Another Thailand Garden Plot

Before we head back to the US for the holidays we decided to squeeze in one more trip to Thailand. This time to Koh Samui on the South China Sea side of Thailand. You know it's gonna be good when you arrive at the airport and the terminal is a thatched hut and ponds surround the immigration counter. We stayed in a bunglow on the quiet side of the island (a whole 20 minute taxi ride to the busy side) right on the beach.

Denis settled in by hanging his new tie-dyed hammock in the trees in our front yard. We found the resort next door had the best food and Denis had to have his picture taken with his new favorite cook. A 4-course Thai meal including a couple beers ran about $4usd. One night we did go over to the busy side and had to eat in the restaurant that had this roast pig in the window. Good, but near as good as the $4 meal next door.

The Bitches

I had my Stitch n' Bitch gang over for roof top BBQ but we couldn't bitch cuz our spouses were there too and we couldn't stitch cuz we were drinking. Had a good time anyway.

There's more in the group, we're just the camera hogs.

Bonsai

With Denis' extra time at home he took more interest in improving our roof top garden and went with me to the local nursery. The nursery has been run by the same family for 5 generations. The father of the current generation in charge is a master at bonsai and is retired except for providing bonsai for sale at the nursery. This sago palm bonsai that we fell in love with has 5 generations of the same palm in its design in honor of the family. All the bonsais the father is creating now has 5 generations.

Best Seat on the Bus

For the first time since I've been in Hong Kong I was lucky enough to get the best seat on the bus...front row on the top of the double decker. This photo gives you an idea of the terrain we go through to get from the big city to our community of Sai Kung which is surrounded by country park land.

Beware of the Speed Bumps

In downtown Saladan, the only village on Koh Lanta, they have to control the speed of scooters and tuk tuks.

Denis in the Garden

Most of you know Denis has been exiled to the SML garden for 6 months after which time he can re-enter the workforce. A week after he was put in the garden, we decided to hit the road to a remote beach in Thailand. Koh Lanta is off the coast of southwest Thailand, 3 hours from the closest airport by car. For 2 weeks we beached it, went snorkeling and diving and elephant trekking.

Dry Skin
When we got back from our US vacation my first task was a trip to the foot salon to get rid of the dry skin on my feet. The pedicurist was amazed at how my skin had dried up in only two weeks away from the humidity.

Fort Feline
This village was set up in a parking area in Gold Beach,OR. The inhabitants seemed quite happy inside their homes.

Cruising the Coast

Denis & I have always thought that we'd eventually retire back in the pacific northwest so we spent a few days driving down the coast and found a spot we'll keep our eye on...Gold Beach, Oregon. Here the Rogue River meets the pacific making for some great salmon & steelhead fishing. It's still a quiet little fishing village.

Couer d' Alene Cabin

Next stop was to see Jim & Teresa's boat-in-only cabin on the lake. The fishing and boating was great.

Back to our Roots

August was vacation time for us and we were ready for the most non-Asian thing we could find and Denis was itching to get to his fishing poles so we headed to visit old friends. First stop was Doodie & David in Salt Lake City. They knew exactly what we needed and took us to a couple spectacular spots up in the rockies. Dave caught some unusual albino trout and we froze during a passing storm.

Shhhh! Shopping in Progress

You didn't hear this from me, but there are shops in China where conterfeit products like designer purses just fall out from a misplaced ceiling tile. I had to sneak this photo on my camera phone.

Isn't this Hat Just Precious!

Denis celebrating his 46th birthday at the office.

Jewelry Trekking in Thailand

Some of you might remember when I first visited Bangkok a couple years ago I returned with great deals on jewelry from a wholesaler who does business with Target. So this trip to Bangkok I came "budget prepared" to revisit this treasure. First I had to tout myself as a buyer as we no longer had the Target connection. Then luckily I called to find out they had moved. They gave me the address and I passed this to the taxi driver upon leaving for what I thought was a quick trip through the city. One hour later the taxi was lost on dirt roads on the outskirts of Bangkok and I was getting nervous. Mobile in hand I called my local SML contact who could communicate with the driver and was relieved to find out I was not being abducted, but we were at the right place, a new factory/wharehouse. I had the driver stop when I saw this monitor lizard crossing the road. I asked the driver to wait for me and he was concerned about the cost. Turned out to be a whopping $5 usd. Wish my jewelry bill had been that low!

Karoke Krazy

Our Thai hotel was attached to one of Bangkoks newest malls. The top floor was all about entertainment. In the center of the mall were these plastic tubes for people to use for karoke. There was a waiting line and everyone can watch what is going on in the karoke tube. Kinda like human hamster cages.

To Thailand with Laine

I had to take Laine to one of my favorite Asian cities, Bangkok. We toured the Grand Palace, rode a tuk tuk, gave coins to the reclining Buhdda and shopped A LOT! The weekend market is 32 acres of stall after stall of the Thai products.

Private Pool

Laine's contribution to the rooftop was our own private pool. It gets so hot & humid that we need a place to cool off while laying out for our tans.

New Additions to Rooftop

When Laine & I visited Bangkok this summer I had a fountain made for the roof garden. It just arrived last week and we've already added plants and goldfish. I also went to a wholesale nursery with the H.K. Garden Society and bought this 3' bougainvillea for about $7.50usd.

Growing Trellis
One of the plants I was given was this 6 foot tall thing. No one knows it's name but it has soft fuzzy leaves, woody stems and big purple flowers on the end. My donor told me to cut it way back after it finished blooming. When I did this I needed a trellis for a vining plant so I used the old stems of the tall plant to make a trellis. About a month later my trellis sticks started blooming!

Roof Garden
I keep delaying posting about my roof garden because I say to myself, "Wait until this blooms or that blooms," but heck, I just gotta get some pictures out. It is amazing how things grow here. I have been successful with cuttings from a variety of plants, but particularly hibiscus. They grow like weeds. I was given several plants by a fellow member of the HK Garden Society when she moved. One of my favorites was 3 sticks of Frangipani. I stuck then in the ground, they rooted and flowered in less than a month. All of my bromiliads flowered and the hibiscus won't stop flowering.

Lotus Season

August is Lotus season in Hong Kong. I went with the HK Garden Society to a behind-the-scenes tour of the Botanical Gardens Lotus display. It's amazing how long the lotus blooms last here.