it was worth it for the view

High points and fond memories, appreciations and realizations from the last few weeks...

Un otro San Miguel, Kaa: There's nothing like getting drunk with new friends and busting out the classic techno ball moves for upwards of 25 minutes to make a bar on Khao San Rd. feel like you're... not home, but where you belong in the moment. I'm so, so thankful for the wonderful people I've gotten to know and explore this country with the last 2 months.

Best Guesthouse experience thus far: Saibaidee House in Sukhothai for 1) allowing us to check in at 4:30 am with a sleepy smile, 2) providing the most helpful information possible for checking out the city and beyond (including bus schedules!), and 3) homemade muesli delicious enough to write home about, literally... Worthy of bitcheswhobrunch.com ;)

Great Success in the classroom: our friend Connor gave us the idea to do a Pronunciation Bee in class (like a spelling bee, but with pronunciation). Lee and I made a lesson plan to teach pronunciation of words with "R" and "L" which included saying pairs like right and light, rip and lip, rice and lice. As I'm sure you know already from Asian stereotypes, this was pretty difficult for most of them. But the look on their faces when they pronounced a word correctly... priceless. The lesson also included singing "Low, low, low your boat".

Toast Appreciation Day: We have a toaster in our kitchen, but we didn't use it b/c who knows what's been in it. But finally we couldn't stand the thought of warm toast with butter and jam or peanut butter teasing us anymore so I googled "How to clean a toaster" and Lee cleaned it... only to find out after plugging it in that it was broken. I'm eating plain untoasted bread right now.

Worth the tourist stampede, I concede - you could see the hordes of farangs and Thais alike at Erawan National Park in Kanchanburi from a klick away. I like my tourist attractions the same way I like my mall - untouched and uncrowded on a Tuesday morning at 10a.m. However, the waterfall really did live up to the hype. Absolutely gorgeous, unreal water, with 7 steps of very satisfactory hiking. The fishies in the water nibble away at the dead skin on your feet as soon as you step in the water to swim, so they got a feast while I got a free pedicure. Win-win.

Dog Bite Count: 2. No blood, no worries. There's a mean-spirited dog that has taken to hiding in the bushes right outside of our school, and one day I was on the phone and forgot to cross the street to avoid it and it jumped out and sneak attacked me as I passed its hiding spot. It's getting quite difficult to go for runs on longer creative routes around the town because I keep running into dogs that really want to sample my flesh, and my flesh only. Do I not just look like everyone else?

Favorite Place So Far?: Koh Mak. Sigh... Gorgeous. Untouristy. Perfection. A small boutique on Tuesday at 10 a.m.... and it's high season. 24 hours of kayaking, swimming, snorkeling, climbing palm trees and attempting to break open coconuts, and reading in a hammock. We stayed in a legit little bamboo bungalow (thank you Jamie!), and the restaurant served up the most delicious seafood - no, meal - that I've eaten here. This is Thailand. :)



Sample of my current Thailand playlist:
"Intro" - The XX
"Lost in the World" - Kanye West
"Map of the Problematique" - Muse
"Desert Rose" - Sting
"Zombie" - Cranberries
"In For the Kill" - La Roux
"Colourless Colour" - La Roux
"Home" - Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros
"Bamboo Banger" - M.I.A.

For the bus rides:
"Stars" - The XX
"Infinity" - The XX
"Cosmic Love" - Florence + The Machine
"In Every Sunflower" - Bell X1
"Don't Forget Me" - Way Out West
"To Be Alone With You" - Sufjan Stevens
"Into Dust" - Ashtar Command

Successful Hitchhikings Part 2 w/ video - "Evidence of Elephants"

Steph and I decided to go to Khao Yai National Park, so day 3 of our trip was spent mostly in transit. The songtaew dropped us off at the bottom of the mountain, and Steph and I looked at each other with the expression of "well now how the hell do we get up there?" A park ranger told us to hitchhike up to the top. So we stuck out our thumbs and let our teeth show and sure enough within 5 minutes we were sitting in the bed of truck making our way up the mountain. We got a room and signed up for a night safari later that night. This excursion was pretty cool. We saw lots of massive dear and even a curious little porcupine on the side of the road. Not a bad way to relax after a long day of traveling.

