Elle Marie in Bangkok, 2008

Elle Marie's first foreign trip was when she was more than 1 year old, in June 2008 in Bangkok, Thailand. I was invited and hosted by my friend, Dr. Samran Sombatpanic, past President of the World Association for Soil and Water Conservation (WASWAC).

Top photo from left: Samran's friend at the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), Elle, Mama Ella, Samran, Letty (Samran's Filipino wife) and Redia Atienza, another Filipino friend of Samran. Red works at the Senate Committee on Agriculture.

We arrived midnight that day at Bangkok airport, straight to the hotel, the next day, city tour with a Filipino friend. On our 3rd and last day, Samran picked us up from our hotel after breakfast, we checked out, toured around many beautiful places outside Bangkok.

After the tour and dinner, we went straight to the airport, for our flight to Hong Kong. I  was attending the 2nd Pacific Rim Policy Exchange then, sponsored by the Americans for Tax Reforms (ATR), PRA, IPN, LRI.

My other Thai friend, Orasa, my batchmate in an agriculture seminar in Sweden in 2003, visited us at the hotel on our 2nd night. Orasa brought her daughter, treated me to a hotel bar. The singer that night joined us for a photo.

Thanks again Doc Samran, Orasa.
My next trip to Bangkok was in 2013 for the EFN Asia Conference. Elle, Bien and their Mama Ella joined me at my hotel, Plaza Athenee Bangkok.