Ramblings of a Mallen

Food in Chiang Mai

2010-07-05T15:21:00.001+10:00

Coming from Australia, I am used to reading a lot of blogs about a lot of restaurants before going out for dinner. I would go as far as to say that every restaurant or cafe that i am going to, i will google it. So coming to settle in Chiang Mai for a bit i noticed that there are very very few restaurant reviews/blogs, well in english anyway! So i might just have to start me another food-based-blog!

oh hell yeh dawwwg

2010-04-20T11:05:00.002+10:00

One day to go! And BOY am i glad. No more office dronery thanks to my current boss. No more slacking off like i do in a massive way here. No more resenting the super-cold aircon and lack of office fun. I'm done like a dinner!!! WOOO!

The last week at any job is always quite funny. You've long checked out of working and its time wasting at the extreme. Filing emails (that no one will ever read), filing documents (that no one will ever read), deleting documents and saving personal files. I am d o n e with this place. And i think my "farewell lunch" last week was indicative of how crap this place is to work. 5 people showed up. oh the joy. went ok for me though - couple of pear bulmers down my gullet ;) Happy days!

So bring on 5pm tomorrow guys!! Wooo! Party times!

Sigh

2010-03-30T11:42:00.002+11:00

So its about 15 days left of work and its awful. I am so ready to just walk out the door, say my goodbyes to those I like and just a simple "see-ya" to the rest of them.

Its an awful thing, winding down the workload to something thats not so bad to handover to someone. There is zero passion, zero motivation and a whole lot a paper shuffling and desk organising! Its very boring, very very boring. At least i get paid!!

This next weekend is actually the Easter long weekend - hooray! 4 days off to catch up on sleep and relax is what i am very excited about. There's a group of 12 of us heading to a holiday house in Vincentia for the 4 days & its going to be a feasting and drinking weekend. Very nice! No doubt the weather will be rubbish as it always is at Easter, but thats ok. I'll take a pile of books and do some cooking too. Really need this down time.

This weekend just gone was the wedding of Fletcher and Gemma...awww! They got married in Wollongong at the offensive, i mean inspiring time of 8am on Sunday 28 March. It was a really lovely, happy, fun ceremony and the reception was nice too. Breakfast goodies and sparkling wine with OJ for those who rocked up. Hopefully they have a wonderful marriage and a happy life together :)

Resignation

2010-03-18T10:55:00.002+11:00

Tuesday 16th March heralded a good day...it was the day i handed in my resignation. This is good news, great news. Its the start of some exciting times. I have been rather unhappy with my work situation for probably about a year now. My boss is not someone who inspires, challenges and supports me as a good manager should. Instead he is petty, weak and boring. I feel that during my time working under him, i have stagnated. I am petty about work, i am demotivated to challenge myself or work for the greater good. I dread coming to work where i have the task of sitting 2 meters from him.

The regination letter is always something fun to prepare. Short and sweet is the key, I think. When you go into detail, put issues down on paper, the lable of "crazy", "bitter" and "stupid" come to mind. No need for any of that. I simply wrote that im leaving, and i am going on to live in the land of rice and fish sauce. Not much that my boss could say - flights are booked, visas are getting arranged and its all happening. I gave 5 weeks notice, hopefully they manage to find a replacement for the team as we are already 2 people down and with another staff member (from another team) resigning and leaving last friday, its getting a bit bare in these parts.

I will miss working with certain people here, but there are some major things that need to be looked at and hopefully fix. I hope they do get fixed cause there are some amazing people, amazing work and its a great organisation.

xx

Televised Staff Awards night

2010-03-08T16:14:00.001+11:00

So...the day of the Oscars is upon us and i have to say, god damn what a stupid event. Its like watching a staff awards night. No one except for the "team members" actually care about the awards given out, no one knows the people that get thanked (unless they are other celebrities who we know by name only) and the crying, the sobbing, the elation is just so boring.

I'd rather watch the Simpsons than the Oscars. Actually, i'd rather watch ANYTHING than the Oscars. And lucky for me, its been on the tv's in the break out room at work all day. JOY.

UH OH 2010

2010-03-03T13:15:00.002+11:00

Soooooo...

Its been MONTHS since i had time (or desire) to post again on this old blog, but here goes. Lots has happened since October last year...We were in Thailand until mid-December and then returned home just in time for Christmas/New Years/ all that jazz. It was really hard to leave Chiang Mai, tears were shed, thats for sure. The kids, our friends, the lifestyle, the work....it all was so amazing and life changing!

My brother got engaged to his girlfriend, and they are marrying in March this year <3 How nice! Its a morning wedding, early morning down in Wollongong so should be lovely! Theres been a little drama on Gemma's side of the family, but otherwise everything seems to be going along fine! I hope its a great wedding :) and i hope they have a wonderful life ahead together.

My sisters boyfriend moved into our terrace so now there are 5 of us living there (Mick and I moved back in when we got back - yay cheap rent!). Seems to be going all famously!

My dear Grandmother passed away only a few weeks back (on Valentines day actually!). Very sad, she was 88 years old and the last of my grandparents. The funeral was lovely and it was really nice to see some relatives who i don't get to see that often...always the way it seems (unfortunately)...that when funerals occur, the family gets together. Mum obviously is very upset, but i think there is some relief...GMa was tired...y'know. RIP <3

There's been parties, bbq's, festivals, adventures and everything in between, and also lots of planning...planning to go back to Chiang Mai!!! We head off on 3rd May, departing Melbourne (after Joe and Wanz's wedding <3) to Singapore, Singapore to Chiang Mai. Not exactly sure what is going to occur but fabulous things, no doubt. Work doesn't know yet, but i have already drafted the resignation letter.

Very exciting times ahead, again!

xx

I've been slack...but heres update #1

2009-10-22T15:16:00.005+11:00

This i know! But its been busy busy busy and doesnt look like its going to let up any time between now and when we leave!

Freedom House is going along peachy - aside from the whining failure, but hey, things can't always be great! The kids are learning a lot ( i hope!) and we have gotten a few more students in the last couple of weeks in both the younger class and the older classes.

We had the dudes from Melbourne over here for 2 weeks and while they were here we did a trip into Laos - lots of fun. Its just such a gorgeous country! We stayed at the same bungalows Mick and I stayed at a year ago when we travelled though Laos - 70,000kip (~$9) for a gorgeous little bungalow right on the Nam Song river!

Laos is probably my favourite country of all - i love the people, the lifestyle, the history - all of it. Vang Vieng, although its a backpacker town, in low season it is gorgeous - wide dusty streets, bed-bars, hammocks. Awesome! But i would HATE to come high season when the backpackers are out in force. We got to see some "party pics" when we were booking our bus back to Vientiane and it was like my worst nightmare. Shirts-off backpackers from all over the world, cheering, sweating, sunburnt and no doubt up to their eyeballs in mushroom shakes and opium joints - both of which you can easily buy in Vang Vieng. What i don't understand is why someone would want to go do that kind of thing in such an awe-inspiring place. Different strokes i guess.

In Vang Vieng we of course went tubing. Its hard to say no to a relaxing day floating down the river on an inflated tyre tube. Mick and I were both pretty excited about doing this for the second time and of course the Melbs kids LOVED it!! Not much to dislike really. But the best thing about Vang Vieng really is the relaxing. The hammocks, the comfort, the relaxed way the whole country does things.

After Vang Vieng we caught the bus back to Thailand - through Vientiane and Nong Khai where we had to stop and wait for a while. Lucky for us we got to witness the most GORGEOUS sunset - picture postcard stuff. Really really pretty. The bus journey all the way back to Chiang Mai was long and uneventful - better than the trip into Laos where we got stuck with a group of real jerks and the bus broke down! hahah! Makes for a good story anyway ;)

Whowzers...Part 2

2009-10-04T12:02:00.005+11:00

Apologies for taking so long in between these two posts - again, crazy times here in Chiang Mai!

So, last part of the story ended in the morning after our night in the huts in the Lahou village. We wake up, its been raining all night, its foggy, its still raining. Its.... "cold" (prob about 16 degrees). We are all soggy and wet and not talking much but the feast of bread and coffee for breakfast gets us in a better mood to start the trek down the hill.

Our guide, JJ is nowhere to be seen. He appeared once in the morning to tell us we are leaving at 9:30am but i think he is happily smoking something somewhere that we can't find him. That or he's getting some lovin'...neither are too extreme scenarios. He finally arrives, he hands out some freshly cut bamboo sticks, telling us its going to be a difficult day of walking but the sticks will help us and we set off into the clouds and rain.

We slowly make our way through a corn field, its slippery as hell but we go slowly, everyone quiet but laughing every now and then when they slide. We're supposed to be making our way to a waterfall to check it out, but after about 45min of walking through the corn field, it's decided that we don't really need to see any more water and its going to be pretty dangerous hiking down a hill in a rainforest in the torrential rain.

Instead we walk down the dirt road that winds its way down the long, steep hill. MUCH better! We can actually see where the puddles and rivers are!! By now, my converse shoes that seemed like a brilliant idea 2 days before, are totally soaked. But to be honest, aside from the parts that were covered by my flimsy plastic poncho, not any of me is dry. Oh well.

We slowly wandered down the road, the occasional dude on a motorbike passed us but aside from that, we didn't see much. The forest was actually really loud - sounded like a waterfall just around every corner but that was just the huge amount of rain that was getting dumped on us. There were loads of spiders webs that were actually more like spider membranes...not sure what kind, but i didn't really want to stick my finger in the hole to find out. JJ told us that part of this forest is used by the guy who runs the elephant camp to let the elephants forrage sometimes. Not sure how true this is, but i hope it is.

