An Anniversary in Bangkok

As of November 15th 2011 Nicholas and I have been together for 3 full years. What a ride it has been! Our relationship has been a test from the beginning. We started out long distance, trying our best to see each other every 2 weeks, Then he moved in with me in Jacksonville going from every 2 weeks to seeing each other everyday, then we decided to move to the other side of the world and travel together, live together,work together. Due to my slight fear of being robbed and sold as a sex slave we basically go everywhere together, and sure we have our disagreements from time to time, but we always come out on top. 

This year we are lucky enough to spend our 3rd Anniversary in Bangkok. I've been wanting to go to this restaurant since before we even stepped foot in Thailand. I thought it looked so interesting. I had kinda forgotten about it and put it on the back burner, but Nick being the charming man that he is, remembered and surprised me with a dinner at :

Cabbages and Condoms.  

       This place originally caught my attention because all the decor is basically made with, well, Condoms. I know what you're thinking, great place to go on an anniversary. ;) ;) But the reason this place exist is because in the 70's in Thailand, many people were having babies, spreading diseases, at a rate too fast for the slow growing economy. One man decided to start an organization called "Population and Community Development Association or PDA" According to their website: The organization started campaigns that were tailored to the health of specific target groups such as factory workers, hill tribe villagers and adolescents. In total 12,000 volunteers plus several mobile health units distributed contraceptives to over 10,000 villages. 




Today PDA programs cover over one third of the country, helping to lower the national population growth rate from 3.2% to 1%. The thought behind the name of the restaurant came from the idea that condoms should be as readily available to everyone as vegetables...Ie: Cabbages and Condoms

        So basically, it is a fun way to promote safe sex, and population control. 100% of
 the proceeds from the restaurant go to supporting these efforts. The food is delicious and   
 the decor is hilarious, please take a look for yourself: 

Condom Family, and for some odd reason they are white.

Condom Santa and family?

  The decor was complete with Birth control boarder condom box. If you look closely it says "Republican size" and "Democrat Size" (They were the same size) .                               

Our meal was delicious I had chicken and sticky rice cooked in banana leaves, and we were entertained by a lovely Thai women playing traditional Thai music! 

  And of course instead of mints..... Two Condoms were provided!

 The service was great and if you are ever in Bangkok, or Pattaya Beach

I highly recommend it  :Cabbages and Condoms They accept reservations Nick even request a nice quiet table with good scenery, it was really sweet and a nice surprise! So          

                               thank you Nick and here's to another 3 years.... ;)

                                                           *Cheers*

Thanksgiving in Thailand

An American Thanksgiving-In Thailand

For those of you who know me, you know that my protein of choice is Turkey. A turkey sandwich with tomato, bacon and lettuce can make me a happy girl any day. [Preferably from Publix.] So going an entire year with out Turkey in my life is quite a task. It's no coincidence that Thanksgiving has always been one of my favorite holidays. For the past 5 years I have been hosting a Thanksgiving potluck ... I cook the turkey and you bring the fixins. It is always a great time with too much food and lots of amazing people. From the moment I got to Thailand, I was plotting where I could buy a turkey, and whose oven we could use to cook it in. If you have followed my blogs you know that ovens are not a usual way of cooking. Most Thai food is cooked in a wok or deep fried in lots of oil. Ovens are very hard to come by. Luckily one of the teachers that lives in our apartment  is an amazing sculptor, so he has to bake his pieces after making them. The moment I spotted it the wheels started turning. 

Now where do we find a turkey in Thailand? Luckily, like most big cities there is a great International market in Bangkok {at the Paragon Mall} not only did we get a turkey.. but it was a Butter Ball!!! Straight from America! It may have cost us 50$ for a 12 pounder but we had our Thanksgiving dinner. We invited all the Americans who lived in our building which turned out to be 6, and our good friend Eric who we met in Cambodia when we took our TESOL course. We have been great friends since we began our journey in Southeast Asia. He was kind enough to pick up the turkey for us.. and along the way he found cranberry sauce and baked a fresh apple pie!!! 

