Cambodia

Welcoming 2014:

The Elms’ Tour Group took us to Siem Reap, Cambodia, for a New Year celebration. 

Siem Reap, Cambodia - airport

 We stayed at a lovely hotel – white stucco, lots of marble and polished teak.  The staff is bowing and smiling.  Our room is beautiful with a balcony overlooking the pool.  The bathroom is large and all white shiny marble.  The sink doesn’t drain properly and the toilet paper rolls are a third of what we are used to in the US.  Pee Paw lets the desk know about the sink and manages to acquire an extra roll of tp.  Since nobody shares a language, I can only imagine the pantomime he went through to get this from the maid.  I didn’t ask.  

Maggie:  don't ask my dad about the rooster. He just loved that thing. 😉

Maggie has made arrangements for all of us to attend the gala.  The deck around the pool is extravagantly decorated with tables set up for dinner and a stage for the entertainment complete with a banner “Happy New Year 2014” in English.   Maggie and Erin arrive looking like movie stars in their gorgeous new dresses.  I have on my sequins.  Our table is under the pagoda at the pool and we feel like royalty.  The buffet is great and beer and wine flow freely. 

The pagoda that is all lit up is where our table was. We stood out just a bit. Lol

And you ask why we stood out!

The entertainment begins – a Vegas-type lounge act.  The star is a “Tom Jones” type dressed in a white suit a size too small, a white dress shirt trimmed in red, a silver sequined tie and white patent leather pointy-toed shoes at least seventeen inches long.  He is accompanied by two attractive young-lady singers.  Actually they are pretty good but all the songs are in Cambodian.  About midway through the evening, young Cambodians in native costumes perform folk dances.  They are beautiful.  

About 11:30 we’ve eaten and drank more than we should and all the Cambodian songs are beginning to sound alike.  Out of the blue a young girl approaches Erin and by gestures urges her to get all of us to dance because she doesn’t want to be alone.  Of course we comply.  We’re the only Americans.  There’s a good sized group of Chinese who are circle dancing around a table of flowers.  We join the group.  The music cranks up – a sort of Cambodian hip hop.  We improvise.  Pretty soon everyone is imitating us.  We act like we know what we’re doing.  Before long everyone is on the stage and we’re being served flutes of champagne.  The whole crowd is shouting “Happy New Year” in English.  The Chinese resume dancing around the table.  We’re ready for bed.  Truly a gala to remember. 

We took more selfies than the Thai's that is a feat in itself!

 Antiquities:

The next day we head for the ancient cities – Angkor Thom and Angkor Wat to see the temples and palaces.  These cities, the drive to reach them, the surrounding areas and the structures are breathtakingly beautiful and mind-boggling in scope.  They are everything you’ve read about or seen on the discovery channel and more so.  The boys enjoyed the challenge of the precarious climbs and Ryan kept himself busy watching out for Pee Paw and me.  We had no falls.  These sights will not be forgotten.

The approaches to the buildings are crowded with venders aggressively selling mementoes.  Most of the sellers are children.  Some six-or-so year olds have a naked baby with a bottle on their hips.  We are told that families send these kids out because they can earn more than the adults and that they frequently are the substance for a whole family. These kids are not shy or dumb.  They are persistent and haggle in English.  Of course we buy and Erin would like to save all of them.

Pee Paw and I are the other antiquities.  The Cambodians with whom we came in contact were fascinated by us.  They wanted to touch us and invariably asked our age.  When we told them 78 and 76, they were flabbergasted.  We then were told stories of grandparents that were in their early sixties who couldn’t get around and who were bedridden.  We are a tribute to good nutrition and good health care.  We didn’t even mention Pee Paw’s replacement knee and my replacement hip.   They probably would have thought we were magic.  Old liberal that I am, who really wants to see our health care system more readily available, hopes that the US doesn’t “throw out the baby with the bath water.”

