Bangkok - New Years Eve

When the dumpling is too hot !

When you get a fruit thinking it’s a pomelo but it’s not .

Bugs anyone  ?

An eco Christmas tree .

Last photos of 2023 

 The kids wanted a “nothing “ day so we stayed in the hotel in the morning . Played Sushi Go , Hive , read books and relaxed .

In the evening we headed to Lumphini Park where we were very excited to see turtles and a little bit scared of the giant monitors ( that looked quite a bit like alligators ). 

Aanya conquered her fear of enclosed slides and learnt to do a chin up . Savik monkeyed his way up laddered bars and also wants to learn a chin up . Jeevan showed the kids he still had it by showing them some new tricks on the play equipment! 

Took a disco kind of tuk tuk to the night markets - Jodd Fair , it was quite an upgrade from the ones in KK . We had hot pot for dinner , the kids first time and they slurped their way through it all , it was a hit . We then tried Durian ice cream which Jeevan tried to dissuade us from having but the kids and I liked it . The stall next to the ice cream place was Savik’s nightmare- squid shots . He watched a woman having one and then could barely eat his ice cream . 

Next tuk tuk to Siam Square for the New Year celebrations. It was dazzling !! The lights , the big screens and the centre stage gave it very much a vibe of Times Square.

As we have an early start tomorrow we convinced the kids to celebrate NY on Malaysian time and they were in bed at 11pm.

We got to see some of the best fireworks at midnight from our hotel . We went to bed grateful for the lives we lead and the loved ones we have in it . 

Bangkok Day 2

 On our second day we headed to the Chao Phraya River to take a ferry to Wat Arun ( the temple of  dawn ). We saw heaps of people dressed in traditional clothes taking photos . I stopped and asked one couple if it was a special occasion and was told nope, they were just doing it for fun . Then we saw the lines of Thai Costume rental shops so decided to give it a go. Outfits , accessories and hair done and we were ready to join the throngs of people doing photo shoots . It was quite fun and we were giggling quite a bit . 

Tuk tuk ride to do a quick stroll through Khao San road (filled with weed dealers ) and then back to the pool .

In the evening we headed to our one fancy dinner , the best bit was dessert where we were rotating the bowls around . 

Laid on the grass for a bit, saw some fireworks to end the night . 

Bangkok

 Started with a guide to do the Grand Palace and the Royal temple . There was another Indian - Australian family with us. 

It was very crowded but thanks to the guide we learnt a lot and were able to navigate it through. I love random facts like the model of Angkor wat is there as it was initially part of Thailand . The whole place  is so gorgeous , all the hand paintings as well the details in each building . We saw the Emerald Buddha in his winter attire and asked for his blessings for the year ahead .

We headed to the Sleeping Buddha (Wat Pho) next , the other family decided to go to the hotel and be sleeping buddhas themselves. It made me realise that our kids are really good with all the sightseeing.

This was a place for Jeevan to shine as he imparted so much Buddhist knowledge to the kids . We were sitting and eating some snacks and got to randomly see a dance show . There were quite a few performances and it was the highlight of the day for Aanya .

Headed back for the kids to use the pool with the slide . We all were on it for quite a long time .