather unrealistic, a 2-week road trip is a great place to start. We started and ended our 2,550 km circuit in Vancouver where we had a few days on either end to discover why the city consistently appears on the best places to live list. Fabulous!

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Here is the breakdown of our 15-day itinerary with distances travelled:

Day 1-3: Campbell Hills Guest Ranch, Kamloops (340 km)

Day 4: Wells Gray Provincial Park (428 km)

Day 5: Mount Robson Provincial Park (142 km)

Day 6-7: Jasper National Park (203 km)

Day 8: Icefields Parkway (260 km)

Day 9-11: Banff National Park (137 km)

Day 11 (Part 2): Yoho, Glacier, and Revelstoke National Parks (364 km)

Day 12: Driving day from Revelstoke to Lillooet (387 km)

Day 13: Duffy Lake Road & Joffre Lakes (138 km)

Day 14: Whistler (0 km!)

Day 15: Whistler to Vancouver (156 km)

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No western adventure is complete without calling on your inner Clint Eastwood! So don your cowboy boots and mount up! Campbell Hills Guest Ranch is the perfect place for new and experienced riders alike. They teach natural horsemanship at the ranch so you are always in partnership with your horse. As if the natural beauty and riding adventures weren’t enough, meal times are also a highlight with camaraderie and delicious food.

Campbell Hills Guest Ranch is perfectly located: close enough to Kamloops (30 km) to be accessible but far enough away to have a feeling of solitude. The ranch offers transfers to Kamloops if you don’t have your own car.

Total driving: 400 km / 4 hr 45 min (not including the 30 km on horseback!!)

Where we stayed: Campbell Hills Guest Ranch (2 nights) & Travelodge Kamloops (1 night after the ranch)

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Wells Gray is famous for its Helmcken Falls (4th highest in Canada) along with a host of other waterfalls and trails to be explored. Our 6 hours in the park were spent walking the trails around Helmcken Falls, Dawson Falls, and Spahats Falls, and taking in the views from Green Mountain Tower. Our long day ended in the sleepy town of Valemount perfectly poised on the border of Mount Robson Provincial Park.

Total Driving: 428 km / 5 hr 45 min

Where we stayed: Super 8 Valemount (1 night)

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At 3,954 m Mount Robson is the highest point in the Canadian Rockies and is a sight to behold. The park entrance is a mere 20 minute drive from Valemount (or nearly 2 hours when you have a car full of photographers and Terry Fox fans wanting to pay homage to the Canadian hero at the viewing area for his mountain…..!) The spectacular view of Mount Robson at the entrance sign is one of those iconic Rocky Mountain moments. Be sure to stop in at the Visitor Centre for hiking information and another beautiful view from the back terrace. After our lovely walk to Kinney Lake we continued on to Alberta and stayed the next 2 nights in Jasper.

**Don’t forget that the clock goes ahead by one hour to Mountain Time when crossing the Alberta border.**

Total driving: 142 km / 2 hr 30 min

Where we stayed: Pine Bungalows, Jasper (2 nights)

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Where to begin?? Jasper National Park is the largest National Park in the Rockies and does not disappoint. The first day was packed full of beauty with visits to majestic Maligne Lake, fascinating Medicine Lake, dramatic Maligne Canyon, and topped off with a bird’s eye view from the SkyTram Summit Trail. Our second day brought us to Mount Edith Cavell and the incredible Meadows Trail where we averaged 2 photos per minute (actual statistic!) We rounded out the day with the thundering Athabasca Falls and Sunwapta Falls. We spent the night at Sunwapta to get a head start on the next day’s Icefields Parkway adventure.

Total Driving: 203 km / 4 hr 45 min

Where we stayed: Pine Bungalows, Jasper (2 nights) & Sunwapta Falls Rocky Mountain Lodge, Sunwapta (1 night)

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Another big player on the list of iconic Rocky Mountain experiences is the famed Icefields Parkway from Jasper to Banff (or vice versa). There is no other road like it in the world with its constant panoramas of mountains, waterfalls, glacial lakes, and if you’re lucky, some wildlife. The spectacular view of Peyto Lake from Bow Summit and a shore-side stroll at Bow Lake are not to be missed.

No trip on the parkway is complete without a visit to the Columbia Icefield Discovery Centre, which is also the starting point of the Glacier Adventure. It costs a pretty penny (a cool $90 per person in 2016) but you get to see the Athabasca glacier up close and personal and ride the gigantic Sno-Coach. Inflating the price considerably is the non-optional Jasper Skywalk attraction. We rather resented that aspect but in the end we still had fun and enjoyed the Skywalk even though it would not have been our choice to go.

Total Driving: 260 km / 5 hr

Where we stayed: The Moose Hotel & Suites, Banff (3 nights)

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Arriving in Banff we were quick to realise that there aren’t enough superlatives in the English language to cover this trip! As Canada’s oldest National Park, Banff is truly a national treasure. We started with a sunset visit to Lake Louise and then a trip down the Bow Valley Parkway to the Banff town site where we stayed for 3 nights.

At this point we were happy to have a car-free day and enjoyed a shopping day in Banff capped off with a sunset soak in the roof-top jacuzzi pools at the Moose. Recharged, we tackled the Plain of Six Glaciers and Lake Agnes trails at Lake Louise. And just when we thought it couldn’t get any better, we went to Moraine Lake and had our socks knocked off – yet again. I’m still rubbing my eyes to check it was real!

Total Driving: 137 km / 2 hr

Where we stayed: The Moose Hotel & Suites (3 nights)

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After our spectacular visit to Moraine Lake, it was time to bid farewell to Alberta and cross back into British Columbia and explore Yoho National Park. The first point of interest is actually man-made for a change! The Spiral Tunnels were completed in 1909 and allow the safe ascent and descent of trains through the Kicking Horse Pass. If your timing is right, you can see a train going through and have fun trying to determine whether it is coming or going.

Less than 20 minutes off the main road is Takakkaw Falls. Well-worth the detour, there are trails and excellent picnic facilities to enjoy. Continuing westwards, Emerald Lake is the jewel in the Yoho crown. We took a few hours to complete the lake circuit (there may have been a lake-side siesta included…!) It was the perfect way to end our time in the Rockies.

We still had a beautiful drive ahead of us as we continued through Glacier National Park and Revelstoke National Park. The Rest Area at Rogers Pass was very informative and a friendly ground squirrel thoroughly entertaining!

**The clocks change back one hour to Pacific Time at Glacier National Park**

Total Driving: 364 km / 5 hr 30 min

Where we stayed: Revelstoke Lodge (1 night)

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This was our big driving day to Lillooet with little sightseeing. However, leaving Revelstoke it is impossible to resist a stop at the Last Spike in Craigellachie. This is the site where the ceremonial final spike was driven into the Canadian Pacific Railway back in 1885. We also stretched our legs after Kamloops at Kamloops Lake with views over the beautiful landscape. It was amazing how much the terrain had changed in less than 400 km.

Total Driving: 387 km / 5 hr

Where we stayed: Mile-0-Motel, Lillooet

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Our weather wasn’t the greatest as we set out from Lillooet to drive the famous Duffy Lake Road to Whistler. As a result we kept our eye on the goal: the Joffre Lakes hike. We took about 4 hours to hike to all 3 lakes and back. Then it was on to Whistler and a relaxing evening in the village. Our full day was spent on the trails of Whistler and Blackcomb mountains, which are joined by the staggering Peak 2 Peak Gondola. After a final relaxing morning it was time to return to Vancouver and officially finish the epic road trip with a sushi feast!

Total Driving: 294 km / 7 hr (there was a 2 hr traffic jam to get across Vancouver!!)

Where we stayed: Summit Lodge, Whistler (2 nights)

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Mar 01 2016

The Quest for Perfect Luggage

For a while now we have been thinking of upgrading/changing our checked baggage arrangement. We have always travelled with a checked backpack each (one big enough to fit the tripod and another carry-on size – about 70 L total). However, the problem with backpacks is that …. they are designed for backs (!) and when your back is already occupied with a camera bag, things can get awkward. And so began the quest to find a duffel-type bag that is comfortable to carry on a shoulder or in the hand, thus liberating ourselves of surplus straps and dangling cords.

Many hours of research and wishlists brought me to Humboldt Viajar Seguro, a travel equipment store in Madrid (Plaza Cascorro, 9, La Latina). Walking in is a bag-lover’s dream come true! Especially when the first items on display are from the Pacsafe collection. Pacsafe is well-known for their extra security features and quite frankly nice-looking products. We already had the 5 L Travel Safe in our travel rotation, which was worth its weight in gold for peace of mind – especially when we encountered room safes that were nothing more than a completely moveable box in the wardrobe (I’m looking at you, Chiang Mai!)

And so I finally found what I hope is the *perfect* bag (tripod size) with the Pacsafe Duffelsafe AT45. I brought the tripod with me to make sure it fit, and I can tell you that carrying it home was much more comfortable than carrying it into Madrid! But I didn’t stop at the Duffelsafe as there were some sales on and who can resist a sale?? We ended up expanding our camera bag repertoire (can you really ever have too many? The answer is probably yes, but maybe I’ll save that soul searching for another post!) and as of right now, I am firmly in the Humboldt and Pacsafe camp! I can’t wait to use them all!

