100 postings!!

Well, it's official.....I have now written 100 postings since we moved to Thailand - Not bad eh!!
(Technically this is 101 but who's counting........)



So I thought I would bring you some other top 100's (Don't worry......I don't have the time or the inclination to put 100 of these things up!!)

1. Greatest films was Star Wars - The Empire Strikes back (Not sure if I agree but Chris probably would!!)
2. Greatest musical was Grease (I love it!!)
3. Greatest Actor Al Pacino (Very sexy man in his day!!)
4. Scariest movie was The Shining (I would go with that - scared the living daylights out of me)
5. Sexiest movie was Dr No (Hang on a minute......Dr no?? Oh wait.....Ursula Andrews)
6. Greatest pop video was Michael Jackson's Thriller (Was fab at the time!!)
7. Greatest Album was OK Computer by Radiohead (I love that album!!)
8. Greatest TV Character was Homer Simpson (Yes.....Chris is very fond of sitting on the sofa with a beer whilst doing an impersonation of Homer J)
9. Greatest Cartoon was the Simpsons (Doh!!)
10. Greatest Blog - Mine ;-))

(did you see that coming?)

I'm doing a happy dance

We went shopping on Saturday for my birthday prezzy (yes, I know it's early but it was a holiday weekend so we thought we would take advantage of it).

I have recently discovered Vietnamese Lacquer paintings and I have to say that they are absolutely beautiful (I like the work of Dinh Quan which is pictured here - fab aren't they!!)..... so when Chris asked me what I wanted for my birthday I said that I quite fancied a painting. The first gallery we went into had one that was incredible but it was also bloody huge and bloody expensive so we headed to another Gallery that my friend had told me about. They didn't have any but the woman who owned the place told me I was better buying one in Vietnam because they are a hell of a lot cheaper there - She also said that some Vietnamese artists are known for painting the same thing again and again then selling them as original pieces so there are god knows how many 'originals' of each painting!! (I'm sure that not all Vietnamese artists do this)......so that was that idea out the window!!

Then I remembered that there was an amazing cheese board made from bamboo that I had seen. It had a hole at the side for your wine bottle and then a flat section for cheese and biscuits and it turned - very unusual and I completely loved it!! We went to the shop....it seems that everyone had loved it.....they had sold out and the woman in the store didn't think they would get any more!! (Now I was getting a bit depressed not to mention running out of ideas!!).

We then had a wee walk through Paragon Passage which has a vast array of unusual Thai arts and crafts but I just wasn't seeing anything that jumped out at me and I didn't want to get something for the sake of it so I told Chris that we should just call it quits. He decided to have a quick nosy round the CD's so I went down to the art department and that is when I saw it!!! It's beautiful isn't it......has a built in lightbox and everything!!! I went from feeling slightly depressed to absolutely over the moon (that is over THE moon not over Moon the person!!) It arrived on Sunday so we went out and bought a chair and a little elephant table to go with it - this is the view I now have when I am drawing!!

(Not only that but Chris also bought me a huge cutting mat, another cutter with blades (for my wall decals), some fine tip pens, a couple of pencils and a carry case to put my prints - I am very spoiled and am doing a happy dance!!)

You may have noticed....

That I have removed a comment from one of my postings. This is because someone, acting like they knew me, put a link on a comment which directed people to some website which basically said that you could earn lots of money online if you paid them a subscription. This is a scam and is not endorsed by us - If you ever see anything similar please ignore it!!

Harumph....the cheek bugger!!!

Oooohhh it was loooovely

To be honest I have never really understood why people make such a fuss about facials - the one I had with Sadie and Margaret was nice and everything but I wouldn't have raved about it.....this one however......

If you have never had a facial go to Bann Dalah on Soi 8 and try the Baan Dalah 7-Step Spa Facial with Light Therapy.....you will not be disappointed!! It's 1,500 baht which is about £20 - lasts an hour and a half and is worth every penny (or should that be baht?)

My skin looks radiant and I feel like a million dollars!!

Wax on Wax off

I discovered something about myself today.......I discovered that I am really not mature enough to go into a spa and have a body scrub!! My friend Susan had arranged for a group of us to have exclusive use of a spa just along the road from us so at 10am I met up with Jenny and the two of us toddled along to Baan Dalah spa on Soi 8. I had had a wee look at the Spa menu before leaving and thought that the Classic Spa Body Scrub sounded great

'This service may be the perfect blend of health care and pleasure. This service leaves you soothed and with skin as soft as a baby. Exotic plants and essential oils massage you from head to toe.'

