Thailand Part IV: Bangkok for New Year's

We ended our trip in Bangkok, since it meant one less connection on our final trip home, and that we would be in a major city for New Year's Eve. We stayed in the Krungthep Wing of  the Shangri-La Bangkok, and arranged for them to pick us up at the airport. We were met by a hotel representative and immediately brought to a BMW 7-series for the efficient, 40 minute or so drive into Bangkok and to the hotel. While the hotel car was not cheap, it was very nice and offered extremely fast wi-fi, which was very nice (especially after having spotty internet in Cambodia). 

Upon arrival, we were immediately greeted by name and whisked up to our room. Despite the fact that neither of us have any sort of status with Shangri-La, somehow we were upgraded to a ridiculous named suite, the Ayutthaya Suite. It was a one-bedroom suite with a full living room, dining room, kitchen (complete with separate service entrance), an enormous marble bathroom and panoramic views up and down the Chao Praya river. The suite was a bit dated, with very 90s-Asian-chic decor (check out the painting above the bed), but was still very large and nice. Although there is no wifi in the rooms of the Krungthep Wing, upon request we were quickly brought a wireless router for our room, so we had wifi throughout our entire stay anyway.

The Krungthep Wing of the Shangri-La is basically like a totally separate hotel, with its own lobby, elevators and pool (though it is attached to the Shangri-La Wing by a very long hallway). It is basically an all-club hotel, with free breakfast, tea and evening cocktails in the Krungthep lounge in the lobby. Breakfast was great, with a small buffet as well as the option to order eggs and other items. (One day we ate breakfast in the Shangri-La Wing, which is also included in the Krungthep Wing rooms, and is a giant, crowded buffet - we far preferred Krungthep breakfast). Afternoon tea was a treat, with petits fours and tea, and evening cocktails were great as well with delicious canapes. 

The hotel also includes a butler service, which is usually just a useless gimmick, but here was quite useful - butlers would bring your evening cocktails and canapes to your room if you didn't feel like going down (we never tried this, but saw butlers arranging beautiful plates of canapes in the evening), and one day, when my stomach was feeling the effects of being in Bangkok, I requested ginger ale, and was promptly delivered more than enough cans of ginger ale to last our entire stay. 

Overall, our entire stay at the Krungthep Wing was great, and we would definitely return, even though there are so many interesting and affordable luxury hotel options in Bangkok. And if you are staying at the Shangri La, I highly recommend the Krungthep Wing.

For our full day of touring Bangkok, we did the classic trio of the Grand Palace, Wat Pho and Wat Arun. We took the tourist boat from the pier next to the Shangri-La to the Grand Palace. The Grand Palace was very crowded, with an extremely long line to borrow clothing if you are not appropriately dressed (note: this means men too; unlike in some other areas of Thailand, absolutely no shorts are allowed, even longer men's shorts, so be sure to wear pants and short sleeved shirts). 

The Grand Palace was very large, with many impressive buildings, including the temple housing the Emerald Buddha. When we were there, it was extremely crowded, but we still managed to see just about everything in under an hour (not included the time spent purchasing tickets, etc.).

After finishing at the Grand Palace, we took the short walk to Wat Pho to see the reclining Buddha. This was very cool and impressive, but the temple really does only house the (enormous) reclining Buddha, so it was pretty fast.

After Wat Pho, we took a quick boat ride across the Chao Praya to Wat Arun. The boat was only two or three baht, which is very inexpensive (about 10 cents USD). Wat Arun is extremely pretty at night when it is lit up, but I would definitely recommend visiting during the day as well - the temple is covered in elaborate detail, and it is fun to climb up into the tiers and see the detail, including inlaid porcelain.

Our last night happened to be New Year's Eve. Rather than heading to an enormous, overpriced, overrated hotel celebration, we opted to have dinner at Eat Me, which I had read good things about online. Their New Year's Eve dinner was reasonably priced, and included a spectacular three course meal, unlimited drinks (including delicious cocktails; I must have had at least four of a certain passionfruit cocktail they offered) and live music. We ate in the earlier seating, and after they actually encouraged us to continue drinking downstairs in their bar, which was quite generous given that the drinks were free (and so delicious!). The atmosphere was very festive, with many Australian and American expats and tourists, and they continually passed around a basket of small celebratory toys. It was by far the best and most fun New Year's Eve dinner we have ever had.

