A Bit of Wildlife

I don't know what made this place so popular but these bids were eating something delicious from the swampy area. probably gigantic snails.

It's not too hard to figure out why beef is not popular here. Each cow had a white bird beside it which brought back memories of a National Geographic episode.

 Woohoo, Vince found hockey. We are hoping that we get good olympic coverage.

 A typical house party parking lot.....scooters and bikes but no cars.

To Market to Market to Buy a Smoked Pig

We checked out the floating market near us today...ah, not that exciting. So we will plan a trip back down to the insanely crazy Chattachuck Market in the near future. That is the Wat (temple) across the river.

Poor little piggy.

Found this guy hanging around causing trouble so I joined him for yummy spring rolls which was a weird choice at 8 am.

But it was the deep fried banana, pumpkin and pineapple that did us in. It was good but a little on the "fried" side.

Solar panels on a "water mixer-upper"

We don't remember the whole right side at all when we were here 4 months ago. Businesses pop up and close so quickly here.

If someone could shed some light on this it would be nice. Adam and Eve on a bull maybe?

We saw the "sticky rice in bamboo" being cooked which was pretty cool. However, after the fried food, I declined. 

 Advanced-voting is on Sunday and they expect the unrest to get even greater. So far we have not been affected too much by it but we'll see. I am glad that Superman is here to look after us though.

....and whomever this guy is. Maybe the Thai version of Robin?

A Glimpse into My Class

They were playing a version of The 10 000 dollar Pyramid from the 1970's which finally got the super quiet girls to talk. Lots of energy.

Flowering Bush, Electrical Maze, Taxi Driver and a Police Mannequin

It's very interesting to experience all of the seasons in a new country since there are subtleties that you do not notice in one visit. Like our bush flowering....we didn't even know it could.

These tiles are out poor excuse for a patio but it really has only been recent that we can sit outside in comfort. It's amazing how you can transform a driveway into an eating area fairly quickly. Maybe next year we'll fix up this little patio.

In case you missed it, Bangkok's thermometers hit a 30 year record low i last week when they hit a chilly 15.6 dec C. We actually had to wear sweaters!

This photo is taken from inside one of our favourite little places. If you look closely, you will see that the post is covered in outlets....the thing at the top is actually the bottom of a fan.

I got another flat.....number 6 maybe? On my list of things to bring back in April tubes/tires which can hold up a bit better.

While learning about Astronomy, I had the kids do a project part of which involved drawing the planets, taking a picture of them and inserting them into their document. When one of the girls asked if she could draw them all on the same sheet I said sure.....but did not expect this beautiful piece of artwork. I think I hung it sideways:)

A lesson in taxi drivers. There are an estimated 200 000 taxi drivers in Bangkok and the number on the permits is sequential so the lower the number, the greater experience. They always know the traffic situation and backroads. We were happy to get this guy!

I am not sure what the deal in with this policeman mannequin but we saw two others like it. Cheap labour?

The city is all about extremes and this scene did not let us down. The high end Laser and Plastic Surgery center overlooks a simple housing area. Nice car though.

Same place from a different angle. That's the Airport Link rail above. It was like a little jungle in the middle of the city.

We could not find a taxi to take us back from the local train stop and I spotted the "26 bus" which goes right by our place. So, on we hopped for a while until we realized that it was taking the long way around and took a taxi the rest of the way. The floors of the busses are always wood and this is one of the oldest by far. In the mornings, when I run, it is still dark and it comes out of nowhere like a scene in a Steven King movie. It is as creepy...but also free. 

Sticky Rice and Coconut

 I am not sure how it happened, but somehow Vince and I have become Vegemite fans. Maybe it's the salt? I am still looking for Marmite al the while perplexed as to how this became a comfort food. I sent this picture to vince from school around lunchtime knowing that he was looking for it...and I had stolen it.

The building continues. We have heard that it will be a salt water swimming pool...cool!

 I reported a few posts ago that the klong was overgrown. Well, they fixed it by cutting a swath down the middle.

...and on the other side of the bridge it looks like this. maybe the swath was to make it big enough for a huge cutting machine?

