Tantalizing Thailand (1)

We were lucky to have company during our travels to Thailand. My parents (Holly and David Castor) and their dear friends (Ed and Lynn Starkel) braved the 41-hour travel time with us to visit the awe-inspiring Thai beaches and wild Bangkok.

Our first destination was the car-free peninsula and climbing mecca of Railay. The beaches in this region are known as the most beautiful in the world with good reason. Huge limestone cliffs tower over the ocean, and beaches are broad with a gentle curve and beautiful white sand. Since there are no cars in Railay, the only mode of transportation to get to the peninsula were long-tail boats. Jumping in and out of these wobbly boats took some getting used to, but became second nature by the end of the trip.

Long-tail boats docking at West Railay.

Beautiful sunset.

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Rock climbing in Thailand was pretty spectacular. Huge limestone monoliths protrude from the ocean creating an atypical mountain/beach landscape. The climbing consisted of pocketed, sharp limestone with many overhanging stalactites. Routes often began at the water’s edge and the rope oftentimes had to be pulled into the water when the tide was high.

Meaghan high above the ocean on the Thaiwand wall.

Braden rocking.

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Mom and Dad joined us for some climbing too. They are the envy of climbers around the world; having been climbing in Thailand. I have been aching to go climb the famous sea cliffs for years; they get to go to one of the world-class locations on their first attempt. Both Mom and Dad did a great job! Dad even came out for a second day and by the end his footwork looked good and he even did a couple of tricky hand jams! Watch out for him in the mags next year.

Mom styling it.

Dad climbing hard.

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Ed and Lynn generously treated us all to a day of snorkeling. We loaded up on a long-tail boat for seven stops. The first couple of stops, we went snorkeling to see giant clams and beautiful reefs. One reef was observed to be damaged by the 2005 tsunami, and new colorful growth budding from the older grey reef. Braden saw a giant groper fish eat a live crab. One stop dropped us off at one end of a karst-tower island and we all swam through a cave to be picked up at the other end. Nearing evening time, we were dropped off on a deserted island to watch the sunset. There, we saw thousands of fruit bats migrating overhead, which was an amazing spectacle. After dinner on another island, we made our final stop in the dark. The boatman for the long-tail boat tied us up to a stalactite hanging from an overhanging cliff and we jumped out to snorkel in phosphorescence. It was the most amazing thing we had ever seen! With movement, the minerals in the water would emit sparks of light; more movement creates more sparkle. I nearly hyperventilated.

Ed coming back into the boat after snorkeling.

The group snorkeling from an island.

Dog-sized fruit bats overhead.

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Via long-tail boat and ferry we then traveled to the island of Ko Lanta. This island had gorgeous beaches to walk on and relax. Here, we learned the value of Thai massage. The masseuses would pull, push and twist until every body part was sore – it was awesome! Each evening we would sit at ocean-side restaurants to watch the phenomenal sunsets and watch fire-shows. The locals would sell these beautiful paper balloon lanterns; we called them hoobie-doobies. It was a magical place to visit!

The beautiful view from poolside at Sri Lanta Resort.

Setting off a hoobie-doobie for Ed’s birthday.

Sweet fire show.

Tantalizing Thailand (2)

On Ko Lanta, we were able to rent scooter bikes. Dad was our fearless leader who scouted the entire island and led us on great adventures. We even went down to the far south to the National Park on super-rough roads – our cloths were stained bright red with very fine dust by the end of the ride. In the park, we took dad on a two-hour hike in 50 minutes that was literally up hill the entire way. It was a great day!

Our fearless leader, Dad.

Hiking on Ko Lanta.

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In order to decipher the tricks of the succulent Thai curries, tasty spring rolls and heavenly Tom Yum soup, Mom, Lynn, Braden and I took a cooking course. The class was held in a restaurant on the beach taught by a French-trained chef from Sweden who lived in Norway. If you are interested, the secret to all Thai dishes include what are known as the three musketeers: lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves and galangal (but don’t forget the chili peppers)!

Our instructor showing us a kaffir lime leaf.

Class in session.

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Braden enjoyed the first cooking course so much that he attended a second one in Ao Nang taught by a local Thai woman. To solidify his existing knowledge and broaden his abilities he cooked another seven dishes including fresh spring rolls, coconut-chicken soup, and cashew chicken. This class differed from the first in the number of chefs-in-training (4 vs. 18) and approach of cooking (traditional vs. swanky). Once the Thai chef learned that Braden came to class without me (his wife), it became a joke for the rest of class. The teacher thought it was hysterical that he was learning to cook for his wife. It reminded me of an 80-year old woman in Italy, Lucia, who asked what I cook for my husband. Lucia was disappointed to the point of disgust when I answered that Braden tends to do the majority of the cooking.

Braden eating his hard work.