I love Thanksgiving because it is a time where you are forced to stop look around and Thank the people in your life, and thank God or Buddha or whoever it is you worship for all the good things you have in life. Everyday things that some people take for granted on a daily basis. I have so much to be thankful for this year. The amazing journey that my wonderful Boyfriend and I have been on and all the amazing people who have supported my decision.

I am not only thankful for those I've known for years but those I've just met. There are about 30 Foreign teachers who live in our building 6 of them being Americans. The invite went out to all.. but when none of the Brits showed up...we were able to cheers to our independence from them with ease!! I was really proud that we were able to pull together a non-traditional-traditional Thanksgiving meal complete with: sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, homemade apple sauce, peas and carrots, gravy, cranberry sauce, stuffing and let's not forget the star of the show the Turkey. All the proper smells were present, all the friendships were there. Though we were not with our "real" families we have found families in each other. For many of my co-workers this was the first Thanksgiving meal they have had in years. Even little William (the Half American and Filipino boy) who we have grown to love, celebrated his 1st Thanksgiving dinner this year. All traditions were present complete with everyone saying what they were thankful for.. tear and heartfelt statements that I will treasure for Thanksgivings to come. 

Here are some pictures from our feast:

Head of the Household, Nick carving up our turkey

This is William, celebrating his 1st Thanksgiving

                          

                          And here is our Motley Crew we celebrated with.


I learned at a very young age that life is short, and since then I have tried to appreciate and live every moment to the fullest. I am so thankful for the people in my life and those that have passed. I miss my family more and more every day especially during the holidays.... but if I can continue with my cliches..

Home is where the Heart is, I may not be eating dinner on American soil but the traditions are kept alive by continuing to live them and passing them on to others. So God bless you and your family this holiday season, be safe and do good for others.


*Cheers*

   Thais often drink their soda out of a plastic bag, with ice and a straw.  

Sweet Bali Hai Part. 2

Everyday the Balinese place these around their homes,
1 offering for the good spirits , in hopes to keep them around and 1 for the evil spirits to
 keep them away. They are placed on different levels good high up and closer to home and the evil on the ground and in the entrance way.


**This blog is a continuation you can read Part 1 Here!**

    So here we are on day 6, in Bali, Indonesia. This place really is special, so much to do and see. We are finally fully rested and ready for a day of fun. What is on the agenda today? Renting moto bikes and cruising around the island. Moto bikes are a great way to get around, and usually don't cost to much. I get pretty scared on them mainly because I have absolutely no control over what happens, and traffic all over Asia is crazy and unpredictable. Luckily for me, Nick is a great driver, and respects my wishes when it comes to the speed... It could be the speech I give him every time we hop on, "If you kill me you will have 2 very angry Italian parents that will come and hunt you down!" lol


First stop on our tour of the island is a beautiful Sacred Monkey Temple. It took us about a half hour to get there, with some amazing scenery along the way. I really enjoy going to temples because you get to learn the religion and it helps you to understand the culture. Unlike the rest of Indonesia, Bali is mostly a Hindu country (about 93%), Muslim (5%), and the rest is Christian and Buddist. When we spoke to most of the Balinese we got many mixed feelings about all the religions. We sat down to eat one day and our server asked us where we were from and we said of course 
        "America", he responds with.. 
        "Ohhh Obama, I don't like him" 
        I kindly inquired, "Why Not?"
       "Because he is Muslim, and they try to take over our country, I love George Bush, he is a very strong man!" 


I kindly smiled and tried my best not to vomit in my mouth a little. This has been one of the only negative responses I have heard about Obama since being abroad. Most of the time it is a pretty positive response. The Muslim community has such a strong influence on Indonesia especially since the rest of the country is muslim. However, like most places it is not always a positive one. Today was actually the 5th anniversary of Bali bombings from the muslims. They planted bombs and blew up a very tourist populated area killing many people. But, I am not here to preach about religion or politics! 


So back to the Sacred Monkey Temple! 

