Pics galore!!

Did you see the last post about the trips to Bang Pa-in?
Well if you haven't then you are falling behind, you need to go back one post and check those out before you look at these.
This set is the ladies in Ayutthaya, same day just another part of the journey.

BTW, wanna see a bigger better pic, click on it!!!!!!!

Next stop on this day of tours is another temple, not sure if they went in cause next door to the temple is the best elephant show we have seen in Thailand, and this one is free. See ya in the next post with elephants!!

Update, a pic is worth a thousand words

Ok so here's the deal. I was telling this same feeling in an email to Sheila just the other day. It seems to me like I am starting to say the same thing over again. It's kinda like your life. You know you do what you do. And you do it over again, often times the next day. Same same.
What's new in your life that you have to write about today, and tomorrow and the next day, even if you save it up for a week or more, you finally get to the place where it seems to be the same old ****, just a different day. Heard that one before??
Well I have hit that wall folks. Mostly why the posts are few and far between. I could threaten a blog from Lena, get her perspective and all. But getting her to sit down here might be even harder than it is for me to sit here.
So I am going to try something a little different, harder for me but different for you........
Pictures. Yep that will be all. The latest will be of major interest to the clan as these are pics of Deeds, her mom, sister, niece and Lena.
 

Here goes. First real trip they took was the visit to Bang Pa-In, summer palace of the king, Ayutthaya, old captial of Thailand with temple ruins going back 500 years, a temple visit (no Thailand trip worth its salt if you are not pointed in the direction of yet another temple) an elephant show, cruise down the Chao Praya river back to BKK.

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These are all the pics to show for now from Bang Pa-In.
Next set is from the ruins of Auytthaya.

See you there.

The Ladies are in the HOUSE

Good day to all. This blog will be combined comments from all the various Brooks' that are here. Yes the ladies arrived here safe and sound on Friday evening 8 pm BKK time. Deeds and Lena picked them up at the airport with a mini van. They arrived back here to commence the adventure and start the story lines you will all here for the next couple of months.
Great to see them. And don't forget Deeds hasn't seen her mom since Christmas.
We talked alot the first evening and were lucky enough to have a great night to sit out on the deck and have a few cold ones, some snacks and more talk.

Day one was a trip to the weekend market here in BKK called Chatuchak. A monster of a place that you can not imagine until you actually go there. This is not you normal Alliston potatoe festival bazaar type market where you could as easily be at someone's garage sale. No siree. This place as you have been told is huge. It is only open on weekends. Covers 35 acres, contains more than 5,000 stalls, sees 200,000 people each day it is open and sells nearly everything you can imagine.
So off we went after a  relaxing start to our day. Deeds had some work to do so she stayed home while I was the tour guide de jour. We rode the MRT (underground subway system) to the park and commenced our journey. It didn't take long for Lena and Nickie to split off from the ancients and head out on their own.
Lynda, Barbara Anne Mary Margaret Helen and myself started "shopping". Barb says "I'm not interested in any of this stuff anyway". But for some strange reason she kept slipping into the stalls as we walked and then Bingo, we had our first sale of the day. Paid 80 baht ($2.75) for a pair of pajamas. No bartering, just cash money. Deedles will be upset about this when she reads it. Not right to give them the posted price. No fun for us, no fun for them. And so it went a bobble here a new top there. Nothing large. Nickie picked up some costume jewelery and Lena go a new frock. We all stopped for a bit of lunch, a bit of an adventure on the first full day to eat at an open air restaurant, but they all survived. Back to the homestead we went.
I deposited the girls for a nice foot massage and went back to see how Deeds was making out.
A great day out at the market, followed by a huge dinner at our favourite spot Suda.
And of course you can only end a night at Suda by walking thru Soi Cowboy on the way home. A great day and a tired bunch that was soon off to bed and looking forward to the next day in BKK.

Sawasdee Krup

Heeeeerrrres Khun Jerry

Hi folks. I am back in the saddle in BKK. Been a while hasn't it. Took some time off. Not only from the blogging but also from BKK. Went back to the Big Smoke. T dot. Tarawna. Well actually Mississauga. I did go downtown once to see a Jays game! Beat the evil empire that night, way to go boys.
A special thanks from this rugged adventurer to those who put up with and entertained me while I was there. Great eats at bbq's and dinners. Great golf games. I really enjoyed it. I know it was just normal every day living in Canada but it sure seemed and felt special to me.

Yeah, it was fun to be back. Pleasant weather you folks have back there. Nice cool evenings, no rain. Very pleasant. I enjoyed getting away from the wet heat here in BKK. Of course it is also rainy season here. Rains everyday. Usually later in the day. 2ish to 6ish. Torrential sometimes. We have flood warnings coming for BKK middle to end of this week. Lots of rain up country and it all flows down hill to BKK. There are dams all along the tributaries and the main river (Chao Praya) but they open them up to spare the big city folks from having to get their feet too wet.
As you know Lena came back with me and we have know settled in to being a family here in BKK. Love it. It is going to be so cool to have her around for nine months.
And of course there are the visitors.
Starting in just 10 days we will have Diane's mom, sister and niece visit for a couple of weeks. That is going to be a hoot. House full of women. Notice I did not put any adjectives or expletives in front of that! Yeah I'm thinkin the rugged adventurer will play some serious golf the last two weeks of August. There will be blogs generated from that little partay I can tell you right now. Stay tuned.

