The Week in Taiwan

Family photo (minus Steph) for another big meal in Taiwan

I haven't been keeping up with the updates since arriving in Taiwan, but it's been a lovely stay so far with lots of fun family time, delicious home cooked meals, and overall relaxing. It's been great seeing the family, and especially spending time with new niece, baby Audrey.

Since we wanted to spend time with Amanda and the baby, most of our daytime activities were shorter and more local in nature, which suited us just fine after all the adventures in Thailand the previous week. In the evenings we watched a several movies at the house. Here's a rundown of the week:

Saturday - We landed in Taipei around 5:30 am, after our overnight flights. We took budget airline Tiger Air from Phuket to Singapore Friday evening. To get to Taipei, we had to take Tiger Air's even more budget subsidiary, Scoot, for a red-eye flight. Besides providing a fun name that let us comment how we couldn't wait to scoot off this dreadful plane, it was as close to no-frills as an international flight could be. Once we had arrived at Steph's parents' home, we took some naps, and relaxed the rest of the day.

Christmas display, with Taipei 101 in the background

Sunday- We met up with Amanda's friends at a kid-themed cafe. Moments after the doors opened and kids started literally bouncing off the walls, Steph and I decided to excuse ourselves. We ended up with a rainy walk through Steph's alma mater, National Taiwan University.

Monday- Steph got a haircut, while I slept in. The family went to a delicious pekking duck restuarant for lunch, followed by a visit to see some extended family. We also stopped at a Taiwanese Costco, which it turns out is eerily similar to a American Costco.

Tuesday - We escorted Baby Audrey to get some immune shots in the morning. Later in the day Steph and I took a walk around West Taipei to see a temple and the surrounding shopping district.

Wednesday - Steph and I walked around an old tobacco factory in East Taipei that had been converted into a exhibition hall. We also stumbled across a Voodoo Donut, a very popular Portland-based donut shop. When we visited Portland earlier in the year, we were turned away by lines that stretched around the block at all hours of the day and night. In Taipei, the craze does not seem to have caught on, and we were the only customers there. We stopped for tea, with nice views of the surrounding area. On the way back, we walked through a commercial area set up very nicely with Christmas lights and decorations.

National Taichung Theater

Thursday - Along with a visiting aunt and uncle, the family walked to a nearby seafood restaurant for lunch. The food featured delicious fresh fish of all kinds, but unfortunately I was not informed that there would be approximately 45 full pre-set courses so I didn't properly pace myself. I had to tap out after the first 42, much to the disappointment of my hosts and bringing great shame to westerners everywhere. (fact check: there were actually only 12 courses.) In the afternoon, Steph and I went to an indoor hot spring in a nearby mountain for some R&R.

Friday - The family took the High Speed Train down to Taichung (the 2nd largest city in Taiwan) to visit Goo-Goo (the phrase for an aunt on the father's side). Despite a hair-raising driving experience, she was super nice and generous. She took us to a Japanese restaurant. It had only 9 dishes and fortunately the portions were smaller so I was able to finish every last drop, earning some of my dignity back. After the meal, Goo-Goo took us around the National Taichung Theater, an opera hall with interesting architecture and great rooftop city views.

Saturday - Steph and I took a morning stroll through the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall. In the afternoon, we walked through the Taipei 101 area with Amanda and Audrey where there were some Christmas festivals going on. In the evening we packed.

We have a morning flight tomorrow, which will put an end to a lovely two week vacation.

Art exhibit in Taipei

Taichung skyline

A Sunny Farewell to Thailand

One of the "lagoons" at our resort

Friday, November 25, 2016 

For the third time this trip we would be leaving a city, and would need to check out of our hotel many hours before a late flight. After our final Thai breakfast buffet, we packed up our bags and dropped them off at the front desk. We had been granted late checkout of 1:30 pm, but since we wanted extended beach or pool time before our 4:30 airport trip, that seemed more like a burden than a privilege.

We spent a couple hours at the nearby beach. The weather was outstanding, and the warm sea water made us never want to leave. (In hindsight, I probably should have left earlier because my back and shoulders got pretty burnt while hopping around in the waves, but at the time it seemed perfect.) After leaving the beach, Steph showered at the resort fitness center, and then walked around town a little bit.

It wasn't until we returned from dinner the night before that we realized that our resort was closer to a decent "town" than we thought. On the first day we had walked to a 7-11 on the main road at the front of the resort and were disappointed by the sparse buildings and how far they were. But last night we realized the street near the beach at the back of the resort was actually a short walk from a more commercial area. Steph enjoyed her final Thai foot massage, and walked around the markets before heading back to the resort four our taxi ride back.

