After my brief four-day visit to Taiwan, the hubby went back to making the donuts (i.e., working) in Kuala Lumpur while I traveled on with my parents and their friends to Bangkok and Pattaya, Thailand.  Tourism was down over 60% in the area because of the red shirt protesters demonstrating in Bangkok.  We didn’t really see much action as it’s been reported in the media.  It turns out that the protests were limited to certain parts of the city, and we spotted just a few tire barricades scattered about and a truckload of protesters on their way to a demonstration.

Politics aside, I continue to enjoy Thailand more every time I go, even just for the simple things.  At one of our stops on the road from Bangkok to Pattaya,  I happened upon some fresh coconut ice cream.  Rest stops and roadside stalls in Thailand often serve up this refreshing treat in an empty coconut.  Salted, roasted peanuts are the standard topping, and after you finish your scoops, you can use your spoon to scrape out the fresh coconut flesh from the inside of the shell.  It’s the most brilliant roadside treat.  Beats a couple of Slim Jims any day, in my opinion.