A run-down of the purchases:

Duffelsafe AT45 (duffel bag) – at 45 L and 55 cm long, the perfect size to transport our tripod (Manfrotto 190XPROB) along with clothes, shoes, etc.

Camsafe V17 (camera backpack) – a slim backpack to carry one camera in the bottom half and ample space in the top for accessories or a change of clothes. Laptop compartment for 13” laptop.

Camsafe V18 (sling bag with camera compartment) – a non-backpack day bag for Carlos … honestly, a bit of an impulse buy!

Camsafe V6 (top loader bag) – this goes in my carry-on/day backpack to convert it into a camera backpack.

Camsafe VP (compact camera pouch) – for either our little Canon S120 that never had a place to call home or the GoPro depending on the situation.

Once we’ve had a chance to actually use everything, I’ll come back with some reviews and recommendations.

P.S. This sounds like a sponsored post, but it’s not! We used our actual real money to buy these items. 🙂

Mar 02 2015

Inspiration from Photoshop Week 2015

This past weekend we closed the book on another amazing Photoshop Week from CreativeLive. For those of you not familiar with CreativeLive, it provides free workshops broadcasted live from Seattle and San Francisco. There is always the option to buy the workshop if you can’t view the broadcast or would simply like to file it away for future reference.

Photoshop Week is six days of intense Photoshop learning with 12 hours of classes per day. This year many inspirational photographers and designers graced our screens to share their secrets and hints. Even the bits that were review were driven home in a fresh way.

For example, Aaron Nace (of phlearn.com) talked about identifying distractions in a portrait and how to go about fixing them. This is something I’ve always done with our landscapes, but he presented the task in a new way and provided a little more direction to the process by physically marking up the image to ensure that nothing got left behind.

Hover over the image below to see what distractions were targeted and fixed.

Taking me a little outside my area of experience was Matt Kloskowski and his workshop on Photoshop Restoration Rescue. I haven’t really ever had the opportunity to restore old photos, but his colourisation of a black and white photo prompted me to step outside the box and do one of my own! The only B&W photos I had on hand were those from my parents’ wedding. I didn’t think it was too bad for a first attempt! 🙂 In fact, when I sent it to my parents, my mom couldn’t figure out why I was sending it to her and she asked “Doesn’t it always look like that?” Since her memories of the day are in colour, her mind didn’t question the change. I guess this also means that the alteration was close enough to reality!

Hover over the image below to see the original B&W image.

In between all of the learning and demonstrations, we also were privy to nuggets of wisdom from these masters. Something that Chris Orwig said really resonated with me: “You’re never finished when you think you are.” This was especially pertinent to me on that particular day since I had posted a photo to Facebook that I loved and was so happy with…until I kept working on it and realised that it was nowhere near what I wanted. Now I’m pretty sure that it’s finished….but you never know!!

(The plug-ins used in the above photo are RadLab from Totally Rad and Perfect Effects from On1 Software.)

Now that Photoshop Week 2015 is over, I am inspired to create new images using the different techniques that I learned and I’m already looking forward to next year!!

Aug 30 2014

Thailand: Coles Notes Version

Needless to say, there is a lot of information buried within all of these blog posts about our trip to Thailand. This final post serves as a one-stop-shop for the nitty gritty details of our hotels and excursions that we did. Our long-haul flights were with Emirates and domestic flights were with Bangkok Airways in and out of Samui. No issues with either!

Hotels:

Bangkok: Casa Nithra, 2100 THB per night (Superior Room), highly recommended

Ayutthaya: Baan Kong Homestay, 900 THB per night (Standard Bungalow), highly recommended (no website, but available on booking sites)

Sukhothai: Thai Thai Sukhothai, 1600 THB per night (Superior Bungalow), highly recommended

Chiang Mai: Sakorn Residence, 1200 THB per night (Superior Room), recommended (misses being “highly” due to distance from the Old Town, but the river location has its merits as well.)

Koh Samui: Hotel Pelegrin, 800 THB per night (fan) or 1400 THB per night (A/C), recommended

Koh Tao: Ko Tao Resort, 1800 THB per night (Deluxe Room), I would look for another hotel before staying here, but if it was the only option, I would stay again. We really struggled to find a hotel on Koh Tao since the majority of the review scores were average at best. Luckily we didn’t have to choose a beach since we had found IHASIA dive school first so that narrowed down the hotel search.

Excursions:

Elephant Nature Park: Pamper a Pachyderm program, 6000 THB per person, highly recommended

Cooking Course in Chiang Mai: Thai Farm Cooking School, 1300 THB per person, highly recommended – make sure you’re hungry!

Ang Thong Marine Park: 100 Degrees East, 4500 THB per person, highly recommended

Scuba Diving: IHASIA, 7000 THB per person, highly recommended for Spanish speakers. There were also groups learning in English but our group’s experience was with Spanish tuition. IHASIA is run by Spaniards and the vast majority of the students were Spanish.

Flying Trapeze: Goodtime Adventures, 950 THB per person, highly recommended. Just be aware that you will use muscles you never knew existed and will likely be sore the next day (and in my case sore for almost 2 weeks!! I couldn’t stretch my arms back entirely until 2 weeks later….but so worth it!)

General Observations:

In general everyone was really friendly – except on the islands. The majority of the Thai people we encountered on Samui and Tao were not very nice at all, which left us with a bit of a sour taste. This was particularly evident at Ko Tao Resort…the housekeeping staff were all quite pleasant but the people working reception were indifferent to the guests (at best). All of the expats though were super-friendly.
The food was all good, but we felt that it got a bit repetitive by the end. Non-spicy options were quite limited for Virginia (pad thai, fried rice, pad see ew, and chicken with cashew nuts were the staples!) Oddly enough, we also missed eating with chopsticks!
Transportation worked well….our buses, trains, and ferries left on time but were 40 minutes late arriving (coincidence?) while our 2 flights were bang on time.
Temple are everywhere!! Easy on-off shoes make life easier! Capri pants for women were long enough in most cases with exceptions being the Royal Palace in Bangkok and Bhubing Palace in Chiang Mai.
Generally we found everywhere to be organised and safe. We were in Bangkok at a holiday time so it was quite empty. It wasn’t until we had our final night there at the end of the trip that we experienced the dreaded traffic jams that it is famous for.
While in Bangkok, always use the taxi meter. However, if it proves impossible, just remember that even though you are getting ripped off, it is still infinitely less than what you would pay at home! Another thing to watch out for is the meter that runs way too quickly. This happened to us going to the airport for our flight home. When the meter was already at 50 baht after 10 meters, I just pointed out that there must be something wrong and the driver reset it.
And finally, if your elephant guide offers you rubber boots, TAKE THEM!!! 🙂

Aug 28 2014

The Ultimate Selfie

The Selfie: Abhorred by many but embraced by all at one point or another! During our trip to Thailand we noticed a marked increase in selfies…in fact, in the beginning I would pause before passing in front of someone who appeared to be taking a photo on their phone. After paying attention through several of these pauses, I finally realised that these people weren’t taking a photo of what was in front of them, but rather what was behind them! Much to learn I have.

It’s possible that the trip would have continued without much further thought of this growing phenomenon, but then we saw “the pole”. I doubt that is the technical term, but I’m referring to the apparatus that people attach to their phones and then achieve an arm extension to capture a wider angled selfie. Out of the thousands of photos that we took, I don’t think we have a single one depicting this jaw-dropping set-up. Major flaw in planning there…! Considering that our carry-on bags (i.e. camera bags) weighed more than our checked luggage for 3 weeks, we were fascinated by the concept of traveling with just a phone (and a pole). Over dinner one night we got a bit carried away with imagining how it would be to take a selfie with our camera equipment and tripod acting as the pole. The scenarios kept getting wilder and wilder until finally we convinced ourselves that we had to try this!!!

The days passed and then suddenly it was our last afternoon on Koh Tao and we were stuck in the middle of a rainstorm with 3 hours until sunset. Would the rain stop in time for us to fulfil our Selfie Destiny??

The answer was “yes” but we had to move quickly! Even moving quickly, this had to have been the selfie with the most preparation in history! We started setting up at 18:20 and were still going at 19:13!! In the end we did two selfies with two different cameras, a proper posed photo, and a funky flash photo to justify bringing the flashes all that way. The geek out to end all geek outs!

At the end of the day though, an arm still has its merits!

Aug 27 2014

Koh Tao: Flying Solo

As the only non-scuba diver in the group, it was up to me to keep myself entertained for the 4 days on Koh Tao. While the gang was busy with their first scuba lesson, I took a taxi from the hotel to Mae Haad (where the ferry came in). From the hotel it cost 200 baht (5 €) to go the 2 km (?) not sure of the distance, but it’s not very far at all. This was my first introduction to the ridiculousness that is taxi travel in Koh Tao! From Mae Haad I took the brick path that starts at Cafe del Sol and goes to Sairee. It takes about 15 minutes and involves one steep hill up and one steep hill down. Easy peasy!

My first stop in Sairee was at Goodtime Adventures. I had been in contact before the trip sounding out potential activities so I was super-excited! The activity I was most excited for was…..the flying trapeze!!! Yes!!!! And it just so happened that they had an opening that very evening so I just went with it so that I couldn’t talk myself out of it! I was able to send a quick e-mail to Carlos to let him know the details in case they finished their lessons in time. The other activity that I was most interested in (hiking, cliff jumping, and snorkelling tour) still didn’t have any trips scheduled. They need a minimum of 2 people to run a trip and alas, I was all by my lonesome!!