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The scuba diving was incredible! Mom, Dad, Braden and I took a boat out to Ko Ha (Five Islands). Braden and I were able to dive with the advanced group (since we are newly advanced diver certified). Dad did two explorer dives that allowed him to go diving to 45 feet with a personal guide. Mom was able to snorkel above us all. Highlights included resurfacing into a cave and seeing two giant cuttlefish. At lunch, our guide asked us what we wanted to see and Braden said, “cuttlefish!” without any real anticipation of seeing the rare find. On the very next dive, there were two super-intelligent, sideways squid-looking mollusks that change color. Pretty cool!

Dad getting one-on-one training to go diving.

Braden and I getting suited up for diving.

Dad coming into the boat after the dive.

Tantalizing Thailand (3)

Super Bowl Monday happened the last day we were in southern Thailand. Due to the time change and International Date Line, the game was actually held at 6 AM on Monday - Live. We were wandering around the village of Railay at sunrise seeking a place that had a satellite dish. The only other people out were still up from partying the night before or other American football fans. Remarkably, during this wandering we ran into a friend, Ryan, from Denver that was in Thailand for the week! The Super Bowl watching was deemed successful by the end of the second quarter when we (a) found a TV with a satellite dish, (b) wiggled the dish until service was found, and (c) found the correct ports to plug the sound wires into. By half time, 40 people were gathered around all rooting for New Orleans. It was great to catch up with an old friend and watch New Orleans slam Indianapolis.

Watching the Super Bowl in the early morning.

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After all of this fun, we had to think about our futures (for a little while at least). The lot of us, a pretty bush-league crew, walked into a tailor shop to be fitted for clothes with panache. Mom and Lynn had lovely dresses made and Dad and Ed had handsome suits made. Braden had numerous work shirts made and I had a fancy suit made. Yes, we are planning on going back to work sometime. Maybe…

Lynn, Ed, Mom and Dad sporting their new threads.

Meaghan being fitted for her suit.

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The final days in Thailand we spent in bustling Bangkok. Coming from small towns in Montana we exhibited many of the symptoms of culture shock: dizziness, a glazed stare, feeling of helplessness, excessive concern over one’s health, etc.

Ed enjoying the calm before the storm at the Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok.

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The main mode of transportation around Bangkok was the water taxis on the large Chao Phraya River. These oversized long-tail boats would rip in and out of the piers with boatmen whistling and horns blowing. Just getting on and off was a rush. We would need to do a head count and take a breather after each ride.

Dad, Lynn, and Mom riding in the ferry taxi.

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The boats would take us to our destinations around the city. The first night we spent along the Silam Road, taking in the city, doing a bit of shopping, and eating dinner in the seafood district. The next morning, we took the ferry to visit Wat Pho and the Grand Palace. The temple of Wat Pho contains the largest and most impressive “Reclining Budda”. The Grand Palace had an astonishing number of temples and beautiful buildings expressing Thai architecture. Lovely place!

Several of the sitting buddas at Wat Pho.

The giant reclining budda.

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Since we didn’t think we were getting enough pandemonium in the rest of the city, on our last day in Bangkok we went to Chinatown during the last day of Chinese New Year. Here, people were everywhere, streets were crazy, and alleys truly took your breath away (the parents forbade us from taking us down any more alleys). After a fine lunch of an assortment of Dim Sum and a little watch buying, we walked through the streets of gold, machine shops, and shark-fin soup restaurants. Our last afternoon still provided a ton of entertainment with some death-defying tuk tuk rides to gem distribution stores.

Ed escaping from a tuk tuk.

Tongues, stomachs, and bears, oh my.

Round-about art.

The foreboding alley.

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In summary, Thailand is a hoot! Well worth the flight and highly recommended.

Thailand Extras (1)

Sunrise during low tide at East Railay.

Monkey.

Braden psyched to get to the climbing area.

After climbing, we had to brave a water crossing during high tide.

Shrine to grant fertility.

Mom and Dad on beautiful Phra Nang beach.

Part shoe/ part bottle opener. Genius!

Braden on the beach.

Mom shell collecting for her upcoming Thailand line of Dangles by Design.

Dad scootering.

Hands-on dinner selection at the restaurants.

Ed selected barracuda for dinner that night.

Our favorite shake ingredients were lime, watermelon and dragon fruit.

Pregnant Elephant on Ko Lanta.

Lynn chopping during cooking class.

We liked the killer knives best in class.

Baskets of food for us to use during the cooking course.

Mom and I enjoying a pineapple and watermelon shake.

“Fill’er up! Two strawberry fanta jars, please.” The gas attendant is filling the scooter with bright red gasoline out of soda bottles. The founder of HAZWOPPER has to be rolling in his grave.

Dad willing the scotch to pour.

Ed stepping in to assist in ‘breaking the scotch seal’.

Can life get much better than scotch and a sunset!

Dad climbing like a rock star.

Dad said that he was not going to give me slack while he belayed, even if I wanted some (thank goodness I was on top rope).

Ed scoping the beach scene.