Thailand Revisited: Top 5 must-do's

It had been almost a year since I said goodbye to the exotic kingdom, and the wonderful experience I had there was one of the reasons that drew me back to it again (to check out my previous post about Thailand, click here). Only this time, I was there for a little over three months. So, Thailand had enough time to sink into me for real this time, something that was not possible because of the short time I had during my last visit. And sink in, it did. This time, it was much better because I got to experience the not-so-popular destinations and much better activities of the country.

Before I start, I’d like to give my verdict straight away: Thailand is one of the best countries I’ve visited (okay, I haven’t had a very diverse experience with counties because I haven’t been to a lot of places, but still, I’ve had my fair share of travelling and I’d say Thailand is right at the top). The people, the food, the culture and the destinations it has to offer are the highlights. With super friendly locals who go out of their way to help you (even if they don’t speak English) and make you feel right at home, with exceptionally delicious dishes that fill every street and every corner with life, with a very easy going and humble culture that teaches you so much about happiness and how to lead a satisfactory life, and with spectacular beaches, mountains, waterfalls, lakes and rivers, there isn’t anything else you could ask for right? (Of course there isn’t! That was a rhetorical question)

So, here we go. I’ve compiled the 5 things I enjoyed the most in Thailand, that doesn’t seem to be very popular in travel and tourism websites. Yeah, there are so many things that I couldn’t do because I didn’t have enough time, but if you’re someone who’s into exploring the local, unsung areas, then this will definitely be helpful.

5. Exploring the coastlines and the hidden beaches of Trang Province

Okay, this is not so unknown amongst foreigners because its one of the most popular hidden beaches in Thailand. And we got to see a fair share of foreign tourists in this place. But it is still far less than what you find in Phuket, Krabi or Pattaya, and of course far less chaotic and much more relaxing. There were a high number of internal tourists though, but it was alright. We grabbed a boat full of internal tourists and a guide who could speak very little English, but we didn't mind.

So, after half an hour into the sea, our boat stopped in front of a huge rock, and then our guide asked us to jump into the water and swim towards it, which we did. We then saw that the rock had a cave-like opening, and he instructed us to swim into it. It was already spectacular swimming into a cave, but what followed next was even better. The cave opened up into an island inside, and it revealed a hidden beach. So we swam out of the water and into the island, totally stupefied that we were in a beach inside a rock in the middle of the sea.

If I get a chance to spend a weekend on a beach again in Thailand. I would not go to Krabi, Phuket, Pattaya or even Koh Samui. I’d go to the coastlines of Trang and have a nice, relaxing time along the beaches that are not crowded, dirty or full of tourist traps.

One of the beaches in the coastline of Trang Province

A night market in Trang city

Cave opening up to an island, the one we went to in Trang is called the Emerald Cave (Image from www.tielandtothailand.com)

4. Exploring the temples around Bangkok

I always like the idea of walking around cities to get to know them better. But it seemed impossible in Thailand most of the time because of the sweltering heat. But one fortunate day in January, when the heat had not yet kicked in and the weather was cloudy, I decided to make a trip to the temples around the city with a friend. We visited a few popular destinations such as Wat Pho and Wat Arun, and a few not-so-popular ones. We did them all in foot, because they are pretty close by, and it’s a very good walk.

Wat Pho was one of the popular ones, which had a phenomenal reclining Buddha, along with a lot of other small temples and Buddha images, monk quarters, chedis that contained the ashes of royal families and several other meditating Buddha shrines. The huge complex could take well over half a day to explore, but we finished exploring it in a few hours.

We made a stop to a few souvenir places and rode a ferry along the Chao Phraya river to reach to other destinations, and my favorite one was the Golden Mount Temple. It was a decent climb to the top of the temple, and it overlooked a very nice part of Bangkok, where we could see some monk quarters nearby, residential areas, the railway tracks, greenery and the skyline in the background. Cold, refreshing wind blew along the top of the mountain. With the sunset, the lights around the temple were more visible, and we could hear Buddhist prayers the whole time. It was a very enchanting and spiritual experience to say the least.

Visiting temples, like the Grand Palace along with the ones I went to are very touristy, I admit. But waking around the city and really taking the time to sink into this spiritual mood is what gave me a different experience, and that is why this activity is in my list.

