I ♥ Tuk Tuks and KSR!

Last weekend, we had one crazy night on Khaosan Road! As I've mentioned, it is one of my favorite places in all of Bangkok. Since I moved here I've noticed the reasons people don't seem to like it: it's overpriced since it's a tourist area, it's always crowded, food doesn't seem to be up to par (my falafel last night was pretty good but didn't feel so good after I ate it and it seems the pad thai on the street sits there for months before it's cooked), pickpockets, and the fact that you can't walk a foot without being asked for a rip off tuk tuk, taxi with no meter, tailored suits, or a sex show. Besides all of that, I do love it. It's nice seeing Westerners in one area. We met a group of guys last time we went out that were from all over the world: Ireland, America, and England. They had just randomly each other and allowed us to ride free of charge in their taxi. Nice guys. And unlike America, guys that talk to you here aren't hitting on you. In fact, they're probably not interested in American women (lucky for me).

But, I'll go back to the beginning. Right when we got to Khaosan Road it started to pour. I mean severe rain! So what do you do when it's raining in Bangkok? Stop somewhere for a beer. We finally picked one of the many bars alongside the road and decided to stop for a couple of drinks and some appetizers. I hadn't eaten so anything on the menu looked quite appealing to me. My friend with me didn't drink beer but I ordered my Tiger beer (I try to have a different beer each time I'm out) and enjoyed the scenery while she dwelled over the menu, only to decide on a Long Island Iced Tea. How American of her. :) Nice to know they're international though.

One other drawback to KSR (Khaosan Road) is the fact that you are always being bugged by people to buy things! Even when you are sitting down peacefully at a restaurant! That's something that would NEVER be allowed in America. It's all part of the atmosphere here though, and I've actually gotten used to it. One set of people that walk around are these women with this crazy hats on that carry these little frog things that make ribbit noises. You can't walk far down KSR without hearing "ribbit, ribbit" everywhere. They are cute, although completely useless. The women also sell bracelets, wallets, you name it - they probably sell it! Well, as my friend and I are sitting down to enjoy our drinks this woman walks up with her headdress on and starts asking us to buy the frog (one can only assume that's what she is asking, neither of us speak Thai). She then takes her crazy headdress off of her and puts it on my head!

Entertaining, right? Kind of gross at the same time but seeing as my head isn't itching a week later I think we are in the clear! Another common sight on KSR are little adorable beggar children. One of them was this sweet little (scam artist) boy that came to our table asking us to buy his roses for 100 baht (rip off!). We didn't buy anything but he still stood at our table for a good 20 minutes so finally my friend decided she'd give him 20 baht to leave us alone. 20 baht later, he is still staring at us.

Cute though, right?? You're probably thinking..."how is this girl going to be a teacher when she can't even deal with kids?"...but I assure you this beggars are quite skilled and don't know how to take no for an answer. It can be quite annoying especially when you are just trying to take cover from the rain on KSR and enjoy a nice cold beer and some spring rolls. (Sorry for the blurry picture, no flash on my camera). After we left KSR we took a tuk tuk ride and I got a great video of it that I loaded onto my YouTube page! You can look at it here: http://www.youtube.com/cotimicheleASIA. Thanks for reading! I'll write soon but be patient as I'm finishing these last 3 weeks of school and (hopefully) finding a job not long after! Soon enough I'll be a certified TEFL teacher! :)

Bell Ringing at Wat Saket and Golden Mount in Bangkok!

Today I went to Wat Saket and Golden Mount here in Bangkok. It's a free Wat and overlook near Khao San Road. We bravely took a boat on the pier to the Wat and enjoyed a lovely day. I have lots of great pictures that are on my facebook page and I will be uploading them on here very soon. I haven't had as much time to update my blog lately with school, teaching this week, and a job interview! No complaints though, just busy! This picture here is at the overlook at Golden Mount. It was a rainy, hazy day but still an amazing view of the city. I highly recommend it to anyone. I also took a cool video of my friend ringing the bells at the Golden Mount. You walk along and ring all of the bells and at the end you bang this gong. You can check out the video here, on my YouTube account! Incredible day. Enjoy the video and here are a few pictures.... :)

