The in-laws come to Bangkok

My mother- and father-in-law came to town in June and stayed for a few weeks. Here's them hopping about Bangkok. Good times!

Noodle shop

At the local mall. I wonder what raw materials are used in such noodles.

At the movies again

1000 baht is about $30 USD. It's a pricey movie, but when you pay half that in the States, you don't get a dry bed. Imagine how much fun you could have in a dry bed with some corn cheese.

Big sushi

Seen at a local mall.

Mos Burger - Japanese burgers for your eating pleasure!

Good burgers for sipping.

Vietnam - strange sights on the streets of Ho Chi Minh

I'm never quite quick enough to take pictures of all the strange sights I see as we drive around Ho Chi Minh City. Here's a shot of two guys walking down the street some ways from any building with wrapped plates of sandwiches over their shoulders. I'd love to hear the story.

Vietnam - dusk comes to Ho Chi Minh

Ho Chi Minh city really lights up at night. Few cities use neon so well. Here's a shot of dusk, and a quick shot of the town from the airplane. Flying into town is a beautiful sight at night.

Vietnam - Ben Thanh market

A famous indoor market in Ho Chi Minh City. Neat building, and lots of interesting stuff for sale!

Broken elevator

In Vietnam broken elevators sometimes speak Chinese

Vietnam - French Food

More French food in Ho Chi Minh City - this time breakfast, and nibbly things.

See if you can pick out the Paris style omelet, the eggs benedict in sauce and pastry, and Saigon style eggs benedict.

Best Beef

We had seen the "Best Beef" restaurant a few times, and knew we had to go there. We got our chance one weekend when we got together with Ben and Megan. It was great! You pay ~$6 USD for 2 hours of all you can eat fry-it-yourself food. A griddle over hot coals, and a bit of butter on the griddle, and you're in business!

Karma Chameleon

Can you spot the chameleon in this picture?

What if you're a little closer?

How about now?

Who should drink this?

The people who should drink this are the people who usually drink this.  So how do people start drinking it?

Like banker's hours, but better

The hours for American Citizen Services at the US Embassy in Bangkok are 7:30AM-11, and 1-2PM each weekday, minus holidays and a Friday or two a month. Sweet.

That said, their service is excellent, and American citizens have special lines that get us in and out more quickly than everyone else, so no complaints. Plus they added a bunch of visa pages to my passport for free - which is good, because I was running out of free space since every trip to a customer involves 4 stamps (one out one in for Thailand, one in one out for the country I go to).

The new visa pages are quite beautiful, too - see the picture. They also have a famous quote on each page - this one says "We are covered by the American banner; let us cling to it, and if required, sacrifice our lives defending it". I hope my business trips don't require me to give my life for my country, but I suppose you never know.

10 baht

The 10 baht coin is a great coin.  I've always liked the gold inside silver type coin, and the picture of Wat Arun is detailed and attractive.

I can't read most of the Thai on the coin, but the Thai that looks like "90" on one side actually says "10" in Thai numerals.  And the part that looks like "urn" with a backwards "r" means "baht" in Thai (that's a good one to know around town).

This one is fairly worn but the wear actually brings out a bit of the detail on the temple motif.

Currently, 10 baht is around 35 cents USD.

Dim Sum on soi 101

We went to eat some dim sum in a Chinese restaurant with Ben and Megan where we were the only foreigners.  It had an excellent logo, an excellent sign out front, and great dim sum! 

Malaysia - at the office

The Kuala Lumpur office - nice view from the twin towers.  And a microwave that only eats halal.  And a massage chair.

Oh - and a massage chair.