We have been researching Chiang Mai now for one year. It will almost be one year since our last visit (in December 2008) and we have been planning to go back ever since. I absolutely fell in love with Chiang Mai on our first visit. It is the perfect combination of city and country with a creative and artistic feel. The local artisans and craftspeople show their talents through the local handicrafts sold at the Walking Street night markets.
On our first trip to Chiang Mai Parker and I convinced Mr. Lynch (Parker's father), who is afraid of heights to go with us on the Flight of The Gibbeons, zip lining through the jungle! He was terrified at first but after wards claimed it was one of the coolest experiences of his life.
Our next adventure in Chiang Mai is already planned out! Check out some of the sights, courses, and adventures we plan to experience on our next trip.
One of my favorite things in Chiang Mai was the Chiang Mai Zoo. I loved the panda exhibit and could have stayed there all day watching the two pandas. When we found out a new baby was born, I knew we would be heading back to Chiang Mai to see it.
The Chiang Mai Zoo website has pictures of the new baby, check them out...
The baby Panda was born at 10.39am on 27 May 2009. The baby is a female and her parents are mommy panda 'Lin Hui' and daddy panda 'Chuang Chuang'. They are both from Wu Long, China and have been living in Thailand since 12 October 2003.
The baby pandas name is Lin Bing. You have to check out some of the pictures, they are absolutely adorable!
I thought we should talk about Railay in Krabi because not only is it one of my favorite places in Thailand, but also one of my favorite places I've ever visited. I have visited Railay twice, once was with Parker during a four day holiday in February where Parker's friend Pat met us and the second time is when I took my six visitors from the States. We discussed back and forth which beach they should see, because Thailand has so many options of beautiful beaches, but after my trip in February I told them it didn't matter that I already visited it because I loved it and they needed to see it for themselves!
I will tell you a little bit about Railay...
To get there you fly into Krabi airport. From the airport you take the shuttle buses to Ao Nang, it is best to get there early in the day because you have to take a long tail boat from the Ao Nang pier to get to Railay. The first time Parker and I went we stayed the night in Ao Nang because for just two people for the long tail you have to take a private boat and pay the full price, but during the day many tourists take the boat to Railay so it is split and you are charged a flat rate. It is not a bad option staying in Ao Nang for a night either, there are plenty of delicious restaurants, bars and shopping to keep busy :)
The long tail boat to Railay only takes about 20 minutes from Ao Nang to Railay and is about 120 baht. When you drive up to Railay you notice right away the amazing limestone. It is very laid back and peaceful on the island with plenty to do and see for being so small. There are no cars on the island which gives it a really secluded feel as well.
Parker and I stayed at Railay Princess and it wasn't our first choice of hotels because it wasn't directly on the beach, but we went without a reservation and we were quite pleased. Railay Princess is a sister hotel to Railay Bay and we could use the Railay Bay pool which faced the best bit of the beach so we could switch from the pool to ocean in seconds! I would definitely recommend the second hotel I stayed at with my friends, Railay Village. The breakfast had the best banana pancakes I have ever tasted and our room even had a hot tub!
There are many activities in Railay for the laid back to very adventurous type. Parker and I like to think we are a little of both. We spent one day relaxing on the beach and exploring the island, but the next day we were off to rock climbing! Rock climbing was truly an amazing experience. I had NO previous experience in rock climbing so was a little bit nervous but we went through a great climbing school, Hot Rock (www.railayadventure.com) and our guide made us feel safe and helped us on our first climb. I was able to climb every rock, even the one I couldn't even believe we were going to attempt! The view of the beaches from the top were stunning! I loved it and would love to try it again in the near future.
Railay is divided into two sides, Hat Rai Leh West and Hat Rai Leh East. You can also walk to another beach called Hat Tham Phra Nang which is beautiful. It is a white sand beach with cliffs framing the sides. There is a path that leads up to a hidden lagoon called Sa Phra Nang and a viewpoint you can walk to as well. This is a very strenuous hike and while they are not required, tennis shoes are recommended and I would strongly advise them having hiked to the viewpoint and the lagoon myself. The picture on top was taken from the viewpoint and it is amazing to see the whole island from the top.
