Singapore with Mike and Sara

Mike and Sara finished their trip with two days in Singapore. Within hours of arrival they had tried the signature dish of Singapore: chili crab, and also given durian a chance (none if us really liked it). The next day we visited the wet market in Chinatown then ate at a few vendors and did some shopping. We also walked around and ate in Little India before finishing off the day at a Lim family favorite Indian restaurant. On their second day we had pork rib soup for breakfast before visiting a few coffee shops to sample espressos and then went to the Malay neighborhood, an area that was new to me. One last coffee stop and then Cantonese dinner (well, some of them ate dinner- you can ask Sara or I for more details on that!) before they were off to the airport. Quite a whirlwind visit! 

As ready as we will ever be to try durian! 

Foodie discussion at the wet market 

Masala tea and roti :) 

Breakfast!?!?!

Haha, we posed kith this guy outside a "rainforest cafe" in Little India 

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!