Liz is loving Asia: a trip report!
Mar 15th, 2008 | 08:43 AM
#61
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 1,418
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Yes Liz, just to clarify about the uniform distribution....
Wat Bo School is in Siem Reap proper and is considered one of the top schools in the country. The PLF has 600 street kids sponsored at that school and mid-year, they get a second uniform. There are over 4500 kids in grades 1-6 at Wat Bo School...getting the headmaster to agree to take on "our" 600 kids meant a new building had to go up and new teachers brought on. We are very happy to be able to afford the opportunity to go to such a good school to these particular kids. Thanks for helping them get their new uniforms!
Wat Bo School is in Siem Reap proper and is considered one of the top schools in the country. The PLF has 600 street kids sponsored at that school and mid-year, they get a second uniform. There are over 4500 kids in grades 1-6 at Wat Bo School...getting the headmaster to agree to take on "our" 600 kids meant a new building had to go up and new teachers brought on. We are very happy to be able to afford the opportunity to go to such a good school to these particular kids. Thanks for helping them get their new uniforms!
Mar 16th, 2008 | 06:05 PM
#62
Original Poster
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 1,793
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Bob- that made us laugh pretty hard.
Carol- I am glad that you were able to recover after your "stumble" during your first trip to BKK! Mom did end up recovering, due to ice and ibuprofen, before we headed to Wat Po. I do want to try a massage there next time!
Andy- She does love the two of you. She also loves the fact that you fed Bam Bam a milk tablet from your mouth. We did meet Bam Bam yesterday!
bmt- Tong is in love with your family. She said that you have the best mannered children, and that she wants to watch you so that she can raise her daughter in the same way, because your children turned out so well. (I am paraphrasing here.) I am not yet a mother, but I do believe that is a fantastic compliment for a mother like you! I hope to meet your family in person some day. I did tell Tong about Anika's glasses, and she told me about your family singing songs
I also saw a photo of your family with Tong, and you're all quite good looking on top of your other lovely qualities!
Lori- Thank you for the clarification and additional info! I do hope to be back to SR soon. Those Knar kids stole my heart (and Tong's too... we've talked a lot about Cambodia and of course you and your work!)
MORE TRIP REPORT:
Saturday was our BKK tour with Tong. Lots of information about the Kings, the Grand Palace, Buddhism, Hinduism, etc... I soaked it all up. I hope I retain even just a bit of the information!
Tong took us to the Coconut Palm for lunch, and it was very good and very cheap ($15 for the four of us). We said goodbye to my parents and they were transferred to their ship.
Tim, Tong and I continued on to the Teak Mansion, which was under renovation, but we still saw a lot, and more rooms were opened to the public than Tong had previously seen.
We were tired, so we were dropped off at the hotel around 3:30-4 pm.
We rested up and then had dinner at Cabbages and Condoms, a short walk from our hotel. The food was very good-- my prawns with chili and fried basil was very spicy! Very good, very spicy. I know that some people have labeled the food as bland-- order that dish next time and you will not be disappointed. Tim was still not feeling 100% so he ordered the less fiery prawns with lemon sauce.
Sunday we were with Tong's guide Q. He is very smart and a good guide. He is not as confident in his English skills as he should be, but his confidence obviously grew over the course of our day together. We would use him again.
Our first stop was the Bridge over the River Kwai and the Jeath War Museum. I am glad we stopped there to see it, and Tim, who is more into WWII history than I, loved it.
The next stop was the Elephant Village. The ride was ok, but feeding the elephant bananas was one of the highlights of the day. I stuck my hand right in her mouth and felt her huge tongue grab the banana from me. Loved it!
Next we were on to the Tiger Temple, where we met up with Tong and her clients, the guide Pook and her clients, and a man who must have been either Jerry or Tom, but I didn't meet him. Pook was very nice, great English, and I would think she'd be a great guide.
We played with the tiger cubs, walked the large tigers down to the canyon, took photos with the tigers (including the head in my lap). It was all efficiently run. I do not think that the tigers are drugged, and it looked like a pretty nice place for the tigers-- of course not as good as the wild, but it isn't safe in the wild, and much better than the zoos. They are also building a new habitat area where the tigers will be better able to roam.
It is definitely advantageous to go to the TT with Tong, because she gets all of her clients first in line for everything. And it was HOT, so it was nice not to have to wait around in the sun.
We also met Andy's friend, Bam Bam the Sun Bear. We didn't feed her mouth to mouth, gpanda style, but we did feed her soy milk from a bottle. I loved Bam Bam!
