Thailand

One of the more popular destinations in Southeast Asia among tourists, Thailand has rightly earned her spot as a top travel destination. Whether you want to explore the city life of Bangkok or relax on one of the many islands, Thailand has it all and of course in my opinion the best cuisine in Southeast Asia. With so many places to see in Thailand we decided for our first time in Thailand to split our week by spending half our time on the western island of Phuket and the other half in the bustling capital city of Bangkok.

We flew into Phuket from Kuala Lumpur on a Monday afternoon. Phuket is pretty big for an island so the taxi ride (do be careful which taxi company you use. It is recommend to use the official government service located outside most airports.) from the airport to our resort in Karon took over an hour in rush hour. The driving culture in Bali and Thailand is pretty similar and from the outside eye doesn’t make much sense, who has the right of way I will never understand. This was reason number 1 we didn’t risk driving ourselves. One interesting cultural difference that happened to us twice is the taxi driver will stop in the middle of the journey for gas. He won’t ask the passengers he will just stop the meter and then go for gas. The first time it happened to us, you can bet we were a little terrified as to what he was doing, especially as the engine is left running as the gas is put into the tank.

We stayed in another amazing 5 star resort in Phuket, averaging again $25 each a night, located in Karon, an area on the bottom of the western side of Phuket. We were in a great location right in between the other two popular areas of Kata and Patong. The highlight of our hotel was that we were right next to an outdoor food market that had some of the best Nutella crepes (or pancakes as they call them) ever. We frequented the stall enough that the young boy who worked the stall everyday soon recognized us. The Nutella crepes are just the beginning of the amazing Thai cuisine. Thailand was the only Asian country that we did not get sick of the food after a few days. From green and red curries to delicious Pad Thai we could have stayed for weeks before we started to miss Western food.

Besides trying all the wonderful food and lounging by the hotel pool, we did venture out to go elephant trekking, because when in Thailand you have to. I vaguely remember riding an elephant at the zoo when I was younger, but elephant trekking in Thailand is completely different. We had a guide to lead the elephant, but instead of walking the elephant with a leash, he would sit on top of the elephants head to guide him. For us there was a bench attached to the elephants back, but the guide decided it would be a better experience if we took turns riding bare back on the elephant’s neck. Similar to horseback riding, but a whole lot scarier, especially when trekking through the Thai jungle. We survived though and the experience was well worth it, even if we ended up smelling like an elephant for the rest of the day.

Elephant Trekking

Another day trip we took was out to the island of Ko Phi Phi which is off the east coast of Phuket. The ferry took about 2 hours to get us to the island and with a tropical storm on its way it wasn’t the most pleasant of experiences (que the motion sickness.) Once we were close enough to see the island we had to disembark the ferry and hop on smaller long tail boats to get to land. That was by far the coolest part of the trip. There isn’t a whole lot on Ko Phi Phi besides the island resort, but out of all of the beaches I have been to, Ko Phi Phi is by far the best. With white sand and bright blue water that is at bath temperature, we could have stayed forever.

Longtail boats

Now remember that tropical storm that was on its way on our journey over? Well we almost outran it. We had boarded the long tail boats to get back to the ferry, and at this point you could see the storm coming. The water was rougher and the sky was dark. We were literally about to be the next boat to board the ferry when the rain started. Heavy rain. The waves and the rain were too rough to get up close to the ferry so we were stranded at sea until the rain calmed down a little bit 20 minutes later. By this point though we were soaked and had come close to tipping about 100 times. I give props to the drivers of the long tail boats though who managed to safely get us back to the ferry. The 2 hour ferry ride back wasn’t a whole lot of fun soaking wet and we were more than happy to get back to our hotel rooms and into a warm bath and fuzzy robes (because we could.)

Ko Phi Phi

Our next stop in Thailand was Bangkok, because no trip to Thailand would be complete without a stop in its world renowned capital city. Bangkok was a lot different than we expected. We decided to try out the public transportation system from the airport to our hotel and were left in awe. We first had to board a bus to get to the metro station. The system of payment on buses in Thailand is built a lot on trust. We boarded through the back door and then took our seats. When the bus started to move again a lady with tickets came around to collect your money. So much more efficient then making sure everyone pays before boarding the bus. The metro rail was also impressive. The first thing we noticed when waiting to board is that everyone forms neat lines to board, no pushing or shoving, whoever is there first is first to board. The metro is also spotlessly clean. Not what we were expecting from a city like Bangkok. I was very impressed and maybe the US can take a lesson or two from the Thais.

