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Sunday, August 3, 2008
Singapore's Top Ten
Hi everyone! Sabrina here! We are currently in Hoi An, Vietnam and fly to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) this afternoon. From there, we head to Hong Kong on Tuesday.
After Malaysia, we headed to Singapore. We flew into Singapore on July 13th and flew out on July 19th and headed to Cambodia. I have compiled a top ten from the time we spent in Singapore.
Singapore's Top Ten
10. Little India
We stayed in Little India for the majority of our stay in Singapore. We ate some amazing Indian food and went to a 24 hour mall called 'Mustafa'. Mustafa is comparable to Costco and Yorkdale combined in the sense that it has every product imaginable that you could ever want to purchase. Now imagine, all of the products found in a regular shopping mall, plus all of the products in a Costco, combined in an area the size of a Costco. That is Mustafa!
9. The biggest! The first! The most prosperous!
We took an oper-air bus tour around Singapore for a day to see the city. The tour guides boasted of Singapore's prosperity and all of the new developments that are continuously growing in Singapore. Singapore has the busiest port in the world, as it has no manufacturing industry and does not yield any natural resource. It imports everything (which is why everything is so expensive) and has the most massive and impressive shipping yards.
Singapore is also home to the Singapore Flyer ( similar to the London Eye) which is currently the tallest of its kind in the world. However, the tour guide did note that China is building one that is taller, so Singapore will have to find a way to beat them! The tour guide also noted that Singapore had the largest hotel in the world - twenty years ago! Being the biggest and the best is clearly something Singapore is proud of.
8. Survivor Singapore
Apparently Survivor has been thinking about hosting a series in Singapore. However, I am not sure that Singapore is a difficult place to survive in. It has all of the luxuries of home and then some. Perhaps Survivor is switching gears to see how many brave souls can survive the safe streets of Singapore, and who dies first of a shopping and eating induced coma.
7. 4 nights. 4 different places to stay
In most places we have visited we have been able to arrive in a city, and seek out accomodations once we arrive. Up until we arrived in Singapore we had never had trouble flying by the seat of our pants and hoping for the best. However, Singapore has a chronic shortage of beds. When we arrived, there were no beds available in any hostel, so we had to stay in a deluxe hotel room ( I know - poor us, right?), which was tough on the backpackers budget! In Singapore you typically have to reserve accomodations a week in advance, which we found out upon arrival! Some receptionists at the Inn Crowd (where we ended up staying for two nights - in two different rooms...) helped us find a place to stay for the other two nights. We can safely say we have tried a variety of accomodations in Singapore including deluxe hotels, private rooms and dorm rooms. Let us know if you need any recommendations!
6. Shopping
This is perhaps what Singapore is most famous for. We spent three full days wandering large malls, small malls, street vendors, markets and restaurants. It was actually exhausting! July was also the Great Singapore Sale, which meant 2 dollars off most purchases - what a deal! The prices definitely were not always low, but there was a lot of variety in terms of things to buy and places to go.
5. Prostitution
Like Amsterdam, prostitution is regulated by law in Singapore. Therefore it is far less visible to the average person than it is in Thailand (which had a fair share of open prostitution not sanctioned by the law), and there is a designated district for this industry.
4. Singapore Sling
Singapore is home to the Singapore Sling. Having never tried one before, Amy and I indulged. They may be my new favourite vice.
3. Clean enough to eat off the floor
The rumour about Singapore being clean is absolutely true. It is illegal to litter, spit and even chew gum. The streets were immaculate, and unlike some other Asian cities, trash bins were scattered everywhere so there was really no excuse to break the law.
2. Transit
The Singapore subway and bus system is like a well oiled machine. It was so easy to use, clean (of course) and fully air conditioned. Let's just say Singapore took the New York City subway as a model of 'what not to do' and made a world class transit system. The funniest moment was when we took the subway to the airport (it goes directly there! Toronto needs to step it up in this department...) at RUSH HOUR. Our backpacks likely hit each and every passengar in our cars! We ran into one sympathetic Canadian on the subway, who was working in Singapore. Everyone else just gave us scowls for our large baggage.
