Before we begin, PROPS to JCarr for making it to the ripe old age of 33 on March 4th. You're an old man, Charlie Brown, and also the best big brother and BIL two folks could have. We'll poor one out and straight into our mouths for you on the big day!
Anyway, as you may or may not be able to tell, we're in Thailand at this point after having traveled through Hong Kong which is a blatant rip off of Chinatown!
...
Horrendous jokes aside, it's a pretty awesome city that we'd love to visit again some time. Sadly, only two full days to explore and get to know the place isn't really enough and we're sure there is probably plenty of good nightlife as well bit we didn't venture out much for a taste of that action.
What we did do (in-between ignoring guys trying to sell us suits and watches) was find out that our asses just don't fit in their public transportation seats on the subway, the bus, and the tram up to Victoria Peak. Everyone has very small bums in Hong Kong apparently. Just look at the tram below! Very skinny!
Actually the public transit system is fast, clean, and got us everywhere we wanted to go. And as I mentioned, the first place we really went was Victoria Peak. This is basically the mountain that overlooks Hong Kong Island and the rest of the city. It's a pretty fantastic view that you can sort of appreciate in the picture below.
Those of you in video games will be happy to know that EA was there to welcome us to Victoria Peak! Thanks guys! That must have cost an arm and a leg. Good thing EA seems to have an ample supply of both appendages.
After heading back down the mountain we went to dim sum because Laura couldn't stop talking about it. We figured if her mouth was actually full of dim sum, she'd have to stop. It was fun, though a little stressful, to have all of the old ladies pressuring us into eating yummy things. I thought we ate too many yummy things and my stomach agreed but Laura called me weak and told me to "sac up and eat." I was shamed. Unfortunately I still couldn't fit any more and was forced to slog through my swamp of shame to the world's longest escalator that finally helped me rise above. I can't remember how long the escalator actually is, but it's pretty damn long. We rode it to the top and walked back down through Soho and saw parts of Hong Kong that we might have missed otherwise.
After a quick nap (dim sum is quite tiring) we headed out to the ladies market where all sorts of different crap is up for sale. Some of it decent, some of it is actually crap (figuratively, of course). The real experience was the area around the ladies market. We were there until nearly 10pm on a weekday and the throngs of people never really let up. I'm not sure if there are as many people all together in San Francisco as there were on these few streets. It was actually a bit overwhelming for us first timers, but we explored for a while, got lost, ate some food, and finally found our way back to the subway. I think that it'd probably get to be one of my favorite areas on repeat visits.
The next day was spent first going to Wong Tai Sin temple out in the residential area of the city. It was a beautiful little place full of worshipers doing their thing. We also came across Yurtle as he was trying to get his ragged band of turtles organized. We next headed over to the flower market, which served as proof that the flower industry is ridiculous in the US. We also went to the bird market where a million little birds sang their wistful songs of freedom inside their 6" cube cages. We had more dim sum after wandering those areas for a while and we weren't able to power through more than 6 dishes. Thankfully, Laura couldn't do it either so my shame was more manageable.
That night we watched the funny light show that happens every night across the harbor between Hong Kong and Kowloon sides. The buildings light up in time to music while everyone tries to convince themselves that the show was a little cooler than it actually was. This last night we went out to a more expensive (which is still not expensive) restaurant and had a delicious meal full of delicious flavors. While I was tempted to order the pig intestines in honor of my friend Tom, I couldn't do it. Once again, SHAME.
So yeah, Hong Kong rocked. Then we went to Bangkok, which from my admittedly limited experience, doesn't really rock. Now, I know there are those of you that have loved Bangkok and you're probably wondering what my problem is, but I just can't warm up to it. Maybe it's the having to fend of scammers constantly. Maybe it's the incredibly limited public transit system and horrific traffic. It's just a chore to get out and see stuff. While there are good things there, we were both fine with getting on the plane to Chiang Mai. Those of you that love it will have to help me understand when we get back to the States.
But as I said there are good things. We went to the Grand Palace which was pretty awesome. I'd seen pictures before, but they don't really do it justice. It's obscenely detailed to the point of being baroque. We didn't get to see everything because of an official function going on there, but it was enough to get the point that the Thai have a certain style. The reclining Buddha at a different temple was also pretty sweet - he's freaking gigantic and happily passing into nirvana.
The gigantic Chatuchak weekend market was also pretty fantastically nuts and most likely one of the few markets visible from space. It's a warren of stalls with all sorts of goods and food. If you can stand the crush of people, strange smells, and occasionally suffocating heat, you could easily spend all day exploring. It's definitely a must visit for people actually planning on shopping as there's some decent stuff there for very cheap. We still have 3 1/2 months of traveling to do so real shopping would be complicated. Sadly, that means no gigantic wooden elephant for the living room. If only we had remembered to bring along a camera to document it... whoopsies.
Without a doubt, the highlight of Bangkok for us has been the food. Whether it's from a street vendor (everything gets cooked, we hope), a little mom and pop restaurant, or the classier Sala Rim Nan restaurant (that comes with a traditional dance show), the food has been excellent. I mean, when you can get a tasty cooked banana desert treat from a one armed Bananaman, you're in the right place. (Who else here remembers Bananaman?) We're looking forward to a lot more of that through SE Asia and hope to begin anew with our first trip to Chiang Mai's night market later this evening.
So yeah, I guess that brings things up to date, which means I should stop typing now.
Love to all,
Dan & Laura
1 comment:
Awesome! I can't believe you have done so much and still have 3 1/2 months to go... hopefully you packed dried and fermented things from China to tide you over when hiking and such. Funny thing-- I was in Chinatown while you were in China-land! Were you walking around with a pink bag full of food and a whole dead fish for later, too?
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