Tom and Goht were there. As were many other non-Embassy people. A good opportunity to hang out and meet new people. The King was our friend Kevin Simpson, a teacher at the int'l school who eloped with his fiancee in Bangkok on New Year's, and we met her for the first time last night. Very nice.

There was also a fundraising thing for the WIG welfare committee (they do cleft palate repairs, build libraries and bathrooms on schools, etc.) Anyway, they auctioned off a 25 minute helicopter ride from Lao Westcoast Helicopters. Katherine and I won (or lost, as the case may be) with a bid of $375. 100% of the proceeds go to the welfare committee, to which we would give money anyway, but this way we get to ride a helicopter.

It seats 4, so the next people to visit us just might get to ride a helicopter.