Having "Me" Time

This past Saturday, while waiting for an appointment, I had the opportunity to try out a little coffee shop that stood in a quiet part of Soi Aree 1, Paholyothin Road. Those who live around there probably already know about this place, but it was new discovery for me. Wawee Coffee. Wawee coffee at Soi Aree 1 has a quaint little atmosphere to it. It is housed in an old-styled house that is at least 20 years old, and renovated to accomodate the coffee drinkers. Brick walls, alternated with wood and funky chandeliers make the place warm and inviting. It feels like home away from home. Unlike some places which are so small you can hardly sit, at Wawee coffee there were more than enough tables, chairs and sofas for you to find a comfortable little spot from which to escape from the world. The wonderful thing about this place is that there are different kinds of seating for you to choose depending upon your mood or preference. There is the gazebo on the porch, the table on the patio, the sof...

This afternoon, I went to check out the sales that the City of Bangkok had organized at Thonglor Soi 10 to help merchants from Siam square affected by recent events. It was a large shopping event, though on a smaller scale than the one at Silom Road. I got off the skytrain at Thonglor and walked to the free shuttle bus stop. People gathered around the stop, waiting for the little red buses to come. In the meanwhile, zillions of motorcycle taxis rushed in and out sending off those who couldn't be bothered to wait. It was crowded and hectic. When the little red bus arrived, everyone rushed in and filled it up to its full capacity. There was no space left unfilled. The bus was like a little red sardine can filled with sardines all packed up close together. The bus zig-zagged in and out amongst the small streets of Thonglor, passing a beautiful Chinese styled home, the Embassy of Kenya, a delicious fondue restaurant called Andaman, before finally arriving at the site of the sale. There...

It's a long weekend here in Bangkok and one filled with so many activities. The largest department store, Siam Paragon, reopened and the Silom Street Market was organized to help merchants who had been affected by recent events. Life was finally back to normal in the city of angels. I couldn't just stay in and miss out on all the fun, so I went out to have some fun. My first stop was the Silom Street Market. The roads through the main business district today was closed to traffic and turned instead into a massive walking street. I got off the skytrain and was amazed at the number of people who came out in droves. There were over a thousand stalls and over a thousand visitors. Everywhere I turned there were people. Black heads wobbled left and right. Stalls were so busy selling, some couldn't sell their goods fast enough. Everything you could possibly want was at Silom today. There were clothes of all styles and sizes, shoes, jewelry, house decorations, and of...

May 2010 has gone by so fast this year I can hardly believe it. Time seems to be flying by faster and faster the older you grow, and there never seems to be enough time to do everything I want. Soon I'll be sixty and retired, or not, and soon I will have past the best years of my life. What are the best years of your life? Most often people would say its the teenage years, or your twenties. When you're a teenager, you discuss about what you want to do, what you want to be when you grow up. In the twenties, fresh from college and full of energy, you devote yourself to work, work and more work. When you reach the thirties, it seems to hit you like an unwanted bump on the road. For me, the thirties was more like an awakening. It has been a time of reflection, and for rediscovering what is it you want in life. A time to re-balance. Goals and dreams previously set out and never reached had to be re-evaluated. Its either do it now, or don't do it. Dreams sometimes ...

I was having fruits tonight when popped in a funny and true story. The story is about "How I eat durians." Durians are large, thorn-covered and have a very distinctive odour. If you've never eaten durian or don't like it, the smell will resemble somewhat that of a rotten egg mixed with rotten cheese . However if you love eating durian, which I do, it smells just wonderfully delicious. (As long as it isn't in an air-conditioned room.) It is undoubtedly a one of a kind fruit and has been appropriately named "The King of Fruits." You just have to try it at least once in your life. I wonder who was the first human brave enough to eat this? Anyways, the funny thing about durians is that I grew up eating them always with a knife, spoon, and fork. The creamy texture which somewhat resembles a fatty cheese like Mont D'Or , or that of a custard was always eaten scooped up on the spoon. It was a dessert fruit, so naturally we used the dessert utensils...

