A Grand Day Out

Chris and I woke up surprisingly early this morning so headed out to get some brunch in the Dubliner. (The Dubliner is our local Irish pub - it does fantastic breakfasts and it's Sunday Roasts aren't bad either http://www.dublinerbangkok.com/). Then we headed down to Siam Paragon to see what was on at the cinema - (Got very excited.....the 2nd part of King Naresuan is coming out this month) we ended up booking tickets to see the Chinese film 'Curse of the Golden Flower' (Nearly ended up going to see one that didn't have English subtitles.....that would have been fun!!!) so the film didn't actually start till 4pm. What the hell were we going to do till 4pm.....go to Siam Ocean World.

I did laugh when we got there to discover two scantily clad women dressed as mermaids - truly there is something there for everyone!! We had a great time wondering around - I got Chris to pose next to Ronald McDonald (Doesn't he look happy to be there!!). We went on the glass bottomed boat trip where I was given a prawn to feed to the fish - Brain of Britain here didn't throw it far enough from the boat so not only did Chris and I get a mouthful of sea water so did the little girl and her Dad who were sitting opposite us (I just know that they were looking at me thinking 'Stupid Farang' and to be fair......they had a point!!). Chris and I both really enjoyed the trip - we could actually wave through the bottom of the boat to the people that were walking along the glass tunnel underneath us (which had a little Thai girl ridiculously excited as she bounced up and down whilst waving like a lunatic).

After the boat trip we headed down to the next section where Chris not only got to touch the Star Fish (He agreed it was like touching a rock) but he got to touch a snake as well. It was just after he had done this that he spotted this little delight.....talk about causing trauma to your Child....who thought that a headless child fishing was a good idea!! We also managed to get some good photo's of the various strange sea creatures (and Chris)


The film was good - we didn't go to the really posh one this time but still had good seats with lots of leg room. It was set in the Forbidden Palace and was a tale of love, betrayal, murder and mutiny - and had lots of bloody battle scenes which kept Chris happy (and I think the fact that the costumes made all the women's dumplings boil over didn't hurt either). I do find it strange that there isn't a movie rating system here so when we went in we noticed that there were two kids sitting a couple of rows in front of us with their parents. It was quite a gruesome movie - if I had watched that at their age it would have given me the screaming ab dabs.

After the film we went and met up with Mr Mad Tony for a quick drink (No, he is not an alcoholic.....he lost his cash card, and the rate of exchange on his credit card was criminal, so he transferred money into Chris's account) then went to Charlie Browns for some Mexican food.

Dinner Party No. 2

Was fairly organised on Saturday - I had decided that I would make the Lamb Tangine again since it had gone down so well with Jenny and family which was fine till I mentioned this to Louise (I saw her on Thursday) and she informed me that they don't eat lamb.....aaarrrggg. (It turned out that they do eat lamb - they just don't like it when it's really fatty. I figured that since the lamb is cooked for three hours in the tangine there would be no fat - although this didn't stop me from panicking slightly on Saturday). Anyway, I have digressed......ah yes.....fairly organised (See photo of dinner table - Belinda said it looked lovely so I had to admit that i had had to be inventive because i didn't have enough dinner mats for six people) till an hour before everyone was due to arrive and I discovered that I didn't have any couscous (I always have couscous!!) so poor Chris went haring off to see if he could get some (he didn't but it didn't matter in the end).

I was just sitting down to try and get my face back to a normal colour before everyone arrived (It gets bloody hot in that kitchen) when the phone went - the security guards at our gate had directed Gordon and Louise to 8B instead of 8D (Doh!!) so I went down to get them and discovered that Chris had already found them wondering about and was bringing them up in the lift (Gordon said he rang the bell but the people in 8B obviously didn't like the look of them and didn't answer the door - don't blame them one bit :-)). (The photo on the right is Louise and Ian and the one of the left is Gordon and Belinda) Chris jumped into the shower and I had just fixed the drinks when the phone went......yep......Belinda and Ian were outside apartment 8B (They did feel better about this when I told them that Louise and Gordon had done the same thing).

