We chose to add Düsseldorf to our list of destinations for our October 2018 trip to Europe because we wanted to see part of Germany that was different than the Bavarian region that most people initially think of. The first day consisted of a four hour drive from Strasbourg, France past dozens of vineyards and the Black Forest. Upon our arrival to the city, we checked into a HUGE extended stay hotel called House Hyatt and went somewhere nearby for lunch. I was excited to finally try a currywurst which is essentially a sausage with a curried ketchup on top. After lunch we walked the riverfront and attempted to get tickets to a Burlesque show but they were sold out. As a back up we got some gelato and hit the gym at our hotel.
On the second day of our time in Dusseldorf we discovered a really cool open air market with stunning florals and delicacies. We enjoyed some gelato by the river, did a ton of shopping and ended the day bar hopping. Drinks began at the riverfront with a gorgeous sunset, moved on to dinner at a Thai restaurant, included some breweries and ended at a hookah bar.
Walking through the market
Gelato by the riverPretty cocktails at sunset
Delicious dark beers at a local breweryEnding the night like a local at a hookah bar
Every time we visit a larger city that we’re not familiar with, we try to take a Hop-On-Hop-Off Red Bus Tour. They’re super fun, informative and convenient because they provide your transportation for the day, as well. The next morning we took our red bus tour to get to know Düsseldorf, visited the Aquazoo and the Japanese Gardens, and Erica and I ended the day with a yoga class at Shivasloft. The yoga class was very different from what I’m used to in the U.S.; the teacher started by handing out a paper with a chant written on it and accompanied the chanting with a tiny little piano. There was also a lot more breath work than I’m used to, but it was a really fun experience and I still use some of his posture ideas in my classes today.
One of the tanks at the Aquazoo
Fountain at the Japanese GardensExploring the gardens
Yoga in a foreign land
The next day was one of the most hilarious days I’ve had while traveling. We began with another trip to the market, visiting a cafe and shopping. Then we went to Capella Breidenbacher Hof for High Tea. The hotel made for a stunning setting for an elegant and delicious afternoon tea with champagne.
One of the attractions in Düsseldorf is their Tonhalle venue, and we really wanted to experience a show during our stay in the city. We were able to find a Symphoniker show on one of the nights we were going to be in town. However, when we tried to buy tickets through our hotel concierge they said that the Tonhalle wasn’t having any events that week. We ended up calling the venue directly and purchasing tickets. We should have listened to our hotel staff because when we arrived, all dressed up, for the “symphony”, we found ourselves at some kind of community recital. We had a glass of wine at a Lions Club event that I’m pretty sure we weren’t supposed to be at, and another in the lobby surrounded by senior citizens, and tried to sit through a terrible show that ended up putting us into fits of laughter that couldn’t be controlled. When the show ended, we rushed out of there and found a bar playing Raggaeton music where we got Pisco Sours and danced by ourselves for the rest of the night.
Exploring the city at nightDressed up for the “Symphony”
At least we still got to experience a really special venue!
The next morning I woke up incredibly sick. We assume it was from the egg white foam on our Pisco sours from the night before. I spent the entire day in bed while Erica and Scott did laundry, worked out and went out for lunch. Eventually I kept down some chicken nuggets from a German McDonald’s at the very end of the day. The following morning we left Düsseldorf for our final destination on our trip: Amsterdam!
We had a great time in Düsseldorf getting to know the more urban side of Germany as opposed to Bavaria. We had some great laughs, amazing food, and unforgettable experiences.
The third leg of our October 2018 trip to Europe was spent in the stunning Alsace region of France. Alsace is known for vineyards, medieval towns, and a unique blend of French and German culture.
Our first day was full of driving through the fall foliage of Switzerland and France and trying to navigate the medieval streets and walls to get into our hotel. We stayed at the Regent Petite France in the heart of Strasbourg and the historical guard towers and stone walls were all still in place, making driving up to our hotel very challenging but totally worth it. After a lunch outside in a cobblestoned square (I had a salad with fried goat cheese that was to die for) and a glass of regional Pinot Noir, we spent our afternoon in a laundromat and watching Netflix in our pretty hotel rooms.
