Bangkok Week 23

December 6, 2008

Many, many flowers and a trip to Chulalongkorn University's biennial academic fair.

Rama IX Park, a huge botanical garden in the outskirts of Bangkok, was having a big flower sale and festival this past weekend.

People came to picnic, shop, stroll, relax... and sleep.

A picturesque pond, footbridge, and ...

... the HUGEST lily pads we'd ever seen!

Photographing those big mama pads.

Having fun taking portraits with the SLR.

They could be used as stepping stones!

We couldn't quite pass ourselves off as young enough to play in this neat structure in the playground area.

How colorful!

It is fall, after all. These huge leaves had fallen from a tree.

There was a little carnival area of for the kiddies.

More walking, and more flowers.

Pink was never my color.

Wouldn't want to live here.

Flowers surrounding the golden island.

I don't know what these berries are, but the ant seems attracted to them.

Basking in a sea of marigolds.

And a field of brains!

There was a geodesic dome ...

... home to many cacti ...

... and some fools, too.

These cacti were an afterthought.

A ballerina flower.

The Red Sea.

A hibisbus!

Some of the gardeners responsible for the loveliness, in their sun gear.

A fish who lives in the "indoor plants" garden.

More "indoor" plants.

This tree trunk is watching your every move.

Zebra leaves.

Stopping to smell the rose-replacements.

Natural shade.

"Christmas: Large B70, Small B50"

"Hello. I'm B150!"

A dripping tree.

All decked out for Canada Day.

More warm hues.

Who's imitating whom?

Fried rice for lunch (the garden was home to many restaurants and food stalls this weekend).

This was a more permanent restaurant... although they still used disposable plates and cutlery.

Lanterns being sold by one vendor.

Almost indistinguishable!

Part of the British garden.

There was a garden of umbrellas.

These flowers were housed inside an air-conditioned room ...

... that was also home to many prize-winning Bonsais.

Evil-looking purple monsters.

More gardens (and yes, you can walk on the grass).

The Japanese garden, behind which you can see the park's topiary creatures.

A cheery resident.

Almost too colorful!

A very long bed of sunflowers... facing the wrong way!

Fibonacci ring any bells?

Almost too sunny for a group shot.

"Hey guys! Why so droopy?"

Fancy trix.

Winter time, you said? Parka it is, then!

The main, fountain-lined approach to the park's central atrium.

Anybody home?

Layers of color and texture.

A closer view of the huge atrium and the park's namesake.

A monk enjoying the bright afternoon.

Mother, son, son and sun.

No park is complete without its floating vendors.

Land bridges leading to the edge of the pond.

Up in a structurally questionable treehouse.

Coming up to join... and test the treehouse's strength!

More floating vendors.

Cheese! Now let's get down from here!

Selling various fruits and chili pastes.

AHH! What's going on here!?!

These birdhouses were occupied by fake birds! Talk about taunting the locals.

In China!

The market area, with the requisite meats-on-sticks.

A bamboo water-wheel that dumped the water straight into the pond.

Baby Brains.

Palms in front of the park's main lake.

They gave up peddling and decided to use a sail instead.

Fun with Fotos.

The rather strong fountain in the lake ... as several peddle-boaters found out.

What's wrong with this picture?

Lost in the hedge garden!

A magazine for Maplewood.

Christmas eyes! Scary, no?

The biennial academic fair at Chulalongkorn University.

One of the main walkways into the campus-- far more populated than when I came during Bangkok Week 1.

No Thai event is complete without a makeshift food court.

The exhibition area of Vee's department.

Vee presents his research to a captive audience!

Boo!

Hmm. What are the meaning of pinwheels?

Arts and crafts with old soda bottles!

We happened to stumble upon the princess... this was taken immediately after she was whisked off in a parade of fancy cars.

Ice cream cans.

The aftermath of hungry students.

Making popcorn, ye olde-school style.

A side of Chula that we'd not seen before.

The teeniest orange ...

... eaten here because they're seedless!

Bangkok Week 22

November 29, 2008

A day trip down to Pattaya and Jomtien Beach, and some tropical Holiday Spirit!

We intended to leave for the bus station at the crack of dawn, but dawn had already cracked!

Riding the skytrain, almost the length of the line, to get to the eastern bus terminal.

Our 7am bus to Pattaya! Probably the route most frequented by foreign backpackers.

Our front-row tickets.

The last cassette tape player in Thailand! And on our bus!

Meals on wheels.

Arriving at the bus terminal in Pattaya, and being greeted by the foreigners.

One of the many Russian real estate / travel agencies.

First stop: Pattaya Park Funnyland!

HA HA HA!

This carousel is bandtastic!

Their roller coaster had a unique lift system: the central frame spins and pushes the car up the track.

The Russian mother-daughter pair were wondering why the heck I kept photographing them.

The ride attracted many onlookers.

The most expensive coaster yet-- and that's after we convinced them I deserve the Thai price!

"Aah! Not another one!"

It earns its name "Slalom Coaster". Also, a view of the water park we skipped.

296!

Smiles mask the nausea.

An overgrown elephant?

And finally! We reached the beach!

The beach was lined with these shaded chairs that you could rent for B30 a sitting.

The upper portion of Jomtien Beach was closed to cars and had a (partially) shaded footpath weaving through the sand.

Who knew we'd reached Greece!?

Trying to cool off in the water.

The main road along Jomtien Beach. Believe it or not, this is the less sleazy half of the area.

Make sure to follow the instructions, you hear?

More beach, taken over by more rentable chairs.

Vendors walk around the chair areas selling everything from fried foods to tattoos!

A typical soi.

A man and his 'nuts.

Lunch at a simple Thai place.

The chair area where we finally parked ourselves.

And the chair area next door to ours, complete with front-row view of a sandcastle construction site.

The menu of speedboats and sea-doos available to us.

Finally giving into the heat and taking the plunge.

Bobbing around with the rental boats.

A view down the beach, away from Pattaya (and toward the fancy resorts).

AAH! We're gonna be spilled out any minute now!

The scheme to keep dry our money and cards didn't really work.

Some shoes in the sand.

A coconut!

My first coconut!

Excavating for the last bits of flesh.

We didn't bring any books to read, so we took pictures of ourselves instead.

Yet another sunny view.

The solid roof of umbrellas under which we sat.

Later in the afternoon, as the sun moves across the sky (and the guy in front of us has left).

Bangalows? We know what they're for!

Getting a tour of the town courtesy of a truck-taxi.

Only real tourist traps feature banks-on-wheels.

A farang tuk-tuk driver!

A Pattaya intersection and its wires.

A typical sewer plate.

Back up at Pattaya's (notably more sketchy) beach.

The wind had started to pick up...

...and the water was getting choppy!

Who looks happier?

Just for you, Mike.

Dinner with James, another department alum now teaching at a university nearby.

My Pad Thai... which had to be taken back after it was found to be filled with shrimp.

The infamous Walking Street ...

... which would be better named the Street of Sleaze.

We discovered where The King retired.

The only 2 who didn't stop for several beers along the way.

The beach at night... looks a little more serene than during daylight.

