Chinese New Year

Si nii fah chai! That's how the man in our building said to say "happy Chinese new year!" The family that runs our building has been celebrating CNY for the past couple days with decorations, incense, fireworks and wearing red clothing.

Here is yesterday's offering right in front of our building's entrance.

Today, Sam and I went to Chinatown to see the festivities over there. Here's a taste.

Cheers to the year of the horse - may it bring good health and happiness to you all!

Bar opening @ Mikkeller

Sam discovered that a guy from his hockey team lives in our building. He (Robin) invited us to his friend's bar opening in our area last night and we had a lot of fun! The bar is called Mikkeller and they have 30 mostly imported beers on tap. I had the Three Floyds Artic Sunstone - a little reminder of home and it was awesome tasting :-)

It was a shock to pay 380baht ($12USD) for a pint, but having a flavorful beer after weeks of Chang was a fun change of pace.

Home things

After several trips to the market, our apartment is starting feel quite homey. We made our first homecooked dish - boiled cauliflower - and though it sounds boring, it was an exciting milestone :)

Our guest room already has its third occupant thanks to Air BnB. It's open for visitors, so come on by!

Chatuchak Weekend Market

We had a big day at Chatuchak yesterday, sampling tons of tasty food and getting some small things for the apartment. It's a massive market that is easy to get lost in and I love it. Highlights from yesterday's haul: towels, chilli pepper plant; fresh spring rolls, coconut ice cream.

Crowds on the main circular route through the market.

Coconut ice cream. I have discovered a new favorite.

Hot pot + grill

Since we discovered this restaurant at the end of our street one week ago, we've been there 3 times. It has a great atmosphere with loud Thai music, happy people and dogs patrolling for discarded bones.

We went last night with a friend of a friend who was in town. Despite there being a city wide alcohol ban last night until today due to today's advance election day, we were able to wash down the deliciously spicy food with beer.

You grill the beef/squid on the 'peak' part and boil the vegetables and noodles in the broth. So tasty!

Farmer's Market @ K Village

Today I went to a community yoga class as part of the farmer's market at K Village. It was a great group of people and the market was so much fun! Delicious food, kids and dogs running everywhere and even live music. We did yoga outside and had children join in every so often from the nearby play area - so cute! Here's a look at the indoor area.

Late night street food

After a couple hours on the town, you've got tons of snack/meal options. Last night we opted for pad thai - my first plate of it since moving here! What a delight :-)

Our apartment

I managed to get a bit sick over the past week and spent a lot of time in the apartment resting, reading and enjoying our new plants. The orange one is my favorite and I'm happy to have it there instead of a TV :-)

These are all from the Chatuchak Weekend Market, except the notebook which was left by one of our guests from Air BnB.

Meeting with our new boss

The owner of our company, ABC Pathways International, is in town this week and we had a great meeting with her and another senior member of the company today. The owner, Mrs Bally Wong, lives in Hong Kong where the company is founded. Johnny (not pictured) lives in Bangkok and is leading the initiative for the new school here. I'm really looking forward to working with both of them :-)

Here we are with Bally. Yes, we have Au Bon Pain in Bangkok.

Go-to meal

We're lucky to have tons of street food stalls to choose from in our neighborhood. One of our favorite spots is right outside our building. 

Sam likes their Thai omelet while I recently discovered this noodle dish that is pronounced like sen mee pasaa ee oo.

The Ferry

Ideal for the quick and limber commuter, the ferry is a great way to escape Bangkok's gridlocked traffic and see a bit behind the scenes.

As I mentioned, Sam and I will likely take this to/from work. This weekend I learned that it also makes the journey to the Chatuchak Weekend Market quite easy, too.

My Favorite Tree (so far)

This tree lives on the khlong behind our building. Everyday the decor and offerings change a bit.

Bangkok Shutdown

Sam and I went to run some errands today and walked through one of the main "protest areas" on the way. As I've heard all week, the area was mostly a street market with various souvenirs proclaiming a love of Thailand, His Majesty the King, and election reform. 

It was very low key and felt much like any other market except we were walking on what is usually one of Bangkok's busiest roads.

Saen Saep: The Canal

Here's a view of the canal behind our apartment, called Klong Saen Saep. We'll be using the ferry boat that runs along here to commute to work - just a few stops away! On the left edge of the water is the pier where the ferry stops.

These pink flowers are all over the place here - I love them! Anybody know what they're called?

Xx,

C

Back in Bangkok!

Hello all!

After a wonderful month being with family and friends in the USA, we're back in Bangkok. Trading the Chicago cold and snow for Bangkok's sun and warmth has been a treat :-)

I am going to try something new while I wrote my updates as a resident of Bangkok: one photo and a small blurb every day. Here's the first attempt.

We had an uneventful journey from Chicago > Seoul > Bangkok. This sign greeted us at the airport at 11:30pm on Saturday 11 January 2014. Put it in the books, folks!

Xx,

C