1. Charles!
Charles is a friend of mine from Western, who has been living in Singapore for a few months. He has been working at an interior design firm for the summer and we pulled him away from his desk to hang out a few times while we were in town. We met his girlfriend Karina (who is lovely!), and went out for dinner. Charles played the guitar and sang with the band for the first time since he left his guitar in Canada in April - it was amazing to see him back in his element! Seeing Charles was a big highlight of our stay in Singapore.
After Malaysia, we headed to Singapore. We flew into Singapore on July 13th and flew out on July 19th and headed to Cambodia. I have compiled a top ten from the time we spent in Singapore.
Singapore's Top Ten
10. Little India
We stayed in Little India for the majority of our stay in Singapore. We ate some amazing Indian food and went to a 24 hour mall called 'Mustafa'. Mustafa is comparable to Costco and Yorkdale combined in the sense that it has every product imaginable that you could ever want to purchase. Now imagine, all of the products found in a regular shopping mall, plus all of the products in a Costco, combined in an area the size of a Costco. That is Mustafa!
9. The biggest! The first! The most prosperous!
We took an oper-air bus tour around Singapore for a day to see the city. The tour guides boasted of Singapore's prosperity and all of the new developments that are continuously growing in Singapore. Singapore has the busiest port in the world, as it has no manufacturing industry and does not yield any natural resource. It imports everything (which is why everything is so expensive) and has the most massive and impressive shipping yards.
Singapore is also home to the Singapore Flyer ( similar to the London Eye) which is currently the tallest of its kind in the world. However, the tour guide did note that China is building one that is taller, so Singapore will have to find a way to beat them! The tour guide also noted that Singapore had the largest hotel in the world - twenty years ago! Being the biggest and the best is clearly something Singapore is proud of.
8. Survivor Singapore
Apparently Survivor has been thinking about hosting a series in Singapore. However, I am not sure that Singapore is a difficult place to survive in. It has all of the luxuries of home and then some. Perhaps Survivor is switching gears to see how many brave souls can survive the safe streets of Singapore, and who dies first of a shopping and eating induced coma.
7. 4 nights. 4 different places to stay
In most places we have visited we have been able to arrive in a city, and seek out accomodations once we arrive. Up until we arrived in Singapore we had never had trouble flying by the seat of our pants and hoping for the best. However, Singapore has a chronic shortage of beds. When we arrived, there were no beds available in any hostel, so we had to stay in a deluxe hotel room ( I know - poor us, right?), which was tough on the backpackers budget! In Singapore you typically have to reserve accomodations a week in advance, which we found out upon arrival! Some receptionists at the Inn Crowd (where we ended up staying for two nights - in two different rooms...) helped us find a place to stay for the other two nights. We can safely say we have tried a variety of accomodations in Singapore including deluxe hotels, private rooms and dorm rooms. Let us know if you need any recommendations!
6. Shopping
This is perhaps what Singapore is most famous for. We spent three full days wandering large malls, small malls, street vendors, markets and restaurants. It was actually exhausting! July was also the Great Singapore Sale, which meant 2 dollars off most purchases - what a deal! The prices definitely were not always low, but there was a lot of variety in terms of things to buy and places to go.
5. Prostitution
Like Amsterdam, prostitution is regulated by law in Singapore. Therefore it is far less visible to the average person than it is in Thailand (which had a fair share of open prostitution not sanctioned by the law), and there is a designated district for this industry.
4. Singapore Sling
Singapore is home to the Singapore Sling. Having never tried one before, Amy and I indulged. They may be my new favourite vice.
3. Clean enough to eat off the floor
The rumour about Singapore being clean is absolutely true. It is illegal to litter, spit and even chew gum. The streets were immaculate, and unlike some other Asian cities, trash bins were scattered everywhere so there was really no excuse to break the law.
2. Transit
The Singapore subway and bus system is like a well oiled machine. It was so easy to use, clean (of course) and fully air conditioned. Let's just say Singapore took the New York City subway as a model of 'what not to do' and made a world class transit system. The funniest moment was when we took the subway to the airport (it goes directly there! Toronto needs to step it up in this department...) at RUSH HOUR. Our backpacks likely hit each and every passengar in our cars! We ran into one sympathetic Canadian on the subway, who was working in Singapore. Everyone else just gave us scowls for our large baggage.
