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So far vivilinh has created 129 blog entries.

Chiang Mai, Thailand – Part I – Adopt An Elephant

i finally went through some of my thailand pictures! (i was battling a little bug all last week) we have been back for less than two weeks and already miss thai food! (obsessed much?) our trip was amazing…all the things we saw, people we met, all the food we ate… amazing. best trip ever? i think so! our itinerary:

  • bangkok – 6 hours – our first stop was bangkok (just for 6 hours since our plan was to fly to chiang mai for the lantern festival). flights from LAX to BKK were also cheaper than flying straight into chiang mai.
  • chiang mai – 5 days – adopt an elephant, cooking class, temple exploring, loi krathong festival of light & the lanna (northern thai) festival known as “yi peng”
  • bangkok – 2 days – back to bangkok for follow me bike tours!
  • phuket – 5 days – phi phi island by speedboat, phang nga bay kayak (james bond island)

so most amazing thing we did was adopt an elephant for the day! actually, it was the best thing i have done in my life (bold, huh?) we found this through tripadvisor since it was ranked #1 thing to do in chiang mai! thank you tripadvisor! at patara elephant farm, you spend the whole day with your elephant…feed it, play with it, check its health, learn how to get on it, trek with it through the forest, and wash it in the river…you really cant help but fall in love with these gentle, magnificent creatures. this was a very, very special experience i will never forget! please excuse the excessive pictures of our elephants…we just couldnt resist!

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meet peng! she’s 7 years old! she’s a cutie, huh? she loves bananas, sugar cane, and dunking her head under water while you are trying to scrub her head! she stole my heart when she accepted by banana greeting.

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happy thursday!

By | December 20th, 2012 | Life, Thailand, Travel | 8 Comments

Dim Sum @ Ocean Seafood | Chinatown Los Angeles

i have been going to ocean seafood in chinatown since as long as i can remember. my family and i have tried other dim sum joints up and down the street but always end up coming back to this one. my favorite things to get:

  • shrimp shu mai ($3.38)
  • house special har gow ($3.38)
  • shrimp rice noodle ($4.58)

food comes out hot and fast. tastes delicious. what more can you ask for?

keep in mind… service here isnt great. to their defense, a lot of the workers dont speak english and their job is to push you to buy items from their cart. i normally hate this stuff but to be honest… you’re in, order, eat up, and out within 15-20 minutes. so i dont really mind.

Ocean Seafood | Los Angeles
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Ocean Seafood Restaurant
750 N Hill St
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Neighborhood: Chinatown

Ocean Seafood Restaurant on Urbanspoon

By | December 11th, 2012 | Food, Restaurants | 0 Comments

3rd Annual Friendsgiving

since we left for thailand right after thanksgiving, i havent had a chance to share some pictures from our 3rd annual friendsgiving festivities! to giving thanks and our wonderful friends!

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By | December 10th, 2012 | Food, Friends, Holidays, Life | 3 Comments

Thailand…According To Our iPhones

chiang mai, bangkok, and phuket in no particular order

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By | December 10th, 2012 | Thailand, Travel | 8 Comments

Greetings from Thailand!

why hello there mr. elephant!

greeting from chiang mai!

we have been in thailand for a few days now and are having an amazing time! just wanted to say hi to our family and friends! thought you would like this picture.

cheers!

By | December 3rd, 2012 | Thailand, Travel | 5 Comments