Q, Tim and I had lunch at a really good place just down the road from the TT. I didn't catch the name. We had Q order for us, and enjoyed our fried prawns, coconut milk soup, and chicken and cashews.
Three hours later we were back at our hotel. We showered and headed to the river. We took the BTS to the Taksin stop, jumped on the Oriental boat, walked around the lobby (beautiful!) and over to Tongue Thai. We enjoyed our meal-- prawn wontons, spicy prawn soup, chicken with cashews, and river prawns with glass noodles cooked in a clay pot. We walked back to the BTS station and headed back to the hotel.
It's now Monday morning-- Tim's still sleeping. I think we'll probably shop and eat most of the day.
I can't believe it's our last day!!! Our flight home is at 6am tomorrow (Tuesday) morning.
Carol- I am glad that you were able to recover after your "stumble" during your first trip to BKK! Mom did end up recovering, due to ice and ibuprofen, before we headed to Wat Po. I do want to try a massage there next time!
Andy- She does love the two of you. She also loves the fact that you fed Bam Bam a milk tablet from your mouth. We did meet Bam Bam yesterday!
bmt- Tong is in love with your family. She said that you have the best mannered children, and that she wants to watch you so that she can raise her daughter in the same way, because your children turned out so well. (I am paraphrasing here.) I am not yet a mother, but I do believe that is a fantastic compliment for a mother like you! I hope to meet your family in person some day. I did tell Tong about Anika's glasses, and she told me about your family singing songs
I also saw a photo of your family with Tong, and you're all quite good looking on top of your other lovely qualities!Lori- Thank you for the clarification and additional info! I do hope to be back to SR soon. Those Knar kids stole my heart (and Tong's too... we've talked a lot about Cambodia and of course you and your work!)
MORE TRIP REPORT:
Saturday was our BKK tour with Tong. Lots of information about the Kings, the Grand Palace, Buddhism, Hinduism, etc... I soaked it all up. I hope I retain even just a bit of the information!
Tong took us to the Coconut Palm for lunch, and it was very good and very cheap ($15 for the four of us). We said goodbye to my parents and they were transferred to their ship.
Tim, Tong and I continued on to the Teak Mansion, which was under renovation, but we still saw a lot, and more rooms were opened to the public than Tong had previously seen.
We were tired, so we were dropped off at the hotel around 3:30-4 pm.
We rested up and then had dinner at Cabbages and Condoms, a short walk from our hotel. The food was very good-- my prawns with chili and fried basil was very spicy! Very good, very spicy. I know that some people have labeled the food as bland-- order that dish next time and you will not be disappointed. Tim was still not feeling 100% so he ordered the less fiery prawns with lemon sauce.
Sunday we were with Tong's guide Q. He is very smart and a good guide. He is not as confident in his English skills as he should be, but his confidence obviously grew over the course of our day together. We would use him again.
Our first stop was the Bridge over the River Kwai and the Jeath War Museum. I am glad we stopped there to see it, and Tim, who is more into WWII history than I, loved it.
The next stop was the Elephant Village. The ride was ok, but feeding the elephant bananas was one of the highlights of the day. I stuck my hand right in her mouth and felt her huge tongue grab the banana from me. Loved it!
Next we were on to the Tiger Temple, where we met up with Tong and her clients, the guide Pook and her clients, and a man who must have been either Jerry or Tom, but I didn't meet him. Pook was very nice, great English, and I would think she'd be a great guide.
We played with the tiger cubs, walked the large tigers down to the canyon, took photos with the tigers (including the head in my lap). It was all efficiently run. I do not think that the tigers are drugged, and it looked like a pretty nice place for the tigers-- of course not as good as the wild, but it isn't safe in the wild, and much better than the zoos. They are also building a new habitat area where the tigers will be better able to roam.
It is definitely advantageous to go to the TT with Tong, because she gets all of her clients first in line for everything. And it was HOT, so it was nice not to have to wait around in the sun.
We also met Andy's friend, Bam Bam the Sun Bear. We didn't feed her mouth to mouth, gpanda style, but we did feed her soy milk from a bottle. I loved Bam Bam!
Q, Tim and I had lunch at a really good place just down the road from the TT. I didn't catch the name. We had Q order for us, and enjoyed our fried prawns, coconut milk soup, and chicken and cashews.
