{American} Thanksgiving in Bangkok with friends!

My little Thanksgiving Family!

The American Thanksgiving Holiday is clearly not celebrated throughout the world, unlike the other holidays (Halloween and Christmas) that bookend this autumn holiday. No matter to us, we find friends here in SE Asia to celebrate with always. It’s amazing how many fellow Americans are also away from families during the holiday season- sure does help to make us feel at home more….we always manage to buy all the ingredients for the typical side dishes and deserts, although we typically substitute the turkey for chicken, duck or pig since turkeys are outrageously expensive and shipped in frozen from Australia! 🙁

Jen, Abe, and K- 2 Indians and a Pilgram 🙂

Sweet Addie & I, the 2 pilgrims! She’s also the artist who made our lovely hats 🙂

Anyway, this year we decided to head up to Bangkok, Thailand for Thanksgiving with some very dear friends of ours who recently moved from KL to Bangkok a few months back. They’ve got 3 kiddos, their youngest being 6 months older than our Ava, and we always have a blast with them- never a dull moment between the kids and their antics and our adult conversations! Plus this was the last time I could travel (expecting baby #2 in February), so I wanted to really make a point to enjoy this holiday with our friends. The 4 days we spent together did not disappoint!! So much laughter….so.much.laughter!!! Great conversations & fellowship, great outings with the kids seeing a few tourists spots as well as just getting to see their daily lives as expats in Thailand now. What a fun way to see Bangkok as our last time was totally touristy….this was a nice departure and was even better being able to stay with them in their new home and relax some at “home”.

The Men- Jonathan, Abe, and David

Sweet Kiddos- Addie & Abe (Emma not pictured)!

A quick 1.5hr flight north of KL, we arrived Thursday afternoon of Thanksgiving (American Thanksgiving is celebrated on the 4th Thursday of November every year). We arrived into their home to the delicious smells of Thanksgiving- Jen had a yummy candle lit, the table was set, decorations were out, and the food smelled heavenly! We were so excited to say the least. Immediately the kids swarmed Ava and the 4 of them ran off to play and get into loads of trouble while us adults caught up a bit and got situated. For dinner we enjoyed all the yummy side dishes, with the centerpiece being a pulled pork dish that was delicious! Addie, their oldest, even made us all hats to wear in honor of the holiday. After dinner we played a fun Thanksgiving Bingo game and gave “thanks” by writing our little notes on a Turkey (pin-it) they made for the wall. So much fun to be surrounded by such special friends during the holidays!

This is what one would call: Double Trouble! Ava & Emma, 6 months apart 🙂

The perfect capture of the 4 kiddos…..how could we get them all smiling and happy at once?! Impossible- LOL. Side note, Abe & Ava adore each other!

Just the 3 of us…for another 9 weeks 🙂

Friday the kids took off school so we could all hang together and after breakfast we all headed to the famed Jim Thompson House in downtown Bangkok (about 30 min drive from their place- so much traffic in Bangkok!!!). I had heard so many great things about this house and have seen the Jim Thompson brand around KL and up in the Cameron Highlands before so I was excited to check his old house out.

Stunning flowers throughout the property

Almost the same size!

Huge turtle the kids loved watching roam around the grounds!

Side note: for those of you who haven’t heard of Jim Thompson, he was an American who went missing in the Cameron Highlands, never to be seen again, but he was famous for making Thai Silk known and used around the world, noted especially in the movie, The King and I. The Thai people have very mixed emotions about JT, but it’s no doubt what he did for the handicraft of thai silk worldwide…and his story of going missing in Malaysia is still such a mystery to all, with a plethora of theories surrounding it.

As always, Ava making friends with the locals 🙂

She’s such a good sport- getting flowers in her hair 🙂

Anyway, we went on a tour of the grounds, checked out the gorgeous products in the gift shop, dined for lunch in their yummy thai restaurant, and the kiddos ran around loving the attention by the various Thai women there and the humongous turtle living in the ponds on the property. It was such a fun way to spend a few hours- any age would enjoy it :)….but be wary of your wallet as you can make quite the dent with all the amazing products in the gift shop!!

Traditional Thai PJs- ready for the massage!

Our comfy massage chairs 🙂

2 peas in a pod chillin in the hammock!

Friday afternoon Jen was a doll and watched the babes so David and I could get pampered at a Thai Spa- lovely 90 minute head, neck, shoulder, leg, and foot massage- heavenly!!

Addie during her stellar performance!

Saturday was a fun day too….we were able to watch Addie in a violin performance she had (and she was amazing too!) while checking out their everyday grocery store and shopping complex….I know that sounds a tad strange to most of you but for us expats, it’s always interesting to see how others live around the world and seeing what their “norm” is now. The afternoon was a nice quiet time for the kids at home while Jen & I gabbed for hours, catching up, and the guys took off to check out a huge electronics shopping mall….and David got his first ride on a “moto-taxi”- haha :). That evening we BBQ’ d at home while the kids played outside- splashing around in the kiddy pool and generally just enjoyed spending quality time with our friends.

Little cuties in their swimmers!

Waterfights galore!!

CHEESE…and sidewalk chalk!

Water & Bubbles=fun times!

Sunday was fun and oh so packed with activities. We joined them at church in the morning, which again was so interesting to see how a Christian based church runs in a predominately Buddhist country (while in Malaysia we attend church in a dominant Muslim country). The service was so enjoyable and the fellow attenders very welcoming to David, Ava, and I. Afterwards Jonathan and Jen took us to their favorite Mexican restaurant- La Monita, for lunch. Again, I know this may sound crazy but finding good mexican anywhere in Asia is like looking for Bigfoot- it’s not gonna happen. But wow, this place was actually legit…..we left stuffed and that’s saying a lot out here- haha!

The service was packed!

Piggies!!

The whole clan at lunch!

Now it was our turn to shop- the guys took all 4 kids home in a screaming car while Jen and I took off in the opposed direction to shop- fun times :). She took me to an awesome mall housing unique Thai handmade crafts, as I had some things on my mind to purchase. We were both able to find some amazing Thai silk scarves and table runners, some thai silver serving ware, and some traditional thai ceramic celadon plates and bowls- what fun!!! Afterwards we headed over to the central shopping mall and browsed a few stores, including H&M of course :).

Double Date! The Nabers & The Lembrights

Cool guys

The Ladies

Sunday night was our final night together so we got a babysitter, put the kids to bed, and we went on a double date to a delicious little burger joint called the Burger Factory (yummy!!) that also served a variety of micro beers, then headed over to this adorable little bar called Mikkeller– housing an amazing assortment of draft microbrews, wines, and ciders. Such a relaxing and cool vibe to chill out in- great outdoor lawn where we could sit and enjoy our adult beverages (no judgement please I can enjoy a glass thank you!) while laughing ALOT and telling fun stories.

Delicious burgers & fries served here 🙂

Check out the amount of beers on tap!!

Monday we left bight and early….and very sad to leave our dear friends. It’s so easy to find and make friends around the world, but it’s very rare to find friends that you instantly click with and know will be friends for life- no matter where in the world they live or we live. We are bonded for life with our time here in KL and being able to visit them in their new home of Bangkok was priceless! We are so grateful for you Jonathan, Jen, Addie, Abe, and Emma. Thank you for opening up your home to us, letting us bunk in your rooms, and showing us around your new “hometown”. We love you guys so much and are so grateful for your friendship!! My sides still hurt from laughing so much 🙂

Such a cute little yard to relax in while at Mikkellers

Joking around on the scooter….no judging please- I’m allowed a glass of wine (or cider in this case)! 🙂

Until next time, make some time to spend the holidays with loved ones, no matter where in the world you live~

Kimbra