One of my favorite places in the world to eat is a little dive near church.  It is the restaurant at the Athen Hotel (pronounced A-10), a cheap hotel just around the corner from church.  Not someplace to take a first date.  The first time you visit, you think, "Oh my, what have I gotten myself into here?"  But the food is some of the best I have tasted.  Young Leaders Group eats here often and also orders carryout to eat at church some evenings.  Here are some sample of their "cuisine."

Swanky it aint!

Fish with Thai spices.

Gang som goong kai cha-om, a spicy soup with shrimp and chunk of omelet made with cha-om, a grass-like vegetable.  I LOVE this stuff!

Omelet with pork.  It sounds very plain, but it is delicious.

Tom jued tao-hoo sa-rai, soup with seaweed and tofu (with a bit of minced pork).  A favorite of many Thais.  Not spicy enough for my taste, but it's not bad.

Beef strips.  Think warm beef jerky.  Really tasty!

Pad pak, sauteed vegetables.  See, we do eat healthy!

Mmmmm... fried bananas - and "turtle eggs" !

Momo and I stopped after lunch for a guilty treat.  Fried bananas and something we call turtle eggs, much like American donut holes.  Sooo good, and soooo bad for you!

Random Photos

Favorite toppings?  Check the one on the right.  Corn.  That will raise some American eyebrows in surprise!  It IS a favorite here. 

Waiting on the Skytrain

How many massage parlors can you see on this soi (sidestreet)?  Double click on any photo in the blog to enlarge it.

Here comes the Skytrain!

I have a new favorite food.  Last weekend, on our team outing, I had this for the first time.  Gang som goong kai cha-om.  Orange soup with prawns, egg, and cha-om (a type of vegetable here).  It is a hot and sour soup, very spicy.  It has a tomato flavor, although there are no tomatoes in it.  The squares are a sort of omelet with cha-om mixed in, cut into squares. 

Absolutely delicious!

TRAC Gang Does Amphawa

The TRAC team put together a great weekend getaway to Amphawa, a famous area southwest of Bangkok along the Mae Klong River.  A peaceful little resort, and some fun acitvities...  a great and memorable weekend...

Amphawa is a very pretty place.  More so when you bring along lovely young ladies like this!

Yes, I think we had fun!

A river cruise to the famous Amphawa market.

They said the crowds were down because there was a brief rainshower just as we arrived.  I can not imagine what it is like when it is crowded!

The canals were full of shoppers!

After an evening of shopping, we returned to the resort.  Some of us (no me!) stayed up almost all night playing games and laughing....

While some play a version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire, Hope and X squared off to play video futball (soccer). 

Hope pays for his late night the next morning.

At 6:30 a.m., the team members gave alms to monks who floated by in boats.

We visited Baan Kae Noi (spelling may be wrong), a local temple.

The temple was full of intricate wood carvings...

...and had a beautiful fountain.

Famous characters from a Thai novel at the national park established to honor

King Rama II.

A little dip in the river to finish off our activities.

It was hot, so the swimmers got to cool off.

A bowl of noodles (actually 104 bowls) and we were off for Bangkok again!  This is Eam, her husband and son.

Good eating at Amphawa!

We started our trip at a famus noodle shop near Vicotry Monument.

 Getting a good start.

 I do love noodles!  We all do!

X shows the damage.  Sixteen of us at one hundred sixteen bowls.  That is not a typo!  The bowls were small, but still.  Oh my! (I only had three.)

Dinner Saturday at the resort.  Mmmm... fresh fish.

Real chicken wings!

This soup is so good I can not explain.  It was the first time I ever tasted it and it was incredible... spicy, a tomato flavor, with shrimp...  wow.

Lunch today was... noodles!  This time from a noodle vendor on a boat who pulled up to us and started making bowl after bowl.  Here, I am about to wolf down a glob of congealed blood... a standard ingredient in most Thai noodles.  A bit like liver.

At the top of the bowl, you can see another clump of congealed blood.

Thai desserts are unusual to Westerners.  This is a type of jello-like chunks, made warm, but swimming in a bowl of sweet liquid and ice.  Yummy!

We kept the lady in the noodle boat busy for a long time.

We must not have been so hungry.  Only one hundred four bowls this time!

More flowers

On my trip to KC, some of the ladies requested more flower photos.  These are from this weeks' trip to Amphawa.  Enjoy!