Noodle Tour - Bang Khun Non

Bang Khun Non is about 10-15 minutes from Sanam Luang, we drive across Chao Praya River by PinKlao Bridge to Boromratchachonnani Road and turn left to Chaiyapruek Road which connect to Bang Khun Non Road. We intend to start a Noodle Tour at Pra Sop Larp or Nai Kare Pork Noodle. The shop is opposite to Siam City Bank, close to Chak Pra intersection. The specialty of this shop is taste of its noodles and Tum Loung and pork organs which they put in the noodle. We eat 2 noodles, a bag of crispy fish skin, a bottle of tea and 2 glasses of ice, cost Baht 72. Besides noodles, they sell pork satay and dim sum.

Nai Ngieb Fishball Noodle Shop is our next stop. It is easier to park since the road is wider and we can park along the roadside with baht 10 fee. I eat fish dumpling soup and P.Ou has egg noodle. The noodle is tasty which its specialty is fishball and soup. It costs us Baht 102 for 2 noodles, a bottle of water and 2 glasses of ice.

In front of the noodle shop, there are various kind of food stall such as Isan sausages, Thai desserts, kanon bueng or coconut crape, bakery, etc.

The last stop is Yentafor Peking. Yentafor is a kind of noodle in red sauce with morning glory, cuttlefish, fired tofu, and posk blood. The specialty of this Peking yentafor is crispy taro putting in their noodle. I am almost full so I eat very slow although the noodle is yummy. We have 2 Kao Lao Yentafor, and 2 glasses of plum juice, cost totally Baht 80.

Nearby is Crab Noodle. They was in Phut Bridge area and they was expropriated so they moved here since then. My mom family prefer crab noodle. I see the owner still cook the noodles; I will taste it next time and hope that the taste is still the same.

Bangplee Ancient Market

Why goes far, it is across the street, in the soi to Wat Luang Poi Toh or Wat Bangplee Yai Nai, it is Bangplee Ancient Market. The market was built approx. on 2400 B.E. or 150 years ago while Bangplee people continually live together with the market for a few generations. We park at Wat Bangplee Yai Nai and walk through the market which the wood path was built and connected with wood bridges for almost 1 kilometer along the Samrong canal. There are various kinds of shops, such as food, desserts, cloths, home appliances, kitchenware, fortunetellers, salons, Thai massage, etc. In this September until October 25, many activities have been organized especially during weekend, for example, boat trips to see scenery of the canal and to visit a few interesting places nearby as well as singing and dance shown by students of nearby schools.

Drugstore sells not only medicine but also herbs and miscellaneous things.

Our lunch is from many food stalls and the table is set on a fixed ferry.

They use 2 boats connected as a bridge for people to cross the canal and it can open for other boats to travel by.

Exhibition tells their life style.

Students perform wonderful Singing and Dancing Show during weekend.

Noon 21th Birthday

We held a family dinner on Noon's 21th birthday at the Square, Novotel Siam. The restaurant presents "Around Europe in 80 Flavours" food festival, including Italian, French, German and Dutch/Belgian dishes in buffet style. I prefer soft shell crab and dessert while Noon seem to enjoy Lamb steak. I always forgot to take pictures of significant scene. This time, I forgot to take picture when Noon made a wish and blew candles on her birthday's cake.

Chan Pen

On August 27, 2008, we went to lunch at Chan Pen Restaurant on Rama IV Rd. I have known this place since I was a kid because it is opposite to my Dad's office. Firstly, we wanted to go to the other place on Chan Rd. but it is on renovation. Chan Pen is known as a good Chinese-Thai food restaurant for almost half a century. We had Grilled Chicken, Fried Oysters with Eggs, Fried Shrimps Salad, and Poo-Ja. We were so full since the food was too much for 3 of us.

Grilled chicken is its specialty and a must to order. Although we were full, we went to have ice cream and this Mango with Sweet Sticky Rice at Polo Club.

Little Aui was born

Nicha, Aui and P.Mee's daughter, was born on August 21, 2008 with weight of almost 3000 gram. Both mom and baby is healthy. Nicha seem to be beautiful and have long leg like her mother.
See my friends have babies so I asked P.Ou if we should have one. He said,"forget about it".

