Bangkok Ali no more!

Well its been decision making time and I am pleased to announce that Bangkok Ali has got herself a new job! Hoorah! I will be moving to Kuala Lumpur in August, and while I am sad to be leaving Bangers the job is fantastic and I can’t wait to get there.

Mind you was a little surprised when I got the call – for some reason as I walked into the interview I morphed into Tony Blair. I lost complete control of my hands and they developed a life of their own. Each time I started to answer a question my hands started gesticulating and the more I tried not to do it the worse it became. Then as I finished the question they meekly lay back down in my lap, only to leap up once again when I resumed speaking. This totally unnerved me and I could see my bemused interviewer was pretty distracted by it as well.

So if I am Tony Blair then Debbie has to be that King of spin doctors Alistair Campbell – but the less said about that the better – eh Debs!

Sisters in the Sun

Had a lovely long weekend with Hels and Si in Krabi the other weekend. Despite the fact that hels had been stung to bits in the sea the previous day, poor thing, she was able to put a brave face on and enjoy the nightlife of Krabi. And Si did pretty well with us sisters gassing continually, but I've found if you find a boy a bar with football on and a drunk guy to shout abuse at the ref with they will generally put up with the girly chat. Had a gorgeous day on the beach - pootled round to Rai Leh on a long tailed boat, found a nice spot under a tree and drank in the scenery - man it is beautiful around there.

Blind School Trip

Last Saturday I organized a group of students from school to take a group from the Blind School to the cinema ( I am hoping that you guys don’t need me to explain that blind people have other senses and can enjoy a movie as I had to with some of the parents!) There were 90 of us altogether, so it was quite an undertaking, but all the students were fantastic and we had a great day. We watched King Naresuan - the big Thai epic out at the moment and I have to admit that my heart sank when I realized there were no English subtitles. But is seemed quite appropriate – the blind kids couldn’t see the movie and, effectively, I couldn’t hear it. Mind you when I spotted the totty on offer I settled back for some sword-wielding, knight in shining armour fantasizing – not a bad way to spend 3 hours.

A Suitable Boy

While on the beach I read A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth. It was unputdownable (and virtually unpickable – it is huge!). Thank goodness we don’t need to go through the same pantomime to find a husband. Poor Lata is dragged right across India in search of an appropriate match. She had to sit through interminable introductions with her family as prospective suitors were paraded in front of her and she was required to make appropriate chit chat –how mortifying! I had my definite favourite contenders for her hand and have to admit I was a little disappointed with her choice – which probably means she made a good one. Mum has offered to find my a suitable boy- I declined, however she did confide in me after several singhas – that it is not so much a suitable boy that you want as “all boys are rubbish you just have to find one whose annoying habits you can put up with the most”. Straight from the horses mouth! However, I think it might be more the case of finding someone to put up with my habits!

Speed Demons

While in Lanta we did manage a little exploration and one evening had dinner at a fantastic restaurant I found over Christmas. Although we got a taxi there I managed to talk the parents into a motorbike taxi for the return trip (this was easy after all the Singha imbibed). Admittedly our transportation struggled with our combined weights and we had to get out and walk the final leg after a steep hill proved too difficult. But it is all worth it for this piccy….

Narima

Spent a fantastic week in Koh Lanta with the parents. We stayed at Narima a small, quiet resort towards the south of the island. Our friendly hosts Khun Wan and Khun Yodchai have managed to build a gorgeous resort while managing to disturb the natural environment as little as possible – pretty good going in a country where it seems ok to bulldoze the greenery and then erect uniform breezeblock buildings. I found a wonderful spot beneath a tree to laze around and read my book, occasionally taking a dip in the pool or wandering on the beach. If you are planning a trip to Lanta I would highly recommend staying here. What more could you want? Pleasant surroundings, kind hosts, a hammock and fantastic food. I will certainly be going back.

Where is Ali?

What a social whirl – Ali has been a busy bee – but thankyou Mark for noticing my absence – you have motivated me to get blogging so the deluge of posts are all your fault! Well where have I been? It has been a busy month. The folks came out for a couple of weeks so we relaxed on Koh Lanta and Mum and I shopped in Bangers (I am now proud owner of a Chloe purse and lovely jewellery) Needless to say we wined and dined pretty well too. Then the day the folks left Helen and Simon flew in. We have experience the electroncs delights of Pantip Plaza and challenged the boss at the Bulls Head. And I have literally just got back from Krabi where we sat on the beach for the long weekend – man life is hard!

However, the lack of bloggage is mainly down to the fact that I am currently job hunting so spare time has been spent sending off applications. Keep your fingers crossed for upcoming interviews please!!!