This post is for my mom. Last time we talked, she asked what fruits I’d been eating. Three seconds into my list, she immediately broke in with, “Lanzones! What about lanzones?” Of course, Mom, of course lanzones! Lanzones are globular-shaped fruit about the size of a super ball that grows in clusters. They’re so common…
Recently, Bjorn and I went to Ancient Siam (formerly known as Ancient City). It’s like Thai Disneyland, but without all the dancing and singing. Well, it’s more about historically significant sites, so it’s more akin to the Polynesian Cultural Center in Hawaii (but again, without all the dancing and singing.) A man by the name…
I love when total opposites come together in harmony. The juxtaposition of bucolic and burghal is one of my favorite dualities. I don’t think I’ll ever tire of seeing skyscrapers loom over trees while ensconced in the green, leafy heart of a parkland. So it should be no surprise that Lumphini Park, the largest park…
The IDC (Immigration Detention Center) visit did not go as I had imagined. Bjorn and I went to the IDC as part of a service project. People are held at the IDC for a variety of reasons, including: they have overstayed their visa and don’t have enough money to pay the fees; they are refugees;…
“Winter” in Bangkok has definitely ended. Forget everything I said previously about humidity being manageable. I can not handle it. I laugh now to think that I once wrote that humidity is “negligible; I wouldn’t even know it was there except that my hair is in perma-fuzz mode.” Yesterday, when I stepped out of our…
She was throwing hunks of fresh vegetables into the small lake in front of Queen’s Park at night. Curious to see what animals were benefiting from the bonanza, I stood by her (but not too close, of course) and watched in amazement as several dozen catfish (or something similar) floated on their backs, open mouths…
Move over durian; there’s a new kid in town. Mangosteen has set up shop in my mouth, bought all the surrounding property and run everyone out of the neighborhood. Now that I’ve finally tried mangosteen, my mouth won’t settle for less. (Curious side note: my friend Y told me that durian and mangosteen are supposed…
I love me some potentially lethal pyrotechnics. Growing up, I bolted out the door to watch fireworks on the Fourth of July from my front porch. Later, my co-workers and I would climb onto the roof of our building to watch them. My favorite fiery memory, though, was when my family and I spent Christmas…
After passing through the Thai border, Bjorn and I were hurried onto a bus filled with random foreigners (read: white people). The bus was one of the first to cross the Friendship Bridge between Thailand and Laos. (While at first we thought we were getting special treatment, it’s due to the customs process. We waited…
When it comes to traveling, Bjorn and I are super. Excuse me, I mean S.O.O.P.er — Seat Of Our Pants(er). Americans and Swedes are granted a 30-day visa automatically when they arrive in Thailand, a potential problem when one is planning to stay for 3 months. But we figured we would cross that bridge when…
Go Karlmans 