Bangkok Week 525

July 15, 2018

A short week - literally!

Celebrating Friday Night with Taiwan's favorite eatery: Din Tai Fung.

They have a surprisingly sufficient veggie selection.

Saturday lunch at Gateway: our buddy at the J stall was feeling very generous!

Getting help with our pillar problem.

We've exposed the cement, to release the trapped water. Let's see!

The bike store at the corner got a major makeover!

Bangkok Week 524

July 12, 2018

Hosting Nong Kate and family... and playing with our camels. A relaxing week(end)!

This colorful peacock dropped by for drinks at our hotel in Singapore.

Lunch with Vee, Peung and N'Kate at Melange, on Soi 10.

Kate was very eager to explore the new house.

She's very personable!

Pointing out all the splotches on our floor.

Using the carrot to propel herself.

Fun with Auntie Mika.

Come again soon!

Our house plant from Trat has a bloom.

Not quite... but you can see where they were coming from.

Geeks, nerds, and game lovers at the board game shop in Phra Khanong.

Playing "Camel Up" (now that we have the dice), and enjoying ice cream.

Project Timepiece.

The newest addition to our house, courtesy of Vee, Peung and N'Kate.

Cloudy skies over Manila on Thursday.

Development-to-be.

Celebrating Thursday evening at the new hole-in-the-wall gourmet pizza place in Ekamai.

Decor is nicer than these photos convey.

Really good!

Bangkok Week 523

July 5, 2018

A short album this week, entirely in Bangkok!

Celebrating Friday night with bruschetta and great pizza at Peppina.

A potential bench for just inside our front door.

We got screens! (They were subsequently moved inside the frame.)

Go go go, The Bank! You can do it!

A giant soy milk spotted outside the EmQuartier theater. Refreshed now.

Excited for the home-made hummus (paired with and the best pita [imported from Manila]) for dinner!

It was a rainy Saturday night! This is the calm after the storm.

Bet you didn't know we lived on a canal?

A neighbor trudges by.

Finally remembering to add a new pin to our map for Metro Manila.

Our balcony plants are doing well on this sunny Monday morning!

Just watching the Monday morning traffic go by.

Bangkok Week 522

June 28, 2018

A weekend in Metro Manila... and 10 full years in Thailand! How time flies!
Note: week 522 = 10 years. Every year consists of 52 weeks and ~1 extra day; and over 10 years, those leftover days add up to 2 weeks!

Good morning from Metro Manila!

Today, we're visiting Intramuros - the historic walled area of Manila. (Which is now surrounded by a golf course.)

What is called "Intramuros" today was synonymous with "Manila" during the Spanish rule.

Most of Intramuros was destroyed at the end of WWII, but significant effort was made to rebuild and restore it in later years.

Reconstructed buildings.

More reconstructed buildings.

An ornate door.

More reconstructed buildings.

The Manila Cathedral - which has been (re)built 8 times now, due to fire, earthquake, and war.

This most recent reconstruction was completed in 1958.

Quite modern-looking stained glass.

Most recently, it was closed from 2012-14 for earthquake retrofitting. Good that they learned from past incidents!

The imposing Intramuros Administration building.

Urgently needed: 230 kitchen staff to start our business. Too bad we didn't think about this earlier.

The entrance to Fort Santiago...

... a citadel built by the Spanish.

Plaza de Armas.

Spanish Barracks Ruins.

The dungeons (from the top).

The dungeons...

... featuring entries from a Lego competition for students.

Looking across the river toward San Nicolas area (and Chinatown).

My new buddy.

The fort is also part of the structure of the walled city. You can walk on the walls.

Back outside the fort: someone scrambled the Scrabbles tiles. They were going for "archbishop".

More reconstructed / preserved buildings.

Small store in the middle of town.

More old buildings.

The San Agustin Church, originally built by the Augustinians in the mid-1500s.

The door of love.

Courtyard inside the monastary.

Apparently this monastery was destroyed during WWII and subsequently rebuilt.

The main chapel - which is now very popular for weddings!

Giant original staircase, built with stone slabs that were brought over by sea from Latin America.

Giant domed ceiling in the staircase.

View overlooking the chapel.

Wedding on-going. The faux-3D ceiling is actually a masterful painting.

The organ - which was not in use that day.

Notes for the choir. The book of music was so big, because rows and rows of people read off the same page.

Rocking chair for the ages! Arms straight, back reclining!

Casa Manila.

Casa Manila is a complex depicting colonial lifestyle.

Feels colonial?

Courtyard.

Courtyard with tourist below.

More Intramuros buildings.

This one looks a bit more modern!

Our last stop is the Baluarte de San Diego.

Wouldn't want to run into this cannon!

People were shorter back then, I suppose!

The concentric circles of the bastion.

Remember when I said that Intramuros is surrounded by a golf course now?

Beware!

The National Museum of Fine Arts - which we only saw from the outside.

