bustling bangkok kristmas
by Rachael
Bangkok, Thailand
With a day to fill in before the H’s arrive, we decided to wander downtown in the hopes of finding a belated birthday cake for J13. This was to be about an 8km round trip…one which, according to tuktuk drivers, is far too far to walk! They don’t know us, do they?
The pictures tell the story of the day
(minus the Mboy6 meltdown) <wink> (it happens) <sigh>
do you see the size of that billboard???
believe it or not, over four storeys high!!!
not
that music was heavenly, just divine
And because she is cute and blonde and does a polished sawadee-ka with hands pressed together even though she’s a “farang”, she gets given treats….like a fruit mince pie.
We had looked at them, smelt them, salivated, even picked one up…..but at twice the cost of an entire meal for just one pie, we had put it back! As we purchased our far cheaper lunch, the sales assistant handed the little cute girl a pie and insisted we not pay for it. OK, so it was broken, but did we care? No, we sniffed it, inhaling deeply and savouring the aroma. We photographed it, because we just knew it was going to be a memory worth preserving! We talked about pies we have made in the past. Then one by one, we nibbled it. One flavoursome bite each, and the last big bit for T4. Buttery pastry, rich raisins, delicious Christmas.
And the birthday cake? Well, we didn’t have too much luck on that front. We found one piece of cake that cost even more than the fruit mince pie…..but we’re an innovative bunch, and we came up with this:
One real Arnotts mint slice from Australia (ie not made-in-Indonesia-with-fake-chocolate) and one custard-filled chocolate muffin sandwiched together at the very last minute with vanilla icecream and topped off with a chocolate almond stick, all served up on a ripped-up-piece-of-cardboard-box….
And because it’s nearly Christmas and it was a long hot walk (high twenties again today) and just because……we had Pepsis too. You buy the gut-rotting drink in a glass bottle, but if you want to drink it away from the shop, it gets poured into a carry bag, so you can take it with you….not very eco-friendly, but very typical.
QUOTES OF THE DAY
Kboy10: I wish I was smaller and cuter
(guess when he said that! If you guess correctly, you can eat a fruit mince pie for us on Christmas Day)
Mama: Walk on the road so you stay out of the way of the cars
(there really truly were more cars on the pavement!!)
ER2: Can I cauliflower you?
(she meant “give you a butterly kiss on the cheek”)
Tags: postcard: Thailand, tradition
rayres
I loved this post – probably cause second time round I loved Bangkok. Good to hear you are still have the ocassional melt down – it wouldn’t be Christmas without a couple….it is hot and sticky over here – with light drizzle (can’t you just picture it) and we have had a few (completely unreasonable, infact so much that they make you giggle) melt downs…..Ems told me the other night through tears….”I can’t help it, I’m just too excited…” (Grant hasn’t even let me teach her how to properly count sleeps….so she actually doesn’t know what excitement is (thankfully..) 🙂
Lots of love to you guys this Christmas,
The Baddeleysxxx
PS: Sam is doing really well – I love being a 3rd time mum (not enough to become a 4th timer) very relaxing and stress free. He’s a good feeder so I am getting plenty of rest!
Happy Birthday Jboy13 for the other day. I’m glad you got to hear some caroling. Our christmas pies this year have consisted of chocolate shotbread pastry filled with choc ganache and fruit mince. Yum of course Mr T’s didn’t have the mince in them. The Aldridge Christmas was yesterday with lunch being served at 7pm when the the lamb was finally cooked in the pizza oven and W&J’s. Of course we weren’t hungry plenty to nibble throughout the day.
Tehehe. I think MrK is cute enough for a mince pie…even with the previous maggot eating;-) Look how big MissER is getting…wow!! Think and talk about you lots around here.
Happy Birthday J13……..we did send a txt on the day but to the wrong number! We were thinking of you…….and of the H’s arrival…….oh dear!!! Great birthday cake…improvisation at it’s best:-) Glad you heard some carols……we went to Carols in the Park at Pt Ch last night……E11 sang up on the stage as part of the GB contingent…..lots of fun. Thinking of you lotsxxxxxx
Hey family!
Man, the contrast between the places you have been to is insane!
You sound like your havin an amazing time.
Love hearing about your travels. Completely jealous…
Happy Bday J!
WoW – looks so very ‘cool’, tested the new tent on the front lawn today; trailer is getting it’s warrent so now I just have to put in the floor give it the second coat of pant and build the new sides for it “just a couple of things before we go away”
I have been thinking of you all lots and missing you guys – have a blessed Christmas