Once we finally got everyone in the right apartment and drinks had been served (Medicinal purposes - they had experienced trauma) we had a great time. The food went down well - as well as the Tangine I had made Chicken Kebabs, potato salad, and a green salad and I served it all with warmed pitta bread (I can't tell you how relieved I was when Gordon said he liked the tangine). We followed that with Rose Ice Sorbet and then had the meringues with raspberries and blueberries. I think the highlight of the evening was when Gordon managed to spill his drink all over








his crotch (I think these photo's are hilarious - sorry Gordon but it had to be done!!).

It was another boozy evening (as you can tell) and there were some very funny stories told about ugly farang katoys (Foreign Ladyboys - The Thai Katoys get away with it (not always but most of the time)......farangs just look like blokes in dresses and trust me - that is not a good look!!) and about life in Bangkok........I thoroughly enjoyed myself.

Everyone headed home about midnight and I got a text from Louise that night to say they had really enjoyed themselves and one from Belinda this morning to say that she had lost her voice and that Ian was thrilled!!

Ahhh the joy that is good Indian food......

Last Sunday Chris had to go into the office to do some work for a couple of hours. He called when he was done and we arranged to meet in our local boozer for a quick drink before grabbing some dinner. I was just closing the doors to our balcony when I looked at the apartment building across the road and thought 'That looks like our friend Ben' (He has quite distinctive hair).....it can't be.....Ben and Georgie don't live here!! Then a woman came out onto the balcony and I thought 'and that looks like Georgie!!' so I called them - and discovered that they have moved into the apartment block next to ours. We later timed it (I know, how sad are we!!) and it takes a grand total of 26 seconds to get from one to the other. (Actually we can see into their apartment from our balcony and I had to stop Chris from calling them to say 'What crap is that you are watching on TV?'). Anyway, we agreed that we would meet for dinner on Thursday evening, Georgie has never really sampled the delights of good Indian food, so we decided that we would go the Moghul Room and that we would pre-order our main course - They have a dish called a Goozie Leg which is a leg of lamb that is slow roasted and stuffed with Chicken Biryani which we thought sounded amazing so we went for that.

On Thursday night I got a call from Chris to say that his friend Tony (He is actually now known as Khun Baa Tony - Khun in Thai means Mr/Mrs/Miss and Baa means mad - so he is Mr Mad Tony) had contacted him and would it be OK for him to join us. I didn't think it would be a problem but called Georgie to check 'The more the merrier' was her reply so Chris met up with Tony for a drink prior to dinner and I went over to Ben and Georgie's to have a nosy round their new apartment (It is very cool - they have a bar and everything!! I think I may be developing bar envy). Then we all met up at Cheap Charlies and went over to the Moghul Room.

We ordered way too much food, which was fine because Tony is actually a human hoover (This is Tony doing an impression of Man the Hunter - you can see why he is known as Mr Mad Tony), - we had samosa's, pakora, nan bread, a potato masala doza and our Goozie lamb. It was magic!! Georgie and Ben (See what I mean about Ben having distinctive hair) got on with Tony like a house on fire and we had a brilliant evening - there was a lot of laughter (as you can probably tell from the photo's). Chris looked like his knees were at his ears at one point (the table we were at had incredibly low seats), there was a bit of confusion regarding ashtrays so Georgie was using Ben's hand (Now that's love for you) till an ashtray arrived, Tony went downstairs to go to the loo and ended up in the kitchen by mistake and by the end of the night our table looked like a bomb had hit it. (Georgie is now an Indian convert). After dinner we headed over to Cheap Charlies, had a couple of drinks, then went back to Ben and Georgie's for a night cap and so Chris could see round their apartment - didn't end up getting to bed till after one!!

I had decided, in my infinite wisdom, to invite our friends Louise and Gordon and Belinda and Ian over for dinner on Saturday night. So spent most of Friday chopping and cooking - Ben had gone to Singapore on Friday for a meeting so Georgie had called and invited me over 'You had better come here -I need to keep an eye on my meringues' was my response (Now you don't hear that statement every day!!). Chris went out with Mr Mad Tony and Georgie and I had a lovely girls night in.

It really was a great start to our weekend

General Stuff

I thought perhaps I should give you guys a general update on what we are doing and what is going on it the country.

