more photos

Feeling spoiled

well the past few days we have been at Ben's house in Hua Hin and I must admit I am feeling completely spoiled. A pool, being able to use a computer when I want and not be on a time limit, watch tv, make my own meal, etc. It is lovely. Even though it is suppsed to be monsoon season...we have been here for 5 days without a drop of rain.

I thought I would take the time to post some photos from the end of our time in India..most of them are from the north.

A touch of good luck

Well today my luck was good...very good. We are in Hua Hin now at Ben's house. We went for a walk on the beach this morning for a couple of hours (which was lovely), the sun poked its nose out from behind the clouds for a few hours, so we actually managed to get some sun, have a swim in the pool and enjoy the beach. We got back to the car and were wiping the sand off our feet. I put my small digital camera on the car bumber at the back of the car, got in the car and off we went. When we pulled into Ben's garage I looked down and realized that my camera was not on my lap. A swear word jumped out of my mouth as I realized I had left the camera on the bumper.

Now you have to realize that it is about a 5 minute drive to the beach, you have to go over several speed bumps, you drive on a highway travelling about 100km an hour and then you have to take a side road that has pot holes and bumps. So I figured that my camera was for sure smashed to bits on the highway.

I jumped out of the car and ran to the back...and there was my camera, sitting in the exact same spot that it was in when we got in the car. Can you believe it? It seems impossible to me...but I am so THANKFUL. Dad was definitely watching me...

We had a great day today. Walk on the beach, followed by a lunch on the terrace (shrimp salad...with fresh shrimp from the market...nummies), swim in the pool under the hot Thai sun, cup of tea on the terrace and a few hours in Ben's office researching our next leg of our trip. Now we are going to steam some fresh sea bass...and those that now me know how much I love sea bass, grill some vegetable and DROOL!

Phad Thai, sunshine and short skirts (in no particular order)

Well we said our teary good byes to India and arrived safely in Bangkok yesterday morning. Our flight was uneventful as was the taxi to our hotel. Our first impressions on Bangkok was that it was clean (compared to Delhi) and that it was calm. Crazy statement to make because it is actually quite mad...but again compared to where we were coming from, it seems calm. People drive in lanes, there are no cows on the street (not that we have seen yet) and it just seems cleaner and calmer in general.

We have put ourselves up at a swank hotel. It is GREAT! Nice comfy beds, a bath tub, slipper and a house coat, an outdoor pool and a breakfast buffet that we pigged out on this morning. It is SWEET! We hope to take advantage of the pool later today, but first we have to wrap up our visa for Myanmar which is proving quite time intensive. WE have been there for over 3 hours, are #25 and at last check they were only on #14. Could be a long haul.

Last night we went to a movie and the place was gorgeous. Felt more like we were going to the symphany. The Thai's know how to do it right. No screaming neon like at the Paramount in Toronto...even the uniforms of the people that worked there were gorgeous. Sleek sophistication. We were assigned seats when we bought our ticket and there were ushers to show you to your seat. We had to stand for the national anthem...it was a new experience that is for sure.

So both Deb and I are itching to spend some money. Well it seems almost impossible not to get swept up in materialism here. There are shopping malls everywhere and so many wonderful clothing stores...it would probably actually cause us physical harm if we didn't do at least a little shopping while we are here. We don't want to strain anything by resisting the pull of the shops. Do we?

Had phad thai last night and was a little disappointed..so today we take to the streets in the hopes of finding some good street stall food. We hear that is where you get the best tasting food (probably also the best case of upset stomach) but I am willing to take the chance.

I will let you know how it goes!

Lounging around

Well it has been 2 weeks now that Deb and I have been in one place. Hard to believe.No bus rides, searching for accomodation, etc. Sigh...quite civilized actually. We are enjoying ourselves. Our days are pretty relaxed. We sleep in every day...nice! Some mornings we start the day off with pilates, every morning we have a nice big bowl of fresh fruit, mangoes, peaches, pears, etc. We read, watch the monkeys, walk to the village to get groceries. I think we are the village celebrities now...everyone giggles and crowds gather as we grocery shop. Such a funny thing.

We have tv...so we have watched some movies as well. Cooked some meals, drank a few beer, etc. We have booked our ticket to Thailand. We leave on July 22nd for Bangkok. We will stay there a few days, get our visa to Myanmar and our ticket and then head south to Hua Hin where we will stay at a friends house for a week or so and then head onwards. Both Deb and I have mixed feelings about leaving India. It seems that just as we have gotten used to how things get done here we are leaving and will have to learn all over again in another country.

But I am sure we will survive.