Bangkok is fun too!

So... just to prove that there are good times to be had in Bangkok, as well as in lovely beach towns around Thailand... I thought I would fill you all in on a regular Bangkok weekend.

Friday: 1. enjoy a lovely massage to take all of the week's worries away.

2. go out for dinner at a place called "The Witch's Tavern" and drown out our

sorrows from the week behind over some lovely Sangria.

3. on the way home, stop by a Japanese karaoke bar and sing Celine Dion (to honour Canada) and Spice Girls (to honour Britain) before being kicked out for not buying enough drinks.

4. play with a giant bouncy ball with the new security guard, who doesn't speak a word of English, who now clearly thinks the crowd in 7B are crazy.

Saturday: sleep in AT LAST!!!!! seems like that never happens. Go out for a traditional English breakfast at a local pub (no beer, no beef...) pick up a coffee from Starbucks and wander through a lovely Thai park. Take a nap, just because I can.... then go out for a manicure at the place next door. Get ready and go out for dinner among a row of vegetarian restaurants... so rarely do I have so many choices of what to eat. It was Australia Day and somehow we were named honourary Australians... so we joined in with them on the party.

Sunday: sleep in AGAIN (yay) and decide, for a reason I still don't understand, that going for a run would be a great idea. Then wander through the mall, do some food shopping and come home for an afternoon of movies and doing some minimal prep for school. All in all - a lovely weekend. Good times were had by all and minimal money was spent in order to save up for the next weekend away.

3 Weeks Back

So... it has been three weeks of school - three LONG weeks of school... but much to my enjoyment - I have already had one beach vacation, and another one planned for next weekend.

Last weekend, for my birthday, myself and three girlfriends flew to the south of Thailand, to a place called Krabi, for some lovely sunshine, beautiful water and whitesand beaches... and Krabi delivered.

Our hotel, not five star, but not too shabby, was a bit of a walk from the beach, but that was okay. We flew into Krabi right after school on Friday - and spent Friday night going to different bars around the beach. We played many rounds of Jenga... who knew Jenga was so much fun!

For the day of my birthday we went on a boat cruise of the Phi Phi Islands (pronounced pee pee). That is where the above picture was taken from. It was absolutely gorgeous. The boat cruise wasn't so much of a cruise - some rough waters, but we had fun.

I've got a new mission - and that is to learn to dive. We had an opportunity to go snorkelling... something I don't remember ever doing before, and it was a amazing.

We were swimming in this crystal clear water, you could see right down to the bottom, and there were fish swimming all around us. Truly amazing... so now I want to learn to dive to experience these things even more.

Anyway... the weekend was lovely - it came to an end much to quickly and I will definitely be returning to Krabi.

It's great living right in the city now. It was so mind-numbing having to take long taxi rides to get anywhere exciting. Even though the pollution is bad - I'm dealing.

That's it for now - until the next adventure. (trying very hard not to even THINK about school until Monday morning)

Back in Action

Well... I have been slacking on this blog business... but I'm back at it and hope to keep you all up to date in the future.

It was so nice to be home in Canada for Christmas... I believe the opening line to "Little Women" is "Christmas won't be Christmas without any presents," but I made the decision that Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without a little snow, cold temperatures, homemade food, friends, and most of all - my family. I mean - it had been 4 months since a brother had sat on me, or tapped me numerous times on the forhead. You get to miss that stuff.

Anyway, I'm back... in a much more agreeable temperature... renewed and refreshed. I have a new apartment which is just lovely - and two great flatmates to go with it. I'm living right in the city now, which means a bit of a commute to work, but it all seems worth it. The new place is wonderful and I have even, for the first time since moving here, cooked for myself. It's a luxury I hadn't realized I missed so much.

I'm not one for making New Years Resolutions, but I have decided to destress myself this term. Not take on so much. Relax... enjoy life a little bit more. As much as the school would like to push me and push me - I am learning to say no. So many more important things than getting up and going to work. It's bizarre, but this more relaxed approach has made me much more organized and calm at school - go figure. Remind me of these words when I am pulling my hair out in the next few weeks.

This weekend - in honour of my 26th birthday - and just because we can... we're heading to the beach. I can taste the salt water already. This time we are going to the south of Thailand to a place called Krabi, and hopefully a day trip to Koh Phi Phi. Should be exciting... and my tan is fading. We can't have that.

Stay tuned... there is never a dull moment in this wonderful place... and I will keep you up to date.

Never a Dull Moment

Thailand is always surprising me with new things. Yesterday, I ate the strangest thing - actually I had one for breakfast today as well. One of the parents brought this "thai delicacy" in for the staff. It was a green flavoured? tortilla with sesame seeds, and you fill it with what looks and feels like hair... yes... hair that would be on a person's head.... but it tastes like cotton candy. Anyway, you wrap this hair in this tortilla.... and get a mad sugar rush. Strange... and it actually feels like you are eating hair.

