Bangkok

The month of December was such a whirlwind for us that Christmas seemed to come out of nowhere. Suddenly we were just a few weeks away and realized that we should take advantage of the holidays Joseph had and go somewhere. Christmas is peak season for all of the beaches in south east Asia, and we were too demoralized by the thought of going north and having to buy winter clothes again (we didn't bring any along), so a friend suggested Bangkok as a good option for an easy getaway. Sure enough, there were some good package deals, so we left the day after Christmas for three nights in Bangkok.

And we loved it! It has a certain reputation, and anyone who has seen The Hangover 2 probably thinks we're crazy for taking our precious two-year-old there, but the seedy underbelly of Bangkok isn't hard to avoid. We found it to be an easy city to be in with a toddler. The people were extremely helpful and kind, and we were amazed by how often locals would stop what they were doing to talk to or try to play with Evangeline. And of course, the food was incredible--we didn't have a single meal that wasn't completely delicious.

On the airport express train

On the way to the city

The biggest advice we were given was that hotel location was key. You want to be near Bangkok's sky train or metro so you don't have to deal with the legendary traffic:

Gridlock on a street by our hotel

We were very glad that we took that seriously and were able to zip all over the city, traffic-free. We got a big kick out of the motorcycle taxis, especially when you'd see a businesswoman demurely perched on the back of a motorcycle, clutching the driver as they weaved between cars. Not an option with a toddler, though!

Motorcycle taxis outside our hotel

A popular food stall nearby

Ko Ratanakosin, the area with most of the famous temples and palaces, did not disappoint. Since most of the area is sacred, visitors must dress modestly, which means no skin showing except for your arms. If you didn't get the memo, no problem:

Every time we went by a group of frat boy-types sporting their rented pants, we couldn't help chuckling.

Evangeline takes it all in

All of the lions got a hug from Evangeline

Evangeline was delighted with all the feral cats in the complex

The famous reclining Buddha

Evangeline's favorite thing from the whole entire trip, of course, was riding in a tuk-tuk.

A close second was drinking young coconut.

Singha for Daddy, of course!

The easiest way to get around by the Chao Phraya river is the Chao Phraya Express, a system of passenger boats. Very un-American--you just hop on and off the boats from little platforms that aren't completely fenced in. I was nervously clutching Evangeline the whole time, as you can imagine.

Our "station"

 A boat in action

The view from onboard

The food was so amazing; I'm still dreaming about it. We ate like kings for a fraction of what you'd spend here. And everywhere we went there were carts with fresh and dried fruit, which made dragging a toddler around a lot easier. Here's an (iphone) shot of a typical meal:

Spicy papaya salad, spring rolls (for E), pad thai, mussamun curry, rice, young coconut, beer, sippy cup :)

Besides eating, our favorite thing that we did was rent our own long-tail boat for a private cruise. For around $35, we had a personal hour-long tour of the river and up a canal.

A long-tail boat

Cruising up the river

Our driver

Wat Arun from the river

The faster our boat went, the better!

Buildings on the canal ran the gamut from the very nice...

...to the partially submerged

Canal life

It was a lovely trip and a welcome break from getting pushed around in Hong Kong. We will definitely be back to Thailand, although we'd like to see the beaches next time.

Macau

I'm sorry I've been so silent on the blog for the last two months! I'm way behind and hope to catch up soon, so bear with me. We've been busy, which is a good thing, right? :)

We had a great time hosting our good friend from Urbana, Dave, for ten days in late November and early December. His visit was the perfect excuse to go to Macau for the first time since we moved here. Macau, like Hong Kong, is classified as a Special Administrative Region of China. It was a Portuguese colony from the 16th century until it was officially handed over to China in 1999. Its major industry is tourism, as it's known as the Las Vegas of Asia. Just 37 miles southwest of Hong Kong, it only took about an hour via jetfoil to get there.

Dave, Evangeline, me on the ferry to Macau (iphone pic, so bad quality!)

Let me preface my customs anecdote by saying that over 70% of Macau's tourists are from mainland China. One of the hardest Chinese cultural differences for us to overcome is the "me-first" lack of civility, by our standards, at least. Hong Kong is a tiny bit better because it's so Westernized, but we still get frustrated in our day-to-day life. People crowd on to the metro as soon as the doors open before others have a chance to get off, despite the million posted signs saying to wait. Line cutting is common, and if I had a dollar for every time an able-bodied person took valuable elevator space at the expense of someone who actually needed it, I'd be rich! So the customs experience in Macau was a nightmare. We arrived at the same time as a bunch of ferries from China, so it was very busy. Instead of orderly lines in front of passport control, there was just a mass of people trying to get ahead of everybody else. We were penned in, with the feeling of people constantly pushing from behind. It probably took us the better part of an hour to get through, but once we did, it was smooth sailing.

We checked into our hotel and hit the streets. We ended up staying in Taipa, which is in between all of the casinos in central Macau and the newest hotel casinos on the Cotai Strip, which include the Venetian and the Four Seasons.

A square in Taipa

Evangeline takes in the scene

Dave's expression after trying some durian ice cream

Signs in three languages

You'd feel like you were almost in Europe...

...but then you'd pass something like this

The Grand Lisboa, an over-the-top casino/hotel

Stopping to refuel at a famous cafe

We thought their natas (Portuguese custard tarts) were the best on the trip

Based on the crowds, I think people agreed with us!

The busy tourist streets in Central Macau

Anyone fancy a sheet of beef?

Sao Paolo ruins at sunset

View from the ruins

There goes the sun!

Gelato? Yes, please!

Evangeline gets a fair amount of attention here in Hong Kong because of her curly hair, but she got a lot more in Macau because most of the people were from the mainland. Luckily, she didn't seem to mind having her hair touched everywhere we went, and even agreed to pose for some pictures:

The next day, we went to Cologne, which is the area of Macau furthest away from the casinos. It was beautiful and very sleepy.

Those mountains in the background are in China

A church on a square

It's a lazy life for dogs in Cologne

Trying out the adult fitness equipment in a park

Workin' it!

Post-nata grin

All in all, we liked Macau but it was very weird. Take the inherent strangeness of Las Vegas, mix in a lot of Portuguese, and put it in China, and I think you'd have it. There's certainly nothing else like it, that's for sure!