In the meantime, I had moved from the beach to the pool, enjoyed a margarita, and got in some good blog writing. Up until this point almost the entire blog had been written at hotel pools, because we were otherwise always on the go during the day, and I was always too tired at night. After taking a dip in the pool, I also showered at the fitness center and put on my final clean shirt for our flight to Taiwan.

We had reserved a taxi ride from a friendly driver who called himself Mr. Sky and had taken us into Patong Beach two days earlier. By finding a driver on our own we saved a few hundred baht, rather than having the hotel set up the ride. As we rode up north toward the airport, the beautiful weather disappeared, and a heavy thunderstorm hit.

Partially because of the storm it took almost an hour and a half to return to the airport, but we still had plenty of time to make our flight and officially say good bye to Thailand.

One of the hotel pools

Thanksgiving Day Boat Tour

James Bond Island in Phang Nga Bay

Thursday, November 24, 2016

On this Thanksgiving Day, I’m thankful that we had a pre-booked boat tour to the picturesque Phang Nga Bay.

We woke up early for breakfast because a shuttle would be picking us up at 7:50 am to bring us to the pier on the other side of the island. We squeezed into another packed van, but luckily we were the last stop on the morning route. At the pier we randomly ran into the two San Franciscoites who were on our Chiang Mai elephant tour a couple days earlier. They were waiting for a different tour this time, so we boarded our speedboat along with around 25 other tourists.

It took about an hour to get to Phang Nga Bay, which was every bit as stunning as pictures I’ve seen. A large portion of the area is protected under the Ao Phang Nga National Park, and features 42 islands comprised of limestone formations, cliffs and caves. The most famous of the islands is a tiny one nicknamed “James Bond Island” because it was featured in The Man with the Golden Gun. 

Canoe ride around the bay

We made several stops during the day. A cave walk was the first stop, complete with hard hats and lanterns. James Bond Island was next for some picture taking opportunities. We also did a canoe ride around some of the islands and caves. Lunch was at Koh Panyee, a Muslim village on stilts that overlooked the water. The final stop was Naka Island for an hour of swimming, cocktails, and relaxation on the beach. We returned to the pier in Phuket around 4:30 pm, and we back to our hotel by 5:30. It was a really nice, full day with lots of great views, photo opportunities, and fun in the sun.

In the evening we took a taxi from the hotel into Kata to get a massage and dinner. After my last painful experience with a Thai massage, Steph made sure I got the wimpiest masseuse and treatment on the menu, while she went for something much more hardcore. Dinner was nearby at the well-reviewed Mom Tri’s Kitchen. A little pricey by Thai standards, but they served delicious fresh fish and were located in a nice hotel overlooking the beach. I didn’t see turkey or mashed potatoes on the menu, so instead I ordered salmon in red curry sauce, for a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner.

Sunset back at the hotel

First Day In Phuket

Beach outside our hotel

Wednesday, November 23, 2016

Our Phuket experience got off to a slow start. We knew our flight was scheduled to land a little before midnight and the airport was an hour from our hotel. The price we were quoted for a ride to the hotel seemed reasonable, but that was before we realized that we were being herded into a large but overly packed van with guests staying in other hotels and towns. I was wondering why the driver never asked what hotel we were staying at, and the reason was that he was driving us to a central tourist office, where we could tell some better English speakers of our intended destination. The workers in the office, after trying to sell some tours for our stay, put together an itinerary for the driver and then back into the van we went. We were the 4th stop, and got to our hotel sometime before 2 am.

Breakfast buffet near one of the hotel pools

The Hilton Arcadia is a huge resort. It was obvious just from the drive to the front desk, which was deep within the property itself. We checked in and were pleased to see we were upgraded to a corner room with an ocean view on the 9th floor. The room was very nice, and we went to bed in the wee hours of the morning.

The next morning we headed to the hotel breakfast buffet, which was included with our package. It also had a nice sampling of foods from around the world, and was probably a step above the buffet in Chiang Mai. The restaurant had outdoor seating right by the pool, which was nice, but after sleeping in a bit the day was already hot and humid and we had a table in the sun. We ended up switching seats after the sweat was dripping faster than the fat from my third plate of bacon (just kidding, Dr. Sussman).

View from our hotel room balcony, as the rain storm was coming through

We headed back to the room to change, psyched for our beach day ahead. As soon as we had changed into bathing suits, the skies opened up and it started pouring.

