Thailand Trip - Part 1

Thailand is one of those countries that I have just been dying to visit ever since moving to Okinawa. It is a very popular vacation destination for a lot of military couples stationed over here, and I almost began to feel a little left out since I had lived here two years and still hadn't been to Thailand. I know this may seem silly to most people, but even Matt has been to Thailand on a deployment and couldn't stop talking about how great it was... a deployment! Needless to say, Thailand was probably the place I have been looking forward to visiting the most of every Asian country, and it did not disappoint!

We spent over a week and a half in Thailand, visiting three different parts. Our first stop was their hub city of Bangkok. We had heard that Bangkok was a little busy, smelly and dirty, so we came prepared. I can't speak for Matt, but I was surprised to find that it wasn't quite as dirty or smelly as I had imagined - we've been to many large Asian cities by now, and I guess I just imagined the worst? Either way, I thought Bangkok was a HUGE city that was very crowded. The traffic was pretty bad, and everything seemed to be really spread out and far away from each other. Usually, after we spend even a long weekend in a city, I leave feeling like I have some sort of grasp on the different areas of the city, where things are located and which things are near one another. This was not the case with Bangkok. I feel like the city was just too huge for us to explore in the couple of days we had there. We saw and did the main things we wanted to see and do there, but there was so much more that we didn't even get to touch on. I do, however, think that Bangkok has a lot to offer as far as food, shopping and culture go, and there were most definitely some pretty nice areas.

Inside the lobby of our hotel in Bangkok - the hotel was very "Thai Modern" and had an enormous breakfast buffet each morning. It was also located on Sukhumvit Road, the longest road in Asia that runs through Thailand all the way to the Cambodian border!

First tuk-tuk ride in Bangkok - we spent a lot of time in these during our stay here. Our last day, we ended up hiring one driver all day to bring us everywhere we wanted!

Check out this video of one of our tuk-tuk rides through the streets of Bangkok (this is the guy we hired for the day):

One of the prettiest temples I've seen - The Marble Temple

The walls are all literally constructed of white marble!

It took us awhile to find a place for lunch, but we ended up finding some delicious Tom Yam Goong Soup (Spicy Shrimp Soup) - I LOVE this soup and had it four times on our whole trip. This was the best one I had!

One place I HAD to see - Chatuchak Weekend Market - the largest market in Asia

So much Thai silk

They even sold pets

and food of course

I had to pay to use the bathroom here

Oh man, I could've browsed these aisles all day!

Wat Pho - Temple of the Reclining Buddha

Such detail everywhere - we've seen a few temples in other countries, but I've never seen so many glittery details than on the ones in Thailand! They literally sparkled!

Inside Wat Pho is the Reclining Buddha

He's gold, he's laying down, and oh... he's HUGE! This is me by his feet:)

Bottom of the Buddha's feet have scenes made out of Mother of Pearl - you can see his head way down there at the other end!

The Chao Phraya River that runs through Bangkok - it was slightly flooded when we were there. Children were swimming in their houses that lined the river.

View of Wat Arun from across the river at sunset

Our last night in Bangkok, we decided to go see a real Muay Thai fight at one of Bangkok's largest arenas - Lumphinee Boxing Stadium. We weren't sure if we wanted to do this at first, because it was a little pricey (2,000 baht per person - about $65 USD) for ringside seats. However, we decided to go for it since we didn't know when we'd ever be in Bangkok again, and I'm so glad we did. Our seats were awesome, the fights were so entertaining, we had so much fun, and it really was the highlight of our time in Bangkok. How many people can say they've been to an authentic Muay Thai fight in Bangkok, Thailand??

There were nine fights total, and before each one, the boxers had a pre-fight ritual they performed.

Matt and I sitting ringside

Check out this video clip of the boxers pre-fight ritual:

It got soooo loud in the stadium as the night went on! Everyone in the stands behind us were yelling and betting on each fight.

These weren't boring fights - definately action-packed!

Check out this clip of one of the first fights of the night - it only lasted about a minute and a half total, and ended in a knock-out with the paramedics carrying the loser off on a stretcher!

After our couple days in Bangkok, I can honestly say that I don't really feel like I know that city like so many others we've visited. However, with our two-week time limit for this trip, and all the other things we wanted to do in the rest of Thailand, I think we saw everything I really wanted to see the most there. When I think back on our time in Bangkok, I think... riding through crowded streets in tuk-tuks, gorgeous temples, incredible food, and Muay Thai fun!

Stay tuned for Part 2 in Chiang Mai, Thailand!

