Siam Living Room

No titled..

2011-03-30T00:41:00.003+07:00

Some says that there would be a day (or more) in life that you feel down. I think I feel that so these days, no reason but just frustrated of things that couldn't be done in a way you want. Of course, starting everything new when you're late 30s does make you feel this way...My problem is that my brain never stop working and it keeps thinking and wanting to do things when these things take times. Even if I realized that but you got stuck with your mind. Thats why people is sick , oh no, I hope I won't be sick like that..:) I now understand when people has problem, I think they try to solve their problem but sometimes life is hard..I think I am having that hard time myself. Language as a barrier here first of all, and I really miss things at home, friends, city. But eventho I tried so much to enjoy myself, and I did but thing is missing, a lively place that no where could replace home..No I am not homesick, but I realized the differences. I stopped wondering why people move back home when they get older, I think I would surely be one of them..in the meantime, life has to go on..

Bienvenue au printemps

2011-03-27T16:23:00.004+07:00

Last weekend, Steve and I walked in Orbe, where his parents lived and where he lived before. We walked through this small street called Rue des Moulinet. I captured this shot with a perfect ray of light. Really love it and just wanted to share it here..

Learning French at UniNE.

2011-03-18T18:27:00.003+07:00

I didn't have time to update my blog these days. In fact, I started my French course at UniNE (Université de Neuchâtel), The Institute of French language and Culture ) in Switzerland. First I heard about this course from the wife of my husband's friend. She is American and she attended this course and she actually speaks fluently in French now. And that was the reason I submitted my profile with the university and they accepted. We've checked with Lausanne University as well but they seems to have only the course for their regular students and only a few weeks intensive course in February.

After a month, I felt a bit better altho I don't really speak yet. But I sort of absorbing a lot of information and what I hear in classes. I hope it will be better. To go there in Neuchâtel from home is a bit complicated but we figured it out how to make it. I have to drive from Montcherand to Yverdon (the full name of this city is "Yverdon-les-bains") and take a train from there to Neuchâtel. It's easy this way. I can also walk from the train station in Neuchâtel right to my building of the university where I study now.

One good thing is that I've met many interesting people from around the world. The director told us students on the first day that this program has already welcome students from over 40 countries around the world. That sounds interesting.

I think it's a good program and if anybody is interesting in this course you could always check out their website here.

My condolence to the people of Japan..

2011-03-16T00:40:00.000+07:00

I didn't really believe when I heard about Tsunami in Japan on March 11, 2011. My friend called me from Thailand when I just woke up here in Switzerland. I was really worried about my best Japanese friend in Japan, she lives near Yokohama, south of Tokyo. She is pragnant also and I tried to contact her but thought that all the communication and transportation were cut off from the earthquake. She got my email and called me on Saturday morning and I was so relieved... But she told me that she got stuck in Yokohama for 12 hours and finally managed to have her family picked her and her husband back home.

But I still feel scared and sad for the victims, they have to lose their family, their loved one, their home and so on. I watched the interview of one survival, she mentioned that she wasn't sure if she was lucky to be alive....

It happens too often these days, a couple of years back the Tsunami in Asia (Thailand, Indonesia etc got a huge impact), not long ago the earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand and a few days ago the Tsunami in Japan..

Or this is the sign of something..I cannot stop wondering..

My little kittie (Mochi or โมจิ)

2010-12-01T19:52:00.003+07:00

We adopted our little kittie, he was called Mou-Mou by the previous owner (a little farang girl). The mother of the girl gave the kitties to some of the people since they got 4 of them which are too many. Besides they already have 2 cats and one kittie (the sister of Mou-Mou called Fiona :).

We thought of the new names and I called him Mochi (pronounce as Mo-Ji in Thai). He is white with black spots and very cute. He plays , eats , poos and sleeps :). We had him for 2 weeks now and he grows up so fast..

My cup of espresso!

2010-11-12T14:46:00.006+07:00

For some others, this place is not new but for me at least I am just 3 weeks living here. It actually is different from Asia in general but the surrounding and people doesn't make me feel differently. Perhaps because I am quite isolated since I was in Thailand. I hope I could make more friends when I study French. To be honest, I don't want to hook up with some Thai much I just don't know why. But there is a really great Thai lady in my village (Pee Dang), she is a great cook and really kind unlike most of others here. I don't want to be offensive but it is just...

Now I am a bit frustrated since my French is not good enough and my husband doesn't speak with me much in French. We use to speak English from the beginning and that became like a habit.

Even if I miss home but every day with a cup of espresso to kick start a day makes me happy. I love this Nespresso machine with the Nespresso capsule. It's really great! It's quite common to have one machine like this at home (different style) even through the capsule is a bit expensive. I don't think we have it in Thailand..or at least not yet.

Happy Diwali

2010-11-05T16:04:00.002+07:00

May this festival of lights, brings you every joy and happiness.
May the lamps of joy, illuminate your life and fill your days with the bright sparkles of peace, mirth and goodwill,

Have a happy joyous Diwali!

Photo is a courtesy of Aky Cookie on Flickr (my Flickr contact).

A week exactly in Switzerland.

2010-11-05T05:43:00.004+07:00

I arrived Switzerland Thursday last week and today is exactly a week here. The first day I arrived it was 0 degree (yes ZERO degree) in the morning. It was cold and continues to be cold each and everyday for me. Bad luck, the key of my luggage was broken and I didn't notice that until I came back home and found out that my 3 watches were gone (or in another word 'stolen' ). I sent email to Etihad, no reply! Well, what can I do. It was not the Rolax or Breitling otherwise I would kick the a** out of the airlines then. But yeah, it costs me $1000 easily (returned ticket back home then). Well well...I shouldn't complain much but it really p***ed me off since two of them were the gifts from Steve.....shanti...I should be calm about it...

It was like a mess in the room the first few days since the boxes I sent by FedEx arrived and I have to unpack and repack etc etc. Not my personal stuffs but for what I am selling online (again, to make sure that I have something to do). I kept myself busy by going to work with Steve, it helps. There was one day I was home the whole day and I was a little bit frustrated..

I live in Montcherand about 5 mins drive to Steve's parents. The apartment is nice (even through it's not yet full since we're waiting for the furniture to be delivered). What I like in this apartment is there is always a nice light in the apartment...that helps. I just don't like the sombre place, so we're lucky.

We worked a lot the past few days but this Friday I will take a day off being at home. Driving here is nice , I really like the surrouding here. But anyway, here people has discipline (at least 99.99 % of them I guess) good and bad..and here nothing is free (which makes the country rich I supposed..(I've to emphasize 'the country'). And one thing for sure is they are on-time :)..why I smile ? Because my husband is like this and his parents also. If we have lunch at his parents, they will start eating at 12.00 (sharp!). This will help me a lot ..:D..

The bad news is that I have been sick since I arrived! Coughing, running nose..etc etc.I used a lot of tissue paper recently, doesn't really help the world at all!

Enough writing about me landing in Switzerland (just for me reading it). What I actually think about now is my parents and everybody back in Thailand. I really miss them, even through I am happy with my family here but I also miss my parents. The day I flew here was difficult, my mom and dad were a bit sad..not because I left but they just missed me. Jeab (my very best friend) was sad too..and I was trying to be happy to make sure that they didn't worry about me. I also miss my two lovely cats (Spottie and Snowie). They must think where I was because they stay in my house and I was not there...I went through my photo album today and it doesn't help but making me miss all of them more...I will call them this weekend..huh..

