Songkran: Thai New Year

Songkran at Khao San Road in Bangkok, April 2011

Which city do you think holds the record for the craziest party? New York City for New Years? Las Vegas during, well, anytime of year? New Orleans during Mardi Gras? Let’s take a trip miles away for what I think is the world’s craziest party….Songkran in Thailand!

Songkran, or the Thai New Year, takes place during the hottest time of year in Thailand and is the perfect time for a country-wide waterfight!

Although it is also a party, the Thai people also use this time to pay respects to Buddha, as well as elders, clean their homes and even cleanse themselves spiritually for the new year. Women, children, grandparents, and maybe even some monks bring their best waterguns and crowd the streets of Thailand. The Thai people aren’t only armed with ice cold water guns but also a thick paste that they use to rub on your face. This is the same paste used by monks to make blessings.  

Scented water filled with flowers for blessings.

If you’re looking for a crazy party try travelling to Thailand and experiencing the world’s largest water fight – don’t forget your waterguns!

Flooding in Thailand

There's a severe flood going on in Thailand right now (please be sure to keep the Thai people that live in these areas in your prayers). Due to this, we changed our plans from Lopburi and Chiang Mai to Cha-Am beach. Trust me though, I'm not complaining - I love any excuse to visit the beach!!! We departed from Bangkok around 10:30 A.M. on a full minibus at Victory Monument. It was an interesting experience to say the least and we were the only Westerners on the minibus. We stopped for gas after probably an hour and a half and then when we got back on the bus we saw the sign for "Cha-Am Beach" but we kept going. We thought that was odd. Then we started to see road signs for Hua Hin which is PAST Cha-Am...so we started to worry a little bit. When the bus finally stopped, we got out and find a nice young couple that spoke a little English and they were able to help tell the bus employees what had happened and they told us to wait and we'd get on another bus free of charge to Cha-Am. Well, it was time to load our bus so we got up front with the driver, stowed our bags, and got comfy. After about 20 minutes, we were told to get off because it was full. Really people?? It was definitely frustrating, but what can you do when you don't speak the language?

So we found a Taxi driver who brought us from Hua Hin to Cha-Am for 350 baht (this was AFTER we haggled with him. I really tried for 300.). 30 minutes later we were driving down the main beach road here in Cha-Am and looking for our hotel. Our hotel is a small one here in Cha-Am so it was an adventure in itself finding it, but luckily I spotted it and the Taxi drivers let us out and we were helped with our bags. Of course when we got to the hotel room it wasn't ready yet so we decided to go for lunch. After that we were able to check in, and get suited up for the beach! I put my bikini on with shorts and a tank top and headed down to the water. Only problem was I was the only one in a bikini! I was too paranoid to even take off my clothes, except my shorts, I didn't want to draw more attention than we already do for having blonde hair in Asia. We hung out there for a while just people watching and enjoying the scenery. It was crazy. Vendors are all over the beach. They sell beach toys, fruit, and even squid!

After that we decided we were hungry and got ready for a nice seafood dinner on the beach. We walked quite a while just to get to the fishing pier and eat on the beach. It was really nice though, although the food was only mediocre. We even made a few homeless animal friends that we were able to give our leftover food to. The restaurants were really neat though. All along the pier there are seafood restaurants with tubs of fresh seafood that you can pick out yourself and have cooked right there. Talk about fresh! Can't get any better than that.

Then on the walk back to the room, we stumbled upon this little park area with a big, fat buddha inside. It was amazing!!! Before entering the park however, we got the evil eye from some cows that live there apparently. I'm still not sure what the buddha means or what the park was for but I have full intentions of doing research. Here are a few pictures...I'll have lots more stories from the Cha-Am beach soon.

chinatown.

Today, after putting the deposit on my new apartment, I hopped on the MRT and went to Hua Lampong to visit Chinatown! I had visited with my dad last November but we didn't see much of it and after hearing about the Execution Chamber I realized I desperately needed a trip back! After a tuk tuk driver attempting to haggle us, we decided to simply follow the signs and take a nice afternoon stroll to Chiantown. Passing areas that I distinctly remembered from my dad and I's father daughter trip was bizarre but made me feel even closer to Bangkok. One of the first things we saw down the road we went was this giant temple. It was gorgeous, but was a little pricey so we just took a gander at the remarkable wat from the outside. It's design reminded me of a smaller version of the Grand Palace. The details were similar although the Grand Palace is HUGE, especially compared to this little wat.

