There's a Hot Dog in My Waffle! and other Thai Adventures

It seemed like a good idea. Since I was buying pad thai for my kids for the first time (traditional Thai noodle dish) and so was my friend Martha, we decided that buying the waffles on a stick would be a good alternative if they didn't like it. When they bit into them, they found hot dogs. Not just regular hot dogs, but the nasty flaming red piecemeal hot dogs you can find here in Asia that make Oscar Meyer hot dogs look organic. What a waste of 30 cents. Good thing they liked the pad thai.

We have two adjoining rooms here. The first morning Ethan shut the door between the rooms and said, "Mom, it's ok that I shut the door because I have the key!" A minute later he told me that he'd tried 10 times and the door wouldn't open. I tried. Erik tried. I told the front desk. They frowned at the idea that their keys couldn't work (these are actual keys, not cards). The bellman came with me and he tried the key. I was sincerely hoping that it wouldn't work for him so I wouldn't look like an idiot. He realized that someone must have turned the deadbolt, so he went off for the one master key.

When he returned and opened the door, we discovered that some little person had also thrown the other lock, you know, the one that lets you open the door about three inches? When that happened, the bellman looked at me and threw his hands up in defeat. I set off in search of a leatherman tool.

I was surprised how quickly I found one. Do all guys carry these around? I think I need one. I intended to use the screwdriver and take the piece off the door, but I couldn't maneuver it. The man indicated that I could pry another part off for the same effect. So I pried one off, and he pried off the other, and we were in.

Thailand is not without its own version of crazy English. One day for lunch we had "white baan curd in brown sauce" and "stir fried blocolie." Last night we were blessed with "Mini Stone Soup." Yum.

Did you know that this year the king of Thailand had his 80th birthday? You can't be in Thailand and not know this. To help you celebrate, you can buy a wide variety of clothing and paraphernalia, mostly in pink and yellow, and show your love and support for the sovereign. I might buy one of those little rubber bracelets. I only love the king 100 baht worth.

So that's been our adventure so far.