Chris is still working with a client from hell - he finally managed to get the face-to-face meeting he had requested (only took two months) where he discovered that the people he has been dealing with had not actually done anything (Despite being given weekly reports outlining what actions they needed to take). Things have improved since then - the big wigs are now involved and the project is finally progressing forward....there is not quiet light at the end of the tunnel as yet but at least there is now a fighting chance of getting there. He's still working silly hours (which, to be honest, I am finding a bit difficult - although probably not as difficult as he is) but that just seems to be the way it is over here. On the plus side - he is getting on well with his colleagues (we all knew he would), has been on a staff night out, and now feels like part of the team instead of the newbie (probably helped by the fact that a new guy has joined the team so he really is no longer the newbie).

I am really busy - I have recently re-discovered my creative side (have been making jewellery, doing drawings (See picture on the left) and making various things for the house) and have now lost count of the number of people who have told me that i should go into business and sell them (I'm actually working on two drawing commissions at the moment - one is for a dentist's surgery and is to feature teeth and the other is to have flowers and a dog in it!! Chris actually told someone that I was an artist the other day which really freaked me out!!). I'm also about to enter into a joint venture with my friend Jenny - we have the idea (and some offers of help already) but we need to have a proper meeting as to how we are going to progress it and it looks like I am going to be doing some welfare work which will involve a lot of co-ordination with charities and various projects across the city (and possibly slightly further afield). No rest for the wicked (and to think I was worried about being bored!!)

Life in Thailand is as bonkers as ever!! I don't know how much information you get about what like is like here so I'll give you a few general examples:

Newspaper reporting: the genuine cutting edge! On the day we flew up to Chiang Mai with Tom, the Bangkok Post ran a story announcing that on that very day, the Police would be searching the homes of 19 people suspected of being involved in the bombings at New Year. You may be interested to know that it has more recently been reported that all the suspects were released due to lack of evidence. Once has to wonder why...

News paper reporting (2): On the same day as the announcement of the
raids, there was a letter of complaint in the Bangkok Post (guess which paper we get delivered free from Chris's work...). A volunteer in an emergency rescue service outside Bangkok was explaining that, following a complaint from a member of the public about the loud noise of the siren and the upsetting flashing lights, local Police had warned the emergency services not to use their sirens or lights or they would face arrest and had subsequently enforced this ruling. The writer made the fair and valid point that this would push volunteers away - who wants to be arrested whilst racing to potentially put your life in jeopardy whilst saving others. Another only in Thailand moment!

Decisions Decisions: The Thai baht is strengthening too fast (Which to be fair it is and it's having a detrimental effect on exporters not to mention the fact that foreigners are not bringing in as much money as they were because the exchange rate has fallen). The powers that be decided to create a rule that any foreign company, or foreigner, who invests in Thailand has to keep 30% of their money in Thailand for at least a year (without getting any interest on it and with severe penalties if they touch it). Not one of them had the sense to look at what % of the economy is foreign investment - the baht began to fall.......as did the stock market (Bloomberg TV stated that it lost 23 billion dollars in less than 24 hours) so they have now announced that they are 'reversing the decision' and, surprise surprise, the stock market is going up again.

Equal Rights (Well it is equal but in a very strange way): In a bid to improve equality it was recently announced that, since it is legal for a husband to rape his wife, it is now legal for a wife to rape her husband!!


Sunspots: There was a CNN interview the other day with deposed Prime Minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, which we were unable to watch in Thailand. The screen went red and it was announced that UBC were having problems because of sunspot activity (Very handy sunspot activity that lasted 4 minutes - exactly the same length of time as the Thaksin interview.....hmmmm!!!)

Pavements: Ahh the joy of walking down the pavement - it truly is a little adventure. They have laid pipes near Emporium Shopping Centre - big blue ones. 'How do you know they are blue?' I hear you ask.....well....because I can see them!! The pipes have been put on top of the pavement and then covered with a huge pile of concrete......they now look like they have been attacked by a very large mole.

Newspaper deliveries: The Bangkok Post wasn't delivered on Monday. It did however turn up on Tuesday along with Tuesday's paper - cutting edge of information delivery! When they start delivering Tuesday's paper on Monday I'll be impressed...


Equal rights (2): Under the headline 'Ministry Promotes Women in Politics' the Bangkok Post announced the setting up of a five million baht campaign to improve womens opportunities in politics. It was to be targeted at women already involved in the community - very commendable. Although part of the money was to be spent on 'improving their personalities'.

We love Thailand!! It's completely nuts.....but we love it!!

