Bangkok Week 84 February 4, 2010 A hopping week of events becomes quite the 30-bday-bash. View fullsize The big 3-0! But no time to bake a cake this year :( So gourmet donuts will have to fill in. View fullsize Cutting his "cake". At least he still has something to slice. View fullsize You can imagine how long it took me to choose just 6! View fullsize Waiting at the pier to board a boat to the big birthday bash! View fullsize There's one dock dedicated to hotel and special-venue boats that offer free shuttle services to their buildings. View fullsize Our boat finally arrived. Enjoy the float! View fullsize Many of the posh riverside hotels that offer quite a picturesque view... for a price. View fullsize At the fancy, open-bar riverside (birthday) party. View fullsize A view from the bar. A constant stream of brightly lit boats floated by throughout the night. View fullsize There was a decent assortment of cocktail-style food, but unfortunately only the french fries were vegetarian. View fullsize The open bar that kept the party going. When I asked for plain soda water, they were totally confused. View fullsize Strolling straight into the spotlight. Now what? View fullsize A fine riverside view to help wash down your drink. View fullsize Requisite group shot. Spot the 30-year-old curmudgeon! View fullsize Posing with the issue in which his award-winning letter was published. Surprise! View fullsize Heading home after our big night on the town. Can't stay out too late -- it's a school night, after all. View fullsize But wait, there's more! A 3-in-1 sandwich maker! (And someone claims it wasn't a surprise.) View fullsize It makes waffles. It makes sandwiches. It makes pannini. It even perms your hair! View fullsize Our big New Years / early-mid-life-crisis initiative: join a gym! View fullsize They have 2 squash courts, 2 grassy tennis courts, a badminton court and a 25m pool, in addition to every piece of gym equipment you can imagine. View fullsize The view from outside the squash courts. Can you figure out where it's located? View fullsize Asia's most neon Chinese New Years decorations. View fullsize Trying out the new contraption! (Turns out the tomatoes are not a good idea.) View fullsize Perfect! (Disclaimer: this was the second round.) View fullsize How cheesy. View fullsize Finally figured out how to wear the skirt from Chris. View fullsize On Sunday we attended a "new house ceremony" for an aunt, who bought this 4-storey townhouse (that side wing is part of her unit). View fullsize All the paternal relatives were there, plus a whole family's worth of people related to the aunt's husband. View fullsize Their house is huge (obviously) and the interior is quite tastefully decorated. The woman in the background is Aunt Omm. View fullsize A bunch of monks come into the house and chant for 45 minutes. Then they have to chow down their lunch before noon. View fullsize This grandma owns the fruit farm in Chantaburi. Everyone's waiting around for the monks to finish lunch. View fullsize They have some fat cats and (at least) 3 little dogs. This furball is wondering what all the commotion is about. View fullsize A view out their third-floor window. It's a fairly new development just outside the airport. View fullsize One of the little dogs. This guy was the only non-poodle. View fullsize A view of their yard (and their fountain). Normally, the catering tent is not outside their front door. View fullsize After the monks eat, all the guests sit down for a big "Chinese Table" lunch. But they ordered vegetarian pizza for us! (The couple on the RH side is the one whose wedding we attended last Feb.) View fullsize One of the many "lucky" desserts that are brought in specially for this event.