1. Charles!
Charles is a friend of mine from Western, who has been living in Singapore for a few months. He has been working at an interior design firm for the summer and we pulled him away from his desk to hang out a few times while we were in town. We met his girlfriend Karina (who is lovely!), and went out for dinner. Charles played the guitar and sang with the band for the first time since he left his guitar in Canada in April - it was amazing to see him back in his element! Seeing Charles was a big highlight of our stay in Singapore.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Malaysia!
Hello from Vientiane, Laos! Sabrina here!
Recently, we have updated the blog with our travels to Thailand and have posted more pictures on flickr of our trip thus far. The updates ended when we were in the Cameron Highlands, Malaysia. Since then we have been to Singapore, Cambodia, Laos and are heading to Vietnam tomorrow. I will update on our adventures in Malaysia in the following post.
The Cameron Highlands were absolutely beautiful. We signed up for a tour up to the highest elevation of the highlands (heights - again...), a trek through a mossy forest and a tour of a tea factory. Our tour guides picked us up in retro Land Rovers and we headed for the hills. The view from the highlands was incredible.
The Mossy forest is over a thousand years old, and the ground we were walking on is basically metres of mulch and moss that has been built up over the years. In order to walk through the forest, we had to step on tree roots and branches and in some cases had to crouch through spaces that were only 2 feet high.
The trek through the mossy forest was described to us as similar to a 'walk in the mall'' before we left our guesthouse. Amy and I wore Birkenstocks. There is a picture in our gallery of Amy's feet about halfway through the trek. The picture speaks for itself - this was not a walk through a mall at all and Amy had the pleasure of stepping into some of the softest and muddiest ground in all of Southeast Asia! It was hilarious!
We headed to Penang after the Cameron highlands. It is an amazing island, and we stayed at the YMCA. I think we were the ONLY tourists there, as it appeared to be a place where local people stayed and played badminton (which was right down the hall from our room!). We signed up for a city tour, and the next morning were picked up by a man named Rodney, in an unmarked car. As it turned out, we were the only people who signed up for the tour, and he was technically an 'illegal' tour guide. Rodney told us this, and then instructed us not to ask questions that are too difficult that he could not answer, and to be discreet about him showing us around. At east sight he would usher us in, give us a short shpeel, tell us where to take a picture, and tell us when to leave. He was a drill sargeant! Rodney turned out to be an incredible man. In three hours, he brought us to 7 different sites in Georgetown, taught us how to detect counterfeit money, brought us to the best money exchange in Little India, and drove us to Batu Ferrenghi.
Rodney also has a daughter, who he insists is not allowed to have a boyfriend. Any man who she is interested in can only be visible to her as a picture pasted into her school textbooks, according to Rodney. He is serious about education. What a guy.
Batu Ferrenghi is a beachtown on the island of Penang. We met a couple from Holland - Andrew and Tessa. They were in Malaysia on a backpacking tour as well. We ended up taking the overnight bus to the Perhenthians with them the next day as well.
The overnight bus to the pier near the Perhenthians was both a blessing and a curse. It was a SUPER VIP bus, with plush seats, air conditioning and leg and foot rests. It is super luxury! There are photos of us on the bus in our flickr account. The bus ride was scheduled to take 8hours. however, our bus arrived at the pier at 3am, which was only 5 hours into the ride. We were herded into a travel agency and told to sleep there until 7am when we were to take a speedboat to the Perhenthians. So we did. And by 'sleep'I mean we hung out with Tessa and Andrew and basically contemplated whether or not we were getting ripped off by the travel agency owners who were trying to sell us boat tickets. It was a bit of a nightmare, but we were glad when the sun came up and we got on the speedboat in time for a beautiful sunrise.
We arrived on the Small Island in the Perhenthians, and stayed on Coral Bay. The island is paradise. It is so remote that there are no ATM machines and the entire island is run on generators. The people were friendly and the weather was incredible. It was perfect for relaxing on the beach and we spent a lot of time swimming on Long beach, which had the most beautiful water.
