My aunts, Na Thoi and Na Caig, and their mom, Yaey, picked me up and we headed towards Hua Hin
Four hours east of Bangkok, Hua Hin is a wonderful beach city... A little furthar than Pattaya but well worth it cause it's a much cleaner and peaceful beach
We're staying at my mom's friend's condo right off the beach... This is the view from the patio.. Yaaay!!
We stopped at a couple places to pick up some necessities and then headed to dinner
I don't know the name of this place but it's across the street one block from the night market, kitty corner to an eyeglass Top Chareon shop. We went early cause this place apparently fills up quick and has a crazy line.... You need to see it to believe it! This line was insane! You have to put in your order while you wait in line... Which can be as long as 2 hours!
This is the line, there's no rhyme or reason to this line, the lady managing the line has her own system and you just have to wait in it... We waited about 90 minutes!
Finally we got to sit down and let me tell you, it was so worth the wait!
We ordered 30 pork satays... These sell out quick so we put in an order so we wouldn't have issues. Meat on a stick with peanut sauce is always good, but this peanut sauce was nice and spicy. The satays were really juicy and full of flavor from the coconut milk, lemongrass and tumeric
This was my favorite dish of the night and the trip... Squid stir fried in salted duck egg yolk sauce. Plenty of onions and plenty of salted duck egg yolk. The squid was perfectly cooked and very fresh, salted duck egg yolks give nice miso like grainy texture to the sauce and tastes awesome!
We also ordered a mixed protein sukiyaki where the broth it cooked at the table in a clay pot and a clay charcoal burner. There's also a bowl of veggies consisting of napa cabbage, Chinese watercress, carrots and mushrooms. The egg is beaten into the protein as a tenderizer... There was squid, fish, shrimp and pork. Let the veggies come to a boil and added the protein according to cook time. So amazingly comforting and delicious!
These glass/mung bean noodles were steamed with crab and other aromatics... The noodles were perfectly cooked and the flavor was consistant throughout the dish (I've had some where the noodles get salty at the bottom and bland on top), nice and spicy! The crab was also really fun to pick at
These shrimp.were stir fried with chili jam and green onions, topped with crispy fried shallots. The chili jam is actually mostly sweet instead of spicy and the sauce made a great coat for rice!
After dinner we walked over to the night market (be careful crossing the street!). There are lots of other restaurants, Roti carts, smoothie shacks and stalls to shop at. Keep in mind the restaurants here will be geared towards tourists and hike up their prices!
This shrimp was offered at a restaurant in the night market... I picked it up to get an idea of how gigantic this shrimp was! It was bigger than my hand! There were lots of shrimp this size for sale. You can pick them out or tell them a weight and they'll cook it for you right there!
These lobsters are native to these warm waters. They don't have predators so the don't have claws... The shells can range in color... These were especially large so I anticipate them tasting pretty tough or old... They're more tourists traps than anything... And quite expeinsive! 1300B per kilo ($40.16 per 2.2 lbs!!) and these were easily over 2 lbs! At least 5 lbs! So crazy!
The next morning I took a walk along the beach with Na Caig. The sand is very soft and the scene is very beautiful!
I saw this kid riding a horse on the beach, you'll see manyn of those here. They offere a horse back ride along the beach for a fee... I didn't ask how much so I don't know
We saw a beached jellyfish that we tried to help back in the water
Na Caig showing off her beach finds in front of the condo
We saw a little frog
Me at the pool... It was a nice hot day with a cool breeze so I waded a bit and laid out for a bit as well
After a while I went back up to shower and do some other things in the city
Na Thoi took me to a park set up by the King called Sheep Farm. We saw it on the drive in so we stopped by to check it out
It was a very very hot day! But we parked and bought tickets... I don't remember how much they costed but I do remember that it was cheaper for Thai people than it was for foreigners!
The entrance ceiling had these cute corn cobs attached to them
Aaannnddd... It wouldn't be a Sheep Farm without SHEEP!!
The entrance ticket comes with a pass for some grass to feed the sheep! They all gave me their tickets so I got four handfuls of grass!!
Sheep selfie!
All the sheep were so soft and very comfortable being around humans!
And there were babies!!
Small horses and large ones... You can pay to ride horses around if you like
It was a nice way to spend a few hours petting sheep, taking pictures, playing midway games and eating some snacks... But now I'm hungry for real food!
