Lovely moments

A random collection of a few lovely moments within the last couple of weeks in Bangkok:

A big steaming bowl of tempura ramen from the local Japanese restaurant, spiked with still crunchy morning glory and a beautiful neon pink, round fish cake (you'll have to trust me on the fish cake part since that was eaten before I thought to take this picture!).

Before coming to Thailand, I had never even heard the word Tuk Tuk. Now, they are a regular form of transportation. So much so that during the discussion of how to get my daughter to and from school, I joked to my husband that I'd like to drive a tuk tuk. "Wouldn't that be great?!" I laughed. And, then I spent the next three days contemplating how to make that a reality. But, I couldn't figure out how to keep my kids in the back safe enough for our daily drives so that shut down the deal. (However, I know where you can buy one, have it boxed up and shipped anywhere in the world-- just in case you should ever need a tuk tuk of your own!)

A som tom vendor in Bangkok-- one delicious vendor cart of many. In fact, I dare you to find a block in this city without at least one vendor cart perched on it (more realistic is that you'll find multiple carts per block in this city!).

On a recent road trip, I snapped this picture of Thailand's salt flats. The pools create some great salt that is farmed. And, on this particular day, the clouds looked almost like they were dropped into the sky via some digital movie creation. As I sat in the back of a bumpy van with my newborn, I stared out at the clouds and thought, "Those must be fake clouds!"

On an early morning walk on a recent holiday to Hua Hin, I snapped this picture. My four year old insisted it was a pirate ship and we should keep a watch out for Captain Hook. He ultimately decided it would be far too hot for Captain Hook to be in full pirate costume on Hua Hin's beaches and spent the rest of the walk thinking every man he passed was 'perhaps, perhaps, perhaps Captain Hook in his beach clothing.'

The Immigration Building. Critical to any expat living in Bangkok. For those who know me well, you've heard me complain about taking the family to immigration. But, for all of my complaining, the architecture of this newly opened immigration building is pretty impressive.

A perfect May afternoon.

My kids absolute favorite new addition to the Chatuchak Market. Just outside of section 23, Barney Ice Bar Bangkok is awesome. My kids press their faces up against the glass and contemplate for what seems like hours what ice cream to get. Then, they both order a vanilla cone.

Another stall at Chatuchak taken on a recent steamy afternoon. Notice the songkran shirts at the left of the picture? Those were half price (down from 100 baht) given that Songkran was over a month ago!

A vendor ready for a busy lunch hour with three tanks of propane going at once.

The absolute best invention ever for a city as humid as Bangkok. Overhead fans installed with misting devices. They rotate and spit cool mist in every direction. Wonderful. Brilliant. Sanity saving.