Last Day in Bangkok, and Asia

Day 25:

So on Friday, we awoke to Barack Obama's convention speech spectacular and our last day, not only in Bangkok, but in Asia all together.

We packed our two giant suitcases (one of which we had to purchase in Thailand to accommodate all the new swag we bought) and one box of spices, praying that we wouldn't go over the airline's weight limit.

We wondered around our new neighborhood in Bangkok, and happened upon this lovely little restaurant where we proceeded to eat papaya salad (phet: spicy), chicken pad kra prow (basil sauce), and gai yang (roasted chicken with thai herbs) made by these very nice ladies in an outdoor kitchen. Total bill: less than $10 US.

Then we made our way over to a cute little spa, where we got 30 minute feet and leg massages, accompanied by hot ginger tea, for $6 each. Feeling very rejuvenated, we headed back to Platinum Center, the wholesale mall, to buy some additional gifts and to give Aor, the T designer one of Sean's CDs. And it was there, because the world is small, that we met a Malaysian man and woman. She, Joselyn Pang, as it turns out works in the Thai office of amfAR and knows our friend Eric Muscatell. She had just been to the NYC office two weeks before!

After Platinum, we fought the rush hour crowds for a taxi to take us to the show spectacular, Siam Niramit, to no avail. No cabs would take us there because it was on the outside of the city, and difficult for them to get fares back. Finally, after some haggling, we agreed to let one take us for 200 baht (a kind of rip off by Thai standards, but about $6. The meter would have cost about $2 US.)

Siam Niramit is a musical spectacular with 150 cast members (including goats, roosters and elephants), 500 costumes, all performed on the world's biggest stage (complete with a river running across the theater). You can check it out at http://www.siamniramit.com/ We were meeting Andromeda and her mom, Akua, who were beginning their 10 days in Thailand before returning home to NYC. The show was moving and gorgeous, portraying Thai history and Buddhist allegories.

Annie, Thana and the kids met us after the show to take us to dinner. They informed us that it was good we were getting an early flight out in the morning because protesters had closed the airports in Phuket and Krabi, and the main train station in Bangkok. Things were heating up.

It was fabulous to see Andromeda again, and Akua as well, looking fierce as always. Our Thai hosts took us to this terrific restaurant/club called Sugar Beet, where we ate, danced, drank and raced go carts. Well Andromeda, Sean and the kids did - it's all on video, all 8 minutes of crashing and burning. And Thana arranged for Andromeda to sing with the band - she killed it with Killing Me Softly, Roberta Flack style. That, too, is on video for the viewing.

We said tearful goodbyes to our Thai family, who had been SO, so generous and caring and made our trip to Thailand something we will remember forever. Thank you Thana, Annie, Joei, and Joanne! We will see you again soon in Thailand, and in NYC, too. xo

Wishing Andromeda and Akua a great trip, despite the political unrest. I know they are doing their patriotic part to support the Thai economy during this tough time. :)

We hope that the Thai people can resolve this conflict peacefully and democratically. Thailand is a beautiful place, and we are grateful to all the people who showed us kindness and generosity of spirit.

Thai phrase of the day:

prai sanee - post office

(Significant because when we got to Bangkok airport, we were told that one of our bags was over the 30 kg per bag limit as per US labor laws - US airport employees can't lift more than that weight per bag. We had to go to the airport post office, buy a box for 85 baht, and empty one of the bags of about 15 kilos, or pay a $130 tariff. All at 6:30 am on 3 hours sleep.)

To The North

Days 23 and 24:

Annie and Thana accompanied us up north to a beautiful city called Chiang Mai, about an hour flight from Bangkok. It is Thailand's 2nd largest city, and home to many Thai artists and alternative folks - and lots of farang, because believe it or not, Chiang Mai is even cheaper than Bangkok.

Our camera battery died when we got up there, and we forgot the charger, so you'll have to appreciate the pictures in our heads. There are a few we managed to capture, however.