I also witnessed yesterday, something absolutely disgusting... so I thought I would share. As I was riding the motorbike (more on that later) we drove past a man who had pulled over to the side of the road... residential street... to go to the bathroom. I relayed this to some friends later who comforted me by saying that is completely normal and I should just get used to it.

I received very funny looks on my motorbike yesterday - but perhaps that was because I opted to take a motorbike to the hospital and it is an odd way to arrive there. (no - there was no knife through my finger, and no blood... just a regular check up). But honestly, I arrived at the hospital in about 5 minutes and it would have taken at least 30 minutes in a regular taxi, thanks to the motorbike who (mom, dad, don't read this part) weaves in and out of traffic to get where you are going at the fastest possible speed.

We had our staff party last night at a German Beer Brewery. This huge place that basically brings a keg to your table and you just keep going. It was all in good fun. There were great performers on stage - including one from a lovely thai man dressed in drag. Quite hilarious.

So... I'm off this weekend to Koh Samet... I need some beach time before going to chilly Canada. And we have a long weekend! Can't think of a better way to spend it.

Legally Able to Work

So, I have been in Thailand for three months - and working for two. Finally, today, I have a work permit, a visa that will allow me to stay in the country for as long as I like without having to leave and come back (hopefully) and a visa that will allow me back in, if and when I decide to take a trip across the border. I must have signed my name to at least fifty sheets of paper, all trying to proove that I am who I say I am. Thailand, as I have heard, is famous for people forging everything from Passports, to high school diplomas, to work contracts. The people at immigration and the labour board are beyond meticulous. Thank goodness I have never had to go alone - always with a Thai staff member. But alas, it is settled. FINALLY!!!

Today was yellow day at school. The entire school had to dress in yellow - even me. I can't remember the last time, if ever, I wore yellow. This was all in honour of the King, whose birthday is on Wednesday. We had a picture taken in the shape of a heart, indicating that we love the King, and we have a book of messages for him, basically saying, Long live the King. We even get a day off, in his honour, apparently to celebrate his birthday. The foreigh staff from our school, are having a pool party.

Christmas is fast approaching - I can't believe how fast. If I hear Frosty the Snowman one more time, I may have to hurt somebody, but I should probably get over that, because tomorrow morning I will be hearing it at least three times.

So, I am taking requests for anything thai... whatever you think that may be - and I am coming home to spend Christmas with my family. Anything anyone wants, please let me know and I will do my best. I wish I could bring a seletion of Thai food with me, but that seems quite impossible.

Signing off..

I haven't written in awhile. Work is taking over. It's ridiculous. I have recently been reminded by more than one person that working isn't my number one priority right now. I need to remember to take some time for myself. It's okay to work hard, but at the end of the day I have to take care of myself before anybody else.

All of that being said, I had a lovely manicure yesterday and while one lady was giving me a manicure, another lady gave me a foot massage. I could get used to living like that. This was all in preparation for a ball that I went to last night. Yes - a ball. You know, like Cinderella, but without the fairy godmother. (or the prince for that matter) Since coming to Bangkok, I haven't seen so many foreigners in one place. The people were from Australia, New Zealand, England, Ireland, Scotland ( I didn't meet any other Canadians). It was so strange. I didn't know so many foreigners lived in Bangkok. It was great fun. There was an amazing dinner, with to die for desserts, wine, beer, music, dancing.. a really good time.

Today is a Thai celebration called Loy Krathong which we celebrated at school yesterday. It was a massive event. Everyone was dressed in Thai costumes (myself included) and there were dozens of activities going on. The children were hyper, the teachers were stressed... One child had a whole entourage of photographers and videographers with him. Kind of ridiculous - but apparently completely normal at our school. The photo is of myself and 3 teachers from our school - all in our Thai costumes. They were absolutely beautiful.

Motorbike Accident

Before anybody gets worried - it wasn't me who had the motorbike accident, but I did witness one today... and I definitely never want to be in that position. But, it wasn't a motorcycle taxi accident, it was just some bloke driving a little too fast with a girl on the back. The driver was wearing a helmet, the girl was not - and strangely enough - it was the driver who was injured and not the girl... anyway, I took a regular taxi home today... just to be on the safe side.



I've joined a lovely gym called "California WOW" It's incredibly Americanized... all of the yoga and dance classes are in English. It's a little piece of California in the middle of Bangkok. Fancier than any gym I've ever been to. All of this from what is known as a second world country. I had become fed up with not getting much exercise and the streets of Bangkok are not all that welcoming to runners due to the extremely large number of stray dogs, chickens and elephants that swarm the sidewalks. So... I took the plunge - joined a gym and now have a good way to get out all of my frustrations of the day.


The weekend is almost here. Hurray!