Welcome to Thailand

My mom arrived at 2:30 am and 9 hours later we were at Trader Vic's for brunch. Nuch's family was able to join us along with my friends Tim and Carl and his wife and daughter.

Trader Vic's is an international buffet with a leaning towards seafood. I tend to fill up on the salmon and grilled lobster. The cheeses are nice, too. As are the desserts, breads, soups, and Italian hors d'oeuvres and meats.

Here are some pics from the afternoon (it's almost midnight, and I have to get up at 5:30, so these are in no particular order).

My mom and I. You can't see it, but I cut myself three times shaving that morning. I blame the 4 hours of sleep the night before.

Tim enjoying a view of the river.


Here's Nok and Emily. Everybody came to see my mom, but I'm afraid Emily stole the spotlight - even when she's eating mushroom bruschetta.

Emily and Carl



Tim selecting cheese.

Nuch and my mom.

I think this is a yawn. We were up until 5 am.

Here is dessert.

Strange fish carving next to the seafood grill.

Looks like Nuch's wearing a plate.

On the way out, Tim got a quick lecture on something from Nuch's dad.

Moms in the garden next to Trader Vic's.

Nuch talking to my mom and it looks like her brother, Pat, in the background flirting with the hotel intern.


After brunch, we took a walk around the hotel grounds.

Then, my mom, Tim, and I got a much deserved foot massage.



Towards the end of the day, after everyone had gone home, my mom and I relaxed next to the pool.




Last but not least - flat Josie on the Trader Vic's mascot.

The Pond

I've been chronicling the status of the pond next to my factory for the last couple years.

A few months ago it was covered and sealed by an alien, lime-green fungus. The winter months apparently killed it off, and it disappeared, as the temperature dropped below 70.

Just weeks ago, I caught some guy actually fishing there. My hopes that the pond would once again be bountiful with fish were renewed.

That was until the other day...

Sadly, I think the current state of the pond is at a new low, as it has been partially drained and turned into a trash dump.

Bridgend Pub Crawl

I've been in Bridgend for 36 hours and have spent about half that time in a pub. Saturday, our UK Sales Director took me to watch Manchester United beat Aston Villa 4 - 0 at Coach pub.


Then, we hit a round of pubs, so he could see some of his friends - one was having a party to celebrate his return from Thailand after a 2-week vacation.






For dinner we ate at an amazing Indian restaurant. If you didn't know, Fish and Chips is not the most popular food in the UK. It's Chicken Tiki Marsala (or something like that) - basically curry.








Sunday morning, Paul picked me up and we went to meet his dad, Harold. Otherwise known as 'H'. He's 88 years old and still enjoys a few pints with old friends.

We started the day at the Prince of Wales pub, which overlooks the Welsh coastline.




Every Sunday, Paul, his father and local friends (some from schoolboy days) come to have a few pints and talk it up. When the ladies arrived, we had to leave. In the small card room, Paul's father claimed the decibels of the ladies' chatter was just too high for his ageing ears.






In the afternoon we headed to the Old Castle pub to watch the Merseyside Derby (pronounced like Darby) between Liverpool and Everton. Liverpool won 1 - 0 to solidify their spot in the Champions League.



The real reason we were there was the free Indian buffet. I had it for lunch at 2pm and then again for dinner at 6pm. That means that so far 100% of my non-breakfast meals have been Indian. Tonight I plan to get out of that rut.



By 7 pm, jet-lag had kicked in and I was on my way home. This is just an odd etching of a town near Bridgend in the hotel elevator. Reminds me of Led Zeppelin.

Coed-Y-Mwstwr

That's Welsh for 'Whispering Trees' and the name of the hotel I'm staying at in Wales.

It's an old English Manor and sits atop a hill overlooking the town of Bridgend, where a few of our customers are located.

I just arrived yesterday and already have had the best Indian food in the world (so I'm told) and saw my first premiereship football match - granted it was only at the local pub, but at least it was in the UK.

As it turns out, Nuch will be arriving in London early Monday morning with Thai Air, so I'm trying to convince her to take a 2 hour train ride and visit me in Wales. Getting to Bridgend is fairly simple, but once here, it may be a problem getting to the hotel since I don't know the way from the train station, and have yet to figure out how "Mstwr" is pronounced.

Meat Salad

I had my annual health check up last week, and amazingly, my cholesterol level is within range.

I can thank the fact that of all the unhealthy things I put in my body - this pile of deep-fried animal bits is not one of them.