An Unexpected Visitor

I used to think there was nothing better than an unexpected visit from a friend.  Now I know that there's nothing better than an unexpected visit from a friend...who travels halfway around the world to reach you....at the same time that your husband returns from 2 weeks in the US...over a three day weekend.  So many wonderful things all at once!  Things are looking pretty darn good around here!  Since I had finally kicked that cold, I was so ready to get out of the house and enjoy all the great things the weekend brought with it.

I have not seen my friend Cristina in years.  She's lived all over the world, and so we never seem to be in the same place.  She lived in Laos when I was in the US.  Now it's me that's in SouthEast Asia, and she's in Africa, planning a move to London.  We can never catch each other.

So when Cristina wrote that she was coming to Bangkok for work this week, I was overjoyed.  It was unexpected, and couldn't have been a better surprise.  And since she has made many a trip to Bangkok in her years living just up the road, she already knew the city, and had a plan for making the most of her time here.  I was glad to be along for the ride.

We couldn't miss out on a chance to do a little shopping at Chatachuck, where we lost ourselves in rows of paintings, ceramics, and bought matching candle-holding monks that we both fell in love with upon first sight.

On Saturday afternoon, finally exhausted from shopping, we stumbled across a totally quirky dive bar as if on cue.  It looked better suited to a sandy beach than tucked away in Chatachuck in a row of shops holding assorted fabric, salt-dried squid, and miniature ceramic produce.

We tossed our bags on benches and ordered ourselves some mojitos.

Although it was a short trip, we took advantage of every minute (and meal) to make up for lost time.

There is something comforting about having someone that has known you for so long visit in a new and foreign place.  Walking around town, catching up on dear friends that are far away from us both, and talking about college (which all at once seems so long ago and at the same time, just yesterday) was a luxury in its purest form.

It ended too soon, but was a delight just the same.