A very late post - Our first weeks in Bangkok

One of our first dinner appointments was the farewell dinner that the Bangrak Rotary had for the Ogdens, the couple we were replacing.  It was held at a really nice Chinese restaurant and had the most beautifully presented meal I've ever seen!!  That bird is a delicately carved carrot sitting on a display of live orchids!!

These little piggies went to the market!!

This was a little unsettling to look at!!  Roasted baby piglets!  The skin is scored and what you do is pick off the skin and eat it (which was like eating porkskins!).  The dish was then taken back to the kitchen, and the meat was pulled off and made into another dish that was served later on. 

The food was all served on a lazy susan in the center of the table so if you wanted something, you just turned the table until it arrived in front of your plate.  I gotta get me one of those things!!

This was amazing!  It was fresh, raw lobster (don't know what that critter is that it was served in!) that you take off the tray and put in a little wire basket and lower it in a pot of boiling broth to cook.  Then, you would make a cup of lobster soup with the broth, along with other things that you added to your bowl.  You had to WORK at this dinner!!  (Can't tell if Mike got caught in the below photo with his mouth full of food or was so full he couldn't take another bite!!)  I certainly got to that point!!

 

The is a big pavilion located next door to our condo.  Our building is the building at the top left.  This pavilion is actually part of a university campus. On a not-so-hot day, it's nice to go over there for a walk. Yes, we use umbrellas when it's NOT raining for shade!!  I used to make fun of my great-grandmother for doing that - I have become my great-grandmother!!!  There's a large soccer field behind the photographer (Mike).  This is what it looks like every day except Tuesday and Thursday.

Every Tuesday & Thursday, it is transformed into a large open market.  This is where we buy our fresh veggies and produce for the coming week.  Great place!!

When members on the street see our name tags, they usually like to stop and chat with us.  This was a young man and his mother out at the market that day.

This is the view from our 29th floor balcony, which faces west.  Most of those buildings you see aren't office highrises - they are condo highrises!!!  This is a densely populated place!!  LOTS of people live in downtown Bangkok - including us!!


We have enjoyed walking around, or riding the subways & taxis because you see so much. Maybe we'll blog about traffic one day.  Don't ever complain about traffic until you've been to Thailand!!!  Seriously - it is UNBELIEVABLE!