Tag Archives: Travel

Elephant Day

Christmas, Family, Thailand, Travel, ,

Today was a ton of fun, literally a ton. After a 30 minute drive into the mountains, we jumped into our elephant wrangler gear (unflattering blue jeans and a wild vest; they want us to look like people the elephants are familiar with) and headed into the hills. We hiked about 1/2 mile through a rubber tree grove and into a clearing where we were met by 3 full gown elephants. Our morning was spent, feeding the elephants sugar cane, some elephant vitamins, and giving them a bath. Once done, we had lunch with the elephants. It was an amazing experience.

Elephant Habitat
Rubber Tree Grove
Up close and personal
Not the best angle, but you get the point. We hiked about 1/4 mile with the elephants to their base camp.
Bath time
Lunch time.
With a side trip / hike to a mountain waterfall

Cooking with Ann

Christmas, Family, Thailand, ,

Something different today, we went to a Thai cooking class.

From the moment Ann picked us up from our hotel, we knew this would be a special experience. On the way to the market, she asked about our likes, dislikes, preferred dishes, and even how much food we could eat (note: look at the pictures – we asked for something small to medium, can you imagine if we would have said we were hungry!). When then shopped together for the freshest ingredients, customizing the experience to our tastes.

Ann welcomed us into her beautifully appointed outdoor Thai kitchen at her home, where we spent nearly 3 hours preparing, cooking, and dining on several dishes. These are not pre-set menus; instead, Ann ensured we were making and eating dishes tailored to our preferences. The result is one of the finest dining experiences we have ever had in Thailand, not just because of the flavors but because it was designed entirely for us.

The Golden Triangle

Family, Thailand, ,

Northern Thailand comes to a point between Laos and Myanmar (former Burma). Today’s journey was to touch into each of those countries with a few sites along the way.

Along our way we stopped in a village of Myanmar refuges from the Karen heritage. This former Burmese indigenous people are known for their females carrying on the lifelong commitment to rings on their neck that by dropping their shoulders make the appearance of having very long necks. The lady you see us with has the longest neck in the village.
Karen Long Neck Village
Typical kitchen in the Karen village
Tea Plantation
Monkey Temple
The Golden Triangle. We are standing in Thailand. The land behind us is Myanmar. To the right is Laos.
We took a high speed boat to officially cross the boarders of both Myanmar and Laos.
We are officially in Myanmar at this point, although we could not make landfall.
We did officially step ground on Laos and walked around a bit.
Jonathan is holding up one Of the key ingredients to Laotian Whiskey….Cobra.
We then went back to Chiang Rai and visited a flower festival. It was awesome.

Northern Thailand: Chiang Rai – Temple Day

Christmas, Family, Thailand, Winter, ,

We are now at the furthest destination of our trip; Northern Thailand in the Chiang Rai province. This region is known for its mountains, vast fields of rice and tea, as well as a slower paced culture.

Today was Temple Day. We experienced the modern side of Thai culture, temples, and museums. And YES, we are wearing matching shirts (see the last picture of this post for our shirt design).

Wat Rong Khun: The White Temple
Wat Rong Suea Ten – The Blue Temple
The Black House Museum
Wat Huay Pla Kang – The Goddess of Mercy
Lunch at Lalitte Cafe
A closer look.

Nha Trang, Vietnam

Family, Travel,

Today was a quick day for us. No tours, just a hop off of the boat, via a tender, a little shopping and then back. It ended up being a good plan given this was really the only hot day of the trip.

Tender to port.

Waikiki of Vietnam

Nha Trang is mostly a vacation destination and is often referred to as the Honolulu of Vietnam. With massive hotels and beaches it is no surprise people flock here during the summer. For us, it was a quiet time to visit.

Local market.
Silks were the theme of the day.

Do you want to be a millionaire?

What you see below is approximately 5 millions Vietnamese Dong (the local currency).

In US dollars this is about $200.

We Are On Our Way!

Family, ,

From North Dakota and Colorado, we have met up in Los Angeles to begin our journey.

Hanging out with our familiar Christmas friend at DIA.
We found Mathieu!
Quick overnight
Then back over to LAX
With a bit of luggage (12 bags all together, including a Christmas tree)

And YES – we are wearing matching shirt!

Next stop – Singapore Airlines and off to Tokyo.