Sun nien fai lok

And of course you all know Kung hei fat choi.
My heading means Happy New Year and the greeting that you all know - Kung hei fat choi is "May you become prosperous." 

There is a very big Chinese influence in Thailand and none of this is more evident then the celebration of the Chinese New Year. This year the year of the dragon.
The whole fam is headed down to Chinatown tonight with a group of Diane's work colleagues to enjoy the festival.
So on to the news...... Lena has dropped her workload to four days a week with two jobs. She quit the M to F half days to give herself a little more time and because she really did feel like it was unfair to the school to only be working until March and then leave then short when we head home. Better they find a full time replacement for her now. So only working full day on Saturday and half day Sunday at an international language school called Lalingua. On Tuesday and Thursday evenings she has classes with folks from Thanachart Bank. The time off has already paid dividends for Lenz. Went to the condo on Sunday afternoon as Deeds and I exited and Lena stayed till mid day Tuesday. Soaking up some sun and taking it easy by the pool.
Deedles is working four days a week, just like back home. We get to travel a little bit, or at least go to the condo in Pattaya for two and a half days every week to chill out. Work is going really well for her and therefore not even worth talking about here. No pressure, no issues at this point.
Jer, well he is working even harder now then he has in all the time in BKK. Yeah I am the offiical travel agent for the team. We have started to book our return to the Great White North, more on that in following paragraphs. 
First our latest trip. Bali. For my birthday Diane took me to Bali for a four day weekend. We flew out Thursday morning and came back on Sunday, January 15. Just before our second last visitors arrived. Sheila and Andy are last minute travelers. I believe they decided to come to Thailand around the middle of December and boom here they are. Midway thru their trip now, in Cambodia as I write this, back for a few days in Pattatya and then home to the winter. Our last visitors arrive mid Feb. Lena's best friend Caitlin and Brad. They have a great trip planned and Lena will be sure to tell you all about it. So Bali.

Awesome place. Very English friendly. Seems like everyone there spoke decent English. Cheap as Thailand so good value. Food is not as interesting or as many dishes offered as here but good nonetheless. It is a little more toward the young folk then the mature traveler like myself but very enjoyable for both of us. Oh, and of course it is on the other side of the equator. Actually 8 degrees south, just like BKK is 8 degrees north. So same climate, trees, etc., which means......... rainy season!
Yes, if it is dry on one side of the equator it is raining on the other side. Rained every day. Poured the first day, we couldn't even see out the taxi window as we bumped down a lane way to our first hotel. (Yes first, Deedles story to follow). At the end of the lane way there were cows grazing in a field. 

So a little off the beaten path! Good selling point on their website, serene, away from the noise of the city. No discos to worry about.....  Just the balling of baby cows in the middle of the night is all. Big huge cowbells clanking around thier necks. And they are there every night staring at you as the taxi pulls up, saying "Home a little early tonight aren't ya folks! Going to bed already? It's only 9:30!!"
Yeah you guessed it. We are out of here. Just wasn't right. And my Deedles does not settle for run of the mill. Ever want to get a room upgrade, call Deeds. Think you should be in the penthouse rather than the room facing the dumpster, call Deeds. 
While I slept (was easily 10 for the cows big fat information) Deeds got on the internets and found us an absolutely gorgeous hotel. Way out of our snack bracket but since it was my birthday, voila. She made it happen. Guess in some small way I am worth it. (Big grin) A few words to the front desk and we were gone. To the Ayana Hotel and Resort.  

The famous Rock Bar, hanging out into the Indian Ocean

Beach Pool

A little Balinese serenade at the main pool

Nice Rooms too. A great balcony!

Pool fades into the Indian Ocean. Sweet.

Unbelievable property. Great vistas of the Indian Ocean. Close to local seaside restaurants which we sampled. A fresh seafood dinner on the beach....... well except that it is rainy season. Freaking monsoon hit about 15 minutes after we settled in, lucky for us the German couple at table 8 finished their garlic shrimp in a hurry so we were able to watch the rain beat down on the beach from a safe distance. Until the staff draw down the bamboo blinds. Yeah it rains so hard there is collateral soaking if you don't close the windows. But it turned out to be the best. A great night out in Bali. Wow, I can't even imagine myself even saying it. Bali. Who doesn't want to go there. If you can, do it. 
We did some touring around the island. Went to Ubud an artsy town near the middle of the island. They have a sacred Monkey Forest / Sanctuary on the edge of town. Was getting ready to rain and very dark so the pics kinda suck. But a great walk up the streets of Ubud. Many boutique style stores and open rooms with artists painting and doing sculptures. Very cool. 

Habs lose another one

The All Star break is upon us. Man there are some good hockey teams out there. St Louis Blues are very impressive with our boy Jaro in nets. Bruins unfortunately are stronger than ever, Rangers right there with them. 
Ahh but my Habs. Party is over for Les Glorieux this year. At least I hope so.
Time to dump some of the mighty mites and get a few picks for the draft. You know that all the success in the league now (and in the past too) is through the draft. Build a team of your own, buy few from the street. 
Need to get Nail. Just like the Leafs we haven't had a top NHL forward on our team in 20 years, or longer back as far as Lafleur.

And in some parts of Thailand too......

And of course there is no controversy like Habs controversy. French speaking coach, of course ya dope. How else do you talk to the press? Would Toronto put up with a French speaking coach who was uni lingual? But still, it is a distraction that worsens the plight.

But good hockey is out there and I certainly still watch my share. Blues and Red Wings yesterday was a great game.



And now the good news, we are coming home. Our first few legs of the trip have been booked. Flights only. No hotels or tours yet. We depart BKK on March 26. Deedles will be finished work on the 23rd. So my job in those last weeks will be to arrange packing and shipping to happen on the 27th or 28th, want to sleep on sheets the last night, hahaha. We are looking to use a sea container for our stuff, which isn't really much, but too much for air freight we think. Work, work, work. If it ain't one thing it's another.

Sawadee Krup