After a bit of
a confusing start (as Khalid had stayed in Bangkok overnight and was coming through by
taxi which proved rather slower than he’d anticipated) we managed to pick
Khalid up and go straight to lunch, since we were all hungry by then. The
ladies (Chompo and, her Mum) chose M.K., which they love and Khalid and I
really don’t. That said, while they and Boonying tucked into very healthy
fish, tofu and vegetables, cooked by themselves at the table, Khalid and I
decided to share roast duck and rice. That said, I think the person who
enjoyed his food the most was Sunan’s baby, who was a joy to watch and has a
very healthy appetite. He’s nearly three now and into everything and was
a little gem, but has very definite opinions of how he should be placed in the
supermarket trolley during shopping. No sitting for him – he would stand
up and will the trolley
along, and when there was no propulsion he had ways of letting you know.
Actually he was very well behaved, and lots of fun, but it was grandma he
wanted to have carry him – Chompoo was no substitute.
After filling
the boot full of ‘goodies’, we went to Art in Paradise,
just off Second Road.
It was less expensive than I’d been led to believe (300 B for farang and 180 B
for Thais and children under a certain size, free) and I think it was good
value. We could not believe the size of the place, and had no real idea
of what to expect, but Khalid thoroughly enjoyed himself, clicking away, or
having Boonying click away for him, so he could be in Egypt, painting
a masterpiece, putting his head in the alligator’s mouth or sitting under a
giant question mark considering the mystery of life.
The walls and
much of the floor area is murals representing different countries or scenarios
and you have various point at which you can ‘enter’ the scene and be
photographed. He took one shot of Boonying ‘painting’ a design on the
back of a scantily dressed lady – which we said would be blackmail
material! It’s a good job he has a sense of humour and knows us well.
There were lots of different rooms and part of it was mezzanine style, so you
could look over the railings and watch others having fun joining their
favourite personality or trying to hide from the dinosaurs. Definitely a
place to bear in mind for other sponsor visits, I think.
Although
Boonying and Khalid were happy to be part of the action, it wasn’t easy
persuading Chompoo, although she was happy to do it if Mum and nephew were
beside her. She is still so shy, although she’s almost 13 yrs old now and
has known us for years. She’s growing like the proverbial beanpole
though, is still very pretty – and still loves pink. In fact Khalid had
brought her a pink camel – which the baby immediately took a fancy to.
I’ve never seen a pink camel before – pink elephants are more a Western thing,
wouldn’t you say?
Anyway, having
had fun for several hours, we returned Khalid to his hotel about 6.00 pm to
catch up on some sleep and we returned the happy family home again.
I think it was
a really enjoyable day for everyone.
Registered Charity No. 1104335
100 Years From Today
It will not matter how big your bank
account was, the sort of house you lived in, or the kind of car you drove. But
the world may be a little better because your help touched the life of one
child.
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