A layover in Kuala Lumpur took us to the worlds largest walk-in aviary. I absolutely love that kind of thing. We were fascinated to realize that most of the exotic birds we were seeing in this fancy zoo were species we have seen in the wild. It was a small reminder of all the places we truly have been! We spent a lot of time in the lorikeet cage playing with the funny little birds. The nectar was super cheap so we bought as much as we wanted–drawing the parrots down to land on our shoulders and head. Even the bigger parrots were getting in on the feast. We admired the cassowary bird for quite some time. They live near where we were in Cairns but of course we didn’t see one. They are great flightless birds with a huge blue crest on their head. They have a razor sharp claw on the powerful feet and are knows to kill people with their kick. They looked just like a dinosaur. I would LOVE to find one in the wild. That and it’s neighbor the platypus. There’s a lot to discover in the Daintree rainforest north of Cairns. Another trip.
It was a fun way to spend a layover that’s for sure.
We had only one day to spend in Bali, Indonesia—so we made the very most of it. We selected three locations we wanted to hit, hired a driver, and were off! But not before Tyler totally kicked a little food offering tray in the doorway. I was literally going to tell him the story when I accidentally kicked one on my first time there. They make these little offerings and put them right in the middle of the doorway, I mean, can you blame us?? Oh well, he still felt bad about it. Baku is famous for its waterfalls so we made sure to hit one. We also visited Ubud where the Hindu temples sport many tiers of roofing and elaborate carvings, like an especially fancy chocolate fountain. We had fun getting some beautiful shots on our drone. I was again impressed by the way they built their gates. It’s like they take a temple spire and cut it clean down the center. No decorations are on the inside of the cut. It makes the separation quite dramatic.
It seemed like preparations for some sort of festival were happening because everyone was constructing these long bamboo decorations in front of their homes and business. They dangle gracefully into the street creating a festive atmosphere. Kites flew by dozens high above the rice fields—fancy kites with many pieces, kites that look like giant butterflies, and some kites over 15 feet long!
At the Tanah lot we enjoyed some fun beach combing and watched the misty sunset.
Our second stop in Australia took us down under. Well, we went north actually into Darwin. This area was definitely more like what I imagined Australia to be like although with some major surprises. Every car on the road had a snorkel and often the roads have measuring sticks over 8 feet tall for the rainy season. We rented a campervan and wandered around the outback for several days. It felt very grown up to rent our very own little RV, pick up groceries (using a shopping trolley) and explore a new country on our own terms. Leaving the rental lot was our first adventure. We had to be alert at all times to remind ourselves to drive on the left side of the road. We only messed up once and the oncoming cars were kind enough to let us correct ourselves. It must be a common struggle because there were signs everywhere reminding drivers “Drive on the left in Australia.” Tyler picked it up quickly though. Before we even left the city we spotted large grey parrots with pink bellies on a lamppost. Litchfield national park was our first destination and we managed to see some fun wildlife on the way. I caught sight of a hunched figure with large ears and felt a jolt of electricity jump through me. One doesn’t forget the way their first kangaroo sighting makes ya feel. We also stopped to let a large olive colored snake cross the road. He almost reached from one side to the next. After getting chewed out by the camp host for pulling in at “This Late Hour” (it was 7:30 pm), he let us park our van behind a kind old couple’s RV for the night. Different customs?
Litchfield national park was terrific to explore. I loved waking up in the campervan and looking out my window to see lorikeets chirp around the eucalyptus forest we were camped in and big white cockatoos croaked overhead. The diversity of bird life was a major surprise for me. I don’t know why I assumed the local residents of the dry desert would be hard to spot. We saw more wildlife in 4 days in the Northern Territory than in a month of all of Southeast Asia combined.
Litchfield is knows for its large waterfalls that jump down red rock into dramatic gorges. The desert gives way to lush monsoon jungle along the water edge. We kept looking for flocks of chattering parrots up in the trees only to find that they were actually large fruit bats! Who knew they were so chatty! This area reminded me of southern Utah except that the water in Litchfield was crystal clear. It made swimming super refreshing. Tyler particularly enjoyed jumping off the waterfalls into the clean pools below. A lizard ran across the trail on its back legs for more speed. The day ended with a deep orange Australian sunset. It looked almost like the sky was rusting beautifully before our eyes. It had a different flavor than anywhere else in the world.
Another defining element of the Outback are the termite mounds. Growing up to two stories tall, these pillars are EVERYWHERE! Often I mistook a termite mound for a kangaroo as they were often the same shape and size. Some colonies were just starting out, less than a foot tall. Some were y’all but skinny like a broomstick. And some were tall and flat, oriented to regulate the temperature from the beating sun. These were called “magnetic termite mounds.” The flood plains where they grow look like some spooky cemetery with all the flat sides facing exactly the same direction. It was here that we got a good look at a black cockatoo with a fro and red under feathers. After feeding the ant lions and snapping photos of the globe spiders, we made our way over to Kakadu national park.