Asian Sizzler

I've been trying to go out and try new foods as often as I possibly can. Some of them are quite adventurous foods, some aren't so adventurous. I try and eat real Thai street food every day I'm in class because it's cheap and usually there's someone there to lead me the way to something delicious. One night after class, a classmate and I decided to try the Sizzler here in Thailand for the first time. I don't have a good opinion of Sizzler in America but was assured Bangkok's Sizzler is different and delicious. So we opted for the salad bar, she's a vegetarian and I just love salad so it was right up both our alleys. I started with a basic salad, complete with PARMESAN CHEESE!!! I get really excited about cheese here in Bangkok as I've mentioned because it's quite hard to come by so finding this made me quite happy. I chose a Caesar dressing and found it wasn't too far off from American Caesar, I was pleased (I had tried a Caesar recently that was really sweet and not good at all so this was a definite step up). Also notice the one quail egg on the top right. I got brave later with those quail eggs...

Next on the menu was soup! I had heard great things about this pumpkin soup that Sizzler sometimes has so I decided I'd try it, even though I don't really care for pumpkin. It was great! I found some Ritz crackers to put in it. MMM....very tasty!

Then I went back up for some basic vegetables. I say basic but when would I have most of these on one plate in America?

There was edamame (cold and disgusting, I barely touched it), baby corn (also cold, but good), celery, "asian potato" which was basically just really thin asparagus, some type of Asian veggie salad thing, and quail eggs. Complete with more Caesar dressing for dipping. The quail eggs were probably my favorite thing on this plate! I loved them! And then a couple of nights ago I told some friends how I went to Sizzler and had several quail eggs after falling in love with them and I found out they are not good for you at all and have LOTS of calories. Oh well, they were quite tasty.

Next I went up for a plate of just fruit. I absolutely loveeee fruit here in Thailand, I've made it a habit to get watermelon and pineapple from fruit stalls on the street on my way home. It's amazing and I think it's probably because of this gorgeous tropical climate we have here. On this plate you'll see watermelon, pineapple bits, something that appears to be apple, and my personal favorite - dragon fruit (the white stuff with the black dots). The fruit that looks like apple turned out to not be apple at all but something not sweet and not very good. Papaya maybe? I'm not a fan of papaya, not even in Bangkok! The dragon fruit was awesome, I love it all the time and have learned how to cut my own (impressive, right?). Clearly I was getting my money worth at the all-you-can-eat Sizzler salad bar...but how could I leave without....

DESSERT???!!!??? I couldn't decide between the 3 possible desserts so, of course, I got all 3! The green one is a green tea mousse with some type of chocolate stuff on top. The red one is "jelly" with whipped cream (jell-o). The brown one is chocolate mousse topped with "jelly" (jell-0) shaped like a heart. I tried the green tea one first and liked it, until I got this horrid after taste. Green tea mousse is not for me, but I ate the chocolate on top! The jell-o was amazing, just like American jell-o, except for their whipped cream that has no taste. Thing #2343 I miss about America: COOL WHIP!!!! The chocolate mousse was a great way to end dinner though, it was absolutely superb. I contemplated getting 3 more of that one but then realized I was so full I may to unbutton my pants, so I passed on the extra mousse.

All in all, my experience at Sizzler in Bangkok was a pleasant one. Good prices for all this food and I enjoyed 99% of it, and enjoyed trying the things I didn't! I will definitely be going back to eat much, much more! :)

TEFL School: Week One

Well, I finally started school to get my TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) certificate this week. I was very reluctant to start school, didn't want to at all but knew that I had to. I was dreading it because it's 90% public speaking which makes my stomach turn. However, I had to suck it up and go to class on Monday.

