A must-see for travelers to Bangkok is The Grand Palace and Wat Pho (sometimes called Wat Po). While we’d toured both sites several times, with new travelers to SE Asia in tow, we headed back to enjoy the stunning opulence of this large temple structure.
If you’ve been wondering about all those bowls of great soup and noodles you saw on our Instagram page, here is a bit about what we ate in Bangkok.
It’s been years since we’ve been to Thailand and we were beyond thrilled to find that the food was as extraordinary as we remembered….and as inexpensive.
As we headed to Thailand for the fourth time, the question was where to stay in Bangkok? You want to start your vacation off on the right foot, right? Since Dave and Anne had never been to SE Asia before, we wanted it to be decent, clean, and mostly centrally located to the things we wanted to see in the city.
I researched a few different options online, a bit overwhelmed by SO many choices.
I read reviews on Travelfish.org, one of my go-to’s for all things Asia.
At the end of the day, we ended up where we’ve stayed before; New Siam II. If it isn’t broke, don’t fix it! And Travelfish’s recent report on the property sealed the deal. It didn’t hurt that the price was $27/night, only $3/ more per night than we last stayed in 2008!
Continue readingWe just headed back to Thailand for the first time in years ~ what’s changed you ask?
Well, the short answer is a lot….and almost nothing.
One of our prime reasons for choosing Costa Rica is because it’s one of the most diverse ecosystems in the world and spotting wildlife at Manual Antonio National Park was high on our to-do list.
We’d already hit the Caribbean at Tortuguero, and the highlands of Orosi, but we had high hopes for spotting even more species as we headed to Manual Antonio National Park on the Pacific side, one of the country’s premier parks. Camera in hand, we drove an hour or so south of our AirBnB to reach the park right as it opened in a mostly failed attempt to avoid the crowds.
Continue readingCosta Rica’s highlands were magical but after a few days, the Pacific Ocean was Calling.
We headed south from Orosi along the Pan-American Highway. This section of the highway reaches over 10,000′ in elevation before winding its way down to San Isidro de el General as Jim & I dreamed of continuing south to complete our journey started several years ago. Instead, we took a hard right and headed towards the Pacific Ocean.
I’ve always been drawn to natural flora and fauna so it was an easy yes to admiring nature at Lankester Botanical Gardens on our Orosi Loop.
While I adore beach life, during our trip to Costa Rica my favorite spot may have been our quest to keep cool in the Orosi Valley.
The ONE wildlife species I really wanted to see in Costa Rica was a sloth. I thought, how hard can it be? They literally move slower than molasses so it seemed as though they’d be easy to spot. I was wrong.
If a stop in Tortuguero is on your Costa Rica itinerary, and it should be, one of the first questions will be where to stay. Our choice was the delightful Casa Pelican.
Although there are dozens of lodging options both in and around town, we think your best bet to truly immerse yourself in the culture is to choose one of the centrally located guest houses available. You can stay in a standard bland hotel anywhere…on a tropical holiday why not venture on the local side?
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