Feeling pretty good (and scared) about my upcoming trapeze adventure, I went to the beach and had a lovely swim to pass the time. I can see how some people wouldn’t like Sairee…too busy, too built up, too whatever….but I thought it was nice enough for a late afternoon swim. It is a big beach so I’m sure you can always find a quiet corner (and to be honest, there was no one there that afternoon).

Next thing I knew, it was almost 5:30 pm and time to make my way to the big top tent!! (Disclaimer: there was no tent, but there were funky lights!) Ahhhhhh the nerves!!!!

Kelly and Bjorn were our trapeze experts on hand (Bjorn saving our lives on the platform by attaching the harness while Kelly was saving our lives by controlling the harness from below!) Our group consisted of me and a French mother, father, daughter combo. We first practiced hanging from a low-level trapeze (just needed a little hop to reach it) and doing the movement of bringing our legs up and hanging by our knees. Ouch. Kelly promised it wouldn’t hurt as much with momentum behind us!!

And just like that, I was climbing the 23 steps up the ladder to the platform. By the way – the ladder is by far the worst part of the whole experience!!!! Just don’t look down! I definitely had a few choice words for myself as I stood there with my chalked hands, harness secured, and trapeze in my grasp!! What was I doing????!!!!! 🙂 And then woosh!!! I was off! I was never really good at getting my legs up smoothly and quickly, but I killed the dismount every time! In total we had 3 goes with salto dismount, 1 go with flying release, and then 2 tries at being caught by Bjorn on the other trapeze. The video shows my 1st, 3rd, 4th, and 6th attempts. The 2nd and 5th were omitted since the world really doesn’t need to see those failures (complete with some mild obscenities in the 2nd attempt!! oops!)

The most annoying thing though is that I came SOOOOO close to completing the catch with Bjorn….our hands touched but we just couldn’t latch on. The next one would have been a success for sure!! 🙂 For those of you wondering who was saving our lives on the platform if Bjorn was trapezing, it was Gemma!

What an experience! Many thanks to Carlos for finding his way into town to bear witness to my greatness! ha ha! Adrenaline was definitely running high all the way back to the hotel. The only thing that could knock me down was a rather large lizard waiting for us in the room when we got back! It made a quick escape through the air conditioning unit (that was henceforth never turned off) and just when we thought we were safe, we opened the bathroom door and discovered….cockroaches! Noooo! First trapeze, then lizards, and now cockroaches??? My body was strung so high that I needed my harness back!!! We chickened out and solicited help from the hotel in clearing out the bugs (the girl went at them barehanded while a man silently watched the air conditioning for evidence of this so-called lizard…they really must think we’re crazy!) They left us a spray that we used liberally in the bathroom and never turned the fan off there either. We are usually much more energy conscious….! But we never had any surprise visitors again for the rest of the stay!

Unfortunately Carlos had left his sunglasses behind at the trapeze so the next morning I decided to walk to Sairee and back for my morning exercise. It took about 20 minutes on the main road to get from Chalok to the clock tower at the top of Mae Haad and then another 20 -25 minutes to get to Sairee via the brick path (the main road to Sairee is BUSY and there is nowhere safe to walk so the brick path is really the only sane way to walk from Mae Haad to Sairee). At the early hour it was actually a pleasant walk…not too hot and not too busy. I even paid a visit to my favourite crazy palm tree on Sairee.

Our one meal away from Chalok (beach) was in Chalok (village) at Tukta. One of the many blogs I read before coming away had named it as serving the best Pad Thai on the island. I can’t claim to be an expert on the matter, but our resident expert (Virginia) wasn’t entirely in agreement. I was the only one who ordered it so it was based on just a taste. I had the shrimp pad thai and the noodles were pink!! It was definitely very shrimpy but I guess that is actually a good thing! With the jury out on the pad thai, we did manage to declare the best coconut shake ever!! Amazing.

My solo time on Koh Tao gave me the chance to try yoga for the first time ever. I was quite sore from the trapeze (arms and armpits…! and bruises behind my knees and on my heels of all places???) so this was either going to stretch my weary limbs into blissful oblivion or add to my list of ailments. I’m going with the latter!!! My yoga studio of choice was Ocean Sound Yoga at the Tropicana Resort. The lovely and patient Ashling was our teacher and even though I was the only beginner, I felt right at home and not at all self conscious in this small class of 4 people. I have to admit that I did quite enjoy it (when I wasn’t struggling to keep up!) and I did feel good afterwards. At least until the soreness kicked in, but even then I felt good since it meant that I actually did something other than sit at a computer!

The morning of our last full day dawned a little blustery. For the time being, there was no rain but the sea was rough and I could sense that my long-awaited snorkel trip around the island was in jeopardy. I wasn’t scheduled to be at IHASIA until 11 am so I spent the morning exploring the immediate area. I climbed up to the John-Suwan Viewpoint – with some difficulty! Taking the main road around was pretty easy and there were big arrows when the time came to head into the forest, but there were some rocky obstacles that almost made me turn back. I wasn’t keen on getting hurt with no one around. But I persevered and was VERY careful. Once at the top, the trail all but disappeared so I went one way that brought me out to a ledge overlooking Buddha Rock where I had a little breakfast snack. Going back I noticed a possible trail going in the right direction to get me THAT view of both bays. Sure enough, this was it and I just sat and enjoyed. And took a selfie. What else, eh?

As feared, the snorkel trip was indeed cancelled. As El Brujo said, we could either do it badly or not at all so he gets my respect for that. This left me with about an hour until the divers returned from the big final dive. What could I possibly do in Thailand that takes about an hour….????? MASSAGE!!! Perfect timing! I stopped at the first place I saw which happened to be at Carabao. The massage turned out to be slightly different since she used oil and it was the perfect blend of Thai strength and Swedish movements. And while I felt ripped off at the time with the 300 baht charge, I later did the math and realised that 7 € is also insanely cheap!!

Just as I was savouring my post-massage tea, I glanced out the window toward the sea and saw the mighty divers making their triumphant return to dry land. Perfect timing.

And so ended my solo time on Koh Tao. I was only ever on my own for half a day at a time so it was more than manageable and I thoroughly enjoyed all my activities!

Aug 27 2014

Koh Tao: Under the Sea

Today we traded big island life for small island adventure! Koh Tao here we come!

Our Lomprayah ferry transfer arrived bang on time at 6:30 to bring us 15 minutes down the road to Mae Nam Pier. Needless to say we were quite early for our 8:00 ferry departure, but it was nice to be checked in and ready to go before the waves of passengers arrived. Everything was fairly well organised with everyone sporting colour coded stickers so that staff could tell at a glance what our final destination was. Our bags were stored outside on the bow of the ferry so we were grateful for the sunny morning!

We left pretty much on time and were barely settled before the first stop half an hour later at Koh Phangan. Amazingly the majority of the boat were on day trips to Koh Tao (from both Koh Samui and Koh Phangan). The ferry was quite comfortable with the lower level filled with bus-style seats, the middle level had exclusive seating that you could pay 150 baht and up for quieter surrounds and cushier seats, and the top level was the sun deck with benches. We sat on the lower level for the 2 hour journey. Before stopping at Koh Tao, we let the day-trippers off at the neighbouring islet of Koh Nangyuan. You can probably guess that we pulled into Koh Tao …. 40 minutes late!

We disembarked quickly and crossed our fingers that our bags would be waiting for us on the pier (they were!) and the ferry continued on its way to Chumphon. We had arrived!

Koh Tao’s claim to fame is scuba diving. There are over 50 dive schools on this teeny tiny island and it is the place to be in Southeast Asia to learn this sport. I couldn’t bring myself around to the idea, so it was just Carlos, Javi, and Virginia who would be learning the art of scuba over the next 4 days. I’m sure it is something that I’ll regret someday down the road, but for now, it was the right decision!!

And with over 50 schools to choose from, how do you choose? In our case the choices were narrowed down considerably by language and then Virginia had found reports on an Spanish outfit called IHASIA that was the eventual winner. We met El Brujo (the owner of IHASIA) at the 7-Eleven near the pier and got the day’s plan sorted out. We all piled into a pick-up truck and hung on for our lives as we motored 10 minutes down the road to Chalok Baan Kao Beach – our home away from home for the next 4 days.

Luckily our rooms were ready at Ko Tao Resort when we checked in (or at least almost ready…the housekeepers were working hard finishing them, but we were able to drop our bags inside). We sat by the pool and went for a walk on the beach to work up an appetite for lunch.

Before we knew it, it was time for the first scuba lesson down the beach at IHASIA. I dropped the gang off and El Brujo told me that I could go out on the boat with the scuba students on Days 2 and 3 so that I can see them action and do some snorkelling on my own! I also signed up for a snorkel trip around the island for Day 4 to make sure that I get my daily dose of water and fish!!

So off they went for their theory lessons and off I went to town to see what other activities I could line up for the next few days. In the interest of brevity (which I am not known for AT ALL!) my extra-curricular activities are described in the next post!

The 3 hours of theory on Day 1 were followed by another 3 hours on Day 2. At that point, they were ready to take to the water. I joined the group as official photographer and cheerleader and we boated over to Aow Leuk which is a popular bay for diver training. It was fairly smooth sailing but when it came time to prep the equipment, they quickly realised that there is a big difference between doing it on land and at sea. Not something you really take into consideration as you practice in class!!

