Travels Continuation from Aug 24

Kathy, Ailly and I met up with:

Parintorn Ratnaratorn (Tree)
Pranee Janjirapiwat (Aw)
Sujitra Suttithum (Ta)
Potjanee Vongkruemake
Chantita Rattanatassanee (Chanti)

Ta also brought her daughter and Potjanee's husband drove us to Damnoen Saduak floating market. We rode along the river shopping, eating noodles, feeding the fish and taking many pictures.

Then we were on our way to the Seafood Restaurant. On the way there were many salt fields and coconut piles. I requested for them to slow down so I could take a picture. They took it a little farther by stopping on the side of the highway and reversing so I could get the picture. This was a little scary watching on coming traffic. Not to mention when we stopped we all got out of the van and took a picture in front of the coconut pile. This was a first for everyone in the van and attracted some looks from the people around. Crazy coconut girl!

The Seafood Restaurant was Thai Style where we all order something and share in the middle. We let them order for us and the food just kept coming. There were shrimps, papaya salad/ som tom (very spicy), crab omelet, fried red snapper, red snapper, soup with prawn, fried rice, steamed rice, crab, crab legs, shellfish and pompelo (fruit) for desert.

After the restaurant we went to see Thai Sty houses with surrounding gardens and another floating market. It was very hot by the end of the day and we were ready to head back for a shower. It was a wonderful experience that we were truly able to enjoy with our Thai friends and translators.

Travels August 15 through August 24, 2008

Kathy's birthday was August 16 so we celebrated friday by eating at a Japanese buffet. On Saturday we went to the Hard Rock Cafe to meet before dinner. Vishal, Mark and Jamie, Ailly, Kathy and myself all went to dinner at Steaks and more where we tried New Zealand type food. I had a New Zealand Ribeye which was very good. This was located at Central World Mall, they had a lot of environmental displays to walk by on the way to dessert. Kathy wanted some icecream so we went to McD's. Mark decided his "large" Mcflurry wasn't so large and also got two icecream cones. After that Mark, Jamie, Kathy and myself went to Soi 8 where they had a live band. The waitress sang Happy Birthday. We stopped and fed an elephant on the way.



On Thursday Aug 21 I went to Huntsman Pub with Tom (office manager) his wife Tana and a couple of their neighbors Dicky and Paul. They had a live band with three girls that sang for entertainment. We are the Champions was a hit along with RESPECT by Aretha Franklin. Tom got a little crazy with the girls. The food was great, I had chicken in a basket and we all shared tastes of the other foods, for desert there was green apple crumbles. I was overstuffed.



The next day we went to Jamie McDermotts for dinner. Her nanny Agnes made us several dishes to try, she is from the Philippines. Alison Mcmenemie (Dave's (C&P) wife), Kathy, Ailly, and myself rode together to the house. We had a great time to visit about past experiences.



Saturday afternoon, Kathy and myself went to Ailly Liu's place to visit and swim. We enjoyed a nice relaxing afternoon by the pool and in the sauna. Ailly also made a chinese desert for us that involved dates and brown sugar stewed with other items. She lives across from the horsetrack so we were able to see some of the races from a distance. After swimming we cleaned up and went to Roadhouse BBQ to meet others from work. Tom and Tana, Shannon Adams and his wife, Don Sullivan and his wife, Ailly, Kathy, Chris Bennett, and myself. I had beef brisket which was very good along with garlic corn and a piece of cornbread. There was also a lady and man singing classic style music. After dinner most of us took the MRT to the Suan-Lum Night Bazaar Market. Kathy and I stayed the longest trying to buy souvenirs. It was very hot and crowded. We left about 11 pm because we needed to get up early to go to the floating market Sunday morning.