Angkor Wat

Climbing the "many" stairs 

 

Trusty old Ryan always making sure Peeps and Meemaw were ok

Yep we saw a few of these

Yep saw LOTS of these too!  Smiling Buddha!  Angkor Thom

Stone carvings on the walls dating back to 12th century

Saw these too. 

One of the many Land Mine Bands that we listened to. These are men that have been injured or maimed by the many land mines still being found around Cambodia. They play traditional Khmer music for donations. 

Cambodian Pub Crawl:

After a day of touring, we take a Tuk-Tuk (sort of a carriage pulled by a motor bike) to Pub Street for dinner.  Of course we head for the Irish Pub for cocktails.  Maggie doesn’t like the internet review of the food there so we go next door for dinner.  Some of the group enjoys “the best burger and fries” they’ve had in Asia.  Pee Paw and I have fish and chips after being assured by the owner (an expat from South Africa) that they are better than you get in London.  They were pretty good. 

After this we walk around Pub Street gawking at the strange sights and then stop to get a fish pedicure.  We sat with our feet in tanks of water and let the fish nibble the dead skin off our feet.   I don’t know what type of fish, just that they weren’t piranhas or barracudas. There was no blood involved.  We started with the tank holding fish about six inches long and ended up with the tank holding fish about nine inches long.  Very weird but highly recommended.

Fed and relaxed we cross the street to one of Siem Reap’s night market.  You ask the price and then negotiate.  As I walk through the market and see stuff I want to buy, I hand money to one of the kids and let them negotiate.  Ryan, Erin and Jack are particularly good at this.  Andrew is a bit too dignified to get aggressive.  It’s the most fun you can have souvenir shopping.  Lot’s of cool stuff to buy.

Ryan bought a snake satay (bar-b-que on a stick) from a street vender.  He, Erin and Jack indulge.  Yuck!  We hail a Tuk-Tuk for the trip back to the hotel, our negotiators work out the fare; we climb on board and return for the night.  Pee Paw tips the driver and thus ends up paying the original price.  These people hardly make any money and we get service like you wouldn’t believe.  They think we’re a little crazy.

Ryan, Erin and Jack all ate it. There is video proof. 

 

The Rice Fields:

The next day we finish our touring of the sanctuaries and palaces and re-assemble for an ATV tour through the rice fields that Maggie has booked.  The ATV rental place checks out the drivers, distributes helmets and dust masks and we’re off.  The ride takes us through the rural area near the city.  The farmers live in huts on stilts (because of the Monsoons) in small village-type groups scattered among the fields.  There is not much electricity or running water even though we are minutes from a rather large city.  The beauty of the fields at sunset is stunning.

The obvious poverty is disturbing.  The children do look well-nourished and happy.  They greet the ATV group with smiles and waves.  It appears that they are used to this invasion of their quiet dirt roads.  There are, however, kids no older than nine or so working at bringing in the cows for the evening or tending crops.  There doesn’t seem to be a much better future in store for them.  We did love this adventure.  It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

We again go to Pub Street for dinner.  This time we eat at the Red Piano where Erin has a “Tomb Raider” cocktail named in honor of Angelina Jolie who had dinner here when she played Laura Croft.  They do have a red piano and a full-sized red statue of a man (fully dressed) that is the base for a lamp.  Never saw anything like that in House and Garden. After a fun evening, Pee Paw, Erin and I head back leaving the rest of the group to fish pedicures, foot massages and more haggling at the night market.

 

Walter getting a foot massage while texting some of his buddies in NJ. If they could have seen what he was doing while chatting with them. To funny!

Some Observations:

Our driver and guide, hired by Maggie, are friendly and gracious.  Both speak English.  The guide is very fluent and very knowledgeable.  They are very solicitous of Bill and me – remember, we are rarities.  The guide tells us that 60% of the people subside below the poverty level - $160 a month.  He said 35% are considered wealthy and 5% are considered middle class. 

Cambodia produces more clothing than any other country in the world.  The day we leave our driver is very upset.  Five garment workers have been shot by the police for participating in a protest of the current wage scale of $80 a month.  The companies have offered a raise to $100 a month, but the workers will not accept this compromise and are protesting.  The workers are asking for $160 a month. 