After wandering down this road for about 2 hours, the incident occured. Nothing out of the ordinary before hand happened - i was wandering by myself, musing on the forest and life etc - whatever one really thinks about while you walk drenched though a northern thailand jungle and BANG... it happened. I did my normal routein - stick stabbed into muddy ground, walk, stick pulled out of muddy ground and stabbed into next part of muddy ground and my feet slipped out from underneath me, my face smashing onto this bamboo spear that had helped me so much before.

I dropped my stick, my hands went to my eye and i swayed. Mick ran up, Sean and the swiss girl stopped, the irish girl stared. OH GOD OH GOD OH GOD. I wasn't sure what to expect. Had i gotten my eyeball, oh shit, im in the jungle. I thought of Dad and his eye-stick incident and thought 'i hope i haven't done one better than him'. Mick was asking me to show him, Sean was too. I was way too worried that i would be bleeding all over the shop, and they confirmed that there was no blood. I took my hand away from my eye and their faces went straight to the "oh f*ck ouch" face that we all pull. I could tell my eye was swelling but Mick told me it didn't look too bad - there was a scrape beside my eye/ down my nose but my eyeball looked ok.

By this stage JJ had caught up to us - he ran over, his face scared and concerned (back home i would think he was really worried about the legal rammifications or something!), he asked me to show him, which i did and he prayed to Buddha that i would be ok. Really. He prayed right there. Everyone was looking very confused and unsure what to do and i grabbed by head scarf and tied it round my eye...we had to get down the road so i could go to the doctors - no phone service in this jungle! Luckily (ha ha!) we only had about another 45min walk (which i think was about an hour and a bit in reality) and then JJ would find a car to take us to hospital.

I shakily made my way down the hills with Mick helping me see - its quite hard to see with only one eye and even more so when the rain is right in your face too! Eventually we got to the bottom, and waited at this spot on the side of the river that was small and not-so-scary the day before when we had walked past it. I was almost glad i wasnt going white water rafting now! A few cars pulled up, tour helpers for the rafting and i had to show my eye to at least 5 other chaps who winced and talked in thai about the fact that i had been wearing contact lenses when this happened. I could see out of my eye so i knew it wasn't too bad, but i wasn't sure where my contact lense was - had it flicked out on the road when i crammed my hand up to my eye or was it still there somewhere?

Eventually a guy came along with a car that had room for us - well, for a little while at least! We got taken to one of the raft camp sites (where the groups would finish for lunch) and JJ took off on a motorbike to find someone to take us into town, a difficult feat considering we were about an hour out of Chiang Mai!

Whowzers...Part 1

2009-09-19T03:16:00.008+10:00

So its been a little while since i posted last for a few reasons, one being because the melbourne crew rocked up a week ago and we have been adventuring with them. And secondly because i have been under the weather a bit. All good tho.

First of all, things have settled down a smidge at Freedom House which is great. I'm no longer making paper mache and the voluntard has been pigeon-holed into repeditive and menial tasks. Sweet! Suits me to a tee to have someone do the shit jobs so i can focus more energy on the things i am better at. We are still busy in the process of doing all the organising for the fundraiser which is being held on 26th September - see Poster that Mick designed ;)
Hopefully it turns out to be a successful night with lots of $$ raised for Freedom House!

The Melbourne folk showed up a week ago - two of them on Friday, one had to hold off until the Saturday thanks to a nearly-expired passport!! Sean didn't realise until the check-in girl at the counter on the day they were flying out! So silly. hjahaha. But he managed to only miss one day of action ;) We spent the first few days showing them our favourite spots in chiang mai, including Warorot Markets, Sunday Markets, St Germaine, LemonTree and the UN. On Tuesday they headed to the Tiger Kingdom and then Mick joined them for a cooking class - they said it was really great and now im jealous i didnt get to go!!

This Wednesday and Thursday just gone, they were going with Mick on a trek and i decided last minute - with some pushing from Lisa - to go too. And what an adventure that turned out to be!!

We were collected from Mojito House early on Wednesday morning and all crammed into a song tao with a bunch of other backpackers - a couple of swiss people, some irish girls, some germans and an israeli dude. All of them were your stereotypical backpackers - we have plenty of experience of these "types" in Australia! The Irish girls were the exception, lovely gals :) The trek was made up of a few parts - first elephant riding (not happy) then a trek for the rest of the afternoon to a hilltribe village (we went to a Laohu village) where we would stay overnight and then a trek the following morning to a waterfall then to the rafting site where we would do both bamboo rafting and then white water rafting.

Firstly the elephant camp...now i have always been opposed to riding elephants, i don't like the idea of it, i feel really bad for the elephants and just think its inhumane and horrible. However...somehow, i ended up sitting on this poor poor elephant feeling sick to my stomach and awkward and bad and all those emotions. I can't believe myself that i actually did it. I think this will go down in my mind as something i will regret for a long time. Like the time i bought alcohol for a bum on the street...urgh! Anywho, i did it, i regret it and to try and fix this bad karma i now think i have, i am going to the elephant conservation centre where they educate you about the life of elephants. Bec Rado went there and has said it is amazing, im going to go and give them all ive got. If they need poop moved, i'll move it. So to all those of you thinking about "riding" an elephant...don't do it. Its really bad :( And to the backpacking tools on the trip who had no respect or consideration for the animals that they were riding...i hate you. It's people like you who make it even worse. Mucking around, being jerks on these amazing creatures. for gods sake, they are a living creature!! >:(

Anyway, we moved on from this bad place with the depressing situation and started walking. First we followed a road, then we began to trek along a well beaten and fairly easy walk - few hills, few creeks to cross, lots of amazing forest scenery. Even when it rained for a bit, it wasn't too bad...or so we thought. The last hour or two of the trek was incredibly hard...im talking HARD. By no means do i think i am a fit person - i don't run or go to the gym, but i don't mind a walk about the place, i can ride a bike blah blah. I found out later that this was a level 4 hike which i believe is getting up there in the hardness scale.

The hills that we had to climb were insane. SO long, so hard. And the track was not well worn...clearly because its not an easy walk. Our guide - JJ (who was a smidge crazy) decided that we would take that way rather than the other, more well worn way because there was another group walking that way. URGH!!! The pictures of the route do not do it justice...you can't tell how difficult it was! But as we even said during this really hard part, now looking back on it, its something i will probably talk about for a while! It was quite an achievement.

Once we got to the village, i headed straight to the "shower" - a bamboo shack with a clean garbage bin filled with clean water and a scoop to get it on yourself. Its a pretty standard thai shower - having a western style shower is becoming more common for thai's, but there are still a lot that use the bucket sich. I can tell you one thing, i was so refreshed after that washing- the water was pretty damn cold and it was great to get the stink of sweat off me.

The rest of the evening was pretty much filled with listening to the incredible rain and thunder, eating, chatting and drinking. We (being Becy, Mick, Sara, Sean and myself) talked with the Lahou woman who was looking after us. The others were not really interested in talking with this woman, and more interested in comparing stories about full moon parties and getting pissed. It's a pretty sorry state of affairs - i mean, we are in this amazing place, a village on the hill in northern Thailand, and aside from asking for more beer, they couldn't care too hoots about this woman. I think she really enjoyed talking with us - as best we could with our broken thai and her broken english, but we all laughed and had a great time.

We slept in a dorm style room on mats on the ground and mozzie nets covering us - quite cool! Good for the back too i think sleeping on something as hard as that haha. The rain was steady all night which proved almost deadly when going to the toilet!! I'm pretty sure everyone had a fall - some worse than others though. Mick and Sara managed to hurt themselves in one such slip - Sara has a deep black bruise on her arse and Mick managed to scrape and bruise his elbow pretty nastily!

Part 2 to come...

Sundayssss

2009-09-06T13:06:00.002+10:00

I <3 sundays! mostly because there really isnt that much to do. And i could go for a walk, maybe get the paper, have a read, sip an coffee shake and just watch the world go bye. Its good. I feel like perhaps im living up to my childhood namesake these days - Mooch. Thanks Dad ;) I'm just mooching around, taking things as they come, relaxing. Its great!

Speaking of Dad, a shout out for his Birthday last week and for fathers day today!!! Hope it was a good'un. I heard that Ray helped you celebrate in style and the pakistani goat curry went down a treat. Keep and eye on the post, something is on its way to you ;)

This week has been pretty busy for me. Ive been up to my elbows in paper mache, and i have to say, i now hate paper mache. A couple of thing made from it - rock on. 30 paper mache masks, not so fun. And to top it off, i think the fumes (if there are such things from PVC glue) have been reacting with my contacts....GREAT. But now that they are done (with the exception of the base coat of paint) i'm a happier camper. The masks are being used for a fundraiser at the end of the month for Freedom House which is being held at North Gate Jazz Co-op. There are going to be tables set up with the masks and some paint/decorations etc on them and attendees are going to be able to make something cool if they so fancy. Here's hoping all my hard work works out!

Becy and co come in less than one week and Mick and I are getting pretty excited about that. Last night while we consumed the spiciest Tom Yum i have eaten EVER, we made a list of things to do while they are here :) and then headed off to have a couple of carafes of vodka slushees at St Germain des Paris - our new favourite spot for a drink. They actually play decent music. We're talking techno, minimal, prog. And we're the only foreigners in the place. hahah.

Today, as usual, we will probably head to the Sunday markets again to have a bite to eat - the food there is just tasty tasty. They have these little eggy omelets with different flavours, one being ant eggs! I might see if i can con mick into trying it ;)

All About Nong

2009-08-31T11:20:00.005+10:00

Meet Nong :)

She's a 24 (she thinks - most Thai/Burmese people aren't quite sure) year old Shan girl who is amazing. She runs the Free Bird Cafe (the Cafe that supports Freedom House school), she also supports financially and otherwise, her Mum who had paralysis down one half of her body. She works 6 days a week at the Cafe, goes to school 5 days a week, is probably one of the sweetest, funniest and silliest people you will meet.

