Easter is a good time to travel out of Hong Kong. Both Good Friday and Easter Monday are public holidays here, and a Chinese festival called Ching Ming—also a public holiday—usually falls around the same time, meaning that by taking only a day or two off from work, one can travel for a prolonged period. This year, the timing was perfect, and I was not missing the opportunity to get out of town to explore a new and exciting Southeast Asian destination.
After lots of flight checking and reading up on different places, I decided Thailand was calling my name. My earliest big trip out of Hong Kong over that first Chinese New Year was to visit my friend Erin in Northern Thailand , and since then, I'd always wanted to see everything the country has to offer. I hadn’t been back since my second trip, in July 2010, when Jamie and I met up for a weekend in Bangkok . But my memories of the country were still fresh and vivid, and it seemed like a good fit, especially since flights were reasonable.
My first trip to Thailand with Emily and Erin
With Jamie at the Grand Palace in July 2010
Ally, my roommate, was also keen to explore Thailand , and so we began reading about various destinations. Eventually we figured out an itinerary: fly in and out of Bangkok and make the journey up to Ayutthaya —a historical capital generously peppered with ruined temples—for the middle portion of the trip. From Ayutthaya , there are several intriguing locales all within a few hour's jaunt, and we could figure out the specifics once we got there.
Over the next few weeks, I got more and more excited thinking about returning to Thailand
Flying out of the airport in Macau is often cheaper than flying from Hong Kong . This time, the flight schedule was also incredibly more convenient, minimizing the time we had to take off from work and maximizing our time in Thailand . If you happen to be an admirer of Macau, as I am, flying from there also gives you a chance to soak up some Macanese culture before your vacation proper begins.
This time, Ally and I enjoyed an al fresco lunch at Nga Tim Café on Coloane's tiny, tiled town square, and we also saw the giant panda exhibit at a nearby park. After a pre-flight beer in the airport, we were off to Bangkok!
My friend Silja was coincidentally staying at the same hotel, and we overlapped two nights with her and her friend Maike, visiting from Germany. Upon arrival, we all met up and had a few welcome drinks at a nearby bar on Khao San Road, Bangkok's backpacker core.
It wasn't until much later that night that Courtney arrived. I was just about to go to sleep, in fact, when she showed up in the lobby of our hotel, the Buddy Lodge. Needless to say, we decided to go out and have one celebratory drink before turning in.
The following morning we woke up early and explored the town, walking by the impressive Grand Palace and other historic structures and monuments in the heart of the famous city. This was when we first became aware of the imminent funeral of Princess Bejaratana Rajasuda. She was born mere hours before her father, King Rama VI, passed away in November 1925. Had she been a boy, she would have become king at one day old and ruled for eighty-five years. But as she was a female, she had to settle for the life of a Thai princess.
The princess died back in July of last year, but as is often the case with people of prominence in Thailand, the cremation did not occur immediately. Her body laid in state, ensconced within the walls of the Grand Palace for the ensuing nine months, as her funeral was planned.
None of us had any idea that her royal cremation would be taking place during our trip until we saw signs about it that very morning, but it wound up playing quite a significant role in our Easter vacation.
One place I really wanted to visit on this trip was the National Museum. I had missed it on my previous visit to Bangkok, so that morning, it was stop number one. And what a treat it was to explore, chock full of thousands of years of history and artifacts engagingly telling the fascinating story of Thailand. The first building traced the geological development of the region, eventually detailing the earliest appearances of the Thai people and highlighting the various improvements made by the powerful Thai rulers, right up to the present monarch, King Rama IX.
This time, Ally and I enjoyed an al fresco lunch at Nga Tim Café on Coloane's tiny, tiled town square, and we also saw the giant panda exhibit at a nearby park. After a pre-flight beer in the airport, we were off to Bangkok!
My friend Silja was coincidentally staying at the same hotel, and we overlapped two nights with her and her friend Maike, visiting from Germany. Upon arrival, we all met up and had a few welcome drinks at a nearby bar on Khao San Road, Bangkok's backpacker core.
It wasn't until much later that night that Courtney arrived. I was just about to go to sleep, in fact, when she showed up in the lobby of our hotel, the Buddy Lodge. Needless to say, we decided to go out and have one celebratory drink before turning in.
