Thai Thai

Virginia

2008-12-01T18:41:00.000+07:00

We don't have many photos from our trip back to the USA, but here are some from Sarah's parent's house in VA. It was a great time!

horses, bassets, parents, and friends!

Joe Mustachio and I accidentally wore the same outfit

my dad and I accidentally wore the same outfit the next day

Miss Tiffany

2008-11-30T18:32:00.000+07:00

Thailand is an interesting place. One of the things that I have found most interesting is the concept of gender in Thailand. Basically...it's pretty loose. You have men, you have women, you have ladyboys... The amazing thing is how open everyone is. The term "kathoey" refers to ladyboys (men who live as women) and is completely socially acceptable among all levels of Thai society. In some schools they even have three bathrooms: girls, boys...ladyboys. I work at a Christian school, mind you, but that didn't stop the school from having it's annual "Miss Tiffany" pageant earlier this year. Keep in mind: these are 15 year old BOYS. The most amazing part is that it's totally fine - no one makes fun of them, no homophobia from the school "jocks". This is all just part of growing up, discovering who you are...Thai style.

Perhaps realizing they have no chance?

Thailand...

Newspaper Fashion

2008-11-28T18:21:00.002+07:00

Hey folks! Here are some pictures of a "newspaper fashion show" that I did with the other 8th grade teacher and our students. Basically, they made outfits out of newspaper and then we plugged in a tiny boombox and played "You Sexy Thing" on repeat as they sashayed across the stage. It had something to do with our unit on recycling...we decided. It was a great way to get out of teaching for the day and it was really fun! -Sarah

The glasses are a nice touch.

Elaborate!

"I believe in miracles..."

Big Time

2008-11-27T17:59:00.002+07:00

We finally made it! Our photo was taken for the "Around Town" section of the local English language newspapaer. We were watching football at the Irish bar in our neighborhood.

Our picture's on the bottom right of the page. Yeah!

Chiang Dao Caves

2008-11-26T21:09:00.002+07:00

On our last day in Chiang Dao, we went to visit the city's main attraction - The Chiang Dao Caves. My cave experience was pretty limited, so I didn't really know what to expect.

We entered the cave after making a small 'electricity donation' to keep the flourescent lights in the beginning part of the cave on. After a few steps down, we realized we had to pay extra for a guide to take you into the cave with a lantern. We paid about $3, our guide lit the oil lamp, and we headed in.

After a couple minutes walking through the cave, I started feeling pretty claustrophobic. Without the lantern, there was no light whatsoever, and we were heading deeper and deeper into the cave. What if there was an earthquake or something? The ground was wet and slippery, and we could hear the bats above us. That's when our guide asked us to creep down and climb into this tiny hole, maybe two feet wide and three feet high. The guide went first, then Sarah - which blocked out all the light in front of me. This was insane...

[We took the photos on 'night mode' so some of them didn't turn out so clear. I think they better capture the mood though.]

Sarah walking in the cave

Elephant Riding

2008-11-25T20:57:00.004+07:00

After strolling around the tiny village for about five minutes, we started heading back to the truck. That's when we saw this! Maybe the biggest elephant I've ever seen.

Sarah and I were then told to get on by climbing this really run-down ladder. It was really scary getting on. We held onto the rusty elephant seat up top. Our tour guide took this photo for us.

We then proceded to walk down a pretty steep hill on the elephant. We had to hold on with all our strength not to fall out of the seat. I'd say were were maybe 12+ feet off the ground... I don't know, but it definitely wasn't the safest thing we've done before. But we realized there was no stopping our adventure now.

The elephant driver sat right on top of the elephants head the entire time like it was no big deal! After a few minutes walking downhill, we started heading up at a really steep angle. We were walking up really narrow path between trees, dropoffs, rocks, and everything, just hoping for it to end.

We then saw the platform to get off the elephant in the distance. We'd survive afterall.

there she goes...

the ride back was great...

Tiny Village

2008-11-24T20:50:00.002+07:00

The next stop on our tour was "elephant riding" - however it was a little weird because we had to ride about 45 minutes on a dirt road with giant holes into the most remote place we've been since being in Thailand. The driver of the van seemed like something was wrong. We pulled into this really tiny village. I don't think they even had electricity. I've never seen a place like this before. Our driver made some calls on his cell phone and Sarah and I walked around a bit.

not the best picture of me but just wanted you to check out the scenery

I don't normally look that angry...

the school of the village was a two room cinder block building

next up, elephant photos!!!

Bamboo Rafting

2008-11-23T20:42:00.002+07:00

In Chiang Dao, Sarah had set up an "adventure tour" where we'd make a few stops during the day. The first was a bamboo rafting trip. The tour van picked us up from the hotel and drove us to the river. It was great, just the two of us. When we got to the river, we realized we'd be basically sitting on floating bamboo sticks tied together with scraps from tires.

En route to the river...

our raft is that pile of sticks just beyond the boat...

raftin!

our leader

we got picked up at the side of the river and drove away...

Chiang Dao Part I

2008-11-22T20:38:00.000+07:00

Sarah surprised me for my birthday weekend to a trip to Chiang Dao, a city two hours northwest of Chiang Mai known for its mountains and caves. We stayed in a really cool place where every building was basically a hut.

I'll be posting lots more photos of Chiang Dao over the next few days!

Dunkins

2008-11-21T20:32:00.000+07:00

Not sure if I ever mentioned it, but they do have Dunkin Donuts here in Thailand. I've had their iced coffee before, but it's just not the same. Way too sweet and way too many ice chips... still not bad though.

Also, the Pizza Hut here is pretty terrible and expensive. Can't really tell you much about the KFC except that it's incredibly popular. Burger King tastes exactly the same - the french fries and onion rings that is.

Waterfall

2008-11-20T20:30:00.000+07:00

A few photos from a waterfall Sarah and I visited one sunny weekend.

Me Teaching

2008-11-19T20:14:00.000+07:00

Here are some photos of me and my students from the end of last term. My birthday was that week too - my one class threw me a party, with cake and everything!

"Teacher Joe"

students

Back In Business!!!

2008-11-18T16:42:00.002+07:00

Hey! This is our first post since being back in Thailand. Our trip to the USA was incredible and it was pretty difficult readjusting to life back here. Sarah and I basically locked ourselves into our place for a few days, pretending like we were still back home. There were a couple nights when weren't even able to sleep at all! Going to the local 24 hour 7-11 at 5am is pretty weird. It's also weird to realize there are a bunch of people who have been out all night heading home.

But now things are pretty much back to normal. We're in the middle of a ~ 6 week stretch of straight teaching before a string of public holidays (like the king's bday), and of course Christmas.

