Train Rides and Keeping Up With the Irish...

Friday July 20, 2012

Friday after school I got all my things together and got ready to venture off for the whole week. My students have midterms so I dont have to teach or be there which is really nice. I was thinking about heading all the way North but opted to go to the Northeast instead. Most people dont explore this are of Thailand but my really good friend Olivia "Olive Juice" lives there and I wanted to visit her. Not only that but this area is completely different, they speak Isan, eat different, act different, and even the music is different.

I took the bus from Rayong to Bangkok and sat by a Thai boy who was studying to be a doctor. He was thrilled to practice his English with me.

When we got to BKK it was about 4 pm, my train didint leave until 8 so I had some time to kill. My new friend invited me to go to the market with him which I did. It was fun but also a little awkward so after about an hour I headed to the train station.

At the train station I figured out the procedure for everything and then headed to 7-11 to stock up on snacks. I still had a few hours so I headed to a small restaurant where there were many backpackers eating. It was manned by thow lady boys or "katois". I was talking to one of them when a girl overheard me. She asked where I was from, she was from California too! I sat wiht her and we wasted time until I had to get on my train to Udon Thani.

I got on the train at about 7:30, sat on my seat and started talking to the guys besides me. They were super fun Irish boys who were headed to Cambodia. At about 8 pm they set up our beds and we left. I had the upper bunk. The lower bunk is two seats facing each other until they turn everything into beds. It is pretty cool, you have your own little nest with AC and a clean blanket a cushion new sheets and a pillow all in your own privacy because of a curtain.

I put my stuff away in my bunk and headed to the restaurant with my new friends. We got some beers and started drinking and Oh man everything they say about the Irish is true! Those boys could drink!!

They  were loud, obnoxious, and hilarious. We went from beer to whisky and oh man were we drunk!

It was such a great time, they were dong push ups in the middle of the train getting yelled at by the cops as I tried to mitigate the situation with the little Thai I know and hand signals...

I went to bed and woke up in the morning to beautiful countryside views of rice plantations and sugarcane when the train stopped in Udon Thani. Today would certainly be a lot more tame and serene... I thought to myself but was brought back to reality when I twisted my ankle and fell on my face getting off the train... Oh Thailand!

Red. Light. District. (Pattaya)

Thursday July 12, 2012

On Thursday we had regular classes like we usually do, but during one of my breaks we had to go to the local hospital to get checked for syphilis. For some reason, to be able to get a work permit in this country you need a medical exam and a syphilis test. I hate doctors and I hate hospitals, and being in a hospital in Thailand was kind of terrifying but I survived and I am healthy and syphilis free… Now I only have to wait for the very long paperwork process so that I can go on to the next step of my work permit.

When we got back there was a guy here that used to teach 3 years ago. His name is Glyn and he is from Virginia. Danielle my roommate talked to him for a while and he invited us to have dinner at a local restaurant. Danielle had a friend over from Canada that she met at a different province so he came with us. 

We went to this really nice little restaurant by the school. The owner is named “Big Ass” and he took care of us all night. (I don’t know if I already mentioned this but parents give their children American nicknames when they are young, so I have many porns, banks, a muffin, a morphine, and I believe a Garfield…) We sat with all of them and tried to communicate regardless of the language barriers. They kept bringing us drinks and food, and it was a great time. Any time we get to interact with the locals it is a great time. If we can sort of communicate and there is food and drink involved it is entertaining and enlightening… what I came here for. Oh I forgot to mention, I saw a guy eat it on his motorbike. He slipped on the wet ground and ate shit. He was so drunk he did not realize it and it took him a few minutes to react towards us trying to speak to him and make sure he was ok.

Friday I got done teaching early like I always do. I sat around and relaxed until the market was open. We all decided to go to the market together. When we got there I decided that for the first time, I was going to venture the market on my own, at my own pace, looking at everything by myself and attempting to communicate on my own. It was wonderful.

After the market we made some drinks and hung out at the house. My friend Jessica was coming from Bangkok so I waited for her. At about 10 pm my roommate Jessica and I walked to the main street to meet Jessica. When we were walking there we got offered a ride on a random persons motorbike. We took it and waited for Jess. She got here and we headed to big asses again. We drank and ate and had some cake that was for his mothers birthday. It was another great night. I have actually been trying different foods and got to eat fried flowers that night. Like I mentioned everyone has nicknames here, besides Mimi, my other nickname is Anchan, which is purple or violet flower. A beautiful flower… how flattering… except for the fact that we ate deep fried me for me dinner…

Saturday

Jess and I stayed at my place. We woke up early and headed bus was an hour long. I remembered that we had met two Turkish guys in Koh Samed that lived and worked in Pattaya. I called them and they said told me they would pick us up and we could crash at their condo.  We headed there and hung out at the pool while they worked.

Being in a pool was so nice. The weather was amazing and it was very relaxing.

We went to eat some Thai food and headed to the beach. While at the beach we were having a beer and relaxing when this guy from Iran got sand in my beer. I got a little upset so he bought as a round and took me out on a jet sky. Not a bad bargain at all.

When our friends got off work we got ready and headed out to a night out in town. I don’t know if you have ever heard of Pattaya but it is Thailands main red light district. There are hookers everywhere and it is pretty scummy. A lot of men from abroad come here to take advantage of the women who will do anything for about 100 dollars.