Too much politics can give one a headache, so tonight my topic will be completely different. My topic tonight is: Rain. (And no, its not about the Korean star called "Rain." I really mean the rain as in raindrops) As it has been raining cats and dogs regularly for the past few days, tonight is no exception. As I sit here at my desk, I can hear the soft tapping of the rain as it hits the window pane. The tapping raindrops are intermittently disrupted by sounds of the blowing wind, and then the soft tap evolves into a gentle gush of wind. I love all this: I love hearing the soft tapping of the rain, feeling the coolness that it brings, smelling the freshness in the air, and the momentary silence as people halt their activities. It makes me nostalgic. For me, rain has always been associated with good memories. I spent a good part of my childhood life in Belgium where it rained for 10 months out of a year and the sky was a permanent shade of grey. It rained when I fir...

Four days after the burning of Bangkok, citizens got up on their feet and resumed life. Schools and offices reopened and traffic filled the streets. Shops overflowed with customers and queues snaked around the post office. Everyone wanted to get out and get things done. In the office, conversation wavered between work and politics. News and rumours were exchanged. Why were only some buildings targeted? Why not some others? Emotions still ran high. Expressions of anger abound as colleagues wondered "How could they do this to our city? How could they burn down what we hold dear? Did you hear the central bank was also a target? Who are these hooligans to consider themselves above the law? They should be punished. " The reds, however, do not understand why others didn't see it their way. How do you know that more didn't die? Do you truly believe the news you hear? Are you sure its not being censored? How did you know it was the reds that burned the buildin...

After having evacuated my apartment exactly a week ago, I returned. There was a strange and bizarre feeling today as I drove into town towards my apartment. On the outskirts, a sense of normalcy had returned and the shopping malls were once again filled with people. However, as I got closer to my apartment, the roads were still strangely empty and the sidewalks abnormally quiet. I felt as if people had not yet fully returned to center city. My feeling was reaffirmed as I turned into my apartment. The garage was half empty and there was still an eerie calm as I walked down the corridor. My neighbors had not returned. Eventhough, the sky train and underground resumed service today and responsible citizens had come out in droves to volunteer for the big Bangkok Cleaning Day, a sense of worry and concern still lingered in the air. As I went about my apartment cleaning and putting things in order, electricity suddenly blacked out. I rushed to the window, wondering if there w...

Our Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva announced today that "Order had been restored." Upon hearing those words, I felt like a mountain had been lifted off my shoulder. I am delighted beyond words that these two months of protests have finally ended so that I may start living my life again. Never have I been so thankful to have my liberty back. Liberty that I had previously taken for granted. I now understand why Liberty and Freedom are probably one of the most cherished rights one could have. To be able to go where and when I wish without having to fear danger or worry about roads being closed. To be able to roam the streets free as a bird. A very old song I liked as a child growing up is "Born free." "Born free, as free as the wind blows, as free as the grass grows, born free to follow your heart........ Born free, and life is worth living, but only worth living, cause you're born free.." We must not forget and let anything take our freedom away,...

This morning I woke up to charred remains of main offices and shopping malls in Bangkok. The image was emotionally disturbing and will forever mark its place in the heart of Bangkokians. What I found uplifting though was all the messages of hope and renewal that were being sent out by my friends. It was no longer time to despair but a time to move forward. We can't change the past but we can change the future. Thailand will overcome this obstacle and we will once again rebuild our economy. W e can only go forward. Where there's a will, there's a way. Problems will not disappear overnight, and may even take decades to work it out, but we must work hard to ensure that this does not happen again. We must forgive but not forget. Problems of inequality must be seriously addressed and corruption stopped. The old growth model must be rethinked. Pointing fingers will not get us anywhere. We must let the justice system solve the problems. For the time being, "Receive...

