Mid December - the 27th

Well I was very lucky to have 2 lovely friends come and visit me on the 23rd and 24th where we hit Bangkok for a ton of shopping and then hit Pattaya :) Where weird food was eaten and weird things were seen...

CARA and ROBBIE

Then for christmas i treated myself a delecious lunch at Centara Mirage!

NOVEMBER

Good morning; friends family; gig's, mom. dad, the goat im taking home for christmas and a SPECIAL good morning to my gorgeous Boyfriend, lets not forget my small little snackies and my precious meri-moo :)
Well well November was a fun exciting month filled with the general adventures one gets swept up by while here in the city of sin!
November started off with a Bang, and a floating pop! With Loy Krathong and my awesome annual leave at the end of november which was awesome and jam packed to the brim with sites and sounds!
As of 2morrow; I will have been living in Thailand for 12 Months.....and i look back over those 12 months and wow...its really been a life changing experiance, from day one!
Well let me fill you in on November. Loy Krathong was great; really got that feeling of community spirit and the intoxicating-nose hair decaying smells of Pattaya all in one. Then it was work work work till the 20th where I waited patiently at the airport waiting for my Knight in shining armour to arrive. Oh and when he did..... :) So off we went on our week long journey in and around Pattaya as well as being a bit more adventerous and taking some time out to explore the bigger parts of Thailand.....So hence the road trip started..... (Click here to view the road trip Pictures)
Starting from Pattaya heading north up towards some random places with names like Lom Sak; Nakhon Rachisma Etc.....sleeping on cement block (kerri will appriciate that) through an awesome forest; seeing an obsure although MASSIVE lake. Temples; further north to Sukothai; Pitsonaluk; Lopburi; and then down to fated bangkok! Then finally back home for dinner with my lovely friends and 2 days of relaxation; as well as some speed racing on saturday. Thanks to air asia's pathetic uselessness....Dustins flights were delayed by a couple of days so had another relaxing day yesterday and back to work today! (While my sexy fella gets to lounge and relax....which is something he totally deserves! )
Last night we treated ourselves to the absolutely EXQUISITE Centara Hotel dinner. Seriously....its the best meal i have had like ever! (Read More about Centara)
Im sure you have noticed i've now really spruced up my blog so take some time; watch some home movies; peruse through the pictures; and just enjoy!
(A little Bitch about Pattaya - if you can stomach the truth....not for the faint hearted...)
A couple of other things added this month:
Loy Krathong
A couple of posts for/ About things in and around Pattaya
Worth a watch is my home videos on driving in Pattaya.....

Hope you all are having a wonderful time!
Love to everyone! Nearly Christmas! YAY!
Niki

PS: DONT FORGET TO BECOME A FAN ON FACEBOOK!

Mid November.....

Well; i moved offices to a window-lit; sun-lit; view-rocking office corner!

And obviously with such an awesome view; I automatically opened the window....But in true Thai Style; within seconds my body was covered in beads of sweat.....which suddenly turned into a shower of perspiration.....Dam that humidity.....Then it was the mind blowing heat....then it was the putrid smell of decaying "something-dead" in the water/ sewage line below.....then the sunlight and heat melted my plasticware on my desk!
Needless to say i'll be enjoying the view from the comfort of my Air-conditioned office behind closed and tinted windows.....

Loy Krathong

What a lovely adventure!

Loy Krathong was Celebrated last night and it was amazing. The colours sights and sounds were just spectacular. It was so mezmarising and so magical! Click on my other link to see some of the pictures.
Also I've updated the Pattaya info site :)
http://nkloykrathong.blogspot.com/

So this day is supposedly the only day that the Thai ladies wear their traditional garb.....and wow...it is really exquisite! They wear the head pieces and all the bells and whistles.

