Reunion with Sriram Family

Our closest friends whist our short stay in Bangkok was the Sriram family. Iman and Rahul were best buddies in kindy and Rohan then 7 or 8 was very good with Jack. We haven't seen them for over four years and as surprised as they were to to see Iman, Jack and Ayden, we were amazed how they had both grown! It took a while for the kids to relax but we couldn't have picked a better restaurant, Benihana, for entertainment. Kids loved the show the chef put on especially their participation. And to top it all the food was fab!

Rohan was game to picking up a spinning egg much to the amusement of the others!

Chef was good value! Will have her for a kids party anyday.

Chef then decides to toss pieces of scrambled egg for kids to catch. Much excitement and laughter!

Meanwhile on the Mummies and Daddies table it was all chit chat and the chef tosses an egg yolk for our attention. I guess he had the easier table!

Post meal with chilled out kids enjoying each others company.

How they are now:

How they were in 2007

Bangkok - trip down memory lane

It's been five years since we've left Bangkok and 4 years since we were last there so the trip was long overdue. On the first morning we walked down our old soi. Much of it has changed with new building and cafes but it was still very familiar.

Right on top end of the soi is the infamous Soi Cowboy. 

Innocence of daylight makes it like any other street during the day.

Our home for our last four months in Bangkok. 

Same man selling noodles on the soi corner. Must be good as it always does a roaring trade. 

The Chokchai Milk and IceCream Shop. Probably the best milk we have tasted anywhere (and yes that includes Ireland!). The kids thrived on this milk and Iman dreams about it today. 

For lunch it was down to the river to one of our favorite lunch venues. Great free boat ride too!

In the evening we went to K Village close to the hotel. Wished this was here 5 years ago. 

This area amused the kids no end!

Back to more familiar stomping grounds - Iman and I could have spent all day in here but we only had an hour and a half! Jack hated it and he was not happy when I made him pose for this picture.

We used to love this cafe for grilled chicken & sticky rice and was glad it was still there. True to its name, we left with our tastebuds on fire.

And coffee and cakes to finish off the afternoon before heading to the airport. Love this cafe.

Choosing ....

And with some prompting they both chose two of our favourites, lemon tart and millefeuille!

Always love the decorations in taxis!

Happy 45 years

Happy Anniversary to my loving parents

Mother's Pride

Ayden's artwork from last term. So much fun in Reception!

What we learn in the holidays!

Kids seem to have got the knack of fishing and learnt that using the rod is not always the best way to catch fish. Iman and Jack hung out on the jetty and using lines and bait managed to catch quite a few fish - their most successful outing yet!

Iman chopping up the live bait, not sure I could have done it myself!

In the meantime Ayden had the pool all to himself!

Jack "What Makes You Beautiful"

First there was the Justin Bieber craze, now they're on to One Direction. No points for guessing who is behind all this. How she manages it I just don't know! And Jack, when he get's a bit more tech savy, I think he will do anything to get his hands on my password. Enjoy... I think it's very sweet!

Brunei 6-8 yrs Swim Championships 2012

Another afternoon spent in the heat with Iman and Jack yesterday. We weren't sure how the afternoon was going to turn out especially for Jack who is so new to all this. And surprisingly it was probably the best afternoon the McCarthys have had for a competition. Iman being the oldest in her group did very well winning four gold medals for 50m fly, 25m fly, 25m free, 25m back and a silver for 25m breast. Jack too did well getting 3 silvers for 25m fly, free and back and a bronze for 25m breast. Both were over the moon!