From Bangkok to Chiang Mai

A couple of things happened on our way to Chiang Mai.

During our last day in Bangkok, I FINALLY found a street stall that I knew for sure sold vegetarian fare (it's surprisingly difficult to identify ingredients on the street and a lot of meat and fish is usually involved). This man made beautiful savoury crepes with eggs - delicious (and no, I did not have that sausage that you see in the picture)!



In a truly EPIC moment, while waiting for our train, we had vegetarian curry on the floor besides our backpacks. I never felt more like a backpacker in my entire life!



Our train suffered a 5-hour delay. That's right - we were delayed for 5 hours. Luckily, when we finally arrived in Chiang Mai, I had time to recuperate with a cup of coffee while Jochem managed to get us a room at our #1 pick for 5 euros a night.



I already found a favorite spot in Chiang Mai. When we first arrived, we immediately liked the vibe of this city, but were quickly disappointed by the backpacker masses and all who cater to them (the fact that we ourselves are, indeed, backpackers apparently doesn't ease this pain). Since we are usually staying at the accommodation variety that has bare light bulbs and a shower over the toilet (seriously, WHY is that?!), it's important to have a sanctuary of some kind. I found it in the totally cliche, yet surprisingly charming, Blue Diamand Cafe, which has vegetarian food, a tranquil garden, and lots of hippies around. I love it.



Plus: it was here that I discovered turmeric tea. Not only is this delicious, apparently it is good for your skin. My skin needs something good happening to it, what with all the humidity here in South East Asia during monsoon season. Myself and everything I own is in a constant state of dampness and our new room doesn't have AC but a fan instead. I'm willing to try anything at this point.



Chiang Mai is scattered with temples, so we visited a few today.



We also got to our senses and bought a pair of umbrellas. We don't like to get wet, but ponchos are just so uncool, so umbrellas it is then.



After seeing this last of 4 temples, we took our tired selves to a salon for a 1-hour foot massage. Aaahhh...



And one last little note: we now have a toilet that doesn't flush. We need to use water from a bucket to splash away our business. I think Michiel and Marije may have told us about this at some point, but still, it was totally shocking.

Let's see what else Chiang Mai has to offer...

Jochem just posted some more pictures of Bangkok and of our train ride to Chiang Mai, so if you'd like to see more pictures of our world trip, check out our picture gallery here!

Bangkok, Thailand

Siam Square

I'm back with another blog from Bangkok. It's now Sunday night and we've been in Bangkok since Tuesday afternoon. I suppose that this is a long time to be in one city, but I always envisioned it to be quite nice to start this world trip slowly, and it turns out that I was right. However, we have not done as much sight seeing as you might suspect. We've been far too busy enjoying the wonderul time capsule that is our hotel:


entrance


lobby


hotel cat


proof of Elizabeth Gilbert's presence (EEK!)

And relaxing by the pool:


pool


hotel dog

And eating:


having vegetarian pad thai on Khao San Road, Banglamphu

But don't be fooled - we have explored a LOT of this city: by taxi, sky train, metro, boat, tuk-tuk and on foot. I must admit that I was a little bit intimidated by Bangkok at first, but this quickly passed. Although this is a very big city that is, at times, overwhelming, it is easily navigable. The Thai are nice people who do not bother you very much and who are adoringly sweet to their pets and to animals in general. I also find the city to be surprisingly clean, but perhaps this is because I compare it to southern India. It is very hot in Bangkok, however, and very humid at that. September is the wettest month of the year so we have rains every single day. It was particularly bad on Thursday (more on that later) and there have been several floods in the country this summer. But not to worry - there is no danger where we are staying or where we are going.

We began exploring on Wednesday by taking the sky train to Siam Square where we quickly made our way to the Mahboonkrong (MBK) Food Center to visit a famous vegetarian food stall that had some very spicy curry (thank GOD for the coconut drink and dessert).