So i wasnt sure how to go about buying the "Krathong" part of the festival so drove past one and then stopped at what i thought was another vender selling them....i was rather hesitant in asking....so ended up buying food....rice and pork then tentatively asking if her pretty krathongs were for sale....thank god they were...BUT I HAVE NO IDEA HOW MUCH THEY COST! She was a little old lady and they were so lovely i ended up buying 5.....yes 5. Sad i know....But none the less...off i went with my 5 krathong...called up my Landlord to see if he and his wife would like to come along too....and off we went.....
Once at the beach (supposedly setting your krathong free at the beach is bad karma considering the krathong should flow away from you and not back to you....) so because of this; there are people at the shore line offering their services for a mear 20 bht to swim out and take your krathong futher so it doesnt "bad-karma-your-ass". But no; Craig and I....we tredded out into the krathong laden water to do it ourselves.....got somewhat wet and sandy but all in the good spirit of cultural growth.....
Happy Loy Krathong Day!
Kho high mee Kwam Sook!

XOXOXOX

October

Well first off; im sure you have noticed the new page. Completely Interactive. Totally clickable and rocking! Im feeling so cool now that i know how to use blogger :)

Monsoon season; Annual leave......ok it wasnt much of an evenful month. :)
Made a couple of new friends....some foreign people new to "Sin City"
Im sure you wondering what i eventually ended up doing for annual leave? Well.....i enquired about this retreat thing....and turns out (thanks to monsoon season) it was flooded in and there was no way to access this temple....so they said they would keep me posted. So instead my thai-language teacher AND meditation teacher; Khun Pongchan; mentioned that there is place near to home in Rayong that can take you on for like 3 days. which sounds better than 10 days (lets be honest....me in 10 days of silence.....omg.....3 days yes....10....i dont think im ready....) AND i dont know if i could go 10 days without speaking to Pukka. Yes; I have a Pukka ;) . And hes amazing. Perfect really. Its a bit of a lame story....but its still cool and i love how lame it is....tee hee hee.....lovely..... :)And he happens to be on my mind all the time and he knows it :)

Anywoo......So i spent my leave lazing by the pool; going to gym....with Wends, Steph and Nina. Nina is new.....and she rocks....so we have been doing all these gym classes....mainly because of hot instructor Meaw....omg.....HE IS SO HOT/ADORABLE!!! I'll need to get a picture for you all.....so i now do BodyCombat; which is Muay thai; and then body pump and TONS of yoga.....TONS.....with the most rocking Indian Yogi. His name is Rishi. So bendy! And so funny! Hes new to pattaya and thinks its disgusting. Poor fella. Anyway because im Farang im easily noticable so we have become quite chatty before class. Flip he's funny! I bends you into these pretzle like positions. And smiles while he breaks you in half! Or comes up to me while im balancing on one foot with my arms in pretzles and tries to scare me till i fall over. And because i joke that i only have 4 friends (which is true....i really shouldnt joke about that) So everytime we meet someone new in yoga class Rishi and I are like "Ok; friend number 5....6....7" hes classic. Cracks me right up. But its cool. Im really enjoying yoga; Im doing all the different types; Hatha; Sirviya-something yoga....balance-like-a-pretzel-yoga.....fart-yoga....super-hot-class-yoga......and balance-on-one-hand-like a tibetian-monk-yoga :) The other yogi is this bird called Om. OMG. (Oh and wendy's personal trainer's name is....Vacuum......HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA....Vacuum.....) So Om. Om...G....Shes so so bendy! I have never seen anything like it.... its like contortion class rather than yoga class.....she always laughs at the shock on my face....Any way back to Meaw. So hot. "ONE MORE TIME" and "OK! NOW SINGLE!" Hes great. His instructor stage presence is just.....rocking.....And he sings along to the songs....and the words are completely wrong and hes just great..... these are the things i love about pattaya.

Well its definatly hitting winter.....its cold as! 29 Degrees. Heavens; ive started pulling out my winter woolies! ;) Ok.....the only way you tell its winter is the fact that the sun is setting earlier.....thats it.....its 29 degrees today.....it'll be at least mid 30-ies tomorrow......and probably late 30-ies by sat....sunday rain is forcasted....monsoon rain.....Monsoon rain is RATHER annoying. It floods certain roads and what a mission! You need to plan your trip at least an hour in advance to miss the flood/traffic....because one would assume with an entire SEASON of monsoons...EVERY YEAR; that people living here would know how to drive during a flash flood.....but no; no real storm water drainage either; so the roads are flooded with putrid smelling sewage.....can someone spell C-H-O-L-E-R-A! (Probably not me...i cant spell)

This month was really rather un-evenful. Work wise it was ok; preparing for our re-audit in December so thats keeping me UBER busy. And sadly our Technical Engineer resigned!

