Oh Bali

It's October, which means my first week long vacation has arrived. I was expecting friends from Austin and had planned to go to the Thailand beaches, but they were not able to make it so I quickly rerouted to a destination I had always wanted to see: Bali. My expectations were high (a little too high it seemed) for this "magical" place and I was really excited. One of my Austin friends had been living in Asia so he met me for the adventure. Unfortunately the trip got off to a bad start when I was shorted 100 bucks by the illegal money changers at the airport. I mean it's bad when you can't even trust people at the airport. This is not the Bali I had imagined. Unfortunately, as the trip continued, it was a mix of good and bad, beautiful and ugly, fulfilling expectations and disappointment. I guess you could say I have a love hate relationship with Bali. The beaches at Kuta and Seminyak were nothing to be desired and I could have been in Myrtle Beach for the looks of them. We did have a nice dinner at a beachside restaurant while listening to American cover songs. Ulawatu redeemed those beaches by being a beautiful surfers paradise with massive cliffs and amazing sunsets.

We took a surfing lesson at Padang beach and I was able to stand up and ride waves so that was definitely a highlight of the trip!

 Unfortunately, I started feeling not so great around Tuesday, but powered through it thinking it was just a cold. The best way (and really the only way) to get around in Ulawatu is via motorbike so my friend and I (against better judgement) rented one for the day and off we went. I nearly missed getting hit by a van and only ran into one tree but abandoned ship before hitting it so I'd call that a success!

absolute petrol!

We met with some other friends from my school Thursday morning to do a sunrise volcano hike outside of Ubud! I was still not feeling so great, but decided to climb the volcano anyway because I didn’t want to miss out on my vacation because of a "silly cold". I felt stupid climbing as I fell way behind the group having to stop and cough and take my inhaler numerous times. Turns out that silly cold was actually the flu and climbing the volcano gave me a mean case of pneumonia, as I woke up Thursday afternoon with a 103 fever. Well, I guess that makes me a badass istead of a wuss =) Nevertheless, the view from the top was breath taking.

Had I not been feeling so sick, Ubud would have redeemed Bali for me as it is a beautiful and peaceful place. But instead of doing yoga and getting massages, I headed to the clinic, got a shot in the rear for the fever, and slept for 24 hours straight.  Not knowing at this time I had the flu or pneumonia and thinking I was better, I got up Friday and we watched an impressive dance at the palace and walked through the monkey forest. I was a big fan of the monkeys.

We came across a man who seemed pretty genuine as he offered me an herbal remedy for my sore throat and cough. We decided to arrange a tour of the temples with him for Saturday. I was 50/50 on the temple tour as we did get to see the rice fields and the main tourist temples and an off the beaten path temple, which was my favorite.

I was a little skeptical when he opened a "secret passageway" and told us there were underground tunnels leading under the temple. He asked if we had a "torch" but we kindly declined not wanting to make the news as American tourists bones found years later under a hidden temple.

As much as I enjoyed Bali, I couldn’t get past the feeling that people there were not very genuine. It felt like everyone was trying to screw you over and take your money. Our driver took us to one temple where his friend would be our “guide”. The friend asked us for 15 dollars to see some “newly found rice temple” which I doubt was even a real story. We told him we would give him 5 bucks each (which was still too much, but we wanted to walk through the rice fields). Flying back to Bangkok, I had to admit, I kinda missed you Thailand. I sighed with relief as I got into the cab to be back where I felt I could believe in the good of people! I took a nap fully expecting to feel better upon awaking, but unfortunately my fever was back. That is when I checked myself into the hospital and was told that I had the flu and pneumonia. I had to stay 3 nights in the hospital due to my condition and was then sent home on bed rest.  Apparently pneumonia is no joke as I have been out for over a week. I have mixed feelings about you Bali: You were the best of times, you were the worst of times!

September and October

Oh my gosh, where has September and October gone? I guess I’m just so well adjusted to my crazy city life, that ridiculous things don’t happen to me anymore. Or more likely, I’m just too busy to write them down. I do feel much more adjusted these days and this place is starting to feel like home! Here is a recap of the last 2 months of my journey:

I have gotten so used to riding motorbikes to work that I sometimes even ride without holding on. Like the cool kids =) I’ve made friends with my drivers and they wait for me in the morning and drop me either at the school or the coffee shop (conveniently pronunced “gofeee” in Thai). When I was on the injured list, one driver even drove up on the sidewalk to ask me if I needed a ride due to my hobbling around. I have learned a few more Thai phrases including, how are you, I’m fine, it tastes very good, what’s your name, and most importantly can I have a discount? However, just because I know them, does not mean they always work. Half the time, my pronunciation is so bad they just laugh at me, but they do appreciate the effort!