Back at the bus station, waiting to board the bus back to Bangkok. It took about 1.5 hours to go home, but 2.5 hours to come here!

Paragon's posh Christmas ambiance both outside...

... and inside!

The main department store features not one, but two large trees.

Outside, there are plenty of balls shooting water (...)

Hallelujah!

Just have a close look.

Paragon's slightly abstract Christmas tree.

The view from the top. I imagine it's very lit-up at night.

Inside, reindeer prance through the fountain, their necks weighed down by even more decorations.

Bangkok's attempt at snow... and one resident's attempt to hide himself in it.

Sitting in snow, in shorts!

Feather-dusting the snow!

And this Christmas tree...

... is made of old CDs. I guess normal trees can't survive here.

Even columns are redecorated for the "season".

An appropriately tacky holiday message from MBK.

Mommy, why is Santa hanging himself and his reindeer?

Photographing all the tropical decorations is exhausting and clearly merits a break.

A New and Improved pencil case, to replace the one lost on the bus.

Skyping with the visitors at Hotel Tomczak.

Bangkok Week 21

November 20, 2008

Phew, what a packed week... packed with nothing!

Remember the box of spring rolls leftover from the seminar a few weeks ago? Well, we hit # 50. We actually took 62 total.

The nation "in mourning" during the princess's Royal Funeral.

My costume.

A slightly more casual costume.

Satisfying a month-long craving for a bubbly beverage with dinner. Note the hair.

And NOW note the hair! Courtesy of Mika's Salon. Open once monthly.

Where I spent Monday and Tuesday.

Packed! You can tell shrimp aquaculture is a popular subject.

A new coaster designed to absorb the condensation.

Rush hour comes to a halt at 6pm when the national anthem is played.

It's already Christmastime at the Villa Market complex next door to us.

Chris's package arrived!...

... just 4 days shy of 2 months after it was mailed! "From anywhere ... to anyone ... in any amount of time."

The celebrations never cease.

And now, we have a 2009 calendar! Thank you, Chris!

Bangkok Week 20

November 15, 2008

The puppy returns! And Thailand celebrates Loy Krathong, an annual festival held on the full moon in November.

Banana bread take 2, but this time it counted...

... because it was coming with us to Trad!

Preparing for the little ceremony: you can see the grandparents above the door.

The various fruits and desserts that were purchased. Each round tray weighed about 5 kg.

The part of the ceremony involving us lasted about 5 minutes. It took me at least 2 of those to realize I was holding the incense incorrectly.

Bowing before realizing the pillow was too far to reach with my forehead.

Now, it's the guests' turns.

Each guest ties a small string around your wrist, all of which you wear for at least 3 days.

Another food shot. We brought 10 lbs back to Bangkok, eventually.

Chillaxin' after the stressful part was over.

A bigger, stronger, even nippier puppy!

Although he looks innocent...

... do not be deceived!

At an aunt's house, where the other 2 grandparents reside.

Similar set up, but with less ceremony.

At a store in town that is famous for making traditional hats. It turned me into a giant.

Marouy, patiently waiting at the entrance to the house.

Big Son helping mom package the desserts to give away to friends and relatives.

Still hasn't lost his puppy ways.

Pushing the boundary by lying inside the store on its cool floor.

And eating the mail.

Drinking from the world's largest water bowl.

Lying in the shade, conveniently with a little tail basin.

We had no idea he could breakdance.

Enjoying something stuck to the cement, after diving into the fish bowls behind him.Enjoying something stuck to the cement, after diving into the fish bowls behind him.

Sneakily trying to dash into the house.

Eying the ball? Or eying the prey?

Sleepy, complete with gunk in one eye.

Insisting on eating ice *in* my lap.

It's unclear who's more crazed here.

He hasn't figured out human contact yet. "Always" seems to be his policy.

Rolling around like a maniac.

Eating a french fry under his trusty shelter.

A Thai pomegranate.

The critically acclaimed bread, dubbed by experts as "the best so far."

Aww, only 1 thumb up.

An assortment of Pigeon Pickles.

The doggie damage, after just one day.

Innocently sleeping the next morning...

...and reluctantly waking up.

Bro and sis, chillaxin' in the cool winter weather.

Still not entirely convinced it's time to get up.

Look! His feet are already as long as his brother's!

"Look Lady, I'm just trying to catch a few zzz's."

Another maniacal fit.

Cool, calm, collected.

The only defense possible against the maniac: a headlock!

The newspaper is one step up from an arm.

The traffic is more interesting than the ball.

But eating a leaf trumps both.

No comment.

"Cheese!"

What is the meaning of a sausage?

Sleepy puppy.

Two men come by to take a tree's leaves that are used in some curry dishes.

Enjoying one of the day's bowls of milk.

A banana tree that's not quite self-reliant.

"WALKIN' IN A WINTER WONDERLAND!"

He can still insert himself under the cart, but only barely.

Vegetarian noodles for lunch from town.

Mmm. Balls.

Dreaming of chasing bugs.

Enjoying the remains of an iced tea.

"Anything exciting going on up there?"

"Now how *did* I end up in this bowl?"

"Oh well, might as well drink up!"

The "Map of Trat" at the bus station creates unfair expectations of the town's bakeries.

Heading out to the annual "Loy Krathong" festival, where hand-made "krathong" are traditionally floated down the river.

We headed to a big festival at Chula University instead. So did the rest of Bangkok.

Chula has a little pond in which people were floating their Krathong, for lack of a river.

That night, I wore my see-through head as a precaution.

Enjoying fried ice cream sold by a team of students.

Attendees sat, chatted, and ate, since there was only so much to see back at the pond.

There was also a stage and a "pageant" in which student groups showcased their traditionally dressed women.

Behind the scenes at one of the many food stalls.

The seller from whom we bought our Krathong.

Behind the sellers' tables, people sat dutifully making the krathong.

Our krathong, before it was set afloat.

The traffic jam situation of floating krathong. The problem with a pond is that there's no water circulation.

While setting our krathong afloat, we ran into a co-worker (RH side) and her friends...

... whose krathong went a little over-board.

Bangkok Week 19

November 8, 2008

The week of the Conference!

The ultra-posh Four Seasons Hotel, where the conference's guest speakers were put up.

A tapioca-ball-filled iced tea. Look, how refreshing!

Since there are no mountains in Bangkok, climbers are forced to scale man-made heights instead.

One posh mall was having a flower exhibit, complete with frames ...

... in which to take beautiful portraits of your loved ones.

We don't have a clue who this woman was, and neither did most of these camera-wielders.

Lunch at a deserted food court, in a mall that's seen its heyday...

... that at least provides a nice view of the city!

Ooh, tall buildings, malls, and sky trains!

You can see the congestion created by the sky train lines, and many elevated walkways.

Old meets new. Greek old, that is.

Yet another traditional dessert: sweet mango with sweet sticky rice, coconut milk, and crunchy corn on top.

It's Christmastime! Christmas at Paragon! More photos in coming weeks!

A fried, taro-filled appetizer.

Mmm. A fried, taro-filled appetizer!

