Thai/Cambodia Trip Report
#21
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We have made Pad Thai and green curry several times since we've been home and were lucky to find all the ingredients in our regular market (on the west side of LA). They even had lowfat coconut milk and three kinds of of green curry paste. If you can't find what you need at home, I did see most of the spice on penzeys.com which has a brilliant selection for all ethnic food.
#23
Join Date: Nov 2003
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How was the air quality in the Golden Triangle? We took a one day trip to the Golden Triangle area from Chiang Mai on February 4th. We had considered staying at the Anantara Resort when planning our trip but decided against it. When driving in the Golden Triangle and passing by the Anantara the air quality was very bad - filled with smoke. It was not good in Chaing Mai (the smoke delayed our plane arrival by 45 minutes) and much worse in the Golden Triangle. On our way back at night to Chiang Mai many people had fires going.
#24
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Claire, it sounds like a truly wonderful trip! I'm so glad that you and David enjoyed it so much.
Cheryl and I were the first people to take the cooking class when the Anantara at the Golden Triangle opened... the GM, the concierge, and several other people were in and out through the class making sure everything was going well. We do both Thai and Indian cooking at home.
N2it, the two times I've been in Chiang Mai the air quality was very bad - much worse than Bangkok due to the particulates. We noticed to smoke or smog when we were at the Golden Triangle. I wonder if you were there when they were burning crops or something.
Cheryl and I were the first people to take the cooking class when the Anantara at the Golden Triangle opened... the GM, the concierge, and several other people were in and out through the class making sure everything was going well. We do both Thai and Indian cooking at home.
N2it, the two times I've been in Chiang Mai the air quality was very bad - much worse than Bangkok due to the particulates. We noticed to smoke or smog when we were at the Golden Triangle. I wonder if you were there when they were burning crops or something.
#25
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Your trip report is great. I registerd with the SLH's. I have a question though. If I go on a tour and the tour provider makes the hotel reservations can I still get the upgraded room|?? Or do I need to make the reservatons myself with Small Luxury Hotels-Thanks Chris
#26
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i suspect you need to make your own reservations as the tour company is paying a contractural rate....i would ask the tour company first....
C-D---great report...i'm not sure we have made anything at home....mostly for asian we go out...we did learn quite a bit however...we had to endure a thai dinner with gpanda last saturday nite....enough to make you ill..
could you tell us a little bit about the prices you paid for the clothing, especially the price difference between the OP places and the shop where 'everything is made'...?
i loved your report....have you picked a date yet for your return?? we all do!!
C-D---great report...i'm not sure we have made anything at home....mostly for asian we go out...we did learn quite a bit however...we had to endure a thai dinner with gpanda last saturday nite....enough to make you ill..
could you tell us a little bit about the prices you paid for the clothing, especially the price difference between the OP places and the shop where 'everything is made'...?
i loved your report....have you picked a date yet for your return?? we all do!!
#27
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Thanks for the report! I just returned from Bangkok and Siem Reap myself. Likewise, no jet lag on the way out there! I think arriving in BKK late at night had a lot to do with that.
Happy to hear your e-Visa made things easy in Siem Reap. It was quite the opposite for us--about half the plane had an e-Visa, and anyone with one had to wait in a special line. For whatever reason, the customs agent working that line seemed very annoyed with E-Visas..and seemed to be intentionally slow. Luckily I was in front of the line--but some people had looooong waits, while others sped through "regular" lines, granted they were delayed by applying for the visa on-the-spot.
Happy to hear your e-Visa made things easy in Siem Reap. It was quite the opposite for us--about half the plane had an e-Visa, and anyone with one had to wait in a special line. For whatever reason, the customs agent working that line seemed very annoyed with E-Visas..and seemed to be intentionally slow. Luckily I was in front of the line--but some people had looooong waits, while others sped through "regular" lines, granted they were delayed by applying for the visa on-the-spot.