During our 5 day stay on the island we went on a snorkelling tour. We swam with MASSIVE sharks and turtles - it was unreal! Before the trip I had a massive fear of sharks as well. I have happily cnofronted both my fear of heights (on more occasions than I would have liked....) AND sharks - this has been an exciting turning point! We also saw barracudas, nemo fish and tonnes of parrot fish. It was some of the best snorkelling I have ever seen. Our guide Leemee was amazing and showed me and Amy the sharks, while Singh swam around and saw 7 sharks!
There was a group of 5 Malaysian people on our snorkelling tour who we ate lunch with. They told us about the education system in Malaysia. One of them is native Indian and he applied to medical school. He said that in his entire medical school, there were 150 spots, 20 of which were designated to Chinese applicants, 5 to Indian applicants and the rest to native Malays. In addition, he had to do an additional year of school and pay more, because he was not a native Malay. They told us about the difficulties he faced in the education system, because he is Indian and how the system is designed to give preference to Malaysians.
Recently, we have updated the blog with our travels to Thailand and have posted more pictures on flickr of our trip thus far. The updates ended when we were in the Cameron Highlands, Malaysia. Since then we have been to Singapore, Cambodia, Laos and are heading to Vietnam tomorrow. I will update on our adventures in Malaysia in the following post.
The Cameron Highlands were absolutely beautiful. We signed up for a tour up to the highest elevation of the highlands (heights - again...), a trek through a mossy forest and a tour of a tea factory. Our tour guides picked us up in retro Land Rovers and we headed for the hills. The view from the highlands was incredible.
The Mossy forest is over a thousand years old, and the ground we were walking on is basically metres of mulch and moss that has been built up over the years. In order to walk through the forest, we had to step on tree roots and branches and in some cases had to crouch through spaces that were only 2 feet high.
The trek through the mossy forest was described to us as similar to a 'walk in the mall'' before we left our guesthouse. Amy and I wore Birkenstocks. There is a picture in our gallery of Amy's feet about halfway through the trek. The picture speaks for itself - this was not a walk through a mall at all and Amy had the pleasure of stepping into some of the softest and muddiest ground in all of Southeast Asia! It was hilarious!
We headed to Penang after the Cameron highlands. It is an amazing island, and we stayed at the YMCA. I think we were the ONLY tourists there, as it appeared to be a place where local people stayed and played badminton (which was right down the hall from our room!). We signed up for a city tour, and the next morning were picked up by a man named Rodney, in an unmarked car. As it turned out, we were the only people who signed up for the tour, and he was technically an 'illegal' tour guide. Rodney told us this, and then instructed us not to ask questions that are too difficult that he could not answer, and to be discreet about him showing us around. At east sight he would usher us in, give us a short shpeel, tell us where to take a picture, and tell us when to leave. He was a drill sargeant! Rodney turned out to be an incredible man. In three hours, he brought us to 7 different sites in Georgetown, taught us how to detect counterfeit money, brought us to the best money exchange in Little India, and drove us to Batu Ferrenghi.
Rodney also has a daughter, who he insists is not allowed to have a boyfriend. Any man who she is interested in can only be visible to her as a picture pasted into her school textbooks, according to Rodney. He is serious about education. What a guy.
Batu Ferrenghi is a beachtown on the island of Penang. We met a couple from Holland - Andrew and Tessa. They were in Malaysia on a backpacking tour as well. We ended up taking the overnight bus to the Perhenthians with them the next day as well.
The overnight bus to the pier near the Perhenthians was both a blessing and a curse. It was a SUPER VIP bus, with plush seats, air conditioning and leg and foot rests. It is super luxury! There are photos of us on the bus in our flickr account. The bus ride was scheduled to take 8hours. however, our bus arrived at the pier at 3am, which was only 5 hours into the ride. We were herded into a travel agency and told to sleep there until 7am when we were to take a speedboat to the Perhenthians. So we did. And by 'sleep'I mean we hung out with Tessa and Andrew and basically contemplated whether or not we were getting ripped off by the travel agency owners who were trying to sell us boat tickets. It was a bit of a nightmare, but we were glad when the sun came up and we got on the speedboat in time for a beautiful sunrise.