Look! I finally finished the throw I'd been working on!

You can use it to disguise yourself like a pillow ...

... or curl up under it during the cold winter months.

Sunday breakfast, featuring the pineapple I (barely) had the patience to cut up.

Fried Everything-You-Can-Imagine at a stall in Chatuchak.

Cookies, take 3. To avoid greasy flatness, used less butter and more baking soda ...

... which, of course, turned out to be too little butter and too much soda.

Mr. Snazzy, heading off to his Welcome Reception.

Waiting in the lobby of the hotel for the VIPs to arrive.

A miniature welcome sign outside the registration table.

The mingle-and-network room that hosted the hoards of guests on the first night.

Can you guess what this dish was made of?

There were so many leftovers (due to the overwhelming turnout) that we took home a box of desserts, to avoid their going to waste. We also took home 100 spring rolls.

The next morning! The Big Day (TM).

All the names, waiting to be claimed at the registration table.

A poster advertising the EU-South East Asia collaboration.

Preparing the slideshow files for the speakers' presentations.

Realizing at the last minute that it's no longer the "Networking Reception".

The black-haired crowd of attendees.

The panel of speakers, during the afternoon's discussion session.

The boss and his research assistant, unwinding at (a posh) dinner.

The Pudelmeister, the speaker from Indonesia, and a random American woman.

The restaurant very much catered to Westerners. The food was atypically ornate and bland. Fancy, though.

Four types of rice, methodically scooped onto each person's plate.

I didn't realize I changed my name!

The lobby of the Four Seasons Hotel. Painfully posh!

Showing the European guests sights that they might like to visit during their few free hours later that afternoon.

The guests pile into the Speaker-Mobile for Tuesday's field trip to a biofuel plant.

The plant provided each guest with iced tea, a waffle, water, and an umbrella. Oh, and a pen.

Before heading out, be aware that your "phone and pages might not be the explosion proof type"!

A gift from the Indonesian speaker.

A little too big, though.

A monstrous building going up near the immigration office.

The newly-made set: pencil case, ID badge holder, and ear bud sac.

Bangkok Week 18

October 30, 2008

Straight out of your wildest dreams, we give you Dream World! And more stubborn baking attempts. And other surprises.

For those of you on the edge of your seats for a week, this is how the banana bread turned out.

The biggest, least-greasy success so far.

A traditional dessert, with ice, jelly pieces, and of course eyeballs.

This is what happens when you thermally shock bananas.

Saturday morning breakfast: banana bread and the famed green oranges (yes, they're ripe).

Saturday morning traffic while waiting for a bus. Imagine a week day!

Waiting... and showing support 1 week too late.

The (luckily AC) bus we took to Dream World.

Welcome to Dream World. Just walk across this really long bridge, please.

Someone got a little lazy on the L and just grew a Christmas Tree instead.

Now that you've crossed the bridge, wait 10 minutes on the shuttle bus to drive you another 2 miles to the entrance.

At least the shuttle buses could see.

A special parking garage for motorcycles. And monks.

Dream World has earned a reputation for being a little similar to, say, Disney World. Keep that in mind.

The Tickets for Thais. They permit one ride on each of the attractions that line the permeter of the ticket.

Still cool and dry, but ready to go!

The park had a tree-lined Main Street, with gift shops and story-book houses.

I guess this is something you don't see at Disney.

The urinals, color-coded, one for each day of the week of course.

And we're not so sure what this farang is doing there.

An overwhelming abundance of *real* sunflowers! And a beanstalk!

I've never felt so embarrassed for trees before.

Yeah, I guess we're not so sure what this guy is doing here either.

Great. Dream World. I'm thrilled.

The most interesting roller coaster of the 3: formerly in Brisbane ...

... and formerly with completely different trains. The dangling feet were new in 2007.

Not too large, but not too dizzying either.

No lines (yet). Walk right on!

Some last-minute second-thoughts!

A celestial-themed monorail? Sound familiar?

I think Disney's was *much* more structurally sound than this one, though.

Yes, not boding well already.

We should've taken this as a sign. You can buy Waterproof for only 30 B.

And some of those smarties did.

From above, it looked far tamer than it really was.

Exhibit A: Before ..... Exhibit B: After.

I thought I'd been clever by covering my front with my arms.

Come on down, kids! Knock Out Winnie the Pooh!

Yet again, this was probably another sign ...

... that we foolishly chose to ignore.

I guess we weren't quite as foolish as some others, though.

Which robot is more convincing?

Dream World even has its own Space Mountain! Copy what?

Colorful crepes. I bet these kids were bummed we'd gotten there first ...

... this kid wasn't bummed, though.

A scenic view of the pretty coaster and the colorful bumper boats.

I've learned since moving here ...

... that no time is too inappropriate to use an umbrella to block the sun.

Bummed by the mark he left.

AAH! We were both freaked out by the same ghost!

Chillaxin' with the new family.

They do love their topiaries here. And this one loves you.

A tree that makes even the coolest kids excited.

The gingerbread house seems to be more of an ice cream house in the tropics.

Every Disney knock-off needs its castle.

Actual, legitimate cable cars! You don't see those much anymore.

To tickle or to bite? That is the question.

The walkers' reactions say it all.

Not the first time I've shocked kids with my feet.

We were in a Giant's House, I should mention.

Although apparently we weren't so sure what we were doing there.

Note how the hedges look possessed. Or stoned.

Dude, it's the Thai Mount Rushmore.

The requisite speedy mouse, who apparently likes his donuts.

With a nice bamboo backdrop.

Here's one ride we didn't try.

Finally boarding the cable-cars, which allow you to ride either round-trip, or one-way (of their choosing).

Ahh! I only thought about the structural stability now!

The park is located right next to rice paddies.

To its defense, it really is quite green. Note the housing development in the background.

It's unclear why there was a cluster of giant fruit on the ground. At least they had mangosteens!

The requisite help-I'm-being-swallowed-by-a-giant-concrete-head shot.

They one-up Disney with the bumper cars.

A clever sign, I thought.

Goofy the Garbage Can is "Close for Temporary". Sorry.

Here you can take an elephant taxi, or just feed one.

This family chose the latter. I bet the elephant didn't mind.

I've *always* wanted to do this on a harp.

Come to Dream World! Where you, too, can be arrested and shackled!

And then a giant hand came and crushed us both.

You see? No need to travel all the way to Cambodia now.

If you can't do it to the real tower, may as well do it to a 3-foot replica.

Aww! Wasn't the Colosseum so cute?

They had a climate-controlled green house designed to simulate "Romantic Europe" (wherever that is) ...

... but something tells me their more romantic bicycle had gone missing.

Some familiar flowers!

Look where we went!!!

Oh pine trees. How I miss thee.

Our last stop was Mexico. Turned out to be a bust.

Occasionally we see these fake drumsticks at the food court.

What you can't see is that they even have a fake skin layer.

4 months of mail from Lopez arrived! Thanks, Steve and Teresa!

All the goodies, and then some.

Surprise! It's a visa!

แคนาดา here we come!

The banana cake made to celebrate.

And a mouthful of teeth lost during battle. With a pomelo.