On Thursday we took a sky train, a metro and a boat to the Banglamphu neighborhood because I insisted on seeing the famous backpacker ghetto called Khao San Road. Here we scored some nice food and a couple of books for on the road, but we were done quite quickly and, I must say, I'm glad not to be staying there. Then the worst rain since we've been here started to pour down and, after waiting for a little while, we started to look for a quick boat taxi in vain until we finally found an empty tuk-tuk to take us back to the metro. After another metro and sky train ride and a little walk, we were finally home - drenched.

Because of all this drama we were completely exhausted and did nothing on Friday except hang out at the tropical garden and pool.

On Saturday we felt that it was time to do some serious sight seeing, so we made our way to Ko Ratanakosin. Here we visited Wat Phra Kaew (also known as the Temple of the Emerald Buddha) and the Grand Palace. We also made a trip to Wat Pho, which houses a 46 meters long, 15 meters high, reclining Buddha. It was absolutely breathtaking, all of it.

Today we only made one little trip to Wat Traimit to see its 3 meters tall, 5,5 tonne, solid-gold Buddha - very impressive indeed. Since we were tired and it started raining yet again, we quickly came back to the Atlanta.


Ko Ratanakosin


reclining Buddha at Wat Pho, Ko Ratanakosin

And here we are. This is our last night at the Atlanta and in Bangkok. Tomorrow we plan to visit Jim Thompson's House and the Erawan Shrine, because these sights are close to the neighborhood that we are staying in: Sukhumvit. Then we're going to take a taxi to take us to Hualamphong Train Station because at 7.35 PM our train to Chiang Mai leaves! I'm very excited to visit this supposedly great city in northern Thailand - we booked a second class sleeper train and I've ALWAYS wanted to travel on a sleeper train. I'm also scared, though, because for our arrival there we have booked... nothing. Of course I know that this is part of the fun, but still, it's scary. I plan to take Jochem' mother's advice, however, who said that one person should stay with the backpacks at a cafe while the other looks for accommodation - I fully intend to be the one staying at the cafe while Jochem plays out his strengths and finds us a room! We'll see how it all turns out. Chiang Mai, here we come!


in the rain (again!) at Wat Traimit, near Hualamphong Train Station

If you'd like to see more pictures of our world trip (and some clips of me NOT jumping off the teeny, tiny, little brick wall at the swimming pool), check out our picture gallery here!

London, England

I'm writing this blog from very hot and humid Bangkok! My short hair is already coming in handy... We are well, albeit very tired and slightly jetlagged (we woke up at noon today after having slept for more than 12 hours).

Our ferry ride to England was nice and relaxing. Unfortunately, it was followed by an absolutely crazy day in London. I've been to London before during a great trip with Kiran in 2006. but I'd forgotton how BIG London is! We spent all day catching subways and walking around. We didn't see any sights because we felt that there wasn't enough time and because we thought they were quite expensive (I wanted to go inside the London Tower and on the London Eye, for example, but those sights turned out to cost more than half of our daily budget each). Instead, we just wandered the city all day and saw a lot on foot. Of course we had a delectable lunch at Fifteen where Jamie Oliver himself was, sadly, not to be found and we also lay in the grass in Green Park for a while, until it started to rain, but what is a day in London without rain, really? After a long day we had to haul our backpacks into the subway during rush hour, which was a little stressful. It took 1,5 hours to get to Heathrow where we boarded our 11-hour flight to Bangkok. I was very excited to see the entertainment system and had quickly assembled a list of 5 movies and 3 TV shows that I wanted to see, but, alas, fell asleep during an episode of Banged Up Abroad: Kidnapped by Sadam Hussein. After a restless sleep, we arrived in Bangkok.