We arrived on the Small Island in the Perhenthians, and stayed on Coral Bay. The island is paradise. It is so remote that there are no ATM machines and the entire island is run on generators. The people were friendly and the weather was incredible. It was perfect for relaxing on the beach and we spent a lot of time swimming on Long beach, which had the most beautiful water.
During our 5 day stay on the island we went on a snorkelling tour. We swam with MASSIVE sharks and turtles - it was unreal! Before the trip I had a massive fear of sharks as well. I have happily cnofronted both my fear of heights (on more occasions than I would have liked....) AND sharks - this has been an exciting turning point! We also saw barracudas, nemo fish and tonnes of parrot fish. It was some of the best snorkelling I have ever seen. Our guide Leemee was amazing and showed me and Amy the sharks, while Singh swam around and saw 7 sharks!
There was a group of 5 Malaysian people on our snorkelling tour who we ate lunch with. They told us about the education system in Malaysia. One of them is native Indian and he applied to medical school. He said that in his entire medical school, there were 150 spots, 20 of which were designated to Chinese applicants, 5 to Indian applicants and the rest to native Malays. In addition, he had to do an additional year of school and pay more, because he was not a native Malay. They told us about the difficulties he faced in the education system, because he is Indian and how the system is designed to give preference to Malaysians.
Malaysia was amazing overall and definitely one of the highlights of the trip so far. We ended up spending nearly 2 weeks there and I am excited to go back and visit again one day to see some of the things we missed.
More updates are coming soon! Love and miss you all!
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Read Below
Hello All!
I was slow in posting from Thailand, but do check below on some updated posts!
Best
David
I was slow in posting from Thailand, but do check below on some updated posts!
Best
David
thailand's top ten
david here (At last!)
well I have been quite terrible at keeping up with this whole blog thing as we've navigated through thailand. luck for me and for you those reading Amy and Sabrina have kept up in keeping you all up to speed.
So as we prepare to leave Thailand i thought it would be fitting to recapp my thailand top ten. So in true letterman style here are the top ten memories of my trip to thailand so far:
10. English Signs
As we meandered the streets of every stop so far we've always been highly entertained with the Thai's interpretation of english and their attempt to capture our attention with unique phrases. It really doesn't translate well via the internet, so you'll just have to come for a wander around to read the signs.
9. Animal Surgery at the Bar
Now I wasn't a direct witness of this, but as the girls waited in the bar for me to finish my scuba course they witnessed reconstructive surgery on a dog. Most likely the patient was a stray that got into a scuffle with another stray and simply need to have some stiches in its ear. Some of the dive instructors or some seemstresses passing buy decided to help the dog, sedated it, repaired the ear and did all of this 10 fee from the girls table. When I cam down from my class the sedated dog recovered in the middle of the restaurant and happy proceeded without notice. Only in Thailand!
8. sa-wa DEE kah
This is the standard Thai greeting used by servers, shop keepers, street vendors, hotel staff, and every people you meet. It has a great little ring to it and the classic chyme you'll hear as you walk by in the market. It is almost always accompanied by a very large, ear to ear thai grin and just another marker of how friendly and welcoming the thai people are to tourists.
7. Beaches
Now people rave about the beaches in Thailand and we've travelled through the rainy season and the beaches are still amazing. I've seen both above on the sand below in the coral as I got my scuba license. Funny story with that is I was reminded of my lack of love for the water and continued fear of deep water depths. Regardless of my fears, I was excited to complete the course. We are off to Malaysia which apparently has some beaches to rival those in Thailand. I'm an excited!
6. keep stirring. keeping smiling. cooking class.
Now you'll have to read the next blog for full details. But this one was a great day in the countryside outside of Chiang Mai. Brother Chef took us on a great tour of the market followed by a great 5 hour lesson on how to make Pad Thai, Spring Rolls, Stir Fried Vegetables, 3 Kinds of curry, and Mango Sticy Rice. After cooking we got to taste it all --- not quite as good as the locals, but pretty close!
5. long boat ride.
