Lots of Thai food isn't made to be spicy at all, including noodle soups and noodle dishes like Raad na and pad see ew. You would add the chilies to these. Likewise gai yang and a lot of muu yang, etc. And worst case scenario, your kid doesn't like something so you eat it -- it's usually such great food and costs nothing . I travelled with my spice-phobic kid, and we did fine.

they ARE pretty robotic and interchangeable. There was just no difference between the Cathay Pacific crew I had this year compared to the Air France/China Southern I had last year or the Etihad one the year before that. I fail to see exactly what they are supposed to make them seem 'outstanding'. I suppose they might come into their own if somebody has a heart attack or there's a shoe or underpants bomber on board or something, but so far apart from a single emergency landing that happened 30…

Pai is not hippy place , has had mainstream tourists there since at least the early 2000's. Not many hippy places on Ko Phangan anymore.

With all due respect to Mrs Udon, "yang" means grilled / broiled(US) / bbq - and if she's bbq-ing the dried beef then "nuea yang" is exactly what she ends up with, sort of.

As you discovered, neua YANG, gai YANG, whatever YANG is what you get when you start with fresh meat or sausage and bbq it.

Your big problem with market food and sending your courier is that each family has its own recipe variation, so no two batches will taste the same.

I just looked on the packet of sweet beef jerky I…

Bai tu long bay

called Ha Long bay in every travel guide and by every tourist company. Between this and Hanoi city you'll use up more than half of your week. But it's super easy to book a group tour to go out there, either with or without an overnight stay on Cat Ba island.

For the rest of the time you need to go up to Sapa or Bac Ha. I can't see how you have time to go further than that. Nihn Bihn has rice paddies but not terraces.

Hi!

I have booked a very spontaneous trip to Oman and will arrive on sunday eveningl stay for some days or up to a week on my way to India. Upon booking the ticket I had never so much as though about going there so this is a really nice and cool bonus for me and I am really looking forward to see a bit of Oman.

But Like I dais I know nothing and I have almost no time to read about it so if I can get som help I'd be a thousand grateful.

How is Muscat? Is it a place with nice places and a…

Every day Cai Be market runs from early morning till night. If you want to take a tour, you can think about Mekong Delta Tours. You should arrange to do homestay here. The locals here are quite nice. You will be invited to eat delicious food and visit orchards.

On the northern part....I'd spend the most time in Chiang Mai..there is loads to see and do there,its a great place if you want to do something like a Thai cooking course,just wander around,visit markets,eat well and there is plenty to see outside the centre too.

For a change of pace you could take a trip to Pai (small but touristy,nice countryside outside town) or a little further to Soppong (far less touristy,quiet and with very interesting cultural stuff all around).

I used Kai ecotravel for 5 years ago, the guide did not speak any English, the trip was nice beside the fact that I got sick of the local food, I had to arrange my own transport back, but then again, its 5 years ago so thing may have changed