The following morning we woke up early and explored the town, walking by the impressive Grand Palace and other historic structures and monuments in the heart of the famous city. This was when we first became aware of the imminent funeral of Princess Bejaratana Rajasuda. She was born mere hours before her father, King Rama VI, passed away in November 1925. Had she been a boy, she would have become king at one day old and ruled for eighty-five years. But as she was a female, she had to settle for the life of a Thai princess.
The princess died back in July of last year, but as is often the case with people of prominence in Thailand, the cremation did not occur immediately. Her body laid in state, ensconced within the walls of the Grand Palace for the ensuing nine months, as her funeral was planned.
None of us had any idea that her royal cremation would be taking place during our trip until we saw signs about it that very morning, but it wound up playing quite a significant role in our Easter vacation.
One place I really wanted to visit on this trip was the National Museum. I had missed it on my previous visit to Bangkok, so that morning, it was stop number one. And what a treat it was to explore, chock full of thousands of years of history and artifacts engagingly telling the fascinating story of Thailand. The first building traced the geological development of the region, eventually detailing the earliest appearances of the Thai people and highlighting the various improvements made by the powerful Thai rulers, right up to the present monarch, King Rama IX.
National Museum
The second building was a massive, sprawling collection of rooms showcasing countless precious objects from every imaginable slice of Thai life. There were weapons, jewels, instruments, ivory, dolls, masks, sculptures and many other items on display. Wandering through the various rooms was a great way to soak up the flavor of Thai culture, and I highly recommend a visit if you ever visit Bangkok .
Our final stop at the National Museum
After a rather daring expedition back to our hotel—running across a bustling major highway—we embarked on our first bona fide adventure of the trip, the nighttime bike tour of the city. Run by a company called Grasshopper Adventures, the tour was truly phenomenal from start to finish, even with a slight hiccup that resulted in some roadside beers while one of our group member's tires had to be repaired. In addition to cycling past many of the city’s iconic attractions, the real gem of the tour was a trio of stops to further explore some well-known sights: Wat Arun, the flower market and Wat Po.
Nighttime Bike Tour of Bangkok
Floodlit at night, Wat Arun (the Temple of Dawn ) is arguably Bangkok ’s most beautiful temple. Our guide, Anna, explained the history of the sanctuary and gave us many interesting tidbits about it. We even got to snap a photo with a gaggle of giggling baby monks, who were living at the temple for a few weeks. With their saffron-colored robes and unforgettable laughter, the children seemed so tranquil and carefree.
With the baby monks at Wat Arun
Wat Arun illuminated at night
The bustling flower market was a complete contradiction to the calm of the temple. Open all day and all night, the market was jam-packed with customers buying bright yellow blossoms. Anna got us some delicious food from a local street vendor, and Ally and I liked it so much that she ordered us a second helping!
Our final stop was at Wat Po, the dramatic temple that houses an enormous reclining Buddha. Like Wat Arun, it’s a place I had gone with Jamie on my last trip to Bangkok , but it was undeniably stunning in the moonlight, and I’m so glad I got to see another side of this justly-famous wat.
Back at the hotel, we linked up with Silja and Maike, who had spent the day touring markets and other attractions outside of Bangkok . They were flying to Koh Samui early the next morning, and Ally was exhausted after the full day, so after a few drinks outside our hotel, Court and I went off on our own to explore Bangkok ’s nightlife scene!
Our first stop was Sky Bar atop the State Tower
Sky Bar
Next up was a club called Bed. A friend of Court’s had recommended it to her before she left Hong Kong , and it was an uber-trendy place with great music. After Bed closed, we hitched a ride to another bar with a group of expats living in Bangkok and spent the rest of the night barhopping with them. To make a long story short, around 7am we arrived back at our hotel via tuk tuk.
7am tuk tuk ride back to the Buddy Lodge
The next morning—a couple of hours later, that is—we woke up and headed to Hua Lamphong Railway Station to catch our train to Ayutthaya. Our timing was impeccable, as would turn out to be the case on numerous occasions over the next few days. We arrived at the station with less than five minutes to go until an Ayutthaya-bound train was scheduled to depart. The tickets cost a whopping fifteen baht each, and after settling in, we enjoyed an atmospheric two hour ride through the countryside in true Thai style.
