Have a Cool Yule
All the best
Al
Once again, sorry folks.
After a good start in 2004, my blogging has gone seriously downhill in '05.
The only excuse that I can offer is that I have been too busy living the good life to tell you about it.
I can tell you this about living in Thailand however:
The food is good,
The weather is good,
The environment is good,
The people are good,
The ladies are good,
The guys are good,
The crew is good,
The times are good,
The islands are good, and
The lifestyle is good.
Basically everything is good, most things better than good, superlative.
Someone cleans my house, does my washing and cooks my food. All I need is someone to mix my drinks and I will be sorted - it would be a full time gig though!
Xmas in a Buddist country is a bit different to Oz. Firstly, it is not a holiday - I just got home from work and it is boxing day. The good news is that we get four days off at new years.
Missing the xmas holiday is not really a drama, when you get so many other days off during the year - King's Birthday, Buddha days, Songkhran etc. etc.
Allot of my students are interested in the holiday, but know very little about it or what it means.
It all seems a bit secondary to the getting of presents.
I spent the day with my parents who have been visiting for the past few weeks. This has been an adventure in itself:
They arrived in BKK and I gave the essential highlights of town, tour. Mainly because if I stay in the capital for more than a couple of days I start getting a nervous twitch. It is a bit too crazy for my liking.
Essential highlights tour:
Basically everything is good, most things better than good, superlative.
Someone cleans my house, does my washing and cooks my food. All I need is someone to mix my drinks and I will be sorted - it would be a full time gig though!
Xmas in a Buddist country is a bit different to Oz. Firstly, it is not a holiday - I just got home from work and it is boxing day. The good news is that we get four days off at new years.
Missing the xmas holiday is not really a drama, when you get so many other days off during the year - King's Birthday, Buddha days, Songkhran etc. etc.
Allot of my students are interested in the holiday, but know very little about it or what it means.
It all seems a bit secondary to the getting of presents.I spent the day with my parents who have been visiting for the past few weeks. This has been an adventure in itself:
They arrived in BKK and I gave the essential highlights of town, tour. Mainly because if I stay in the capital for more than a couple of days I start getting a nervous twitch. It is a bit too crazy for my liking.
Essential highlights tour:
Tuk tuk to the river
River bus up the Chao Phra
Off to the Palace and Emerald Buddha
Tuk tuk to Khao San Road to laugh at the farang
Lunch
Tuk tuk to The Golden Mount Climb and look over the city
Canal boat to Siam Square regionMRT back to the hotel
Collapse
China town
China town
Worlds biggest jewery store
Lunch
Chill outDinner
Patpong gogo bars for happy hour
Patpong markets
Patpong performance art show (aka pussy show)
After that we headed up to the old captial of Ayuttaya to see all the temples and take a long boat trip around the town's old mote. Once we were wat - ed out it was up to Lopburi to see the mad monkeys that have taken over the centre of town. Amazing. Check out the photos at the website below.
From there it was back down to Surat so I could start work again and Michael and Katherine were left to there own devices to wander around the town that has been my home for the better part of this year.
They seemed to like it, despite its exterior ugliness, they seemed to see why the translation of Suratthani means - place of good people. And of course the food is devine.
A few days in Surat is enough for anyone, so I sent them off to Khao Sok. This they enjoyed and stayed for longer than I have, after partaking in an elephant ride, they headed off to Krabi.
They had a few days around there and Ao Nang, before heading over to Ra Lay. This is where I met them on Friday night. I travelled across that afternoon, post - work. Three hours on a bus, half an hour on the back of a motorbike and twenty minutes on a longboat and I was walking up the beach to the cocktails.
Xmas eve we spent walking, eating, swimming and having a few Singhas. Before dinner and fireworks on the beach. I headed out to the Skunk Bar and Gekko bar where I met the local rastas as well as - you guessed it - 25 bloody English teachers. You cannot get away from the buggers.
I stumbled in at about three and passed out only to be rudely woken by the sun at 8.30. Driven more by the need of caffine than the xmas spirit, I ventured out into the light...
A swim at the beach was essential as well as a large greasy breakfast. Both were accomplished
before I had to jump back on the longboat and head back to Surat for the next weeks frivolities with the kids.
On arriving on the soi however, I found myself in the middle of yet another festivity. Everyone had dragged tables and chairs into the street to have xams dinner on the soi. A finer farang feast I have yet to have in Thailand. Turkey, mashed tatties, gravy, stuffing, the works. Bloody brilliant. Full compliments to the cooks and my oven, which someone actually got to work!
Anyway, after a few scotches plus dessert we finished just in time to not get enough sleep. In short that means that I am knackered right now and am off for a kip.
Feel free to check out the latest photos, they have been regularly updated at:http://www.flickr.com/photos/64776711@N00/
Anyway, have a happy non denominational winter holiday season.
After that we headed up to the old captial of Ayuttaya to see all the temples and take a long boat trip around the town's old mote. Once we were wat - ed out it was up to Lopburi to see the mad monkeys that have taken over the centre of town. Amazing. Check out the photos at the website below.
From there it was back down to Surat so I could start work again and Michael and Katherine were left to there own devices to wander around the town that has been my home for the better part of this year.
They seemed to like it, despite its exterior ugliness, they seemed to see why the translation of Suratthani means - place of good people. And of course the food is devine.A few days in Surat is enough for anyone, so I sent them off to Khao Sok. This they enjoyed and stayed for longer than I have, after partaking in an elephant ride, they headed off to Krabi.
They had a few days around there and Ao Nang, before heading over to Ra Lay. This is where I met them on Friday night. I travelled across that afternoon, post - work. Three hours on a bus, half an hour on the back of a motorbike and twenty minutes on a longboat and I was walking up the beach to the cocktails.
Xmas eve we spent walking, eating, swimming and having a few Singhas. Before dinner and fireworks on the beach. I headed out to the Skunk Bar and Gekko bar where I met the local rastas as well as - you guessed it - 25 bloody English teachers. You cannot get away from the buggers.
I stumbled in at about three and passed out only to be rudely woken by the sun at 8.30. Driven more by the need of caffine than the xmas spirit, I ventured out into the light...
A swim at the beach was essential as well as a large greasy breakfast. Both were accomplished
before I had to jump back on the longboat and head back to Surat for the next weeks frivolities with the kids.On arriving on the soi however, I found myself in the middle of yet another festivity. Everyone had dragged tables and chairs into the street to have xams dinner on the soi. A finer farang feast I have yet to have in Thailand. Turkey, mashed tatties, gravy, stuffing, the works. Bloody brilliant. Full compliments to the cooks and my oven, which someone actually got to work!
Anyway, after a few scotches plus dessert we finished just in time to not get enough sleep. In short that means that I am knackered right now and am off for a kip.
Feel free to check out the latest photos, they have been regularly updated at:http://www.flickr.com/photos/64776711@N00/
Anyway, have a happy non denominational winter holiday season.Peace be with you.
Take it easy
All the best
Al
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