As a fitting coda to my series on making friends in another country, last night Tawn and I went to a small “farewell dinner” for Stuart and Piyawat. They have moved to Phuket, an island town on the Andaman coast (the western coast of Thailand’s ithmus) an hour’s flight away.
Above, the “mega-bridge” project that opened last year.
Dinner was at Buri Tara, an upscale Thai seafood restaurant done up in an Asian modern style. Located right on the Chao Phraya River between the Rama IX bridge and the “Mega Bridge” complex, we enjoyed some really tasty food, pretty strong drinks, and the slightly too loud crooning of the evening’s singer.
Left to right: Vic, Stuart, Todd, Piyawat, Tawn and me.
Most important of all was the company, a chance to get together and say farewell to two good friends who are abandoning the Big Mango for a slice of tropical paradise and new work opportunities. We’ll be visiting soon, I’m sure.
christao408 
Ahh… strong drinks, the bartender must have had a heavy hand that night. I’m curious what line of work your friends are in. I understand Phuket is now very well developed and urbanized.
Always sad to say farewell. At least they will be close enough to visit.
I will be doing a similar dinner soon; I leaving Delhi for the time being.
Thanks for the send-off! Buri Tara is one of my favorite restaurants in Bangkok — both for the food and the drinks and the ambiance. And Phuket is not far at all, so I am sure we’ll be back in Bangkok often. (It will be interesting to see how much we miss the Big Mango!)
@ElusiveWords – One’s a lawyer and the other is a teacher / runs the online Thai language learning website http://www.its4thai.com. Yes, Phuket is fairly well developed but not nearly so much as Bangkok.
@Dezinerdreams – When’s the party? =)@murisopsis – Yes, an hour isn’t far at all. And a good excuse to get out of town.
Hopefully you will get to visit them soon! Phuket is supposed to be gorgeous.
Many Indians after their wedding. go to Phuket for their honeymoon. I hear it is very pretty. Sorry your friends had to leave. But one hour is not too far. Right?
Good times had by all! I always love Thai food and people.
@sgtowns – You’re very welcome.@TheCheshireGrins – Phuket is nice, yes, although the touristy areas – some of them – can be a little sleazy.@ZSA_MD – Yeah, the beaches there are gorgeous.@free2chuze – Yes, they are a great combination.
Phuket!!!
You guys could split up and become very similar pairs…
@Wangium – How so?
The 2 guys on left, you and the other shaven head guy, Tawn and the guy next to himFor computer recognition software, you guys would have similar traits.
@Wangium – Okay, now I see it. There are some similar shapes. Didn’t notice that Piyawat and Tawn have similar shaped faces. I think the picture is distorting, though, because Piyawat’s fouce is rounder but with a sharp chin. Tawn’s is kind of shaped like a corn kernal.