Cross Country Run, Swim Meet, and Volleyball Tournament
November brought a busy schedule for the kids at school. Lilli and Chloe participated in a cross country run hosted by St. Andrews International School. Chloe also swam in a swim meet hosted by Regent's International School. Smyth tried a sport this year he hadn't played before, volleyball. He went to International School Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam to compete in a tournament. He met other international students that attended schools in Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam.
Lilli approaches the finish line!
Chloe on starting block 2
Smyth serves!
Lilli's Birthday
Lilli enjoyed celebrating her 8th birthday on November 15 at Khun John's, a local outdoor restaurant that serves both Thai and western foods. Her real treat came on November 18th when Grandpa and Grandma May came to visit and we celebrated her birthday again.
Whatever Floats Your Krathong
Loi Krathong is a Thai holiday that is celebrated on the full moon night of the 12th month of the Thai Lunar Calendar, usually November by the western calendar. "Loi" means to float, "krathong" is a boat or raft. During the night of the full moon the Thais will float their krathongs on a body of water. The tradition is believed to originated in ancient times to pay tribute to the water spirits. Today it is simply a time to have fun. We celebrated the evening back at Kuhn John's on Lake Machapran with many other Farangs and Thais with a large buffet, a loud band, and many beautiful handmade krathongs.
Lilli helps me pick out handmade krathongs
The krathongs are made out of banana trunks, palm leaves, and fresh flowers. There is a candle and three incense sticks also placed in the krathong.
Smyth and Chloe get ready to float their kathrongs
After looking at the murky water none of us were too anxious to wade in up to our knees to set our krathongs afloat. This little guy was more than happy to do it for us and several others at 10 Baht a krathong. You can barely see the many lights of the krathongs in the background.
Also corresponding with Loi Krathong is the Northern Thailand holiday Yi Peng. On this night people will light and release khom loi (floating lanterns). These are an awesome sight as hundreds light the sky above the lake with the floating rafts.
Lighting a khom
My little Canon Power Shot could not come close to capturing the beauty of the night.
Grandma and Grandpa Visit Bangkok
One of the many perks of having Bob's parents to visit was that I got to play tour guide and see some areas of Bangkok that I had not previously seen. I found that the easiest way to see Bangkok is to hop on a river taxi on the Chao Phraya and get off at the pier stops that have an attraction that you want to see. Our first stop was the pier for Chinatown. The brochure promised an easy 1 kilometer walk. Something was lost in translation. The walk was at least 2 kilometers and was not easy by any means as we had to share the unlevel sidewalk with street food vendors, people selling handbags, shoes, birds, and many other items you might would have never considered buying off the sidewalk. We made it to Chinatown, snapped a picture, then turned around and started our way back upstream to the pier.
A brief glimpse at Chinatown
River taxi
River Scenes
While enjoying a lunch at a riverside Italian restaurant I saw a very formal boat procession going up the river. Not accustomed to Thai pomp I had no idea what the parade could be for but I could tell that it looked very important and that I should probably take pictures. The next day I read in the Bangkok Post that the inauguration of a new bridge over the river called for the King to make a rare appearance. He and many other dignitaries and monks were escorted up the river on several boats . And I captured it!
The Grand Palace
One of the most beautiful sights in the world has to be the The Grand Palace in Bangkok. I marveled at the stunning gold and array of colors used on the buildings throughout the palace grounds.
Richard and Ann's first visit to the Grand Palace
I don't know these ladies but Ann and I thought their dresses were beautiful. Richard said I should take a picture of them, so I did.
The saffron robed Buddhist monks are a common sight throughout Thailand.
Another Big Buddha
Another point of interest only about 20 minutes from our home is Buddha Mountain. It was laser carved and then filled with gold in 1996 as a tribute to the King's Golden Jubilee, his 50th year as king.
Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving is not a Solvay Peroxythai holiday. I guess the reason being that we are in Thailand and the Thais do not seem too concerned about Pilgrims, Plymouth Rock, turkeys, and the whole Peanuts Gang that seem to mark the beginning of the holiday season for Americans. However, the stores had a large supply of Butterballs, albeit at $65.00 per bird, so we did celebrate Thanksgiving at our home, on a Saturday. We had Grandma and Grandpa here, we invited David and Michelle Anderson and kids (Solvay family from Texas) for dinner, and I muddled my way through cooking an American feast using mostly Asian products; Japanese green pumpkins, Chinese coconut, and Thai potatoes.
Family Fun Day
Another fun even in November was the annual carnival at ISE. There were raffle prizes, games, bungee bouncing, and a Thai Craft Fair. This is the big fundraiser for the PTA.
Chloe, willing to try anything, loved the bungee bounce.
Lilli always has to follow along.
Canal Tour
Bob and I got to take a day off and take his parents into Bangkok before they had to fly back to the states. We enjoyed a 2 hour canal tour on a longboat. The canals are off the Chao Phraya River and are much like a residential area you would find in a large American city only instead of accessed by streets one must navigate through them by boat. We saw temples, slum areas, large mansions, schools, and little shops. One highlight was when a woman rowed up in her canoe to our boat offering cold beers and cokes for sale. Afterwards our tour guide pulled our boat over to a coffee shop and ordered a latte, much like a drive through Starbucks.
As November is always a time to count our blessings and remember what we are thankful, we will strive to continue to be very thankful throughout the rest of our time in Thailand. We are thankful we have our family together, to have the opportunity to experience a new culture, and to get to meet people from all over the world that are fast becoming friends.
