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…

Thursday, August 16

Happy birthday Dad!

You know one thing that is not cheap in Thailand? Western food and wine! One bottle of yellow tail (8$) costs over 15 here! I found this out tonight, when by accident I stumbled across the market in the Emporium! I knew they had western grocery stores, but this was heaven! They had my champagne salad dressing and my organic cereal. Everything from home, including shampoos to pesto and tortellini was laid out in front of me. Now, there’s a price to pay for living that fancy, but I don’t care! I restrained myself from buying everything as I still had groceries at home, but I will be returning here for my next big grocery trip! It’s nice to know that I don’t have to live off of street food forever. Not that I would mind, but I doubt it does much for your health. I will continue to buy my fruit off the street though as local fruit is more fun and also way less expensive. Nine dollars for a handful of blueberries won’t get me too far, but I thoroughly enjoy a watermelon shake or a freshly cut mango(with a little sticky rice and coconut milk) or dragonfruit. On the walk home tonight, I realized why there are so many foot massage places. Walking everywhere makes your feet ACHE! I have probably walked more in my two weeks here than I have in my life. I also realized I need a pair of rubber shoes after ruining my second pair of shoes walking home in the rain. Rainy season kinda makes me want to shower 5x a day to avoid being sticky, smelly, and covered in street gunk. On a bright note, I found a use for the bum gun. Every day, I come home and wash my feet in the bathroom so I don’t feel disgusting getting into my bed. And it’s not even hot yet!

After my bum gun rinse, I decided it was time to make my first Thai meal. I pulled out my pre-made package deal and threw the pork in a frying pan, added some veggies, threw in the sauce. It was beautiful. I even took a picture; I was so proud.

It looked just like what you would buy at a restaurant. I poured myself a glass of wine and sat down with pride to enjoy my first meal. I took a few bites…delicious. Then I looked a little closer. All throughout my beautiful dish were these short silky little pieces of what I could only assume to be pig hair! I convinced myself that it couldn’t possibly be hair because it tasted so good that I wanted to keep on eating it. Ignorance is bliss! Could I maybe just drink enough wine to not notice? A few bites later, I couldn’t take it…time to call Jaime.  She assured me that most likely it was pig hair and didn’t recommend eating it. After a moment’s thought (I really considered it), I reluctantly tossed the entire thing out. Scouring my fridge, I found some eggs, broccoli, and cheese. I figured I couldn’t go wrong with an omelet. I chased it down with the rest of my wine, and settled in for the latest episode of Rookie Blue on Side Reel. I guess I’ll trade a little pig hair for my free internet. On second thought, I think I’ll become a vegetarian!

Monday August 13

A day off work and the kids come tomorrow. What to do to ease the anxiety? Great idea, go grocery shopping. To be honest, I have been putting this off since I got here. Not only do I love an excuse to eat street food, but I hate grocery shopping, even in America. I can never find anything, I always have to ask, and there are too many choices for one product. Yes mom, I’m just like my dad! And now, not only am I grocery shopping, but I can’t read the labels, the price is in baht, I don’t know what half the vegetables are, much less how to cook them, and there is no one to ask for help! This is a ‘recipe’ for disaster. Luckily, one of the other girls went with me and she moved here from teaching in Vietnam so she was helpful. I kept it under 2000 baht (70$) and stuck with the basic veggies, salad fixings, cereal, milk, eggs, sandwich stuff, and a bottle of wine. I couldn’t find any normal looking mushrooms, but I did buy a package of funny looking Japanese mushrooms, while in the back of my head wondering if they would make me hallucinate! Turns out they are ok. I did splurge on this “package deal” of premade but uncooked Thai food. I thought it was neat they put it all together for you with the spices and all but left the meat and veggies uncooked. Why not try it? Later that evening, we went back to Soi 38 for some more street food. It was here I fell in love with a cute little man and his yellow food cart of noodle soup with fried pork. I need to learn how to say that in Thai. If any of my friends visit, I will take each and every one of you there! It might have been the most delicious thing I have ever had! I ate it like the Thai people, with a little sugar, a little prik (hot pepper), and well, that’s about all. Maybe not so much like the Thai people, because a little prik is all I can handle. Thank you to Jaime for showing me this place. I find that when I go back to Soi 38 alone, it is the only thing I will order. I am not sure if that’s because I’m too scared to order anything else, or because I love it so much. Baby steps!

