Haggis Anyone?

A few weeks after returning from Thailand, Travers planned a week long trip to Scotland! He put together a fantastic itinerary, driving all over the country and staying in some wonderful places.  We flew into Edinburgh first, staying at the Fraser Suites right near the Royal Mile, a street that runs from Edinburgh Castle to the Palace of Holyroodhouse, and that is lined with shops, pubs and restaurants. After dropping our things in our room, and coming up with a quick plan on which direction to head, we bundled up and began wandering around the old town area. We strolled down the cobblestoned Royal Mile, taking in all the whiskey shops, cashmere clothing shops, restaurants tucked into small alleyways, and stone buildings and churches. 










Based on some recommendations a friend of mine who grew up in Edinburgh gave us, we headed to a pub called BrewDog, where they make some ridiculously strong but really delicious craft beers. We tried some really good strong beers, and chatted with the bartender about the history of BrewDog.










From there, we wandered around again and eventually found The Holyrood 9A pub and restaurant, which was packed with locals and tourists alike but we eventually found a high top table near the bar. We had a couple more beers, not quite as strong as the BrewDog but still quite good. Getting hungry for dinner, we walked back towards the Royal Mile in search of one of the restaurants we had passed by earlier, The World's End.  Grabbing one of the last tables available, we had our first of many delicious Scottish meals. The waitress convinced us to try their appetizer of haggis and neeps. We knew we would have to try haggis at some point while in Scotland, and she told us that the smaller portion and the way they made it was unique so we agreed. And to our surprise it was actually tasty. It might have been that it was deep fried and served with mashed potatoes, but we actually enjoyed it. I couldn't say the same for other haggis we had later on in the trip! We then followed it with a hearty meal of sausage and mash for me, and a steak and ale pie for Travers, coupled with some more delicious beers.

After filling our bellies, we headed towards the Edinburgh Castle, down Cowgate and Grassmarket, stumbling upon some more lively pubs, and a large cobblestone area, Grassmarket, that on certain days turns into an outdoor farmer's market. We walked our dinner off, taking in the magnificent stone churches and eventually decided to head back to the hotel to get some rest so we could explore even more the next day.










The next day, we woke to the standard Scotland rain, so we put on our rain boots, grabbed our umbrellas and two rain coats that we thankfully borrowed from our friends, the Rosinsky's. We grabbed breakfast at a nearby cafe, then headed to the Edinburgh Castle. Even in the rain, the castle was beautiful and provided some great views of Edinburgh. We wandered around all the different parts of the castle, eventually able to close our umbrellas with the rain stopping.

After a long walk through the castle grounds, we were hungry for lunch, so we found The Baked Potato Shop, where you can add anything and everything to a baked potato. The warm potato and all the yummy toppings, filled us up, giving us enough energy to continue on through town. We walked to the Palace of Holyroodhouse, then headed uphill towards the National Monument of Scotland, for some great views Arthur's Seat and to see the rest of Edinburgh as the sun set.

  

After the sun set, we headed back towards town and the hotel to rest for a bit from all the walking. Since we had seen so much of the old town area, we decided this night we would explore the new town area. We headed to the Jekyll & Hyde pub for a pre-dinner drink, then based on more recommendations, had dinner at The Dogs, a gastropub with tons of pictures and statues of dogs all over the place, where we enjoyed another hearty Scottish meal. Afterwards, we searched for another bar that was recommended called Bramble Bar, which is nearly impossible to find as you have to go down some steps that look like you're entering someone's house and basement, but upon entering its this cool speakeasy type of bar with creative cocktails in even more creative glassware.

 

We called it a night after that as we had to get up early the next day for a long drive to our 2nd destination of our Scotland visit, the Isle of Skye, filled with several stops along the way.

Thai Food and Nightlife!

Arriving at our final destination, Bangkok, we took a taxi to the wonderful Peninsula Hotel!We checked into a beautiful suite with fantastic views of the Chao Phraya River. We walked around the hotel grounds, getting our bearings, and also explored the area nearby, grabbing a late lunch and a haircut for Travers in the process.  It ended up being one of the best haircuts he's ever had too!  We eventually returned to the hotel, reviewed a map of the city, and came up with a game plan for the rest of the afternoon and evening.