Exploring Strasbourg
On our first full day in Alsace, we got to check off a major bucket list item: wine tasting in France! Coming from Eastern Washington I was expecting the bold red wines of the Bordeaux region, but we learned right away that Alsace specializes in all white wines (Riesling, Pinot Gris, Muscat and Gewurtzraminer) and one red, Pinot Noir. However, these were not the sweet varietals we know in the states. They were dry, crisp and refreshing. Our favorite discovery was by far the sparkling variety, Cremant d’Alsace, and we continue to look for this stuff on any wine list we come across.
The wine tour we chose (VinoRoute Strasbourg) also included scenic stops in medieval towns, viewpoints of the incredible vineyards showing off their fall colors, and some spot-on lunch recommendations. Specifically, we visited Specht, Frey-Sohler, and Zeyssolff wineries and spent time in the towns of Riquewihr and Ribeauvillé, where we had lunch.
Samples in a barrel roomVineyard villagesAmazing vineyard views
Walls and towers from the Middle Ages
Getting excited about some macaroons!
After sleeping off a long day of drinking wine, we awoke on our second day in Alsace to have brunch, visit the Cathrédrale Notre Dame de Strasbourg (not to be confused with the Notre Dame in Paris), and walk by the canals.
When we got back to the hotel we got in a quick workout to prepare for the massive feast we were expecting for dinner. Scott and I really wanted Erica to experience a Michelin rated tasting menu and we all love French food, so we found Au Crocodile while we were planning our trip. The meal did not disappoint and we even got to meet the chef, but we definitely needed to go in with an empty stomach!
The prettiest dessertHanging out with the chef under a crocodile
The next day was our final day in Strasbourg. We spent it shopping for treats to take with us, walking the beautiful canals and parks, finally eating some crepes, drinking Cremant d’Alsace, and capping it all off with a very authentic dinner in an old cave where we sampled Escargot.
An amazing view of Strasbourg
We will be dreaming of bubbly wines, coq au Riesling, and crepes until the next time we are in this beautiful place!
Our time in Asia was coming to an end, but before we started the long journey home, we had one more stop in Bali. Bali is somewhere I’ve always wanted to go because of their culture, cuisine, and scenery. While I was in other parts of Asia, however, I began hearing that Bali was dirty and not as enjoyable as I’d always imagined. Of course, we wanted to see for ourselves and I’m glad that we did. There is something about their commitment to tradition that is incredible to see and the food did not disappoint. In the future, I hope to return to Bali to explore the yoga scene, but for now, I hope you enjoy reading about our tour-packed visit last November.
When we arrived in Bali, we went to a boutique hotel called Griya Santrian. We were starving so we had a quick lunch, pizza for Scott (I think he needed a break from Asian food) and Beef Padang for me, and then took a nap on the beach until the rain came. The rains in Bali were unlike anything I’ve ever seen and they kept us indoors for the remainder of the first day. The opportunity to relax and watch a movie was just what we needed because the following day was FULL.
We ate a quick breakfast at our hotel and were picked up in a van for a Temple Tour. In the end, we saw so much more than temples. Our first stop was a wood carving studio. We watched talented artists carve masterpieces in very short periods of time. After touring the shop, we purchased several wood sculptures to bring back to our friends and family. We moved on to a painting studio which was even more incredible. The building itself was extremely ornate and stunning to look at and it had room after room of gorgeous original paintings. We brought home several pieces from there as well and many of them hang in our home as focal points. Apparently, Bali is known for it’s art and artists and it wasn’t hard to see why.
Master carvers at workThe temple with infinitely many rooms full of paintingsOne of the artists at the painting gallery
The next stop was Tanah Lot, an amazing temple right on the ocean. It was given to the village by a priest. I made sure to dress appropriately for temples (shoulders and knees covered for women), but we never did get to enter any of the enclosed Hindu temples. It didn’t dampen the experience any because these buildings were amazing to look at from any vantage point.
We happened to be in Bali during a special time. It was the week after Galungan which is a Hindu Temple Festival that symbolizes the victory of good over evil and offering thanks to the gods. It is also the time with the gods come down to Earth. During this celebration, all statues are wrapped in sarongs to clothe and acknowledge them. Also, penjors are erected all over town (bamboo poles with offerings) and huge parties are held at the temples throughout the island. We got to see a lot of the preparations for these events.
Even the gateways are dressed with a sarongA close up of a statue dressed up.People participating in the festival by praying and making offeringsLittle girls preparing to dance and perform at the festival
Standing in a gateway with a penjor to the left of us in this photo
After Tanah Lot, we had lunch overlooking a rice field and watched the fog start to roll in on our sunny day.
