Category: Travel

Sweet Adventures Around Thailand

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Here is a peek of some of the yummy treats we experienced in Thailand.  During the trip we were able to try green tea ice cream and cookies, chocolate rum balls, luk chup, guava juice, and banana fritters, among other things.  Everything was delicious!  From the green tea ice cream to the sesame seed cookies, most deserts were light and not to sweet. My favorite desert by far was the mango sticky rice, a traditional Thai desert served with coconut milk and garnished with sesame seeds. Hope you enjoy! ☺️

Green tea ice creamMango sticky riceThai cokeRum ballInside rum ballJam pizzaLuk chupGuava juiceCakes and cookiesBanana Fritters

Foodie Adventures in Chiang Mai, Thailand

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Chiang Mai is not just a beautiful city but it has amazing culture and food.  Some of the best Thai food I had on my trip was from this province. Everything was just so full of flavor and spice.

We visited Chiang Mai on a whim, but now I regret not having spent more time there. We only spent two nights but managed to try some great dishes including Pad Thai, Pad See Ew, Tom Yum, and Khao Soi. The food in Chiang Mai was hands down the best out of the three cities we visited.

The flight from Bangkok to Chiang Mai is only an hour and can cost as cheap as $30. Here are a few photos of the food we tried. Enjoy!

Khao SoiPad see ewTom YumCurryPad ThaiMango sticky rice Yogurt with fruit Thai coffee

Patara Elephant Farm, Elephant owner for a day: Chiang Mai, Thailand

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If anyone had ever told me that one day I would go to Thailand and adopt an elephant, I would tell them that they were crazy.  Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine I would do something so crazy, so adventurous, so out of character. But, here I am, writing about my experience as an elephant owner for a day at Patara Farm, an elephant farm located in Chiang Mai, northern Thailand.

Knowing that we wanted to see elephants on our trip, we performed extensive research and spoke with friends that had traveled to Thailand before to get their opinion.  It was very important for us to go through a reputable company as there can be some controversy with elephant riding as not all companies treat their animals well.  After much careful research, we decided on Patara Farm, an elephant farm that offers guests an immersion experience of adopting an elephant for a day.  When I say immersion I mean that you literally go through step by step every detail each elephants trainer goes through for the day.  You feed, learn how to check the elephant’s health, and even bathe the elephant as part of your day.

Baby elephant

“you are trained to approach your elephant correctly, know the elephant’s temperament, feed and check its health, learn about and take care of your own elephant, bathe and brush it in the river, learn how to ride on its neck, and communicate THROUGH DIFFERENT spoken commands.” – Patara Farm

Let me tell you, we pretty much paid to do labor for the day, but it was worth the experience!  Initially, meeting the elephants is a little overwhelming.  You are basically entering their space not the other way around.  They go about their business eating, pooping, and hanging out with each other. When they see you, the babies are the ones that are more curious, the adults aren’t bothered.  Unless you are holding sugar cane!  Then you are everyone’s center of attention.

After going through the training program and getting acquainted with your elephant, at Patara Farm, you ride the elephants bare-back, meaning no seats.  The best way I can describe this experience is incredible.  Being with the elephant all day you bond and get to know each other.  Then when the elephant allows you to ride them, it’s a very beautiful experience.  The elephant is never forced to give you a ride nor are you forced to ride them.  You are taught from the very beginning how to understand your elephants temperament.  So when I say that my elephant allowed me to ride him, I felt like he accepted me. Now, maybe at this point I’m starting to sound like a hippie, but I do believe that elephants are very intelligent creatures and like any animal they can form a bond or connection with you.

“The program is specialized and meaningful activity to create trust and relationship between you and your elephant.” – Patara Farm

Overall, I am very grateful to have been able to take part in this experience and highly recommend putting this on your bucket list.  If you have any questions or want to know more about the experience, please feel free to ask.  For more information on Patara Farm, check out their website or reviews on TripAdvisor.  ❤️  Hope you enjoyed!

