From the 30s to the 40s

In 2011 we both turn 40 years old. We decided this was a swell reason to throw a swanky party with some of our closest friends here in Bangkok.


We gathered at the Eugenia, a twelve-room boutique hotel in a late 19th-century colonial-style house a few streets over from our apartment in downtown Bangkok. We tried to do Nick and Nora proud, and even though the bartender didn't know how to make a Rosy Dawn or a Pompier Highball, we think Charles H. Baker, Jr. would have had a good time.

The pictures tell the rest of the story.

Let Sleeping Dogs Lie

Sukhumvit Soi 11, Bangkok, Thailand.

Further On Up the Road

Eric Clapton came to Bangkok on the third date of his world tour to support his latest album, Clapton. Given that the new album is relaxed and jazzy, and this was only the third night of the tour, and the average age of the entire band was about 62 (E.C. will be 66 at the end of March), we were a little worried that the show would be a little ... laid-back.

We needn’t have worried. Clapton played exceptionally hard that night, especially during the first set, with a number of blistering solos. While he was sure to throw in a number of the Top 40 hits, he also played couple of hard-core blues, which made Patrick happy. As the review in one of the local papers said, "Clapton can make a Stratocaster at full volume sound like a fluting, charging demon, then turn on a pin for a breath-catching arpeggio flourish."




It was a great night, and we were glad to have the chance to catch Slowhand before he finally decides to retire.


(Of course, Luigi thinks that it was Patrick on stage all along....)

Pictures courtesy of the Singha Corporation, taken without permission from Where's Eric!, the world's premier Eric Clapton fan site.

Pogonomania

"Wow! You grew a beard!"


Ever since we returned from home leave, people think that Patrick has suddenly decided to wear a beard. The beard has been around pretty consistently for the last ten years or so -- it's his hair that has changed. There must be some psychological explanation for this, but we're not sure what it is.

Patrick is also getting a lot of celebrity comparisons these days. By far the most popular option has been Eric Clapton -- to the point that Luigi, owner of our favorite Italian restaurant in Bangkok, now only refers to Patrick as "Mr. Clapton."


(While recent studies detailed in the New York Times demonstrate that “semiotically signified magical thinking causes replicas to radiate aura and thus transforms them into fetishes,” Patrick’s hair doesn’t seem to have given him the power to play the guitar like Eric Clapton. Maybe a John the Conqueror root or a black cat bone would help. Then again, maybe not.)

We've also heard George Harrison and Barry Gibb -- apparently the vibe is "1970s musician."



Here at the Wilson Odyssey, we can think of lots of other possibilities:

Field Day!

We've been very busy at work over the last few months -- not just the two of us, but everyone who works with us. So our bosses decided we needed to blow off some steam ... with a Field Day.


We were divided into four color-coded teams -- Orange, Green, Purple and Blue -- and set off on a series of games. Who would have thought that all of those 6th grade skills would be useful in the corps diplomatique? Of course, there were prizes to be had, so competition was fierce.



Team Blue won the day at the games after a nail-biting finish. It came down to a tie between Team Blue and Team Purple. In the end the winner was decided by hula-hoop ... and Dr. Apichai's skills were superior those of Patrick's boss, Tom.




Sadly, we failed to win the prize we really wanted: Best Team Spirit. That went to Team Green. Apparently choreographed singalongs were more impressive (or less frightening) than our strategy, which can best be described as All-Out Mayhem.


A grand time was had by all!

Highlights of 2010, Part 4

The Christmas season in Bangkok is always a little surreal. While the weather in late December is cooler, it is by no means cool. Plastic snowmen and sweaty Santas stand vigil next to Hindu and Buddhist shrines, while bright lights and loud music batter the senses into a state of holiday stupefaction.






In 2008 and 2009 we celebrated Christmas by hosting a big dinner at home for friends. In 2010 most of our friends weren't in Bangkok for Christmas, so we also decided to go somewhere for the holiday. We headed north to the Golden Triangle. This area used to be infamous for its poppy fields, which supplied opium and heroin to much of the world. While the Thai government has eliminated most of the poppy production here, the far north of Thailand remains a somewhat wilder place than most of the rest of the country.

We stayed at the Katiliya Resort, where we had managed to get a great deal on their "Honeymoon Package." (We were also celebrating our 7th wedding anniversary, after all!) We had a very cozy Christmas morning with presents from home.






We spent most of the weekend driving through the mountains, visiting villages along the way. One village, Mae Salong, is populated almost exclusively by Kuomintang families who fled to Thailand after the Communists took over China. Mae Salong is famous for its oolong tea. The road to Mae Salong was lined with some of the biggest poinsettia trees we have ever seen. (Unfortunately we didn't manage to get pictures of the really big ones!)



We also visited Sop Ruak, where Thailand, Burma and Laos meet at a single border. The "Golden Triangle" has become a big selling point here; you can take a boat to a casino in Laos and float near a massive resort built for the Burmese military -- but landing on Burmese soil is, of course, strictly forbidden.







We spent Christmas evening touring the small opium museum -- a Christmas Day activity for the whole family! -- and had dinner at the Anantara Resort in their Elephant Bar, decorated with trophies and paraphernalia from elephant polo.






On our last full day in the province, we drove to Tha Ton for a little outdoor adventure. We rented a two-person kayak and spent three hours paddling down the Kok River, which we seemed to have all to ourselves. Landing the kayak in the swift current was a little tricky, but we had a great time.


When we got home, we had one important duty to fulfill: making sure Sarawat got her visit from Santa. She was very excited to find a stocking under the tree with her name (well, initial) on it, and she loved what she found there. (Thank you, Santa's Little Helpers in Cary, NC!)







(Welcome to the Year of the Rabbit!)


We missed hosting a big dinner during the holiday season, so we decided to have a New Year's Eve dinner for those of our friends who chose not to go out on the town. We were surprised at how many people took us up on our invitation -- we had a full house! Sarawat, as always, was an excellent hostess.








After cocktails and appetizers, we enjoyed roast pork tenderloin, roast potatoes, Tuscan bread salad, and a green salad with almonds and tangerines. Two of Patrick's whiskey cakes came out for dessert -- one of them in the familiar shape of a four-legged friend. We watched fireworks on television and bid farewell to the last of our guests around 2:00am.






What a great way to start the New Year!



(Many party pictures courtesy of Svetlana -- Большое спасибо!)