Fair fa' your honest, sonsie face, Great chieftain o' the puddin-race (Otherwise known as Haggis)

We went to a Burns Supper!! It was absolutely fantastic (and slightly surreal). It was held on the evening of Tomato's departure and was probably the perfect cure for post guest blues (I admit it - I got slightly sniffly as I watched his taxi drive off).

We had an hour between Tom heading off and the time we were supposed to meet up with David and Jenny (No, they are not Scottish but had never been to a Burns Supper before and had decided that, to make their lives complete, they had to spend an evening eating haggis, drinking whisky and listening to poems that they didn't understand a word of) so Chris and I ran around like headless chickens (or should that be headless Haggi - not sure what the plural of Haggis is) to get ready in time.

For those of you that don't know - A Haggis is a small bird with vestigial wings (similar to an emu or ostrich), that has three legs - One short and two long which enable it to run rapidly around the mountains and hillsides that make up its natural habitat. It is native to Scotland. (See artist's rendition). During Haggis Season (which is typically around the same time as Burns Night), wild Haggis are hunted, and their meat served up as a local delicacy. Wild Haggis are nocturnal beasties and are rarely seen so not a lot is know about their breeding habits but it is believed that in their mating season the Haggis make a droning sound - very much like a beginner playing the bagpipes for the first time - to attract a mate. (This has given rise to speculation that the bagpipes were indeed invented in Scotland simply to lure unsuspecting Haggis into a trap). At the onset of this noise all other wildlife for a five mile radius can be seen exiting the area giving rise to the belief that 1. The noise is used as an extremely effective predator deterrent and 2. That Haggis are tone deaf.

Anyway, we met up and made our way over to the Amari Watergate Hotel where we joined the rest of our group (Can I just say that in Thailand this is how they do the kilt) - Louise & Gordon, Susan & Bob and Clare & Roger - what a laugh we had. The St Andrews Society had really gone to town - we were given an introduction to all things Scottish (I didn't know that Scots had invented the MRI Scanner, fingerprinting, insulin, the hypodermic needle, the post office and the postage stamp.....we're a clever lot aren't we), the Selkirk Grace was said and then came the entrance of the Haggis (I have to say that Jenny got very excited at this point) followed by the address to a Haggis. (Made me feel all patriotic). The food was fantastic - Haggis, Neeps and Tatties ( That's turnips and potatoes for the uninitiated) - Ok, so I'm not a huge fan of Haggis but even I ate some of it. We had the usual ceremonial speeches which included a very funny Toast to the Lassies (can't remember a word of it but it was very funny) and the best rendition of Tam O'Shanter I have ever heard. Rodger (See Photo), who loves Scotland but is not a Scot, leaned over and asked 'Do you understand any of this?' the look on his face when Chris and I told him that we both did really made me laugh.

I completely embarrassed myself on my husbands behalf - We had joined another table to sing 'Auld Lang Syne' after which Chris grabbed me and said 'That guy looks like Andy Goram' to which I replied 'I have absolutely no idea who that is' - Chris then educated me that he was 'only the best goalkeeper Scotland had ever had!!'. So to save Chris's blushes I went over and asked him and it was indeed Andy Goram.

Chris shook Andy Goram's hand at a Burns Supper in Bangkok - How random is that??

Chris and David, very sensibly, headed home and Jen and I stayed into the wee small hours and drank far too much whisky. The next day I had my fourth ever hangover and Jen sent me a text message saying that she hated all Scots and all Whisky and she never wanted to see either again!! - she was obviously feeling just as great as I was.

The Adventures of Tomato In Thailand - The Ending

Chris went back to work and it was again my responsibility to keep Tom occupied.