A chedi in Wat Pho

The spectacular Wat Arun

The golden mount temple at night

3. Trying some Local shops and street food

If there is heaven, it must have Thai food. The diverse delicacies and down-right delicious dishes of Thailand might as well be the only reason people have to visit this place. Apart from the good ol’ Pad Thai (Thai fried noodles usually with shrimp) and Som Tam (Spicy papaya salad), which seemed to be very popular among foreigners, I had a few other favorites which is worth mentioning:

Khao Soi

It’s a northern dish made up of crispy egg noodles and meat in some kind of curry sauce and coconut milk. This spicy, soup-like savory dish is my favorite from Thailand. It isn’t found easily anywhere though. Fishing for some northern restaurants might lead them to you.

Khao Soi chicken

Krapao Kai/Moo

This dish, basically found everywhere in Thailand, is stir fried holy basil with chicken or pork and cooked under oyster and soya sauce with garlic and pepper. Its so good, and so easy to make, that I learnt it when I was there. A good tip for tourists travelling to Pattaya from Bangkok is to stop over at Chonburi city and go to Pa Orn (by 388 Wachira Prakarn Road) and ask for some Krapao Moo. This extremely spicy dish served with rice in this particular place is absolutely heavenly.

Krapao moo with fried egg. (Image from http://www.foodparadisetv.com/thai-basil-pork/)

Sai krok Isan

This is a dish typically from the north eastern provinces of Thailand which is fermented spicy sausages and is eaten as a snack with leafy vegetables like cabbage and chilli. So good!

Sai krok Isan (Picture by Thitimar Chongtaku)

Dessert

Apart from the delicious Sticky rice with mango and the crispy Thai crepes, I was very fascinated by the Chinese street-food dessert places that had a huge variety of items you could choose to make your own dessert, such as broad beans, coconut jelly, waternut, dates, ginkgo and red beans, mixed together with sweet liquid such as syrup and coconut milk or Longen juice. There are countless other dessert dishes in Thailand because apparently, Thai people have quite the sweet tooth. But this unconventional dessert is highly recommended because it has a very peculiar taste that's different than the others. Plus, you can choose them right off the street.

The ingredients of the dessert laid out for the customers to choose

 Of course there are probably hundreds of other dishes that I didn't even try. While I'm not a big fan of fish and seafood, there were pretty cool places that seemed to have the delicacies of that variety.

Varieties of seafood in this one restaurant called Krau Yee Sarn (16/19 Soi Sala Thammasop 25) which is very beloved by the Thai people but doesn't have a huge popularity among the Farangs. This place supposedly has ancient dishes that aren't found easily in any other restaurants

2. Taking a boat ride along Mahasawattha canal in the Nakhon Pathom province

One of my friends decided to take us to a temple, which is why I hadn’t expected so much. But it was one of the best trips I had in Thailand. We went to a temple next to the Mahasawattha canal, and I found out that the community there developed a package for visitors to see and experience the area. The visitors would have to pay a small price for that, and the money would then be invested into the community, which was a pretty good deal. All of the activities were on the banks of the canal, and we had to ride a canoe to get to these different locations.

First, we went to see a farm that had a variety of crops, fruits and vegetables being grown. The best part was that the farmer himself took us in his tractor to his big paddy field, also showing us a variety of fruits such as jackfruit and mangoes. After the trip, we were treated with the best organic guavas and mangoes grown from the farm itself. Then we took the canoe to a lotus harvesting lake, where we hand-picked some lotuses ourselves and learned how to open them. Next, we went to try some jackfruit juice growing along the canals, and then checked out an orchid greenhouse. 

The reason I loved this trip was because it was very authentic, truly educational and very much integrated into the lifestyle of the whole community. Agriculture is the main occupation in Thailand, and the trip helped us delve into the actual lifestyle without any adulteration.  Thank you so much Tenth for taking Cam and me to this trip.

A trip to the paddy fields on a tractor

The lotus harvesting lake

The orchids in the bank of  Mahasawattha river

A quick selfie while picking up some Lotuses

1. Celebrating Songkran the local way

Songkran is a three-day new year festival in Thailand, one of the biggest, which is popularly known as the water festival, because its when major streets in cities are closed off for water fights along with live music, food and drinks. Especially in Khao San, the party street of Bangkok, this festival goes crazy, with foam parties and tourists having a good time getting drunk and splashing water to random strangers. But I was lucky enough to see something different than that. And, it was hands down, the best experience I had in Thailand. 

One of my friends from Loei - a north eastern part of Thailand, invited me to celebrate Songkran with her family. I was not very sure about that because I had no idea what to expect. But my five day stay with her family not only taught me about Songkran, but also summarized everything about the culture and the people in Thailand. On the day of Songkran festival, we first went to a temple in the morning where there was a huge family gathering. Then after all the Buddhist rituals, the whole family gathered around a few monks and poured water over their hands as they were chanting their prayers. Then, the younger generation poured water over their elders’ hands, while receiving blessings. They were kind enough to involve me in that too, which was very nice of them. Finally, the morning merits ended by paying reverence to the ancestors, which also involved pouring water over their ashes. I found out later that pouring water represented the purification and washing away of sins and bad luck. So even when you were walking down the streets and some random stranger tried to splash some water on you, I learned that it was polite to smile and say thank you. 