Kakadu national park is known for aboriginal cave art and marshland. Waking up to kangaroo grazing around our campervan was an awesome feeling. We took a walk through time as we examined cave paintings of kangaroo, fish, and Tasmanian devils. I loved to see just how different the paintings were from Utah carvings and from the cave in Thailand. It’s easy to see that the land in Kakadu has remained unchanged for centuries. We were thrilled to spot a wild emu on our drive in and flocks of cockatoo passed overhead. I didn’t know they flew in flocks. We went on a short walkabout near a billabong and heard grunting in the tall grass. There’s no large predator in Australia right? The grass rustled and soon a group of wild pigs came out and ran across the trail. We even spied tiny green tree frogs hiding in the spiral palm trees.
We visited a river crossing where at a certain time, the tide reverses the direction of the river. This reversal traps a bunch of fish, which brings predators. “Salties” is what the locals call the giant saltwater crocodiles. They surfed the river, mouths open waiting for fish much like an Alaskan grizzly hunting for salmon. Not about to miss out on the hunt, a giant python appeared, slithering in the water just like they would on land. Right then some cockatoos croaked overhead and the hitter of lorikeets could be heard. We were definitely down under. Our day finished with an evening stroll around the Anbangbang billabong where we spotted a blue winged kookaburra and a pair of those large black cockatoo with red beneath their tail. The sky rusted as we walked and we wrapped up another incredible day.
The names here cracked us up by the way. Think about it, we saw a Kakadu cockatoo near the kangaroo and kookaburra in the anbangbang billabong. Ha ha!
We loved discovering a tiny piece of The Outback for ourselves. It’s an ancient and mysterious place with unexpected surprises.
Our second stop in Australia took us down under. Well, we went north actually into Darwin. This area was definitely more like what I imagined Australia to be like although with some major surprises. Every car on the road had a snorkel and often the roads have measuring sticks over 8 feet tall for the rainy season. We rented a campervan and wandered around the outback for several days. It felt very grown up to rent our very own little RV, pick up groceries (using a shopping trolley) and explore a new country on our own terms. Leaving the rental lot was our first adventure. We had to be alert at all times to remind ourselves to drive on the left side of the road. We only messed up once and the oncoming cars were kind enough to let us correct ourselves. It must be a common struggle because there were signs everywhere reminding drivers “Drive on the left in Australia.” Tyler picked it up quickly though. Before we even left the city we spotted large grey parrots with pink bellies on a lamppost. Litchfield national park was our first destination and we managed to see some fun wildlife on the way. I caught sight of a hunched figure with large ears and felt a jolt of electricity jump through me. One doesn’t forget the way their first kangaroo sighting makes ya feel. We also stopped to let a large olive colored snake cross the road. He almost reached from one side to the next. After getting chewed out by the camp host for pulling in at “This Late Hour” (it was 7:30 pm), he let us park our van behind a kind old couple’s RV for the night. Different customs?
Litchfield national park was terrific to explore. I loved waking up in the campervan and looking out my window to see lorikeets chirp around the eucalyptus forest we were camped in and big white cockatoos croaked overhead. The diversity of bird life was a major surprise for me. I don’t know why I assumed the local residents of the dry desert would be hard to spot. We saw more wildlife in 4 days in the Northern Territory than in a month of all of Southeast Asia combined.
Litchfield is knows for its large waterfalls that jump down red rock into dramatic gorges. The desert gives way to lush monsoon jungle along the water edge. We kept looking for flocks of chattering parrots up in the trees only to find that they were actually large fruit bats! Who knew they were so chatty! This area reminded me of southern Utah except that the water in Litchfield was crystal clear. It made swimming super refreshing. Tyler particularly enjoyed jumping off the waterfalls into the clean pools below. A lizard ran across the trail on its back legs for more speed. The day ended with a deep orange Australian sunset. It looked almost like the sky was rusting beautifully before our eyes. It had a different flavor than anywhere else in the world.
Another defining element of the Outback are the termite mounds. Growing up to two stories tall, these pillars are EVERYWHERE! Often I mistook a termite mound for a kangaroo as they were often the same shape and size. Some colonies were just starting out, less than a foot tall. Some were y’all but skinny like a broomstick. And some were tall and flat, oriented to regulate the temperature from the beating sun. These were called “magnetic termite mounds.” The flood plains where they grow look like some spooky cemetery with all the flat sides facing exactly the same direction. It was here that we got a good look at a black cockatoo with a fro and red under feathers. After feeding the ant lions and snapping photos of the globe spiders, we made our way over to Kakadu national park.