Mom Birthday

August 19 is my Mom's birthday. We had family lunch at Je Njor Sathorn on Sunday before her birthday. Her sisters love seafood and request to meet at this place for this special occasion. I order the same set as usual but the size of dishes are smaller so I doubt they were not really full. Anyway, it is a pleasant time to meet all of them.
On her birthday, we went to Wat Sothorn to make merit and ask for best wishes. I took her to have grilled river-prawn at a river-side restaurant. I feel glad to make her happiness.

Retro Music Charity Concert

On Saturday August 16, 2008, we went to Retro Music Charity Concert at AUA Auditorium. There were 2 bands called "The Better" and "Flash 7", playing songs in 60's and 80's. The Better plays only the Beatles's song and Flash 7 plays various artists. It is nice to see a concert once in a while.

P.Ou Mom's 88th Birthday

On Wednesday August 13, 2008, I went to Chulalongkorn Hospital to attend a religious ceremony on P.Ou's Mom birthday. P.Ou's Mom comes here to make merit by giving food and goods to monks on her birthday every year.

After that we went to China Town to lunch at "Kum Lung, Hong Kong". Its specialty is Goat Meat with Pa-Tong-Ko, but we ordered to Pork with Pa-tong-Ko since some of us do not eat meat. We also had Morning Glory with Shrimp Paste, Tofu with Salted Fish, Crispy Pork Som Tum, Minced Pork with Salted Fish, and Abalone Rice. There was no man today so we talked about cooking, recent issues on newspaper; moreover, we enjoyed talking about and guessing at many pictures of politicians and celebrities on its walls who came to eat at this place. P.Ou had meetings so he could not join lunch so I will ask him to try next time.

Pork with Pa-Tong-Ko and Abalone Rice.

Another Dog Story, Harley

Harley came to our house because P.Aey moved to her new condo in mid of May. He is Thai dog, very old, always looks moody and walks unsteadily. Currently, he gets bigger since we feed him with dog's food instead of rice and fish can; moreover since he cannot walk steadily, he rarely walks and always lies down in the service area and kitchen. We feed him the same time as Bennie and we have to watch them eat since Harley likes to eat what Bennie leaves behind although he does not finished his. He seems to be happier; I think because we always call, touch and give him some snacks. He is now an old rascal at the back of the house because he usually barks or growls when Bennie or Peanut appears into his territories.

Hawa - Racha Kao Mok Kai

We went to lunch Muslim food at Hawa Phochana, RCA, as recommended by many books. We, P.Ou, P.Ou's Mom and I, ate Chicken Biriyani (Kao Mol Kai), Curry Noodle, Chicken Soup, Salad, Chicken Mataba, and Roti with Milk and Sugar. I prefer Salad and Roti to other food. It also sells something else which we haven't tried yet, such as Fried Mussel (Hoi Tod), Chicken Rice, and Beef Satay that I cannot eat, and some Thai desserts - Mango with Sticky Rice and Kanom Bueng. We brought Mataba for home dinner. I think P.Ou definitely goes again soon.

Pa Ya has gone home.

Today Pa Ya, who was our maid for 10 years, has gone home. She has backache and painful knees when walk so she decided to take surgical operation for her knees in the hospitals where her daughter is working. We took her to Hua Pa Chong Nonsi for goodbye party.

It is hard to find someone like her to work as house-maid nowadays, she can cook, clean house properly and most important is honest and dependable. I have learned from her many things about houses procedures, some recipes and have to cook more often from now on.

Samui

P.Ou and I went to Samui for 3 days from July 19-21, 2008. It was because Noon planed to meet her friends there and P.Ou did not want her to go alone so I had a vacation in Samui. We used package of a credit to book flight and hotel which was quite a good deal. We stayed in Imperial Boat Houses and mostly were in the hotel since transportation cost on the island is rather high, and I rarely met Thai tourist in the hotel.


At present, Samui Airport is boutique and well-organized.

Searching Satellite Signal

I did not intend to write anything today because I am watching CSI:Miami on Ture Vision. But rain and thunder storm make UBC fail to broadcast its programs and the word "searching satellite signal" appears on screen. It always happens when it is going to rain or raining. My friend told me that it was cause from the satellite they use does not directly cover Thailand. I do not know exact reason, however, if it is not in Thailand , they may have been sued.