She came to Thailand with her Dad about 8 years ago. Her Dad left her Mum back in Burma (in Shan state) to come and get a job in Thailand...and shack up with another woman. He now has a whole new family and doesnt support Nong's mum. Nong lived here for 6 years with her Dad before the family could afford to bring Nong's mum out here. Because Nong's mum is partially paralysed, she can't work so getting her into Thailand was difficult.

Once Nong's mum got into Thailand, she was able to allow Nong to support her. Because of her disability, finding work is very difficult for her, and she is limited to the work she can do. Nong has been given the great opportunity to work in the cafe and go to school and learn to read and write Thai plus English.

She's just got so much energy, is so silly, fun, loves to eat - and boy can she eat. She's been teaching us some thai which is really cool. She's just a really sweet person to be around, and hearing news that she may be going back to Burma is devistating. Apparently Aor got a very upset call from her saying that she was going back to Burma in a month. Lisa is not sure why she would be going back, Nong really doesn's wasn't want to go...I really hope she doesn't

:(

1...2...3

2009-08-25T11:57:00.002+10:00

I was telling claud about these the other day...theres this place on Soi 7 with not one, but 3 pommeranians (aka cat dogs) that all look the same. Hilarious!!!

There's actually quite a lot of these little doggies about. Theres this little ratty dog across the road from Mojito House - a silky terrier thing. Not sure of its name, but the crazy Thai guy fawns over it.

rrrrain!

2009-08-22T22:42:00.019+10:00

Today is the first day of seeing rains drizzle all day over Chiang Mai and its been wonderful to sit back and enjoy it. This week has been pretty busy with farwells, dinners and openings.

Farewells to Courtney - you'll be missed! She's pictured here with Nong :)

Courtney was over volunteering through an organisation called Cultural Canvas Thailand (CCT) who i would not recommend anyone go through. Firstly, the fees she had to pay to be a volunteer through them were absolutely mental. 3 weeks volunteering and she had to pay $1900 - not including the costs of her flights. Of that, Freedom House got a measly $100. She was not happy at all with the service of the organisation and the final nail in the coffin would have been when she was leaving and the arranged transport to the airport didn't arrive when it was supposed to so she had to jump in a tuk tuk. Anywho, Courtney is a 27 yr old gal from Coffs Harbour who's the mum to a 4 year old who was able to be looked after by her family while she was away. She def missed him but also was going to miss the Chiang Mai lifestyle. So farwell! Keep in touch ;)

We also did some pretty great dinners this week - Seafood at the Anudan markets, northern thailand specialties at Riverside (Pic on the left from Riverside with Lisa, Nong, Or and Nick in the front & of course Courtney, Mick and I in the back) and then last night, the most awesome of all dinners - Thai BBQ. Holy moley. This shit was insane! We were going out for a final farwell dinner for Courtney - Mick, myself, Nong and Courtney - and got recommended to head to this place that was out of this world!

Firstly, the four of us jumped into a SongTao to this spot called "Hillside Condo 4". From there we wandered down this dark laneway that was illuminated by fluorescent lights into darkness. Once the laneway was over, it opened into this massive dirt area - most likely a car park or just a large area of nothing. We could hear this noise- children playing, the rumble of many voices. And the smells of delicious foods getting cooked.

When we walked into the open air venue, i was absolutely dumbfounded. I have never seen a place like this before. As large as...2 football fields, the size of a Bunnings, but open at the sides and packed to the rafters with people. Row after row of wooden tables and benches, all with little cookers on them - like a hot pot with a bbq in the centre. And the noise of people talking, clanging, singing (there was a stage with a performer on it) all going at the same time.

**blogger is being silly so will finish this later**
***For some reason i can't upload pics - will get mick to fix the internet for me later***

and continuing...

In the centre of the room there were these tables dividing the room. And stretching across the width of the room was container after container of all sorts of meat, vegetables, seafood, salads, desserts (the weird asian style ones) that were getting consumed at a great rate. INSANE!! Never have i seen a buffet of such magnitude. Quite impressive.

We all grabbed our little plates and stacked them up with all sorts of tasty delights with Nong getting the mysterious ones to tempt us, though she couldnt actually tell us what they were. LOL. I believe most of the unknown items were made from seafood or tofu. But who really knows! We were quite the site too - 3 foreigners amongst a sea of locals, but thats got to be a good sign.

The food, was so good. It was like hotpot but better. Nong had these little pieces of pure fat that had been cut into cubes. It was actual animal fat. Gelatinous, proteiney. Revolting but required. this was places at the top of the curved plate to grease up the rest of the grill plate for cooking.Prawns, pork, chicken, beef all cooked on the grill while the soupy goodness got the run off from the grill and was stacked full of vermicelli noodles, morning glory, mushrooms etc.

After about 2 hours of continuous eating and cooking, we all looked up from our dirtied plates to realise that we were one of say 5 other tables that were left. Somehow, without us noticing, the whole place had consumed, and left...

We skulled the last of our Leo's and headed out - all up the bill for 4 of us came to 840 baht. How much is that you ask? Just shy of $30. SO GOOD!!!

Would definitely do again. And visitors - im looking at you Becy/Sean/Sara and you Bonnie/Tom and also you Mum/A.Helen/Claud...we will be taking you there.

Its been 2 weeks now...

2009-08-16T01:17:00.008+10:00

After spending most of today walking around the old city here in Chiang Mai, I realised that i hadn't told anyone much about this place that Mick and I are living in...or even where were living at the moment!

Looking at a map of Chiang Mai's old city, the spot in the yellow - if you can see that, is where Mick and I are staying - Mojito House! And the green spot is where Freedom House is - so very close

On the right of the map you can see the Mae Ping River. The red section in the middle part of the river is where the Night Bazaar is and the red section above that is the Warorot Markets (aka Chinese Markets). The Sunday walking markets are kind of in the centre area of the moat.

So far we havent even explored all of the inner part of the moat! Plenty of time ;)

Yesterday when we did the walk around the moat it was really nice - not *too* hot and walking beside the water (even if it is really green) was so nice and relaxing. By the end my little leggies were a bit sore, but that was probably more due to the fact that i was wearing thongs and not something a bit more suitable haha.

Today i think i might head back to the Warorot Markets and find a few sarong/skirt things. One of the volunteers bought a couple and they are gorgeous. At 50 baht ($1.70) they are so very cheap and will be used quite a bit i think. Teaching over here, we are expected to wear non-skimpy clothes out of respect. And when sitting on the floor while teaching, its quite hard to do when wearing a short skirt! Hahah! We also are encouraged to wear clothes that cover the shoulders too - which i am happy to do. I want to be seen as not just another typical tourist wearing next to nothing and no bra and being rude. I want to be seen as respecting the local customs and being polite. No skin off my back to wear a t-shirt and non-mini skirt to work!

Aside from the Warorot Markets, not much else planned. I have got a bit of a belly thing going on (too much info!!) so im going to be a bit cautious about eating anything. Might stick to liquids and some clear soup perhaps. See how I go. We'll most likely head back to the Sunday Night Markets too - i know mick is keen to grab some more of that jerky stuff!

Hair dye disaster v2

2009-08-15T11:36:00.006+10:00

Mick hinted at me the other day that perhaps the colour in my hair was not looking very good - i.e. it was all washed out and looked crap. We walk past a couple of hair dressers regularly that charge ~500 baht ($17) for a hair dye job. Too easy. A little too easy me thinks...so rather than handing over the cash i thought i would give my hair dying another go. But this time i thought i would be smarter...oh yes...i won't destroy the bathroom with bright pink dye. No way!

I thought the better idea would be to do it at Freedom house. There's an area underneath the building and towards the back that is used to wash all the dirty paint tins and brushes and what-not out. Perfect. I can dye my hair then crouch down and wash it out :) easy peasy japanesy!

I went down and slathered my hair with Fudge (raspberry beret if anyone is interested) and pottered around downstairs while it cured. There was a little drama when i washed my gloves off in the bathroom and pink water came out a hole in the sink onto the floor, but a quick hose off and it was gone :) I was worried that what with all the sweating i was doing, the dye would get sweated onto my face, but no such thing happened - hooray! Aside from scaring Nong with my pink stained t-shirt, we were all good :)

Then it was time to wash it off... It ran down the drain with ease. The only annoyance was the water going onto my face occasionally, but hey, no different to a shower really. I was a little sad to see some pink water stain on my skirt, but its not a big deal and im sure with some tlc it will come out in the wash. I was so happy with myself, "I CAN dye my hair in Thailand!" i thought smugly.

I went upstairs to dry off, check out the damage and nothing huge to report. My face wasn't stained, i got most of it off the roots - quite a great achievement. Then i looked at my eyes....

god

PINK EYE! :-O

I had managed to dye my contacts pink. I took one out to try and wash it off...and no such luck. These babies were stained pink.

Ive been dying my hair all sorts of colours for as long as i can remember, but i have never ever stained my contact lenses any colour. And I've also never had so much drama dying my hair!!

So Thailand, you win this one ok. I'm not going to do any more DIY jobs on my hair. I'll be paying to get it done from here on in...

The Locals

2009-08-14T13:49:00.003+10:00

Chiang Mai is a small big city. And the inner workings of the moat are even a smaller big city. Lisa (& the other volunteers) had warned us that we would see the same people time and time again, and right they were.

Theres this one dude we have met, and we found out his name is Rick. He came to the mothers day dinner thing we had the other night at Mojito House (more details to come) and this morning as Mick and I consumed a tasty breakfast of omelets and pancakes, Rick strolled up to say hello. He's a funny kinda guy. He is the best aging person i have ever met. On meeting him, one would immediately think he was a young stoner chap, in his gap year from Uni in the US. His walk, his talk, his everything screams that. He is in fact, 42 years old, an author (which he loves to remind you of) and has been here there and everywhere.

Theres also a family who are staying at the Mojito Guest House too. French couple with 2 kids. The woman and kids are cute. The husband is not. He's a fat, hairy french man who no doubt has eaten a few too many croissants in his time and let his wife do all the work. We see them all over the place.

