Elephants & White Cranes

Since I don't have anywhere near enough time to tell you about all the things we did and tried today, I'll just share my favorite two. First, I got to ride an elephant!!! Second, on the way back from Ayutthaya we passed by lots of rice paddies. I saw something akin to a water buffalo with horns but the neatest thing was passing by about 10 trees full of white cranes. There had to be at least a thousand of them, no kidding! Since I was in the bus, I didn't get a great picture but I did get one and it was one of the coolest thing ever.

In about five minutes we're headed out to dinner and New Year's celebrations. Tomorrow we fly to Phuket for the day to go sea kayaking and snorkeling. I'm really excited and it should be a great day.

Happy New Year!

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First Impressions

I’m here!
Phoenix to San Francisco: 2 hours
San Francisco to Tokyo: 11 ½ hours
Tokyo to Bangkok: 7 hours
Stretching out on a rock hard bed in Thailand: priceless.

Two other immediately obvious facts:
Bangkok = big hair, there’s no way around it.
2:30 am December 30 in Bangkok = 12:30 pm December 29 in Phoenix

Yes, the quickest way for time literally to fly by is to cross the International Date Line. My plane left Phoenix at 8:15 a.m. on Sunday and I arrived in Bangkok at 11:45 p.m. on Monday. That was a loooooooong series of flights. Actually, it wasn’t so bad and I wouldn’t have minded it so much if my knee hadn’t swollen so much. I guess it prefers trips across the Atlantic. :)

This might just be the craziest country I’ve ever visited, including Russia (and that’s saying a lot.) Already brushing teeth with bottled water. Isn’t this going to be a fun trip? I’ve just begun, I’ve already broken my record for the craziest country, and I’m headed to Cambodia and Vietnam next! First impressions: Bangkok is big, crowded, dirty, relatively flat, sprawling. Other than the temples (of which there are literally hundreds), which are ornately decorated in 24 karat gold leaf and lots of sparkly mosaics, the city is very drab. There really isn’t an architecture that defines the city, not like any in Europe. Streets are lined with people buying, people selling, people on motorbikes, riding in tuk tuks, There is food of one sort or another absolutely everywhere you turn. Some of it you recognize what it is, but most you don’t. People drive on the left side of the street and intersections look nothing like anything I’ve ever seen, and it would take a lot to convince me that getting a drivers license here would ever, and I do mean ever, be a good idea.

Despite the city being dreadfully filthy, the flowers are absolutely amazing. There are orchids of every kind and this morning we drove past a fresh flower market. (Just as an aside, there are both pros and cons to traveling with a group. In this case, the main pro is that I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for the group. The obvious con is that I have to go at the group’s pace and I don’t get to stop and look at the things that are most interesting to me.) I wish we could’ve stopped the bus so we could walk through the market. There were so many huge flowers. Just amazing!

Today was a busy day. We first stopped at the Wat Chetuphon (Wat Po) which is a Buddhist temple where we saw the Reclining Buddha and I caught my first whiff of smelly feet—something I’m sure to smell again and again as you are required to remove your shoes here before entering certain sanctuaries. I realized after visiting the Wat today that I need to learn more about Buddhism. I thought it was interesting that our tour guide gave us a 2 minute summary of the Buddhist beliefs, then promptly told us that she didn’t really believe the part about reincarnation, that she believes in just one life only and that she feels it in her heart when she does good or if she does bad. Interesting. After the Wat Po, we went to the Royal Grand Palace and saw the Emerald Buddha. You weren’t allowed to take pictures inside the sanctuary, but, of course, they had postcards of this most famous Buddha outside for sale.

After the temples we had a traditional Thai lunch, which I ate but I’m still not a big Thai food fan. But, I did get to try two new fruits today: a very small, sweet banana and some dragon fruit. The dragon fruit had a very light taste, unlike what I expected given its name. I had a few pieces so I could try to form a solid memory of what it tasted like, but it doesn’t taste enough like anything I know. A funny note about fruit… in the hotel’s information book there is a list of several things (most of them traditional and expected) that pertain to rules of the hotel, including check out times, electricity, fire emergencies, pets, visitors. And, there is a rule about smell fruits. Apparently there is this one fruit called Durian that (and I quote my professor), “Smells like shit, tastes like custard.” In the hotel rules it states: “We regret that fruits with strong smell, such as Durian are not allowed on the hotel premises.” I guess it must be true.

