One week down and we are doing pretty good! Still surprised at how easy we have adjusted to the crazy, chaotic, hot, humid, stinky and really easygoing Thai lifestyle. May be beginners luck, but so far doing really good.
Last few days have been pretty cruisy. Mike got a hire car and tried out his driving in this unbelievable Bangkok traffic. He didnt want to practice in his own car that he picks up this week. Mike being Mike, he is doing just great at it all, making it look really easy. Concentration is most definitely the key because there are a million and one little dudes on motorbikes without fear, zipping in and out of the cars constantly, would be very easy for one or two to disappear under a big black hilux! Mike also started playing squach this week. For all of you that know Mike, this new past-time if his is giving me endless amounts of joy and laughter. Refer to photos of Mike in his brand new `squash shoes` to see why I find this so funny - GG you will understand. He has complained non-stop about the soreness in his whole body but plans to play again on Tuesday. We have to go out and buy him a squash racket!
We went house-hunting yesterday. We stumbled on this unbelievable housing complex called "British World" or something. It was huge, about 415 townhouses all jammed in together. The streets were named Oxford St, Islington Lane and it was all done out in a bad Thai style Britian. The sales office was like a room from a tacky British pub! There was a monsterous water fountain, it was huge spurting water in every direction. The guards greeted you with some crazy English military style shouting thing (in Thai though so we couldnt understand a thing). There was a little man who kept handing me an umbrella so I would be shielded from the sun (yeah right). I kept grabbing it off him but I think he wanted to hold it for me while I walked. Really strange. Anyway had a look at a few townhouse, and we think its a choice between those and a similar estate (wihtout the British theme). We just need to work out which is the better location. But both have three bedrooms (well 1 had 2.5) so there is plenty of room for all our visitors!
I spent my first day solo on Friday. Mike went to work and left my on my own. I had a simple job of buying an umbrella, which I managed to do. The umbrella was broken I realised when I got home, but thats ok. I had to catch two taxis and find the umbrella in the massive shopping centre. Apart from a mis-understanding with directions on the way home, I managed to survive the day just fine! When I came back from the shopping trip (took me a few hours!) the maids had popped in and given the apartment a nice clean. Fresh sheets, nicely folded tissues and toilet paper, washed dishes and even hung our freshly laundered clothes up in the wardrobe! How lovely!
Possibly the worst thing that has happened to us (or me) since we arrived, is the discovery that tonic water is really hard to come by. So far we have not ben able to find a shop that sells it. I was planning on spending my time in Thailand sipping gin and tonic while watching the maid clean, but due to lack of tonic, I may be forced to get a job instead. Maybe Mike called ahead and had them remove all the tonic before I arrived!
Well I think thats enough. Love you all x