Parker and I went kayaking to a Hat Ton Sai, which is mainly backpackers. It had lively bars with a rustic feel and music. We spent a few hours there but headed back to Railay for our favorite part of the day; SUNSET!
The sunsets in Railay are enough of a reason to book a trip to Thailand! The picture Parker and I use on this blog, our facebook and even our video is taken from a sunset in Railay. I will include some more pictures to get a better idea, because it really is unexplainable.
The nightlife in Railay is very laid back, I basically just stayed in a bathing suit cover up and flip flops for my attire! There is a really cool bar called Stone Bar worth checking out which is literally sitting under a climbing wall! My favorite bar is at a restaurant called Flame Tree which is on the West side and come nighttime they set up mats on the beach with candles to enjoy the sunset and at night to gaze upon the stars. They have a great happy hour and it is a great place to meet other travelers!
There is hotel called Ravadee that you are not even allowed on the property if you are not a guest! The prices are outrages, but you are allowed to their restaurants. Most of our trip in Railay we ate very reasonably at the local bungalow restaurants on the beach, so we decided to try out the Ravadee restaurant and I definitely recommend it. They had a great pitcher of Sangria as well! It was not too expensive, however first priority goes to hotel guests so it can be hard to eat there. We were turned away the first night and had to come back because there were no openings, but I am happy we tried it out.
During sunset local Thai children play soccer on the beach, Parker included himself in the game a few times as well as his friend Pat who visited us. They became local favorites and the rest of the trip the children would wave to their new soccer friends!
Please check out our facebook page for more pictures of Railay, and message us at "Aubrey Parker" if you are interested in going there and have any more questions :)
All of the beaches in Thailand offer different things for different people, so it is important to look at what kind of trip you are interested in before booking a beach holiday. We will add our opinions on different beaches that we have loved as well!
Parker and I have hosted many friends and family from the states since we have been in Thailand. I love organizing their visits and planning everything before! Last April I had 6 friends come from all different states in America to visit me for 10 days! Needless to say we prepared weeks in advance. I want to share one of the itineraries we shared to help give people traveling to Bangkok some ideas of some of the amazing things they can do once they arrive! If you have any questions please feel free to contact us, add us as a friend on facebook at "Aubrey Parker" and send us a message. We'd love to give you any tips and recommendations on our favorite things to do, see and EAT in the places we've visited in Thailand!
(This is copied and pasted from a previous e-mail thread between my friends who were came to visit and I)
Thai-inerary
Ok. Here are things in Bangkok I want to tell you guys about- so you can look over and decide what you want to do. There are all kinds of things for all different prices in Bangkok, we could get dinner and a smoothie for $1.50 total or eat at amazing places which are probably still cheaper than the restaurants back home. Just take a look and give me a idea so I can make reservations or book certain events if I need to :)
With that said…
Here are places I think you would like-
To See:
1. Grand Palace... This is a must see. "Temple of the Emerald Buddha" Wat Phra Kaew. My favorite thing about the Grand Palace is the Emerald Buddha, and the museum you can stop in before you head in and see the different outfits they change the Buddha in for the different seasons in Bangkok (hot, cool and rainy).
2. Wat Pho (Reclining Buddha) This is one of my favorite places in Bangkok, I love taking pictures here and getting my fortune read! There is a famous massage school here we could take courses at.
3. The Oriental (hotel) where they have the cutest afternoon Tea room called the Author's Lounge
4. Boat ride on the river, we could either take a long tail boat or the river taxis. Both a great way to see the city from the water!
5. Chinatown (especially at night!) I love Chinatown! There are great Chinese restaurants and a lot of things you can buy. We do a lot of supply shopping for my school here and get great things to make arts and crafts for the kids projects at school.
6. Kho San road (backpacker street, and we can go out here too it’s really fun and cheap. They have a lot of cool random bars, like a rooftop bar with live music that overlooks the street. You can also buy great Red Bull, Chang, Singha t-shirts and Thai souvenirs)
7. This place for dinner called Amarosa that is right across Wat Arun, the temple of dawn. Wat Arun is also great to visit, but sitting across the river at Amarosa and having dinner and drinks during the Sunset is unforgettable!