Three hours later we were back at our hotel. We showered and headed to the river. We took the BTS to the Taksin stop, jumped on the Oriental boat, walked around the lobby (beautiful!) and over to Tongue Thai. We enjoyed our meal-- prawn wontons, spicy prawn soup, chicken with cashews, and river prawns with glass noodles cooked in a clay pot. We walked back to the BTS station and headed back to the hotel.
It's now Monday morning-- Tim's still sleeping. I think we'll probably shop and eat most of the day.
I can't believe it's our last day!!! Our flight home is at 6am tomorrow (Tuesday) morning.
Mar 16th, 2008 | 07:32 PM
#64
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 29,053
Likes: 0
glad it all worked out so well for you except for tim's tummy, etc...take a tougher guy next time....
already planning a return like the rest of us?? bet so....
how was the chicken and cashew at TT? it my fav dish there...
bob
already planning a return like the rest of us?? bet so....
how was the chicken and cashew at TT? it my fav dish there...
bob
Mar 16th, 2008 | 07:55 PM
#66
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 2,433
Likes: 0
Boo! Last days suck...especially if you're in BKK.
I've been living vicariously through you and Tim...and, selfishly, I'm sad to see that come to an end. We have another 8 months to go before we leave (sigh).
Hope you guys have a very safe trip back to the States. Try not to get too depressed when you're back (although it's inevitable on an eye-opening trip such as yours, so expect a bit of it). Enjoy your last day--make it count!
See you in MN soon!
I've been living vicariously through you and Tim...and, selfishly, I'm sad to see that come to an end. We have another 8 months to go before we leave (sigh).
Hope you guys have a very safe trip back to the States. Try not to get too depressed when you're back (although it's inevitable on an eye-opening trip such as yours, so expect a bit of it). Enjoy your last day--make it count!
See you in MN soon!
Mar 16th, 2008 | 07:57 PM
#67
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 414
Likes: 0
Liz,
Thanks for getting the word about Anika's glasses. Thankfully, Anika emailed Tong herself & now they are in direct contact. Tong is a really special friend. Looks like we will be making our BKK trips with Tong as a big factor from now on.
Do let me know when you & Tim return to Tokyo. I have this killer ramen hole in the wall shop that we go to which I am sure you will like if you like real ramen. I'll take you there myself.
Same goes to all you who would like to enjoy ramen- WARNING : this isn't your cup o' noodle style ramen....... Just give me a holler !
Liz, we will be going to Tsukiji on our own-since we will have my Japanese friends with me, we can use the money to splurge on real good sushi so early in the morning ! I'll let you know how it goes.
Bob,
I learned how to make Chicken & Cashew from Yui. Sure won't be like TT but I'm learning. I'll try it out myself next week.
Thanks for getting the word about Anika's glasses. Thankfully, Anika emailed Tong herself & now they are in direct contact. Tong is a really special friend. Looks like we will be making our BKK trips with Tong as a big factor from now on.
Do let me know when you & Tim return to Tokyo. I have this killer ramen hole in the wall shop that we go to which I am sure you will like if you like real ramen. I'll take you there myself.
Same goes to all you who would like to enjoy ramen- WARNING : this isn't your cup o' noodle style ramen....... Just give me a holler !
Liz, we will be going to Tsukiji on our own-since we will have my Japanese friends with me, we can use the money to splurge on real good sushi so early in the morning ! I'll let you know how it goes.
Bob,
I learned how to make Chicken & Cashew from Yui. Sure won't be like TT but I'm learning. I'll try it out myself next week.
Mar 17th, 2008 | 02:02 AM
#69
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 65
Likes: 0
Enjoyed reading about your trip. We hope to go to SR in May. Will it be as hot as in March/April? Do you need to wear long sleeves to protect you from bites? I get bitten easily!
We were in Hong Kong four years ago and would love to go again but on our trip this year we are going to visit my son in Beijing and then go on to Vietnam and Cambodia. Can't wait!!
We were in Hong Kong four years ago and would love to go again but on our trip this year we are going to visit my son in Beijing and then go on to Vietnam and Cambodia. Can't wait!!
Mar 17th, 2008 | 08:35 AM
#72
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 549
Likes: 0
Tim and Liz, we are so happy you love Asia!
Tong is a bright spot in our life and my wife looks forward to their weekly chats.
Bob, if you figure out a way to stay with the monkeys, April might leave me and move in with you! You could be a bigger version of Jane Goodall.
Tong is a bright spot in our life and my wife looks forward to their weekly chats.
Bob, if you figure out a way to stay with the monkeys, April might leave me and move in with you! You could be a bigger version of Jane Goodall.
