Out of the 11 of us who went, two have a fear of flying. Both mine. Husband and daughter. And for some reason they both watch air crash investigation religiously.
This was probably the longest day of my life. We were up at 5am one day and didn't get to bed until 2.30am the next day. The trouble with Australia is that its so big. It can be disheartening to realise that you've been flying for over four hours and that you're still flying over Australia. It was an 8 hour flight to Bankok from Sydney. Must give Thai Airways a rap though. Their service was very good. And I did eat the food despite Emjays warning. We had potato salad with shaved turkey, then chicken sliced in red curry with bamboo shoot, steamed thai hom mali rice and stir fried mixed vegetables. Then later we had stir fried prawn with black bean sauce, rice noodles and choy sum.
At Bankok airport we walked about 40 kilometres to get to the transfer point for Phuket. Then it was an hours flight to get there.
Stepping out of the airport it was pretty hot and humid. But easier for us I guess coming from a hot australian summer than people coming from Europe. Taxi drivers everywhere but we had a driver booked and he was waiting there for us and we were soon off on a 30 minute drive to Karon.
I think we broke every australian road rule within the first ten minutes. Speeding, no seat belts, driver talking on the mobile phone, overtaking on blind spots, driving on the wrong side of the road. The roads are mad there. Bikes and scooters everywhere. Not unusual to see three on a scooter and a lot of women have little bamboo chairs tied in front of them where a little kid sits.
We were glad to arrive and get booked in and into bed at last. Daz and I only had a couple of hours sleep before we had a phone call from home saying there'd been a huge storm and my car was hail damaged. They didn't know it was 4.30am. So I couldn't get back to sleep so we went for a walk around the streets of Karon Beach before breakfast.
Like I said, everyone rides scooters. You can buy petrol in old vodka cruiser bottles. Just by the roadside there are stalls with rows of cruiser bottles full of petrol. This is the workers car park where we stayed.
And there are dogs everywhere. And they all look well fed and most have collars. They're just allowed to roam. But they never bother you. I never had one take any notice of us. We had a look inside a school yard and there were about a dozen dogs just lazing around on the grass. I never saw them fighting either. Always on the beach as well. Even if you're sitting outside eating they don't come up to you. I know that as well as the elephant sanctuary and the gibbon sanctuary there is a dog sanctuary as well though.
Vanishing Oatmeal Raising Cookies
Ingredients
• 1 cup margarine (or butter), softened
• 1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 egg replacers (or eggs)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking spice (or cinnamon)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups Quicker Quaker Oats or Old-Fashioned Quaker oats, uncooked
• 1 cup raisins
Directions
• Heat oven to 350°F.
• Beat together margarine and sugars until creamy.
• Add eggs and vanilla; beat well.
• Add combined flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; mix well.
• Stir in oats and raisins; mix well.
• Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet.
• Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown.
• Cool 1 minute on cookie sheet; remove to wire rack.
• Makes about 4 dozen.
• Bar Cookies: Bake 30 to 35 minutes in ungreased 13x9-inch metal baking pan.
We had to be at the airport at 6am the day we flew out, so we spent the night before in Sydney. We stayed near China Town.
Which is near Darling Harbour.
Which is a real tourist hot spot. Nice place though. Right in the middle of the city. Those buildings are the city centre, so you just walk over a little bridge and here you are, on the water.
We had a meal at a seafood restaurant that cost us about the same amount as all our meals combined for a week in Thailand.
Then Jem and I played in the toilets for a while.
I could have done with this survival pack on the plane. But of course we'd packed it in our check in luggage.
And then it was time to go home and have an early night because we had to be up at 5am.
But we didn't. We went to another bar and discussed plane crash strategy.
We decided we should have a common song to blow on our life jacket whistles if we crashed so we would all be able to meet somewhere. We first thought jingle bells was a good idea but then someone said deck the halls. But we decided all that fa la la la la - ing would be too taxing on our energy. So then we thought three blind mice was a good one because it was nice and easy. Jem was confused by then and we said that we'd all be 3 blind mice-ing our way towards each other and we'd hear this little lone jingle bells whistle tune and we'd all go - no, thats not one of our group.
