Railay Beach Fun

After Chiang Mai we flew down to Krabi, in the south of Thailand, and spent a few days at Railay Beach. We had one full day on the beach and by the pool and then another day on my boat/beach/snorkel tour (not the best tour of the trip, but it was okay and we saw two fairly good snorkel spots). It was a great way to relax after busy days in Bangkok and Chiang Mai. We returned to Bangkok today in order to have NYE dinner at the restaurant Mike most wanted to go to in the city. Then tomorrow we're off to Singapore! 

Here are a few pictures from the beach: 

Our beach empty in the morning, Sara and I enjoying fresh fruit smoothies after a day of snorkeling, and a rock that reminded us of Michigan's Picture Rocks

My favorite beach at Railay, Mike and Sara right after we arrived, and the closest thing we got to a decent sunset (fairly overcast at twilight every day). 

We saw a ginormous tree monitor lizard at a park like area near my house in Bangkok, then saw this smaller one on Hong Island where we went snorkeling. The sign is from the park near me. 

Busy days in Chiang Mai

Mike, Sara, and I have spent the last two and a half days in Chiang Mai. We went on a day tour of elephant riding, hiking, and rafting , did a cooking class, and lots of shopping and eating. I really enjoy having them her and just spending lots of time together. Here is a small sample of pictures, I'll try to get more of them into Facebook. 

We went on a short (1 hour) hike to this waterfall. The weather was perfect- mid to high 70's!

I got to make one if my favorite Thai dishes: khao soi. These are the ingredients and garnishes. I made that curry paste myself :) 

Merry Christmas from Thailand!

Christmas Eve dinner at The Local (BKK folks, I highly recommend it!) 

Mike and Sara arrive

Mike and Sara arrived smoothly late on Friday night and we had a busy weekend across Bangkok. They started off with a trip to the world's largest outdoor market and a traditional Thai massage. In the evening we enjoyed a great dinner at the Supanniga Eating Room, a great Thai restaurant Mike had researched. It did not disappoint. We got an early start on Sunday with a Thai cooking class. I've been a few times with visitors and it's always lots of fun. This was no exception as Mike took notes and asked lots if questions. Also, since I had done the class before, they let me swap out two of the dishes for something different, which just meant we got to see and try more stuff :) Cooking class is like a five course lunch, so we walked it off afterwards at a few temples. We wanted to stay in that part of town for dinner at a place Mike had researched, but that didn't work out due to massive political rallies being held across the city on Sunday. Instead we popped into another place on Mike's list that was closer to home, though we went more for their signature drinks since we still weren't really hungry! 

A bad lighting slightly blurry photo, but one from their first dinner in Bangkok. Great food and atmosphere at this little place! 

Making coconut milk at cooking class

The preparation for pad grapow gai- a basil chicken dish. 

At Wat Po

Sunset in the city 

I finished!

We ran the 10.5k except, this is Thailand, so it turns out it was 11.7k instead. Ha. No wonder it felt SO long. I can't believe I ran nearly 20% farther than any other time in my life! If you had told me at the starting line, I don't know if I I would have started, but hey, I finished anyway. And today, I took the elevator.  

Before the race...

Crossing the finish line! 

Yes, we ran with the antlers for the most part. A few spots where it was windy so I took them off, but they didn't bother me as much as I thought they would. Also, I have no idea why I have to turn sooo red when I run! 

Many thanks for my friend Karly for the pictures! (And for encouraging me so much the past two months of training!) 

Waiting for Godot: the curse of punctuality

There is a taxi stand in front of my apartment complex, about a half block from the school. It's a busy corner and the most convenient meeting place, whether people are coming from the school, our apartments, or other apartments/neighborhoods nearby. I spend an inordinate amount of my life standing on this corner. 

Last night, as I stood and paced waiting for a rarely late friend (who has full knowledge of this blog post, by the way) I thought about how much I have come to despise this corner. There's no where to sit, little shade, a colony of flies, and often reeks of the nearby dumpster, and yet I often stand there waiting for people for 5, 10, maybe even 20 minutes. With certain people I work really hard to arrive late because I know they have a 90% chance of bring late but it's doesn't always work. If I say I'm going to be somewhere at a particular time I am inwardly compelled to do it. 

It's a tough mental balance, waiting at the taxi stand. On the one hand, I get pretty irritated once we hit the 5 minute mark, and on the other hand, I live in a culture (not just Thai culture, but expat Bangkok culture) where it's kind of okay to be late. I don't want to start out every social engagement irritated, so I try to get over it. I am mostly successful. 

To be fair, I do understand that I am almost freakishly punctual (though really, if you think I'm bad, you should meet the Grampa I inherited it from!) and so I never really mind waiting for people at most other places. I can wait quite well at home or in a comfy restaurant or even at the front of our school where there are shady benches. But oh man, that taxi stand is going to be the death of me! 

Winter in Bangkok

It's been a wintry week in Bangkok, with overnight lows in the 72-75 Fahrenheit range. I've had the windows open and the AC off, and loving it. The sad part is, winter doesn't last long here, sometimes not even this long, and I expect the cool breezes to disappear anytime. Until then, I'll enjoy the goosebumps on the walk to work and the lower electricity bill. Of course the ironic part is that winter in Michigan is about three months longer than anyone (other than my Uncle Bill) wants it to be while winter is Bangkok is only about three days long and it's everyone's favorite season. Oh well. At least I will have three more days of Thai winter in Chiang Mai later this month. It's even cooler up there! 

King's birthday

Today is the king's birthday, and thus also Father's Day in Thailand. It's a beautiful day when Thais honor their beloved king, and it's also a well timed day off in the midst of a busy season at work. Today I enjoyed a lazy day with a friend. Last night we relaxed with wine and chocolate and a Christmas movie and then today we went for brunch. We shared two delicious dishes that didn't require me to eat again for about 7 hours. 

Our Huevos Racheros 

Cranberry and cream cheese stuffed French toast. And yes, that is vanilla ice cream on the side. 

Strange, yet not so strange, events

Two strange things that are very "This is Thailand". 

1. There are large political demonstrations going on around Bangkok. They are all over the world media (BBC, CNN) and twitter, but don't affect my daily life in any way at this point. Hopefully things will quiet down long before they affect quiet Bangna, where I live. That said, in recent days the protests have turned violent and I'd ask you to remembered Thailand in your prayers. We pray for peace, wisdom, and that the calmer heads prevail, not the extremists. 

2. Yesterday evening my internet went out. This happens quite often and usually lasts a few minutes up to a few hours. It is still off 24 hours later and I have learned from a friend that the company has simply closed up shop. Overnight. I can't get through on the usual customer service line, so I am inclined to think this is true. Time to get reset up with a new company. And there are few things more tedious and annoying than setting up new internet. 

However, with a few Thai holidays coming up, we have just 11.5 more days of school till Christmas break, so that is something to celebrate for sure. Can't believe the school year is almost half over!