Following lunch, we went to my favorite temple called The Lake Temple or Pura Ulun Danu Bratan. There was the most torrential rains I had ever seen during our visit to this temple. We were walking through flash floods that sloshed up to our knees and it was surprisingly warm. The umbrellas we are carrying in these photos did very little to keep us dry, but we had fun taking shelter under beautiful gazebos on the temple grounds. As we snuggled up under these roofs, we had the interesting experience of having Asian tourists ask us to take photos with them. We had several groups of people say we looked like movie stars and they kept commenting on our height and our teeth. Apparently, they weren’t very used to seeing Westerners, and we had fun chatting with people and taking photos with them.
The park heading towards the Lake TempleSome of the flooding we were experiencingThe temple itself
The last temple was called The Royal Temple or Taman Ayun. This temple was totally different! Each pagoda had an odd number of tiers symbolizing a certain member of a royal family. The entire compound was surrounding by canals and gorgeous gardens. We got to get up close to the architecture more at this final stop. One moment of note was the slaughtering of the pigs. Our guide was very excited to show us this cultural event of sacrificing the pigs and preparing them for the festival. Knowing that I might offend our guide and his culture, I had to walk away, but I did appreciate the significance of the event and their heritage. Scott watched the event and took photos, but I won’t share them here. Instead, I’ll post the photos of the incredible scenery and other festival preparations we were able to watch.
My personal favorite part was the Barong. The Barong is a lion-dog-man creature who represents good in the fight against evil. He is the king of spirits in Hindu mythology. The Balinese do a Barong dance at these festivals to represent his fight against evil.
Building penjor (made from bamboo)
A close up of an offering
In the Barong denA close up of the Barong (made entirely from seeds, beans, etc.)
The Royal Temple was our final temple to visit, but not the last stop on this tour. We continued to drive around with our guides who gave us so much interesting history about the island. Such as, Bali is a Hindu island in the Muslim nation of Indonesia and there are some tensions regarding those differences. We learned more about the Penjor and that they are built by the men and the offerings are made by the women. Then we discussed Luwak Coffee (some of the most expensive in the world) and decided to stop at a Luwak coffee farm for a sampling. Basically, kopi luwak are lemur-like creatures that are so picky that they only eat the most perfect coffee berries. Then when the coffee passes through their digestive system, it is harvested, roasted and turned into a coffee that costs between $100 and $500 per pound. We got to meet some kopi luwaks and sample several different types of coffee made at this particular farm. We did bring some back for family, but unfortunately, it was instant and not quite as good as the fresh brewed stuff at the farm.
A particularly pretty penjor and offering alterJust a couple of kopi luwak
After an amazing cup of coffee, we were finally done with an awe-inspiring day of touring. We had a light dinner and an early bed time because the following day would be full of even more touring an a lot of eating.
Our last full day in Asia was our pork tour! We were guided by a really sweet Balinese girl throughout the island to taste the most famous Balinese dishes. Bali is famous for their pork and, thanks to Anthony Bourdain, we knew we had to experience these delicacies. We made several different stops on this tour and they were ALL amazing, the captions on the photos below describe the place and the dishes we had.
The first stop was literally a tarp-tent on the side of the road. Someone was cooking skewers over an extremely primitive stove and we ordered sate babi (pictured below), a pork skewer in a sweet and spicy sauce. I loved it!
The scond stop was the famous Anthony Bourdain dish: Babi Guling. Basically it’s a bunch of different parts of a suckling pig (including organ meat and skin) that are cooked in different ways and served over rice with a pork soup. Also delicious! Most people rave about the skin, but I liked the tender marinated meat best.The next stop was a BBQ place that was a lot more modern. It had tons of famous artwork (such as the Mona Lisa) with pig faces replacing the famous figures. We sampled some delicious ribs.Next we went somewhere that was considered more for the young, “hip” crowd called Pork Star. This was our favorite dish! It was pork meat with a spicy, coconut sauce and crispy onions and peppers on top. We stayed at this restaurant the longest and had a beer or two trying to digest a little before the last stop.The last stop was a restaurant with stunning grounds. You could eat in your own gazebo or in the restaurant itself. We order Iga Babi Goreng Sambal Matah (I can only describe this as a pork ceviche type dish) and some more ribs that were quite different from the ones earlier in the tour. We were about to explode from eating so much, but this stop was just as delicious as the other four.