This was truly an unforgettable trip. 

Carol

“No, Toto, we’re not in Kansas anymore.”

We had dinner at the “Old Lady’s.”  I use the term “dinner” loosely.  We drank beer and wine.  We ordered.  We cooked on two table-top charcoal cookers (would not pass the fire-codes back in the US) and bought shoes.  I think this is typical street-life in Pattaya.  It’s not boring.

We had lunch overlooking Pattaya Bay.  Exquisite.  When you get down on beach road it’s not so exquisite.  There are a few delights available that we’re not used to seeing offered in such a public manner.  This has provoked some interesting discussions with our teenage grandchildren and some interesting questions from the younger ones.

Pee Paw finally got in a foot massage with the boys.  It doesn’t take much to convince you that this is as necessary as a daily shower.  It’s as feel-good as it gets.

Walter and Maggie’s home is lovely with a beautiful pool and a yard full of tropical plants. Yesterday the gardeners killed a snake living in one of the palm trees.  Evidently this is not unusual.  Don’t complain about the raccoons or possums that might visit your patio.  The neighborhood is full of beautiful homes – some yards full of gold-leafed shrines others with immense statues.  There’s even a white unicorn with a silver horn that is larger than a full-sized horse in one of the front yards.

Soi (Pronounced “soy”) dogs live on the smaller roads – a lot of them.  They don’t seem to bother the traffic and they don’t hang out on the larger throughways.  They seem so stay in front of a certain buildings and don’t run in packs.  It appears that someone is feeding them – sort of free-roaming pets.  They do not eat dogs or cats in Thailand, but we’ve heard there’s a lively trade with Cambodia at the border.

There are very few stop signs here and intersections are mostly a game of “chicken.” We’re thankful for Khun Biayoon (the Elms’ driver).  Maggie and Walter also occasionally take the wheel.  Most people get around on motor bikes.  There are tens of thousands on the roads.  They observe no traffic laws.  This also makes driving interesting.

We spent a day in Bangkok.  It’s an amazing city – about two million more people than New York.  We visited the Great Shrine and saw the King’s palace.  The great reclining Buddha at the Shrine was over two-hundred meters long.  Very impressive area.  We ate lunch on the river at a lovely restaurant on a deck and could watch peoples’ laundry dry. Zoning is non-existent.  We had a drink with Greg and Ronnie Auberry and their daughter in one of the beautiful hotels before heading home.  I’d love to visit this city again.  They even protest politely and stop for the holidays.  Hope the political problems are worked out without any damage.  The government is democratically elected; however, the protesters feel they do not have representation as the North , being more heavily populated, manages to control the government.  The same family has ruled the country for generations. 

At the Grand Palace in Bangkok. 

 One of many gold Buddhas. 

Laying our offerings

Thailand is gorgeous; however, many people live in tin-roofed shacks which are anywhere and everywhere.   Apparently some type of retail or food service is many people’s substance and this takes place in the front of the shack.  Folks are not starving and seem busy but there’s not much chance for a better tomorrow.  Wages are low.  In the newspaper I saw an ad for an experienced person with a Master’s Degree in Anthropology between 40-60 years old.  The position paid less than $30,000 a year.

 

High-Society:

The Friday after we got here, we attended a “Misfits” party – a gathering of expats who do not leave for the holidays - at Maggie and Walters’ friends’ house, Michelle and Greg’s. Fun time – good food, beautiful  home and darling kids.  Ryan and Erin attend as adults. We’re getting too old.

Santa comes Christmas morning and brings an outdoor basketball hoop.  We’ve had street basketball ever since – Pee Paw even managed to participate.  (The house is at the end of the subdivision.)  Don’t ask how Santa’s helper, Walter, managed to get this back from the US.  Look for the picture of us in our Michigan State outfits and guess who brought those gifts for everyone.

