August 2000

Hi all !

At last we have got the Frosty site back up and running. Took a bit longer than I expected seen as we needed to change it but hopefully I can keep it up to date again now.
It is great to be back in Bangkok amongst old friends again. Bangkok hasn't changed much, still hot, still polluted, still loads of traffic but oh all that Thai food! My digestive system has been on an gastronomic holiday ever since we arrived!

We have moved into a new apartment now in Sukhumvit. It is great to be back in a big place with all the luxuries such as swimming pools and maids. I found giving up housework again tremendously easy. We thought we would try a different area of town this time and so far we seem to have made a good choice. Mawf is lurking incredibly close in the next building which reminds me Mawf when are you going to get the outside painted it's such an eyesore! The area is relatively quiet in the evenings unless Mawf is playing a movie and it is within walking distance from the Q bar which I don't know whether is a good or a bad thing.

Frosty is enjoying his job immensely. I have been working on websites. I think my teaching days are over. So far thanks to the generosity of friends who have faith in me and Frostys enthusiasm for telling everyone he meets about what I can do I have been getting work through word of mouth. I got my first corporate job for a site for a stock brokers in Bangladesh which was an interesting site to work on and this has helped to get my name out to a few more people. Following this job Frosty and I had an interesting trip to Bangladesh for a few days to attend the grand opening of the company Equity Partners Ltd. We had a great time, the hospitality shown to us by the guys from EPL was wonderful.

Taking a trip to Bangladesh is an experience right from when you step on the plane. It takes strategic planning to avoid the pitfalls of the inexperienced traveller. First you need to book a business class seat and request the first few rows, this is necessary so that once the plane lands you can grab your bags and make a dash for immigration before anyone else has a chance to leave the plane. If you aren't one of the first five people in the queue at passport control be prepared for a good couple of hours standing in line as your passport travels what seems like the length of the airport backwards and forwards from one official to the next. Once through passport control you enter the airport grounds where there is a huge perimeter fence around the whole place. On the outside of the fence hang loads and loads of people watching the planes land and all the tourists arrive. It is quite a strange sight for a foreigner to see.

The roads in Dhaka are completely mad. There are what feels like a million rickshaws all aiming for the same spot, no one seems to obey any kind of traffic laws, but somehow they seem to wave in and out of each other with out too much harm. My trip was too short to see anything but while the boys conducted all their business stuff Karen and I sneaked off for a bit of shopping, like any sensible girl would. We got driven around and dropped at the doors of all the handicraft type of shops. I was in house nick-knak heaven. I also bought a Bangladeshi outfit to wear in the evening having discovered my wardrobe of short skirts and sleeveless tops was not the order of the day in a Muslim country.

The evenings were spent having formal dinners after the launch and a trip to a club that they kept open especially for our party even though no one else was there. Check out the photo section to see how well Asif fared as the night went on. After dinners and beers and more champagne we all struggled back to the hotel. Karen and I left Frosty at the hotel the following morning looking the worse for wear as we headed off for henna tattoos. If you ever get the chance to go to Bangladesh I totally recommend it.

We have had plenty of visitors already. Christine (alias bunches as she is known here) and Paul popped in for a few days. Paul can be seen strutting his stuff around a slippery pole in the photo section. Clock just can't keep away he has been here twice, Marita has returned from Nigeria with many a good story for you and has now headed back up to Chaingmai, for all you old Abbs Cross lot who read this I met up with Pauline and Elaine a week back and now I have all the gossip on what has been going on at school lately. You Aussies just can't keep away I am waiting on Marianne who arrives next week. No doubt a great shoe shopping expedition will be the order of the day.

Andy I am cursing you. I now have a lovely tacky red plastic container gracing my living room as Mike tries to nurture his sea monkeys. So far all we can see are black dots. They do not resemble the sea creatures displayed on the instructions. Mike fed them this week so now the container looks like a green swamp. There is certainly still nothing to get excited about Marita. Your departure did not encourage them to grow.

And finally... we have now set a date for the wedding. It will be the 27th January 2001. That's as far as I have got with the planning! Invitations will be in the post in a few weeks once we have decided on a venue for the reception.

Bird x x x