southeast asia – See More w/ C Moore

My Thailand Series: Phuket

Published on May 5, 2015 by money007pennyLeave a comment

For the final portion of our trip, we flew from Chiang Mai over to Phuket. We stayed at the beautiful Cape Panwa Resort, on the southernmost point of the island (http://www.capepanwa.com/). It was a great spot to get away from the hustle and bustle of the island. Our hotel had a shuttle to take us to the local town, where we had a great dinner on the beach.

The view from our room at the Cape Panwa.

From our hotel, we booked 2 day trips – first to Koh Phi Phi Don, to Maya Bay, also known as the famous beach from the Leonardo DiCaprio film “The Beach, and then on the 2nd day we went to James Bond Island on a kayaking tour. I had been really excited to go to James Bond Island from the minute I booked the trip to Thailand 🙂

On the first trip, we stopped at Viking Cave. This cave is full of thousands of birds called swifts. They make nests out of their saliva, which is harvested to make bird’s nest soup, a delicacy.

After the cave, we made a quick stop off in a lagoon for some snorkeling.

And then headed over to Maya Bay!

On the island, you could walk through the jungle, through a shallow lagoon, up and over some steps to a lookout point on the other side. Here is that photo!

On the second day, we went off on our kayaking James Bond Island trip. Unfortunately, it was the only grey and rainy day on our entire trip, but at least it wasn’t unbearably hot! We stopped at some caves and hopped into our inflatable kayaks. It was two people per kayak plus our guide, who did all the paddling 🙂

This was great fun because we were able to go close to the cliffs. We also went through a cave where we had to lie completely flat to fit through, and then went into a hidden lagoon. The cave was also full of bats and you could hear them chirping, plus it was super stinky.

After a buffet lunch on board, we headed to the main attraction, James Bond Island, where they filmed The Man With The Golden Gun!

Sadly, it is a bit of a tourist trap – but spectacular nonetheless. Glad I was able to make this the final stop on my amazing trip to Thailand!!

*All photos are the property of Charlotte Moore, unless stated otherwise, and may not be used without written consent.

My Thailand Series: Chiang Mai

Published on April 29, 2015 by money007pennyLeave a comment

The last place we visited on the mainland was Chiang Mai. Chiang Mai is the largest and most culturally significant city in Northern Thailand. It was also my favourite city to visit on the trip.

On our first morning, we got up really early to present food and other offerings to the monks. Afterwards, we were giving a blessing.

Then we went around the old part of Chiang Mai via trishaw.

We stopped in a market and at a couple of different temples, including this beautiful one: Wat Ket.

In the evening, we visited a nightclub called Warm Up Cafe. We ended up going here a few times during our stay. This was an awesome local band that were playing the first night we went there.

And some local beer, Chang!

The next day, we visited the Mae Sa Elephant Camp, where we rode an elephant through the jungle, watched the elephants bathing in the river, and watched a show they put on (playing soccer etc.). Some of the elephants there are trained to do paintings, and those are available for purchase. While riding through the jungle, we were able to feed the elephants sugarcane and bananas.

After the elephant camp, we stopped at an orchid farm. I purchased a necklace made from a dried orchid.

And now onto one of the best parts of the trip: the cooking school! The school is called Baan Hongnual Cookery School which is just outside Chiang Mai. First, we stopped at a local market to learn about the different produce and spices, plus we picked up all the ingredients needed to make our 4 dishes: tom yum soup, papaya salad, chicken green curry and pad thai.

And the finished products!

The last Thailand post will be about Phuket!

*All photos are the property of Charlotte Moore, unless stated otherwise, and may not be used without written consent.

My Thailand Series: Chiang Rai & The Golden Triangle

Published on April 23, 2015April 29, 2015 by money007pennyLeave a comment

After leaving Sukhothai, we continued north – all the way to the Golden Triangle, the borders of Thailand, Laos and Myanmar (Burma).

On the way we stopped at Wat Rong Khun, or the White Temple. This temple is stunning, completely white and silver, and it is an ongoing project by artist Chalermchai Kositpipat. Unfortunately, we were unable to go inside the temple, as an earthquake had just hit the area and damaged the temple. You’ll see the broken steeple in the photos below. Luckily the damage was minor. Admission to the temple is free, or by donation – and there is also a museum/art gallery where the artist is frequently working. This was one of my favourite places to visit in Thailand.

We continued to the Doi Tung region (6500 ft above sea level). Here the local hill tribes grow tea, coffee and macadamia nuts. We toured the Doi Tung Royal Villa, which was built for the King’s Mother, also known as the Princess Mother. She helped transform the area from growing opium to the focusing on growing tea, coffee and macadamia nuts, as it is today. Near the villa are the Mae Fha Luang gardens, which are quite spectacular to visit as well. The temperature in this area is much cooler, especially compared to Bangkok!