Dave; I wish you the best of luck for your future endeavors; you can only succeed because you are smart and great and intelligent and can only make the best of what ever is given to you! Good luck mate; it was great getting to know you this year! You have only ever been helpful and kind and really i only wish you wonderfulness for your future. You really deserve only goodness peace and prosperity! Your charisma and level headedness will be sorely missed by all im sure!

Talking about work......I have a new friend at work. Art. The Petroleum engineer. What a brilliantly smart girl! Same age as me and studied in Perth.....wow.....what a smarty pants! And sweet and kind and i've really seemed to click with her at work. She rocks! Other than that; again; October has been rather uneventful! Well i dedicated this section to her and Benny....who both share my love for pink! :) http://nkpink.blogspot.com/

Ill Keep updating stuff during November. Now that I've been on annual leave im ready and prepared to knock the rest of the year dead! As well as the fact of planning my christmas holiday with the FAM! So excited! will be great to get out of Pattaya for 2 weeks! Really looking forward to that.....

Hope to hear from you all soon! Dont forget to click on the Thailand Link to see what my october thoughts are on Pattaya/Thailand!

XOXOX
นิคคิ

22 October

Ok! Leave is a mere 8hrs away....its in reach...in grasping distance. Once i come back you'll have found out what i decided to do as i have STILL not decided what to do........aaaaaggggggg!
But its cool; I'm really looking forward to the break! I think its going to do me the world of good! :)
So I bid you all farewell for 1 week and i shall catch you upon my return with pictures and items and happiness!

12:15 pm. I just found the ULTIMATE site OMG.....and she lies....shes not in bangkok; i checked her pictures she's so in Pattaya....my home town....and she hasnt written in her blog since april? maybe she's died of the Giv's?? Heaven only knows

http://bangkokescortathaigirlsdiary.blogspot.com/

All my love!
Niki

The Silent Treatment! OCTOBER

16 October 2009.
UUUGGGG ...... Unporductive day at the SA embassy ..... bunch of useless gits. One would automaticaaly assume that the SA embassy in anouther country is efficient ..... 6-9 months for a passport renewal .... are you kidding me?? Like the Scotts / Americans etc .... 3 weeks ...... what the hell ...... racisism .... is. it because I'm an african?

Big brother Jerrard would be SSSOOO proud of me! I cycled for the first time like .... ever! OMG MY ASS!! Im using a pillow next time because thats just ridiculous ..... do people cycle more than the measily 5km i did? Seriously? The only thig that kept wendy and i going was the COMPLETELY adorable riding instructor guy ..... we are inlove .... we have signed up for all his classes .... we are fully aware that hes gay ... .. but he's still eye candy and that is a RARE comodity in Pattaya!

My little brother called me yesterday! It was SSSOOO good to talk to him! (MISS YOU ALEX AND ALICE!) And im so happy and excited for him. Juat talking to him made my day! :) Then cycling RUINED IT! But then din din with Wendy .... made it all ok a.gain! :) Yesterday was a half decent sunny-ish day which is good!
So back to planning my annual leave. NOW i have no idea what to do! Do i road trip and sleep in my car? Or do i take a bus ..... up the winding scary roads to Chang Mai ...... ooooh so many decisions so little time! AAAARRRRG! Let me tell you what concerns me about the bus option .... a. people dont have drivers licences. b. Mo.st of the time .... the wheels are smooth and to top it off there is no spare. c. They are over crowded (Not only with people but goats, chickens, pigmee's and anything else you can fit in a suitcase).. d. They drop you off on the side of the highway (as kerri and i learnt from experiance last time).. I may not end up in ..... Chiang Mai. I may end up in Mai Chai; Chang; Koh Si Chang or any other similar sounding places. So distrubing ...... so so so disturbing. None the less .... I need to get my A into G and make a decision! This is my first leave since APRIL! So ..... i better make it count (or i could spend the full week sleeping on the couch! I wouldnt mind that actually .....