One long taxi ride later, it's time for dinner at my go-to dinner place in the mall next door.

Sunday morning: trip to the Ayala Museum.

Among other things, the Ayala Museum is famous for its diorama exhibit: 60 dioramas depicting the history of the Philippines.

The history starts at the very beginning.

Here, the Chinese trade with the locals.

One of the more violent scenes.

Lunch in the mall afterward.

And late afternoon drinks in the lounge.

Bon appetit!

Leaving Manila on Thursday afternoon- just waiting for this AirAsia flight to land.

Tadpole-shaped islands off the coast of Manila.

An Etihad flight on its way to Manila.

Our rose from Andrew is in bloom again!

Celebrating 10 years in Thailand at "nowhere" - a nicely-designed rooftop restaurant in Ekamai.

It's right next to Big C.

Great view of the neighborhood.

Cheers to another 10 -- or another 522 weeks!

Bangkok Week 521

June 21, 2018

Guests, furniture, and aerial shots of Metro Manila -- what a great week!

Friday night: we found a cute little home-made pasta place in Thonglor 9.

The next morning, it's chair shopping! These two have made themselves right at home.

Inspecting the chair before taking it home.

What's the opposite of riding shotgun?

The Egg Chair, in its new home.

Posing with the furniture.

Next guest: Nong Rohan, trying out our bed.

Rohan looks like he's in jail!

The nice coaster set that Mae, Paul and Rohan brought us.

Stopping at Lamptitude, to check out some floor lamps; unfortunately for this sales lady, she was in the "right" place at the "right" time.

Yes. We'll take this one!

Going on a neighborhood walk: we can't resist supporting the local ice cream man.

Ta-daa. Someone's done a great job peeling the pineapple from Trat.

Trying our Casino-brand frozen "Tarte au Chevre", imported and sold at Big C.

Did another neighborhood walk on Sunday, and found this Japanese mall just behind Thonglor.

Giant home-made (leftover) salad for dinner.

A Monday night storm in Bangkok.

Enjoying Monday night in Bangkok at a veggie restaurant in Asoke: the same one we tried with Rachel.

Tuesday morning: three purple tails in a row.

Aww. Look who was next in line to take off after us!

Approaching Manila: on the bottom RHS, you just see Intramuros, the old walled city (that we'd visit the following weekend).

We overshoot, and end up above the hilly countryside.

The very natural-looking Manggahan Floodway in Pasig.

A heavily-populated area just before Runway 24.

The House: before and after

June 17, 2018

June 17th 2017 vs. June 17th 2018. The Ekamai House: before and after!

Pano of the property: before.

Pano of the property: after.

The house: before.

The house: after.

The house: before.

The house: after.

Front right: before.

Front right: after.

Front left: before.

Front left: after.

Front bottom: before.

Front bottom: after.

Front bottom open: before.

Front bottom open: after.

Front upper: before.

Front upper: after.

Driveway: before.

Driveway: after.

Front: before.

Front: after.

Front: before.

Front: after.

Front: before.

Front: after.

Driveway: before.

Driveway: after.

Garden and driveway: before.

Garden and driveway: after.

Garden: before.

Garden: after.

Living room: before.

Living room: after.

Living room: before.

Living room: after.

Living room: before.

Living room: after.

Living room: before.

Living room: after.

Living and dining rooms: before.

Living and dining rooms: after.

Dining room: before.

Dining room: after.

Dining room: before.

Dining room: after.

Living room: before.

Living room: after.

Dining and living rooms: before.

Dining and living rooms: after.

Bar and stairs: before.

Library (formerly bar) and stairs: after.

Dining room, bar, and stairs: before.

Dining room, library (formerly bar), and stairs: after.

Stairs: before.

Stairs: after.

Bar: before.

Library (formerly bar): after.

Stairs: before.

Stairs: after.

Dining room from stairs: before.

Dining room from stairs: after.

View from behind bar: before.

View from library (formerly bar): after.

View from behind bar: before.

View from library (formerly bar): after.

Kitchen: before.

Kitchen: after.

Kitchen: before.

Kitchen: after.

Maid's room: before.

Ground floor bathroom (formerly maid's room): after.

Maid's room: before.

Ground floor bathroom (formerly maid's room): after.

Upstairs landing: before.

Upstairs landing: after.

Stairwell: before.

Stairwell: after.

Stairs: before.

Stairs: after.

Upstairs hall and small bedroom: before.

Study (formerly upstairs hall and small bedroom): after.

Upstairs hall and small bedroom: before.

Study (formerly upstairs hall and small bedroom): after.

Upstairs hallway: before.

Upstairs hallway: after.

Balcony: before.

Balcony: after.

Balcony: before.

Balcony: after.

Balcony: before.

Balcony: after.

View from balcony: before.

View from balcony: after.

Garden from balcony: before.

Garden from balcony: after.

Garden from balcony: before.

Garden from balcony: after.