And then there are the non-foreigner locals who live and work here in Chiang Mai. Tikky, who runs the Mojito Guest House is a tiny little frizzy haired thai woman who looks around 16 but from the things she's done (lived in the UK fo 8 years, lived in Pai for a long time too) she has got to be at least 30. We have asked her about what to do/where to go in Pai when we go visiting and she waved us away and said "i'll take you" :) so lovely!

Its funny because even the tuk tuk drivers and the shop keepers near us are now used to seeing us around and don't try and get us to go with them - its going to be quite fun getting to know more people around these parts!

It's Mothers Day!

2009-08-11T20:48:00.022+10:00

Tonight at Freedom House we celebrated Mothers Day thailand style :D Mothers Day is actually celebrated tomorrow, and its the birthday of the King's Mother. The School and the Cafe isn't going to be open, as most businesses apparently aren't out of respect for the celebration.

The little girls were very excited about it when they showed up and drew happy mothers day messages all over the gorgeous turqouise fence at FH :)

All the kids came along, but unfortunately not all the parents could make it - most of them work very long hours and its difficult for them to come into the school, what with having other kids and work stuff.

We watched an incredible film on Burma that was just images and music from Burma that the kids seemed to really enjoy watching. Quite a sad film, especially seeing the poverty since the Cyclone Naga had gone through. There were a few really touching scenes showing people begging and the slums people are living in there. It really made me think about the conditions that some of the kids are living in here at the moment. Terrible, diseased slums with no running water, no bathrooms or toilets, garbage piled up :(

Anywho, the night wasn't all depressing. After the film we all sat around and played on instruments - tamborines, drums etc etc. Quite loud at the peak of it!! We all had tasty cake and icecream, the kids gave their parents cards that we had made in my first class i lead last friday plus a little plant too :)

so HAPPY MOTHERS DAY MUM!!

xxxxxx

Feasts Chiang Mai Style

2009-08-08T15:11:00.014+10:00

Chiang Mai is full of awesome places to eat and yummy mysterious things to consume. And considering I'm a bit of a foodie, its quite fantastic to be staying in this place for a while. However, looking around and all that food, i am concerned i'll be a fatty by the time i get back! Ahhh, i'll worry about that later ;)

The markets near our pad sell curries and rice and all sorts of delicious things in bags for ~25 baht, under $1.00. And although you may not be quite sure of what you're getting aside from "Chicken" or "Pork", the girl who works in the cafe, Nong, seems quite happy to go and get us things to try.
Som Tam - aka Papaya Salad (see right) - is really yum salad made with papya (obviously), chillis, beans, fish sauce, peanuts and sometimes dried baby prawns too. This one we had in a restaurant on chayaphum road, but you can buy it from stalls on the street and pretty much any hole in the wall place for around 25 baht.

Larb is also really common around here - its basically minced meat of some kind, fried with basil and chillis and i'm sure other stuff and you usually eat it with sticky rice - YUM! Mick and I first ate this in Laos last year, but apparently it is a very common dish in Northern Thailand, Burma and Laos. Hooray!

Fried rice is also available everywhere and is usually a huge serve with meat with it also.Seafood fried rice is very yummo - especially when you get the big chunks of tasty tasty mud crab in it! Again, its usually around 25-40 baht, so around $1.00. I usually can't finish a whole dish of it, so its a good thing Mick is here to clean up the plate after me!

Omeletes also feature heavily on the menus, and are a savory affair of tasty fluffy eggs with anything you like in them - we've had vegetable only ones served with sweet chilli sauce (like the picture) but also ones with seafood and a mass of bean shoots. Regardless of the type, they are very good!!

Blogger is annoying me at the moment, so i'll log off for now and go exploring the 'Chinese Markets' and perhaps get myself another massage! At $5, who can resist ;)

xx

Settling In

2009-08-06T19:24:00.002+10:00

So its been 5 days since we arrived in Chiang Mai and its going really well. Every day we have come to Freedom House and got a bit better with knowing what we are going to do and all that.

I will be teaching english classes to the little kids - the ones under 12, and there is about 6 of them at the moment, though not all of them come all the time for different reasons. Mick is going to be working on the website and other documents for FH plus supporting me too. I am also going to be doing art stuff with the kids - this friday it is a monoprinting class. But I have ideas for other classes already - some that i think i have already linked on this blog.

The mono print class will be with all the kids and the primary aim is for the kids to make cards for their mum's for Mothers Day which is celebrated over here on Wednesday. Apparently its an official holiday so all the official and government buildings will be closed down. We might even have the day off which will be cool - might spend the day wandering about Chiang Mai, exploring.

We have been having a pretty good time checking out little places to eat, and at lunch the last 2 days, we have headed to the market across the road from our guesthouse. So far so good, though the Som Tum (?) salad i had today was WAYY too hot! I guess i have to be careful in future with saying "Yes" to "Spicy?" haha! We have also been drinking at least one beer a day, which can't be good for the belly, but its so cheap and so nice! We've mostly been drinking Leo which seems to be a good mid-priced beer ;)

A friend of Mick's contacted him on facebook today - she went to uni with Mick and so did her boyfriend. Turns out the boyfriend is not only Thai, but he lives and works in Chiang Mai! So hopefully we will meet him today/tonight and have a beer (lol) with him :) funny small world we live in.

HUHUH! Chiang Mai!

2009-08-02T18:27:00.008+10:00

Sawatdee kaa!!

Welcome to Chiang Mai! Woo!! And what a cool city it is. It reminds me a little of Wollongong, with the hills on one side, though no ocean on the other.

When we arrived, Lisa was waiting, complete with a sign saying “Welcome Mick and Madz!” :) How awesome! And after catching a cab into town, we were shown around Freedom House. The organisation is housed in a traditional Thai building with a twist – bright turquoise and blues are painted on the fence surrounding the place and a cute garden with many umbrellas to shade a weary traveller are installed. The Free Bird Cafe turns into the Freedom House school at night so its educational and tasty!

We then went for a little walking tour and to snack on something at this cool organic cafe nearby. Very yum and they bake goodies! Hooray! On our walk about town, way we were about to have a look around the markets and Lisa ran into a friend of hers who owns a bar (Reggae something) and who is in the process of opening a guest house. We checked out the guest house rooms - very clean and nice - and then wandered on to go see the rooms that Lisa had in mind for us to rent. One was a small room with aircon, security and stuff just up the road from the school but quite uninspiring - but for 3000baht (~$100 month) great value! The second one was in a place beside the school - 5500 baht month (~$180) but it was fan only and a bit weird, but it did have a tv and a little fridge. We decided that we'd actually like to find out how much the rooms were back at lisa's friends new guest house and in the end decided to go there! Its got a little balcony, we're on the 3rd floor and its opposite a food market and just round the corner from the school :)

The people who run the place are so nice - we are the first customers and they are so happy to help us with whatever we want - water, beer, a mozzie zapper, soap, glasses anything! Really cool :) and they have a fridge downstairs we can put our food in if we want, or there is always the cafe. We don't have internet yet but the school/cafe has it and we can use that for free. Woohoo!

On Saturday night the people who run the guest house were having a party at the bar they run - 6th birthday or something - and we were going to go check it out, but after having a couple of beers and some food, thought that bed was a better option.

Sunday we spent time at the cafe, stealing internets and catching up on everything we had to do including dying my hair...and what a freaking disaster that was! :|

You know how you hear of those hair-dye horrors? Well I had one. Thinking I would be awesome and dye my hair with Fudge (!!), I grabbed the bottles and shoved some in my hair – no gloves. So firstly, I had stained my hands a very attractive pinky-red colour. No amount of toothpaste, shampoo or soap would get that off. Then I looked around the new bathroom (Note: the bathroom is more like a washroom – shower/sink/loo are not separated by a curtain or wall or anything). Thats right, never been used before bathroom in the new guest house we are staying in...Pinky red dye on the walls. OH NO. oh wait, its stained the sink as well...oh, and the floor too!! I quickly washed the dye out of my hair, somehow thinking that this was a smart decision.Oh no...not smart at all. The dye simply smeared itself throughout the whole bathroom. All the tiles on the floor (and half the wall ones!) were now pink. And the grout too :(

I got down on my hands and knees, bottle of anti-dandruff shampoo in hand and a washer in the other and scrubbed as best i could. Why the anti-dandruff? Well it was that or normal shampoo and i know that anti-dandruff stuff strips colour from you hair so figured it would also work on tiles...but there was SOOO MUCH! :'(

Eventually i gave up, gave in and went and told Tikky (Guest house lady) who told me to "just leave it, its fine!"..."uhh...no..." so she gave me a bottle of domestos and a toilet brush....and i scrubbed the bathroom clean :D YAY! Minimal Pink!! LOL

Moral of the story? Don't dye your hair with fudge colours in Thailand. Its a disaster! :P

Bye Malaysia!

2009-08-02T16:21:00.005+10:00

And it is with fondness that we say farewell to Kuala Lumpur and Malaysia. Its been an interesting and fun time hanging in your country. I would recommend using Tune Hotel if you come to stay - very clean, newish and aside from all the advertising, it's a pretty nice room. If you're a person who likes to watch tv, then don't stay at Tune though because there' s no TV to be seen ;)

I could update you on our trip to Crab Island, but I have been asked by Mick to not & he want's to use that story as the first post on the blog he is designing for us. All I' ll say is that we ended up with an induction and we barely spent any money woo! watch this space.

Yesterday was our last full day in KL. We woke late (trust me, after crab island, we needed a sleep in) but managed to get a fair bit of stuff crammed into the day. We started with a tasty meal at the weird open-air food court thing. If it was in Australia it would have been something along the lines of a workshop garage thing with roll back walls and about 6 little food places to choose from. It was full of locals so we figured it must be alright. I had some roti (finally!!) and a few curry sauces and a little rice, mick snacked on some non-packed Mi Goreng - VERY tasty. Add a couple of drinks and the total came to approx $3 Australian. Win!

