Tony's Birthday in Bangkok

I spent my birthday Jan 11 in Asia for the first time in 9 years, with Mum and Pa! It was really nice to spend the extra time out here and especially nice to celebrate in style at Lord Jim's, a seafood restaurant in Bangkok. I got the seafood steamer and they give you 6, count 'em, SIX dipping sauces. (and yes, that's a bib I'm wearing) They also got the band and vocalist to sing happy birthday to me and the whole restaurant joined in....

Thanks to Mum, Pa and Courtney for making it an extra special birthday and thanks to all my friends who sent birthday wishes!

Thai Snack O' Rama

When we were in Thailand, Courtney noticed that Thais eat incessantly. I kind of like this. At any point in time, you are no more than 100 yards from something to eat. Now, the servings are small, but it's a lot of food and people in fact do snack all day long.

Here, my mum is getting some little taco-shaped desserts. They take fortune cookie-like batter, shape it paper thin into a taco then fill it with coconut creme and toppings like coconut compote or lotus flavored shavings. The odd angle is because piccies were prohibited in this store so I got extra sneaky and subversive, "expose' " style.


This dessert is called 'ka-nom kok'. They make a custard from coconut milk, then essentially grill it in these cast iron mold, making little custard cups. The interesting thing is the sprinkling of cilantro they usually put on the cups.

There is an interesting cultural observation. Eating in Thailand is very social. I was talking about small serving sizes. That's because even though there's a dozen of these little ka-nom kok's in a box, I guarantee you, the buyer is likely to share most of it, making a serving about 2 or 3 little cups.

You've heard about the bugs folk out here snack on. It's true. It's not like everyone eats it. Eating bugs are like eating Anchovies. Distinctive, yes. But not everyone wants a pizza with it on it.





Just in case you're not in the mood, you can have dried squid. I can truly say I've never had it. You know it's there a mile away because you can smell it.

Grand Palace Pictures Part 1

OK, Courtney's got this great post coming. But we're having some technical problems with the upload from Shanghai.

We know we got a loyal following so to keep content coming, and until Courtney's post, here's a few pictures from the Grand Palace and the Royal Temple in Bangkok for da fans.

I will say one thing. I've not been here since I was a little kid and it really was awe inspiring to see it again. Everything--buildings, statues, decorations--shimmers with colors in the sun. It's the first thing I noticed and the one thing I remember.

Temple of the Emerald Buddha and Grand Palace in Bangkok

Friday we spent the morning touring the Grand Palace and Temple of the Emerald Buddha in Bangkok. This Buddha image is one of the most sacred images to Thai Buddhists. It stands merely 66 centimeters tall and is adorned in gold. In fact there are three different golden garments for summer, winter, and rainy season. It is not allowed to take photos inside temples, so we'll share some exterior shots. It's quite an amazing place!



The picture below is a statue of Kwan Yin - Buddhist Goddess of Mercy and Compassion - outside the Temple of the Emerald Buddha. Her gold leaf has mostly peeled off, but she was surrounded by many people praying to her, burning incense, and bringing offerings of flowers and food.

Tony captured this picture of a Buddhist monk walking along one side of the Temple.

And here we are outside the Temple of the Emerald Buddha before heading over to the Grand Palace.

Thai Floating Market

OK, you've seen it before. Pictures of idyllic boats floating in a canal, forming a market with ladies in straw hats in boats selling goods to people in other boats. Colors of all kinds. Happy smiley people. This is the postcard version of Damaen Saduak, the floating market.

Enter Courtney and Tony, tourists extraordinare. Bouncing about in our VIP car ride from Bangkok to the market. Hopping into the "James Bond long tail dragon boat" to take us to the market.

Switching to a gondola driven by a young kid who I swear every old lady was swearing in Thai at... Floating about in the water version of weekend market we went earlier in the week.... with goods at 4 times the price....and no traffic lanes. We didn't buy anything except for fried bananas.

And upon exit, would you believe it? Someone took pictures of us in our motorized dragon boat and was trying to sell it to us ala roller coaster pictures. Pictures of Courtney and Tony pasted 0n a cheap plastic plate that had 'Floating Market' on it. ... For 150 Baht, about 4 bucks.

But tourist escapade aside, we enjoyed ourselves.

Thailand!

So much to do, so little time. We're in Thailand and we've been running around all over the place.




We've been to the weekend market, Chatuchak




They truly have everything. That's me with the "cart 'o meat on a stick".

We went to Pattaya and stayed at a lovely resort and had a couples massage. I tried to work on my tan...but I'm already tan.







The road to Pattaya is...bumpy. The van we were in kept bouncing up and down and it was like being one a boat!






Just got back today. Tomorrow, the floating market.

Tropical Fruit of the Day 3 Jan 07

And the tropical fruit of the day is....Durian!!

This fruit smells like...sweet decay...has a mouthfeel of creampuff filling and ice cream. The whole fruit is on the right, a spiky morning star mace of a shell. The edible fruit is on the left, extracted from the husk and wrapped in plastic. I can't describe it. You have to try it. You love it. You hate it. You know you want to try it. Courtney did. Ask her if she liked it or not!

More info at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Durian

Happy New Year!

It's been a few days since we last blogged. It's been quite hectic!

Friday night, we went to the Singapore Boat Quay, where old shop and warehouses have been converted to an exotic blend of eastern and western restaurants and pubs right along the Singapore river and Singapore's financial centers. Our selection? Chilli Crab eaten with the hands. (They even have a festival for this dish. More info on this dish at: http://www.tigerbeer.co.uk/www/217/chilicrab/)

On our last day in Singapore, Dec 30, Courtney and I went to the Singapore Botanical Gardens. What a fabulous experience, including the National Orchid Center. I think we took pictures of every single orchid in the park! (http://www.sbg.org.sg/)

Then we rushed to Singapore Airport for a brief two hr flight to Bangkok. We landed in the brand new airport, which is about 3 times bigger than the last one. And settled into our new hotel, the Montien Riverside, just a few blocks away from Tony's parent's condo and right beside the south end of the Chaopraya river.

New Year's eve morning was spent shopping at the famous "Chatuchak" weekend market, where you can find basically anything you want in the 15,000 stalls. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chatuchak_weekend_market) But it was hot!

There were a few moments of apprehension when we heard that there had been some bombs going off around Bangkok (http://www.bangkokpost.com/News/01Jan2007_news01.php) during our dinner, but things quieted down and our family is OK.

On New Year's Day, Courtney and Tony went with Tony's dad to Ayudhya, the ancient capital of Thailand. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayutthaya_(city) What an amazing set of temples, and other antiquities. Thank's to Tony's dad for playing 'Lee Tour Guide.'

Tomorrow, we go to Pattaya for some relaxation by the beach. And we owe you a "tropical fruit of the day". More, much more later.