Just quickly, I was recently down in Sugar Land, TX (just south of Houston) for a couple of weeks (Feb 14-25) for work. I spent the 1st week there on my own and had a colleague there for the 2nd week. Nothing too excited went on down there:
- I continued on my INSANITY workout (see separate INSANITY page). I had a large enough room to do the workouts thankfully.
- I ate 3 times at my favorite burger joint (Pappas Burger).
- I spend some solid coin at Katy Mills Mall over the weekend. It's an outlet mall and I went crazy on shoes. Yeah, I purchased 7 pairs (mix of casual dress, dress and sneakers). There was an amazing amount of "buy 1, get 1/2 of second" deals at a lot of stores and a "buy 1, get 2 free pairs" at the Bass Shoes outlet. I also purchased a couple of pairs of jeans (as noted in my INSANITY page, I am down to a size 36 waist; haven't seen the likes of this since... I have no idea).
- One night I went to visit some family in Houston. My godfather's (Bruno) daughter, Capucine, and her husband, Arthur, live there. The timing was perfect since Bruno and his wife (Yabeth) were in town for a couple of months. They were there to help Capucine and Arthur with their new born, Cerise. The baby was just 4-5 days (I forget) old when I was there. OMG how small. I wasn't that small was I???? We had a nice family night.
Other than that, nothing more to report. It's fantastic that the warm weather has returned to Texas. Shorts and T-Shirts were worn much of the time (other than for work).
Well, the next trip is up to Calgary and Fort McMurray in Alberta, Canada. I can say good bye to warm weather for those 2 weeks!!! Not cool!
After having caught up on some pasts trips, it's time to delight you with a more recent vacation. I have just returned from a FANTASTIC family vacation in Thailand.
Enjoy before reading, a short movie trailer to get the juices flowing:
The whole gang!
It all started on Wednesday January 12, 2011. I booked out of work at quitting time and snagged a flight to Los Angeles in order to meet up with Jenn (LA was our starting point for the trip). That night we hung out in Hermosa Beach with our friend John; having dinner at Mediterraneo and drinks at various watering holes. Mediterraneo is a delicious tapas restaurant (must try if in the area). That night Jenn and I spent the night at the LAX Marriott.
The next morning we were off to the airport for our long journey to Bangkok. We departed LAX at noon on Thursday. Thankfully, my status on Delta allowed for me to select premium economy seating where Jenn and I ended up in exit row seats on all flights in rows of just 2 seats. It definitely made the flights more tolerable. We watch some movies to kill time, including The Social Network. After a quick layover in Tokyo, we landed in Bangkok around 11pm on Friday. Yep, with the time difference, we basically missed all day Friday. The airport in Bangkok was nice and empty so getting through customs and baggage claim was quick. No more than an hour later we had arrived at our accommodations in downtown Bangkok, Holiday Inn Silom. Just quickly, this Holiday Inn makes any Crowne Plaza look like Motel 6. What a classy place!!! Anyways, we were just there to sleep that night. We crashed quickly from all the traveling.
Best use of a truck bed EVER!
The next morning (Saturday) my godmother, Sylvie, called from downstairs after having just rolled in from France herself. We all enjoyed a wonderful buffet breakfast at the hotel before a driver picked us up to head to our final destination, Hua Hin.
The house pool!
About 3 hours later we were welcomed by my family at our rented home in Hua Hin (the rest of the family had arrived in Thailand about a week before us and split their time between Bangkok and Hua Hin). The sun was out and the heat index was high. We had finally arrived. My mother had rented a fabulous 5 bedroom home, complete with beautiful swimming pool, pool table and maid service (we were spoiled). Staying together was my mom (Kikine), dad (Alain), brother (Adrien), his girlfriend (Carmelle), my aunt (Christianne), my godmother (Sylvie), a dear family friend (Marie-France), Jenn and I (9 total). Upon arrival we headed down the street to Mr. Burger 2 (which would become our lunch stop of choice for most of the trip). Mr. Burger 2 had western and Asian food (we would stick to the Asian food all week). We got there by shuttling everyone with the 2 scooters we had rented. Scooters were the preferred means of transportation around Hua Hin.
Dad enjoyed being surrounded by his girls
After lunch we hung out at the house pool enjoying many Singha beers. That evening we had planned to go to the Sofitel Resort to have dinner at their buffet, which had the theme "French Night" that night. We had been invited by the resort's General Manager whom had worked with my mom way back when. Shortly after arrival at the resort, I started to feel tired (maybe jetlag, maybe the heat, maybe the beer or a combination of all three). After a quick bite, I headed to a lounge chair in the gardens and went to sleep. That was the end of the night for me. I would end up going home with everyone; I didn't sleep there all night.
The next day (Sunday) I was out of commission. Whatever had hit me, it hit hard. I was incapable of doing anything other than sleep. I think the whole family went out and about all day and night around Hua Hin, getting massages and shopping. Adrien did, however, finally receive his luggage. A week in Thailand and it finally arrived. Way to go Cathay Pacific!!!