#28
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Crosscheck - Thanks for the info on Thai ingrediants. Figured I'd start at Trader Joe's, then hit Rodmans (a local store that carries a lot of ethnics), then resort to internet.
KimJapan - I'll look for the taxi info and post on Monday probably. I know we took his card.
N2it - Air quality was great in all of northern Thailand. Even BKK wasn't as bad as Beijing though. At Anantara, the mist rises in the distance early in the a.m. (sunrise) but is pretty much burned off by end of breakfast.
Kathie - I think the manager popped in at one point - several people were in and out and asking how everything was. The other couple w/us, from Amsterdam, said this was their 3rd class and by far the best organized, prepared, best setup, and best equipment.
BeniciaChris - You must make the reservations yourself through SLH. I had actually already made the Anantara one directly with Anantara, which I then re-made using SLH and canceled the original one with Anantara -- all online. It was easy to do and Anantara confirmed they were only holding the one SLH reservation for us.
Bob - I can just imagine - was GPanda wearing his G String while cooking? The cost was $100 for 5 yards of wool in Chinatown (the experience - priceless!) The pants, jacket, and skirt together were only $60! At T Silk at OP Place, it was $185 for the jacket and pants. I provided the fabric for the jacket and inner pleat of the silk pants; they provided the silk pants fabric. David's wool pants (6 pairs) were $430 and 5 pairs of cotton pants plus 2 French cuff shirts were $290. Compare to: woman's black woven top w/3 silver elephant snaps $5; long wrap black skirt with silver accents and orange jackard silk insert $5; men's white woven long sleeve top with modified neru collar $4 -- these were some of the bargains on the road to Chiang Rai!
Gpanda - At least you tried... Did you take any cooking classes there, or were you winging it?
As for return, it's a matter of building up reward points for biz class tickets. Next round will be to Africa probably, and then indeed back to Asia, probably Vietnam, Kuala Lumpur, and who knows where else? Claire
KimJapan - I'll look for the taxi info and post on Monday probably. I know we took his card.
N2it - Air quality was great in all of northern Thailand. Even BKK wasn't as bad as Beijing though. At Anantara, the mist rises in the distance early in the a.m. (sunrise) but is pretty much burned off by end of breakfast.
Kathie - I think the manager popped in at one point - several people were in and out and asking how everything was. The other couple w/us, from Amsterdam, said this was their 3rd class and by far the best organized, prepared, best setup, and best equipment.
BeniciaChris - You must make the reservations yourself through SLH. I had actually already made the Anantara one directly with Anantara, which I then re-made using SLH and canceled the original one with Anantara -- all online. It was easy to do and Anantara confirmed they were only holding the one SLH reservation for us.
Bob - I can just imagine - was GPanda wearing his G String while cooking? The cost was $100 for 5 yards of wool in Chinatown (the experience - priceless!) The pants, jacket, and skirt together were only $60! At T Silk at OP Place, it was $185 for the jacket and pants. I provided the fabric for the jacket and inner pleat of the silk pants; they provided the silk pants fabric. David's wool pants (6 pairs) were $430 and 5 pairs of cotton pants plus 2 French cuff shirts were $290. Compare to: woman's black woven top w/3 silver elephant snaps $5; long wrap black skirt with silver accents and orange jackard silk insert $5; men's white woven long sleeve top with modified neru collar $4 -- these were some of the bargains on the road to Chiang Rai!
Gpanda - At least you tried... Did you take any cooking classes there, or were you winging it?
As for return, it's a matter of building up reward points for biz class tickets. Next round will be to Africa probably, and then indeed back to Asia, probably Vietnam, Kuala Lumpur, and who knows where else? Claire
#30
Sounds like a great trip, and you write a nice trip report!
Just want to make one correction though...at Blue pumpkin the good stuff is upstairs. Big air conditioned room (with free wi-fi) with regular tables and a long "Bed" against one wall, just like the beds at Bed Supper Club in Bangkok. About 15 people can fit on it, many lounging there with their laptops. I liked that they even had a sink to wash your hands on the way up the stairs!
