100th Post!

I suppose it's fitting that the 100th 'See Monkey Travel' post is long overdue and therefore will be a big one! In the past few months that I haven't been blogging, there has been so much to celebrate. All of that celebrating can get a bit exhausting for me, so I've been balancing out the fun, party times with some sleepy, sick times. Luckily for everyone else, I didn't take snapshots of my cranky mood and sick breath, so you can just enjoy photos from the fun moments.

Wat Saket a.k.a the Golden Mount, Bangkok

The Parental InvAsian

We had an incredibly amazing trip with both sets of parents - juggling trips to Cambodia, Indonesia and the north and south of Thailand all in the span of two weeks. I had so much fun showing mom and dad our life here in Bangkok, from visiting our school to walking the unpredictable and smelly streets and of course enjoying the splendor of the Grand Palace and temples in the historic district.

The first set of padres arrive!

I could write a short story about traveling with my parents in Thailand and Indonesia, but that will have to wait for another day. Meanwhile, I reminisce about having a pool party at M+D's hotel, taking tuk-tuk rides, playing with elephants, having a private cooking class at our villa in Bali, overlooking the city of Chiang Mai from a mountainside temple and, most fondly, picking them up from the airport with our whole fabulous trip ahead of us. 

Thank you SO MUCH to our parents for making the seemingly never-ending journey to visit us and share in our adventure here in Southeast Asia. You all are seriously the best.

All together now!

Celebrating Loy Krathong festival in BKK.

The Millers and the Elephant Butts

Millers in Bali, Indonesia!

After a huge trip with our padres, we celebrated Thanksgiving and before I knew it, Christmas was here. Our friends, Kirstie (from Glen Ellyn, hey!) and Stefano invited us over for a delicious meal, great company and cozy vibe that made it really feel like home for the holidays. We are so lucky to have great friends and reminders of home so close to us in Bangkok.

Happy Christmas, Kirstie!

Stefano, busy in the kitchen!

Christmas gnocchi was a first and hopefully not a last - so yummy!

Couples VacAsian

Credit to sweet Elisabeth for the trip name above. I think this was my first holiday that had it's own official #hashtag. I can't even explain what a special treat it was to have my best friends visit Thailand. Seeing and living in new places is fun, but nothing can replace the feeling of being with your best friends. I'm still wondering if it really happened or was just a fabulous dream tour of Bangkok and the beaches of Krabi and Koh Phi Phi.

One of my favorite spots at
Wat Phra Kaew a.k.a. Temple of the Emerald Buddha:
the garudas lining the outside of the temple.

If you haven't noticed by now, visits from family and friends are truly the highlight of living here. Spending quality time together, sharing our new home and partaking in your experience of this new place filled my heart to the brim with happiness. I'm still on a high and hope I don't have to come down until the next trip!

First day in BKK - taking Elisabeth right up to the roof!

Could Mark look any cooler in the streets of BKK?

The Aerins (Aaron and Erin) are here! Up the Golden Mount we go!

Reclining Buddha at Wat Pho - 150 feet long!

Necessary prom pic on the Chao Praya River.

Lovely sunset at Wat Arun a.k.a The Temple of Dawn.

Such a fun dinner with this bunch!

Welcome to BKK, Joey!

Not 2 days after closing the Couples VacAsian chapter, Sam's brother, Joe, arrived to stay with us until April! The boys have been busy either playing or coaching hockey 5 nights a week and it's so fun to come home to family after a day of work. The hockey community was abuzz with talk of another Wheeler coming to play and it proved to be a great first game for the brothers to play against each other.

Sam is in yellow, #2. Joey is in black, #39.

On the 7th floor of Central Rama 9 mall - The Rink.

Wheeler bros at the net.

Are you still here? Impressive. So there are the snap shots from our recent adventures. Reliving these fun times has been occupying my day dreams for weeks now. I'm happy to be able to finally share them on the blog!

Love to you every day, xx