Kakadu national park is known for aboriginal cave art and marshland. Waking up to kangaroo grazing around our campervan was an awesome feeling. We took a walk through time as we examined cave paintings of kangaroo, fish, and Tasmanian devils. I loved to see just how different the paintings were from Utah carvings and from the cave in Thailand. It’s easy to see that the land in Kakadu has remained unchanged for centuries. We were thrilled to spot a wild emu on our drive in and flocks of cockatoo passed overhead. I didn’t know they flew in flocks. We went on a short walkabout near a billabong and heard grunting in the tall grass. There’s no large predator in Australia right? The grass rustled and soon a group of wild pigs came out and ran across the trail. We even spied tiny green tree frogs hiding in the spiral palm trees.
We visited a river crossing where at a certain time, the tide reverses the direction of the river. This reversal traps a bunch of fish, which brings predators. “Salties” is what the locals call the giant saltwater crocodiles. They surfed the river, mouths open waiting for fish much like an Alaskan grizzly hunting for salmon. Not about to miss out on the hunt, a giant python appeared, slithering in the water just like they would on land. Right then some cockatoos croaked overhead and the hitter of lorikeets could be heard. We were definitely down under. Our day finished with an evening stroll around the Anbangbang billabong where we spotted a blue winged kookaburra and a pair of those large black cockatoo with red beneath their tail. The sky rusted as we walked and we wrapped up another incredible day.
The names here cracked us up by the way. Think about it, we saw a Kakadu cockatoo near the kangaroo and kookaburra in the anbangbang billabong. Ha ha!
We loved discovering a tiny piece of The Outback for ourselves. It’s an ancient and mysterious place with unexpected surprises.
Our first stop in Australia was the city of Cairns, the stepping stone to the Great Barrier Reef. We had a buffer day of time to city before our snorkeling trip the next day, so we poked around. There was quite a bit to see! I loved hearing the locals talk in their lilting accent. I quickly learned that “Maccers” was McDonald’s and trolley meant shopping cart. Even speaking the same language doesn’t make sense sometimes! The boardwalk in Cairns was wonderful! The public park on the beach has a splash pad and infinity pool, creating a nice effect. Walking along the shoreline we examined the mudflats and saw yellow masked shorebirds forage for mud skippers and crabs. Further down we found some sandy edge and started combing for shells. We found some incredible shells right there on the city edge. Some gorgeous and delicate kinds I have never seen before. We passed a tree full of large yellow blooms and what looked like giant colorful butterflies flapping around. When we got closer, we realized they were lorikeets! The tree was full of these bright little parrots with impressive plumage. I couldn’t believe it. I always loved seeing lorikeets in the aviary and admired their beautiful markings. And now here was a whole flock of wild ones right in the downtown area!! It was a good surprise.
On our walk back to our AirBnB, we noticed some large birds the size of ravens coming out and cruising the darkening sky. We were surprised for a second time—they were great fruit bats! Many of them swooped around like night kites. Little did we know that Australia had many surprises in store for us.
The next morning we woke up early to head out on our reef cruise. We stepped out into 53 degree temperatures. We joked about how crazy it was to plan on snorkeling in such brisk weather. It might have been tempting to shift our plans, but this was the king of all snorkeling opportunities—The Great Barrier Reef itself. So we pulled our hoodies close and headed to the wharf. After a brief orientation we were off! Salty breeze in our hair, I liked sitting at the very front of the boat and watching the waves break against the boat. It felt like we were heading straight out to sea for several hours. It seemed impossible that a giant shallow reef could exist way out here. And then finally, we were there. Looking around you could see the lighter water color, but the wind was intense and the waves large. That with the chilly temperature made for some daunting snorkeling. Squeezing into my wetsuit, I snapped the rubber mask onto my face and hopped into the brisk water. I was the first one in. 🙂 I was immediately met with an underwater city. Everywhere you looked were large colorful fish and giant corals. Every single place you oook on the reed has something vibrant and interesting to look at. I admit that I wondered if the Great Barrier was really all that great. I realized instantly that it was. Parrotfish the size of my arm farted through huge canyons of coral. Fish of every color imaginable went about their business. Yes, even that neon section of the crayola box was represented. The corals themselves were like psychedelic light displays. I couldn’t believe how dramatic it was. I loved exploring alongside the drop offs, where the coral gives way to open ocean, creating overhangs and shelfs of color that were popular with the fishes. I couldn’t get enough of it.
It was advanced snorkeling though. The waves were tall and cold. It took some skill to maneuver the mask and fins in the choppy water and avoid being smashed onto the bony reef. I had to get out a couple times to catch my breath and warm up. I couldn’t believe they brought people out here who don’t know how to swim and have never snorkeled before. With their subpar equipment and rough seas, those people seemed to really struggle. I was glad we brought our own masks. I guess that’s what you get for going with the cheapest company out there. We were just glad to get to go out at all. 🙂
We ended up stopping at two separate parts of the outer reef before we had to go back. We went to bed very tired and happy.