Now.....what it actually said was

'Performed in a special 'Wet Room' where water can flow over you and onto the table, this service leaves you soothed and with skin as soft as a baby.'

Why had I not noticed the beginning of that sentence?

Well, when the masseuse got to my buttocks I got the giggles and once I got the giggles I couldn't stop!! Honestly, it was fine - a bit embarrassing but fine, till she got to my buttocks!! Have you seen the movie Karate Kid? There is a bit in it where the karate mentor, Mr Miyagi, is teaching his apprentice karate moves by getting him to wash his car (Can you guess where I am going with this yet??) - so both hands start in one place then one goes in a circle to the left whilst the other goes in a circle to the right and he says 'Wax on.....Wax off' she was doing that..... to my buttocks!!! She then stopped, obviously waiting for some kind of explanation but she didn't speak any English - the only thing I could think of, and that I could say in Thai, was that my bottom was not beautiful!! She then started laughing (hmm I wonder why!!) I'd only just recovered when she turned the water on which felt quite nice till she pulled my feet - I nearly went shooting off the end of the table it was so slippery!! So as you have probably guessed that was me giggling away again!!! I am just not mature enough to have a body scrub!!

Was I soothed......I don't think so!! (Well, at least not from the massage - the champagne we all had after the massage definately helped!!)

In saying that.....I am going back tomorrow to have a facial (Chris is treating me as part of my birthday present) and I have read through what it actually involves very carefully.......there is no mention anywhere about a wet room so I reckon I'll be safe!!

If you are curious - I'm going to try the Baan Dalah 7-Step Spa Facial with Light Therapy (Facial Cleansing Oil, Awakening Reviver Scrub, Herbal Alcohol-free Toner, Facial Massage Cream, Awakening Detox Mask, Moisturizing Cream then the Light Therapy). I'll let you know how I get on!!

Postings will be sporadic.....

I am now in full 'must get everything ready for drawing exhibition mode'. Apologies - postings will be sporadic.

Back to the Drawing Board......

The last day :-(

We had a lovely day yesterday (even though it was their last day!!). Tracey really wanted to go and visit Vimanmek which is the worlds largest golden teak palace so we decided that it was a lot better to keep occupied rather than dwell on the fact that they were leaving. It was a brilliant call the place is absolutely beautiful and there is a lot more to see than just the Teak Palace!!

It was originally built on the small island of Ko Si Chang but King Rama 5 had it transported to Bangkok where it became his favourite place to stay and he spent long periods of time here between 1902 and 1906 (There was not one nail used in it's construction....I guess that's why they could transport it!!) it also has Thailand's first indoor bathroom, the earliest typewriter with Thai characters and has some of the first portrait paintings ever done in Thailand (The Thai's used to believe that portraiture was a way of stealing part of the sitters soul!!).

The entrance to the Palace is not the most welcoming - there are a lot of tourist police and you have to put all your stuff into a locker before being allowed onto the compound but boy is it worth it!! When you visit you have to go on a compulsory tour - I have to say that this was quite shambolic (we were rushed through, other language tours kept catching up with us, sometimes over taking us, and it was really difficult to hear what the guide was saying) so we went round twice......it was just as well we did or we would have missed a whole section (The carpet on the stairs was being repaired the first time we went round but had been completed the second time so we got to see the Kings Chambers). In saying that.....I wouldn't have missed it because the place is absolutely beautiful and well worth visiting!! (If you do go remember to dress appropriately - same dress code as The Grand Palace)


One of the nice things about going here was that most people came to see the Teak Palace and then buggered off so we really had the rest of the grounds to ourselves. Several small throne halls have been turned into tiny museums featuring all kinds of things (to be honest we didn't go into any of them because we wanted to go inside Anantasamakom Throne Hall).


The Anantasamakom Throne Hall has played an important role in Thai political history as it reflects the bond between Royal and political institutions (It was ordered by King Rama 5 but not finished till the reign of King Rama 6) - when King Rama 7th gave the Thai people their first constitution the first meeting of the Thai parliament was held here and it's still used for state council meetings. It is absolutely stunning inside (You can't take photo's but I found this one online) and is a real mix of east and west - It's such a shame that people only go to the Teak Palace when they visit this site!!

We headed home, had dinner and ran around making sure that everyone had everything. All too soon it was time for them to head off to the airport - It was brilliant having them here (See you next year guys!!)