When the pork tour was over, we slipped into a food coma for most of the afternoon on the beach outside of our hotel while the weather was still nice.
There’s even a penjor on our beach!
The next day was our FINAL day on the most epic trip. We got up, watched the sunrise, bonded with some stray beach dogs, and took it slow while we geared up for another very long day of travel.
She liked a double chin scratching…I think she would have come home with me =P
It’s going to be really hard to beat our first time in Asia. The food, sights, culture, and experiences were unforgettable. I can’t wait to revisit this corner of the globe over and over again…if I’m lucky.
Scott and I saw pictures of the Super Trees of Singapore and have wanted to go ever since. We realized once we got there, however, that we really didn’t know what to expect from this little island city state. It is an absolute haven for people who love to shop (over 100 malls on a 278 square mile island), foodies, and lovers of modern architecture. It is a very clean and organized city with fantastic transportation, a lot of history and one of the most blended cultures we have ever experienced. Singapore does seem to lack some of its own identity as it focuses so much on tourism, but even that fact adds to its uniqueness. Usually Scott and I do a lot of outdoorsy and cultural excursions during our travels, but Singapore gave us an opportunity to explore our more luxurious side.
We found the MRT (Singapore’s public transportation train system) within our first couple hours in Singapore and it became our best friend for the duration of our visit here. Our first MRT ride was to Little India because we were starving and had never visited an Indian community before. We found a restaurant called Madras New Woodland soon after we disembarked from the train. I was expecting a curry house because we LOVE Indian food here in the states and that’s what we were used to. This restaurant was not a curry house and I didn’t recognize anything on the menu. This turned out to be our lucky day because we told the waiter that and he said he wold get us something delicious. The first thing he brought us was Appalam (you may know it as pappadam if you go to many Indian restaurants in the U.S.) which is something we’d seen before. This was the best Appalam I’d had so I knew the rest of the meal would be good. The next thing he brought us was a Dosa Thali for me and a Bhatura Thali for Scott. These were the exact same dishes with different breads. Scott’s was a thin, rolled, crepe-like bread and mine was a giant puffy ball. I also got Masala Tea which was delicious.
Our next mission was to pick up our City Pass (I highly recommend this if you’re going to Singapore). We took the MRT to Marina Square and when we got our City Passes we were told we could take a night bus tour throughout the city that night. We decided that seeing the city on our first night would be ideal because we would then know exactly what we wanted to do for the coming few days. We took the opportunity to explore the nearby area while we waited for our bus tour. We got tea concoctions at R+B Tea (peachy oolong was amazing), had a very American style lunch at a pub called Harry’s before walking over to the famous Esplanade Theatre.
The architecture of the Esplanade Theatre is very interesting because it is made to look like a Durian. Durians are famous in this region and are incredibly bad smelling (in fact, they are banned from many hotels and other public places), but some people find them to be a real treat. There are amazing views from the roof of this fruit-shaped building from which you can see many of Singapore’s most famous landmarks.
View of Marina Bay Sands and the ArtScience museum (designed to look like a lotus flower)View of the famous Merlion fountain and boats in the bayDurian shaped Esplanade TheatreTrying to point out the amazing sights
Art in the courtyard outside the theatreWalking home through Clarke Quay
After a long day of walking and sight-seeing we were ready to hop on the bus tour, rest our feet and see the island. However, when we arrived at the pick up point for the bus, we waited around until we were finally told that we were an hour late. Apparently, Singapore is an hour off from Thailand and we had no idea. Thus, we took our tired bodies back to Clarke Quay (the area in which we were staying) and rested up for another try the following day.
The next day was full of activities. We went right across the street from our hotel to Fort Canning Park and ate at a café called Fabulous Baker Boy. I had the best French toast of my life! Then we caught the MRT to the Sentosa Express and went out to Sentosa Island. Our Singapore City Passes came with access to Universal Studios and the S.E.A. Aquarium which are located on Sentosa Island right off of Singapore itself. It’s basically an island devoted to family fun.
Best latte!My crazy French toast and Scott’s benedict
Our first stop was the aquarium. By far, the BEST part was a HUGE exhibit with a pod of manta rays in it. We watched the mantas do a choreographed dance for at least a half hour. They were so social and graceful, I fell in love with them.