Now I will just sign off here..that was a week packed with all kind of new things in the very new place. The feeling is different when you visit and when you live...

Ciao!

Song from Thai Movie (MV) เราสองสามคน Ost. เราสองสามคน (OFFICIAL)

2010-10-24T10:14:00.005+07:00

I checked the feed from my FB and found this song from my friend's page..

My language skill is getting worse

2010-10-19T20:52:00.003+07:00

Since I stopped working for a month, I rarely speak English with anybody..and that's what I am afraid that my English would get rusty :( Just did some test on the internet and my English level is just Upper-Intermediate (B1).

Source : http://www.esl-languages.com/

And what they say is :
Upper intermediate level (level B1*)
The student understands everyday language. In spite of some grammar and expression mistakes, is capable of expressing general ideas with nuances. Language knowledge is sufficient, operational, to use in the professional world.

And my French is the same( intermédiaire supérieur - B1)..But it's close to what I've got so far. I got the certificate A2 from The Alliance Francaise....

I was a bit disappointed because my English supposed to be better than my French :(. Actually, my French grammar is very bad now...and I rarely remember any vocab....

It's really called ร้านกาแฟสดเดินได้ (Literary translated as 'The coffee shop that could walk'

2010-10-18T16:14:00.006+07:00

I hope this is not too late for me to write about this coffee shop called "ร้านกาแฟสดเดินได้ " in Thai and literately translated as 'The Coffee Shop that could walk" in English. Last August when my parents, Jeab (my best friend) and me were on the way to Korat to visit my dad's family there. We stopped by at this coffee shop located on the superhighway in Pitsanuloke, the province in southern part of Northern Thailand. What I like is the way the shop was decorated, very simple but it does make you want to stay there forever.. Really the kind of place I want to have. I snapped some photos here. When I talked to the very kind and friendly owner who intruduced herself as 'Fhun Warn / ฝันหวาน (translated as Sweet dreams in English' . She told me that besides running this coffee shop, she also a freelance interior design.

She could paint the normal door to be a different door somewhat beautiful. Or painted on the wall with those pastel colors and give such a life to that very simple wall. See her works from my photos below.

And you can always stop by at this coffee shop or contact her here if you happen to drive through Pitsanuloke.

Khun Fun Warn
173 Moo 3, Wang Thong - Sak Leak Road, Tambol Din Thong, Amphor Wang Thong, Pitsanuloke
(About 4 km from Amphor Wang Thong).
Tel. 082 1788810 (Khun Fhun Warn)

คุณ ฝันหวาน
173 หมู่ 3 ถนนวังทอง-สากเหล็ก ต.ดินทอง อ.วังทอง จ.พิษณุโลก
(ออกจากอำเภอวังทอง ประมาณ 4 ก.ม)
มือถือ 082 1788810

Feeling that the winter is coming to town..

2010-10-17T10:55:00.004+07:00

Actually it's still October but for the past two days I could feel the wind blows like it's the beginning of the winter, which is too soon. I couldn't compare the winter here in Asia and Europe but it does always give me that lonely feeling. I remembered when I was in school and university, at this time of the year, we would see those falling leaves and that type of wind blew ...like it was the time at the end of the semester...

This year is special to me because there are many changes in life. I left my job, and would move to Switzerland..besides all of these, I would also miss my family here in Thailand , my parents and of course my little kitties ( I always call them kitties but they are no longer kitties but still behave like one :) )..

Even through I was a bit lonely from this weather..when I looked at this photo from my trip, it does cheer me up. The green plant in this pot. I have put this on my Flickr as well.. I love its simplicity..

Fuji Sushi Japanese food and friends!

2010-10-09T14:43:00.001+07:00

Yesterday my ex-coworkers and our trainer from India went to the Japanese Restaurant 'Fuji'. We ate a lot and enojoyed a lot over dinner. I was so happy they called me out and that helped me not to feel lonely after I left my work at the company. It was a great reunion indeed...we talked a lot and not something about us...he he ..

Swiss customs

2010-10-07T14:57:00.002+07:00

Today FedEx Switzerland called me that I have to revise invoice because the Swiss customs doesn't believe the value I put on the invoice. Indeed they were right but I can already see that they're serious on their job unlink the customs here. Or I said something wrong? Well, well, I am not happy of course because it's the hint of me paying the taxes soon on my shipments to Switzerland.

But I am quite impressed with FedEx services. Very fast delivery and effective!

I am waiting to hear about my taxes news :(

Packing packing and packing..

2010-10-06T21:02:00.002+07:00

Today is the 6th day that I am free (from work)...I can still count the days when there are not that many :) I am busy with many things especially with unpacking the big boxes and repacked them again in the small boxes. Already sent 3 boxes / 75 kg via FedEx...and still I have about 3 boxes to go..this doesn't include my personal stuffs. I'm trying to think what I may forget to do. I have my long list of things to do and just completed 3 things...still a long way to go..!

To be continued..

Farewell to my colleagues..

2010-10-01T00:33:00.004+07:00

Today is my last day at work after 14 years. I am a bit sad to leave but I really appreciated and never expected to have such kindness from all my colleagues. I have had many dinners with my colleagues and I really enjoyed my time with them. It was a bit difficult thiking about tomorrow that I don't need to continue my routine driving back and forth to work on the same route, and don't see my colleagues everyday like I do. But I believe when something ended, there is always a start of something else.
Eventhrough I am sad leaving the job I love and enjoyed working , I am also looking forward to the future and whatever life would bring to me.

Snowie & Spottie are sick!

2010-09-07T23:05:00.004+07:00

Yesterday my parents and I were looking for Snowie, I remembered she didn't want to wake up in the morning and I left her in the house and the whole day she didn't even get out of the house. I observed again in the evening and realized that she was probably sick. So we brought her to the vet along with Spottie, the vet mentioned that she probably got some sort of virus. And he injected some medicine for her also gave some liquid for both Spottie and Snowie. I hope they will get better soon since this evening Spottie seems to have the same symptom...

September rain

2010-08-30T22:14:00.002+07:00

I used to like this song 'November Rain' but not anymore. It's been raining nearly everyday for the past weeks and I hate that. My mother often says that because it's the rainy season (of course I know but still..). Everywhere is wet..and I have already committed a sin by stepping on the pour snails at home :(. It's all wet and they are all around and I didn't even notice them at night..I'm sorry :((..

Last week especially Friday was hectic at work, I was feeling stressed out and losed my nerve. And was also my first time that I got a big headache from work. Maybe that was a sign. Anyway, it'll be my last month working here with my employer after a very long journey here. I still could say that I love my job but many things that I didn't like as well. I meant, I just don't want to say it. I wish to be free and could start doing something different..

My ADSL works again !

2010-08-14T18:15:00.003+07:00

After a few weeks fighting with my ISP, althrough it was not completely their fault but on the other hand, they didn't do the check properly or at least for the first time until I tried so hard to explain calmly and then exploded in anger :D ..I must say!

Well, I didn't solve the problem but I bought the new router, another (thousand) bucks out of my pocket. And it seems to work again. I didn't want to complain but it was so frustrated when you wanted to do something and you couldn't.
I hope this new one (router ) works long enough!

