Chiang Mai Day 2: Tigers and Snakes and Elephant Poop, Oh My!

We just got back from an adventurous day with our guide, Two.  Jen did a great job getting us connected with him and our driver, No (not sure of the spellings, so going phonetically here!). We drove to the outskirts to four great places today. 

We first stopped at the "snake man" to see some crazy people interact with the reptiles....realizing that we ended up being some of the crazy people! (grandparent disclaimer here: no grandchildren were harmed in taking photos).  

We saw some other creatures that you don't see Americans handling very often. All of the guides found it very humorous to introduce Matt to a few curious scorpions. 

We next journeyed to the Karen long neck village where the villagers crossed in from Myanmar 15 years ago. We saw some amazing looming and of course, the ladies and girls with the brass coils around their necks. The longer the neck, the more beautiful they are considered to be. 

Our next stop was PooPooPaper Park! We learned how elephant dung is boiled and pressed into paper. It was fascinating!  The kids haven't been this focused since we landed on the other side of the world last week. After our tour we made some projects with the paper to bring home. 

Last but not least, we journeyed on to Tiger Kingdom. Here we learned about the Indochinese tigers and got to meet them up close and personal (again, no grandchildren were injured).  

We are back at the hotel to swim, relax and gear up for tomorrow.  In the mean time, Jen and I are still drinking beer out of paper coffee cups to respect The Royal Government. 

Happy Birthday Buddha

After celebrating National friendship day in Singapore, we made it to Chiang Mai, Thailand today. It happens to be the start of a three month national holiday to commemorate Buddha's birth, enlightenment and death day. 

Our hotel, Le Meridian, is stunning and we decided to take the kids to the pool to unwind... and so the moms could cool off with a frosty one. To our chagrin, the manager came over to ask us if we wouldn't mind putting our beer in a paper cup because it is a no alcohol holiday....for the next three months! We quickly asked questions to see if that means for visitors and we were relieved to know we can imbibe without issue while here. 

We decided to venture out to the old city and visit some temples for the candle ceremony. It was quite beautiful to see the traditions of the monks and locals. We visited Wat Lao Khro temple and then went to the biggest temple inside the old city called Wat Chedi Luang. Here there is the old temple ruins in the background and a newer temple to go inside. There is also a smaller temple only for men, and there were quite a few monks as well. The kids are fascinated with all of the gold, and very good about being respectful of how to behave. Allison makes sure that Uncle Matt takes off his shoes and finds them upon leaving. All five kids have been soaking up the culture and doing well with so much walking! 

We found one part of the temple that was for men only. Of course the girls wanted to know what was in there! 

We enjoyed our first official Thai meal at Ruen Tamarind. We took a taxi home and everyone is already in bed. We need to get to bed early because Sarah lost a tooth today! Who would have thought the tooth fairy needed to make a stop in Thailand tonight! Happy birthday Buddha!

Fireworks, Singapore Night Safari, Gardens by the Bay, Marina Bay Sands and 10,000 steps a day!

I have had a hard time finding moments to blog, but now that we are on our flight to Chiang Mai, I have a couple uninterrupted hours. To say we have walked many miles is an understatement. Thanks to my Fit Bit, I can officially say we have done at least 10,000 steps and 5 miles a day! At this rate I should need a totally new wardrobe by the time I get home (wishful thinking I know). We have mastered the art of the MRT (subway system), taxi queues and walking on the opposite side of the sidewalk and stairs( you always veer left instead of right). With the help of Virgie watching the kids, Matt Jen and I were able to enjoy a head/neck massage and reflexology and adults only lunch! I sure do feel pampered. To say the kids love Virgie is an understatement. She is a special part of the family and we got to celebrate her birthday the other day. 

Saturday Highlights 

I enjoyed my first hawker center food experience with Dave. We got butter chicken, lime juice and soursop juice to try some local fares. It is basically an outdoor food court where stalls are rented by the cooks. You can get everything from eel to fruit! Dave went easy on me this time but he was happy to see me be adventurous with the food. 

Singapore is turning 50 on August 9th so to get ready, they are having firework and air show practices each weekend. We took the kids to the marina area on the MRT to see the show. We enjoyed dinner at their favorite pizza place as well.  

Sunday Highlights

Jen and I went shopping on Orchard for some groceries. To give you perspective on prices, a pound of bacon is $17.95 Sing so around$15.00 US. Needless to say, we skipped the bacon! That night we went to the Singapore Night Safari. This is a walking zoo that is only open at night to see nocturnal animals in action. We loved the flying bats (sort of), barking otters, but mostly loved the fact that David got called up on stage at the Creatures of the Night show! We are finding that being some of the few Americans in places makes us stand out a little and get some extra attention. David was chosen to feed a binturong grapes from his hand. Allison was very proud to be our safari leader that night. 

Monday Highlights 

David already wrote about Little India but I will recap a bit. We went on a guided tour that Jen arranged with Pooja. We were given a great explanation of the Hindu practices and visited two temples. We all had a few extra blessings, and even enjoyed some blessed raisins and lunch snack prepared by the priests and locals. We then went walking around some of the shops where the kids each got a henna tattoo and the girls bought toe rings. We were spoiled to come home to another fabulous dinner prepared by Virgie. I already have a list of recipes to bring back with me.  The kids are loving everything she cooks. 

Tuesday Highlights

Another UNBELIEVABLE day in Singapore. We took the kids to Sentosa to visit the butterfly garden that was top on Matt's list. Team Gocek didn't even know it existed! Sentosa is an island right off of Singapore that we took a maxi taxi to. The butterfly garden was amazing. We got to hold just hatched butterflies. They loved landing on the kids heads and even my camera. We then did a favorite activity of the area and went luging down the hill. It was fantastic! That night the parents had a treat to go to the American club for some cocktails and Tiger Tuesday. Singapore is very proud of their local brew, Tiger Beer.

Wednesday Highlights

We got our +10,000 steps in easily today.  We finally spent some time in their pool.  After Dave got home from work, we ventured out to Gardens by the Bay to see the signature super trees light show. It was amazing and beautiful. The lights are coreographed to music and leave you feeling so inspired! We then walked over to the iconic Marina Bay Sands Hotel to enjoy a Singapore Sling, the official cocktail of Singapore. The hotel was designed to look like a cruise ship on top of three towers. We enjoyed a breathtaking view of the skyline. 

Thursday Highlights 

Who would have known that today is Singapore's national friendship day? While we waited for our flight at the airport to head to Thailand, the kids made pledges of friendship to each other. It was really cute and sweet. The airport employees who were running  the friendship program even wanted their pictures taken with the "beautiful American kids". 

Hopefully this catches you up on our adventures. We will check in soon from Chiang Mai!