8. We could do a dinner cruise along the river that has Thai music/ food, I haven’t done this yet…
9. MOVIE at paragon, at the Nokia theatre (about 15 dollars) which is leather reclining chairs with silk blankets and pillows, and a waiting room with juice and cookies, ALSO a BAR!), or we could do the more expensive theater called Enigma that includes a food dish appetizer and a alcohol drink and they are BEDS... This runs for about $30. We did this only once, but it was fun!)
10. Siam PARAGON in general is an amazing mall. There’s a really good Japanese burger place called Mos Burger that I would love for you guys to experience and a really cool food court with all Thai dishes (Great spicy Papaya salad), the most amazing supermarket you will ever see and great souvenirs in a Thai section) This is the mall with all the top designers as well.
11. Central World (Another really cool mall with the BEST food court, a upscale food court where you order your food then go sit down and they bring it to you called Food Loft. The department store ZEN has a DJ on the ground level too!)
12. Alcohol Ice Cream bar at Central World
13. Siam Square (Across from the malls, a lot of shopping, food, smoothie places, trendy Thai teenagers hang out)
14. Chatuchak Market (Truly amazing, everything and anything you could possibly want to buy! Just take a look at all the sections)
15. Damnoen Saduak Floating Market (This is exactly what it sounds like, a market on water! You have to take a boat to get around, it's really something you have never seen before!)
16. Ocean World at Paragon, it’s a really cool aquarium with sharks and crazy fish.I love ocean world!
17. Kanchanaburi- Tiger Temple... One of my favorite things I have ever experienced!
18. Muy Thai Boxing (It’s cool, I went to the Lumpini Stadium, it’s near the Suam Night Bazaar which I want to take you guys too, so let me know if you would be interested in boxing)
19. Elephant Riding (If we end up traveling to a beach then we can for sure do it there, otherwise there are places a few hour from Bangkok we can go as well if you're interested)
20. If you guys are interested in getting suits made, Parker and his friend got really good ones at a place that was recommended to us in Kho San. Each of Parkers custom suits were like $90 and he got custom made shirts for $15!
21. SPA SPA SPA!! You can get massages every 5 steps. Most foot massages are about6 dollars for random place, there is a really nice spa where you will be staying called Green Leaf Spa. This is where I get my haircut because it is so close to me! We also like Healthland and Oasis Spa.
2. Zense (it’s another rooftop but now as high as the other two, it’s really cool though and less expensive, located on top of Zen at Central World)
3. Bed Supperclub (www.bedsupperclub.com) dinner then out there, the dinner is unlike anything. I have already made reservations for your visit, this is a MUST!
4. Blue Elephant (Really good Thai food, also where I want to do the cooking course with you guys. Would you be interested?)
5. Cabbages and Condoms (This is like a safe sex place, but the food is awesome and everything is made of condoms, it’s crazy!)
6. Food Loft at Central World (really cheap and amazing food, they have food all around the world here, it’s my favorite!)
There are so many great places. There is a great vendor right across where you guys will be staying we can get a quick lunch one day before heading out to the Temples :) When we know what day we are doing what I can plan accordingly where to eat based on which location we will be in..
OUT
1. Long Table
2. Bed Superclub (we’ll see this after dinner)
3. Nest
4. RCA- I like Route 66 and 808
5. Tappas, Silom
6. Silom in general, we like to start at Coyote because they have the most amazing margaritas!
7. Kho San Road (the Rooftop bar I told you about is great)
What a week this has been! We are so excited about being selected semi-finalists for the Ultimate Thailand Explorers competition! We contacted our friends and family back home and the support has been amazing. It has been great catching up with our friends and family around the world. We invite everyone who reads our blog to add us as a friend on facebook, under "Aubrey Parker"... This contest has definitely peeked interest in fellow travelers to visit Thailand and for those who want any information please feel free to contact us. We would love to meet up with anyone traveling to Thailand. We love making new friends and sharing our travel experiences as well as hearing yours :)