Today my parents are out for dinner with their friends and I made myself the salad. And now I am going to enjoy my organic fresh dinner..I did once the same thing and took the photo here also..it looks yummy , at least for me:)

Happy Mother's Day

2010-08-12T11:32:00.003+07:00

It's the Queen's Birthday today and it's also a Mother Day here in Thailand. I'm home of course, a day off and stay with mom but not the whole day :D. I just wanted to say that I love mom.

Happy Mother's Day!

Breaking Down : Stephanie Meyer

2010-07-11T21:46:00.003+07:00

I managed to get the forth book of Twilight Saga series from Stephanie Meyer at The Backstreet Bookshop. Even tho the condition is not great but I am eager to get there...still reading the second book "New Moon".

It was raining on Saturday here and again today it became hot and humid. I was considering (still) to drive down to Korat with my parents and Jeab but I am not sure yet. I am just too lazy but I think I should. My parents and I were worried about our lovely kitties (Snowy and Spotty) and Lhong (our dog). But There is no problem for Lhong since our neighbour can take care of him but the kitties will be a problem. So we asked the animal hospital and some pets clinic if they can take care of them a few days and I think I found couple of nice places for my kitties. I will just take one....still thinking...and thinking...

Rainy day in Bangkok.

2010-07-04T20:09:00.004+07:00

I went down to Bangkok on Friday to apply for the visa at the Swiss Embassy. My day started early right from Chiang Mai to Bangkok, the flight was good with a bit of the turbulence but I got used to it soon enough. I landed around 8:10 AM which was on time by the Thai standard. The worse that happened was that it was raining when I arrived and it was on Friday in Bangkok. From the way right from Suvannaphum airport along the motorway to Sukhumvit caught me in the taxi for 2 and a half hour. In fact I was 30 minutes late for my appointment at the Embassy but it was just in time! I hurried myself to get in and handed my pile of documents to the guy in front of the hallway and waited right after that. It was not long tho about 20 minutes and I was free to go..I'll get to know about my visa in two months time, probably Steve would know before me.

I was happy and got myself in the Sky train to the International Stadium station and walked down the bridge to catch the taxi in front of the International Stadium to Pahurat (The Indian community near China Town). I was hungry and had myself something at the Black Canyon for hour and I just walked a little in the Emporium (they called it the (Indian) Emporium) then walked to my favorite Indian Movie shop. The one I always go and shop there. So I bought nearly 20 movies and took them back with me to Chiang Mai, satisfied.

After a walked awhile in the area helped me killing time for hour and I just got another taxi to the airport...tired. I still had another hour or two to kill at the airport. But I checked myself in soon I arrived and went through the passengers area right then.
I spent a bit of my time at the book store looking for something I might like. Normally I shop the book at The Backstreet shop in Chiang Mai (the 2Nd hand book shop with plenty of choices). But this time I was looking at something that I might like. I bought the 2Nd book of "The Twilight Saga - New Moon" from Stephanie Meyer. Sat myself in the waiting area and realized that I couldn't stop reading it. It was not the first book so I stopped reading and went again to the book store and bought the 1st and 3rd book all together. I was looking for the last book of this series but no luck I could find it.

But I thought at least I started the right book and knew it from the start. It was about the relationship between human (Bella Swan) and a beau vampire (Edward Cullen). I changed to read the first book first while I was waiting for the boarding time at the airport and I couldn't stop it until I finished the book on Sunday, it took me 2 days to finish the first one and now I am about to start the second one on Sunday night. I was really into it and felt like I witness this love story between this opposite in every way couple...

The reason I chose the books also because I saw the billboard of the Twilight Saga movie when I stuck in the taxi on the way to the embassy too! And it didn't disappoint me even it's an extraordinary love story but isn't it love that always overrules rule, nature and always with an exception..

Aeolidia Website design

2010-06-27T11:40:00.003+07:00

I again googled for some website design today and found this group "Aeolidia" . They have a great simple website themselves with a great portfolio. I wish I could afford the price and make one myself..

Another wedding..

2010-06-20T14:53:00.005+07:00

I attended Paul's wedding yesterday at Amari Rincome Chiang Mai. It was a lovely wedding near the pool. It was long time ago since I've attended the wedding and I think I won't have that myself :) . I met many people I've not met in a years there including my former boss , his wife and his baby. In a way, it was great to catch up but I think they were surprised to know my news that I would be moving to Switzerland soon, well at least in the middle of October which I guessed I would be there just in time for my Bollywood show in Geneva, yuppi!

By the way, I just received the so-called Police clearance by Post today and I need to have it translated for the embassy. A lot to do really....I need to get my head clear today!

Oh, JOY is online, I've to chat with her for a while...

Friday !

2010-06-02T21:47:00.003+07:00

I'll be going to Bangkok this Friday, back and forth, to the Thai Royal Police to get my Police clearance certificate for my visa. It's really a pain since they only do this in Bangkok. I don't know why they like to centralize this kind of thing and it makes life so difficult for people who live upcountry like me.

At work, it's been very busy through. We've the whole 3 days in the meeting and training. Plus a half (hot) day for the safety activities. I felt so weak and tired..

Geeesss..

Curfew another 3 days

2010-05-22T09:02:00.004+07:00

The Thai Government still announced the curfew in 24 provinces of Thailand from 9.00 PM-5.00AM until Sunday May 23, 2010.
Nothing much in the city especially in the hot spots like the night bazaar, very quiet..

The Bharati show

2010-05-19T20:57:00.003+07:00

Just spoke with Steve today and updated about the situation. I heard from him that there will be the show called ''Bharati'' in Switzerland in October this year. I hope that at that time I would probably be there...it's really something I like. The songs, the cultures and anything that I could learn more about India...I love this country and its culture..See the ad from their website here.

May 19,2010

2010-05-19T20:49:00.003+07:00

The day that Thai people have to remember about the protest in Bangkok, so many losses there. Not to mention about the economy here. So sad ..when the Red Shirt Leaders surrendered (some), the people got mad, they fought , burnt things down. What I heard lately is that Central World Plaza burnt down ...I didn't want to watch much the TV because the news are not really the fact...better check out the internet..

Sad story..and ..

More to continue and hope things are better soon...for the sake of Thai people and Thailand.

Bangkok became the hotspot.

2010-05-15T10:03:00.002+07:00

After Steve moved back to Switzerland a year back. It's now my time to relocate. I gave the news to my current employer that I would continue working with them until End of August but due to my position is one of the critical positions in the organization. They 've asked me if I could extend the time 6 months. I wish I could but I think 3-4 months would be enough time to get the new successor. I would give my MD a news in 2 weeks for the deadline. Life has to go on..

But my problem is that I supposed to be in Bangkok to arrange all my required paperwork from the Headquarter of Thai Police and then to the Embassy. Which I have no possibility due to the problems in Bangkok. So I guessed I have to wait and see...

In Chiang Mai, there is not a problem. We continue our life like normal. But what I can see is the downturn in tourism business. People starts having problem financially especially small business owners..I feel bad for them ..

I wish the situation will be better soon..

