delicious travel memories
Like most, I especially love shopping and restaurants around the world. Dining in New Orleans and New York City were my favorites. I loved the Royal Orleans in New Orleans, in the French Quarter, and the Commanders’ Palace, in the Garden District. Jazz musicians came to every table and memories of the food and music lingered through the rest of the week.
The Plaza Hotel had great restaurants, that’s where you’d find me in New York City. Top of the Sixes and Four Seasons were two of my favorites at the time.
However, if I had to pick one place where the food and shopping were the best, I would have to say Thailand.
Not wanting a regular tour, the agent booked me a flight to Bangkok with a two-night reservation at the Sheraton Hotel. A couple of days later I found the beautiful Omni Watergate Hotel, a better location with wonderful breakfasts, Asian dishes of all kinds. The area was close to dressmakers and shops. I exchanged my US money into their baht and booked a week there. Traveling through the different shopping areas in Bangkok, the typical cost of a taxi ride was no more than fifty cents on the dollar.
The next two weeks were spent in Phuket City and on Phi Phi Island. Using the airlines in Thailand was expensive. I have since learned that a train ride would have been a much less expensive and more beautiful journey.
The beaches were exciting and inviting, but at the time I was warned to beware of currents. Traveling north, I spent a few days in Chaig Rai. I went to the night market where there were stalls with food, entertainment and natives selling their creations. Everything I tried was amazing. the artworks i bought were unique and cheap in price.
Moving on to Chaig Mai for another week, I took some cooking lessons at a school run by Permpoon and Suriyan Nabnian. We all had our own stoves and shared our finished products with students from all over the world.
I loved the sweet and spicy condiments and was able to recreate my Thai specialties when I got home. Thailand was one of my most memorable experiences.
When I’m too busy to travel, I spend some time in places like Epcot Center, Disney. It brings back memories as I dine at the different restaurants at Epcot World.