After our yum meal we made our way to Low Yat Plaza again. IT heaven. This time we were armed with computey specs for me to find a netbook. And find one we did. it's a Dell Inspiron mini and its PURPLE. I love it! Mick' s going to shove Windows7 on it of course :D All up the computer cost me ~$450 - about $200 less than I would have to pay in Australia.

We then decided to go celebrate with a tasty beverage and after that we thought a walk to the Petronas towers was in order. Not sure how long in total it took us but hey, it was an adventure. We wandered along some streets and past yet another shopping mall. We saw fancy hotels, smelt rancid drains and eventually got to the towers. They're massive. Really cool though! And what do you know, underneath them is another huge shopping mall.

One thing I have learnt about Malaysians (or perhaps its just those who live in KL) is that the national pastime seems to be hanging out in malls. I've never seen so many shopping malls in my life! Perhaps its because its so damn hot here that they need to have malls to get some of that aircon love, or perhaps they just love

After we wandered around checking out the towers and the fountain garden, our weary feet were screaming for some down-time. We grabbed a touch of dinner (satay, spicy clams and spicy prawns) in the night market which was thick with the smell of durian (aka. Vomit stench). The night markets in Butik Bitang have nothing on Ho Chi Minh's - they seem quite small and not as & I dunno, cool. But they go alright.

Malaysia has definitely been an interesting place to visit, I would really like to come back and see some of the islands like Langawi - or even go down to Malaka. Its definitely a multicultural city of the largest degree - Arabic, Chinese, Malaysian, Indian all jumbled in with a few whiteys. I am sorry to say that I don' t know more about the history of Malaysia, but I am definitely interested to know more.

And now I am typing on my new computey on the bus to the airport - Mick' s asleep beside me (strange I know). We head to Chiang Mai today, and I' m very excited! All I have heard about Chiang Mai is that it's a really cool city. I've had people refer to it as their fave city in Thailand and talk up the night markets. Bring that on!

KL Fun

2009-07-30T09:45:00.005+10:00

So its day 3 of our Malaysia trip and things are pretty good. We had plans to head to the IT MegaStore Department place plus a trip over to check out the Petronas Towers, the aquarium and perhaps an art gallery. Things, of course, didn't go to plan. We ended up leaving our hotel quite late (how strange you say :P ) and caught the monorail to Bukit Bitang (?) to grab a bite to eat. Because we had left so late, Madz didn't get to have a Roti :( but we did eat yummy snacks :) and pinapple juice!! Godddamn, the pinepples in Asia are SO tasty! No bitterness or sourness like the ones we have in Australia, just sweet sweet nectar MMMM.

After snacking, we jumped back onto the monorail to Imbi station to go to this IT place. I read that it was a great place to pick up a bargain. LOL. It was about 7 stories of computers, phones, cameras, cables, printers, games, software, hardware...whatever IT related crap you wanted. At the onset, i was excited. The flashy lights, the cheap prices (1299MYR?? huh?)...but by the 3rd level...i was tired. Yet another netbook for 1299. I WANT CHEAP!! CHEAPPP!! But we did have some success - mick managed to grab a wacom graphics tablet for cheap ;) Its definitely going to assist him in his creativeness. Its totally cool.

We eventually got out of the throngs of this mall and wandered over to some Times Square place....holy fking moley. I think its something crazy like the largest mall in malaysia, but if it isn't, then im scared. It was GINORMOUS! i think it was like 11 stories high, and massive. HUGE! We didnt stay long cause i was getting my whinge on, so we grabbed a book (Karen Slaughter - Triptych) and headed back to the hotel.

Dinner was got at the night markets where we chowed down on chilli mud crab (SO good) bbq prawns that were wrapped in banana leaf, rice and a few green veges, plus a couple of beers of course ;)

Today the plan is to get mick up shortly and attempt to get to CRAB ISLAND!!! YAYY!!! i think we might just grab a sweet red bean bun and then just eat the seafood world once we get down there for lunch. HELL YES <3

im going to upload some pics this morning so i'll prob drop a couple into the last few posts xx

Kuala Lumpur - why hello!

2009-07-29T08:09:00.005+10:00

First things first, Melbourne International Airport has nothing on Sydney's International Airport. Its crazy. Not that it really matters that much as we were flying OUT of Australia, but i think we will be definitely attempting to fly back into Sydney for stocking up our duty free booze. Which is kinda funny considering Mick and I both have 1 full bottle of booze each left from our trip last year. hahah.

Secondly, AirAsia X is an ok carrier to fly with. Cheap, seats were comfy, we had people with swine-flu masks on all around us and if only they understood what "mood lighting" was, things would have been much better.

Anywho, we rocked into KL at 7am yesterday. We jumped on a bus into Sentral (9myr each = ~$3aud) and with Kimberley's help, found our hotel only to be told we couldn't check in until 2pm. ERGHHH. We was tired already by this stage. We left our bags with the hotel and went to find some food, ending up in some weird department store place. It appeared very "David Jones" on the first level, but by the 4th level it was more like....ummm maybe a target or Kmart in Nowra. hahah! We found a food court at the top, complete with a waterfall and western music so we grabbed a seat and ate some ox-tail soup and some potato cake things plus a delish fresh oj and pineapple juice.

After wasting a little time there, i remembered i'd seen what i thought was a cinema. WooHOO! we had 3 more hours to kill so lets go there. Great idea. if it was really a cinema and not some stupid arcade :( we hung out in yet another food court (LOL) and watched House for a bit before deciding that the couches at the hotel lobby were probably a lot more comfy than the hard plastic ones we were sitting on. So we headed back to the hotel and sunk a couple o tinnies (LOL) and waited. Mick played the fishing game on my phone, i watched the world go by. And half an hour before we checked in, i saw that there was free internet...MTHERFKER! LOL. oh well.

We had ideas of going to the room, having a nap then getting up and finding us a night market for food. We didn't make it. I fell asleep and i think a little after that Mick did too. I woke at about 9pm and we decided to cut our losses and just sleep for the rest of the evening. Good idea, yeah, Until i woke at 5am and have been unable to sleep since :|

So far i like KL. I thought it might have been more like Saigon, but its very different. Everything is really clean, and everyone is really helpful and friendly. There is a large component of Islamic people in KL, and Malaysia in general, so alcohol isn't seen as much at road stalls as in Vietnam. The monorail seems really cool and we will be attempting to use the regular train system probably on Thursday to go to Crab Island :D Today we want to find the electronics mall - Low Yat Plaza and hopefully find some food markets, or at least a tasty food stall for om nom nomming :)

Goodbye.....for now

2009-07-29T07:39:00.000+10:00

I was supposed to post this on the Monday that we left, but naturally my idea of doing that got blown out of the water due to last minute packing lol.

And so we say bye for now to you all. Bye to our families while we go adventure for a while. And to our friends who we wont be sharing a beer or vodka with for a little bit. We will be doing it in spirit though, of course. And when we return we will step into summer in Australia, with lots of lovely afternoon bbq's and picnics to catch up on all the drama :)

I'm definitely not going to miss the "sydney" thing, i don't think. It gets to me sometimes and i need down-time. Away from the noise and the drama and the stuff. Sydney peeps - you won't get what i mean with that, but non-sydney peeps, you will totally get what i mean ;)

I will miss having everyone around - i mean, im going to be stuck with mick, 24/7..... hahah. It'll be fun, especially having some friends come visit & i reckon that we will be pretty happy to be helping out at Freedom House and letting Lisa show us her Chiang Mai.

I think i will miss having Lottie the most - the longest time i've been without my own cat - oh my! But Claud did promise to send me pics of him, and i got one last night :) YAY.

So, farewell for now, see you soon. send me emails and i'll return them. And if my facebook page gets deactivated for a while, don't worry. its just me being me.

xxx

Eating (& Drinking) in Chiang Mai

2009-07-21T14:41:00.001+10:00

I'm a bit of a "foodie" & i love reading food blogs and researching new restaurants etc so it was with delight that i came across the Chiang Mai Dining Guide. im also following them on Twitter so i can get the down low on whats what in the food and beveraaarge scene ;) rock on! A favourite Sydney food blog is Grab Your Fork - definitely worth a read!

Funnily enough the most recent post on the Grab Your Fork site is one to do with High Tea - which correlates to a High Tea that Kimberley hosted last weekend. BY GOSH us girls did a great job! MMMM! So many delicious things to nibble on!

In other news i'm really looking foward to getting "arty" in Chiang Mai - playing around with ideas for screen printing or stencil-prints. I came across this cool pic that was for a shirt. i likey! I likey a lot!

Freedom House vids

2009-07-20T15:04:00.000+10:00

Lisa @ Freedom House has recently linked me to some vids on youtube that show some of the work that FH does. The one titled Construction Camp was particularly sad :(

http://www.youtube.com/user/ThaiFreedomHouse

i also had the opportunity to watch this documentary/report on Burma and the Cylone that tore through the Delta last year. It was a Foreign Correspondent one and if you get the chance, i really think you should check it out. It only goes for about half an hour and you can watch it online here http://www.abc.net.au/foreign/ or on iview.

Bitches

2009-07-17T11:44:00.000+10:00

I don't like them, I don't have time for them and I don't want to know them.

Why the rant, you ask? Well, whiny bitches and stuck up cows just get to me. I don't have time for peoples high-school behaviour. I don't need to know someone who spends all their time and effort talking about other people, spreading rumours and basically being a fake person.

When I think of my friends, i prefer to have people in my life who contribute to it in a positive way. People who challenge me, support me, encourage me and stick up for me. I like intelligent, warm, generous, caring and compassionate people to be my friends. I want people who like me for the person i am and the person i can be, to be my friends.

