Back to our relaxed life in Thailand

February 14, 2017

We took a nap yesterday in the afternoon and slept for two hours. We relaxed and worked on our email and after Leslie got home we went to a nearby restaurant called Rock. Well it rocked! OMG it was gourmet Thai cuisine. We ordered two starters: one was pomelo slaw and the other one had a small coconut milk pudding topped with a shrimp and sauce on a wafer. OMG both were outstanding. Next came the crab curry and a dish of fried tofu with beans and a sauce and it matched the great curry dish in terms of deliciousness. We decided to try one more dish, a lamb shank curry. I have never tasted lamb like this but look forward to having it again. I could make out the cinnamon but not the other spices. I also had never seen lamb in a Thai dish before. It was terrific. We were given a complimentary dessert that the chef is trying out. Call it a gourmet rice crispy ball. It was puffed rice with a great texture and honey drizzled over it. It was sweet but not overly sweet. What a fine evening of dining pleasure. Ron told the owner that it was terrible and he should give it to customers, but he would take the rest of it home.  We had a good laugh!

 We got up early and enjoyed fresh watermelon, mango and pineapple along with a toasted bagel and some Illy coffee. Gosh it feels like civilization. Yes, I know, who ever heard of Thai bagels. We went to Chit Lom and I got a punk haircut,  then Ron and I went to Asok where we went to arrange a car and driver to take us and all of our luggage to our house in Phetchaburi on Thursday.  Since our travel agent wasn’t there I invited Ron to join me for pedicures together plus I added on a manicure. Pretty romantic Valentine’s Day for the Bergman’s here in Thailand! By the way, Thais seem wild about this holiday. After arranging for the car, we had lunch at a French bistro that we go to every time we are in town. Next was the shopping mall to get chocolate for Auem’s family.

February 18, 2017

Time got away from me. Our dinner with Auem’s family was terrific. We met Auem when she was an exchange student in Portland and living with Nattawan, the woman with whom we share the house in Phetchaburi. We had Auem stay with us during spring break that year and took her to central Oregon.

We ate at her brother Ome’s home. Since we last saw him he has married and has a new two month old son. They live in a development on the outskirts of town in a beautiful two story home. Ome asked us about our so called president and we talked too much about him but he was curious and asked several questions.

On February 15^th we relaxed in the morning and read the NY Times on line since we had not seen any news due to our traveling. Around 11:30 we headed out to lunch.  Ron had suggested one of our favorite places, Crepes and Co. Unfortunately we looked at a new location and it turned out to be in a mega mall which both of us dislike immensely. We never found the place and started over and returned to our original site and enjoyed wonderful savory crepes.

Next we went to a nearby mall to see if we could get a SIM card for my phone to work. NO luck so we headed to the gourmet grocery for some specialty items to take to our house. Back at home we rested and went out for foot massages before a lovely rack of lamb dinner we shared as we have been eating like crazy since we left India. All in all it was a lovely day with romantic meals and foot massages…ah decadence!

February 16 

We got up at 7:00 and we were ready for our car by 8:15. We loaded up with our four large bags, four small carry on bags and some groceries bags. It was full but Ron is a master at ‘spatial relationships’ and got it all to fit easily. Our driver spoke very little English and she drove like a bat out of hell. We made it in record time and quickly unloaded the car and jumped back in to go another 45 minutes to Hua Hin to pick up the rental car as there are no rental places in our town. We stopped at a market that we had not used before in Hua Hin and I felt like a kid in a candy store. After making do without many familiar foods for ten months, I snatched up many items here that I had not seen for that period of time. After spending $175 we headed for home. We unpacked the groceries and spent three hours unpacking our bags and putting things away. At 5:00 I fell into bed exhausted and turned on the AC.

Later, Linn brought us some pad thai take out for dinner. Linn lives in the Big House at the front of our property owned by Pa Cha An. Pa Cha An is in her early 90’s, bed ridden after a bad fall a few years ago and blind. Her spirit however is strong and she is an utter delight. She had 8 or 9 children. Noi, one of her son’s lives next to our house. Linn is his ex  wife. Ae, one of their three daughters, lived here until recently but now lives with her boyfriend and she is expecting a child in a few months. Ae’s son, Hope, is nine and lives here with his grandparents and great grandmother, Pa Cha An.

February 17

We drove back to Hua Hin to meet Kay and Bill for lunch at the duck soup place we always go to. Bill is from Bend and Kay is Thai. She has had many successful Thai restaurants in Oregon. They are married and now live about five hours south of us. They were in Hua Hin to celebrate Kay’s brother’s birthday. Bill and Kay have a small condo in Hua Hin and a lovely home on the beach in a small town on the Thai peninsula. We went shopping for a counter top mini oven to expand our cooking potential here since the micro wave oven died last time we were here.  Afterwards we went to B & K’s to visit some more. From there we went to Simon’s birthday party. We stayed a couple of hours then headed home as we still feel unsettled and had more household shopping to do which we did on the way home.

Back at home by 9:00 p.m. and ate a snack and put away things we had bought. Ron set up the oven and we managed to stay awake until 12:30. I needed to call my credit union as I never received my pin for my debit card. Being 15 hrs ahead of west coast time is tricky in terms of hooking up via Skype during working hours. Off we went to bed.

February 18, 2017

I didn’t get up until 9:30, most unusual for me. But we hit the road running as it were. Ron made us a yummy breakfast, we cleaned up the kitchen and went to work. I cleaned out under the kitchen sink (why were there three empty bottles of window cleaner?) and under the counter where we keep cookware and one other area in the kitchen. After sorting through stuff, throwing some items away, putting other items aside to give away or store under the beds as they are rarely if ever used. I cleaned off the shelves and we now have a much better functioning kitchen. It was after 3:00 when we stopped. We took some stuff up to the tool room at the big house.  Then we rested in the AC as the afternoons are hot. March will be even hotter and April will be on fire. However not like Ahmedabad.  It's good to be in our little Thai home!