A New Years Eve Kayak Trip

Probably the best 400 baht I’ve ever spent. Also because I didn’t have to paddle most of the time. 🙂 Let me introduce Dan to you. Dan is a true blue native of Nottingham, which I found greatly entertaining when I learned this. He teaches English in Korea with Nathan and decided to make a …

The Bananas – Ban Tha Lane

I wasn’t much of a fan of Krabi Town, so I was quite anxious to get to our New Year’s destination: The Bananas (or Bananas Bungalows). Located 2 km away from Tha Lane Pier, it has been the most remote location I’ve been to in Thailand. Not much is around, and even the Pier, which …

Railay Beach and Phrang Nang Cove Bay

Railey vs Railay, vs Rai Leh, however you spell it, just pronounce it Ray-Lay Beach. I’ve seen it spelled quite a few different ways with the phonetic translations of Thai so I’m just going to Railay. Railey and Phrang Nga Cove are only accessible by boat. The closest pier from Krabi that would take me …

Koh Samui

While I still yearned to be stargazing on my patio in Pai, swinging  in the hammock of my new patio watching the waves crash and the stars peak out wasn’t so bad either. It’s been a while since I spent anytime near open water at night, and I was reminded how the salty sweet ocean …

Chiang Mai Sunday Market – Mr. Kai’s Restaurant

When Nathan and I ended up at a new hotel called La Bateau Ivre (good deal 350-500 baht rooms, recommended if you are just stopping by or need a central place to start your exploration), I didn’t realize it was literally on the street where the infamous Chiang Mai Sunday Market is held. How lucky for …

It was a very merry Irish/English/Thai Christmas

Before Nathan and I even set food in Thailand we only knew where we were staying to square our visas away in Bangkok and we had a beach front bungalow booked up for Christmas in the northwest corner of an island called Koh Samui. Our sweet little bungalow wasn’t really in as much of a …

Ing Doi Farmers Market

Waiting around all week to help Mink at the local farmers market wasn’t so terrible considering how much I loved Pai. I was so excited I even got up before the sun came up. It was the first morning I wasn’t woken up by the quacking ducks underneath my bungalow. I later found out it …

Life in Pai

Pai has been a magical place for me. Everyone says you have to go to Pai, and even though what was once a small dirt road mountainside town 20 years ago has now turned into a nicely paved tourist destination, there is something in the air that still gives this place a laid back feel …

My Speechless Moment – the Gift of Inspiration

The past week has had a few random and (for me) almost embarrassingly flattering moments. I have never been able to accept compliments very well, despite what some may say about us Leos. I always find it embarrassing and I never know what to say. I’ve been working on saying thank you, but usually I just laugh …

Siam Thai Cookery School

I’ve had my fair share of full day feasts. I started practicing how to survive these events while growing up at any kind of Chinese family gathering. Copious amounts of food was required just as much as your presence. I thought I had perfected this skill while I was in Italy during the many – …

Bathing with Elephants

It was just about as magical as it sounds. Quite possibly the best day of my life. I have definitely never experienced anything like this before but it’s an experience everyone needs to go through. To be completely honest, I’m actually shameful that I actually had to contemplate this idea. Before I came to Thailand …

A One Stop Shop

As Nathan and I made our way to Chiang Mai we made some quick one night stops. The first was Lopburi, also known as monkey town. You can see monkeys roaming the streets everywhere and there’s even a monkey temple for them. It’s like watching ants on an ant hill…except with lots of old bananas …

Train Travelin’

I have always been a big fan of trains. There is something about riding the train that makes you feel like you are actually travelling. You can see everything that goes by you in between destinations and you feel like you’re covering more ground.  When you fly you’re basically locked into an uncomfortable box with stale …

Ayutthaya, Thailand

Our next main destination was Chiang Mai, but being that it’s about 700 km away from Bangkok, we figured there would be some things to see along the way. First stop: Ayutthaya. I had no idea what awaited us in Ayutthaya. Nathan mentioned something about ruins and I thought: “Cool”. It was a bit touristy …

Bangkok, Thailand

Thailand represents many firsts for me. It’s been a while since I’ve done the whole touristy bit…I’ve become quite accustomed with settling down once I arrive in a country. I like getting to know locals and making new friends. It makes for a much more enjoyable experience as a solo traveler. Seeing the sights can …

Tailing Chan Floating Market

Nathan and I wanted to check out a floating market, however we didn’t really want to make a whole day of it and since most of them were further out of town, we decided to check out the one closest to us. It was still an hour+ bus ride from our hotel, but we made …

Wat Pho / Wat Arun

Once Nathan and I got our visas sorted, it was on to some sight seeing. We decided that Wat Pho looked interesting enough as well as Wat Aran. Probably my favorite part of this experience was catching the bus to get there. The buses sort just roll to a California stop after you wave them down. We …

Khlong Toei Market

We stumbled upon this market our first night in Bangkok. It is quite possibly the most massive market I have ever seen. Rows upon rows of every type of ingredient used in asian cooking available. Fish filleted upon like they’re ready to be plattered shashimi style, still breathing, and fish still trying to make their …