After our busy days in Bangkok and chaotic whirl wind of a trip to India, we decided to head to the beach for some much needed R&R. We flew back to Bangkok from New Delhi and then from Bangkok we took a short flight to the Thai island of Koh Samui.

Getting off the plane on the island was such a nice relaxed pace compared to the previous weeks. We were so grateful for this downtime. We took a shuttle to The Renaissance Hotel. We had booked the cheapest room available online weeks before, but when we arrived we immediately got upgraded to a garden bungalow with a private pool. (We strongly recommend that anyone who plans on traveling, becomes a rewards member for hotels and airlines. It really has made a huge difference for our trip).

We spent three days lounging by the crystal clear water on Koh Samui.

From Koh Samui we hopped on a plane to Bali. We had a five hour layover in Singapore, but if you have to be stuck at an airport, Singapore is the place to be stuck. The airport in Singapore had free wifi, lounging areas galore, lots of dining options, indoor gardens, and even a swimming pool and movie theatre.

When we got to Bali we checked into the Conrad. The resort was absolutely amazing. It had the largest swimming pool either of us had ever seen, our room had an ocean view, the restaurants were delicious, and we had some of the best massages of our lives at the spa.

Believe it or not, traveling for eight months can be extremely exhausting, and a good solid beach vacation was absolutely revitalizing. We left Bali completely re energized and ready to take on our next big adventure…Australia/New Zealand!

 

Our flight into Bangkok was entertaining, for a lack of better words. Scott had arranged for him to have an isle seat, and of course I would be stuck in a middle seat for the duration of the five hour flight. As we neared our seats, hoping nobody would be in the window seat, there was girl in the window seat wearing a long sleeve, ankle length dress that was covered in the brightest floral pattern known to man. As we got situated in our seats, the girl introduced herself and then proceeded to wipe down our entire row's armrests, tray tables, and window with disinfectant wipes. Then the dreaded “airplane talk” commenced. She started out by telling us all about her vacation plans, everything she ever read out of a Thailand guidebook, all about her Russian heritage, and an explanation of her flowery dress and all the others just like it that she had in different colors. When she had finally stopped talking long enough for us to escape by putting our headphones in, she taps me on the shoulder and proceeds by asking if I ever had thoughts of our plane crashing and burning. She even included the sound effects, “mmmnnnnn, swoosh, kaboom”. Then she said she got nervous on flights and maybe she should have taken some mushrooms to calm down. I leaned over and whispered to Scott that we might not want her standing in line next to us as we went through immigration when we landed in Thailand.

After the plane landed we started gathering our backpacks to get off the plane, when the girl taps me on the shoulder again and asked if she could follow us to the immigration line because she was nervous and wasn't used to traveling abroad. We couldn't be rude and say no, so we said that was fine and got off the plane. We tried to walk fast enough to keep a little distance and made sure we went in a separate line and lost her at the baggage claim.

We spent a few days in Bangkok before we flew up to Chang Mai. We stayed at the Hilton Millennium Hotel using some of the hotel points I had accumulated. The hotel was beautiful, and in a good location for activities on the Chao Praya river.

We took the orange line water taxi down the river and got off at the stop nearest to the Grand Palace and the Wat Pho that houses the Relaxing Buddah. We had to walk through a small outdoor food market to get to the street that was bustling with sidewalk peddlers and beeping tuk-tuks. It was alive and very colorful.

We spent almost an entire day at the huge weekend market where we did some souvenir shopping. We took the sky train to the MBK shopping center and the high end Siam Paragon mall. We also took a stroll down Khao San Road and thanked God we were staying in a nice hotel instead of a hostel.

One night we walked Soi Cowboy, a street infamous for its nightlife containing bars, lady boys and old perverted men. It was a sight to see. We didn't stay too long, but it's one of those things that everyone who goes to Bangkok must see at least once.

The Jim Thomson House was also a very cool thing to see. Although, the silk shop that it houses was very expensive.

