Northern Thailand: Thai Winters

Someone told me there was such a thing as a Thai winter.  So, trying to avoid the idea of excessive heat I took to the road less traveled to the north of Thailand for three weeks and it had made all the difference.

Unfortunately in Chiang Mai Thai winter is a myth.  However, it is a fantastic city.  I stayed for a week at Spicy Thai Backpackers which is the best hostel I have ever stayed at.  It feels like a family living room with one communal table with a big living room that  has a TV with tons of movies.  The hostel is small enough that everyone knows each other and can fit into the back of the owners van!

 There are constantly planned events like BBQ's and outings to the night market or local karaoke bars.  Needless to say I made a few friends there who I spent the next weeks with.
List of things I did in Chiang Mai
-Thai Massages!
-Temples- here there are many made of old hard wood vs painted with cheap gold paint
-Hiked to the highest point in Chiang Mai to see the city.  The the top is 5,499 feet but I am not sure where we started.
-Took a cooking class
-Karaoke!
-Lots of night markets
-Relaxed at a pool
-Ate lots of really tasty food

After I traveled to the Mae Hong Son Province to see the mountains and the real Thai winter.  It kind of exists!  At night is cold enough to sleep with a quilt and wear jeans and a sweater.  But during the day all you want to do it sit in a hammock or ride a motor bike to produce some form of wind.  So the jury is still out....

 - The White Temple in Chiang Rai

Either way I made it to Pai, a very relaxed little town, with hots springs, canyons, mountains, and lots of waterfalls.  I stayed at the sister hostel to Spicy Thai (Spicy Pai) which was also great.  It also helped that I traveled up there with a group of friends.  The town had a great hippy vibe a A TEA SHOP!  I had not had a proper cup of tea since Sapa Vietnam so I was very excited and convinced all my new friends to join me (they were pretty skeptical but I think my enthusiasm made them change their minds!).  I also learned to ride a scooter.... I was amazed.

Now I am heading back to Bangkok with a stop of in Sukhothai to see some ancient Thai ruins.  My flight for Nepal leaves on Tuesday the 18th of March.  Time to open the next chapter of my adventure.

Wishing my friends and family all the best.

Signed: A happy Traveler :o)

Street Eats

One of the more exciting bits of traveling is your next meal!  Where and what exciting new food will I try today.  For a budget Backpacker like myself most of these meals take place on the street.  At this point many people may be thinking how "unsafe" this may be.  On the contrary, eating on the street is not only one of the safer places to eat, it is also the more delicious and interesting places to take any meal of the day.  This post will be by country, a bit about the type of food and the way the locals eat the food.

To begin with, Street stalls set up their booths each night.  this means they must pack and unpack their booth each day.  Things get cleaned daily in order to fit into the box they came out of.  On the other side, restaurants do not go through this same process.  Their kitchen could be full of grease or bugs and the customer would never know.  If a street stall is disgusting they have no way hiding it.  This is the primary reason I feel safe eating the majority of my meals on the streets.  (however it really stinks when you get to a town and the stalls do all seem really gross!)

Thailand

The most delicious food in Asia yet.  Most are eaten on the go or set up at a pop up table or make shift restaurant table in a sort of pop up garage that only open at times of the day.  The stand is still all in one room.

Pad Thai- A local favorite made of shrimp paste and rice noodles.  The best is when they make the shrimp paste from scratch.  One famous place in Bangkok does and its amazing.  About $2.50 with Shrimp

Khao Soi- So Good!  Coconut Curry soup with noodles, chicken, crispy fried wontons,and vegetables you can add yourself.  A northern specialty and my favorite.  $1 

All a desserts like coconut sticky rice with mango are amazing as well and worth grazing on

Laos

Less exciting mostly due to the curfew.  Primarily french influence and consisting of baguette sandwiches full of salty egg and ham creations and tasty sweet and savory thin pancakes.

In Luang Prabang vendors set up buffets full of vegetarian fried vegetables, tofu, tomato stir fries, and spring rolls, for $1.50 you can fill a bowl and the owner will reheat you dish a a wok.  I went every night!

Though there are no coffee vendors on the streets in Lao, you can get a fantastic cup of coffee just about everywhere.  In the southern parts of the country they farm organic coffee and tea.  Even if rural villages it is possible to find a fresh cup of organic Lao coffee brewed fresh.  I attribute a good portion of my love of Lao to the fact that each morning I woke up to a fresh cup of amazing coffee that even a Portlander would be excited to drink!

Vietnam

No where in the world is like Northern Vietnam.  The culture is unlike anywhere else in the world and the experience cannot be duplicated anywhere else.  This is not the same for Thailand or Laos.  It makes not only traveling there amazing and unexplainable but also the experience of eating on the street an adventure to describe. Therefore, Vietnam is the most exciting and intricate of street eats in SE Asia so far.  

In Vietnam almost all of the food is taken partially on the street.  Even the beer and coffee over flows onto the street here.  People crowd around on little plastic child stools fit for preschool children.  These are used both for sitting and for your table.   Though there are restaurants everywhere the half restaurants slash street stall garage combo is my favorite place to eat in Vietnam.  Sitting half inside and half out is fun even in the freezing Hanoi winter rain.

Bia Hoi- Local Brew Beer, Made by the vendor and usually tastes like bad fruit- .25 a glass

Pho- Beef or chicken noodle soup, sometimes they put mysterious other things in your soups and I choose not to ask!  It generally tastes very good.  And they do a tomato based broth which is super tasty.

Snails- Dipped in a ginger lemon grass sauce and brought out by the bucket- $3
There a many other soup type dishes in Hanoi.  Many of these cheap eats are accompanied by salad and spring rolls that are meant to be dipped in the broth.  I am unsure of the names but most are pretty bland.  Some include chillies but the tables include far fewer spices than the Pho tables back at home.

My favorite place to sit on a cold Hanoi day is at a coffee stand.  Here locals can squat on stools for hours shooting the shit while the mist and rain passes by.   As it was the New Year and most things were closed and Hanoi was cold and rainy the others travelers and myself did the same thing. The coffee here is either full of sugar and condensed milk or it is made from concentrate.  However, there are plenty of salty snacks like cashew nuts and sunflower seeds.  For hours we would sit and crack seeds and throw them on the ground where they would be swept up later.  In my opinion this was the best way to people watch and get to know fellow travelers in Hanoi.

Street eats have been exciting endeavor while traveling.  Its always exciting to decide where your next meal will come from.  Each region has a different specialty.  Sometimes is daunting to try something new and I really have to push myself to eat that meal!  However, every backpacker would agree it is one of the best parts travel.