2013 resolutions

I should pay attention more often to the unspoken lessons i can learn from my children.....

I don't have any resolutions to start tomorrow because I decided to take a new approach and begin them in September this year. Jason and I are always encouraging our children to be the best that they can be in every aspect of life. Then it "clicked" I could be the best me without the fireworks at midnight telling me I could begin.

I am still working hard on my resolutions and this new approach has taken the pressure off of starting 2013....especially when I am in a country where the time zone puts those fireworks up in the sky to signal the start of the new year ahead of the my family and friends around the world.

So I think I'll take some more lessons from Karina and Cooper on ringing in the new year....and just have fun, laugh as much as possible, stop long enough to catch bugs and hermit crabs, get a new hairdo, and maybe I'll take one lesson from this dog I saw on the beach yesterday....just relax!

Elephant

 Not sure if it was Cooper or me that was the most excited to have the elephant's trunk search us for bananas. It was NOT Karina as she stood 3 trunks back.

Right here....

A New year is coming in a few days...but Heck... I think I'm just dandy right now, right this minute and right in this spot. I may not leap into 2013, I may just keep leaping into this ocean RIGHT HERE in Thailand and never leave. Yes, it is that spectacular and the people are so warm and generous. I think the people are what I love most about Thailand.

And yes...even RIGHT HERE in Thailand, the sunset and moonrise remind me that this world is the same in many ways....

Thailand heaven

I have a feeling we have checked-in at a little slice of heaven on earth in Khao Lak. The people are warm and generous which can make any place feel like heaven. Then add to the mix the sound of the ocean lapping on the sand with the moon shining bright.

This is the same ocean that devastated many lives here in 2004. I cant help to hurt a bit in my heart as we were driving into this paradise city, and our driver pointed out "see to your right ...boat there from Tsunami." It was a massive boat ( like a small navy ship) that was sitting in the middle of a palm tree patch.

I felt i should write a bit just in remembrance of all the many people that lost their lives here during the 2004 Tsunami. 

Bangkok- Jim Thompson's House

Whose house? That's exactly what I asked Jason when he suggested we tour Jim Thompson's house here in Bangkok. We meandered our way towards the Khlong canal, past all of the street stalls where the vendors were selling fresh coconuts, chicken skewers, rice, curries, noodles, and other items I couldn't even begin to name, finally making our way to this oasis of a spot. http://www.jimthompsonhouse.com/

After taking the guided tour of his house and gardens...I was officially intrigued ...to the point I had to google him that night to get all the details about this American businessman that served in Thailand during WWll, returned to live in Bangkok, built a home from six salvaged teak houses, helped revitalize the Thai silk industry in the 1950s which still produces gorgeous silk today, and then in 1967' vanished mysteriously in Malaysia never to be found. According to Wiki, "Time magazine claimed that he "almost singlehanded saved Thailand's vital silk industry from extinction."

Silk worms

Mall rats in Bangkok

After a little lounging around at the hotel pool, we headed out to be mall rats. Before you start thinking we lost our bonkers being in one of the biggest cities of the world and heading to a mall....well, I'll be lazy and let wiki give you a bit of info including that one of the malls housed one of the largest aquariums in South East Asia..

According to Wiki... Siam Paragon is a shopping mall in Bangkok, Thailand. It is one of the biggest shopping centres in Asia. It includes a wide range of specialty stores and restaurants as well as a multiplex movie theatre (consisted of 15 large size theaters with one of them having the biggest screen and seating capacity in Asia) and the Siam Ocean World (Underwater world) aquarium (the largest aquarium in South East Asia) and an exhibition hall and the Thai Art Gallery and also an opera concert hall. It also has a large bowling alley and karaoke centre.

MBK Center, also known as Mahboonkrong (Thai: มาบุญครอง), is a large shopping mall in Bangkok, Thailand. At eight stories high, the center contains around 2,000 shops, restaurants and service outlets, including the 4-story Tokyu department store. The MBK Center management reports daily visitor numbers of more than 100,000

Rides in Bangkok

Some people go to Disney to ride rides...we got a tad crazy and headed to Bangkok.

Our rides today included zipping above the city on a very clean BTS skytrain, hanging on tight as we dodged traffic in a Túk-Túk 3-wheeled vehicle, bounced along the canal in a Longtail Khlong boat and finally, thanks to a police man and the Bangkok local that we had arranged to have as our tour guide for the first day, we found and rode in a metered taxi. All were more breathtaking than Space Mountain.

During and in-between rides, we toured Khlong canal, sat in gorgeous sunshine waiting for the lock to open, fed mountains of catfish bread in the canal "to bring us goodluck"', got splashed with septic water ( yes... I quickly pulled at the hand sanitizer and bathed us all), came within a foot of a un- zoo'd water python, ate in a local cafe (where our tour guide commented to Jason' " i can't believe 'K'', as she called me, can eat such spicy Thai) toured the Grand Palace, looked stylish in our rented clothes that allowed us to enter the temple, wished we were lounging like Wat Pho as we walked around this massive reclining Buddha which was chilling in his mother-of -pearl and gold digs- and finally hit the hotel pool with our VERY jet-lagged 7 year old (pictures don't lie) and peachy 8 year olds who had seen enough of this Disney for one day

The one thing our rides seemed to be missing today, was that Christmas spirit we have enjoy sharing with our families...but at least we found a little "fra-la-la" ( as in Christmas story) as we were eating our meal in the hotel lobby since it was close to bedtime on Christmas Eve.

Merry Christmas from "the other Disney" where you can eat fried seaweed chips rather than Mickey Mouse Popsicles and the rides cost a heck of a lot less!

Bangkok day one

We arrived via bullet train and airplane. We seemed to have learned the last coupke of years how to handle the kids jet lag...pools and i-touches loaded with new shows.

But Boy have I got a lot to learn about Thailand...all of my "thai-ing" one on in Stuttgart didn't even begin to prepare me for this lush, warm, and delectable country...and it has only been 6 hours! Things I've learned so far...

**When letting your waitress recommend a un- recognizable fish dish at medium spicy....know that your tongue, esophagus, and stomach may just burn to a crisp. " boy do they have spice right here and I doubt any bacteria is alive in my stomach " ( did I I mention Jason and Cooper branched out and ordered good ole hamburgers?)

**Dont let your daughter try your spicy even when she insists...make her stick to the Pad thai she ordered that came wrapped in an egg omelet bowl along with crunchy little shrimp SHELLS to sprinkle on top. I stole all of her shells to help calm down the fire I was eating.

**dont believe it when people or Books tell you they don't celebrate Christmas in this mostly Buddist country....we have more than one grand Christmas tree in our hotel.

Now off to learn some more lessons in Bangkok!

crunchy shrimp tails...