After our trip to Chang Mai and the flight fiasco in Vietnam and Laos, we decided to return to Bangkok until we could come up with a new plan. This time we opted to stay in a different area of Bangkok to be able to explore more of the city. We checked in to the Hilton Double Tree Suhkumvit. It was actually a fairly new, really nice hotel that had an awesome rooftop pool and gym. The free breakfast was delish, and the hotel was half the price of the Millennium. This would be our home for the next eight days. We were able to really take in the culture of the city, explore more of the markets, and we even got to watch a Muai Thai fight.

The flights to Cambodia were quadrupled in price, so we crossed out that idea and moved up our trip to India, allowing us to add more time in Australia and a couple weeks in New Zealand. We were bummed about missing out on Cambodia, but we know that we will definitely be back and we were super excited to be able to add New Zealand to our itinerary.

 

From Tokyo we flew into Bangkok Thailand, but we'll be covering Bangkok in a different post. From Bangkok we flew to Chang Mai, a smaller Northern city in Thailand that's close to the Myanmar border.

The flight to Chang Mai was enjoyable as we got upgraded to first class. We also were entertained that the flight attendant kept insisting that Scott looked familiar and thought he was from the movie the Hangover.

When we landed in Chang Mai we got checked into our hotel and then walked a few blocks down the road to check out the night market. The streets were alive with all types of vendors selling food and other things.

The next morning we were picked up for a cooking class. There were four of us taking the class, us and another couple. We hopped in the back of a little truck that toted us to a local produce market where we got a tour with our chef. We learned all about the local fruits and veggies and the different ingredients that are essential to the flavors of Thailand.

After the market tour, we headed over to the home of our chef where we spent the rest of the afternoon whipping up the most delicious Thai food we've ever had. We each made a total of six dishes. To say the least, we were stuffed when we left. The chef was amazing and even gave us signed copies of his recipe book. We definitely recommend this cooking class.

The following day in Chang Mai was definitely an interesting one. We had arranged for a private driver to take us around. First, we stopped off at an elephant camp, where we got to play with some elephants and watch them bathe in the river. It was so amazing to be so close to the magnificent creatures. However, if we were to do it over, we would have rather gone to the elephant sanctuary where the animals are treated less like circus animals.

After the elephant camp we drove out to a hill tribe refugee camp. It is a camp that is set up by the Thai government that houses Bermese tribal refugees that have escaped persecution from Myanmar. The people are allowed to live in huts like the ones they would live in in their normal setting. They are also taught essential survival skills such as farming, and children are allowed to go to school where they learn in their own tribal language. Spending time at this camp was very humbling and eye-opening to the genocide that occurs. While we were there, we were able to help out a very special little girl named Maria. Maria and her mother, along with most of the other women in the camp spend a lot of time hand weaving fabrics used to make their clothes and other items from the fabric. This was definitely a highlight of our time in Thailand.

After the refugee camp we stopped off at an orchid and butterfly sanctuary. It was a nice way to end the day.

The following morning we hopped on a flight to Hanoi, Vietnam. Initially, we had planned on flying to Luang Prabong, Laos, however the day before we were going to fly into Laos, there was a plane crash in Laos on the exact airline/plane we were supposed to fly on. Unfortunately, it was very tragic, with zero survivors. After the crash, we decided to pass on Laos and fly straight into Vietnam.

When we got to Hanoi, we didn't exactly recieve the friendliest welcome. We were hassled by immigration while trying to get our visas, and they made it very clear that they were not happy with the American tourists coming into Vietnam.

Once we stepped out of the airport, the streets were complete chaos! There were so many motorbikes driving all over the roads in all different directions. Our minds were blown by the number of scooters and motos that almost were run off the road. This would basically be the case for our entire time in Hanoi.

With the exception of the staff at our hotel, we were always recieved with unfriendly glares and it was nearly impossible to walk anywhere outside without almost being creamed by a motorbike.

After our not so great experience in Hanoi, we had planned on flying down to Ho Chi Minh. But as our bad luck streek would see to it, a huge tropical storm clobbered central Vietnam causing hundreds of cancelled flights. We figured a flight to the South part of Vietnam shouldn't be affected…wrong! Due to all of the cancelled flights from the storm all of the flights throughout Vietnam were either sold out, or the prices had skyrocketed.

So, back to Bangkok it is! We headed back into Thailand where we were greeted with the familiar smile, and we were very grateful to be back.