Woke up quite early to make 8am flight this morning.
Actually, woke up at 4.
No kidding.

Quickly packed and get to the van to go to airport.
How come it was so crowded around 6am? So many flights then? Must be!



Queued in a long line for check-in.
Didn't have much time to shop at duty free.
Just picked up a bottle of Champagne.

It was a matter of only 20 minutes or so.



The fleet was quite new and had seat-in monitor.
THough, I mostly slept through.



Loved TG (Thai Airways) in-flight food.
"Khaawtom" (rice soup dish) was pretty good!

Became really tourist today!
Went to Kanchanaburi and Erawan Water Fall.





Can you see a train still on track (coming or going?)



Ogakijin with Tendence watch on right wrist.
Why right? I know, used to be left.



Erawan Water Fall



Good shot, isn't it?

Fun day it really was!

At Chrystal Bay Golf Club…
I came to another record today.

50 - 49 --- 99!!!
Yeah, I made it under 100 once again!





Another entertainment - movie at night.
Jack and Jill open this weekend at Bangkok theaters.
Darn funny!

Today it was quite flat.

Went out for shopping afterwork.
Though, couldn't find the one for myself. Unlucky.

Sweet pepper pork was my lunch dish. Not so spicy and it was pretty good!



Now I decided to join my friends to play golf this weekend.
I only play once a trip to Bangkok. I love to play golf… just not fond of doing so under heat. Hahaha.

What's up? This week is now coming to an end… as far as work concerns.
One more day to go. I shouldn't complain.
Big weekend is ahead.

There are many plans over the weekend. I will be even busier than usual.
Oh, I will play golf… I know, I don't do so that often. This weekend is exceptional.

Being inspected?
Do I look suspicious… even a bit???
MoonFlower will come to Bangkok to "check me out."

It is 1st visit for her to Thailand. Good for her!
I am sure that she will enjoy herself so much over Bangkok and other cities that she visits.
Cannot wait!

She will spend only limited like… not as living with me or anything.
I bet that she will come here with long list of DOs and shopping items.
Oh boy, I have to be supportive for that.



Today's lunch. Said, "sweet papers and pork." Not that sweet. Rather, a bit spicy. NOT bad though.
I even like it. Hahaha.
Well, the menu list is pretty decent… so it may take some time to come back to this dish.

Okay, i'd better go for now.
See you tomorrow.

Remember that I started going to Thai language school from January 24th?
Yeah, I keep studying Thai as much as I can since then.
Well, except 1 week - that I went back to Japan.

Now am about to use up all class tickets.
Originally I bought 21 time slot. 1 class is consisted from 2 slot (45 mins x 2 slot).
Means that I went to school about 10 times so far.

What shall I do?
Continues?
Not cheap, though.

21 class is about 200 dollars.
However, I like the language so far and it helps my project work since Thai people likes to find out that we, the foreigners, try to learn this unique (and minor!) language. Hahaha.

I definitely continues!
So I bought another 21 slots for the same price.
You know what? Came along with 2 extra free time slots.

Good deal.
Plus, I should be careful about ROI.
I should not waste money by not making enough efforts to master the language.

Yes, I will do study as much!



Lunch… another Thai noodle dish.
Flat noodles are in the bowl. It was okay…
I try other in the menu tomorrow. Hahaha.

Gosh… it was a good day… turned out to be.
Project came to another major milestone… we're stepping forward.
Good sign, huh!

It is quite complicated to coming to such result, though.
Lots of people involved and it is purely about the human relationship.
Not by people's work or dedication for the contribution.

Hmm.



My lunch… another noodle dish.
50 baht
Very cheap, huh.

This option really saves money for sure.
Good environment as far as lunch concerns. Hahaha.



Compared to lunch - cost 50 baht.
This small Kit-Kat was only about 10 baht.
Then, this is quite expensive! Hahaha.

Well, I ended up spending 300 baht for dinner in eating at Japanese restaurant.

Okay… another 10 days to go… for flying back to Japan.
Yeah, still my flight back scheduled on 29th.
Wait. Today is 20th… PAY DAY!!!

I'd better transfer some money for paying the home loan…
I should not forget about it. Hahaha.

It was a long meeting took place in this afternoon.
It made me go to Thai class late.