Third class Thai train
We arrived in the afternoon, headed straight to the ferry that crosses over to the historic island, and wound up meeting two friendly backpackers, Ronald (from Holland) and Yvette (from Germany). The five of us walked around the old town together hunting for a guesthouse, and we wound up booking neighboring rooms at Tony’s Place on Naresuan Road, the main hub of the city.
Mere minutes after choosing our rooms, the skies opened up. It was a torrential downpour, and we were only a heartbeat away from being stuck in the middle of it, with heavy backpacks and no place to stay in a strange, new town. Instead, we wound up watching the rain from the comfort of a ringside table at Tony's Place. With Singha in hand, it was quite a nice alternative to getting drenched. Impeccable timing yet again.
Mere minutes after choosing our rooms, the skies opened up. It was a torrential downpour, and we were only a heartbeat away from being stuck in the middle of it, with heavy backpacks and no place to stay in a strange, new town. Instead, we wound up watching the rain from the comfort of a ringside table at Tony's Place. With Singha in hand, it was quite a nice alternative to getting drenched. Impeccable timing yet again.
Enjoying a Singha in Ayutthaya
After the rain calmed down, our group decided to go out and explore Ayutthaya. Without a map or any sense of direction, we just started walking. We stopped in a little bakery, grabbed a few Singhas at a restaurant overlooking the river and inspected a few of the town’s modern wats. At one point, we stumbled upon a little ferry that crossed the river to another wat, and we forked over the three baht it cost for the journey. Owing to the afternoon's precipitation, we disembarked on a very muddy field and could hardly walk! At one point, the strap on my Havaianas even broke when the sole of the shoe got stuck in the deep mud.
Back on the island, we wandered some more and stopped for food in a local parking lot, where a few makeshift restaurants were set up. The tom yum gai was possibly the spiciest thing I’ve ever tasted. Somehow, it was also one of the most delicious. This has never happened to me before, but I was practically in tears from eating something I enjoyed so much. I couldn’t finish it even though I wanted to. It was a very strange culinary experience.
The next day we woke up early to rent bikes and cycle around the UNESCO World Heritage Sight of Ayutthaya. Our bike rental cost a whole thirty baht, and we rode around from about 9:30am until 3:30pm. The ruined wats were truly breathtaking, both in their scale and their attention to detail. Dozens of headless Buddhas, crumbling stupas and red brick walls were spread over acres and acres. It was a sight to behold. Ayutthaya was the capital of Thailand from the 1300s through 1767, when the Burmese army destroyed the city. Although the Thai troops eventually defeated the Burmese, the capital was subsequently moved to Bangkok, and Ayutthaya was left in ruins. Today it is, as my Frommer’s guide points out, “one of Thailand’s travel highlights.” Boy, is it ever.
Chedi at Wat Mahathat
Broken Buddha statue
We paid the minimal fee to explore two of the wats up close: Wat Mahathat first and then Wat Ratchaburana. We spent the rest of our time biking around the city, passing many stunning temples. Along the way, we encountered some playful elephants and saw the sights of this gem of a town.
The famous Buddha head surrounded by tree roots
Ancient Thai wall painting at Wat Ratchaburana
Monks at Wat Ratchaburana
Elephant and mahout
That afternoon, we were signed up for a boat tour around the island. We bought some beer for the trip and headed to the pier. Our boat cruised all over and let us off at various wats, both modern and ancient. The first place we stopped had an enormous indoor seated Buddha, and the second was perhaps the most stunning of all the ruins we saw that day, Wat Chaiwatthanaram. Unfortunately, just as I was snapping photos of the impressive sight, the daily downpour decided to start. I got absolutely soaked, but it was worth it to see the glorious temple up close. The captain—after taking a survey of the passengers—cut our trip a little short, and we headed back to the hotel, where we chilled for a few hours drinking Singha and snacking on Thai food.
Huge indoor seated Buddha
Wat Chaiwatthanaram, just as it started to rain
We took a tuk tuk to a small restaurant overlooking the river for dinner that evening and walked around the floodlit temple ruins afterwards, eventually getting back to the hotel. Again, everybody else went to sleep, and Courtney and I found the one bar on the strip that seemed to show signs of life, called Chang House. The hostess was an incredibly crazy and hilarious Thai woman who encouraged us to act as human jukeboxes, since you cannot play music after midnight in the small city. We made friends with a German couple, a Brit and a Spaniard, all taking turns choosing songs and belting out our renditions of Bohemian Rhapsody, Don’t Stop Believing and Rebecca Black’s Friday, among many other favorites. Eventually the bar closed, and 7-Elevens in Thailand are apparently forbidden from selling alcohol after midnight, so we cut our night short after making plans with our new friends to meet back at the same place the following evening.
