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The "Best" Pad Thai in Bangkok: Thip Samai

11/30/2015

Through my research, I came across multiple sources that claimed Thip Samai was the best Pad Thai in Bangkok, maybe even the world. I drooled as I read about it and even saw it featured on a food show. I was so pumped to visit! When we got to the place, a couple of blocks from our hotel, we got there just in time. We waited a couple of minutes til a table was ready and then the line only got longer. When we left the line went down the block.

They offered several different kinds of Pad Thai - the regular one, a spicy one, a vegetarian one, a seafood one, and Pad Thai in an omelette. I was super excited to try the last one. So the food was ok. It was not bad, but certainly was by no means the best of anywhere. It seemed to lack a bit of flavor. At the end I realized that you had to add your own peanuts, which I was super bummed about. The omelette was a very cool presentation, and I love me some egg in my Pad Thai, but even the amount of the egg of the omelette was too much for the rest of the dish. We did come back our second night, because after a long day, we wanted something that we were familiar with and more importantly, we wanted something close by. I did put the peanuts on this time (I got the regular Pad Thai), and it did help, but it still wasn't the "best".

On Thais and Their Straws

11/30/2015

The craziest thing about Thailand might be that Thais are obsessed with straws! I had read an article about this but thought no way. But sure enough, at Thip Samai, I order a water bottle and with it comes a straw...for a water bottle. I personally love straws, so I was kinda digging this. You get straws for all beverages. Go to a seven eleven, get some drinks, the cashier throws some straws into the bag. Even beer gets a straw! It's crazy, but it's most certainly a real thing.

A Quick Templing in Bangkok

10/20/2015

Being that we literally had a half day to explore Bangkok, I knew we weren't going to be able to see too many things. I so desperately wanted to go to this market with a bunch of good street food and full of locals, but it was just too damn hot to make it there, especially since the timing would have cut it close to its end time.

I did research to try to figure out the "must do" temples. It seemed that Wat Pho was the one temple that you just can't miss while in Bangkok. And my Thai friend from college also said it was tops. It is known for its GIANT statue of a reclining Buddha.

The Swanky Hostel: Chern Hostel

10/16/2015

Bangkok, or really Thailand in general, was a little pricier in terms of hotels. You can't really find a hotel for $10 a night and still get all the amenities like you could in Hanoi. We debated over several places but decided on Chern Hostel. Don't let the 'hostel' fool you; although there were dorm-style rooms, there were also private rooms with private bathrooms. We weren't in Bangkok for very long, so we didn't have a whole lot that we could actually do, but this place allowed us to walk to the major temples and to Khao San Road without being amongst swarms of tourists. We were also close to some great street food that is more frequented by locals than tourists - always a good sign! Unfortunately, we didn't get to try many places out because we just didn't have time.

I really liked this hotel! The air conditioning worked amazingly, which I was so grateful for because it was really stinkin hot and humid in Bangkok. I actually got a heat rash there, something that's never happened before, so yeah, it was HOT! The hotel offered me a comfortable place to cool off and feel better. The atmosphere of the hostel also made it seem really fun and inviting. If we had stayed longer, this would have been a fun spot to meet other travelers. Only downside was that beyond the front desk, all of the other hang out spots did not have AC.

