Bali With Boonchu 2018

This was my introduction to Bali - a mile long immigration line.  I must have looked anxious because a security guard came over and asked if I wanted to use the "express" lane for a $25 "fee".  I love Asia.

Boonchu (Carl's nickname in the Peace Corps) got there before me and had beers waiting.

  

Nice rooms at the Sheraton.  No beach view, but there was a little river outside our porches that connected our rooms.

 

This is where we spent most of our days.  Kuta Beach

 

This is after our surf lesson with our teacher, Guru Black

The first day there was not much of a sunset.

 

Surfing really makes you thirsty.  We had 30 beers between us at the beach bar.

 

Carl making pit stop

 

The second day we were back at the same spot

Here's to Bali

 

Bali Back Alley Motorbike Ride

If you've been to Bali recently, you know the traffic is insane, so Carl and I took motorcycle taxis to get around - Peace Corps training pays off again.

Here's a video to show you what the back streets of Bali look like.

Kuta Bali Beach

This was my view for 2 days.

Big Ass Prawns

In case, you were wondering what we've been eating recently - Nuch picked out this new restaurant in Korat. Great choice!

Surfin' Bali

Last weekend I flew down to Bali to catch up with Carl and take my first surfing lesson.

Kudos to the cameraman from surf school for snapping a photo one of the few/ short times I was upright.

Head Rest

I was recently at a pub that had a foam head rest mounted on the wall. Surprisingly comfortable.   I think all bathrooms should have them.

More Sous Vide

Our local grocery store which normally only carries pork and occasionally some Australian beef had some USDA Choice Rib Eye (rule #1), so I gave it a try.

I don't trust myself alone with a grill with this kind of steak, so I used the Sous Vide (rule #2), which works especially well with thicker steaks.

 

It was a 700g steak, so I only ate half.  Nuch bought some chicken wings for appetizers

My buddy, Adisak, joined later and brought some wine. Originally, it was a gift to one of Adisak's friends who had re-gifted it to him.  We thought it was nice, but didn't find out until later that it was a $500 bottle of wine - probably should have tried to enjoy it more.

I also did an experiment with some sous vide ribs.  I'll do another test this weekend, but initial results suggest this could be a game-changer.

Movie Lover

I think Nuch's in denial. She tells me that she doesn't like movies - that they're boring and a waste of time, but she keeps getting trapped into watching whatever I may have on.  This time it was An American Werewolf in London.

 

So engrossed that she even sat down

 

 

True Love

is your wife going to London and bringing back frozen broccoli from Marks & Spencer

Low Carbs

Nuch brought home some nice cheesy pizza that was very nice, but with a thick crust - full of carbs.

  

This reminded of the time my grandparents came to visit me in the Peace Corps back in 1996.  We went to Pizza Hut for their all you can eat buffet.  I want to say it was 59 baht or about $2.  For me it was a luxury after a year of fried rice and chicken.  The thing I remember the most is a table of young students sitting next to us that would eat the toppings and leave the crust carcasses on a pile in the middle of their table.  I remember thinking this was both wasteful and disgusting, while also brilliant.

Local Fauna

This monitor lizard was found wondering around our village last week.

 

Yard Work

Nuch wanted to redo the entrance to the side of our house.  This little corner here.  She asked what the budget was and I said whatever it takes. Big Mistake

I was a bit confused when I came home and these concrete pilings were in the driveway.

With the "unlimited" budget, she decided we needed to redo the driveway and give it a proper foundation.  You can see the mud/ clay in the pictures.  All of Bangkok is built on a sinking floodplain.  Although homes have proper foundations, the surrounding areas usually do not.

 They dug out all these holes by hand with pole augers. 

 Here's how they "nailed" the pilings into the ground

We'll get the new surface next week.

In the meantime, Nuch has started a new project with our neighbor and is replacing our side wall.

Walk-Off

The Gators beat the Auburn Tigers in the bottom of the 11th inning with a walk-off home run to advance to the College World Series, and this is how I had to watch it.

Tipper Posing

Random Bangkok Pics June Edition

Too Much Information

in the Factory Manager Line Group