Christmas in Chiang Mai

Ian spent his Christmas holiday in the northern Thailand city of Chiang Mai. We stayed at the incredible Mandarin Oriental Hotel (images shown), which offers spectacular surroundings, spectacular service and a stay that is restful and complete. The Mandarin boasts its own rice (Paddy) fields which is where Ian got a chance to see how rice is harvested and inspected some fields with Mom. Ian also took part in the annual rice blessing ceremony and he joined the band who played for the dancers - Ian got in on both pieces of action as you'll see from the photos! Ian also got to ride around in a rikshaw, as well as a horse-drawn carriage all which made him (and Mom and Dad) all rather lazy during our stay as we got taken wherever we wanted, whenever we wanted! On Christmas Eve, Mom and Dad were treated to a cocktail party overlooking the rice fields, and the fields had been lit up with thousands of candle-lit lanterns. It made for a very special setting on a very special night ... in a very special place.

Safari Saturday
Ian spent the day at Bangkok's Safari World. What a great time we had. The Park is extremely well organized and has plenty to see and do - a drive-through safari range, whale and dolphin show, lots of animals and fun stuff to do. Ian loved the giraffe's which you can feed from a platform above the park they roam in. Initially Ian was a bit concerned but soon got into the swing of things. However, Ian was far from happy when it came to being with the Orangutans! Mom and Dad got to play with them instead and had a nice little 'family' snap taken of us! Mom got to feed a Tiger cub and Ian jumped on board to enjoy the action. Our final photo shows Ian racing along some of the shaded walkways around the park. He's now at the stage where he's keen to run off and explore so he's keeping us fit at chasing him around. And yes, all day long around the park echoed the seasonal songs of Christmas - but t'was not a snowflake in sight. Just a perfect 80 degrees.

Ian's Christmas Show

On Ian's last day of term at the IPC School, Mom and Dad attended the annual Christmas Show. Ian's class was second on and did two 'numbers' - Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star and Wheels on the Bus. Ian was a little quiet on the first song, but showed intense vigour and energy for the second as he loves to shout the chorus lines! Ian got to hang out with his girlfriend, Katrina too so he was a very happy boy.

For the first time on Ian's Blog site we've added video! You can see Ian's 'Wheel's On the Bus' song here (the quality is not perfect as this is a copy of the original video, sorry!). Enjoy.

Koh Samui

Ian spent eight glorious days on the island of Koh Samui in the Gulf of Thailand. Great weather, a fantastic villa and wonderful food made for a terrific vacation with Nanny Margaret and Grandad Paddy, Mom and Dad. Here are just a few photo's from hundreds taken(!) showing Ian and Mom having fun. Ian became quite the swimmer while we were there, as he spent a lot of time in the pool. Ian now swims around quite confidently (with his ring, of course!).