Tonight I write this post which much sadness and with a sorrow I cannot describe. My Bangkok, the city of angels, is burning down in all the major areas and there is nothing we can do about it but pray that this nightmare will end sooner than later. This morning I woke up to news of the military crackdown on the protestors which started since 5:45hours. We all hoped it would end soon and at around 13:45 hours today the Red Shirt leaders announced an end to the protests and turned themselves in to the national police. For a brief period there was a calmness that we all hoped would signal a peaceful end to this saga. Ill from the flu, I slept in the afternoon glad that things had finally turned for the better. I woke up at 16:00 hours to scenes of fire raging throughout my beloved country. Angry that the leaders had turned themselves in, the black guards of the Red Shirts set out to burn down every major landmark that we hold dear. Not only did fire rage in Bangkok but throughout the...

Outside the warzone, life continues as normal. Certain offices including mine remain open and we continue on with our daily reports, meetings and the so important PowerPoint. Events and their effects have been reduced to a few lines in our reports and the television with the news on runs in the background, like background music. Every now and then we look up from our computer screens and glance at the news, give a sign, and go back to doing what we were doing. It's a sad reality, but after two months of violence, on and off, we have adapted and gotten used to it. Casualties increase daily but the numbers no longer shock us like before. We mourn for the dead, but they are increasingly just numbers on the screen or messages on our Twitter update. As a friend commented today, little did we imagine that we would one day know the difference between an M16, M79 or a tear gas gun. Now we are fully informed so that we may analyze snapshots clearly. News becomes our lunch time...

Today my country is in a state of anarchy. Anything could happen. Today the government warned the protestors, like they had been during these past two months, to leave the area. Flyers were dispersed over the protest site, so that women, elderly people and children could leave. Safety areas were set up for them. Innocent people don't need to be harmed and the government has repeatedly sent out this message. In fact, our Eton and Oxford educated prime minister has been so concerned about not hurting anyone that he has let this protest go on for 2 months. If we had people camp out in the middle of the central business district in any other country or had protestors setting up their own checkpoints and demanding to check your belongings, setting up road blocks, and burning tyres, I think we would have seen much more force and violence. This would never happen anywhere else. Force would have been used. We had been too lenient on the protests and the government even had bathrooms ere...

Today was decision day. I had to decide whether to stay or evacuate my building. I like staying home with my books so I wasn't too pressured. I had food in the fridge and everything I needed. I could even go for a swim if I felt like it. On the other hand, I woke up to a ghost town. News reported that nearby residents were being hit by stray bullets. The chaos was inching in closer to my apartment. The road I had just walked on Friday was now off limits. I spent the morning picking calls from worried parents and relatives. Perhaps things wouldn't end so fast and I might be stuck in the building for who knows how long? I insisted on staying and spent the morning reading news. I wanted to see different perspectives on events. Afterall there are two sides to every coin. No one has a right to use force but then, no one also has the right to just set camp downtown and not leave till their demands are met. Some people say that the government should just step down and give the p...

This morning, I woke up to an eerie silence. The usually busy road on which my apartment is located was empty. The skytrain which runs above it, had stopped their service since yesterday. No one walked on the roads. The police had closed of a number of roads for safety's sake and they were right to do so. Last night, the anti-government side (either protestors or is it a third party terrorist?) used guns and fired bombs. They burnt rubber tires sending black smoke billowing into the air. And all this, the red shirts say, is a "peaceful demonstration." I just wonder how they can say its "peaceful" if they are in possession of firearms? The logic bewilders me. Never-ending rounds of military bombs are being used on the authorities. Illegal trades of military weapons obviously exist and we must stop it. It reminds me of all those deals we see in action movies and on the news. It is a reality. There are those gaining from the disruption. Confrontation...

Politics in Bangkok today became more serious and more stressful. I'm not going to delve into politics today and instead take a relaxing trip to the Temple of Dawn (or what in Thai we call Wat Arun) by the Chaophraya river in Bangkok. It is a landmark that is known by every Thai, but I wonder how many have actually been up close and personal with it? We often see it from across the river, past it on the boat and tell our foreign visitors about it, but rarely do we actually go there and explore all that it has to offer. I still remember the first time I saw it after having moved back to Bangkok. It w as on a cruise at night and the lights were shining on it to show it off in all its glory. The temple shone out against the dark night sky and for a minute, I was transposed to another time. Bangkok in its former glory. Absolutely breathtaking. Up close, I was surprised to find it decorated by mosaics and beautiful chinese ceramics. A reminder of the trade that flourished between China...

