Rice v. Snow

You've heard it said that Eskimos have a hundred words for "snow," but from the looks of it, there must be that many words for "rice" here in Thailand.  on top of my notions of white rice, brown rice, long grain and wild rice, here they distinguish between all those plus early rice, mid-season, mature rice, off-season, late-season, uncooked (which they mash up for some dishes), unmilled, plantation rice, mountain rice, "pretty rice," many types of fried rice, and, of course, sticky rice.  The list goes on...

Small World!!

I was hanging with my old friend Chika Watanabe from NY (via Japan, Latin America, and now Myanmar)!

We had dinner @ this great street joint:

Prawns w/garlic, green papaya crab salad, and morning glory greens

 A motorbike rode right through the restaurant

 and nobody flinched:

then we went to a local spot to  ชิลชิล (expression for "relax": pronounced "chill-chill").

a couple of the cutie bartenders

 and all-day breakfast!

 Though we opted for an all-night musicfest instead!

See BKK Singing!

Sebastián!

My sister Naomi & Bro-in-law Adam have given me a nephew and the world a cute kid!  Welcome Sebastián!  Congrats to the parents and the grandparents!  Aunts and uncles!  And he already went to one of my openings last night! (through a dream induced by the below postcard-invite).  I can't wait to meet the little fella when I go from Bangkok to Brooklyn...

Street Food

Here's some pics, but not the aromas, vitality, and tastes...

The street-food culture here is incredibly sophisticated, cheap, attractive, diverse, and everywhere.  Hands down the best Thai food I've had in my life.  I can guarantee that I won't ever cook anything while in Bangkok...  

lots of restaurants are either on the street or half on the street:

AROI MAK ! (Very Delicious!)

The King and I

The first Bday festivities for the King...  Singing, candles, and dramatic lighting: 

1st Pics

 Xmas trees in Thailand!

made out of straws...

and snow...

 and the new Krispy Kreme Donuts (and lines around the block for them).....................

 and more snow (although it's about 85 degrees F)...

 A buddhaful Buddha:

 and some elephants:

 and more stunning Buddhas (they have a serious presence here)...

 cool phone (a monument to communication):

And the controversial "Victory Monument" (+ my skytrain stop - you can see the elevated track):

shumai heaven...

 a typical corner...

 waiting for a skytrain (never seen such patience in a city):

 the bus:

my whole neighborhood looks like this:

 some HS kids in uniforms

 checking out the cool cuffs:

and cool trees

BTW, plug in at your own risk:

and good luck!

safer to just go for an expert massage

 And did you know Mad Max was Thai?