I need to tell you about our experience getting here first though as our flight over was a bit of a bummer. Lena and I were in a bit of a huryy to get to the airport on Thursday becasue I have free Maple Leaf lounge passes that we wanted to use up. Lucky for us we were trying to be early cause our first mishap started by us being halted at the check in counter cause Lena had a one way ticket and no visa! They won't let you on the plane without a flight out of the country so we had to stand in line at the purchase ticket counter. This resulted in us missing the baggage check in cut off. For those who don't know this is one hour before all international flight departures. Lucky for us the flight was delayed for 90 minutes. Bonus we thought, things are going our way after all. So we sauntered up to the Maple Leaf lounge to have some free drinks and food. Good times.

We headed down to our flight and we were boarded and ready for takeoff at 3:30. But no. This did not happen. What is wrong with these people. Why do they put you on the plane knowing it isn't going anywhere. The pilot told us that they still had not removed the baggage from the flight Paris to Toronto! So we sat and waited for 90 minutes while they removed the baggage and of course loaded ours. We finally taxied out to the runway and sat and waited some more. Takeoff was close to 5:30.
Our connection in Tokyo was only one hour, so we knew right away that we had missed that. What would they do with us? We were now arriving very late! Well rather than put some 40 odd people up in a hotel (I would have enjoyed a bleary eyed walk around downtown Tokyo at Air Canada's expense) they bussed us to Haneda airport. This is at least a one hour drive across Tokyo Bay, from the east end of Tokyo to the south west end. It might have been cool had it been daylight but all we really saw was street lamps, apartment buildings lit up and expressway toll booths. At this point I have to tell you that SITTING for another hour wasn't on my agenda, but that is all that the bus ride turned out to be. A 15 minute nap in there somewhere as well I am sure. But all of this while sitting!!
We arrive at Haneda at around 10 Tokyo time. We are starving, getting smelly and very tired. When we check in they weigh our bags two times each. Gathering the numbers on a piece of paper adding them up. Then scratching their heads as the multiply the allotment times four. Allowed 200 lbs. Actual weight 192. That is what threw them. They thought they had us but Lenz and I had been through this agony at home, moving and shuffling bottles of salad dressing from bag to bag and finally out to the golf bag. Which is part of the equation that Lena and I had not even considered! But that is where our under allotment came from. Golf clubs, golf shoes plus salad dressing = 43 lbs. Did not know that!
So when they finally say OK I ask for a meal voucher or something that I feel Air Canada should offer to us for putting us out like this. No voucher she says. I am astonished, you mean Air Canada doesn't want to spend $8 on me? Really?
So Lena and I wandered through the duty free (no such thing in Japan, $18 bottle of Jacobs Creek cab was $40). We got to the gate and Lena bought a beer and we ate a leftover sandwich from Air Can flight to tide us over when Eureka I notice on our boarding pass it says Use For Lounge Access. Off we go to the ANA lounge for more free eats and drinks. Coolest beer service in this place. Kirin Ichiban Beer. You put your glass under the spigot. The machine tips your glass to pour the beer perfectly! Stops with about one inch of room left, stands the glass upright and then from a second little spigot it fills the glass to the top with foam. A perfect beer with a perfect head on it. Man that was worth it. Cold and tasty.
Ok so now we are fed and hydrated and ready for the final leg of our flight. Plane leaves at 00:30 from Tokyo and we arrive in BKK at 4:20 am on Saturday. Yes folks. We were dropped off at Pearson at 11 am on Thursday and arrived in Bangkok on Saturday morning. Approximately 32 hours door to door.
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We were an hour earlier than first reported. Maybe a surprise is what we should do for Deedles. So we both snuck into the bedroom very quietly and sat down on the bed beside her. She was very surprised and also very happy that we didn't scare the crap out of her by yelling BOOO! Hahahaha, that would have been priceless.
But discretion is the better part of valour. Great big hugs for all. I must say she was happy to see us

Well enough for now. Enough that you know we are back here safe and sound as a family. Maybe I can get Lena to blog once or twice. See what it is like from her point of view.
Deeds is workin hard. Probably don't need to tell you that. The project is now just 7 1/2 weeks away from going live and Deeds is putting everything she has into making sure this is done once, done right. Both Lena and I know what our job is for the next little while as well.
Take care
Sawasdee Krup

Home Alone.....by DB

So here I am in BKK, thousands of miles away from my family..... and all the friends that they are partying with.  Who thinks that's fair?

But I suppose...no pain no gain.  I will get both Jerry AND Lena back the first week of August...so I will complain no more.

Jer was so looking forward to spending evenings in our yard....and I think that he is getting all he hoped for.  He has had many wonderful dinner invitations, a few rounds of golf with friends, will have a big Brooks family BBQ next weekend, spending quiet evenings on Johnathan Dr....and oh yeah, having some great Lena time. 