Bangkok Week 17

October 23, 2008

More baking trials, the Sox's demise, a new place for the shoes, and a better robot!

This dish takes normal glutinous rice patties, and deep-fries them for an extra-crispy shell.

Impale with a skewer to consume.

Mmm, deep-fried goodness.

During a trip to the lone baking supply store in Bangkok, we made off with a whole stash of goodies.

Testing the waters again with oatmeal-raisin cookies... which couldn't possibly be as flat as the first bunch. Right?

Going onto the tray in nice, round balls.

Enjoying what would be the last of the roundness.

Still round, going into the oven... and being furtively watched by the ghost of Anne Hathaway.

But alas. They come out as flat, square pancakes.

The next morning, watching Game 6 of the playoffs ...

... while enjoying croissants, banana muffins, and pineapple.

Busted out the hat, just for good measure... and it paid off! (Temporarily.)

After 12 solid hours of solid rainfall, the neighbor's yard was more like a pond.

Following the shopping cart train up the escalators at Carrefour.

Trying out a decidedly uncomfortable designer chair at a furniture store in the same complex.

It's as if we were in France.

Traveling home again, with our big purchase of the afternoon.

Assembling our brand new ...

... SHOE RACK!

Now go back 2 photos. Isn't this an improvement? The man in the mirror sure thinks so.

Round 2 of the oatmeal raisin: no less flat than the earlier batch.

Filling out all the visa application forms.

After being hand-delivered to our door, absently completed and being sent back to MA.

Apparently it's hard to capture monsoon winds and rain with a point-and-shoot.

The following afternoon, an equally ominous weather prognosis.

An interesting assortment of old and new.

An unprecedentedly empty skytrain platform for 8am!

As promised! A better shot of Mr. Robot, keeping watch over Bangkok.

I think some stock manager was a little confused.

Too distressing to see a fish being squashed by giant chopsticks in a giant pack of ramen.

A "milk cafe" that sells warm bread that you dip in milk (or other sweet liquids)...

... we tried chocolate sauce.

A tattoo fair that manifests itself as a black shirt fair!

Trial number 3: banana bread. The verdict ...?

It turned into egg custard!

No, really. It looks okay...

... albeit like a brown brick. It's cooling now, so stay tuned for the results of the cut-and-taste-test, in next week's edition!

Bangkok Week 16

October 16, 2008

Delightful Dosas, a Tasty Toy, Bangkok Baking, and Ladies' Lunch!

This photo actually belonged in last week's collection. Half my classmates and my petite teacher from my last class.

Using a "birthday" as an excuse, we went out for the most elegant dinner yet-- at a Dosa Restaurant.

Hmm. So many vegetarian decisions!

We made a reservation, but when we arrived all but one table was empty.

Ooh, look at the size of it!

Digging into the pizza-esque dish.

Note that the giant dosa has changed location. That's because they forgot the filling the first time 'round and they had to take it back to stuff it.

The Indian version of after-dinner mints.

Walking along the market-lined street back to the Skytrain station.

About to be abandoned to ride home alone...

... so that a belated present could be picked up "secretly"!

Guess what!?!

The cutest oven you'll ever see!

Ooh... it's warm!

Would you like to buy a vowel with that oven?

The next morning, rearranging the "dining room" to watch the Sox game over breakfast.

Keeping cool with a hand of very-mini-bananas.

Taking a bus past the Elephant Building!

The Bangkok campus of Kasetsart University, and home to the Department of Fisheries.

The main entrance to the Department of Fisheries.

Again, Mr. Elephant's watching over the traffic.

Giving country music some local flare.

Watching the considerably more dismal Sox game the following morning.

The smallest little bananas you ever did see.

"Hey there, little buddy!"

Too cute to eat?

The Brothers Grim.

Holding a satin-lined shopping basket at the city's poshest department store.

Snack time. In Bangkok, soft serve is snorted through the nose.

An airport? Not this time.

The view afforded by the glassy walkway downtown.

A fountain in the shape of the mall's logo.

The huge mall, and its fountains (that look more like puddles).

"Cooking" at home...

... or at least making an egg custard.

The fist endeavor with the New Toy (TM)!

Continuing with the Thai tradition, everything comes in plastic bags.

Being resourceful... and making sure nothing goes to waste.

Pouring in the (very expensive) mini chips.

You can see the problem already: unusually runny batter. If only I could blame the altitude.

Egads! There's a foot in the oven!

Appropriately squished, flat cookies!

Perfectly round, of course.

And the final product! Beginner's (bad) luck, hopefully.

Is he delighted? Or dumbfounded by their seemingly impossible thinness?

Before heading to lunch at Bonnie's house with the ladies, selecting the appropriate plant to take.

Bonnie's large, lovely house and yard.

They have a well-manicured, corner lot.

The dining room...

... and the living room ...

... and the autumn spread, complete with fruit-and-cheese sculpture and Hershey's kisses.

My fellow strugglers-with-Thai.

"Cheese!" Literally.

The Largest Oven in Thailand.

A wave from the smokers outside (and the host).

Mrs. Curiosity.

The hairy dessert we bought to give to some friends visiting the city...

... but decided to enjoy ourselves after they ditched us!

The now-defunct Disneyland knock-off amusement park down the street from our apartment.

Bangkok Week 15

October 9, 2008

The Week of the Puppy! Well really, just the weekend, but you'd never know it based on the number of photos. We guess he's 6 or 7 weeks old, but we're not sure. Also, the Best Bangkok Birthday yet! Thanks to all!

Adding some color to a rainy day.

Only Dunkin Donuts would promote Halloween in Thailand.

"It's the Puppy Show!"

Determined to see to it that he become hooked on tennis balls (too), we brought some as a gift from Bangkok.

Lying like a puppy lies.

Mother and son watching their newest family member flop around.

Initially, he nibbled away at the tennis ball until it became uncharacteristically fuzzy.

In another 30 seconds, he would be drinking my coffee.

He has a penchant for lying on feet (other than his own).

He nibbled his way from the ball to the concrete.

Tired after an exhausting morning with a new toy.

"Leave me alone, you farang!"

Buying (square) ice cream from a mobile vendor. No, he's not selling motor oil!

Mmm, square ice cream!

Tropical dogs need lots of rest.

These ants carry away some leftover rice that Maruay wasn't fast enough to eat.

Still unsure of where to put all his limbs.

Not nearly as interested in a pomelo peel as the human was.

"For the last time, let me sleep already!"

"Don't think I don't see you there with that camera."

Looking through a photo album we recently organized.

There happened to be a cow next door. He was totally unenthused by the new pipsqueak.

Ice cream in a hot dog bun. A classic!

What a tease.

Fully vegetarian! Fully home-made! Fully yummy!

Shocked by the number of dishes!

Fervently excavating a hole...

... to awkwardly lie, slightly cooler than before.

A vendor prepares coffee in the "ancient" style. Perhaps, the vendor himself was just ancient.

The overwhelming extent of Trad's vegetarian festival.

Carrying 3 (one's hidden) iced drinks back home in a Mazda taxi.

"I swear! I didn't do anything!"

