Jo, Tracey and Derek

We have been having an absolute hoot.....I don't think we have stopped laughing since their arrival!! The plane arrived on schedule and I went and picked them up at the airport (no wrong day's this time!!) when we got home Moon had made the most amazing lunch - Tom Yum Gai, a lovely fish dish which sounds something like Chock Chai (I really need to get the proper name from her) and steamed rice. Jo, Tracey and Derek brought us loads of wine, some Pimms and a Cat toilet!! (It's called Litter Kwitter and it trains your cat to use the toilet.....how cool is that!! I can't wait to watch the DVD). We then went a wee wonder up Sukhumvit Road, met up with Chris in our local bar on Soi 8 then headed to Cabbages and Condoms for dinner (Yes the lights are made of condoms and the man's clothes from birth control pills!!). Jo was most taken with the fact that we had ordered blue/purple food and just had to take a photo!!







The following day we headed out to Jim Thomson's house (Jo bought the most beautiful bag.....I have bag envy) we had lunch there and then went over to MBK where we did a bit of shopping then went to the food court for pudding. (Jo took a photo......this is starting to become a habit!!). Then we went to the mobile phone section - for those who have not been this really is a sight to behold.....I didn't know that you could get so many phones!! - and Jo bought the most truly....erm....actually words fail me.....here is a photo so you can see for yourself!! (I do not have phone envy!! Oh and I will explain the story of the pig fan at a later date!!). We headed home and then went into the new spa, Lavana, that has opened across the road.....we all decided to go for the full body massage with hot herbal ball. It was divine although Jo and I creased up when we saw the black net pant things that we had been asked to wear!! I think we all slept like logs that night!!

On Thursday they headed out on their own - I had a BWG Committee meeting and had to take the cats to the vet (That was traumatic....lugs still has ear mites (He had them before we got him) which means that we have to clean his ears morning and night for the next two weeks and they both had to have blood tests and shots). When I got home they had gone for a look around, had eaten at Crepes and Co (and could now recommend a few dishes that I had not tried before) and Derek was having a little nap. We then headed out to the Night Market and the Joe Lewis Puppet Theatre - Chris joined us after the show and we all laughed at the incredibly dense waiter that was serving us (actually, serving is technically correct but not what actually happened.....it was a little experience). We got Tuk Tuk's home.....Jo and Derek loved them....Tracey was not so sure but I think that had more to do with the fact that the air con is playing havoc with her sinuses and the pollution wasn't actually helping!!

The Weekend

Guess who woke up on Saturday morning at 5am with pains in her back then a burning in her stomach?? Yep......that would be me!! It wasn't nearly as bad as it had been so three paracetamol later (I know I shouldn't take that many all at once but if I have bad pain I always find that two just doesn't do it - if I have three it kills the pain and I don't need any more for the rest of the day) was feeling a lot better.

Chris went out and got his hair cut then the four of us went down to Crepes and Co for breakfast. I don't know if I have mentioned this before (Don't think I have) but Crepes and Co do the best breakfasts!! The full breakfast consists of a hot drink, fruit juice, bread basket (which includes hot croissants), cereal or French toast, fruit platter or fruit salad, eggs (fried, scrambled, omelette - take your pick), sweet pancake or crepe and last but not least a final hot drink. You don't have to have all of it as there are about three variations but it is a lovely (and filling) way to start the day. Chris, Sadie and Margaret had the small breakfast and I had tea and a bread basket. We then all waddled up the road to the Ambassador Hotel on Soi 11 as they were hosting the monthly Thai Craft Fair (http://www.thaicraft.org/new/index.html). This is a brilliant place to do some shopping as it's staffed by volunteers and all the proceeds go straight back to the people who actually make the goods. We spent a good couple of hours looking at all the different crafts - There was many a comment made along the lines of 'Do you think I might be able to fit that into my suitcase?' - At one point Chris and I looked at the lamp that Sadie has just pointed at, which came up to my waist, and said 'No......but we will have fun watching you try!!. We all managed to buy a few bits and bobs and then went back to the apartment. We had to be back by 3pm.....there was a man coming to check our internet connection as we've been having real bother trying to get on-line (which is why you've not heard much and now have information overload). Fortunately, prior to the man arriving, I asked Chris to double check our wires which was when we discovered that one was not in properly......what was that I was saying about being an idiot........

That evening we got a cab over to Suan Lum Night Bazaar as i had booked for us to go to the Joe Lewis Puppet Theatre and see a show. We arrived about an hour before the performance was due to start so spent the time wondering through the market eyeing up all the beautiful things we would like to buy if we had unlimited means. The performance was absolutely fantastic - it was the first time Chris and I had been and it was unlike any puppet performance I have ever seen. Each puppet is controlled by three puppeteers who, instead of remaining behind the scenes, are actually visible on stage - it is absolutely fascinating watching how they move in unison around the stage and how they bring the puppets to life. It was really funny.....near the end of the performance two of the puppets are brought out into the audience, Hanuman who is the mischievous white monkey king and the female he is trying to woo. The monkey king was patting bald men on the head, flirting with female audience members and then pinched a woman's handbag (Which she then had to go on stage to retrieve) and the female puppet was moving through the audience charming the men.....Chris, who was at the end of our row, got a kiss!! It was really very good.

On Sunday we had a bit of a quiet day - Chris had to work so Sadie, Margaret and I went down to the Asian Herb Association (http://www.asiaherbassociation.com/en/index.html) and had a foot, head and neck massage. Well, Margaret and I had a foot, head and neck massage - Sadie ended up just having her head and neck done because she had a couple of blisters on her feet and the therapist didn't think that putting oil on them was a good idea. We all left there feeling on top of the world and interestingly, for the first time ever, the therapist I had got me to sit up and then massaged all the way down my back....in the exact place where the back pains had been!! When we were talking about it on the way home Margaret mentioned that her therapist had done most work on the leg that she had had to have an MRI scan on and Sadie said her's did a lot of work on her sinuses and that she had actually managed to clear them. Must be something to this massage malarkey!!!