13 October 2009.
This story is getting soooooo complex now! OK. So Wendy needs to do her visa run; but i cant leave the country because i dont have a multiple entry visa yet. Dam. so it looks like a may be back to planning my 10 days of silence ..... while Wends goes on a mission to get her visa renewed. Or living on my couch for a full week ..... that could also be a good idea. Burn some DVD's and just VEG! UUUGG How complex! Cant a road trip / silent meditation be simple and straight forward. So i added a cool new link today ..... have a look .... called the freak files:) hahahaha ..... just about any sort of weirdo you may get in Pattaya!

12 October 2009.
Ok ..... ok ...... After and LONG conversation with more than one person .... maybe 10 days is a bit to long for my first time .... So im doing 3 days ..... yeah ok lame .... but its better than. nothing:).
and for the other 7 days ROAD TRIP WITH WENDY! YAYAYAYAYA !!!!!! I cant wait! :) Hahahahaah.
We'll road trip up north and come back down! (Definately "stop" and "sight see" the little Wat Doi Suthep i was supposed to go to:) So excited! Woohoo! Sleep in the car and under the stars! Its like a holiday but for free! Whoo Hoo!
We Joined a gym this weekend ..... ouchies ...... i can bearly move today! But im determined to look hot for Summer:) (well winter in thailand is practically like summer anywhere else).

10 OCTOBER 2009.
So today i have to start geting my stuff together for my big over land trip to Chiang Mai. So I think to myself .... lets be smart about this ..... so i ask the tea lady (who rocks) K. Preeyaporn to please tell me where i can get the white robes to wear at the temple. (I think i may have asked where i could get a white temple) so she then explained to me ..... thai only that i need to ask someone who speaks english because she is terrible at temple stuff and then proceeded to physiclly show. me the last time she went and how she fell asleep and got frusttrated at sitting and meditating for hours. I honestly whish i had a picture for you because it was CLASSIC thai moment of the day. Here is this 5foot nothing thai lady showing me all the meditation positions she fell asleep in. Classic. Absolutely Classic.

Now i STILL havent found out where to get the robes. I'll do some wondering today ... and maybe get lucky. I saw a temple looking place on my way home with the orange man robes so maybe i get lucky? And maybe he'll understand what i mean if i say i'd like a white temple? I'm actually quite excited! I think this is going to be such a wonderful expaeriance. This Wat is located up in the hills and is surrounded by dence forest. Im not sure where i sleep; im letting it all just ..... flow.
I havent decided if i should fly or train there just yet .... but ill see whats the cheapest. Free Holiday it cant get better than this:) Free Accomo; Free food. All i need is transport and im sorted:).

7 OCTOBER 2009.
Ok. So after much deliberating what i should do with my free time during my weeks leave (and traviling was the only option) I decided to make a rather ..... strange choice of leave location.
Annual Leave in 24 October - 1 November.

http://www.fivethousandyears.org/
I have decided to don the white garb and spend 10 days in silent meditation in a Forest temple in the far north of thailand.

Yes me ..... SILENT .... 10 DAYS! In a temple called Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep in Chiang Mai.

For preperation i need to ensure i am prepared with 3 white suits which i will also sleep in at night (hopefully there are mozzy nets too!!).

Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep.

For preperation i need to ensure i am prepared with 3 white suits which i will also sleep in.

11 Lotus flowers.

11 Candles.

11 incence sticks.

then my day will consist of the following:.



schedule for the arriving day.



12:30 - 14.00 arrive at the IBC Office at the temple.

15:00 demonstration (showing how to practise for a new meditator).

17:30 openning ceremomy.

22:00 the day ends.



daily routine for meditators.



03:00 the day begins.

05:00 morning practice.

06:30 breakfast time.

08:00 short Dhamma Talk.

11:00 lunch time.

15:00 daily meeting with your teacher.

22:00 the day ends.



Outside of these times, meditators are free to practice at their own pace.



schedule for the leaving day.



04:30 the day begins.

05:00 morning practice.

06:30 breakfast time.

07:00 time to clean the room.

11:00 lunch time.



So Wish me LUCK! Ill be completely out of contact for the full 10 days. No cellphones / Laptops / ipods / books snail mail / birds with notes ..... nothing! I shall report back when i return with (hopefully) pictures and a new view on life:).

training rules for meditators (Which is MEEEE !!!!).

the eight rules of training -.
These are the eight rules (precepts) of training each meditator undertakes at their Opening Ceremony and follow during their stay here. These rules help us to live in peace and harmony, to show loving kindness, compassion and respect to all.
"Panatipata veramani -.

