End of week one

Well, just completed my first week in Thailand and to commemorate the Thai government has instituted a curfew from 8 PM to 6 AM. I won't elaborate on the reasons for it here because I'm sure you can see it on the news but the main thing is I still feel pretty safe and am not worried.

I did see some smoke off in the direction of Bangkok from my balcony but don't know whether it was related or not (probably was). Our factory where I have my office closed about 40 minutes early today so people could avoid any major traffic tie-ups due to the dispersion of the protesters from the downtown area.  Our downtown office closed early on Friday and has stayed closed all this week even though it is outside the area occupied by the protesters out of concern for the safety of the employees coming and going to work.

I took advantage of coming home a little early and spent my extra time exploring the grounds around my apartment building. It is a beautiful tropical garden, well designed and kept without being too tailored. The grounds spill over into a restaurant next door which is also beautifully landscaped and has a good reputation for food. I haven't tried it yet. The condo property and the restaurant are on the Chayo Phraya river that also runs through Bangkok and I walked down to the condo dock and just sat and watched the water flow. And the people fishing from a couple of boats (one was net fishing) and the river traffic. It was very peaceful despite the occasional motorboat.

Sunday I explored yoga clases in the area with the guidance of my friend from work, Dao, who's been a huge help getting me settled in. While that is part of her job, she has really gone out of her way to make the transition easier than I expected. As for yoga classes, there were some interesting options but of the three studios, two were part of a gym and all three wanted a long term commitment for joining.  I'd like to take a few classes to make sure I like the teachers and that it fits my schedule before doing that. I've been practicing at home, where I set a room side just for yoga. It's quite a luxury to have the space and the view is nice too.