This February, David and I set out to explore three Southeast Asian countries - Thailand, Singapore, and Indonesia. It was a whirlwind trip that I squished down into less than two weeks, because I couldn't leave my little stinker (Brenner, 2 at the time) for much longer than that!
An immense amount of planning and research went into this itinerary, and a lot of unknowns due to language barriers and different ways of doing business in these countries. I had to research the best options for airport to hotel service, best pricing on the excursions I was interested in, hotels, driver services, must-do/sees in each location, and multiple exchanges rates/average prices for everyday goods. Booking the flight was the easiest step of all, and I relied on one of my favorite travel sites for the job - Trip Masters. (My other secret weapon, and where I find many of my deals, is on Travel Zoo.) Seriously, keep an eye out, you can find some insane specials. The Trip Masters site provides example fares for various itineraries - this one caught me eye and hit the spots I wanted to see, so we booked it! GETTING to SE Asia may seem like a feat due to costs and time spent flying, but I promise you that once you get there, you can live like a queen for dollars per day. Our price per person included flights and hotels in each location - and Trip Masters lets you customize locations and hotels as you choose, depending on where you want to stay.
Next, I had to determine how best to sample these countries with the time we had available. I am not the laid-back, cocktail sipping, beach sitting traveler. I had things to SEE! Here's how our trip went:
Day One:
Arrive in Bangkok, Thailand at 11:30 PM - Here I arranged for hotel transport upon arrival - although more pricey, I knew we would be tired as hell after our DC to Tokyo to Bangkok flights and didn't want to fight for a cab or get lost. I called the hotel a month previous to schedule, and paid for the fare, which was about $30 USD. The operator at the hotel barely spoke English, so I was wondering whether or not our transport would actually be there..... but he was! Our driver who spoke absolutely no English had a sign with our names on it, and into his cab we hopped! He was incredibly nice, and full of smiles. My first impression of Bangkok was that it was ALIVE. It was noisy, filled with cars, mopeds, bike taxis (the way most 9-5ers in Bangkok get to their jobs), tuk-tuks, people with little carts all over the place selling street food. We were excited.
Hotel: Salil Hotel Sukhumvit Soi 11
Our hotel was the cutest little boutique address absolutely surrounded by cafes and restaurants, tons of nightlife, massage parlors, and hole in the wall bars in the Sukhumvit neighborhood in Bangkok. We wanted to be close to the action and we found it for sure. This was our exact room - it was quaint and you could hear the bustling street sounds at all hours of the day or night. We were greeted very warmly by the staff at reception.
Two hiccups - no hot water and confusion about whether or not I had previously paid for the transport. Both resolved quickly.
Day Two:
Temple Tour, Thai Massage, and Dinner River Cruise
David and I woke up early the next morning and enjoyed an amazing breakfast (included in price) and some of the best coffee I've had in my entire life. We had a little bit of a concern about our events for the day, as the tour company that I had booked our temple tour with had not yet re-confirmed. (Most of the tour companies did not require a deposit online, and we found out later that the company we booked with did show up, but aren't that great about responding to emails or answering the phone!) Lucky us, as we strolled downstairs to breakfast, the hotel had a tour operator on site. And, after quick discussions, we negotiated a far better price for the same exact tour - and had a private driver! At this point $1 USD equaled about 32.5 Thai baht - our tours that day cost about $24/each.
We spent the morning visiting three temples: Wat Pho (Temple of the Reclining Buddha),
the Grand Palace, which also houses Wat Phra Kaew (Temple of Emerald Buddha), and Wat Traimit, which houses the largest sitting golden buddha.
Wat Pho - The Buddha is enormous! Such a gorgeous sight. Each toe was larger than my head.
Grand Palace
At the conclusion of the tour, we were taken to lunch at an amazing restaurant that overlooked the river, immediately opposite from Wat Arun (below) called "Deck by the River." The food was delish - I enjoyed real panang curry that still makes my mouth water today.
After lunch, our driver took us back to the hotel. David and I then headed out to try a traditional "Thai Massage." All I can say is WTF was I thinking?! We walked a few doors down to a nice looking spa, and paid the miniscule fee for a one hour massage (which ended up being about 180 baht equaling a measly $6 per person). I swear I have never felt pain like this before. What this woman inflicted on me was pure torture! My Facebook post from that day stated: "I just willingly submitted myself to the worst torture I've ever endured at the hands of a tiny Thai woman who mauled me with her hands feet and elbows, attempting to rip my muscles right off of my bone and crack things in my body that I didn't even know would crack. I wanted to cry the whole time and am just waiting for the bruises to appear. In conclusion, do not ever sign up for a traditional Thai massage as these woman clearly enjoy pushing you past your pain threshold. Good Lord!"
