First Christmas Party in Bangkok

I can't believe today is the last day of November! The entire month just flew by. I know I promised to update this blog more often -- I should be ashamed for breaking that promise! But things have been crazy around here.

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Well, that's not the only thing that I should be ashamed of. I am way, way behind on my Christmas shopping! We just started shopping for gifts yesterday, to think I had our list up and ready since October. So now I'm rushing to complete my Christmas shopping before we fly home.
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Speaking of enjoying the holidays, Aly and I attended our first Christmas party for the season last Friday. It was our first Christmas party in Bangkok as well.
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It was a masquerade themed party with the Cenacle group.
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aAly and I wore our matching Christmas dresses from last year.
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Aly and Jianna.
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Part of the group picture.
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The view from the pool deck was fantastic!
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It was a fun night with friends! The food was great! The star of the night was, ofcourse, the lechon. I think it was the only thing on the buffet table that had my full attention. Heehee! Too bad my dear hubby missed it. He was in Manila for a business trip.

Guess Who's Back?

Yes, it's me. Sorry for the long absence. Things have been crazy around here. Good crazy; crazy but good :)
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I have a lot of catching up to do: our 2nd wedding anniversary weekend, my in-laws' visit and so much more that I don't know where to begin.
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Christmas is around the corner, by the way. All that's missing is the nippy BKK winter weather. Nevertheless, our hot pink Christmas tree is up and I'm starting to work on our Christmas gift list.
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Speaking of gifts, I'm also starting to look around for gift ideas for Aly, Richard and myself :) Heehee! See, I told you. I'm back!

Single Parent for a Week

The hubby is away on a week-long business trip. Sigh...this is going to be one hell of a week for me. You see, Richard's usually in charge of weekday mornings. He gets up early, prepares breakfast, and wakes up Aly as well. He only wakes me up at the last minute when Aly's ready to take a bath. Mornings are going to be tough for sure.
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I'm proud of my husband and his work. I just hope he doesn't have to go on these business trips too often. I know this is all for the best. I also know that this it's not easy for him to leave me and Aly behind, but it's one part of his job that we all have to endure.
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When Richard told Aly during breakfast last Saturday that he will be going away, she cried. Poor Aly was looking at me in such away that it broke my heart. It was like she was telling me to do something about it; to not let her daddy leave. But I couldn't. I just told her that daddy will be back soon. I also had to explain to her why her daddy had to leave. I also told Aly that she should be proud of her dad; they're sending him on these trips because that means he's very important to the company.
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It wasn't easy having to comfort my little girl while trying to hold back my own tears. Eventually she got over it, or at least we thought she did, because that night she asked her dad: "when are you going to stop working?" I guess what she really meant by that was, "when are you going to stop going on these business trips?" Heehee!
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Anyway, as a treat for our little girl, Richard told me to take Aly out to the mall for lunch on Sunday so she won't feel so sad. So after hearing mass, we headed to Central World Mall. Her restaurant of choice was Pepper Lunch. "It's my favorite restaurant, mommy!"
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Aly and Mommy. She got the burger steak. She said it reminds her of her favorite Jollibee Burger Steak. Heehee!
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aI usually get the Hitokuchi cut steak, but I wanted to try something else naman so I got the Beef Pepper Rice. It was yummy!
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Ofcourse, it wasn't the same without Richard, but at least Aly got her smile back. I wish Friday would some sooner.

MRT

If BTS Sky Train is above ground, MRT naman is underground. They run through different routes, but there are certain stations where they have BTS/MRT interchange. I loved my first MRT ride so much, I told Richard and Aly that we should try it together. So last Saturday, we rode the MRT to Chatuchak. When I told Aly that we're going to ride a different train, she asked me if it's like a rollercoaster. Sabi ko, "Babe, hindi sya tulad ng Space Mountain. Regular train lang sya." Heehee!
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Another first train ride for Aly. MRT naman this time.
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aI thought the Sky Train was tops, but I think the MRT station is better. Aircon kasi, at saka feeling ko nasa ibang bansa ako dito. Heehee!
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aMRT is less crowded compared to the Sky Train.
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aHappy to share this new experience with my hubby :)
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aSuper long escalator.
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aThis is where you wait for the train, but we realized that we were in the wrong terminal. Eeeek! So we had to go back up.
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aPicture muna before going back up.
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aUp on the super long escalator again.
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aWe are here...
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a...and this is where we're going. Ang layo!
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aWhat's that I hear?
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Little Miss Kulit.
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aThe train is here!
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Yipee!
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aEmerging from the MRT station.
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aAbove ground once again. We landed right smack in the middle of Chatuchak.
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The Sky Train can take you to Chatuchak as well, and it's actually shorter with ten stops from Chong Nonsi station compared to MRT's 13 stops from Silom station (these are the two nearest stations from our place, and the shuttle can take you there for free). But, if I were to choose, I'd take the MRT even if it's longer because it lands right at the heart of the weekend market. With the Sky Train, you need to walk a bit more to get to the market itself.

