2 Weeks...

So today we have been in Bangkok for two weeks.

So, how has it been you ask... Man, we have hardly touched ground. It's been a whirlwind of shopping. And as much as I LOVE shopping, I have had enough! It is exhausting.

Okey, so before I start rambling on, I have to explain one thing. The reason I started this blog was to keep our families up to date. So expect a lot of boring details...parents love details... So please excuse the details, and if you get bored...I apologise...

So, having said that...

We are still settling in, I think that will still take a while. Yesterday was our first time to attend church here in Bangkok. It is called the Bangkok International Church of SDA. Quite a lot of people. The pastor is from America. Joshua and Bella have their own separate classes (meaning Joshua goes to one and Bella to another) Bella loved hers, Joshua was a bit clingy. But I'm sure he will still warm up to the other kids.

Bella made a new little friend. Kaija (I think that is the spelling) The parents are missionaries from America. Jonathan is the chaplan at the Ekemai International Adventist School. It is right next to our building. Alana is a stay at home mom. They have two little ones, Kaija is 3 months younger than Bella, and Jona is 8 months. Kaija and Bella are like two peas in a pod! A bit scary. It's like seeing double. Yes, double trouble. They live on the Mission (two blocks from us). So it makes it very convenient for play dates.

So let me tell you a bit about the shopping. Keep in mind that I have not been to any of the markets or China town. Aparently these are very cheap. But, department stores does not live up to the name of Bangkok being cheap. We had to go out and buy new bedding, as the bedding we had was to small for these beds. And here they are very fancy, they sell bedding by the thread count. So, the prices start very high. Very very high! I was schoked out of believe. Just today, I was looking for pillow cases, and they wanted to charge me $7 for one std pillow case. I told the lady she was crazy. Shame... They also don't have continental pillows here. Instead they have bolster cushions. It's a long cylinder form pillow. A little strange.

And then let me not even start on the toys! They have a Toys R Us here. And for those of you who know this store, it is not a very cheap store in South Africa. But it's okey. Well, not here! The prices are really laughable! So needless to say, we will be making a trip across town to China Town to do some toy shopping. And the worse part of all...they don't have McQueen or Barbie/Cinderella!!! How dare they... Here they have Micky Mouse, Hello Kitty and Winney the Pooh.

And then there is the food shopping. Oh my word! Firstly I have to guess what is in the package. Everything is written in Thai. Lucky for me, Jair's college has a Thai wife. So she was very helpful to tell me what everything was. But trying to figure out what to cook and where to find it all is a challenge.

Okey, let's get off the subject of shopping.

The first weekend we where here, we had our annual staff retreat. We went up North East, about three hours, into the country side. It was really nice to see a bit of the country. Have a look at the photos here. We also got to experience some Thai food. The real deal. It was really nice. Sometimes a bit surprising. They served soup with one meal. And I was very interested to try it. That was until I discovered that it was seaweed and tofu soup. Yikes! One bite did it for me.
I have a blog friend who lives here in Bangkok. The title of her blog is 'Loving Rice'. And I did not really get it until now. You see, the Thai people LOVE rice. So much so, that they eat rice for breakfast, lunch and supper. Now, I love rice. But people, this is a bit much.

This past Thursday we had our Christmas Dinner at a hotel called Banyan Tree Hotel. Now, 5 star here is not the same as 5 star in South Africa. Worlds apart. It was pretty spectacular! On the top of the roof they have a restaurant called Vertigo. It is on the 61st floor. The view from up there is just spectacular. Bangkok really is a beautiful city at night. Have a look at the photos we took from the top of the roof.

Yesterday (Dec 5) was the King's birthday. Now here, the King is revered. You are not allowed to say anything bad about him. His photo is also everywhere. I even noticed in Joshua's Sabbath School class there was a photo of the king, one of Jesus and one of the Queen. All next to each other... Anyway, so yesterday was his birthday and it was also our 10 year wedding anniversary. So of coarse we like to think that all the fireworks at night was to commemorate our special day...;)

One last thing I am going to tell you about. The fashion here. Everyone told me that I would love shopping for clothes here. Now please keep in mind, I have not been to the markets yet. Hopefully it is better there. But oh my word, the fashion is terrible. I am really sorry if I am going to offend anyone, and I apologise in advance. But the ladies here dress terribly. They styles just don't make any sense. Nothing matches. It's like they got dressed in the dark. Yikes! Hopefully I will still find a shop where I can shop, cause I do like to shop for clothes!

Okey, for now that is enough rambling. I will bore you to death again another day...

A short video taken from the 61st floor of the Banyan Hotel.