Sugi and I were very very fortunate this trip to have the opportunity (through Chris and Tawn of course!) to meet Dr. Chatree, the CEO of Bangkok Dusit Med Service (world's third largest publicly-traded for-profit hospital organization), and his family.  We were also very lucky to eat the best khao soi, a northern Thai coconut curry noodle soup, prepared by his family (wife's brother's wife's sister).  It was such a wonderful time and meal!!!

1.  Chris, Tawn, and Sugi at Dr. Chatree's beautiful high-rise.

2.  Dr. Chatree's son was very kind of drive us in Dr. Chatree's super-fancy custom van!

3.  Yes, a retractable divider screen between the front and the rear of the van and a retractable TV!  The motorized mount was evidently robust because I could not stop playing with it!  Chris almost had to put me in time-out hehe...

4.  Lots of shades for the Bangkok sun.

5.  Lots of storage and retractable footrest at the bottom for both captain's seats in the second row.

6.  These seats recline and were just A-W-E-S-O-M-E!!!

7.  Sugi and Tawn!

8.  Chris!!!

9.  Custom-built Mercedes Vito!!!  Talk about an ultimate traveling machine!

10.  Best khao soi ever!  Usually this dish is so overloaded with coconut milk it gets heavy and overtakes the other wonderful flavors, but not this one.  The very first time I had the dish elsewhere, one serving was enough.  This one?  I had three.  And I am quite confident that I could have had at least one more, maybe even two!!!

11.  Kuhn Tawn's store!  It is soon to be moved though.

12.  Chris, Sugi, and Tawn!

13.  Chris and Tawn chose this beautiful beetle shell decoration in the store, just love the colors!

14.  Tawn C!!!

     First of all, I apologize for not having blogged in several months. I miss you guys in my absence from Xanga! School work was quite busy and kept me not wanting to spend leisure time on my computer. That and I really have not had many interesting things to blog about in in the last few months (quality > quantity). However, since Sugi and I are visiting @Christao408 and Tawn in Bangkok right now and are going to Taipei for another wedding reception for my side of family/friends + a five-day tour to the east side of Taiwan, I promise to blog about the Asia trip first, I will then come back and finish up the Maui trip from last year, and post some odds and ends entries for sure.

     Sugi's family and our friends Justin and Natasha are going to join us for the wedding reception in Taipei for my side of family and friends. This entry serves as an introduction to them for traveling on EVA Air Elite Class. EVA Air created the Elite Class as a less expensive alternative to business/first class. Instead of the 32-inch legroom on economy, the Elite Class has 38 inches of legroom. In addition, there is one less seat per row (2-4-2 configuration on 777-300ER instead of 3-3-3 in economy) and gives the passengers almost 20 inches of hip room.

     Besides the difference in physical size, each seat is equipped with a power outlet, adjustable leg rest, and an 8.4-inch touchscreen for entertainment including on-demand movies/TV shows/music, flight information, and even video games. Lastly, the meal service is also a step-up from economy class and deserves some recognition for being airplane food. Instead of doubling the price of economy class like business class, the Elite Class is very attractive demanding only a 30-40% premium.

1.  Sugi and I noticed that at Terminal A of DFW, there is a new restaurant called Salt Lick, which is a really famous BBQ place in Texas.  We were excited to try them but were very disappointed.  The price was high, the portions were small, and the BBQ just did not taste very good.  Sugi ordered this chopped brisket sandwich.  The chopped brisket lacked texture and the flavor of the meat got lost in the sauce.  Basically a glorified Sloppy Joe I would say.

2.  A combination platter with ONE rib where the tasteless meat did not fall off the bone, two pieces of mediocre brisket, and Sloppy Joe chopped brisket.  And they charged $13.99 for this.  Wow.  Instead of this place, I would highly recommend Pappadeaux in Terminal A or really anything else at DFW.

3.  EVA Air boards the first class first, then family traveling with children under a certain age, followed by the Elite Class.  After you board, each seat from LAX to TPE welcomes you with a little pillow, blanket, headphones, slippers, toiletry bag containing toothbrush/toothpaste, and a menu for meal service.  Excuse my wifey's feet on the right.

4.  Individual power plug-in with enough current to charge your mobile devices and certain laptops.

5.  We took the 1AM flight out to TPE so we were served dinner first.  For every meal, there is an Asian dish and a Western dish.  This is the Asian one serving braised sliced ribeye and onion on white rice with vegetable.  The appetizer is lotus root with shrimp and soy bean on the top next to my drink of choice on the flight, Taiwan Beer!

6.  Two hours before landing in TPE is the breakfast service.  This is the Asian one serving Taiwanese-style pork and taro congee with fish floss (dried flaky fish).  On the top left is mustard green and top right is bean curd with wood ear.  Instead of Taiwan Beer, I had a Screwdriver with my breakfast!

7.  Right before descent, the flight attendants handed out a Vitamin C candy and mint candy just in case you refuse to brush your teeth.

8.  During our layover in TPE, we grabbed breakfast at a dumpling place.  On the top from left to right are tofu, kimchi, edamame, udon, and hot and sour soup.  On the bottom are shrimp dumplings, dipping sauces, and vegetable tempura.  All this for $7 USD!!!  And the leek dumplings are even cheaper at $6!  TPE > DFW!!!

9.  Flying another 777-300ER from TPE to BKK.  This plane continued on to LHR.  On the far back left is an EVA Air 747.  Interestingly, the two 777's from LAX to TPE and TPE to BKK have a different first class.  The one from LAX to TPE had a Royal Laurel Class where the seats lay completely flat into a bed whereas the one from TPE to BKK had a Laurel Class that recline more than the Elite but do not fold flat.

10.  Meal service from TPE to BKK, sukiyaki beef on white rice with vegetables.  The appetizer is braised pork tendon.  Taiwan Beer here again with my lunch!