Labor day - May Day

2010-05-01T23:47:00.002+07:00

Today is the Labor day but since it's on Saturday, my company allows the institution day on Monday. Which means I've a long weekend, Hooray!. Anyway, there is nothing special to do so. Life on the weekend , as usual , would fall into the cleaning category (laundry and cleaning the house), I was busy doing this the whole morning which is good but the afternoon bit is not very production.

I remembered driving out to my favorite coffee shop nearby and the city is so quiet and empty. I am quite certain this is the impact from the protest in Bangkok. I can imagine if many embassies inform their citizens not to visit Thailand. But in fact, if you could just avoid Bangkok and go to another part of Thailand , this is all fine....The tourism industry seems to have a big impact, I dont know how many millions bucks they lose each day because of this.

Sigh...

French tests and Diplomas

2010-04-25T11:18:00.003+07:00

Today I was thinking about reviewing my French again after I went to Switzerland last week and realized that it got rusty now.! Besides some universities in Switzerland offers the French course but at least you need to have some certain background in order to apply for the course ! I got the diploma from the Alliance Francaise for DELF A1 and A2 already but I need B1 as well in order to learn or apply for those course :(! So now I have to move my a*** to work hard for this..but I am not sure for the result by the way. It's really a time consuming and they will have the test in Bangkok around June 5 -11, so......will see.

I also found this link after I googled today. Must be useful for those who are interested in French test and Diplomas~ this website is provided by Centre l'international d'études pédagogiques.

It contains the sample papers and audio as well for DELF tests....

Good Luck (to me)!

It's bloody hot here..

2010-04-23T23:18:00.004+07:00

It's late Friday, I came home tiredly or in another word-I woke up tiredly and spent my whole day at work tiredly..and thats why my Friday is so awful but like I always say 'TGIF'.

And Holy crap! it's hot like hells (40 °C) in Chiang Mai..

Mangoes with sticky rice!

2010-04-18T20:22:00.004+07:00

After I arrived home, I slept for a long hour and woke up very late. Guessed that I still need to adjust myself with time difference.
Anyway, the weather is very hot here in Thailand. We don't like to do much of things. I ate mangoes with sticky rice today (kao-niew-ma-muang). Very yummy! And the mangoes I brought with me to Switzerland are good and ready to eat. Steve told me that his parents and him already ate some of them and they were sweet :)

Took this photo this afternoon, looks yummy!

I am home, finally !

2010-04-18T02:46:00.004+07:00

I arrived home today nearly midnight in Chiang Mai. I got lucky actually because after my flight took off around midnight of Friday April 17, the Swiss Airport closed until Aril 18. See the reference from the website of Geneva Airport below :

DISRUPTION DUE TO VOLCANIC ERUPTION IN ICELAND
Situation at 6:00 pm, April 17, 2010 --- The Airport informs passengers that following a decision of the Federal Office for Civil Aviation, Swiss Airspace will be closed until April 18, 02:00 pm. This closure is likely to be extended depending on the development of the volcanic ash.
Passengers should contact their airline and check flight status information for all destinations.

When I was at Geneval airport, the departure board was nearly all red with flight cancellation..(same in BKK, many travellers busy checking and waiting hoping that their flights wouldn't be cancelled...). Took this photo when I was at Geneva Airport.

Volcanic Eruption in Iceland

2010-04-16T16:12:00.004+07:00

While Thailand (mainly Bangkok) has a protest with chaos, on the other side of the world in Iceland, the Volcano is erupted resulting in the huge amount of Vocanic ash (Source from Yahoo! said it caused a 3.7 mile high plume of ash) in the sky especially in the United Kingdom, some areas from France and North of Europe.

This phenomenon has wrecked havoc on flights across the Europe and around the world. The ash has the ability to knock out jet engines, an inconvenient fact that has grounded tens of thousands of passengers. Additionally, there is no telling when the ash will disperse. It could take days before the sky clears up. (Source from Yahoo! Editor's Picks). More photos of the Vocanic Eruption in Iceland check out here.$

My flight back home is today from Geneva Airport, in general it should be alright since I will be departing to the Abu Dhabi and not to the North of Europe but still we've to check the Flight status with the Airlines (My case is ETIHAD) and the Departures Board.

Thai New Year 2010 !

2010-04-15T19:44:00.003+07:00

This year for Thai people would be an unusual Thai New Year especially ones who live in Bangkok with all the protest. But it actually happened in Bangkok and not all the cities. Since I live in Chiang Mai, we don't feel much of the tension but we feel that there are not many tourists in town. I'm away for a week to Switzerland and I only hear the news from the TV/BBC/Newspaper. Hopefully the situation will be better. It could only make the economics down if it continues like this.

I have nothing much to say about this..

Loft Publications

2010-03-31T22:46:00.004+07:00

Last month I 've received the Press enquiry from Loft Publications to publish two photos from my Flickr photostream. I think it's nice if somebody like your photos. I considered myself as an amateur since I still have to learn a lot to become a pro. I just got lucky that I put the photos in a nice composition and that people like them. The following images are ones that they would like to publish.

Their this project will show images of different Buddhas around the world, and it will be organised by the five main depictions of Buddha in art: the seated, the reclining, the standing, the laughing and, finally, the fasting Buddha. If possible, all the images will indicate the place where the photo was taken.

It seems like I can have a complimentary copy of the book if I submitted..

I will see..

New photo on Flickr!

2010-03-07T12:29:00.004+07:00

I finally managed to find time posting another photo on Flickr. The pink flower decorated at the guesthouse we stayed when visited Luanphrabang. Beautiful and very simple one!. Check it out...

Busy time

2010-01-30T10:39:00.008+07:00

Finally it's the weekend! Can't say more how much I love weekend. It was quite busy at work, I feel so tired sometimes. But glad it's now time to break. But I think I'll have another productive day. I made an appointment with the Swiss Embassy on Feb 12, so I will have to book the ticket to go there, prepare the paperwork, request the bank statement with the Bank..etc etc. So today will be busy eventho I will have time to finish my Korean Series soon :)

When I said I was busy, that also means I am too busy for my Dazzling Lanna Shop..:( anyway, I will catch up with my customer this weekend. I was up early since I had to feed Lhong (my dog, or in another word my stepdad's). And also feed the cats. I played with Lhong this morning and he jumped on me, and bit my sweater..there was a big hole :( and I cannot wear it out anymore ...sigh..

Will just sign off here and continue my day...

Last photo on Flickr : a boy from Laos..

Luang Prabang , Laos

2010-01-19T21:33:00.004+07:00

After I was off from Flickr nearly a month , I got a chance to post my first photo of my trip to Luang Prabang..I guessed, I would try to find time to post more photos then. I love this photo, the symbol of Laos Airline, the Champa (Leelawadee or Frangipani) on the tail of their plane. My favorite flower.

I love Luang Prabang, Laos people are nice and very polite, for me I think they are slow but in fact they are not, it was just the lifestyle. A laidback Laos where you need to keep your pace slow and follow the flow of it :)

To be continued.

Leelawadee

2010-01-02T11:14:00.003+07:00

The day before the New Year, Sathip and I went to the Park near The Ping river (at King Kawila Monument). I captured this photo and adjusted the exposure a little to give the white background. My favorite flower.. Also see this photo on Flickr.

