Almost forgot - July 24 - Our favorite nearby restaurant

Just a few photos from our favorite neighborhood restaurant... Bung Wa Pee. It's just off of Srinakarin road in walking distance from Seacon Square Mall.

August 11 - Packing? Who needs to pack? LET'S EAT!

I was planning on packing today. Geoff informed me this morning that we'd have the Delta van(with Peter the driver) available to us. So much for packing.

We went to Geoff's favorite restaurant in all of Thailand. It's down by the water. On the way we pass fish farms. There's no "city plumbing".
Houses are on stilts. Flush the toilet by dumping water into the toilet from the rain barrel. Homes have large clay pots to catch rain water for home use. At the restaurant... When you first walk in, take off your shoes and put on a pair of slippers at the door. There's toys for the kids to stay entertained. It gets chilly with all the strong bay breeze so the restaurant keeps long sleeve shirts and light jackets on hangers for guests to borrow.

While you're watching the tide come in you're entertained by the lung fish and crabs in the mud below.
It's comfy, casual, and of course... The food ROCKS!







After that we stop by a market an pick up dessert. It's sweet coconut grilled in banana leaves. YUMMMMMMMM. We should've bought more. I could've eaten that all night long... ok, it's good that we didn't buy more. We have a few other sweets and smoked buko(young coconut) juice. People are STARING at us BIG TIME!

We visit another striking wat.










Finally we meet Jack and Ying and their niece and nephew for a kick butt dinner. It's going to be sooooo hard to enjoy Thai food restaurants in the States after having the real deal. I'm beyond words. The kindness and hospitality is endless!

The restaurant is practically floating. It's in a neighborhood equivalent of Orange County. Live music, private karaoke rooms, and water features are ALL OVER the place. Unfortunately Felicia did get a small 2nd degree burn when she grabbed on to a light. But she got over it pretty well. It was a spotlight for one of the waterfalls. There's also lots of coy and the kids are having fun feeding them. It tickles me that in the photo you can see my kids have finally learned the "Asian squat". Sitting... without really sitting :o)

July 22 - Chatuchak

Today Felicia and I went to Chatuchak, the BIG weekend market in Bangkok, by ourselves.

FIRST, I needed to get over my fear. So I brought Felicia with me :o) We would need to get there by taxi. I figured that I should be able to get there no problem, the challenge would be getting home. This will be the 3rd and 4th times in my life that I'll be calling a taxi for myself by myself... Extra bonus: I don't speak Thai. Felicia is very excited that she can show me "the way out of Villa Arcadia to where the taxis are". The second taxi we approach will take us into town... it's about a 1/2 hour ride... for the equivalent of about US$9.00.

I have 2 goals on this outing: Check out the famous market, pick up souvenirs to take back the the states. Well, it turns out that this place it soooo huge you need to have a map if you've got any kind of shoping objective. I was only able to pick up a few things on my "to buy" list before Felicia was ready to call it quits. AND, it started to do that "downpour of rain in spurts" thing so it was getting MORE crowded as shoppers were trying to dodge into the covered portions of the market. Without knowledge of how the market was laid out I unintentionally take the LOONG way around to get to the taxi stand. Good thing I didn't have tons of shopping success to drag around with me.

Overall, it was a GREAT outing and I wished I had visited it earlier and more often. As my friend Ali would say, "Note to self...", I'll be sure to carve out special Chatuchak time on my next visit to Thailand.

This is where Felicia and I stopped for a SIT-DOWN lunch. After all that walking around it was worth spending a whopping US$10.00 to sit down and eat. :o)



Oh yeah! BTW, we did make it back from the market without problem. First of all it helped that G took the boys to the Central Bangna Mall which made it easier for me to tell the driver(instead of having to give turn-by-turn directions to the house). So after a short exchange of broken Thai, broken English, and Taxi-passenger sign language(to indicate, "yes, take the expressway") we were on our way.

July 7 - An afternoon with Jack and Ying

Today Jack and his wife Ying treated us to some fun in Bangkok. He rented us a long tailed boat for a few hours. But before we head out we have another great Thai(with some Chinese influence) meal to fuel up for the afternoon. We also grab a couple bags of good fried stuff(banana, potato, etc) to bring on the boat :o)

First, we check out the Thonburi Snake Farm. We arrived in time to catch the show. I kept Felicia company waaaaay over on the other side of the show. She didn't care for it. There was also a small zoo. The kids enjoyed giving snacks to the monkey... until the food ran out and our hairy cousin was grabbing Turner by the shorts and Ronan by the hair.