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What I love about Bangkok is their efficient transportation system. I'm ashamed to say that I don't ride the MRT back home, but here in Bangkok, I ride the train most of the time especially during my lunch time lakwatsa when the hubby's at work and the daughter is in school. It's clean and safe...hindi sya nakakatakot. And you won't get lost because they provide you with maps that indicate certain attractions that you will find along their route. I got myself a copy so I can explore the city more. Sawa na ko with the places that I usually go to with the Sky Train, I can't wait to discover new places with the MRT :)

Lunch Market at Silom

Ok, I'm not really sure what it's called so I'll name it lunch market. I discovered this by accident on one adventure-filled Tuesday. Here's the short on what happened to me on that Tuesday: my real plan was to check out the big Crocs sale at QSNCC, but I wasn't able to buy anything because there were so many people. Sayang, 50-70% off pa naman, but I didn't feel really bad because my real intention was to buy something for Aly and they didn't have many styles and sizes to choose from. Anyway, to make the most of my trip, I decided to try the MRT. If the BTS Sky Train is above ground, MRT naman is underground. I rode the MRT for the first time and I loved it! More kwento about that in a separate post. I got off at Silom station and from there, I explored the area on foot. I really just wanted to look for a place to eat lunch, but I ended up discovering two lunch markets along the way. I went home with blisters on my feet but I was happy with my new discovery.
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What is a lunch market anyway? A lunch market is a tiangge of sorts that cater mainly to the office crowd who are out on their lunch break. You see them mostly in the sois (small street) near office buildings and they usually have a food court nearby. I'm not sure though if they are still open in the afternoons, but they are usually closed on weekends.
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I went back last Thursday to explore the lunch market some more. This time, I brought a camera and I wore flip flops. Heehee! Oh, I also discovered that they have a Villa Market nearby. According to my Nancy Chandler map, Villa Market is the expat's supermarket so there's another reason for me to go back :)
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At the lunch market. Sorry, wrong angle, I should have lowered my arm a bit :)
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aHere's a peek. Here you will find factory overruns for kids and adults galore, food, clothes and more clothes! I got there early, kaya konti pa lang ang tao, but during lunch time, this place was packed!
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aThai desserts. I wanted to try some, but the manang was masungit so I decided not to buy from her.
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aAnother discovery. Cafe Naam. I went here for lunch last Tuesday, and I ate here again last Thursday.
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aThe staff are friendly, the place looks cozy...if I were to put up my own restaurant, I'd like it to be like this :)
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aMy lunch: penne pasta with 3 kinds of sausages in tomato sauce and lychee juice. I loved the lychee juice so much, I had two glasses. Heehee!
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aI like this place. I can't wait to share this with Richard and Aly.

Light Painting

Here's my attempt at light painting. I learned all about it from the Digital Photography School.
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Test shot done by Alyannah. This is her attempt at writing the letter A.
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aMy turn.
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aRichard's heart.
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aA for Alyannah.
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aAly's circles.
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aKrisan dapat to, pero kinulang ng oras.
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aKaya Kris na lang.
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aPwede! But I need more practice :)
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Gear: Canon EOS 400d, SLIK tripod and my Nokia Cellphone for the flashlight. Wala kasi kaming maglight. Hehe!

Easy Peasy Dessert

It's super easy because all I had to do was put them together on a plate.
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Clockwise from top: dark chocolate, baked apples with cinnamon, Sara Lee French Cream Cheesecake (yes, the frozen variety).
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With the exception of the baked apples, everything else was store-bought. Oh, the chocolate pala was a pasalubong from Richard's officemate who came from Australia. *Shoutout to my cousin Chi who's in Australia! Hope all is well! The baked apples is another resurrected/recycled dish. It's been sitting in the ref for quite some time. I just cut it up, tossed in brown sugar and cinnamon, and baked until done.
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It was a nice treat for the whole family; eating "dressed" up dessert for a change.