I think I'm getting better as a teacher, too. At least I hope so. I'll be posting some older pictures we haven't posted. Talk to ya soon!!!

Cats!

2008-10-17T10:57:00.002+07:00

I'm writing this from New Jersey right now, but I just uploaded some photos we took from before we left. Here are our new cats in Thailand! (we'll get better pictures once we're back)

Doi Suthep

2008-08-23T16:37:00.004+07:00

Hello! I know it's been a while since we've posted anything. We haven't really taken any trips recently, but we did visit Chiang Mai's most well known temple. Sarah's friend was visitng for a few days and we took a taxi up the mountain to visit Doi Suthep, which overlooks the city. Chiang Mai is actually in a sort of valley. It's flat, but all around the city are mountains in every direction.

Here are some photos from the temple on the mountain.

Just five weeks until Sarah and I are back in the USA! We can't wait, it's going to be awesome.

Golden Triangle

2008-08-06T19:13:00.003+07:00

The last day of our trip we made a side journey to the "Golden Triangle" - the area where Thailand, Myanmar, and Laos meet. I sort of thought you'd be able to stand in all three countries at the same time, but there's actually a river separating the countries. SO it's more of a tourist trap, but at we can now say we've been to the exotic "Golden Triangle." It was so exotic, we had a choice of at least 20 t-shirt stands to get our memorabilia from. The Golden Triangle actually refers to the much larger region that used to be one of the main opium trading zones, before Thailand made it illegal, turned all the opium growers into coffee bean growers and forced the industry into neighboring countries.

We took a songtaew out from Mae Sai at around 10am from trucks that had "Golden Triangle" painted on the sides as one of their destinations. The ride took about an hour. We weren't expecting much, just about an hour's worth of walking around before taking a songtaew back. Little did we know it's impossible to get a ride back to Mae Sai...

After a couple songtaews passed by that either refused to take us or just didn't stop, we started to freak out a little. We stopped into three different "taxi" offices but none of them were even open. We only had an hour and a half to catch our bus from Mae Sai and we were an hour away with no ride! As we grew more desperate I stopped into one of the boutique hotels and asked them if they could give us a ride. They said yes, but for 800 baht! (FYI the ride there was only 30 baht). We had no choice - we had to either accept the ride or be stuck in the Golden Triangle overnight, 7 hours from Chiang Mai, missing work the next day. Yikes!

We accepted the ride. Thinking we'd get a deluxe hotel taxi ride, we were a little surprised to see that our ride was a beat up pickup truck that belonged to one of the hotel's employees. During the ride back in this guy's pickup, we saw a snake crossing the road which was interesting. We finally arrived in Chiang Mai at around 8pm. It was raining, we were tired.

Look in the background, that's Laos! Or maybe Myanmar.... it doesn't really matter.

Here's a map of the Golden Triangle

Not to be confused with an actual house of opium, this is just a (museum).

It's not every day that you see signs for an opium museum.

Big buddha!

Goodbye GT (golden triangle)!!!

Mae Sai

2008-08-04T20:16:00.004+07:00

After our night in the mountains of Mae Salong, we headed further north to the Thai/Myanmar border town of Mae Sai. After a really long songtaew ride (converted taxi pick-up truck) back down from the mountains, we boarded a bus at the side of the highway and took the 1hr trip north.

Westerners/tourists/teachers usually go to Mae Sai only to renew their tourist visas (crossing the border into Myanmar gives you a 30 tourist visa upon coming back to Thailand). It's a strange town. Sarah and I were completely unaware that the town basically shuts down at 6pm and becomes a creepy ghost villa. People are there for the day to renew visas and hang out in Myanmar (which supposedly has loads of bootleg goods and casinos). I think a lot of the street vendors live over the border and need to return before it shuts for the night at 6pm. If they don't make it in time, they probably turn into pumpkins.

There are a few guest houses however, and we stayed in one called Monkey Island, run by an ex-German engineer who retired to Thailand. The whole experience was weird, and we didn't really like being in an abandoned-by-night town overall. The guest house had only four rooms and a communal bathroom. Along with our room key, we also had the keys to unlock the front entrance! (the owner seems to leave around 7pm or so). We had to walk through a "lounge" area with a pool table, bar, and bikes/motorbikes to get to the stairs leading up to the rooms. The dude who runs the place really trusts people I guess. The worst part was the bathroom. In order for the light to go on, you had to be inside and close the door behind you. After a few-second delay, you get a few horror movie flourescent flashes where I totally expected the girl from The Ring to emerge from the toilet with her black hair in her face. Yikes, not cool!

In the end, it was all good once it was over. We woke up the next morning with one final mission - - to visit the Golden Triangle! (photos coming soon)

the road to Myanmar:

a closer shot:

abandoned guesthouse across the street from Monkey Island:

the streets of Mae Sai, before everyone disappeared!

looking at Myanmar from Thailand. Country borders are strange...

Our bike

2008-08-02T15:05:00.003+07:00

Sarah and I are officially owners of a motorbike! We got it through a friend of a teacher I work with. Here it is:

Isn't it nice??? It's a Yamaha Nouvo. Are these kinds of bikes even available in the US?

Mae Salong

2008-07-28T21:46:00.004+07:00

The second stop on our journey was Mae Salong, a small mountain village nestled high up in the hills. From Chiang Rai, we took a bus to the town of Ban Basang and from there we would negotiate our way up to Mae Salong.

Bus to Ban Basang. Nice and mirror-y.

About 45 minutes into the bus ride we were literally dropped off at the side of the highway. "Ban Basang," the Thais on the bus all assured us, repeating and nodding towards the windows. Reluctantly, backpacks in hand, we made our way through what had become standing room only on the rickety bus and found ourselves in...Ban Basang. Not much to look at, a strip of dusty, highway through a town faded out by the sun. This was no bus station, let alone real bus stop, and we weren't exactly sure of our next move. It had started to rain, the sky overcast, and by all acounts, we were lost. Then, from across the street, a beckoning, a beacon - "You guys going to Mae Salong?"

Enter Sally and Tony. They had been trying to convince a songtaew (pick-up truck) to take them up the windy mountain road to Mae Salong but he had been adamantly shaking his head, gesturing that he wanted more people for his truck (thus more money for him to take the hour-long trip). Sally and Tony had been trying in vain for awhile until we showed up and we all split a songtaew up into the misty mountains...I only mention Sally and Tony because they were fellow young teachers from Chiang Mai, Americans, fun and friendly and, after an incredible ride up with breathtaking views, the only other farangs (foreigners) in Mae Salong. I also mention them because...their names were Sally and Tony. It was these seemingly fake names (though they weren't) that endeared me to Sally and Tony. And the whole idea of Sally and Tony.