The next morning we got up before the sun and headed out with the goal of seeing everything the supersized park had to offer in one day. First, we head to the elephant salt licks. No elephants. Then we walked through the park to an observation tower. This was pretty scary. I was just waiting for a tiger or bear to jump out of the tall swaying grass that surrounded us and start gnawing on my skull. We made it unharmed, but there was a problem with the observation tower. No animals, but the scenery was very beautiful and it felt good to get some fresh clean air.
We then jumped on our girly yellow motorbike and decided to see some waterfalls. Even if there weren't animals we could still enjoy some free falling water. We first went to Heo Suwat, which is the waterfall from the movie "The Beach" with Mr. DiCaprio. This waterfall was one of the most beautiful things I had ever seen. It was perfect, except that we couldn't go swimming in the chilly pools beneath it. After dozens of pictures we jumped on the little girl bike at went to the south end of the park to its biggest waterfall, Heo Narok. On the way we passed some monkeys hanging out on the side of the road. We also passed some large piles of elephant poo, which proved that there were elephants resided within the boundaries of the park. We finally made it to the waterfall after a 45 minute bike ride and started hiking towards it. 300 meters away from it I could still hear the water falling through the dense jungle. This waterfall had to be 150 meters tall. The biggest I've ever seen. It was pretty, but Heo Suwat takes the cake.
So that was it. We did it. We saw everything that we thought was worth seeing at the park, and it only took us 8.5 hours. We checked out of our room, returned the motorbike, and stuck out our thumbs in hopes of catching a ride back down the mountain. We made it back to town with just enought time to catch the last bus to Bangkok. We got to Bangkok late and quickly bought an overnight ticket to Sukhothai, one of Thailand's ancient capital cities.

The bus seats never felt so comfortable. We were exhausted from hiking and traveling all day and we immediately feel asleep once the bus started moving. This didn't last long. At 4:30am we were awoken by the bus hostess screaming "Sukhothai! You get off here!" in our faces. Needless to say we were not pleased, but we were able to check into our hostel and go back to sleep.

The next morning we went into the historic park and rented some bicycles. This was pretty fun. I hadn't jumped on a bicycle and gone exploring since I was 14 years old. We spent several hours riding around Sukhothai's ancient ruins trying to imagine what it looked like hundreds and hundred of years ago. It was fun, but after awhile the ruins start to look the same and we lost interest. Day 2 in the ancient town we rented a badass black Honda motorbike from our hostel and rode to some hot springs for a day of pampering. It took us about an hour to get there, so my aching ass and back were ready for a massage. We first got a massage which lasted an hour and a half then we jumped in a hot tub that was filled with natural spring water. We relaxed for a little while, letting our muscles liquify in the hot stew and then headed back to the hostel. It felt good to relax and unwind for a bit. That night we jumped on the overnight bus back to Bangkok and arrived at the bus station at 5:00am. We then got our 6:30am bus tickets to Kanchanaburi and grabbed some grub from 7-11.
We got to Kanchanaburi and took a little cat nap while waiting for Connor, Katie, and Becca to arrive. Once we had our travel buddies we met up with Sara and Nell and hit the streets. We checked out the Jeath War Museum at the bridge over the River Kwai. This museum was pretty cool, and it was filled with some very random things. I was able to get a tank top from the night market across the street, so I'd say it was a pretty successful trip.

The next morning I woke up not feeling so well from the night before and met up with everyone in the hostel restaurant eating breakfast. We all decided to go to the Erawan National Park to see some waterfalls. I had been looking forward to this for awhile. So after breakfast we jumped in a songtaew and made way for the park. This is home to the famous seven-tiered waterfall. The seventh level is said to look like Erawan, a 3-headed elephant. I didn't see the resemblence, but these waterfalls were truly captivating. When hotels in Vegas build elaborate pools they have these in mind. We swam at a few spots and took lots of pictures and then headed back to the hostel.

The next day we made our way back to our Thai hometown, Wangchan. This trip brought on many experiences. We saw balloons, fireworks, elephant poo, and I somehow managed to be in the King of Thailands birthday parade. It was a trip that left us exhausted and satiated with Thai culture.