He started persistently barking. Turns out he had some beef with the cow's staring at him from next door.

Truly sitting like an awkward puppy.

Did anyone leave their horse shoe crab on a cactus?

Bathing the messy trouble-maker.

Now clean, back to work, chewing away at whatever he can find.

Moving back and forth, from the brush to the ball.

Here, he's sporting a full set of human chompers.

Sleepy Puppy (TM).

Licking every last drop of milk from his bowl.

Trying to maximize his body exposure to the cool, damp sand.

One's more eager to smile for the camera than the other.

Holy smokes! Now what?

When the ground gets too dull, why not play in a pot?

Several hands of bananas growing on a tree next to the store.

Fast asleep, ergonomically.

Enjoying himself.

"Okay, enough with the photos now."

Realizing the dirty water really is quite fun to lie in.

Leaving Trad, and stopped at the smaller bus station in town.

A (Canadian) Thanksgiving gift from my American classmate. (She was exactly 1 week early.)

On my last day of class, Megumi gave me this table cover she crocheted by hand. And Bonnie brought in home-made pastries for all.

My first birthday present! Glow-in-the-dark Kung Fu Panda stickers!

The loonies in Mexico singing "Happy Birthday"... out of key, no less.

A cake! Our first cake in Thailand! We've only been eying them for months.

A very succinct message!

Enjoying his red bouncy ball.

After laboring hard to remove the package from the speedy Mexican bundle...

... there was another outside, inside!

Fully equipped to bring Mexican style to the streets of Bangkok.

And not the least bit excessive on the wrapping.

Bangkok Week 14

October 2, 2008

This week marked the start of the annual 10-day Vegetarian Festival, celebrated throughout the country. Street vendors and grocery stores temporarily swap their normally-carnivorous wares for vegetarian-friendly edibles. (Although this particular vegetarianism excludes dairy and eggs, too.) Eat up!

Weekend breakfasts at home seem to be routine, now. Here, we butcher a papaya.

No one to stop us from playing with food now!

Enjoying the Thai-style raisin bread and pomelo that accompanied the papaya.

If you haven't read the album description yet, now's the time to do so! (Return to the main album page and look on the RH side.) This is the entrance to our (normally vegetarian) food court.

The yellow flags indicate vegetarian food for the festival. Of course, the fare is vegetarian year-round, here.

Even the sky train is advertising about the big vegetarian meal it will be hosting this weekend.

Downtown on a Sunny Sun-- oh wait, it was a Saturday.

Part of a new exhibit at the new Arts' Center. Well, 2/3 are part of the new exhibit.

More picturesque downtown scenery.

Climbing the stairs back up to the walkway above Siam Square.

This view should be familiar by now.

A bunch of photographers convene with their fancy cameras.

Stopping for a DQ break and some shade on the way to buy bus tickets.

Enjoying ice cream in the shade of billboards. How Bangkok.

Some models were (less-than-enthusiastically) posing for this photographer.

Would you like a Citibank Credit Card? We would.

Traditional desserts... think cupcake-cross-angel food cake.

A "Free!!" solar-powered cellphone charger. It's not clear whether it worked, though.

new jersey: big hair, bigger hearts... biggest confusion!

In celebration of the vegetarian festival (see the sign?) they were handing out stir-fry samples at Tesco, complete with disposable Asian-style spoon.

These "meatball bars" usually contain meat. Not this week! Oh no, this is 100% soy protein, my friend! Yum yum!

These, too! Curry pastes with no fish or shrimp!

The Ice Cream store even served a "vegetarian" sundae, complete with dairy-free ice cream and -- you guessed it -- corn kernels sprinkled on top!

We opted for a more traditional, dairy-full sundae instead.

"Mmm, cough syrup."

Enjoying a dinner of unprecedented variety, after shopping our tummies out at Tesco.

Two nights later, another unusually large dinner courtesy of different vendors across the street (that are usually meat-only).

How exciting!

And the following night, even more novel dishes from the unconventional sellers.

How spoiled we are. Now, we just have to wait another 51 weeks.

Bangkok Week 13

September 25, 2008

Fun around town. Most notably, perhaps, the first roller coaster ride in Thailand! The Grand Total (TM) is now 292.

The (poor) showgals who had to put on a dance at the entrance to the 2nd Hand Home Expo we attended.

We found sprinkles (a.k.a. "Cake Decors") for our otherwise-bland ice cream.

Clearly an improvement!

Family friends who came to visit; the wife is originally from Trad.

For some reason, she felt like she was being dwarfed.

Meeting some Brown friends at a swanky cafe downtown.

Downtown shopping complexes at night. Nope, Bangkok has no residents.

Advertising for the Bangkok Film Festival in the escalator atrium of a huge mall downtown.

Riding up one of the many spiral-oriented escalators.

Can you guess what prolific store this is?

An outdoor photo exhibition downtown, at night.

We finally splurged and bought the book we've been eying for months.

The world's most hi-tech Granny.

Welcome to Mika's Hazardous Hair House...

... where the tools are complex ...

... and the damages irreversible.

The resultant hairdo! Looks much cooler, no?

We headed out to Seacon Square...

... a huge, sprawling mall on the outskirts of Bangkok.

There, you can play Canival Games...

...and more importantly, stop at DQ for a 25-cent cone.

But most importantly, it's home to Yoyo Land...

... home of one of Thailand's 8 roller coasters!

Our tickets to the ride.

"I can't believe I'm doing this."

Whoo hoo! We're not even moving yet!

The roller coaster goes through the mall's HVAC system.

This is 100% genuine enjoyment.

Also at Yoyo Land, your kids can run around blindingly colorful padded obstacles...

... dig up fossils ...

... or ride the world's most frightening log flume!

I chose to combat the bug-eyed pirates, instead.

The mall had it's own little mom-and-pop vegetarian food stall. You can see grandma in the background.

Although it took about 10 minutes for grandma to serve the food, it was tasty and meat-free.

We couldn't resist the sale on little pastries.

The flower-lined strip-mall area where the mall's located.

The mall is too long to fit into the frame.

This area is where lots of new homes are going up. Welcoming, isn't it?

The bus we took back home.

And the 6-for-B42 pastries on which we deliberated for 10 minutes back at the mall.

They didn't stay on the plate for long...

...but long enough to enjoy the last of them after dinner the next night.

Breaking News! This parcel arrived from MEXICO in 3 business days!

Mmm, otherwise prohibitively-expensive Cocoa Ball cereal on sale at the Western grocery store next door.

Fueling up at a (random vegetarian) restaurant before venturing to Immigration to deal with the visa.

Some glutinous rice appetizers from a vendor across the street. We're still not sure what was in them.

Bangkok Week 12

September 18, 2008

A trip to a posh vegetarian restaurant, a trip to a "grandmother's" house, and lots more interesting food.

This fruit is known as the "blandest of the bland"...

... it's in the potato family, and it shows.

We had lunch with an old friend from Brown at "The Best Veggie Restaurant in Asia" ...

... which was actually someone's house.

We were the only customers there most of the time... the woman in the background is P'Oye, who was generous enough to treat us.