It was rainy and misty in Mae Salong and that only added to its allure.

We found a cozy, little collection of bungalows to stay in (same as Sally and Tony).

And we also ate some incredible noodles and drank Mae Salong's famous tea (same as Sally and Tony).

Mae Salong is a one-horse town. Or, in Thai terms, a one 7-11 town. It is inhabited by Thais of Chinese descent and in fact much of the language, food, and tea is Chinese as well. Red, Chinese lanterns hang in the street and every morning there is a market at 5am, where members from the neighboring hilltribes come down (in complete regalia) and trade goods. We actually made it to the market (saw Sally and Tony coming back) but we have no pictures.
Beautiful views from Mae Salong:

Mae Salong is small and traditional and once you've had the tea, ate the noodles, browsed the tea sets...there's really only one thing left. The wat. High on the mountain behind Mae Salong is a wat temple and to get there you only have to climb 700 stairs. Just 700. JUST 700.

Child's play compared to the entire thing:

Long story short, it was a nightmare.
But..we did it!

And it was worth it...

There's Mae Salong!

And the temple...

As we wandered through the mist, it felt like we had been transplanted into some sort of surreal sky kingdom. We had the place all to ourselves (Sally and Tony went the next day) and we moved slowly through this dream-like state, tracing the tiles with our fingers, staring up into the mist.

And it seemed this was it, destined to circle the temple, lost in the fog and our own thoughts.
And then he appeared, out of the mist, we could hear his keys jangling before we even saw him. The gatekeeper! With a smile, he unlocked the massive, wooden temple doors, and we were ushered in...

We moved like ghosts. It was so quiet I could hear my thoughts echoing off the walls.

It was ethereal and still and beautiful.

And then we walked down 700 steps back to our bungalow.
Which looked like this:

And we watched this:

And then we fell asleep.

And somewhere close by, Sally and Tony were probably doing the same thing.

cool artsy creepy

2008-07-25T22:31:00.003+07:00

The first stop on our trip was Chiang Rai, a smaller and not fun version of Chiang Mai. There wasn't much to do there, and it was raining, and we didn't have a motorbike, so we just walked around the area near our run-down guest house (which was actually in the center of the city). It was fun being in a new city however, and our creepy guest house afforded lots of great photo ops.

The funny thing is that this was probably the nicest place we stayed in the whole weekend!

Buddhist Lent

2008-07-25T22:12:00.003+07:00

Last Thursday and Friday was a Buddhist Lent holiday - Sarah and I both had off work so we took a bus to travel up to the north for the first time. Yeah Buddhist Lent! We ended up staying a few different towns/villages, including Mae Sai, a border town of Thailand and Myanmar. We took loads of photos. I'll be posting them over the next few days. I hope everything is going well with everyone back home! Sarah and I are really excited about coming home for a couple weeks in October :) :) :)

that image came up in a 'buddhist lent' google image search by the way. Is that one girl in the wheelchair with no hands (???) drinking a heart with a straw?????? i don't get it

Rainbow in Chiang Mai

2008-07-20T21:36:00.001+07:00

For some reason, we've been seeing giant rainbows all the time lately.

Sarah on a motorbike

2008-07-18T06:31:00.000+07:00

Forest Temple

2008-07-17T08:56:00.002+07:00

Here are some photos from a temple we visited last weekend called Wat Umong (also known as the 'tunnel temple'). It was built during the 14th century and was later abandoned until the 1940's. As we were trying to find the temple on our motorbike, we took a couple wrong turns, somehow ended up in a strange empty parking lot in the woods, and then got chased by three really mean dogs! It was pretty scary - I was about one step away from trying to kick dogs away from our motorbike as they tried biting us... Luckily it didn't get to that point, and they just wanted us out of their territory.

In any case, the temple was incredible. The best way to describe it is like being inside The Legend of Zelda!

outside the temple

stairs leading to the tunnels

this crumbling stone creature was at the top of the stairs

inside the tunnel...

at the top!

Lake Huay Taew

2008-07-13T12:00:00.002+07:00

Last weekend Sarah and I drove outside the city to Lake Huay Taew, a popular place for Thai people to unwind. Although it was a cloudy day, it was awesome relaxing in the huts surrounding the lake.

Sarah took this one. Click for larger

Motorbike Lessons

2008-07-03T19:32:00.000+07:00

A couple of weekends ago, Sarah and I got motorbike lessons from one of her fellow teachers. It was pretty weird at first, and I wasn't that good at switching gears. I definitely like the automatic I'm renting a lot better.

Wat Doi Kam

2008-07-02T19:11:00.000+07:00

On the way back home from the mountains, we stopped at a Buddhist temple called Wat Doi Kam, which was actually on a small mountain. It was a pretty crazy ride up to the temple, but it was definitely worth it.

this buddha must have been about 75 feet tall

the temple also had a lookout point in the back

Belle Villa

2008-07-01T18:57:00.000+07:00

Here are some photos from where we stayed on Saturday. This place was incredible.

view from outside our room

view from our room

Elephant Sighting

2008-06-30T18:39:00.000+07:00

As we approached the entrance of our hotel, we saw a very crazy scene - elephants walking down the side of the road! It's easy to forget there are elephants here in Thailand until you actually see them.

Surprise Trip!

2008-06-29T19:53:00.002+07:00

I knew that Joe and I were taking a trip yesterday - a part of my birthday present. But I just assumed it was a day trip up the mountain - which I was still very excited about! For the past week, we have been practicing riding the scooter together, with me on the back.

**(Just as a quick disclaimer: Joe rented a motorbike --an automatic scooter-- as a means of getting to school and back. This is basically the main form of transportation in Thailand and as there is a lot of traffic in Chiang Mai, no one ever goes very fast at all. But two days ago we bought some heavy duty helmets that we ALWAYS wear. And we never drive at night!)**

With that said, I was excited about getting out of the city for a bit. What I didn't know was that Joe had planned a night at an awesome resort up in the mountains!! It only took about an hour to get there by bike, but it was an amazing ride! We kept ascending higher in the mountains...a breezy ride, palm trees, rice paddies, water buffalos -- and elephants! Needless to say, it was amazing. Because it is the low tourist season, it was basically just us at the resort -- and we were upgraded to a deluxe room! We ate a meal in the early evening, enveloped in a hazy heat, a flock of birds fluttering overhead, the din of the insects rising...and an elephant practicing his polo swing nearby.* Here's a quick pic from the terrace...

*I also rounded a corner and saw an elephant lazily painting a picture, paintbrush in trunk, canvas and easel. Still not quite sure how I feel about this anthropormorphizing of elephants--but I'll admit, it was kind of adorable.