Once we dropped anchor in the bay, it was time for the final instructions and preparations. Before getting suited up, they had to swim a lap of the boat to “warm up”. Carlos and Javi jumped from the upper deck of the boat but couldn’t really match the finesse of their instructor Tony!!!

Then it was back on board to gear up!

Since this was their first immersion, they swam for a bit above water and did drills to practice reacting to water in their masks, losing their mouthpiece, etc. I didn’t see much of this since as soon as they were out of range, I was in the water myself for a spot of snorkelling! Not to be left out, I jumped off the top deck as well. Super Freaky! I’m almost glad my cliff jumping trip didn’t get off the ground! 🙂 I had almost an hour to float around and explore the north reef. It wasn’t as spectacular as Ang Thong (nothing will ever beat that!) but it was still entertaining and the time passed quickly.

Back on board I managed to capture the group resurfacing from their dive. Such a weird feeling!! There was only one immersion this day so we boated back to Chalok and hit the hotel pool for sundown and a good session of back patting!! That night there was a shaving session….Carlos’s trip beard was interfering with his mask’s ability to keep water out. He had quite enough practice that day clearing his mask of water!!

Day 3 started with the final exam – everyone passed! Then it was back on the boat for the afternoon. We returned to Aow Leuk but this time to the south reef. The rocking boat didn’t phase anyone today and they were suited up and ready to go in no time at all.

The first immersion included more drills (this time practicing taking off their tanks and weights and putting them back on). Meanwhile I was off playing with the fish…or rather they were playing with me! Little guys darting in and out around my hair fringe – freaky!!!

Between dives we reconvened back on board for a break and then it was back into the water.

This time they were diving at the reef so I followed them at the surface. It was wild to see them down at the bottom swimming along. I even witnessed the moment when Javi found his sunken treasure – a bracelet with a cute little bow that he never took off again much to Virginia’s chagrin!!

All too soon it was Day 4 and time for the final outing. I couldn’t go on this dive since it was not snorkel appropriate (and they left at 7 am so I wasn’t completely heartbroken!) They went to two sites: Hin Pee Wee and King Kong. Instructor Tony had a GoPro with him so was able to capture the intrepid divers in action! It’s hard not to get carried away with the underwater shots….bear with me!!!

And so ends the scuba adventure …. for now! We whole-heartedly recommend IHASIA for all your diving needs on Koh Tao. Especially for the Spaniards out there!! www.ihasiadivingkohtao.com

Aug 23 2014

Koh Samui: First Taste of Paradise

The next stage of our adventure brought us south to Koh Samui in the Gulf of Thailand. We paid the big bucks to fly directly from Chiang Mai on Bangkok Airways (200 €). 100% worth it!! Much to my delight, there was a Dairy Queen at the airport! This seems to be a trend in South East Asia since we also found one in Phnom Penh back in 2010. I could only convince Javi to indulge with me (after all it was only 10:30 am!) You’ll note in the photo that we are wearing our “elephant pants”. These baggy pants in millions of different prints are found all over Chiang Mai. It seems to be a rite of passage to buy a pair – even for the men (although Carlos was having none of it!!)

We left at 12:30 pm and had a nice 2 hour flight complete with lunch and great clouds!! As we took off, we could see Doi Suthep and the temple from our side of the plane. The land was amazing as we made our way south…very fertile and a constant agricultural presence.

Before we knew it, we were on the ground and ready for island life! We had booked a transfer through our hotel, Hotel Pelegrin. This is a small hotel run by a Russian family. It is inside the Fisherman’s Village of Bophut and ideally situated for village life. It was certainly basic, but it was clean and fulfilled our needs entirely for this short stay of 2 nights. Carlos and I even dared to book a fan room instead of air conditioning just to see what it was like. It was definitely warm but the fan was powerful and we managed to stay comfortable. Our room had a little balcony with a clothes line so it was perfect for a bit of laundry. The sun even came around at the end of the day for some extra drying power.

We went to the beach for the afternoon and had a dip and a walk. The water was like a bath!! We walked all along the beach and ended up at a beach bar for a shake to hydrate us for the return. It was a tricky beach to walk on since it was quite sloped and the sand was really coarse. On the plus side, we now have perfectly exfoliated feet!

Friday night in Bophut is…you guessed it….Friday Night Walking Street! Town was buzzing and it was a great vibe. We weren’t really in the market for shopping so we just treated it as entertainment. We ended up at the Smile House Hotel restaurant and had our dinner right on the beach. It was a very pleasant evening watching people send up lanterns into the dark sky and hearing the waves breaking on the shore.

Saturday morning dawned somewhat ominously – the clouds here are out of this world!! We had booked an excursion to Ang Thong Marine Park for today – essentially the only reason why we came to Koh Samui. Our tour operator of choice was 100 Degrees East (www.100degreeseast.com) and right from the first contact with Caz back in April, they were an absolute pleasure to work with. And most importantly, the day out was fantastic – but I’ll get to that!

We were picked up at 9:10 am and driven to the 100 Degrees East base in Big Buddha Beach just 10 minutes away. We filled in our waivers and got fitted for our snorkel gear as the group assembled. This was a speedboat trip so we were a small group of 10 hailing from Spain, Canada, Switzerland, England, and Australia. Our guide/cruise director/boat master was Milla from Finland. During the journey we had a few moments of anxiety when a massive storm cloud blew over the islands where we were headed…we could see it coming and we could only hope that we would see it leaving too!!! Thankfully we did! The day was absolutely perfect.

It took just under an hour to get to our first stop of the day: snorkel time! When we arrived, there were a couple of other boats in the area, but by the time we got sorted out we were all alone. All alone above the water that is!!! Below the water was a different story! Never in all my snorkelling experience have I seen so many fish and marine life! It was quite simply breathtaking. And also hard to describe. Fish zooming every which way and visibility like you wouldn’t believe. Milla said that she had almost never seen it as clear before. We were so lucky! We snorkelled into caves and marvelled at the changing light with every ebb and flow of the waves. I could go on and on forever, but I’ll spare you!!

In the end we were in the water for almost an hour. Even so, it was a struggle to tear ourselves away from the magical world under the sea (cue: steel drums and Sebastian). Back on board, we traveled about 10 minutes more to our kayak location. We did a 40 minute circuit to build up our appetite for lunch. Our leader kept close to the cliffs and rock overhangs (to grab some much needed shade while waiting for the group to catch up) so it made for some precise kayaking. Carlos did a great job steering!

Once we surrendered the kayaks, we jumped back on board the speedboat for a few minutes to travel to our picnic lunch location on Samsao Island. It was a perfect slice of paradise accompanied by fantastic food including the best fried chicken I’ve had in a long time (or ever?)

After lunch it was time for some R & R on the beach. It was so peaceful that we even had a little snooze!

But the day wasn’t over yet!! Our next stop was Mae Koh Island and its famous emerald lagoon, Talay Nai. While the walk up to the viewpoint was relatively short, it had its fair share of challenges. This was mainly due to the insanely steep and narrow steps that form the pathway. Some people in our group managed it in flip-flops but I recommend shoes that attach to your foot to eliminate one level of concentration! There are three viewpoints with the top-most being the most popular and shortest to get to. From there you can walk down more steps to a lower level and then again to almost lake level. We only went as far as the lower level due to time and energy constraints. The steps were crazy!!!

Back at the beach we were all dripping in sweat and dying for a swim. Milla suggested that if we could hold on for 5 more minutes, we could boat to a nicer beach. Naturally we held on! And so we ended up at Park Headquarters on Koh Wua Talab. This is where you spend the night if you wish to do so in bungalows or tents. The beach was lovely and the water crystal clear. Milla went for a quick walk to see if there were any monkeys about but with the rains earlier in the day, they had retreated deep into the island forest.

It was a perfect end to an even more perfect day! We were so fortunate with the conditions and 100 Degrees East was a fabulous company to go with. I can’t imagine being on a big boat with 40 other people (having to take turns snorkelling and kayaking) and having to travel at least 2 hours to reach Ang Thong. The speedboat was worth its weight in gold!! And yes, compared to the big boats you do feel like you are dipping into your gold reserves to pay for the trip, but it was more than worth it. Especially for us since we were only in Koh Samui to take this trip. Like the elephants, exclusive was the only way to go for us. A day to remember!

Aug 18 2014

Elephant Nature Park: Walking Among Giants

The day I was most looking forward had finally arrived: our adventure at Elephant Nature Park (ENP – www.elephantnaturepark.org).

ENP is a very special place about 60 km from Chiang Mai. It is there that a young woman named Lek started a refuge for elephants. Many people don’t realise the brutal process that an elephant must go through in order to be trained to carry tourists, paint pictures, dance, or whatever else they are forced to do beyond their nature. Lek endeavours to put an end to this torture and captive lifestyle by providing a safe haven for rescued elephants to live. There are several programs that visitors can participate in and contribute to the cause. We chose to experience the park through the Pamper a Pachyderm one-day program. This special program began in early 2014 through the collaboration with a neighbouring trekking camp run by Muoy who decided to turn her focus to care and refuge. Up to 6 people per day are given the opportunity to spend time with this small elephant herd. On our day, there were 5 female elephants to befriend along with several at the end of the day at Elephant Nature Park:

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Our guide, Ging, picked us up at the hotel in a spacious van for the 1.5 hour drive out to the park. To make up our group of 6 we were joined by a couple from Holland. While en route we were shown a documentary about ENP and the plight of the Thai elephants in general. One thing we learned is that elephants have very sensitive feet and can perceive even the slightest tremor in the ground. This causes them extreme discomfort and anxiety in cities and towns where the constant passing of cars and people results in constant vibrations. Poor things!! After the movie, Ging walked us through the plan for the morning including instructions on how to interact safely with the elephants. The takeaway message was to never stand behind, between, or in front of the elephants – always stay beside their head so they can keep an eye on you. The funny thing is that no matter how hard we tried, we always ended up behind, between, or in front of them!!