Maggie and Walter had twenty-eight for dinner on Christmas.  Dinner is outside around the pool.  Not too shabby.

We are off to Cambodia for our New Years Eve adventure. More on that later. 

Enjoying our visit

Carol

She's taken over! 😉

Wow looking back over some of my old post geez what a crazy life. Turning the corner of 2014 I can only look ahead and hope the ride is just as fun. My parents have been visiting us since December 18 and the fun hasn't stopped. Enjoy!

Cheers!

😘 M

Since it's hard to send out Christmas cards from Thailand here's our photo!

Hope everyone had wonderful holidays and Happy New Year!

May your year be filled with love, laughter and tons of fun!

My mom has taken over and she is my first guest blogger. Woohoo!  

Holy smoke! 

That is what goes on when you visit the Shrines.  Our first shrine was the Sanctuary of Truth.  Amazing – read Maggie’s earlier blogs.  Apparently the day of the week on which you were born is very important.  I’m a Friday.  We took pics with our individual Buddhas and lit incense.  We ended up on an elephant ride with Ryan riding shotgun.  We then fed our elephant a batch of bananas - just a normal day in Pattaya.

No, we haven’t converted.  We went to St. Nicholas the Sunday before Christmas.  The English Mass was very nice, if not liturgically correct – the Pattaya orphans sang Christmas carols and every inch of the church was decorated.  There were large stuffed snow men, Santa in his sleigh which was full of presents, lots of silver and blue and hundreds of twinkle lights.  As far I could tell, the only bow to the last Sunday of Advent was the absence of the Christ Child in the manger, but who’s going be a stickler for regulations when thirty or so darling orphans with the sweetest faces on earth are belting out Jingle Bells.

Christmas Eve Mass

None of this prepared us for Christmas Mass – we went to the English Mass on Christmas Eve.  The church is lovely – open-sided with Thai-type carvings and lots of gold leaf.  We arrived a half-hour early and the place was jammed.  Extra parking was available at the Muslim Mosque next door (the minorities stick together).  We grab some of the extra seats (plastic chairs) on the side “porch.”  As we walk through the parking area, there are native dancers, a raffle for the orphans, loud music, souvenirs and snacks.  The crowd for Mass included more than a few May-December couples and several “lady-boys.”   Everyone is talking loud and visiting – this doesn’t let up.  Because it’s Saturday, about half way through Mass we also pick up some chanting from the Mosque.  The rest of the world needs to learn how to behave like this.   Father gives a very welcoming sermon to those that do not attend regularly and invites them to return.  As we leave church we notice that the fun has just started.  It wasn’t the most reverent or the most uplifting Mass I’ve attended, but you don’t often leave church and say, “That was a blast!”  Last Sunday it was back to normal.

Carol (Maggie's mom)

Some photos from some of the many lunches/ dinners we have had.  

And this is a classic 

Gangster Gamm'ma and Andrew!

Our First Guest

How lucky we are to have my parents as our first guest this Christmas season. Nothing like company to make the holidays a bit more festive. My parents took the 22+ hour flight to join us for 3+ weeks. 

Day #2 and I have sympathy jet lag. I think I was so worried about them having terrible jet lag that I have not slept a full nights sleep in a couple of days and now I'm the one who is tired at 3 in the afternoon. Them they are fine. How 2 people 70+ years in age does it I don't know. I'm the one falling asleep on the coach at 8:30p, don't ask I'm pathetic. 

They arrived safe and sound with 6 checked bags and 2 carry ons. Their bags weighed more than 430lbs. Now you ask why?  Groceries!  6lbs of bumble bee tuna, 6lbs of black beans, 2 lbs of tahini, 5 boxes of cereal ( yes it is big K brand) 32oz of egg noodles, syrup, crackers, all the ingredients for Buffalo Chicken Dip x4 ( thanks Bets my boys are very happy about that) baking chocolate and more food than I know what to do with. Weird stuff I know but we are psyched with all this weird stuff. :)

First night we arrived home at 1:30am and proceeded to stay up until 3am chatting and having a glass or two. Shockingly they were up at 8:30am. 