Mountain Trip

2008-06-29T18:21:00.004+07:00

On Saturday I surprised Sarah with a trip to the mountains surrounding Chiang Mai as a bday present. We stayed at this really awesome mountain resort about an hour from the city. We were seriously in the jungle!

at the bottom of the mountain

in the jungle!

elephant!

Update

2008-06-29T18:03:00.002+07:00

Hi everyone! I know it's been a while since you've heard from me. Teaching full time has been really really tiring but I think I'm finally getting used to it. So just an update - I"m nearing the end of my temporary assignment filling in for a teacher who's been out from back surgery. The teacher's coming back this week. We'll be co-teaching for a little while as he gets used to being back in the classroom again.

But the good news is that my school asked me to work there permanently for the academic year! I'll be transitioning into the new job this week. I'll be teaching 'Pratom,' which is elementary (I've been teaching 'Matayom' which is high school/middle school). It's great because I'll get a one year work permit, along with a bunch of other benefits I wasn't getting before, and I won't have to deal with moody teenagers all day.

So....Sarah and I actually just got back from a weekend trip. We're a little sunburned but we took a bunch of photos that we'll be posting all week.

My Birthday!

2008-06-28T06:38:00.004+07:00

My 25th birthday was this past Tuesday and we spent the whole weekend prior partying it up. We had a BBQ at our friends house (who live just around the corner) which, over the course of the night, eventually led to a live music bar, buying a bottle of Thai whiskey...and the rest is history. It was fun! And now I'm 25!

Here are a few pictures of the night...not all of them, because I'm not sure how many people want their pictures splashed across a public forum. Particularly when in compromising situations involving lethal whiskey. But Joe and I are fair game -- WE DO IT FOR YOU, FOLKS.

Happy Birthday to Me!

Me and Joe...whiskey kicking in...

A few fellow teachers at the BBQ...

They made me a cake!! (end of the night blurriness setting in...)

We will write more soon!!

Wai Khru Day

2008-06-12T18:55:00.002+07:00

Today was Wai Khru day at my school. Basically, this is Teacher Appreciation Day, but like you've never seen before. It was a bit insane. Mathayom 1 and 2 (7th and 8th grade) had their ceremony at the same time. So me and three other English teachers went to the "auditorium" (an open air stage surrounded by thousands of folding chairs). We had to sit on the stage, front and center. It was 8am, about 100 degrees, and there were about 1000 students in front of us. IT WAS SO HOT. Barely a breeze and the first 30 minutes was a speech given in Thai. It was a bit grueling. Everytime I wiped sweat off my forehead, I knew that 1000 students were watching me. That's 2000 eyes. And I couldn't stop sweating.

After the speech, we all sang a hymn, except the hymnbooks are in Thai and so, us English teachers, had to hold the books open and just stand there. It was awkward. 2000 eyes. But now is the good (amazing/crazy/bizarre/disorienting) part. For the past week the students have been working on these elaborate "bouquets" of flowers to present the teachers. They are truly incredible. Really ornate flowers (in some cases, the petals folded down into intricate designs), candles, incense, etc. in a silver vase/dish. There were about 50 of these in total that were presented to us. But it's all about the presentation.

So 50 special students were chosen, and 25 at a time, they approached the side of the stage. They then proceeded to walk on their knees/crawl across the stage holding these bouquets until they were all in front of a teacher. There is nothing stranger/more amazing than seeing 25 students slowly crawling towards you with bouquets of flowers. They stopped, faced us (on their knees), and presented the flowers. Then, they prostrated themselves until they were laying face-down in front of us. The reason they crawl and stay on their knees is a sign of respect. After they prostrated themselves, we (the teachers) "wai"-ed them (hands in prayer position, then bow). As if this wasn't enough, then 25 more students did the same thing. Shuffling down the stage, on their knees, in their skirts or shorts (I actually noticed some of them had put Band-Aids on their knees -- no rugburn for them). As ridiculous as it was, it was amazing and humbling and beautiful. I really felt honored. After they all crawled offstage (they had to keep crawling until they reached the stairs again), each row of students in the auditorium came to the front and placed a bouquet of flowers at our feet. There were several hundred students and this took some time. But I think it's the closest I will ever come to feeling like a king. It was pretty amazing. Despite the heat and the length of time...I think I love Wai Khru Day.

Post TEFL

2008-06-10T19:39:00.002+07:00

Things have changed a lot since my TEFL class ended on Thursday. On Wednesday morning, the language school I was taking the course at asked me if I could start teaching there THAT DAY. I agreed, thinking it would be good experience. So I taught that Wednesday and Thursday, and I'd also be picking up an additional class the following week. Most of my TEFL classmates were taking at least a week off after the course to recover from the stress, but I thought it would be good to jump into teaching right away, especially since Sarah had already been working the past few weeks.

However, the night my class ended (and right before I left to meet my TEFL classmates for a celebration drink), I found out about another teaching opportunity from one of our friends in our apartment complex. One of the teachers our friend worked with had sudden back surgery and needed a teacher replacement for at least six weeks.

So on Friday I stopped by the school (which is actually one of the best in Chiang Mai) to get more info about the job. I had an interview on the spot, and they asked me to come back on Monday to do a demo lesson. SO..., after a great weekend, I did a demo lesson, teaching 14 year olds the family tree.

Directly after the demo they asked me if I could start THE NEXT DAY!!! I said yes, and now I'm currently working full time!!! I'm teaching 'Mateom', which is middle school though high school.

Today I taught three classes, basically 7th grade, 9th grade, and 12th grade. Tomorrow I'm teaching 5 CLASSES!!!!!!!!

At this point I'm not really sure if I'll get through the week, so there might be a couple less blog posts. I don't know what I got myself into.

WISH ME LUCK!!!

Rainy Season

2008-06-09T07:00:00.001+07:00

The rainy season has begun here in Chiang Mai. The weather's usually normal during the day but then we'll get a huge thunderstorm in the late afternoon. It all happens pretty suddenly. Within 20 minutes, the rain is over and it's sunny again. I'm pretty sure it'll get more rainy than right now though.

I took this picture just a few minutes before a huge storm came through. Click for larger.

Bassett Sighting!!!

2008-06-06T10:03:00.001+07:00

Sarah and I never thought we'd see one of these guys in Thailand. Click for larger.

TEFL crew

2008-06-05T14:56:00.001+07:00

Today is the last day of my TEFL course. I'm going to miss my crew!

From left to right: me, Fenton, Katie, and Brooklyn. There's also Rachel, who took the photo.

Our Place

2008-06-04T08:00:00.002+07:00

After a long delay, here are some photos of our apartment!

