Wanderlust and Lipstick

WanderGear Wednesday: Summerwear

Beth — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 15:44:53 +0000

I’ve become a fan of athletic wear though I don’t consider myself an “athlete” per se. I only recently discovered how comfortable this line of clothing can be for travel, particularly on hiking trips.

The above shirt, the Via Tee, is from Outdoor Research. This shirt is highly wicking AND is UPF 30, making it a great item to wear in the summer heat. The OR website says that this can be worn for days without stinking due to the anti-microbial finish - though I haven’t tried this myself. It’s also very light, which means if you’re traveling you can easily wash it out in the evening and it will be dry by morning. This retails for $36. Name Your LinkAvailable on Amazon

Another favorite of mine this summer is the Neptune shirt from ExOfficio. I have to admit that when I got this shirt, I DID wear it for days in a row because I so loved it. And, I found that it was not stinky - though I wasn’t very active in it - wearing it mostly in my home office and on my daily long walks.

It’s quite comparable to the OR shirt above but I love the added detailing in the armpit and the selection of colors. This retails for $45. ExOfficio - Women's Neptune Short-Sleeve ShirtAvailable on Amazon

Finally, this last item isn’t necessarily appropriate for summer athletics, but it is great in the heat and I’ve been able to wear it an astonishing number of times this summer already given our extraordinary weather in Seattle.

This is the Voyage tank top from Icebreaker.

I like the fact that the shoulder material is wide enough to hide my bra straps. It’s gathered at the bottom so that it fits nicely around my waist and doesn’t just hang wide. It’s also got a nice low neck, which is perfect in hot weather - allowing me to feel just a bit more cooler than I otherwise might. Name Your LinkAvailable on Amazon

(disclaimer: this photo is NOT me :-))

Hopefully, this’ll get you gals excited about some new items for the summer!

Travel Well,

Beth

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Medical Tourism: Dental Work in Bangkok

Beth — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 15:49:31 +0000

When I planned my April trip to Bhutan, I flew through Bangkok and factored in a couple of extra days in that city so that I could get a little dental work done. I knew that it was time for a cleaning (my dentist in Seattle kept reminding me of that) and I knew I needed a crown to replace a temporary filling that I had, oh, let’s just say for far longer than any “temporary” filling should be in anyone’s mouth.

In looking for recommendations for a reputable dentist, I asked around on Twitter and searched the Lonely Planet forums. All roads led to Bumrungrad International in Bangkok, a full service hospital with a dental clinic (as well as many other specialty clinics). Though there were some complaints on the LP site that the clinic was slow in responding and sending confirmations via email once appointments were requested, they were quite prompt in responding to me and very professional, providing all information upfront, including costs.

I had read that this hospital serves more than 1,000 foreigners a day from 190 countries. I figured with a reputation like that it must be good. But I wasn’t expecting the first class facilities and service.

I scheduled my cleaning for early in the morning with a follow up appointment in the afternoon for the crown preparation. I wanted to check out the vibe during the cleaning before making a bigger commitment to the more complicated work. I was surprised at how modern and beautiful the facilities were - FAR nicer than any other hospital I’ve ever been in. The dental clinic waiting room ran like clockwork with the gals working in the office well trained in what they were doing.

The front desk in the lobby of Bumrungrad International Bangkok

Hospital food never looked so good! Food court at Bumrungrad.

The dental hygienist was a sweetheart (as are most Thais I’ve ever encountered) and provided a gentle but thorough cleaning, for about $45.

I had the crown done over several days. I started with an initial consultation and then the prep work with a temporary crown added prior to my leaving for Bhutan. Upon returning 12 days later, I went back for the actual crown. Everything was seamless. The crown, including a filling and dental exam cost less than $600. It would have cost me nearly $2,000 to have this work done in the U.S. This savings more than paid for my roundtrip plane ticket to Bangkok.

If you’re looking for dental work while you’re in Bangkok, I highly recommend Bumrungrad. When you make your appointment, you can request specific doctors. I used the services of Dr. Kultip Kulapong for the cleaning and Dr. Naiyana Vivatpattanakul for the crown. Both are highly capable and are sure to serve you well in whatever your needs are.

It’s worth noting that Bumrungrad is centrally located in the Sukhumvit neighborhood. I hadn’t planned it this way, but I was staying at the Amari Boulevard Hotel, just a couple of blocks away from the hospital so I could just walk to it.