We headed back to the main party street and ate some kebabs. I am proud to say I ate lamb for my first time and I actually really enjoyed it. The streets were crazy… Full of bars, karaokes, strip joints, tourists, lady boys, etc. The music was blaring from every corner and there was intense energy everywhere. We got approached by multiple men offering us menus for ping pong shows which range from anything like watching live sex, women shoot ping pongs out of their vaginas, or ever rats… yes rats… coming out of females….

The menus and energy  surrounding all of it was disturbing.

We kept walking and went to the end of the street to the big clubs. Our friends work in the tourism industry so we went in to the VIP area and got a couple bottles of Jack Daniels while we danced to some of the best DJs spin some amazing music… and we danced the night away…

Sunday

Sunday morning Jess and I woke up and made breakfast before heading home. Jess took a bus but I had to flag a bus down myself.

This was horrible! I stood in the sun for about anhour trying to figure out which bus I was supposed to flag down. Eventually I got a mini bus and made it back. I ended my weekend by making homemade salsa which unfortunately I had to eat with potato chips…

Happy Birthday Week US of A!

Each week I am here things get better. I don’t know if its me adapting to the situation or if it is just things become better and better. Either way I am going to take it and run with it. To make the most of every situation.

I got in to sort of an argument with one of my roommate. There was not much of an exchange of words, but to put things in my perspective, because I’m sure her idea of what happened was different, I saw in her a lot of things about me that I used to dislike; and though I tried to brush it off and let it be at a certain point I just broke and she said things that shouldn’t have been said (not to me or about me, but about someone else), and I got in the middle and said things in an inappropriate manner at an inappropriate place.

The whole situation made things a bit shaky for the first half of the week, but we talked things out and everything got better. Being alone those few days made me change the way I was doing things a little bit. I am now spending more time alone, and more time with my students after school (playing basketball, helping with homework, etc) which I truly enjoy.

By Wednesday I needed to get out of the house, not only that but it was 4^th of July and I was very homesick. I called my friend Barry and we decided we would go to the beach and celebrate afterschool. I asked my coordinator which bus I should take to his town which is about 20 km away and she told me she would find me a ride with one of the teachers who lives there after school. Just my luck and the fact that it is monsoon season in Thailand it poured that day. There was thunder, rain, and lightning. Definitely not a beach day. But hey this is Thailand and I was determined on having some fun. I still went up to Klaeng.

When I got Klaeng I met up with Barry. We decided it was probably best to not got the beach. We opted to going and getting KFC instead. Let me tell you I am not a fan of junk food but having KFC in Thailand on 4^th of July is the biggest treat ever! I was ecstatic! After KFC we went to a bar to get a couple beers. Oh 4^th of July! We talked and hung out and it was wonderful. Much to my surprise I got a phone call from one of room mates saying that the school coordinator had bought us fireworks and that I should come home to blow them up.

Barry and I headed to my place, not before being distracted by a karaoke bar. I don’t know if you know much about Thailand but most Karaoke bars, and most establishments for that matter double for whore houses. I was not aware of all of this but I guess you live and you learn. We got there and got swarmed by girls who came and sat with us and all literally asked Barry to marry them. Barry and I had a couple beers sang a couple songs and kept going.

When we got back to my school we went to my house and met up with Dani. She had the fireworks. We headed to the soccer field and decided to blow them up. Everyone was scared and of course adventurous 

little me decided I would go first. I know I know I know what you are thinking mom and dad, that’s so dangerous! Well nothing happened and it was a blast. Short lived but it was a blast.

The weekend I headed to Bangkok. Friday I met up with Ford and three of his friends from home. It was so refreshing to hang out with highly educated males. They are all engineers, well traveled, amazing guys.  We hung out at the mall and then headed to one of the hostels where we had pizza and beer. They played the guitar and sang for us while we waited for two of my girlfriends. It was awesome!

When the girls got there we headed to the W hotel. It was soooo nice. One of the guys had a room there so we hung out there. They got ready and we headed out to RCA. RCA was amazing! It was like a whole bunch of really nice indoor/outdoor clubs in the middle of the street. We got a couple of bottles and danced the night away. It was so much fun. Being white we always get a ton of attention when we go out here, but this time it was even more extreme because we were with the only 4 black guys in Thailand… oh 3^rd world countries.

Jess and I headed to her dorm room at the university she teaches at around 4 am. We still managed to get up early in the morning and go out and explore the city. We went to a bagel place and then headed up to China town and India town. It was an adventure to say the least. It was busy and full of crap everywhere. We had fun and laughed the whole way. We took a tuk tuk (a motorbike that pulls you in a little cart) which was pretty cool. On our way back we took a cab, which kept pulling over and telling us one minute every few blocks. We had no idea what was going on but we thought it was hilarious. Oh Thailand! My life has become a blur of confusion…

That night my friend Nick, who is friends with one of my friends back home, invited us to a 4^th of July BBQ. We headed over there and over ate! It was amazing. We were the only Americans, the rest of the people were British, Australian, South African, and I don’t know…. But it was amazing. We got to hang out with some pretty cool people.

After the BBQ we went to a Thai night club. It was amazing. Again we got a couple bottles and danced the night away. This time it was hilarious, we were like celebrities, we had people bringing us drinks and dancing with us and kissing our hands.

We ended the weekend by getting some Mexican food and then I headed on my 3 hour bus ride home which for some reason only took 2 and a half. What a great ending to a great weekend.