Patrick, Shannon and Emma's PhotoBlog

Patrick Sullivan, Shannon Sullivan, and their daughter, Emma, of Atlanta, GA have created this little 'Blog to allow us to share our lives, news, photos and thoughts with our family and friends. We hope you enjoy this little introspection!

Sunday, April 30, 2006

Thailand Vacation, Day 4, Ko Samui

It's Sunday morning, and we've arrived on the island of Ko Samui and to our hotel late the night before. It was hard to get any perspective during the night, so we had to see everything from the light of day on Sunday. This is the beachfront side of our bungalow at the Long Island Resort & Spa.


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From the side patio of our bungalow, looking over towards the pool and the main "lobby" area of the hotel. We spent LOTS of time around here over the next 5 days.


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Shannon spending a few moments getting her feet wet in the light (non-existent, really) surf. Interestingly, there seemed to be very little difference in a low-tide/high-tide peaks. We saw more water than this only a few more times, which made true "beach" days limited to going to other parts of the island, or off to other islands (see Wednesday). We didn't mind too much, since the pool rocked.


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Soooo, maybe the most interesting part of the entire Long Island Resort "experience" was that our bungalow had a very functional, but very unusual, outdoor bathroom. This made taking showers and going to pee interesting to say the least. We would get used to it after a day or two, but it was kinda weird at first, especially with all the humidity!


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But, alas, it's amazing how a pool with a view of the ocean can make things seem perfect, even if you do have to go pee in an outdoor, tropical bathroom. Again, we'd get lots of time here!


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Shannon and her foot fetish loves taking this picture at every beach/vacation we go on. Weird-o.
:-D


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This was a crazy looking lizard roaming around by the pool at the hotel!


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Saturday, April 29, 2006

Thailand Vacation, Day 3, Bangkok-to-Ko Samui

On our transfer day from Bangkok down to the island of Ko Samui, we took things pretty easy. While laying out by the hotel pool this morning, a curious little lizard paid the sunbathers a visit. Not very big and quite mobile, he caused no one any concern while moving on to the next source of water.


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Shannon thought it was a hoot that you could get a Mexican Iced Coffee in the Bangkok airport, but found the translations from Thai to English even more interesting. Oh, the things to pass the time while waiting on a plane.


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Friday, April 28, 2006

Thailand Vacation, Day 2 in Bangkok

The Teak Mansion and The Jim Thomson House

The entrance to the Jim Thomson house. He was an American architect who came to Thailand in the early 20th century. He brought together six traditional Thai houses to form this compound in central Bangkok. While in Thailand, he became fascinated with the silk trade and there are now a chain of stores selling silk products under his name. Mysteriously, he disappeared in the '60's while on an excursion in some other part of Asia.


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The main living room of the compound. The traditional Thai style is to have open-air rooms, with teak wood and colorful silk fabrics (also notice the little Buddha in the middle!).


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The compound is filled with lush vegetation and vibrant flowers.


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Shannon getting in the World Cup 2006 spirit while waiting for the subway train.


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A good view of downtown Bangkok while taking the ferry back down the river to our hotel.


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Thursday, April 27, 2006

Thailand Vacation, Day 1 in Bangkok

Our first day in Bangkok for vacation time! Here is a picture of our Bangkok hotel, the Bangkok Marriott Resort & Spa, behind Shannon.


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Another view of the Marriott from the riverboat that we took on the first day to go temple-hopping. The main river going through Bangkok is the Chao Phraya River.


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On the river taxi towards central Bangkok, we saw this unusual sign. Probably not so unusual, however, since there are Buddhist monks everywhere!


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A temple along the Chao Phraya as we made our way upriver. This one is called the Wat Arun.

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Speaking of monks, here is a group of youngsters outside of the main Grand Palace complex in central Bangkok. These robes look like they have to be really hot!


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Inside the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, there were people coming and going all the time for prayer. Shoes had to be removed at the entrance to the temple.


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Patrick with the main part of the Grand Palace behind him, called Wat Phra Kaew, or the Temple of the Emerald Buddha. This has been called the greatest spectacle for most visitors to Bangkok. This picture was taken before we knew about the picture on this website about Wat Phra Kaew.


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Shannon in front of a very ornate door or some type of opening.


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Shannon with some of the Grand Palace grounds behind her.


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Changing of the guard at one area of the Grand Palace.


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This is the actual Grand Palace, which used to be the primary residence for the King, but is only used now for ceremonies. There is a big difference between the styles of the Wat and the Grand Palace, which has more European influences.


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Maybe the best part of the day was the return from temple-hopping, where these nice servers from the Marriott would present cold bottled water and cold washcloths during the ride back to the hotel. With temps in the 90's (F), it was most appreciated!


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The hotel lobby had a very pleasant atmosphere in the early evenings, with a key part being young women like this playing traditional Thai music.


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Monday, April 24, 2006

Patrick on the Move from China to Taiwan

A picture down one of the several long departure hallways in the new Hong Kong International Airport, also known as Chek Lap Kok. This place was huuugggeee. Luckily, I was able to have some time between my connection here to Taipei, Taiwan.


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A few of the many B747's at HKG . . .


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Saturday, April 22, 2006

April 22-23, Shanghai, China

First impressions of Shanghai, China are its massive spread of buildings, people AND SMOG. This picture kind of tells the tale of all three. This lot, while looking like a catch-all of rubbish, appeared to be in preparation for yet another high-rise.


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One of Shanghai's many high-rises.


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A sidewalk in central Shanghai near the Yellow River and the Bund.


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A smoggy view of theOriental Pearl Tower (locally known as simply "TV Tower") in Shanghai. This is the tallest structure in China and the second tallest in Asia.


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Another view of TV Tower from the other side of the Yellow River on the Bund.


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Wednesday, April 19, 2006

Bangkok, Thailand, April 19, 2006

Business in Bangkok gets rolling with a visit to CT Industry, a major supplier of automotive filtration products in Asia and to North America.


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A look inside one of the assembly buildings of CT Industry. Oil and air filters everywhere.


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A row of assembly buildings. Obviously no A/C here.


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