Golf and a sunday fry up, life is goood

The train ride from Dublin to Cork yesterday was a wonderful and calm experience.  Basically everything that is annoying about VIA was not a problem here; the price was inexpensive, the train was on time, and the station was clean and modern.

After a short cab ride from Cork station we arrived at Marie's beautiful hill top house where I heard my favorite 5 words from aunt Marie  "would you like to golf ?"    I am sure the smile on my face could have been seen for miles. 

I had a wonderful afternoon round with Marie and two of  Deirdre's cousins at the Fota Island Golf Club.  The club was one of the most amazing places I have ever been.  It most recently hosted the Audi Cork Irish Masters on the PGA European tour.  Let's just say I knew I was a long was from Cloverdale.

Marie is the Club Lady President and was greeted by all of the members and staff as we entered the course. Using her pull, The club Pro let me borrow his clubs for the round.  I felt so privileged and fortunate to play such a beautiful and world class course.

In the evening we went into downtown Cork for a wonderful dinner at cousin Dennis's restaurant Electirc.  We had a great time and everyone was so welcoming (even though I probably understood less than 20% of the conversations  haha)

This morning was the traditional Sunday morning fry up where I attempted to eat more sausages than humanly possible. (they just kept coming!)  Black (blood) pudding was a no go however.  We got the world map out and had fun with the kids showing them where we lived.  One of them pointed out that it looked like we live closer to Santa Claus than they do. 

We have more family stuff planned over the next couple days and are getting ready to watch the Irish football finals this afternoon.

 

Just outside the clubhouse.  My jaw almost hit the ground.

 

The intimidating first tee shot on the old course at Fota Island

 

Looking back up the first fairway from beside the green

 

The beautiful clubhouse and pond framing the 18th hole

 

The calm after the storm.  Some of the kiddies relaxing in front of the tube after the fry up.  This was only half of the kids there this morning!

 

The road leading up to Marie's house

 

Yes people, 170.9 euros per litre.  One could hardly afford to cut the lawn at that price!

 

The view from our room at Marie's

 

 

 

Take care all.

 

 

CF



A few photos

Before Deirdre and I head out for a night on the town, I thought I would throw a few photos up from today's adventures.

 

The Spire of Dublin.  This monument was erected in 2003 on the old site of Nelson's Pillar which was destroyed by a bomb in 1966.  The Spire maintains a metal look during the day, but at dusk appears to merge into the sky.

 

 A hand full of Irish Barley at the Guinness Storehouse

 

 

Mmmmmmmmmmmm

 

 

The River Liffey which runs through central Dublin.  Contrary to popular belief, it does not supply the water for the Guinness brewery.

 

 

One of the many pubs on Temple Bar street.

 

Trinity College, home of the Book of Kells.  The book contains the four gospels of the new testament and was created by Celtic monks ca. 800 or slightly earlier. 

 

 

 

 

Top o the morning

We have now been in Ireland for less than 24 hours and I have already had 2 classic Irish breakfasts, and multiple pints of Guinness.  Let's just say the prospects of shedding a few pounds on this trip are looking slim (sorry , too early in the am for a cheesy pun?) haha

The Temple bar area of Dublin is quite amazing.  Live music all day, people dancing in the street, wonderful shops and vendors and a boatload of classic Irish pubs.  They always say that the Guinness tastes better or different here than it does at home, and after 4 pints I would have to agree.

In the evening, Deirdre decided to drag me to a Finnish Folk Metal concert at a venue called The Button Factory.  The band was truly amazing and to see the passion and enthusiasm of the Dublin crowd was very refreshing.  Unlike most concerts metal concerts in Canada, there were no skinny jeans, white belts or neon T shirts present. I commented to Deirdre on the amazing musicianship these long haired pagans from Finland were displaying and her response was "think of how much shampoo these guys must go through!"   hahaa, I laughed so hard I almost spit my beer on a wizard.
When they started off the show with the classic battle theme "In my Sword I Trust" I couldn't believe it!  That's like M.J starting a show with Thriller.  haha

Well I am going to keep this short as we have a big day planned.  I will throw up a few crummy photos from yesterday  (taken from my ipod, boo i know) but will try to get some better ones today to give you all a good feel of classic downtown Dublin.

CF

                                                                         SLAINTE!!

                                                                          

This and That

This has been a great week in Bangkok.  The city has been everything we had hoped for and then some.  It's been a rude awakening for the wallet however.  I am fairly certain I have spent more in Bangkok this week than I had the previous three week combined.

We have been taking it easy, exploring the many parks, wats, and downtown sights.  The weather has not cut us any slack, but we are getting used to it.  Today we decided to treat ourselves and spend our last night at a swanky hotel by the airport, enjoy the pool and relax before our 30 hour trek home.

As we are winding down here I cannot wait to come back.  It has really changed both Deirdre and I in a positive way and I definitely suggest for anyone who hasn't been here to give it a try.  The people are so amazing, the food has been wonderful and the weather is glorious. Now this may sound cheesy, but the hardest part about a vacation like this is simply committing to go.  So do it people!

We have had no issues with getting around, booking rooms, safety or keeping ourselves occupied.  I don't want to ramble on all day and I promise I am not getting paid by the Asian Tourism Board.

It's hard to express emotion and tone in text sometimes, but I hope that the joy and happiness that this trip has brought both Deirdre and I has really come through. 

It's been cool to know that the people Deirdre and I care about have been having so much fun reading our blog and enjoying the pictures.  I was intimidated at first with posting my writing and photos, but your positive comments really made it fun for me.