A Peek at the LA County Fair: Pomona, Ca

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Thinking about checking out the LA County Fair this year?  The 2015 fair schedule is actually one week shorter than past years, running September 4 – 27.  If you haven’t made it out yet, you better hurry because you only have about two weeks left to go!  Here’s a peek into my trip opening weekend.  My favorite things to do are ride the ferris wheel, check out the craft exhibits, go wine tasting, visit the bunnies, and eat chili cheese fries.  I didn’t get a chance to grab ice cream during this trip, but I highly recommend visiting Dr. Bob’s.  The ice cream is amazing! 😊

Game Prizes
At the wine tasting booth
Wine samples and goldfish
Picking out the wine samples.
Nighttime water fountain
Fireball infused caramel banana donut
DJ Night
High line
Grilling Corn on the Cob
live Bands, Djs, and dancing!
Multiple Ferris wheels located all around.
Mobile bands driving through and playing as they go.
Racing game
So many goodies!
Illuminati a entrance
Beautifully done.
Overhead view of the park from the Ferris wheel.
If you purchase an official cup, refills are given at a discounted price.
Chili cheese fries from Pinks. My favorite!
Bacon wrapped hot dog
They give you celebrity names when you order from Pinks

The Purple Pig: Adventurous Eats in Chicago, IL

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Does eating roasted bone marrow, pig ears, pork belly, and squid sound exciting to you?! Yes? No?? 😋 I wasn’t exactly too thrilled to see all of those items on a menu for a restaurant my coworker suggested. But, he had his heart set on trying it out and it had over 3,000 reviews on Yelp, so I figured why not…  I can always just order a salad! 😉

The Purple Pig Entrance

The location

Upon arriving to the Purple Pig, the ambience completely sets the tone, and I started to get a little excited for what was ahead.  The entrance to the restaurant is off an alleyway on an overhead street.  If you are not familiar with Chicago, let me first explain.  The downtown Chicago area is made up of a series of multilevel streets.  Very similar in a sense to San Antonio.  Now the history behind it I’m not very familiar with, but I do remember that they explained on a tour that during the boom of the city, when construction was on the rise, everything was very concentrated in one area, so what people started to do was to literally sell air space rights above the land.  For example, lets say you owned a parcel of land, constitutional rights stated that not only did you own the land, but you also legally owned the airspace above your land as well.  So what occurred was that people would purchase the air rights to your land and build buildings at a level above, basically establishing whole streets built on top of another.  This can be very confusing at times, especially when you are not familiar with a street and are looking for an address.  Now circling back to the location of the Purple Pig, the entrance is located off of Magnificent Mile on an overhead pass of what would be considered an alleyway that looks down to the street below.  It is easy to miss if you are not looking for the restaurant.  And even if you do notice the sign, because the building itself sits in the back of the alleyway, you wouldn’t be able to tell what it was.  However, when you do find it, you will be pleasantly surprised.  The restaurant is very small and makes great use of communal seating.  Inside, there is a wrap around bar which faces the open kitchen, so you can only imagine how loud everything can get.  The night we went, the ambience was bustling.  But from what I’ve heard, it’s supposed to be like that every night!

The Purple Pig Food Collage

THE FOOD

My coworker is a big time foodie, so I have to credit him for making the restaurant selection.  I have to say, I am very glad that we tried it.  The Purple Pig specializes in small shareable plates with an international influence.

“Located at 500 North Michigan Avenue, the restaurant offers cheese, swine and wine, among other standout dishes, showcasing the flavors of Italy, Greece and Spain.” – The Purple Pig

When ordering dishes, we opted to order one plate per person to share.  Sharing in this style proved to be a little challenging as some dishes came in small portions than others and we were a rather large group.  If you are considering doing the same, I would suggest that you order at least two plates of the smaller dishes to share; or try not to go hungry… but who wants to do that? 😜

Click on the photos below to get a more detailed description.  Enjoy!

To eat the salad you break up and mix in the egg.
This was my favorite desert. Expresso custard, creme fraiche, and chocolate hazelnut syrup.
I thought the fried pig ears were onion straws!
Very buttery texture and taste. Served with Herb Salad and Sicilian Sea Salt.
Just the right amount of sweet. Ricotta and Chocolate Chip filled Brioche.
The sauce was full of flavor.
Much smaller than it appears.
My favorite entree. The pork shoulder was nice and juicy.
The sausage was so delicious!
Delicious flavors. Shrimp, Mussels, Sepia, Bass, Tomato and Feta

Visit The Purple Pig in person at 500 N Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60611 or online at their website. 😘