Inside:

Yes, that's a pink wall...

(click for larger)

I couldn't really get a good photo of our outside balcony, but that's where the 'kitchen' area is - basically a counter top with sink and a combination coffee maker/toaster oven.

Teacher Joe

2008-06-03T14:36:00.002+07:00

One of my TEFL classmates snapped these photos of me teaching a class of 2nd graders 'Likes & Dislikes.'

Teaching little kids who don't know English is pretty rough...

Overall, it was a pretty fun teaching practice!

Special Wishes for Mama Waldron!

2008-06-02T09:00:00.000+07:00

For those of you who don't know, my mom was involved in a riding accident last week. She was in the hospital for a few days and needless to say, it was a stressful time to be in Thailand. I felt so far away. The good news is that she will recover 100% and is back home at the farm. The following is a special message from my class in Thailand!

That picture and the next one are of "my" class. This is the class that I see everyday and we have already formed a special bond. They are awesome. If you're wondering, they have to wear these 'scout' uniforms every Monday, though I'm not sure why. I'm pretty lucky though because some schools in Thailand require their English teachers to wear them as well!

Click on any of the pictures to see a bigger size...

This next picture is but one of many of my other classes (about 10 more total). There are over fifty students in each class and no A/C! They're still awesome...

Again, click on them to see close up. .

I love you Mom! Feel better!!

More teaching practices!

2008-05-29T22:32:00.002+07:00

As of right now, I've completed three out of my six teaching practices. The second two went really well and were actually pretty fun. One of my TEFL classmates snapped some photos today of me teaching a class of 7 year olds. Photos coming soon!

Teaching Practice #1

2008-05-27T23:14:00.004+07:00

Today was my first teaching practice. I taught about 30-35 9 year olds for an hour. I'm still trying to figure what happened.... I could really use some recovery time if I didn't have three more teaching practices this week. :(

Ozrics

2008-05-25T10:43:00.001+07:00

Last week, Sarah and I ended up at this bar called Ozrics and we're not entirely sure why.

The black light usage is out of control!

Personal Favorite...

2008-05-21T20:31:00.000+07:00

He's cocky.

He's wild.

He's dashing.

He's twelve.

He's...RETROSPECT.

A Beer With Sarah At Tuskers

2008-05-19T21:14:00.003+07:00

On Friday evening we went to Tuskers, a touristy kinda bar that's really close to our apartment. On Monday nights they have a trivia contest, when supposedly all the city's English teachers gather round. A tusker is an elephant, which I didn't realize until two day ago.

Tuskers' beer is irresistible...

A menu with more mains sounds great to me.

Cultural Day

2008-05-19T19:01:00.005+07:00

This past Friday was cultural day for my TEFL course. We started off in the classroom going over cultural dos/donts. Thailand DO: always take your shoes off before entering a home or temple. Thailand DON'T: never touch a Thai's head! They consider the head the most sacred part of the body.

The first stop was an old Christian cemetary. Westerners first came over in the 1850's as Christian missionaries. They set up a number of Christian schools that still exist today (even though 95% of the country is Buddhist).

Some of my TEFL classmates...

Next we went to a Thai Wat (Buddhist temple) near the river.

Near the back of the Wat, there were buckets of animals on the ground, including fish, turtles, birds, frogs, and eels. For a fee, you could 'set them free.' Kind of weird since they capture these animals just to set them free... The parents of this little boy in the picture just bought him a cage of birds to set free. A couple of my classmates also set free birds and turtles.

One of these turtles got eaten by a catfish almost immediately after it was released in the river :(

After a cheap Thai lunch, we went to the Chiang Mai History Musuem. It was raining so I couldn't snap a good photo of the building.

Our last stop was the Tribal Museum which showcases Thailand's hill tribes that number around 500,000 people.

The Tribal Museum is actually located on a military base. This outer area of the lake is where all the restaurants/bars are for the soldiers. The museum is on a tiny peninsula that reaches the center of the lake.

Hope that wasn't too boring! We promise we'll post some cool party photos soon.

Our buddies

2008-05-19T18:54:00.002+07:00

This post goes out to our buddies that make Chiang Mai a better place.

More Nicknames...

2008-05-16T16:16:00.006+07:00

Today I had the distinct pleasure of teaching...
(categorized for easy perusal)

Film, Cartoon, Piano, Guitar, Fame, Copy, News, and Pop. (MEDIA AND MUSIC CATEGORY)

Mild, Nut, Ice, Donut, Mint, Oat, Milk, Peanut and Ham. (FOOD CATEGORY)

Boat and Bus. (TRANSPORT CATEGORY)

Mail and Stamp. (POSTAL CATEGORY)

Eye and Arm. (BODY PARTS CATEGORY)

Gift, Toy, and Games. (FUN CATEGORY)

Champ, Great, and Best. (BIG EGO CATEGORY)

Pee. (AWKWARD CATEGORY)

Bank, Bee, Palm, Pond, Men, Day, France, Tar, Bamboo, and Bell.
(MISCELLANEOUS CATEGORY)

and now for my personal favorites...

Beer, Fun, Fight, Dong, and Porn. (SCANDALOUS CATEGORY)

...and if you need a good rinse off after those last ones, you can always count on:

Clean and Nun. (PURE CATEGORY)

Friendly Elephant

2008-05-15T19:26:00.002+07:00

I was walking through this parking lot when I came across this friendly little elephant just wandering around. He seemed really hungry. Luckily I had some peanuts in my pocket.

Just kidding, that's actually just an elephant sculpture.

TEFL has begun

2008-05-15T18:18:00.002+07:00

Hey everyone! Apologies for not writing in a while. Since my last post I didn't really have much to do. Sarah was training for her job and it was too hot to walk anywhere during the day :(

My TEFL class started this Monday and it's been really great so far. It's good to be back to a normal schedule again. Having a full month off was cool, but it feels good to have some sort of daily purpose. In class we jumped into things right away, giving practice presentations and learning how to be great teacher. We visited a real Thai school on Wednesday, took a tour, and sat in on their awards ceremony for summer camp. Today I had to interview a real Thai student! I recorded the inverview and now I have to transcribe it, analyze their language, and build a lesson based on their needs.

The real fun begins during the 3rd and 4th weeks of the class. That's when we start our 'observed teaching practices.' Altogether I'll be teaching six hour-long sessions in different schools. WOAH. I've never really done anything like this before, so it's a bit strange, but hopefully I'll be a good teacher!

This is where I go every day. Our classroom is the 2nd floor corner room (in the middle of the photo).

On Tuesday I learned how to do this properly:

It's called a wai. There are three different wais that are used in different circumstances.