Sunday August 12

Let me start by saying that yes, today (Sunday) was actually my birthday! For those of you that don’t know, my birthday is a national holiday in Thailand. Not so much because of me, but because I share a birthday with the queen. This means I will never have to work on my birthday…perfect! Now, because we have Monday off, I assumed Monday was my birthday. So when my mom called me via facetime this morning to wish me a happy birthday, I simply laughed and made fun of her for getting her times/hours mixed up… we are 12 hours apart you know! But she was pretty persistent, and after a few minutes (I actually had to pull my calendar out) I realized she was right! It was my birthday! Well now I needed to celebrate. So I decided to go shopping! I wish I could say I went for pleasure, but really it was because I needed a calendar. With school starting, it was driving me crazy not having one. Anyone who knows me, knows that organization is not my strong point. Getting a smart phone was the best thing I ever did for myself because I could enter meetings and due dates in the calendar and they would ring at me so I wouldn’t forget. I could post it note things to remember and make a to do list that I could check off, all on one device! I am so dependent on my smart phone, that I’m having trouble surviving without it. In fact, it is causing me quite a bit of anxiety, so I went to a department store and bought myself a calendar today. On the way out, a painting caught my eye! It was two elephants in a field with a sunset in the background. It was so pretty and with my newfound love of elephants, I thought it was the perfect birthday present so I bought it. It goes quite nicely with the bright orange tables in my apartment. Then I stopped off for a cheap massage. It was turning into a nice birthday.

Obviously, celebrating your birthday after only living somewhere for a few weeks can be a bit depressing, not to mention when it’s your 31^st! So, I set myself up for disappointment, but was pleasantly surprised. Some of the new teachers decided to go out with me to celebrate, and we made plans to go to Moon Bar, which is listed as one of the top roof bars it he world! But they weren’t kidding about this rainy season stuff, so we relocated to Mexican food instead. I figured since I wasn’t in Texas, it was the next best thing. Good thing my friends are from Australia, Georgia, and Ireland so they didn’t know the difference. =) As we were chomping our chips and salsa and sipping our margs, a big group of boys sat down across the patio. After a few pitchers of margaritas they decided to befriend us, telling us they were here from Spain for a bachelor party. A few pictures and shared drinks later, they were all wearing sombreros singing me “Feliz Cumpleanos” not once, not twice, but three times!

Not a bad way to celebrate the night! A few fancy bars (we ended up at one roof top after the rain stopped) and not so fancy bars later, we called it a night! Thank you to my new friends for making my night a success =)

Saturday, August 11

Today was a pretty fun experience. I went to IKEA with another new teacher. I had no idea that Bangkok would have so many western stores, including KFC and Dunkin Doughnuts…no I have not eaten at either. Thank goodness there is no Chic-Fila =) Being that everything is fairly catered to the westerner or “farang” as they call us around here, it has been easier that you would think to settle in and adapt. Well, until I went shopping for sheets. I should have listened to my mom (I know) when she told me to measure my bed before trying to buy sheets. But that would have included finding a tape measure, so I just assumed I’d figure it out. Sure I would, I mean I’m only in a country where I don’t speak the language, don’t know the metric system (thanks America), and can’t phone a friend. I quickly realized this was not one of my smarter decisions, as I wandered aisle after aisle holding up bags marked “160x200x30” comparing them to the ones marked “120x140x20”, all while trying to figure out which ones actually fit the bed versus a top sheet. After perusing the isles for around 2 hours, I finally decided that I didn’t care. I plopped the overpriced 160’s (I went big just in case) in my cart and figured I’d sleep on them regardless. Glad that stress was over, we decided it was time to explore the city a bit. We took the BTS to the Metro (two different trains), and then hopped on a ferry. It sounded easy enough in the Lonely Planet book, and I think it would have been if the ferry had not closed for the evening. But, after a few nods, smiles, and pointing in the general direction, we lined up with a bunch of other people. Turns out, we were on the right boat and we headed up the river. I was so excited with my camera ready to video tape the sights as we passed the Grand Palace and several Wats (temples), but I was quickly reminded by the oncoming clouds that it is rainy season in Bangkok. I’m thinking I should move getting an umbrella to the top of my list of priorities, but at least we were covered in the boat. We paid our 15 baht and up the river with rain flaps we went.

