Thailand is a great introduction to travel in Southeast Asia. Quite accustomed to tourists, it received a whooping 26.5 million visitors in 2014, securing its ranking as the 10th most visited country in the world. For us, Thailand was the perfect place to acclimatize to a new continent while treating ourselves to some comforts that we hadn't experienced in months.
We settled into Bangkok for a week. What better place to get accustomed to the new (delicious) food, cool transport, and the pervasive religion, Buddhism, with its exquisite temples and orange clad monks? (Note this blog post covers our entire 3 weeks in Thailand, which was split up into two visits,( 1.Bangkok and 2.Chaing Mai), by our three week jaunt to Myanmar, covered in a previous post)
Since Kiko and I have spent a fair bit of time in our pre-kid lives traveling through Southeast Asia, entering Thailand was tinted with a bit of a "coming home" sort of feeling. A sensation that was no doubt amplified by our previous 2 months in Africa, which while being an utterly amazing and unforgettable experience, was althogher new ground for me, and to a large extent Kiko as well. But what surprised me the most about Bangkok was the ease at which the kids adjusted. Can it really be as simple as some parenting literature suggests; i.e. the kids simply reflect the parents' attitude? Hum, something to ponder when considering some of the rough patches on this trip...
We settled into Bangkok for a week. What better place to get accustomed to the new (delicious) food, cool transport, and the pervasive religion, Buddhism, with its exquisite temples and orange clad monks? (Note this blog post covers our entire 3 weeks in Thailand, which was split up into two visits,( 1.Bangkok and 2.Chaing Mai), by our three week jaunt to Myanmar, covered in a previous post)
Since Kiko and I have spent a fair bit of time in our pre-kid lives traveling through Southeast Asia, entering Thailand was tinted with a bit of a "coming home" sort of feeling. A sensation that was no doubt amplified by our previous 2 months in Africa, which while being an utterly amazing and unforgettable experience, was althogher new ground for me, and to a large extent Kiko as well. But what surprised me the most about Bangkok was the ease at which the kids adjusted. Can it really be as simple as some parenting literature suggests; i.e. the kids simply reflect the parents' attitude? Hum, something to ponder when considering some of the rough patches on this trip...
Or maybe it just boils down to the fact that Thailand is super traveler friendly. I think what captivated us first and foremost was the delicious food. Street food and local restaurants all seemed to delight. One exception would be the food aimed solely at the backpackers, which tends to be super cheap and rather bland.
Sticky rice cooked in bamboo
Another immediate highlight is the unique temples...everywhere. Even as an adult I couldn't help but feel like I was in a fairytale with the glittering, grand architecture.
And for me in particular, the monks, commonly seen in every city, town, and village, are a constant reminder of the existence of a simpler, purposeful life, which has always had a certain pull on me.
For the kids, the wax models of the monks were a real draw. Wow, none of us could get over how realistic they looked. Zuki was convinced at least on one occasion, that the red clothed man was actually a real old monk in deep meditation. She is a rather perceptive kid, so you never know.
We were made super comfortable at our chosen accommodations, Golden Mountain Hostel, a brand new, uber clean hostel, located in the authentic, old section of Bangkok.
Unlike in our pre-kid Asian travels, at this hostel we were really settling into the category of "flash packers", defined by a fellow traveling family at flashpackerfamily.com as
Flash packer (noun): One who travels with the intrepid ethos of a backpacker but having added comfort, style, and technology whilst still maintaining a sense of exploration and adventure.
Yup, that sounds like us.
Ideally located in the Historic Old Town District, a collection of old world neighborhoods which seems miles away from the hustle and bustle of the rest of the city,
it is within walking distance of the wonderful Grand Palace and Wat Pho and within reach of the other districts of the city via the picturesque, convenient, and fun, water taxi and thrilling tuk-tuks, which easily connect to the city's mass transits systems.
After a thoroughly enjoyed week in Bangkok, the lure of "old world Asia" pulled us to Myanmar for a wonderful 3 weeks. Amazingly we worked it out so that upon our return flight to Bangkok we merely had to wait a few hours at the Don Mueang International Airport/train station to board the overnight, sleeper train to Chaing Mai. (We purchased the train tickets before we left for Myanmar). This epic, 13 hr train trip was something I had done some 18 years earlier with my best friend and I definitely wanted the kids to experience it. Luckily it was just as I had remembered, with the comfortable seats that are seamlessly changed by the attendant into wide, white sheeted bunk beds, fully equipped with pillows, newly laundered blankets, and privacy curtains.
2nd class, AC sleeper
The kids were in giddy awe of it all and immediately crawled off to their upper bunks, leaving me to watch the world go by in the huge window adjacent to my lower berth. The soothing rocking of the train enticed me to sleep but a silly smile stuck on my face as I was filled with memories of my previous travels and emotions as I momentarily glimpsed the full magnitude of our family's world trip.
