Getting to Know the World

Sunset over the Himalayas

ericanelson321 — Sat, 27 Apr 2013 12:19:19 +0000

Filed under: Asia, Nepal Tagged: Himalayas, Mountains, Pokhara, Sunset

Wish you were here!

ericanelson321 — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 04:34:19 +0000

The Taj Mahal!

Filed under: peru

How to Have an Amazing Birthday in Bangkok!

ericanelson321 — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 12:28:45 +0000

I had an absolutely wonderful time celebrating my birthday this year! My birthday was on Thursday, March 21^st and there were several activities set in place for that day and the upcoming weekend.

1. Water Library

The library

On Thursday night Matthew took me out on a great date for my official birthday dinner. First, we went to “Water Library” for cocktails, which is an amazing bar and restaurant. The cocktail bar is all black and it reminds me of a modernly designed home library with classic chairs. They do not have any books on their shelves but they have a library of customized liquors and biters, which they have designed. A few to note were Johnny Walker Black infused with chilies, Vodka and M&Ms, and Louis XIII Truffle. I had their amazing Sexy Lychee, which includes lychee of course, chilli infused vodka, their aphrodisiac bitters and a few other things served in a floating martini glass on top of ice. The second drink was the Bangkok Cocktail, which had a few different things in it including ginger, lemon, lychee, and a drop of their homemade bitters served in a classic cut crystal wine glass. Their service was amazing; everyone was really attentive and explained each drink to you as it was served. Both were amazing, but the Sexy Lychee was my favorite. The mixologist there are definitely on top of their game, as you can taste all of the flavors in the drinks and it doesn’t taste like a bunch of muddled syrup and alcohol. I thought I had good cocktails before but these were by far the best ever. So if you’re in Bangkok check out Water Library on Soi 12 of Thonglor for a nice grown up drink. I’ve got to head back there for dinner.

http://www.mywaterlibrary.com/thonglor/

2. Soul Food

Ribs!!!

After that we headed to “Soul Food” (no they do not have Southern soul food but they do have great ribs), which is on Thonglor. They have great food also, we had two appetizers of tasty lamb and chicken samosas and a great pork salad. For our mains I had a delicious creamy crab soup and Matthew got their fall off the bone sweet ribs. Thonglor is definitely a treat and similarly to American Soul Food it is filling and food for the soul.

http://www.soulfoodmahanakorn.com/

3. Hibesha Ethiopian Restaurant

Picture via http://ethiopianrestaurantbangkok.weebly.com/gallery.html

I met a group of friends at Hibesha on Soi 3 (Nana) on Friday night for some amazing Ethiopian food. We ordered their vegetarian platter, a few lamb dishes, and a beef dish. The food is served Ethiopian family style and you eat the food with injera bread rather than utensils. This made eating more like a war because the food was so delicious and everyone wanted some of everything. We went with a group of about 15 people but this might be a better option for a more intimate group (a few people decided not to join in the finger licking madness). (Thank you for the photos Aaron Owlex)

http://ethiopianrestaurantbangkok.weebly.com/

4. WXYZ Lounge at aloft Hotel

After going to dinner we headed around the corner to Soi 11 off of Suchmuvit to one of my favorite watering holes WXYZ, that has a 500THB ($16) “Cocktail Marathon”. Good drinks, good times, good people, and straight tomfoolery. (Thank you for the photos Aaron Owlex)

www.aloftbangkoksukhumvit11.com/

5. Siam Niramit

http://paktraveler.wordpress.com/2010/07/21/siam-niramit-show-a-review-by-paktraveler/

On Saturday, my husband had another surprise for me! We went to see a spectacular show at Siam Niramit. This was a remarkable experience. When you arrive you get to tour a traditional “Thai Village” that they have set up; which includes houses, a river, a massage house and more. The show is done on the highest stage in the world and one of the longest panoramic stages in the world. The show depicts Thai life in various cities in the past; hell, in-between earth in heaven, and heaven (different mythical creatures are depicted in each); and Thai holidays. Siam Niramit had amazing colors, dances, and special effects including: a river that went across the whole stage, rain, flying people, a vertical view of the ocean with a person diving, live animals, and audience participation. Lets just say it was an amazing show! We got seats right behind their “Gold VIP Seats” and they were perfect.)