After lunch we went on a river boat and toured the canals. Wow. People’s homes on wooden stilts, laundry hanging out, little boys swimming, huge water lizards, flowers and more flowers, temples and more temples. Along the way we stopped to feed the catfish. We threw bread over the side of the boat and what seemed like thousands of fish came bobbing up to the surface. If catfish were cute, that would’ve been fun, but I don’t like catfish. Yuck.

I was disappointed with dinner on virtually all levels. If you remind me later, I’ll tell you about the restaurant we went to called Cabbages and Condoms. But what’s more interesting than dinner was the Thai massage I had this afternoon. Wasn’t that an experience! Totally different from what I expected, and I learned that I really like the smell of Eucalyptus.

Well, that’s all I’ll report right now. I will try to post as often as I can but I do have limited access to the internet so I'll do my best. Be patient and I’ll be back with more fun details about my adventures in Thailand! By the way, I am taking pictures but will post them in an album after I get back.

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Monkeys, Monkeys Everywhere!

This was the decoy.


A little bit of background is necessary before I continue...

Animal themes are one way my family has fun. Dad is all about cats. Allison got assigned frogs. I got cows (better than frogs? um, no, so I changed it to Mickey Mouse as soon as I could.) When they were really young, Jeff used to be dogs. Katherine used to be ducks. These animals show up all the time in some form in birthday and Christmas presents (which is why I needed to change to Mickey Mouse because really, what can you do with a bunch of random cows?)

Well, by the time Katherine left for her mission to Brazil, she had outgrown the duck theme and it was time for another animal. What would be more appropriate for a Brazilian missionary than MONKEYS?! I took it upon myself to include something monkey-related in every package I sent to Brazil. You would be very surprised at how many things have monkeys on them: pencils, pens, stationery, socks, bookmarks, pajamas, and the list goes on. I had no idea I would find monkeys in so many places and on so many things. I never really went out shopping specifically for monkey "stuff" but I always managed to find things here and there, never when I was expecting it. (Now that you know this, you're going to start seeing monkey stuff everywhere.)

The Christmas right after Katherine came home from her mission, I thought it would be really funny to stuff her stocking with monkeys... I mean really fill it, up to the top and overflowing. You would not believe the crazy kinds of monkeys I found in that pursuit... it was totally fun, not to mention funny when she saw all of the monkeys!

Well, the monkey theme has continued, and this year Katherine picked her theme for the entire year to be "The Year of the Monkeys"--she's still not really sure what that theme means, but it's significant nevertheless. This year she and I spent Christmas eve together and exchanged gifts. I'm sure she suspected that she would get a monkey from me, as she usually does in some form. And, after all, this was her "year of the monkeys." So, I put the decoy monkey on the top of one of her gifts. Heh, heh, heh.... Here she is decked out in her Christmas monkey pj's, which she had been very excited to show me (and they were pretty darn cute and oh so funny! and I didn't even buy them for her.)

She had no idea that inside the box there were four more monkeys!!! Watching her open the gift was great--truly one of my favorite memories of Christmas.

It's gifts like these that make Christmas fun and memorable. Don't the pictures just make you smile? :)

So, decoy flying monkey, good job! Mission accomplished.

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Christmas Lights

The star is one of my very favorite parts of the Christmas story. It's the one part of known signs that was seen and shared by all who were looking for the signs that were prophesied, both in the old world and the new. Joseph and Mary saw it. The shepherds saw it. The wise men saw it and were guided by its light to Bethlehem. The Nephites saw it. And I think it's cool that the sign of the Christ child's birth was a light. I wonder if the star is still in the heavens and we just don't know which one it is. Christmas eve Katherine and I went down to the temple grounds to see the lights.

"The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined...For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." ~Isaiah 9:2,6

Back to the wise men who followed the star...

"The wise men...guided by a new star, came to Bethlehem to worship Jesus sometime after his birth. Who these men were we are not told, but it is certain they were not ordinary men. That they were privileged to search out the Son of God and give him gifts, and that they were spiritually sensitive and knowledgeable, suggests that they were actually prophets on a divine errand." (excerpt from the Bible Dictionary)

That they came from the East, that they saw the star and recognized its meaning, that they had faith to not only make the journey to see the Christ child but also to follow direction to return home safely by an alternative route--I see all of it as evidence testifying of Christ as God of the whole earth, not just pockets of it. I love that people in other lands knew about Christ, were waiting for his birth, and were led by faith to Him.