Now Bangkok was a lot busier than Phuket being a big city, so we had to adapt back to being harassed on the streets again. Tuk tuk, tuk tuk.. no thank you. Massage, massage.. no thank you. And so on. The shopping in Bangkok was a lot better though than in Phuket and not quite as expensive. We spent our first night walking around one of the biggest markets in Bangkok right outside Mo Chiat station. And then we spent our first morning with a trip to the famous Damnoen Saduak floating market. The shopping wasn’t that great at the floating markets, but the setup is something to see. To get to the more exclusive shops you can hire a long tail boat and have your guide take you to the different shops along the waterways.

Damnoen Saduak Floating Market

That night we decided we’d try and experience some of Bangkok’s famous nightlife. While on our way out we of course stumbled across another night market and ended up shopping a bit before venturing further. Bangkok is known for its nightlife and red light districts and we ended up leaving a bit disappointed in it. It was hard to just find a bar to drink at without a “show.” And being harassed at every corner if we wanted to see a ping pong show was beyond annoying. While Bangkok was fun to see and does have some of the best shopping, I would go back to Phuket long before I made another trip to Bangkok.

The Hidden Treasures of Southeast Asia: Kuala Lumpur

If you asked a majority of Americans to point out Malaysia on a map they would have no clue where it was, even I would have struggled a year ago. When planning our trip to Southeast Asia we were originally planning on bussing and training it all the way from Singapore up to Bangkok, with a few stops in between. Malaysia was one of these. In the end the only train we ended up taking was an overnight sleeper train from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia and Southeast Asia’s newest capital. The thought of riding a rickety old bus cramped full of livestock and people for 20+ hours, added with no AC and 100 degree heat did not sound appealing, so we ended up flying onward after Kuala Lumpur.

The sleeper train was well worth the adventure though. It was pretty luxurious for a sleeper train in southeast Asia-blankets and pillows included, along with curtains that closed and night-lights. I think the coolest part of taking the train from Singapore to KL was border control. We first had to take a fast train to cross the border into Malaysia before boarding our sleeper train in Johor Baharu, Malaysia. And before boarding the fast train we were walked through border control, gaining an exit stamp from Singapore and then walking 100 meters to another room where we went through Malaysian border control and gained our entry stamp into Malaysia-all without leaving the same building and in a matter of minutes. Pretty cool right?

Petronas Towers

While I wasn’t too sure what to expect from Malaysia, it hadn’t really entered my mind as somewhere to travel to until we decided to use it as a pit stop on the way from Singapore to Thailand, it really surprised me as a country. Very similar to Singapore in ways, Malaysia is one of the more developed countries in Southeast Asia and also one of the newest. When you look at Kuala Lumpur and all the looming skyscrapers and towers it’s pretty amazing to think that none of it existed 50 years ago. The city has boomed fast and has some of the world’s coolest architecture.

KLCC Park

While we only had a little over 24 hours in KL, we managed to see most of the city. Another day would have been helpful to see some of the sites outside of the city, but it made the perfect pit stop. The number one attraction to see in KL is the impressive Petronas Towers, better known in KL as the twin towers. Like something out of a sci-fi movie the towers are the tallest twin towers in the world and from 1998 to 2004 were the tallest buildings in the world at 88 stories, now surpassed by Taipei 101. The Petronas towers were named after the Petronas Oil Company who occupies the offices of tower 1. At the base of the towers is upscale Suria KLCC, one of the largest shopping malls in Malaysia. The towers are surrounded by the KLCC Park spanning 17 acres including KL’s famous fountains and multiple walking and running pathways, making KL’s title of Southeast Asia’s Garden City well earned. We spent most of our time around the towers, enjoying the air conditioned shopping mall and admiring the nightly lightshow that takes place at the fountains.

Fountain Show

For being such a new city, KL has an impeccable public transportation system. Efficient, clean and cheap we found our way around fairly easily, only getting lost once in our search for a renowned curry restaurant. Malaysian food is heavily influenced by the large Indian population, but has an extra spicy flair to it. We found it to be some of the better food that we encountered on our travels.

If given the chance I would head back to Malaysia to experience more of what this growing country has to offer. 24 hours was not nearly enough time!

The Hidden Treasures of Southeast Asia: Singapore

Singapore is not a place many tourists think of visiting and in fact we were one of the few tourists there when we visited. Singapore is largely business based as it is centrally located and surrounded by water, making it a perfect trading post. But there is a side to Singapore that not many know about.