We got out a few stops later, and headed to a vintage market one of the teachers had been to before. It was pretty entertaining to see some of the old school toys they were selling, including one very awesome transformers helmet and a fish tank made out of an old TV (including fish).
 

No purchases, but I did try some chewy gummy looking Japanese things. I’m pretty sure it was seaweed and jelly, fried of course, and not so bad. Lucky for me, the sheets fit the bed so I’m off to my first good sleep in a bed with sheets!!

Friday, August 10

I’m going to chalk it up to coincidence that I woke up at 4am on the toilet and not blame the Tom Ka Gai! Being up all morning made me a bit late for work, but I finally made it to the BTS station. It must have been rush hour, because every time the BTS stopped, it was full. I mean, not even able to sardine myself in full, and I waited three times! Finally, in a huff and a puff with no coffee or fruit, I made it to work! As I settled in for a teacher training, I felt a tap on my back and through a repressed giggle, one of my co-workers informed me that I had my dress on inside out. All I could do was laugh at myself as I pointed out this was quite in line with my morning and politely excused myself to the bathroom to change. Thank goodness for friends, I guess I’m doing ok  =)

 I will take this excuse to throw in a small side note for those of you that have never experienced Thailand before…Allow me to introduce the bumgun. Did you know that in Thailand it is not ok to throw toilet paper in the toilet? Their sewage system (aka the water taxi) just can’t handle it. Most places do not even provide it. But what they do have is this handy little spray gun apparatus hiding behind the toilet. I’ve been told the fresh feeling it provides will have you leaving toilet paper behind for good. Yeah, I’ll let you know when I decide to give it a try…for now, I’m sticking to my American ways.

http://www.talesfromanexpat.com/how-to-use-a-bum-gun-with-video-tutorial/

Back to the story…After work, we went to a place that will become one of my most frequently visited Soi’s (streets). Soi 38. Thank goodness one of the teachers took me because  (if you remember my coconut) I never would have had the guts to venture there alone. Up and down the soi are lots and lots of street goodness, all in Thai of course. Some stalls do have pictures so that is a plus, although just a point and smile seem to get you everything you need (and maybe some things you don’t). Tonight, I stuck with traditional Pad Thai, but from a guy who has won awards. I give him a double thumbs up for sure. As I ate, I realized this day was well on its way to improving. I even popped open a bottle of wine when I got home to celebrate my first week of work. Oh wait, no wine glasses...ahh but I do have an empty water bottle. Cheers from my water bottle of wine ;)

Thursday, August 9

By today, I’ve developed my walking to school routine. I walk to the closest BTS, ride one stop to Thonglor (where my school is located), buy fruit from a stand (today I got bananas), buy coffee from a cute little man on the street with an actual espresso machine, hop on a motor taxi (while drinking my coffee), and ride a few blocks to work. Easy enough.

Some pics on my way to work...

After school today, I decided to go shopping for apartment necessities at Big C, the Thai equivalent of WalMart. Luckily, one of the girls from work came with me and was able to help me understand that “yes, this is dish detergent”, and “no, that is for the washing machine”. Glad I avoided that disaster. She also showed me the brands she uses for soap and milk, etc., which made shopping a little bit easier and faster.