The Singapore airport is a tourists destination in itself. They take great pride in providing gardens, entertainment, and opportunities for anyone with a boarding pass. It was tempting to just stay in the airport on our long layover and stroll the orchid gardens and find the giant indoor waterfall. But we also wanted to discover the city, so out we went. Our destination was the Gardens By the Bay and it did not disappoint. Giant man made trees stretched up over a hundred feet into the air, covered in plantation boxes. Different ecosystems were set up around the park bordered by ponds and rivers. The entire area is self sustainable with its own water conservation and drip system. We loved finding the baobab forest and strolling comfortably under the giant metal trees—all framed by the sleek buildings of Singapore. It’s a clean city, and more first world than America. It took me a minute to learn the contactless paying method and the touch screen ordering system for the food court. We made it back to the airport in plenty of time to explore, but it turns out you can’t be inside the airport to visit the famous indoor garden called the “Jewel.” And we were nervous about assuring we would get through the immigration line so we went through before we knew. So we looked at it on the airport shuttle. Singapore is an awesome option for a long layover. There is plenty to do in a short time.
This was the most BEAUTIFUL landscape I’ve ever seen!
Thailand was every bit as exotic and enchanting as the pictures I’ve been drooling over for years. Ornate palaces with golden roofs curving up towards the sky like metallic fire were on every corner. I loved Bangkok for the grand palaces and impressive temples. We started our first day in Thailand off with a visit to a local floating market. We did some thorough research to avoid the tourist trap markets and managed found one that felt very organic. People paddles around buying and selling their wares right from their boats. An older man showed off his chicken, chuckling with us as we admired the colorful fruit boat closeby. We were the only foreigners there. We had the morning noodle soup that everyone else had and wandered around as these Thai people went about their day. Who knew pho for breakfast would work?
The rest of our time in Bangkok we visited temples and palaces around the city. They are stunning and intricate. We enjoyed green curry, mango sticky rice, and coconut ice cream right out of the shell. The late afternoon brought us to the city park where we watched large monitor lizards hunt fish and frogs smaller than your pinky nail hop around. Giant millipedes could be seen along the water edge too. Bangkok was a fun city to spend a day in.
The next day we inched our way through traffic to the airport. Looking for our airline we asked an information desk who told us—“wrong airport.” It was an hour away and we still had 2 1/2 hours till takeoff. Inching our way back through traffic, we missed the check in time by 10 minutes. It’s all good though. We just caught the next flight which left in a few hours.
The flight took us to the mountain city of Chiang mai where we headed out into the jungle to spend our time. We stayed in a local village bamboo hut way out in the hills. It was here that I learned what geckos sounded like. After winding our way up an impossibly curvy mountain road, we made our way down a tiny dirt track hidden between sugar cane and banana trees. The driver dropped us off, pointed at a bamboo hut closeby and drove off, leaving us standing in the middle of these ride terraces. Shrugging, we made ourselves at home. After a hectic couple of weeks, we really enjoyed the peace and quiet. We wandered around the village, examining leaf praying mantis, star fruit trees and dragon fruit plants. As twilight settled in, we enjoyed hearing the tiny frogs sing in the terraces and geckos chirp overhead. It was a funny place to try and find something to eat, as our host only made food in the evenings and only if you could find her. We got dropped off in the morning, so lunch was an interesting jumble of whatever we could find sold at the shops. This stop was a good change of pace.
The next day we got picked up to stay at the Chai Lai orchid elephant house. This place was AWESOME. The whole place was situated along the edge of a river that you crossed a hanging bridge to get to. Elephants just roamed around the place and you could feed them bananas right from the cafe or from your own room! We had our own private grass bungalow and enjoyed watching the elephants go by right from bed. Their restaurant was exquisite with the best food we had during our entire Thailand stay. It was here that we got to play with the elephants. Apparently it’s painful for the elephants to carry chairs on their back, but it’s actually good for them if you ride them bareback. Riding an elephant felt super natural to me. My legs fit comfortably behind her ears and they fanned me as she walked. Her bristly hairdo felt funny on my hands and her bare skin warm to the touch. They’re surprisingly agile and they made their way easily through the dense jungle trail we were on. Our short hike ended at the river where we got to throw water around and get splashed by the elephants. Their trunks are like great muscular hands that move things around nimbly. They had her give me a “kiss” where the elephant sucked through the trunk and stuck to my cheek—just like a huge vacuum hose. It sucked so strong I thought my cheek would pull off! There’s something peaceful and almost empowering about spending time with these gentle giants. I felt honored to get to spend so much time with them.
We also went on a jungle trek to a waterfall and took a bamboo raft back to our bungalow. A local guide was super nice and showed us the flora and fauna. He blew bubbles out of a plant and had us rub a green leaf between our fingers. The juice turned bright red when crushed, surprising everyone. The bamboo raft wound its way down the Thai mountains and pulled right past elephants and small bamboo huts. It was tranquil and quiet.