Nearby is Wat Phra That Doi Tung, a sacred hilltop shrine, regarded as the holiest sanctuary in the Chiang Rai area. Here I was able to receive a blessing from a monk.

The town of Chiang Saen is right on the bank of the Mekong River, which is the border with Laos. We traveled to the city to take a river cruise and make a quick stop at Don Sao, a small island which is a part of Laos. Don Sao is a bit of a tourist trap, with lots of souvenirs for sale – plus icecream, drinks etc. If it interests you, there are bottles of alcohol for sale, complete with scorpions or snakes inside!

The last thing we did in this area was take a trip to Mae Sai, which is the border crossing with Myanmar (Burma). There isn’t too much to see there, aside from lots of traffic! However, there are quite a few markets and some Burmese jewelry and handicrafts to look at. It was interesting to see the Burmese monks, as they wear maroon robes vs. the bright orange that the Thai monks wear.

The next post will be about Chiang Mai, called “Rose of the North”.

*All photos are the property of Charlotte Moore, unless stated otherwise, and may not be used without written consent.

My Thailand Series: Lopburi and Sukhothai

Published on April 18, 2015April 23, 2015 by money007pennyLeave a comment

After leaving Ayutthaya, we headed further north to Sukhothai. On the way, we stopped in Lopburi, also known as monkey town!

Lopburi is relatively small city, well-known for its resident crab-eating macaques that live in the center. We first stopped at the Buddhist temple Wat Phra Sri Rattana Mahathat.

Then we went to the temple that is overun by the macaques, Phra Prang Sam Yot. The macaques are pretty bold, and will happily steal food from you – but the city feeds them twice a day. When we arrived, they were given their morning meal of mangoes.

wat phra sri rattana mahathat , lopburi

We continued north and headed to Sukhothai. Sukhothai was the first truly independent Thai kingdom, where the Thai culture, language and alphabet originated.

First, we went to the Sri Satchanalai Historical Park, where we visited the most well-known temple, which is called Wat Chang Lom. This is a Sri Lankan style temple that has 39 elephants, some of which are in quite good condition.

Next we visited a small village in the area where we stopped to visit some locals. We went around the area by local transport, called song taews. It is a motorcycle with 2 bench seats, which can hold 4 people.

song taew tour

We also stopped at a local school to visit the children and donate some school supplies. They sang “head, shoulders, knees and toes” for us!

The old city of Sukhothai is full of ruins, which make up the Sukhothai Historical Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The park contains over 200 ruins. Our song taew driver took us around the park, stopping at a few different areas for us to explore the ruins.

Finally, we stopped at Wat Sri Chum, which contains a massive Buddha peeking through an opening in the walls.

Wat Sri Chum

The next post will be about Chiang Rai!

*All photos are the property of Charlotte Moore, unless stated otherwise, and may not be used without written consent.

My Thailand Series: Ayutthaya

Published on April 12, 2015 by money007penny1 Comment

After leaving Bangkok, we headed north towards Ayutthaya, stopping at the Bang Pa-In Royal Palace on the way.

The Bang Pa-In Royal Palace, also known as the Summer Palace, is a huge palace complex with beautiful gardens. You can rent golf carts to get around, which you might want to do on a hot day as there isn’t much shade in the complex. There is only one building you can go inside, which is a Chinese style palace and throne room. You must take off your shoes to go inside and no photos are allowed inside either.

Phra Thinang Wehart Chamrun

Right next to the Bang Pa-In Palace is a gothic inspired temple called Wat Niwet Thammaprawat. This temple is on a small island, and the only way to get across is on a hand-operated open-air cable car, which is operated by the monks.

Just north of Bangkok is the city of Ayutthaya, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Ayutthaya was one of the world’s largest and most cosmopolitan urban areas, and it was the capital of Thailand from the 14^th to 18^th centuries. The city was attacked by the Burmese army in 1767 and was burned to the ground. As the city was never rebuilt, the city is now known for its extensive ruins and continuing archaeological excavations. The most well-known temple in Ayutthaya is Wat Chai Watanaram.

We also visited Wat Yai Chai Mongkhon. This temple is an active monastery and it was one of my favourite places to visit.

The next post will be about Lopburi (monkey town!) and Sukhothai.

*All photos are the property of Charlotte Moore, unless stated otherwise, and may not be used without written consent.

My Thailand Series: Markets of Bangkok

Published on April 10, 2015 by money007pennyLeave a comment

Before I get into the various markets that we visited, I wanted to mention a hidden gem in Bangkok. It’s a restaurant called Harmonique, which is hidden down an alley, not far from our hotel. As with most restaurants, it’s quite cheap. At nighttime, it has a great ambiance as its tucked under a beautiful banyan tree.