They have met Biayoon who is amazed with my parents and calls my dad Peepaw (which is what my kids call him) and Khun Maeow. After a day my parents are already complaining about cleaning up after themselves on the 2 days that Khun Maeow doesn't work. Lol. My mom says really we have to make our own bed ;). 

First day out Erin, my mom and I head out and I decide foot massage. Why not?  I'm trying to tell my mom what to expect before we walk in but it doesn't matter. She cracks me up. Do you realize that it doesn't matter how loud you talk to someone who doesn't speak the same language as you this person is still not going to understand what your saying. Lol. The foot massage place is a place for relaxation. It is very quiet, the music is very low, and no one talks. Mom we'll lets just say not so much at least in the beginning. First thing is they wash your feet. She is trying to explain to the woman washing her feet why her toe nail is missing. Speaking louder and louder. I shake my head knowing that this woman is not understanding my mom, hello she doesn't speak English. They move us to the massage room which is in front of a huge window looking out on the street. My mom literally talked for the first 8 minutes. I'm trying to tell her to shhh that you don't talk but she doesn't have her hearing aid in on the side I'm on and can't hear me. Just when she is getting louder and becoming somewhat of an annoyance ;) she becomes quiet and within 15 minutes she is silent and within 30 minutes she is snoring. Lol. 

Before we go into the parlor she is telling me that dad is going to be upset and maybe we should wait for dad for foot massages, as she goes on about this I ignore her and proceed with us getting one. After the hour is up she claims that was the best thing she has ever had and can we do this every day and better yet can I hire one to come to the house everyday. Yes she was no longer singing the poor dad tune. 

After massages I have Biayoon drive us down Beach Rd.  She is looking out trying to find something nice to say (believe me it is hard) about where we live. My mom notices ALL the bars and sees the different nationality bars. She asks oh look there is a Norwegian bar has Walter been?  Lol nope Walter has not been to that bar or really any bars on Beach Rd. Thank goodness😝 

First evening we go to one of our favorite restaurants Khun John. Great Thai food!

Day 2 was lots of cards, the Hunger Games Tournament has begun. Walter thinks he is in the lead but that's because he hasn't played a game. ;) Dad and Erin seem to be battling for first. Me, I'm the beatle bomb but what else is new. 

Out to late lunch Saturday on the beach. Having so much fun we missed church. Oops!

It was a beautiful day!

Maybe this is why we missed church. 

Cheers

😘 M

The rented Christmas Tree

What does a turkey dinner and a few Leffe brown beers get you?  A Christmas tree is the answer for us. What started as a crazy dinner conversation one evening landed me a Christmas tree. 

Not having brought one Christmas decoration as the holiday season approached I started to think hmmm this is going to be interesting. Having Ryan and my parents here for Christmas I really wanted the house to have a nice holiday spirit. Living in a Non Christian country I started to think what am I going to do for decorations.

Early November out to dinner with some friends we get on the conversation of Christmas. Over a few Leffe beers we were talking about decorations. My friend who has been an expat for years said she has a fake tree that she puts up but since they will be gone for 3 weeks won't be able to enjoy it. Out of my mouth I blurt can I borrow it. Laughter erupted from the table, really who borrows a Christmas tree. Her husband thought this was a great idea as did she, of course they did these are just the kind of people that would lend out their tree.  The husband decides the agreement on the rental. She is leaving earlier than him leaving him here for a week by himself, he wants turkey dinner, (she does not cook turkey dinner) and some brown Leffe beers. All that for a decorated Christmas tree!  Easy!

So our plan was laid out. She had to use the tree for a coffee morning she was hosting in early December but was leaving for Australia December 10 so I could come and get it before. We needed a ute - a what?  Aussies speak English but sometimes I have absolutely no idea what the words mean - it works both ways :) a ute is a pick up truck. Easy I don't drive remember - oh Biayoon, he has a ute. 