Respect all forms of life including mosquitoes, ants, spiders, cockroaches ... We have insect repellent.

"Adinnadana veramani -.

Respect other people's property, if you need anything please ask. Please return anything you borrow.

"Abrahma-cariya veramani -.

Remain celibate, please avoid intimate contact with other meditators, especially the opposite gender. This includes physical contact and intimate speech.
"Musavada veramani -.

Respect honest, gentle speech. Speak when it is helpful and needed. Speak with loving kindness.

"Sura-meraya-majja-pamadathana veramani -.


Respect your body, please don't take alcohol, drugs, caffeine or smoke cigarettes while you are here.



"Vikala-bhojana veramani -.

Respect your practice, don't eat solid food after twelve noon, your digestive system will benefit from the rest. It is difficult to be mindful when eating and your body and mind can become sluggish and tired if you eat too much.



"Nacca-gita-vadita-visuka-dassana mala-gandha-vilepana-dharana-mandana-vibhusanathana veramani -.

Be your natural self, please don't wear make-up or perfume or jewellery during your stay here. Do wear modest loose white non-transparent clothing, long sleeved tops and long white trousers.



"Uccasayana mahasayana veramani -.

Live simply. The mattress is thin and basic but the blankets are cosy! Please try not to sleep more than six hours a night.
Before leaving, meditators have a Closing Ceremony at which they undertake five rules (precepts). These help them to live a caring, respectful life which enhances their meditation practice. These are to avoid taking the life of another living being, to only take what is given, to be faithful to their partner, to speak with compassion, loving kindness and sympathetic joy and to avoid alcohol and drugs as they can cause us to be careless. and unintentionally hurt others.

OCTOBER-06-2009: Continuing monsoon Season.......

Well as monsoon season starts drawing nearer or continuing (no one can actually tell you when monsson season stops ans starts)...it seems the storms get worse and worse. This morning i was stuck in traffic for about 45 minutes; navigating through crashed trucks and motocycles  and people and dogs and any other unfortunate thing that happened to be on the road. Its now comming up for winter....and I can really feel a temeperature differance. You May laugh but 27 degrees for me is FREEZING! :) I even wore a jersey to bed last night....
So Now im sitting at work....sipping my Nam King (Ginger tea) waiting to warm up just a smudge! :)

Here you can seem some images of the Monsoon comming in....

I do not know why this happens during the rain; but accidents pop up all over the place and the roads just wash away....literally.....thet have a monsoon every year...one would think they have caught on :)

12 OCTOBER 2009
Ok so monsoon season is still on the rise! And after a 2 hour "sprinkle" there was a sever flash flood blocking off beach road and 2nd road, I have never seen anything like it in my like. I went into gym......came out of gym 2 hrs later and BAM couldnt use the road. People were sitting on the roofs of their cars. I thought there had been a tsunami! Bit os a scary scary moment! Seriously....i have never seen a flood. Car accidents galore. And what makes a flash flood here even worse is the drainage systems. The Sewage drains dont actually "drain" anyting. So the minute the all get blocked they pump up the grossest things through the man holes. The smell is DISGUSTING and i dont doubt for a second if that water gets on your skin or in your mouth you will have cholera/ dysentry and a million other things! YUCKY! OMG THE SMELL!!!! It was putrid! 

CLASSICS OF THE WEEK

YOU MAY NEED TO SQUINT :)

OK SO IN THIS CLASSIC PATTAYA PIC OF THE WEEK....(IM SO SAD IT WAS RAINING)
WE HAVE "TEACH DRIVE CAR" AND RIGHT NEXT DOOR WE HAVE "PATTAYA ENLISH LEARNING LANGUAGE CENTER" .....YOU WOULD THINK THEY WOULD HELP??







Ok......next classic for today.....
Please explain how 9 people = 600kg?

Im not sure if i am comfortable with these peoples professionalism??"

And Finaly.......my Little Honda Jazz....Could someone please explain where warm is? Its so hot here that you options are Cold.....and COLDEST!

WAKE ME UP......WHEN SEPTEMBER ENDS!