After dinner we walked around a bit and checked out a few night markets, and ultimately ended up back at our hotel room, where we were excited to utilize our three balconies to take in the Bangkok fireworks. Unlike many cities which have one centralized fireworks display, Bangkok had multiple simultaneous displays up and down the river, and we were able to see at least three from our vantage point.

On our last day, we did a bit of exploring. We went to Siam Paragon, an enormous luxury mall that also features a great food hall and grocery store (while the luxury shops are generic and offer the exact same things as their counterparts elsewhere in the world, we had a lot of fun exploring the grocery store). In the afternoon, we decided to indulge and check out the spa at the Shangri-La, which was a bit expensive for Bangkok but very reasonably by US standards (especially US luxury hotel spa standards). We decided to do a traditional Thai massage, which was incredible, and the spa facilities were some of the nicest and most spacious we have seen in a city, with double-height ceilings and treatment rooms with private bathrooms and showers.

Bangkok was great, and we were very sad to leave the Shangri-La and Thailand. Throughout the entire trip we had an amazing time, and definitely think it is worth the 36+ hours of flying that it can take to get there. 

Thailand Part III: Siem Reap, Cambodia

For the third leg of our trip, we traveled across the border to Siem Reap, Cambodia, to see the temples of Angkor. Our hotel, the Sofitel Angkor Phokeethra, was mediocre at best, and so doesn't bear much explanation. But the temples themselves were pretty spectacular.

We hired an English-speaking guide and a driver to take us around for a full day. We woke up before dawn and traveled to the largest and most famous temple, Angkor Wat, in order to see the reflection of the temple on its reflecting pond as the sun rose. This was an experience that I am glad to have had, but do not ever feel the need to do it again. There were literally hundreds of people, all crowding at the edge of the reflecting pond, at the crack of dawn. It was unpleasant, to say the least.

On the bright side, once we got a few photos of the reflection, we immediately asked our guide to begin showing us around the temple, while most of the other tourists stayed at the pond. This was great for several reasons - we got to see the temple while it was empty (there were literally, at most, 10 other people walking around at first), take some great photos without other tourists in the background, and see the temple at a relatively mild temperature, given that the sun was just rising.

When we were there, it happened to be baby season, and we saw lots of monkeys and their babies. While the monkeys are cute and generally benevolent, they did make a few attempts to jump into my bag (and nearly  succeeded), which would have been unpleasant.

After Angkor Wat, we went back to the hotel for breakfast. Our driver and guide waited for us, and after breakfast we headed to Angkor Thom, one of the largest temple complexes. I did not include a single photo, however, because this part of the day was absolutely miserable (and also, the temples were frankly boring compared to the others we saw that day). Angkor Thom was packed to the gills with giant, rude tour groups, who would aggressively push you out of the way while yelling at you (in varied languages) through bullhorns. Adding to that, it was about 100 degrees and there were enormous spiders at the top of the few temples we scaled. Overall, glad to have done it, and I recommend a stop there, but it may be more pleasant later in the afternoon when tour groups have subsided.

We then headed to Ta Prohm, which I was most excited about. Ta Prohm is the temple made famous by Tomb Raider. When the temple was being restored, the restoration committee decided to keep the trees and wildlife that had grown through and around the temple, meaning that it is quite an impressive and unique site. While this temple was also extremely crowded, it was more interesting and thus more bearable.

At the end of the day, we checked out the last temple that we wanted to see, Banteay Srei. This temple is a bit of a drive from the other main temples, about 45 minutes to an hour, and we had to pay our driver a small supplement to take us there. The drive, however, is fascinating, as you drive through local neighborhoods and get a better sense of how the locals live.

Banteay Srei is a beautiful, red sandstone temple devoted to the goddess Shiva, and thus is known as the women's temple. It has beautiful, extremely elaborate carvings, and is quite unique from the other temples of Angkor. When we were there, it was not busy at all, and the entire temple is rather small and easy to see. I would highly recommend making the drive out to see it.

