Christmas on Walnut Avenue

Home for Christmas.
And before everyone disperses.

We're looking forward to hooking up with Michael and Kristine for New Years.

Christmas Album with thumbnails

Merry Christmas everyone

Vicki and I are now engaged!

I'll be posting pictures of Christmas with the Grandparents soon...

Merry Christmas from Chiang Mai

It's Christmas Eve and yes, we had Thais singing Christmas carols for us at our hotel.

More Chaing Mai

Grilled fish

Assorted seafood

Motorbike delivery.

Chedis at a Wat in Chaing Mai

Beef noodle soup for about 80 cents a bowl. We've been here less than a week and this is fast becoming our favorite place for lunch.

More pictures on the travel blog: hermanandalan.blogspot.com

Smokie at Winter Camp

Smokie and Dolly knee deep in snow at Winter Camp in Tehachapi

Getting comfortable in Chaing Mai

Our first hotel in Chaing Mai, the Tapzae Place Hotel. Not a bad place for around $25 a night including breakfast. Not a fancy buffet breakfast but eggs, toast, a razor-thin slice of ham, the tiniest hot dog you ever saw, mystery juice, and coffee or tea.

The room is decent although the furniture is a bit worn.

We decided to change to a small guest house after a few days for about the same price, although no breakfast included. The family-run Sri-Pat Guest House is a bit more quiet, with slightly smaller rooms but spotless and well run.

We'll spend Christmas and New Years here before heading to Chaing Rai.

Christmas In Chaing Mai time:

Bangkok

View from our room

Back in Bangkok after a delay of five days because a mob of anti-government protesters decided to shut down the airport to make their point. We arrived just after midnight on the first United Airlines flight to resume service into Bangkok. The plane was about two-thirds full and the airport was pretty deserted when we arrived at 12:10 am on December 9.

We arrived at our hotel at 1:30 am and were in bed by 2:00 am. We were both wide awake and unable to go back to sleep by 5:30 am.

The hotel lobby with a blue-lit Christmas Tree. I don't know how many Thai people actually celebrate Christmas but there are no shortages of Christmas decorations around town.

Our first day in Bangkok and we headed to the mall to see a movie. Every mall complex in the Siam shopping district has a multiplex theater on the top floor. They're all very modern and new but they all play the same five or six films.

We settled on seeing the new Bond film (just OK). Remember when James Bond could actually smile? And when did James Bond turn into the Terminator?

We also went to see "The Day the Earth Stood Still". All I can say is save your money.

Theater tickets here are just under $3.00 (all reserved seating). You get to pick your actually seats, similar to many theaters in Europe. The theaters are all very cold as the Thai people equate air conditioning with being better off, so the lower the temperature, the more privileged you are. You also have to sit through about a half hours of previews and commercials before you're requested to stand and pay your respects to the king. Then the movie you actually paid to see can begin.

The malls in Bangkok are all trying to out-do each other with newer and flashier stores. The biggest draws however are the eating establishments. Unlike the malls back home where the eating concessions are all very controlled and similar, the Thai malls have a greater variety to choose from. Eating establishments are located in multiple areas of the malls and they're usually always full whenever the malls are open.

Thanksgiving in Tehachapi

We took Smokie down to Tehachapi, where he will spend his winter, while we're off to warmer climates (that's if we ever get there).

We drove to Palm Springs for a day where we played some tennis (between rainstorms) and visited some friends, including our crazy friend (yes, we do have a crazy friend in Palm Spings).
We returned to Tehachapi where we spent Thanksgiving. It was just the four of us but Jeffery made Turkey, Ham, Stuffing, Scalloped Potatoes (Alan's favorite), Salad, Beans, and we had Pumpkin and Boston Cream Pies when we already had too much to eat.

We're pretty sure Smokie will survive the winter in Tehachapi. For one thing, he'll get to sleep on the large leather couch there. It'll be easier on his old bones and joints.

Plus Dolly will be there with him. She just had more surgery to remove a few more tumors. Hopefully they got it all this time.