With the Thai hostess of Chang House
Saturday was our most hectic day of touring. I wanted to fit in two separate sights, the Summer Palace in Bang Pa-In, about thirty minutes south of Ayutthaya, and the temple town of Lopburi, just over an hour to the north. So, again, our day started bright and early, as we journeyed by tuk tuk over bumpy roads to Bang Pa-In.
The Summer Palace feels like it’s been magically beamed to Thailand from some perfect nineteenth century European dream. It’s an immaculately kept royal residence with beautiful architecture and pristine grounds. The complex was a pet project of King Rama V, who was obsessed with all things European, and his fascination over a century ago still makes for a marvelous attraction for modern tourists all these years later.
Instead of feeling like an Asian palace with little European touches, it actually seemed more like a European palace with subtle Asian influences, as if some French king had gone to Thailand and, upon his homecoming, constructed a new palace incorporating subtle Thai motifs into the design.
Across the river from the Summer Palace is a building that looks like a Gothic cathedral straight out of a European fairy tale. You take a simple cable car to get there, and suddenly you realize it’s not a church at all, it's Wat Niwet Thamaprawat, designed to emulate a church but actually a working Buddhist temple. It’s got to be one of the most surreal sights I’ve ever seen.
Rickety Thai cable car across the river
Wat Niwet Thamaprawat, disguised as a church!
Having explored Bang Pa-In all morning, we headed to the local railway station to catch a train to Lopburi, a town full of more temple ruins and rambunctious macaques. It was a long walk to the station from the palace, and it was oh-so hot out, but we arrived just in time to catch our train!
The train arriving at Bang Pa-In Railway Station
It was another enjoyable Thai train ride, with views of surrounding wats, Buddha statues, small towns, vast fields and eventually even mountains, as we chugged our way northward. One of the first things you see when the train pulls in to the station in Lopburi is a huge statue of a monkey, but it isn’t until you actually go out exploring that it becomes clear just how big a role monkeys play in the life of this otherwise-sleepy little town.
Outdoor Buddha
Lopburi Railway Station
Our first stop was at yet another awesome ruined temple right across the street from the station. Also called Wat Mahathat, the temple was nearly totally deserted, and we had free reign over the place.
Wat Mahathat, Lopburi
As we strolled along the small streets of the town, the monkeys began to make their appearances. Emerging from under a car, peeking around a corner, climbing along on electrical wires—they were everywhere! Shop owners in Lopburi are armed with sticks to ward off the animals, who often wreak havoc and steal food from market stalls.
Running amok
They run this town!
After a few minutes, we came upon Phra Prang Sam Yot, the temple the monkeys call home. Built in the Khmer style, it would be completely impressive even without the throngs of macaques running the show here. Add them in an you’ve got an unforgettable sight. I bought some seeds and a bottle of juice to feed the animals, and they anxiously consumed everything they were given. They even climbed all over me, hoping they would find some more food, as you can see in the video below.
We surveyed the rest of the town, but our main goal was to find a place to eat, as Courtney, Ally and I were all absolutely starving. On our hunt for a restaurant, we wandered around King Narai’s palace and ducked into an exhibit there. Eventually—and mercifully—we found a chic little art café that served delicious food. A random restaurant in a random town, and we had a meal to remember for a song!
Lopburi Sunset
The train ride home was the best train ride of my life, and I am not exaggerating. We sat in the “café car,” which served beer and food. With oversized windows and a funny little man in charge, that car was the highlight of all our transport adventures thus far. He spoke scant English and we spoke even less Thai. Still it was fun to try and talk with him to find out how we lucked out in getting such a cool train. As best we could figure out, this particular train is the sole daily service with a “café car,” and if it hadn't been running several hours behind schedule, then we never would have gotten to experience it. Timing on our side, again.
Best train ride ever
They were out of Singha, so we drank Chang, another popular Thai brew, instead. Ally and I even ordered some vegetable fried rice onboard, and when the train stopped at an interim station, touts selling small cups of ice cream came up to the open windows and we bought some.
