Captain Bird's Eye

Screenshots

Have caught on to the whole Google Earth thing recently. Bangkok's really well covered - check out our house at (13.8722, 100.5767). If you shift to the right a little bit, you'll see why outdoor conversations are sometimes interrupted (hint: look for a big white thing with wings). Talking of airports, one thing you can't help noticing when landing at BKK is the golf course on the runway. I'm absolutely serious - you look out the window, and someone's swinging a club maybe 20m away, and there's no fence or anything. With my infamous slice, I'd definitely take out a Cessna or two. Check it out at (13.9026, 100.6012). For those without Google Earth, you can view the screenshots here...

Seen 'em Mall

OK, so I'm not much of a shopper - in fact, not a shopper in any way. But Bangkok is (in) famous for its Malls, and even I grudgingly admit they can be impressive. Today I was in the newest, shiniest one, called Paragon. Aside from the acres of waterfalls and the choreographed fountains, I was assaulted by 100" plasma TVs for sale (bigger even than a Matt Fradley), and tripped over the Ferraris and Lamboughinis littering the 4th(!) floor. But most alarming were the 3D flat-screen advertising TVs that are liberally scattered around. Remarkably convincing - you want to reach out and grab them - how do they do that then?

Chez Wilson

So you know how when you're travelling, you meet a lot of people and casually say, 'well, if you're ever in the area, then do look me up'. I guess living next to Bangkok airport means people often are in the area and do look us up! We've currently got Susan from NY staying, and now also a guy from Israel who's happily called Guy, and seems like a nice Guy. Anyway, he's just baked some chocolate brownies, so he can stay.

Sights of Laos

Photos

Given that it was a last minute decision to go to Laos, and we didn't know what to expect, it turned out to be a fantastic trip. Beautiful places, friendly people, and still communist! I've uploaded some photos if you want to take a look...

Monky Business

Lao Monks

One thing you'd notice in both Laos and Thailand is that there are Bhuddist monks everywhere. Loads of them. Their orange robes kind of stand out, and also make them remarkably photogenic. I've discovered that the reason behind their numbers is that actually all men are expected to become monks at least once in their life - kind of like National Service, I guess. Except with alms bowls rather than Enfield rifles.