I set the alarm an hour early to make very certain that I wouldn’t miss the checkout time. Although it was a close call, in the end we were waiting for the BP Samila’s bellhop to lug all our bags down to the van, so I was okay. Continue reading »
A soft but insistent thrumming woke me before 6:00am: Thai synthesized aerobics music. I checked email and headed down to photograph the sunrise. Despite many attempts, I couldn’t figure out a good way to feature the famous mermaid statute and the rising sun together, but a fisherman throwing out his net made a good silhouette. Continue reading »
We headed to a newly developed street for a breakfast of Hokkien (Fujian) Chinese dim sum, which differs in some ways from the Cantonese dim sum so familiar to those of us from the Bay Area. While we waited, we tried their signature soup of pork in a five spice broth with cabbage and mushrooms. The broth was delicious, and some of the meat, but the liver and stomach were not my favorite bits. Continue reading »
The Sunday market is composed of row upon row of vendor stalls. At one end, you can find a wide range of used clothes (is this the end of the Goodwill value chain?), and at the other, you can order fresh squeezed sugar cane juice in a bottle, cup, or plastic bag. In between, we saw endless piles of fruits and vegetables, curry pastes ready to fry up, fish being butchered, and frogs knocked senseless. Of course, we also ate innumerable items as we went; one of my favorites was chicken on a stick with a sweet red coconut BBQ sauce. Continue reading »
I thought I might be running late when I dropped into the dining room at 7:32, but apparently I was the first to show. I ordered the rice porridge with pork meatballs (“boiled rice” on the menu, “joke” in casual Thai) and doctored it with the available vinegar, ground dry chillies, and white pepper. When I later mentioned to Kasma and Michael that I wished I had brought a smaller bag for the lake trip, they lent me a bag. As they removed a couple of kilos of shrimp paste I realized that there would be a certain fragrance. I treated the inside of the bag with Rick Steves’ Quick Fresh spray (not entirely effectively) and set it out to dry. Continue reading »
After another mosquito battle and organizing my bags for departure, we met for a classic Thai breakfast of rice porridge. Rice is a constant, of course, as are shreds of ginger, but the other ingredients can vary widely. Ours contained shrimp, fried garlic, and a bit of cilantro. From dishes on the table we could sprinkle on chillies for punch, and white vinegar for added freshness. We also had some shredded, dried, sweetened pork “floss” from Kasma’s snack bag, which offered some chewiness and extra protein. Continue reading »
While there were too few guests for the Jansom Hot Spa Resort to lay out a lavish breakfast buffet, we did have our choice of a rice or noodle plate. I had spicy chicken with Thai basil and a fried egg to start my day. That and several cups of Lipton tea would have to keep me going until lunchtime. Continue reading »
I recalibrated my mental calendar to ensure that I was ready for an on-time departure. Mission accomplished: twenty minutes early rather than ten minutes late. We headed down the highway toward Ranong, where we would lay over for the evening. Our first stop was at a roadside stand specializing in kapi, the shrimp paste that forms an important component of many Thai curries and other dishes. Tiny shrimp are laid out in the sun to dry, then salted and allowed to ferment. The better grades smell best (more “like the sea” and less “rotten”). I picked up a small jar that should last me a while. Continue reading »
On the first Saturday morning of her trips, Kasma likes to lead bewildered Americans down the crowded sidewalk of Sukhumvit between Soi 55 (Soi Thonglor) and Soi 57, where a market blossoms at dawn. Fragrant grilled pork, strings of flower buds for Buddhist offerings, and knick-knacks beckoned, but we were on a quest. We picked up plump pan-fried dumplings stuffed with garlicky Chinese chives, chewy glutinous rice chive cakes, fried bread (a kind of unsweetened doughnut), grilled bananas, and khanom krok, the deliciously rich coconut milk pancakes (in this case topped with a few kernels of corn or bits of green onion). Oh, and two trays of mango and sticky rice. Continue reading »
Our flight landed on time at Suvarnabhumi Airport, but the lines at immigration were insanely long. When we emerged from the terminal onto the walkway to the parking structure, the heat didn’t seem so bad. By the time I was in full sun, and full humidity, the memories flooded back. I will need more bottled water. Continue reading »
I like to tell people I’m repeating my January 2006 trip. But that wasn’t so different from the January 2005 trip, and really is just a longer version of my January 2010 trip. So actually this is my fourth journey down the Andaman coast for days of snorkeling and nights of feasting. Does this slender peninsula really merit so much attention: 15 weeks of my life? Continue reading »
I awoke very early, and decided to catch up on some notes and recharging. This always is dangerous because delaying a shower and packing can least to last minute madness. And so it went. Luckily, a few fellow travelers were able to accommodate my overflow of clothing in their duffel bags, so I didn’t need to visit the shrink wrap machine at the airport to improvise a larger bag. Continue reading »
After one last visit to the breakfast buffet for a last bowl of simple rice porridge (with vinegar, chillies, cilantro, ginger shreds, and pork meatballs), we loaded into two vans for the ride to the Krabi airport. Its souvenir shops seemed somehow more authentic (and certainly were more homey) than the large luxury brand duty free shops that dominate the airport terminal in Bangkok. Alas, there was not enough time to try out the massage station, but I did pick up a reflexology chart (and wooden stick) showing how a Thai foot massage is supposed to relate to the rest of the body. Continue reading »
We dropped by the breakfast buffet for a little fruit and caffeine before heading out to the morning market for more substantial fare. The hotel would shuttle us there for 40 baht per head (about $1.20), but we decided to take one of the local red “buses” (more like a pickup truck with a camper shell) for 15 baht. We accidentally got a blue one, which was a taxi, so the fare worked out to 20 baht; still not bad, except for the near accident when the truck made a very sudden and hard stop and everyone slid sideways on the slick seat cushions. Ouch, severe butt compaction. Continue reading »
My morning leisure time was consumed with a small project for work, so I had no time for sunscreen as we rushed our bags into the van and headed down to the pier. Breakfast was a small plate of pad thai noodles with shrimp, supplemented with a ripe tangerine and a delicious coconut custard on sticky rice. Before boarding our boat, we shopped the local boutiques for shirts. Continue reading »