Mar 19th, 2008 | 11:24 AM
#74
Original Poster
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 1,793
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I am back at my work desk... it's 2:15pm and I am ready to go home and crash. The jet lag has been ok so far-- luckily I have flexible working hours and Tim is off until Monday night! You can refer to him as "laundry boy" today.
We spent our last day relaxing... we went to both Siam Paragon and MBK. I have to say I don't really "get" the shopping in BKK. I am sure the markets are great, and we didn't get to them, but Siam Paragon was a very nice mall but similar to the high-end malls all over the US. MBK was completely overwhelming and I think you'd have to be in the right mood to shop there, but I still don't know what I would have bought?
It was fun to walk around though. And the food courts were interesting!
We then stopped at the pub "Soi 8" across from our hotel. It was St. Patty's Day, so we had a pint or two. We met an Aussie expat who suggested our dinner location, Baan Khanitha on Soi 23.
We were never able to find a taxi that would use a meter, and we tried about 5-6 times in 3-4 different locations. The drivers often quoted us low prices (like 150 baht or less) but wouldn't turn on the meter, so we didn't get in. What is the secret?
So we walked to Baan Khanitha, which took about 20 minutes. It wasn't too hot, so it was ok.
We had a delicious dinner.
Please help me with the complimentary appetizer-- a tray of all different items and a type of leaf (lime?). Luckily the waiter showed us how to eat it (we must have looked as clueless as we actually were). Take a leaf, fold it a certain way, put in some of the other items-- peanuts, coconut, dried shrimp, chilies, some sort of jelly, and eat it. It was good but what is it called?
We ordered Tom Yam Ghung (sp), the spicy prawn soup without coconut milk, chicken and cashews (very good), and prawns with red curry and green beans. The last dish is the one Tim always orders from our local Thai restaurant. The presentation could not be more different! At Baan Khanitha, there were four huge prawns delicately drizzled with red curry and topped with crisp green beans. It was delicious. All of our food was. We had mango and sticky rice with coconut ice cream for dessert, along with sesame dumplings in ginger syrup. The total bill with water and four beers was about 2500 baht.
We walked to the skytrain and took it back to the hotel.
Our hotel ordered us a taxi for 4am (no meter, 400 baht) to the airport. No problems with our flights. In fact, all six of our flights arrived EARLY, and this is the first international trip in six trips where our luggage was never "lost" (delayed a day).
I am going to post this before I lose it.
We spent our last day relaxing... we went to both Siam Paragon and MBK. I have to say I don't really "get" the shopping in BKK. I am sure the markets are great, and we didn't get to them, but Siam Paragon was a very nice mall but similar to the high-end malls all over the US. MBK was completely overwhelming and I think you'd have to be in the right mood to shop there, but I still don't know what I would have bought?
It was fun to walk around though. And the food courts were interesting!
We then stopped at the pub "Soi 8" across from our hotel. It was St. Patty's Day, so we had a pint or two. We met an Aussie expat who suggested our dinner location, Baan Khanitha on Soi 23.
We were never able to find a taxi that would use a meter, and we tried about 5-6 times in 3-4 different locations. The drivers often quoted us low prices (like 150 baht or less) but wouldn't turn on the meter, so we didn't get in. What is the secret?
So we walked to Baan Khanitha, which took about 20 minutes. It wasn't too hot, so it was ok.
We had a delicious dinner.
Please help me with the complimentary appetizer-- a tray of all different items and a type of leaf (lime?). Luckily the waiter showed us how to eat it (we must have looked as clueless as we actually were). Take a leaf, fold it a certain way, put in some of the other items-- peanuts, coconut, dried shrimp, chilies, some sort of jelly, and eat it. It was good but what is it called?
We ordered Tom Yam Ghung (sp), the spicy prawn soup without coconut milk, chicken and cashews (very good), and prawns with red curry and green beans. The last dish is the one Tim always orders from our local Thai restaurant. The presentation could not be more different! At Baan Khanitha, there were four huge prawns delicately drizzled with red curry and topped with crisp green beans. It was delicious. All of our food was. We had mango and sticky rice with coconut ice cream for dessert, along with sesame dumplings in ginger syrup. The total bill with water and four beers was about 2500 baht.
We walked to the skytrain and took it back to the hotel.
Our hotel ordered us a taxi for 4am (no meter, 400 baht) to the airport. No problems with our flights. In fact, all six of our flights arrived EARLY, and this is the first international trip in six trips where our luggage was never "lost" (delayed a day).
I am going to post this before I lose it.