F'ing Monkeys everywhere!
I woke up Monday feeling back to normal. So sucked that I had lost a day on this short trip; but oh well. Monday we did more of the same, hanging out at the house and having lunch at Mr. Burger 2. After lunch, Adrien, Car, Jenn and I jumped on the scooters and headed 6 km from the city center to Khao Takiab (also known as Monkey Mountain). It was basically a small hill where monkeys roamed freely, with a Buddhist Temple. So let me tell you that Adrien, Car and Jenn are little fraidy-cats when it comes to these little monkeys. I mean they are ALL around and you have to walk through and around them. Took a little pushing for my three companions to move along. Too funny. We snapped up a ton of monkey pictures (even some enjoying "personal" time). We even watched as some local lady fed some monkeys around her a bucket of bananas. Talk about a commotion! Eventually we walked up the 100+ steps to Wat Khao Takiab (a Buddhist temple). As will become the norm, when visiting most temples, knees and shoulders must be covered. So if monks see you without that, they will provide clothing for you. This temple only required knees covered, so the girls were provided with sarongs from the monks. We snapped some nice shots of the coast from up high and soon headed back down. Just down the road was also a HUGE standing Buddha statue up against a cliff that we checked out and took more pictures along the coast.
That night the whole family cruised into downtown Hua Hin for a tapas dinner (damn Jenn, do we eat tapas a lot or what?), shopping for replica watches/purses and other souvenirs. Adrien, Car, Jenn and I hung around longer (we had brought the scooters in town with us) and decided to go have drinks in the Hua Hin Red Light District. We downed a couple of beers while watching the local night activities. Entertaining! On the ride back home I got caught in a police check-point (Adrien had pulled a u-turn in time). Making a long story short, I was shaken down for about $33. I must tell you that Adrien, my mom and aunt went into town that morning and got pulled over at the same check-point. They were ticketed for the drivers of the scooters not having helmets (about $6 each). Yeah, when 1/2 the scooter riders don't wear helmets, I wonder if this wasn't a shakedown also, even though they were given citations. Whatever; corrupt nation for sure. Nevertheless, we wore helmets the rest of the trip (drivers only).
Tuesday morning Jenn and I headed into downtown early in order to do some shopping. I was especially keen on getting some custom clothes made, since it would take a few days to complete. I ended up having 3 custom silk shirts made. Jenn and I toured the town a little and eventually returned to join the family for lunch at Mr. Burger 2. The afteroon was spent at the house pool. That night we all headed into town again (this time without the scooters to avoid any further shakedowns). Car and Adrien treated us to massages that night. We all went with foot massages (except Marie-France who isn't too keen on people touching her toes) and boy were the massages AWESOME!! They are like $10 for an hour. The use of Tiger Balm is what it's all about. I would later purchase some Tiger Balm to take home. After the massages we had some dinner at a local seafood restaurant and headed home.
Wednesday morning was more of the same, hanging around the pool and catching some rays. In the afternoon, Adrien, Car, Jenn and I went to an Elephant Village just like 3 km away from our house. There, we got to take an hour ride on the backs of elephants (each couple on one). It was a nice slow walk through the brush, some Buddha statue sightings and vista views. At one point, the guides directing our respective elephants jumped off and then it was up to Adrien and I to guide the elephants (OK, so the guides were shouting commands, but we were in the driver's seat). At the end of the walk, the elephants go through water with us on their backs. Pretty cool! After the ride we got to feed the elephants and then watch a different circus elephant play the harmonica, play the xylophone, hula hoop, sit and lay down. The Elephant Village was nice entertainment for sure. On the way back we stopped off at Hua Hin beach to snap some photos.
That night we all went into town. I had to stop into my tailor to try on a shirt to make sure it was right. I loved the way it looked so much, I ordered 2 more shirts that night. They would all be ready on Friday. We also shopped for replica goodies and then ate again at the Sofitel (Thai theme night). We were treated to a delicious buffet of Thai food and enjoyed some live Thai music and dancing. We called it a night after that.
Tall maybe?
For Thursday, my mom had organized a professionally guided tour of the area. We were picked up at 8am in a van and headed up some 65 km to Petchburi. It was the nine of us (our own van) and a swiss couple (separate van). In Petchburi, we were dropped off at the local street market. Man, you better have the stomach to smell and see weird things in these types of markets.
From the market, we walked to Wat Mahathat Worawihan (a 5-Tower Buddhist temple). We entered the temple and performed Buddhist traditions (our guide taught and showed us how to do it all). It was fascinating and a wonderful experience. We toured the small temple for a while before heading off to our next destination.
The next destination was Khai Luang Cave, a cave with many Buddha images (statues to me) and a reclining Buddha. At the top of the cave were lots of monkeys again. My mom decided that she wanted to feed them. She bought a bag of bananas and started throwing them all over the place. Quite funny. After that comedy act we walked down into the cave (not easy for the old people with us ;-)). Down in the cave was a large room housing lots of Buddha images and the reclining Buddha. We soon left and headed onto the next destination.