Our last stop in Thailand took us to a tiny town north of Krabi called Ao Luek. It was a fun little AirBnB of two story bamboo huts perched alongside a small lake hidden up against the steep limestone mountainsides. The landscape reminded me of Guilin in China with its stark mountains jutting up out of nowhere with long vines draped mysteriously down the overhangs. I loved our bamboo hut with the fresh green light shining in through the bamboo slats. We stayed there because we wanted to experience the world famous Phang Nga bay, but didn’t want the crowds. It turned out well because we ended up being the only ones who went on our tour! They took us to more local spots too that were less crowded and equally stunning. They picked us up in a topless truck and we sped off through the palm forests. I liked to stand up and poke my head up through the metal scaffolding and see all around as we wound around those tall mountain edges. We transferred to our own personal long tail boat and with colorful ribbons flapping in the sun, set off.
I don’t even begin to know how to describe this bay. Turquoise water surrounded hundreds of tiny islands jutting straight out of the water, crested with green jungle. Floating past the limestone cliffs and through narrow openings between islands was so surreal. It’s hard to believe a landscape so dramatic could be real. Occasionally monkeys would shout out warning calls to us from their branchy perch barely above the seawater. Sometimes as we navigated around a corner, a secret cove would open up revealing white sand and palm trees. A tiny bit of paradise. We got to hop out and snorkel at times. It’s hard to say which was more beautiful: the scene above the water or below. Forests of coral decorated with colorful fish kept our attention for longer than our tour guide wanted. I love to explore coral reefs—there’s a lot to see. I love the small blue fish with electric blue coloring. We saw many kinds, including the dramatic lion fish. We stopped at one island that had a secret cave and another that had a narrow entrance to a large cove inside where we spotted flying fox hanging from the mangrove trees. At one island we were lucky enough to see some large hornbill birds fly around the cliffs giving their hoarse call. The day finished with the boat ride back past more islands as the sun set dramatically. We went home to our bamboo hut in the hills. It was hard to believe that day was real.
The next day we took some kayaks around the limestone cliffs. Making our way through mangrove forests, we spied bright red land crabs and walking fish called mud skippers. It was so odd to see fish sliding around on their bellies! We paddled through caves and spotted blue kingfishers in the trees. One cave took us into a lagoon completely surrounded by steep cliff. It was like a lake inside a mountain! Another cave had some ancient rock art on the walls including one that looked like a Thai version of Kokopeli. He is referred to as the “big mouth ghost.” The locals all have a decal of him on their car, so we had to pick one up before we left. Also, the dragon fruit grows unbelievably huge here, I had to buy one straight from the farm.
Our last day in Thailand we stayed close to the airport but still near the beach. We had dinner at a restaurant right on the beach and had Thai food with our feet in the sand and the sun setting in front of us. Only in Asia would we be able to afford such luxury! Some impressive beach combing was trumped by the snorkeling just off the beach. Many varieties of angelfish with all colors and patterns darted around beautiful coral formations. My favorite were the eels with vivid yellow surrounding black spots that were like hexagons, creating an almost honeycomb effect. The eels were long too, over two feet and as big around as my arm. We finished snorkeling and splashed up onto the beach just in time to see the sun set before walking back to our Airbnb closeby. We made sure to stop at the 7 eleven first and load up on weird Cheeto flavors and yakult.
Thailand is an incredible place to visit. You can do a LOT in a short amount of time with a small amount of money. 🙂
Cambodia was like a walk through an Indiana Jones movie. The ancient ruins of Angkor Wat with their intricate forms overtaken with jungle vines felt like and epic adventure. Entire trees 60 feet tall have grown on top of these ruins with their roots covering entryways and extending down the walls. It truly felt like we would have to fight bad guys or pull out our whip at any moment to save the day. I’ve been to many ruins around the world and we decided that Angkor Wat is the most impressive. The entire complex extends far beyond the moat into the jungle. It would take a lifetime to explore it all. Great stone elephants guarded palaces alongside live troops of monkeys. One temple had hundreds of faces carved into the walls and spires. From bigger than me to smaller than my palm, the face cravings remind visitors that the gods can see everything, no matter what. At a certain section, each entryway had rows of stone statues larger than life holding a giant snake back from attacking the city. It was at one particularly hidden archway that I spotted the gliding lizards that live there. They spread out skin flaps on their sides and dive from tree to tree, like base jumpers. It seemed a particularly exotic thing to stumble on. Exploring around corners of the ancient temples, we commonly found golden statues with incense burning quietly in the heat. Trays of fruit, cigarettes, and drink left by worshippers gone by show the living spirit of the place. My favorite thing was to see the monks clad in bright orange, standing like jewels in front of the Angkor Wat center temple. I felt inspired by people so devoted to their beliefs. Sometimes I feel unusual or old fashioned in my dedication to the gospel of Jesus Christ, but as I travel to more places around the world, I see that devotion is respected in most cultures. I felt thankful to have crossed paths with those holy men standing orange against green jungle.
