Well, we are on the fourth leg of our journey. We left Tokyo around 6:15 this morning and took a bus to the airport. Then we look a flight from Tokyo to Bangkok. It was about 7 hours, but the time passed pretty quickly (I watched Harry Potter, Kindergarten Cop, and a few episodes of Modern Family).
Then, we had a connecting flight from Bangkok to Chiang Mai. As soon as we stepped off the flight from Tokyo, I could tell that Thailand was going to be a much different experience than Japan. Japan is so orderly, organized, and disciplined. The airport in Bangkok was difficult to navigate and poorly labeled. I’m not going to fuss about this too much. We were able to make it to Chiang Mai without any major issues and our bags were there too (my biggest fear!).
Although, I couldn’t believe some people’s behavior in the Chiang Mai airport. I actually thought a few people were going to get in a fight at the baggage claim area. It was pretty crowded and there was some pushing and shoving going on. Unfortunately, I think these people were Americans, and they were being extremely rude to a couple of Asian men. It was disgusting.
Getting a taxi was pretty difficult. Outside the airport was a zoo! But, we made it to our hotel! Tomorrow, we will spend all day at a cooking school learning how to cook Thai food! Yum!
On our last night in Tokyo, we ate at an amazing restaurant called Takazawa. This was one of the most interesting, creative, and delicious meals that I have ever eaten. Like most restaurants that we went to, this place was tiny. In fact, chef Takazawa typically only serves 10 people per night.
He prepares the food at the front of the restaurant, and it is an incredible thing to witness. His wife is a server/front of the house and does a great job explaining all of the dishes in English. Even Takazawa served us a couple dishes. It is an incredibly intimate dining experience.
Each dish was more creative than the next. The whole experience was something that we will never forget. We had an 11 course tasting plus 3 amuse bouche. Hopefully, the pictures will give you an idea of the caliber of ingenuity of each dish. I’m not going to try to describe the courses because I sound like an idiot when I try to describe food!
WOW!! The food looks so interesting!! What was in the bag thing?? I am not sure I want to know some of the other courses! LOL The plane looked very comfortable too!! Y’all are getting very spoiled…..its going to be hard to go back in coach when you get back here!! Enjoy Thailand and all the spa stuff y’all are going to do! Also, all the warm weather………
Talked to Sam last night she said Moose is loving Bourbon (the puppy)!! Moose thinks he’s the Mom and Bourbon is his puppy.So sweet! Chunk likes him too but not as much as Moose…..
Love you both
The food was incredible! The bag was a mushroom and fish soup. I actually think that you would have liked that course. It was called “hot balloon” on the menu. Everything was so inventive. Yea, the plane was great. On our second flight, we sat in the first class seats because they don’t sell a first class on that flight. So, we were actually business class but we sat in the fancy seats. Unfortunately, the flight was less than an hour.