"Shrimp" wrapped in "bacon"!

A "steak" in red wine sauce.

A traditional steamed "fish" dish (well, I guess it's not so traditional, since the original dish uses real fish).

It started to monsoon on the way home. This is under the shelter of the skytrain terminal station.

Mum and dad: this is the apartment we checked out. You can see that the top 7 floors are different (those are the apartment levels).

A "roti". An Indian-influenced dessert, perhaps?

The very delicious mix of carbs and grease. Mmm!

These look like green apples...

...but they have pits!

Our Sunday breakfast: Thai-style bananas, and Thai-style bread. Thai-style bananas are mini like this.

Why, it's a Hand of Bananas!

Lunch chez "grandmother". We ate outside, because the power was out and it was cooler out there.

Enjoying the lunch of pizza from "The Pizza Company". Thais enjoy eating pizza with a huge mound of ketchup.

The pizza, a variety of colorful fruit, drinks, and desserts.

Chit-chatting right before that day's monsoon came along.

A cruller, Thai-style.

Gasp! Doing some work on Sunday afternoon.

Wash wash washing the dishes.

"Tasto" potato chips. We got honey mustard and kimchi flavored bags.

You thought the bananas you saw earlier were small...

...but this variety is actually much smaller than the "mini" variety.

A REALLY large Noi-na. You'll recall that they're normally the size of a tennis ball.

It looks like a butternut squash...

...but it's really a papaya!

Mmm, our butchered papaya.

Not-so-subtle worm larvae-like pastries.

Breaking my vegetarian regimen to enjoy a giant worm.

A huge momma moth that came to visit one morning.

The cookies my American classmate gave to me, to help ease my oven-sickness.

Bangkok Week 11

September 11, 2008

Out and about Bangkok: dinner downtown, at Chatuchak weekend market, and of course, at the apartment.

The first new fruit to try in a while.

In Thai, this fruit is called "lamut"...

... and in Latin, "Porcus Nasus".

Venturing out during a looming storm, all in the name of a "Friday night on the town."

We dined at "Doo Dee Shop"...

... and ate in the mashroom.

We had two fried noodle dishes: Pad Thai ...

... and slimy green noodles.

Brr! The all-new MaxFresh zone connecting two malls in Siam Square.

Double-decker skytrains and palms at night.

A teeny glimpse of Chatuchak Market, the next day. Look at all the people smiling for the photo!

For 80 Baht, you too can get shot.

A little warm? Luckily, a shirt from Canada helps keep cool.

If you ever find yourself missing your foot, here's the place to come.

The famed square-cross-section ice cream bars.

Mmm. Black bean-flavored square ice cream.

The Madonna-esque rooves of some of the market's stalls.

Crossing a desert highway in search of a vegetarian foodcourt.

After several wrong turns and chats with strangers, we found the food court!

A vegetarian foodcourt even cheaper than the one we buy from daily. B15 (40 cents) a dish.

At left, veggies on rice. At right, noodle soup with various mock meats.

Mmm, soy protein.

Slurp?

Organizing old photos to be scanned.

As convincing as it looks, this is not a softball.

It's actually the strangest, most frustrating-to-eat fruit I've tried so far.

Apparently the "meaty" core is the desirable part. But I preferred the crispier shell.

Our "CSI: Vegas" collection now consists of 3 seasons, a total investment of less than $30.

The shady soi along which we walk to play squash at a hotel.

What's NOT wrong with this picture?

The used bookstore with a large selection of English-language books.

Chocolate sent from Canada (that costs the equivalent of 5 meals here).

Thai bread...

...is really smushy, and too soft to be cut.

This loaf happens to be filled with raisins (concentrated along one side).

On a quest to find salty snacks, we tried this bag of "Paprika".

(Trying to) type on a new, Thai-alphabet keyboard.

My classmates, teacher, and a monster on the last day of "Speaking 2".

Yum! Green oranges and prickly balls.

Meticulously (obsessively?) peeling an orange in one continuous spiral.

One of the cinnamon rolls that my American classmate so kindly made and brought in for each of us on the first day of class.

Bangkok Week 10

September 4, 2008

Despite the tumult, off to Trad for the weekend to attend a ceremony for the grandparents. And then back to Bangkok on Monday.

Because we couldn't buy tickets in advance, we got to the bus terminal hours early. Here's our booth, selling tickets for the 22 o'clock bus to ตราด.

A view of some rising condos from the upper level of the bus terminal.

Our slightly less-classy-than-usual tickets.

The Disco Bus we rode. It was a Benz.

"Reading" the newspaper the next morning. Good thing there are so many photos.

A wee little egg...

... in a soupy nest of big eggs.

Mmm, mom's breakfast at last.

Dried fruit on a stick. Mmm!

Seeking shelter from the heat by hiding... by a bright doorway in the path of the sun.

A fully vegetarian meal, complete with dried salted "fish" and fake meat pucks.

Turns out the meat pucks were stronger than the spoon.

The more anemic species of palm.

Loading the car with all the goodies to take to the temple.

Just some of the things we brought to give to the monks. The gold packages contain non-perishable, non-chewable foodstuffs and other supplies.

Setting all the food out onto trays to be presented.

The largest portions of desserts I've ever witnessed purchased.

A view out the temple's kitchen window.

Setting up inside the main hall.

Waiting for the monks to arrive.

Room service for one monk too sick to come to the ceremony.

Freeing The Fish!

Two recent additions to the temple's strays.

A view to the east of the temple property.

This ant was doing surprisingly well taking home his new-found elastic.

A papaya tree! Who knew they don't grow on vines!

Amusing over a message on a donation to the temple.

The pups were wondering who the crazy foreigner was ...

... but they were patient enough with her.

Back at the store, trying to stay cool.

Enjoying some fresh (cool) coconut juice and "flesh".

"I can shoot them farther than you!"

The magically speedy package that arrived within 6 days of being sent.

Lunch with classmates at a classy Italian restaurant. (Maybe a little too classy for the wallet.)

A typical Bangkok wire job.

Vanna shows off the Thai version of Wasabi peas, and the shirt from Bracebridge... that was made in Thailand.

From the front page of The Nation, Thailand's "top English news website".

Bangkok Week 9

August 28, 2008

We got a printer! Thailand won its second gold! Some other things happened, too!

These two drinks were specifically chosen to coordinate with the colors worn by their buyer.

Thai-style ice cream, complete with peanuts, coconut jelly, black jelly, and colorful bits mixed in.

Mmm, black jelly.

Purchased? Or stolen?

Taking the printer on its inaugural skytrain ride.

Home-sweet-new-home.

Ooh! So that's what a printer is!

Voila! An excited computer, posing with its recently adopted sibling.

My souvenir from Kunming: Tuocha Cake.

A bunny hand-sewn by one of classmates.

Another souvenir from Kunming: either tea or chow fun.

Watching the gold-medal match of men's flighweight boxing, cheering on Thailand's hero-to-be.

Victory for Somjit... and Thailand!

Thailand's second (and last) gold of the 2008 Olympics.

Heading off to the Homebuyer's Expo at a big conference center downtown.

