Bye, Bye America!

It's the night before my departure to Manila and I'm finally blogging again!! It's been a great summer, full of awesome people and fun times. So much to blog about but I haven't gotten going on it. I will backdate some blogs soon, I promise! Next up, new adventure in Manila. I will make sure to post soon after arrival to keep everyone posted. Sorry I have been such a bad blogger. I am hoping to be better with this new excitement in my life. Love you all.
~annie

What's for Dinner?

I love LOBO spice packets - their Holy Thai Basil packet is phenomenal. I did not realize that they also make a Spaghetti Sauce and Taco Seasoning. I guess the Thais are branching out, but I think I'll stick to my Old El Paso taco seasoning and spaghetti sauce in a jar.

Interesting Menu Options

I love it when restaurants are honest about their limited selections....

One of my favorite "International Flavorities" is Filet Migong complete with Fried Friend. I didn't ask if you get to choose which friend gets fried, but I should have.

Forget red, yellow or green curry, when "rad" curry is on the menu. Vegettables and mashrooms are also delightful.

The hilarious thing about this drink menu is that if you lift the sticker that says "ain", it says "ian", which makes it actually printed as Black Russian and then fixed to say Black Russain.

I didn't get a chance to talking with Run, but I'm sure him would have introduce give for me some great food choices.

I LOVE THAILAND!

The Best Airline Ever Award Goes To....

QATAR AIRWAYS! Seriously, everyone should fly Qatar Airways at least once, just to experience the luxury of the long layover. When Julie and I booked our flights to Bangkok, we were seriously dreading the 11 hour stopover in Doha, Qatar on the way there and the 13 hour stopover on the way back. We were wrong to think that it would be terrible - in fact, it was kind of nice.

The airline provided us with meals, visa fees, hotels and transport to and from the hotels and airport. It was so easy. Upon arrival in Doha, we went to the layover desk, where we received our vouchers, popped through immigration, immediately were met by our transport driver and were whisked off to the hotel for our meals and room. Our layover on the way back was from noon to 1am, but they still hooked us up in one of the "Leading Hotels of the World". Best accommodations we had for the trip, besides maybe the resort we stayed in at the wedding beach. We got to tour around Doha, where Julie and Scott will be living next year, during the day and took glorious naps before boarding our flight back to Casa.

Normally, I check out cheap fares on Expedia or Kayak when planning travel, but I'm now finding myself looking into Qatar Airways first- because it rocks and makes plane travel so much easier. You should check it out, too! They have flights all over the world.

Nuts and Beans

In case you're hungry on a ridiculously long sky train/train/bus/ferry travel excursion, my travel buddy Krista highly recommends getting some Nuts & Beans for a snack. For those of you who are wondering what comes in the Nuts & Beans snack bag, you'll be happy to know it's just cashew nuts. And maybe some of those crazy invisible beans.

The recommendation is that you "consume after opening the package". Krista went ahead and followed those directions, even though it went against her instincts. :)

WARNING!

Apparently, my judgement has never been impaired, since I've never made out with a fish.

Beach Wedding

I'm back everyone! Planning some good posts, so here's one of the first of many more!

One of the highlights of my trip back to the Thai homeland was the beautiful beach wedding of my dear friend Julie and her new husband Scott. They decided to get married on Laguna Beach in Phuket, before the job fair craziness all began. I had the distinguished honor of being the best man while Krista was maid of honor. Another family from Casablanca American School - Lara, Paul, Kira and Kesia came too. Kira even stepped up at the last minute to be the flower girl and she was a total pro, even though it was her first time.

We all got picked up in this classy rig from our kickass hotel. I know many brides would go for a limo or pickup truck, but this van is by far the best wedding transportation I've ever seen.

Although Julie and Scott spent some time looking through the 80 or so options for their decorations and picking just the right one, they didn't actually get the one they picked. However, the heart petals and seashell arch was just the right amounts of pretty and cheesy.

The bride walked herself down the aisle to where her groom was waiting for her. She was super happy and had a totally genuine smile on her face the entire time.

"God love a wedding" was the beginning line from the minister who didn't actually speak any English. He had to bring a translator when he met with Julie and Scott ahead of time. He had a script that he read for the ceremony, although he had a hard time pronouncing the names.. There's no way to write the hilarity of the accent. Julia and S-cott Tidy-man had an awesome sense of humor about all of it.

Even when she couldn't get the ring on his finger!

The R. Fatine girls had a blast - together once again to laugh and celebrate!

By far my favorite part of the wedding was the Love Tree Planting. No one is quite sure where the Thai wedding planners got the idea that planting a love tree in the sand needed to be a part of a Western weddin ceremony - but I'm sure glad they did. After using their love shovel and love watering can to plant their love tree, Julie and Scott moved on to their next activity, while the wedding planner's staff uprooted the tree from the sand and threw it back in the truck for the next wedding. Not sure what that symbolizes...

And then there were fire balloons - and Julie was a bit nervous about the giant ball of fire she was supposed to hold. Bride and groom let three balloons of fire float into the air and off towards the sunset.

Here's a wedding tradition I recognized - champagne! The adults each had a glass before taking more pictures and then heading off to dinner on the beach.

Julie and Scott's day was so special, so I highly recommend it to you adventurous folks out there who want something less traditional for a wedding. There were plenty of laughs and tons of good times, as well as a perfectly legal union of these two wonderful people. Congrats, Mr. and Mrs. Tidy-man!