Happy Thai's New Year--Songkran Splendors

Daddy arrives Bangkok safe and sound and just in time to celebrate the special festival--The Thai's New Year aka Songkran Festival. Unfortunately, there are some political problems on Songkran's day here in Bangkok which shut down every activity just for a day :( However, we still celebrate the traditional New Year with the family. We celebrate our this holiday from April 10 to April 17 but most of the main events take place during April 13-15.

Songkran is a Sanskrit word in Thai form which means the entry of the sun into any sign of the Zodiac. But the Songkran in this particular instance is when the sun enters the sign of Aries or the Ram. Its full name is Maha Songkran or Major Songkran to distinguish it from the other ones.". You can also find out that "This is the time for Thais to pay homage to Buddha images, clean their houses, and sprinkle water on their elders in a show of respect."

A show of respect... I think to appreciate the older and traditional aspect of Songkran we all visit a temple in the morning of April 13th and then visit Tara's great aunt in the afternoon in Chonburi (the town near Pattaya). We have lunch in Pattaya and we find Thai McDonald's for Tara too :) Then pay respect at Tara's great grandmother grave. We saw a few water splashing a long the way but not as much.

We all exhausted by the end of the day. We just rest at home for the rest of the evening and enjoy the family time. So glad that Daddy is here with us :) We miss him very much.

Toys & Games Festival

Mostly in the evening Ta and Yai always take us out to eat. Usually we go to "the Mall" since it is only 10 mins drive from their house and there are so many restaurants to choose from with variety of cuisines. Then after dinner, we all take Tara to the play area. Today she rides three different toys :) For those three toys, it only cost $1 for all of them!!!!

Department store in Thailand normally was built with 4 or more stories high. This one has 4 floors which including 20 movies theaters and huge convention center room on the top floor. During this week there is a "toys and games" Festival in the convention room of this mall. Imagine a huge room full of toys and things for kids to do and play!! Tara just loves it. Ta takes Tara up there and explores all the toys. Then they ended up play air hocky together :) I think nobody win the game since Tara keeps the disk to herself everytime she can catch it!!!

On the way out Tara takes some pictures with her favorite Princesses poster...enjoy :)

Dress Fitting

One of the missions when we are here in Bangkok is to get Tara's flower girl dress make. Today is Tara's fitting day for the non-complete version of the dress. There will be some adjustments before the final one complete this weekend. This is only the first layer of the dress. There are 4 layers for the skirt part. Mommy just takes some photos--you can tell how much Tara loves to be in the dress. She said she looks like Princess...I can't wait to get the complete one and show it to you all :) Enjoy

Hua Hin--The oldest beach in Thailand (round 1)

Alright, our first vacation trip is here. My favorite beach town, Hua Hin. We only spend 2 days here this time but when Daddy arrives. We will be here for 4 days....can't wait. So we gonna call this trip our survey trip. We have a good time. Tara's uncles, Duke and Dew, and Dew's girlfriend, Ploy, are there to help Mommy entertain Tara :)

This trip we all go to Hua Hin in a big bus since we are going with the National Defense Group where Khun Ta is a member. Khun Ta organized the whole trip which include 102 people. One of Khun Ta's friends owns a seaside beach house which is really beautiful and he and his wife kindly enough to host the dinner for the whole group. They also have singers for entertain us too. Tara has fun dancing with Khun Yai too :) Of course, food is endless and all delicious!!!

Even though this trip to Hua Hin is a bit short but both Tara and Mommy are still having a lot of fun and good time. Tara still has a lot of pool time as well. Hua Hin is a charming little town. We all arrive Bangkok safe and sound. We decide to take Daddy back to this beach town again by choo choo train. Hope you all enjoy our story so far. We will see you back in a few weeks.

Siam Paragon & Siam Ocean World (Round 1)

Today is an exciting day for both Tara and Mommy coz my Aunt will take us to the newest mall in town called Siam Paragon. It was finished last year and it supposes to be one of the biggest mall in Thailand. We head there for early lunch. Along the way to our restaurant, Mommy passes so many yummy treats!!!! couldn't resist :) There are so many cakes, sweets, dried fruits to choose from and the best part is they are not that expensive at all!!!

Here are some pictures from inside this mall and the restaurant we eat called Cafe Chilli :)

Inside Siam Paragon is Siam Ocean World is the largest aquarium in Southeast Asia where featuring marine animals which include; Penguins, Grey Nurse Sharks and Giant Spider Crabs (which is bigger than Tara) etc. The aquarium also offers a “Dive with the Sharks program” where visitors can scuba dive in the Open Ocean side by side with the sharks and rays.




When Daddy is here, we plan to take him to see the aquarium as well. They will also offer the Live Mermaid show. Tara's new favorite character is "the Mermaid"--she gives Dora a rest for now...haha