Sanuk Canadian

A friend had invited me to check out Toastmasters. The purpose of this group is to network, practice public speaking and learn leadership skills. I have another friend who is a member of this club already, and he was often raving about the members, projects and assignments, etc... I finally gave it a try. I met two friends at the station and it was quite hot that night. I always carry a small Japanese folding fan and showed my friend. She said: "Oh I have one of those too." and whipped out this huge paper fan! I took a photo... o_O Holy sheep.... The meeting was held at the Goethe Institute . I was the only one who had been to this location before, so I had to give directions. ^_^ What surprised me most? All members were Thai (we 4 were the only foreigners) and the entire 2 hour session was covered in English! I was impressed. During a break, I got to speak with the President of the club, one Distinguished Speaker and another businessman. View right: My view left: I was a lit...

When I returned from Japan, I helped a friend organize a home party. The purpose was just to meet and make new friends. We had a rule: bring at least one friend, more if possible. I brought two! Ms. UK and my Twitter friend, Wegotogether (we finally met face-to-face...yay!) ^_^ The party was held at my interior designer's amazing condo. About 20 women from a variety of countries attended -- US, UK, Norway, Germany, Holland and one Canadian (me!). We munched on guacamole and tortilla chips, veggies and sparkling wine. That wine gave me a nasty headache after I got home... o_O I met so many great ladies, all of whom who have been living overseas for 5 years or more. As someone who has lived abroad for 13 years now, it's hard to talk about my experiences with those who have never lived in another country. One woman best explained it: "Friends back home think our lives are so glamorous. We live in this tropical country, have a big condo, with a pool and gym, and they think ...

I belong to a meet up group on the net, whose main interest is gathering together to see interesting films. On a Friday, a small group of us met to see a rare event -- a recorded performance of The Phantom of the Opera , to celebrate the 25th anniversary of this musical. The show was recorded live from the Royal Albert Hall in London. I had seen this production live in Toronto -- twice. But, I was not prepared for the great detail shown in the film. You see everything...close ups of the actor's faces, details of their costumes, sweeping views of the hall, etc... Honestly, it was perfect. I snuck one photo during the intermission... This production should be seen for one reason only -- John Owen-Jones -- who played the Phantom. His voice is pitch perfect. I also felt he portrayed all the mixed emotions of the Phantom very well. I'm a very difficult person to impress, but he was...impressive! (laugh) His homepage is HERE . The only downside? It's quite long. My friends and I ...

I was lucky that this year, my usual day off work coincided with one of the biggest holidays in Thailand -- Loi Krathong . This holiday is celebrated in November, during the full moon. It is to send away one's bad luck and wish for good luck in the upcoming New Year. This year's Loi Krathong was held on November 10th. I had to attend a meeting first, but I could see the festival going on from BTS Phrom Phong station. Festival view: After attending my Linguists meeting, a member invited me to visit an ice bar nearby. It was at this bar, I got to take a picture holding the elaborate Krathong offering. These are floated on the water, as one's bad luck is said to "float away". It's pretty, no? cutenekko + Krathong: This bar also had a pretty good live band. They played mainly rock and R&B... The band, Unicorn: I headed upstairs to check out the ice bar. It was like stepping into a large walk-in refrigerator. The bar was completely made of ice! Bar: Here, you ...

Yet another friend was hoping to meet me after returning from Japan -- my interior designer! She offered a great deal -- come to my swimming pool! Her condo is the Millenium Towers off Sukhumvit. It's a 54 story building with amazing views. The pool is an infinity style pool-- meaning, the water appears to drop off the edge. It's like living at a tropical resort. See the photos! The pool... The building (there are 4 in this complex) I wore a bikini on this day -- which is very rare for me. It was the second time in my life! I'm not a "bikini girl" because I don't like people staring at my body...but my friend challenged me to wear a bikini, so....*sigh* The view from my lounge chair: After a while, it was time to hit the pool. The only bad point? It was absolutely freezing! I think you can see my frozen popsicle body in this picture... (laugh) Cold, but that view is amazing, eh? I spent about 3 or 4 hours with my friend here. She told me all her backpacking st...

Another friend called me up and wanted to meet after I had returned from Japan. She invited me to explore a park/museum with her in the city -- Suan Pakkad Palace near Phaya Thai station. While waiting for my friend at the station, I spied something funny -- a Florida Hotel! Florida is a looooong way from Bangkok... The museum was a short walk from the station. For 100 Baht, we could explore inside and the gardens outside. It was pretty amazing to find such a tropical paradise in the heart of Bangkok. Garden View 1: Garden View 2: Inside the garden are 4 traditional Thai houses, which visitors can explore via connected walkways. We both enjoyed this immensely and stopped to rest our feet for a bit on the sofa inside one house. My feet: After viewing all the artifacts inside, we decided to head over to a nearby hospital. Why? Hospitals in Thailand often have nice restaurants and cafes...this one had an S&P cafe. My friend and I enjoyed telling funny stories here. I laughed and laugh...