Well September too has come and gone......and with it the 2 year anniversary of my moms passing...so i thought as something special, to mark the occasion; i would get something special between me and her....and what did i get? I got a star! :) Well...it was an experiance all in itself. I have NEVER been in so much pain in my life!!! (all 5 minutes of it) and those of you with tattoo's.....what were you thinking??? SERIOUSLY!? You bunch of crazy gits! Well...after much screaming and biting the arm-rest of the chair (which in pattaya i dont think was to hygenic) i left with a star on my foot......my first and LAST STAR! :) So definately a day to remeber!

Mid-Month was donned by the very entertaining "Nakky-one-night-road-trip"; which lead my gorgeous friend Steph and I through the windy and rather lush roads of Kanchanaburi (or as i like to say kan-chana-chana-something-buri-something-something-acha). The purppose of this trip was for Steph to run in the International River Kwaai Marathon...which i am proud to say she came 6th (i didnt tell her; but anything after 10 and she would have to walk back from kana-something to Pattaya....hahahaha) So it was a great drive up to the registration point; we stoppped off to see the very well manicured grave yards of the Jeath Railway workers. Then stopped off for a little look at the "Bridge over the river kwaai" Ha....Which was filled with tourists!

Nakky (in our road trip name) comes from the thai word nak-tong-teea-ow which is tourists.

Although our timing was perfect; we arrived in Kana-something round 4-5pm and the sun was glinting off the water of the river and it was just the most perfect lighting....WOW! Just what an awesome sight. The histoory behind it is so facinating too.....Any-whoo....we left Kana-Something town and headed towards the marathon registration point which was in the middle of some forest.....MILLIONS of registration people.....so....me......DRIVING THE CAR; pulled a sicky......and asked to park in the paraplegic parking because of my poor poor sore and broken foot....sob sniff....haha....well needless to say; a front enterance parking and a chair while i waitd for steph was pure luxuary :) Once done we headed off to our own forest hotel which was just delightful.....the entrance had these arching tree's almost hugging you with relaxation as you drove in. Our little place was great and headed straight for the food! :) Sight seeing takes a lot out of you! Some much needed carbo loading on spagetti and sauce for Steph.....and i said she needed im-moral support so was there eating the spagetti too! Early to bed and VERY early to rise! Start was at 6am....so we were ready to blitzz at like 5:15.....Wow....so many people; and such a cool morning! It was just perfect.....Just under 2 hrs later my rocking friend came in to claim 6th position in the ladies group!! SO PROUD!   Well after that; our morning kick started forday of more sight seeing!We crammed ALOT in a day and half! We went off and saw the Erawan Falls and the very depressing; although highly interesting Hell-fire pass.....very sad....and you get these walki talkie things which tell you a story as you walk....it was hard to hold back the tears sometimes. They really chose the SADDEST most MORBID people to tell their stories of the Pisoner of war camps.....god...it was horrible. Anyway....after feeling the slump of the POW depression........we started our weary way back to Pattaya the city of sin! :) after a good 2hrs of classic Bangkok traffic we arrived home in once piece :) And thus sadly brought to an end; what i can only describe as the perfectly planned weekend!

On the netball/touch rugby/social and what-not front; foot is healing SSSSSSSSSLLLLLLLLOOOOOOWWWWWWLLLLLLYYYYYYYY and my still take some time to fully recover....which sad as it may be; has given me an excuse to stay at home and spend more time with my new friends (as well as get all the good parkings!!)

check out http://www.ppnetball.blogspot.com/ for my netball team blog!

Work has been crazy busy; but its really great learning and doing new things out of my normal spectrum.

I am just loving (and hating - mixed feelings maybe) the monsson season! I was expecting shocking down-pours and miserable weather and and and....but instead i can only equate it to summer afternoon showers in SA. Although.....fair enough.....the road at work did wash away......with tons of a drama there....but i think in reality it actually had something to do with some radio-active creature that ate the tar.....or godzilla? One can only guess......

Ghosts in my house!

So my apartment....which rocks with Nicola-ness! Has been invaded by what the managers can only describe to me as.....well..........ghosts........

