Browse Month: December 2005

Happy New Year!!

On Friday we woke up early and drove to Kanchanaburi. We had some noodles for 20 baht (50 cents) and went to eat bbq chicken at Erawan Waterfall. Unfortunately, when we went up to see each level of the waterfall, I got separated and ended up going all the way up to the 6th level while my dad, brother, and Jes frantically searched for me at the 3rd level. We all had dinner on a floating house that was towed down the river by a speedboat. We actually crashed a company holiday party that my dad’s childhood friend was throwing for his employees. The food was great, they have Johnny Walker Black for Jes, and my brother and I enjoyed the vodka that we smuggled in a water bottle. We got a taste of Thai music and how they dance…very interesting but cool at the same time. Spent the night at my dad’s friends vacation home by the river.
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Today Johnny went to play golf at 6 am. We went to have breakfast out on the street…rice porridge and Chinese donuts for 12 baht (30 cents)…awesome. We later visited the Bridge over the River Kwai…pretty cheesy. Brought some fruit back to the house: green mango and fresh pineapple. They were 15 baht per bag. Man, food is cheap here. Drove back to Bangkok and got some photos of my mom’s old house while Jes, Johnny, and my dad got haircuts. Now we’re in the mall and will be trying to find some New Year festivities. Happy 2006 everyone!

hello from Thailand

We’re in Thailand now and what a day it has been. The flight was long but the plane is nice. We’re eating all day and went to see the ruins where they filmed Mortal Combat. The weather is warm but not too bad. Living like kings and queens here so far. Not sure where we’re being taken tomorrow.
Mosquito bite count: Jes = 2, Nina = 0, and Johnny = 2.

We’re outta here!

So excited…we’re all packed and I took my last no-nonsense shower. It might be two weeks before I can get my hair thoroughly lathered and washed without abrupt temperature changes or poor water pressure. Plans for the 17-hour plane ride:
1) work on Sudoku puzzles until I’m cross-eyed
2) build my own metropolis on SimCity4
3) learn how to use Photoshop CS2
4) get some sleep
5) watch some movies
6) enjoy the ride
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Hopefully I’ll figure out a way to send photos while I’m there. Ta ta for now!

Goodbye Christmas. Hello Thailand!

We’re leaving for Thailand tomorrow night and I’m in preparation mode. I’ve put away the Christmas decorations, took down the tree, made packing lists and to-do lists, and did a little research on-line today. Christmas came and passed so quickly this year yet it seemed like our trip to Thailand would never get here.
I purchased a couple books back in August to help me brush up on my Thai and orient me to the cities that we’ll be visiting. I’m excited to see how much Thai I can still speak and if it will all come back to me while I’m there. It will also be nice to see Thailand through my grown-up eyes and senses since the last time I was there I couldn’t wait to come home. I remember my dad advising me to wait until I grew up before returning to Thailand. He said, “you’ll appreciate all this later”. I hope he’s right. I can’t wait to see the elephants, beaches, my dad’s old neighborhood, and my mom’s old house. However, I’m not looking forward to the sticky weather and blood-thirsty mosquitos. So far it looks like we’ll be in Bangkok for most of the time and going on small trips to Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai in the north and Phuket in the south. Good times…

Merry Christmas!

It’s officially Christmas and much of our holiday fun is over already. On Friday, we had our 6th Annual Christmas Party with the usual food, drinks, and sucky gift exchange. It was so nice to see everyone together in one place again. Over the years, we’ve gotten older and wiser but we’ve all managed to stay the same. This also goes for the exchange gifts. This year the theme was “something shiny” and boy oh boy did the gifts suck…as usual. Why is it that every year we end up with some martini glasses or a shaker regardless of the theme? I don’t remember any of us really enjoying martinis and yet they keep coming. Some of the funny gifts include rolls of coins worth the requisite $25, a shiny vibrator, lots of items from Crate & Barrel that included a gift receipt, and a couple of obvious re-gifts such as a Homedics rain something. We’re going to have to revamp this gift exchange thing. If anyone has a suggestion, please let me know.
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On Saturday, I went to Fry’s with the Lao brothers to find a couple more gifts to finish off the shopping list. We also managed to find power adapters that we’ll need in order to play with our laptops on the 17-hour flight to Thailand. When we got home, I made cookies and cupcakes for the Christmas dinner while the boys wrapped the presents. The dinner at Uncle Dennis’ house was cool. The food was yummy and the gifts for the exchange were much better than Friday’s. My Homedics rain thingy went to Auntie Cheryl’s mom who looked a little confused when she first opened it but seemed to actually appreciate it. I think it’s in good hands now. I ended up with a really authentic Italian cook book and a DVD of “The Piano”. Jes won some spa towels and Jason won his own gift back.
So now it’s Christmas Day and we don’t have any major plans for today. Before you know it, it will be time to pack up for Thailand and be on our way.

game night

We went to Scott’s house to hang out and play some board games last night. His wife and 3 kids were also there and joined in on the fun. We started out playing poker and one of Scott’s kids won. I actually think they all know the game better than me. Anyway, after they went to bed, we kicked up the drinks and played a Cranium-like game that they’ve had for 10 years. So the subjects and clues were a little out-dated and I didn’t recognize half of the famous people listed on the cards. It was still fun though…by the way, the girls rocked it that night and won two games.
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Tonight we’re having our Annual Christmas Party in our little birdhouse once again. The gift theme this year is “something shiny” and should be interesting to see how people interpret it. It’s going to be a hoot…I’m looking forward to seeing everyone in one place again. Hopefully everyone will be on their best behavior tonight…doubtful. Merry Christmas Eve Eve!