Bangkok --> Chiang Mai

My goodness it feels like forever since our last post.

Moving back in time we are going to pick up where we left off during our first day in Bangkok.
Lesson 1: If it sounds too good to be true it is.
We had our first tuk-tuk ride. A tuk-tuk is a 3 wheeled covered vehicle powered by a small 2-stroke motor. They are amazing modes of transportation for quickly and conveniently getting around. But they are also notorious for trying to take advantage of tourists. This we should have known from the reading material we brought and what we read along the way. Nonetheless they got us. For our very first tuk-tuk ride we wanted to get to a park along the main river that flows through Bangkok the Chao Phraya. But unbeknownst to us until we started to walk around, he had taken to us to a very different park that was not along the river at all. Not only did he take us to the incorrect destination but we obscenely over payed. This became painfully obvious when the tuk-tuk driver insisted on taking our picture in the tuk-tuk and in front of a beautiful government building.

Inside a tuk-tuk.

Half a tuk-tuk

Mac an I were then walking through the park admiring the sights and trying to decide where we were and where to go when we were approached by an extremely nice tuk-tuk driver. He offered to take us to a few destinations with one extra stop on the way for a mere 20 baht. That should have been an immediate red flag. But we agreed. So after taking us to a beautiful temple and waiting while we walked around and took pics, he took us to the TAT (thailand authority of tourism or something). On the ride there we learned that the reason for going there was so that we could ask questions about travel and he could get a free gas coupon. Mind you his gas gauge was on empty when he picked us up. Once inside the travel agent immediately realized that we were not going to purchase anything. He then went from a wealth of knowledge to a dearth of information. We left the TAT and hopped back in the tuk-tuk. The driver was not happy, we made it about one block before he tried to convince us to go to a tailor so he could still get a  free gas card. "Gas for meeeee, for meeee" when we insisted he take us back to khaosan road he became even more unapproachable. We made him pull over and let us out, where he feigned a phone call to the Police. Mac just looked him in the eye and said, "call the Police." In the end we got out of it for a measly 10 baht (approx. 30 cents). Lesson learned; If it sounds too good to be true, it is.


So far that has been the most stressful and scary experiece in Thailand, although tame it was. The remedy for our blunder was a long walk back to khoasan road, we dont need no stinking taxis or tuk-tuks,  some fresh pad-thai and and a cold beer. We rounded out our day relaxing by the koi pond in front of our hotel writing in our journals and relaxing.

Later that night after a little confusion we met up with Whitney. Having Whiteny around has been phenomenal, she is just a little ball of joy and energy! The three of us started our first  day together when we took a bus out to the weekend market. This place is basically a flea market on steroids. Anything you want they have. Turquoise jewelry for $20, Ray-Ban sunglasses, every brand of back-pack or travel bag, fine art, toys, leather, shoes, food, crafts, Captain Jack Sparrow look alikes, noise makers, bubble machines, meats on sticks, ipods, CD's, live music, everything. I escaped with only purchasing some jewelry, postcards, a tank-top, and a small camera case (for $7).

Weekend Market

awkward hand holding

We went from the weekend market to the Mo-chit bus terminal where we bought our bus tickets to Chiang-mai. This was an extremely long and fun day, we took the train all over bangkok, rode a water taxi/ferry up the chao-phrya, went to Sami Square where there are billions of fashionable young locals, went home and showered before going out to eat.
Beyond the sights in Bangkok the most rewarding experiences I have had have been meeting people. Whether it was Scott from Anaheim or John from India, people just want to interact. We have gleaned tons of valuable knowledge from english fluent locals and smelly jewish India loving hippys all the same. It seems anytime you find someone that speaks english and isnt trying to sell you something you just cant help but share every expereince and ask questions. I cant even tell you how many times we interact with someone like this and say goodbye for the third time only for Whitney, McKenzy or myself to pipe up and ask just one more question. Its addictive, this positive interaction, it is not every man for him or herself but every person for the greater good. With that said, thank you Scott, John, David, Suzanne, Gil, and those well dressed dudes from the indian restaurant below our first hotel. You are the reason I am traveling, and you are boosting my confidence in humanity.