The formalities ended with that, and so we moved to the family garden for some buffet brunch. Although I didn’t understand much that was going on in the gathering (because I didn’t know anybody, and what they were saying), I could understand that it was a reunion of an extended family where everyone scattered around Thailand came together and caught up with everything that was going on in their lives, which was great to see. I was told that Sonkran was the time of year where people living away from their families returned home and reunite with their elders. The fact that I was welcome and introduced to such a heartwarming tradition is why this experience is the best I had because I believe that I truly learnt the Thai lifestyle during this time. At night, we went to the Sonkran festival and had a pretty nice time listening to live music and walking down the streets completely drenched in water. I imagine more of this was what was popular among tourists around Bangkok, because this was also extremely amusing. If you’re reading, thank you so much Tennis for the amazing times in Loei, Khon Kaen and Udon Thani.

The view from a hill in Loei, Thailand

Preparation for the water pouring ritual

Getting involved with the Thai Songkran celebration (Picture by Thitimar Chongtaku)

Of course I did all the usual touristic things, but when I look back at my memories in Thailand, I realized that the best times I had were the times when I did the unconventional, presumably boring but actually very fascinating things. And that’s why they are worth going up this post. Anyone planning to make a trip to Thailand, these should definitely go into your itinerary. 

While walking down Khao San road, one of the most popular streets for backpackers in Bangkok

A trip down south to Valencia

With holidays around the corner, and an impending goodbye to Europe for a few months, me and my friends decided to make a trip to Valencia, the third biggest city, located on the east coast of Spain, south of Barcelona, where we currently live. The reputation of Valencia amongst my friends and colleagues induced an expectation that was pretty damn high. But I’ll tell it now, before I even start, that Valencia didn’t disappoint. At all. In three days, we managed to hunt down almost every hotspot and to-do’s (mostly outdoorsy stuff…we couldn’t go into some of the cool museums they had). Here, I’ll be talking about the places we went and the personal experiences I had with Valencia.
(p.s. Pictures can be enlarged)

THE OLD TOWN

Wondering off in the old town of Valencia (also the city center) by your own has no shortcomings, because every square looks beautiful and picturesque, and every alley and street are worth getting lost into. But its always nice to get some information about the beautiful monuments, statues, cathedrals, churches and the backstory behind them. So, to learn a bit about Valencia, we did a walking tour around the old town. The tour lasted two and a half hours, and pretty much covered the history of the city right from the first century. The trip took us to fantastic gothic churches, historical buildings and grand palaces which was full of life. The weather was spectacular (21o C in summer wasn’t bad at all), there were lots of people, and it was impossible not to find dance, music and other performances in the squares. The highlight for me was Plaza de la Virgen, which was something you couldn’t miss in Valencia. It felt like it was the heart of Valencia, with the beautiful Cathedral, the Turia Fountain and Basílica de la Virgen de los Desamparados right there. The Central Market that was also close-by was huge, with a lot of local stuff for sale, most interesting (for me) being sea food, from squids to octopuses and clams, they had everything (I couldn’t take pictures because lots of people and chaos!).

Because the tour guide recommended us to visit a museum that enclosed an excavation of roman settlements, we went there too to see what it had to offer. Its name was Almoina Archeological Center and when I went inside, I couldn’t believe my eyes because it was huge. It felt like we entered into an entire roman town that had houses, storage buildings, squares, baths and even burial sites. I had visited a similar excavation site in Cologne, but this was far bigger and better. The city was colonized by Romans in 138 BC and was under their rule for as long as the 4th Century. It was amazing to see buildings that were thousands of years old whose remains were still preserved in site under the center of a modern city.

Plaza de La Virgen

Sights from the Old Town

 Basílica de la Virgen de los Desamparados

Almoina Archaeological Site (picture by Erik Salkeld)

CITY OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

After walking through the medieval and pre-medieval streets of Valencia for just under 45 minutes, we were at the City of Arts and Sciences, which looked completely different from where we were previously. I mean, it felt like I travelled through time from the Ancient ruins of the Roman Empire to a futuristic city. The new-age architecture was stunning, something right out of a fiction novel. I later found out that some of the filming of the movie “Tomorrowland” was done in this location, and some of the futuristic buildings in the movie were real buildings of Valencia City of Arts and Sciences. We were there at the best time because on that day, at around 5 pm, the sunset looked beautiful. The red hue from the sunset reflected upon the magnificent facades of the futuristic buildings that made them look surreal, and we could only sit there and stare at its beauty, and take pictures of course.