Downtown Chiang Mai is surrounded by a quaint moat, and lovely ruins of its ancient city gates. The moat used to contain a palace. But now the downtown is filled with shops and restaurants and markets. Motor bike is the favored form of transportation here. And the city is surrounded by gorgeous, lush, green mountains, which are home to hill tribes, which come to town to sell their wears - wood carvings, tapestries, and jewelery.

Thana and Annie introduced us to their friend "Pop" who owns a car/motorbike rental place and a fabulous restaurant, all appropriately named "Pop's." We stayed in a lovely inn called Raming Inn, right in the center of downtown.

Annie took us shopping at this market where all the local artists and artisans sell their wares, mostly of wood. The elaborate wood carvings are everywhere, and are highly, highly detailed. Annie wanted to be sure to equip us with lots of Thai spices before we left, so we went to Chinatown to Chiang Mai's largest market and stocked up on saffron (bargain basement prices in Thailand), chillies, chilli powder, green tea, jasmine tea, and Thai garlic, which Sean plans to eat on a daily basis so he never gets sick. Be assured that our friends and family who cook, will be getting supplies.

Following a brief dip in the pool, that night we went with Pop, his bodyguard and Thana and Annie to this fabulous restaurant on the river, called "The Good View." It lived up to its name, and the food delivered as well. A giant outdoor restaurant with a live band and pretty lanterns hanging from the rafters. We requested lots of American songs, and they played Sweet Home Alabama for us. :)

The next morning we explored the town on our own, while Annie and Thana did some business, and then they drove us up into the mountains to see the winter palace of the royal family, Phu Phing, and the most beautiful temple, Wat Pra That in the Doi Suthep mountains. There is a piece of Buddha's bones in this temple. We got a good luck blessing by a monk, and Sean got an extra blessing because he's a boy. (The monks aren't allowed to touch women, so he couldn't tie a knot on Sue's wrist; only the layman could.)

We made offerings to the temple and to the Jade Buddha, took in the views of the city in the valley below. Thana and Annie rang the bells in prayer, and we descended down the 300 odd stairs from the temple. On the way down we ran into this 5-year old girl from one of the hill tribes, named Boh, who was playing with her bouncy ball on the temple steps, dressed in full hill tribe garb. She spoke perfect English: "Where are you from? I'm Boh. What's your name?" Sue, of course, was completely smitten, and wanted to steal her, but we didn't think that was advisable. Sue, instead, had a nice conversation with Boh, and ended up giving her one of her new necklaces from Chatachuk Market because Boh admired it so much, and because Sue couldn't resist.

We made our way back down the mountain - Thana is an excellent mountain driver - stopped for a quick bite of seafood and noodles in broth, and then made our way back to the airport and our second to last evening in Bangkok.

We checked into our new hotel - our 3rd in Bangkok - and took in a view of the city from the 61st floor of the Banyan Tree Hotel (very posh) at it's roof top bar, appropriately title, Vertigo. It had rained in Bangkok, so the air was the clearest it had been since we arrived. Great views that rivaled those of Mado Lounge in Tokyo.

After two cocktails each, we cabbed it back to our hotel, and crashed out for the night.

Thai phrase of the day:
Mai pen rai - No worries.

Bangkok: Shop, Eat, Massage. Shop, Eat, Sleep. Repeat.

Days 19, 20, 21, and 22:

Now, we acknowledge that Thailand is the Land of Smiles - its people are very hospitable (and sometimes aggressive, when selling in the markets). But we respectfully would like to rename it "The Land of Markets." Over our last 4 days in Bangkok, our generous hosts, Thana, Annie and their two fabulously American children (they are Thai, actually, but speak better English than we do!) have treated us to the world's best bargain shopping and some of the greatest meals we've ever taken. Indeed, they drop us off at our hotel every night around 10, completely full and exhausted, where we literally fall into bed.