BTS Sky-Train

Water Taxi

I am Buddha rub my belly

Moving forward, we are currently in Chiang-mai after a sleepy, 10 hr., rainy bus ride. The tempo has tangibly slowed and i could not be more thankful. We just finished breakfast at a local restaurant where the proprietor farms all his own produce, makes his own yogurt, and roasts his own coffee. Nicole you will love this, he also makes his own compost tea. The weather is cloudy and pleasant, and we are already meeting loads of new beautiful people local and tourist alike.

bus ride

Hot coals, pre coffee roasting

The amazing above mentioned restaurant

The girls bamboo hut

Thank you everyone for keeping up so far! And I am obvioulsy leaving out tons of experiences and destinations but i just cant possibly fit it all in so hopefully some photographs are a good enough substitute. I also have some amazing videos so look for some youtube links in the not too distant future. I apologize for any grammar mistakes, and my bad organization, but writing has never been my strong suit. 

Last but not least a couple of photosfor Mr. Brown and Mr. Garcia.

you two can argue over who rides in the side-hack

 Hasta luego amigos!

Family Update

This is for all the family out there! We are safe and sound in Bangkok. After much careful consideration and deliberation we decided our best bet was to head to Kkaosan Road to find lodging at 1am. We ended up having a non eventful cab ride (although we did see a gnarly accident) that cost around $10 and took 30min. After arriving on Khoasan  road we were surprised to see the area absolutely bustling with street vendors, drunkards, motorbikes, tuk-tuks and everything else. We did some wandering around to find lodging using air conditioning, and cleanliness as our standards. The check in times that allowed us to stay the entire 24hr day ended up being at 5 am so we grabbed some beers and posted up with a friendly old thai woman next to a mobile pad thai eatery ($1 for dinner) and just watched the people, cars, and neon lights, feeling tired and nervous but most of all thankful to have made it in an uneventful fashion. Once 5 am rolled around we moseyed over to our hotel brushed our teeth and layed our heads to rest for the night.

As for today we have no plans other than get some food and internet. Most notably try to connect with Whitney and get her our current address (Rambuttri Village Inn and Plaza, 95 Soi ram buttri, Chakka Phong, Phra Nakorn, Bangkok) so we can meet up and continue our travels together. I hope everyone at home is well and un-worried! I know we are well and happy as clams (albeit very hot and sweaty clams) and look forward to many more memories and blog posts...ciao!

Khoasan Road Street Vendor mmmmmmm!

Nervous

So here we are, 15 hours until liftoff. Me and Mckenzy are working down to the wire. Getting travelers health insurance, making sure we have insurance on our tickets in case we need to change them, spending $75 on toilettries at target per person, buying card readers and chargers for our cameras, making last minute phone calls, getting some exercise in, going out to Turks(the local dive bar), blogging, checking a million different things online, saying goodbye to family, getting a watch cause im not bringing a phone, taking one last hot and long home shower, taking pictures of my bed to remember it by, downloading moves and music or buying a new ipod, lots of buying and packing. We have been preparing for weeks but it always comes down to the last few days.

Both of us absolutely can not wait until we are through customs at LAX, only then can we finally "relax." When oddly surely thats when the real fun begins. Tomorrow we fly from LAX to Taipei, Taiwan where we arrive at 8:20pm on sep 23. We will be promptly leaving taipei at 10:45pm so that we can arrive in Bangkok at 1:12am. Now exactly why we set up to arrive in Bangkok Thailand at one oclock in the morning neither of us can quite figure out. Although upon further reflection i think i remember the moment in Smokeyard during marchish when we were buying the tickets. We were only thinking of how easily we could get to LAX instead of thinking about just how haggard and out of it we would be upon arrival in Bangkok. Its going to be quite interesting when both Mac(McKenzy) and I are standing curbside at BGK looking like two obvious thailand virgins with no destination or hotel reservation. I cant wait to deal with the rabid cab drivers and hotel pushers trying to take our money and viriginity.

Hopefully you will again be hearing from us in two days time, alive and well in Bangkok about to go to some live ping pong ball shows.

Well wish us luck, at this point all i have left to do is get some sleep and i know that aint gonna be easy. check out the pre trip pics.........i know theyre terrible, chin up they will get better.......

Good Morning!

Hello everyone this is our very first post ever. Bear with us over the coming weeks as we get used to this new experience, and help us count down the days till lift-off on September 22. Heres a couple pictures so you can see who the heck we are. Thats Phillip up top and Kelly and McKenzy down below.