Learning the basics at Pum Thai Cooking School

All I wanted was a beach chair and a good sunscreen, but the lifeless gray skies hovering over Phuket had derailed my plans of soaking in the Thai sun. With light rain drizzling from above, I decided to sign up for the afternoon cooking class at Pum Thai Cooking School to learn about the basics of Thai cuisine.

The Best of Thai, the Worst of Thai: My first – and last – elephant ride

I should have known better than to have accepted the tuk tuk driver’s suspiciously cheap offer. Never trust the tuk tuk drivers who approach YOU, I thought to myself. Regardless, my buddy Neil had a mission. We had arrived in Thailand less than 24 hours ago, and our first order of the day was elephants. “If I get to ride an elephant, then I’m set for the rest of the trip,” he proclaimed.

My Asia travel companion: Canon PowerShot SD1200

For my Asia trip this year, I decided to graduate myself from my (perfectly functional) Canon PowerShot SD600, which had served me faithfully for years through countless vacations, parties and other such celebratory activities, to the sleek new Canon PowerShot SD1200. I put off purchasing it until a few days before the trip, so Asia would be its first test. Now 700+ photos later, I gotta admit that I’m probably a Canon-ite for life now. Check out the photos.

A Thousand Words: The Versailles of the East

I’m really digging my new camera: a Canon SD1200 point and shoot. I have never experienced a more intuitive and no-fail camera that can deliver the shots that I’m getting. Here you’re looking at the Chakri Maha Prasat Hall (left) and the Rajkaranyasapha Hall (right) on the grounds of the Grand Palace in Bangkok Thailand. It’s truly the Versailles of the East. As my travel buddy Neil put it, “If you haven’t seen Versailles yet, you’re going to be disappointed after this.”

A Thousand Words: Phra Si Rattana Chedi

Hello from Bangkok! Captured here is the Phra Si Rattana Chedi, located in the Temple of the Emerald Buddha on the grounds of the Royal Palace in Bangkok. Enjoy.

Southeast Asia on $100 a day?

Southeast Asia on $100 a day? David Allen of the New York Times travel blog “In Transit,” in response to a letter asking for advice on Southeast Asia, says that “if you gave yourself a generous daily budget of $100 you would be well fed, well rested and able to see every site you wish.” I’m all booked up for my own Southeast Asian adventure this summer — two weeks in Bangkok, Phuket, Phnom Penh and Siem Reap to be precise. I’m no backpacker, but I can tell you that you will have to try pretty hard to rack up $100/day.