Summer is here!

View from the room. ALL rooms have sea veiw.

When the weather turns colder, people living in BKK head for the hills (Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Mae Hong Son etc). As it gets hotter, we head for the many beaches that are available. The nearest beach is actually Pattaya which is an hour's drive away. However, I don't like it as the beach is nothing to speak of as it is covered with beach chairs and vendors hawking their wares. Also, there are many pubs and discos that are pretty sleazy and not child appropriate.

Hua Hin is a little further (about 2 hour drive) but because the Thai Royal family has a residence there, there is an absence of go-go bars and strip joints. They still have stretches of beaches that are fairly secluded far away from the crowd.

Last week, as it was the school holidays, my friend and I decided to take the children to Hua Hin for a couple of days. We had heard that Marriot had opened a new hotel on Cha-Am beach (about 20 minutes from Hua Hin) that had a great rate for Thai residents (2,500 baht nett including breakfast). Being Singaporean, we couldn't pass up on a good deal, could we?

We had a blast. The hotel was very comfortable and NEW. There was a huge swimming pool with a slide which the children loved. Best of all, the beach was fairly quiet (it could be that it was a weekday) and safe enough that we could let the children go off by themselves to dig for crabs while we lounged nearby. They spent hours just digging and digging and digging. It was good to see them enjoy this very simple pleasure. And me? I was enjoying reading my book whilst stuffing my face with eclairs and chips :)

There was a huge Kid's Club which was one of the biggest I have seen. They have loads of things for children from toddler to teens to enjoy. There were Playstations, snooker tables, foosball tables, a mini movie theater and even cribs for naps! I escaped from the heat for a while and curled up in a chair to read. Niiiceee.

A holiday is not complete without good food. We went to our favourite coffee shop for dinner and it did not let us down. Only thing about this place is that there is only 1 cook. So when it gets a bit crowded, you have to wait up to an hour to get your meal.

The kitchen where all the goodies came from.



'Or Suan' or oysters with egg. Very generous portion of oysters with gooey egg.

I'm not much of a vegetable eater but I love this. Kanna with 'plah khem' (salted fish). There is a smoky flavour to the dish.

'Hua chor' . Never had it this way but it was very good as there was a lot of crab meat.

When it was time to leave, I wondered why I don't go to Hua Hin more often. It has changed over the years. There is even a (gasp) mall and cinema there now. It gets crowded on weekends because half of BKK heads there. But there are still pockets of beaches where you can lie back with a good book and forget about whatever is going on out in the world.

I'm Popeye the sailor man..

Current favourite vegetable.

My son is a closet vegetarian. It's not a bad thing but he is so skinny that he's been described as a having skin stretched over his skeleton.

It's my fault because when I was pregnant, my friends will complain about how their children refuse to eat their veggies and they had to find ingenious ways of feeding it to them. I resolved that MY baby was not going to be like this. So when Sean started on solids, he was fed, carrots (not too much cos didn't want him to turn orange), loads and loads of broccoli (supposed to be good for brain) and spinach (because Popeye ate it). Till he was about 5, his favourite meal was plain porridge and steamed vegetables (no seasoning at all). It took him sometime to enjoy food with flavour.

Now, he would rather eat a whole plate of spinach or tau gae (bean sprouts) than meat or seafood. In a way, this does make things a little easier when we travel because I remember when we were in Lijiang (China) and donkey (yes, you read it right) was on the menu, I cooked some leafy veg in the steamboat and fed it to him. He ate it without complaint and loved it because the vegetables were so fresh.

I'm sure that as he grows, he's going to discover other things that he likes, but for now, he is my little vegetarian.

Dollars and Sense

Last Friday, we (parents) organised a mini sale of food and drinks to the students in the school that Sean attends. Funds raised from this sale was donated to a foundation that helps pay the school fees of less fortunate children. A father approached me to say that he is opposed to taking money from the younger children (his daughter is 4). I told him bluntly that I had no qualms about taking money from a young child if it was for the sake of fund raising. Of course he was shocked and we had a debate as to what age should a child start being made aware of money and its value.

Many parents I know don't want their children to think about money (ie how hard one has to work to earn it, buying something within your means etc). They feel that money shouldn't be a topic that a child has to think about. As a result, I see many children who have no concept of the value of things and take getting money for granted. Sean has a classmate (he is 8) whose dad bought him a Mini. The real one not the matchbox kind. My eyes almost fell out of my head when his mum told me that. Does the boy realise the value of the car? Does he know how even some adults (OK, me) will not fork over that kind of money?

Living away from Singapore (and my real life as I like to say) and in BKK with expats who come with large allowances for car, housing etc, I am afraid that Sean will grow up thinking that all this is normal. Our friends live in big apartments or houses, everyone has a maid, almost everyone has a driver (some children have personal drivers) and all the children have some form of electronic game/gadget.

