Lets be kids again!

Growing up, you always wish you are older so you can do this or that. When you're older, you always wish you are younger so you don't have to worry about this and that. There are seldom times when your wish comes true in the later circumstance. If you're lucky, you will get older ... guaranteed. But the getting younger thing doesn't usually pan out so well; that is, however, unless you go to Chiang Mai, Thailand between April 13-15, during the water throwing festival known as Songkran! It is a once in a life time experience when everyone, young and old, feels just like a kid again.

Songkran is a Thai festival of religious origins, namely Buddhist, and marks the beginning of the Thai New Year. Water is used to cleanse and purify people and wash them clean of sins for the upcoming year. Scented water is used to wash Buddhist statues. Chiang Mai, having more Buddhist temples than all of Bangkok, is known as the epicenter of the festivities.

However, in addition to bringing offerings of tea and flowers to the temples, locals and foreigners alike spend 3-5 days armed with super soakers and buckets. Shops, bars, restaurants, and homeowners bring their trash bins and hoses to the streets to ensure there is plenty of water for everyone to refill their drenching weapons and enjoy the fun. The moat around the city is lined with people dropping their buckets attached to ropes into the dank water to throw on the overfilled trucks, mopeds, tuk-tuks, and anyone else who happens to step outside. An added attraction is the locals who put huge ice blocks in their water filled trash cans in the back of their trucks. But with temperatures reaching 100 degrees, the icy surprise is actually enjoyed!

It is literally impossible to stay dry, no one is immune. Old men and women, people with cameras and cellphones, kids who can barely walk, everyone... is wet and smiling!

Truth be told, we booked our weekend to Chiang Mai long before we had ever heard about Songkran. We were luckily in our coincidence of dates and we learned quickly what the big attraction to the festival is; not to mention, Chiang Mai is a beautiful city with stunning temples, wonderful people, and delicious food. As we sit in the airport waiting to board our plan back to Macau, we find ourselves already looking forward to Songkran 2014.

Tropical Thailand

Our family came for a visit just before Chinese New Year officially kicked off. It was great to see them and introduce them to Asia and our life here. The added benefit for us was that by showing them Macau, we ourselves saw Macau again with fresh eyes and wonder. Truly, as adventurous as it sounds to be living abroad, life creeps around and it becomes like anywhere else. The sights, smells, sounds, tastes, and general way of life become just as normal as living back in your home country. Of course, there are still things that remind us we are NOT in out home country, but even those are more appreciated in some strange way.

After spending a few days in Macau and one day touring Hong Kong, we hopped on a flight to Krabi, Thailand. It came highly recommended by some of our good friends here, so we have been looking forward to it for months! We spent two days on the southern coast of Thailand in Ao Nang, in search of the postcard picture beaches and limestone cliffs. We were not disappointed. The scenery was breathtaking and floating in the Andaman Sea is enough to keep you content forever.

After a couple days, we climbed aboard a ferry that took us two hours south to what some call the last of true Thailand, Koh Lanta. Koh Lanta, is an island just off the coast of Thailand. It is blessed with palm tree fringed white sand beaches, a quiet atmosphere, few places to stay, and amazing sunsets. 

As Thai food lovers, we were very excited to experience authentic Thai cuisine. What we didn't know was that in doing so, we would downgrade every other Thai food we've eaten in the past to just "ok". Real Thai food is that good. It's equivalent to Italian food eaten in Italy. The fresh local ingredients were magic to our taste buds and every chef has their own unique combination to make each dish taste special.