Early in September my friend and I decided we needed our first beach vacation. Koh Samet is what’s known as Bangkok’s vacation beach because it is the closest. We left work, headed to the bus station (thank goodness for google telling us which window to buy the ticket) and 4 hours later we were dropped at a pier. On the bus, we happened to meet three nice Canadians and two German girls. We all bought a ride on a speedboat and off we went. One thing I have learned in Thailand is that there are no real rules in Thailand. They don’t care about your safety for fear of being sued like they do in America. They figure if you are stupid enough to do something, then you better be safe enough to survive! We sped off into the pitch black night attempting to hold a conversation, but was quickly interrupted by the boat flying into the air at every blind wave we hit. We decided conversation could wait as we hunkered down and held on for dear life. Thank goodness it was a short ride! We floated up to shore like celebrities as others were enjoying their beachfront dinner. Having bonding over our lives, we decided to team up with the Germans for a cheaper room. We ended up with adjoining rooms and spent the weekend laying on the beach, getting massages, sharing buckets, and dancing til all hours of the morning. We made friends with some locals who showed us the private beaches and shared some good Thai food! Koh Samet: we will definitely see you again!

 

All in all it was a fabulous weekend that led to a less than fabulous week. The consequences of moving to a new place, starting a new job, not sleeping enough, and living off of street food finally hit me. I had developed quite the sweat rash on my arm, was still limping on the ankle, and was starting to feel run down and sick. So I decided to lay low for a while and start eating more veggies and taking some vitamin C. For the last few weekends in September, we had to take a Thai culture class all day anyway so that kept me occupied.

A few weekends later I was feeling a bit better, so I decided to go for a night out with a friend from work. We went to this amazing sushi restaurant called In the Mood for Love! It was delicious and then we hit the bars in Sukhumvit with some of her friends. I guess I was in the mood for love because I happened to be talking to this very attractive guy from South Africa when in conversation, he asked my age. Now, I did just turn 31, but 30 rolls off the tongue so much easier. His jaw literally hit the ground as he repeated, “you’re 30” at least 10 times. I guess I can understand his reaction, as five seconds earlier I was thoroughly enjoying dancing to "call me maybe" on the dance floor. I said I wasn’t sure what the big deal was, to which he responded, "I’m 23!" Ohhhh...yeah, when I was 23, the idea of 30 did seem a world away, but how about that for an ego boost ;) I decided next time I lie about my age, I might as well skip the 3 and just go with 29. Funny, because a few weeks later, I was approached by a French guy this time (who looked to be about 23) so I just simply smiled and told him I thought he was too old for me.

I have gone back to Chatachuck market a few times since living here and I have found the most amazing earring stand. Every now and then you can stumble across something great in there! The only down side is that the earrings are expensive, even by American standards. However, they are good quality and I really like them so I bought a pair anyway. I sat and ate at a Thai stall with no English menu and found some incredibly delicious coconut ice cream that they serve you in the coconut shell, and believe it or not friends, I found a bluegrass band!!

 

I had a scare one day when I had to go to the police station to get fingerprinted. Not because I am a criminal, but I had to do a background check for work. The guy asked me for a copy of my passport, which I did not have, so he explained where the copy center was. Of course, I only nodded and smiled and then wandered around aimlessly looking for someone who might speak English. A nicely dressed man stepped out of an office so I politely asked him if he knew where I could get a copy of my passport. He studied it and me, asked the reason, and then took it inside before I could stop him. Now, I wanted to believe that he was making a copy for me, but I couldn’t help but think I just let a random man steal my passport. After an anxious 5 minutes, he returned with my passport and a copy. He also gave me a business card as he was a lawyer specializing in foreign affairs. Let’s hope I don’t ever need his services!

I have had some time to explore other parts of Bangkok as my friend and I like to do touristy things on the weekends. We have been to Ko Kret, which is a small island north of Bangkok known for its pottery and desserts. We rented bikes and rode around the island on a narrow path with the fear of falling in the marshes if we made a wrong turn and taking in a few odd sights...

 

We also saw some temples including the largest reclining Budda at Wat Pho.

