Jul 17, 2017 - Koh Samui

Leaving Penang several days ago brought us back to Butterworth where we caught a train to Surat Thani, Thailand. Then the next morning, we took a bus to Donsak Pier and got on a boat to Koh Samui! We spent 3 lovely restful days on the island doing a whole lot of nothing, such as...relaxing in our infinity pool by the ocean. :) We did also make it to the Big Buddha Temple, Fisherman's Village (a large local market with lots of restaurants and shops), and drinks with a friend from the States who happened to be on Koh Samui at the same...

Jul 7, 2017 - Mixing Fun With Culture

This morning we headed to a little French restaurant here in Bangkok but when we got there the power was out so we headed to another French bakery located in the Crystal Embassy Mall. The food was very good. The grilled ham and cheese sandwich had cheese toasted on the outside of the bread. Then we went upstairs in the mall. It has seven levels. There is a huge bookstore with both English and Thai books. There was also a large play area for children. Lily and I had a lot of fun playing there. We finished our day with more...

Jul 6, 2017 - Dinner and a Show

On Thursday Ms. Karen spent the morning doing some things all by herself. Her son dropped her off at Ten Ten Nails and she got here finger and toe nails all pretty. They couldn't help me because I just have fur and cloth on my paws. After that, she got some tacos. Then a massage. When she was done she took the Skytrain and got back to the hotel all by herself. We sat around the hotel for a while and then we took a cab to Central World. This is another mall in the Bangkok area. We had dinner at Din Tai Fung which is a restaurant from...

Jul 5, 2017 - Lions And Tigers And Bears, Oh My

Today we spent several hours at the zoo so instead of loading lots of pictures I decided to make a video for you today. You will find a link at the bottom of the post. When you watch the video watch for me and Lily to pop out in different places. Also, watch for the very cute baby otter. At first, his mommy tries to hide him but then he comes out to play. You will also see a picture of a group of local school children at the zoo for a field trip. I hope you like my ZOO VIDEO

Jul 4, 2017 - The Grand Palace and Other Cultural Stops

Today we started out by taking a ferry boat across the canal that runs through Bangkok. It was funny because we had to go through a ferry that was docked to get to the ferry we were riding on. As so as we got across we boarded another boat that took us down the canal in the direction of the Grand Palace. When we arrived at the pier there were lots of shops selling food, clothes, and other goods. We stopped at several of the stands and bought all kinds of fun food for breakfast. We had fresh pineapple, bread baked with raisins and...

Jul 3, 2017 - First Day in Bangkok

Today we arrived in Bangkok. After we got off the train we took a taxi to our hotel. After we got there we decided to head out for breakfast. We had breakfast at Tom n Tom's. It was a bit disappointing because their famous toast was "finished" for the day. Finished means they don't have any left. We had to make do with other choices. We then went to the Jim Thompson House. Jim Thompson came to Thailand with the military at the end the World War Two. He loved the country and came back. He moved 6 traditional teak houses onto...

Jul 2, 2017 - Day of Rest and Railway

We started our day with a trip to 7-11 to pick up breakfast food. Then headed to All Saint's Church. Ms. Karen's son Jacob gave the sermon. After the service, we went to a little place called Bake n Bite for lunch. The food was very good. We then hung around the MCC guest house until it was time to head to the railway station. The station was not very big and it was easy to find our way. When we got into our car everything was set up in sets of two seats facing each other. I was able to look out and see all kinds of great stuff...

Jul 1, 2017 - Brunch Then Up to the Cave Temple

Today we got up and went into the old city and had breakfast at The Coffee Club. The food was very tasty. We stopped by a store called The Elephant Parade. It had big elephants outside similar to the Swans in Lakeland. Inside the store was replicas of all the elephants that were made and can be found around Chiang Mia. After that, we took a trip up into the mountains. The road twisted back and forth. The scenery was very pretty though. I also spent some time playing with Lily in the car. She sang me Teddy Bear songs. ...

Jul 1, 2017 - Trip to Tesco Lotus

Here is a quick update on what happened after my post on Saturday. We went to the Tesco/Lotus again. I'm not sure if I told you before how there all kinds of shops on the ground floor and that the main store is upstairs. Well, we went to The Pizza Company for some really great pizza. It was started by some former employees of Pizza Hut Thailand. They had good ideas about how to take what Thai's liked about Pizza Hut pizza and make it better by adding some Thai inspired twists. Lily let me try out her bib. After that, we went upstairs to...

Jun 30, 2017 - Learning About the Local Culture and Sustainable Farming

Today we started out by going to see an exhibit about one of the local people groups called the Lanna. They live here in Northern Thailand. There was a large exhibit at the Chiang Main International Convention Center and Expo Hall. There were lots of different sections. We started with the Coffee and Tea Expo. We also got to watch people making local crafts and saw a lot of clothes and jewelry. After that, we met up with people that Ms. Karen son and daughter-in-law work with at the MCC (Mennonite Central Committee) Asian office here in...

Jun 29, 2017 - Quiet Day for A Bear

I didn't do so much today. It was a lazy and quiet day for a bear. I started the day with a trip to McDonald's for breakfast. This Thai Ronald greets people at all the McDonald's. His pose is a greeting to say welcome. And to thank you for coming. After that, we went shopping at Big C and Tesco Lotus. Both of these stores are like Wal-Mart but the story is upstairs and there are special escalators for the shopping carts to stick to so you can go downstairs. The first or ground floor is filled with shops and restaurants. Then it was...

Jun 28, 2017 - Journey Into the Mountains

Today was very different because we drove a lot more and only visited a couple of places but I had a great time. The day started out with a walk to the local market. This is a large open air space filled with stalls of all kinds of foods both raw and cooked. You go from vendor to vendor making your choices and then you walk home to eat your breakfast. The most common breakfast items are meat on a stick and sticky rice. They also had doughnuts but they are a little bit different. Many Thai's do very little cooking at home for many...