Finally we arrived at Muoy’s camp. Before meeting the herd, we swapped our shoes for some heavy duty rubber boots. Or at least some of us! There wasn’t a pair small enough to fit Virginia so she kept her regular shoes as did the Dutch. Ging was non-committal as to whether the boots were mandatory or not!

Before we knew it, the elephants were with us! Each one had a bucket of fruit waiting for them (mainly watermelon with some pumpkin thrown in). Our task for the next 10 minutes was to shovel as much food as possible onto our elephant’s trunk and watch as they expertly manoeuvred the pieces into their mouths. Amazing! Witnessing the dexterity and precision of the trunk was one of the most fascinating parts of the day. I was feeding Jamsai until Ban Yen ran out of food and then moved in on Jamsai’s territory!

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Once the buckets were empty, we picked up our banana bags and headed off for our walk along the river and into the forest. The elephants were pretty unfocused until they sensed bananas in the offing and then they were laser targeted on us! It was our duty to walk ahead and feed them to keep them on the right track. It seemed incredible that they were still hungry after the massive bucket of fruit but then we learned that they can eat up to 300 kg of food per day! We definitely weren’t carrying that many bananas!!

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Mae Buoy is just 4 years old and was so cute with her food while her adoptive mom, Mae Baang, was all business.

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Before long it became clear that rubber boots were not actually optional….there was a river to cross! Well, it was more of a large stream but regardless of the size, water is water. Virginia hopped on Javi’s back and he was henceforth known as the Elephant! His true destiny even manifested a few days later when he backed into Virginia and broke her toenail….see? you should never stand behind an elephant!! 🙂 And speaking of which, at the moment of the river crossing, I was trying to get closer to document the occasion, but found myself blocked in by elephants. oops! 🙂

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After a second smaller crossing, I got caught between Ban Yen and some foliage. Unsure about how to get around her, I decided to just stay put until she moved on. Unbeknownst to me, it is in this exact spot that she always plays in the dirt and leaves!! Next thing I knew, I was covered head to toe in dirt! It was awesome!!! 🙂

At one point we passed a corn field with people harvesting by hand. Keen to help out, the elephants each ripped out several stalks at a time…and ate them. OK, so maybe not helping out after all! They love their corn.

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I was walking with Dao Rueng and Muoy at the time and she lamented that she has to pay the farmers back for any damaged or eaten corn (Muoy was lamenting, not Dao Rueng!!) Dao Rueng is the first elephant that Muoy has rescued. She found her working on the beach in Phuket and brought her back to Chiang Mai for a better life. You can read the story of her rescue here. She is an old dear and we enjoyed the leisurely pace that she set (waaaay behind that of Mae Buoy the fiesty 4 year old!!!) After about an hour, we arrived at a forest hut where we would have our lunch. The elephants went off to their own private dining and we enjoyed a delicious meal of rice, noodles, curry and vegetables. The hut overlooked the river and the actual site of ENP. We could see herds of elephants bathing along with herds of water buffalo. It was all pretty surreal.

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After a little siesta/rest we set out back down the hill to return to the camp. We mainly walked with Ban Yen this time. Words really can’t describe the feeling of walking alongside these gentle giants. We are still mesmerised by the trunk. The most shocking trunk-related experience is the first time they blow on you….it is a face-full of hot air with a rush of sound that usually happens so fast that you barely have time to close your eyes. Amazingly (thankfully) though, their breath doesn’t smell! We had all run out of bananas by this point so it was hard to keep the ladies focused. Their trunks were always probing the colourful bags around our shoulders hoping for the miracle of the banana….

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The final item on the agenda before heading back to camp was a nice bath in the river. Jamsai really got into it with a full immersion whereas Ban Yen was a little more tentative in her approach. Of course, Mae Bouy was spraying herself and those around her with her trunk (kids!) I should mention that there was only one trumpet sounded from our group…we were about 20 m back and wow was it ever loud!! It pierced through the air and we were a little relieved that we weren’t any closer.

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All too soon it was time to say goodbye to our new friends. The memory of this day will stay with us forever though. And it wasn’t over yet!

Even though we were mere minutes from ENP, we hopped back into the van a drove for 20 minutes upstream whereupon we were going to “head back to ENP on a river raft” (as the website says). I had interpreted this as a raft that goes down the river, much like the River Li in Yangshuo or perhaps one of the bamboo rafts we could see from the van as we motored that morning. But no, this was a white water raft!!! It was an absolute riot and we were absolutely soaked through. So much fun!! I think there could have been a little more clarification about the activity though so that we could have at least put our bathing suits on – or at least zipped off our trouser legs! Ging just suggested that we put flip flops on! 🙂

Once at ENP, we watched an elephant herd have their afternoon snack of watermelon and pumpkin. The herd include little Navann who was born at the park in 2012.

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It was then time to get changed into dry clothes and begin the journey back to Chiang Mai. This day was one of the best ever…just to be able to have this contact with the elephants was awe-inspiring and humbling. I can only hope that the word spreads and more people support initiatives like this instead of contributing (albeit unknowingly in most cases) to the abuse and mistreatment of those elephants who still perform in the tourist industry. More information on the programs available can be found at www.elephantnaturepark.org.

If I ever find myself back in Thailand I will surely make a return visit…in the meantime, I have my statue of Jamsai, hand-carved by her mahout, to remind me of the magical experience.

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Aug 17 2014

Chiang Mai: Wats Galore

Our final morning in Sukhothai greeted us with grey skies and driving rain. We had already decided against another sunrise visit to the park so this weather erased any lingering “should I? or shouldn’t I” doubts. Watching the rain pour down as we ate our breakfast made us so grateful for the wonderful day yesterday.

After breakfast we piled into a couple of tuk tuks and went the 2 km to the old city bus station to catch our 9:30 bus to Chiang Mai. Or perhaps that should be “bus station”!! The only thing reassuring us that we were in the right place was a picture of a bus on the awning that also declared: Old City – Bangkok / Old City – Chiang Mai. Eventually we were joined by a few other tourists making us feel a bit better! Note the red flag that was placed after we arrived to signal to the bus to stop.

The bus starts in the new city which caused some concern that the seats would all be taken (the booking process consisted of 4 scraps of paper so we are pretty sure that each point of sale doesn’t actually know how many seats have been sold in total!!) In the end we were fine and we all got seats – but people at later stops did have to stand…. As seemed to be the trend, the bus arrived a half an late. We can’t figure out how they always manage this since the trains and buses seem to leave the origin on time…and in this case, the new city is only 12 km away!! Thailand Charm! The 5 hr 47 min journey cost us 239 baht each (just under 6 €) and included a 20 minute pit stop. The toilets at the stop were more than adequate and it was welcome break. There was snack food available and even a proper rice/noodles stand. All in all the journey wasn’t as bad as we anticipated – decent roads and much smoother than the train!! I don’t think I mentioned the constant jostling on the train from Ayutthaya to Phitsanulok. If I had to do the full 10 or 11 hours from Bangkok to Chiang Mai on the train, I would have gone insane for sure!!

Upon arrival in Chiang Mai we took our first of many songthaews (red pick-up trucks) to our hotel, Sakorn Residence. The hotel is one block back from the river so a fair distance from the walled old city. It was walkable (30 min) but with the trucks zooming around looking for fares we always just hopped in one. It was 20 or 30 baht per person (50 cents) depending on where we were going. The hotel itself suited us perfectly. The rooms were large, decent shower, and there was a pool for cooling down at the end of the day. There was a safe in the room but it wasn’t attached to anything and very light….i.e. with minimal effort, any would-be thief could just tuck it under their arm and be off! It was a little comical!! We didn’t have any security concerns but figured it was a good place to test out our new PacSafe travel safe. Peace of mind more than anything else!

We arrived on a Saturday which meant we could experience the Saturday Night Walking Street on Wua Lai Rd. The market was completely different to how I imagined it. The souvenirs and goods for sale were actually nice quality and it was all much more “bright and shiny” than I expected. It was a very pleasant walk along the street even with the crowds of people. For our dinner we ended up at the market area at the moat at the beginning of the walking street. None of us were actually that hungry since we had a late lunch at little place across from the hotel that actually turned out to be the cheapest meal of the whole trip – some 360 baht for the four of us (and that included 4 beers)! Lack of hunger aside, we still managed to have some coconut water, smoothies, and our first sticky rice with mango.

Chiang Mai’s claim to fame is it’s endless supply of wats. Big wats, little wats, golden wats, wooden wats, new wats, old wats, wat-ever you are looking for, you can find it in Chiang Mai!!