A construction site for yet another condo among the sea of tall modern buildings.

We were not looking to buy a home, despite what the signs suggest.

We really went for the free popcorn and tote bags.

It was huge; two floors packed with developers, banks, and papers to be given away. So overwhelming, we almost bought a resort home.

A vegetarian Chinese/Thai restaurant near the expo. (And a vegetarian Thai.)

100% sugar in a bottle.

That's not real duck!

We went all the way to the new tower at Chula University to check out the hyped new bookstore.

Here's the bookstore! Good and empty!

A tree spilling its roots.

My swanky non-business cards.

This is how they eat bread here: they cut it up into cubes...

... and dip it into green goo.

Finally! Hi, Chris!

A brilliantly-colored dragon fruit.

Look how nicely people line up to enter the skytrain at rush hour.

The Robot Building! (Note: Stay tuned for a better, head-on shot of him.)

Mr. Robot features many one-storey nuts on the side.

And in which direction would you like to drive?

Bangkok Week 8

August 21, 2008

The camera was traveling in Kunming, China for most of the week, so few photos were taken in Bangkok.

At a swanky GM conference, where they were showcasing new "green" vehicles. They made it quite the media hoopla.

A poster for a "Green" conference in June, featuring a (mystery) MIT professor.

The swanky popcorn in the swanky lobby of the swankiest movie theater in Bangkok (on the top floor of the city's swankiest mall).

The swanky seats. We experienced the comfortable swank while watching WALL-E.

And a slightly-less-swanky vegetarian food court meal after the movie.

A previously shown view of Bangkok, this time while the sun was hidden.

Celebrating the weekend by voluntarily going to sweat.

Taking the world of squash into his own hands.

The best possible use of B10 (25 cents), complete with KFC-customized cone.

Leaning out the window, gazing...

... at the double-rainbow!

Apparently no rainbows in sight from this vantage point.

A coconut pastry and an absurdly tall tarot bun from "Gateaux House".

After the camera's return from Kunming, China, the owner proudly posing with his bronze souvenir (described by the accompanying card as having a "simple and heavy design").

An advertising ploy for a "water-emitting" car.

This guy seems shocked to realize there's a giant toothpaste on his back.

Not scaly fish! Just scaly fruit!

A bum piece of fruit if I've ever seen one.

A Cadbury skytrain pulls into Siam Square station.

And a pink army ascends the escalators at Siam Paragon.

Bangkok Week 7

August 14, 2008

Mostly in Trad for a 4-day weekend including Mother's Day.

Since our bus was at 10pm, we were able to see most of the (faked) Opening Ceremonies. Here's Canada, in all it's glory.

Even after going to the bus terminal and boarding the bus, countries were still marching into the Birds Nest.

We arrived at 3am. This is 7am that morning at the temple, filling the monks' rice containers.

The monks' abode at the temple.

While something long was being said that I didn't understand.

At the store, looking at a Vietnamese souvenir.

Some cookies we brought from Bangkok-- most were consumed by a neighbor's kid.

Inside every monster is a sweet soul.

Yes, this motorcycle was being driven down the road.

Enjoying some "pork" for lunch.

The high-speed internet company, whose dangerous bamboo ladder is taller than the house is wide.

The Melodian! (Or is it a Melodica!?)

Taking advantage of the dangerous ladder's presence to fix the store's antenna.

Read it and weep. (Note: this is a Chinese product.)

Buying durian at the market!

Dinner... with unusually red rice.

Hold your nose! The durian's out...

...and ready to be eaten! For the momentous first time!

An ant reads the comics.

Big smile.

A family photo, while looking at photos.

Enjoying some โค้ก.

Just a glimpse of the many hours spent watching Olympic Weightlifting.

The egg store in town.

Sad because it was too rainy to go out and play.

A proud graduate standing outside his elementary school.

More school.

Even more school. It had quite a nice little campus.

Walking up the overpass that connects the 2 halves of the school separated by a street.

A view from above.

The playground in the pre-school half of the school.

Shave and a Haircut. Two bahts!?

Riding the (remarkably short) truck taxi back home.

Town was tiring, and clearly called for a nap.

A crispy, rolled treat.

We were spoiled: all dishes-- vegetarian!

Fencing! In the Olympic coverage! Of course, it was only one bout, of men's sabre between Thailand and China.

More sandwiches for sale than ever before.

Consternation (or just constipation?) while doing work at the store.

Home-made Pad Thai...

...was the first Pad Thai I've had in Thailand.

Some sticky rice-based desserts.

Enjoying watermelon and tomorrow's newspaper.

A spider on an egg... presumably not hers.

Observing a large wasp, hard at work building her nest... on a rack of snacks for kids.

She built her nest over the course of an afternoon.

Our bus back to Bangkok. Coach buses here have their routes permanently painted on their sides.

You just can't escape Olympic Weightlifting coverage in this country.

Bangkok Week 6

August 7, 2008

A weekend trip to the mountainous area near Khao Yai National Park (NE of Bangkok), and a visit to the new Bangkok Art and Cultural Center.

With 6 people packed in, we headed up to Khao Yai National Park. It's actually a World Heritage site.

Once arriving at Ohm's house, Kom and Ohm rush to hook up the iPod to speakers.

With music blasting, the next task is obvious: arrange some flowers from the garden in a vase.

View and Kom puzzle over how to arrange the grape-like flowers in a vase.

The final product.

This guy came hidden in one of the flowers.

The main road in Khao Yai National Park. It was very steep and generally up-hill.

A glimpse of the view, and how large (and hilly) the area is.

I guess those posts prevent cars from driving too far.

The monkeys thought the street would be an appropriate place to hang out.

I particularly like this guy's expression.

Massage mom, ignore baby.

Mom's always having to multi-task: groom teen and nurse kid.

Apparently they're not afraid of cars.

Salt pits to which, apparently, the wildlife come to feed. See any?

Finally, the water fall (if you can call it that).

At the top of the water fall: Petch, Ohm, View and a tall outcast.

The metaphoric view from the top. Can you spot the swimming farangs?

This guy must've had second thoughts.

The two Doctors from MIT.

And here we have the famed, hyped waterfall.

Walking (carefully) down to the base of the waterfall.

Guess what? The waterfall, from the base!

The farangs enjoying the water.

It's curious that our heads aren't more wet...

A tree taking over a tree?

Group shot!

Got all this now?

Having some fun, back at the house.

Ohm and View start the hi-tech barbecue.

The chef and his domain.

Say... how does a BBQ work again?

Enjoying some vegetarian fare while the bbq smokes away in the corner.

Putting on my mosquito protection.

This is what happens when you try to grill an egg.

And this is why you should not grill corn directly on hot coals.

Deer in headlights.

Ohm's house, during daylight.

Obviously, that's a face perched on that cliff.

A banana fan.

House available. Takers?

A winery, complete with artificial Italian countryside abode.

No idea if there are actually any grapes growing in there!

The masterful garden sculpture.

And the rest of the garden.

Mountains loom in the background.

More winery, more artificiality.

The Guardian of the "Grapes".