The first hour of my class every day is devoted to Thai language instruction, which has been a lot of fun. Phome Maa Jaak USA krab. That means 'I'm from the USA.' We haven't started learning the Thai alphabet yet. I'm thinking that might be a little hard...

Lastly, this is the emblem of Thailand. Pretty cool right???

Tomorrow is our "cultural awareness day." We're going to a bunch of cool, cultural-y places around town and learning certain customs and do's and don'ts. I'm hoping to get some great photos!

School Has Begun!

2008-05-14T15:46:00.003+07:00

Hello all! I know it has been a little while since me (or Joe) have posted. All last week I was involved in "orientation" at the school that I am now teaching at. It was a very interesting week, to say the least. The school which I am teaching at is one of the largest in Thailand. There are over 7000 students ranging from 2 years old to 18 years old. The campus is huge and really nice (however I am still figuring out my way around). I am teaching Mathayom 2 (which is the American equivalent of 8th grade) and today was my first day of actually teaching Real Live Students! After being successfully "oriented", which involved a lot of madness -- singing silly songs, doing funny dances, and spending 8 hours a day in chairs meant for kindergarteners (kindergarten being the only room available to accomodate all of us), we were finally released into the madness of the Thai school system.

The school itself is a traditional Thai school, meaning that every subject is taught in Thai except for (obviously) English. I teach approximately four classes everyday. Three of these classes are not airconditioned in an open air classroom with three fans and over 50 students. Needless to say, a little overwhelming! For these classes I have a Thai co-teacher who helps me out. Today involved a lot of introductions and somehow managing to get the kids into groups. Their eyes light up when I tell them that I am from New York City (easier than doing the whole shpeel - 'well i was born here, and then I moved here, and then I moved here, etc.').

The one other class that I teach is a godsend (ie, smaller and airconditioned). They are "my" official class and I have them all to myself all year! Basically, their parents pay extra for them to have A/C classrooms and a full-time English teacher. After teaching two of the 50 student classes this morning (and sweating a lot) when I finally made it to this class, it was such a relief, and we had so much fun. I am very excited about being with them all year! They are adorable and seem like a great group.

In Thailand, everyone has a nickname. Therefore, when learning students names, a teacher basically just has to remember their nickname. However, some of these nicknames are just ridiculous. First we have the norm, your "Pui"s and "Nan"s and this ranges to (I swear these are two of my students) "Dump" and "Fiber". A fellow teacher was telling me that her kindergarteners have even more absurd nicknames, one of them being "Website". I will be sure to keep you all posted on Dump's progress this year...

In other news, Thailand is great. Everyday I take a songtaew home from work, which is basically a red pick up truck with two benches in the back. It costs about 50 cents and you just tell them where you want to go and if they are going in that direction, they will take you. Joe and I have also found a great vegetarian place right by the school (and conveniently right between my school and Joe's TEFL course) and you can get an amazing and filling meal there for less than a dollar. What seemed like a piddly salary at first is starting to seem like a small fortune by Thai standards. Worried about the US economy? Move to Thailand! We are living well...

We will post more pictures soon (the apartment, our neighborhood, maybe even our two neighborhood brothels...)

Take care!

Photos from tha streets

2008-05-07T11:55:00.002+07:00

You'll probably notice a lot more posts from me this week. Sarah started training for her job this past Friday and has ultra long days. I'm starting my TEFL course on Monday, so this is my last week to bumble around a bit.

Today's been interesting so far. After doing some errands, I came back to the apartment building and tried unsuccessfully to find out where garbage goes. Someone from the office (aka our landlords' ground floor apt) came out with a white bucket after being gone for a couple minutes and I got confused, so I smiled, said thanks, and went up to our room. I think it's time to start learning the language...

Here are some various photos taken throughout the city.

Imm Eco

2008-05-06T13:23:00.000+07:00

I'm glad to say that I'm currently writing this from our new apartment, enjoying damn fine A/C, listening to Nikki Sudden, and checking my favortite blogs! It's the first place we've stayed in that's not a hotel/guesthouse and it's definitely a good feeling.

We spent the past week at Imm Eco, a "boutique youth hostel" (whatever that means). It started off on a bad foot. Once we had the keys to our room, we opened the door - everything looked really awesome and new. Then we checked out the bathroom and that's when I saw this creature, about 3-4 inches in diameter, hanging out on the floor. I did a little research and I'm pretty sure it was an orb spider.

This is what it looked like....

Holy turds. I tried capturing it by putting a wastebasket over it, but it ran away when I got closer. That's when we decided to switch rooms, which was pretty easy since there were NO GUESTS! Well, maybe one or two, including an older German couple we referred to as "our buddies." Other highlights include a really obnoxious French family, two Italian dudes who took multiple pictures of themselves posed in the pool with sunglasses, and a creeper older man who blew bubbles in the pool as he did his excercises. Not cool.

The place itself was beautiful, and overall it wasn't so bad. Just a little creepy considering this place could probably house over 250 people and there were maybe 7 guests at a given time. Here are some photos:

the building that housed the lobby

the pool area

the small-tree area that didn't really serve a purpose

a photo from inside the room. sarah's neck pillow functions as a white hair helmet, virtual reality future glasses, and santa beard.

photos of the new apartment coming soon!

Clear Day

2008-05-06T12:57:00.000+07:00

after a couple days of rain last week, i took these photos on a remarkably clear day. click for larger

Cyclone

2008-05-05T21:15:00.001+07:00

Hello all - just a quick post tonight. The past week or so we were bombarded with heavy rains nearly everyday. We thought this was weird because typically the rainy season in Chiang Mai does not begin until June. As we were wondering why, we saw in the paper that a cyclone was passing through parts of Myanmar (Burma) and that Chiang Mai and other parts of Thailand would be getting a lot of heavy rain and some winds. The cyclone has since passed but only now the reports are starting to come out of Burma. At this point, nearly 4000 people were killed and thousands more are missing. It is a huge story over here although I'm not sure if American TV will be focusing on it. We just want to let everyone know that we are fine but to keep all of those people in your thoughts and prayers...

Last Night

2008-05-03T10:00:00.000+07:00

Last night we were planning on writing a ton of new posts for the blog. We had an early dinner, so once we got back to our room we were looking forward to a lot of quality time to get things done. It was raining pretty hard at the time, and that's usually when all the creepy crawlers come out, especially if it's also dark.

In order to get internet access in our hotel Imm Eco (where we've been staying the past week), you need to go to the lobby and get a 1hr wifi card. So we opened the door to our room (which leads directly outside), and did a quick scan for any crawlers lurking near our door (which has become one of our rituals), and we saw a fairly large lizard in the corner. That's when I took out the camera...