This week I have been making a video that documents our travels of the past week. It's called "Evidence of Elephants."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfhGjGOGyr0

Successful Hitchhikings Part 1

Steph and I had the entire last week off so we decided to see as much of Thailand as possible. This expedition consisted of 10 days, 3 hostels, 10 awful bus rides, and 3 successful hitchhikes. It was an epic journey that took us to waterfalls and hot springs and even got me into a parade. We got to see hot air balloons and two firework shows that dazzled our eyes. It was rough on us, especially our backs, but we managed to do everything we planned and a little more.

Friday after school we got on the 5pm bus headed to Bangkok and stayed with our friend, Marianne, in Samut Prakan that night. It was nice to sleep in a bed bigger than a twin and get a good nights rest without being awoken by fighting dogs. The next morning we got up early and met some friends at the BTS station and soon we were on our way to Thailand's International Balloon Festival in Nakhon Nayok. Before jumping on the "hour and forty minute" bus ride we hit up K.F.C. for some chicken sandwiches and some greasy salty french fries. And if you were curious if Thais put mayonnaise on their sandwiches, they do. They pour it all over them.

So after the 3 hour journey we finally made it there and decided to go white water rafting. For the small fee of 250฿ we were taken on an interesting aquatic journey through the mildly chaotic river. After the ride we grabbed some quick food and made our way to the fairgrounds and prepared for a spectacle of immense proportions. HOT AIR BALLOONS! We had all seen them before, but for some reason these just seemed much cooler. Maybe because we are in Thailand I dont know. Over half a dozen hot air balloons were blown up and putting on a light show with their massive flames. There was an old English chap on the microphone trying to coordinate the balloons flames by telling the operators to "flicker to the music now!" The music was the score from some Disney movie, which made it even better. After hundreds of pictures we were exhausted and ready to leave, but then came the fireworks.

The next day was the king's 83rd birthday which is a HUGE celebration here. There's nothing like it back home. Everyone here loves the king. Everyone. Me, Steph, and Marianne went into Bangkok and messed around for a few hours and finally met up with Connor, Becca, and Katie at the Big Swing. In Thailand there are certain times everyday when you can buy alcohol. When we met up with them it was 4:40 and we couldn't buy beer until 5:00, so Connor and I just hung out in the local 7-11 for the next 20 minutes patiently waiting to get our fix of booze.

That night we hit the streets of Bangkok to join in on the celebration. Connor and I split up from the girls for awhile and actually became part of the celebration. We went wandering off dipping and dodging through the over-crowded streets trying to find a great spot to view the fireworks and somehow ended up in the king's parade. It was hilarious. Connor and I were the only two people out of thousands that had beer in our hands, which made us feel awkward enough, and we were in the middle of the King of Thailand's birthday parade. We didn't care. We just kept playing the "I'm not from here, so I dont' know what to do" card, and it worked like a charm.

After an elaborate fireworks show we posted up at a place called "Gullivers" on Khao San Rd. We enjoyed each others company and had nice conversation over several rounds of San Miguel Light. It was over these delicious brews that I realized that coming to Thailand was one of the best decisions I had ever made. In only two months I have done some incredible things and met some unforgettable people.

Buffet Buffers

One full month of teaching down! That is, if you count only having seen some classes once so far and having at least 3-4 classes cancelled or not show up each week a full month... ah well. Lee and I have grown accustomed to asking our coordinator almost daily if there's something going on with the school that would cancel classes for the day, because i've lost count now of how many times I have shown up prepared for the class, only to stand around and wait for 20 minutes before going downstairs to the gymnasium and realize that the all the students are watching their peers play an intense game of Chairball (kind of like basketball with no dribbling, and a human stands on top of a chair with a basket in his hands for his team to score in). On one day where there weren't classes in the morning but they were scheduled as normal for the afternoon, I asked my coordinator again whether there was really class in the afternoon. She looked at timetable, and said "yes, yes there is class..... but the students are lazy... and they may not come." I'll let you guess what happened.