I decided to try and change myself completely for this situation. I mean, I'm in Thailand. What do I have to lose? So when our teacher asked about 5 minutes into class for a volunteer for some unknown assignment, I raised my hand. Something I'd NEVER EVER EVER do in America. It ended up being really easy and was a nice way to break the ice. We did that and then did some basic school work that day, but we also got our first assignment that was due on Wednesday: a 10 minute presentation on anything. I chose SEC football, the love of my life. I actually contemplated not going to class on Wednesday because I was so nauseous about it. Even though I was terrified, I went to class and volunteered second. My teacher told me that I speak entirely too fast, which I already knew, and that he was scared because I never took any breaths. Typical me. Basically the rest of the week after that presentation made me feel better. It was all downhill from there.

My class is amazing though. I really love the people in it! There were 18 of us to start (although one guy dropped out). There are only 3 females, which is interesting. This is probably because men tend to come to Thailand for the women so I guess I should expect to be outnumbered. We have SO many different countries represented, it is absurd! There is an English guy that was born in Africa, an Australian, a guy from New Zealand, a few Americans (one is a Florida Gators fan, don't get me started), a girl from Scotland, a guy from Wales, a guy from India, a couple of guys from Singapore, a guy originally from the Ukraine who has been living in the US, two French guys, and I believe that is all, although I've probably forgotten a country. It is amazing being in a room for the same reason with all those different people. I LOVE IT! Our teacher is also from South Africa, and his accent reminds me of Matt Damon from Invictus! It's amazing though and I love every minute of learning from all these different cultures and backgrounds. Everyone is generally pretty hilarious too. Being in a room with all that testosterone brings up talk of prostitutes, ladyboys, drugs, and alcohol but it is all generally in good fun and gets us all laughing.

Well, unfortunately, I have less time for blog writing since we have weekly presentations and tests and I have one tomorrow. I have no idea what it is over so I'm hoping I do well. I will try to update about school and the fun things I get to do on the weekends as much as I can, but I promise I won't neglect my blog too much! :) After all, just going to class every day with so many different people is an adventure.

(Note: the picture is just a woman walking down my soi. I thought she was pretty cool.)

JJ Part 2!

I went to JJ (Chatuchak Market) on Sunday since I didn't have much to do. I had woken up at 7 AM Bangkok time to watch the LSU game via Skype (Geaux Tigers!). I went and had victory pancakes at JJ (they taste better when they are after a sweet, sweet victory) - the same ones I blogged about a few weeks ago. They were the yummy banana pancakes and an iced mocha. Talk about a good brunch after a good win!

I'm still constantly amazed about prices here in Bangkok. I was able to purchase that breakfast, 2 bottles of water, a bag for my school books (basically an oversized purse), a nice purple ceramic coffee mug, and 13 pairs for earrings for around $10.50 American dollars!!! How amazing is that??? I added a picture of all my beautiful earrings because it was such a great deal and they are good quality earrings. It never fails that I can find a good deal on something really awesome at JJ! One of my favorite places in Bangkok.

Also, today marks ONE MONTH that I've been a Bangkok resident! :)

Sunsets and Carnivals

Well I've finally buckled down and bought some necessities for my apartment: a mattress topper, a blow-dryer (it's PINK! and also a piece of crap but it was only $10 so I guess you get what you pay for), a bucket to wash my laundry in (washer & dryer, I miss you), and some notebooks so I can start school successfully on Monday! That means I've been doing less fun and more work which I guess was bound to happen eventually.

I'm dreading the beginning of school on Monday, it equals lots of public speaking which makes me nauseous. I hope I don't throw up on anyone! I'm also working on my resume and getting that ready to send out to schools to hopefully find a job! I found one school I really like but who knows if they will even be hiring...I can't get my hopes up but I'm really leaning towards being a teacher of little ones. We all know I love the kiddies (Thai kids are the cutest).

I did get the chance to get out last night for some Fuji (the Japanese restaurant I am now obsessed with). I had a LOT to eat for around $10. I had sushi and chicken and miso soup and tofu and fried cream cheese things and it was all amazing! I love that place. I tried some raw fish for the first time. The actual fish fish I really didn't enjoy at all (I almost gagged but was brave about it), the raw shrimp I did like though. It was just as good as cooked shrimp! Before dinner we went to this little obscure bar called Carnival where I had an alcoholic drink called Punch. It was amazing! I didn't taste any alcohol at all, it was more like a very sweet pineapple-y punch drink. At the bottom there was some jelly! SURPRISE! I kept feeling something at the bottom with my straw and we assumed it was just some type of fruit but it was definitely jelly. I ended up just sucking it down with the rest of the drink so I didn't even really realize it was an unknown substance. Oh well, it was good!