My recent photo was on Flickr's explored page

2009-12-31T22:17:00.003+07:00

I posted "A New Year Postcard" photo recently for my Flickr friends and by chance it was on Flickr's Explore. I don't really believe much in this Explore thing , it was just another frequency of comments and number of clicks you've had in a short period of time..but thanks a lot for all the friends who visited and commented on my photo :) It was a gift for this New Year 2010...

Last year for the same occation, I posted this photo. It also happened to be on the Flickr's explored page....

All the best!

A New Year Postcard for all

2009-12-30T20:39:00.003+07:00

I just posted the latest photo on Flickr as a New Year Postcard for all (my Flickr friends). A beautiful blue sky of Switzerland with a beautiful sunflower taken in Orbe, Vaud.

Goong - 사랑인 개요 [2]

2009-12-30T14:56:00.005+07:00

This is my favorite song from the Korean Serie "Princess Hours / Goong- 사랑인 개요''. Yoon Eun Hye is the actress and the Joo Ji Hoon is the actor. They both look great together !

This is what it was written on the video's topic on YouTube "君も・・・僕も愚かだね（你...我是傻瓜)"

A big fat day (again)

2009-12-29T18:04:00.006+07:00

From the last health check-up, I got quite a high level of Cholesterol, it's not that high but of course at the limit. So I have to be very careful of what I eat. Sathip had checked his as well and he has way too high compared to mine. Well, the whole week holidays until now didn't bring any good to us. We enjoyed eating and that was why it is called holidays. I think I will have to start over again with my diet on the Cholesterol ..

We went to 'The Garden' again today, had such a big lunch over there. I had 'Grilled Salmon with veggies' and shared a little of the salad with Sathip. Here are some of the photos...yummy , right?

Last but not least, a cup of Super Espresso at "Perfect Blend" on Changklan Road....

Goong - 사랑인 개요

2009-12-28T16:31:00.010+07:00

I know this movie or Korean serie called "Princess hours'' is not a new one but I really like it. I got the DVDs from my co-workers and really like watching it. The actor and actress are cute. It sounds stupid if I like it but sometimes you just don't want to think too much and let yourself watching something that doesn't really matter. Anyway, the movie is not that bad, I do like a lot the soundtrack called ''Perhaps Love'' , can listen from this video..and here is the lyrics and English Translation.

Broadband Speed Test

2009-12-28T10:59:00.003+07:00

Tired of the slow internet speed? Test your broadband speed here at http://speedtest.thaivisa.com
My internet speed was very slow (or nearly all the time), I used TT&T Maxnet and sometimes it works and most of the time it doesn't work. Checked today, it was way too slow. I called them and they adjusted some sort of signal and it works again.
Hope it lasts forever.!

Tags from my website

2009-12-16T18:48:00.005+07:00

Just checked my website again and see the tags available. I think it's like an art how Flogr managed the tags to look nice like this.

My favorite cup of espresso

2009-12-14T23:51:00.003+07:00

I am one of many millions of people who depend on coffee to jumpstart a day, I need the caffeine to kick in. When traveling, the first thing in a day I think about is a cup of espresso ! This white little cup was from the McCafe :D, I don't like the McDonald food but their cafe is great....found one near the pier on Kowloon side, hidden under the mall, great !

I posted this photo on my Flickr as well. In fact, I think I am just writing to myself since I didn't market my blog to many except few friends :P

High Cholesterol

2009-12-13T15:23:00.002+07:00

The health check-up result is here and now I have a bit of the high cholesterol! This is bad for me, I enjoy eating and now I've to think twice what I can and cannot eat. This is something that I am not very happy about. I have to see the label everytime before I buy something to make sure there is no saturated fat or cholesterol...somehow you've to learn how to live with it. Another thing, I have to force myself to be active that might help to control this cholesterol thing...hmm...

Switzerland

2009-10-17T14:40:00.008+07:00

In August , I went to Switzerland to visit Steve and his parents as well as seeing some of his friends. It wasn't a long trip so far, just 10 days or so. We also visited Paris so it was even too short in Switzerland..here are some of the photos.

Charly's Birthday (Steve's father)

Geranium in Orbe, Switzerland

Street in Orbe, Switzerland

Window, Orbe

Rainy Saturday

2009-09-26T10:40:00.003+07:00

Yesterday evening, my parents and I went out to our favorite restaurant in San Kampang. It's the restaurant specialize in Shrimp. I was so full as well as my parents. Sathip likes this restaurant as well, we would bring him here when he is around in the middle of October :)

Today was not really like what I expected. We planned to drive to Chomtong district about 1.5 hours away from Chiang Mai to look for the hand woven fabric for my new bag's collection ( I guess). And it just rains non-stop from morning till now (nearly noon). So this plan was not really a success. I will see if tomorrow the weather is better, we probably will go there. But tomorrow, I have an appointment to pick up all the bags made by the local artisan for my new collection. Will see...

I ate these

2009-09-13T10:54:00.004+07:00

It's now Sunday, too fast. I wish the weekend is longer. A lot to do today, I planned to wash my car but hope I could manage sometimes for it. And started with this breakfast. I like this bread..The weather today is alright, not too hot but sunny. I like the sunny day and it will be even better in Europe because it's cool and sunny but here it's hot (like hell) and sunny :). Now I better sign off here to continue my Sunday!

Part 1 : Re-visited South India [Mamallapuram]

2009-09-12T09:54:00.012+07:00

I posted my last photo on Flickr for my India trip since April. It took me couple of months to finish posting the photos but it was full of nice memory. The relationship of me with India is like love and hate relationship. You feel like you wanted to go there and when you go there you hate something about it too :D. I guess it's normal but one thing, I feel like home in many ways but I feel that I don't like it in many ways too. But the smell of food, the crazy street full of people and rickshaws make me feel like home. Not sure when I come to like Indian food, I have to say that particulary for the northern indian food. I love some of the South Indian food too like dosas and those many kind of things in the thali..

This time we landed in Chennai , formerly Madras, again. Also stayed in the same place in the Mylapore area. I love this street :) because it just goes straight to Chennai Citi Centre when needed to shop :D. We went to Mamallapuram on Sunday I think, not sure but somewhere on the weekend. It was nice getting away from Chennai but wherever we went, we were sweating like a pig (because it was hot like hell :D), I knew it was not a great time to visit South India in April but what could I do when I only had the only week off during that time because we also had Songkran holidays during that period.

We went to Mamallapuram by taxi. I loved seeing the scenary along side the street (also alongside the coast where the Tsunami hit couple of years back). But it was not a good idea driving at night by the way, too dangerous ..
We stayed in The Seabreeze Hotel at the end of the street, behind the hotel you could see The Shore Temple.

The Shore Temple , view from the beach behind The Seabreeze Hotel, Mamallapuram.

You could also visit my Flickr to see more of the photos.

Fabric

2009-09-05T20:48:00.006+07:00

I went to the local leather shop in town where they could sew the bags for me and after that I went to the Afghan shop on LoyKroa Road where they sell fabric, semi precious stones and all kind of stuffs from Afghanistan. I love anything ethnics so I enjoyed a lot looking for all the fabric there, I found few pieces of fabric I like and bought them. Perhaps I could make the bags but not sure yet , will see..