Now this conversation I have with Khun Biayoon is an interesting one he speaks English pretty well when talking about normal day to day driving but when it came to this one not so easy. How do you explain to a non celebrating Christmas person that you need to drive to someone's house and bring me back their Christmas tree, fully decorated I might add. Mind you we all have gates and security guards at our villages. Away Biayoon goes to pick up my rented tree. They carefully place it wrapped in a sheet in the back of his truck, fully decorated I might add.  Oh so slowly he drives off only to be stopped at security asking why he has someone's tree, like the grinch stealing the Christmas trees. The security guard goes and knocks on my friends door asking her about Biayoon taking the tree. He makes her sign a piece of paper that she has no idea what it says (all in Thai) and away Biayoon goes. She meanwhile is texting me. We are in hysterics. She is confused why they made her sign something about her own tree. About an hour later he shows up at the house with the tree. (I drive very slowly madam for your tree, say Khun Biayoon). She lives 10 minutes away. I swear he stopped somewhere to show his friends so they could have a good laugh. 

Biayoon and Jack with the tree in the ute. 

Bad picture but me trying to explain that we need to now take the tree inside. 

Poor sad tree needs some refreshing. 

Final tree!  My kids think it looks pathetic but hey it's a tree. 

At least now I keep up the tradition of my driver thinking I am completely nuts. The next day my friends maid came rushing into her after having arrived in the morning saying madam madam where is the big tree it is gone. After all this it turns out we could have driven to Ikea in Bangkok and gotten a real tree or I could have bought a fake one here but I think it was totally worth it with the amount of laughs that we got over this rented tree. It's definitely a good story as my kids continue to roll their eyes at me!

Never had a fake tree in my life but I'm kinda liking this, nothing to water, no fire hazard.   Clean up and putting away is going to be real easy, I will make sure Biayoon has his ute that day. 😉

Oh and dinner is tomorrow for Greg.  Hope I have enough Leffe beer!

Cheers

😘 M

Only 2 more sleeps until my parents are here!  Yipeeeeeee

Merry Christmas!

Thankful Thursday

Maggie ~ Thankful that Ryan is coming home tonight!

Walter ~ Thankful that my son Ryan is coming home!

Erin ~ Thankful for Ryan coming home!

Andrew ~ Thankful for school to be over. 

Jack ~ Thankful for Ryan, Meemaw, and Pepaw comin to Thailand for Christmas. 

The more we give gratitude the more that flows to us to be grateful for. 

~ Kevin Hall author "Aspire"

Jack had his last football game of the 2013 year and they won. He scored 4 goals and had 1 assist. 

Score 5-2. Of course the driver Khun Biayoon cheered the loudest on the sidelines. 😊 

Cheers

😘 M

Getting ready for the holidays

Ah the holidays are upon us and well it sure doesn't feel like it. I still feel like its summer vacation, had a Mojito tonight. The sun shines everyday and it's around 90*. Everything is lush and green, birds are chirping and flowers are blooming. Are you understanding why it's hard to get into the Christmas spirit. By now in Michigan, I would be freezing, bitching about the snow or cold or all the above. 

I didn't bring one Christmas decoration with me, don't ask why, Walter can answer that and I'm sure his answer will be I told you so.  (Did you see that, that was me sticking my tongue out at him :)

I have bought a few things from various Christmas bazaars. Our super mall Central like to jack up all the prices on the very small plastic and tacky decorations that they carry, of course I bought a few things.  Thais do not celebrate Christmas but they have absolutely no problem making several bucks off of us farangs (Thai word for foreigner) and all the imported junk. 

We celebrated Thanksgiving. Actually we celebrated 3 times. As expats we tend to over celebrate holidays from home to make up on what we think were missing out on, though the only thing we are missing out on are the usual people we are with but in reality aren't we missing those people everyday and not just on holidays. Yes that is my brain thinking way to much into it. It was a great holiday and we had lots of fun. I cooked more than I cook at home and felt very fortunate to have made friends so quickly who included us in their celebration.  I even was able to share our thanksgiving traditions and food with a few non American families who had never celebrated thanksgiving before.  It was nice having so many distractions to keep me from missing out on celebrations we would have been at in the US. 