You would think after watching it rain now every day at 4:00, that maybe I would have been smart enough to come prepared with an umbrella. But here I find myself standing outside Big C, loaded with pillows, detergent, milk, toilet paper and other heavy awkward items in the pouring down rain. No worries or “mai bin lai” – as Thai’s would say. I will just hail a cab. This leads me to my next lesson…good luck hailing a cab between the hours of 5-6. For lack of any other options, I started to walk. Every 2-3 minutes I’d turn around, wave at a cab through the monsoon like downpour, and watch it pass me. Sometimes, I’d even get splashed with street water… a little icing on the cake. Finally, someone pulled over and delivered me to my apartment, which at this point was maybe 2 blocks away. But hey, at least I have toilet paper tonight. Still no sheets, but I’ll take care of that this weekend. Apparently, decent sheets are hard to come by around here and a trip to IKEA is in the works for the weekend...details to come. As for now, I am heading down to a cute little coffee shop next to my apartment because I’ve been told it has the best inexpensive Tom Ka Gai around (coconut milk and chicken dish). It ranks right up there with fried pork noodle soup, so I’m excited, and the atmosphere is a perfect escape from the rain.

Wednesday, August 8

Yes it is ladies night…well let’s be honest, every night is ladies night in Bangkok if you want it to be. I went with a few girls from work to a place called Witches Tavern for drinks to celebrate another new girl’s birthday. Ironically, this girl also went to JMU; what a small world! We chose this place because on Wednesdays, ladies drink for free. Yes, anything you want…free! I left early to drop off my bags and sign a lease at my NEW APARTMENT! Yay!!! Then, I hopped on a motorbike taxi back. I’m becoming a pro at those things. Afterwards, I headed home to get all settled in my new place. Felt good to finally have a place to call home…sigh =) Umm, until I realized I had no toilet paper…or sheets…or towels. Guess I'll be roughing it tonight!

Sunday, August 5

I finally gathered the courage to order my first thing from a food cart…a coconut! You might think, why does this take courage? But it does! I don’t speak Thai, I’m not sure what to say, how much to pay, what to do...so normally I walk on by, but not today! I smiled and pointed at a coconut and the man pulled it out, chopped off the top with a big machete looking knife, and stuck a straw in it. I gave him 20 baht (less than a dollar), and left a happy girl. So proud of myself, I decided I had earned a second foot massage of the week. Life is good.

Afterwards, it was time for another first. The motorbike taxi! Now everyone says these are dangerous, not to get on one without a helmet, and probably just avoid them altogether. Sorry mom… I did it anyway!  I debated telling the man it was my first time so he would drive slow and show me how to sit, but then I feared he might try to overcharge me. So I just climbed on and held on for life as we weaved in and out of stopped traffic (which is why they are faster than cabs), and he kindly dropped me at my destination. The whole experience was less than a dollar and quite fun I must say. However, I will be purchasing a helmet before riding again…safety first!

I met friends at the BTS (train) and we headed to the mall for some dress shopping. One of the new girls (to our school, but not to Bangkok) was nice enough to take us newbies around to all her favorite places. We went to a cute vintage dress shop, where they put elastic in the waist so the dresses fit us “fat” westerners. I bought two cute dresses for 5 dollars each, and bought a cheapo phone since mine apparently doesn’t work in Thailand. Using it takes me back to high school when you had to type each letter 2-3 times to get the letter you want! Haha, I am purchasing an iPhone as soon as I get a paycheck!  Our friend suggested we take the water taxi back. Water Taxi? How exciting, I thought. Thailand used to be know as the Venice of the East because of all the waterways. This was no Venice. I'm pretty sure most of the water was sewage and runoff and it STANK. As we were boarding, my friend suggested I keep my mouth shut in case water happened to splash on board as we passed other boats. Good thing they have rain flaps. As we were riding along, we both caught a glimpse of something big and round floating in the water. We looked at each other in disgust when we both realized it was a dead pig. A few minutes later we hopped off, said goodbye, and took our motor taxi’s home. What a day!

Tuesday, July 31

A sleepless 23 hours of flying, 2 books, and 4 movies later, I made it to Bangkok! I loaded my three enormous suitcases in the van while repeatedly apologizing to the driver for the amount of belongings I was dragging along. I got to the hotel and conked out, knowing that in 6 hours I had to wake up for my first day of work! Talk about jet lag. First priority, finding a place to live. I was pretty basic in that my needs were a washing machine, a pool, and a clean safe building. Let the good times begin.