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! :)

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: Expect the Unexpected

I've been so busy it's been difficult to write any blogs. This one will be quite long to update on everything that has happened! I had my very successful going away party the week before I left and got to say goodbye to some amazing friends who I will miss dearly. I had a great time and was honored with how many people showed up! I had a good weekend before leaving which included the pandas at the Atlanta Zoo (gosh they are so adorable!), the Braves (even though they lost I got to see Chipper and the rest of my team before leaving the country), and the lake! I'll miss the Nashville lakes a lot! The water here in Bangkok is scary - no telling what is in there :).

I got an email from the school I'm attending about 4 days before leaving and they told me they cancelled my class. After a mild freak out, everything worked out and I start that same school here on September 6, which means I'm on vacation until then! I plan on taking the time to figure out my way around Bangkok and get lost a few more times. As my dad keeps telling me, as far as Bangkok is concerned - expect the unexpected! So true.

I was able to fit everything into my 3 suitcases and my 2 big carry ons on Tuesday morning the 10th when I left Nashville. I had some tearful goodbyes and it was really hard telling my mom bye and knowing I wouldn't see her for a while. My parents are so supportive and so far Skype has really helped me feel a little less homesick.

I boarded my first plane from BNA in Nashville and was flying standby, so the fact that I got on the LAST seat was quite amazing. Then after a few hours we arrived in Salt Lake City then went on to Seattle. I really recommend flying from that area because the flight to Tokyo was only a little over 9 hours. I also got to fly first class which was pretty amazing. As soon as I boarded the plane I was welcomed with champagne. No complaints here! The food and wine are also much better up there! Then when I arrived in Tokyo we were shuffled around quite a bit and had a 3 hour delay! I finally arrived in Bangkok around 3 AM and was welcomed by my first friend. It was so kind of her to wait until I got there and to still pick me up at 3 AM! Very sweet. It was also nice seeing her fleur de lis on her UL shirt! I love people from Louisiana!!!! :)

It was interesting trying to get all of my baggage to the car. We took an uphill moving escalator type thing - minus the stairs and with a couple hundred pounds of luggage this was hilarious. The luggage was so heavy that we all had to hold on to it as we went up the flat escalator to keep it from rolling back and taking us down with it! So funny!

Her and her nice Scottish friend drove me to my hotel and I got all checked in. I love this hotel! It is very funky and artistic, and for the most part quiet.

This is in my room. It's a tree painted on the wall where everyone who has stayed here leaves Post-it notes. So cool!!!

I didn't sleep much but was able to Skype my parents and say hello. I then slept for only a couple of hours.

Breakfast the next morning was DELISH!! I had scrambled eggs (not very Thai, right?), fresh fruit (the fruit tastes so much better in Thailand), and some delicious juice and coffee. Then I went out for a walk to the BTS to meet a writer. She writes several great articles on Thailand and has been a mentor to me even before I got here (she writes on Associated Content, Cassandra James. If you're interested in learning about TEFL in Bangkok - read her stuff! Very informative and honest!). She took me to my apartment building to pick out a room and even told me which side of the building was better. She was great! She took me to the supermarket here, showed me around a lot and took me to lunch. I had a great time. We also had some delicious coffee. She made me feel so much better about being here and assured me the homesickness wouldn't last long. After all, she hasn't returned the US in 4 years!

It was a Thai holiday here yesterday. It was mother's day which is the Queen's birthday. The Royal Family is VERY important in Thai culture and you could see evidence of this everywhere yesterday. In the mall there were stalls set up everywhere selling items with the royal insignia which people here just love to buy! There was a giant, very old picture of the King and Queen inside the Central Ladprao mall which was amazing to look at. Around Victory Monument, they strung lights to honor the Queen also and it was GORGEOUS at night!

Then I met my Louisiana friend at her apartment. This is where I met another guy from Louisiana. He actually went to a rival high school which was funny. He has a sweet Thai girlfriend who was trying to help me practice some Thai phrases. We all 4 took a taxi to dinner and shared LOTS of Thai food and a giant thing of Chang beer.

My favorite food at dinner? Yum Bpah Dook Foo...it was a fluffy catfish that was fried with a mango salad type thing on top. DELICIOUS!!! I tried not to let the catfish head staring at me affect the taste of the food haha, and it definitely didn't! The jet lag started to catch up with me at this point so I took a taxi back to my hotel for some much needed sleep.

Now it is 7 am here in Bangkok and I am wide awake and have been since about 5. I check out of my hotel here in a few hours and then move into my apartment! I think a trip to a market to get some local decor will be needed to make it feel a little like home. Wish me luck!

This morning, August 13, a rainy Bangkok morning!

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! :)