While some of the temples were hot, crowded and overwhelming, Siem Reap was overall a really fun place to visit. Siem Reap's night market was our favorite of the whole trip - not overwhelming, with interesting goods for sale and extremely low prices (plus, everything there is in US dollars - even the ATMs give you dollars, making things very easy). Also, check out one of the pharmacies if you like any French beauty products; I was able to stock up on some of my favorite hair products for a fraction of the price in the US or even Thailand (just be sure to go to a reputable pharmacy, so that you know the products are genuine and not expired).

The nightlife scene there is interesting, with everything from bars and clubs to outdoor fish pedicure spots. And the food in Cambodia is amazing. We had great meals at the Heritage Suites restaurant (the Cambodian/French tasting menu was amazing) and Paris Saigon, a small restaurant run by a Frenchman and his Vietnamese wife (it was Jacob's favorite meal of the whole trip). Overall Siem Reap and Angkor are a great addition to any trip, but by the time we left I was ready to move on to Bangkok.

Thailand Part II: Phuket

We arrived in Phuket late on Christmas evening. While at first we were unable to find our driver from our hotel, Trisara, after a call to the property we got things sorted out and found our driver, who brought us quickly to one of Trisara's Volvo SUVs. The car was stocked with cold scented towels, bottled water and dates. After about a 30 minute drive up that involved some very steep and windy roads, we arrived at Trisara, and were dropped off down at the hotel's lobby. Because it was late, we couldn't fully appreciate the setting, but the next morning realized how beautiful the property and its open-air lobbies and restaurants were.

We booked a basic room at Trisara, but even the basic room there was the nicest room of our entire stay. Every room on the property has an ocean view, since it is set into a hill, as well as a private pool and deck, and most rooms are separate villas and do not share any walls. Our basic room shared a wall with one room, but we had our own separate staircase and entrance, and we never even would have known that there were other guests staying next to us.

We spent our first morning enjoying the beach, which was beautiful and well-groomed, and covered in adorable hermit crabs! At the beach there was full service, so you could order drinks and snacks (including fresh coconuts, with a straw), as well as different water activities like kayaking, paddleboarding and snorkeling. 

That afternoon we took a private boat trip to Phang Nga Bay, arranged by Trisara. This was my favorite part of our entire vacation - the photos cannot do it justice, but Phang Nga Bay has got to be one of the most beautiful places in the world, with giant, lush green mountains popping out of the teal bay.

While we encountered many other boats full of tour groups and kayaking trips, we definitely think that paying for the private boat was worth it, since it gave us a bit more flexibility in exploring. Also it was great to be able to stop whenever we wanted for photos.

After a few hours of cruising the bay, we stopped on an island further south (where the water is more clear) for some swimming as well as a picnic. The picnic, arranged by Trisara, featured a full spread and was complete with a table and cushions for sitting. No detail was overlooked!

While the food was consistently great throughout our trip, the food in Phuket was really excellent. Hotel breakfast at Trisara is included in room rates, and was amazing, with lots of fresh options. One morning I had a vegetable tart for breakfast that I am still dreaming about. 

We ate dinner one night at Trisara's seafood restaurant, which was excellent. We also enjoyed a private barbecue on our private deck, which was delicious and highly recommended (we even had a waiter - it was the most lux barbecue ever!). We ate off property a few times, including one excellent dinner at Siam Supper Club, which was perfect when we were craving Western food and good wine, of which Siam Supper Club has both. 

I am not usually a person to take photos of my food, but how gorgeous are these Phuket clams and blue-lipped mussels? They were both delicious, too.

On our second full day, we spent the day taking advantage of Trisara's many water activities. After a nice kayak we took the resort's boat out to a snorkeling rock not far from the resort beach (you can see it in the distance of the photo below). Unfortunately at the end of our snorkle I swam into a giant rock and cut my leg pretty badly. Once we got back to shore, the water sports attendants (who spoke serviceable English) took excellent care of me - they cleaned the wound, sanitized it, applied disinfectant cream and bandages. Besides being thorough, they were also extremely gentle. I was extremely impressed by how well-trained and equipped they were, and the scar on my leg is healing nicely.

That afternoon, after the snorkel-rock disaster, we visited Trisara's spa and both enjoyed a four-hands massage and a facial. The spa was stunning, with the same ocean views as the rest of the resort, and private showers/bathrooms for each of us in the treatment room. While the facial was a little disappointing due to my Western standards (I happen to love extractions, which are not the norm in Asia),  the massage was by far the best massage either of us have ever had. Each of us had two masseuses at once, and they were perfectly synchronized. (They were also excellent at avoiding my fresh wound, which I was nervous about at first.) While I would not recommend the facials, I would very highly recommend the four hands massage. It was insane.