Tough stairs, huh mom?
Next was Phra Nakhon Khiri (Palace on a Hill). We had to take a funicular up the mountain to this palace (good for the old people with us ;-)). Up at the palace were more monkeys. We saw that one monkey had stolen a young child's stuffed animal and later would see a couple monkeys aggressively steal drinks from 2 young kids. We visited the palace and snapped some very cool pictures from up high.
Thieving monkey!
After a nice Thai lunch at a local hotel we drove back toward Hua Hin and stopped in Cha Am to visit one last palace, Mrigadayavan Palace. This palace has 16 buildings built of golden teak, in Thai-Victorian style, all connected by elevated airy walkways designed to catch the breezes from all directions. It was along the sea. Pretty cool place actually. This palace concluded the tour and we were brought back to our house. It was a great cultural tour for sure. Thanks mom!
Once again, we all headed into town for the evening. Adrien, Car, Jenn and I headed in a little early to get more foot massages (#2 for me.. Woo hoo), Car got her eyelashes worked on. We eventually met up with the rest of the family and ate dinner at a local restaurant. After dinner, Adrien, Car, Jenn and I tried to get in some last minute shopping in at a couple of local night markets. In truth, Jenn was on a mission to get "the perfect" replica purse (Car had successfully found a few). We struck out again that night.
Departure from Hua Hin (with our maid Pia)
Friday morning Jenn and I headed into town first thing to pick up my silk shirts. However, we did sneak in one more foot massage/reflexology (#3 for me) before the pick up. The shirts came out perfect; love them. We all had one more meal at Mr. Burger 2, then packed and Hua Hin was over. Hello Bangkok.
Seriously Jenn?
We arrived in Bangkok around 7pm. We all checked into our boutique hotel and went out to dinner, some Thai food. After dinner, Adrien, Car, Jenn and I headed to the world famous Patpong. In case you are not familiar, Patpong is Bangkok's slutty red light district. However, it also has a fantastic night market where one can really bargain for replica goods. Jenn finally scored a couple of "perfect" purses. Hallelujah!! We scoured the market that evening and headed back to the hotel late.
Our last day in Thailand (Saturday), began early. A cousin of ours, Veronique, who lives in Thailand had organized a morning of Thai cooking classes. So she picked us up and we took the local train (BTS) to the Blue Elephant Cooking School. There, we were shown how to cook 2 traditional Thai entrees (Green Curry with Chicken and Stir Fry Beef) and then had to cook them ourselves (in groups of 3). I think we all did fantastic. After cooking we got to enjoy the fruits of our labor for lunch. Yummy! After lunch it was time to say good-bye to Adrien and Car as they were flying home.
Green Curry with Chicken
Master Chefs? Hmmmm
Jenn, Christianne, Sylvie and I went to visit the Grand Palace (Mom, Dad and Marie-France went back to the hotel to see Adrien and Car off) after the cooking school. The Grand Palace architecture was gorgeous as we walked the grounds.
After the palace visit, we jumped in a Tuk Tuk (what trip to Thailand would be complete without a ride in a Tuk Tuk?) and headed to MBK (a HUGE 6-floor mall for more shopping). Jenn and I split from Christianne and Sylvie there to finish up all our souvenir shopping. Much like the Big 5 in South Africa, I have a similar obsession in Thailand... the Tuk Tuk. I purchased a lot of Tuk Tuk souvenirs on this trip. I need help.
That night we were invited to dinner at Veronique's house. We had a wonderful dinner and celebrated dad's 65th birthday there. Great way to finish off the trip. We got home late; and Jenn and I needed to pack since we had to head to the airport at 3am. After only 1 hour of sleep, we were back at Bangkok airport. I'm going to sound like a snob here, but I LOVE how most countries outside the US allow you to use airline lounges if your airline status is high enough; even if you are flying economy class (US airports only let you if you are flying business/first). Jenn and I were able to enjoy the Delta lounges in Bangkok (before departure) and in Tokyo (during our layover). That, along with the exit row seating again, made the return flight tolerable. So we left Bangkok at 5:45am on Sunday and landed in LAX at 8am Sunday (gotta love that international date line).
Upon arrival we picked up Jenn's car and drove to her grandparents' house where we were treated to a wonderful breakfast. I got to take a shower since I still had to fly to Dallas. After the breakfast we went to chill at her aunt's house before I jumped on a 4pm flight to Dallas. The trip was over.
Thailand is hands down my favorite country in the world. I could go there all the time. While a little expensive to get there, it's very cheap when there. I love it and highly recommend it. Thank you mom for a wonderful vacation; I will never forget it.
Finally, here are some pictures taken by the family of their time before we arrived. Most of the beautiful pictures (above and below) are taken by super-photographer Adrien. He's got some serious talent for photography.