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Over the course of our stay we visited (clockwise from top left): Wat Phra Sing, Wat Chedi Luang, Wat Phan-Ohn, Wat Bupparam, and Wat Chiang Man.

We ended up on Ratchadamnoen Road just as the Sunday Walking Street was opening for business. This was even longer than the Saturday Walking Street! The setting sun was still beating down on us so we only managed a few blocks before we had to throw in the towel and retreat to the hotel pool (but not before enjoying a mango shake, of course!)

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Tired from the day’s pursuits, we decided to treat ourselves to dinner at one of the nice riverside restaurants near the hotel. We chose The Gallery and were not disappointed. We enjoyed a delicious (and huge!) meal for not even 15 € a head (beer, main dish, shared dessert, and a gin & tonic). The clear winner of the night was Carlos’s Massaman Curry, while the clear dangerous dish of the night ended up with me in the form of northern-style sausages that were amazing but SPICY and quite lonely on my plate…no sauce or other company!! In the end it was just a bit much! Nevertheless, it was an evening to remember.

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After a great night’s sleep we awoke on Monday morning full of anticipation and excitement – it was elephant day!!! We had booked the one day Pamper a Pachyderm experience with Elephant Nature Park (ENP – www.elephantnaturepark.org) and it was the day I was most looking forward to!! To do it justice, I have written about it in the next post. Truly amazing!!!

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Another excursion outside of the city is a trip up to Doi Suthep and Bhubing Palace. It took about an hour to get up the mountain in our red truck (700 baht round trip) and we visited the palace first due to its curious hours. The palace is open from 8:30 to 16:30, but the ticket office is only open from 8:30 to 11:30 and then again from 13:00 to 15:30. I think only foreigners need a ticket so locals can go anytime but tourists have to pay attention to those ticketing hours (50 baht)! We also needed to rent “jedi” pants for 15 baht to cover up our shorts/capris. Our trousers were all being “professionally” laundered at that moment since they were filthy after the elephants!

Bhubing Palace is the winter home of the royal family from January to March. We didn’t actually see much of a palace, but the rose gardens and green houses were amazing. There were some varieties of roses that were bred right there. We also saw the huge bamboo and lovely butterflies at the fountain/lake area. A nice peaceful walk after the chaos of the city!

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We then trucked back down the mountain about 10 minutes to the famous Doi Suthep. Or rather Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep since the mountain itself is called Doi Suthep. We elected to take the funicular up the hill to save our energy. The funicular takes 2 minutes or there are about 300 steps to climb. When we arrived at the top, the whole wat area was shrouded in cloud giving it an eerie feeling. We spent about an hour exploring the mount. The clouds parted somewhat to allow a view of Chiang Mai below. The most prevalent area was the airport with the runway clearly visible. We then took the steps back down (dodging a dog fight – the street dogs in Thailand are SCARY!) and jumped in our pick-up truck for the ride back to the city.

We hopped out in Chinatown to have a look at the Wororot and Ton Lamyai Markets. We were hoping for some street food but we didn’t see anything really appetising…. I don’t know if we were just never in the right places but generally the street food didn’t appeal to us. All of the food was cooked and sitting in trays waiting for takers as opposed to being cooked fresh in the moment or at least staying warm in a pot or something. I don’t know…we just never indulged in the street food the way we have done in the past in Vietnam, Cambodia, and China. 🙁

We wandered towards the old city in search of food and finally found a place almost at the city gates. I think the street we were on is the longest stretch of street in the world without a restaurant!! or maybe I was just hungry!! We enjoyed a nice meal of soup/noodles/rice and then discovered that the owner of the restaurant is Canadian! He chatted to us FOREVER! It is what we call “Canadian Mode” since the Spaniards always tease me when I talk to strangers…it’s a Canadian thing, eh!

Our final activity in Chiang Mai was a much anticipated cooking class! Time to learn some secrets! We went with Thai Farm Cooking School (www.thaifarmcooking.com) and were not disappointed. It was 1,300 baht per person and was a full day from 8:30 until almost 5 pm. They have an office in the old city (38 Moonmuang Road, Soi 9) but the actual class takes place on a farm about 40 minutes away from the city. On the way out, we stopped at a market to learn about the curry powders we would be making, different types of rice, and the special sauces that are fundamental to Thai cooking (soy, oyster, and fish!)

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On the menu was Yellow Curry with Chicken, Tom Yam Soup with Shrimp (or Tom Kaa coconut milk soup with Chicken for those looking for a milder alternative), Chicken with Cashew Nuts, Pad Thai, and finally Sticky Rice with Mango for dessert. We were quite nervous about the quantity of food since each of those plates is what we would consider one meal!!!! Before getting started, we took a walk around the farm to see some of the spices and herbs that we would be cooking with. Carlos nibbled on a chili and 5 minutes later had tears running down his cheeks!!! Don’t worry, 5 minutes after that he was back to normal!! It must have been a doozie of a chili!

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First up was the yellow curry. My previous experience with cooking curry involved a complicated process of opening a jar from Carrefour…not so here in Thailand! We ground our very own curry paste with mortar and pestle! This of course is ideal since you can put as little or as much chili in as you want! Once the paste was ready (after working up an incredible sweat!!) we set it aside and prepared our Tom Yam soup and feasted. It was so delicious! Mine was a little too mild since I was nervous about putting too much spice in. Carlos’s was perfect though (no fear there!) With the first course complete, we went back to preparing the yellow curry and chicken with cashew nuts. Both were sensational. This was quickly turning into our favourite meal of the whole trip. I was hoping to pick up some tips on cooking rice, but they used a rice cooker! Perhaps that is all the tip I need……

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After lunch we had about an hour of free time to have a walk, siesta, or just chill. And then it was Pad Thai time! More food???!!! The idea here was that it would be packaged up and we could take it with us to have for dinner. Again with the prepared food just sitting around waiting to be eaten….! Our Pad Thais looked so good that we decided to just eat it there and then since taking them with us didn’t really appeal to us. So good. Virginia was the official Pad Thai expert since she can’t tolerate any spice at all in her food and it is the safest dish. She declared this one of the best, if not the best.

To cap off the day of indulgence, we had our amazing sticky rice with mango. The rice was steamed in a bamboo basket and then combined with coconut milk. This is the only dish that we didn’t make individually. It was mind blowing! So good and yet we were so full….! We did the best we could and stopped short of licking our plates clean!

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Needless to say, we definitely recommend Thai Farm Cooking School. Just be ready to load up on delicious food!

And this capped off our 6-night stay in Chiang Mai. We could have easily done everything with just 5 nights, but this allowed us to be very relaxed and not rushed at all.

Aug 15 2014

Sukhothai: First to Arrive, Last to Leave

We woke up bright and early to enjoy a local breakfast at the famous Lung Lek just around the corner from the hotel. Unfortunately we were a little too bright and early and they were still setting up! Next door though there was another place that was already up and running so we had some dumplings and bowl of delicious noodles there. The dumplings were “same same but different”….still dumplings but kind of the sensation of comparing flour tortillas with corn tortillas…fundamentally they are the same but really completely different. How’s that for ambiguity!!!! We didn’t have much time to linger before it was time to head to the train station for our journey to Sukhothai.

Once at the station we checked the white board that lists the delays. Our train (which started in Bangkok) was listed as half an hour late so not too bad!! By the end it was 40 minutes late but the time passed really quickly with people watching and general chatter.
Second class was certainly quite deluxe! We had comfortable seats, air-conditioning (that wasn’t frigid), and even a cold welcome juice that was a throwback to birthday parties at McDonalds and their “orange juice”!! The biggest surprise of all however was the lunch that was served – noodle soup and chicken curry!

The journey to Phitsanulok was under 4 hours and we maintained our 40 minute delay so didn’t lose any more time. Once at Phitsanulok we grabbed a tuk tuk to the old bus station to catch our bus to Sukhothai. Upon leaving the train station there is a list of tuk tuk destinations with prices so it is easy to know what to expect. As four people we paid 80 baht I think for the trip. This was the smallest tuk tuk yet so the big bags had to go on the roof….without being tied down!! With everything being open though the guys kept a hand on the cargo during the sharp turns!!!

At the bus station we bought our tickets at the window (being led there by a lady who turned out to be the conductor on our bus). We were certainly overcharged with the 50 baht fee but we weren’t about to start counting pennies! There were two berths on opposite sides with Sukhothai as the destination so I set out to try and nail down which one we should be at. It wasn’t very successful but my tourist look prompted a couple from Spain to ask me if we were on the same bus – safety in numbers!!!!! As it turned out we were the only foreigners on the bus! Team Spain!!

The bus ride was an experience in itself. The back door was wide open so Carlos tried to close it a bit since our bags were all piled right across from it. Not long after, the conductor lady came and opened it again! However, Carlos thought that she closed it properly and when he went back to rearrange one of the bags he moved around with astonishing confidence and agility. I was gobsmacked that he wasn’t even holding on with his free hand. Eventually he realized that the door was open and couldn’t believe it!!!! Too funny!

We pulled into New Sukhothai an hour later at 3:30 pm and were whisked away in a tuk tuk truck to the old city where our hotel was located. We were staying at Thai Thai Sukhothai and it was lovely! The only thing it was missing to be perfect was a pool. The staff were really friendly and rooms very nicely appointed and comfortable. The hotel is about 1 km from the historic park so we rented scooters to zip around with ease. It took a little convincing to get me on board but in the end I gave in and I’m so glad it did! It was so much fun! It was 300 baht (7 €) for 24 hours.

