August 10th, 2014
I was up early. I decided to go to the beach and watch the sunrise over the Gulf of Thailand. I missed the exact moment the sun rose but I did get some good pictures. When I saw the beach the day before, the tide was in and there wasn’t much of a beach, I was surprised at just how much beach there was.
It was a great morning!
Hoisin braised pork hocks
August 9th and 10th, 2014
There was a night market outside of the hotel call Cicada. A market named after a bug? Made me wonder what kind of market it was. When we arrived, I pleased to see a very clean market with some of my favorite dishes along with some new things to try.
Sophon tends to have eyes bigger than his stomach and frequently orders more than we can eat. That tends to result in overeating. Tonight was no exception. It was hard deciding on what I wanted to eat.
I recently had Braised pork hocks at a restaurant called “Night Market” on Sunset Blvd. I was tempted to get them. We ended up with Deep Fried French Bread with Ground Pork, Papaya Salad with Grilled Pork Neck, and Northern Thai Sausage and a side of Grilled Pork neck. I got the braised pork hocks the following night!
I ended up eating way too much but I loved every-bite.
August 9th, 2014
Hua Hin is about three hours south of Bangkok. It sits on the Gulf of Thailand. It is monsoon season in Thailand and Hua Hin is considered to be a dry area of Thailand.
The Hyatt Regency in Hua Hin is one of the nicest hotels I have every seen. There is a private area for those that qualify for Regency club, including a Regency Pool and Regency beach. My view looked over the pool and out to the ocean. I could spend a week at the hotel and do nothing else.
I scheduled three nights at Hua Hin, this is a place to definitely come back to.
August 9, 2014
Bangkok is one of the most congested cities I have ever seen. I was struck by that when I first travel to Bangkok almost 15 years ago. Since then, they have added a skytrain which has done little to ease the congested traffic that runs all hours of the day and night. Continue reading
August 8, 2014
For the most part, I really enjoy flying. It doesn’t always go well and there have been flights I would rather forget about but for the most part, I look forward to the experience. Being at a Star Alliance Gold Level helps tremendously, the lines are shorter, the luggage comes out sooner, and with enough points you can upgrade to Business Class and that makes a huge difference.
My flight to Bangkok started in Los Angeles, it stopped in Narita (Tokyo), before landing in Bangkok. The first leg of the trip was on United’s 787 Dreamliner. I treated myself to business class and it was worth every minute of it. I had 10 hours of being served while watching movies.
May 26, 2014
Everything has been wonderful but this was a highlight. A three-hour helicopter tour of the island with a private landing on top of a peak. We passed over many of the sites we saw including Captain James Cook cove where we snorkeled. We passed over the volcanoes where we could see the lava bubbling up. We even saw a WWII b-18 bomber that had crashed. There were plenty of waterfalls and coves. It just got better and better. So many parts of the island you cannot see unless you access by boat or air.
I later found the story on the B-18 bomber which crashed on February 25, 1941. The aircraft was flying a training mission and all six crew members survived the crash. Continue reading
May 25, 2014
We had been to Kailua a couple of times before but we ate and then moved on. Today was the first day we spent some time walking around. The city is the former summer home of King Kamehameha I and the place King Kamehameha the great died. Today it is the home of the Ironman challenges and a place where fishing sportsmen flock to to catch large fish. It is a quaint town with both historic sites, good places to eat.
It was raining when we walked around but nothing too much to deter our activities. We wandered the streets, took pictures and then got something to eat at Sushi Shiono. I wasn’t that hungry and I really wasn’t in the mood for sushi. I ordered noodles and Sophon ordered Sushi and Sashimi. We shared and I loved it all. At the beginning I would have preferred another place, this one turned out to be wonderful.
Beehive Flower
May 25, 2014
The Botanical Gardens was another highlight. Growing up in upstate NY winters were long and cold and summers were very short but hot. I grew up with relatives working in forestry. When I moved to California, I was amazed at palm trees and all the things that would grow here as opposed to NY. When my father last visited me, he got such a kick out of picking oranges from my back yard tree and either eating them or making a glass of orange juice.
Hawaii has many sub-climates and I marvel at it all. The Beehive Flower close to the entrance looked like something out of Alice in Wonderland. I thought I was going to drive there, take a casual walk through only to find both Sophon and myself marveling at everything along the way. We spent much longer than I expected and as I wondered if we shouldn’t move along, I reminded myself that we started out with a few ideas and would not try to see it all. This was worth some extra time.
The entrance to the park is at the top of the cove and it ends at the beach. There are various gardens including Palms, heliconias, orchids, bromeliads and water lilies. There are waterfalls and a view of the cove. Continue reading
Akaka Falls
May 25th, 2014
Akaka falls and the circular falls are north of Hilo on the other side of the Island. What I love about the Hawaiian Islands are the causally marked turn offs. I saw the “Akaka Falls” sign, headed towards it and the next thing I know I am in a park where there are multiple water falls and beautiful landscape.
Down the street was a fruit stand selling fresh coconuts, pineapple and other local fruit. I stopped to check it out. The guy who owned the stand picked the fruit off the trees behind him. What a life, picking fruit to sell to the tourists passing buy. He was real nice and I enjoyed talking with him.
There was something on the table that I didn’t recognize and said it was an Ice Cream Bean. It appeared to be a large seed pod about a foot long. When you opened it up, there were large white peas with dark seeds. I had never heard of the ice cream bean and had to try one. It is creamy and sweet with a hint of vanilla. He told me to google it, that it is then miracle fruit that cures everything.
Me in front of Waipi’o Valley
May 25, 2014
This is a site that I was looking for instead of stumbling upon it. Waipi’o lookout is a lookout on the northern part of the Island. There aren’t words to describe the view.
The Valley is an undeveloped area of Hawaii and the boyhood home of King Kamehameha I and was a retreat for the Royals. It is also known as the Valley of the Kings.
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