          Upon arrival we have to sign a waver and if desired purchase life insurance! Why would we need something like this in a temple you ask? Well, unlike most temples this one is inhabited with over 300 monkeys! They run around freely and you can play with them if you wish, but at your own risk! lol 
 
        The temple itself was very beautiful and naturally designed with Monkeys all over it. Unlike Thai temples that usually have Elephants! Monkeys are highly respected in this country and treated accordingly. We were able to enter the temple as long as we were dressed properly. Shoulders, and legs covered they provided cloths for us to cover up with! Here is our motley crew, Monkeying around..[pun intended]
































         After we paid our respects to the temples, it was time to go play! It was really scary at first because there were monkeys everywhere!! You really had to keep your head on a swivel because these monkeys were very cheeky!  

Adorable Monkey Family! 

Me and my new friend, who tried to steal
my earrings right out of my ears!

We were warned ahead of time, not to wear sunglasses, hats, or anything that could easily be removed by them. Naturally, Nick ignored this warning and got his glasses stolen by this little guy! He took them right off his face and ran up into the tree...

                                                                                                                                  

         


...and put them on! One of the security guards spotted this and took his sling shot out.. shot him and he dropped them immediately. It was pretty entertaining! 


















        After about 2 hours of playing around, we headed out and got some lunch, hopped on our moto bikes and headed home! There were some beautiful sites along the way. Rice fields, temples, and beautiful art work, which Balinese is famous for, so of course I had to purchase some! Overall, it was an amazing day! We got a little lost on our way home but after swerving in and out of traffic arrived safely at our Guest house, just in time for dinner!

Until next time...

Cheers!

Sweet Bali Hai

Thailand is the mustard colored country, Indonesia is the Brown 
and Bali is one of the tiny islands toward the middle.

                Hello everyone! Terribly sorry for the slight delay in my vacation blog. I know I said I would post every day while on vacation but... I was on vacation! So it was much more tempting to put it off and explore. 


So, where were we? Oh yeah, Day 4. Winding down our time in Koh Phi Phi [pronounced P.P.]  and heading further down south to Phuket [Pronounced Poo-ket] Thailand's biggest island. We took a two hour ferry ride, and one very long overpriced taxi ride and we finally arrived in Phuket International Airport at around 9pm.

Thank You for flying Air Asia. 

 Our flight left for Bali, Indonesia early in the morning so rather than waste money on a hotel for a couple of hours we decided we would set up camp in the airport terminal. Especially since we had to watch college football and we were going to be up all night anyways. Well the boys at least... Jen and I had our own Gator -Vs- Noles Battle in our sleep.

On to day 5, we arrived in Bali, Indonesia.  First impressions: Clean air, Hot weather, darker Asians, beautiful flowers and many hidden fees. Just to go to Bali you have to basically pay a cover fee of 25 USD, however the Thai Baht price was about 30$. 

The exciting but frustrating thing to me about arriving in a new country is learning the way their money works. If there is one thing I can't stand is getting ripped off, but you are pretty much guaranteed to when leaving the Airport. People tend to take full advantage of the fact that you are a tourist and probably wont know how much a taxi should cost to get to your destination. We booked a beautiful hotel for the first night and ventured off to find a taxi. We read online  that there are metered taxies all over the island. Of course when we get to the airport there aren't any in site.  After a about 4 different taxies we were finally able to get a reasonable price. Luckily, the Balinese speak really good English (compared to Thailand) and made things a lot easier. 

We spent the rest of the day getting a bite to eat and checking out the closest beach. First order of business dip my toes into the Indian Ocean. I then laid out my towel on the sand, and drifted off to sleep ...only to be awoken by a large parade of Balinese dressed completely in white, walking towards the ocean. We were a bit confused but watched intently. We later learned that this is a Hindu ceremony they preformed two times a year!  It is meant to ward off the evil spirits, and keep the good ones. They light incense and bring offerings to the ocean, and pray to the gods. 

We sat and watched from the back and it was quite funny, really.. the women were on one side and the men were playing the music. Most were quite present while others were playing on their  blackberries and gossiping with each other. After about a half hour, they continued their parade through the city.  It was actually really cool, and we were so lucky to catch it! 

At this point we were running on empty, and decided it was time to go back to the hotel and crash! It sure did feel good sleeping on a comfortable bed! 

Until next time...

Cheers!