Thailand was every bit as exotic and enchanting as the pictures I’ve been drooling over for years. Ornate palaces with golden roofs curving up towards the sky like metallic fire were on every corner. I loved Bangkok for the grand palaces and impressive temples. We started our first day in Thailand off with a visit to a local floating market. We did some thorough research to avoid the tourist trap markets and managed found one that felt very organic. People paddles around buying and selling their wares right from their boats. An older man showed off his chicken, chuckling with us as we admired the colorful fruit boat closeby. We were the only foreigners there. We had the morning noodle soup that everyone else had and wandered around as these Thai people went about their day. Who knew pho for breakfast would work?
The rest of our time in Bangkok we visited temples and palaces around the city. They are stunning and intricate. We enjoyed green curry, mango sticky rice, and coconut ice cream right out of the shell. The late afternoon brought us to the city park where we watched large monitor lizards hunt fish and frogs smaller than your pinky nail hop around. Giant millipedes could be seen along the water edge too. Bangkok was a fun city to spend a day in.
The next day we inched our way through traffic to the airport. Looking for our airline we asked an information desk who told us—“wrong airport.” It was an hour away and we still had 2 1/2 hours till takeoff. Inching our way back through traffic, we missed the check in time by 10 minutes. It’s all good though. We just caught the next flight which left in a few hours.
The flight took us to the mountain city of Chiang mai where we headed out into the jungle to spend our time. We stayed in a local village bamboo hut way out in the hills. It was here that I learned what geckos sounded like. After winding our way up an impossibly curvy mountain road, we made our way down a tiny dirt track hidden between sugar cane and banana trees. The driver dropped us off, pointed at a bamboo hut closeby and drove off, leaving us standing in the middle of these ride terraces. Shrugging, we made ourselves at home. After a hectic couple of weeks, we really enjoyed the peace and quiet. We wandered around the village, examining leaf praying mantis, star fruit trees and dragon fruit plants. As twilight settled in, we enjoyed hearing the tiny frogs sing in the terraces and geckos chirp overhead. It was a funny place to try and find something to eat, as our host only made food in the evenings and only if you could find her. We got dropped off in the morning, so lunch was an interesting jumble of whatever we could find sold at the shops. This stop was a good change of pace.
The next day we got picked up to stay at the Chai Lai orchid elephant house. This place was AWESOME. The whole place was situated along the edge of a river that you crossed a hanging bridge to get to. Elephants just roamed around the place and you could feed them bananas right from the cafe or from your own room! We had our own private grass bungalow and enjoyed watching the elephants go by right from bed. Their restaurant was exquisite with the best food we had during our entire Thailand stay. It was here that we got to play with the elephants. Apparently it’s painful for the elephants to carry chairs on their back, but it’s actually good for them if you ride them bareback. Riding an elephant felt super natural to me. My legs fit comfortably behind her ears and they fanned me as she walked. Her bristly hairdo felt funny on my hands and her bare skin warm to the touch. They’re surprisingly agile and they made their way easily through the dense jungle trail we were on. Our short hike ended at the river where we got to throw water around and get splashed by the elephants. Their trunks are like great muscular hands that move things around nimbly. They had her give me a “kiss” where the elephant sucked through the trunk and stuck to my cheek—just like a huge vacuum hose. It sucked so strong I thought my cheek would pull off! There’s something peaceful and almost empowering about spending time with these gentle giants. I felt honored to get to spend so much time with them.
We also went on a jungle trek to a waterfall and took a bamboo raft back to our bungalow. A local guide was super nice and showed us the flora and fauna. He blew bubbles out of a plant and had us rub a green leaf between our fingers. The juice turned bright red when crushed, surprising everyone. The bamboo raft wound its way down the Thai mountains and pulled right past elephants and small bamboo huts. It was tranquil and quiet.
Our last stop in Thailand took us to a tiny town north of Krabi called Ao Luek. It was a fun little AirBnB of two story bamboo huts perched alongside a small lake hidden up against the steep limestone mountainsides. The landscape reminded me of Guilin in China with its stark mountains jutting up out of nowhere with long vines draped mysteriously down the overhangs. I loved our bamboo hut with the fresh green light shining in through the bamboo slats. We stayed there because we wanted to experience the world famous Phang Nga bay, but didn’t want the crowds. It turned out well because we ended up being the only ones who went on our tour! They took us to more local spots too that were less crowded and equally stunning. They picked us up in a topless truck and we sped off through the palm forests. I liked to stand up and poke my head up through the metal scaffolding and see all around as we wound around those tall mountain edges. We transferred to our own personal long tail boat and with colorful ribbons flapping in the sun, set off.