Sadly, the snakes and other animals at the "zoo" did not appear well cared for (by American standards) or housed appropriately. It was certainly NOTHING compared to the Smithsonian National Zoo we're used to visiting and even difficult for the adults to stomach. It helps when you've got a neighborhood zoo with lots of money I suppose...

Next we head over to an orchid farm after making merit and feeding fish. The orchids are so beautiful. Too bad I can't take them back with me to the states. But then again... that's only a death sentence for any plant. Better not bring any plants to my house.


After we get back to land the kids and I have a ride-for-fun in a tuk-tuk. The kids love it! We're also catching lots of stares. Not sure if it's because the kids are screaming and waving in glee or that there's SO MANY kids screaming and waving in glee.


Finally Jack and Ying head to their football game(as in soccer) and the Howards head to dinner at Geoff's favorite restaurant. The drive to the restaurant reminds me of going to the Philippines in the 4th grade. We pass fish farms and houses on stilts surrounded by clay pot rain barrels. There's a storm a'brewin'... It's a wonderful dinner...


Jack has been a very thoughtful host who's spent LOTS of time with G. Whether it's working late or just getting us "taken care of" when we call him for help, Jack's sacrificed much of his personal time... Ying must be a very understanding wife :o)

July 5 - Communication Error

It's a Thursday so Pee's here to clean the house.

Pee has already accidentally walked in on Geoff in the bathroom so today Geoff will warn her that he'll be in there. OK... Initially, she has an odd look on her face so Geoff will check his Thai with his friend Jack.

Results:

I am going upstairs to shower. = I am going upstairs to shower.
Do not come to my room. = Come see my room.

July 1 - Suan Lum Night Bazaar and Puppets

Tonight we taxi to the Joe Louis theater in Bangkok to check out Hun Lakhon Lek, Thai traditional small puppet play. The theater is located at the Suan Lum Night Bazaar so we get there a little early to roam around the market and eat before the show.

We had dinner at the theater restaurant where they were having a "2 for 1" promotion on Singha beer. The waitstaff asked if they could take pictures because they needed to report back to Singha about the promotion... we had a little fun with it.

Finally we enjoyed a wonderful puppet theater show. It was MORE THEATER then it was puppet. The show was of the famous "Ramayana" epic, Ramakien in Thai. Live music performed on traditional Thai instruments. A vocalist performed with the musicians. We weren't allowed to take pictures during the performance but we got to visit with the puppets afterwards :o) The kids liked the show A LOT!

June 27 - Something I would've never found at the house in Maryland...

At the house, the brown pleather couch has piping that leaves a matching brown line on the wall. The homeowners have tried to remedy that by covering the piping in scotch tape. Well, it doesn't stick too well... to the couch at least. Today I found a dead baby lizard stuck to part of the tape that wasn't sticky enough to stick to the couch. It was sticky enough to trap a baby lizard. Ugh.

June 26 - Back home...

Everyone's soooo tired but back to the old routine...

- Geoff's at work at the plant.

- I'm doing laundry.

- Felicia's being a chick.

- The boys are pretending they're puppies and eating cereal off the floor.

June 25 - Back to Bangkok

I didn't sleep well last night. I woke up in the middle of the night, freezing. Looks like we went a bit overboard with the AC setting so I got out of bed to adjust the thermostat. Later (or earlier, depending on how you look at it), I wake up to the sound of DRIPPING. My investigation in the dark reveals a puddle under the AC and wetness in one of the suitcases. DANGIT! So I grab a towel to make a quieter landing area and move the suitcases. All this on top of the LOUD screaches of a particularly freaky looking lizard.

In the morning we're trying to get it together before we head out to do more touring. I discover that last night I actually turned the AC dial the wrong way and only made it colder... hence, the dripping. NICE... Geoff takes a quick shower and heads for the office to look for Internet access. Work is busy for him. While he's gone I get the kids dressed. Nui and the crew show up asking if we're ready to head out. I need Geoff to get back so I can take MY shower. Nui offers to wach the kids so I can get it together. YIPPEE! I get cleaned up; Geoff gets back; Nui's been trying to keep the kids from wrecking the arrangement of carved wood tulips.

