eating through thailand

There's something I like about trying American fast food in a foreign country. It's never *quite* the same. Don't worry, we didn't waste a chance at an authentic Thai meal. This was at the airport.

This McDonald's (different than the one above) had chocolate dip soft serve!

Curry prawns

Kao Soi, a Chiang Mai noodle specialty

Egg noodles and crispy onions in a spicy Chiang Mai curry broth, accompanied with condiments to add to taste including pickled veggies, shallots, lime, MORE chili!, banana, coconut milk, fish sauce, and sugar.

Thai night markets

What is this???

Roti for dessert!

Banana, sweetened condensed milk, nutella

Thai cooking class #1 at Chiang Mai Thai Cookery School. First dish - panang curry.

Fried fish topped with onions, peppers, chilis, and sweet basil

Sweet and sour vegetables, Chiang Mai curry

Floating market in Bangkok

Thai cooking class #2 at the Baipai Cooking School

Spring rolls - delicious with the cucumber and sweet basil

Spicy grilled beef

Green curry

Mine is the one at the top of the picture. P's is at the bottom. I kinda burned mine.

Duck egg custard

yum-ME! You need a fresh duck egg for this, which I discovered you can get at Whole Foods for 99 cents a piece.

le motorbike

Motorbikes rule the roads. You know you're in a foreign land when you hear their motors chug - they make southeast Asia feel like southeast Asia. They are awesome for weaving through traffic (sometimes in a scary and too close for comfort kinda way), good for carrying whole families (just put a helmet on your 2-year-old and hold onto her - it's safe don't worry), and good for mobilizing food carts (sometimes a delicate balance). Despite their convenience and versatility, their #1 downfall is that they also subject you to inhale the exhaust from all neighboring cars and motorbikes. Some people go around with face masks; others, like us, just inhale the carbon monoxide and try not to think about the health consequences.

We took a ride one night in Chiang Mai from this couple. He was driving, and she was just along for the ride. His tuk-tuk (motorbike cab) was like a low-rider, and she was about 4' and just there to keep him company. There was a lot of that - spouses just riding along for the night. Not a care to how much exhaust they're inhaling.

We look happy here. Probably at the beginning of the ride. We took a day tour, which involved a stop at the orchid park, a hike to a waterfall, a visit to the hill tribes, an elephant ride, whitewater rafting, and bamboo rafting. It took the whole day, and this is what we rode the entire time. An open-air truck with padded benches along the sides of the truck bed. Which is cute when you're using it as a bus, but not cute when you're chugging along on highways the entire day. This thing spewed so much exhaust, and we helplessly inhaled it.

Just for funs. First time creating an animated gif! This was a seriously long traffic light. I wanna say it was red for something like 5 minutes! You can see some motorbikes leaving before the traffic light turns green. :)

On the plane ride back to the states, I read an article about motorbikes. It talked about all the different styles and colors they come in, from the low-end models to the high-end Vespas. Super cute. Me wants one to scoot around NYC! I will wear sunglasses and be cool, green, and cosmopolitan! :P

people heart animals everywhere

I'm not the only one who melts in the heat in Thailand. There are plenty of dogs on the streets of Bangkok and Chiang Mai, but they always seem to be napping/lounging!

Here's one being blessed by a monk.

Grande Palace in Bangkok

Monkey Forest in Chiang Mai

Ibad Villas in Ubud, Bali

Madrid: working or playing?

Lots and lots of balconies.

Pup sitting at attention... why?

... to listen to the musicians of course!

Jamon jamon dame mas jamon!

Churros con chocolate! There are very few cafes open early in the morning by the way. Late partyers and late risers those Spaniards.

WHY IS STARBUCKS HERE. :( AND WHY ARE THEY ALSO IN BANGKOK, CHIANG MAI, AND BALI. WHY. GET OUT OF THOSE COUNTRIES STARBUCKS. THEY HAVE THEIR OWN COFFEE CULTURE.

Chicago: happy birthday sis!

I think there's an iphone pic on FB for Ft Lauderdale. I was there for work, so that's no fun. We're gonna start with Chicago.

Waited ~1.5 hours for foi gras hot dogs and the like at Hot Doug's in the misty cold morning. Owner Doug is the nicest guy. He takes his time talking to each customer to make sure they are putting together the order they want. That's also why the line is so long. We ordered 10 hot dogs for the 3 of us.