Me and my new besties
Our next stop was Universal Studios. I have been to Disneyland in Anaheim, CA, but I had never been to a Universal Studios. I was really excited to check it out! At first glance, I was amazed how they were able to create all these little worlds. From New York to Ancient Egypt to Jurassic Park, it felt like being on a million movie sets. Then we tried riding rides and chose a 4-D Transformers Ride. It was pretty intensely visual and shook you around a lot. I barely made it out without getting sick on everyone in my group. We then decided to try a 4-D, sit-down movie and went to a Shrek show where you are supposed to be in a Lord Farquad’s dungeon. After that, we saw the prices of all the food, drink and souvenirs and decided we aren’t really amusement park people. We rode the MRT back off the island and went in search of the next attraction.
Merlion statue in the park!
Since we were in the family fun mood, we decided to go to the ArtScience museum next. The lotus shaped building is so beautiful and intriguing, so we had to check it out. There were a lot of digital art exhibits where music was set to moving artwork. There were games where you could hold a handheld device and walk through the museum seeing different things (kind of like Pokémon Go), and interactive exhibits where kids could scan in their drawings and they would become part of the art. It was truly a place you could spend hours playing and discovering new things.
A gorgeous water lotus pond in the courtyard of a lotus-shaped building!
Singapore has become a place entirely devoted to finance and tourism. Therefore, they have more malls than I have ever seen. After our time at the museum, we wanted to go eat at and shop one of their famous malls: Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands. We went into so many upscale shops and got amazing Ramen and lemon tea for lunch. I even got an outfit for dinner the following night.
The entrance to a floating Louis Vuitton store
Finally, it was time for the Night Bus Tour that we had missed the night before. We drove all around the city including the shopping district, Orchard Road, which was decorated for Christmas. Having been in a Buddhist country before Singapore, we forgot that it was November and getting close to the Christian holidays. Singapore was our only stop on this trip that was Christian and primarily spoke English (although most things were in Mandarin, as well). These malls really went all out this time of year.
Riding on top of the bus.
Another very famous mall.
The final stop on the bus tour was Gardens By the Bay which included a show at the Super Trees. Being November, the show was Christmas themed and the lights danced to classic and contemporary Holiday tunes. I absolutely LOVED the light show and I belted out Mariah Carey’s All I Want for Christmas is You (if we had been in The States, I definitely wouldn’t have been alone in my performance).
The Super Trees were so cool! Eventually, they will be entirely covered in living plants.
Close-up of the living plants!Jealous of the people who got to watch the show from the Sky Bridge.Christmas light show time!
Cool shot of Marina Bay Sands from the tour bus.
The next day was another LONG day of touring the island state. Our first stop was something I couldn’t miss in a place where Mandarin is so heavily spoken: Chinatown! We had been told that Chinatown was the best place to shop for souvenirs and art. Plus, I had to get Dim Sum in a Chinatown that was actually in Asia! We did quite a bit of shopping and got some really fun art pieces before finding a place called Yum Cha to get Dim Sum at. It did not disappoint! We had BBQ pork buns, mushrooms and veggies, Xiao Long Bao, steamed prawn dumplings and pan-friend chive meat dumplings. Basically, I became a dumpling fanatic on this trip!
View from Chinatown train station.
Chinatown from above!
Shopping in ChinatownTrying to select my dumplings.Literally can’t wait any longer!
After lunch, we went back to Gardens By the Bay to visit the other attractions besides the Super Trees. There are botanical gardens outside and two enclosed gardens: the Flower Dome and the Cloud Forest. Personally, I liked the Cloud Forest best, but the Flower Dome has every type of flower you could possibly imagine and was getting set up for a big Christmas event. The plant life was all breathtaking and there were also sculptures and art pieces mixed in throughout. The following is just a tiny sample of all the photos we took of plants, art, and the domes themselves.
Some views from the outdoor botanical gardens
Standing at the base of the cloud forest
A giant Lego display!
Looking through a waterfall
Later that night we had reservations at Ce La Vi which is the restaurant on top of the iconic Marina Bay Sands building. This was one of the best nights of the entire three week trip! We had Pinot Noir from New Zealand, Garam Masala Potatoes, Cashew Vegetables, Crusted Lobster and Rack of Lamb. Then we drank cocktails, made friends from all over the world and danced until the dance floor closed.
