With my head still in Thailand and my hand in my latest brewing experiment (I’m calling it “Spacewine IPA”), I was just now able to catch up on beer news. I’m most excited about two tidbits of info from my favorite brewery, Dogfish Head:
Apparently, there is now a restaurant of theirs near my parent’s house in Virginia. This means (for the better or worse) it will be a lot more fun to visit my parents. And best of all? They have an iPhone app that keeps me up to date with what’s on tap! (Via. Thanks!)
Second bit of info isn’t particularly new, just awesome. Dogfish Head and west coast brewery, Sierra Nevada has joined together on a pair of collaberative beers:
The result, released in November, is Life & Limb, a 10 percent ABV ale brewed with maple syrup from Calagione’s family farm in Massachusetts and hops from the Sierra Nevada estate in Chico, California; just for fun, the pair used the mash a second time to brew Limb & Life, a 5 percent ABV “small” beer (so-called because second-run brews have many of the characteristics of the first run, but much less alcohol and character).
I have yet to see any around… anyone else?
In the meantime, who’s up for a roa dtrip to Virginia?
Posted in: Beer!, travel.
Tagged: Dogfish Head · Sierra Nevada
Posted in: travel.
Tagged: food · thailand
Let’s start with this lady. I think she was a member of one of the hill tribes. I’m pretty sure I bought something from here, but I don’t remember what.
Tuk Tuks!
for eating
Posted in: travel.
Tagged: thailand
On the way out of Chiangrai we stopped at this amazing temple, Wat Rong Khun. It was a complete surprise how cool it was. Sometimes the unplanned parts of a trip are the most interesting!
Posted in: travel.
Tagged: buddha · thailand
After Chiangrai, I’ve gotten to the point here no longer feel interested in experiencing the local culture. I feel like an outsider here. A farang. My skin and hair is the wrong color while my eyes are the wrong shape. I am too big and I speak the wrong language. Children look at me funny; they laugh and they point. Their mother’s shush them then give me an apologetic look. To be fair, most everyone here is extremely kind and as interested in learning about me as I am them (except for the kids in Chiangrai the night bazaar that I’m convinced were trying to start a fight with me and every other farang they came across.) Sometimes I think that accepting those who are different may be a learned trait. The basic human condition, as exhibited by the very young, is to stare and point at those that are different. Perhaps that is a good thing, since they are staring in wonderment, not in judgment. Or maybe I am just projecting my own insecurities on the locals.
So anyway. I think today I am going to stay away from the market. I’m going to eat the hotel food. I am going to watch American science fiction TV with Thai subtitles and drink Heinekins. Maybe, if I feel adventurous, I’ll watch the city from the hotel balcony.
I was on a role with the sunsets!
Posted in: travel.
I’m currently working on transferring the analog entries from my notebook to this blog. I am also trying to parse the hundreds of pictures and videos I took into something meaningful and hopefully beautiful.
If you want to see all the pictures now, you can take a look at my Picasa page.
Enjoy and let me know what you think!
Posted in: travel.
We drove up to the border town of Mae Sai to cross into Burma for a little sightseeing, shopping, and lunch. Other than having a different language, it wasn’t all that different from Thailand. It is surely a very poor country and the sellers in the market are very pushy to sell you stuff. The majority of items in the market were brand name knockoffs, cigarettes, and Viagra (or more likely a sugar pill shaped like the famous drug to which apparently all Burmese think westerners are addicted.) We did go up and see a couple temples that all tourists are taken to. It’s exactly the same as every other Buddhist temple I’ve seen in Thailand.
Left is Burma. Right is Thailand
The most exiting part of the day was actually crossing the border. Once through the Thai checkpoint, we crossed a bridge over a small stream that served as the border between the two countries. Once in Burma, we were ushered into a small very dingy office where we were photographed and issued entry visas. At this point, our passports were confiscated. Fortunatly they were returned to us when we left.
After entering the country, we were immediately in the sketchiest market I’ve ever seen. I quickly tired of being sold $1 cartons of Marlboro’s and fake Viagra. So I decided to quit the market, have some coffee with my dad. Then explore a little.
These smelled frakking awesome.
This guy was my favorite. Totally just wanted to sell us a map for a quarter.
We then hired a tuk tuk to take us around the sites:
A temple
A dog
A Buddha
Cute kid
A big golden thingy
After much looking and picture taking, we got bored and wnet for some food and a local beer. Both weren’t that good. Tha food is much better.
Burmese beer... meh.
Heading back to Thailand... and civilization.
Overall, I was somewhat disappointed by what I found in Burma. I was expecting a military police state that was hostile to westerners. Instead I found a creepy kind of impoverished capitalism that looked to the west for any scrap of money. I’m sure I am misrepresenting the country from the very limited experience I had in one small border town. One day I will travel here for real.
At least I got a cool passport stamp.
Posted in: travel.
Tagged: Burma · Myanmmar · Thainland
These pictures are from the Elephant Conservation Center in Lampang, Thailand.
This kid was traing to be a Mahout.
Elephants in the bath.
Mom and her 6 month old
Puhing logs
Elephant painting
View from atop the elephant
Posted in: travel.
Tagged: elephants
With my head still in Thailand and my hand in my latest brewing experiment (I’m calling it “Spacewine IPA”), I was just now able to catch up on beer news. I’m most excited about two tidbits of info from my favorite brewery, Dogfish Head:
