On Thursday, a new mall opened on Chaeng Wattana Road. The name is Central Plaza, and it is run by the premier plaza group here in Thailand. Here they use the term plaza instead of mall because some company has the trademark to mall or some other such nonsense.
The new Central Plaza is very nice. While its not quite as nice as the Central World downtown, it is very solid. It has two book stores that sell English books (Asia Books sells exclusively English language books) and there is even a pretty decent camera store there. There are a lot of good restaurants renting space as well. They have a movie theater on the seventh floor. Of course, there is the Central Department store anchoring the whole thing. Central is kind of like the Macey's of Thailand.
The Top's grocery store on the bottom floor is a huge plus. Its a lot easier to grocery shop there if I also need to pick up other non-grocery items.
The one thing I wish it had was a Toys-R-Us. Still, Central has a decent, albeit expensive, toy section.
If traffic is light, I can probably get to the mall within five or six minutes. I visited on Friday afternoon, and there was not a lot of traffic. In the evenings,h however, Chaeng Wattana can be quite busy. Tim and I, however, think that we can actually get there via some back roads, which would make traffic even less of a concern. If that is true, I could even ride my bike there.
Showing posts with label Vogel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Vogel. Show all posts
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Saturday, May 31, 2008
A "Friendly" Reminder
I had to be downtown on Friday at 10:50. I was pretty confident that I knew how to get there and get back, but I wasn't 100% sure. The night before I was asking Tim for directions to confirm the way, and she suggested that we use Top's driver. Top is visiting Germany for some other business venture that he is in, so he wasn't using the driver.
Tim called Tham and confirmed the driver was indeed available. The driver confirmed that he would be at the house by 10:00. That would give us plenty of time to get to my appointment on time.
Now those of you who have read my about my previous experiences with Thai drivers will probably not fall off your seats when you read that things hardly went smoothly. When 10:00 rolled around, the driver was not to be found. At 10:15, still no driver, so I had Tim confirm that he was still coming. He was almost there he professed to her. Finally, at 10:30, when I was about to just go on my own, he arrived. At this point, I am doing a fairly good job hiding my anger. I really don't like to be late for an appointment, and at this point there is no way that I'm going to make it on time.
So off we go on our trip downtown. We go on to the expressway via the back entrance of Nichada. The advantage to going out the back entrance is that you can get on the expressway in less than five minutes as opposed to fifteen to thirty minutes exiting out the front gate. The down side is that you have to join the club to use the back entrance. Fortunately, I joined in order to work out.
A few interesting features about the expressways here. First, they are built on large cement support structures, and are actually above the regular roads. Secondly, they are toll roads. The toll from here to the city is a little less than $2 each way. Thirdly, as I was soon to discover, Thailand's finest like to hang around the toll booths to engage in personal revenue enhancement.
As we exited the toll booth, one of the brown clad officers motioned for us to pull over to the side of the road. I just started laughing. Not only had the driver been thirty minutes late, but now we were pulled over. The officer and the driver talked for a few minutes, and the policeman let him go. The driver dropped the name of an officer with whom he was friends (and a higher rank than the officer who pulled us over), so he was released without a ticket.
Once again we were on our way. I was reading a bit when I saw that we exiting the expressway. My appointment was only a hundred yards from the exit, and it was only 10:52. For a moment I was elated, as I thought that I would only be a few minutes late. As I looked around, the buildings didn't look familiar. As luck would have it, the driver got off on the wrong exit. So we spent the next 45 minutes driving, and sometimes just sitting, through Bangkok city traffic.
When we finally arrived, I pointed to the building that I wanted to go and said there in Thai. Usually drivers will then stop and let you out in front of the building and go park. Apparently when I said "there", it sounded to him like I said "don't stop here and drop me off, instead keep moving and drive through four levels of the parking garage and then exit said garage." He certainly followed those directions. Finally, after we exited the garage, I opened my door while we were moving very slowly. The driver was at that point gracious enough to stop and let me out. I looked at the time and saw it was 11:45. By the time I got to where I was going, I was an hour late.
This was just a reminder of how frustrating it is to deal with Thai drivers. There are probably some very good ones out there, but the majority are not. I really don't miss having one in our employ. Sure, its nice to have someone park the car for you in some places, or to take a nap en route. The frustration of waiting just isn't worth it. Next time I need to go somewhere that I don't know how to get to, I'll probably try taking a cab. Or maybe I'll buy a GPS system. I've actually heard good things about some here.
Tim called Tham and confirmed the driver was indeed available. The driver confirmed that he would be at the house by 10:00. That would give us plenty of time to get to my appointment on time.
Now those of you who have read my about my previous experiences with Thai drivers will probably not fall off your seats when you read that things hardly went smoothly. When 10:00 rolled around, the driver was not to be found. At 10:15, still no driver, so I had Tim confirm that he was still coming. He was almost there he professed to her. Finally, at 10:30, when I was about to just go on my own, he arrived. At this point, I am doing a fairly good job hiding my anger. I really don't like to be late for an appointment, and at this point there is no way that I'm going to make it on time.
So off we go on our trip downtown. We go on to the expressway via the back entrance of Nichada. The advantage to going out the back entrance is that you can get on the expressway in less than five minutes as opposed to fifteen to thirty minutes exiting out the front gate. The down side is that you have to join the club to use the back entrance. Fortunately, I joined in order to work out.
A few interesting features about the expressways here. First, they are built on large cement support structures, and are actually above the regular roads. Secondly, they are toll roads. The toll from here to the city is a little less than $2 each way. Thirdly, as I was soon to discover, Thailand's finest like to hang around the toll booths to engage in personal revenue enhancement.
As we exited the toll booth, one of the brown clad officers motioned for us to pull over to the side of the road. I just started laughing. Not only had the driver been thirty minutes late, but now we were pulled over. The officer and the driver talked for a few minutes, and the policeman let him go. The driver dropped the name of an officer with whom he was friends (and a higher rank than the officer who pulled us over), so he was released without a ticket.
Once again we were on our way. I was reading a bit when I saw that we exiting the expressway. My appointment was only a hundred yards from the exit, and it was only 10:52. For a moment I was elated, as I thought that I would only be a few minutes late. As I looked around, the buildings didn't look familiar. As luck would have it, the driver got off on the wrong exit. So we spent the next 45 minutes driving, and sometimes just sitting, through Bangkok city traffic.
When we finally arrived, I pointed to the building that I wanted to go and said there in Thai. Usually drivers will then stop and let you out in front of the building and go park. Apparently when I said "there", it sounded to him like I said "don't stop here and drop me off, instead keep moving and drive through four levels of the parking garage and then exit said garage." He certainly followed those directions. Finally, after we exited the garage, I opened my door while we were moving very slowly. The driver was at that point gracious enough to stop and let me out. I looked at the time and saw it was 11:45. By the time I got to where I was going, I was an hour late.
This was just a reminder of how frustrating it is to deal with Thai drivers. There are probably some very good ones out there, but the majority are not. I really don't miss having one in our employ. Sure, its nice to have someone park the car for you in some places, or to take a nap en route. The frustration of waiting just isn't worth it. Next time I need to go somewhere that I don't know how to get to, I'll probably try taking a cab. Or maybe I'll buy a GPS system. I've actually heard good things about some here.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Big, Big Number
Every wonder what number comes after a trillion? After my son kept making up names for numbers beyond a trillion (a concept he cannot possibly understand), I decided to look it up.
Here are the next few nomenclatures...
# 0's Name
6 million
9 billion
12 trillion
15 quadrillion
18 quintillion
21 sextillion
24 septillion
Here are the next few nomenclatures...
# 0's Name
6 million
9 billion
12 trillion
15 quadrillion
18 quintillion
21 sextillion
24 septillion
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Songklon Fun
A few months ago I picked up a book that purported to list one thousand places in the world that you should see before you die. I was pretty unimpressed with the book. One of the things the book left out about Thailand, but certainly should have included was celebrating Songklon in Thailand. The celebration was not only uniquely Thai, but was an enormous amount of fun.
As I blogged before, Songklon is the traditional Thai new years. Songklon is also celebrated in other parts of Asia, but Thai's celebrate it at a completely different level. What was traditionally a day where people splashed each other has turned into the world's largest water fight.
Tim made all the arrangements for our participation. She procured one of her company pickup trucks, a driver, and about 100 - 150 gallons of water split between an enormous blue bucket and 50 gallon barrel. To deliver our water payload, we had a number of squirt guns and small buckets.
Songklon is celebrated all over Thailand, and in a number of places in Bangkok. We decided against a few of the more popular places, as they can sometimes get kind of rowdy. In some places, they actually close down the streets for people to celebrate Songklon. While it might be fun dragging three kids through a throng of water wielding humanity, chances are better it would not be. Tim talked to a few of her employees who recommended that we go to Ang Sa, a place about 15 minutes from her work. There we could ride in a truck, dose and be dosed, and leave when the kids (or parents) were ready.
Before we made it to Ang Sa, I learned a few lessons about Songklon. One is that for females, wearing a white tee shirt may not be the best option. Oh, its certainly a great way to get attention for oneself, but the 20 something year old girl riding on the back of the motorcycle didn't seem to be out to flaunt her goods.
On our way to Ang Sa, we ran into some scattered celebraters along side the road. These people stand alongside the road with hoses, buckets and squirt guns and dose passers by. Some of their victims, like those on the motorcycle were fairy hapless and just had to "take it". Others, like us, were similarly armed and able to respond their splashing in kind.
As I blogged before, Songklon is the traditional Thai new years. Songklon is also celebrated in other parts of Asia, but Thai's celebrate it at a completely different level. What was traditionally a day where people splashed each other has turned into the world's largest water fight.
Tim made all the arrangements for our participation. She procured one of her company pickup trucks, a driver, and about 100 - 150 gallons of water split between an enormous blue bucket and 50 gallon barrel. To deliver our water payload, we had a number of squirt guns and small buckets.
Songklon is celebrated all over Thailand, and in a number of places in Bangkok. We decided against a few of the more popular places, as they can sometimes get kind of rowdy. In some places, they actually close down the streets for people to celebrate Songklon. While it might be fun dragging three kids through a throng of water wielding humanity, chances are better it would not be. Tim talked to a few of her employees who recommended that we go to Ang Sa, a place about 15 minutes from her work. There we could ride in a truck, dose and be dosed, and leave when the kids (or parents) were ready.
Before we made it to Ang Sa, I learned a few lessons about Songklon. One is that for females, wearing a white tee shirt may not be the best option. Oh, its certainly a great way to get attention for oneself, but the 20 something year old girl riding on the back of the motorcycle didn't seem to be out to flaunt her goods.
On our way to Ang Sa, we ran into some scattered celebraters along side the road. These people stand alongside the road with hoses, buckets and squirt guns and dose passers by. Some of their victims, like those on the motorcycle were fairy hapless and just had to "take it". Others, like us, were similarly armed and able to respond their splashing in kind.
When we got to the area of celebration, it was an 6 lane divided highway with sidewalks and shops on the side. In the right lane in each direction (the fast lane, remember we drive on the left side) traffic flowed more or less as normal. Revelers on foot lined the sidewalks and often the left hand lane. In the two left lanes, there were pickup trucks full of people, water and buckets crawled along at a walking pace. The sidewalk revelers soaked those in the trucks, who retaliated in kind against not only their stationary targets, but also against other mobile targets.
The most common delivery method for delivering the h2o payload was a small plastic bowl about two inches high and eight inches in diameter. While the bowls are a very effective method of delivering a fair bit of water in a short burst, it has a couple of limitations. First, it does not have the range of some of the other water weapons. Secondly, the bowls can empty your water supply pretty quickly. A fifty gallon drum is a lot of water, but if you are taking it out a quart or so at a time, it won't last forever. The driver's son was using a bucket most of the time, and he had almost emptied the fifty gallon barrel that we had before we had even put a dent in the larger water bin.
My favorite weapons were the squirt guns. They have a nice range for soaking one's foe a lane or two over and are pretty easy on the water supply. We had a couple that could project water a good thirty feet. Those were a lot of fun to hit people from range.
Another variation was the ammunition. Most people, including us, used tap water. The water was pretty warm, as it was in the 90's outside. Some people used well water, the cleanliness of which is sometimes suspect. A few times I smelled water that stank a bit. Some wonderful revelers actually used ice water. Getting squirted with a squirt gun filled with ice water was no big deal. Getting drenched with bucket after bucket of ice water got a bit old though. We learned which trucks had the cold water, and at least I tried to avoid engaging them. Of course Jacob and the driver's son were not so discriminating in who they attacked. Unfortunately, I, not them, usually ended up getting hit with the buckets of cold water.
We had only six in the back of our truck, which made us much less crowded than most. There were trucks with 15 people in the back of a small pickup truck. Some larger trucks were jammed with 20 or more people.
The celebration was not limited to drenching each other. Other revelers would walk around and put a white paste on people. It has its origins in monk's blessings. At first I declined to allow people to put it on me (not really so big on strangers walking up and touching me), but eventually I relented.
Others lined the streets and danced to the music. It really was a big party. I didn't see a lot of drinking, although I'm sure that some of it certainly goes on. I also didn't see anyone get angry the whole time. There were plent of opportunities for people to get mad when your throwing water in each other's faces, people were all very pleasant. There was one jerk off who kept saying that our water wasn't cool. I don't know if he was upset that he was splashed with warm water or he believed it showed some fundamental lack of holiday understanding. He got the official Brian Vogel jack ass award for Songklon. He really wasn't that bad, its just that everyone else was so much fun to be around.
The family had a really great time but there were a few bumps. Aleena got splashed in the face early on and started to cry. We outfitted her with a pair of goggles, and didn't suffer a repeat. They also each spent time in the cab of the truck warming up or just getting out of the splashing. At the end, when the water in the tub was about 2/3 empty, they actually sat in the tub. The water was warm as bath water, so they actually were warmer than in the air.
Of the ten's of thousands of people that we saw celebrating, I think I saw two or three other falangs. While I wasn't targeted with water because I was a foreigner, people did notice me and yell out to me. "Good afternoon", "bonjour", "hello" and "falang" were among the things shouted at me. It seems like they were genuinely surprised and happy to have a falang celebrating in their mix. Now in some places, there are a lot of foreigners celebrating Songklon among the Thais, but I was not in an area frequented by tourists.
We spent about 2 or 3 hours celebrating, and it was a great time. I'm already thinking about what we should do for next year. In addition to celebrating with the kids like we did this year, I'd also like to go to one of the bigger areas to celebrate.
If anyone is thinking of coming to Thailand, Songklon would be a great time. There are some things closed, so we'd have to plan things well, but the party is a lot of fun.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Songkran
Back in the states, we celebrate new years one time a year. Over here, they celebrate three times each year. In addition to the Western change of years on January 1st, the Thais also celebrate the Chinese new year, and of course, their own Thai new year.
The Thai new year is called Songkran and is celebrated from April 13th through April 15th and is called Songkran. It is a major holiday here. A lot of people are off work, and the kids are off school for the entire week. Its one of the few times of year when Bangkok is not crowded, as people return to visit their family for the holidays.
Water is a huge part of Songkran. Traditionally, people would pour a small amount of water on their elders hands or over their shoulders. Now, Songkran has evolved (or devolved depending on your perspective) into a festival of fun with the theme to get soaked and soak others. Thais and expats of all ages armed with squirt guns, water balloons, buckets and even garden hoses seek to dose those around them.
People line some streets with their water arsenal in order to drench passers bye. There are some avenues where pickup trucks filled with squirt gun toting Thais battle it out with those water warriors lining the sidewalk. In order to be competitive, some of these trucks will carry one or more 50 gallon barrels of water. You can buy water if you run out, be you certainly pay a dear price for it.
In addition to water, a powdered paste is now part of the tradition. People will walk up and rub a powdered paste on others. This is believed to be related to the use of the paste by monks in blessings. Its harmless, for the most part. You don't want to wear your nice clothes and have them stained by the powder (I don't know if it comes out easily). In some area of the city, however, the more rowdier bunch use the powder as a pretense to touch women inappropriately. Tim's employees told her of a place to avoid because the women who went there would end up with powdered hand prints all over the clothing covering their breasts and crotch where party goers got a little too feely.
As with anything, some people in the past have gone too far. The police have had to crack down on some behavior. The have tried to stop people from using dirty water or hoses with too high a pressure.
Tim is going to try to get us a truck so that we can partake in the celebration. She's trying to find a place that is a little tamer because of the kids. I really would like to get some pictures of the celebration, but I am definitely leaving my good camera at home. I might take my older one, or just forget it all together. It should be a lot of fun.
The Thai new year is called Songkran and is celebrated from April 13th through April 15th and is called Songkran. It is a major holiday here. A lot of people are off work, and the kids are off school for the entire week. Its one of the few times of year when Bangkok is not crowded, as people return to visit their family for the holidays.
Water is a huge part of Songkran. Traditionally, people would pour a small amount of water on their elders hands or over their shoulders. Now, Songkran has evolved (or devolved depending on your perspective) into a festival of fun with the theme to get soaked and soak others. Thais and expats of all ages armed with squirt guns, water balloons, buckets and even garden hoses seek to dose those around them.
People line some streets with their water arsenal in order to drench passers bye. There are some avenues where pickup trucks filled with squirt gun toting Thais battle it out with those water warriors lining the sidewalk. In order to be competitive, some of these trucks will carry one or more 50 gallon barrels of water. You can buy water if you run out, be you certainly pay a dear price for it.
In addition to water, a powdered paste is now part of the tradition. People will walk up and rub a powdered paste on others. This is believed to be related to the use of the paste by monks in blessings. Its harmless, for the most part. You don't want to wear your nice clothes and have them stained by the powder (I don't know if it comes out easily). In some area of the city, however, the more rowdier bunch use the powder as a pretense to touch women inappropriately. Tim's employees told her of a place to avoid because the women who went there would end up with powdered hand prints all over the clothing covering their breasts and crotch where party goers got a little too feely.
As with anything, some people in the past have gone too far. The police have had to crack down on some behavior. The have tried to stop people from using dirty water or hoses with too high a pressure.
Tim is going to try to get us a truck so that we can partake in the celebration. She's trying to find a place that is a little tamer because of the kids. I really would like to get some pictures of the celebration, but I am definitely leaving my good camera at home. I might take my older one, or just forget it all together. It should be a lot of fun.
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Chakri Day
April 6th is Chakri Day. Chakri Day the celebration of the founding the current Chakri dynasty. King Rama I took the throne on April 6, 1782. The current king, and currently the world's longest reigning monarch, is King Rama IX.
Interestingly, the Chakri dynasty took power at roughly the same time as the formation of the United States. The U.S. Constitution was ratified in 1789.
As April 6th is on a Sunday, the official holiday will be celebrated on Monday, April 7th. It is an official public holiday, with school, government offices and many businesses closed.
Interestingly, the Chakri dynasty took power at roughly the same time as the formation of the United States. The U.S. Constitution was ratified in 1789.
As April 6th is on a Sunday, the official holiday will be celebrated on Monday, April 7th. It is an official public holiday, with school, government offices and many businesses closed.
Monday, March 31, 2008
No ID Please
We took our passports on our trip to Krabi. They never checked any identification for our flight from Bangkok to Krabi. I was a little bit surprised that they didn't.
It turns out that it wasn't a waste to have brought the passports with us. On the return flight, they did check our passports. I'm not sure what would have happened if we had left them at home. Perhaps a ten our car ride home.
It turns out that it wasn't a waste to have brought the passports with us. On the return flight, they did check our passports. I'm not sure what would have happened if we had left them at home. Perhaps a ten our car ride home.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Clowning Around
Today we had brunch at the Next 2 Cafe Terrace in the Shangri-La hotel in Bangkok. Everyone had a very enjoyable time.
The Shangri-La hotel is an upscale hotel in the heart of Bangkok. It sits on the Chao Praya river. As we made our way through the hotel to the restaurant, it became very clear that this was not the refuge of backpackers and those on a tight budget. The walls were decorated with expensive art and expensive chandeliers hung from the high ceilings. We had to ask the concierge for some directions on our way out, and the service was just what one would expect from a very high end hotel. The person giving Tim directions saw Nalin, and commented on how the half Thai children are always so cute. When she responded that they were also often little trouble makers, he was quick to respond with "yes, but the intelligent ones always are." Telling someone that their children are beautiful and smart with out sounding phony is a good way to make someone feel good. Kudos for the staff.
The restaurant hosts a Sunday brunch from 11:30 to 2:30 every Sunday. The restaurant is divided into three sections, an outdoor terrace next to the river, and indoor dining room, and a children's dining room. We arrived at 11:25 and chose to sit in the children's dining room, and were lucky to get a seat, as it is usually full from reservations.
The children's room had about 10 tables, a small stage for a show, a small stage, a food area, and a small play area with a tv and a plastic playset. The food in this room was the typical food loved by Western (and other) kids; pizza, hamburgers, french fries, hot dogs, fish sticks and more. They showed Shrek 3 and Alvin and the Chipmunks movies on the TV in the room, and there was a clown entertaining the children. Eckie the clown performed a show at 1:00 p.m., and before that went around blowing up balloons and entertaining the kids.
Eckie's show was pretty entertaining, particularly to the kids. One thing that struck me as funny, but that you would never see in the U.S. Eckie said he had a baby, and brought out a baby doll. The then said he was going to give the baby something to drink, asking the kids what you give babies. Of course, they all yelled "milk!" Eckie proceeds to pull out a bottle of beer with a nipple on it and acts like he is going to give it to the baby.
Of course, Jacob managed to end up on stage during the show. The boy is amazing in his ability to get on stage, he's even better than me. I mean, I have been to the Disney MGM Indiana Jones show twice, and both times have managed to be picked out of 100's of people to go on stage(my secret is when they ask for a pose is to do a "sexy" pose with one hand on my head and the other on my hip like an old pinup girl, it sure as hell ain't sexy, but it gets attention which is what you want). Jacob is probably 75% overall in shows. Its amazing, if he is sitting in a place where there is a chance for him to be picked, he is almost an automatic. His role this time was to help blow up a balloon.
So from the kids perspective, the experience was great. They had the kind of food they liked, movies to watch, balloons to grab, a place to run around, and a clown show to entertain them. What was it like for us adult types? It was great.
Needless to say, Tim and I did not get much food from the children's buffet (although I admit to grabbing a few french fries), we ventured out into the indoor restaurant and terrace. There was an incredible selection of entrees, starches, vegetables and deserts. I mostly feasted on smoked salmon, grilled rock crab, grilled shrimp, lamb, grilled veg tables, and even some sushi. I even got to enjoy some nann (Indian flat bread for the uninitiated). I can't recall everything that passed Tim's lips, but she also really enjoyed the food. By the end, we were stuffed.
We ended up staying for the full buffet which closed at 2:30. They didn't charge us for the kids, but the entire bill was a little over $100. That is a bit pricey for brunch (especially here), but it really was more than just a brunch. The kids were thoroughly entertained for almost three hours. Tim and I were able to enjoy brunch because the restaurant entertained the kids.
The only thing that I regret was that I forgot to bring my camera. The view from the terrace was definitely worth a few dozen pictures. It was right on the water, and boats on the water and buildings on the opposite shore would have made for some great shots. Oh well, I guess I'll just have to go back.
The overall experience was great. This is a place that I would definitely take friends visiting.
The Shangri-La hotel is an upscale hotel in the heart of Bangkok. It sits on the Chao Praya river. As we made our way through the hotel to the restaurant, it became very clear that this was not the refuge of backpackers and those on a tight budget. The walls were decorated with expensive art and expensive chandeliers hung from the high ceilings. We had to ask the concierge for some directions on our way out, and the service was just what one would expect from a very high end hotel. The person giving Tim directions saw Nalin, and commented on how the half Thai children are always so cute. When she responded that they were also often little trouble makers, he was quick to respond with "yes, but the intelligent ones always are." Telling someone that their children are beautiful and smart with out sounding phony is a good way to make someone feel good. Kudos for the staff.
The restaurant hosts a Sunday brunch from 11:30 to 2:30 every Sunday. The restaurant is divided into three sections, an outdoor terrace next to the river, and indoor dining room, and a children's dining room. We arrived at 11:25 and chose to sit in the children's dining room, and were lucky to get a seat, as it is usually full from reservations.
The children's room had about 10 tables, a small stage for a show, a small stage, a food area, and a small play area with a tv and a plastic playset. The food in this room was the typical food loved by Western (and other) kids; pizza, hamburgers, french fries, hot dogs, fish sticks and more. They showed Shrek 3 and Alvin and the Chipmunks movies on the TV in the room, and there was a clown entertaining the children. Eckie the clown performed a show at 1:00 p.m., and before that went around blowing up balloons and entertaining the kids.
Eckie's show was pretty entertaining, particularly to the kids. One thing that struck me as funny, but that you would never see in the U.S. Eckie said he had a baby, and brought out a baby doll. The then said he was going to give the baby something to drink, asking the kids what you give babies. Of course, they all yelled "milk!" Eckie proceeds to pull out a bottle of beer with a nipple on it and acts like he is going to give it to the baby.
Of course, Jacob managed to end up on stage during the show. The boy is amazing in his ability to get on stage, he's even better than me. I mean, I have been to the Disney MGM Indiana Jones show twice, and both times have managed to be picked out of 100's of people to go on stage(my secret is when they ask for a pose is to do a "sexy" pose with one hand on my head and the other on my hip like an old pinup girl, it sure as hell ain't sexy, but it gets attention which is what you want). Jacob is probably 75% overall in shows. Its amazing, if he is sitting in a place where there is a chance for him to be picked, he is almost an automatic. His role this time was to help blow up a balloon.
So from the kids perspective, the experience was great. They had the kind of food they liked, movies to watch, balloons to grab, a place to run around, and a clown show to entertain them. What was it like for us adult types? It was great.
Needless to say, Tim and I did not get much food from the children's buffet (although I admit to grabbing a few french fries), we ventured out into the indoor restaurant and terrace. There was an incredible selection of entrees, starches, vegetables and deserts. I mostly feasted on smoked salmon, grilled rock crab, grilled shrimp, lamb, grilled veg tables, and even some sushi. I even got to enjoy some nann (Indian flat bread for the uninitiated). I can't recall everything that passed Tim's lips, but she also really enjoyed the food. By the end, we were stuffed.
We ended up staying for the full buffet which closed at 2:30. They didn't charge us for the kids, but the entire bill was a little over $100. That is a bit pricey for brunch (especially here), but it really was more than just a brunch. The kids were thoroughly entertained for almost three hours. Tim and I were able to enjoy brunch because the restaurant entertained the kids.
The only thing that I regret was that I forgot to bring my camera. The view from the terrace was definitely worth a few dozen pictures. It was right on the water, and boats on the water and buildings on the opposite shore would have made for some great shots. Oh well, I guess I'll just have to go back.
The overall experience was great. This is a place that I would definitely take friends visiting.
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