For lunch we went closer to the condo and ate at a restaurant that gets pretty busy but we luckily didn't have to wait long ... We sat right on the beach! It was beautiful! You could never do this in the states!
We ordered a bunch of things... Tom Yum soup, Fried Fish, Stir Fried Veggies with Salted Fish, and Squid with Salted Duck Egg Yolk... Yes I ordered that dish again cause I wanted to see if it was great as the one from last night... It was not, the flavor was not quite there, the texture of the squid was just ok, and the texture of the sauce wasn't the same either. Oh well... Everything was pretty good and we had a scenic view!
We had coconut water for dessert
There were these chickens roaming around on the beach just picking around for some discards... We threw rice at them to help them out a bit... Talk about cheap clean up crew!
I saw these kids getting ready to mount their horses to ride along the beach... They asked if I wanted pictures or to ride one, I declined... Too bad
We went back to the condo and laid out a little bit more by the pool and took a nap, mostly waiting for it to cool down a bit more... For dinner, Na Thoi took us to an open air market called Cicada... Not a typical open market, this one is similar to Farmer's Market at The Grove... There were some pop up vendors selling their handmades, local bands,local artwork, a fancy food court
We had Pork Satays, Som Tum, Grilled Chicken with Sticky Rice, and Sacu (sweet pork and peanut filing in a rice/tapioca flour boba-like shell, served with lettuce, cilantro, and Thai bird chilies and eaten like a lettuce wrap. Really delicious!)
The next day we got ready to leave Hua Hin and head back to Bangkok
There's a former palace on a hill on the way back so we stopped there for some sights and pictures
This palace is on a steep hill and it's known for having lots of monkeys on the grounds. You purchase tickets for the tram that takes you up the mountain (you can also hike it but it's really steep and hot!), you also get tickets to enter the palace grounds... Of course I don't remember how much it costs but I know that it costs less for a Thai person than a foreigner... Sorry
Here's the tram and Na Caig... You ride backwards on the way up. The tram takes a out 5 minutes to get up and usually leaves about every 15 minutes
A tram leaves each end so they cross paths at some point, the view is pretty cool too!
We got off the tram and saw this sign... Beware of bad grammer!
The monkeys are everywhere! And they are quite aggressive... They suggest you don't make loud noises or sudden movements that will cause them to go in to defense
There's a lady telling a sob story about her life trying to convince you to tel her out by buying string beans or water from her to feed the monkeys... We fell for it and she charged us 50B ($1.56) for a plate of string beans. As soon as she handed it to us, a monkey jumped up and commandeered the plate and we were only able to grab a few strings. A group of kids came up after us and declined to purchase food and the lady was not a fan of that decision and she let them know it
I came up with a cup of iced coffee and one of these guys actually came up to me and touched my leg! I gave him my cup and he went bananas (lol)! He got chased down by another monkey so everything spilled... Poor guy
Once you step away from where all the tourists/food hang out, the monkeys are far and few
The rest of the palace is still a hike at this point... And on this hot day it was quite a sucky hike... But the view was spectacular! There's 3 different areas of the palace - a pagoda, a temple and a palace. It does a kind of loop so it's easy to navigate up there
After a serious sweat drenching hike, we went down to where the cars are parked and had lunch
I ordered their special - ground pork with stir-fried flat rice noodles and a raw egg yolk... This was surprisingly as delicious as it looks! Lots flavor and a nice creamy texture from the egg yolk... I'd definitely order it again and then sell it at my restaurant
On the drive back we stopped by a huge dessert/snack warehouse
I found this gargantuan bag of squid flavored chips... It was half the size of me! And costed $4!!
I also saw these.. And it's real! Fried bamboo caterpillar snacks! So interesting...
Along the road we stopped for palm fruit
They also sell other by-products of the palm fruit - syrup, wet sugar, dry sugar, desserts made from the sugar
Then we went to a ghetto fabulous OG style fresh market
This guy is selling curry pastes, chili jams and fermented fish and shrimp pastes
Meats just hang out like this and flies just hang around.. People are accustomed to this and they still buy it.. They also tend to leave this stuff in the car for long car rides too... Which is what we did!