Lost in translation
The sun setting as we rolled along the Thai countryside really reinforced for me just how phenomenal the trip had turned out. Thailand is truly a very special country, and whether it be the big cities or the small towns, there are delights at every turn.
For our last night in Ayutthaya, Court and I convinced Ally, Ronald and Yvette to accompany us back to the bar we had discovered the previous evening. With our old international musical group reunited, we had another great night of performances at Chang House—karaoke without a karaoke machine! It was a blast, and a great way to say goodbye to this indelible corker of a town.
Final night out in Ayutthaya
After only a few hours' sleep, I woke up at the crack of dawn, ready for Easter Sunday. During my research, I had read about a church in Ayutthaya called St. Joseph’s, and on our boat cruise, we sailed past it—one of the most beautiful little churches I have ever seen. Bright yellow, standing proud overlooking the river, St. Joseph’s, I was told, is perhaps the oldest church in Thailand, founded by French missionaries in the 1600s.
Although Easter mass was entirely in Thai, I was able to follow along with most of the service. At its conclusion, I participated in a post-mass ritual that should be instituted in all churches: a sticky rice and ice cream party! At first I thought the idea was quite strange, but one bite was enough to convert me. It was a delicious way to conclude a very memorable Easter service.
Although Easter mass was entirely in Thai, I was able to follow along with most of the service. At its conclusion, I participated in a post-mass ritual that should be instituted in all churches: a sticky rice and ice cream party! At first I thought the idea was quite strange, but one bite was enough to convert me. It was a delicious way to conclude a very memorable Easter service.
It was much trickier than I had anticipated to make my way back to Tony’s Place afterwards. You see, I had taken a tuk tuk to church, but I didn’t want to pay for the guy to wait and take me back, especially not knowing how long the service would last. I assumed I’d be able to flag another tuk tuk down pretty easily, but, boy, was I wrong. I had to walk a good ways before I even spied a tuk tuk, and it was already occupied. To boot, the passengers had booked her for a tour set to last several hours. Luckily the driver—a kind Thai lady—turned out to be a hero and offered to take me along with her passengers to the wat they were visiting, where she said it would be easy to find an available taxi.
We pulled into the parking lot of Wat Chaiwatthanaram, and I was again awestruck by its majestic beauty. But there were no tuk tuks to be found! Then, while her passengers were exploring the ruins, my hero drove me across the bridge back to the island, negotiated with a moped driver to take me back to my guesthouse, and refused to take any money from me for her kindness, even after I insisted.
Wat Chaiwatthanaram on Easter Sunday
The moped ride back to the hotel was fun, with the breeze blowing as we past the ruins which had by now been eternally imprinted in my memory. I pulled up in front of Tony’s Place just as Ronald and Yvette were getting ready to head off to their next locale—Kanchanaburi. We said our goodbyes, and then Ally, Court and I packed up our belongings to head back to Bangkok. Although we loved all the trains we had ridden thus far on our trip, we decided to splurge and take a boat down the Chao Praya River back to the capital.
Main strip of Ayutthaya
A driver picked us up from Tony’s Place, and we drove off to the pier, which was much farther away than we had expected. A convivial Thai buffet lunch was arranged on the boat, and I enjoyed feasting on chicken, pork and beef for the first time in over forty days, since I had chosen to give up meat for Lent this year. Before long, the boat was off on its journey.
Court, Ally and I found a spot the outdoor deck and enjoyed some more Singha as we cruised down the river, passing exotic wats, impressive palaces, distinctive churches and stately mansions. We drifted by the Singha Brewery, the Department of Corrections and countless lavish high-rises. There are countless cities in this world that rely upon their signature river, but Bangkok has a relationship with the Chao Praya that surely ranks among the most intimate. The stunning buildings nestled on its banks created an ever-intriguing panorama as we made the three hour journey south. And I loved every minute of it.
Court, Ally and I found a spot the outdoor deck and enjoyed some more Singha as we cruised down the river, passing exotic wats, impressive palaces, distinctive churches and stately mansions. We drifted by the Singha Brewery, the Department of Corrections and countless lavish high-rises. There are countless cities in this world that rely upon their signature river, but Bangkok has a relationship with the Chao Praya that surely ranks among the most intimate. The stunning buildings nestled on its banks created an ever-intriguing panorama as we made the three hour journey south. And I loved every minute of it.