Anyways, we were told that the whole “City” took 1 billion euros of initial investment, and god knows how much it costs to maintain it every year. It had a Science Museum, the Ágora (a multifunctional venue for events), Hemisferic (an Imax and 3d movie center), and the Ubracle (which for me looked like a general urban space where you could have a good view of the “future”). We didn’t have enough time to go inside but I can imagine that it would be equally brilliant.

Sights from City of Arts and Sciences

Behind the Sculpture is the Opera House of Valencia

The Hemisferic complemented by a spectacular sunset

The Umbracle on the right, Ágora on the center and the Science Museum on the left

THE GHOST RIVER

No, its not haunted, and they don’t call it that. The river is called Turia, but there is no river. Well, there used to be one back in the day. The Turia river used to run sort of longitudinally originating from the Mediterranean Sea towards the west of the city, and used to cause a lot of problems due to floods. The flood in 1957 was so devastating that the government decided to divert the river towards its western outskirts, creating a dry river-bed along the city. While the initial plan was to make a highway right in between, the Valencian Authorities decided to make the dry riverbed a park, and that was a very good decision in the end. They incorporated the residue of a problem into an essential component of the urban fabric that promoted wellbeing and inclusiveness, and improved the landscape within the city which was genius. The park had small ponds, gardens, managed and unmanaged trees, fields for sports and other activities, and it was very accessible to the public because it spanned throughout the whole city. Its something I could have never thought about – Turning a river into a city park. It was great.

A Garden in the Turia Park 

Some sights from the Turia Park

Underneath a bridge of the then Turia River, which is now a metro Station

The park spans through the city, along the river bed of Turia

It wasn’t only the city but the experiences we had and the things we did that made the trip special. I’m sure we wouldn’t have had as much fun if we didn’t eat the Valencian Paella (a dish with Rice, originally invented in Valencia but very popular all over Spain), roam around the city aimlessly, tired and hungry, without finding a good place for food, or if we didn’t try some of the Horchata (a sweet drink made of Almonds, milk and sesame seeds, which turns out, is pretty popular out there ), or visit some bars and try Agua de Valencia (a cocktail made up of a base of champagne with gin and orange juice) with some new people we met at the hostel, and if we didn’t decide to “jam” , singing songs in the hostel terrace with the new friends we made. I did have a few not-so-good experiences, particularly with my hostel room, but everything came with a package and in the end, it was an overwhelmingly good experience.

A traditional Paella for three!

A view from Torres De Quart (spot me)

I don’t imagine myself going back to Valencia again, because there are so many other places to see and so less time!!! But I’m really glad I went there because it’s a city that is definitely worth seeing.

New York, Baltimore, Boston, Dallas & D.C. - A summer trip to the west

For the most part of my time imagining places when I was a kid back in Nepal, it would mostly be about the United States of America. It had a lot to do with some of my closest family members living there. I remember that when I was around six years old, I would patiently, but eagerly stay in line to talk to my Uncle living in the states who had called us after months to hear his stories about the western, first world country. Of course, I was the last in line, after my Grandfather, Grandmother, Dad, Mom and my elder brother, and I would hardly get five minutes to say hello, but I would always be the last person to say goodbye to him and it made me happy. The stories from my Uncle and my elder brother (who later spent around seven years) about this giant country felt like an urban legend- something that would never come around in my reality, and this precise thought I had, compelled me to prove myself that I was wrong. And so, when a two-month vacation came around after my 2^nd Semester in Hamburg, I decided to go to this place that captivated me so much in my childhood. I had to do it, I just had to.

I was somewhat unlucky in the beginning because my flight from Frankfurt to Baltimore got cancelled and my trip got cut short by three days. I was very disappointed because I missed my trip to North Carolina, but was still excited to meet up with family and have an amazing trip.