 

I have learned that banana roti from a street stall is my favorite dessert food and I continue to get foot massages once a week. One thing I feel the need to comment on is Asian women’s fashion sense in shoes! I just don’t understand it. I saw a woman on the BTS the other day wearing these cute cut off jean shorts with a quite revealing tank top, and then on her feet were these enormous fuzzy black flip flops with a red fuzzy butterfly! I am intrigued by the foot fashion and also the hair fashion here. Women will be dressed very smart casual, looking all professional, but then wear a big Mickey Mouse hair clip with their fuzzy butterfly shoes. I guess it’s not the weirdest thing you could see in Bangkok. Speaking of, one of the weirdest nights I have spent in Bangkok took place at McDonalds.

 

My coworker's husband is a deejay and we spent the night dancing to his disco tunes after cruising aroud Khao San Road, which is nothing more than a bunch of backpackers drinking buckets and buying cheap souvenirs (as could be expected). Afterwards, we were invited to the “after party” at this sketchy little venue up some random metal elevator. We entertained ourselves by playing the celebrity game, naming people at the party for the celebrity they looked like. By the end of the night we had seen Kim Kardashian, Tom Selleck, Debbie Gibson, and many more! We left rather quickly and decided to get some late night McDonalds instead. Wow, apparently McDonalds is the new hotel, as the three tables next to us had people sleeping in the booths. There was also a lady living at the McDonald’s as we watched her take a shower in the sink and return to her booth to suspiciously watch people passing while repeatively checking under her purse as if she was looking for something. After watching for about 5 minutes, we realized she was not mentally sane and felt rather bad for her. We ate our chicken sandwiches and headed home! What an interesting place Bangkok is!

Which is why I try to get out of Bangkok every chance I can and was lucky enough to go on another beach trip in October, this time to the most beautiful place in the world: Railay Beach. It is a rock climber’s heaven and I spent a weekend there climbing with one of the girls from work. It had been quite some time since I had put on my harness and shoes, but I really enjoyed getting back into it and look forward to spending more than a few weekends there.

 

September and October were super busy!! I can only imagine what the rest of the year has in store...

Monday, September 4

I’m going to go ahead and blame the spandex skirt for the sprained ankle I got today  while playing in our first netball game. I used to think a sprained ankle wasn’t a real injury..kind of even wussy. I take it back! When it first happened and I felt/heard the pop, I immediately was taken back to less than a year ago when I was playing flag football and ended up with a sideways finger that required surgery and a cast, but ended up being crooked anyway!

Didn’t the doctor say something about low calcium levels? Shit! I crawled off the court muttering curses about being old and knowing for sure my netball career was over. I limped out, got in a cab, got out of the cab because it was sketchy, got in another cab, stopped at 7-11 for ice, had a good cry, called my mom and dad in self-pity, iced my foot, and went to sleep. The next morning, I got out of bed and fell to the floor for lack of ability to put weight on my foot. Not to mention my ankle was popping out in a weird direction. Looking back, I’m pretty sure my finger episode led me to exaggerate the injury maybe just a little, but I called in sick and went straight to the doctor. She looked at it, said in spotty English, “not broken, hurt?” or something of the sorts. Since she didn’t think it needed an x-ray, I hobbled over to the store and bought an ACE bandage. While I was there, I figured I might as well get my heart checked. Explanation: a week before flying to Bangkok, I had some serious chest pais which I associated with a medication I had been taking for sinus problems. Turns out, by Bangkok ECK machines, I am not dying. I did have to laugh when they took my blood and the nurse asked me if I had hard veins to find. I shook my head as she continued searching. Finally, she poked me and with a sigh of relief said, “whew, lucky for me!” Lucky for me? What would she have said if she missed? Unlucky for you? Nevertheless, I went home exhausted after a day full of hospital. Lucky for me I survived =)

First weekend in September

So the first weekend in September was my first real night out on the town. It all started at the swing dance bar. One of the girls at work is a member of the swing dance club here, and I thought (just like netball) I’d be good at it with my two step experience. I couldn’t even count the step! The dancers were almost as amazing as the Asian rocker chick in her monster high heeled tennis shoes shouting out the tunes to old 60’s hits. I’ve made the decision that I will go to swing dance lessons until I am that good! Then, after buying a dress from a ladyboy on the street (it was pretty!), we moseyed on down the “Ping Pong” area, where I naively learned they weren’t referring to table tennis. Those of you that don’t know what I'm talkig about, including my parents, don’t google it,! Just be naïve! I fended off local men enticing me with menus full of “show” items that I can’t bring myself to mention. I avoided their calles for “sex show?” by keeping my eyes down and feet forward! Whew, once through, we stopped at this fun Aussie bar where the live band was playing all the pop songs from home. Afterwards, we hit up the gay Soi (street) for a friend of a friends birthday. This place put Austin to shame! Imagine 4^th street times 100! I have never seen so many shirtless men of all cultures grinding shamelessly all night to dance music techno beats! I’ll have to make sure to go there anytime I need a pick me up, as the gay Indian men thought the blonde chick was the prettiest thing they’d ever seen =)

Saturday, we did a little sightseeing from the Tuk Tuk including Chinatown and the flower market.

