My Sister!

My sister has arrived! I finally met her at the airport in Bangkok at about 2 am after she had been traveling for about 26 hours and after I had been traveling for about 12. It was a wonderful reunion. It's been about 11 months since I've seen her. As I mentioned before, she has an internship/job in Bangkok for 6 weeks and so I made my way to Bangkok to spend a few days with her before she started working and before I started back up at school (which, by the way, started today...more on that to come). I made it to the airport at about midnight and so I had about two hours to kill in this beautiful new airport of ours. The time passed by without much of note happening save the constant barrage of people asking if I need a taxi. Taryn arrived and we found the driver that the law firm had sent to pick her up (yup she had a driver with a sign standing in front of the gate...you know you're a lawyer when...). We made it to her apartment by about 3am and proceeded with a little unpacking, gift exchanging and catching up before we succumbed to our bodies desires to sleep and fell asleep at about 4 am only to wake up 2 1/2 hours later to get Taryn to work on time. Taryn, the darling sister that she is, brought me several little gifts from the US. My first gift was the taste sensation of the south (or something like that...she said it much more elegantly) in the form of pecan pie. It was fantastic and a wonderful surprise. That was followed by my camera. Now this wasn't a surprise as I had picked this out and had racked my brain several weeks prior trying to figure out which one to get. My current camera was on its last leg. After surviving and performing superbly during all of my trips abroad (yes, this camera and my passport are the only things that have been with me to every country I've visited), my camera had reached the end of the road and was starting to succumb to the constant beating that it's taken the past few years. Granted, I took care of it as I traveled, but there is only so much you can do when you're out on these adventures. But despite all those adverse conditions, it's performed wonderfully. So, with that in mind and my desire to move from the realm of point-and-shoot into more advanced photography (and more zoom), I'm the proud new owner of a FujiFilm FinePix S6000FD digital camera. I should also note that it's a birthday/Christmas present from my parents and sisters and for that I'm very grateful. Needless to say, my few days with Taryn are well documented as I had a fun new toy to play with. Taryn had to be at work the next morning at 9 am. I couldn't believe that they were making her come and predicted that they would send her home as soon as she arrived (I wasn't wrong). We met up with another intern, Carlos, and had breakfast. Now, this provided me a wonderful opportunity to embarrass myself. One wouldn't think that breakfast would provide such an opportunity, but it did. I had it all planned out. I knew exactly what Taryn and I were going to eat for her first breakfast in Thailand. We were going to eat one of my favorite meals, khao man gai (rice with chicken topped with a pepper and ginger sauce). It was going to be perfect. We were walking to find a restaurant and Taryn asked what was in it and I told her rice and chicken. She then reminded me that she was a vegetarian. I looked at her all cockeyed and suddenly realized that I had completely forgotten that she was a vegetarian. My brilliant plan came suddenly tumbling down all around me. I tried to save face and make up some silly excuse but to no avail. All she could do was shake her head at me with that, "you silly boy" look on her face. We found something else to eat that morning. Our next stop was the law firm where she'll be working and made a few rounds to meet the folks she needed to meet and then as predicted they sent her home. We went home and promptly fell asleep, Taryn in the bed and me, in heaven, on the couch. Couches are a rarity in Thailand and a soft couch is even rarer (they are usually made of wood) and Taryn's apartment was equipped with a brilliant one. It was simply brilliant. We stayed in those positions for the better portion of the morning and early afternoon and after the daily mid-day rain shower we headed out to do a little shopping. Nothing more to write home about there. That evening saw us trekking across town with the inspired goal of catching a glimpse of the King as he left the Royal Ploughing Ceremony. There was no actually sighting, but we did see his car and the long procession preceding and following his car. Dinner and a trip back to the apartment rounded off the rest of the evening before we called it a night. Tonight, I was also the lucky recipient of a collection of short stories and mysteries from the Outer Banks of North Carolina (a childhood vacation destination) and the first season of the TV show Scrubs and two chocolate chip cookies! Bed. Taryn had to go into work so I went with her to the office before coming back to the apartment for more quality time with the couch. I was lucky and found the Royal Ploughing Ceremony on television and watched that (more to come about this later). After it was over, I promptly fell asleep and didn't leave until long after the mid-day rain shower (PS we are in the transition period between the hot season and the rainy season. An umbrella has now become a permanent addition to my daily attire). I tried to get into the National Science Museum but was unable to because it was a holiday so I spent my time taking random pictures all across the city. You've gotta love new toys. Taryn came back and we headed to dinner at the night bazaar. Dinner and more gifts - tonight I received a box of heaven aka Nerds candy and a Duke t-shirt - then bed. The next morning, Taryn headed off to Phuket with the law firm for a weekend away and I spent more time with the couch and my camera gallivanting around the city taking pictures. I met up with a bunch of friends from Bangkok that evening and started out at the night bazaar in the beer garden drinking a wonderful beer over dinner and ended at a little club nearby. That was the second night in several nights that I was up until 4am. Then it was the long bus ride back home and that rounded out my weekend in the Big Mango. Taryn is planning on coming up to Lampang for the weekend and so we'll have a wonderful time in Lampang. I'll be able to show off my town, my house and my cooking skills (not to mention my motorcycle skills) and be a tourist in my own town which will be a wonderful change of pace. I'll be sure to keep you posted.

Over and out,

RM