The first thing I noticed when I made my trip from the Airport to my Uncle’s place were the highways. They were huge (I would later find out that it was nothing compared to the highways in Dallas, which were massive). The first day, I sort of embraced the American Culture and went to the mall. And it was there where I had my first culture shock. Because it was Labor Day, supposedly the last day of summer (I know, my schedule wasn’t very good), there were huge sales all over. When I think about it, I think I picked out a good day to visit the mall, not because prices were cheaper, but because I got to see what I thought was a huge festival inside the mall. The gigantic parking lot outside was full of cars, and it took us around twenty minutes to get a spot. Inside, the mall was full of people, in line for the fitting rooms, in line for the counter, and even for the toilet. I must admit, I was really impressed by the marketing strategies that every retail shop had, and was a victim to buying some stuff myself (which I probably didn’t need). But that was the thing. The red signs that read “SALE!!!” hung everywhere in every shop, and it was hypnotizing, and people (like me) were being bewitched into the schemes of low prices like moths to a flame (okay, maybe not the perfect simile, but I have to say, if you think about it, its arguably a good one).

United States Capitol, Washington D.C.

Lincoln Memorial, Washington D.C.

The Washington Monument, Washington D.C.

For the rest of the few days I was there, I made trips to Baltimore, New York City, Boston, Dallas and Washington DC. While exploring these cities was my primary goal, I was also very pleased to meet all my relatives scattered all around (some of whom I met after years). The best experience I had was in NYC (although it might not be a fair judgement because I spent a lot of time in NYC). One reason why I liked the city so much was that it was full of energy. It reminded me of Berlin in many ways (the diversity, so many things going on, a hub for art, performance, culture, food and everything else). While I had heard NYC being famous for its people being rude, I never actually experienced it. I was mostly travelling alone, but I was never on my own, because I met a lot of people wherever I went and tagged along with them.

A panaromic view of Times Square

Another reason is that NYC captivated me with its iconic skyline. I got off a bus in midtown Manhattan the first time I went to NYC and I felt this overwhelming excitement when I made my way through Times Square, walking my way to Rockefeller tower and the Saint Patrick’s Cathedral.

Times Square at night

St. Patrick's Cathedral

 More than the place itslef, Hollywood’s influence on me is what I think made these places so exciting. Along with my walking tour in Greenwich Village, I saw several locations like the restaurant in which Llewyn Davis played in the movie “Inside Llewyn Davis”, Washington square park in “August Rush”, the iconic scene from Queensboro Bridge in “Manhattan”, and much more, which finally made it feel like Hollywood wasn’t in a galaxy far, far away. Besides that, I went to the “Top of the rock”, the top of Rockefeller tower and saw the skyline overlooking the city, which was fabulous. In the distance I could also see Central park spanning a huge area, and of course, I paid a visit there too.

Central Parking spanning a huge distance, as seen from top of the Rock, NYC

The iconic Skyline from Rockefeller Tower 

The observation Deck of Rockefeller Tower

Central Park, NYC

When I was still there, I realized that my initial plan to stay in NYC just for two days was far from enough. So, I decided to come back again, and I was very glad I did that because I could see a lot of places; I walked the high line, went through Chelsea market, battery park and walked the Brooklyn Bridge at midnight to name a few. Another reason was that I had the best Taco (inside the Chelsea market) and Japanese food EVER!

New York High Line, NYC

Brooklyn Bridge, NYC

It was obviously still not enough for me because I didn’t want to say goodbye to New York City when I left.  There were so many other things I wanted to do there like visit the Museum of Modern Art, Metropolitan Museum of Art, see a Broadway musical, explore Central Park some more, see a Shakespeare in the park play, see a standup comedy at a bar and, oh, the list could go on for ages.  But I like to believe that leaving behind some stuff in a place always makes you go back to that place again. So I’ve got my excuse to go back again.

Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge, Boston

Near Boston City Hall, Boston

Quincy Market, Boston, Massachusetts

Fort Worth Water Garden, Texas

It was a month-long travel and I did numerous trips to a lot of places, and compressing it in an entry just isn’t enough.  I couldn’t stop myself from writing about NYC because I loved it, and although I had only two days for Washington D.C., I liked it very much. But I didn’t have the whole experience to write something about it, or about Boston, Dallas and Baltimore. I was thinking of doing a first impression (could easily be a very ignorant reflection) entry about the States but I realized that the country is almost as big as Europe itself, generalizing an impression doesn’t cut it. I did see a few distinctive features about the country that I liked very much and some that I wasn’t so fond of. I guess the same could be said about nearly everything. I could understand the magnetic influence of the US on people from around the world, and how it delivered on the prospects of a good job and a promising future. For me, I should say I loved the places I visited but I don’t see myself living there for now (considering if I ever get a chance…beggars can’t be choosers).

It was indeed an incredible trip, which didn’t let down my childhood imaginations and which never disappointed my expectation. I still feel very lucky to have visited so many places in so little time, and I can’t even begin to express how thankful I am to my Uncles, Aunts, Cousins and friends who made this trip the trip of a lifetime. Thankyou fam!!