Mar 19th, 2008 | 11:43 AM
#75
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 25,341
Likes: 0
Really enjoying this detailed chronicle! I must say that I agree with you about the Bangkok malls..I did not "get" them either and wondered if there was something I missed after reading such great accounts of the shopping within.. I wish I was back there right now, in fact! Keep up the good work and enjoy!
Mar 19th, 2008 | 04:04 PM
#76
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 33,288
Likes: 0
Oh, the appetizer you describe is a favorite of mine! It's usually translated something like Mieng Kum. Cha Plu leaves are the classic leaf used in Thailand, but restaurants in the US sometimes use spinach leaves.
You know, I'm not a mall shopper. I don't go to malls in the US and don't go to many malls elsewhere. MBK has nothing I'm interested in. Paragon has some high-end optical shops where Cheryl had wonderful glasses made. The malls do have excellent food courts. The only Bangkok Mall I can think of that I really enjoy is River City, which is devoted to Arts and Antiques.
You know, I'm not a mall shopper. I don't go to malls in the US and don't go to many malls elsewhere. MBK has nothing I'm interested in. Paragon has some high-end optical shops where Cheryl had wonderful glasses made. The malls do have excellent food courts. The only Bangkok Mall I can think of that I really enjoy is River City, which is devoted to Arts and Antiques.
Mar 19th, 2008 | 06:06 PM
#77
Original Poster
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 1,793
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Kathie, thank you! Mieng Kum is definitely what we had. I googled Cha Plu and they look like the leaves we had as well.
Bob- The chicken and cashews at TT was very good. The dish was made with apples, which is a variation I had not previously tried.
Of course we are planning our next trip. The main issue is that, after 10 years of university, it's finally time for me to get a job (sob!) and my vacation time may be limited. Tim has a crazy amount of vacation per year (pretty much 28 weeks) and it's been nice for me having a flexible grad student schedule... which is coming to an end.
BUT I'd like to take at least one more SEA trip before having kids-- I am thinking a few nights in BKK, a few in CM, Luang Prabang, Krabi, or some combination of the above. I also think I will likely return to SR with my mom and maybe sister, maybe to teach English if the opportunity is available with the PLF. So many ideas, so little time.
Bill- I am very much looking forward to meeting up with you in Mpls next time you're here! Let me know!
bmt/Bola- I have sent you an email, but of course would love to try the hole-in-the-wall Ramen place with you. I have never had "real" Ramen! Everytime we go out for Japanese we have sushi, negamaki (sp) and gyoza!
joandg- We hardly saw any mosquitoes-- maybe 10-20 on our entire trip. Have a fantastic time and let us know how you like Cambodia!
jgg-- you must be on your way! I hope you are enjoying yourselves and can't wait to read all about it!
ms_go- glad you like the photos. You'll love your days with Tong. I think a lot of us do the same sort of itineraries with her, and everyone seems to have a fantastic time!
And hi again Carol, travelduo, and ekscrunchy.
________________________________
Thanks for reading! This trip report has come to a close.
*bangs gavel*
Bob- The chicken and cashews at TT was very good. The dish was made with apples, which is a variation I had not previously tried.
Of course we are planning our next trip. The main issue is that, after 10 years of university, it's finally time for me to get a job (sob!) and my vacation time may be limited. Tim has a crazy amount of vacation per year (pretty much 28 weeks) and it's been nice for me having a flexible grad student schedule... which is coming to an end.
BUT I'd like to take at least one more SEA trip before having kids-- I am thinking a few nights in BKK, a few in CM, Luang Prabang, Krabi, or some combination of the above. I also think I will likely return to SR with my mom and maybe sister, maybe to teach English if the opportunity is available with the PLF. So many ideas, so little time.
Bill- I am very much looking forward to meeting up with you in Mpls next time you're here! Let me know!
bmt/Bola- I have sent you an email, but of course would love to try the hole-in-the-wall Ramen place with you. I have never had "real" Ramen! Everytime we go out for Japanese we have sushi, negamaki (sp) and gyoza!
joandg- We hardly saw any mosquitoes-- maybe 10-20 on our entire trip. Have a fantastic time and let us know how you like Cambodia!
jgg-- you must be on your way! I hope you are enjoying yourselves and can't wait to read all about it!
ms_go- glad you like the photos. You'll love your days with Tong. I think a lot of us do the same sort of itineraries with her, and everyone seems to have a fantastic time!
And hi again Carol, travelduo, and ekscrunchy.
________________________________
Thanks for reading! This trip report has come to a close.
*bangs gavel*