It started about 2 months ago where i noticed things in my house had been moved; tv channel was always on like #11 thai (english channels are like #58 onwards).....but now its evident that someone is definately comming in....because my little "nancy drew" tactic of sticking sticky-tape over the door proved a success.....so when i explained this to the management they could not work out how someone was getting in.....until i was locked OUT of my own appartment.....TWICE! fun times. So had the locks changed and so far i seem to be "ghost free" although in reality i think someone was hopping over the balcony or something? Weird.......But at i love most about my house is the 3 views i have. 1 for the sunsets over the ocean and 2 for the sun rise....and everymorning its amazing and every evening breath taking! Pinks and yellows light up the sky! Totally my favorite time of the day.....Dusk and dawn......

On the view note; i have noticed that the forest out doors has a tree right by my window....a tree which i home to (what i can only happily assume-by this i mean pretend that i didnt kill him and chuck him over the wall :) ) is dunkins little tree squirrel family......?

Ive been itching for a run in the cool mornings and evenings but this darned ankle wont seem to let me get further than my kitchen (or is that my belly??)
On other social aspects; I have made some new friends! Wendy from perth! And as mentioned in my last month news letter Lovely Tracy who is an ex saffer...YAY!

So from left to right: Tracy; Mon; Me; Ped; Me; Steph; Wedy!

On the Buddhist side; im still learning and studying and trying to keep it all together....i shall not lie that is EXTREMELY hard work......who wants to be nice to everyone?? Its complete rubbish! HA HA HA But it has lead me to some really great temples and places to see! Learning thai has been very very very hard and even though i love languages, its really not the easiest to catch onto. None the less i thought...."Hey...why not teach everyone my nationational anthem?" And well to my suprise it seemed to catch on real fast....with the new words obviously which are "Inkhosi Sexy Lady-eee Aflika".........needless say it worked under the circumtances :) and felt i did my home country a justice (or injustice) by roping in support from the Thai Community at the bar..... :)

Ok....well thats all for now folks! Miss you all and hope you are all well!

Drop me a line sometime!

XOXOX

Niki

(This is me at my Birthday Buddha) "Seven Days Looking" (Paang Tawai Netr ), the image is standing with hands held down in front of the body. The left hand is covered by the right. This attitude represents the period after the Buddha had realized Enlightenment. He achieved the enlightened state as he sat under a Bho tree for seven days in deep meditation. It is said he then stood for a longer period in deep meditation with eyes half shut.

August

Hello Family and Friends.

Well its that time of the month  again for Monthly Update on  what's been happening in and  about and what not...with me!  Well its been a roller coaster  of a month and man oh man  have I got some pearlers to  tell!!  Where to start is another  story all together…. Well July  came and went and so did my time with Dunkin the squirrel… Unfortunately I had to lay Dunkin-Doughnutkins to rest  (by chucking him over the  wall into the forest next door)  because…..obviously….we  were so cute together.
We would sleep on the couch together happily, but one  evening he decided to sleep  under my leg. My Big hepha- lump leg squashed him flat  like a darned pan-cake!  Oh well...as they say  here...Mai pen Lai…kind of  the equivalent to Hakunamatata….


I,m really starting to settle in now and staring to find my  place among the millions of  faces….i still stick out...about  a foot above everyone else  but its getting easier, consid- ering I am now learning to read and write and my speaking is improving 10 fold. So lets begin............

I have been lucky enough to find some truly lovely friends here in Thailand. Starting wit the first girl I met on the net- ters team; Chantal, who intro duced me to a Saffer (south  African) lady; Tracy who in  turn introduced me to  Stephanie and Sadi who I  now see on a weekly basis.  Steph is from Perth Aus and Sadi from Switzerland. Both great girls and I LOVE spending time with them.
Steph is also an environmental engi- neer here in Thailand and is  not single ; but her bloke is  back in Perth. Our weekly  meetings usually consist of  cocktails, wine and a new  restaurant to try. I latest trick is to drive around till some one sees something they feel like….stop and eat. Living in  Thailand., that food looses its  novelty a little (especially  after the run in with the  chicken anus….not again)

Work:
Well, as you can imagine.  Work is going well and is  CRAZY CRAZY all the time, I  now have 3 titles:

1. HSE Team Leader

2. SHEQ Manager

3. HR administrator

All very different and all ex- tremely demanding. I am really  loving it though and enjoy  being constantly inundated  with questions. I recently got a  PA, her and I have hit nit off  10 love. She is great. Thai girl  called Kookai. I have started  spending quiet a bit of time ith her over the weekends and meeting some other  Thai people (before it was  more like the expats club)  which means the more  English she learns and the more Thai I learn.

