February 13, 2008

It’s time again……. And hopefully I won’t make this blog as long as the last. Unfortunately I think it might even be a little longer. Well, it’s still hot here and getting hotter – or maybe it’s just more humid. Even as I sit at the table typing the sweat is poring off my face. I think this little nook gets absolutely no air. When we first arrived in Bangkok clothes would dry outside within a couple of hours. Now it takes almost two days. I can’t imagine what it must be like during the rainy season.

February 7 – Chinese New Year and we did make it to Chinatown.
Unfortunately we didn’t see any parades, dragons or fireworks. Bright colours of red and gold everywhere. And people, people where ever you looked. Arrived there around 10:30 and stayed till about 1:30. I think Tom and I would have walked around a bit more but Gone had to get back to pick up the kids from school. At first we walked up and down streets looking for the Talat Kao market. This is a market that has been operating continuously for more than 200 years. Well, lo and behold, we were in the verymiddle of it. And, what a market it was. Everything was for sale and
I mean everything. I’m hoping we can go again to see if it would be any less crowded on a regular day. Plus most of the shops were closed and we’d like to see all the wares in the shops. As we made our way home, the line up at the China Gate where people pay their respect to Buddha was now streets long with men and women, old and young. We had read a couple of articles advising not to try the shark fin soup or birds nest soup while in Chinatown but that certainly wouldn’t have been a problem for me and I simply told Tom and Gone it wasn’t an option!! So, we stopped at a food stall for lunch and Gone and Tom ate noodle soup but I played it safe – yet again. I still don’t like to take too many chances at street
food stalls. Roasted chestnuts are really big here and Gone bought
some but I’m not a big fan of those either.

We managed to get into a number of temples and you could hardly movefor people. The air was thick from incense and candles burning.One of the temples we were at had a monk blessing the people and handing out ‘blessed: strings and amulets so I joined the women and children on my knees (so that I’d be lower than the sitting monk), made my donation and am now blessed once again. We were going to go back up on Friday evening but after much discussion decided the crowds might be a little too much to handle.

February 9 – Well this was our second last Saturday in Bangkok so thought we’d better get out and about. There are a couple of places that are only open on the weekend so we took off for M.R. Kukrit Pramoj’s historical home. I was familiar with this name as I’d read a book written by him entitled Four Reigns. It was an awesome book – historical fiction. This guy was pretty talented – he was owner of a newspaper, Prime Minister at one time, an author of over 150 books, a poet, a classical Thai dancer, university lecturer……… His home is 2 acres in the middle of the city. There are actually 5 teak buildings, some over 100 years old, that were all from different places, dismantled and then brought to the Bangkok location and reassembled. It’s amazing how often this seemed to happen. The home is a lovely old Thai traditional home and the gardens were beautiful too. Very peaceful. He has passed away but the home is maintained with many of his belongings still there.

On our way home wedecided to stop for lunch. We came across this lovely place called Baan Khanitha & Gallery. What a delightful place. We’ve since read that it has won best restaurant awards for the last nine years. They brought an appetizer dish to the table unordered and we weren’t quite sure what to do. A waiter came to the table, explained what was in each dish and showed us how to put it all together. The tray had a dish of tamarind sauce in the middle with 5 little dishes around it containing toasted shredded coconut, chopped lime and ginger, chopped shallots and chilies, dried baby shrimp, and peanuts. You took a leaf and by folding, shaped it into a cone, added a little from each of the 5 dishes, then topped with the tamarind sauce. It was amazingly good. I don’t think we’ll be able to reproduce it at home though as I don’t think we can get the main ingredient – that little leaf. You’ll see in the picture. Tom then ordered a noodle dish that looked very good and I had pad thai (another noodle dish). Definitely a place to revisit.

February 10 – Jennifer and Gone left for Rayong at 9:00 AM. Jenn had an interview at an International school there. We were all going to go down for the weekend but then I thought it might be better if we stayed in Bangkok with the kids and give Jenn and Gone some time on their own. We just sort of hung out in the morning cause it rained again, then Nick had a sleep and then we took off for Siam Ocean World. This is SE Asia’s largest aquarium with they say over 400 species of sea animals. It actually was pretty amazing. There is even a glass bottom boat ride. The kids were pretty impressed anyway. After a few hours in the aquarium we then headed to the 4D adventure showing. I had no idea what to expect but it scared me half to death. And then just when I thought I had every thing under control the seat would be moving, cold air would be whooshing on my face or legs. Adults were screaming, kids were crying….. Nick was terrified. If he could have pressed himself into my body, he would have. Even Oliver was damn near on Tom’s lap. It was definitely an exhilarating 20 minutes. Certainly gave the kids lots to talk about on the way home. Nick took awhile settling down in the evening. He cried for mommy for quite awhile. He preferred to stay with us “tomorrow” he said. Finally fell asleep though and was perfectly fine the next morning.

February 11 – Today was the long awaited Zoo day. You know, it’s so neat having Oliver with us arranging taxi’s and entrance fees. Most venues have a 2 tier fee – one for foreigners and one for Thais. I say “these kids are Thai” and then the ticket seller proceeds to question them about their parentage. After an hour ride in the taxi, we finally made it. At first I wasn’t quite sure that the driver even knew where we were going. He and Oliver yik yaked all the way there though. We let the kids set the pace and just wandered at will. Oliver had a “map” and led the way. The animals weren’t nearly as active as they were on our first visit - maybe they’re feeling the effects of the heat too!! The kids seemed to enjoy it though. We stopped for lunch at……KFC!! No kidding. The fries were great but the chicken’s just not the same. Tom had a chicken burger or whatever it’s called and said I sure wouldn’t like it. I just settled for some fries and a pop!! When we visited the hippos they were playing on the water so we went down to see them underwater. One got up close and personal to Nick and I thought he was going to jump out of his skin. It was pretty funny. There’s quite a large section with snakes, lizards and crocs and he wasn’t too keen on them either. Got home about an hour before Jenn and Gone showed up. Nick was mighty glad to see them.

Spent yesterday cleaning house after the kids of course. How come things never stay spotless when they’re around. Jenn and Gone had bought the boys remote control vehicles for their birthdays so Tom had to test them out. he wasn’t happy with Oliver’s tank so off we went today to remedy that. Gone was with us and got everything sorted out. I think we were just there for moral support because he came back home right away and we wandered around for a bit more. Trying to get a handle on all the foodstuff I want to bring back with us. I bought a new Thai cook book so want to make sure I have all the necessary ingredients that I probably can’t get back in BC.

So, there’s another week gone by. This is birthday month for us it seems (but now we’re done until November). Nick is 4 on the 14^th, Steve’s Jenn is ?? on the 15^th, Oliver is 7 on the 23^rd and Gone is ?? on the 25^th. So, Happy Birthday to all. And Happy Holidays to Nancy, Glen and Lois and Jo and Gid. Have a wonderful time on your various adventures!! And Happy Valentines Day to everyone!!