Inflation and Survive

How do you do to survive in this high inflation and stagnant economy? My quick though is living economically, spending less, and saving more. Lately, I stay home, work by internet, phone and fax, shop at fresh market rather than supermarket, chat with friends via MSN instead of going to meet them, and eat at home more often. However, in this high inflation circumstance, I believe these do not make you survive in long term because your money in your saving account will keep devaluing, therefore, I have been told to do many things, as follows,
a) Find ways to increase incomes - I have tried to sell anything that I do not use and can sell.
b) Hold incurring huge expenses – I have postponed buy a new car, an expensive mobile phone, and high-cost trip.
c) Invest in high-yield instruments – I choose to invest in property funds and some good performance stocks which provide return more than inflation.
d) Consider other forms of investments that does not affect by inflation such as gold – I haven’t studied it, I may be too complicated to me.
e) Cut down spending – I have already done some.
I have no idea when the situation will be recover, but hope that it will not be worse.

Friends Visit

Orn, Pan, Pad, and Nong Pye came to my house on Sunday June 29, 2008. We had Nam Nuang and Ka Nom Gene for lunch. We enjoyed eating and playing Wii.

I was with Nong Pye while her parents were enjoying Wii Golf. Her parents said she liked someone to carry around.

Rabieng ta-le

We chose Rabieng ta-le for the place to first meet and dine with Noon’s friend, Tom. The place faces Bang Poo Beach with nice sunset view. We went there on Saturday June 14, 2008. We ordered some recommended dishes such as prawn in tamarind sauce, crispy shrimp salad, seafood in spicy sauce, shrimp rolls, crispy herb and snapper with mango spicy sauce, and tom ka la-le. It was so windy that it blew away mosquitoes, and it also blew away soup we ate too. Anyway, we had a great time and nice to meet you, Tom.

New York - Boston - Washington, D.C.

We went to the USA during May 19 to June 2, 2008. The itinerary started from New York, Boston, to Washington, D.C. plus cordially visited P.Ou’s Dad in Denton, Texas. We had a great time there with slightly exhausted since each city has so many interesting things to see. Please visit the Link at http://annieb-itinerary.blogspot.com/ and see photos at http://picasaweb.google.com/arthivon/USA2008

Paris 2007

During Songkarn 2007, P.Ou and I went to Paris, France.
I wrote about top 11 places I visited in "My Notable Itinerary" and posted some pictures in "My Photo Albums", please visit the link at http://annieb-itinerary.blogspot.com/2007_04_01_archive.html
and http://picasaweb.google.com/arthivon/Paris2007

Songkarn 2008

On 2008 Songkarn Holidays, we went to Hua Hin and stayed in Baan Kai Muk. Hua Hin was packed with locals and tourists on their pick-up trucks throwing water to each other, some standing on the roadside splashing water over people riding in vehicles or stopping motorcyclists to brush din-saw-pong on their faces. That's the reason that we mostly stayed in the condo, we ate almost delivery food provided, Pizza Co., KFC, Burger King. We enjoyed relaxing, massage, sleeping, reading, and swimming. It was a peaceful holiday.

It was windy make P.Ou sleep during massage.

SomSong PoChaNa

Somsong Pochana is one of our favorite food shops in the Phra Sumeru area. It is quite hard to find parking space during weekday so we usually go on weekend while sending Noon to class at Thammasat University. Somsong Pochana, which has been in business for more than 34 years, is known for its delicious, small bowls of Sukhothai-style pork noodles, kanom jeen sao nam (Thai rice vermicelli with chopped fresh pineapple, dried shrimp, sliced chillies, sliced garlic and a squeeze of lime), various Thai dishes that go with steamed rice and old-style Thai desserts, which are also served with warm coconut milk.

The dry noodles (guay tiew haeng), it is already tasty, I have never put additional seasonings.

Kanom jeen sao nam of this place is one of my favorite dishes.

You can sit in front of the food shops if the sun is not too hot. The restaurant is in Soi Wat Sangvesworawiharn Alley left of Phra Sumeru Fort.

Pin has gone to Tasmania, Australia

On April 2, 2008, we went to send Pin, one of my lovely cousin, to study in Tasmania, Australia. Tasmania is an Australian and state of the same name with its estimated population of 493,000 as of June 2007. She is in Hobart, the state capital and largest city in the island, and will be there for at least 6 months. I wish she could get what she expected and is expected. And I hope I could visit her before she went back.

Gold Coast, Australia

I wrote about trip to Gold Coast, Australia which I went there in May, 2007. Please read in My Notable Itinerary and click at Blog Archive "May 2007".

Triporn (Remake)

On Thursday March 20, 2008, we went to lunch at Triporn Pochana again. I did not forget to take photos to show what we ate. I think P.Ou really like this place since it makes him recall his childhood. The following are what we ate.