We have shopped til we dropped at the famed Chatachuk Market on the north end of Bangkok, at the floating markets of Ratchaburi and quaint little Amphawa. We've shopped in the wholesale markets (Platinum and Indra Square) in downtown Bangkok (you don't need a license here to buy wholesale - only quantity and a great bargainer like Annie!). In Bangkok you can buy ANYTHING at almost anytime, for CHEAP, cheap prices. There is also a street market in Chinatown that goes from midnight until 7 am. We've bought jewelery, we've bought clothes, bags (are you surprised), bowls, wine holders, silk pillow covers, a wooden foot massager.

Sue's bag count: 5 (She's shown SOME restraint.) Sean on the other hand - his T-shirt count is up to 15. But he smiles and says, "There are still a few days left." He's actually connected with some independent designers, who he hopes to form ongoing relationships to style him for his gigs.

We have also eaten and sampled much of what Thailand has to offer with regard to food. Countless fruits: dragon foot, the ever-stinky durian, cherries, pamello (our favorite), coconut, guava (also called farang, which also means foreigner), papaya, rambutan, watermelon, langon, lychee, and pineapple, to name a few. We've eaten countless of types of fish, crabs, giant prawns, squid, octopus. TONS of chilies (green and red), garlic, ginger, lemon grass, Thai basil (which is food for the gods), oyster sauce, garlic sauce. Fish cakes, noodles of many forms, pumpkin, lotus, kale and other greens. Our favorite sweet treats from Thailand - tuay, this AMAZING coconut custard with coconut sugar on the bottom, kind of a creme brulee, but not really, and smaller in a thimble cup. (We ate that in the the old imperial city of Bang Pa-In; you can't find it in Bangkok, apparently.) Our other favorite sweet treat is this coconut and bean ice pop, which we had in Ampahwa - to die!

On Sunday evening, we embarked on a lovely dinner cruise along the Cha Phraya River with our hosts, including Annie's two children Joey and Joanne, our new Thai brother and sister. We were glad they joined us, considering they had to stay up late that night to cram for their exams the next day! We got to see Wat Pra Kaw, Wat Arun (which is totally made out of ceramics), and numerous bridges and the skyline of Bangkok.

We headed out of Bangkok on Tuesday, the 26th, to Bang Pa-In and Ayuthaya, the old capital city. Bangkok was a bit chaotic, with the 3-month long protests by the People's Alliance for Democracy having escalated into the take over of 7 government buildings, including the Government House (their White House) and the national television station, NBT. Rumors are swirling about a coup, but the military denies that that will happen. All has been relatively peaceful, but traffic was stalled throughout certain parts of the city. (On Monday it took Annie two hours to reach our hotel, which would normally take about 20 minutes.)

On Tuesday evening, with a coup brewing outside, Sean, Thana, Annie and I, treated ourselves to a 2-hour Thai herbal massage. Picture the 4 of us in pajamas laid out on mats in a room, each with two masseuses, pounding and bending and stretching and poking us until we couldn't move. Then the second masseuse would apply steamy hot herbal packs to our beaten muscles. It was heavenly. Sean said afterward that he felt great, but at times felt as though he'd just been in a Muay Thai match (Thai boxing). Total cost: $25 each. Wooooorrrrk!!!!!

On to the north and Chiang Mai!

Thai phrase of the day:
suay - beautiful

[Note: Battery dead on our camera. Need to re-charge. Will post photos soon.]

On To Paradise

Days 16, 17, 18:

There is not much to blog here except about the beauty of Ko Tao. After our 2 hour bumpy boat ride with uptight Austrians, we finally arrived at our destination.

Unfortunately, we were late again and Ko Tao Resort had already made its pick up. We secured a cab ride on the back of a pick up truck, the common form of taxis in Ko Tao, and drove through the dusty roads, even picking up a stray barefoot farang who had been there since January and was currently working at some local establishment.

We soon arrived at Ko Tao Resort and were immediately swept away to Paradise. We checked into our mountainside bungalow with no hot water, and changed into our suits for our first dip into the Gulf of Thailand.

The crystal water extended hundreds of meters out into the reef where sand bars dotted the landscape. People threw balls and Frisbees or just sat on the sand bar soaking up the sun and letting the warm salt water cascade over their shoulders. We chose to do the latter and stared out at the tropical island with trees and rock croppings all around us.