Bowling league "En-kai"

2009-09-01T21:04:00.003+07:00

Yes, it's Tuesday. It was (as usual) a long busy day. Many times I was thinking about leaving the company. The 13 years of loyalty seems to be too long. But looking at many other view, it wasn't that bad too. Well, again just complaining. Every month in my office, we arrange the meeting at Bowling club and play together. Today was the day of the month we arranged this Bowling league, I wasn't the best player I must say LOL. But it was fun. But today was better than last month, we played only 2 games so I wasn't tired so much. Arrived home around 7.30 PM. Snowy came to me and started to lay herself down on the ground before my dad came. She is a rebellion. She is an independent cat. She doesnt like to do what people wants her to do...this time again, when she felt that we were about to grab her and bring her in the house , she started to move for her freedom :) but sorry, too late. I just took her in my arms and yuppy....not much work. I hate to run around the house calling her miaw miaw every time :).

So that was about my day! Oh, by the way, the Bowling league of my office is called 'En-kai".

Good bye to Ludwig..

2009-08-29T08:58:00.008+07:00

It was the very busy day at work since we had the stock count. After the long working days for the past week, everybody in my office including the warehouse guys were so tired but we still had to keep smiling (someone said and I didn't like this, sounds very sincere but not so very..). Was already nearly the end of the late evening (still at work) I read the SMS from Steve, he told me Coco and Valérie brought Ludwig to the vet...because he was very weak and couldn't take the food anymore. I could already imagine what would happen but actually it was too fast for me to prepare. I saw him when I visited Switzerland last year and when I went there this year he remembered me. There was a kind of bond ...I love animal and evenmore when he or she is a part of our family. Coco is like a family to Steve, and Ludwig is a part of his family.. I am a sensitive person and even while I am writing I couldn't force myself but tear..I just replied back to Steve that I sobbed to know about this. It happened too fast to me. Just in 2 weeks after I came back home from Switzerland. When I kissed goodbye to everyone after dinner at Coco and Valérie's, I gave Ludwig a geste and touched him for goodbye too. Coco told me that probably if I go back to Switzerland, Ludwig would be no more...and just after 2 weeks, he is now gone...I know he is not my dog but I'm crying for him, sad and very upset. It's something new to me. Because in Asia we don't have this way of letting the pet goes. But it's better than let him suffered anyway...

Goodbye Ludwig and rest in peace...

Have to go to Bangkok on Friday

2009-07-07T22:20:00.004+07:00

I had an appointment to apply for a visa at the Swiss Embassy on Friday. Too lazy to go but would be great to be in Bangkok since I ran out of the DVD (Bollywood ones) to watch now:) I'm so eager to finish my errant at the Embassy and head to Pahurad buying more DVDs!

Rained the whole day and was a bit tired and sick today..

Song from New York, a film from Yashraj

2009-07-07T22:14:00.004+07:00

Two bags sold today on ETSY

2009-05-09T22:34:00.008+07:00

I just opened the shop again in ETSY today, posted 3 new bags and I was so lucky that two of them are sold ! The customer was very easy and paid right away. I was thinking that I should post more :) Here are the photos and please wish me good luck!

Resuming my French course again

2009-05-01T19:55:00.005+07:00

Last weekend was my first French class after a year or so, it was difficult in the beginning since I've never practiced. It was a small group of 8-9 students, most of the students are university students. I was the only adult (or the oldest in the class) :), should I pround to be the oldest student, hmm..not really. But my motto is that it is never too old to learn and I enjoy it. The teacher emphasizes more for the group discussion, he would assign the topics for discussion one weekend in advance. Last week we were talking about the friendship (l'amitié) and the beauty (la beauté)..

To be continued.

Masala tea

2009-02-09T21:50:00.013+07:00

I love Masala tea (chai), I bought some of the mixed tea from Agra last year and tried a couple of mixed masala tea from many brands. It was good but not the best like I've tried in India or from the Indian restaurant. And my Flickr friend *Sharad* gave me an advice on masala tea, it was great! See his advice below :

*An advice on masala tea*.
Boil the tea bags in the water rather than pouring boiling water on the bags. Better still use normal tea leaves and make a masala tea by adding cardamom (broken/slightly crushed), Some Fennel/Aniseed (half a tsp), some cinnamon and add a leaf of Basil. Boil all these, with one tea spoon tea leaves, together in water for 5 minutes. Add Milk. Boil again for a few seconds. Strain and have piping hot. You would not only savour the tea but also the steam. The fragrant steam would work wonders to soothe frayed nerves and the tea concoction would have tremendous medicinal value and will taste like mannna from heaven.

For variation, you can try each ingredient in combination with tea separately also. Each masala has a distinct and delicate flavour.

I just copied what he wrote :-) If anyone wants to have a great masala tea, try this!

Sabaidee Luangprabang

2008-09-14T20:12:00.003+07:00

I didn't get a chance to watch this movie ''Sabaidee Luangprabang'' (สะบายดี หลวงพะบาง) but I've bought a DVD and watched it this weekend. I really love it. It was simple but impressive. It is about the love between two people that gradually grows by a short period of time. I was really in to this movie and thought the actor & actress are really together. Not much to say but it makes me also want to visit Luangprabang very soon too. Love its culture...I wish Thai people would be as simple as Laos too. At the end , I love the actor (Ananda Everingham, a laotian-australian actor) and the actress (Khamly Pilawong, a Chinese-Laotian actress)...I would watch it again I am sure..

I'm sad

2008-08-23T23:35:00.002+07:00

I didn't write in my blog for a long time. But today I would. After received an email from my subscription with BBC learning English. I clicked that link and read about it. And it was so sad. I was about a baby whale abandoned by its mother....I just cannot say more but sad..you'll if you read this..

2 August, 2008 - Published 13:31 GMT

Sad story of Colin the whale

A baby whale abandoned by its mother in the waters off north Sydney has been put down after vets decided it could not survive on its own. The 4.5 metre long animal has been called Colin and its story has interested the whole country. This report from Nick Bryant:

Listen to the story

Two things have captured the Australian national imagination this week - the Beijing Olympics and the plight of Colin, the baby humpback whale. Ever since Sunday, the injured and abandoned whale has been creating headlines, with tear-inducing stories of how it tried to suckle the hulls of boats, which it apparently mistook for its mother.

Officials believe the one to two month old calf was abandoned, possibly because it was ill. But their attempts to lure it out to sea in the hope it would attach itself to a passing pod of humpback whales failed.

Colin kept on swimming back to the waters off north Sydney. Since the whale was being breast fed, there was no way of feeding him. So the decision was taken to put it down. The whale was first given a sedative to relax it, then a lethal dose of anaesthetic. With Colin apparently being attacked by sharks, vets and marine researchers concluded it was the only humane option.

Nick Bryant, BBC, Sydney

Red flower..

2008-06-16T23:02:00.005+07:00

The past Sunday, I had time to take more photos from my Canon 350D. I wished to take a better photos and learnt from my Flickr's contact as well. Those photos gave me the idea how to look through the lens. This one satisfied me..I wished I had more free time to improve my skill in photography...