Trippin's Tips & Things: Angkor Complex & Siem Reap

10/5/2015

Start early, end early. There's a few reasons for this: 1) It's far less crowded before 8:00-9:00 when the big tour groups start arriving and 2) It's a lot cooler early on! Also, you will get templed out if you stay out all day.
Get to the sunrise at Angkor Wat no later than 5:00 am if you want a good spot. Everyone sees the Angkor Wat sunrise, so of course it's crazy crowded everyday. There were easily over 1000 people crowded around a small pond.
Don't count on the perfect sunrise. Of course, we picked a day that was cloudy, ugh. But at least the changing light patterns still looked cool with Angkor Wat as the backdrop.
Angkor Wat, Ta Prohm, and the Bayon are the busiest temples, so visit them first before the crowds arrive. Definitely, definitely visit Ta Prohm early, as its narrow paths cause major traffic jams. At least Angkor Wat is huge and spread out. Might want to add Preah Khan to this list.
Visit temples at sunrise until about 8:30 or go at lunchtime to avoid the biggest crowds. Most people who get up to see the sunrise even go back to town to eat breakfast and people break for food at lunchtime, causing a couple of gaps for good templing times.
Do research to know what temples you want to go to. I knew where I wanted to go and when so I could tell our driver. There are many set loops that drivers will go on, but then you are seeing the same things at the same times with everyone else. Also, some temple types start to get repetitive so why see 10 pyramidal temples if you can pick one good one?
You will get templed out. Yeah, they all start to look the same and the heat really gets to you. Temple for a half day or spread out templing a couple of days throughout a whole week.
You can buy passes for 1 day, 3 days, or 7 days. The 3 day pass is optimal and can be used in a week's span. It allows you to see a good sampling of temples.
If you buy your Angkor Pass the day before you intend to use it, you can catch a sunset for free after 5:00 pm.
Ta Nei is small but almost no one visits it. Seriously, no one visits it. You will feel like you are in a clearing in the middle of the jungle. Savor it!
Banteay Srei and Beng Melea are worth seeing but take 1-2 hours to get to and are crowded with tons of Chinese tourists. Both temples are completely unique, but you will need to hire a car for the day. We got a car for $70. Might be worth it to get up early and beat the masses from tours.
Hire a tuk tuk to get around. When traveling to the Angkor complex or around town, use a tuk tuk. We actually thought it was cooler (temperature-wise) than a car because of the air was blowing all around (as long as you were moving). Beautiful, breezy ride to the temples!
Wear a hat, sunscreen, and bug spray. We sprayed deet everyday before we went out. Use at least 20%. We put sunscreen on at about 9:00 am. Most temples are exposed to the sun, even the jungle temples!
Bring lots of water or even a camelbak (filled with bottled water of course). Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate!!!! It is hot and the sun beats hellishly down on you! There is bottled water available outside most of the temples.
Cover your shoulders and knees. Technically, you are not allowed in the temples if you don't cover up. However, in most places, the Cambodians are too nice to say anything. But the top tower of Angkor Wat is one of the places where they will get you. Women, I've even read that they won't let you use a scarf to cover up you shoulders, so dress appropriately.
You can always buy appropriate clothing in Siem Reap or outside many of the temples. Clothes are super cheap if you happened to have packed wrong or just couldn't fit everything in your suitcase.
Stock up on Cambodia pants and everything else for that matter. Cambodia is super cheap, like the cheapest country I've ever been to hands down. When we continued on to Thailand, we regretted not buying more stuff in Cambodia. And you gotta buy the loose fitting crazy patterned pants! Don't settle for anything more than 2 for $5. It's funny that these pants are always available in SE Asia, but this season they came in to style in the States. Definitely cheaper in Cambodia!
Party on Pub Street. Siem Reap is fun and has cheap beer. Definitely worth partying at least one night in town.
Avoid the street food in Cambodia. Cambodia is known to be rather dirty, so I wouldn't take a chance.
Get massages...lots of massages! Got a 30 minute foot massage for $4 and an hour is $6. Clothed full body hour long massage was $6 and an hour long oil massage was $12.
There are food and bathrooms around the major temples. No need to head back to town to grab a quick bite, though, there aren't any restaurants near the temples. There are also bathrooms at the bigger temples. You can also ask your driver to stop for a bathroom break. But don't expect anything better than a squatty potty.

The Cambodian Food Fail: BBQ Bar

9/2/2015

Cambodian Spring Rolls

On our last night in Cambodia, I had a hard time choosing where to eat because I had so many more restaurants I wanted to try. I desparately wanted to eat at a place with a fancy tasting menu for like $25 but that was closed for the 3 days we were in town. My next choice, was a place where kids were taught to cook and serve, a great idea, but our hotel informed us that they were closed for the night. And then our next restaurant choice was closed too! Turned out there was a power outage across town! Luckily our hotel had generators. So when we made it in to town, we basically just picked a place with power at random - we just wanted food.

Sweet & Savory: The Blue Pumpkin

8/14/2015

Chocolate Almond Croissant

We stopped by the Blue Pumpkin twice; the first time was just for sweets and the second time was for lunch. They have a large selection of pastries and gelato, and the gelato you can get in a lot of unique tropical flavors. We got mango and jackfruit; mango is always delicious, and jackfruit was a very mild but unique flavor and is perfect on a hot Cambodian day!

The Temples Beyond Angkor Wat: Day 3

8/11/2015

Day 3 of templing consisted mostly of exploring Angkor Thom, a walled city comprising many different temples and other statues and structures. By day 3, the heat was definitely taking a toll on us, and we were all starting to get templed out. Turns out 3- half days is a good number to sufficiently see a lot of temples without going crazy, though it would be better to stretch those three days out over a week's time.

More Noms: Le Tigre de Papier

8/3/2015

This place was pretty cool because it offered cooking classes, we didn't end up doing that but the food was good so I'd definitely recommend someone to try the class.

I got fried chicken with lemongrass and bok choy. Somehow I expected something a little different but was happily surprised with what I got. I already love lemongrass and bok choy! The chicken wasn't overly breaded and deep fried; it was thin and tender and they used lots of butter to make this an awesome dish.

The Best Way to Get Around: The Tuk Tuk

7/30/2015

Our first experience with a Tuk Tuk was when we arrived at the airport in Siem Reap. We booked through our hotel a transfer from the airport to our hotel. We mentioned that we were booking it for 2 rooms but somehow they only sent one Tuk Tuk...so there were 4 of us and all of our luggage in one. Now to understand the significance of this, a Tuk Tuk is a little open air vehicle that's kind of like a golf cart being pulled by a moped. Needless to say it was a bit cramped on our first ride.

Even the cramped ride was fun though, since they are open air and Cambodia is really hot, it's a great way to cool down. We rode in a real car later in the trip and the tuk tuk was actually better than a cars A/C because it started cooling you off as soon as you started moving. These things are great for taking you around the temples and are reallly cheap. It's such a fun mode of transportation, I wish we had them in the States!