Back at the Buddy Lodge, we carried on drinking Singhas by the rooftop pool, as we watched the sun set over the city. We had one last night in town, and we wanted to make the most of it. There’s a pretty famous restaurant on Sukhumvit Road called Cabbages and Condoms. It might seem like a strange name at first, but it has good intentions. Basically, a Thai senator created it to promote safe sex and family planning. He came up with the memorable name because he felt that in order to solve the problem, condoms need to be as readily available as cabbages in a market. The profits all go to aiding this serious issue, and the food is absolutely delicious to boot.
Sunset from the rooftop pool of the Buddy Lodge
Unfortunately, this wound up being the single moment of the trip when our timing was off, ever so slightly. It started to drizzle just as our tuk tuk driver stopped up the street from the restaurant to let us off. As we made our way through the raindrops, they intensified until it was practically raining buckets. Although the place was only a few steps away, we never really stood a chance. We were all soaked to the skin in a matter of seconds. And as I had reserved a table in the twinkling garden, we also had to wait for them to accommodate us due to the bad weather. It all worked out, though. We browsed the items in the gift shop for a few minutes and snapped some photos, and before long, we were seated and treated to a mouth-watering meal.
Cabbages and Condoms
After dinner, we were all exhausted after so many full days and running on little sleep. Court was flying back the next morning and was heading to the airport at 5am. Ally and I had flights at 3:40pm, so instead of having a massive night on the town, we all passed out instead! A few hours later I woke up and decided to take one last moonlit stroll around the Grand Palace. Those dramatically lit spires will always be one of my favorite Asian landmarks.
Grand Palace
Royal Crematorium
Court departed in a blur the next morning, the skies still dark. For me and Ally, our final day began with my favorite Thai breakfast, banana pancakes. Erin and Emily introduced me to them in Chiang Mai on that first trip back in 2010, and I don’t think any subsequent stop in Thailand would be complete without generous helpings of them.
Khaosan Road on our last morning
As we were eating, Ally and I heard cannon fire and noticed that the Royal Cremation was being shown on the restaurant’s television screen. It was a very impressive display indeed, and we were so intrigued by the sounds and images, that as soon as we finished our meal, we headed to Sanam Luang—the great open field abutting of the Grand Palace—to check it out for ourselves.
Of all the things we saw and all the places we visited over this trip, I think I have to rank the Royal Cremation ceremony as my absolute highlight. The pomp and circumstance was unreal, as two hundred men pulled the princess’ chariot through the streets of Bangkok, eventually stopping in front of the crematorium. Deafening cannons fired constantly as the procession continued, and music was supplied by one of the regiments. It seemed like the entire Thai army was there, with their immaculate and colorful uniforms showcasing a myriad of vivid hues. Without doubt, this was the most impressive funeral I have ever seen and a fitting way for the Thai people, many dressed in black, to bid farewell to Princess Bejaratana.
I wish we could have stayed watching all day. Apparently, King Bhumibol himself even made a rare public appearance later that day to pay his last respects to his cousin. But eventually the time came to catch our flight, and we had to head out. Suvarnabhumi Airport is one of Asia’s best, with plenty of dining and shopping to keep you busy. It’s a very comfortable place to wait for a flight, and Ally and I took advantage by indulging in one last Thai meal, complete with—as you must have guessed by now—one last Singha. I capped off a trip of memorable meals with a delicious mango sticky rice, and before we knew it, we were off to Macau.
Mango sticky rice in Suvarnabhumi
To bookend our trip with Macau fun, upon landing, we hopped on the free shuttle bus from the airport to the Venetian. Last time I did this (after Chinese New Year in Chiang Mai), I won some money and it was a great end to my vacation. This time, however, Lady Luck had other ideas in mind. I lost everything I put down on the table, but it was still good fun. We caught our 11:15pm ferry home and back to my new apartment I went, exhausted but grateful for how perfectly the trip had worked out.
The ostentatious Venetian Macau
Thailand is called the Land of Smiles, and it's probably the most magical and exotic place I've ever been fortunate enough to visit. It has oodles of character and so much to offer, and I’m so glad I live close enough to explore this mysterious and wonderful place. Thailand, you haven't seen the last of me yet!