Water

2008-06-15T21:08:00.009+07:00

'WATER' ,I have heard about this movie many times,it is not a new released movie. I tried to purchase the DVDs online but the transaction failed the day before, so I didn't have time to do that again yet. But guessed what. I got lucky ! On Friday I went to the mall and went to one of the bookstore and I just found three out of many movies that I wanted to see. Those are 'Water', 'Saawariya' and 'The Darjeeling Limited'. I bought all of them...'Water' is a very good and sad movie..I had tears for it. And it was so touchy and it deserved the award which it did. I couldn't imagine that life of women in the part were not like a life..how cruel it was with one life just because of the belief in religious.. I think it is good to believe in something, but sometimes it is not fair if that believes could turn one life up-side-down. 'Saawariya' is so so..well, it was not like what I expected but thats OK. And, 'The Darjeeling Limited' is not bad and not good..I just loved it because I can see India without travelling there. I wish I could visit India again.

Snowy is sick

2008-06-15T21:08:00.006+07:00

I observed one of my kitties for 2 days and she was really sick. I think she had problem with her skin around her left ear. But today my dad brought her to the vet and it seemed she was tired the whole day. I think she would get better soon.. and she was the model for me the other day. Here is her photo. I couldn't snap the photo of Spottie as she wasn't around..

Houston

2008-01-02T20:10:00.001+07:00

It seemed that I didn't took many photos from the trip in Houston. The only one photo which seemed to be nice is the photo of the city at night. I liked it through I didn't spend much time there. It was a business trip, that was why.

My Photos

2007-12-05T17:18:00.002+07:00

My recipe of fresh spring roll for my employer's cook book

2007-10-11T21:30:00.001+07:00

My employer would publish the cook book as a gift for Christmas and New Year for employees, they invited us to send the recipe for publishing in this cook book. I prepared one and submitted the photos to them. I spent hour to prepare and took photos of this dish last weekend. Had plenty of photos, but I posted one I selected from the pile. The taste was good actually...

Photo from last year, The flower exhibition

2007-10-07T10:56:00.001+07:00

I went through my photos folder and found this baby banana's flower in my folder. I like the contrast of its colors and the position of the flower. So, I collated with another two photos to make it like this. Thought it would be nice to add more in my blog.

Few red ants on the betel leaves

2007-09-16T20:17:00.001+07:00

My camera lens couldn't be used to make a close-up photo for the small little things but I managed to have this photo even I couldn't zoom close enough to see how many legs the ants have ! What I liked about this photos were the greenery of the betel leaves..light green and dark green, plus their gross leaves. The natural light was enough for this photo to remind me that that day was a real sunny day.

Dew drops on the orchid

2007-09-16T20:03:00.001+07:00

One day it rained heavily and there was some dew drops on the orchid, even the natural light wasn't enough but I tried with the flash and it looked okay, obviously not the best. I wished last time I chose the macro-lens for my camera, maybe the close-up photo would look even better. Anyway, there would not be many times that I really want to take a photo of some small little things :)..

Orchid

2007-09-16T19:53:00.001+07:00

Besides many of photos I have taken, this photo of orchid is one of those. There are many of orchids I have taken but I selected only the single orchid I liked. It is pretty common to see the purple orchid like this , or a bit darker. If I am not mistaken, Thai Airways also use the purple orchid as their trademark as well.

Coffee and I

2007-09-16T19:27:00.001+07:00

While I was busy with my camera today, ''Coffee'' , my cat, she was also around and helped me with the location. Wherever I went, she would always followed and gave me her opinion ! If she agreed, she would say nothing but if not, she would just bited me as if she wanted to let me know that she disagreed. I love her but sometimes she is a pain.... She was with me while the other (Snowie, Spottie and her mom were sleeping somewhere). So, I assumed she might want to be taken (a photo), so I took it for her. I could see that she behaved :) when I did that but just for awhile..

Lotus

2007-09-16T16:47:00.001+07:00

I have taken many photos of lotus ..but still I like it. This photo had a very good natural light so I didn't need a flash from my camera. Plus the dark background of the water made this photo looked even better.

The pinky rose

2007-09-15T14:23:00.001+07:00

I was surprised to see this rose today because it blossomed and very beautiful (even through the photo I took was not as beautiful as the real one. I like the pink color, it looks flashy...

Photos from weekend

2007-09-15T14:07:00.001+07:00

I took new photos today. They were not as best as I wanted but it is the good start for an amateur like me through. The first one, is the photo of new leaves of the rose apple. I like the contrast between this new leaves and its environment, it makes the leaves look better.

Steamed iron

2007-09-15T14:04:00.001+07:00

I just bought a steamed iron online from this website : www.belle-maison.co.th last few days. I hope they ship to me soon. Seemed to be a good one , just like the one it is being used by the big mall. I'm excited about that .. but well, ironing is still thing that I don't like.

Lastest photo

2007-09-05T22:27:00.001+07:00

I don't know how to call this plant, but I just liked its color. I took this photo at the flower market last Sunday. I'm a new photographer through, wish I could learn few more techniques.

I'm done with MSN messenger

2007-09-05T22:19:00.001+07:00

Having spent almost a week trying to fix MSN messenger with the repeated error message but still I couldn't fix it. Thought that some related '*.dll' files were missing. I'm hopeless now. The last chance would be re-install window again, but that is horrible. Done that before but it took me a full week to recover everything including those drivers..etc. I just don't have time now. I guessed, I would be out-of-touch from my messenger friends then. And just when I thought no way to fix MSN messenger. So, I re-installed the old version of Yahoo messenger and it worked ! So, now my old version of Yahoo Messenger works, and I don't really use it. While my MSN messenger doesn't work, when I want to use it :(

Exhausted day

2007-08-29T22:37:00.001+07:00

What an exhausted day today ! I was very busy at work and so tired when I got back home. Was so hungry, so I prepared my dinner just as soon as I arrived. Then I heard something outside the house with my mom and dad. Turned out my dad cut his left ankle while he was trying to get rid of the log which laid across the canal and his feet slided down, bleeding. I jumped out from my dinner and helped him and my mother to stop the blood. The wound was wide and I told mom we needed to go to the hospital so we were all hurry to Rajawej hospital because it was the closest one. The nurse took care of my dad until the doctor arrived and sewed his wound , wrapped the feet and gave the injection. Now he has to stay that way for 2 weeks ...and that hospital is really expensive, my god.

Anyway, we all felt better afterward. I hope my dad wouldn't try to fix thing by himself like this but I feel it will be worse as he will be retired in a couple of days !

I wish he would recover very soon.

Sunflower

2007-08-28T22:14:00.001+07:00

Just came across my photos collection and found this one. Thought I should just post it here. Always like the sunflower, besided the Leelawadee one. It was taken last year at The Ratchapruek flower exhibition. Chiang Mai.

Mes premiers résultats de français

2007-08-19T17:40:00.001+07:00

Voici les résultats de mon premier examen de français de l'Alliance Française. J'ai obtenu 98.5 points sur 100. Je suis fière de moi !

English version: Herewith the result of my french exam from the Alliance Francaise. I got 98.5 points out of 100. I'm so proud of myself !!

Nice match between pink and violet

2007-08-12T20:22:00.001+07:00

I bought this flower from the flower market in town and I forgot its name :-(, as expected. I re-planted in the new pots I bought too. I thought the color are very nice. With pink main flower and the violet ones on the side. It looks like the ginger flower...there was one violet flower only when I bought it and today the second one started to be blossom. Very beautiful.

Spottie

2007-08-12T20:13:00.001+07:00

Today I was busy taking the photos for my dad and Harry, a boy from our neighbor, and Spottie was there too. She just laid down near me, so I shot a photo for her. She grew up a lot ! Well, my other kitties weren't there otherwise I would take their photos today. Next time perhaps.