I've been shopping for necessities today, groceries, and getting some resume advice from my Bangkok mentor. She's so great, I can't wait to start applying for jobs! She's made me feel very confident. I am being productive tonight, writing blogs, uploading new pictures, editing videos, and creating my YouTube channel so I can keep you all updated through video. I'm also waking up very early tomorrow to watch the LSU game via Skype (thanks mom & dad!), so it will be an early night in Bangkok for me! Night night everyone!

Also, do you see that gorgeous sunset?? I see that daily here. It amazes me each time! :)

I'm on YouTube!

I just created my new YouTube channel so you can see all the footage I'm taking with my bloggie camera (thanks mom!) while I'm in Bangkok! I'm uploading my first video right now...

Apparently some of the videos I created got deleted when my hard drive failed a week ago but I still have a few videos and promise I'll be taking lots more so be sure to check it out and subscribe to my videos.

My first video is one I took in the Siam area of the Thai guy singing. Remember me mentioning a show similar to American Idol here in Bangkok? Well, I got some footage of a couple of the contestants. The guy is really talented!

Check out my first video of the guy from "Bangkok Idol" here: Bangkok Idol.

Thanks! :)

Food, Food, Food!

Another thing on my list of things I wanted to try while in Bangkok was one of these little mini coconuts you see everywhere. They chop the top off, rip some of the meat back and stick a straw in it! (I'd seen them on numerous travel shows before coming and only heard great things about them) One of my friends was sweet enough to treat me to one of these little coconuts one day while we were walking around. It was pretty good, definitely different than a regular coconut - much more flavorful. I was disappointed, having heard how amazing they were, but it was still pretty good. I will definitely be having one again. My friend is an expert at eating the meat but I don't really like the texture of rubber so after trying a few bites, I decided the meat wasn't for me.

Next stop was shopping, she was looking for a watch and I got to see a mall I hadn't seen before but then it was off to dinner (my favorite time of the day). We went to a little restaurant that I'm not even sure how to describe...maybe Thai American? Anyways, it was really good. Our appetizer was hummus with pita bread and a couple of other dippings. Only thing was when she brought our pita and two other dippings there was no hummus. She failed to tell us when we ordered that they were out so this was our appetizer: pita bread, some white sauce stuff that I can't pronounce the name of but LOVED, and crushed up eggplants with seasonings...It was really good despite not having what we ordered. Typical Thailand.

For my meal, I ordered this deliciousness, a doner kebab. It had that same white sauce we used to dip the pita bread in and had chicken that was cooked on a kebab prior to being put in my sandwich, lettuce, and tomatoes and was inside the pita bread. It was sooo good...and so messy. But I loved every bite of it!

One thing that made it ok that my food was so insanely messy? We got ONE actual Western napkin! How glorious is that? Now that might not seem like such a big deal to those of you using your paper towel rolls in America but here in Thailand we get one measly thing that compares to one small square of paper towel. Thus, this was a giant improvement and actually pretty exciting for us. We even took a picture!

It's a beautiful thing. After this we walked around some more and ended up at an Australian bar that was pretty fun. We watched rugby and (gasp!) the Green Bay Packers game came on so I got to see Mr. Matt Flynn play QB. I was quite content. We were also hungry again so we ordered some food. This time I had crocodile. I'd love to show you the picture of the crocodile that made me incredibly sick but it didn't turn out very well. It came on a plate with peppers on a kebab, and with lots of bbq type sauce covering it. The sauce itself was very spicy and had a great flavor! The crocodile? Very tough (similar to alligator I suppose). It was an interesting night full of delicious FOOD!

Bangkok Tattoo for Clean, Safe Tattooing

I just wrote an article for Associated Content on the great, very safe job done by Bangkok Tattoo on my new ink. Please check it out here. Thanks!