Goodbye Fon; Goodbye Thailand!

Today was our last day (if you can even call it that) in Bangkok.  We had our last breakfast at the MoMo cafe and our favorite server, Fon, gave Little K a cute little doll that she thought looked like her as a parting gift. 

We headed to the airport to prepare for our flight around 11:40am which would put us landing in Bali by about 5pm.  By the time we got our luggage and drove to our hotel, it was pretty late.

Observations and parting thoughts for the day:  the tax refund on purchases you make in Thailand is quite nice;  I’m still a fan of the express lanes/early boarding for people with little kids; our driver to the hotel in Bali reminded me of Obama; Obama visited Bali with his family and stayed in Ubud and the people there thought that was pretty cool as he’s apparently the only US president to do so; finally, I’m so ready to just do some serious relaxation.

 

Siam Paragon, Sea Life Aquarium & Kidzania

Day 4 was our last full day in Bangkok before continuing onward with our travel adventures.  Probably one of the least fun aspects of Bangkok is how dirty it is.  Add heat into the mix and it just feels gross outside.  So we chose to spend this day exploring inside.  After breakfast at the MoMo cafe (and yes if you haven’t guessed it the super amazing buffet was included in our stay so that’s why we ate there every morning), we headed over to Siam Paragon, one of their large shopping malls and home of both the Sea Life aquarium and Kidzania which we wanted to visit for Little K’s sake.

We started off by going to the aquarium which Little K loved as we figured she would, but J and I also enjoyed it.   We were able to see a variety of fish, turtles, seahorses and of course Little K got some fun photo opps that she actually enjoyed.

Little K learned about the plight of the polar bears and was pretty scared walking through the sea tunnel with the shark swimming above us.  Lis – that shark photo is for you!

Finally, toward the end of our aquarium adventure, we got to see the keepers feeding penguins.

After the aquarium we got lunch at one of the restaurants inside the mall and I was excited to eat my favorite dish again (Spicy Thai Basil Chicken):

After lunch we explored the mall a bit more and found our favorite macaron shop (Laduree).  Little K and I enjoyed a few macarons from the classic chocolate to their special orange blossom.  Delicious! We popped in and out of a few stores as well.  Side note: It was so interesting to see the stereotype of #crazyrichasians in true form.  There were people walking around the malls with four or five bags of designer goods… I imagine that it was probably more than what my car cost me to buy brand new hanging from many people’s arms.  Anyway,  my mini-me not only shares my love of macarons, but also my love of shoes.  However, she and I have slightly different tastes when it comes to shoes. 🙂

After exploring the mall, we headed over to Kidzania which in concept is REALLY cool.  Little K had an okay time there, but really she would have had more fun if she were a year or two older.  The concept of Kidzania is that kids get to role play various occupational roles and get some real life experience.  You go to the bank to cash a check when you first get there and then you can spend and earn money at different places (e.g. you can earn money for putting out a fire as a firefighter, you can spend money at a department store or a salon/barbershop).  There are also some free play places for toddlers which is where Little K got the most enjoyment from.  Since parents aren’t allowed into the the little shops (they can observe from outside), Little K wasn’t feeling brave enough to go into any.  If only her travel buddy Brandon had been with her!! 🙂

Here are a few pics of the free play areas:

And here are a few few photos of the rest of the “town” with all the little shops/buildings:

By the time we wrapped up at Kidzania and walked back to the hotel, we were all pretty tired.  Since J had gotten a massage earlier in the trip, it was my turn so I headed to get my massage while J and Little K headed to the pool for a bit.  Then later that evening we started packing things up and headed to bed early in preparation for our travel to Bali the next day.

Floating markets, a temple & relaxation

Day 3 in Bangkok and we decided to do a morning excursion to one of the floating markets.  After breakfast at the MoMo cafe and saying hello to Fon, a driver picked us up from the hotel and we took a car over to the river front.  Once at the river front we boarded one of these long canal boats (khlong boats) with our tour guide to begin our trip.  You can see here how excited Little K is.

