New country, new school, new adventure

Did we stay in California?  Did we fly to Chile?  Did we decide to take a gap year and travel around New Zealand?  Hopefully you are interested in knowing what is going on.  Before you click the link below, I also want to let you know that I will be using Weebly for the next blog.  Lots of changes are on the horizon!

Before you click the link, try to guess where we are.  When you are ready, click away!

Our next adventure is in...click here.

Painting at Tom N Toms Coffee, W District

It's not everyday one gets to paint at 10 in the morning at a local coffee shop.

It's not everyday one gets to paint at 10 in the morning at a local coffee shop with one's teacher-student from school.

It's not everyday one gets to paint at 10 in the morning at a local coffee shop with one's teacher-student from school and asks the owner if he would like to display our fresh artwork.

It's not everyday one gets to paint at 10 in the morning at a local coffee shop with one's teacher-student from school and asks the owner if he would like to display our fresh artwork and he offers to frame them and display them on the coffee shop wall.

It's not everyday one gets to paint at 10 in the morning at a local coffee shop with one's teacher-student

from school and asks the owner if he would like to display our fresh artwork and he offers to frame them and display them on the coffee shop wall and gives one a 10% discount card valid until the end of the year!

To see the artwork, go to the Tom N Toms coffee shop at the W District, Sukhumvit 71, BTS Phra Khanong (wait a few days for the framing to be completed).  Thanks to the owner, Kasame and Chloe the teacher-student.  Even though I won't be in Bangkok anymore, a part of me will still be hanging around - literally.

Painting During Lunch & Mini Me

While having a riverside lunch with my colleagues, I noticed something out of the ordinary and I did a quick sketch.

I finished just before the som tam was brought to the table.

 In other news, "Me-Limited Edition" was able to repair my Mini Me's arm!

This is what it looked like when I was in Mandalay, Burma in April:

Here it is now, all fresh and ready for mini drumming!

"Thingyan" Water Festival in Myanmar

During our second week of Spring Break, we traveled to Myanmar.

During a one-night layover in Singapore, we enjoyed one of our favorite meals, Nasi Goreng Seafood Pataya and Iced Tea Tarik, at one of our favorite restaurants, Spize!

Then it was off to Myanmar, formerly known as Burma.
It's nice to be officially welcomed when you arrive at your hotel!

At Super 81 restaurant in Mandalay, we considered ordering the #15 salad but went with chicken curry instead.

Mandalay Hill had several pagodas that were lit up at night.

The view from the hotel allowed me to set up my traveling "studio".

Mandalay Hill at dawn.

Mandalay Hill at dusk.

I added another country to my haircut count, complete with a shave all for 1,000 kyat (one US dollar).

On Monday, Thingyan, the water festival, began.

Everywhere we went there were kids, teens, and adults dousing passersby with endless streams and buckets full of water.

At the Mahamuni temple south of Mandalay, only men are allowed to adorn the Buddha image with gold leaf.

Outside, the large, fierce lip-dragons at the Mahamuni temple stand guard 24/7.

At Taungthaman Lake, the U Bein teak bridge spans almost a mile and was full of people who were enjoying the Burmese New Year holiday.  The bridge is raised about 20 feet off the ground and there are no railings!  I took a few minutes to paint a postcard.

At the Shwedagon Pagoda complex in Yangon, various temples and pagodas create a serene environment.  I am wearing a longyi.

There are endless places to reflect and pray.

At high noon, the white, tiled floor and our bare feet had us running for shade just milliseconds after this photo was taken.  Behind us is the enormous, golden Shwedagon pagoda.

It rises up 300 feet and can be seen from all around the city of Yangon.

A view west of the Shwedagon Pagoda from Kandawgyi Lake.

At dusk, the Shwedagon Pagoda is lit up against the pink-violet sky.

This large reclining Buddha is about 30 feet high and the white skin is striking.

At our hotel, the kids from across the street did not hesitate to douse the foreigner (me) with water.

Burmese desserts:
Shwe-kyi (shway chi) - sticky rice cake
Nga pyaw chi (na pee-ya shway chi) - banana sticky rice cake
Moke ka la mae (mo-kay-ka-la-may) - sticky rice

Our last adventure was to hop on a local bus to go . . . anywhere.

Our bus ride led us to this 120-foot Buddha (Mahar Khin Thitsa Shin Statue) where I was blessed by a 68-year-old Buddhist monk on the Burmese New Year!

It was a fabulous end to our Myanmar adventure!

Spring Break in the Philippines.

During the first week of spring break, we went to the Philippines.

This is a locally built Pope-mobile for the Pope's visit in January 2015.

Of course, I had to indulge in a $7 shave at Bruno's Barber.

This is the gigantic, double-door to St. Augustin, the oldest church in Manila built between 1587 and 1607.  It is inside the Walled City known as the Intramuros.

Beautiful paintings and sculptures influenced by 16th century Spanish painters adorn the arched walls of the church.

The inner courtyard was reminiscent of California's mission style.

St. Augustin's stone façade and bell tower were quite impressive.

We enjoyed the view of the South China Sea from the H2O hotel lobby at Ocean World.

The sun sets from "100", the only revolving restaurant in the Philippines.

The Ayala is a beautiful museum with a diorama exhibit on the history of the Philippines.

An Argentinian chef (and distant relative?) opened this steak restaurant in Manila.  We'll have to go there on our next visit.

We dined at Café Juanitas - an eccentrically decorated restaurant with delicious home-cooked Filipino favorites.

After a delicious meal and a good night's rest, we headed to Myanmar for week two of Spring Break!

Brunch with a Peacock

Today we had brunch for the first time at a great restaurant called "The Garden".  In addition to delicious food, there were white peacocks beside our table separated only by a plexiglass wall.

Of course, he recommended the vegetarian meal to me.

The pool and waterfall as seen through his plumage.

Showing off a bit.

Have you ever seen the back of a peacock before?

Dinner at Emporium

Just enjoying the view during a khao soi noodle dinner at the Emporium mall at Phrom Phong BTS.