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!!
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!!
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