Alliance Bakery where R got the sis a bday cake.

Who wore it better? ;)

This is upon arrival at Charlie Trotter's, where an epic night was about to unfold. Little did we know that we would be here for 4 hours until 1:30 am and be the last ones in the restaurant. Thank god people started leaving so that we could start being the goofballs that we are and loudly revel in the delicious food. AND we got a tour of the kitchen. We were so busy being involved in the meal though that we unfortunately forgot to take a picture of us at the table. :(

Family friends gave the Sis their fancy camera, so the Sis gave me her SLR. This trip was my first time having fun with it, so there were a lot of blurry pictures. It did provide me some entertainment at the O'Hare airport though as I waited for my plane that was delayed for 3 hours.

up in the air

Ironically, I saw Up In The Air on an airplane, which seems to be where I've been the past month.

April 29-30, Fort Lauderdale

May 13-15, Chicago

May 21-25, Madrid

May 29-June 13, Honeymoon in Thailand and Bali

Let's begin!

wedding photos are up!

http://lafflerphotography.com/blog/?p=8775

the mula

You're told a lot of things in the wedding business.

1. engagement ring should cost 3 months salary
2. venue/food will make up 50% of your total budget
3. etc, you get the picture

These things are what I hate about the wedding industry. Who's to tell you how much things should cost, ie, who should tell you what's important to you? Puhleeease. The extravagance that's expected, the traditions that you're expected to adhere to. In the end, it's all really up to you. I picked up a total of 0 wedding magazines and watched 0 wedding shows on TLC. I knew enough of what I wanted from going to a few weddings that I didn't want to pay any attention to what others were saying you need to do. My inspiration stemmed from google images. I figured out costs based on my research skills that were built from my general frugality.

This is the breakdown from our wedding, and it was about what we wanted to hit. Basically, we wanted to spend in areas that were most important to us, which were venue/food and photographer. So for the other main vendors, we wanted to hit below budget to make room for the many many other little things that we knew needed to happen but couldn't think of during the budgeting process.

Ending up 50% below budget on music was soooo helpful! And with the help from a few helpful worker bees, invitations, all things paper, and favors fell below budget too.

This was the most I ever spent on any single thing. I was stingy throughout the whole process, but now, I miss having something to spend on! Spending is fun!!

musac

I went through a lot of music to try to find a song that would pair well with the STD. It was at least if not more of a struggle than creating the actual video! While we didn't end up using it for the STD, what came out of the search was a song that really resonated with me, and was ultimately played during the wedding processional. I can get kinda obsessive about things I love, and so I got obsessive about this song and played it over and over and over and OVER again. It always got me in a "wedding" mood even if I was in "wedding frustrate" mood.

Wedding music

Processional - The Way I am by Ingrid Michaelson, I'll Follow You into the Dark by Death Cab for Cutie, Marry Me by Train, First Day of My Life by Bright Eyes, Somewhere Over the Rainbow by Israel Kamakawiwo'ole (for the bride)

Recessional - All You Need is Love by The Beatles

First song - At Last by Etta James

Father/daughter, mother/son dance - In My Life by The Beatles

Cake Cutting - Ice Cream by Sarah McLachlan

Last song - Don't Stop Believin' by Journey

A piece of advice. Our dj, per their suggestion and our agreement, went with a "no request" policy during the reception. However, it was "no request" unless approved by the bride or groom. I think this is a good idea, but make sure to tell the dj to not direct the requester to go and ask the bride/groom, so that the bride and groom don't have to figure out how to say no to a Justin Bieber request from a 5-year-old!! Rather, it would have been better if they just said they're not taking requests, and then the dj him/herself would go and talk to the bride and groom to see if it's okay. That way the bride/groom doesn't have to feel like the bad guy on her/his wedding day!

my first pod!

Loogat it!

I can recline 180 degrees!

I was so excited I took a bunch of pictures right when I boarded, much to the unamusement of the guy sitting next to me. He like, did NOTHING. He sat down like it was a normal seat. I played with all the buttons, reclined 180 degrees, changed back to upright position, turned on the TV, planned my movies, and then started one right away while the plane was still at the gate. Unfortunately, this upgrade was on a mere 3 hour flight so fitting in 2 movies was going to be a challenge. I hoped for a delay. I ate everything they served me. Food was not great, but who can complain when you're eating with your legs stretched out straight in front of you?