We took 4 or 5 ferries while in Thailand, but none compared to the stormy longboat ride in the long boat in Koh Phi Phi. There are several islands that make up the Island of Koh Phi Phi. The best way to access them is via long boat. Imagine a boat similar to a war canoe with a salvaged diesel car engine attached the back with a 15 foot boom with a propellar on the end. Now imagine monsoon rains, 10 foot swells, and 8 tourists and a boat drive trying to navigate the sea. Few times in my life have I ever questioned my future, but this one was a great reminder how great it is to be alive and on land! I still consider it a must for all visitors to the island though!
4. UBC acceptance.
It was in a dingy internet cafe in Chiang Mai that i recieved my acceptance to the Early Career Masters program at the Sauder School of Business at UBC. It was definitely a great surprise and releif to get and I'm excited to spend the next year of my life (perhaps more) in beautiful British Columbia studying.
3. Chang beer.
There beer in Thailand is cheap, cold and unpredictable. Apparently, the bottles always have an alcohol content written on them, but it is really just a suggestion. Each batch they brew is unique and the alcohol content ranges from 5% to 12%. Again...only in Thailand!
2. Chai + Chia-O.
In Chiang Mai we took the Flight of the Condor challenge and zip-lined across 2 km of Jungle canopy and repelled vertically downwards for more than 100 ft. A great day and thanks to the great instruction from Chai and Chiao-O our instructors we safely conquered the day!
1. same same, but different.
Growing up in a West-Indian family with roots in Guyana strange sayings were nothing new. However, the 'same same, but different' saying was a classic. Basically it means similar; however, it was a generalization that was so common for sales people. Really something you'll have to explore for yourself when you visit here.
All in all as we leave Thailand I am sad to say goodbye and would definitely reccomend this place as a great place to visit.
well I have been quite terrible at keeping up with this whole blog thing as we've navigated through thailand. luck for me and for you those reading Amy and Sabrina have kept up in keeping you all up to speed.
So as we prepare to leave Thailand i thought it would be fitting to recapp my thailand top ten. So in true letterman style here are the top ten memories of my trip to thailand so far:
10. English Signs
As we meandered the streets of every stop so far we've always been highly entertained with the Thai's interpretation of english and their attempt to capture our attention with unique phrases. It really doesn't translate well via the internet, so you'll just have to come for a wander around to read the signs.
9. Animal Surgery at the Bar
Now I wasn't a direct witness of this, but as the girls waited in the bar for me to finish my scuba course they witnessed reconstructive surgery on a dog. Most likely the patient was a stray that got into a scuffle with another stray and simply need to have some stiches in its ear. Some of the dive instructors or some seemstresses passing buy decided to help the dog, sedated it, repaired the ear and did all of this 10 fee from the girls table. When I cam down from my class the sedated dog recovered in the middle of the restaurant and happy proceeded without notice. Only in Thailand!
8. sa-wa DEE kah
This is the standard Thai greeting used by servers, shop keepers, street vendors, hotel staff, and every people you meet. It has a great little ring to it and the classic chyme you'll hear as you walk by in the market. It is almost always accompanied by a very large, ear to ear thai grin and just another marker of how friendly and welcoming the thai people are to tourists.
7. Beaches
Now people rave about the beaches in Thailand and we've travelled through the rainy season and the beaches are still amazing. I've seen both above on the sand below in the coral as I got my scuba license. Funny story with that is I was reminded of my lack of love for the water and continued fear of deep water depths. Regardless of my fears, I was excited to complete the course. We are off to Malaysia which apparently has some beaches to rival those in Thailand. I'm an excited!
6. keep stirring. keeping smiling. cooking class.
Now you'll have to read the next blog for full details. But this one was a great day in the countryside outside of Chiang Mai. Brother Chef took us on a great tour of the market followed by a great 5 hour lesson on how to make Pad Thai, Spring Rolls, Stir Fried Vegetables, 3 Kinds of curry, and Mango Sticy Rice. After cooking we got to taste it all --- not quite as good as the locals, but pretty close!
5. long boat ride.