Cause Na Caig made us stop by another templr and pay respects... I was so tired and cranky, the last thing I wanted to do was stop at another temple... But I did, I made merit and prayed for good things
My aunts and Yaey insisted on treating me to dinner again so a place close to both our houses is Jae Cai... Seafood again! Luckily I soubded like a good idea to me so I didn't decline... I'd love to have some of those gigantic shrimps again before I leave the country
We ordered the shrimp, stir fried Chinese watercress, steamed glass noodles with crab (not as good as the one in Hua Hin), and boiled cockles... Also a great meal when I come...my hands get messy and we eat like animals, it's great! The shrimps are always my favorite part and they were cooked perfectly! I also enjoy the cockles cause they're hard to find in LA
My last few days in Bangkok didn't involve much to warrant a separate blog entry so I'll just add it here
I brought a bottle of wine from the states to give to my dad's friend/business colleague in Bangkok as a gift for his hospitality when he came to Los Angeles last... Unfortunately I didn't get to see him and there was no way I was going to carry it back but I can't leave it here to go bad so I wanted to drink it..
But how to open it.... I don't have a wine opener so I will have to get crafty with this... I watched a few YouTube videos to get some ideas and directions and then I went on a scavenger hunt
I found a screw, plyers, and a hammer.... It took me several tries in different spots and almost 30 minutes but I got it open! And it went bad.... Bummer!! Oh well at least now I have a story and a way to open a bottle of wine sans wine opener if it ever happens again!
Songkran (Thai new year) was coming up so there are limited things I can do as many people will close for the holiday and travel so the roads will suck but Na Taew, Na Moo and Yaey Nui still wanted to make sure I wasn't alone all day so they took me out for a few days
We went to Samut Prakan, about an hour east of Bangkok, there's a weather station that is a second home to a particular strain of Russian birds that travel here during the winter, some stay but most return back home and this was the last week to see them
These birds were crazy! They're so used to people that they will get fairly close to them to get food... And surprisingly they like pork rinds! There's a vendor selling fried pork rinds right there... These birds will catch the pork rinds mid air if you throw it up for them! I even held some out in my fingers and waited... And some birds did a fly by and grabbed them out of my hands! It was so freaky and awesome at the same time!
Of course we didn't want to get pooped on so we were all huddled under a couple umbrellas to guarantee that hahaha!
We didn't stay here very long, just watched and fed the birds, got ice cream and headed out
Na Moo heard about a temple that was once accessible on ground but since Bangkok and some surrounding areas are slowing sinking every year, this temple is now under water. This area is the delta of the Chao Praya river and also the shipping yard/dock for many large vessels so we took a boat out to the temple only to find out we weren't really going there cause it was low tide and the ferry boats wouldn't be able to dock
Now on to lunch! Like I said, this is Songkran weekend so many places were closing/closed... Some how at 2 in the afternoon we were lucky enough to be the last customers at this noodle shop that was getting ready to close for a week! Since wew ere the last they basically hooked it up with extra fish cakes and noodles! It was so delicious! They only had glass noodles left so I had that Tom Yum style... So spicy and incredible!
Songkran - Water Festival celebrated April 13-15 where people wear bright floral colored clothing... I don't own bright floral prints... Black it is! Haha! I've never been here during this time so I was really excited to experience Songkran! Basically it's a nationally celebrated wet t-shirt contest!
The idea is you're cleansing yourself for a new year... You are supposed to cleanse the hands of elders while they wish you well for the new year... It was really nice to do this with Yaey Nui and her husband, Khun Ta while they tell me they hope I have a good and successful year, and they hope I have a long and healthy life... Really cool!
Na Taew took me around town to do a little last minute shopping and to see the celebration around town... I don't mind getting wet but because all of my clothes are packed and I'm traveling soon, I didn't really want to have wet/dirty laundry or an injury to deal with but I was still excited for the experience... We went to the city center (Siam) and it was a madhouse!! So many people were spraying everyone! Most were carrying super soakers and some were filled with a chalky water mixture which is used by monks to bless people so everyone was wet and some were wet and chalky!
Look at these kids waiting with super soakers! I got sprayed in the back but no chalk! It startled me at first but it was all good!
These guys boarded the BTS train soaking! And the trian's AC was on full blast so I bet they were cold!
Na Taew and Na Moo dropped me off at home cause Na Thoi, Na Caig and Yaey were taking me out for my last dinner in Thailand!
They took me a local restaurant at The Mall... We Pad Kee Mao (Drunken Noodles), Som Tum, Fried Duck Mouth (seriously!), Soft Shell Crab with Scrambled Eggs, and Tom Saap (spicy and sour Isaan soup)
The fried duck mouth is literally a duck's face split down the middle and fried... Once you get over the "Whoa, what?!" phase, it's actually delicous and like eating a chicken wing
The soft shell crab was also really good, I love things with scramble egg and I love soft shell crab... I just like the crab with crunch/texture... Like fried!
