The Way to Tioman

September 20th - 21st

We finally left northern Thailand and headed south to our next stop, albeit for just one night, Singapore. We hopped an Air Asia flight to Bangkok and got to spend a 3 hour layover inside the smelly, dirty Bangkok Airport. The best way to pass the time there was by playing "girlfriend or escort." That was the game we made up to determine whether the couples we saw walking by were actual "couples", in our orthodox, western sense of the word. For the record, we'd been playing this game for about a week now and were pretty sure that most were pairings with alterior motives - whatever those may be... use your imagination.

After waiting way too long to finally board our flight to Singapore we were relieved to be on a plane again, but only for a short while, as the stormy skies made it for a bumpy ride into the island/city/country that is the concrete jungle named Singapore.

We spent the night in the quaint Little India section of Singapore before leaving the next morning for our week of fun in the sun on the Malaysian island of Pulau Tioman. If we thought the flight into Singapore the night before was rough, that was nothing compared to the flight out to Tioman. The black skies and lightning that accompanied us for about 27 or the 35 minute flight was enough to make the 44-seat plane seem like it was its last flight. Fortuntaly for us, it wasn't. And with about 8 minutes left in the flight the skies opened up to expose crystal blue waters and endless rays of sun as we approached what looked like Jurassic Park from the sky.

Click here to see the rest of our Way to Tioman pictures...

Jirung in Mae Rim

September 19th - 20th

We were really enjoying our time in northern Thailand, and were set to leave on Monday morning for... ??? See, that was the problem; we didn't know where we were going to go next. We had a 2 day span which we had yet to plan. After much thought and some time spent in internet cafes researching we decided to stay in northern Thailand for a while longer.

We left the Tri Yaan Nu Ros Colonial House Monday morning and headed further north with Toy, our taxi driver. We arrived in the small town of Mae Rim about 3o minutes north of downtown Chiang Mai. After driving down a dirt road just outside of town we rounded a bend and looked up to see Jirung Health Resort and Spa staring down at us.
The hotel only had 10 rooms in it, though by the looks of the physical structure it sure seemed like it housed a whole lot more. Though our expectations were intentionally low so as to avoid another bad reaction like in Chiang Mai, Jirung blew us away. The location and surroundings were breathtaking. The views afforded to us from our private balcony were incredible... just the green of mountains with their peaks popping out of the low clouds that draped over them like ponchos.

Though our plan was to to just relax and lay around and be lazy, the free bikes offered at the lobby were too tempting to resist. We took them for a nice long ride and stopped at the nearby tourist "hot spots" which included an orchid farm, a monkey camp and a snake farm; As well as the Fours Seasons Resort, which I hope to have the opportunity to return to and stay at someday... simply an incredible place perfectly designed to blend seamlessly into its surrounding landscape.


Our bike ride turned out to be the perfect tune up, or should I say muscle killer for what awaited us back at the hotel: a 3 hour pampering on the 6th floor spa called the Jirung Experience. The experience included a welcome with warm tea and an herbal foot wash, followed by the outdoor sauna, a swedish shower, and then 2 hours of massage in the rooftop garden. It was awesome.

We went further north not knowing what to expect and left wanting more. But it was time to finally leave and head south to Singapore & Malaysia. Our time in Thailand would have to come to an end.

You can view the rest our our Mae Rim pictures here...

The Chiang Mai Deet Dance

September 16th - 19th

After Bangkok, we flew north on Nok Air (the most disorderly airline I've ever been on) to the 2nd largest city in Thailand: Chiang Mai. Though much smaller and more low-key than Bangkok, you could still taste plenty of pollution in the air. It didn't help that the primary form of transportation around the city were open-aired, 3-wheeled scooters called "Tuk-Tuks". Though, it must be said that Tuk-Tuk is the only way to go!

I am embarrassed to admit this but, after leaving the Peninsula Hotel I was a little....ummm, well, let's just say I just needed to be knocked back to 'hotel reality'. My first impression of the Tri Yaan Nu Ros Colonial House: I freaked out! Maybe our decision made by rock, paper, scissors wasn't going to pan out as we had hoped. But after taking a chill pill (literally) I sucked it up and ended up staying for all 3 nights - after all we did spend $30 USD a night, and that's a lot in this city. We took advantage of all the amenities: the mosquito net, mosquito coils and plenty of deet. As it turned out, the Tri Yaan Nu Ros Colonial House was awesome! 8 rooms surrounded a lush courtyard and small pool, it had a traditional Thai feeling. Everything was made of teak and our room key was a pad lock, very charming. One night it rained all night long - and thats when the geckos decide to share the room with us...I didn't know they chirped!

We rode elephants and navigated down the Mae Kong river on bamboo rafts, walked through rice patties and hiked to a hidden waterfall. We also visited a few "native tribes" that weren't all that native... felt more like they were shuttled in for a day of work. Not exactly authentic!

Street markets and Thai Massage seemed to make up most of the economy in Chiang Mai... we experienced both. Street vendors were everywhere and virtually impossible to ignore. As for the massage: for only 200 baht ($5USD) an hour we were escorted (separately) to private rooms with no windows, except for the very small, frosted one on the door. Inside the room: a mattress on the floor...that's it. It was a good massage, but I couldn't relax. Make of this what you want....I have my opinions of what goes on here.

Chiang Mai was great and more of the Thai experience we were looking for... we enjoyed the night markets, ate yummy food, and just relaxed. A very enjoyable 3 days.

You can view the rest of our Chiang Mai pictures here...

2 Nights in Bangkok and the World's Your Oyster

September 13th - 16th

I think I was overwhelmed by jet lag, smog and sheer excitement, to have really enjoyed Bangkok to its fullest. We arrived a day later than planned which was pretty annoying since we were staying at the most amazing hotel ever (compliments of our dear friends Alan, Linda and Jarret). The Penisula Bangkok was our oasis in what is truly the dirtiest city I have ever been to. But oddly enough I say that with endearment. I loved the culture, the people, the food and the hustle and bustle of the city. Chinatown was the craziest. If you are ever in the market for 1000 Hello Kitty pencil boxes, Chinatown in Bangkok is your place to go. One night we went to a Muay Thai (Thai Boxing) match. We sat ringside and I was shocked at how much I enjoyed it. Milton was really into going so I was really just playing along in hopes of dragging him to a cooking class later in the trip. But, surprisingly I loved it! Gross part...we had blood splattered on us. Yuck! We also visited the Royal Palace and went to the Emerald Buddha Temple- the detail on the buildings was out of this world.

Also notice the lack of hair on Milton's head. He had it all shaved off at a trendy salon in Bangkok. Lets just say it took about an hour and a half to have his head shaved. By the end of the visit his charade skills would have won any contest.

We have plenty more pictures if you are interested. We are always game for hanging out with some wine and talking travel!

You can view the rest of out Bangkok pictures here...