Peanut Butter for Christmas

Aunt Suzi came through and shipped not just a couple, but a full dozen jars of the best peanut butter in America, Crazy Richard's. Chunky, not creamy, the way peanut butter should be. It's all natural, 99% peanuts, 1% salt. Why any one would want sugar in their peanut butter is absolutely beyond me. Dung's hooked on the stuff now, too.

Christmas in Bangkok

For the first year we were forced to get a fake tree for Christmas. But we have to say it looks pretty nice and we'll get to use it every year. And we won't have to drag it out to the curb on trash day either.

Crushing bootleg DVDs with Girly Berry

About once a year the Thai Police hold a destruction ceremony, ferrying in about 20 dump trucks full of bootleg DVDs, CDs, fake bags, jeans, cell phones, cigarettes, you name it. If it's counterfeit they've got some of it. After seizing it they can't just release it back on to the market so instead haul it to an industrial furnace to burn it. They turned it into a media event, inviting some of the local recording artists, including girl group Girly Berry, to participate and publicize the event. I handle intellectual property enforcement so I got invited, too, the only farang at the show.

Christmas Eve dinner

We got together 11 people for Christmas Eve dinner at our place, including Robert & Aye Aye who came in from the U.S. on their way to Burma. Dung did all the cooking, including a pecan pie which she's never attempted before and of course, like everything else, came out perfect. I made an attempt to do all the cleaning the next day, which didn't take nearly as long as the cooking that Dung did, I'm sure.

Christmas is coming - VN style

We had a Christmas party over at David & Huyen's, formerly of Saigon and now of Bangkok. Included in the picture above are many of the charter members of the Vietnamese Ladies of Bangkok, all those Vietnamese women who somehow ended up living in the Big Mango.

Q-Bar

The Q-Bar had their sixth anniversary in Bangkok a couple weeks back. The Q Bar used to be the best place in Saigon until the owner, David, photo above, got too successful and was kicked out of the country. He turned around and opened up a new Q Bar in Bangkok and made the list of top ten bars in the world in one survey. It's one of the most popular places in town and pretty close by our neighborhood. I didn't know David well in Saigon but recognized him at the club that night and grabbed a shot.

Still chilly

Once again, we've really got a cold spell going. Not like back home, of course, but we went out to dinner wearing sweaters tonight which isn't too common for these parts. Low was 63 degrees tonight. We haven't had to use the air conditioner for a week.

Young and Hip in Bangkok

Just saw this article in the New York Times, though it came out a few weeks ago. Lots of good neighborhoods to explore!

http://travel2.nytimes.com/2005/11/20/travel/20bangkok.html?pagewanted=1&ei=5070&en=b94185c2954b60b0&ex=1134450000

Mr. Biggs

Our latest visitor is Professor David Biggs of UC Riverside, in town after a conference in Siem Reap on water something. David's an old buddy from the old Vietnam days, back in 1994. He's now professor of SE Asian Studies in the UC system, living large in L.A. with Hong Anh and little Princess Scuppy (aka Xuan Anh).