Overall our entire time spent at Trisara was excellent, and even our departure was perfect. Due to traffic in the departures area of the airport, the resort car dropped us off at the arrivals area, where there were 2 uniformed Trisara employees waiting for us. They whisked us through check in (Trisara had already printed our boarding passes for us) and brought us and our carry-on luggage all the way to customs. While Phuket airport is small, it was very busy and confusing, and Trisara helped us navigate it without any problems. This final touch was the icing on the cake of our stay, and we will definitely go back to Trisara next time we are in Phuket.

Thailand Part I: Chiang Rai & Golden Triangle

The Bachelor was in Thailand for last week's episode, so I was finally motivated to upload and share some photos from Thailand and Cambodia.

Jacob and I started our trip in Northern Thailand, in Chiang Rai. We were originally deciding between Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai, but chose Chiang Rai due to the beauty of the Golden Triangle (where Thailand, Burma and Laos all meet, and where Chiang Rai is located), as well as for the amazing elephant camp that houses the Anantara Golden Triangle and the Four Seasons Tented Camp.

We opted to stay at the Anantara, and opted to do their "Royal Elephant Arrival." We were picked up at the airport by a hotel representative in a very luxurious hotel van and driven to Chiang Saen, which is just up the river from the hotel.

From Chiang Saen we took a longtail boat for the 20 minute ride up the Mekong River to the hotel, with Burma and Laos on one side of the river and Thailand on the other. The boat was narrow and a bit frightening — the motor is literally a repurposed car engine — but the hotel's boat was certainly a lot nicer than most of the other longtails we saw.

Along the way, we saw many interesting things, from local Laotian women doing laundry in the river to a small fishing village and the giant golden Buddha that was built to honor Thailand's queen when she visited the area a few years ago.

When we arrived at the boat dock, at the top of the ramp our elephant transportation for the trek up to the hotel was waiting (along with hilarious elephant stairs, for mounting purposes).

From the very moment we arrived, the Anantara was wonderful and paid close attention to every detail. Every car ride we took featured cold scented towels and bottled water. We were greeted with beautiful orchid leis, and along our elephant trek there were mahouts waiting for us with freshly cut coconuts (and straws). Once we finished drinking the coconut milk, our elephant enjoyed a tasty snack. 

Along our trek, we saw several of the camp's baby elephants, as well as different views of the river and the Burmese mountains. The ride was short but up a steep hill and took 25 minutes or so. Our elephant dropped us off right at the hotel lobby, and we were met by a representative who quickly checked us in and showed us to our room, which was very spacious and had a gorgeous view of the river, the elephant camp and Burma in the distance.

That afternoon, we did the Anantara's mahout training. The afternoon session consists of a quick elephant riding lesson (bareback!) and then a long ride down to the river, probably close to an hour of riding. The session ends with the elephants bathing themselves in the river — and bathing you along with them. The river was a bit cold and mucky, and my thighs were sore for days, but it was really fun and I highly recommend it.

The week that we stayed, the hotel required an all-inclusive package, which included one activity per day, all meals, house alcohol (which was more than adequate) and unlimited snacks and drinks from the minibar. Since we were there over Christmas Eve, it also included several holiday gifts and a very fun Christmas Eve banquet, complete with performers, local artisans, elephants and a delicious holiday buffet.

The food at the resort was very good, especially the Thai food and the breakfast. Every morning at breakfast, they also brought up a baby elephant, which was a fun way to start the day (and I got a huge kick out of feeding the elephant). 

On our full day at Anantara, we took the "Three Countries Tour," which involved spending a good part of the day across the border in Burma, exploring the temples of Chiang Saen and a quick stop to an economic zone on an island in Laos (which was one of the only areas in Laos that does not require a visa for U.S. citizens). 

We were met in the morning by an English-speaking guide and a driver from the hotel. We had a private Mercedes sedan for the day, though we took a tuk-tuk while in Burma and took a long tail boat across the river to Laos. 