All the food at Ko Tao Resort was delicious and there menu extensive. All the other European farangs ate western food, but Sue and I dove into the Thai dishes, extra spicy please...phet phet. We dined on a whole red snapper one evening and a white snapper the following.

I decided to take in a half day scuba course and had a private instructor for the adventure. The experience was other worldly and after dealing with discomfort in the ear on my first decent, had a marvelous time. I had difficulty maintaining proper buoyancy and my instructor often corrected me by lifting my legs or gently pushing down on my air tank.

On the trip I met a couple Japanese brothers. One obtaining certification and the other an already certified open water diver. The dive company I learned was run by Japanese and we talked about our recent trip to Japan and ended up having dinner with them later that evening.

We also had an incredible Thai massage in an open air bungalow in a garden next to the beach where Sue had her neck cracked and regained mobility she hadn't had since she was 5 years old.

Ko Tao was an amazing location and super affordable once we were there. The resort was filled with an abundance of caring staff and had an infinity pool steps from the beach. Pleasant people, great food, sweet drinks, and heavenly environment made for an unforgettable experience.

Upon our sad departure, we had secured a ride on a high speed catamaran for about 500 baht cheeper then our mini speed boat. We were done with that ride. We arrived at the Ko Tao port and to an overwhelming amount of farangs all headed to various destinations by boat. We learned there is even a boat/bus ticket you can get from Bangkok to Ko Tao.

The catamaran was an air-conditioned, leather seat ride on a deck that held well over 100 people with loads of back packs and travel bags piled on top of each other in the front of the cabin. There was even a 'B' movie called Komodo vs. Cobra playing on various televisions throughout. It was a wild mix of crunchy people and other tourists all returning from a bit of paradise.

Of course we were late for our plane back to Bangkok, but our flight was delayed so there were no problems and we were able to relax a bit at the Ko Samui airport where they had a new outdoor shopping mall called Park Avenue Samui, lol.

Thai phrase of the day:
aroy maak: very delicious

Detour to the Secret Garden

Day 15:

We bid our sad farewell to Jeffrey and Winnie, but were excited to experience the tropical island of Ko Tao in the Gulf of Thailand.

We knew we would be in for an adventure as our flight from KL took us back to Bangkok where we would switch airlines and catch a flight 45 minutes later to Ko Samui before catching a 2 hour boat ride to Ko Tao. Our hope was to check through our luggage in order to speed up our transfer in Bangkok.

We were happy to hear that this would be possible, but soon after were informed that Bangkok Air had changed our flight and we would not be there in time to check the luggage through and would have to make new flight arrangements upon arriving in Bangkok. Fortunately, there is about a flight per hour to Samui and we were still confident in making the last boat to Ko Tao.

After we disembarked the plane from KL, we met an airport representative who said we could just go to the transfer counter instead of picking up our bags, clearing customs, and rebooking. We made the long walk across the airport only to be reinformed that we had to claim our bag, and recheck in...still time to make the 12pm flight though and the boat to Ko Tao.

Our flight on Bangkok airways was quick, about 50 minutes, and they even managed to hand out sandwiches and drinks. We landed on time and secured a cab to the port only to be greeted by a mob scene of farangs (foreigners) all looking for a way off of Samui to one of the neighboring islands. We were told there were no more boats to Ko Tao that day..."All full". When I asked about a private boat the cost was $30k baht about $1000 US dollars. Not gonna happen. Our driver shuttled us over to another pier where there were smaller 'speed' boats, but we saw a similar scene of Italians trying to bargain with a lady to no avail. We soon realized we were stuck on Ko Samui for the night with no idea where to go.

We bought our ticket for the first boat out in the morning and left our bag at the pier and trudged down the street through the dust, cars, carts of food, motor bikes, and stray dogs. We looked at one bungalow called 'One More Beach Bar' showed to us by a toothless Australian that still had pee in the toilet when Sue inspected the bathroom. NEXT!!! About a hundred yards further down we came to a sign the said Secret Garden, a bit more promising.