The Famous Marina Bay Sands

Singapore has a rich history and has switched rule numerous times from the British, to the Japanese, to being a part of Malaysia to the independent island country she became in 1963. Because of this Singapore has a rich Peranakan culture, the existing local born people that have survived years of changing rule. Their influence can be seen in the local Peranakan cuisine (a mix of Chinese and Malay cuisine) and colorful homes that still dot areas of Singapore. Being such a big trading city, coming in 3^rd in the foreign exchange market only 38% of the population are permanent residents. In a city of 5.5 million a majority are foreigners which makes for a unique culture. While the official business language of Singapore is English, the Singapore Government recognizes English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil as national languages.

Singaporean’s pride themselves on their low environmental impact and this can be seen from the moment you step off the plane into Singapore’s Changi International Airport. Everything is spick and span and not a piece of trash is found littering the ground. This is in due part to the crazy laws Singapore has. Littering will cost you $1,000 and community service for a first offense, not flushing the toilet will land you in trouble with the authorities, the sale of chewing gum is prohibited and even connecting onto unsecure public Wi-Fi can be seen as hacking. Whatever works I guess.

Singapore is probably most widely known for its luxury resort the Marina Bay Sands. Boasting a state of the art casino and a high end shopping mall, it’s a hard resort to beat. The hotel is partitioned into three 55 story towers that support the top platform boasting the rooftop infinity pool and rooftop club. Prices start at a whopping 379 SGD a night. While only guests are allowed entry into the pool area we were able to get up to the rooftop club area and have an $8 cup of coffee, cocktails started at $20 a piece mind you.

View from atop the Marina Bay Sands

Some cheaper options of things to see in Singapore include strolling down Hajji Lane and Arab Street in the Bugis area where you will find store upon store of beautiful authentic Arab and Muslim purchases for a great price. This is also the area to check out the Grand Sultan Mosque, also free! Another great place to visit in Singapore for shopping is China Town, which has some of the best stalls in Singapore and hosts some of the best restaurants.

Sultan Mosque

One of the coolest things we did at night was go to see the Supertree light show at the Gardens by the bay. Every night the trees host two completely free performances set to music and you will be dazzled by the lights and colors. You can even plan ahead and have dinner in one of the Supertrees!

Supertrees

No visit would be complete without snapping a picture of Singapore’s famous Merlion across the bay from the Marina Bay Sands. Yes you guessed it, its part lion, part fish that has become the national icon of Singapore. Other than attracting tons of tourists the Merlion isn’t much to see.

Merlion

Singapore keeping up with it’s green tendencies is home to one of the best Botanic Gardens you will come across. Although we only accidently stumbled across them, you could spend hours walking through the gardens admiring all the green. Our end destination was the MacRitchie Nature Reserve for the famous treetop walk, which was one of my favorite things to do in Singapore. Plan on spending a couple of hours climbing the trails from the Reservoir to the actual treetop walk and then coming back again. You may even run into some wild monkeys!

Treetop Walk

Of course no trip to Singapore was complete without doing one of my favorite things in any city I go to, trying all the wonderful local food-Singapore did not come short here! One of the famously cheap dishes which are hard to come by in expensive Singapore is the Bak Kut Teh or pork ribs soup. It really is as simple as it sounds with spices added to make it even more delicious. While I couldn’t quite get the hang of using a soup spoon and chopsticks to get the pork off of the bones, it was one of the most delicious soups I’ve tried. Legend has it that Bak Kut Teh started off with a beggar begging a pork noodle stall owner for food. The owner was himself not very well off and boiled his left over pork bones, added some soup and spices and voila! Bak Kut Teh was formed.

Bak Kut Teh

Another popular influence in Singapore is Dim Sum and Singapore has adopted Tim Ho Wan’s a famous Dim Sum eatery from Hong Kong. There is a reason it so famous! Think the freshest dumplings you’ll ever try, the best fried rice and a Singaporean favorite fried carrot cake! Maybe not the healthiest of foods, but by far the best!

To keep up with the always hot and humid Singapore heat (think 90’s every day) the Singaporean Ice Cream Sandwich was formed. Scattered around the city of Singapore you will find carts called Ice Cream Uncles selling the best ice cream sandwich you will ever have for a $1.20. You tell the ice cream uncle what flavor you would like and he will get the appropriate ice cream block out and cut you off a slice to be put in between two crisp wafers. The best cure to the Singapore heat.

$1.20 Singapore Ice Cream

We had 4 days in Singapore and while we had originally thought it would be too long, there was still plenty to be seen and a trip back is necessary somewhere in the future.