Again, You can tell You're Far from Home When...

You have three different kinds of money in your pocket. (Three new Wise men)

I just "HUNG AROUND IN THAILAND"

Lunch with Uncle "Dollars"

Nickies uncle Songpol takes Grandma,P.Thoung,and Nickies mom to lunch every Saturday. While we were there we decided to make a regular party out of it, and he was gracious enough to pay the whole tab. It was a good time, and the food just kept coming and coming.

At Grandma's House in Bangkok

While at Grandma's house I was surounded by women. They talked constantly, ate, and sipped wine or beer. There was a lot of laughter, but I don't have a clue what was so funny, since I understood very little of what was being said most of the time. It was nice to see them all haveing a good time though.

Ban Talay (Beach House in Pattaya)

Here are some shots of the beach house that Songpol (Nickie's Uncle) owns in Pattaya that we stayed at while we were there. Of course part of the fun was a group dinner with various friends and family. There are also nice ground surrounding the property as you can see.

Floating Market in Pattaya, Thailand

We spent two days in Pattaya, and visited the floating market that nickies nephew manages. It was pretty cool, and offered a lot of unique products and services. We had a good time riding in the boat.

2012 The Movie in Thailand

P. Ning, P. Thoung, (Nickies Aunts), Nickie and I went to the Cinema to see 2012. We had lunch, and had a good time. I highly recoment the movie. It is truely an action thriller. Going to the theater in Thailand is cool, first they have about 30 minutes of coming attractions, and then you have to stand while the King is honored with a patriotic song. The seats are assigned by number, and the chairs are like recliners if you buy the upper class tickets. There are three levels of tickets!

Party at Church

Our Church had a dinner after the services this past weekend. I will really miss these folks, they have become very dear to us.

Bad news, as you can see a couple of these pictures are no good. My camera was dropped on the big group shot, and I'm afraid it is toast. I will try to use Nickies for the next 3 weeks to capture the final sites, and I will replace my camera when I get home.

Dinner with the Pastor

Since it is getting close to our departure, we are being invited to dinner a lot. We had a chance to have dinner with Pastor Jaichand, his wife Sarita, their daughter Chetena, I forgot the baby boys name. He made really good beef ribs from baby cows. It was delicious.

The Binjola Family

We had Prakash, Roopa, and their son Pratyush over for dinner, and celebrated Roopa's Birthday. It was a good time.

NOTICE

FOR THE FAMILY WHO MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN SEEING MY NEW SCAR, GO TO OLDER POSTS AND CLICK ON "GALL BLADDER SCAR"

Jade and Cloisonne Pot Factories

While in China we visited two government run factories that made Jade and Cloisonne stuff. The one that Nickie is standing by cost $120,000! The Jade boat was probably as expensive. The Cloisonne could take up to a year to create.

Family Meal at Hutong

This was one of the tastiest meals we had. Nickie helped make the pork dumplings, and they had fried potatoes. The kitchen was pretty much out doors.

House in Hutong Alley

We got married again in the Hutong. Here are some of the sections of the home that surround the courtyard where a lot of the family activity occurs. Jack (our tour guide) is standing on the porch with us.

Hutong Alleys

This area is where many of the local people live. It was really kind of neat. They have court yards in the middle of the house, but they have community restrooms.

We traveled by rickshaw while we were in the Hutongs.

THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA

We spent a couple of hours climbing around on the wall. It was very tiring, there are lots of stairs to climb. I cannot imagine what it must have been like to build it.