We walked up to the open air dining area where some farangs were eating lunch and were greeted by a smiling Thai woman who showed us to the desk. We were already feeling more relieved and Sue inquired about a room and we were on our way to lodging for the night, seaside included =).

I hurried back to the pier to gather our ever increasing bag and carried it through the streets as I soon realised that is was not going to wheel there through the dirt and sand.

Sweating, I arrived to find Sue checked in to a lovely bungalow with AC, an outdoor bath, and even a DVD player, all for about $55 dollars per night (no breakfast included).

We sat down to a delicious meal of spicy Thai food and quickly drank 3 Secret Gardens. A signature drink made of bacardi, guava juice, kiwi liquor, lime juice, and cucumbers. YUMMY!!!

John and his wife Rebecca, were gracious hosts and allowed us to call Ko Tao to let them know our dilemma. We took a short walk on the beach and laid out for a bit reminiscing that we had been in KL earlier that morning. We were joined by other farangs, stray dogs, and at sunset Water Buffaloes that were led by several Thai men and staked in the sand, we think for pictures with tourists, but there were no takers.

We had another drink at sunset, 'A Taste of Asia', before heading across the street to blog, next door to the bar with several Thai women calling at passing men.

We stumbled back for a delicious dinner of a whole sea bass and a spicy salad with crab meat. It was an amazing dinner and I topped it off with another drink, a 'Samui Dream'. John, we learned, often entertained at the bar in his previous home of Hong Kong, where he met his wife Rebecca.

We wrote down the recipes for all our samples from the bar and will be making them at home for our friends and family.

All in all what started as a very stressful day, ended quite blissfully.

Flying Fox

Day 14: It's a rainy Monday morning in KL, and we slept late and ordered room service to recover from the club nights and our weekend in Malaysia's play land.

It started to clear and we made our out of town about a half hour by train and taxi to a very fun resort and water park called Sunway Lagoon. Our friend Winnie owns and operates 4 gift shops there, and the resort is extremely popular amongst people from all over Asia and the Middle East. Winnie gave us an orientation to the park, which boasts a petting zoo, a water park, an extreme park and a scary park. We changed into our suits and headed over the water slides and the giant pool, where we watched all of the families thoroughly enjoying themselves. We were pleased to see, too, the young Muslim girls frolicking in the pool with their fully-waterproof head scarves and wet suits.

Over the pool is one of the extreme park rides called the Flying Fox. Everyone few minutes an air horn would sound, and some smiling child or adult would come flying over the pool on a wire strapped into a harness. Sue, being afraid of heights, but committed to experiencing new adventures on this trip looked at Sean and said, "I think I can do that." Seanie said, "Let's do it." So we dried off and made our way up about 4 stories of stairs to the top of the ride. Sue started to panic a bit at the height, but was determined to go for it. She wanted to go first, but they didn't have any harnesses that would go around her womanly hips and thighs; she had to wait for the harness to come back up from the big Arab man who went a couple turns before her. ;) Seanie went first, and as soon as he took off, a calm came over Sue - she was ready. Finally it was her turn, and she soared over the trees and the pool with a great big smile on her face, giving Sean the "I did it!" punch in the air, once she landed. We had a celebratory drink at the bottom, and then went off to meet Winnie and do some shopping in her gift shop.

Winnie couldn't join us for dinner that night - her mom was visiting her and her 6 month old twin girls - Debbie and Deborah. So we met Jeffrey at the mall at Sunway - even bigger than the last few, and it boasts a giant Sphinx and pyramid out front. We shopped some more :) and to Jeffrey's delight, took in a Japanese buffet for dinner - it was gigantic! Then, sadly, Jeffrey had to run to meet his brother because his 100-year old grandpa had gone into the hospital. We said so long to Jeffrey (but not goodbye because we'll be seeing him next week in Bangkok, where he will be on business!), and hope his grandpa and family are well.

