Articles for August 2023

Last post of this trip report! Wow! It had been a seriously fun vacation. Kaya Toast A popular breakfast item in Singapore was kaya toast, a sandwich with kaya (coconut jam) and butter between toasted bread, often served with runny eggs. It tasted sweet and rich. We made a point to sample a variety of

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The last day of a good trip is usually depressing. Not only because it’s sad for a fun vacation to end, but also because airport logistics and a long return flight tend to be dreadful. Well, not today. While none of us was ready to go home yet, we had planned to end this trip

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Singapore was the first international city that we had returned with a child to. That meant a lot of memories… and opportunities to relive them. Ting wasn’t around the first time around but she didn’t mind mirroring her sister. When switching kids we made sure to switch adults as well. It began with Zam Zam,

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This was the third time Hong and I arrived in Singapore together. It was familiar to us and almost like a home away from home, but frankly that complacency got the best of us. I did not properly study my logistics ahead of time and expected to just roll through immigration like we owned the

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Pad Kra Pao (Holy Basil Stir Fry) Ever since learning about this dish a few years ago, I had been ordering it by default at Thai restaurants. While in Thailand on this trip, we had also eaten it from the very first lunch in centralwOrld to the very last dinner in Chiang Rai Night Bazaar.

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Wats, or Buddhist temples, were as abundant in Thailand as Catholic churches were abundant in Spain.  You couldn’t walk very far without running into one.  The best of them topped the “things to do” list in just about every city.  As a result, we visited at least one wat on most days of this trip. 

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Chiang Rai was a small city northeast of Chiang Mai, with an ambiguous identity as far as tourism was concerned. Serious travelers who talked about spending time in Chiang Rai often referred to the rural regions such as Golden Triangle, hill tribe village, coffee farms, etc. instead of the city itself. Other people regarded it

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Some years back, Chiang Mai first appeared on our bucket list because of elephants. Hanging out with these giant creatures was central to our cancelled 2020 trip, and then central to this trip. This dream came true on day 8. There were no fewer than half a dozen elephant “sanctuaries” roughly an hour away either

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Nobody deplanes from a red-eye flight refreshed. The overnight train was a different story. When rolling into Chiang Mai Station at 7:15am, we were well rested and ready to go. Day 6 We hopped on our very first songthaew an headed to the hotel. We had contemplated a couple American chains, but ultimately decided to

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19 years ago, Hong and I began our relationship on a series of overnight trains in China.  Packing 60 people to a car in rows of triple bunk beds with linen last washed in the 20th century, peeing down to the track through a slippery squatty potty, and making instant noodles from a gigantic cauldron

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