Photo Credit: Jen Cowan and Jon Watt

Trip planning and Island hopping!

Day 2

Day 2 began with waking up early and heading into the city from our place in Ban Phaeo. We have 1/2 a day to "Do Bangkok" and a Overnight bus to catch at 6pm. After a full day of events the day prior, we didnt want to do too much. On our hit list- some temples, the reclining buddha, and MBK shopping mall. They are all in the same vicinity but when you are dealing with Bangkok traffic... getting from point A to point B could take hours. But some how we managed to do it all. The reclining Buddha is a big attraction mainly because it is so large.. it is really beautiful and overwhelming to see in person,but definitely a must see. After this we headed to some temples to take a look around and get some pictures...maybe if we're lucky see some monks. :) The next couple of hours consisted of running around. Tiring but good because we had a loong 10 hour bus ride to sleep. 

The Reclining Buddha, Bangkok.

Traveling is fun, but it is not for sissies, it is a lot of work.. mentally, financially, and physically. But of course the end result makes it all worth it. Here is what the end of day 2 and beginning of day 3 consisted of: After a long FREEZING bus ride, and when I say freezing I mean freezing, I had on Leggins,a long skirt over my leggins, a tank top, a shirt over my tank top, a hooded jacket,and a blanket and was still freezing, I digress. A 10 hour bus ride, followed by waiting at a local shop for our next means of transportation, a short Song tao ride, to another bus ride for 3 hours, followed by a short van ride to a ferry for 2 more hours... then we finally reached our destination. Exhausted, hungry, dressed like a hobo and in desperate need of a shower... 

I kindly bring you to ... Koh Phi Phi! 

---Day 3--

Day 3 will be our most exciting day yet, because we will spend it at sea! :) The days events include: Snorkeling, Monkey feeding, island hopping, kayaking,and view of the sunset from the boat. [from 10am-6pm] Last time we were here, I decided to join an amateur muy thai fight, I actually injured my foot really bad and we had to cancel the whole day... So Nick and I were REALLY looking forward to this day.  

There was a pretty large group of people, all from around the world. Most seemed to be enjoying themselves, others were only concerned with their tan. Non-the less I had a blast all day long: and pictures always seem to tell the best story so enjoy: 

   

Snorkeling was a lot of fun, here are some of the creatures we saw!

Scary looking eel!

Gill from Nemo, a Moorish Idol

Some of the gorgeous scenery
along the way.

The Famous long tailed boats.

Jumping off into beautiful clear water!

Jumping off the plank! :)

      And finally, ending the day watching the sun set. It is always surreal watching the sun set because I know my day is ending and everyone's back home is just beginning. I try to send happy thoughts to who ever is about to start their day... as I reflect and finish mine. We were so lucky to have such a great day, weather wise... And the company wasn't half bad either. It was really amazing to be able to share our home and life here in Thailand with Nick's brother Jon and Gf Jen. We are very grateful that they were able to join us while we have this time off to explore the beautiful world we live in. 


                                                 Until next time...... 




                                                       *Cheers*






For more pictures check out my Fb Page and don't forget to tell me what you think or ask any questions in the comment section below! 

A True American Artist.

Steve Jobs

February 24, 1955 – October 5, 2011

Just wanted to take a moment to recognize one of Americas most talented man. He gave us and the world so much, and it is truly our loss to have him takin from us at age 56. So as you play on your ipads, iphones, and ipods today, take a moment to be thankful for the man who gave them to you.

“Almost everything–all external expectations, all pride, all fear of

embarrassment or failure–these things just fall away in the

 face of death, leaving only what is truly important.

Remembering that you are going to die is the best way

I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to

 lose.You are already naked.

There is no reason not to follow your heart.”

- Steve Jobs Stanford Commencement 

speech

“Here’s to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers,

the round pegs in the square holes… the ones who see things differently

they’re not fond of rules… You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them,

but the only thing you can’t do is ignore them because they change things…

they push the human race forward, and while some may see them as the crazy ones,

we see genius, because the ones who are crazy enough to think that

 they can change the world,

are the ones who do.”

– Think Different, Narrated by Steve Jobs

For more information: Steve Jobs