"Khoothoot thii maasaay"
Means, I am sorry that I am late.
Yeah, had to tell so to my Thai teacher (this is private lesson).

Tonight, I learned about how to tell time.
Well, it's not as simple as English or Spanish.
Time expression obviously got influenced by some culture or even religion.

Thai is indeed Buddhist country.

Interesting expression about time in Thai… is from 7pm till 11pm.

You cannot use figure 7 to 11 to express those. Seriously.
Instead of those figures, you have to count from 1 again.

7pm - 1 night hour said in Thai - "1 thum"
8pm - 2 night hour said in Thai - "2 thum"
9pm - 3 night hour said in Thai - "3 thum"
10pm - 4 night hour said in Thai - "4 thum"
11pm - 5 night hour said in Thai - "5 thum"

Those 5 hour expressions are the exceptions.
Otherwise, you can use same numeric expression. Makes sense?

Thai is interesting and unique language.
I am yet eager to learn so much and I will continue as long as possible!
Constraint is of the budget that I can take Thai classes… maybe. Hehehe.



my "khaaw thiiang" (lunch) today… Yum Yum.
A bit spicy it was.

Today's my destination… was Terminal 21 located in Asok area.



Big mall with lots of fashion brands and Japanese restaurants.
Great place for me to hang around for sure. Hahaha.



Even Mercedez AMG sport was on sale… at 3,550,000 Baht.
How much?
It's too expensive for me to afford. Sure thing.

Then movie.
Picked Thai one.

Wait. Now I am capable for understanding Thai in the movie? Of course not.
This movie comes with English subtitle. Sounds wonderful.



Movie title, "ATM." It was comedy. Lots of exaggeration. But surely it was fun for me.
Made me laugh so much and so often.

It was only 180 baht. 4-5 bucks. Way cheaper than Japan for sure.

It was funny with lovely ending. Good thing was that I didn't have to spend time reading the lines.
Story was quite obvious. Hehehe.



Finally got a chance to take a local bus.
Wild ride it was… Hahaha.





Happen to come to see the live event taking place in Central World open space.
Lots of nice music… mostly Thai traditional.

Another big surprise… the event was dual language-base. English and Thai.
This country is pretty cool!!!

It's Saturday!!! (Wanni wansau!!!)
As usual, I went to school for Thai language lesson.

Of course, I took care of laundry and other miscellaneous matters home.



Lesson went with no problem… except…
Surprise quiz was given!



1st half was choosing right answer from 2 alternatives.
2nd half was of composing the answer to the given questions.

There were 10 questions. Oh boy.

This quiz didn't end upon finishing the all questions.
Teacher asked me to read each question and my answer at loud.
Then I had to explain what it means in English.

Gee, this quiz was full course quiz! Hahaha.

Well, thank God, I was okay upon being given A.

Thereafter, I went to Nana Station to get together with my colleagues.
I came down there to help them to move in to new apartment. They are no longer allowed to stay in hotel because, like me, they're expected to "live" in Bangkok for a while.

Probably another 3-4 months. SERIOUSLY!



Apartment room seems very nice and fully furnished!!!



Bed size is queen!



Pretty cool view from the apartment window.



Hallway is ordinary. Hahaha.



Lobby was at least clean.



My friends were so serious in choosing the linen design.
I usually pick very vivid color. Though, they were pretty conservative. Hahaha.

When finished all shopping for move-in, it was already passed 6pm.
So we went out for dinner and ended up at pretty expensive Italian restaurant.
Italian… I cannot resist too much.



Lasagna! It was my wonderful choice of the night!



Sweet was awesome!

Some entertainment followed immediately after that restaurant.
Perfect night for me and other friends seemed to have fun WAY much more than me. Hahaha.

Good night!

Another day… actually 2nd day at the client's site.
Our counterpart was quite busy… and so were other people.
Though, we're patiently waiting for whatever available to us.



Today's lunch was once again Thai!!!



A bit spicy… but tasty!!!



It was a great walking home (at least to the nearest station) since we did a great job!
The meeting scheduled was quite positive and we made our task completed as planned.
Plus, internal discussion was quite deep to have good insight.

Oh boy, we're good team!!!



