Tag: same same

Posted on

Elephants, food, and ladyboys! – Chiang Mai, Thailand

Have you ever heard of Chiang Mai? We hadn’t! While in Bangkok we realized this was a place we needed to visit, we only spent 2 days here, but you can easily spend a week or more as there are many activities to experience. Chiang Mai is a small city in the north of Thailand, this city is only an hour flight from Bangkok and in our opinion it is the perfect escape from the big city vibe. It offers endless adventures, beautiful mountain views, cheaper food, welcoming people, many temples, and a relaxed atmosphere overall. We didn’t have Chiang Mai in our plans, but after talking to a few friends who have visited before and reading a few blogs about it we decided to give it a try and explore it on our own. To our surprise, this area is also home to many elephant sanctuaries. This is one of the best places to spend some time with them and learn about the many projects and new initiatives to protect them while at the same time helping the local communities and villages who take care of the elephants.

When planning your visit to an elephant sanctuary or any animal activity around the world please choose wisely and do your research as there are still many tour companies that abuse animals just for profit. This being said, we chose the Elephant Jungle Sanctuary after reading about it and recommended to us. With the money they raise from visitors and donations they can rescue the animals, feed them, provide veterinary care as well as land and infrastructure for them them to live on. Located about an hour and half from Chiang Mai they brought us to a certain point in the mountain by car. Then we had to walk and cross a river into the jungle to where right away we were greeted by a big elephant running towards us ready for his food! Less than 1 minute and we were surrounded by 6 elephants, they were all big and impressive while at the same time so friendly, peaceful, happy, and hungry for bananas!! Bananas, we fed them many bananas and they were so hungry that even after we were done they were looking for more!! We also bathe the elephants in their natural habitat which consisted of a mud scrub and then to the river to wash it off they went and we just followed impressed by this surreal experience. This was so much fun to us and we never imagined we would get that close to an elephant or to swim with them. It was very cool to see how they completely submerged underwater breathing through their trunks. They were so big yet felt so harmless and at peace. It is an experience we will never forget.

We feel the sanctuary is doing a great job in the way they treat and care for the elephants. The guide made sure we were well informed before any interactions with the elephants. You can see how much they care of the elephants and how dedicated they are to provide a better life to the elephants. Here most elephants have been rescued, it is easy to sense they are happy to be here as all they want is to play, eat and enjoy their time in the jungle. We enjoyed this adventure and recommend it when in Chiang Mai.

Thai cooking class, what a surprise! Little did we know that we would love the Thai cooking class provided by Zabb E Lee Thai Cooking School. This would be an example of one of those activities we don’t do while traveling because we think of it as very touristic. Now, after doing it, I can tell you this is a must do in Chiang Mai! Yes, not only because you get to cook authentic Thai food with an expert but it’s also a great opportunity to meet fantastic people from all over the world. Our experience started with a trip to the local market where we learned about all the spices and ingredients we would be using. It is an eye opener to see where the flavors you eat in Thailand come from, now we can tell you what something tastes like and some of you might be lucky enough to try a Pad Thai made by us! Herbs and spices such as coriander seeds, cumin, dried chillies, ginger, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, mint, and Thai basil are just some of those flavors that will bring you to Thailand. Step by step we each made our own delicious dishes (below). We ended the evening with our bellies very full and with awesome friendships that might last for life!

  • Papaya Salad – Ingrid 
  • Pad Thai (of course) – Ingrid
  • Chicken in Coconut Milk Soup – Ingrid
  • Panang Curry with Chicken – Ingrid
  • Spring Rolls – Both
  • Hot & Sour Prawn Creamy Soup – Santi 
  • Stir Fried Chicken Cashew Nuts – Santi 
  • Khao Soi Curry – Santi 
  • Mango with Sticky Rice – Santi 

Temples and more temples! Yes, Thailand has some the most beautiful temples you can’t miss. In Chiang Mai we visited the ones listed below, these do not take very long to see and have amazing views surrounded by nature.

  • Wat Umong
  • Pa Laad Temple
  • Doi Suthep
  • Wat Chedi Luang

6ixcret Cabaret Show, these shows (aka ladyboys show) are popular all over Thailand. We were invited to this one by some of our friends from the cooking class and it is one of the best ones we have seen!! Great energy, amazing performances, and to our surprise the lip-syncing is very good, so good that we found ourselves singing along! You can see that the performers work hard on their acts and try to put on the best show they can. If you are looking for a fun time in Chiang Mai don’t miss this! It’s free entry with the purchase of a cocktail, well worth it!

Two days might not be enough, but we sure enjoyed our time here and we will definitely come back to discover more about Chiang Mai and the north of Thailand. We left with amazing experiences and good friends!

To see more about our experience in Chiang Mai, visit our Instagram account @everywhereabroad.

Posted on

Same same, but different. Bangkok!!