Travel Well,

Beth

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Photo of the Day: Bhutan Movie Trailer

Beth — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 04:30:20 +0000

This is meant to be funny but after showing it to a few folks, I don’t think everyone gets the joke. No matter, Jon and I had a hoot making this video. Would love your feedback.

For more travel related photos and videos, pop on over to DeliciousBaby.

Travel Well,

Beth

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WanderGear Wednesday: Travel Foodstuff

Beth — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 16:46:45 +0000

I thought this week I would take a look at some of the foods that I carry with me when I travel.

I have to say right up front that I’m a relatively healthy eater. Though I don’t always live by this rule (like when I succumb to the call of M&M’s), I do generally try to live by Michael Pollan’s theory that you shouldn’t eat anything processed with more than 5 ingredients (or filled with ingredients that your grandmother wouldn’t recognize!).

Snack foods, unless they’re raw, rarely fall into the less-than-five-ingredient category. So, I carry a variety of foods, depending on my mood, length of travel and whether I’ll have access to goodies when I’m on the road.

My own snacks
I carry enough of my own snacks to cover at least getting TO my destination. This usually includes a small bag of walnuts and raisins and some fruit, such as an apple or two.

Lara Bars
These are amazingly healthy energy bars that have very few ingredients - all good. The Cashew Cookie, for example, includes only cashews and dates. They are moist and tasty and about 200 calories per bar. Note that they are relatively low in protein so if you’re looking for a protein lift - these aren’t the best option.

Clif Bars
Of all the protein bars, these are my favorite because they are tasty, moist and won’t melt in the heat. The Crunchy Peanut Butter bar has 11 grams of protein and about 230 calories. Unfortunately, Clif Bars do have lots of ingredients, including “natural flavors” and evaporated cane juice. I’ll carry these with me on longer trips where I know I’ll be active and where I might not have access to vegetarian-based protein.

Attune Probiotic Bars
These “wellness” bars are meant to be good for you because they contain 5X the amount of live cultures (probiotics) found in yogurt. I can’t say whether they are going to help your tummy but the granola bars (half covered in chocolate) are certainly tasty. Not necessarily “healthy” in the few-ingredient sort of way, but they are healthy because of the purported digestive benefits.

Starbucks VIA
If you’ve visited your local Starbucks recently, you might have noticed a new display of, well, instant coffee. I thought these little packets were actually instant liquid coffees but they are powdered. I like coffee but, just as I like my dogs to be cat-sized, I like my coffee to be as weak as tea. That means that just one of these little packets provides me with 3 good cups of coffee but most coffee junkies will need one packet per cup. Needless to say, these are perfect for travelers.

Travel Well,

Beth

Donut photo: Pink Sherbet Photography

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Bhutan Cooking Class

Beth — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 16:00:08 +0000

As part of the April trip to Bhutan, our group took a cooking class in Bumthang, near Central Bhutan. I think this is a quite uncommon activity for tours to Bhutan and it was one of my favorite things we did in our nearly two weeks in-country.

The class was held in the kitchen of our hotel. It was obvious that this was a well-organized kitchen. Our group was large (there must have been 15 “cooks”!) which could have slowed everything down, but with the help of the hotel’s owner and his amazing staff, we managed to pull together a full meal in less than 2 hours. Our menu consisted of:

A beef and potatoes dish
Chilli & cheese (the national dish)
Buckwheat noodles with spices and veggies
Ara (the local homemade wine)

Here are the Bhutan Recipes we created (PDF).

I think that we in the West, OK, Americans, suffer from over-spicing our food. We forget that simple seasonings added to quality, fresh ingredients are often all that’s needed. The Bhutanese have an abundance of fresh vegetables and serve these with small amounts of meat (this isn’t necessarily for health reasons but because the availability simply isn’t there). Their simple combinations make for some really tasty dishes that allow you to really enjoy the fresh locally produced ingredients.

And, here are photos from the highlights of this experience:

Our cooking host

The gals cutting up meat and potatoes

Mixing buckwheat flour by hand

The gals making the noodles by sitting on the press!

Final dish of buckwheat noodles and spices

Peppers being prepped for Chilli & Cheese (dish shown at top)

Travel Well,

Beth

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