Bangkok, the Grand Palace!

I just got back from a few days in Bangkok!  I decided a week ago to join the end of Joe's business trip and watch Austin play in a rugby tournament.  I will talk more about Bangkok in general and the rugby tournament, but this blog post is all about the Grand Palace in Bangkok.  Surprisingly, there are not that many must-sees in Bangkok, but the Grand Palace is definitely not to be missed!

The Grand Palace complex (according the the brochure given at the gate) was established in 1782 and it consists of not only the royal residence and throne halls, but also a number of government offices as well as the renowned Temple of the Emerald Buddha.  

There are several of these entryways, with a pair of demons guarding the door.  According to my guide.  My guide, Pearl, was an older woman, and I didn't quite understand or remember all the information she gave me.  :) But I will do my best to recall.

This part of the complex is the Upper Terrace.  Here is a reliquary (again, according to the brochure) in the shape of a golden chedi....I looked up the definition of reliquary, and as I recalled from Pearl, it was a resting place of relics from Buddha.

Here is a close-up of the gorgeous structure.  Small gold-leaf tiles.

It was amazing to see these old structures made of porcelain.  This is one of the oldest buildings in the complex.

I think this was the Royal Pantheon in which 'statues of the past sovereigns of the ruling Chakri dynasty are enshrined'.  It houses statues.  

Seriously, my pictures do not begin to do it justice!  I have traveled quite a bit in the last few years.  I have not seen any building or structure so ornately decorated on the exterior!!  Every square inch was amazing.  

There were hand-painted porcelain, mosaic tiles, and mirrored tiles.  I took a river cruise the night before.  You could actually see the temples shimmering in the faint light.  

But for some reason, this was my favorite structure!  I was fairly obsessed with it and took tons of pictures.  I got tired of waiting for this girl to move out of the way, but I was lucky there are not more people in this picture.  There were large crowds at the palace.

Pearl let me explore on my own at this point, so I don't have any more details. 

Okay, no more pictures of these guys.  :)

This picture was taken just outside the the Royal Monastery of the Emerald Buddha.  This monastery also serves as the king's private chapel.  The Emerald Buddha, actually made out of jade, is one of the most important Buddhas in Thailand.  It has traveled to many important cities of Thailand over the years.  The Buddha wears three different 'outfits', according to the season.  These garments are made of gold and precious stones and can only be handled by the king.

I actually found this image on the internet.  You are not allowed to take photos inside the monastery.  As you can see here, the Emerald Buddha is wearing his winter attire.  Although let me tell you, if this is winter, I would hate to be in Bangkok in the summer.  It was hot.

This guy reminded me of the guards at Buckingham Palace.

These statues were actually used as ballasts in Chinese ships.  They weighed the ship down on its voyage to Thailand.  Then the statues were gifted to Thailand.

I thought this was so cool.  It is an elephant-mounting station.  The elephant would stand on the platform.  Then the king would come out of the building, hold on to a pole, and mount the elephant!

This section had government buildings.  The tops were of Thai architecture, but the bottoms were western.  The tree in front is a Japanese bonsai tree and is over 100 years old.  Not the miniature bonsai trees I am used to seeing!

I just happened to catch the changing of the guards.  No horses or bands like in London, but cool just the same.

I am trying to recall if this was the coronation building for the one used for funerals!  Slight difference.  But beautiful all the same. The king and queen of Thailand do not live at this complex any more.  There is a residence here, but used to house foreign dignitaries.  Bill and Hillary Clinton stayed here when they visited in 1996.

More on Bangkok in my next post!

The World of International Schools!

A little over two years ago, my family was living outside of Chicago, Illinois, where we knew our children would graduate from high school.  We were cheering Austin on as he played football.

Just 27 months later, my kids are at their second international high school and we are cheering Austin on in rugby.  As we also watch the monkeys playing on the fence surrounding the school in Malaysia.

My kids have been to an international school in Oman and now in Malaysia.  My daughter, Savannah, found this link on BuzzFeed, and I thought it was so spot-on!  Except #10, #16, and #17.   :)  And she is not looking forward to IB (international baccalaureate) program next year!
Side note:  I spelled baccalaureate correctly on my first try!  Pretty proud of myself!


Here is a link to my kids' world:

http://www.buzzfeed.com/autmnjones/signs-you-were-an-international-school-kid-grak#.umGRpVpZEl

I don't believe that my kids have a heart of stone, though there have been a lot of hard good-byes.  And they are too young for commitment issues!  But the rest is very accurate.  This does remind me of a conversation I had with Austin in Oman.

Austin:  I miss Americans.
Me:  Aren't there Americans in your grade?
Austin:  Yes, but they aren't real Americans.  You know, the kind who have lived in the US.

Happy Sunday, y'all!

My New Favorite Food-- Xian Long Bao!

I have not been blogging as much in Malaysia as I did in Oman.  I am not sure why.  Time just seems to get away from me faster here.  Or maybe expat living just seems more 'normal' to me after doing this for just over two years.  Anyways, I will try to do more.  

My son Jared came to visit us back in October.  I already blogged about taking him to Din Tai Fung, in the Pavilion Mall.  Din Tai Fung is a dim sum restaurant here in KL.  I have never eaten at a dim sum restaurant before KL (although they do have them in the US.)  In case you are not familiar with the term dim sum, as I was not, it is a style of Cantonese or Hokkien food prepared as small bite-sized or individual portions, traditionally served in small steamer baskets.  Din Tai Fung is considered one the of the best in KL (there are locations in other countries, too.)  It even has a Michelin star, so the place is usually very crowded, with a wait for tables.