I don’t even begin to know how to describe this bay. Turquoise water surrounded hundreds of tiny islands jutting straight out of the water, crested with green jungle. Floating past the limestone cliffs and through narrow openings between islands was so surreal. It’s hard to believe a landscape so dramatic could be real. Occasionally monkeys would shout out warning calls to us from their branchy perch barely above the seawater. Sometimes as we navigated around a corner, a secret cove would open up revealing white sand and palm trees. A tiny bit of paradise. We got to hop out and snorkel at times. It’s hard to say which was more beautiful: the scene above the water or below. Forests of coral decorated with colorful fish kept our attention for longer than our tour guide wanted. I love to explore coral reefs—there’s a lot to see. I love the small blue fish with electric blue coloring. We saw many kinds, including the dramatic lion fish. We stopped at one island that had a secret cave and another that had a narrow entrance to a large cove inside where we spotted flying fox hanging from the mangrove trees. At one island we were lucky enough to see some large hornbill birds fly around the cliffs giving their hoarse call. The day finished with the boat ride back past more islands as the sun set dramatically. We went home to our bamboo hut in the hills. It was hard to believe that day was real.
The next day we took some kayaks around the limestone cliffs. Making our way through mangrove forests, we spied bright red land crabs and walking fish called mud skippers. It was so odd to see fish sliding around on their bellies! We paddled through caves and spotted blue kingfishers in the trees. One cave took us into a lagoon completely surrounded by steep cliff. It was like a lake inside a mountain! Another cave had some ancient rock art on the walls including one that looked like a Thai version of Kokopeli. He is referred to as the “big mouth ghost.” The locals all have a decal of him on their car, so we had to pick one up before we left. Also, the dragon fruit grows unbelievably huge here, I had to buy one straight from the farm.
Our last day in Thailand we stayed close to the airport but still near the beach. We had dinner at a restaurant right on the beach and had Thai food with our feet in the sand and the sun setting in front of us. Only in Asia would we be able to afford such luxury! Some impressive beach combing was trumped by the snorkeling just off the beach. Many varieties of angelfish with all colors and patterns darted around beautiful coral formations. My favorite were the eels with vivid yellow surrounding black spots that were like hexagons, creating an almost honeycomb effect. The eels were long too, over two feet and as big around as my arm. We finished snorkeling and splashed up onto the beach just in time to see the sun set before walking back to our Airbnb closeby. We made sure to stop at the 7 eleven first and load up on weird Cheeto flavors and yakult.
Thailand is an incredible place to visit. You can do a LOT in a short amount of time with a small amount of money. 🙂
Thailand was every bit as exotic and enchanting as the pictures I’ve been drooling over for years. Ornate palaces with golden roofs curving up towards the sky like metallic fire were on every corner. I loved Bangkok for the grand palaces and impressive temples. We started our first day in Thailand off with a visit to a local floating market. We did some thorough research to avoid the tourist trap markets and managed found one that felt very organic. People paddles around buying and selling their wares right from their boats. An older man showed off his chicken, chuckling with us as we admired the colorful fruit boat closeby. We were the only foreigners there. We had the morning noodle soup that everyone else had and wandered around as these Thai people went about their day. Who knew pho for breakfast would work?
The rest of our time in Bangkok we visited temples and palaces around the city. They are stunning and intricate. We enjoyed green curry, mango sticky rice, and coconut ice cream right out of the shell. The late afternoon brought us to the city park where we watched large monitor lizards hunt fish and frogs smaller than your pinky nail hop around. Giant millipedes could be seen along the water edge too. Bangkok was a fun city to spend a day in.
The next day we inched our way through traffic to the airport. Looking for our airline we asked an information desk who told us—“wrong airport.” It was an hour away and we still had 2 1/2 hours till takeoff. Inching our way back through traffic, we missed the check in time by 10 minutes. It’s all good though. We just caught the next flight which left in a few hours.
The flight took us to the mountain city of Chiang mai where we headed out into the jungle to spend our time. We stayed in a local village bamboo hut way out in the hills. It was here that I learned what geckos sounded like. After winding our way up an impossibly curvy mountain road, we made our way down a tiny dirt track hidden between sugar cane and banana trees. The driver dropped us off, pointed at a bamboo hut closeby and drove off, leaving us standing in the middle of these ride terraces. Shrugging, we made ourselves at home. After a hectic couple of weeks, we really enjoyed the peace and quiet. We wandered around the village, examining leaf praying mantis, star fruit trees and dragon fruit plants. As twilight settled in, we enjoyed hearing the tiny frogs sing in the terraces and geckos chirp overhead. It was a funny place to try and find something to eat, as our host only made food in the evenings and only if you could find her. We got dropped off in the morning, so lunch was an interesting jumble of whatever we could find sold at the shops. This stop was a good change of pace.