Today, the day of the Royal Ploughing Ceremony which has been a part of Thai culture for centuries, the Thai government decided to get serious on the Red Shirt protestors. In the morning, there were specially selected white buffaloes and a rice growing ceremony with Brahmans looking at signs for this year's harvest. Once finished, farmers, whose livelihood depend on the outcome of their rice crop, rush to get a few grains of rice used in the ceremony as a token of good luck. Some manage to get enough to sell. Its a big event that symbolizes our past and our future. In the afternoon, the government's patience was worn thin and a serious of safety measures were announced. Almost exactly 2 months since the protests first began and a government holiday, people nearby to the protest sights were asked to go home early. At 6pm electricity and water supply would be cut off to the protestors, and roads nearby would be cordoned off. No one could enter without permission, but people were...

I love sleeping, but I don't nearly get as much as I would like to.   Some weeks I'm great at forcing myself to bed at a certain time so I get my full 8 hours sleep, other weeks I end up sleeping late playing with my new gadgets or just surfing the web.  Then it becomes a vicious cycle that is hard to break out of. On weeks that I do get enough sleep, I find that I perform a lot better at everything I do, whether its work, running or just emotionally.  I am less prone to losing my anger and my brain regains its speed.  Problems become easier to solve, memories run faster, and I find it easier to control my weight.  Apparently, sleep helps regulate the hormones that control our appetite! Isn't that a wonderful thing?  I slept more when I needed to lose weight. According to Harvard Medical School, sleep is important in helping our memory retain data both before and after we learn a new task.  They also found that inadequate sleep affects your mood, motivation, judgment and pe...

I bought a pack of presliced Dole apples the other day at the 7-11 store. Its all so convenient these days to have fresh fruit! As I munched on the apple slices, I thought to myself, why does "An Apple A Day Keeps the Doctor Away?" We all know its rich in fiber and great if you snack on it on your way to a healthier life, but what is in exactly? One Apple according to nutritiondata.com is great because it is very low in saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium. It also is a great source of dietary fiber and vitamin C! Yipee!!! That's not all, it also contains: Vitamin A, Vitamin E, Vitamin K, Thiamin, Riboflavin, Niacin, Vitamin B6, and Folate. In addition, if you want to lose weight, one medium apple is only around 90 calories and will keep you full for quite some time! :) It really works! I have also read that it has been shown to reduce cholesterol and heart disease, as well as reducing risks of colon cancer, prostrate cancer and lung cancer! (According to the Stan...

Today I had the honour of taking a group of visitors to visit "The Rose Garden" at Suan Sampran not far from Bangkok.  There is a quiet and often overlooked "Thai Village" there that never fails to impress me no matter how often I go there. Its not only the elephant and cultural shows that most people seem to visit in the afternoon that the village has to offer, but during the morning hours of 10.00-12.00hrs there is a wonderful little activity.   It offers a visitors a hands-on experience of all aspects unique to Thai culture, such as making toys out of grass weaving, growing and milling rice, touching buffaloes, dancing with bamboo sticks, playing on the Thai xylophone, sword fighting, making flower garlands and pottery, watching umbrella painting, silk weaving, Thai cookery and just basically having a good old time.   The impeccable service makes an impression. The reaction is always smiles and sounds of laughter despite the scorching summer heat.  (It went ...

During my day off on Wednesday, I went to eat at a buffet.  The food was great, the ambiance wonderful, and the company even better.  After having lost all that weight, (a huge 15 kgs of it) I had been cautious about my eating and maintaining my weight.   Things had been going so well, I decided to reward myself and just allow myself to eat to my heart's content for a day.    I told myself, "It's just one meal, then you'll go run it off and watch your portions for the next few days.  Things will be alright."  Weight-wise, things were great.  I didn't gain any weight.   I throughly had a great time eating my full share of sashimi, wakame, eel,  oysters, salads, breads, cheese,  lamb chops, beef in truffle sauce, berry duck breast, grilled fish,  and two lovely servings of velvety dark chocolate cake. I ate a ALOT.  I  ate like it was the end of the world, and that I would never get to eat again.  I ate as if there was no tomorrow. Last night and today I suffere...

