Yet Another Shopping Centre December 30, 2005
Posted by Martin in : Thailand , 2commentsBangkok seems to be developing expensive condominiums and shopping centres faster than they can promote them right now. Tik and I did some of our Christmas shopping at the new Siam Paragon Centre in Siam Square.
Lost! December 30, 2005
Posted by Martin in : Creative / Humour , add a commentTik and I have completed all 25 episodes of Lost! in about a week!
For somebody who does not really enjoy watching TV this was quite unprecedented and we used every second of free time to get another episode or two in. It’s refreshing to look forward to watching something which doesn’t necessitate 3 hours of my time at once.
My only regret is that now we’ve watched it we have probably 6 months to get to see series 2. I’ve begun downloading episodes 1-4 via BitTorrent so, if all goes as slowly as it tends to, I’ll get to view them in about 2 more weeks.
New Car December 29, 2005
Posted by Martin in : Thailand , add a commentTik is now the proud owner of a brand-spankingly new Ford Focus. We returned to Bangkok in it today, leaving her old car in the capable hands of her family.
4 days of speaking Thai … and counting December 28, 2005
Posted by Martin in : Education, Thailand , add a commentOn the recommendation of Jim, an impressively competent Thai speaker I declared last Wednesday as a Thai-only day. This meant that Tik and I would communicate exclusively in Thai.
We spend much of the day in Tik’s colleagues car driving to Udon Thani where Tik has some work to complete.
I was very proud of myself that I managed to survive the entire day without any major problems. In fact Tik found the experience far more difficult than me, as she is so used to speaking with me in English.
Merry Christmas December 25, 2005
Posted by Martin in : Thailand , add a commentChristmas lasted three hours this year i.e. the duration of our Christmas dinner at the Londoner pub. We were joined by Masaya, A, Nang, Ben, Nick and Milo about 6pm. It was an enjoyable meal with sorbet as an appetizer which baffled me a little, but some great turkey and stuffing.
Taiwan Photos Added December 21, 2005
Posted by Martin in : travel , add a commentI’ve added our Taiwan photos to the site now although the photo section needs some repair work right now.
Adapting to an Apple Mac December 18, 2005
Posted by Martin in : Computers, Education , add a commentI’ve been getting familair with my new 15” Powerbook G4 for the last few weeks.
I was encouraged to switch over from my hard-working and long-serving Windows PC to improve my efficiency. Twelve months ago I was frustrated that my work was slowed by my stupidly slothful internet connection and got myself an ADSL line as soon as it became available. More recently I’d been moaning to friends that much of my time was being spent having to use the task manager to close down unresponsive programs, and I was in need of a change.
Chiang Mai December 16, 2005
Posted by Martin in : Thailand , add a commentWe drove to Chiang Mai the next day, arriving tired in the afternoon. This time we stayed at The Karinthip Village Resort – a more modest, but practical resort in a central location. the first evening we headed out to the night market, although after shopping so much in the past few weeks we had little enthusiasm to buy anything new.
Smuggling DVD’s from Myanmar December 14, 2005
Posted by Martin in : Thailand, travel , add a commentI was amazed that Tik, a feew days previous had acquired a collection of interesting DVD’s. I was equally amazed that they cost her no more than 50 baht ($1.25) each. She’d bought them from a Myanmar market and we decided to return there today to get a few more. In all Tik had about about 90 DVD’s already but I was greedy for more.
Chiang Rai December 13, 2005
Posted by Martin in : Thailand , add a commentI’d always wrongly assumed that Chiang Rai was a tiny province. It is located in the north of Thailand and is accessible from Chiang Mai. I’ve been there twice before, both times to explore the mountains and woodlands.