It's so weird knowing that I'm in Bangkok (especially after having been here for 2 months now) and then all of a sudden seeing Chinese writing and architecture everywhere! It's crazy. Some parts reminded me a lot of my trip to Hong Kong, especially the herbal medicine shops that we saw. It's also a vegetarian festival here in Bangkok so a lot of the dishes we saw were vegetarian. I saw lots of salads and of course, fruits everywhere. Lots of different smells. But don't get me wrong, you can smell fish (and durian) from miles away. I think that basically goes for any part of Bangkok though, even China Town.

We were planning on following this walking tour that is in this Thailand book I have but once we got to Chinatown there was just so much to do that we ended up seeing nothing on our list...but it didn't matter! We put the map and the book away and just explored. I love Chinatown and will definitely be back. To take it all in we stopped at this little bar on the street and people watched for an hour (and enjoyed a nice cold Chang). It was some of the best people watching I've ever done in Bangkok. I set up my tripod and bloggie while we were there and did a quick time lapse video, so check out our view from the bar at: www.youtube.com/cotimicheleasia. I'm sure I'll be back and maybe this time we will even make it to the Execution Chamber and I'll post some pictures of that. Either way it will be another Bangkok adventure! :)

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! :)

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.)

Goodbyes and Parties

I can't believe one week from today I will have been on a plane for several hours heading to Bangkok. Time flew by! Can someone actually slow these last 7 days down so I can take it all in and say goodbye to everyone that I can?

My going away party is tonight. I'm hoping to see some good friends, new and old. I'm going to miss everyone so much! I've made some really great friends since moving to Nashville last December and they will truly be missed. I see lots of skyping in my future!

I feel like I have so much to do in these 7 days, and so much to enjoy. I'm hoping to even make it to a Braves game this weekend to spend time with college friends and see my favorite baseball player in his possible last season. It's hard to believe I won't be around next summer to enjoy American baseball, but perhaps I will find a Thai alternative?

Next time I write, I'm sure I'll be even more frazzled than I am right now, so it should be interesting. Wish me luck!

20 days...

I can't believe that it's less than 3 weeks until I leave. My to-do list is still insanely long but I'm getting more and more things crossed off every day. Today, I found the Lonely Planet Thai Phrasebook at Barnes & Noble (didn't think anywhere had one - had already checked Books A Million and Hastings). I'm going to be attempting to speak Thai for the next 20 days whenever I can. I'm sure I sound ridiculous. Also, found my skin care at Ulta for the next 60 days. I'll have to find some Thai face wash once I get to Bangkok. I hope I can easily find something.

I also got an amazing email yesterday. A friend of mine that lives in Louisiana helped me connect with a friend of his who has been in Bangkok for two years now! She even went to Text and Talk, the school I'll be going to. She's gone out of her way to be helpful and I'm so grateful. It's great to have a connection who is a female, my age, similar interests, and has gone through exactly what I'm going through now. It's gotten me even more excited! Bangkok here I come! :)

Culture Shock in Bangkok

41 days until I leave for Bangkok! It's starting to get so close!! I spend a good bit of my time researching Thailand, trying to learn any Thai whatsoever, and just generally researching my future home. 

I have been to Thailand but it is definitely still going to be quite the culture shock for me. I foresee the fact that I'm a germ-a-phobe being my first hurdle to overcome. When I was in Bangkok, I would regularly see rice piled on top of chicken on top of sauce on top of noodles. Everything just mixed together. That probably wouldn't be a problem for a normal person but with my germ-a-phobic food tendencies it isn't how I would choose to eat. I am hoping to completely overcome this problem with a year in Bangkok. I'd also like to overcome my fear of all non-Western bathrooms but I think we should start with baby steps. 

10 Things I Wish I'd Known Before Traveling To Bangkok, Thailand

Traveling to Thailand? Here's 10 things I wish someone would have told me before I left for Bangkok!

56 days until departing!!!!

Today marks exactly 56 days before I embark on the journey of a lifetime!!! I've officially made my decision between Taiwan and Thailand but I'm going to keep that a surprise for the time being. You'll have to keep reading to see where I'm going.

I am *officially* booking my flight today! It will be completely paid for and this is the biggest puzzle piece in my journey. I can't believe it's really happening!! I have so many goals I want to accomplish and things I want to do when I reach my destination. I hope these 56 days go by quickly...I am READY! :)

Thailand...or Taiwan?

Now to throw even more confusion into all of this, I had formed a backup plan to going to Thailand (due to political turmoil). The second country on my list to travel to was Taiwan. I chose Taiwan mainly because it is an island and the weather doesn't seem to get below 55 (which is actually even colder than I'd like!). So I began researching Taiwan and a really good school there, HESS.