So, if you don't fit into that definition, don't waste your time. I don't want you or need you

:)

Sewing [felt] things

2009-07-15T15:34:00.000+10:00

Recently i have gotten into making "items" - mostly this has been to upskill myself for the impending trip to Thailand where my sewing prowess will be used to teach kiddies how to make things. Mostly they have been little purses like these but i have also made a few skirts which turned out quite well! I would wear one at least every week, and because they are quite comfy and bright,they will be in the suitcase come 27th July.

I am keen to make a few more felt items, especially when we are in Thailand. Felt is SO fun to use and so very easy to sew and with its bright colours and easy to cut ways, i think the kids at Freedom House will definitely enjoy using it.

I came across this tutorial for cupcake purses and am totally going to get my felt on tonight when i get home. I've got one of the last nights of non-going out before we go and am going to relish the couch :) That site has LOADS of cool felt items on there - robots, pillows, purses. I'm going to have plenty of fun :)

Kawaii!

2009-07-13T21:03:00.000+10:00

I LOVE kawaii stuff!
so cute!

i mean look - a kitten..in...a banana split! *cute overload*

if there is one thing that i am totally jealous of claud/kimberley etc etc's trip to Japan, its that they get all the kawaii they want... and i wont! WAHHH!

Pretty much i just love japanese "things" - anything cute and adorable just makes me so happy. I love that Japanese men can even "be into" kawaii and its not looked down on, or frowned at.

So to all you peeps going to Japan, enjoy the kawaii, enjoy being cute. bring me back something awesome - preferably with cats involved - and just rock it good.

(p.s im sick so this post is probably really crap!)

OH and Happy Bdiddy shout out to Marshy - you rock buddy! Welcome to Sydney and I hope you have enjoyed it here. We love having you around, there's been some bloody awesome times shared - *hugs*

Andddddd in more news - Becy and Sara have locked and loaded their trip! Arriving 12th Sept and departing 25th September! WOO!!! Bring it on! Its going to be great having them come and also Bonnie and Tom so we can go adventuring together - and experience Mick & Madz Thailand <3

EEEEK! (+ sausage roll recipe)

2009-07-06T15:00:00.001+10:00

So waking this morning i realised there are only 21 days to go...thats 3 weeks. thats 3 weekends to finish off everything.

wowowowow!

should really get onto the whole visa/travel insurance thing STAT!

Oh and another recipe for the collection ;)

Sausage Rolls
500g sausage mince (or normal mince)
1 med onion - diced
1 large carrot - grated
1 large zucchini - grated
spinach - frozen spinach or cooked fresh spinach
tomato sauce - liberal dose
mixed herbs - 1 Tbsp
chilli sauce or fresh chilli
fresh parsley - 1/3 bunch or a decent amount
1 egg
bread crumbs ~1 cup

puff pastry sheets
small amount of milk
extra bread crumbs

*mix all in together with either your hands or a spoon adding more bread crumbs as required.

the mix should be not too sloppy and not too dry/crumbly. I usually make sure that it is sticky enough to stick together and not to the bowl.

*cut pastry sheet in thirds

*put small amount of mix down the centre of the pastry strip.

*fold pastry over so that edges overlap over the meat-mix

*cut roll into desired length

*poke fork into pastry at top (side without edges) and dip into a little milk and then some bread crumbs. this makes them yummy and crumbly!

*cook in a 200 degree oven until they are golden brown and delicious!

eat eat eat!

Why Lottie is the best cat ever...

2009-06-30T10:54:00.000+10:00

Meet Lottie!

Lottie is my gorgeous 4.5 year old cat. He is a tabby with the prettiest markings on his fur and the funniest personality. Lottie was saved from a fate worse than death (the RSPCA) from a friends place in Surry Hills on April 1, 2005. He had been deserted at 4 months old by his scrag of a previous mother (who was my friends flatmate) and then my friend was going to dump him at the RSPCA because "he was an ugly cat". *cough* no. Lottie is NOT an ugly cat!

Lottie is such an awesome cat. He's friends with all the other cats - so much so that he often invites neighbourhood cats into the house. Which isn't always the best thing for him to do (i.e. cat-piss-house NO THANKS). He was welcomed into the family by Mai (who unfortunately isnt with us any more) and loved her dearly. [see pic below of them eating together]

Lottie is going to be dearly missed by me when we are away in Chiang Mai, thats for sure. His happy purr and friendly hungry meow are an integral part of my every day so i think i need to record these noises for my sake before we depart ;)

So to my precious Lottie, be good while we are away. Purr lots, eat enough and keep my bed warm <3

Emails from Ho Chi Minh

2009-06-30T09:49:00.000+10:00

So last year, Mick and i went adventuring though Vietnam and Laos and i thought i'd share the emails he was sending to his bro. Mick is such a better writer than i am! My emails are like one or two lines, i can't be bothered with the long ones. And its great because Mick is going to set up a blog for both of us to put into so everyone knows what we're getting up to over there. Im going to make sure Mick does most of the writing causeeee im crap :P Im more than happy to be the blog photographer though ;)

Anywho, heres the emails. pretty cool reading back on them and remembering stuff. Makes the 27 days til we leave all that little bit more exciting!

[this pic is from the last night in Ho Chi Minh and that big bowl thing is the infamous vodka pineapple that we were both very sick from drinking too much of LOL]
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Date: Sun, 31 Aug 2008 21:54:25 +0700
From: mickstah
Subject: Greetings from Ho Chi Minh

Hey Dude,

thought I'd email to let you and Mum know how it's going.
It's pretty awesome, nice and hot, it's currently 9:46pm and I'm in shorts and a shirt. as soon as you walk out on the main road there's a millions bikes going everywhere, like EVERYWHERE! It never stops either, the city seems to be alive day and night.

We had an awesome dinner tonight - I had fresh tamarind mud crab and Madz had massive BBQ prawns the size of lobsters! I think it cost us $20AUD all up including drinks.

We already picked up some cheap DVDs as well, so far I grabbed the complete series of the west wing, 1st season of the Sarah Conner chronicles and the complete series of McGuyver - all up $52AUD! They're in nice boxes as well - kinda like what some of my Anime comes in.

I'll let you guys know how we go over the next few days.

I'm off to watch badly dubbed Vietnamese soap operas...
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On Mon, Sep 1, 2008 at 5:04 AM, - Mat - wrote:

Hey man, good to hear from you.
I'll be sure to let mum know how your trip is sofar.

Anyway, thats about all I got to say. Have fun and all that!

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Date: Tue, 2 Sep 2008 10:16:55 +0700

From: mickstah
To: Mat

Subject: Re: Greetings from Ho Chi Minh

Cool.

We're in Ha Noi now - it's a lot more relaxed than Ho Chi Minh city and less dirty with lots more shops - will be getting another plane this afternoon to fly to Luang Prabang in Laos where we'll stay for a couple of days.

Have fun!
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Date: Tue, 2 Sep 2008 15:21:08 +0700

From: mickstah
To: Mat
Subject: Re: Greetings from Ho Chi Minh

We were watching Dexter last night - the room we had came with a DVD player so we decided to make use of it, didn't eat anything adventurous though - just had a seafood and Margarita pizza in our hotel room with some cheap (80c!) cans of beer.

Tell mum we haven't got the business cards made up yet, we're not really in the right province for that yet, but we've still got 10 days to get that done. We're still checking out everywhere and what's on sale, there's a lot of junk similar to what you'd find in paddy's market, stuff you'd never buy unless you were a bogan tourist. So we've been fairly selective in what to buy. They can also be quite pushy which also turns you off buying their crap.

We were going to eat at Bobby Chin's restaurant today (apparently he's a world famous chef) but it was closed because today is Vietnam national day.

We're going to be picked up soon to catch our next flight into Laos where hopefully we'll get to relax a bit, float down the river on giant tubes - The first night we're staying in a guest house and after that we've got two nights in a thatched roof bungalow which should be cool.

Also today for lunch I ate frogs legs - was fairly tasted - had it deep fried with garlic and a sweet chilli dipping sauce.Some parts tasted like chicken and other parts like mild fish. Was pretty good actually!

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On Tue, Sep 2, 2008 at 3:55 PM, - Mat - wrote:

Well, Mum says hi, and its great that you got what you got. she said just do what you can about the cards, and to have fun! 80c for a beer, man, that's be awesome!

Enjoy!

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Date: Wed, 3 Sep 2008 17:42:07 +0700

From: mickstah
To: Mat
Subject: Re: Greetings from Ho Chi Minh

Having lots of fun.

We flew into Luang Prabang in Laos last night, arrived in the airport about 8:30pm - we flew in a small two propeller aircraft which was pretty cool. The airport was TINY!

The town itself was awesome - the room we stayed in was probably the coolest place we've stayed in yet, and it was just across the road from a Buddhist temple - so monks were everywhere. We were woken this morning from the sound of drums coming from the temple at sunrise which was very cool.

The town also had the most amazing night markets on last night, probably the best market I've ever been to in terms of set-up, quality of produce and just laid-back atmosphere. We're using Kip as money now but still holding onto our US dollars and Vietnam Dong for when we fly back into Vietnam.

Really looking forward to going back into Luang Prabang - we left there this morning on a bus to where we are now - Vang Vieng - the keyboard has both latin characters and Laoation characters which is quite trippy. The bus was impressive, saw some amazing countryside, like something out of a movie. Although we were told the bus trip would take 5hours it ended up taking 7, but the bus was comfortable to sleep on which was cool.

We also rode in a tuk tuk (the motorbike things with a bit on the back you sit in) which was fun. We're staying in a thatched bungalow beside a river for the next two nights. I think we'll be going tubing down the Vang Vieng river tomorrow which should be a great experience.