I have 2 classes in particular that are easily my most favorite to teach, and I really look forward to seeing them each week. The first is my M. 3/2 (like US 9th graders). Not only is the classroom setup WAY better by being a little smaller with just 3 rows going across so that they are all fairly close to the front, but there is a group of 10 girls that always sit in the front and are just freaking English superstars. During the first week at the end of the period, I asked the class "Was this easy?" and they screamed out "YES, EASY EASY!!!" During the next class with them, the theme of the lesson was Food and I played Categories with them. The first category was Drinks, and I actually just had to stop the round at one point because they were getting quite creative with it and there was no end in sight. The 2nd category was fruits, and they must have named at least 50 fruits before the smarty girls in the front finally won. I've never seen a class of more excited kids in my life. Adorable.

The second class I love is my M. 5/2 (US juniors). During my first week, they seemed to understand me well enough in class that I was able to make some jokes with them, and trust me, I don't have many classes like that. Again, there is a group of 7 smart girls in the front, and Lee and I had a chance to get to know them much better during the region's English Competition day in the nearby city of Klaeng on the second Friday of school. Lee had written a play for them to perform in the competition entitled "Water Devil" about the flooding in Thailand, and we watched them practice it before the show and then we hung out with them at the competition until it was time to go back. Not only is their English pretty good, but they are hilarious and love speaking with us. They kept buying us little treats like popsicles and dangly phone accessories which we had to put a stop to, and also taught us how to say some different food dishes in Thai. Love love love them.

On to the WEEKENDS! it's crazy because the more I read my Lonely Planet, the more I think i'm not going to have enough time to see everything I want to see... so we've wasted no time, here's a recap of our weekend excursions since Koh Samet (see Lee's post below)

Rayong & Khao Chamao: While Koh Samet is definitely the gem of our province, we decided to spend a day in our capital city for 3 reasons: 1) see Harry Potter 7.1 in English at the movie theater; 2) go to Tesco Lotus and replenish our dwindling peanut butter stock (I also got some cheese similar to Laughing Cow FTW); and 3) eat as much Western food as possible. Great success. I even found one copy of HP&TDH in English at the bookstore and definitely dropped 500 baht on it. So worth it. On Sunday, one of Lee's M. 6/1 student's mother gave us a ride to Khao Chamao National Park (about 45 minutes away). It has a beautiful waterfall that requires a fairly rough and steep hike; we made it to the 6th step which was 1660 meters up; the 7th and last step was at 2660 meters so we may have to go back and try for that next time. I've realized that trekking is definitely my favorite thing to do here (besides eating).


Bangkok & Lopburi: Post-Thanksgiving Friday, we hopped onto the 5pm bus to BKK and met up with our friends Connor, Becca, Nell and Sarah at Victory Monument at this sweet pub called Saxophone. Tons of yazz flute going on. We took a cab back to Connor and Becca's place and I really needed some late night food... the only that was open was a Family Mart (like a 7-11), and I decided it was time to try out the packaged ham & cheese sandwich and hawaiian pizza slice. It was not disappointing. Saturday morning we hit up the huge Chatuchak weekend market where i finally made my first clothing purchase: a Chang tank top.

Then we piled in a minivan and made our way up to Lopburi to check out the Monkey Buffet, which we had only heard of a day before. It's pretty self-explanatory; the city is completely overrun with wild monkeys and one weekend out of the year (that happens to coincide with Thanksgiving) they set up an extravagant feast for the monkeys at one of the wats. We hung out with tons of people from orientation and other ESL teachers on Saturday night, buying out the local supply of Changs and Leos and playing rounds and rounds of flip cup on the rooftop of a hostel. Repeat convenience store pizza and sandwich late night combo. Sunday morning we went to the wat with the Monkey Buffet and spent the morning hanging out with the monkeys... and now I'm sad that there aren't monkeys running around in my town. They are hilarious and love to climb on you, especially if you have a backpack on. One did manage to steal Lee's sunglasses, good thing they were $4 knock off ray bans... another one stole our can of Off, but luckily we managed to get that back before a disaster occured.

On another random note, I finally got bit by a dog the other week here in Dog Town. The dog's name is Taniwah and belongs to our next-door neighbor. Don't worry, it wasn't deep enough to break the skin - he just wrapped his teeth around my calf and thrashed me enough so that it left a nice bruise. I'm not a big fan of him.

Aaaaandd.... Happy belated Thanksgiving from my 5/2 students and from us! gobble gobble gobble





Gotta run, we have next week off and it's time for some new adventures...