So what did I get up to this month?
Rolling on from a busy December I packed a lot into January too. We started the year celebrating NYE in Amsterdam. There was a major storm which left us without electricity a few days before we left on our adventures. A friend arrived the day we were to leave as a storm refugee as he had no electricity and no estimated date of when it would return. He ended up housesitting for 2 weeks while he waited for his power to come back! I celebrated my birthday early by visiting friends and family before our big trip to Thailand. I ended up celebrating my actual birthday in a swanky Bangkok cocktail bar over-looking one of my favourite cities in the world known as the ‘Big Mango’. Not too shabby 🙂
TRAVEL:
Returning from Amsterdam: We flew back from Amsterdam on January 3rd and collected the car from a friend in Dublin. Shared a chat over the last slice of Christmas cake and hit the road back to Sligo.
Kilkenny: January 15th I took the train from Sligo to Connolly , then hopped on the Luas and met my parents in St. James Hospital. It was a very relaxed journey and I got some work done on the train. The after a hospital appointment we drove back to Kilkenny where I spent 2 nights hanging out.
Kildare: The next day I caught the train to Sallins to meet up with some friends and celebrate my birthday early. The next day I got a lift to Maynooth station and had a few seconds to spare to catch the Sligo train back home.
Dublin pre-trip: With bags packed we drove to Portrane in Dublin to stay with friends on Jan 28th to stay for the night and park our car in advance of the early flight to Abu Dhabi.
Abu Dhabi: We arrived after a flight with Etihad forgetting our bags were checked through to Bangkok. Bleary eyed we grabbed the free shuttle bus service to the Premier Inn Abu Dhabi. I would highly rate this hotel even though it is a budget hotel it offers fantastic service is only 15 mins from the airport, has a pool and everything you need for a short stopover.
Bangkok:
We landed in Bangkok on my birthday. Immigration at Suvanabumi was much faster than last time and we got some cash from the ATM, a AIS sim card at the airport and grabbed a taxi to our hotel in Sukumvit as the sun was setting on the city. We stayed in the Atlanta hotel a place that is backed full of character and is budget-friendly. After a yummy Thai dinner at the 1950’s vintage restaurant we walked to Lennon’s cocktail bar for some of the best cocktails I have ever consumed.
We ventured over to Fortune town Mall which is packed full of vinyl record stores and camera shops. Stopped off at Fatty’s for some beer & snacks. Then ventured out later to Studio Lam for some beers.
Friends & Family
I squeezed in a few whirlwind days catch up with friends and family before we left from Abu Dhabi.
Art & Creativity
I didn’t have the opportunity to go to lifedrawing before we left. However, I did work on a commission piece and played with some colour swatches and a few experiments.
Exhibitions I visited/ Cultural stuff
- Namecaps Spaceman – Central Chodlom Mall, Bangkok
- Went to the Sligo Film Society night at the Model
Learning, reading & watching
What I’ve been learning
Havn’t taken any courses or classes this month again – simply no time!
What I’ve been reading
- There are Rivers in the Sky – Elif Shafak (Spotify)
- The War of Art – Steven Pressfield
What I’ve been watching/ listening
- Art Juice podcast
- David McWilliams Podcast
- The Last Dance (Hong Kong Film) (shown at Sligo Film Society at The Model)
Food
Started the year with a takeaway Suriname Roti in Amsterdam on Jan 1st from Arti2. It’s a classic. Then visited a lovely organic fruit farm on the outskirts of Amsterdam, Fruittuin van West. Then didn’t really eat out until we arrived in Abu Dhabi & Bangkok.
Health
Had a few beach walks when it wasn’t storming outside and did some Qi Gong but not much time for anything else really.
Goals & Plans for January
A review of goals I set
⭐Do some form of exercise everyday – definately didn’t manage this one 🙁
✔️ Rest and recover from a busy December
⭐ Go to a lifedrawing class – no time 🙁 one the classes was cancelled due to the storm and I wasn’t here for the other dates
✔️ Meetup with parents & friends before I leave if have time
✔️ Plan the trip for Thailand!
✔️Read more books
Goals for February 2025 :
⭐ Get into a routine for work and travel
⭐Contemplate future plans for business and personal life
⭐ Sketch & paint
⭐ Try to do some exercise e.g. swimming, walking etc.
⭐ Read more books