Buddhist Lent

Along with election days, the Thai government also bans the sale of alcohol on the first day of the Buddhist Lent.   The new Junta even decreed that hotels could not serve, which is not usually the case.  Being a Friday evening, most of my friends resigned themselves to stay home and watch a movie with their wife or girlfriend.

I, however, took it upon myself to prove, yet again, that in Thailand decrees were made to be broken.

This time it was Ducki Suki.

Thailand's Picasso

Cat Naps

I haven't had a cat post in a while....

Fresh/ Guilt-Free Seafood

I thought this was a clever way for a seafood restaurant to make the eating of recently living creatures more tolerable for a country of Buddhists.

It's like they're all going for a swim.

Jenga Saki

 Friday night at Kelly's Teriyaki Bar.

Somebody committed the unforgivable sin of eating only the bacon on bacon/ mushroom skewers.

Peace Corps Flasback 1995

I didn't make it to the reunion party at Yosemite, but someone posted pictures from the slideshow presentation on Facebook.  

In between being bored out of my mind and asking myself what am I doing here, there were some really good times.

I had forgotten there was a time when I could take my shirt off in public.

This was a trip to Phuket during the school break. 

Struggling with chopsticks - maybe that's why I was so skinny

Beauty And The Beast (Smartphone Photo Filters)

I looked surprisingly youthful in a recent food portrait that Nuch posted on Facebook

But, when I told Nuch her husband is damn sexy, she showed me the original photo - before she had filtered 5 years of wrinkles and bags from under my eyes.

Full Body Apron

This photo made the rounds on the web this week.

Nuch uses a similar, but more breathable technique when she fries pork chops. 

RIP Grandma Bearss

15 Year Reunion Kenan Institute Asia - BAC

We celebrated at Nahm, which is regularly ranked one of the top 10 restaurants in Asia.  

I leave the food portraits to Nuch, so here are some pictures I stole from the web.

Riverside Restaurant - Chachoengsao

I don't get too excited about visiting the temples, but this riverside restaurant made the trip all worthwhile.

My only complaint is the old lady next door who dumped a cage full of rats in the river.  I thought that rats could swim, but not this pack.

Seeing Pink Elephants

In the cartoon world that means you're drunk.  In Thailand, it's a chance to get rich.  After releasing some catfish, Nuch and I stopped by another temple that worships Ganesh, the popular Hindu god.

In front of his statue are several man-sized rats with large ears.

You put some money in the rat's mouth and then you whisper into his ear that you would like to be wealthy.

I thought people were hugging the rat, but they were reaching around to plug its opposite ear.  I can only imagine why.

We didn't try it, so I guess I will need to continue working for a living.

Freedom!!!

I had some time this weekend, so Nuch and I drove about 2 hours outside of Bangkok to visit a famous temple, where it's good luck to release fish.

Here they are - about a dozen baby catfish,

The vendor said it's good luck to give them some food before they're released, so Nuch bought them some fish food.

One last meal on land before they're off to swim the seven seas.

Happy Birthday America 2015

Some pics from my buddy John's annual 4th of July BBQ

Burgers

Rice crispy treats with Reese's peanut butter cups

Hard Times - Thai Air

After decades of cronyism and corruption, Thai Air is seeing the effects.  Fair prices are still high, capacity is far from full, and the entertainment system is lagging far behind.

I thought only low cost airlines and US domestic flights had the central movie screen. 

A night flight would have been okay, but in the day, nothing could be seen.

But have no fear - change is on the way.  With the new Junta, there is new management at Thai Air, who are implementing major changes to get the airline back in the black and more importantly upgrade to personal entertainment systems on all flights.

Here is exhibit A, which I came across while taking a "break" at the Thai Air office where I was meeting Nuch.  The sign says that each flush costs 10 cents, so when you're finished, please use water economically and only flush 1 time.