Bollywood-Bangkok Style

If you have seen the movie "Slumdog Millionaire" you may remember the very last scene when the entire cast is dancing to music-Bollywood style. Here's a link...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQGb9g4SY_I

Well, the American Women's Club had a Bollywood class last week and it was VERY interesting watching everyone dance. For my friends who wanted to see me dance-yea right I'm going to put a video of me dancing! But, I do have some pictures from the day!

Allison, Shelly, Our instructor, and me. (Yes, we were very sweaty)

Dance instruction

Wine Tour

On Saturday we attended our first AMCHAM (The American Chambers of Commerce Abroad) event-a wine tour. The day started out with the group taking four vans to a school outside of Bangkok for a dedication ceremony. AMCHAM's Young Professionals raised money to build a new playground, as well as supplying new books and furniture for the school's library. Our group was there for the ceremony which included; passing out toys and candy, watching the children perform a dance and taking a tour around the school grounds. It was a nice way to start our tour.

After leaving the school we headed out to the Siam Winery, Thailand's largest wine producer, to observe how wine is made. We walked through the factory, had lunch accompanied by a presentation, saw the floating vineyards and enjoyed some wine. It was a long, hot day but we both enjoyed the tour and meeting new people.

Chiang Mai-Day 2

On Sunday morning we woke up and walked over to "The Corner" restaurant in the Old City of Chaing Mai. The city is very small and easy to walk around. Around the Old City you will also find many many bridges because of a moat that surrounds this square shaped city. After breakfast we jumped in a songtaew (which is a pick up truck with seats in the back bed) and rode that up to the temple Doi Suthep. After a half hour of winding rodes up the mountain, with 9 other Thai people in the back of the truck, we were ready to get out! At Doi Suthep we climbed the 306 stairs to the entrance of the temple. Our favorite part about the temple was the view. From one side we were able to see the entire city of Chiang Mai-quite a sight.

Our temple visit didn't last too long because it was pretty hot up there. On our way back to the songtaew we ran into some friends we had met the day before and took their truck home. This was a much better deal because they were the only ones in the truck. After being dropped off near the hotel we grabbed some lunch, walked through the markets and then took a cab to the airport. We were exhausted but had a great experience in Chiang Mai. We are hoping to go back again sometime!

Ringing the bells for good luck!

Chiang Mai-Day 1

This past weekend we boarded a quick flight to the Northern part of Thailand where we visited a small town called Chiang Mai. This is a beautiful town set in the hills of Thailand. Our adventure on Saturday was zip lining through the tree tops in the jungle. The tour was called "flight of the gibbons" and after harnessing us up; we did about 16 zip lines through the trees. I have included some video footage from the zip lining but was unable to rotate one of the videos-sorry.

Getting ready to start the adventure

John on the zip line

Alicia holding the camera while soaring through the trees

After zip lining we headed back to the village and had a Thai lunch with our group. Following lunch we were dropped off at a local park where we climbed a steep trail to the top of a waterfall. It was a great afternoon!


That night we met up with some of our zip lining group members for dinner and drinks. We ended the night surrounded by "backpackers" (hippies traveling through Thailand) at a reggae bar called Roots Rock Reggae. Most of the night was filled with great people watching!

Siam PVS Chemicals

During the work week John divides his time between the office and plant. On Monday's and Friday's he is in the office and Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday he heads out to the plant. The office, which is about 4 miles from our apartment, usually takes John an hour to get there because of traffic.

Here is a quick summary of what Siam PVS does...

"Siam PVS Chemicals Co.,Ltd. (SPVS) The plant utilizes advanced membrane technology that enables the supply of high quality caustic soda, liquid chlorine, hydrochloric acid and sodium hypochlorite, basic raw materials for major Thai industries such as textiles and rayon, pulp and paper, monosodium glutamate, foods and drinks, soaps and detergents, chemicals, steel and water treatment. The company's quality conforms to the requirements of the Thai Industrial Standards Institute. " -take from the website http://www.siampvs.com/

Here are a few pictures from the Siam PVS office.

Pictures from the plant tour. Also, if you are wondering why we are wearing Hawiian shirts it's because this was the same day as the Songkran celebration at the plant.

Bangkok Protesting and Songkran

I just wanted to inform you all of what is going on in Bangkok. First off, we are all safe and okay. Most of the protesting is happening a few miles west or north of us. Yesterday began the first day of Songkran (Thai New Year) and it was a little unsettling to see the news in the morning. Things seemed pretty chaotic and everyone we talked to had been told by their employers to stay in and not go out on the streets. We heard that Songkran celebrations had been canceled and no one could get anywhere because the streets were blocked by protestors. So, we spent the morning and most of the afternoon indoors watching the news. Throughout the day things began to quiet down a bit and I received a call from a friend that there were many Thai people celebrating Songkran on a street not far from us. We called a few people and decided to meet up at a pub to see the sights. It was INSANE! As we stepped off the train there was music and people everywhere! People were shooting water guns, throwing buckets of water, rubbing white powder on each other and spraying hoses in the streets. Needless to say, we didn't' stay dry very long but had a great afternoon watching people soak one another. Even with the terrible things that have been happening here the past few days the Thai's still managed to make the best of this holiday and tried to forget about the political situation for a day. John and I, as well as everyone around here, are hoping that the prime minister is able to do something about this situation soon. It is giving Thailand bad press and is not great for tourism around the country. We appreciate those of you who have sent messages concerning our safety. Know that we are safe and will try to keep you all informed if there are any other updates.

We celebrated Songkran at the Siam PVS plant on Wednesday. I have included a few pictures that I was able to take before putting my camera away so it wouldn't get soaked.

Back in Bangkok!

Between skiing, meetings, girls weekends, basketball games, Jersey Boys, Drew's baptism, and visiting with family and friends, John and I had an amazing time back home. When we met up in Tokyo we both had many stories to share with one another for the last leg back to Bangkok.

When we arrived home we were greeted by massive thunder storms and extreme heat. It seems that the rainy season has fallen upon us earlier than expected. Every day since we have been home it has been very humid and hazy in the morning and then around 3 or 4 in the afternoon the storm clouds begin to roll in. The showers typically last about an hour or so but the cool breeze that comes in with the storms feels great! The rainy season usually lasts until around September so it seems that we will just have to get used to the rainy afternoons.

When we were returned home we were also greeted by a visitor. John's friends Dave flew in a day before us and is spending the next few days here at our home. He seems to be enjoying the "land of smiles" and tells us almost every night how he is ready to move here. He has had some great opportunities to experience real Thai culture since he has been here and we look forward to showing him more in the next few days. Lots of good pictures and stories to share...more to come.

Here are a few pictures from our trip back to Chicago!