Feelin' at Home--wine, cheese and 80s parties galore

Now that I've been in Bangkok for over a month, I can call it my home. It's certainly different than my home in NY or in Princeton, but a home nonetheless. However, given that I have to move out of my first Bangkok home and into a new one at the end of this week, I wanted to have a housewarming/goodbye party for my apartment, and bring a little piece of my home in NY to my new home in Bangkok. So, what did I do? Have a wine and cheese party of course--showcasing two of my favorite foods.
In order to throw a proper wine and cheese party, I had to go to an upscale, more Western food market, so I went to Central Chitlom's food hall. This place was incredible; I felt right at home. After purchasing four bottles of wine, I wound my way through the store gawking at the amazing variety of fruits, breads, prepared foods--I felt like I was back in the States, it felt great. I tried almost all of the samples I could find, and came out feeling like I didn't even need to eat lunch! After 2 hours of perusing, I came out with a blue stilton, a brie, a manchego and an herb goat cheese; french baguette and onion-herb focaccia; grapes, dried apples and crackers; and six wine glasses, a cheese board and some knives. I was so happy and felt like I'd never spent my money better.

My cheese spread

The party itself went swimmingly. All of my friends were great and brought little things too--crackers, sweets, extra wine glasses, etc. It was a lovely night, everyone went home a little tipsy and happy from the wine, and all of the food was eaten.

Katie and Chris enjoying wine and good conversation

Then, to bring a little bit of Princeton (or college life in general) to Bangkok, my friend and I threw an 80s-themed boat Journey (get it?!) on the Chao Praya river. We had a boat of 30 people or so (all kind of random--a group of Princeton Review tutors; another group of Japanese flight attendants; another group of college girls studying abroad here; a couple traveling through Asia; the PiA crew; my boss and his wife....it goes on), all dressed in 80s duds, and blasted 80s tunes for four fabulous hours. It was an awesome party and despite being on a boat, I certainly felt like I was out at Princeton again.

80s snapshots

Me, Kate and Katie with Wat Arun in the background

Other than that, life in Bangkok is good, stay tuned for more updates on travel, work and life in general.