The Tom Saap soup was so spicy but incredibly tasty! I couldn't stop eating it even though my mouth was on fire!
And Chang Beer! When in Thailand... I only drink Chang...
It was very nice of them to treat me to my last meal in Thailand... I really enjoyed myself but since I'm leaving the next day, I had a lot of packing and cleaning to do so they dropped me off and I went to work
I almost cried that night cause both of my bags were overweight and I now had one more carry-on than I came with! I thought I was going to have to wear 5 outfits in the plane... I was able to shave down a few pounds from each bag but I was still over! My mom insisted that they would accept it over 50 lbs each, I just had to put on my prettiest smile and my nicest attitude... Thanks mom!
She was right... My homegirl at the airport was really nice about it... Cause I had my prettiest smile and grateful attitude on! HA!
In order to try to get back on track with LA time I decided I would get on the plane, eat and sleep (luckily I stayed up as late as possible the night before)
Again I flew EVA air but decided against emergency exit row seat for this leg... It's only 3.5 hours so I don't mind sitting in a regular seat
Lunch consisted of fish with rice and veggies, curried chicken salad, fruit and berry cake... The fish with rice is fine, curried chicken wasn't bad either but the true star was the cake! I love cake!
My layover in Taipei was only an hour this time so I didn't do much but blog... I did come across a a family waiting to board my plane that were speaking Spanish! I was so excited to hear familiar sounds it felt like home! Haha but I was curious as to why a Spanish speaking family was in Taiwan to begin with... They probably got creeped out cause I was staring
I also experienced a Geezer Wheelchair Derby while I was waiting too! LOL jk! But that what it looked like, right? All these wheelchairs with old people lined up to pre-board the plane! Hahahaha!
So I contemplated requesting a seat change to emergency exit row for this leg of the trip since it is 10.5 hours but I also wanted to be able to put my feet up on the seat in feont of me when I sleep so I decided to keep the seat I chose originally... I'm soooooooooo glad I did!!! I ended up getting 3 seats to myself!!! It was so awesome I couldn't contain myself, I had to take a photo!... of course there was a cranky toddler sitting on the other side of the aisle but she fell asleep when it was time
For dinner I chose the pork with rice and veggies which came with mushroom and pickled veggies salad, fruit, and an apple cake
The pork and rice was fine.. Kind of bland but ok, the pickled veggie side was really good and of course the cake was really good!! I also found out that on international flights, alcohol is complimentary!! So I ejoyed 2 mini glasses of white wine to help me sleep!
After dinner I pulled up the arm rests and laid down in my awesome bed and slept the best sleep of my life on a plane!! Of course it was only for a few hours cause I was trying to stay on track with LA time and to be tired so I could sleep well later that night
Breakfast was chicken and veggie congee with fruit and a cold veggie and pork side... And LOTS of tea to stay awake... The congee was really good, especially when you add the fish floss (umami goodness!), the pork side was ok... Mostly weird cause it was cold and the feeling of cold fat on my tongue is very weird
In a little over an hour I would be landing at LAX and dealing with customs (my best friend!) and all I wanted to do was sleep!
I landed in LAX and walked towards US Customs and Border... I waited about 30 minutes in line and was able to interact with a very nice agent who welcomed me back home warmly! Waited forever for my luggage then got in line to see if I get to go home freely or if I have to have all my bags searched... AAH! Luckily I again interacted with a very nice agent who welcomed me home warmly.... This was the best experience I've had with customs.... Minus the waiting in line part
And now I get to see my lovely Noobie!!! He was so excited he almost jumped out of the car!! But he was barely bathed and brushed while I was gone so I came back and he was stinky and nappy
Over all I had an incredibly amazing experience in SE Asia... I think back on all the stuff I experienced and learned and I can't believe I was able to have this opportunity. The people I've met along the way have been so wonderful and I'm grateful for the ones who will stay in my life. From the incredible breathtaking sites at Angkor Wat, the wondeful food in Isaan and Hong Kong, the crazy bus ride to and from Cambodia and Vietnam... And especially the crazy kitchen I staged in was a great experience! I definitely can't wait to go back and see what other adventures I can have... Next time I'd love to go back to Hong Kong and add Singapore and Bali to my trip. I look at all my pictures and I just get excited to relive it again!
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