On our scenic trip through the canals we were able to see how people live outside of the city of Bangkok. From the top left hand corner below, you can see 1) a waterway intersection in the canal system, 2) a spirit house, 3) more of the beautiful long boats, 4) a floating souvenir shop where Little K was able to purchase a Hello Kitty Fan for a dollar or two and 5) a floating “farmers market”.

After our ride through the canals, we arrived at the floating market.  We walked past this beautiful field of lotus flowers:

Then we crossed the bridge to head into the market.  Before that we wanted to document our moment with a family photo but Little K wasn’t having it.  She boycotted so J and I took a selfie instead:

It was pretty ridiculously hot so neither Little K nor I had much of an appetite, but the market was filled with all kinds of food.  Freshly cooked meals and tons on desserts and delicacies.  They also had a number of goods for purchase, but mainly we were there to check out the food.  As mentioned previously, we had already tried a number of unique fruits like the dragonfruit, rambutan and thai bananas; however, we had not yet had pomelo so we did try that.  I tasted chrysanthemum tea and liked it, and we tried a number of desserts like mango sticky rice, freshly made rice cakes, moon cakes, etc. Only J had enough of an appetite to get something larger to eat.

Making rice cakes

J and the giant tilapia he ate

After our time at the market, we hopped back aboard the canal boat to head back to the main part of the river. Little K took a bit of a nap on me as we rode back.  On the ride back, we were a little more observant and noticed that some things really are the same from country to country… the homeless living underneath the bridge for example.  I wish I could help them all.

From there we went to visit Wat Arun, one of the temples. Pretty much like all the other temples we’d seen so far except for the fact that this one was sort of a hybrid Buddhist and Hindu temple so you can see artwork, artifacts and architecture representing both religions/cultures.

By the time we finished at Wat Arun, we were farther past lunch time than we had anticipated so we grabbed a quick lunch and then spent the remainder of the day relaxing.  We went up to the pool for a bit until the clouds rolled in and it started to rain.

I enjoyed a glass of wine by the pool and Little K wanted a “fancy drink” too so we got her watermelon juice with a little fruit garnish.  Totally made her day.  Then, since it was raining, we headed back inside and made her day even more since she got to watch a little bit of shows on her ipad.  Only another day or so left in Bangkok!

Chatachak Market & Celebrity Sitings

Our second full day in Bangkok happened to be a weekend day so we were just in time to go explore the Chatachak market, one of the most popular weekend markets in Thailand. The popular weekend market covers over 25 acres and has something like 15,000 different booths selling food, souvenirs, home decor, clothing, accessories, trinkets and more.

We got there pretty early which was great because some shops were just opening and it wasn’t quite so crowded.  I was able to score two gorgeous necklaces with different crystals for quite a deal.  We were told that you can get great deals at the beginning if you are the first person to come to someone’s shop/stall.  It’s said to be good luck, if the first patron makes a purchase.  I like to think my purchase brought the gentleman good luck for the rest of the day.  After walking a bit, we were getting tired (especially after all the walking the day before) so we took a break to get a foot massage.  Yep, Little K got one too! 

The ladies LOVED Little K and thought she was the cutest.  So much so that they kept bringing friends by to show them their first customer was pint-size.  As their first customers of the day and making a purchase, we were also able to bring them all good luck.  (Or so we hope!) It started to get really crowded at the market and it was REALLY hot so we decided to head back toward downtown.

We got lunch at a restaurant inside the Central World mall which is conveniently a few blocks down from our hotel and we got their via the BTS Skywalk… basically a sidewalk to get through a large portion of the city on foot, but above all the traffic.  You can also of course hitch a ride on the train from certain stations along the skywalk if needed to.  In true Little K fashion, she made a friend at lunch. 

After lunch, we needed a break from the heat and the crowds so we walked around Central World to check it out a bit more.  Not only did they have a wide variety of stores and restaurants, but they also had a really cool kids play area that Little K fell in love with.

After letting her play for a bit, we walked around a bit more where J decided to join in on some art for fun.  Little K asked me why all the statues were running naked.  I didn’t have a good answer. 