I didn't make any resolutions for this year, but reflecting back on the ones I made last year -- at least two of them involved exploring myself more creatively, artistically and through writing which I feel like I absolutely did. So thanks for that, 2009, but otherwise I'm gladly welcoming 2010 with open arms. :)
Well we're back home and what can I say about Thailand. Only that if you've ever thought about going there, pack your bags and go now.
And all those people who tell you horror stories about the place, well I don't think they've ever been.
I never felt as if the cleaning ladies night steal things from my room, or that people would be trying to snatch my bag from me on the streets. I was never yelled at or assualted by a ladyboy or hassled by hawkers trying to sell me things. I never felt unsafe on the streets at night, I wasn't sick from eating the food, and I'd sucked down a large lime and kiwi fruit crushed ice drink before I remembered I wasn't supposed to eat the ice. And I never had anyone try to sell me dodgy water in a reused bottle. Even though there were a lot of tourists there it didn't seem overcrowded and I never met a local thai person who was anything but friendly and helpful and always had a smile on their face. I even got used to them calling me mum all the time. And they have a great sense of humour.
The food was fantastic. Thai people really love their chilli. Chilli in everything. I ate shrimp pad thai, green chicken curry, lots of spicy noodle dishes and a spicy prawn soup that took my breath away and had Daz running to the bar to get me a bottle of water.
We definitley needed longer there. 14 nights I'd suggest. So much to see and do. Before we went I always wondered why people said they'd been to Thailand three or four times. But now I do. I'm already thinking of going back there but higher up, to Chaing Mai.
Anyway, the time just raced by. I didn't look at a computer or a television while I was away. And 5 o clock just won't be the same now without an apple mohito in the lobby bar at happy hour.
We didn't have a rainy day while we were there. There was one 5 minute downpour one night while we were having dinner.
I wrote a journal while I was away so when I unpack I'll be able to tell you all a bit more about the place and show some photos.
Here are a couple from a tour we did of Phi Phi Island where they filmed The Beach. The water over there is unbelievable. Clear and clean and just the right temperature.
This time last year -- in fact, it was exactly Christmas day -- Damian took this photo of Francie on the trail. She had just spotted that dog in the background coming her way, and -- super obedient and submissive girl that she was -- immediately dropped to the ground in a nonthreatening posture.
I now have this photo beautifully framed in my home. I think of her and love her every day.
Source: King Arthur Flour
Comments: Okay, I don't have any honey, so I used agave nectar. I made the bread vegan because well, I could. It was very tasty but got crumbly after a few days. It is a pretty dense bread and takes a long time to rise. I also used my brand new cast iron bread loaf pan I got for xmas! It is awesome. I was worried about the bread sticking but it had no chance. Look at the browning! Nice.
One sewing project...
...and one very patient cat...
...and one very creative little girl.
Plus, one phone call to AAA, lunch with one friend, and one birthday cake to be made for tomorrow.
Hope your day was as lovely as mine!
Yea, I know Christmas is over but this was too awesome not to mention!! Someone put up instructions on how to make your very own Puzzle Bobble Stockings!
I made us some Disney stockings but I might have to bust out with these next year!! Enjoy!!
Civil penguins and elusive Nobbles
Boston Globe Book Reviews By Peter Neumeyer
Entire fictional universes, made to scale and complete in every detail, have been created by daring writers such as Jonathan Swift (“Gulliver’s Travels’’) and Jean de Brunhoff (“The Story of Babar’’). Daniel Schallau’s Icetown in “Come Back Soon’’ warrants inclusion in any listing of great literary landscapes.
Icetown, inhabited solely by penguins, is an architectural fantasy, splendid with a new ice hotel, designed by Elephant, who gets invited back to celebrate his creation.
Amid the festivities, the giant snowball Elephant is riding goes haywire and smashes into the hotel. With the help of all the penguins, matters are soon set aright. Readers will be left with a deep affection for the penguins, who treat each other with unfailing courtesy and rationality, offering us a model for behavior that encourages both civility and thriving commerce. The entire tale intriguingly takes place on two levels: the detailed primary illustrations, which then are platonically repeated in a shadow play against the icy landscape and the wintry sky.
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