We went to a neighboring hotel (Sinvana?) for a pre-dinner Chang. This was the most expensive beer by far at over a hundred baht each (a whopping 2.40 €!!) Ridiculous! Needless to say we got out of there quickly! We took our scooters for a test drive into the old town for dinner. We had some fresh coconut water and some standard noodle and rice dishes.

Before coming away we had read about how the water provided by hotels and often restaurants is called “drinking water” and is stripped of everything but the H2O it seems! We have really noticed that we feel much more dehydrated than on any other trip since unless you buy mineral water from a 7-11 you aren’t giving your body anything to work with. So coconut water is our new best friend to get a boost of electrolytes!!!

The guys dropped the gals off at the hotel and then went on a quest for petrol which turned out to be easier said than done!!! Especially in the dark!! They survived attack dogs, blank looks when asking directions, and in the end the pumps themselves and finally made it back to the bungalows!!! It was then straight to bed since we had a 5:15 wake up call to see the sunrise over the temples!!!

Needless to say, the wake up call came waaaay too quickly! Haha! But wow was it ever worth it! We weren’t exactly sure how to get into the park (since it was still technically closed) so it took us a little longer than needed to get in place at our temple of choice – Wat Tra Phang Ngoen. The sunrise itself wasn’t very spectacular but the cool temperature and exclusive access more than made up for any initial disappointment in the lighting! Half an hour after sunrise we got about 3 minutes of amazing light as the sun broke through the clouds – magic!!!

We rambled around for a bit and then moved on to one of the most popular temples, Wat Mahathat. There was still no one else in the park so it was fabulous to have it all to ourselves. The first people wandered in around 7 am and while the number of people grew steadily you could never claim to describe it as crowded at any point. We set up the tripod for a photo of us and our amazing scooters by the lagoon.

We ducked into Wat Si Sawai which is known for its khmer-style towers and offerings in the roots of an ancient tree. This was very peaceful.

The next temple on our list before going back to the hotel for breakfast was Wat Sa Si. This one is famous for the Standing Buddha that touches the Sitting Buddha when looking at the right angle. It also sits on a little island that is reached by bridge. The groundskeepers were working hard clearing some grass so it was a hive of activity.

We did a few victory laps of the area on our scooters to take videos and photos while on the move!! Finally three hours after sunrise we returned to the hotel for a well deserved breakfast!! After a quick turn around we were back on the road heading to the northern zone of the park. There are three zones that each require a 100 baht entrance fee: the central where we saw the sunrise (and didn’t pay since the park wasn’t open yet!), the north, and the west.

Our first stop was at Wat Phra Phai Luang which also has a khmer-style tower. The most famous temple in the northern zone is Wat Si Chum which houses the enormous seated Buddha that peeks through the temple opening. It was truly astounding! Naturally it was the most congested place we had encountered since the space is quite small, but it is difficult to only take a quick look since the sight is so spellbinding.

Next we motored further out of town to the west to see some of the forest temples. Wat Saphan Hin was first and involved a climb up to the temple. There were steps and it wasn’t too bad! At the top are Standing and Sitting Buddhas looking out over the land and ancient city. You can’t make out individual temples but the view is lovely to take in.

As we descended it started to rain!!! Noooo! Rain is not easy on a scooter!!!! 🙂 We waited it out a half an hour and finally got back on the road. We saw a few temples from the road but the other one that we explored more closely was Wat Chedi Ngam. You reach this one through a forest path and it was very cool! The setting really adds to the feeling of adventure!

By now it was time for lunch so we continued to the little strip of restaurants and had our feast. The food was pretty standard from place to place and while our meals were not the best we’d ever eaten, they were still completely satisfying and tasty! Afterwards we went back to the hotel to have a little rest and gear up for sunset.

Our plan for sunset was to return to Wat Mahathat and the lagoon for the famous sunset photo. We took a quick detour to Wat Chang Lom near the hotel for a look at the elephant statues around the chedi. I was already getting excited for the elephants in Chiang Mai!!!!

As we were entering the central zone after closing time, we didn’t have to pay! Again! And remarkably there was really no one watching the sunset. We anticipated crowds of people at the lagoon! I guess we’re the only people don’t pay attention to the opening hours of the park! It has to be said for the record that the gate is open but the ticket booth is closed – so we aren’t even jumping any fences!!!!

We had another wander around the temple as the sun set. Unfortunately once again there wasn’t really any spectacular light but as with the sunrise, it was just magic to be there!

Our luck continued when night fell and they started testing the lights for a light show that was being held the next day. We hung around and saw Wat Mahathat lit up in all its glory. Very cool!

With darkness upon us, there was only one option to do: eat! And get ready for the next stage of the adventure: tomorrow’s bus to Chiang Mai!!

Aug 13 2014

Ayutthaya: Fun in the Ancient Capital

And so the “real” adventure begins with our first foray outside of the city as we make our way north!! We had a potential train schedule from the internet (potential only because I kept reading that schedules are so optional here in Thailand!) The site I found was www.railway.co.th/checktime and as far as I could see, the schedule was accurate.

We decided to take the 8:20 train to Ayutthaya from Hua Lamphong station in Bangkok. A taxi to the station was 60 B although the driver first offered us the low low fixed price of 150 B!!!! Since we had just taken a taxi from near the station in Chinatown the day before, we knew that there was no way we were paying that!!!! We asked him to put on the meter and when he said no and we said OK next taxi please, he changed his mind! So the lesson here coincides with everything I have read about taxis in Bangkok – always use the meter!!

We made it to the station and had the tickets bought in no time. We were first offered 2nd class tickets at around 900 B for the four of us (can’t remember exactly) but I asked about 3rd class and we made away like bandits in the night with a charge of 80 B for all of us!!!! That’s 0.47€/0.69¢ each instead of about 6€/$8 each. For a two hour train ride! The trick with 3rd class is that you don’t have an assigned seat so you might have to stand and there is no air conditioning. We did however have soft seats which was a big surprise! We also were able to sit the whole time. The train left on time but ended up being “only” 40 minutes late into Ayutthaya.

The station at Ayutthaya was well equipped with luggage storage, advanced booking office, toilets, etc. And tuk tuks! We went ahead and bought our tickets for the next day to Phitsanulok where we would then take a bus to Sukhothai. This time we sprung for the 2nd class tickets since the journey was listed as almost 4 hours. Once we were organized we set out in a tuk tuk for Baan Kong Hotel. It cost us 100 B with no negotiation.

Baan Kong is right across the road from Wat Ratchaburana so ideally situated for exploring the central area of temples. The man on the desk was so nice and his English was quite good so we got lots of information from him (mainly helping me locate my list of temples to see on the map!) We also signed up for a private longboat trip around the island around sunset time. It was either going to be 200 B each to join a group or 1000 B to just get our own boat so we opted for the latter. Our bungalows were brand new (four weeks old) and great! Pretty basic but comfortable and really all you need!

Our first temple was our neighbour Ratchaburana. The most notable feature here was the tall tower that you could climb. Inside the tower was a bat cave!!! It was so freaky to see the bats flying around and hear them. We didn’t really venture too far into that area!!

We skipped over Wat Mahathat in the hope that there would be fewer people towards the end of the day when day trips would already be on their way back to Bangkok. Amazingly though, from the road you can see the famous Buddha head encased in tree roots.

From there we crossed the big park to Wihan Phra Mongkhon Bophit and marveled at the giant Buddha inside.

Next door is Wat Phra Si Samphet which is distinctive with its three chedis.

By now it was time to start heading back to Wat Mahathat so that we didn’t run out of time. There were still enough people around but as with all the temples, a little patience usually wins out in the end for photos. The Buddha head in the roots really was fascinating to see, especially because there were so few statues with heads that it was a bit different to see a head without the body. Its location was quite surprising to me since all of the pictures I had ever seen of it were really close up so it was neat to see the tree itself.

Next on the agenda was a bite to eat before the boat trip. We went to Malakor on the corner of our street.

The boat trip started at 4 pm with a tuk tuk ride to the night market area where we caught the boat. We motored around the moat/river clockwise and stopped at 3 temples with 20 minutes in each. The first was a new temple, Wat Phanan Choeng. And as is the trend, there was a huge Buddha inside. Fascinating!

The next stop was Wat Phutthai Sawan. This had Buddhas all around the perimeter and then towers in the middle. This trip turned out to be the ultimate test for us in that we only had 20 minutes to take pictures! We are usually very slow about the process (just ask poor Virginia who has to wait around for us!) So this felt like a sprint!

The third temple was our favorite of the day: Wat Chaiwatthanaram. It was khmer-style so had that Angkor aura about it. The sun was just about to set and the area was so peaceful even with the boatloads of people running around!

We then boated around the rest of the island and ended up back at the night market. We had a beer to quench our thirst while we pondered the food options. Meanwhile mother nature was hard at work building up a rain storm that would last over an hour and scutter our plans for market food. We eventually abandoned the area in a tuk tuk and went back to Malakor to eat since we knew we could stay dry. The hotel actually left umbrellas at our bungalow doors which was a nice touch!