Is the backdrop convincing?

And the voice came booming from the skies above: don't trip, it warned.

Some busy bees.

We stopped at a dairy, supposedly famous for its fresh ice cream. Umm... I think someone should help them with their name.

Their boney mascot.

And their take-away product.

The largest bill boards I've seen!

An elephant building, of course.

The new Bangkok Art and Cultural Center downtown.

Its inner architecture is vaguely reminiscent of a certain circular art gallery in NYC.

"Always Roaming with a Hungry Heart", an exhibit of the Princess's photography from the past 6 years.

A welcome, progressive policy...

... of which this guy's taking full advantage.

Enjoying photos from around the world.

Recognize these places? The ducklings in Boston Common, Trinity Church in Copley Square, a street musician in front of the Coop, and some random mountains not in Boston.

A view of Siam Square and the merging of the sky train lines.

On our way out, we took a pit stop in heaven, apparently.

A view of the interior architecture looking down from above...

... looking across from the middle ...

... and looking up from the bottom.

Street art, outside the Art Center.

Mangos in a bago.

My classmates and teacher.

And now they write what?

Bangkok Week 5

July 31, 2008

A typical week-- some group errands on the weekend, and class during the week.

What must be the most posh McDonald's out there-- complete with pastries in a display case and Caramel Cream Frappés.

What must be the most expensive produce in Bangkok -- by a factor of 10.

A vegetable-filled bowl of fire!

Consumed at a rate of one spoonful per minute.

Anyone for a fake iPod? The variety is endless.

Siam Square -- a trendy shopping area -- reflected in a mall's facade.

Where the 2 skytrain lines, 5 malls, and many people converge.

A DQ Blizzard! For 60 cents! From a posh, full-service DQ.

Subject. Verb. Object?

Whoo! An unknown Thai band! Performing on a very small sidewalk!

Although seat belts are deemed unnecessary accessories, headrest decorations are a must.

The cheapest iced drinks in the city (we're talking 10-cents each -- clearly they're enjoyable!)...

... in the basement cafeteria of Chula University.

A rugby game next to Chula's School of Dentistry. Ironic?

The donuts here have a tendency to look... plastic.

Group shot in Siam Square-- a trendy shopping area.

What up, dawg?

A sweet-and-savoury snack.

The view out our apartment window at dusk, displaying unusually painting-like colors.

Aha! A noi-na!

Kind of looks like rotting teeth on the inside. But it IS tasty.

Off to try out a second squash court, again at a hotel.

The court, and the player.

Noodle soup, complete with fake duck, fake meatballs, and fake mystery meat.

And an unappetizingly pink Thai dessert.

A robot-like building on the outskirts of the city.

A dish of boiled peanuts and daikon!

Lots of stripes, and a stubborn orange. Note: oranges are actually green.

I stored our grocery list on my hi-tech phone!

Another traditional Thai dessert -- egg yolks mixed with lots of syrup. Great for the cholesterol.

And one more dessert-- sliced custard on sticky rice.

My classroom at my Rong Rian Phasaa Thai.

The building in which my Thai school is located. (We're on the top floor.)

The fountain and building name outside the school's building. "Wanissa" is their approximation to "Vanissa".

The street name and neighborhood of my school. Despite the transliteration, it's pronounced "Shit Lom".

Lots of condos going up downtown!

8 weeks and 1 diploma for "Mike" later...

... I got my receipt from MIT!

The Doctor, enjoying a cake...

... that he won (indirectly) by completing a sudoku at work!

At a big park at the north end of the Sky Train: taller than a palm tree!

All Rise for the National Anthem at 6pm.

The Thai 'Fro!

Swingin' on the exercise equipment provided by the park.

A maze of walkways.

And a Friday Night mess.

Bangkok Week 4

July 24, 2008

A long weekend in Trad! (Not really Bangkok, and not fully Week 4.)

We headed to Trad on a 4.5-hour bus that departed Bangkok in the late-morning. This is the lunch box the bus company provided to each rider.

And these are some of the stylish seats the bus company provided to its riders.

A view of the front of the bus cabin. Window curtains, ample leg room, and crummy horror videos for all!

A view leaving Bangkok. Note the number of riders on that motorcycle...

A view crossing into Trad (the province).

Main street Trad (the city).

Woah! We found a car with MIT bumper stickers! What are the odds?

2/5 of the diners at dinner on the first night at a "suki" restaurant.

Another 2/5 of the diners at the restaurant.

Taking the plunge?

Filling the monks' rice containers before a ceremony at the temple the next morning-- it was the first day of the Buddhist Lent.

Some of the monks.

Filling our own rice bowls, back at home.

First breakfast!

The brothers dine side-by-side.

The men, expressing various degrees of shock over... who knows what!

A view of the sea.

A genetically-inherited pose.

Walking through a swampland park.

Some of the swampland trees. The area can be flooded during some seasons. Here, it's just muddy.

These are lizard-fish creatures. They have one fin, one set of feet, and move by shimmying their bodies (leaving those funny tracks in the mud).

Not actually the sea-- more like a reservoir. But nice and tropical, nonetheless.

A typical road. This one happened to have a noodle house...

... where we stopped for lunch.

Back at home, in front of the store.

The store!

A view from the store, of the land across the street.

Assembling a Thai dessert-- it's bleached-blonde-like strands of sugar that get rolled up in a thin, savory pancake.

Another dessert, from a relative's stand down the street: sticky rice and coconut. Really delicious when warm!

Longkong.

At the market in downtown Trad. Are those limes or oranges?

An eager lad waits in a parking lot.

Trying sushi!

At a fish sauce factory. No free samples here.

Restocking the ramen stand.

The aftermath of one evening with the mosquitoes. They sensed farang blood.

At dinner Chez Sukkasi.

Looking through photos with dad.

A curious (and ominous) sky across the street.

Sipping coffee from a spoon that was dangerously large.

The father-son water delivery service. (Note: Driver Dad is wearing a Hello Kitty shower cap.)

Aww. The modem's not working with the prepaid internet!

The store's back door, back lit.

Group shot! (Taken by an unsuspecting customer.)

The house (and the mystery car), through the store's back door.

Yogurt-milk drink, aptly represented by a cat with a propeller on his head.

A fly enjoys some yogurt, too.

Stove top ramen. No pot needed!

A snail leisurely goes for a glide after a heavy rain.

Taking a "mazda" truck taxi into town.

The only escalator in Trad, at the Trad "Department" Store.

What's going on under there?

As opposed to the fake kind.

A side street... reserved for motorcycles?

A temple entrance on main street.

More main street Trad.

At a covered market behind the main street.

Rumor has it that brown eggs are healthier than white ones... but what about pink ones?

Off-main-street Trad. (That blue truck is a typical taxi.)

More downtown Trad, and more motorcyles.

Riding home again.

Pinwheel flowers.

A ghost in the living room!

Reading the next day's paper in front of the store.

Some Mexican influence mixed in, at the rear of the store.

Chillaxin' at the store.

The Last Supper.

At the Trad bus terminal.

The sign at our bus's parking spot: "Trad - Mo Chit"