Ciao for now!
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On Wed, Sep 3, 2008 at 7:05 PM, - Mat - wrote:

Awesome man, real awesome. Hope you're getting lots of photos!
Stuff here is as usual, by the way, just rained a bit today. Oh, and you got an express post letter. Just thought I'd let you know about that one.

Til next time, have fun!

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Date: Wed, 3 Sep 2008 21:40:31 +0700

From: mickstah
To: Mat
Subject: Re: Greetings from Ho Chi Minh

Who's the letter from do you know?

Got no idea on that one... weird...

Anyway, just booked out tubing trip tomorrow, apparently we get to explore caves and stuff as well so that should be interesting, and we get an English speaking guide which will be a nice relief (it's a bit daunting at first but you get used to making hand gestures and pointing to stuff on menus when dealing with other cultures, it's sort of like dealing with a child if you know what I mean)

Of course they all understand numbers though - as soon as you start talking numbers they're your best friend.

It's good though, you really feel like you are getting what you paid for (for instance tonight we paid the equivalent of $33 AUD for two places of spring rolls, a bowl of rice, two places of amazing pork ribs, a plate of awesome mashed potato and fresh hot bread, 3 double cocktails and 2 large bottles of beer and a glass of whiskey and coke) yet you still get fantastic gratitude. The place we ate at tonight had these awesome raised bed-like structures made from bamboo. You take your shoes off and on each bamboo bed you have a small table on there for your drinks and food, there's plenty of cushions for you to lay against and get comfy, very comfy, and to top it off they were playing back to back episodes of family guys. So we stayed there for about 5 or six episodes. It goes without saying that this was one of the most popular places on the tiny quiet streets.

On our way to this Internet cafe (where it's currently 9:34pm and balmy like a hot Australian summer) we hear such classics pumping out of the local "bars" as Rock Lobster and bad Laotian Karaoke.

We've taken a billion pictures already and we've still got 10 days to go. We might end up buying another 4gb card just to fit them all in. As I mentioned in the last email (or maybe I didn't..) the bus trip in was amazing, we got so many wicked photos. So picturesque.

I hope Mum has been reading these emails as well to see what adventures we've been up to.

Hopefully the weather stays just as good over there as it has been over here!

Ciao from Laos!
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On Thu, Sep 4, 2008 at 10:08 AM, - Mat -wrote:

Oh, and as for the package, I would not have a clue. The reply address is a gro box in sydney, and it was an overnight express delivery. Looks to be some a4 sized document with a clip on the corner (no, we havn't opened it :P). we can satisfy your curiosity prior to your return if you'd like, otherwise we can just leave it in your room til you return.

I have been showing mu the emails and she says keep writing, she's enjoying hearing about your travels.

Mat
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On 9/4/08, Mickie N wrote:

So today we spent our second day in Vang Vieng today and it let me say it was simply amazing!

We walked into the center of Town just before 8:30 am to eat some breakfast - I had muesli on fruit with home made yogurt (so tasty!) before we stumbled next door to go tubing. Upon arrival we were informed that we were the only ones that had booked and as a result they were going to put us with a kayaking group so that we could do that plus tubing for no extra charge which was great news.

After a long tuk tuk ride to the spot we geared up in our life jackets and dry bags (we brought along the camera as well so expect some wicked pics from this trip!) and set off kayaking down the river. The views were amazing, we were paddling right next to sheer mountains and river banks littered with banana trees and rice paddy fields.

After we navigated some small rapids in the river we paddled to shore for a 10 minute walk to the base of the mountain. This walk was awesome, we got to walk through a farming village then through the middle of a rice paddy field walking on the narrow path.

Upon arrival we were greeted with an awesome little hut structure overlooking the river that was flowing from the base of the mountain. After a short debriefing we jumped on an inner tube each and held onto a guide rope that led us to the base of the mountain. To get into these caves we had to flex ourselves under the rock formation then pull ourselves through the water caves with the guide rope. It truly was spectacular. I? didn't have a caving light on my head however Madeleine did so I was using her and everyone else who had one as a guide for navigating through the cave.

After about 5 mins we reached a stop where we ditched our inner tubes and started walking by foot. The caves were amazing yet cramped - so many limestone formations however I wonder how many more would have existed before people started exploring. There were some points where we had to crawl through mud to get to other sections of the cave, and others where we had to swim through head-height water - all whilst in pitch black apart from the torches. it was great!

After we finally exited our guides had prepared the group a bbq of fried rice, fresh bread rolls and chicken kebab skewers which were great! After a much deserved meal we headed back, through the rice paddy fields to another cave - a temple called the elephant temple, named so because of the limestone formation that looks exactly like a great elephant. I was great to hear about the history of the small cave and the monk that lived there to pray in the temple each day. They even had these great big Buddha statues in there and altars to offer gifts.

We eventually made our way back to the river for more kayaking, this time longer than just 10 mins - it seemed we kayaked for ages! We traversed some great rapids, twists and turns all whilst getting very wet and loving each minute. One of the guides got cocky and so one of the English groups saw to it that he was capsized with much cheering from all.

After about an hour of paddling down stream we were separated from the group to start our tubing fun. We ditched our kayaks and donned an inner tube each to float down the river before reaching the gauntlet of riverside bars.

Along the river there are about 6 or 7 riverside bars, they hook you in then you climb on to land to have a drink, sit back and watch others float on by while the bar cranks out bad music loudly (well some were worse than others). Most of the bars also had flying foxes, huge swings and slides into the river to keep you and your friends at their bar for longer.

We re-grouped with the rest of the kayakers on the 4th bar down the river - this one had the least amount of English backpacker geezers and was actually playing good music so it was a win for everyone. Madeleine and I enjoyed sitting back having a well deserved beer whilst watching others hurtle themselves into the water from great heights.

After about half an hour Madeleine and I along with our guide jumped back in the water, us in inntertubes and him in a kayak, prodding us down the river with his paddle every time we deviated off course. It was great fun for both him and us.

I didn't realise how long the journey really was, it took us about 45mins to get down the river on the inner tube, maybe even longer. I should also mention that it began to rain on us just as we got back in the water - heavily.

It was welcomed but by the time we got back to our bungalow (4:30pm!!) we were well and truly drenched.

All in all it was an amazing adventure today - we booked our bus out of Vang Vieng and back to Luang Prabang for tomorrow just moments ago so I'm looking forward to that.

Also I don't think I've mentioned this yet but most of the restaurants and bars in this town have squat toilets which takes a bit of getting used to. Imagine a toilet without the seat part, just the bottom bit sunken into the floor.

Interesting...

Sorry for the long email but there was just so much to say!

Ciao from Laos!

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On 9/9/08, Mickie N wrote:

It's been a few days since I last wrote. We're now in Hoi An now after leaving Vang Vieng and Luang Prabang.

We left our awesome little bungalow and jumped on a long bus ride back to luang prabang. The bus trip this time wasn't near as good as the bus trip into Vang Vieng, but we still got to look at the amazing countryside again.

Once we arrived back into Luang Prabang we jumped onto another tuk tuk back into the center of town and booked the same room next to the temple that we stayed in several days earlier. After that we walked back over to the night markets where Madz went nuts buying all sorts of stuff at bargain prices. Lots of nice bags, silks, art, carvings, silver etc. etc.

For dinner we ate some local cuisine next to the Mekong river. We tried pork Larp with sticky rice which was cool - it involved balling the rice up with the larp and eating it with your hand. We also tried heaven meat which was basically cured dried meat strips which was great.

We also got to hear the monks wake again with drumming, this time a completely different drumming pattern and style which was cool. We were treated to a free breakfast on the main street sampling all different breads and jams.

For lunch we again sat down next to the Mekong river and just watched the boats putter past while eating fresh local fruits such as papaya and dragon fruit and drinking big beerlao.

We caught our last tuk tuk out to the tiny airport and sadly left Laos in the afternoon to return back to Hanoi that evening. The place we stayed in was quite cool, on the 4th floor with a balcony overlooking the tiny busy street below.

We walked to the seafood district and decided to eat at a swanky looking place. It was probably the most we've spent on a meal over here yet - and it still came to $35 AUD. I ate a delicious mud crab with pepper sauce and madz had grilled prawn.

The following day we jumped on another plane - this time destined for Denang - then a 45min drive to Hoi An where we have spent the last 3 days getting clothing and shoes made. So far Madeleine has had about 6 pairs of shoes made, 3 dresses, two tops, a skirt and a suit while I've had a pair of dress pants made, two formal shirts and a suit. They look pretty good!

We fly out tomorrow for Nha Trang which is supposed to be a great coastal town, sorta like the Gold Coast so that should be interesting.

Hope everything is cool over there.

Ciao for now!
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From: mickstah
To: Mat
Subject: Re: Greetings from Ho Chi Minh

We're about to leave for the airport so I'll make this short.

We're back in Ho Chi Minh city (Sai gon) after an awesome adventure. Our last place we visited before Ho Chi Minh was Nha Trang and it was great there.

Very beautiful and very coastal. We ate some great meals and saw some interesting sights. Looking forward to coming home, we've had plenty of fun and managed to find plenty of bargains. All in all it was quite a cheap holiday. I'd certainly come back for sure.

See you guys soon!

Bye from the northern hemisphere for the last time.

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From: - Mat
Date: Sat, Sep 13, 2008 at 11:03 PM
Subject: RE: Greetings from Ho Chi Minh

Awesome dude. You'll probably be home when you read this then, but ehh. Safe travels and all, and see you when you arrive.