 

I misunderstood when I read “floating” in Lonely Planet and spent most the evening searching for the water to see theboats of flowers floating by. I realized later, it was only referring to the floating of colors down the street.

 

As my friend and I wandered in search of the river, we ended up behind the storehouses…probably leading many people to wonder why two white girls were randomly wandering around. We happened upon some of Bangkok's finest insects, but politely declined...

 

Lucky for me, we popped out at a banana/chocolate crepe stand and had a delicious dessert. Unlucky for me, we also saw our first Bangkok sized rat poke his head out of a drain!! They are the size of cats!

Sunday, a friend and I ventured over to check out the monitor lizards at Lumpini park. All I have to say is that I am glad a friend warned me about them because if I had gone in blindly, I would have run through the park like a lunatic screaming, “crocodile!” Instead I just went around like a lunatic trying to get close enough to take a good picture.

 

I used the excuse that I needed to get my heart checked before working out to not run the mere half mile around the park. Those of you that know the story can go ahead and laugh. I finally did get an ECK and no worries, according to the test, I'm healthy! I waited for my friend with the lizards and then we headed to the pool. Finally, I got to use my apartment pool. After a few hours (and finally getting iternet installed) we decided to go get some food. We went to a place down Soi 71 for some authentic street food. Authentic meaning they don’t speak English or have English menus or pictures. However, my aide at school had given me some catch phrases including pakraow moo (which is chili with basil and pork). It started pouring the Bangkok rain on us and we ducked into a “restaurant” to eat. I was very impressed that we were able to order two dishes on our own! I’ve really come a long way.

Thursday August 30

Today was one of those days I just had to laugh at myself. The stress of work got to me today and I took a 10 minute break to have a complete meltdown around lunch time instead of eating. Feeling somewhat better, I was able to finish the day. W put out a newsletter every other Friday, and I had not even started mine yet, but after work we had a meeting. So by the time 5:00 rolled around and the meeting was over, I was tired and starving. I asked my administrator if the school would be open if I went and got food and then came back to do my newsletter. She said there was a night guard who was always there. So I stepped outside in the pouring rain and sloshed my way down to a little restaurant on the corner. Needing to decompress, I ordered myself a large beer and some delicious food. I even had dessert! Feeling much better, I decided to head on back to school. When I got there, the gates were shut. Confused, I walked to both gates looking for the guard, but couldn’t find him anywhere. I climbed up and peeked over into the parking lot, but he wasn’t there either. So here I was faced with quite the dilemma. My bag was inside with my keys to my house and I still needed to do my newsletter. So, I really had no other choice than to hop the fence.  So in my skirt, in the pouring rain, umbrella up, I scaled the fence! I can only imagine what the passing cars thought. Inside, I went to the door and could see the guard inside. You can only imagine the startled look on his face when he heard my knock (wondering how in the hell I got in). He opened the door and seeing it was a teacher, let me in. After an hour’s worth of work, I was finally ready to go home. On the way out, the guard escorted me out the door and over to the gate to let me out. Before leaving, he kindly pointed to the intercom button conveniently placed next to the gate in case I should need to get in next time. Ohhhhh, I laughed as I asked him, “So I don’t have to climb the fence next time?” Haha, I walked away through the puddles of rain, shaking my head at myself! Time to call it a night!

Monday, August 27

I felt pretty bad when I showed up to work this morning and the secretary forwarded an email from my parents. Apparently, the last thing I posted on facebook was my address, and then I went MIA for the weekend. Really, the free internet I was stealing stopped being available, but I can see where my parents would have been concerned. After assuring my mom I was not kidnapped or dead, I carried on with my work day. After work, I headed to the gym because today was my first experience with Netball. Some of the girls I work with told me about this sport and invited me to play on the team. I thought I’d be pretty good since I know how to play basketball. Turns out I was wrong. And not only did I suck at it, when I showed up, all the girls were wearing skin tight spandex outfits including a SKIRT! What is that all about? Who wears skirts for sports? I feel like I’m in the movie A League of their Own! Get with the times Australia.