This also was the first Thanksgiving holiday that I was not with 2 of my boys. Ryan being in the US and Jack getting home later that Thanksgiving night from Chiang Mai. We all survived and I was okay. :)

Ryan flew to San Antonio and was warmly welcomed by my sister and her family. He was very happy to be in a home surrounded by people who love him. Jack was happy because I saved him pie for when he got home. 

Answer to a few questions: yes we get turkey very expensive turkey but it is a Butterball. 

Surprisingly we even had fresh cranberries, expensive cranberries (7$ a bag) Walter brought me canned pumpkin from the states but I can find that here too. I really can find almost anything I want if I'm willing to look and go to 5 or 6 different stores and am not picky about brands. Pattaya is very international. 

I can't believe it is December and we have lived in Thailand for almost 5 months. The first term of school is almost over. Winter break begins this Friday and the kids couldn't be happier. 

Stupid Elms facts:

Finally had to buy our first pack of toilet paper since moving here. Why you ask?  I brought lots in our shipment. Can you now imagine how much since it is December and I haven't bought any until now. That's a lot of toilet paper!

Dog food - just bought our first bag. Yep brought lots of that too. Guess Sparky is going to have to get use to eating non regulated USDA fortified dog food Hahahaha. She will survive. Don't pity her. She is spoiled rotten and fat as a pig. I think the maid secretly feeds her. Khun Maew LOVeS her!  

Haven't bought paper towels yet but it's getting close. 

Almost out of peanut butter but I can get that here. Olive oil dangerously close to being gone but again can buy here too. Our shipment home when we eventually return to the US is going to be extremely light without all this food now I have lots of room to buy pretty Asian things. :)

Cereal I brought is gone and can you believe that the Big K is not represented well here, well you can buy some but my boys swear it taste different. Can you believe big Papa works for the largest cereal company and my kids refuse to eat cereal here. Also if you buy the imported stuff it will set you back a good 9$ a box. Yikes even Walter refuses to buy it. He says he doesn't make enough money to afford it. 😜 He would rather have eggs, cheaper. Lol.   If you come visit bring a box of "K" cereal. Lol. 

My kids would like to add that you can't get sour patch kids. Candy is yuck, unless of course you like seaweed flavored candy or shrimp flavored. This is not a joke. True story. Biggest dried seafood section in the candy isle I have ever seen.  

We still have our driver, though barely. He was in a motorbike accident and out of work for 10 days though he seemed to think he should get paid for all those days off. Khun Biayoon was saved by me but I'm out of saves. If he messes up again he is out. I like him and he is a good guy though he doesn't like to work hard. He is making his way through our movie collection. I make sure after a couple of weeks or so I change out the movies in the car. He appreciates it. 😝

Those 10 days I drove around myself. Yes scary I know but it did make me feel powerful and miss the ability to just jump in my car and go where I want. Sometimes with a driver you feel trapped and feel weird when you just got home and realize you forgot something at the store and need to go back or the thing at the Big C (like a target) wasn't at the regular Big C you go to and want to drive an extra 30 minutes across town to the other Big C so you can get what you want. Plus with a driver I am very conscious with what I spend because I can spend in one shopping trip what he makes in a week. 

The kids are great and just livin life. Jack got back from his trip to Chiang Mai he had a fabulous time. I know when my kid has a great time when you don't have to ask how the trip was and he just talks and talks and follows me around the house telling me about his trip. He traveled by airplane with his group, stayed in a tribal village, visited the famous night market, plowed a rice field with a buffalo and got very muddy, rode in a go cart, learned how to fire a cross bow into a papaya, watched a traditional tribal dance, ate all kinds of different foods, learned how to cook over an open pit in the ground, slept at a school in the village, hiked to the highest peak in Thailand, fed pigs, taught English to the school children in the tribe, watched women make silk and did a study of invertebrate in a rain forest. All this done in 4 days with his school mates and this is why he slept for more than 24 hours when he got home. He was a tired boy!  He loved this experience so much that we just put his down payment on his next trip to Nepal in February. Nepal for goodness sake. I want to be one of my kids!!!