Woah, we had never seen this guy before. We were also pretty certain it was the same lizard that makes an incredibly loud croaking noise every night. It was really dark so I snapped the photo and we both went back inside to get a better look. I zoomed in as far as I could on the creature, and that's when this image popped up....

Yikes! We were pretty freaked out and decided to stay in for the night. Obviously we couldn't leave the room.

Baan Orapin

2008-05-03T09:07:00.000+07:00

After a rough night at Eagle House, we headed over to Baan Orapin, a Thai bed and breakfast where we'd be spending the next two nights. Expensive in Thai terms, but an incredible deal for anyone coming from New York, our time spent here was probably the best 2.5 days ever! We had essentially a full floor of a tradional house, and together there were only about 6-8 other houses on the property. The staff was amazing, and we seriously recommend it for anyone visiting Chiang Mai.

Creatures!

2008-05-03T09:02:00.001+07:00

Chiang Mai, and Thailand itself, seems to be filled with vast and wondrous creatures of all sorts. The problem is, I don't like creatures, and neither does Joe. We don't handle them well.

Our first night in Chiang Mai, we stayed at a guesthouse called Eagle House. Our room was a little run-down with only a fan but for $8 a night we couldn't complain too much. The place itself was located right in the heart of the city, close to the old-town (inside the moat) and the "downtown", so it was a great starting off point to explore from.

After our first day's adventures we were exhausted as we made our way back down the twisting alleys and lanes of Chiang Mai. Night had fallen on the city and the sound of insects buzzing slowly builds into a roaring symphony. It's not so bad from the comfort of your own (sealed up) room, but walking around is a bit like walking through a war zone, any kind of creature could drop on you without notice and completely ruin your life.

Joe and I had found a great Tex-Mex place (in Thailand, no doubt) earlier that night and I ate an incredible and much-needed cheese quesadilla. The only downside to our perfect meal was when I noticed a cockroach crawling on a chair behind Joe, and so I sat, eyes wide, ready to bite into the aforementioned perfection, when I had to place it down, and attempting calm, relay the information to Joe. We were both on edge at this point, eyes darting around us, and suddenly said roach made a run for it, scuttling under our table, under my chair, at which point I may or may not have caused a *tiny* scene. I have a serious cockroach problem (I know that nobody likes them), but something inside me shuts down completely in the presence of roaches and other crawlers of its magnitude. So needless to say, we were (I was) a bit shaken up after dinner, heading back to Eagle House, through alleys and lanes, roar of insects, etc.

The room was no prize, but we knew if we just stuck it out for the night, we would be rewarded by a weekend at a really nice bed and breakfast we had previously booked. This turned out to be the longest night of my life. I suppose we both drifted off somewhere around nine o'clock, maybe, and at around midnight I woke up with stomach cramps. Miserable, and fumbling through the dark, I found the lightswitch and grabbed the ibuprofen. Unfortunately, at this point we had no water with which to take the ibuprofen, but this would turn out to be the least of my worries. I made my way into the bathroom, shut and latched the door, still groggy, and when I turned...there...it...was...A huge cockroach! Crawling all over my toiletries!! I would have to burn them!! But first, I had to escape, clanging the doors helplessly until I got them unlatched and I was back out in the room. I screamed, waking up Joe, and I tried quick to think of a plan. Rather than go back in and face the roach, I devised a solution of avoidance, figuring out a way to keep the bathroom door shut all night (it opened inward with just a latch). As I pulled the door shut, wincing, Joe grabbed the materials. We ended up tying a phone charger to the handle of the bathroom door and the top of my backpack, and then carefully positioned the pack so that it leaned away from the door, just enough weight to keep the door shut. Then we proceeded to stuff the cracks of the door with pamphlets and brochures.

"

Yes, tired and weary, we trapped him in rather than considering any other options, and soon we were drifting back to sleep. Well, Joe was. I refused to turn off the lights, and sat up against the wall, extrasensitive to any sensations or sounds. I was exhausted, with cramps, and now with the burden of knowing what was creeping around nearby. I did fall asleep and woke up, hopng , praying it was morning when in fact it was only 1am. This happened several times throughout the night and I spent most of it lying stiffly on my side, horrified, as the insects roared outside. Around 3am, I sat up again (awakened from a cockroach dream) and saw something scurry across the wall. A LIZARD. Yes. A lizard. Albeit a tiny one. It was a lizard and that was enough for me. Around 4.45 we tired to escape the room, walk around outside a bit, but the minute we stepped outside it was pouring, so we had to head back in, to our creature's paradise. I know, it probably doesn't sound so bad, and we need to toughen up. And who knows, maybe in a year we'll be catching roaches and frying 'em up for dinner. But it was our first night. And luckily, the lack of sleep and general nightmare of the night previous all disappeared when we arrived across town, at Baan Orapin...

Signs

2008-05-03T09:02:00.000+07:00

I don't think I've ever seen these two services advertised on the same sign before...

Arrival in Chiang Mai

2008-04-29T19:10:00.000+07:00

We got to Chiang Mai on Thursday morning after a night spent on the incredibly old and sorta creepy night train. The weather was beautiful when we arrived at the train station and we just knew we'd love it here. Chiang Mai has a really low-key and relaxed vibe to it, not like Bangkok at all. We met our driver who picked us up at the station and drove us to Eagle House, the guest house we were staying at that night.

arrival at the Chiang Mai train station!

Chiang Mai is Thailand's second largest city but only has a population of 150,000 people. The "old city" is in the center surrounded by a moat. The rest of the city spills out in all directions outside the moat. Most people here ride motorbikes and don't wear helmets or obey traffic signals! Sometimes there's quasi sidewalks but usually you're forced to walk in the drainage gutter at the side of the road.

Chiang Mai Photos

2008-04-29T19:00:00.000+07:00

here are some photos from our first couple days in Chiang Mai

the river with mountains in the backround

it didn't take long for sarah to find her favorite beverage they call "coke light"

this guy's image is everywhere. i think he's running in an upcoming election. i hope he wins!

me at the Good View restaurant

sarah at the Good View

artsy photo we both really like

a Thai Wat

you may recognize this photo from the header!

a random street in Chiang Mai

Night Train

2008-04-29T18:49:00.000+07:00

So after two somewhat luxurious days in Bangkok (hanging out by the pool and when the heat became too overpowering retreating back to our air conditioned room), it was time for the night train up to Chiang Mai (approx 13 hours). Checkout was eleven and the train didn't leave until 6pm. We figured that the easiest thing to do would be to catch a cab to HuaLamphong Train Station, check our bags, and explore the city for the day. Our hopes were dashed as soon as we spotted the 'luggage check', about a hundred bags heaped in a pile around a bored looking clerk. Though I'm sure in his boredom, a thief attempting to pilfer bags would be a welcome intrusion (and something for him to do) I think we may have been more worried about actually having to sort through that pile later and try to find our bags.