In Burma, we began at an imitation market, which sold knockoffs of just about everything you can imagine — handbags, watches, clothing, DVDs, you name it. Of course, working in an industry where piracy and counterfeiting is a huge problem, we did not buy anything, but it was crazy to see how quickly things are counterfeited.

We then moved on and explored some beautiful temples and monasteries, and were lucky enough to see some young monks-in-training eating their daily meal. We also explored a local neighborhood, where our tuk-tuk driver lived, and saw how locals lived in the Burmese border town we visited.

Overall crossing between the borders was easy and definitely worth it; while I wouldn't necessarily want to navigate through Burma on my own, our guide had everything prepared (even our tuk tuk driver was waiting for us) and carefully planned, so we really enjoyed our experience.

After our time in Burma, we stopped for a beautiful picnic lunch which was very nicely prepared and packed by Anantara. Our guide and driver left for a bit to give us some privacy, and their timing was perfect.

After lunch, we explored Chiang Saen, which has hundreds of temples and ruins of temples, and the economic zone in Laos, which was really just a shopping market offering tchotchkes, knockoff handbags and many items that would be illegal to bring into the U.S.

On our last day, we got massages in the hotel's spa, which is a beautiful, serene, open-air facility overlooking the elephant camp and the Burmese mountains. Our massages were incredibly relaxing, and a great way to spend Christmas morning, and they got us ready for the flights to our next destination: Phuket.

Spicy Crispy Chicken Sandwiches

I love a good spicy chicken sandwich. It is one of my all-time favorite foods, up there with stuffing (as in Thanksgiving) and Mexican salads. Recently, my coworkers and I discovered an amazing lunch place at the CAA building called The Stand, which has an amazing buffalo chicken sandwich (and with grilled chicken! Reduced guilt!). 

Unfortunately a few weekends ago I had a massive craving for a spicy chicken sandwich, but was certainly not going to drive to Century City to get one (and managed to resist all of the delicious fried options closer to my apartment). Instead I decided to try a Cooking Light recipe that I earmarked a long time ago but never got around to trying.

.What interesting me about the recipe was that the chicken was marinated in a spicy marinade, and then breaded using crushed tortilla chips, a breading that was entirely new to me. Unfortunately, it just didn't work out the way I hoped. Crushing tortilla chips in a food processor is actually much more of a pain than it sounds (my kitchen is still covered in tortilla chip bits). But even worse, the chip coating burns extremely quickly, which makes things tough when you are working with olive oil (and as little as possible). And on top of that, if you actually do get the coating to stick and cook properly, it then proceeds to fall right off. Oy.

Of course, not one to let that stop me, and loving the spicy marinade in the recipe, I tried again, but used panko and vegetable oil this time. And the results were brilliant. This chicken is super tasty, and does not need to be eaten in a sandwich - I've been enjoying my leftovers on salads and even plain. Super delicious.

Spicy Crispy Chicken Sandwiches

Adapted from Cooking Light

Makes 4 sandwiches

2 large chicken breasts, or 6-8 chicken breast tenders

2 eggs

3 tbsp. hot sauce (e.g. Tabasco)

1/4 tsp. salt

1 c. panko

4 tbsp. vegetable oil

sandwich rolls

If starting with chicken breasts, cut breasts in half lengthwise to get 4 large, thin breast pieces. If uses tenders (as pictured), place between two sheets of parchment paper and pound thing. I just use a frying pan (quick and easy).

In a medium zip-top baggie, mix eggs, hot sauce and salt. Add chicken, being sure that every piece is coated. Marinate in the fridge for at least 2 hours, and up to 1 night.

Once ready to cook, heat oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Spread panko onto a plate. Remove one piece of chicken, shaking off excess marinade, and coat in panko. Place in pan and cook until brown, about 3 minutes on each side. Once cooked, set aside on a paper-towel lined plate (to absorb any excess oil). Repeat with all of the chicken.

Once cooked, serve on a sandwich bun. If you used the smaller tenders, you will probably need 1 1/2 to 2 pieces of chicken for each sandwich. Add the vegetables and sauce of your choice; I am partial to butter lettuce and yogurt bleu cheese dressing myself, but the possibilities are endless. Leftover chicken can be stored in the fridge and reheated in the oven (to maintain the crispy coating, avoid the microwave).