Recent visits + visitors

Despite my having a sprained ankle, we've still been having fun! In a crazy twist of luck, our planned trip to Myanmar (just one week after the 'water park fun incident') ended up getting credited due to a change in flight schedule. So, instead of hobbling around Yangon's temples, I laid around a hotel room in Pattaya while Sam worked a charity golf  tournament. I literally crutched into the room on Friday night and didn't leave said room until we checked out on Sunday. It was awesome.

My only view of Pattaya for the weekend. Fine with me!

We had a friend, Chris, of a friend, Chris, come through Bangkok and we had a great time taking him to our favorite dinner spot (Sit and Wonder) and we tried out a new rooftop in our neighborhood which featured some interesting art pieces.

Posing with Chris and some toes getting kissed.

Sam bought us tickets for a 'dine-in-the-dark' experience for Valentine's Day and we finally got it on the schedule. I really liked that our experience was fully guided by blind people, rather than having a seeing person act as their representative. It was such an unnerving experience to not be able to see at all once they brought us inside, but we eventually got used to it (and gave up trying to eat with my hands) and it became a very calm sensory experience as we sat and chatted after the meal. My mind felt quieted by not having any visual distractions during/after the meal, but I was definitely grateful to walk out and have the ability to see again. It is really impressive the way the people ran the restaurant and adapted their senses/abilities to be able to accomplish most anything they needed to do.

Before you walk through the black-out curtains into the land of no sight.

Our good friend, Beini, has the sweetest dog in Bangkok. We got to take care of her last week and oh man did it make me want a dog! Abby is a super special, low maintenance, loving dog - and even then I know it takes a lot to raise a dog so don't worry, we're not getting one any time soon. For now, I'll just look forward to hanging out with her whenever I can.

Abby says, "Hello! I'm cute!"

We've found that Abby is about the size of Sam's forearm.

Another friend of a friend came through town after her 4-week whirlwind tour of SE Asia. Sarah was so sweet at our planned dinner last Saturday that we made her stay with us the next two nights instead of in a hostel. We celebrated the Thai New Year, Songkran, together for a bit on Monday before Sam and I left for our holiday. Sarah was such a joy to meet and talk with - people like her make me grateful for the revolving door that is Bangkok and all the people you come across as a result but also sad because they never stay very long!

Waterplay for Songkran!

Madness of Songkran at Silom Rd, Bangkok.

Farewell + Interview with Joe

Wah! Brother Joe has left us after a jam-packed couple of months from January - March filled mostly with hockey (5 nights per week), Chang beer, fun adventures and trips to the dentist. Living with people allows you to learn so much more about each other and I'm so happy that Joe decided he was willing to put up with Sam and I for these months to share so many special experiences together!

Travel buddies en route to Malaysian Borneo.

Being a reflective person, I of course drilled Joe about his favorite memories from being here. Read the first See Monkey Travel special guest interview here with Joey 'the Boss' Wheeler:

What was your favorite food? The roti with chicken curry in Kota Kinabalu.
What was your favorite place? Escapee, Kota Kinabalu
Favorite new person you've met? Gabor from the men's hockey league
Favorite activity? Playing hockey
What will you always remember? Getting my tooth knocked out at the hockey tournament in Singapore.
How about a happy memory you'll always remember? Valentine's Day night out - buffet at the Radisson and Sport Corner bar afterward.
What is your favorite place in Bangkok? Sport Corner
What would your advice for tourists be? Don't buy into the first thing you hear from one person. Don't judge people right when you meet them. Bring headphones.
What will you tell your children about your time living here? It was great to experience what's going on on the other side of the world and to realize that people aren't that different, no matter how far away you go.

Joe and me at one of the last hockey games during his stay.

The boys anxiously waiting for our food in Hua Hin.

Brothers surfing together!

2nd to last night in Bangkok!

Hours before leaving for the airport, we had to do karaoke.

Thanks for the great memories, Joe. Team 908 will always have a place for you :) Love you!

Hua Hin: A Weekend with our Thai Family

To celebrate the end of the Bangkok Warriors hockey season, the team and their families went down to Hua Hin, and we got to join them! The team loves coaches Sam and Joe and we were treated to such a special experience with the people I now consider our 'Thai family.' Khun Lanoi - the matriarch of the hockey club (from my understanding) cared for us all as her own children, partly because of the customary Thai hospitality and mostly because she is just a fabulously kind woman.

On a Friday after work, we were picked up in a large van that sat nine of us with the driver up front and made our way to Hua Hin, where the royal family resides on the shores of the Gulf of Thailand.

Do not say something rude on the bus. Come on, people.

After about 3 hours, we made it to the city and were dropped off at the city night market and had a delicious seafood dinner, taking advantage of our newfound proximity to the sea.

Teeth?!

One of our seafood platters - YUM!

It was after midnight when we arrived at our accommodation, so we had our first look at the villa complex in the morning. It reminded me a lot of a retirement village in Florida mostly because of its emphasis on the ever-so-rare-feature-in-Thailand: handicap accessibility (which turned out to be a big bonus later in the weekend).

Our villa - the hot tub stayed on all day/night.

Pretty little thing.

We got an early start to Vana Nava waterpark with the whole hockey team and their families. We were a big group and rather than wait in the crazy long admission line, they have staff running about to take people's orders and wait in line for them. It's so Thai.

Wave pool.

Huge slide.

Super steep slide.

"Leran" to spell.

After getting our wristbands, everyone dispersed and Sam, Joe and I booked our slots on the Flowrider infinity wave. We were the only people in that timeslot and it was so much fun to play around - for 15 minutes. Then I got carried away by the wave and smashed into the back board with a flexed ankle. So the rest of my day was spent visiting the hospital (x-ray says it's not broken) and coming back to the park to watch the boys surfing and drowning my sorrows in some Chang beer. Sitting in a wheelchair with a bum ankle, listening to fun music and watching the boys have a blast surfing, I couldn't help but think, "Life may not be glamorous, but it's a hell of a good time."

My view at the water park.

After a long day at the water park, we went home to a feast of unimaginable proportions - grilled seafood and booze for days in the lawn of our villa. Being tired from the day's events, I turned in pretty early and woke up at 6am to Joey coming back into our room and the others insisting he mustn't go to bed just yet. What a night!

Kite festival on Cha-Am beach.

The next day, we saw some sights around Hua Hin on our way back home. Well, the group did and Sam piggy-backed me around or I stayed in the van while they saw some monkeys and a kite festival on the beach. We were quite the sight, I'm sure, and Sam is so much more comfortable to lean on than my Thai crutches - my hero.