-C

Vietnam Trip - Part 2

The rest of our time in Vietnam was spent exploring its historic capital city: Hanoi. The weather was a little overcast and rainy, but we really didn’t let that stop us from seeing the whole city. Our first night back in town, we ate at a gigantic outdoor eatery restaurant... kind of like a whole bunch of street food brought together in a more sanitary setting. The place was packed! It offered so many different choices on the menu, and everything was served up so quickly, because each type of food was cooked at its own individual food stand inside the restaurant. The staff was super nice as well - I guess its normal in Vietnam to have the waitress put on gloves and peel your shrimp for you?? It was quite a unique experience!

Matt trying Pho, a popular Vietnamese dish of broth and noodles. It was good, but not our favorite thing we tried while in Vietnam.


Me, going for a stroll after dinner;)

Our first stop the next morning was Hoan Kiem Lake, a historic lake situated right in the center of The Old City, the heart of Hanoi. The streets of Hanoi really are always moving, but the lake is almost like one giant round-about, making it one of the most lively places in the city. There is an old legend about this lake… something about a king, a sword, and a turtle? We didn’t really catch on completely. The bright red bridge that crosses Hoan Kiem Lake is one of the landmarks of Hanoi. Even with the rainy weather, it was still a really cool place!

Another interesting spot in Hanoi was the Hoa Lo Prison, more commonly known as the “Hanoi Hilton”. It was given the sarcastic nickname by American soldiers who were held as prisoners of war there during the Vietnam War. There was a very sad feeling here, being an American, but I also thought it was amazing that Matt and I could actually be tourists to a place where our country once fought a horrible war. To be honest, it sort of aggravated me to see how biased the information they present about the war is. Basically, the Vietnamese make it sound as if the American prisoners that were held in Hoa Lo Prison were treated well and had the best conditions possible. They say that Americans were allowed to call home for Christmas, decorate trees, play sports, the list goes on and on. It was a little ridiculous and sad that it is depicted that way when it is widely known that the "Hanoi Hilton" had some of the worst and torturous conditions imaginable. It was an interesting experience, though, and I'm definitely glad we got to see it while we were in Hanoi.

One of the cells on Death Row


Senator John McCain was a pilot during the Vietnam War, and his plane was shot down and crashed into a lake in Hanoi. He broke both of his arms and a leg, was pulled out by the Vietnamese and taken as a prisoner of war. He lived in Hoa Lo Prison for 5 1/2 years! The prison museum now has John McCain's flight suit from his capture on display as well as photographs of him being pulled from the lake.

More random sites from our time in Hanoi...

The French-influenced architecture of the Hanoi Opera House


The Temple of Literature where some of Vietnam's most famous scholars studied


"Tube Houses" in the Old Quarter of Hanoi - these are everywhere. In fact, our hotel was one! Street property is very expensive here, so the Vietnamese started building tiny building fronts that are long and narrow as well as tall and thin!


A taste of the crazy motorbikes in Vietnam


Check out this video clip of the street in Hanoi - this is pretty much how it was ALL the time!



Duck in a basket, probably on his way to a restaurant...


So much fruit


The Hanoi Flag Tower - we climbed up to the top via the spiral staircase on the inside of the tower.





This is NOT a motorbike dealer... this is a parking lot!


My favorite Vietnamese dish we tried in Hanoi - Bun Bo Nam Bo! This was a little hole-in-the-wall place that was pretty much a street vendor. They only served one dish - Bun Bo Nam Bo & it was delicious!!


The One Pillar Pagoda


Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum... couldn't get too close to this...





The Grand Palace... couldn't get too close to this one either... I actually got whistled at by a guard for getting too close while taking this picture!


Tran Quoc Pagoda at West Lake


Very different looking than any we've seen before


Insane power lines in Hanoi


Why is it that everywhere we go we find random women dancing in the streets... anyone remember our video from Taiwan??



Some of the best ice cream I've ever had - Kem Fanny!! This place was so cute - all pink inside and right on Hoan Kiem Lake. I had to try more than one - raspberry, mango and cinnamon - the cinnamon was by far my favorite! I wish they had one of these in Oki...


On our last night in Vietnam, we just had to go see the famous Water Puppet Theater. ALL of the shows that run each day sell out even on week days - we got in the last showing! It was entertaining and the music was neat and very traditional Vietnamese. Overall, it was only an hour, and I'm glad we got to experience this part of Hanoi.

The best parts of our trip are yet to come! Stay tuned for Thailand!!

-C