Sunday, March 21, 2010

New Logo Unveiled

Behold the new logo Aubrey has designed for our bid to become Ultimate Thailand Explorers:




We are heading to the jungles of Chiang Mai, Thailand so we wanted to use "natural-looking" colors and incorporate nature into our logo. We also wanted the our symbol to reflect how adventurous we are. We hope you like it!

Counting down the days Until Chiang Mai

Sawadee Khrap from Bangkok! Aubrey and I are extremely honored to be the Chiang Mai representatives for the Ultimate Thailand Explorers contest and we CANNOT WAIT until our big trip! We are keeping ourselves very busy with working at school and training for the Bangkok Marathon this weekend (and obviously continuing to kick some tail-feathers on the ducky boats in Lumpini Park-essential to any workout).


Here is a very, very tentative itinerary for Chiang Mai, we welcome any suggestions that readers might have:
-Battle the rapids and see who wins: whitewater rafting!
-Take a meditation course, GET SPIRITUAL.
-Take a Northern Thai cooking course. I hear Northern Thai is usually not quite as spicy as the Thai food we are used to so hopefully no crying.
-Take a Thai massage course (and of course, relax with a Thai massage!)
-Visit the Elephant Nature Park, where we can help take care of abused elephants.

-Do some serious bargain shopping at Saturday and Sunday Night Walking Street Markets.

-Hot Air Balloon Ride over Chiang Mai to get a birds-eye view of the city.
-Visit the newborn baby Panda, Linbing at the Chiang Mai Zoo!

- Get dirty mountain biking through Doi Suthep.

-Take a Muay Thai Boxing Course (Aubrey is a black belt in Tae Kwon Do, so I'm already a tad scared of her...this could get frightening).

-Participate in "Monk Chat". We also will take suggestions of questions to ask the monks.
-Blog about and take pictures of beautiful Chiang Mai!

We want to hear from you, what do you think?

Our Team Name

We have created our team name, AubParkThailand. There is no hidden meaning and no cute story behind it besides the fact that we both have somewhat memorable names which can be shortened: Aubrey (Aub) and Parker (Park) and we currently reside in Thailand. And there it is...

Here are some of the attempted (and failed) nicknames for our team:

-Motor City Madmen (we are both from Metro Detroit a.k.a. the Motor City)- Aubrey is not a man, so she objected to this name. Plus Ted Nugent could get upset and we DO NOT want that.

-AubbieParkie- Parker's mom coined this name, which was a bit too cute for Parker's liking.

-PAnda Team- Parker Aubrey + nda too confusing, too many colors.

-Team Whitesnake- Great 80s band, no need for explanation.

Bangkok Marathon



We ran the Bangkok Marathon on November 22, 2009; 10k (6.2 miles) which was the quarter marathon. The weather is currently perfect in Bangkok, 75 °F (23.89 °C) and sunny with a beautiful breeze. The quarter marathon started at 6:45 AM, so we woke up at 5:20 AM to give us plenty of time to hydrate ourselves and get to the starting point destination. The marathon started near the outside entrance of the Grand Palace. It continued to Rhra Pinklao bridge and turned around to come back on the Rama 8 bridge, and through various side streets back to the Grand Palace. The sun was still rising as we began the race as hundreds of participants ran together along the way. Parker and I both finished the race and we were able to run the entire 10k without walking! This was my goal considering it was the first marathon I have ever participated in. This was one of my favorite experiences since living in Bangkok, what a perfect way to remember my first marathon. My favorite part of the marathon was watching monks in their saffron robes walk through the side streets of Bangkok as they collected rice, curries, or fruit in their bowls. They do this every morning, and this rite provides the monks with their only source of food. People donate the food to gain merit to ensure a better incarnation in the next life. There were school children on the sides cheering as we ran by, and locals all stepped out of their homes to smile and wave as we ran by. At the end of the race we were presented with hamburger coupons to get free hamburgers at a stand set up by one of the sponsors. Usually after a intense workout, I am motivated to eat something a little healthier than fast food- however it was such a fun surprise we treated ourselves to free hamburgers! As Parker and I walked home, we were unsure of the direction to pick up a taxi because we were unfamiliar with the area we were in. I asked a Thai man who just finished the race if he knew which direction would be best for picking up a taxi and he offered to drive us back home! He explained he was going to work at his office and would be passing our direction. It was such a nice gesture and a perfect way to end a perfect morning.

About Aubrey and Parker

winners of the Ultimate Thailand Explorers competition, Aubrey and Parker. An interesting fact about us is that we are both from Metro Detroit (and a 45 minute drive away from each other), yet we didn't meet until we were halfway around the world in Thailand! We have both been living in Bangkok for about a year and a half and we are in love with Thailand and its people. We both work at different International Schools in the city; Aubrey teaches Nursery and Parker teaches Kindergarten (K3) and soccer.

Aubrey graduated in 2008 with a BFA in Graphic Design and a BFA in Art Education from Michigan State University. She excels in freelance design and has experience with everything from website layout to logos. Aubrey enjoys running, art, photography, ethnic foods, panda bears and trying new things.

Parker graduated from Indiana University with a degree in English and a minor in Political Science. He plans on getting his Masters degree soon in Screenplay Writing. Parker has always had a love for sports and has continuously been playing them and writing about them since a young age. Football, lacrosse, swimming, and alpine skiing are passions of his and both Aubrey and Parker love leading an active lifestyle and challenging themselves on a daily basis.

Aubrey and Parker come from a diverse background; Aubrey is Chinese and Italian and Parker's grandmother was born and raised in Australia and lived in New Zealand. We love meeting new people and learning about different cultures. We are young, enthusiastic, and ready to share all that Chiang Mai has to offer with you!