Apologies for the long absence. My computer hasn’t been working properly for over a month…
I wanted to write about the Christmas holidays. It now seems that they were ages ago, which shows me how I’ve neglected my blog. I don’t have any photos of Christmas itself, because my camera was broken (I have bad luck with technology!!!) but I remember that it was really, really great. Just before Christmas an old friend, Katie Bell, came to visit. 
I used to figure skate with her in Victoria, and I had seen her a couple summers ago at Gwen Eadie’s wedding. At the time she had told me that she was planning a trip to Thailand, and here she finally was. It was great to catch up with her and show her my little corners of Bangkok. She’s now traveling around South East Asia and will be back to visit me again in mid-April.
I used to figure skate with her in Victoria, and I had seen her a couple summers ago at Gwen Eadie’s wedding. At the time she had told me that she was planning a trip to Thailand, and here she finally was. It was great to catch up with her and show her my little corners of Bangkok. She’s now traveling around South East Asia and will be back to visit me again in mid-April.On Christmas Eve, I went to a party at Yeeling’s place, a good friend from school. It was a nice night of hot mulled wine, conversation and TOO MUCH FOOD! Everyone had brought food so there were cheeses, fruit, bread, vegetables. hamburgers, samosas, chocolate, and a LOT of Thai food! 
This made me really feel that it was Christmastime because food is such a staple of the holidays.
This made me really feel that it was Christmastime because food is such a staple of the holidays.On Christmas Eve, Louis and I also started opening gifts that we had bought for one another. On his suggestion, we had decided to buy each other lots of little gifts and put them under Christmas tree that we bought. We both went a little overboard – I’d bought him 15 gifts!! Thus, our gift opening continued for several days, which was also really, really nice.
Thus, our gift opening continued for several days, which was also really, really nice.On Christmas Day, we were invited for a roast dinner at a friend’s house. Tanya and Candace have a great apartment and are excellent cooks, so we had a lovely dinner, complete with turkey, gravy, and all the fixings (good for me!). It was the most Christmas-y I’ve felt in the four years I’ve been away from home.
A few days later, we welcomed Louis’s mom and sister to Thailand. I had met his sister, Grace, the previous year, but it was my first time meeting Louis’ mom. Shes very friendly and sweet English woman, with lots of stories about her garden and walking trips that she’s taken with her husband. I was nervous to meet her, of course, but she quickly put me at ease and we spent a nice 5 days down in Kao Sok National park, in the South of Thailand. Some of the highlights of the trip were a night safari in the jungle, a trip to Kao Lak beach an hour away, tubing down the river, and a GORGEOUS boat ride in a lake. The scenery reminded me of ancient dinosaur era or Lord of the Rings – it was so, so spectacular! Our New Year’s Eve was spent on the riverfront balcony of our guesthouse playing scrabble and drinking wine. Low key, but really nice. In Bangkok, Louis and I took Grace and Celia to the Tapas Cafe and we had an awesome dinner for their last night. I was really glad to get to meet Celia and spend more time with Grace. They invited me to visit them in England, so we’ll see!! 🙂
Some of the highlights of the trip were a night safari in the jungle, a trip to Kao Lak beach an hour away, tubing down the river, and a GORGEOUS boat ride in a lake. The scenery reminded me of ancient dinosaur era or Lord of the Rings – it was so, so spectacular! Our New Year’s Eve was spent on the riverfront balcony of our guesthouse playing scrabble and drinking wine. Low key, but really nice. In Bangkok, Louis and I took Grace and Celia to the Tapas Cafe and we had an awesome dinner for their last night. I was really glad to get to meet Celia and spend more time with Grace. They invited me to visit them in England, so we’ll see!! 🙂