If you’ve never heard it “Same same, but different” is a catchphrase used all over Thailand, it is used in many different ways mainly jokingly by Thais and foreigners. It means “similar” and can relate to the selling of original designer bags or even different food items at markets. You might ask a question and get a “same same, but different” or a simple “same same” as an answer and that should be sufficient. Today we’ll talk about Bangkok, a city full of endless food options, touristic attractions, nice people, etc… a metropolis like many others, SAME SAME, BUT DIFFERENT.

Bangkok! You might think of Bangkok and not like the sound of it, never looked into it as a destination or did not enjoy it while you were there. We completely understand, Bangkok takes some time to love and if you do not spend enough time in the city chances are you will not like it. It is not a city to visit for 1 or 2 days and only do the touristy activities. There’s so much more to discover once you enter the local life and distance yourself from the tourists. Bangkok is the world’s most visited city for the past few years which hosts more than 22 million visitors per year.

After spending 1 month in Bangkok we learned and experienced the Thai culture at its best. Location is important if you’re looking to get the real experience, this is why we chose our airbnb to be outside of the city center and tourist areas to a local neighborhood where we had accommodations that we knew we would need for our 1 month stay. The location of the apartment complex was a 3 minute walk to the Skytrain (BTS) and 5 minutes from the grocery store and other local shops and restaurants. Amenities included a gym, pool, co-working space, barbecue area, and cinema room that we shared with locals on a daily basis.

Being mingled with the locals allowed us to get to know them, see their daily life, and although communication was very little because of the language barrier the Thai people for us are some of the most wonderful human beings. Always smiling, willing to help, funny, hardworking, patient, down to earth, diverse, and will not judge anyone for their religion or sexuality.

We ate the street food, we ate where the locals ate, we grocery shopped at the neighborhood store, we walked (a lot) through many local neighborhoods, took the BTS, rode the local bus, and went to the markets; all this and although most times we were the only foreigners at certain places we always felt welcomed and safe.

Bangkok is a city that never stops and there is something for everyone from luxury malls, temples, nightclubs, red-light districts, markets, rooftops, and lots of entertainment for kids. We also visited many of the tourist attractions and many temples but I think what we enjoyed the most was the food and the people.

Below are some of our top local things to do outside of the normal tourist attractions in Bangkok:

Take a water taxi on the Chao Phraya River: affordable way to move around Bangkok through the river and get a different view of the city. If you go visit Wat Arun (temple) chances are you will have to cross the river to get there.

Ride the BTS: very impressive skytrain, we used this all the time to avoid traffic and save on transportation. The stations and trains are very well maintained, helpful staff, easy to get around, and very very clean.

Muay Thai: you’ll see Muay Thai advertised all over Bangkok, but do not go for those boxing matches if you want an authentic experience. You might end up paying for a fake match. Many tourists don’t know this but on Sundays at the Channel 7 Stadium there is free entrance for everyone. The action starts at 2:30pm but we suggest you get there early to grab a spot on the stands as it is on a first-come, first-served basis. The air-conditioned stadium has section for tourists but most are locals. We liked it so much we went back another Sunday. The excitement is so contagious that even if you don’t know what is going on or know the fighters you will end up shouting like the locals! You will also see the locals making their bets. This is being broadcasted live all over Thailand and you might be on tv (as we were), so it is important for the Thai people to look presentable at these fights. No shorts and you have to wear a polo shirt, that goes for both men and women. If you don’t remember this, you can borrow clothing from the ladies outside the stadium for a small fee.

Rooftops: Bangkok has so many rooftops its hard to decide which one to go to. Most people will want to go to the famous Sky Bar where some scenes of the movie Hangover Part II were filmed. We skipped this one as we feel it is a bit overpriced and not worth it with so many others around. We ended up going to Above Eleven and Red Sky. Both of these have very nice views of the city and great selections of food and drinks.

Eat grill cheese sandwiches from 7 eleven: these are so tasty, all you have to do is bring the sandwich to the counter and they will grill it for you.

Jay Fai: Make a reservation ahead of time to go try some of the delicious plates of the Michelin starred queen of street food.

Phetchaburi Soi 5 – is an authentic street food area. Here you’ll see many locals picking up their dinner on their way home. There are endless options of foods, coffee, fruits, and dessert to enjoy. We did not see any tourists on both occasions that we went. In this area we found the best Pad Thai we had in Bangkok! Delicious and cooked right in front of us. We’re not sure of the name of the place in English but below is the picture of the sign located in the heart of Phetchaburi Soi 5 (name of the street) in case you want to try it!

Ratchada Rot Fai Train Night Market: Bangkok has many markets and this one is one of the best out there! Authentic food, cool atmosphere, drinking, and shopping all make for a very good time! Open only from Thursday – Sunday from 5pm on.

Remember to visit our Instagram highlights @everywhereabroad to see more of our daily experiences in Bangkok.

Proudly powered by WordPress