Chiang Rai

2007-08-11T20:04:00.001+07:00

Last 2 week, I went to Mae Sai and Chiang Saen. It was good driving out of Chiang Mai over the weekend but it was too crowded at Ta Khi Laek. Again and as usual, I bought the bags from there. There were too many things to look but no time to shop, time was up so quick. Noticing there were many people from the southern part of Thailand visiting the border too. Thai people really like shopping I must admit. And on the way back, as usual, we stopped at Charin Resort for lunch (on the way to Chiang Rai too), I took this photo from the terrace of this restaurant :)

I gained weight

2007-08-10T19:45:00.001+07:00

I gained weight after my trip to Holland, even it was only one week. But these are why : ''Un croque monsieur'' with a lot of cheese one day, I thought it would be okay. But it seemed the cheese really wanted to stay at my belly until now !

Plus big dinner like this nearly everyday and cheese and bread most of the time. This ''Chicken Satay'' was good but it was really big for me. I didn't know how I finished it but I did.

Holland

2007-08-09T19:44:00.001+07:00

Well, I finally got a chance to visit Holland last month because of my business trip. It was a week but most of the time I had to work. And it was difficult to go look around as I stayed in a small city (Schagen). At least I got to see the windmill finally. The weather was so so, it was raining most of the time when I was there. I liked it but not loved it.

A test photo for my camera

2007-06-17T17:36:00.001+07:00

I took this photo just to test my new camera (Canon EOS 350D). It wasn't too expensive and it was a good start.

Frangipani

2007-05-28T23:03:00.001+07:00

I just like 'Frangipani' that was why I always use its photo as a profile. In Thailand we call it 'Leelawadee'.

My kitties

2007-05-27T14:48:00.001+07:00

My step dad often feed the white cat and now she rewarded him with the 4 little kitties...they are naughty :-). They often stay around the house.

Another farewell party for my colleague

2007-05-26T00:03:00.001+07:00

Today is the last day that one of my colleague worked with my company. So we had a farewell party and yes I just got back home. It was a long time since I drove at night from Lamphun back to Chiangmai....I wasn't drunk at all. I only drank few glasses of Spy red wine..it was a good party and full with memory. I wish her good luck and see her around ...

Where is my fav.Indian restaurant?

2007-05-21T22:34:00.001+07:00

Since I got back from India in Jan, I went to the Indian restaurant just once or twice. And then, last month or so they moved ! Without letting anyone knows where they moved ! But I heard from the lady at the bookstore , a block next to it, she said that the Royal Indian Restaurant moved because the rent was too high. So they would only make food and send to The Chedi, and would have a stall at Sunday Market. But after trying to look for it at the Sunday market, I didn't see it so far....a bit disappointed of course.

But then , last 2 weeks, I saw one of the owner rode the motorbike passed my house and I was about to shout and stopped him to ask but , unfortunately ..:-( he rode too fast for me to shout.. I hope I could catch him once. Steve told me today that he saw this guy at the food shop during lunch but he wasn't sure..and didnt ask him. I think many people were wondering where they are too. This restaurant seemed to be one of the best I tried.

Sad....

Earthquake ?

2007-05-16T21:16:00.001+07:00

Seemed that the earthquake happened quite often in Thailand these days. While I was talking with the boss of my boss today :-), then he told me 'Did you feel that ?' and I was sort of noticing that the plant in his office was moving... Apparently the center of this earthquake was in Myanmar but it was just right next to the Thai's border.. It reminded me when it happened since the Tsunami but that time it was even stronger. Well, it has been raining nearly everyday since the monsoon moved downward to Thailand plus this earthquake. Sometimes I wonder what would be the next thing ? ..

Devdas

2007-05-06T21:13:00.002+07:00

I was free this weekend so I watched , again, this Indian movie 'Devdas'. It was sad but I like both the actor and actress. It was an old movie but I still like it. From the description of this movie below, you can see how successed it was.

"Devdas", Bollywood's Most Expensive and Successful Film. "Devdas" by director Sanjay Bhansali, is the most expensive (12 million US dollars) indian film ever made with opulent sets, period costumes and melodious music. Since its release the movie has beaten records. The film is an adaptation of the novel written in 1901 by Sarat Chander Chatterjee. The coveted role is played by the leading Bollywood actor Shahrukh Khan as well as former Miss World Aishwarya Rai.

Picture shows a rare hand painted billboard of "Devdas" painted by artist Vaidya in central Bombay. I got this photo from Corbis.

My favorite Bollywood actress

2007-05-06T20:18:00.001+07:00

Besides Indian culture, I'm a big fan of Bollywood film. My favorite Bollywood actress is Aishwarya Rai.

She finally tied the knot with Abhishek Bachchan on April 20,2007. I'm really happy for her and I think they're a nice couple. I don't know why I really liked her. If I could, I would try to find the DVD of any movies she performs. To me, she is a very very beautiful lady and she deserved to be Miss World , besides her beauty ..I think she is natural and has a unique personality.

Sad..

2007-04-20T21:30:00.003+07:00

Well, I was totally gone from the-online-thing for a long time. It continued from the time that my grandma was sick and then 2 months later she passed away peacefully. We were busy at home and I didn't spend my time online since. What to say, I was sad...but one thing I could feel was that my grandma is happy and that released me from the sadness. We , at home, continue our life and things get back on track again. Of course still I remind about her but one thing is sure, she will always be in my heart. . .

I know , not many people read my blog but it is just a place where I could write what I think and that was it. I just picked today to write again ... I guessed.

Loy Kratong Festival

2006-11-06T21:10:00.001+07:00

I must say that the Loy Kratong Festival was very quiet for my family this year. Of course, the main reason was that my grandma is being sick over a month. I just went to float the Kratong near the King Kawila Monument, and released the lanterns with Steve. There, it was a wonderful place and I've just realized. I saw many shiny lanterns up in the sky but it was a bit quiet and sad. One thing was strange, it happened on Nov 5 which seemed to be too early. But the full moon was on that day... Many strange things happened this year.

It's life, but I need my grandma

2006-10-27T21:34:00.001+07:00

It's been 3 weeks that my grandma staying in the hospital. She is very weak. I visited her this evening. My mom was there with her, mom told me that grandma asked about me. She doesn't feel better but worst. She couldn't eat so far, I hand-feeded her the water with small spoon. She didn't have energy to use the straw for drinking water. This sickness really irritated her, I could feel how she felt. The doctor said to mom that grandma will get weaker and weaker. I heard that and I was numb even I was prepared. I had to suppress how I felt when I was around my grandma, I didn't want to make her felt worst..eventho she was already informed and she told the doctor she couldn't understand. I was very sad. .

I went back home, and again after I went out of the hospital's building. All the things that I suppressed gradually exploded, I was sobbing, crying, thinking about everything related to my grandma. I didn't even do anything for her yet. In fact, she was the one who took care of me when I was young. Feeding me since I was a baby, took me to school, raised me up. She was always with me , took me here and there. I remembered that I never stay far from her since recently..I didn't know why all the memories started to come back to me with her all around. I'm just scared..I'm not scared of my grandma but I scared not to be with her.

I love her. :-(