Taking one of the hotel's ferry boats across the river, we then hopped on the city's tram, stopping at one of the popular rooftop bars that Bangkok is known for.  We had a light dinner and a couple of fruity cocktails, and took in more amazing views of the city.










After that, we headed for one of the more well-known areas of Bangkok, Sukhumvit Road. This is one of the longest roads in Bangkok, and along it we found several side roads lined with bars and people. We chose one street at random, taking in the neon lights and all the people having fun. We eventually made our way to an area called Royal City Avenue (RCA), where there are several dance clubs all joined together and tons of people dancing and having a good time. We joined in the fun, dancing as much as we could, eventually making it back to the hotel much later that evening. 










The next day we headed to one of the largest markets in Asia, the Chatuchak Weekend Market. It literally is one of the largest markets I've been too, filled with shops and food stalls and tons of people everywhere. We strolled through some of the textiles and clothes shops, stopping to buy myself a pair of lightweight pants that everyone in Thailand wears. Then we made our way through the rest of the area as quickly as possible as it was heating up and we were both getting a bit claustrophobic.












From there, we walked the elevated walkways around the Victory Monument, then found a famous boat noodle restaurant, where you're served bowl after bowl of hot delicious noodle soup. Its called boat noodles because the noodles were originally served from vendors on boats floating in Bangkok's network of canals. Most of the noodle shops are now on land, but they still serve the noodles in small bowls to prevent them from spilling when they were on choppy waters.  If you finish 20 bowls in one sitting you got a free large Pepsi, but Travers and I only finished about 10, so we bought some bottled water instead.





















After filling our bellies with delicious noodle soup, we took a tuktuk out to Khaosan Road, another popular area filled with bars, restaurants and shops. It was early still so we strolled the two main streets that make up the area, doing some window shopping along the way. We found a bar called, Fu Bar, where we sat outside, had some cool refreshing beers, and watched as the streets got busier and busier as the sun started to set. We then strolled the streets some more, sharing a plate of delicious Pad Thai from a street food vendor, then found another vendor where we had a delicious local dessert. We followed it up with a few more beers and even more delicious food.

We finally settled in at the Silk Bar, one of the many other bars on the street, making some friends with some British kids sitting at the table next to us. They talked Travers into eating a scorpion with them, which he did with little fear or disgust, finishing it proudly. From there, the night went on. We had a great time and eventually turned back to the hotel, saying a quick goodbye to our British friends.











Our last day in Bangkok, we got a bit more culture into the trip, by starting with a visit to a flower market, where we saw tons of beautiful flowers and interesting fruits and veggies.  We followed this with a visit to the temple Wat Pho, which is home to the largest reclining Buddha.



















We walked around this large temple for awhile, taking in as much as we could. The sun was setting soon, so we headed across the river to another temple, Wat Arun, the Temple of Dawn. Even though this temple is called the Temple of Dawn, it is also beautiful at sunset, when the sun hits the building just right.

After that, we headed to one of the biggest shopping malls in Bangkok, Siam Paragon. Happy to have some great air conditioning, we strolled through the mall, past the tons of luxury shops and ended up at the gourmet food court. We ate as much of a variety as we could, savoring the last authentic Thai food we would probably have for a long time.

 From there, we headed back to where it all started, Sukhumvit Road, where we found the famous Soi Cowboy. This little road is known for the many Go Go Bars that line the street. We sat at one of the outside bars, watching all the tourists as wide-eyed as we were, taking in the neon lights, and all the local girls walking the street, enticing people to go to their bar.










We ended the night relatively early, spending half of the next day at the hotel pool before we had to check out and catch our flight back to Geneva. Southeast Asia was an amazing area to visit, and we only just touched the surface of it. There are so many more places that we would love to see and explore so this will hopefully not be the last time we go there.