So we settled onto the dusty tiled floor of the main hall among other groups of similarly disheveled travelers, mostly Thai. We had five hours to kill at this point and the train station itself offered little in the way of distraction...until two girls, the oldest couldn't have been more than six, lingered nearby us, shyly, smiling and then turning, covering their faces and laughing. They were both barefoot with pageboy haircuts and mischevious smiles and at first, we were charmed. Ten minutes later, the charm had worn off as the older one wagged my stolen flip flop in front of me (as I helplessly grabbed at it) while the other collapsed into peals of laughter.

waiting at the Bangkok train station

Several hours later, both flip flops securely on my feet, we boarded the night train. We had our own private room (first class! with A/C!) but alas it was suffocatingly small and a bit dingy, but that only added to its charm. Exhausted at this point, we stretched out and watched rain splatter across the train windows as Bangkok slipped further and further away, until soon we were rattling through the countryside, a moon hanging low.

We fell in and out of consciousness, still chasing the tail of jet lag but always coming up short. At one point, I remember a small woman entering our berth with a plate of food, quiet as a whisper, bowing as she placed a tray of saran-wrapped food before us. It was still there when we woke up in the morning. Surprisingly, 13 hours flew by and before we knew it, the jungles and mountains outside our window eventually gave way to Chiang Mai, the ancient Lanna capital of Thailand. We had arrived. We were home.

Hello from Thailand!

2008-04-27T22:05:00.000+07:00

Greetings from Thailand and welcome to our blog! We've been here for about a week but it seems a lot longer than that. After 24 hours of traveling from New York to Thailand (with a stopover in Abu Dhabi), making the trip to Chiang Mai via the night train from Bangkok, we're glad to say that things are slowly becoming more and more normal. We already have a ton of strange tales from our brief time here. We've stayed in about four hotels/youth hostels, met countless funny/weird characters, and have seen more giant lizards and bugs than a person should see in their entire lifetime.

Thailand seems like a pretty funny place, and it'll be crazy to spend an entire year here, but Chiang Mai is an incredible, low-key city with tons of things to do.

We hope you enjoy our blog!

Here are some photos from our first few days here:

me in the Abu Dhabi airport

Sarah loves middle eastern Twix

our hotel in Bangkok

view from the Bangkok hotel window

tropical paradise...

me and ronnie in Bangkok!

the Thai king is a very beloved man. His picture is everywhere, including the mall

Sarah with giant lizard in the background

Bangkok

2008-04-27T21:05:00.000+07:00

Hello all! We have been in Thailand for about a week now but only now have we had sufficient internet access (and time) to actually launch the blog, With that said, we kind of have to retrace our steps back over the past week to re-cap everything that has happened. So I will start with my own perceptions of our time in Bangkok...

We were thoroughly exhausted after about 24 hours of travel time and once we landed in Bangkok, we were ready to begin the next phase of our adventure (the phase that didn't have to do with in-flight movies, lack of leg room, and fitful attempts at sleep). Upon arrival at the airport, we were almost immediately whisked away by our hotel's car service, en route to Amari Atrium, an immaculate tower looming over eastern Bangkok. There was a brief interlude between airport and car when we were greeted by the wall of oppressive Bangkok heat, but before we could digest the muggy warmth of the evening, we were ushered into a car with all of our bags, back into a sealed world of air-conditioning and complimentary bottled water. We careened through the Bangkok night and into the bowels of the city, catching glimpses of the night markets, motorcycles, and street stands - while the skyscrapers of modern Bangkok loomed in the distance, lit up like jewels, reaching toward the sky, untouchable by the mere mortals we saw around us. The city was a blur of blinking lights and exhaust fumes and pulling into the Amari Atrium entrance felt opulent and grand, almost like more than we deserved.

Our hotel was in a somewhat isolated part of town and by that I don't mean devoid of activity or people, but of the touristy areas of Bangkok. Up on the eleventh floor, we could press our noses against the chilled glass of our window and look down on streets bustling with sputtering motorcycles, fumes and wavy heat, panting streets dogs lying on their sides blinking against the sun, sizzling grease in pans, the light glinting off the aluminum and metal of cars and storefronts. And with that glance, we could turn and retreat, back into our air-conditoned limbo, balancing precariously between two worlds.

Our first foray into the city came on Tuesday morning, after a night of stop-and-start sleep, with the final waking time somewhere around 4am. We ventured out early and made our way down the streets on crumbling, non-existent sidewalks, careful not to be sideswiped by the cacophany of traffic roaring by. Crossing the street in Thailand is a tragi-comedy. The tragedy being that it's near impossible and the comedy lying somewhere in all of that. Whenever we could make a clean break, we would, just narrowly missing a car, motorcycle, or tuk tuk (motorized rickshaw) careening past. It was sticky and hot, the unrelenting sun beating down on our faces, arms, and the backs of our necks. But in the excitement of a first day anywhere, all hardship was lost on us, our bags bouncing against our sides, shielding our eyes against the sun.

The subway system in Bangkok belies the outer chaos of the city. Chilled and immaculate, sleek and modern, efficient machines deposit plastic token in lieu of yellow Metro cards and escalators hum quietly, up and down, as passengers slip in and out of air-conditioned trains, an entire functioning universe functioning deep beneath the guttural, choking bustle and heat of the city above us. And then slowly, you emerge, one hand on the arm-rail of the escalator, ascending back into the white heat of Bangkok. The heat afixes itself to you, like a blanket over your shoulders, your entire body, until it gradually dissolves into normalcy.

We found our way to Lumphini Park...

Lizard in Bangkok

2008-04-27T20:05:00.000+07:00

During our first day in Bangkok we decided to head to one of the city's parks. It was pretty early and we had some time to kill before the mall opened so we could get our international cell phones. The park was really beautiful (minus the green water of course), with palm trees, flowers, and lots of cats (really weird) walking around. We decided to walk over to one of the gazebo-type things overlooking the pond since it seemed like a nice view. Right away we noticed this thing swimming in the water - it was really big and didn't seem like fish... That's when this creature swam to the edge of the pond and this is what we saw...

Gross!!!

This lizard must have been about three feet long. After walking around the park a little more, we discovered these huge lizards were everywhere! I was a little freaked out since they got pretty close to people and I had no idea how fast they were. Since then, I've been mistaking the ends of leaves and tropical-looking plants as lizard tails.