View of Gardens by the BayView of the bay and the skyline
The whole dinnerAmazing desserts!
The next day was our final day in Singapore before moving onto our final destination, Bali. We spent the day on a hop-on-hop-off tour getting some shots of some unique places around the city. During the tour we got off at one point and walked to the gigantic Paragon mall where we had sushi for lunch and experienced some incredibly high end shopping.
After changing and resting up, we ended our time with an incredible, seven course, French meal at Les Amis. We had the BEST time at Les Amis! Every course was explained to us and we asked questions about the food and the wine. We were having so much fun and it was pretty upscale, so we didn’t get any photos of the gorgeous food. However, the sommelier took us on a tour of the wine cellar which contained bottles of wine that would require an annual salary to replace and Scott got a couple of photos. I had a photo of us in the wine cellar, but my phone lost it…this is why Scott is the photographer. Nonetheless, it was a rich and delightful way to close out our time in Singapore.
The ground is covered in pebbles to prevent the sommeliers from breaking an expensive bottle should they drop one.Look at the size of that bottle of Cristal!
This blog took me weeks to write because we just did SO much in the four days we had in Singapore. We had the best time here! My next post will be chronicling our final stop on this trip: Bali!
Our final stop in Thailand was the wonderful and very popular Phuket! This place may be set up for tourists, but there is definitely a reason for its popularity: delicious food, bumping nightlife, stunning beaches, island excursions, wildlife experiences, and the list goes on.
Unfortunately, we had a rough start with our accommodations in Phuket. We were scheduled to stay at Centara Villas which overlook the ocean and are nestled peacefully into a lush mountainside. When we arrived, they had us wait over an hour before telling us that our villa had been flooded and drove us down the road to Centara Kata which was not our cup of tea. It didn’t have a view, our room smelled musty and it was full of drunk people and large, loud family groups. Clearly, this wasn’t a place to lounge at so even though we were tired from traveling, we freshened up and hit the streets!
Our first night in Phuket we walked around quite a bit and saw massage parlors, restaurants, open air bars, street food stands and shops. Eventually we came upon Palm Square and sat down for some drinks, Thai food and live music.
Enjoying a Chang beer and a shot of Jack after a frustrating day of travel
The next day we were pretty happy to have a full day of excursions so that we didn’t have to stay at our temporary hotel. We were picked up early by a minibus for some island hopping. It was a long drive to Phuket Marina, but when we got there we were served tea and coffee while introductions were made and boat safety was discussed.
Waiting for the boat!How cool is the Thai architecture behind the marina?!
The first island we visited was called Bamboo Island. Each of the islands we visited had something different to boast about. Bamboo Island had HUGE stretches of white sands, excellent snorkeling and rows of the picturesque traditional Thai wooden boats.
The new and the old: we were on a three motor speed boat like those seen here.
Trying to find our own little secluded spotMy turn with the camera!
Could have sat in that water all day
All aboard the three engine speed boat and on to Ko Phi Phi Don! Phi Phi Don was a much more populated island with huge, open-air restaurants. This is where our group stopped for a buffet style lunch with amazing massaman curry and rice. We didn’t have much time to explore this island, but of course Scott got some good shots in.
Continuing with the Phi Phi trend, our next view was of Ko Phi Phi Leh. We didn’t get off the boat at first, but instead watched monkeys jumping in the water off of the cliffs and then went snorkeling off of our boat. It was stunning and so much fun to watch the wildlife. So much so, in fact, that we didn’t take a single photo at this stop and just enjoyed the frivolity of it all.
The boat eventually anchored off of Phi Phi Leh’s Maya Beach. This beach was crowded and had several deadly jelly fish warnings posted, but it was quite a sight. There were massive cliffs, turquoise waters, white sands, and lush greenery to stare at through the crowds of bodies. I was all about risking the jelly fish to get back in that water.
Coming in off the boat.Ignoring the jelly fish warningsAwe-inspiring cave-like cliffsWalkin’ the beachCave selfie!