Kathy, Ailly and I met up with:

Parintorn Ratnaratorn (Tree)
Pranee Janjirapiwat (Aw)
Sujitra Suttithum (Ta)
Potjanee Vongkruemake
Chantita Rattanatassanee (Chanti)

I will write more later, here is a link to my photo's:

http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=4eljvdex.cj0mx14x&x=0&y=-337b5k&localeid=en_US

Travels August 14, 2008

I am back to work in Thailand after a new adventure in Singapore. Singapore was a nice break from the crowded streets of Bangkok. August 9 was Singapore's National Day celebrating 43 years of independence from Malaysia. There was an air show and fireworks and a 3 tv screens at City Hall were you could view the National Day Parade. They also attempted the world's largest Singapore flag with red and white lights with the crowd.

We stayed at Orchard Parade Hotel which was very nice and in the center of the shopping district. We were in walking distance of the Botanic Gardens which could have been a weeks trip in and of itself. Hundreds of varieties of orchids not to mention all the different types of trees. We also went on a Cheng Ho water tour to see the islands and city skyline. On the tour we stopped at Kusu Island otherwise known as tortoise island. We walked on the beach and collected a few shells.

Sunday for dinner we met with Chris Kim (works for B&V Singapore) and her daughter Molly and G (nanny). They took us to the east coast park area to walk along the water and to see the Seafood Centre where we ate Singapore style seafood. We ordered several things and shared them all including: chili crab, black peppered crab, scallops, cereal prawns and morning glory (vegetable). It was a great meal to share with friends.

On Monday we spent the morning in Chinatown shopping for souvenirs and then went to Sentosa for the remainder of the evening. We went to Underwater World, Palawan Beach, Dolphin Lagoon with the pink dolphins. Then we met some friends of mine who worked on the Spruce project with me; Eddie and Ian with BEC. We met at Coastes which is a restaurant on the beach. Kathy and I had dinner there and then went to Songs of the Sea. We finished the evening by walking through Merlion Walk and then to the cable cars for a ride back to Singapore.

We finished the trip off by spending some time at the Tanglin Mall before heading to the airport. When we arrived in Bangkok Tuesday on the Queen's birthday aka Mother's Day is celebrated as a holiday.

Link to photos:

http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=4eljvdex.a8xmmyjl&x=0&y=npw0qn&localeid=en_US

Travels Weekend of August 9, 2008

Here are some links to places I went this past weekend in Singapore:

Songs of the Sea:
http://www.sentosa.com.sg/explore_sentosa/attractions/songs_of_the_sea.html

Dolphin Lagoon:
http://www.sentosa.com.sg/explore_sentosa/attractions/dolphin_lagoon.html

Underwater World:
http://www.sentosa.com.sg/explore_sentosa/attractions/underwater_world.html

Palawan Beach:
http://www.sentosa.com.sg/explore_sentosa/beaches/palawan_beach.html

Merlion:
http://www.sentosa.com.sg/explore_sentosa/attractions/the_merlion_merlionwalk.html

Kusu Island:
http://www.visitsingapore.com/publish/stbportal/en/home/what_to_see/isles_of_singapore/kusu_island.html

Botanic Gardens:
http://www.sbg.org.sg/

Travels Weekend of August 1, 2008

I uploaded my pictures from the weekend of all the places we visited. You will notice some of the places only have the outside of the buildings, that is because cameras are not allowed in all places. To see the inside visit the website links on yesterday's post.

http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=4eljvdex.4ucnwv89&x=0&y=-sthhi&localeid=en_US

This weekend I will be going to Singapore as Tuesday is a holiday in Bangkok. Singapore celebrates its Independence Day this weekend also. I'm looking forward to another travel.

Travels August 3, 2008

I've attached some links to the places I went on Sunday:

Grand Palace:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Palace,_Bangkok

Vimanmek Palace:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vimanmek_Palace; http://www.vimanmek.com/

Wat Arun (Temple of the Dawn)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wat_Arun;
http://www.sacred-destinations.com/thailand/bangkok-wat-arun.htm

Wat Phra Chetuphon (Temple of the Reclining Buddha)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reclining_Buddha;
http://www.sacred-destinations.com/thailand/bangkok-wat-pho.htm

Phra Kaew Morakot (Emerald Buddha)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emerald_buddha;
http://www.sacred-destinations.com/thailand/bangkok-wat-phra-keo-temple-of-emerald-buddha.htm