Hot springs in ratchaburi

the past monday we drove to ratchaburi in search of the ‘ Bor Krueng ‘ hot springs … there are 3 routes ( 3206, 3208 , and 3087 ) to get there from bangkok … i must stress that if you’re not doing any sight-seeing on route no. 3206, it is better to avoid it …. on the map , it looks like the same distance as taking route no. 3208 , but place that on a path full of hills and mountains and you’ll know why i thought the husband was driving to burma …

there  are two springs at Bor Krueng , a cement pond located outside for all to see  and a swimming pool higher up … we went for the swimming pool cuz it’s shallow enough for kids to waddle in …  people there jump in wearing t-shirts and shorts so i looked a little over the top in my swimming suits … it was quite relaxing , just soaking in the hot water and watching butterflies fly by …

we also check out two boutique style resorts near the springs , Nagaya and The Scenery  , and they are just the cutest resorts i’ve ever seen … the two resorts are seperated by a sheep grazing field … Nagaya has mountain bikes for rent and is cheaper … The Scenery have elephant rides , canoes for rent , and a quiet creek behind their resort …

the husband was quite excited finding these two resorts and it seems he had his whole ( golfing ) vacation planned … there are many sight-seeing places in that area … we drove by a rabbit farm, waterfalls, grape vineyard , rose farm …  food is plenty , besides regular som tam n gai yang , there are steak houses and the more exotic , game restuarants …

this area is a good alternative to Hua Hin , lots of new places to explore and it doesn’t seem that hot up on the mountains …  

car litter bags ( adapted version )

several weeks ago, i stumbled upon Allyson Hill’s Car Litter Bags and i thought ” wow ! that’s one cool idea ! ” … i ,too, hang a plastic bag in my car to catch the trash and it looks morbid … i drooled over her design in her etsy shop , but 17 us dollars is a bit too pricey ( remember, i live in Thailand where one us doller = 34 baht .. that’s lunch with drinks + spare change ) … so i set out to sew one for myself … the picture below is bag # 5 … and i’m pretty happy with it … the first one had a circular base with an inner bag , but it had trouble staying put … so i sewed another one , this time with two openings … the inner opening has a fold to hold the plastic bag in place … it was all good, but circular bags doesn’t hang well … another change to an oval one , then to a semi-oval base … i figure out the straps by studying the straps on my handbags … i use a buckle and a clip for adjusting and detaching … i’m thinking about adding a small pouch to hold all the plastic bags i’ve been stuffing behind the front seats … my car will be so pretty and orderly ! …. thank you ms. allyson hill !!

all this was very fun and i got to go shopping at the bag supplies street … all my friends will be getting car litter bags for christmas , that’s for sure !

i sew bag

got this bag pattern from a japanese crafts book ( isbn978-4-277-43057-9 ) , so cute … the fabric is printed canvas , with interfacing stuck on the back … the thickness was just right, it could stand up on it’s own … for the lining, i use some  pink and white cotton fabric, leftovers from sewing nursery bedsheets 5 ( ! ) years ago … i never throw out fabric scraps , do i ? … i use a light brown cotton fabric for the inner pockets and the bow … i was going to do away with the bow cuz it wasn’t very practical , but then, the bag looks quite sweet with it …

i sew cool

the kids’ school holds a thai costume day each week … i was bored with dressing the kids up as little hill tribe villagers, farmers, classical dancers, etc … i wanted something fun(ny) , so i bought a  ” pa tung ” ,  a type of sarong which is supposedly worn by elderly women and turn it into a peasant skirt … there i have my very own ” Noo Hin ” ( sorry,  thai joke ) … the color is so bright and clashing , it brings a smile to everybody’s face

i also tried out some patterns from a japanese sewing book … and make this for the big kid … she looked like a mini-school teacher … both the skirts are easy to sew … the peasent skirt is just 3 long rectangular tubes ( of different widths ) sewn together … the other just need one pattern for the whole skirt … the shirt was a bit more complicated since i have to figure out how to open a slit at the back so she can poke her head thru …

mini update …

i nink i nave to sneep in nhe niving noom … that hot bug out there got me, i can’t breath when i’m in an air-conditioned room …

been rather quiet blogwise , homewise, it was a battleground … my K-1 knows exactly where to push the buttons … picking fights with her sister, refusing to do whatever we ask her to do until someone gets yelling … there’s one incident where a full box of chalk, a set of magnetic wooden block toys, and 3 barbie dolls ended up in the trash can … she didn’t even flinch, just stare back nonchalantly and slowly overturn another basketful of toys … through gritted teeth , i managed to say ‘ since you won’t pick up your toys, i take it that you don’t care about them .. i’ll help you throw this away too . maybe the garbage man will give it to someone who will take better care of them. ‘ … then i dumped that basketful of toys into the can …

24 hours later, all seems to be going well … until i left her alone to teach her sister english … she climbed up a table, took the mercury thermometer placed on a shelf twice her height and broke it in her mouth … i haven’t gotten over the guilt of  yelling at her yesterday , now i feel like an ass ..

read more about The Twenty Five Most Commom Pediatric Poisons here …

night time ( potty ) training part deux.

dry for 2 nights in a row … hope this continues … she skipped the 2AM routine , so i won’t be walking to the bathroom with a cane after all … my backache does a comeback when i have to lift heavy children in the middle of the night …

what’s working :

• plastic sheet covered with a towel … if an accident occurs , we only change the towel … no ripping out bedsheets in the middle of the night …
• bathroom wake-up calls … actually , we only did the 11:30 PM call cuz nobody was able to wake up after that …
• her own body … she adjusted , skipped the 2 AM flash flood for a week now … she also wakes up at 5 AM, but someone must lead her to the bathroom ( or she’ll quietly pee in bed <– !!! )
• words of encouragements … make her know that you notice she did a dry night …

5.4 Km run — applied !

and i was amongst the first 100 applicants , so i get a free medical check-up and a free workshop … i asked some silly questions , since i’ve never joined any races before … the run will not take place at the park as i thought , but outside the convention center … we’ll be running on the rama VI road, sukhumvit rd , etc ….

mystery shopping

anybody tried that ? …. i did one back in january out of curiosity … the instructions was to mystery shop a particular tv brand and i have to play the role of an ‘ extroverted ‘ shopper … there’s a whole list of questions and things to look for … it’s like playing a game … after that you send back a report along with a proof that you’ve visited the shop ( such as a brochure with the salesperson’s name ) … i waited for 6 months before the payment came thru … not something i would try again … 

thai comics

ever since the kid learned to read thai , i’ve discovered how vast the thai book market is … not only do they have their own writers, the publishers are also very keen on translating all the top best sellers from around the world … currently, the kid’s hooked on this set of korean adventure comics …  the one she’s reading is about caves … in between the story, they’ll insert facts like what animals live in caves / how to tie knots / how stalactities and stalagmites are formed , etc … it’s in full color and cost only 165bht … really cheap compareto english books …

during the course of searching good books for the kid , i stumbled upon a thai comic called ” The Sunflower Seed School ” … this one is good, hilarious and insightful , with stories reflecting thai society … i couldn’t read the writer’s name “อิทธิวัฐก์ สุริยมาตย์ “ ( my reading level is somehow stuped when it comes to thai  names ) but he also did the illustrations … one hell of a talented guy there ….