Finally as we were heading out of the mall, we spotted a celebrity.  We have no idea who he was, but the crowd around him was quite insane.

By then we were exhausted and headed back to the hotel to relax in the room.  Little K wanted to watch a show on the ipad so she did that while I read and J went to get his first Thai massage.  By dinner time we were still over the heat and the crowds so we ordered room service in for dinner and I was able to enjoy again my new favorite dish (spicy Thai Basil Chicken).  Little K only wanted milk and fruit.  As you wish.   J actually headed out to meet up with one of his grad school buddies from his former program who happens to live in Bangkok to grab drinks and dinner… a fellow Boothie as they say.  What a day!

Soaking in the culture

We arrived in Chiang Mai late Sunday evening and checked into the Tamarinde Village resort. Super pretty but we didn’t realize it’s full beauty until morning when we were awoken by roosters. Little K told us she wasn’t feeling great after taking her vitamins and then didn’t want to eat much at breakfast except for an apple sauce. We thought maybe she was just tired/jet-lagged when she said she didn’t feel well, but weren’t sure. We didn’t know if we should continue forward with our plans for the day, but she said yes she still wanted to go.

We learned our lesson about giving Little K her vitamins before food (even though the gummies don’t say they must be taken with food) because she puked in the taxi. Or maybe it was the motion sickness J sometimes gets… who knows. Luckily I had a pair of undies and a T-shirt for her in my purse….no shorts though. And she was wearing a dress. So when we arrived at Doi Suthep we promptly purchased a dress for Little K. She picked out a dress that was pretty customary to local culture so EVERYONE thought she was the cats pajamas. She attracted a lot of attention already being Caucasian and with her sun kissed highlights, but add a little cultural dress and everyone wanted to meet her. Our mini-celeb accepted some photos and declined others. Rightfully so she only accepted hugs from one or two kids.

We started the climb up to the temple and the view was beautiful with lush green plants, flowers and butterflies everywhere. You can pay to take a cable car up as option; however, the walk up wasn’t bad, even with a three year old. When you get to the top, the temple is stunning. A few things to keep in mind when visiting is that women need to cover their knees and shoulders (so I wore a dress that did both) and you need to remove shoes before going in. Once in the temple, you need to be respectful. Don’t speak loudly, don’t take any selfies with any Buddha statues and kneel in places where it asks you too. Some temples also require that you remove hats and sunglasses.

Doi Suthep happened to be the first temple we visited and it was breathtaking for us despite the large crowds. After exploring the temple and walking back down, we took our taxi over to the Chiang Mai Zoo and Aquarium which I highly recommend if you love animals or have kids who do. This zoo was more interactive than any of the US zoos. For less than $1 US you can purchase baskets of fresh veggies to feed the animals. Naturally this meant we fed hippos and giraffes (and maybe more than once.) 😊 The animals have a decent amount of space and it was sooooo hot; if we had to walk the whole time we wouldn’t have made it to see all the animals. Luckily you can rent a golf cart to drive your family around for around $10 US per hour. We got lunch at the zoo (chicken and rice) for something like $1.50 US per person. You’ll want to bring your own bottled water with you or plan to by some there because like I said, it was HOT!

Little K really enjoyed seeing the panda since she brought her own little panda “Baby Bear” along for the adventure.

Most places in Chiang Mai require cash so you’ll want to make sure you bring enough and exchange your money.

After the zoo, we headed back to the hotel for an afternoon siesta. After nap, we decided to walk around the city a bit. Chiang Mai is pretty walkable so we walked or took tuk-tuks to get around. I recommend asking your concierge how much a Tuk-tuk to certain places should cost or you may get ripped off. That also gives you a ballpark so you know what negotiating power you have.

We stumbled upon a cute little family-run restaurant Farm Story House which we later found out has received certificates of excellence from Trip Advisor and we know why…. it was delicious. We tried fried durian chips, apricot soda and some traditional Thai dishes including my now favorite Pad Krapow Gao (Spicy Thai Basil Chicken).

After dinner, we headed back to the hotel for an early bedtime. What about that for a first day in Chiang Mai?