On our first day, even though we were super jet lagged, we decided to head off exploring the area. We came across an amazing flower market. The ladies were making flower arrangements for people to purchase as offerings at the temples.

We also visited a food market as well. Plenty of things to look at and plenty of cats too!

We also visited the Samut Songkram railway market. This country market was particularly fascinating as the market is built on the railway tracks. When the train comes, all of the merchants pick up their things and move them back to allow the train to pass. It appeared to be almost choreographed with the umbrellas lifting up, right as the train passed through.

This is the train station, where we watched the train come through the market.

Next up, we went to the famous Damnoen Saduak floating market. We cruised through the klongs (canals) on a longtail boat, James Bond style!

Yum, fried bananas!

The next post will cover the ancient city of Ayutthaya!

*All photos are the property of Charlotte Moore, unless stated otherwise, and may not be used without written consent.

My Thailand series – Temples of Bangkok

Published on April 1, 2015April 1, 2015 by money007pennyLeave a comment

Welcome to the first blog in a series about Thailand! I’m starting off with Bangkok, but since there is so much to see and do, I’m going to split Bangkok into two posts. This first one will be about a few of the many many beautiful temples!

The Grand Palace of Bangkok and the Temple of the Emerald Buddha

The Grand Palace of Bangkok (Phra Borom Maha Ratcha Wang) is one of the most visited tourist attractions in the world, with an estimated 8 million tourists visiting per year. The palace has been the official residence of the Kings of Siam since 1782. Although the current King, Bhumibol Adulyadej, doesn’t live there, the palace is still used for official events. The complex of buildings, halls, pavilions, lawns and gardens is huge. Give yourself 2-3 hours to walk around it all.

“Don’t Miss This” tip – As with most temples, in order to enter the Grand Palace, you must wear clothes that cover your knees. Women should also cover their shoulders.

Inside the Grand Palace is Wat Phra Kaeo, the Temple of the Emerald Buddha. It is considered one of the most sacred sites, and the most revered Buddha image, in Thailand. The Emerald Buddha is cut from one piece of jade and the clothes are made from gold. They change his clothes 3 times a year in a royal ceremony. No cameras allowed in here!

Wat Po and the Reclining Buddha

Wat Po, Bangkok

Wat Po is a Buddhist temple, right near the Grand Palace, and the oldest temple in Bangkok. It is home to the massive Reclining Buddha, and impressive 160 feet long. The Reclining Buddha’s face depicts the attainment of nirvana, and the feet are inlaid with mother-of-pearl. This temple is known as the home of Thai massage. There is a school on site (http://www.watpomassage.com/) where you can get inexpensive massages.

“Don’t Miss This” tip: In the corridor of the Reclining Buddha is a row of 108 bronze bowls. For a small donation, you can pick up a bowl of 108 coins. You will then go along the corridor dropping 1 coin in each bronze bowl. This is believed to bring good fortune.

Wat Traimit / Golden Buddha

Near Chinatown, Wat Traimit is home to the world’s largest solid gold statue. It is the 700-year-old Golden Buddha. It was found by accident when it was dropped and the plaster came off. You can see the plaster on display at the temple. It weighs 5.5 tons, which is even more impressive as it’s on the 3rd floor of the temple.

“Don’t Miss This” tip – Anytime you go in a temple, you’ll likely be required to take off you shoes. This tip might seem a bit silly, but it happened to me. Don’t leave your shoes in the sun! It gets insanely hot there, and trust me, you don’t want to run across the hot concrete barefoot to go and pick up your, just as hot, shoes!

Wat Arun

Wat Arun, or the Temple of Dawn, is one of the most fun temples to visit, because you can climb it! It’s in a beautiful spot, just on the banks of the Chao Praya river. An easy way to get there is a quick water taxi across the river from Wat Po. We visited at sunset and it really was an amazing sight. The Wat is an architectural representation of Mount Meru, which is important as it is the center of the world in Buddhist cosmology. The main pagoda is 79 meters high, and built in the Khmer style.

There’s a storm coming! This is the view from Wat Arun looking over the Chao Praya River.

Wat Benchamabophit

Wat Benchamabophit, or the Marble Temple, was built of Italian marble in 1899. It’s know for having many European influences, such as stained glass windows. In the courtyard, there are 52 bronze statues all depicting different images of the Buddha. This one was my favourite!

The next Bangkok post will feature the markets, food and more!

*All photos are the property of Charlotte Moore, unless stated otherwise, and may not be used without written consent.

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