HESS is a free school that has a very rigorous application and interview process but if they like you, they offer you a one year contract somewhere in Taiwan. You have options for different contracts based on the amount of hours and age groups you would like to work with. I definitely want to work with little kids...I think. I guess that's not definite :).

The good thing about this school is you have a constant support system around you and since I am going alone, that is really important to me. They pick you up at the airport and pay for your hotel accommodations while in training. The training programs are all free (there is even a course on culture shock). There is a big difference between this program and Text and Talk in Thailand, they do not give you your TEFL certificate until your one year is up.

I have already completed the online applications and paperwork and had my telephone interview last night. It went really well and got me really interested in HESS. The lady I spoke with had been through the program herself and gave me some great advice. My favorite piece of advice was that you might not realize how slowly you have to speak or how much you have to tone down your language and word usage - especially with the younger children. This is something I never would have thought of and I'm so glad she gave me this advice, among other things.

I'm now incredibly confused because my heart was set on Thailand but now I'm realizing just how great this school in Taiwan is. I feel torn. But I can't jump the gun, I haven't even received a job offer from HESS but today I began hardcore Taiwan research. Hopefully, my heart will lead the way, but as of now it still wants to see me in Bangkok.

Wish me luck!

All Systems Go!

Things are really looking up in Bangkok! The civilians are coming out to clean up the streets! This is such a promising site to me and makes me feel so much better about going. My excitement is, once again, rising!

I do fear that because these issues were only pushed aside for the time being that they will emerge again. I fear that while I am there another state of emergency will be declared. I fear the protests that become deadly. I fear gunshots and fires.

But more importantly, I fear living in fear. I do not want to let something that could or could not happen stand in the way of my life forever changing with this opportunity. The Red Shirts aren't targeting tourists, but at times they are also not thinking clearly (like when they set fire to Central World!). which is a bit scary.

But hey, like my dad says, at least I will be there to document history!

Thailand is a GO!

Stop, Drop, & Roll!

As I mentioned in my last blog, I fell in love with one particular road in Bangkok that sees its fair share of backpackers and hippies from all over the world, although they mainly seem to be Westerners.

As soon as you get close to it, you see flags all above your head and you begin to see people covering the street. Khaosan Road is blocked off to vehicles at certain points of the day so there are literally people filling the streets. There are also street vendors everywhere you look selling an assortment of items: clothing, sunglasses, fake degrees, and lots and lots of FOOD!

We made our way to Khaosan Road twice while we were in Bangkok, mainly because of how much I loved it! Our last night in Bangkok we stopped here to get a meal, a fish massage, a few Singhas, and just walk around and enjoy the scenery before departing.

About halfway down Khaosan Road there were people stopped everywhere. We couldn't get around them! What was going on? See for yourself...and this was just a typical night in Bangkok! :)

Why Bangkok?

People keep asking me..."Why Bangkok?" like it's crazy that I could want to live in Thailand. A lot of people are misinformed or just completely uninformed about the country altogether and I'm here to tell you, it is NOT what you think! The people are kind, they work hard, they appreciate what they have...the country is beautiful, filled with ruins and crystal clear beaches...public transportation is cheap, commonly used...shopping is everywhere!!!! What is not to love? If that doesn't sell you on Bangkok, maybe this will. This is my real reason for wanting to live in Thailand...in pictures. :) These are all pictures taken from my trip in November 2009 to Bangkok, Thailand, when I fell in love with the country!

Khaosan Road...by far my favorite place in Bangkok! Hippie/Backpacker central. Loved it!

Me and my elephant friend outside of a temple in Thailand.

Sleeping Buddha...my favorite temple! Amazing. So breathtaking. I even got a permanent reminder of this place as soon as we left :)

For good luck at the Grand Palace in Bangkok

The Dates They Are A-Changin'...

After going back and forth with myself numerous times, I have decided to wait until August to try and make my journey to Bangkok. This could all change again...we will be keeping a close eye on the political situation there as well as continuing to speak with locals. I will begin school at Text and Talk on August 16 and instead of taking the 4 week course, I will stay in school a couple of weeks longer for the 6 week course. These next couple of months will also be helpful so that I can earn some more money and have a little more of a cushion while I'm not making any money in school.

I'm still worried about what's going on over there but I'm hoping that things settle down before August. Some pictures that I see are amazing with literally thousands of soldiers lining the streets. There are people in Bangkok that are being optimistic that an ending to this will be soon so all I can do is hope!