I'm working on those adoption papers Kellie. ;)

Andrew made the Fobisea team. Fobisea is where the international schools come together to compete in various sporting events. Each school is allowed to only take 20 kids per age group. Andrews age,   yr 7 and 8 combined, had over 50 kids try out and he was chosen. He is soooo excited. He is going to Brunei in the beginning of April. Yeah google where that is, I had too. Again can I say I want to be one of my children. 

Erin is busy busy busy with school. She really loves it and is very happy. We have to compete with her over the driver on weekends. She seems always to have something going on. School is going really well and she is handling the IB program and work load effortlessly. Boyfriend is over but that is a good thing. She was sad but I told her who wants to date a boy who wears a smaller size jean than most woman anyway. I don't think she really appreciated that comment maybe one day she will understand. Lol

Last weekend Walters boss invited us to join him on a boat he rented. Walter and I don't pass up much in this life we are living and this was not an opportunity we were going to pass on. This boat ended up being a yacht. My kids were SO happy they didn't pass on this offer too. Wow. Incredibly beautiful and SO not something Walters boss does often. We took off from the Ocean Marina in the bay of Pattaya and traveled around. One of the things on my bucket list while being here was to go to monkey island. Monkey island is an island only inhabited by monkeys. Only way to get there is by boat. Monkeys are everywhere and will come up to you as you approach the shore. I got to go to monkey island on this boating trip. I was so excited. Walter, the kids and I swam from the boat to shore and were able to see these monkeys very very close up, like if I stuck my hand out I could touch them. It was really amazing. We did not bring any fruit with us to feed them but that didn't matter they still put on a show. Jumping from the trees and diving into water. It was so neat. 

 

I had no idea monkeys swam but they do and even dive out of tress into the water. 

Our ride

It was a red, white and blue theme day so we rocked our flags!

Big Papa with his girl!

Pattaya hosts the International Firework show. Had a great time. Wow what amazing fireworks. An hour long show of fireworks from 4 different countries. This was our gang that we misbehaved with that night. All bloody Aussies we are the only Americans and they like to tease us tons. :)

This was a photo my girlfriend took that night. We were actually much closer than she was but I thought it was an incredible picture from that night.  We could see these from our house too. 

No school last Thursday. The kings birthday and Thai Fathers Day. The Kings birthday is a big deal here   He turned 86 and has been king since he was 18. He is quite adored and no one likes to speak about what will happen when he is gone. Thailand is having some political difficulties right now. Many protests in Bangkok. We are not affected here in Pattaya but my maid likes to tell me "Thailand bad" and then she shakes her finger at me. I'm not quite sure what I'm supposed to do with this information so I just shake my head and agree though for me Thailand isn't so bad. Life is good. 😊. 

Since Walter had off and no school for Erin, Andrew and Jack we had a great day of tennis, movies and dinner. 

Walter has been home almost a whole month without traveling probably the reason I haven't blogged much. It has been great having him here.  We have gone out lots, finished the entire season of Breaking Bad (I'll just say OMG that was probably the best TV series I've seen in a while). Watched some movies and just been a family again. It has been nice. He leaves again later this week for Australia but it's ok, It's time for a break JK 😜 and he is only gone for a week.  Plus Ryan will be here so I'll be distracted. Hahaha

Final Countdown

Ryan arrives in less than 5 days. Yahoooooo!!

My parents arrive in 11 days. Yipeeeeee!!

So much to be thankful for during this holiday season.  

Life is good. 😊

Life here is "same same but different". - this is my very favorite sayings that the Thais say.

Cracks me up every time

Cheers

😘 M