Not Thai for supper but Korean along with Heineken beer.

Thank God, now it's weekend!!!

More and more to come… things are getting better and better for setting a big project with a client!
From today, I go to project place, directly, from the apartment.

It was only 10 minute way to get the firm's office in Bangkok.
Now takes me about whole hour to get the client's site.
On top of that, I have to WALK for 10-15 minutes under Thai's heat climate!



Lots of street shops. Some of them looked really good!
Project coordinator arranged team's lunch in the cafeteria.



Seems nice view from the window!



Long line made there… since our order was taken in advance, we didn't have to wait.
Plus, the table was RESERVED.
Oh boy, they treat us like customer here...



Thai food. It was VERY GOOD. More than expected.
Probably really reasonable as well since it is company-supported cafeteria.



Important of all… desserts can be arranged at DQ… Yes, Daily Queen!!!
I probably order frozen yogurt for myself everyday if possible!

Happy Valentine's Day, folks!!!
Not much celebration for me since am in Bagkok. Hahaha.

We had a team dinner over Thai's famous Thai Suki bowl dinner tonight.





You can throw in pretty much any vegetable, meat, and seafood.
No order in particular.
Then, you finish it with noodle in there.

Many people (tonight we had 8 people around the bowl) can eat together at one table.
Great social setting!
Beer followed by wine… some (lots?) alcohol for us. Hahaha.

NO WONDER creasy night continued even after that!

Yes, Bangkok once again!
Welcome back!!!
This time, I will remain in this country until the end of this month...



Came to the airport early enough… the check-in counter wasn't even open yet when arrived.
It didn't take me even 15 minutes to finish check-in, though.



Tetsu was also in the airport. His destination was Hong Kong.
He had to go for 1-week training. Good luck!
He bought me a cup of Starbucks. Thanks!



TG (Thai Airways) flight was with pretty new aircraft.
Seat-in entertainment was something I was really desperated to have during the 7-hour flight.



Watched:
"Body of Lies"
"Crazy, Stupid, Love"
"Bourne Ultimatum"

and partially,
"Get Smart"



Chicken was my choice turned out to be a good one.
Arrived at the BKK airport around 5pm. It was 7pm when I got back to corporate apartment.
Went out for dining to the nearby Thai restaurant. Local restaurant which I had never been before.









It was all pretty good! Reasonable as well!
Found good place to eat from apartment.
Man, day one in Bangkok was darn productive!!! Hehehe.

Another thing in Day One… new watch.
Yes, Tendence Watch came to its debut!!!



White watch - super duper cool!!! Don't you think?
I will put this on my wrist quite often from now on.

White watch…. perfect item for summer or summer-like weather!

Tableware Festival was toad's final destination for both of us, MoonFlower and I.
Last year, we went there… this year, too!















Testing for 1,000 yen (13 dollars).
Could choose the glass I want and I drank a glass of Champagne.



My choice was this. Lobmeyr's Champagne glass.
MoonFlower and I ended up buying a pair of those glasses for home.

Good discount given upon our purchase. Great deal!



Dinner was at home. Opened a bottle of wine.
Red one.







Variety of cheese came along with wine. Great selection.
I slowly kept the pace… between cheese and wine.



Other dish, too.



Chicken was the main dish tonight. Good food.
Good dinner lasted long… MoonFlower and I sat at the dinner table and talked to each other for hours.
It was quite late… when finished. It was almost 2am after family festivity.

Yes, it was my day off today!
What's wrong with this??? For rest of this month, I will remain in Bangkok…
This is my only day for being myself doing anything I want.

Wait. What about the weekend?
What about it? I said, "being myself." Hahaha.
In the morning, I went out driving to the nearby theatre for movie.



"The Penthouse" is the movie selected.
I thought that it would be super duper funny…
Well, it wasn't that bad… but so unrealistic… from one scene to another. Hahaha.

Went to McDonald's after the movie for late lunch.
Then, studied Thai language for an hour in the same place.
Yes, am still pushing myself to learn that language.

I could go home thereafter… though, I shifted the car to different direction.
Something can be done easily on weekday instead of weekend.
Yeah, test drive!



Italian car, Alfa Romeo… I went to the dealership for taking a look.
Brand new "Julietta."