The next day we got picked up to stay at the Chai Lai orchid elephant house. This place was AWESOME. The whole place was situated along the edge of a river that you crossed a hanging bridge to get to. Elephants just roamed around the place and you could feed them bananas right from the cafe or from your own room! We had our own private grass bungalow and enjoyed watching the elephants go by right from bed. Their restaurant was exquisite with the best food we had during our entire Thailand stay. It was here that we got to play with the elephants. Apparently it’s painful for the elephants to carry chairs on their back, but it’s actually good for them if you ride them bareback. Riding an elephant felt super natural to me. My legs fit comfortably behind her ears and they fanned me as she walked. Her bristly hairdo felt funny on my hands and her bare skin warm to the touch. They’re surprisingly agile and they made their way easily through the dense jungle trail we were on. Our short hike ended at the river where we got to throw water around and get splashed by the elephants. Their trunks are like great muscular hands that move things around nimbly. They had her give me a “kiss” where the elephant sucked through the trunk and stuck to my cheek—just like a huge vacuum hose. It sucked so strong I thought my cheek would pull off! There’s something peaceful and almost empowering about spending time with these gentle giants. I felt honored to get to spend so much time with them.
We also went on a jungle trek to a waterfall and took a bamboo raft back to our bungalow. A local guide was super nice and showed us the flora and fauna. He blew bubbles out of a plant and had us rub a green leaf between our fingers. The juice turned bright red when crushed, surprising everyone. The bamboo raft wound its way down the Thai mountains and pulled right past elephants and small bamboo huts. It was tranquil and quiet.
Our last stop in Thailand took us to a tiny town north of Krabi called Ao Luek. It was a fun little AirBnB of two story bamboo huts perched alongside a small lake hidden up against the steep limestone mountainsides. The landscape reminded me of Guilin in China with its stark mountains jutting up out of nowhere with long vines draped mysteriously down the overhangs. I loved our bamboo hut with the fresh green light shining in through the bamboo slats. We stayed there because we wanted to experience the world famous Phang Nga bay, but didn’t want the crowds. It turned out well because we ended up being the only ones who went on our tour! They took us to more local spots too that were less crowded and equally stunning. They picked us up in a topless truck and we sped off through the palm forests. I liked to stand up and poke my head up through the metal scaffolding and see all around as we wound around those tall mountain edges. We transferred to our own personal long tail boat and with colorful ribbons flapping in the sun, set off.
I don’t even begin to know how to describe this bay. Turquoise water surrounded hundreds of tiny islands jutting straight out of the water, crested with green jungle. Floating past the limestone cliffs and through narrow openings between islands was so surreal. It’s hard to believe a landscape so dramatic could be real. Occasionally monkeys would shout out warning calls to us from their branchy perch barely above the seawater. Sometimes as we navigated around a corner, a secret cove would open up revealing white sand and palm trees. A tiny bit of paradise. We got to hop out and snorkel at times. It’s hard to say which was more beautiful: the scene above the water or below. Forests of coral decorated with colorful fish kept our attention for longer than our tour guide wanted. I love to explore coral reefs—there’s a lot to see. I love the small blue fish with electric blue coloring. We saw many kinds, including the dramatic lion fish. We stopped at one island that had a secret cave and another that had a narrow entrance to a large cove inside where we spotted flying fox hanging from the mangrove trees. At one island we were lucky enough to see some large hornbill birds fly around the cliffs giving their hoarse call. The day finished with the boat ride back past more islands as the sun set dramatically. We went home to our bamboo hut in the hills. It was hard to believe that day was real.
The next day we took some kayaks around the limestone cliffs. Making our way through mangrove forests, we spied bright red land crabs and walking fish called mud skippers. It was so odd to see fish sliding around on their bellies! We paddled through caves and spotted blue kingfishers in the trees. One cave took us into a lagoon completely surrounded by steep cliff. It was like a lake inside a mountain! Another cave had some ancient rock art on the walls including one that looked like a Thai version of Kokopeli. He is referred to as the “big mouth ghost.” The locals all have a decal of him on their car, so we had to pick one up before we left. Also, the dragon fruit grows unbelievably huge here, I had to buy one straight from the farm.
Our last day in Thailand we stayed close to the airport but still near the beach. We had dinner at a restaurant right on the beach and had Thai food with our feet in the sand and the sun setting in front of us. Only in Asia would we be able to afford such luxury! Some impressive beach combing was trumped by the snorkeling just off the beach. Many varieties of angelfish with all colors and patterns darted around beautiful coral formations. My favorite were the eels with vivid yellow surrounding black spots that were like hexagons, creating an almost honeycomb effect. The eels were long too, over two feet and as big around as my arm. We finished snorkeling and splashed up onto the beach just in time to see the sun set before walking back to our Airbnb closeby. We made sure to stop at the 7 eleven first and load up on weird Cheeto flavors and yakult.
Thailand is an incredible place to visit. You can do a LOT in a short amount of time with a small amount of money. 🙂
Walkabout 