We had planned Phuket as the third leg of our Thailand trip in part because the rainy season ends in November, so the later we arrived the better chance we had at nice weather. Unfortunately it seemed we were still getting the tail end of the season.

A couple hours later the rain let up enough that we felt ready to venture out and head to the convenience store for supplies. I asked a staff member, which way to head into "town" and he started laughing hysterically at my choice of words. He informed us that there was a 7-11 down the road. I guess we booked a hotel a little ways from the main downtown spots.

With umbrellas in hand, we made it down the street (after taking a shuttle from the front desk to the street. Again, very large property). We bought some extra bottled waters (tap water is not drinkable in Thailand) and snacks and other supplies for the stay.

Beach near the hotel, after the rain stopped

The sun finally came out by the time we made it back to the room, so we headed to the beach, which was located on the back end of the property, across a different road. The beach was lovely, and the water was as warm as ocean water can be.

Later in the evening we decided to head to Patong Beach, which is the party central area of Phuket, where lots of the youngin hip tourists stay. We grabbed some street food dinner, walked around the outdoor markets, and walked through Bangla Street. There were enough naughty things going on Bangla Street to make Amsterdam blush with shame, so we headed out as fast as we could. Back at the hotel there was live music playing in the hotel lounge, but we were sleepy and with an early wake up planned for the next day, headed to bed.

Bangla Street at Patong Beach

The Bros: The Story of Six Frat Guys on the Move

Three of "The Bros". It was difficult to get a non-blurry picture because they were always on the move.

This is just a side story that has been of great entertainment to Steph and I the past few days. Not sure how well it translates in blog form, but we've had an uncanny number of run-ins with one particular group of tourists throughout the country. It just so happens that it is a very distinct group of "Bros", meaning a group of 20-somethings frat boys who are always loudly discussing their drinking habits, workout regiments and sexual conquests. They were staying at the same hotel as us in Chiang Mai, but as the timeline of our run-ins below show, the places we ran into them started to get more and more random.

• 11/20 - At the pool. They are not happy the pool is in the shade.
• 11/20 - Happy hour in the hotel lounge. They are very happy about free booze.
• 11/21 - Happy hour in the hotel lounge. They are very happy about free booze.
• 11/22 8:00 am - They're waiting in front of the elevator, but when we approach they decide its taking too long and run down the six flights of stairs instead.
• 11/22 8:01 am - They were running to the breakfast buffet where we were headed. They are unhappy that there is no meat in their omelet.
• 11/22 1:00 pm - They are also at the temple in the mountain, 40 minutes from our hotel.
• 11/22 8:00 pm - We thought we had seen the last of them, but in the hotel lobby minutes before we are picked up by our taxi to go to the airport, they walk in. Glad we got some closure and could say goodbye.
• 11/22 9:00 pm - Walking through the airport near our gate, all six of them are in the airport bar! That is when it started getting weird. They are by far the loudest people in the airport.
• 11/22 9:30 pm - They leave the bar and are now at our gate. Definitely on our flight.
• 11/22 9:50 pm - Not only are they on our flight, but they are all within one row of us. There is limited overhead baggage space, so I have to put my bag in the bin above one of them. A water bottle falls out of my backpack and hits one Bro on the head.
• 11/22 11:30 pm - Now in the Phuket airport, they head for a hotel transfer in a difference city in Phuket. This is definitely the last time we will see them.
• 11/23 9:00 pm - Walking through Patong Beach, we walk past them in line for a Thai Boxing event. Mind officially blown.

Non-blurry artist rendering of one of "The Bros"

Again, maybe this loses in the translation, but every time we thought we had seen the last of them, we would make a joke about how we haven't seen them in awhile, and then literally turn around and see them. Five times in the hotel seemed like a lot, but not crazy. But in a mountain outside of the city was strange. On the exact same flight and nearly identical seats was downright wacky. And then randomly seeing them in a crowded street nearly 1,000 miles from where we shared a hotel was downright mindblowing to us. Now I won't be shocked if they live in LA and we run into them at the supermarket in a couple weeks.

Doi Suthep-Pui National Park

View of Chiang Mai from nearby mountain

Tuesday, November 22, 2016

It didn't take long for me to fall behind on these posts, but let's see if I can remember what we did three full days ago.

Wat Phra That Doi Suthep

It was our last day in Chiang Mai, so we had to check out of the hotel by noon. However, our flight to Phuket wasn't until 10 pm, so we had plenty of time to fill. The only top touristy thing left on my list was to see Wat Phra That Doi Suthep, which is a grand temple on top of a mountain within the Doi Suthep-Pui National Park. The temple was especially popular because its location on the mountain had panoramic views of Chiang Mai and the surrounding area. 