www.siamniramit.com/

The Look

Filed under: Bangkok, food, Thailand Tagged: Bangkok, Birthday, Cocktail, Drinks, Ethiopian Food, food, Habesha, Thai, Thai Food, Thailand, Thong Lo, Thonglor, Water Library

Hot soup on a summer day

ericanelson321 — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 12:06:31 +0000

Yesterday, the school lunch was great! The best thing on the menu on the “feels like” 102 degree day was Kaang Lieng Soup. My friend Nut told me that this soup has been made in Thailand for hundreds of years. It consist of baby corn, pumpkin, a cucumber like vegetable, shrimp, mushrooms, and per many websites a Kaang Lieng seasoning pack (which can be found on Amazon). I found this recipe that seems like it may be worth a try, click here: Kaang Lieng Soup | Tasty Exploration. I don’t remember my school lunch being anything like this!

Filed under: food, teaching, Thailand Tagged: Kaang Lieng, Kaang Lieng Soup, Mushrooms, School lunch, Shrimp Soup, Soup, Vegetables

Khao Tom Mud

ericanelson321 — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 03:40:24 +0000

One of the admin from DSIL brought in Khao Tum Mud this morning. It is a delicious Thai dessert made of sticky rice, a banana, coconut milk, and black beans. The taste and texture kind of reminds me of a really thick and sweet cream of cream of wheat. It’s also good as a single serving snack.

I found this website with a pretty visual recipe if you would like to try to make it. The recipe is missing cooked black beans, so add a few on top of the banana. click here for the recipe FYI this dessert is vegan friendly.

Filed under: Bangkok, food, Thailand Tagged: banana, black beans, coconut, coconut leaves, Coconut milk, Cream of Wheat, Dessert, khao tom mud, Recipe, rice, Thai cuisine, Thai dessert, Thai snack, vegan, vegetarian

Good morning from school-caption this

ericanelson321 — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 00:57:09 +0000

Every morning a teacher from Darunsikkhalai School for Innovative Learning (DSIL) is assigned a morning duty. This morning it’s my turn to say greet the students and their parents. This is Gong, one of the youngest, smallest and most adorable kids at the school. He told me that this bag was not a squid snack, it’s a snack made out of squids.

Leave a comment with your caption, I’m sure he’d love to read them

Filed under: Bangkok, teaching, Thailand Tagged: Bangkok, Caption, School, Snacks, Squid, Squid Snacks

#Doodling – Having way to much fun with this

ericanelson321 — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 03:44:49 +0000

Think outside of the box, inside of the box.

Filed under: peru Tagged: Doodling, Think outside of the box

Amphawa fieldtrip

ericanelson321 — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 01:56:41 +0000

I went on a great field trip with my class So Fun! to Amphawa. The field trip was organized by my co-teacher, Nok. We went to five different places: a place to learn about Amphawa, a place that is believed to have one of Buddha‘s footprint, to meet a woman that used to make Thai masks for plays, to meet a man that made crafts out of coconut shells, and a to meet a woman who taught us how to make crafts out of palm leaves. The one thing that was quirkily in common with these people that we met is that they all had some type of strange or old pet.

Filed under: Asia, Thailand Tagged: Amphawa, Amphawa District, Buddha, FieldTrip, Kids, Recreation, travel, Travelogues

Do you have the solution? – A $1 million prize to save the lives of children under 5.

ericanelson321 — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 13:32:41 +0000

The Caplow Children’s Prize is a novel humanitarian contest to save children’s lives. A $1 million prize will be awarded to the best plan for preserving the lives of children who would otherwise die before the age of five. All prize finalists will be showcased on our website. ~ http://childrensprize.org/

- A $1 million prize to save the lives of children under 5..