Thailand has been great thus far - everyone is really nice and it's been quite easy to get around. Plus, our hotel is lovely. I read about the Atlanta in Elizabeth Gilbert's Committed and, since it was also in our Lonely Planet, decided to make a booking here. Boy, am I glad that we did! The hotel is an oasis in the middle of this busy city. It has a charm that reminds me of the 50s - a beautiful lobby with classical music playing in the background, antique writing desks, a delicious menu offering countless vegetarian meals, a tropical garden and a swimming pool - all for the budget price of 20 euros per room per night. Did I mention that we received complementary pineapple juices when we arrived? Jochem has already found a fan in the 60-year old waitress who appears to be quite charmed. We are enjoying ourselves immensely, although we have very separate opinions when it comes to air conditioning - I love it, Jochem hates it. For example: Jochem wakes up in the middle of the night because he's cold and turns the AC off. I then wake up because I'm hot and turn it back on, and so on and so forth. I'm curious to see how this will work out here! I love it here and am glad to be able to stay for a couple of days while we acclimatize to South East Asia.

If you'd like to see more pictures of our world trip, check out our picture gallery here!


Westminster Abbey


Big Ben

WORLD TRIP TO DO LIST (Final Version!)

(1) Move: √



(2) Make Almelo our home: √



(3) Test tent: √





(4) Attempt to get in Inca Trail shape by hiking through the Dutch countryside (latest update: 14K!): √



(5) Have fabulous Bon Voyage Party: √















(6) Get vaccinated for any and all possible ailments: √



(7) Pack backpacks: √



(8) Get hair chopped off: √



(9) Donate hair: √



(10) Remain calm: √



Our boat leaves on Sunday, September 4 at 10 PM. We will have 1 day in London, including a lunch reservation at Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen, before taking our first flight on Monday, September 5 to Bangkok. Until June 2012!

Blurry Vision

Lately it has been difficult to see clearly. Everything is a blur of impressions that I find difficult to categorize into a structure suitable for this blog. Jochem and I have been busy. We sleep in. I do yoga. We have eggs for breakfast. We watch The Amazing Race. We plan. We book. We read. We anticipate. Jochem plays video games. I read women's magazines. We cross things off of our to do list. We hike. We pick recipes. We buy groceries. We cook. We eat. We play with the cats. We have tea. We watch The Amazing Race. We sleep. This goes on and on. It has turned into a weird routine - we do the same things every day in a somewhat predictable order, but most things have been taken care of. The to do list only has a few more items on it. The backpacks are packed. The Bon Voyage Party has been given. We are playing a waiting game. Here is an impression of our time spent:

Caponata

Yesterday I prepared caponata - a Sicilian eggplant dish. Jamie Oliver describes it as a stew. My parents LOVE stew + this particular recipe uses eggplant to make the stew as opposed to meat = 2 happy parents and 1 happy vegetarian me. I served it with boiled potatoes, creme fraiche, grated cheese and chives. Sometimes people worry about serving vegetarian main dishes, but I learned from Living Vegetarian for Dummies that serving two side dishes can result in one great main dish. Try for yourself!

Source: Jamie's Italy by Jamie Oliver

Asparagus Tips

It's been a while since I've been here. I've been busy! Even though I've been unemployed for almost 2 months and have been living in Almelo since August, I've kept myself busy - visiting family and friends, doing yoga and, mostly, taking care of all those last little details before taking off on September 4. I suppose there's not a lot left to be done, but little details can take up a lot of one's time (especially when interrupted by numerous tea breaks). I've also been watching a LOT of TV, which was really getting out of hand when I stayed in Amersfoort for a couple of days and Mag and I were glued to the Investigation Discovery Channel for hours on end, but, overall, there is a lot of good stuff on TV these days! My latest thing is Discovery Channel's Amazing Race, which Jochem and I have been watching together. I suppose that it's kind of a waste of time in the grand scheme of things, but being the kind of person who loves to just be at home, I try to make the most of that right now, since in a little over 2 weeks (!!!) I won't have that for 9 months. In other news, my dad and little brother are thinking about joining us in Peru for our trek on the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu - that would be swell. Jochem and I are trying to get some hiking in because the people at Peru Treks suggest trying to hike 15 kilometers in order to determine whether you are capable of hiking for hours on end. Yesterday the sun was out so we put on our hiking boots and walked 11 kilometers through Twente's surprisingly beautiful farmland from our house in the suburbs of Almelo to my dad's store in Rijssen. This included a detour past a petting zoo and a quick trip to the grocery store and I think we did pretty well. We also came across a couple of stands from nearby farmers, where we scored some amazing produce for a few cents.