Rear design is my favorite!



I did a test drive… it was fun to drive!
Yeah, this is going to be our next car!!!
Wait, I have to get approval from MoonFlower… Hard to get??? Will see.

Friend's gathering over dinner tonight.
Usual friends.



Tetsu came late around 10pm after work.
He's super busy… great salesperson he is!
Will be in Hong Kong next week?



Tsbk (left) and Marashida (right)



Finally (about time?), Marashida is going to get married very soon --- line next month.
Congratulations!!!

It was fun gathering for sure and I over-drank for sure.
Went on to a bar after the restaurant…
It was way passed the midnight. Hahaha.

Report about the shopping made for myself in Bangkok…
Thai silk product for me. Blue… was my choice.
It was 50% off… "MUST BUY."





How do I look?
Since yesterday's haircut, my hair is now short version. Hahaha.

MoonFlower and I went to Kameido for prayer for the 1st time in this year.



You can see new Tokyo's symbol - Tokyo Sky Tree.
The highest TV tower in the world!



Kameido Tenjin Shrine was the destination.
Prayed for health, work, and peace for family...



Fortune teller was not that bad… much better than one in 2011!!!
This is really good news!

Dessert at famous Funabashi-ya for Japanese sweet.





"Kuzu-mochi." Perfect company with Japanese tea. Loved them!

Well, the weekend is already over… one last week in Japan… am expected to be busy… will see how it all would go for me.

Didn't buy it there… but here.
Finally, Tendence has come to my collection!!!

Italian watch brand that I have been looking for having…
Part of next Bangkok readiness… you know, I wanted to have some watch with rubber band.
I thought of G-shock, originally. Then changed my mind to this brand.



Selected white one… that not many people would buy… hahaha!



How does this look?



This is HUGE face… too big for me? Will see how I would feel.
Yes, I will take this with me to Bangkok next time. Sure thing.

Surely, back and red… and even other colors were considered.
White is surely part of rare to choose… that is why.

I may wear this to work… does this sound a bit odd?

Car ride at 5:30am… it was quite early for me to get to the airport.
My flight for Narita Tokyo was at 8am. That's what is so early. Hahaha.

Flight was flat and normal except delay for 30 mins or so.
Good thing happened to me… I could occupy the whole row since two passengers were re-assigned to somewhere else soon after boarding.

I sat in the mid-seat and used both empty seats for my space. Cool!

Because of lack of sleep last night (too much wine drank, though), I fell to a sleep in the flight.
I didn't even enjoy in-flight movie much!

"Money Ball" was previously watched.
"Real Steel" doesn't seem to be so interesting…

I started seeing "I don't know how she does it."
Was it really good movie?
Didn't interest me enough and I fell to a sleep. I don't even remember of the story at all.
Hahaha.

Back in Japan…
MoonFlower and I got together outside for dinner.
She worked late and I didn't want her to spend extra energy fixing supper for two. It was surely Friday night!

So we went to a place nearby for grabbing some easy but Japanese food.







I didn't even finish the half of glass over the meal. No alcohol in the flight and I didn't drink much at night, either. You know this kind of thing happens, right?

Am finally HOME!

Will flight back to Bangkok on 13th. Yes, limited time in Japan…

Bangkok's last night for me… Yeah, already it is!!!
Tomorrow, I will fly back to Japan. Just for a week to "stay there."

Today's meeting with client went (dramatically) well. Beyond my expectation.
Meaning that it was quite positive outcome and we WILL move forward soon.
Thus, I will have to come back to this place so soon and concentrate on the work assigned.

Good stuff! Finally!
It's about time? Hahaha. That's ironic.

Tonight a little festivity took place because of my final night in Bangkok.
Friends came to get together.



From left to right, Am, Wong, Ogakijin (me), and Bun.
They came really late like Thai clock… but it was fun.

Mostly, we spent time on Thai lesson! Perfect for me. I can master this language quickly.
Quickly = "REW REW"

It was Italian dinner and I ate too much. Hahaha.
Good wine, too.

Man good time really passed by fast and I was almost late to the last train!
Anyhow, I learned a lot. Good time, of course!

My hair becomes long and first thing to do in Japan… is going to get haircut. Maybe.
See you in Japan…so soon!