The final adventure of the day was an evening dinner cruise on the Chao Phraya River. We were sort of coerced into the cruise by the same tour guide who arranged our day's adventures, but it wasn't my thing. Of course the scenery was beautiful, but it was just... meh. The food was half-way decent, the music was God-awful. Picture a group of 4 women singing Mariah Carey with absolutely no rhythm..... and no English language skills. Also, it was the most expensive adventure of the day - go figure - at about $40 USD per person.
Day Three or Otherwise Known as "One of the best days of my life!":
River Kwai, Tiger Temple, Elephant Bathing, Bangkok Nightlife
River Kwai/Tiger Temple: When I was about sixteen, I saw a documentary on Animal Planet highlighting the lives of monks that live among tigers. They walked with them with no protection, no chains, they ate in their company, and they worked to take care of tigers brought to them with injuries or needing rehabilitation. I knew from that day on I HAD to go see these monks, this temple, these tigers! The first excursion I booked was to visit the famed Tiger Temple, or what is locally known as Wat Pa Luangta Bua Yannasampanno. This is the one tour that I paid in full before arrival - therefore I checked TripAdvisor to ensure it was a reputable firm. This was not a cheap excursion, but was worth every penny to me for the experience. The tour company we utilized was Bangkok Day Tours. The exact tour we booked is linked here.
We were picked up from our hotel at 4:30 am by a driver who did not speak English at all! He didn't have much to say, so I was a bit nervous that we wouldn't have a good guide on our visit. We drove about an hour and a half, suddenly stopped on the side of the road, and in hopped this tiny Thai girl, probably about 25 years old. She spoke perfect English, was upbeat and excited, and had gone to see the tigers many times before so she gave us a quick idea of what to expect upon arrival.
Our first stop was at the Bridge over the River Kwai. It was stunning, a good photo op. We didn't stay long, but walked across the bridge and took some shots.
We drove a bit longer and finally arrived at the Tiger Temple, in Kanchanaburi, Thailand. The first experience, and the one I thought was a little bit too touristy, was the process of providing food for the monks. The tour operator brings this food which we held in baskets (because you cannot touch a monk/hand off food) as a procession of monks came to claim it. I got the impression that this was all for show - that the monks don't actually eat this food. It was all over rather quickly.
Next we walked into the huge park area, where all kinds of donkeys and wild pigs were grazing. Once we were inside, we were given a quick talk about safety for ourselves and the tigers, and then we walked to a temple. From here we could hear the tiger kittens mewing! In small groups, so as not to frighten the animals, we climbed about 30 stairs and at the top were about six of the most adorable, tiny tiger cubs! Surrounding the exterior of the temple were younger (maybe 3-6 month?) cubs playing with monks and temple volunteers. The babies were roaming free but the older cubs, who were already quite large, were loosely tied to the exterior posts. They had plenty of room to roam around and were busy being fed by our small group. We had over an hour of free time, cuddling and kissing on the babies, feeding them and the older cubs milk. It was unforgettable.
Next, we had the opportunity to walk the older cubs to another area - it was bath time! We took turns scrubbing the tigers with soap, playing in the water with them, then feeding them large chunks of boiled chicken. This was also the first time we saw one of the full grown tigers - who was walking around the property with a man by his side. He was ENORMOUS. I will never forget the thrill I felt when I saw this tiger so close in person, without any bars or gates separating us! I definitely kept my eye on this large tiger the entire time!
After bath time was over, volunteers took these cubs to a fenced in play area. In this area were about 10 6 months to a year old tigers playing with all kinds of toys. They are so similar to cats! They were trying to stalk and pounce on these toys. I would be lying if I didn't say this didn't make me extremely nervous. Although under a year, they were huge. Definitely David's favorite part. He lured a tiger cub up into a tree with his toy and had the best time getting the tiger to pounce onto the ground on the toy.
We had the option here to go and play with more tiger cubs next to the play area, in their dens. Laura, an awesome Australian girl I met on this tour, joined me. (David preferred to stay with the older cubs). This was UNREAL. We were the only two in this den with five or six tiny, newborn cubs. They mewed as soon as they saw us - were incredibly soft and cuddly - and wanted us to hold and snuggle them. We had unlimited time here it seemed. Never once did we feel pushed to move along to the next activity. We kissed the babies, and laid on the floor with them, letting them paw us and give us wet baby tiger kisses. Amazing. At this point we had been at the facility for over 3 hours!