I got back to Bangkok on Nov.3rd late at night. The next day, I met my hairdresser friend, who was dying to hear about my trip. While chatting, she cut my hair and gave me a manicure. I felt refreshed! ^_^ Nails... My hair... The next day, her husband was free, and I like talking with him too, so the three of us got together for lunch and later, a coffee. All the shops in Bangkok had prepared their entrance ways for the flood... Restaurant entrance: Cafe: The weather was beautiful in the city. The dry season has come upon us here, so it's always sunny and breezy. We sat outside a local cafe and enjoyed chatting... My cup: My friend's husband bought a new Blackberry 990S(?). Since they are made in Canada, I told him: "Thank you!" ^_^ I really enjoyed our conversation. My friend's husband said something that made me feel both happy and sad: "Every time you return from Japan, your face is so 明るい (full of light); you look so happy! Yeah, you should move back soon...

Travels in Tokyo continue.... This was my last full day in the city. I met my financial advisor for a coffee and business chat, then wondered: "What's next?" I found two things that looked interesting: a book market and a music instrument area. The first stop: Kanda Second hand books area. I had heard of this area several months before, so I was happy to finally be able to check it out. I was lucky, they were having a festival! ^_^ Street vendors selling books: This is a mecca for lovers of rare, second hand printed books. No digital Kindle users can be found here. (laugh) This market is best if you can read Japanese -- I did not see any English or other language books. I walked to my second location: Music instrument area. The majority of shops are electronic guitar shops. I had expected to see more wind and brass instruments, but the only classical instruments I found were violins. I did enjoy looking at some really expensive and antique classical guitars in this shop: ...

Adventures from the big city in Japan continue.... This day was Halloween, and I was invited to a friend's house to watch Lady Gaga's "Monster Ball Tour Live" on WOWOW (a cable TV channel in Japan). My friend made really delicious muffins: Yum!! (The flavor was choco chip + yuzu peel) I got the recipe too. ^_^ The house was decorated with several handmade Halloween mobiles. I was impressed; they looked really cute! Mobile 1: Mobile 2: My friend also made a cute Halloween costume. I became a bunny! Carrot please? I really enjoyed chatting with my friend and watching Gaga's crazy fashions. This was a really fun day. ^_^

More travels in the big city continue... I met a friend for lunch. We went to a traditional Japanese restaurant in Ginza. I was so happy to eat Japanese food! I enjoyed... サシミ！(raw fish) Rice, miso soup & some small dishes... dessert No.1... ...and dessert No.2 (laugh) After lunch, I went to visit two famous universities in Tokyo -- Keio and Waseda. These two universities are considered to be the oldest in Japan, so it's worth a visit if you enjoy history. Keio is quite beautiful and reminded me of my uni in Canada. The buildings were very traditional... If you know Japanese money, this guy is on the ¥10,000 bill: His name is Fukuzawa Yukichi . He was the founder of Keio university, which officially opened as a university in 1858. I took a bus to get to Waseda. By the time I got there it was getting dark and raining, so I couldn't get clear pictures. Using Google images, here is what it looks like during the daytime: Famous church (Students who pass the entrance exam often ...

My trip to the city center continues... On this day, I met a fan of my blog. The highest number of readers of my blog are from Japan, so it's nice to meet some face-to-face. The coolest part? We spoke only in Japanese! Yay! We went to an art gallery together in Ueno park --- to see the Goya exhibit. It was really crowded inside! [>_<] Outside the museum... Photos are not allowed inside, but I will show you the most famous Goya painting which we viewed: " La Maja Vestida" After this, I enjoyed a boat cruise from Asakusa to Odaiba, and back. It was fun to view Tokyo from the water... Outside the boat. (Canadians love boats -- this is a well known fact.) ^_^ I'm surprised how many friends I have been able to make via this blog and Twitter. Technology is pretty neat, no? The National Museum of Western Art is located in Ueno Park, Tokyo. Access: JR Ueno station, or Tokyo Metro, Ueno. The Goya exhibit was ¥1,500 / person. ($15/ 800 baht). Website HERE . Tokyo Cruise ...

An extended tour of Japan continues... My Twitter friend was really surprised to hear that I was going to be in Tokyo again. Luckily, she too, is very flexible when it comes to her schedule, so we were able to meet. I had a strange request: Take me to IKEA!! ^_^ I wanted to do some research to see the cost of furniture I'll need when I move back to Japan. She took to me to IKEA in Saitama prefecture. I had a lot of fun....and I could get some good ideas for my Japanese apartment. I took pictures of my favorites.... Red sofa bed...I love this color. A retro-fitted Japanese closet -- made into a work space. Brilliant! This room is only 7 tatami mats -- but well designed. I loved the closet space at the back. My friend said: "Just change the bed for a sofa, and this is a great room!" I agreed. ^_^ My friend, taking a break.... My friend brought her young son, who I pushed in his stroller. I think I really confused people -- Western, blonde girl with a young Japanese boy in a...