Another thing that I do every single day but haven't really been talking about at all, is cooking. Ever since I came to Almelo, I've pretty much been cooking every single day. I only cook vegetarian food and so my family has been eating a lot of vegetarian meals. They enjoy their steaks and salmon fillets, so it's been quite a challenge to keep them satisfied. But I quickly came to find that the trick to cooking good vegetarian meals is to use fresh ingredients, but then again, doesn't that count for all foods? I've made some great dishes these past few weeks: lentil salads with lemon and shallot, portobello burgers with caramelized onion and mozzarella, spicy pizza, spaghetti with pesto, string beans and potato, and tempeh Sloppy Joe's. But I didn't take any pictures because I was too busy enjoying the food with my family and friends. But look at these beautiful asparagus tips with olive oil, lemon juice and Parmesan!



Source: Jamie at Home by Jamie Oliver

Life in Almelo

It's official - our life in Utrecht is over. On Sunday we said goodbye to our apartment on the Good Street in the White Women neighborhood of Utrecht (which sounds weird in English). Jochem was being quite the sentimentalist while Bic was a downright cry baby. I was doing remarkably well, I think. It had not been fun at all to stay in that emtpy apartment, while being forced to sleep in sleeping bags on the floor left my right shoulder with quite an impressive collection of kinks that my favorite Moby look-a-like masseur in Almelo kindly massaged away for me this afternoon. It was time to go.

Although it is kind of weird to be back at my parents' house in Almelo after all these years, I've actually been enjoying the stay very much. I spend some time every day on our world trip preparations, but my main responsibility is to buy groceries and cook dinner. This means that my parents are now also eating vegetarian every day. I am still a vegetarian, but I must admit that I have been thinking about not being so hard on myself anymore. Don't expect me to buy a Bic Mac anytime soon (or ever again, for that matter, as I already imagine Jochem's face in horror because he hates fast food chains with the same passion that I hate dusting the apartment), but I might allow myself a nice steak when in Argentina. But for now, I am still eating the greens without any meat, poultry, fish or sea food whatsoever.

One of the things that I'm enjoying most about life in Almelo is the abandonment of my routines. For example, when it comes to breakfast, instead of having cereal on weekdays and eggs during the weekend, I now wake up and ask myself: what do I feel like eating? This may seem perfectly natural to you, but to me, it's quite the revolutionary change, not to mention liberating. And I'm proud to say that not only did I finally figure out how to get coffee from my parents' insane coffee maker after 5 years, I have also become quite skilled in making scrambled eggs. I've been making scrambled eggs for years, but as anyone who has ever watched Top Chef knows, making eggs is quite hard. Past experience is not a predictor of future success. But I finally figured it out: add one tablespoon of full fat milk to each scrambled egg. This is essential! Other tricks I've learned are: adding butter to the pan before it is hot, but waiting with the scrambled eggs until the pan is searing hot; using a tortilla instead of a bagel or slice of bread because it's much lighter; and warming the tortilla in the microwave and adding cheddar cheese straight after before adding the scrambled eggs so that the cheese melts a little but the tortilla can still be folded easily. I've had this meal for days now. I love it, but I must be careful - the last time that I got so hung up on scrambled eggs and cheddar cheese was at UCLA in 2004 where I added quite a few pounds that are yet to come off.