I'm grateful that the package deal of life on earth comes with a Savior who blesses our lives with the power to change and hope.

Merry Christmas!

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Christmas Bells are Ringing

Some of the the Christmas traditions I like best are those involving music, and last year I was so busy with school, December nearly passed me by without my being able to celebrate the season with as much as a fa la la! Determined not to let that happen again this year, I rejoined Sister Robinson's handbell choir and carved out time on Wednesday evenings for rehearsal. I would play bells all year long if I could. They're a lot of fun. I especially enjoy them because you can see the uplifting effect they have on the audience, something you can't or don't always perceive as a performer. People's countenances actually change. It's neat.

This year I even convinced Katherine (my sister) to drive from the other side of town to practice with the group. I think she was skeptical at first, but I think she's been won over, too! This year we performed at the temple, at a retirement home, and at a few different church services. My favorite performance was the retirement home because we added some traditional carols to our repertoire and the audience sang along. They were great fun! (And a grateful group, too.) Handbells are cool. They're interesting, challenging, and a little bit different from the norm. If you're the curious sort who might be interested in seeing one of our performances, check out the video on Facebook.

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Macademia Holly Jollies

So I have a new nickname for these cookies. They are truly amazing. I like Almond Joys and the reviews for this recipe likened the cookies unto Almond Joys, but I need to set the record straight. These are soooo way better than Almond Joys. I mean, waaay better. They have a wonderful combination of salty and sweet, chewy and crunchy. And they have no artificial flavors or preservatives. :)

As a side note for those of you who may attempt a batch of your own, it had been recommended to me to melt the chocolate in a small sandwich bag and drizzle it on top. So, I did just that and it worked fine on the first two cookies and then **pooph** the bag gave way to a mini explosion of chocolate all over my hand. Now, I certainly can think of things worse than being covered in chocolate, but if you want to ensure you have enough for all your cookies, you probably ought to either dip them or drizzle using a more reliable bag. One other note--I left the nuts whole. If you want cookies to impress, I highly recommend taking these to your next holiday party:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Island-Macaroons-2045

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Aloha!

Aloha! In celebration of my last mid-term exam this morning, the Island Macaroons have (finally) made their debut in my kitchen. (I bought the macademia nuts several weeks ago in the hopes that I would start baking Christmas treats a wee bit earlier than today, but so goes the holiday season.) I wanted to share the work in progress because I'm quite excited about how well they've turned out so far.

I had no idea they would smell so delish and would brown so perfectly on top. Truly delightful! They just got out of the oven but as soon as they cool, I will dip them in chocolate. Mmmmmm....

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Peppermint ice cream steals the show

Well folks, it's official... I think chocolate and peppermint were meant to be together. The peppermint ice cream was a complete success and I now have a new favorite dessert combination. Yes, this rivals the chocolate lava cake with coconut ice cream from the French restaurant I went to with Gordon. It's a good thing there's room for lots of favorites on my list. Why limit yourself to just one?? If you are craving chocolate and peppermint, I highly recommend trying these two in tandem. Check 'em out:
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Crunchy-Peppermint-Candy-Ice-Cream
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Too-Much-Chocolate-Cake
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Satiny-Chocolate-Glaze

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Chocolate Cake!

What better way to start off a blog than by talking about chocolate? It's the holiday season, and for someone who loves to cook, December is like Christmas every day. There are hundreds of recipes I have collected and labeled as "must try" and December happens to be the month in which most of them seem most appropriate and I have the most excuses (hmmm.... as to what this implies about the nature of my recipe collection, I plead the fifth.) Well, today was the the day to try a new recipe for chocolate cake. I already have a favorite recipe but I wanted to use my bundt pan and I thought that warranted selecting a new recipe to try. Plus, I have wanted to see if I could successfully marry chocolate and mint without cheating. Now, I haven't tried the cake yet (tomorrow is my friend's birthday and so that's when I'll get a taste) but I've been reminded of a smell that brings an instant smile to my face... baking chocolate cake. Yum! I added peppermint extract to the glaze and tomorrow I'll be making a batch of peppermint ice cream (another new recipe) to accompany the cake. I can't wait to see how it turns out! Happy Birthday Emily!

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