I was having difficulty figuring out the best way to get up the mountain on our own and to the temple, which was about a 40 minute drive outside of the city. So I discussed with the concierge, and she secured a taxi driver for a few hours. The driver ended up bringing us to a viewpoint on the mountain for a picture, to the temple for an hour visit, and then to a waterfall in the national park. We actually saw two waterfalls, with only a short walk in between. An especially sweaty man on the trail dissuaded us from trying to climb up to see a third waterfall deeper in the forest.

We returned to the hotel in the early afternoon, and since we no longer had a room, we walked around the surrounding area. Steph and I both got a massage. I made the mistake of not requesting the weakest female masseuse for my weak white boy body, and instead got a massive man who destroyed my muscles. I'm still sore today.

Doi Suthep-Pui National Park

You may recall that my electric razor had died and my facial hair was growing quickly. An update on that situation is my facial hair has continued to grow. So next on the agenda was finding a barber to clean me up a little bit. That too may have been a mistake. Because some combination of my tender, not-accustomed-to-straight-blade-shaving skin, and the woman's unorthodox knifing skills, left me with a very smooth, yet extremely painful experience. I'm still hurting today.

To walk off all of the pain, we next took a short walk to the river, which is another popular neighborhood. This happened to be part of the same river we went rafting on the day before some 40 miles further north. We didn't see anywhere we wanted to explore further, so we just snapped a picture are returned closer to our hotel. We did a little more shopping, had some more food at the live music night market, took a shower at the hotel, and then finally took a taxi to the airport.

I was a big fan of Chiang Mai and sad to see that part of the trip over, but beach destination Phuket was next up on the itinerary and I was very much looking forward to that.

Ping River in Chiang Mai

Elephants, Tigers, and Chairs - Chiang Mai!

Rafting down the Ping River

Monday, September 21, 2016

Aside from flights, today featured the first scheduled activity we had for our trip – a jungle trek through Northern Thailand. The tour company would be picking us up at the hotel at 8 am, so we were up by 7 for the breakfast buffet. An air conditioned van picked us up, and our tour guide was a very nice woman who spoke English very well. The van made one more stop to pick up the only other two guests, a mother and daughter from San Francisco on the other side of town.

We rode north of Chiang Mai and made our first stop around 30 minutes later at a butterfly and orchid farm in Mae Sa. There was a butterfly room where you could walk through and there were tons of them flying around, which was very nice. 

Unfortunately out tour did not include a stop to the nearby Elephant Poopoopaper Park. Luckily our tour guide did know enough about it to inform us that elephant poo is a major ingredient in paper. And apparently there is a park dedicated to this single fact.

After a 20 minute stop to look at butterflies, we were back on the road heading to our main destination. It was a very nice drive, through a very green mountain landscape. We arrived at the Chiang Dao Elephant Camp around 40 minutes later.

First we were given the opportunity to feed elephants bananas. Those hungry little fellas would eat the entire bunch at once as if it was nothing. We then saw them get bathed and play in the river. Next up was a performance to showcase their skills. They used teamwork to move logs. One rose a flag up a flagpole. But the most impressive was definitely the painter. Yes, apparently elephants have now dug into the fine arts. Channeling his inner Bob Ross, the hand-less creature painted a happy little tree. There.

Jungle ride on an elephant

The main attraction for the day was a ride on the elephant’s back through the jungle. Steph and I shared an elephant, and went on a half hour trip through a stream in a lush jungle until we reached a tiny hillside tribe village. We spent a few minutes stretching out legs there before the elephants whisked up back to the home base.

Our next mode of transportation was a bamboo raft ride down the Ping River. This lasted almost an hour, and was quite lovely. Since we were moving downstream we ended the ride in a different spot, but luckily the van was able to find us. Once in the van, we headed south again toward Chiang Mai, but stopped at the butterfly place again for a Thai lunch buffet. We had the option to add a stop at the nearby Tiger Kingdom for an additional fee, but politely declined. It sounded like a true money grab for a picture near a tiger. We finally returned to our hotel around 3pm, for a pretty full day tour.

We spent the rest of the day around the hotel - relaxing by the pool, followed by happy hour, and then a foot massage for Steph. We returned to nearby night market (the area with live music and food stands) for dinner and found a couple new favorite dishes.

Elephant painting his favorite tree

Immediately after the elephant snatched six bananas out of my hand

Steph feeding the elephant

Hillside tribe village

Bamboo hats on a bamboo raft