Well, I better get back to sipping my drink by the pool and enjoying one last afternoon of sunshine. 

The courtyard at our hotel in Bangkok

After three and a half weeks of disciplined eating, Deirdre finally cracks and has one her infamous veggie sandwiches

Heading downtown on the skytrain

One of the many canals in Bangkok

View of the city from the top of it's highest wats

Reclining buddha at Wat Pho

Wat Pho

One of the many temples at the Grand Palace

and another....

and another.... haha

We decided to take the ferry boats one last time

Deirdre roughing it for one last day

Take care,

CF

The best $1.50 I have ever spent

Before venturing out for the day, I figured I should take advantage of one of the many barbers in our neighbourhood.  I found this little place with cheesy Thai tunes rockin and it seemed to be quite empty.  Despite the wierdness of the woman wearing a face mask she did a great job.  Lot's of weird powders and stuff, but whatever works.  Deirdre also enjoyed this place as the A/C was cranked. What a great return on my 70baht ($1.50) investment.

Experiencing the Bangkok transit system was great treat.  It is a intricate system of ferry boats, vans, busses, subways and a state of the art skytrain.  We started by taking one of the express boats from one end of the city to another.  The virews of the Royal Palace, chinatown and various wats were amazing.  Needless to say, the water was quite polluted, but it served its purpose.  We transfered at the south pier onto one of the new skytrains. I was amazed at how simple, efficient, and clean the system was.  I think our Canadian cities could learn a lot from the way they do things here. 

After getting off at Siam station (central station) we entered Central World shopping centre.  This super mall looked like it was from the future and was absolutely immaculate.  After passing through metal detectors and taking a quick look around, it became quite obvious the volume of money that is spent in here.  I have never seen so many designer stores, fancy boutique shops and, well let's just say there were Lambroghini and Lotus stores selling their high end cars right in the mall!   This was pretty hard to compute when less that a one hour flight from here, children are dying in Laos due to no money for simple anti-biotics. 

What a strange world we live in.

What a great way to start the day

The infamous Koh San road, a.k.a backpackers heaven

Getting ready for breakfast at the JJ market

Bangkok public works cleaning the main streets

Deirdre was so pumped when we saw these little tacos for sale. Yeah not so much.  Turns out it was filled with marshmallow, with shredded carrot and green onion on top!  goo

View from the blue flag river taxi

Outside of Siam Station

The maze of escalators inside the Central World shopping centre

Me showing my displeasure for the "diver" Renaldo

Just in case you go to the mall with a few extra bucks...

Take care,

CF

It's Not The Heat, It's The Humidity

Well my friends, I wish I could say the same about Bangkok.  It is bloody toasty here.

It's hard to really describe this place.  I guess I would say New York City, mixed with a little Las Vegas and put it in the oven at 350 for 12 hours.  It is so hot here that Deirdre's hair was straight when she woke up this morning.

During our ride downtown from the airport we noticed a lot of people buzzing around and gathering in large numbers.  Streets were closed, riot police were on every corner and traffic was at a stand still.  We slowly realized that there was a massive Red Shirt protest. It was nine months to the day yesterday when Red Shirt members were killed and injured in a clash with police during a similar protest.  Needless to say this was an intimidating way to enter a new city.

Our hotel in the south of town is beautiful and Deirdre and I were so happy to find many of the ammenities we have been lacking the past three weeks.  We spent the night wandering through the infamous Ko San area where the people watching and madness is at insane levels.

This morning we braved the most notorious shopping market in the world, The Chatuchak Market.  The "JJ" market, as it is known to locals, has everything from clothes, art, furniture, pets, jewelry, antiques and textiles, fresh fruit....etc (you name it, they have it)  They say if you see something you like buy it! because you will NEVER find the same shop again.  We spent over five hours there and barely scratched the surface.

We had considered staying here for 3 nights then blasting off to the beaches in the south for the remainder of our travels, but after 24 hours in Bangkok this city has intrigued Deirdre and I in such a way that we may just stay put for the week.

Here are some photos from our last day in Chiang Mai.  I'll throw up some Bangkok photos as soon as my internal temperature returns to normal!

take care,

CF

Finally Heading South

After almost 3 weeks in the northern part of southeast asia, we are catching a morning flight tomorrow to Bangkok.  Only one week to work on our tans!

Chiang Mai is a beautiful city and has been a great introduction to Thailand.  We have been taking it easy the last few days, as both Deirdre and I have been feeling a little iffy on a few occaisons.  Nothing dramatic, just too much curry maybe!

We went for a long walk yesterday around the old part of town.  A lot of interesting shops, markets, and a lot of great restaurants.  I hate to say it, but the canal around the old quarter sort of reminded me of Ottawa.

We found a wat near our hotel with an amazing meditation style park behind it.  I never considered myself one to get into that sort of thing, but without even noticing, I was feeling very calm and worry free.  The timing was perfect as I had just learned that the Sens had traded one of our heart and soul players (no, not Mike Underwood) but Chris Kelly. I leave town for a few weeks and all hell breaks loose!  haha

Today Deirdre and I took a thai cooking class.  Both of us went into it feeling like we were hot shots when it came to spicy dishes. We were mistaken. The teacher was getting a kick watching how many peppers we were putting into our dishes and I am sure she was laughing even harder watching us eat it! At one point I thought of cutting my tongue off, and Deirdre went through more water than most do in a day. 

Sorry if my writing is lacking tonight.  I have had a long day and am feeling quite tired.

Here are some photos from the last few days,

Take care,

CF