Tag Archives: Bangkok

Quiet Moments with Becky & Chris

having a quiet moment

having a quiet moment

I am starting a new series on the blog called “Quiet Moments with Becky & Chris”

Being an expat you can’t help but have some questions about life in whatever country you are residing in.  Somehow Chris and I come up with the most random questions, some are silly but some are legitimate questions that we would like to know the answers to!  So if you read these and it makes you smile- mission accomplished!  If you read these and it makes you think-that’s a double whammy!  If you read our quiet moments and actually know the answers please enlighten us!

If you are an expat or a traveler with a quiet moment of your own please share!  I would love to post it and give you the bragging rights and in return you might make someone smile, think or finally get the answer you were looking for!

Here we go!  This is a Becky Quiet Moment:

“If you have a pop singing group full of ladyboys are they a boy band or a girl group?”

Thursday Market on Soi 23

cheap fashion that all the ladies love
http://www.toddlejoy.com enjoying the “toy market”
http://www.toddlejoy.com more toy shopping
Thai snacks anyone?
just your run of the mill orchid stall at the market
duck in a pot
yummy
food market. all the fruits, veggies and meat you could ask for!
fresh fruit

In a previous post, I shared with you my awesome finds from the Thursday morning market on Soi 23.  This market, also known as the Asoke Market or Japanese Market, has anything you might possibly want or need! Today Killian and I ventured out to the market with our new friends (Loren also writes a blog on her adventures in Bangkok- check it out- great stuff for expats with kids!).  Loren and her son were on a mission for toys and we had no other purpose there today but to take pictures with the Nikon so I can flex my photography muscles.

Enjoy!

Special Needs

first time he has intentionally looked at the camera and said cheese!

first time he has intentionally looked at the camera and said cheese!

We all have needs, some more than others. I didn’t really want to write about this but then again I think that it is important to share how we are adjusting with anyone else that might be an expat or a parent going through the same thing, it’s always nice to know you aren’t alone.

As a parent it is extremely hard not to compare your child to the kids you see around. When at different playgroups I think “well Timmy can do this but Killi can’t or Jenny can do that but why can’t Killian…?” Everyone says that children develop at their own speed and on their own time and I know that this is true but as a parent it is hard not to worry and think about if your kid is falling behind. You wonder if your child is actually falling behind or are you blowing it out of proportion. Everyone is eager to give their two cents on when their kid started talking or in an attempt to help you not worry about it down play the situation but in all reality that doesn’t help put a parents mind at ease, nothing will at this point.

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Soi 33

Just a morning stroll down our local brothel street, soi 33. Guess it’s to early to be wooing a lovely lady.

Wanted to give you a look of what I was talking about in a previous post, here you can see “massage parlors” with names like love teen massage and lookie lookie. No brothel would be complete without a Moulin Rouge. Bar fly is the amazing breakfast we had a couple of weeks ago and tenderloins next door is the club house for the Bangkok Bangers Rugby team, a team Chris just joined!

During the day soi 33 is a great spot to get cart food, which smells great, fresh fruit and your local iced coffee (if your brave enough to drink their ice-it about kills my stomach so beware!).

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Turns out we have our own little slice of Paris here on soi 33…

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One House to Clean

Last week our nanny soap opera (get it like One Life to Live?!) concluded… well sort of.  Last Friday, Pai came in to talk to Chris before he headed to work.  We explained we could keep her until a new maid/nanny arrives for 1 day a week and we would pay her the same hourly rate as before.  She didn’t really seem to like this although it was her idea.  She asked me on the day that she quit if she could come work for 1 day a week until we found another helper, we said yes but now she is saying no I want more.  She says “I wants part time!” I say “We only need you for one day, I can do everything around the house and take care of Killian.”  (I just can’t iron…I’m the worst!) She doesn’t seem to really understand.  Chris explains to her when she works for 1 day what her pay would be at the end of the day.  She says well “I need more money.  I don’t know if I work here or not.”  I say “Ok you need to make up your mind.  Either you work here for one day a week or you don’t, either is fine with me but I am not going to wait around and see if you come into work or not.”  Not sure if the language barrier is there but she just shakes her head in agreeance.  She then says she will go to Krabi with us to help with Killian if we don’t have a helper.  She says “I go to Krabi.  You pay salary?”  “ummmm no.  If you go to Krabi you can go on vacation, we will pay for everything, and you will watch Killian when he naps but no salary since you do not work for us anymore.  It’s your choice.”  The only reason I have offered this to her is because she quit her job with no way to pay her bills.  She didn’t think one step ahead and just up and quit.  Is that my problem?  No!!! But I’m a nice person and will help anyway.

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Breakfast at Barfly

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Lady bar by night, amazing American breakfast by morning.

I had read about breakfast at barfly in the Sukhumvit magazine and what they had to offer looked amazing. I had remember seeing the bar as I walk down Soi 33, a soi known for its lady bars where you can buy a lovely lady that works at the bar a drink and negotiate a price for further entertainment as the night goes on. I was a little put off thinking about having breakfast there but at the same time the picture of the Eggs Benedict in the magazine was calling my name.

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Another Awesome Afternoon

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Just wanted to give a little toddler tip for the expat moms in Bangkok! Yesterday, Wednesday afternoon, Killian and I headed to Gateway Ekkami to play at Molly Fantasy and had an awesome time! We arrived around 3pm and the place was a ghost town! There might have been 5 other kids playing! This is a welcomed change of pace if you have ever visited this play place on the weekend! Killian was wiped out after an hour and half of playing and we headed home. If traveling via BTS the 3pm and 4:30pm hours were not busy so much more manageable with a toddler in tow. A fun afternoon with my kid and I didn’t walk out with a headache due to screaming kids (and I even got to play on the big slides!!)

Thursday Market on Soi 23

On Thursday mornings, we were attending swim class but now that we have changed our swim class to the weekend I have the opportunity to go to the Thursday Morning Market.  I have had so many people tell me about it but after swim class Killian is wiped out and I would normally take him back for a nap but no more!

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All My Nannies

Yesterday the soap opera (get it like All My Children hahaha) that is my life with our nanny came to a close. Yesterday morning I went downstairs to our lobby to catch our 8am tuk tuk to the hospital for Killian’s dentist appointment and low and behold, I see my nanny sitting on the couch playing on her iPad. I am amazed since we didn’t know where or how she was since we had been calling her all day (the day before) and yesterday morning to see if she was ok. I say “Hey! What are you doing here!?” She just stares at me. I say “We have been trying to call you all day yesterday and this morning. Are you ok?” she says “Phone off. I sleep.” I ask “How am I supposed to get a hold of you if you keep your phone off?” I receive a blank stare. I explain I had to cancel my appointments because we didn’t know if she was coming in or not. She barks back at me “I told you I would be here today!” I said “No you didn’t. All I heard on the phone was “At doctor. Tummy hurt.” When I asked if you were coming in and/or to please call me to let me know if you would come in you hung up the phone.” She just looks at me as if I am the one with the problem. I ask if she is ok since she was at the doctor. She says “Yes. Doctor says I need to eat breakfast, lunch and dinner.” My jaw drops. “You aren’t eating? (Please keep in mind as soon as she walks in the door in the morning I offer her breakfast. At lunch I offer her whatever I have in the house every single day and every day she says no I am ok. I check every day to see if she has eaten and she always says yes.) I stand up, visibly frustrated, shake my head, look down at my son in his stroller and walk away. She storms upstairs to do her work.

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