Saturday

Christopher needed a new pair of running shoes so we went downtown yesterday morning to go to the Nike store in the Central World mall. We left Nichada a little before 9:30 am and arrived just as the mall opened at 10:00. The traffic was not bad (yet) and we were able to get a great parking spot. 

Fortunately, we were able to find a great pair of shoes for Christopher that did not cost an arm and a leg. The first pair he looked at were priced at over $200.00! We walked around and looked in a few more shops before catching a taxi to the Hard Rock Cafe for lunch. I think the Hard Rock has the best American "comfort food" in Bangkok - burgers, ribs, mac n cheese, etc. Chris and his friend split a rack of ribs, Caitlynne had a pulled BBQ chicken sandwich and I had the California Chicken Club sandwich. 

The boys also wanted to dessert...

The kids have no school tomorrow because it is Makha Bucha. I posted about Makha Bucha last year here but briefly, Makha Bucha, one of the most important religious festivals celebrated in Thailand, is celebrated to venerate the teachings of Buddha. This year, we celebrate this public holiday on February 25th which falls on the full moon day of the third month in the lunar calendar. “Makha” is the Thai word for the third Lunar month, while “bucha” means to honor or to venerate. 

Depending on what the kids have planned for their day off, we might take a short drive to visit Ayutthaya, about an hour north of Bangkok. Ayutthaya is the historical park and UNESCO World Heritage site on an island at the confluence of three rivers (the Chao Phraya River, the Lopburi River and the Pa Sak River) that connect the city to the Gulf of Thailand. Ayutthaya was founded in 1350 by King U Thong and was the second capital of Siam after Sukhothai. Ayutthaya's prime location between China, India and the Malay Archipelago made Ayutthaya a center for commerce, diplomacy and economics. As an important point connecting the East and the West, it was the trading capital of Asia for many centuries. Merchants from the Arab world, China, India, Japan, Portugal, the Netherlands and France all traded in Ayutthaya and many proclaimed Ayutthaya as the finest and most cosmopolitan city they had ever seen. Ayutthaya was often referred to as "Venice of the East".  In 1700, Ayutthaya became the largest capital city in the world with a population of 1 Million. The Burmese invaded Ayutthaya in 1767 and, after destroying art and buildings, burned the city to the ground and forced its inhabitants to flee. The city was not rebuilt in the same location and the capital was moved to Bangkok. The remains of Ayutthaya that are visible today are mostly temples, monasteries and palaces that were constructed of stone and withstood the fires. 

I have wanted to visit Ayutthaya for a while - quite a few of my friends have gone and said that it is a nice day trip to make. Since it is such an easy and short drive from Nichadam unless the kids have something truly spectacular planned, we really will try and make the trip. They have been busy all weekend but I really haven't done too much and would LOVE to get out and do something fun.

Have a great Sunday!