Here is Jared, with an assortment of dumplings, spring rolls, and steamed buns.  This was my first time, and we ordered a little of everything.  Let's just say, we did not leave hungry!

But these were my favorite-- xian long boa!  Or also known as soup dumplings, since there is some broth inside the dumplings.  They are so yummy.

So here is our new Chinese Malaysian friend, Jenny.  We all go to Bible study on Thursday mornings and are getting into the habit of going out to lunch afterwards.  She asked us what we wanted for lunch and I said dim sum.  She was so surprised!  She didn't realize Americans liked Chinese food.  I told her, of course we like Chinese food!  Do you have any idea how many Chinese restaurants there are in the US?  Her answer?  Well, those are not really Chinese restaurants. ...  What does she mean?  Does she mean that Panda Express is not 100% authentic Chinese??  :)

(It was hard taking this selfie of the four of us.  Sure, I could have asked a waiter, but what is the challenge in that?  I was wishing I had my selfie stick!)

I mentioned Din Tai Fung, in the Pavilion Mall.  Jenny suggested this restaurant, in Bangsar Village II.  It is more convenient for us, less crowded, and more elegant inside.

They bring the table a bowl of black fungus for us to share.  That's right, black fungus.  I know it's mushrooms, but still.  Let's just say, we let Jenny eat the whole bowl.  She was so happy!!

This is what I was craving, on top.  Xian long boa!  These are the basic flavor.  The noodle dish in the front had some sort of pork dumplings included.  It was a bit of dumpling overload, but I was not complaining!  Brenda also ordered these noodles.  Jenny ordered plain noodles, and Peg ordered a (large) bowl of soup.  Again, no one went hungry!

The basic xian long boa are usually dipped in this small bowl of shredded ginger with vinegar poured over it.  Sounds weird, but very tasty.

Paradise Dynasty has eight different varieties of xian long boa.  The pink ones were spicy, very spicy.  And you don't dip the spicy ones into the vinegar.  No need for extra flavor.  Just the need for extra water.

The eight flavors of xian long boa.

Lunch for the four of us was 160 ringgits, or $44.  For such a nice restaurant and the amount of delicious food we ordered, it was a great value!  We are so happy Jenny had us try this new restaurant.

Side note:  As an expat, it is easy to find other expats from the same country, and just hang out with each other.  We might explore the country, but it is harder to explore the culture.  I am really enjoying getting to know Jenny.  She is explaining so many things to us, and we are learning a lot more about the Malaysian and Chinese cultures.  Right now I am interested in learning more about Chinese New Year, which is coming up soon.  More on that later.

I just bought an airline ticket for next weekend's destination-- Bangkok!  So excited for my first visit to Thailand!

Two Weeks in Texas!

We have had a great two weeks in Texas, with lots of family time.

Christmas morning in Mineola.  That is Joe's dad hidden by Jared's hat.

Our family is strewn across Texas, and we had to do lots of driving.  Before Christmas, and while driving from Killeen to McKinney, we stopped at West, Texas.  This small town has a Czech heritage and is famous for kolaches.

Kolaches are like doughy pillows of bread goodness, stuffed with all sorts of things, like cheese, sausage, or jalapenos, or a combination of the aforementioned.  There are also sweet kolaches, which are more like a danish.  Just in case y'all were wondering.

Jared, my older son, enjoying his kolaches.  He always try to grab a great kolache whenever he is visiting from Philly.

Back to Christmas morning.  Austin gets a new bow.  So useful for living in an Asian city.  Not.  :)

Savannah plays Santa and hands out the gifts.  She loves these Grinch onesie pj's she bought at Wal-mart, her favorite store!

'May Your Journey always lead you home'.  Perfect pillow gift for us!

The boys in hats

The Holmes cousins (minus Amanda and plus Angel).  For once, Austin is not the biggest guy around!

Christmas dinner

and birthday cake for Poppa.

Diane and Raymond (Poppa)

I am not trying to get a picture of Jared.  I am really taking a picture of my Diet Dr. Pepper (ignore the pepsi on the cup)!  

Family lunch at East Texas Burger, before we head to Austin to see our grandson!

It wasn't our year to get our daughter for Christmas, but we got to spend a few days with them after Christmas.  Here is Austin and Savannah playing with Cooper!

My four kids just chillaxing

Um, mommy, Grandpa is kissing me again!

This was our family trip to one of the malls in Austin.  Here is Seth, my son-in-law, carrying Cooper. It is hard to tell, but it is a big fabric wrap thingie.

Here is my lunch buddy!

I guess you never outgrow being a Legomaniac!  At least now they buy their own Legos.  :)

The girls and I went shopping around South Congress in Austin.  This was written on the side of a taco restaurant.

Cooper and Grandpa watching football

My family came to Austin for lunch and to meet Cooper.

Four generations!  Me, Cooper, my mom, and Amanda

Jared and my sister's son, Danny.  

The weather was cold and rainy for much of our time in Texas.  This was one of maybe two nice days  there.  Here is the Texas state capitol.

We walked around the University of Texas Campus.  This mural was just off the main drag.

UT Tower

And we got to celebrate Savannah's Sweet Sixteen together!

Our Little Family

It was a fast and fun two weeks!  It was worth the 25 hours of flight time to see everyone.  I miss my family, but am glad to be back in warm, sunny KL!