CAR-MA:
As some of you may know; I have the WORST luck  sometimes and especially with rental cars. This  time; in my adorable brand new Honda  Jazz...wolverine decided to have a go at it while I  was at the night market in south Pattaya…..thanks  dude! Clearly I had parked somewhere I thought  was sensible but someone else  thought not and keyed  the side so badly the  wrote my little car  off….great (which  is lucky consider- ing I had just  before that  reversed into  a  truck...oops….

SPORT AND FUN!

Things in the sporting are going much better. Out here  in Pattaya; it is very hard to  find a sport to stick to…so  sticking to true Nicola fashion, netball and touch rugby  have been the way to go. In   regards to netball….well; this  very Photo ended up in our  local English expat magazine  to try and get new players J  On the touch rugby side of  things I was happily playing  along when I dislocated my  ankle. I didn’t even know one  could do that!! But the guys  on the team were very nice  and I went straight to the hospital where it turned out I tore some ligaments and what not…silly me. Although I did  cautiously string my first sen- tence together when someone  asked me what had happened….and I answered…” my  sad not well painful is sad foot  is very-very”. Classic.






GENERAL STUFF

Well; In general things are going well; its hard to move around now with a cast; and  showering is difficult and  rather tricky bur at least im  getting fit doing it :) I cant  for the 3 weeks to be up to  hit the streets jogging and  netball and rugby once more!  As some of you may or may  not know; I'm not only studying Thai reading and writing  but I am also now studding  Buddhism,….its fascinating  and wonderful and has  really given me some amazing insight into compassion  and kindness towards fellow  man. I really have found a fit  in and and cant stop reading enough about it. I still have  a lot to learn and a lot to  take in. In my car now hangs Pooang Malai, which are  wreaths of Jasmine and  roses which symbolize the  impermanence of life.

QUIRKY THAILAND!
Well; as you can imagine; Thailand has many a difference to the African state of Rebulique Afrique De Suid….and have ordered Kookai to immediately watch “Blood Diamond”  to see what really happens down in  RSA. Although some pearlers you  may enjoy are: The color black in  Thai…..See–Dum? There is a delight- ful bar featured to the right. Some  other classics are the fact the your  car; does NOT come equipped with a  heater (Bottom right) ; only cold anf  FREZZING! Yes it is that hot here. Learning Thai has really helped me undertand why sometimes sentences  are so “Deer-makaar” Like I was one  evening out with a delightful friend  and Auditor at a 6 star Restaurant;  and we asked for the Lobster and the  answer was “ Sorry, no lobster to- night, it is not working, It is out of  order”……..

Another couple of word conundrums are; Flow. Some  how...Thai’s can say low but  the minute you put that F in  front in becomes Frow. The  other thing that seems to be  a mystery not only to myself  but to the Thais themselves is  time. To tell time it phased  into 5 phases. Midnight,  dawn, dusk, Day and Night.  Although depending on who is  telling time is what type of ime you may get. Like 4 pm is to early for  dusk but to late for day  so can be either “ Day  4 time” or “4 Time  Dusk” ??? Very confusing and  extremely difficult. A couple  other words that have stuck
out to me have been Panty = Map. Maak-Maak = very very.
They also have the equivalent  for the Alphabet  Song….although there are like  44 Consonants and 36 vow- els and each combination has  5 tones. Not an easy Song to  sing…..

SEX LIES AND PATTAYA

In Pattaya you are bound to see and find ANYTHING with  regards to sex. Its freely avail- able on the streets day-in and  day-out. On a night out you  are seriously bound to see the  STRANGEST things! Pattaya s  “disturbingly” eventful….and  every second Thai bloke is a  “Lady”….even the bloke/bird  at my local 7/11 is tricky to  tell weather it’s a man or woman….the boobs give you  an indication but the facial  hair throws you….There are a lot of forign men  that come here seeking a little “Thai-loving” Men, us  normal single girls have  named “offenders” because  they are SO GROSS! Above  right is a woman; below...a  man….and below that..an  OFFENDER!