Before we head off... we take a couple of pictures of the house and go check-out. At checkout Geoff discovers that Nui's family's connections has gotten us an AMAZING rate at this resort. WOW! Wish we could've stayed longer... next time :o)


Today, we'll go get breakfast in town and visit Wat Phra That Doi Suthep before separating. Nui's group will drive back to Bangkok and we'll tour a little more before going to the airport to fly back to Bangkok. At breakfast Geoff spends a lot of the time on a conference call. Our driver, Nui, and her driver pitch in to manage kids. Yippee! I get to eat with both hands! Good food as usual :o)

We have a beautiful visit at Wat Phra Doi Suthep. We take a diagonal elevator to get to it up on the mountain. One if the first things we notice is this beautiful tree of one of my favorite fruits, langka(jackfruit).


After we remove our shoes we head up and pray... Holding flowers, incense, and candles we walk around 3 times, stop to burn the incense and pray, then light the candles.

Next we are welcomed/blessed by a monk who showers holy water and ties sua sin around the wrists of the boys/men. His sidekick takes care of the women/girls.



Next... more picture taking and ringing bells. This first picture is of Nui's parents. They've been extremely generous hosts.




Now, the vans go their separate ways. They'll drive back to Bangkok and we'll take in a couple more sights before catching our flight to Bangkok. On our route we visit a HUGE waterfall that was made up of about a dozen falls like steps. After that we try to go to a wood carving part of town but instead end up at a furniture market... still ok. Geoff spends most of his time on a conference call anyway so it's not a real good shopping opportunity.


Finally, it's time to end the adventure and head home to the Bangkok burbs. K. Supachai drives us to the airport and we have a smooth check in. Guess what... you can enjoy your beer AT the gate while you're waiting to board.





At Suvarnabhumi we're all pooped. Cam's especially tired. We EVENTUALLY make our way to our driver's van. Given the restrictions put on hired-non-taxi vans, it's an excruciating walk and wait in the heat before we can get IN the van that will take us home. Next time we'll take a taxi. We can't wait to do this all over again... :o)

June 24 - Off to Chiang Mai

Before we check out and get out Geoff takes this picture of Lake Phayao from our hotel.


I've gotten up VERY early to get things packed before we need to deal with the kids. I also intend on getting a HOT shower before the rest of the hotel wakes up :o) We get downstairs to try and rush through the hotel breakfast... turns out that Nui and their van of 5 plus driver are running late. Cool.

First, drive through town and by the beautiful lake. Next, we go see Nui's family's property. HUGE! They're having a house built. Next time we visit we'll stay at the house instead of Thaksin's room.



Next we check out a beautiful waterfall.


After stopping for lunch at a great restaurant(also featuring a waterfall) we go for elephant rides! Geoff's elephant spends lots of time eating... which leads to other elephant activity. The kids were amused. It wasn't long before Cam would be squeeling, "e-fant POOP! e-fant POOP!". The waterfall of pee just stunned everyone into silence...



The elephant ride rocks both Cam and Ronan to sleep...


Next we got to the hot springs for a mineral bath.


Then the icing on the cake... Nui's parents treat us to a show at Khum Kantoke. It was a sort of cultural dinner theater on steroids. Outside the theater are beautiful young ladies in traditional costume playing traditional instruments, making garlands of jasmine, and carving fruit into ornate shapes. Inside we sit down to an all-u-can-eat, northern style, kantoke meal (which again was not good for my waistline). Then the show! It featured daces from all the different regions of Thailand. Cam was entranced by the whole thing.










After the indoor show we all head over to the shoe racks to get our shoes and go out front of the theater to watch the "balloon" release. Nui tells us that with prayer, the balloons will take our problems away as they float away. We ask Nui if they can get more balloons.

So we have a LATE night check in at BaanKlangDoi. It's dark so we can't see the outside. But inside it's a beautiful traditional Thai house. All wood, high ceilings... 3 bedrooms and a main center room. The bedrooms are air conditioned! But, we notice that the showers utilize the same water heater units we encountered at Tita Oyen's place in Sorsogon. We hope that once morning comes, we have better luck figuring out how to work the water heaters at this house. :o)