Ten on Tuesday

So, this is MY Ten on Tuesday, which will be five things I love, five things I don't, all about (you guessed it) Bangkok. It might be fun to look back upon this list every now and then, as I am sure my views about this city will change. We are still so new to Bangkok, and every corner has something wonderful and new to discover. Maybe time will toughen us up a bit...

Oh, and I will share with you Nate playing pirate with his treasure.....

So things I love?
1. Food. Can't be beat, and if you go out to eat you can do it on the cheap. If we stay away from the places that look fancy, we spend less on a night out than we would making our own dinner. And generally, the less shmancy the restaurant looks, the better value you get of a meal. A winning formula, once you get the hang of it.
2. Fruit, or food part two. I'm sorry, but where have you been all my life, mangosteen and pomelo? Rambutan? And why is watermelon and pineapple and kiwi so much better here? It just is. Sorry America.
3. Being in a land of my fellow petites. A man actually called me "long legs" the other day! THAT is something I would have never expected to be called.
4. Colors. Everything here seems more vibrant or flambouyant somehow. Even the taxis are bright pink or red or yellow.
5. Having my right-hand woman, Kookai. She's totes awesome. Cooks fantastically, keeps our house in order, and the kids like her a lot. I was not going to go straight to the live-in situation, but now that we hired her I am so glad we did. She frees up ALL my time so I can enjoy our children more.

Not so much....

1. Humidity. Heat.
2. Soi dogs. The street dogs here, while there aren't too many, are unpredictable. So when you spot one, you must guard your children just in case. And Myles has to stay in our compound away from them.
3. Sidewalks, OH. MY. GOD. why do the women here wear heels everywhere? The sidewalks are crazy, I'm not kidding. And much of the time they are taken up by vendors, so you find yourself walking in the road. And they are really dirty. Uneven. And just rickety. But you learn to deal with it.
4. Tipping. Because its a total mystery here. There really is no tipping, unless you look around and people are tipping. But generally its not proportionate to the size of your bill at all-just a 20 baht note and you're fine. And really you don't tip in a taxi. But if you don't, you might just get a driver who expected that you would. Sheesh!
5. Cockroaches.