Thank you to Jeffrey and Winnie for being the most wonderful hosts and dear friends to us during our stay in Malaysia. We intend to return the favor on your trip to NYC next year!!! And we'll do our own version of the Genting Highlands in Atlantic City - promise! xoxo

Malaysian phrase of the day:
Sama sama - You are welcome.

On to the beach at Ko Tao, Thailand.

Above The Clouds

Days 12 and 13: We awoke late on Saturday morning, post-gig, and hopped into the car with Jeffrey who whisked us away to the place where Malaysians play hard - the Genting Highlands. Picture Vegas and Atlantic City 1,500 meters above sea level. After a delicious brunch of curries and noodles and yummy spirulina juice (good for post-club hangovers) Jeffrey Andretti (he has a VERY heavy foot) winged his way up the mountain side into the clouds to the Highlands.

It was a beautiful drive with a great view of KL in the distance (or so we were told b/c the clouds were so low, we could only see white outside our window!). A great relief from the city's humidity and pollution. For the next two days, we gambled (Sean won 150 ringgit - about $50 - at black jack), shopped (what a shocker - Sean got Diesel jeans for $20 US!), ate (a fantastic dinner buffet for just under 100 ringgit - a mere $11 each - and rode the rides (there is this kiddie ride called the Rio Float Parade Ride, in which you can ride above the giant shopping mall in either a swan, a dragon, Mississippi river boat or a giant whale - we got the whale. It was Sue's favorite ride - no high speeds involved. We were the oldest two people on it). It was the start of a week-long school holiday, so it seemed as though every Malaysian family and some Middle Eastern as well, was staying in our hotel.

We were awakened before sunrise on Sunday morning by the Muslim prayers being called from the local mosque (all the hotel rooms in Malaysia, by the way, have arrows on the ceiling pointing towards Mecca. 60% of Malaysia's population is Muslim, the rest Hindu (the Indians) and Buddhist (the Chinese) with some Christians sprinkled in.), and then in true NY, agnostic fashion fell back to sleep until 11:30 am.

On our way back down from the Highlands, we stopped at the famed Hindu holy site, Batu Caves, where we climbed - along with all the local monkeys - all 272 stairs to the lovely temples at the top. (Jeffrey protested again the physical activity, but we won him over.) We didn't complain because once a year, the most reverent Hindus walk from KL to make that climb with hooks through their backs attached to offerings for the gods.

That evening we met Winnie and Clement for dinner in a neighborhood called Petaling Jaya (or PJ to the locals) at the very famous and popular Fatty Crab, where Winnie and Clem treated us to the most delicious dinner of Chang beer, garlic prawns, spicy crabs and red snapper steamed with lime, chilis, lemon grass. By far our favorite meal in KL.

Jeffrey drove us back to KL proper and our new hotel (Hotel Imperial), which boasted not only a view of the KL Tower, but this time Petronas AND club Maison - where Sean would be performing again in several hours, this time for a crowd of KL's gay men and the women who love them at the weekly Sunday party called Garcon. I styled Sean up again for the gig, and then we made our way around the corner to the party, which was celebrating its 2nd anniversary.

(A word about the gays and Malaysia. Being gay is completely and totally illegal in Malaysia, but as we were told, gay parties and gatherings exist in abundance, and are largely ignored by the authorities. The party just cannot advertise that it is a gay gathering.)

This time we got to meet Sam, the club's owner, the party's sponsors from Australia and Beijing, and a lovely, smart, worldly woman named Grace, a writer/editor and best childhood friend of Luqman. We hope she and Luqman will come visit us when they are in NYC. In true Seanie style, he worked those boys at the party into a frenzy. The club's GM Reggie and all the staff were very pleased with Sean's sounds and energy, and are very eager to bring him back soon. Just say the word, and we'll be on the plane!

We acknowledge the generosity and support of everyone who made Sean's KL debut possible and extremely memorable - Ed Aston, Sam, Luqman, Reggie, Merlin, and the other resident DJs at Maison. We look forward to coming back very soon!

Lucky number Day 13, ended on a high note as we drifted off the sleep.

Malaysian phrase of the day:
Terimah Kasi - thank you