The last part of our Tiger Temple experience was taking the enormous full grown tigers down to a swimming area to watch them play. There were two groups of about 5 people and each group had one tiger to walk about a quarter of a mile to the water. This was NUTS. It was such a thrill to be close to these adults. We were allowed to stroke their back, but were warned to stay away from their tail - just like any kitty I guess!
Once we got to the swimming hole, we were corralled into a small fenced in area - the fence was only up to my chest - and the volunteers swam and played with about 8 full grown adult tigers within yards of us. These tigers would roar at one another, tackle each other into the water, jump 10 feet in the air to catch a toy and then splash into the water, and were interacting with the volunteers so well.
I must comment that our guide was absolutely amazing the entire time, and I highly recommend the tour company we utilized. She had our camera the entire visit and we came home with over 200 photos of us interacting with the tigers.
Elephant Bathing: Our day was not over at this point, although we spent four long hours with the tigers. We hopped into our car and drove a short distance to an outdoor restaurant. Here we had traditional Thai food, buffet style, and a cold "Chang" beer. After we shared our highlights of the Tiger Temple we were off to the next destination - an elephant farm that provided tourists a ride and bath in the River Kwai!
Upon arrival we slipped into bathing suits, and we were off! No waiting, no lines. The place was not busy at all - all tourists were with guides and the area was extremely rural. We learned that the mahouts have been with their elephants since the elephants were babies, and the mahouts were born into the family profession. Two elephants were waiting at an incredibly high platform, and without any ado, my mahout says "Jump on!" Well, this elephant had absolutely nothing for me to hold onto and we were extremely high up....it was frightful! But she waited patiently while I got situated behind her ears and then she started walking down the fairly steep incline. This is NOT for the faint of heart. I ride horses, have great balance, and still felt I may just fall off the side of this animal! Of course I had David go first, and he seemed to be doing just fine.
We walked down a steep hill and right into the River Kwai. The elephants seemed to enjoy the water - or are just used to the process - so they went straight in! The water was freezing cold and the current was fairly strong, but the elephants seemed at home. We splashed and played, were thrown off the elephants and pulled back on with their strong trunks, and enjoyed about an hour on these animals. It was very fun, but I will say that I had a little bit of a general unease about the whole thing. I am such an animal lover and although I did not see any outward signs of abuse, I have read a lot about the training practices of these magnificent animals in India and SE Asia.....
During the entire experience, our guide was once again taking a ton of photos and even videos on our iPhones. She was excellent.
At the conclusion of our water play, the elephants took us back up to the platform and off we hopped. One of the ways this farm makes money is to sell bananas, which elephants absolutely love, at 3-4x the going rate in the markets. David and I bought a ton of these bananas and spoiled the heck out of our two elephants. Others wandered up so of course we had to buy even more to ensure everyone had a taste.
Man, we were worn out after our long day! On the ride home, which was about three hours if I remember correctly, David and I passed out. We awoke back in Bangkok refreshed! We showered and had a bite to eat, then headed out to meet Laura, the Australian girl that we spent the day with, at a hole in the wall bar well known in Bangkok called Cheap Charlie's. It was in an alley a few streets down from our hotel, and is literally a bar under the awning of the exterior of a neighboring building! Customers add their flair by hanging a trinket on the bar - it's full of the most random things. Sitting room is roped off into the alley, with a few chairs and logs to perch on. We met people from every country imagineable here, and picked up some South Africans to join us for the rest of the evening.
We discovered the most random places in Bangkok that night. One is a pop up VW van that drives around, stops in random spots, and serves drinks in buckets.
Day Four: Lazy Day of Travel
On the fourth day of our Thailand adventure, we had to leave for the airport by 12PM. Therefore David and I, after our hectic and full day previously, opted to sleep in (hey, we were out until almost 4 AM!), enjoy a laid back breakfast, and have another massage. Knowing that we definitely could NOT handle another Thai massage, we found a place within walking distance to enjoy an hour full body oil massage for only 120 baht, which equals about $4USD! We relaxed until our driver (the same driver who picked us up at the airport) was ready to head out.
I absolutely loved Bangkok. I loved the whir of activity, the mix of so many cultures, the food, the up-all-night mentality, the fact that you could do or buy almost anything you wanted here. I loved the people most of all. Every single person we met greeted us with a smile, asked how they could help in any way. I can't wait to visit Thailand again!
Next Stop: Singapore!
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