And my 'gain' is two-fold...or maybe more like many-fold.  In addition to Jer & Lena returning and the many much-welcomed guests we have still to come.....my Mom, sister Lynda and niece Nikki are coming for 2 weeks the end of August.  Yippeee!  I just could not be more excited to share this experience with them.  And also just recently found out that nephew Kyle and Lindsay will be coming in early December.

So we welcome all of them...plus Edie & Rita, and Bob & Jane, and the Vertkas family!....and anyone else that dares to jump on that plane!

Integration work is going well....just as busy as you might imagine.  But I'm not feeling out of control...and for me that is a very good measuring stick.  We will integrate these two banks....16,000 staff....640 branches....2,400 ATM's .....on Sept 30th.  So still some very hectic days ahead for me.

But as of October 15th (all things going well), I'm going back to working 4 days a week.   And man, I can't wait for that!  This will provide me with a chance to breath again, and lots of opportunity for many long weekend trips for us, around Thailand and other nearby countries.

So my friends, it was very nice to spend some time with you this lovely Friday night, while I enjoyed a glass (ok....two) of wine.  Lots of love,  Diane

Home for the Holidays

Yes, summer holidays. Man what great weather we are having here in Canada. Awesome hot days and very relaxin cool evenings. Windows open, fresh breezes blowing.
Quiet. You cannot believe the difference between my little corner of the world here in Miss versus what goes on in BKK. This is truly heaven.
You can here people talking as they walk down the street in the evening out for a stroll.
No hawkers, no motor bikes, no garbage collectors hooting their air horns at 5:45 in the morning. Just quiet.
It is a dream.
There are a few changes in the burb so we will come home to a little bit of a different place next spring.

I am open to a round of golf or two if there are any followers out there who want to play. Drop a note or call let's see if we can set something up.
Got a game at Lakeview tomorrow with my backyard neighbour Al. Haven't played there in a couple of years so should be fun. I like that course more than most I have played in the GTA, always fun.

So there's an update.
I spoke on Skype to Deeds this morning, she is at the place in Pattaya for a little down time. The project is starting to ramp towards the go live October 1, so she should be charging her batteries.
You should see the colour this girl has attained, especially her back, you wouldn't recognize her!!

Enjoy folks
Catch you later

Mega Bridge

That new picture you see is of a bridge at the south end of the city. Far away from the glory of the downtown lights and frequent tour boats and dinner cruises. I of course have shown you the beautiful pics of Rama VIII bridge. Single pier with glowing ribbons coming down on one side. That bridge was dedicated by the current king to his brother who was king previous to King Bhumibol Adulyadej who is Rama IX.

A pic of Rama VIII bridge in case you forgot.






So the VIII bridge is beautiful for sure. But take a look at the bridge in the header here. It was titled the Mega Bridge when under construction. It opened in 2006. Thai tradition has it that any bridge that crosses the Chao Phraya River is named after a member of the royal family, in this case the King himself, and therefore The Bhumibol Bridges 1 and 2.

This bridge is not to be confused with another bridge called Rama IX, which is located just a little west of the mega bridge. Rama IX was built and opened for the King's 60th birthday in 1987. At the time it was the second longest cable-stayed span in the world. To the right is a picture of the Rama  IX bridge crossing the river of kings.




But back to the mega bridge. This bridge is huge. Crosses the Chao Phraya river twice, has a little curly cue in the middle, like no other bridge I have ever seen. Live, we haven't done yet, or in pictures. We have had the opportunity to see both of these bridges in daytime from a building and they both look like they are one bridge because from this location you are looking down the river at both of them. At night the Bhumibol bridge is fantastic.

  It has mulit coloured lights changning up and down the spires, kinda like the CN tower does. Is it still called th cn tower?

There are numerous good pics of this bridge available but you have to understand why they called this the Mega Bridge.The Bhumibol Bridge, part of the Industrial Ring Road that connects Rama III Road to Poochao Samingphrai Road and Suksawat Road, was initiated by HM the King in 1995 with the aim of reducing traffic snarls in the area. A common Bangkok problem.
It crosses the river twice -- in the middle there is an interchange -- and has two cable-stayed spans of 702 meters and 582 meters. Bhumibol Bridge is supported by two majestic diamond-shaped pylons that are 173 meters and 164 meters high. Take a look at this aerial photo and you get an idea of the scale of these bridges! The interchange is huge, and the King decided to build an additional canal just beside the bridge to also help transportation of goods on the river.

Unfortunately, due to its scale and the nature of the industrial traffic, there is no pedestrian path on the bridge so crossing on foot or bicycle is prohibited. But that's okay, as the best views are gained from the ground.
So there are two bridges aptly named Bhumibol 1 and 2 (pronounced Poo-mi-poan, yeah I waited to the end to give ya that cause I know you were all saying bee-humee-ball, ahahahaha :-) now you have to go back and read it again!!)
Because the Chao Phraya river is the river of kings you get to see some majestic bridges crossing over.
Hope you enjoyed the latest installment of living in Bangkok.

 Sawasdee Krup