We're back! (woops)

Woops, Sorry everyone.

We knew this blog would be a challenge to keep up on the road. We started out pretty strong and for a while we really thought we could keep up with it. Debra had a pretty solid itinerary set for the first half of our trip which allowed us to keep up on life and (sometimes) work on the blog. Once we hit Vietnam we had a rough idea of where and what to do but had nothing booked.

We tried to write and edit photos but slowly sank into full travel mode. We still had many things to do and places we wanted to see in each country but planning transportation and accommodation was already more time on the computer/phone than we wanted to spend. 

So here we are....We have been back in the States for the last 3 months and things haven't began to slow down. Our trip didn't end when we landed.

In the last 3 months We have been in 23 states (driving through the majority of them) started a new job in Oklahoma working 60 hour weeks and still managed to sneak in a week long trip to Seattle, WA as well as a two week trip with the family up in Ontario, Canada.

So to who ever is actually out there reading this (shockingly there are quite a few of you) bare with us as we play catch up.

-Roy
 

Chiang Mai Part 2 - Cooking Class, Sticky Waterfalls, and Sunday Night Market

After such an incredible and exhausting time in the village we decided to take a the rest of our time in Northern Thailand easy. 

Over the next few days we focused on relaxing, fruit smoothies, eating tasty foods, and small day trips. The three highlights of Chiang Mai being A lot of Thai cooking class, the Sunday market, and the Bua Thong sticky water falls.

There are countless cooking classes in Thailand and Debra's research paid off again. She booked us with A Lot Of Thai in Chiang Mai. We were picked up by an energetic and talkative Yui at 9:30 am. A quick drive and we arrived at Yui's parents house where the cooking classes were held. 

The class was made up of Debra and I along with 6 Taiwanese women, one of which spoke english. We were given a station and all the ingredients to cook pad thai, and after watching Yui go through the process attempted our own. 

All out ingredients laid our for the next dish. 

Our ride to the market.

The cooking went well and we continued with a spicy curry and a lemongrass soup. We took a break and ran to the market where Yui showed us the different ingredients and foods at her local market.

Red curry made by Debra

Green curry made by Roy

Incredible lemongrass soup (perfect for Debra's cold right now)

Roy was pretty good at cutting these springrolls while Debra only managed to crush her's with a knife.

Roy's new favorite drink ever. Lime juice blended with a little sugar served in a plastic bag.

At the market and during the cooking we learned that there are eight kinds of eggplant in Thailand!

Roy looking at some bananas and pomelo.

The Thai garlic was so small and flavorful.

We finished up by cooking some mango sticky rice before being dropped back off at our hostel in a classic VW Bus. 

Our class for the day!

The next day we decided to try our hand at Thai style driving by renting a scooter and driving an hour and a half north to the sticky waterfalls. The waterfalls are unlike anything we had experienced before. Due to the rock composition they are sticky despite the water flowing over them. This allows you to actually walk up them. We had about an hour to play around in the water before needing to head back before sunset.  Our first time on the roads went well and we continued with the "follow the herd" mantra. The driving around the city was terrifying but once we were outside it was great. 

We hit up the Sunday market which was our favorite market so far. It was easy to walk around and the vendors were catered more to tourists and sold many knickknacks. We also caught a Ladyboy cabaret....which was....interesting. 

Sea full of people at the Chiang Mai Sunday night market.

After a few temple visits we booked Minibus tickets to the small town of Pai to the north of Chiang Mai. Everyone we have been meeting in Thailand has told us to go the the small relaxed town so we pushed back our trip south and added 2 days in Pai.

Is this real?

Yes! Holy crap. It's happening. Debra and I fly out in 3 hours and begin our open ended Southeast Asia trip. We have been preparing for this trip for so long, now that it's here it doesn't seem real. 

Some background info about the trip. For as long as we have been dating we've talked about places we would like to travel. We know how important it is to do this well we are young and before give in to real adulthood. So we took a seasonal job which allowed us to save in preparation for this trip. 

SE Asia has always been high on our list of destinations and fit perfectly with our budget (low) and length we wanted to travel (long). We will be starting in Thailand and spending a month there before moving south into Malaysia.

We chose Thailand as our jumping off point for this trip because of how well traveled and touristy it is. This trip is unlike anything either of is has done before. Hopefully Thailand will prepare us for the rest of our destinations.

This is also our first attempt at blogging. We hope that at least it will be a nice place to look back and remember this trip. As long as we actually follow through with posting.

If your reading this.

Hello and welcome!

“All hands early up anxious to see the path that leads to the Elephant.”

See my PHHHOTO… http://www.phhhoto.com/i/G5--Q1crhwz