We took 4 or 5 ferries while in Thailand, but none compared to the stormy longboat ride in the long boat in Koh Phi Phi. There are several islands that make up the Island of Koh Phi Phi. The best way to access them is via long boat. Imagine a boat similar to a war canoe with a salvaged diesel car engine attached the back with a 15 foot boom with a propellar on the end. Now imagine monsoon rains, 10 foot swells, and 8 tourists and a boat drive trying to navigate the sea. Few times in my life have I ever questioned my future, but this one was a great reminder how great it is to be alive and on land! I still consider it a must for all visitors to the island though!
4. UBC acceptance.
It was in a dingy internet cafe in Chiang Mai that i recieved my acceptance to the Early Career Masters program at the Sauder School of Business at UBC. It was definitely a great surprise and releif to get and I'm excited to spend the next year of my life (perhaps more) in beautiful British Columbia studying.
3. Chang beer.
There beer in Thailand is cheap, cold and unpredictable. Apparently, the bottles always have an alcohol content written on them, but it is really just a suggestion. Each batch they brew is unique and the alcohol content ranges from 5% to 12%. Again...only in Thailand!
2. Chai + Chia-O.
In Chiang Mai we took the Flight of the Condor challenge and zip-lined across 2 km of Jungle canopy and repelled vertically downwards for more than 100 ft. A great day and thanks to the great instruction from Chai and Chiao-O our instructors we safely conquered the day!
1. same same, but different.
Growing up in a West-Indian family with roots in Guyana strange sayings were nothing new. However, the 'same same, but different' saying was a classic. Basically it means similar; however, it was a generalization that was so common for sales people. Really something you'll have to explore for yourself when you visit here.
All in all as we leave Thailand I am sad to say goodbye and would definitely reccomend this place as a great place to visit.
Keep Stirring! Keep Smiling!
David here...
For those who know me well, know that an episode in from a TV would not be complete without a glimpse and the food network. So when I heard about the chance to be in a real life cooking show (or sorts) I knew I had to go!
Sabrina and boared the red-bus (really just a pickup truck with a cabin in the back and some benches). Our travel mates our cooking adventure included two Americans from North Dakota (Big ups Fargo!), Bud from London, UK, 3 travellers from Northern Ireland, 3 others from the UK, a couple from China (we think!), and a backpacker form California.
For those who know me well, know that an episode in from a TV would not be complete without a glimpse and the food network. So when I heard about the chance to be in a real life cooking show (or sorts) I knew I had to go!
Sabrina and boared the red-bus (really just a pickup truck with a cabin in the back and some benches). Our travel mates our cooking adventure included two Americans from North Dakota (Big ups Fargo!), Bud from London, UK, 3 travellers from Northern Ireland, 3 others from the UK, a couple from China (we think!), and a backpacker form California.
Our first stop was the market where our instructor "Brother Chef" walked us through the market and litterally turned every market stall into his classroom. Armed with a pairing knife he sliced and diced open all the fruits and vegetables and then allowed us to use all 5 senses to really understand what we were cooking for.
We then boarded back on the bus and headed out to his kitchen in the country that was the perfect setup to teach us how to cook Thai-Style. Using a skillful interpretation of the english language Brother Chef guided us through Tom Yum Soup, Vegetable Stir-Fry, Spring Rolls, Red Curry, Green Curry, Yellow Curry, and Massaman Curry, Pad Thai, and Sticky Rice with Mango.
We then boarded back on the bus and headed out to his kitchen in the country that was the perfect setup to teach us how to cook Thai-Style. Using a skillful interpretation of the english language Brother Chef guided us through Tom Yum Soup, Vegetable Stir-Fry, Spring Rolls, Red Curry, Green Curry, Yellow Curry, and Massaman Curry, Pad Thai, and Sticky Rice with Mango.
The most exciting dish of the day was the Pad Thai. I have to make special mention to Andrew Mes (Food and Beverage Manger at the USC) who has a bittersweet love for Pad Thai and Frank Miller (Manager of Hospitality Services at UWO) and wanted to hear about some tips and tricks. I'll send a copy of the recipe book, but for now please enjoy the flare of Pad Thai below.
By the end of the day Sabrina and I were so full, but felt so accomplished. We left with a certificate, extremely detailed cookbook and an invigorated passion for Thai cuisine.
Check out a bit of the action!
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