They have a full menu up there and lots of exotic coffe drinks...Thai,Khmer, Chinese, Italian, American. Great salads. They'll go downstairs and get you ice cream and pastries if you don't find something on the menu that you saw on your way up!
The food was just incredible and my vegetarian husband and daughter, my 'mild only' daughter and I ("bring it spicy" all found lots of choices. We did find you had to grab the waiters as they ran past, but the food all came out- hot or cold- as it should be and the prices were very inexpensive.
Just want to make one correction though...at Blue pumpkin the good stuff is upstairs. Big air conditioned room (with free wi-fi) with regular tables and a long "Bed" against one wall, just like the beds at Bed Supper Club in Bangkok. About 15 people can fit on it, many lounging there with their laptops. I liked that they even had a sink to wash your hands on the way up the stairs!
They have a full menu up there and lots of exotic coffe drinks...Thai,Khmer, Chinese, Italian, American. Great salads. They'll go downstairs and get you ice cream and pastries if you don't find something on the menu that you saw on your way up!
The food was just incredible and my vegetarian husband and daughter, my 'mild only' daughter and I ("bring it spicy" all found lots of choices. We did find you had to grab the waiters as they ran past, but the food all came out- hot or cold- as it should be and the prices were very inexpensive.
#31
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Lcuy - Thanks for the clarification. I've been trying to figure out whether there were maybe 2 restaurants in town by the same name. Never noticed stairs up - actually we just glanced inside from the sidewalk, and since others were sitting on tables there we assumed that was the extent of the restaurant. Life and learn! Claire
#32
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KimJapan - Here's the taxi info for Anantara transport to the CR airport. The company is Near River Tours. Mr. Gan is tele 08-9700-1637. Mr. Noi is 08-1594-8125. Email is [email protected] No idea which driver we had; he spoke no English. When we made the reservation in person at their desk (at a cafe, next to a convenience store, right on the river at Golden Triangle), we paid a 200 bht deposit for the trip. We were doing this at the end of a day with a private guide (Toy - marvelous), but I think Anantara has shuttles to Golden Triangle a few times/day (free maybe). It's a small area, so just walk down the main street til you find a taxi or travel agent. There are probably others there also. Claire
#33
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Claire
Wonderful report. It did my soul good to read it and transported me back to Thailand for a little while. We returned about 3 weeks ago and am having great difficulty adjusting to being back (esp the weather we've been having)
Very interested in the info on Small Lux Hotels membership. I'll look into that further as it sounds like something that will benefit us all over the world.
Do you mind letting us know how much your daily rate was at the Antantara? did that include breakfast? My Cousin's son is the Mahout (the Brit John Roberts) there and we are thinking of visiting that part and going into Cambodia on our next trip.
Loved reading about your many different places you went to for various clothes to be made. Sounds like you were really happy with them all.
Thanks again for sharing so much and bringing your trip to life for us.
Sue
Wonderful report. It did my soul good to read it and transported me back to Thailand for a little while. We returned about 3 weeks ago and am having great difficulty adjusting to being back (esp the weather we've been having)
Very interested in the info on Small Lux Hotels membership. I'll look into that further as it sounds like something that will benefit us all over the world.
Do you mind letting us know how much your daily rate was at the Antantara? did that include breakfast? My Cousin's son is the Mahout (the Brit John Roberts) there and we are thinking of visiting that part and going into Cambodia on our next trip.
Loved reading about your many different places you went to for various clothes to be made. Sounds like you were really happy with them all.
Thanks again for sharing so much and bringing your trip to life for us.
Sue
#35
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Sue - Glad you enjoyed the report. The room charge through SLH was under $200/night, which included breakfast - terrific buffet. Of course, elephant ride and cooking school are extra.
It is fun, looking back, isn't it? Claire
It is fun, looking back, isn't it? Claire