Nevertheless, I tried on my outfit, and after the other girls assured me it was the right size (it’s supposed to be that tight.. it’s spandex), I paid my dues and went home for the evening shaking my head at the thought of wearing the outfit in public! Hey, maybe looking good while playing will make up for my lack of ability ;)

Saturday, August 18 – Saturday, August 25

Just a quick overview of the week, since there is nothing too exciting to share. Well, unless you consider riding in a cab when the driver’s cellphone rang to the Phil Collins hit, In the Air Tonight exciting! I myself laughed out loud and mentally noted several Austin friends to Facebook later (Relf, Elium, Addison, and you too Mike) ;) Let’s see… Saturday I hit up the biggest weekend market in Bangkok, Chatachuck Market!

 

 It is pretty overwhelmingly incredible with miles of vendors selling anything and everything you could ever imagine. I settled for a watermelon shake and some street food, but will be coming back with a map soon! Of course it rained on us, but this time I was prepared with my rubber shoes. Unfortunately, I had blisters within 2 minutes so I am now searchig for a pair of crocs.

I have been practicing my Thai this week and can successfully say several different meats (never want any surprises), numbers to 99, and directions. Food and my way home are obviously priorities. And “no worries”, that’s my favorite! I thought I was pretty cool when I hopped right on a motorbike and said, “Thonglo sip sam ka” and the guy nodded and drove me straight to school. He even knew to drop me at school without me saying stop. Guess my blonde hair and blue eyes gave me away. Hmm, I wonder if that meant he didn't really understand my directions at all, just already knew where I was going. On the way home, it’s a little tricky. I don’t live down a numbered street where you could easily give the number for reference. I live on the main street called Sukhumvit and I’m not really sure it has block numbers. Sometimes I try saying Condo Life (condoliiiief) in a funny tone where my voice goes high at the end, but they have yet to understand. One day, I was quite proud to have learned how to say “65” which is the street number closest to where I live. I got into a cab (it was raining), smiled sweetly and said, “sukhumvit hok sip ha ka” and off we went. At first, I was excited that he understood, but then he took a strange turn. My initial reactio nwas to get a firm grip on the bear spray I carry in my backpack, but as I reached into my bag, I realized he was going the back way to 65. He must think I live on the actual street...since that is what I told him. As he slowed down, I told him to go straight and turn left (back to the main road). Well, actually I said turn right but pointed left so he laughed and not only corrected my direction, but then we shared a funny moment over him taking a complete roundabout way at the miscommunication of my directions. I apologized and explained I was practicing my Thai. I asked him what the best directions would be to tell a cab to get to my place. He responded with some 5 or 6 jumbled sounds so I just smiled and said “thanks”, all the while knowing I’d never be able to repeat it! Turns out I need even more practice because when I was with Phil Collins later in the week, I ended up dropped farther from where I was going then where I started! Well at least I have a goal for next week.

I’ve been taking some big steps in food bravery this week. I went to Soi 38 again and wanted so badly to try something new, but fell back on my same little yellow cart man.

 

 

To compensate, I impulsively stopped and bought several sticks of mystery meat on the way home! I mean it’s fried, it can’t be that bad, right?

As I bit into one, I was confused as to whether it was chicken, pork, tofu, or something completely random. All kinds of thoughts entered my head so I called Jaime…again! She assured me it was not dog meat and most likely pork, chicken, or fish! Later in the week, I ate fish balls and recognized the taste! Whew...close one! One day, I even got the guts to stop at a morning vendor and get "to-go" food for lunch. I pointed and asked, “moo ka (pork)”. She said yes, and whe she asked for “sam sip ha”, I calculated it to be 35! Success =) It didn’t occur to me that it was not a "tourist" food stand, so even though it was delicious, I could only handle about a third before my mouth exploded from the spice! The maid and my assistant had a pretty good laugh at my expense!

I did Yoga this week! It was pretty fun, although I am not very good at it. I am going to be trying a new sport called netball next week. I’m hoping since it’s somewhat similar to basketball, maybe I’ll be good at it (Matt Ross)! By similar, I really mean that there is a ball and a basket and a court! Similarities stop there. It’s kind of more like ultimate Frisbee with a volleyball and basketball net. I'll update on whether I can actually play next week! Lastly, at the end of the week, I went to a party with one of the girls that teaches in my grade level. Her husband is from the UK and hosts DJ nights in Bangkok. Several girls went to the bar and we ended up dancing all night to part disco part techno beats. All in all a pretty good week and I'm sure pretty soon I’ll be blending in with the locals…