We were sure what we bought at the market on Friday night but I did know it was coconut....not "fish and curry" which we are not quite used to yet.

yum....sticky rice and coconut....and beans maybe? One was white.

....and the other black. I don't know what the technical difference is but they were both really good. The bamboo leave had the same stuff but drier. I ate it before I thought to take a picture...oops.

And so begins our quest to try most things at the market. Again...the fish and curry is scary but I'll get over it.

Teacher Appreciation Day

In a touching ceremony at the beginning of the school day, each student presents their homeroom teacher with a ring of flowers. Flowers are used frequently here and can be seen hanging from the mirrors of taxis warding off bad luck...or maybe spirits?

The ceremony.

We finally had a terrible meal in Thailand...in a mall which actually makes sense. However, we also saw our first skating rink which I have to admit, thought would be much lager than it was. 

Back to Thailand

It was really strange leaving Australia and heading back to Thailand since it felt like it should be Canada. All the things associated with hot weather and winter months still confuse me and I really do miss skiing but it will be there when we get back.

We had a great active holiday with Alex and Cathy and I was lucky enough to go cycling 5-6 times which of course reminded me how much I love it, and also how much I love rolling hills. There are some cyclists here but I am skeptical about how great the riding can be with so many people and such busy roads. The townships have a way of spoiling me.

So, the first weekend back, I headed out to where "they" say to go and after 20 min on our main road I end up at this intersection. I had to laugh because I could not see a way to cross and just before I made a break for it , I looked up and saw the pedestrian walk. My cycling excursions have never, ever included hauling my bike up and down stairs but I made an exception and congratulated myself on wearing running shoes instead of cycling shoes.

So, I did okay but I am sad to say that you do feel the pollution and this is the land of dead end streets. I pedalled for 15 min on one road then suddenly, that's it...end of road. However, I will try this in the morning with less cars and people.

I am convinced that there are more of these...roads without people. 

I come across these cranes regularly on runs. This one didn't really want to move until I told him that "No, I am not here to steal that disgusting giant snail that you are trying to crack open."

Sunday afternoon....ran in the morning, went to the market, had a 2 hour massage...Vince went to play golf......so I headed to the pool. I always swim in our 25 m pool since it is free more often but I figured on the weekend I would try the 50 m. I hoped I might get a lane to myself......hahahaha.....I got the whole pool! Sometimes the lack of (?) security in this country works in my favour. Where else could you leave a pool open with no-one around and allow (encourage even) people to swim.

 So, now for a laugh. I thought how nice it would be to have chilli one night....comfort foods are always good regardless of the heat. For the record, if you are not sure if something is really "chilli powder" as we know it, or ground chillies, do NOT open it and sniff it. I think I damaged part of my brain in doing so. Needless to say...100% chillies. On the up side, I learned what is actually in chilli powder and the chilli smells delish...made of ground pork of course.

Coogee to Bondi Walk

The Coogee to Bondi walk is a beautiful coastal walk which takes you across beach after beach.

Someone said they saw dolphins.

Our picnic spot with a view of the ocean.

The famous Bondi Pool, home of the Iceberg's Swimming Club. I keep saying that I want to swim here but it doesn't quite work out. I guess I'll just have to go back. It was really quite crowded.

Bondi Beach

It's the last day of the Christmas holidays and the beach and ocean are packed. 

The lifeguards section of an area and people are expected to "swim between the flags". This might be one of the toughest lifeguarding jobs out there. There are masses of people in the same area.

Which leads to the story of Alex and I. There were lots of people playing in the waves and we headed out a little deeper and got behind them. It was a good plan until we got hammered by a series of 3 metre waves. I didn't know that they can actually punch you twice and also learned the valuable lesson that you cannot swim in sea foam. This tends to affect breathing. We got in safely but let's just say it's good that there were two of us looking out for each other. Who am I kidding? Alex was watching for me. By the way, it's a little unnerving watching a wave grow to tremendous heights over your potential help.

See? No worse for wear.

Did I forget that we led the neophyte swimmer in with us? Vince was smart enough to stop in the shallow part but this was his reaction when he finally saw us on solid ground. I guess he saw in the water...and then he didn't.

 The conversation went something like this..."Woah, Vince. It THAT the outback?"

Until next time....