In Chiang Mai we found comfort once again. At first I struggled with the pervasive touristic nature of the town, but after some reflection I realized that a little taste from home at this point in our trip would be truly appreciated and we fully embraced what Chaing Mai had to offer. We sought out some much missed gluten free foods and scored at a true American diner, Butter is Better.
In Chiang Mai we found comfort once again. At first I struggled with the pervasive touristic nature of the town, but after some reflection I realized that a little taste from home at this point in our trip would be truly appreciated and we fully embraced what Chaing Mai had to offer. We sought out some much missed gluten free foods and scored at a true American diner, Butter is Better.
Kids over the moon with gluten free blueberry pancakes, and Kiko and I pretty darn happy with a real, huge cappachino.
Even at the weekend street markets we found a reminder of our Hawaiian home.
Thai girl rocking a Ukulele to an Hawaiian tune at the street market.
In between the piles of made-in-china items for sale there are some really unique handmade crafts to be found in Chaing Mai's weekend markets and small boutique stores. We stumbled on this wonderfully unique store, Bantaktor, selling funky hand crocheted dolls with a huge selection of adorable knit clothing, hats and accessories for them. We tried our tired and true technique of saying something along the lines of ,"They're nice. Lets wait and see what else is in town or if you still want them in a few days", which is usually quite effective in keeping our luggage light. Not this time. These dolls were all both of the kids talked about for 24 hrs. So after they both sorted their packs and lightened their loads, we returned, each kids buying themselves a doll and a handful of clothes. We have been really restrictive in the past with "souvenirs". Firstly because it is mostly made-for-tourist-junk anyway and secondly we simple can't carry a whole bunch of stuff with us around the world. So getting these dolls were a real treat, and to my and Kiko's delight, they have enabled countless hours of creative play.
Before our departure from home, we use to list all sorts of fun modes of transport we hoped to ride, trains, tuk-tuks, camels,... and unique places we wished to sleep,... castle, train, tent, treehouse,... So when I stumbled on some treehouses during my online searching that were just 1 hr outside of Chiang Mai, it seemed made-to-be as I also wanted the kids to see the more rural side of Thailand.
The ride up included a stop at the "sticky waterfall" (Bua Thong Waterfalls (Nam Phu Chet Si)) with mineral deposits that made for a fun and picturesque adventure.
The ride up included a stop at the "sticky waterfall" (Bua Thong Waterfalls (Nam Phu Chet Si)) with mineral deposits that made for a fun and picturesque adventure.
The easily climbed falls, were a tough act to follow but The Rabeang Pasak Tree House Resort delivered.
These 9 unique tree houses were loving built by a Thai architect, Mr. Bullsiri, and were originally used as a weekend getaway for him and his family. Later as he just kept building and building the family decided to open to the public. The love and care for the property, the tree houses, and the guests, exudes from the wonderful host, Pin, Mr. Bullsiri's daughter. The tree houses were fairytale material. I slept deeply and peacefully every night.
Our days were filled with unplugged relaxing and old school adventuring, biking on the free bikes, exploring nearby bat caves, playing and fishing in the river that runs through the property, and cuddling all the cats and dogs that live on the property. As you can imagine, the resort attracts families with children so there were always a few kids for Yoda and Zuki to hang with.
Our five nights went way too fast. Before we knew it we were back in Chiang Mai. Our timing was perfect as our return coincided with the annual Flower Festival. It was cool to see the amazing floats and the elaborate costumes. It didn't hit me until I saw the flower covered floats that I had actually stumbled on this exact festival in Feb. 1997. Whoops, (Scales, I know you're giggling) guess I won't be able to fault the kids for not remembering every moment of this trip. In the 18 years, things had changed a bit. As expected there are considerable more tourists, with a surprisingly huge percentage coming form China, but most noticeable were the obtrusive cell phones and tablets, making it near impossible to get a decent picture. It became comical as I watched people attempting to get around each other to take a photo. There was even some verbal confrontations among tourists! It helped me see the comical side of my constant need to "click" and I put my camera down and enjoyed just watching the amazing creations roll by.
Of course I did manage to get a few shots ....
Life on the "banana pancake trail" can be pretty easy.
- The Banana Pancake Trail is the name given to the well-trodden and constantly growing routes around South East Asia travelled by backpackers and other tourists.
We embraced the pervasive easy-travel style, enjoying the economic yet brilliantly comfortable flash packer accommodations available in Chiang Mai.
 Lamphu House |  The Sculpture Hostel |
Kiko partook in the quintessential Chiang Mai experience of a Thai Cooking Class, from which we will all benefit. And I celebrated my birthday a couple weeks early with 5 hours of treatments at a wonderful spa.
Fah Lanna Spa
At all budget levels, Thailand can be a pretty easy and enjoyable place to travel. And the perfect gateway to ease into travel in Asia.
Feeling pretty comfortable