The other day I watched the movie "A Serious Man." Its a great but utterly strange movie that has twinkled my brain and sparkled my brain cells. The opening quote by Rashi (who is a renowned Rabbi) says: "Receive with simplicity everything that happens to you." I love this quote. It captures exactly what happens in the movie and is a great reminder to us all, that no matter what happens, we should all receive (or take) things with simplicity for in the end, we all die. The movie takes place in the late 1960's and the main character is Larry Gopnik who is simply an ordinary Jewish professor trying to be a "serious man." He has a troubled family and is pressured by a series of unfortunate events that happen to him with his wife wanting divorce, his son secretly smoking marijuana, his daughter stealing money from his wallet to save up for a nose job, an unwanted brother sleeping on the couch, and a student who is trying to bribe him for a passing gr...

Here's an entertaining story.  In my family we mostly have noodles for lunch and everything else is eaten during dinner. It became a convention that I grew up with and didn't question much.  I thought it was the "norm" in most households. I spent my childhood in Europe and did my studies in the US. Whenever I had noodles, I had it for lunch. I never considered having it for dinner. Then I moved back to Thailand. I still ate noodles for lunch. There are so many varieties, I could never get bored of it. Then one day, Alex asked if I wanted to have noodles for dinner? "Noodles for dinner?" I repeated with a surprised look on my face. No, I didn't want noodles for dinner. It felt strange, "noodles don't belong at dinnertime." It's a "lunch" food! It just didn't feel right in my brain. It felt misplaced and abnormal.  The concept of "noodles" and "dinner" just didn't match. Did other people ...

I recently heard a story which was told with much delight, but somehow made me feel extremely bad and sad at the same time. It wasn't something I thought one should feel "delighted" about. In fact, I would feel ashamed. The story I was told pertained to a friend receiving a guest from a continent that differed in both climate, history and culture from Asia. The guest mentioned that he did not eat any animal that lived in water because in their country, they didn't consider it a good thing. Gleefully, the host decided to "teach" this person that eating animals that lived in water wasn't such a bad thing and that there was nothing "wrong" with it. The host then continues to order some frogs, trick the unassuming guest that it is actually "chicken" and then later reveals the truth. The guest spends the night, unable to sleep because he had done something that in his value system was considered "wrong." This story to me is ...

This evening I went to dinner at the Rio Grill Brazillian Restaurant at this unremarkable hotel that I am sure not many people in Bangkok have been to.  Its at the Asia Hotel which is walking distance to the main shopping district of Siam Paragon and Siam Centre.   I walked in and felt as if I had gone back to another time.  The hotel reminded me of times when big lobbies and large reception areas were the signs of a good hotel.  There were some art nouveau type decorations and stained glass signs.  It has a certain charm to it which I cannot describe.  It is so clean it doesn't have any of the "smell" that usually accompanies old buildings and is so clean and simple.  I suppose I like the simplicity of it all.  It isn't trying to be anything it isn't.  It simply is a hotel that was opened a in another era, when Bangkok didn't have sky trains or subways, when shopping malls didn't exist.   I ate at this Rio Grill Brazilian Restaurant which reminded me of t...

Its the weekend so lets skip politics today and revert back to something light. :) I was talking about shoes and shoe sizes today and thought I'd share a funny fact that my shoe size changed after I lost weight! Once we've past puberty and stopped growing, who would have thought that shoe size would change? I mean, my feet doesn't have that much fat does it? They actually do. At my peak weight, I wore a shoe size 39. Now I wear a 38 or 37.5 depending on the style. My shoe size dropped by half a size after roughly 5 kgs. Now 15 kgs (34lbs) later, it has dropped by one whole size! It makes buying shoes easier! YEAH!!:) However, its also more standard so if I want to get shoes on sale, I'd better go early! (Or maybe this whole shoe size thing is my excuse to buy some shoes? What do you think?) -- Sent from my mobile device