After a long and exhilarating day of island hopping, we traveled slowly back to our temporary hotel. We didn’t want to eat at the restaurants there so we hit the streets once again. We were so hungry that we stopped at the first thing we saw that looked edible and we were pretty stoked about that decision. Street food in Thailand is delicious and cheap! We sampled some BBQ pork, BBQ chicken, Pork satay with honey sauce (best thing every) and washed it down with some Chang for an appetizer. Then we found a live seafood restaurant and chowed down on some Phad Thai (we weren’t feeling adventurous enough to try one of the fully intact fish we were seeing on other tables). With full bellies, we walked back home and crashed out in a damp-smelling bed.
And just like that it was finally elephant day! I had been looking forward to visiting an ethical elephant sanctuary since we started planning this trip. This time, we were picked up in a pick-up with a covered bed and rode through the jungle with a few other girls.
Upon arriving at Elephant Jungle Sanctuary Phuket, we were immediately able to feed a mother and her baby, Cho, pounds upon pounds of banana and watermelon. It was cute to see their preferences and personalities. As visitors to the sanctuary, we were also volunteers so we loaded baskets with more fruit than I’d ever seen in my life and fed it to 16 more elephants. We were taught the command, “Bon” to get the elephants to lift their trunks and open their mouths for a treat. Some elephants were calm, others were frisky, some were friendly, others swayed back and forth in a dance of anxiety. It’s clear that some of these elephants were rescued from less than desirable circumstances and it was eye opening to see them in recovery.
The look of pure excitement!
I loved the babies!
Had to give that rough pachyderm a kiss
Getting a back scratch in before mud baths.
The last step of elephant care on our tour was giving the group a mud bath. Scott and I actually didn’t participate for quite a bit of this because the mud baths were full of elephant dung and super crowded. Some of the HUGE creatures were doing barrels rolls unexpectedly right next to people and it just looked like chaos. Eventually, however, I couldn’t resist going in up to my thighs and interacting with two of my favorite elephants while Scott kept his roll as bystander.
Excited for their baths!This loner was my bestie
This mama and baby were so funny! She kept doing barrel rolls and the baby kept throwing mud at the tourists.
Elephant day was amazing, but it wasn’t over yet. After a lunch buffet and a long ride back to the hotel we were originally supposed to stay at, our villa was STILL not ready. So they upgraded us to a villa with a view and a private pool (would have been nice to have that for four nights instead of two, but we settled right in). We took a dip in our private pool, napped in the villa with the doors open, and fully relaxed for a few hours. When the sun set, we were up and running again.
We had heard there was an amazing night market in Phuket and this, my friends, is very true. Naka Market was the best market we saw during our time in Asia and we visited many. We purchased tons of goodies here including some of our favorite art from the trip and some tasty pork buns.
When the market got too crowded we snagged a cab to one of Phuket’s most famous attractions, Bangla road. This is where this blog gets a little “explicit”. The sex trade is famous in Thailand and Bangla road is one of the epicenters of this kind of activity. As soon as you arrive on Bangla road, you feel a Las Vegas type atmosphere: loud music, peddlers trying to sell you a show, people walking around with adult beverages, go-go dancers, etc. Scott and I sat at one of the open-air bars with go-go dancers and had a few drinks while trying to absorb everything we were seeing. There were bracelets for sale with the most obscene expressions you could possibly imagine, advertisements for “ping-pong” shows, “husband daycares”, strip clubs of every type of intrigue, and you had to pay for most of the toilets. Overall, probably the best people watching I’ve seen.
When we’d seen all of the interesting sights we could handle for one day, we packed up our market purchases and took a cab back to our villa for the night. The next day was our last full day in Phuket and we decided to spend it relaxing.
There was a primitive pathway down to the beach right behind our villa so we were able to walk straight from our beds to the beach. It was an overcast day, but it was warm and perfect for reading and enjoying the waves without getting fried to a crisp. We could even see the famous Big Buddha from the beach and Scott was able to get a couple of photos of it. We ended the day with dinner with a view at the hotel restaurant and went to rest up for another day of travel.
Check out Big Buddha all the way in the top left!A bit better shot of Big BuddhaWalkin’ in from the wavesI have some awesome tan-lines from the cutouts in my one piece.He always takes walking shots of me, gotta get one of him!
He’s pretty dreamyLOVE to read on vacation, this was such a good day.
Our time in Phuket was scenic and jaw dropping. It was also our final stop in the country of Thailand before the city-state island of Singapore. It was time to trade in Thai food and beaches for skyscrapers and cocktails. Looking forward to sharing our time in that unique city in my next post ❤
Adams Adventures 