I don't use the old 'we are poor' line. We aren't poor. We aren't rich either and he has to know that. I tell him how we get money and it's not by going to the ATM that magically spits out money. I tell him that if he wants something, he has to earn it. If he loses something, he has to pay me back. He has had to pay 800 baht (S$40) when he lost his Tamagotchi in school after I specifically told him NOT to bring it. Did he learn a lesson? Sure. now, he thinks twice about bringing expensive toys to school.

When he was 3, I gave him 20 baht and took him to the supermarket. Told him he had to buy 1 item for that amount or less. The dad that I had a debate with argued that a child that age can't read or write yet. My arguement was that they were starting to learn to read and recognise numbers and should know how to read price tags. Did Sean manage to buy his sweet for 20 baht? Yes he did. Best of all, he felt proud that he was given the responsibility of picking out his own sweet and going to the cashier.

When he started learning addition and subtraction, I told him to buy 3 items for 100 baht or less. He had to make sure he received the correct amount in change. It went on from there and now that he is at the ripe old age of 8, he gets 130 baht a week and it is up to him whether he wants to buy a snack or save the money.

He is like Scrooge and saves. But I am happy to see that he willingly gives to people or animals in need (he has a fund called "Poor dog in need, please help").I like to think that I've helped him learn how to budget. I do not top up money for him if his purchase exceeds what he has.

He has progressed to currency exchange (very interested in that, asks loads of questions and hoards US$ because I told him it's the most widely accpeted currency). Recently has has started to ask questions about stocks and shares.

I do believe that adults underestimate children. We forget how smart they are and how quick they are to learn. They also like feeling that they are being given responsibility by handling money which is largely an adults area. So, will I take money from a child in exchange for food/drink? You betcha!

Fields of ......

During the months of December to February, the sunflower fields in the Lopburi and Saraburi areas (about an hour from BKK) bloom.

Towards Christmas since the weather was beautiful, we decided to take a day trip to visit the sunflower fields. Unfortunately, most of the flowers had bloomed and dried up already. We were lucky to stumble across one that still had its flowers in bloom. Being Thailand, the enterprising locals were selling the by-products of the sunflowers ie seeds that have been roasted and salted to perfection! Yuuummm...

Up, up and away...

Nowadays, I realise that many children do not do the things that I did when I was a child (all those years ago!). With so many mechanical and/or electronic things on hand, children like Sean have missed out on some of the simple pleasures of childhood.

Recently, we introduced him to kite flying. Yes, I know it's a simple thing but living in a major concrete jungle with very little open space, it's not something that we can do everyday. TH was trying to explain to him how he used to grind glass and coat the kite string with it before 'fighting' with, and cutting other kites. My practical son commented:"you are wasting money when you kite gets cut and flies away."

I thought it was also a good 'daddy and me' time for the both of them. Most days, Sean is asleep by the time TH comes home. I don't want to be doing everything with Sean and not leave anything that TH can do with him. I thoroughly enjoyed watching my husband re-live his childhood and my son discover a new experience. Both of them had a blast!

Leaving...

Yesterday I had to tell Sean that we were leaving BKK for another country. My boy, who has grown up in BKK and calls it home, cried. Sean is not one for crying over 'little' things. The last time he cried was when our dog Raisin died.

It broke my heart to see him turn away and his skinny shoulders shake because he didn't want me to see him cry. Of course he wanted to know why. I had to explain to him it was because daddy's job required us to move. He went on to ask about how we were going to leave his friends, teachers, my maid and even his Chinese tuition teacher.

I told him we still had about 6-7 months before we had to leave. His reply, "since we've stayed here for 9 years, can't we stay another 9 before I am ready to leave?"

I wanted to tell him that I was not ready to leave too. It made me start thinking about how living in BKK had changed me.

For one thing, I had to leave my confort zone. I have met people that I wouldn't have met or bothered to get to know if I was living in Singapore. I am actually a pretty reserved person but I have had to open up in order to let these new friends into my life.

Before coming here, I never went for a holiday without TH. Here, I have been on many trips without him and it has not affected our relationship. I remember the first trip I took without him was to Hua Hin by train. It was because the hotel voucher we had bought was going to expire and TH had to work that weekend. So, with baby, stroller and luggage in tow, I boarded the train to Hua Hin worried that I would not be able to have a good time. Surprise, we did and from them on, my friends and I have packed ourselves with our children and gone for short trips while the dads worked.

I have never not worked. When I came with a 3 month old infant, I honestly found it very difficult NOT working and then having to take care of a baby. I was so used to setting goals and trying to meet my sales target that it took me sometime to actually slow down and enjoy my time with my baby.

The most important part of living here was for me to be able to look after Sean. I have had the privilege to watch my baby grow from a colicky infant to energetic toddler to funny, sweet little boy.

All said and done, I love my life here. We have benefited as a family and for me as a person. I know that the next place we go to will bring us all different experiences that will last us a lifetime.