Mat

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Crab Island (aka Pulau Ketam)

2009-06-24T13:31:00.000+10:00

Mick and I hope to visit this quaint little fishing village near Kuala Lumpur on our way to Chaing Mai

According to info on this site it will take us an hour and a half to visit and we "...will enjoying a nice trip through the Klang Valley." If thats what you say :D

The site also tells us that the island has two villages separated by jungle and there are no roads. the houses on the island are built on stilts above mangrove mud flats that are home to delicious crab...DELICIOUS crab. I cant wait to feast on this gift from the sea <3

A Couple of Recipes

2009-06-23T15:40:00.001+10:00

I really enjoy cooking, anything (except boring food) is on the menu and i like trying out new recipes. Heres a couple of my own recipes that i like to use regularly though :)

Grandmother's Cookies!
(yes, they really are from my G'Ma's recipe)
½ cup sugar
½ cup butter
1 egg
½ tsp vanilla essence
1 ½ cups self raising flour
Choc chips/walnuts etc

Preheat oven to 180 degrees
Beat sugar and butter together until it goes a pale shade of yellow/almost white
Add vanilla and egg & beat some more

Next stir in sifted flour and choc/chips etc by hand

Roll cookie dough into balls (any size you like) and then put onto tray and flatten

Cook until browned (about 15min) and then cool completely on a wire rack before storing in an airtight container.
Easy peasy!

Beer Marinade for Fajitas

INGREDIENTS
1/3 bottle beer
1/2 -3/4 fresh lime juice
small "sloosh" olive oil
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp brown sugar
dash & a bit more of worcestershire sauce (or soy sauce if no worces available)
small handful chopped coriander
dash of ground cumin

Stir together beer, lime juice, olive oil, garlic, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, coriander, cumin. Add meat and marinate for at least 1 hour.

I'll add some recipes along the way ;)

Welcoming Chloe

2009-06-22T13:49:00.000+10:00

Say hello to Amber and Michaels newwwww baby - Chloe! Born yesterday (21st June) at 2:45pm after 12 hours of labour. She weighed in at 3kgs and is tiny teeny minature! And so cute too.

Pretty incredible to look and hold her - so very small and fragile.

Amber and Michael are obviously over the moon to have a healthy baby, although Michael looked like he could do with a few hours of sleep hahah! Its good that Amber and Chloe can stay in hospital for a few days (although, im pretty sure Amber would LOVE to get home asap) so that Michael can work a little. Poor buggers. They're going to be pretty tired for the next few weeks...if not years!

Chloe seems like a pretty "good" baby - not really crying, just content to look around and try make out whats going on in her world. Hopefully she gets into a sleep-feed-sleep pattern soon enough and stays as good as she is now.

So welcome to the world Chloe! Im looking forward to making you wear more cat costumes and watching you grow. And Congratulations again Amber and Michael - your family has officially started <3

xxx

High Beer

2009-06-19T14:10:00.000+10:00

This weekend is another installment of "High Beer" - the boys response to High Tea that is predomindantly a "girl" thing. The boys all get together for an afternoon of gentlemanly (or not) behaviour. They drink beer, they eat meat, they talk about man-things. Its all very testosterone.

But its not just for the men. Us girls go and there is only one rule - we have to drink at least one beer and then we can drink whatever we fancy. Easy enough imo! Especially when that beer is Beer Laos MMMM!

Speaking of Laos, i read this today:

"Pollution in the Mekong river has pushed freshwater dolphins in Cambodia and Laos to the brink of extinction, the conservation group WWF has said. Only 64 to 76 Irrawaddy dolphins remain in the Mekong, it says, and calls for a cross-border plan to help the dolphins. "

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8106323.stm

I really would love to go to see these dolphins (that arent really dolphins :P ) when we are over there but how sad that they are almost extinct :( They hang out around the Four Thousand Islands where the Mekong River reaches 14km wide during the monsoon!!

Into the unknown...and where i want to go

2009-06-16T11:57:00.000+10:00

On our trip to Chiang Mai we are certain to have some time on our hands to go exploring and there are so many amazing places we want to go...wait. i mean I want to go ;)

In Thailand, Sukhothai (the first kingdom of Thailand), Pai (hippy town in northern thailand), Nong Khai (on the border of Thailand and Laos) are all places i'd like to see. Not to mention exploring Chiang Mai and surrounds!

Laos has so many places i want to go to - Muang Ngoi Neua which is only accessibly by boat and has 2 hours of electricity per day, the Four Thousand Islands in Southern Laos for hammocks and beer laos, Vang Vieng again too. Bonnie and Tom are hopefully coming to visit us while and we hope that much exploring will be done. I'm looking forward to showing them the traps ;)

Burma's long-neck women struggle to break out of Thailand's 'human zoo'

2009-06-12T16:30:00.000+10:00

http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/burmas-longneck-women-struggle-to-break-out-of-thailands-humanzoo/2008/01/11/1199988589409.html

very sad article about the hill tribes struggle with modern society. these are some of the families that we might have the opportunity to work with while we are away.Such a hard thing to know which side is better - without money, the opportunities are negligible for these communities. with tourism money, they are like animals, freak shows :(

Online Clothing Stores

2009-06-12T11:55:00.001+10:00

heres a list of some that i like to peruse:

http://www.iloveabargain.com.au/
http://www.asiajam.com/
http://shanalogic.com/

i'll add more along the way ;)

i especially like this dress at the moment...

I Dress Myself

2009-06-10T12:18:00.001+10:00

Came across this site whilst searching for other things...
http://www.idressmyself.co.uk/

very cool.
want some of the tee's for sure! so cute

Poster Ideas

2009-06-10T10:27:00.000+10:00

The fundraiser that we are doing as a farewell will be coming up on Independence Day (4 July) so i thought it would be fitting to do an art deco style poster - something imposing, important and awesome.

In my googling i've come across some pretty amusing and some really cool posters....as you can see below:

V for Victory! I thought Mick might be able to use this one for one of the High Beer flyers perhaps?

giant woman is giant

Quite umm..."amusing" considering the air france disaster going on at the moment :-/

Go Montana! I really like the text on this poster

I also really like this sort of thing...not sure what you would call it but i really like the print-style look of it.

Theres a bit of info about it on this site (GrainEdit) and some other REALLY cool things too.
I'm off to waste some time reading up on "things" now :D

p.s check out these pics http://www.flickr.com/photos/30625014@N02/sets/72157617833014482/

i think the poster should use something random like one of these... so so cool. i like a lot!

Longgggg Weekends in June

2009-06-09T15:01:00.000+10:00

Had a pretty good long weekend just gone! Dinner on Friday night and a friends birthday as well.

On Saturday we headed to We Love Sounds festival. Good times were had. Mick and I actually sold industry tickets to this and made ourselves a nice little packet of munney from selling them ($5 per ticket).

We started out with pancakes and punch at our place (and me giving in to temptation and dying my hair red again ha ha) and then we did the walk over to the festival at Moore Park. Only took about 20 min and we got to drink punch and long island iced teas along the way - good times!

We rolled in with time to catch Justin Martin and also caught Anja Schneider, Popof, Dinky, bit of Matthew Dekay (the sound was horrible in the Horden where he was playing - even awesome ear plugs did not help!!), Jimi Polar (very good!), 16bit Lolitas as well. The "highlight" of the day was watching a charming gent piss all over the carpeted floor of the Forum. how awesome. Oh and of course listening to the sounds of numerous girls vomiting in the ladies bathrooms.

We left a bit early and went home for me to have a nice sleep then go see the kids who had come up from Melbourne for the festival. Unfortunately we didnt make it - i felt too ill and mick was in fine form after at least 6 long island iced teas + many smirnoff cans at the festival. Turns out they were also feeling a bit under the weather so probably for the best.

Sunday was spent down south at Mick's place - was good to have time out :) Monday i spent mostly eating! Brunch with Mum and Aunty Melda, lunch with Danielle and Gareth and then a big group dinner at Shakespeare Hotel which finished up at midnight!

I <3 long weekends

lesson plan ideas

2009-06-05T15:26:00.001+10:00

I came across this site...
http://www.kinderart.com/sculpture/

that has some cool ideas for projects that mick and I can do with the kids. I'm particularly fond of doing the paper mache masks ;)

digitalomo

2009-06-04T11:06:00.000+10:00

i want a minimo!!!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mini-minimo/2947542815/in/photostream/
http://www.digitalomo.com/
http://www.digitalandco.com/tag/minimo/

speaking of "arty" things, theres an exhibition on tonight that Mick and I are hoping to go along to - its called '30 x 40' - A snapshot of contemporary art practice in 2009. According to the unitedgalleries site its an exhibition covering a range of medias including painting, drawing, photography and printmaking from artists all across australia. should be pretty good! its opening night is tonight and it goes for a month.

Circle Cats!

2009-06-01T16:56:00.000+10:00

This,.....is awesome
thank you natalie dee!!!
http://www.nataliedee.com/

9 weeks to go and things are getting serious…

2009-05-26T09:41:00.000+10:00

So 9 weeks til we go. Departure flights are locked in. Leave without pay has been approved. Packing my crap up has not yet commenced - but updating my sewing skills has!

Im getting right into the whole workshop thing that mick and I are going to be doing when we are over there. Got some great ideas about projects we can work on – arteee style. I'll probably use this blog to do a bit of a brain dump - easier than having to lug a book over there with all my scribbles ;)

One of the things I hope to teach some of the students and families to make are little zip coin purses. Only need such a small amount of fabric and time and are totally cute. Can be embellished with beads or printing or whatever they like! I'll take some pics of the ones i have made so far and might even do a tutorial so i don't forget!

While lurking on Instructables, I came across GirlSavage and her feltidermy …SO CUTE! I would love to be able to sew things like she does. Simply adorable. Perhaps while im relaxing in the warmth of Chiang Mai I can teach myself how to make something like that ;)

Lisa has recently opened a cafe in Chiang Mai that she wants Mick to help do a website up for. Thats pretty cool! Hopefully he can do something that not only he is happy with, but Lisa can use for a long time. I might get a few examples of cool sites that he might want to use, but obviously it will be better designed once he knows Lisa and Freedom House!

Oh - and check out this guys work http://fune-art.com/gallery1a.htm he's a contemporary Thai artist from the area of Pai - one of the places we hope to check out while we are over there. some awesome stuff!