We started the day with a traditional Thai breakfast (I had arranged this with Moon the previous day) which consisted of the Thai version of our donut called Pa Thong Go (Picture on the left), fresh fruit, Salam Pow which are like small, sweet omelets and Khanom Krok (Picture on the right) which are little rice and coconut puddings. After eating our fill (Which was not very much because they really are all really sweet) we headed back to the river. I had booked us on a Klong (Canal) Tour and since Moon had never been along the klongs of Bangkok we invited her to join us. The tour lasts a couple of hours and includes a stop at a Snake and Crocodile farm and an Orchid Farm. (When Chris and I went on the tour I had been badly bitten on the foot by a mosquito and couldn't walk so we had to stay in the boat). The Snake farm was more like a mini zoo - it had a tiger, a bear, lots of monkeys (which we fed), birds, lizards, crocodiles and snakes. It was amazing watching the snake handlers and we all really enjoyed the display although Moon refused point blank to hold the snake (as you can see Tom and I did). We then went on to the Orchid Farm which was nice to see but not massively exciting - mind you I think Tom may have photographed every orchid in the place!!. I wanted to take Tom to Pak Klong Talaat which is the flower and vegetable market so we asked the guide to drop us off at Memorial Bridge Pier. It is where the local flower sellers get their stock so not only does it have the best range of flowers but it also has the best prices. Honestly, you have never seen anything like it - roses, orchids, chrysanthemums, lilies, lotus flowers, sunflowers - you name it - they have it (You can pay 30 baht, which is about 50 pence, for a huge bundle of orchids). The apartment looked a little like a funeral home by the time we finished arranging all the flowers but it smelt wonderful.

The following day we had a long lie and then headed out to China Town. It is really something that you have to prepare yourself for - Sampeng Lane (which is where the best haberdashery, fabric and beads are located) is small, cramped and very very hot. The photo here is of the beginning section that is more open. It's a great place to browse but not somewhere that you want to spend hours and hours. Tom loved it but about half way down the lane had to come out to get some air and to calm down (because it is so cramped you get jostled left, right and centre and it is very easy to get grumpy). We ended home and spent a chilled few hours before meeting up with Chris and Moon and going to the Paragon Cineplex at Siam Paragon. We had decided to go and see a Thai film called King Naresuan (which had English subtitles and looked great in the trailer) and, since Tom was here on holiday, we booked seats in the Nokia Lounge. It is really the only way to go and see a film at the cinema (I don't know why they don't do this in the UK). There are 32 seats grouped in pairs each with a small table and a waiter who shows you to your seat, gives you a blanket and a pillow then shows you how to recline your chair (Emm how cool is that!!!). Just as Tom had got snuggled in and ready for the film to start everyone had to be upstanding for the King's Anthem (It was funny watching him struggle out of his reclining chair - we could have told him but where's the fun in that!!). The movie was, well, erm, long.....in fact I would go as far as to say it was very long.....it was the story of a king who defeated the Burmese and saved Ayuthaya.....three hours later the king was still a boy and then it ended!! It turned out that there are two parts to the film - Had this been mentioned in the trailer?......No. Had this been mentioned in the write up about the film?....No. And had this been mentioned on the poster?........that would be No!!! (We're back to the only in Thailand shrug of the shoulders). Mind you, we did have one saving grace - Moon was as confused as the rest of us. (I've told Tom that when it comes out on DVD I will buy him a copy and post it to him since he has already invested three hours of his life watching it)

The next day was Tom's last full day and neither of us could believe that the two weeks had passed so fast. We had planned a big night out that night so decided to have a fairly quiet day. I took him to a coffee place called Agalico which was set up by a Japanese business man who was fed up not having anywhere he liked to take his clients to for coffee. It's only open on Fridays, Saturday's and Sunday's and is really special - have a look http://www.agalico.co.th/
We then headed back over to Central World so Tom could get a couple of things that he had seen the previous week and we then spent the afternoon looking round Siam Ocean World which is located in the basement of Siam Paragon Shopping Mall. I had never been before and i have to say that i really enjoyed it - there are seven sections : Weird and Wonderful, Deep Reef, Living Ocean, Rain Forest, Rocky Shore, Open Ocean and Sea Jellies. We got to touch a starfish (Which feels a bit like touching a rock), watched the penguins being fed (and could have seen sharks as well but didn't have time), you can go behind the scenes in a glass bottom boat (we didn't have time for that either but I will definitely go next time) and there is a very cool section were you walk through a glass tunnel surrounded by fish. In the evening we met up with Jenny and David and went to their local Thai restaurant - it was the first time Chris and I had eaten there but the food was fantastic and the entire meal, bearing in mind that there were five of us and that the price included our beers, came to 1,000 baht (£14). We then headed down to Soi Cowboy followed by Nana Plazza (Chris's friend Tony joined us on the way) and ended up in Pat Pong - we had good fun and gave Tom a good send off.
This photo was taken on the Saturday before his flight - ahhh.....he's cuddling his socks!! I think it was all too much for him!!