Aug 12 2014

Bangkok: City of Angels

Our three days in Bangkok followed a general format that we settled into quite easily: breakfast nearby, tourist trail, lunch, massage, pool, dinner, bed. Our hotel, Casa Nithra, was in the old side of the city about 15 minutes walk to Khao San Road (for lack of a better landmark – more about that later!) There were plenty of great restaurants in the surrounding streets that varied from super-local to nice tourist friendly (ie with air conditioning!) And then of course all the street stalls. Hunger was never an issue! We did find a favourite place that we went to a few times. We nicknamed it El Niño since there was a hilarious kid serving us. Everyone is so nice and we are definitely enjoying our food!

In terms of the tourist trail we concentrated on the old area since we’ll have time in the new part at the end of our trip. From the hotel we walked to the river and walked along it as far as we could then deviated to the the big park that leads to the Royal Palace. Bangkok is all decorated in preparation for the Queen’s birthday on August 12. It is also Mother’s Day. In the park there was a big stage set up and they were rehearsing for the celebration. We saw the cutest kids doing a traditional dance.

From the Royal Palace area we took the ferry across the river (3 B) to Wat Arun and saw that temple area. I’m not sure of the name of the Wat that is beside Wat Arun but it was a really peaceful introduction to Thai temples.

Wat Arun was much more crowded but still cool. The steps up were crazy so I only went to the first level!! The temple was much more colourful than I imagined it with all the porcelain bits.

We then crossed back over on the ferry and saw Wat Pho and the reclining Buddha in all its glory. Wow. Seriously amazing!

We were pretty hot and sticky by this point so we hopped in a taxi back to the hotel (50 B) and hit the pool! It is on the rooftop of the hotel so great views and a very pleasant cooling breeze. In fact we were chilled when we got out! Watching the sun set from up there was great. In fact we never did make it to any other sunset spots these days. The hotel is great (no breakfast included and the one on offer was waaaay overpriced at 250 B per person but with all the options on the doorstep that is more of an advantage than a disadvantage!) It’s a new hotel so everything is new and modern.

Day 2 had us in a taxi first thing in the morning to the Royal Palace (43 B). Even though it had just opened at 8:30 it was still crawling with people and very hot!!! The sun was shining and we had blue skies! The palace area was spectacular. Everything was so colorful and vibrant against the backdrop of the blue sky. We spent a good two hours exploring all that we could before finally retreating to cool down with a mango shake!

Refreshed, we set out on foot to Wat Suthat and the Giant Swing. We really found the temples to be fascinating and the devoutness of the people inspiring.

After the Giant Swing we went to the Golden Mount which is nearby. We were honestly left a little neutral from the experience but it is an easy climb up and worth a look for the views.

We hopped a taxi home (50 B) and had our first lunch with El Niño. We also had our first downpour of rain! Luckily all it meant for us was that we could order dessert! The fried banana…..oh.my.!!!!

Then it was time to see what this massage thing is all about!!! We actually just did back, shoulders, and head for 250 B on our street. It was a good experience with only a few strange contortions thrown in!! The four of us were in a row and we must have made quite the sight!!!!

This was the night we decided to check out Khao San Road. We have never felt so old!!!! Just one party after the other and we definitely weren’t exposing enough skin!!!! We walked the length of the street and got out as fast as we could!!! We retreated to our neighborhood and had a nice peaceful dinner!

We spent our final day touring the khlongs in a longboat. I’m quite sure that we paid too much (700 B each for 1.5 hours in our own boat) but we just couldn’t be bothered to either barter it down or find another departure point!

The canal life was really interesting. And terrifying when we saw the enormous lizards (more like crocodiles) that were swimming below us! Enormous!!!!! We stopped at the Taling Chan floating market. Everything looked delicious but we were still quite full from breakfast (I have to stop eating these massive rice soups!!)

After the longboat we grabbed the orange flag bus/boat to go to Chinatown. We went with the cheap/local option so it was pretty crowded but it did the trick! We were on the right side of the boat to see Wat Arun as we motored by.

Once we arrived, it felt like we had gone back in time to our trip to China! We wandered the market lined sois and marvelled at the Canadian cherries – for real?

Finally hunger got the better of us and we found a great place Hua Sen Hong to indulge in our Chinese duck love. In the cabinets there were packages of “Birds Nests” for sale. We asked about them since they were insanely expensive or at least they appeared to be unless we were reading the labels wrong. From what we could tell, they put them in soups. I just asked google and they are indeed bird’s nests that average $2500 per kilo. Yowzas!!!!

This day’s afternoon massage activity of choice was a foot massage. I was quite reluctant since I’m just getting over tendonitis in my ankle but it was great. A lot of the points that she touched in the ankle area were exactly those that the doctor did in Madrid and it didn’t hurt so all was good! She did leave bruises on my calves though!!! 200 B for a hour.

There were fireworks tonight for the Queen’s birthday but it was raining! We didn’t try to see them (although we did see some right from our hotel window). We hoped that the show in the park was a bit earlier in the evening so that they didn’t get too wet!

And that was Bangkok! Overall we enjoyed it and thought the traffic and getting around would be so much worse. Being a holiday on Tuesday we suspect that the city was actually quite empty since its traffic infamy can not be based on anything that we experienced! Looking forward to exploring the bright and shiny side at the end of our trip!

EDIT: Traffic in Bangkok is ATROCIOUS!!!!! At the end of our trip we experienced the legendary traffic jams in all their glory. 45 minutes to turn at one intersection!! Holiday weekends are the way to go for sure! 🙂

Aug 10 2014

Unexpected Luxuries

We made it to Bangkok! And as it turned out, we arrived in high style. It seems that I made a mistake in my previous post when I said that we were flying in economy on the A380 from Dubai to BKK — yes! We were upgraded to business class! There were at least 11 of us who were given the golden ticket! (Note: it wasn’t actually golden….!)

But first let me comment on the first leg of our journey. Everything was perfectly on time leaving Madrid and we had a relatively comfortable flight. Our route brought us over Italy, Greece, Turkey, and Iran before crossing the Persian Gulf to the UAE. Dinner was good (even though they had run out of the better sounding lamb curry and we had to make do with chicken) and then settled in for about 4 hours of sleep. It was only a 6.5 hr flight so between take off/landing and dinner there really wasn’t much time for shut eye. I witnessed a spectacular sunrise over Iran – wow!

But even more of a wow was getting off the plane in Dubai. We didn’t have a Jetway direct to the terminal so we had to walk outside to a bus. At 7:05 AM it was 34°C and humid like you wouldn’t believe! The humidity really surprised us!

And even more of a wow was getting our upgrades an hour later! There was no one going through to the gate so Carlos and I each went to a different lady to show our boarding passes. Carlos was finished first and neither of us could see or hear the other lady so we weren’t sure if we were both upgraded!!! It was quite funny! And now I honestly couldn’t even tell you how long we waited to take off or how long the flight was (well actually I can – 6 hours of bliss!!!!)

We were in the middle with the two seats together. We passed the time before take off by playing with all the buttons while sipping our moet & chandon. Lift off was freaky since you couldn’t see out any window and it felt like the plane was moving soooooo slowly! Once in the air, we had fun with our noise canceling cushy earphones and watched a movie while we waited for lunch. The meal opened up with an impressive plate of Arabian mezze and green salad.

This was followed by a steak for me and curry for Carlos. The curry was delish while the steak was well done but still amazingly tender. We rounded out our meal with chocolate mousse for me and cheesecake with lychee for Carlos.

By this time a good three hours had passed so we decided it was time to check out the lounge. The barman was from Philadelphia and poured us an excellent Patrón tequila and coffee mix for me and a chives regal for Carlos. We stood at the bar chatting and a German couple came along. The husband became our good friend Helmut – as drinking with someone at 37,000 feet makes them an automatic friend! We were part way through our drink when the captain switched on the seatbelt sign. We were asked to take a seat and when we started leaving the lounge, we were directed to the bench seating beside the bar that is equipped with seatbelts! As it turned out, this was the longest stretch of turbulence …. EVER!!! so what could we do but continue drinking??? Over the next 2 hours we had a great laugh! I sort of feel bad for the people in the last row since everyone seemed to be sleeping in the cabin (lay flat and all) and we were all out belly laughing!

Finally with about an hour to go, we were able to return to our seats. This was good because we still had lots to discover. The main thing was the lay flat experience which I forgot to combine with the massage function (silly me). It goes without saying that this was the best flight of our lives!!!

Our welcome to Thailand was in the form of the most hilarious immigration officer. Hilarious but s.l.o.w. for every person that he processed, the guy next to him did 4 or 5 people! On the one hand it was brutal but on the other entertaining once we got through eventually. As it happened, I went through first and our luggage carrousel was right beside the booth so I was able to watch both Carlos and the luggage coming off! The bags came off together about 2 minutes later so once Carlos was through, we were off!

We had booked an airport transfer through our hotel, Casa Nithra. I have to say that even though they are always pricier than the local transport options, this is something that I always arrange when possible. It is always nice to see a friendly face holding a sign with your name when you arrive in a foreign place. And most importantly in a place like bangkok, they know where the hotel is!!!

Before we knew it, we were at the hotel and reunited with Javi and Virginia. It turns out that Javi was upgrade too with emirates but Virginia wasn’t!!!! They had booked their tickets in two reservations so were in the system separately. Nooooo! We exchanged all our travel stories over some pad thai, soup, pad sieu (bad spelling!) And naturally a few large beers to officially kick off the holiday! Then it was back to the hotel for a long awaited sleep!