and this one time, i moved to bangkok: 2011

So, I'm almost done teaching. Next week we review, and the week after that is final exams. I can't believe how fast this year has gone by. Sometimes it seemed like it would never end, but now that it is I find myself having trouble believing that I'm moving back to America in just a few short weeks. Words, pictures, drawings can't explain everything I've gotten to see/do/hear/smell/eat/live here. Sometimes it just seems so surreal that this is my life. I am looking forward to getting back to America. I miss my friends and family more than I thought possible. The support I've had from family/friends has been so wonderful. I've strengthened a lot of friendships that surprised me, and kind of fell out of touch with others. But, knowing everything/everyone I'm going home to makes leaving Bangkok seem okay. As much as I complain about missing America, I seriously can't express how much I love Thailand. I have also made some sure to be life-long friendships with people from all over the world. They've all made living so far away seem easy, and we really depend on each other like family. I really am a lucky girl. So my goal for the next 5 weeks is to just really take in every moment I have and enjoy it. I may even miss a few students!

I was talking to a friend the other day and she told me to go have an adventure and blog about it. And I did! Nick and I went to the Grand Palace, which we've been saying we'd do for the past 10 months. The Grand Palace has a very very strict dress code--You have to be covered from your shoulders to your toes. I totally understand this, but seriously....it's like 193 degrees every day. So, it was hot. But it was beautiful. Rama II made the Grand Palace like a billion years ago, and it's still used for government purposes, but not like it was, obviously. We got to see the most holy place in Thailand. It's called the Emerald Buddha. It was in a temple that had gorgeous wall paintings, and it was pretty much filled with gold. The Buddha was on top of a bunch of other holy things, and it was just this huge room where you could sit and think or pray or whatever. It was so so beautiful. After we did that we just walked around the rest of the place, pretty much just walking in circles because it was confusing. Anyway, I don't have a lot to say about it, so I'll just post some pictures.

Ps, I got a nasty burn from a motorbike today. No good.

Once again, long overdue. Let me start off by saying I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season, and got to spend lots of time with friends and family. We had a pretty good Christmas in Bangkok--a Christmas tree, stockings, good food, good conversation--all that good stuff.

The first part of our second semester ended on Christmas Eve, and I left for a little mini-holiday a few days later. We had 10 days off school, so instead of wasting away in my living room in Bangkok, I decided I wanted to see the beauty I know Thailand has, which I don't get to see much of in the middle of a big city. In the [very] little research I did on Thailand before I moved here I came across many pictures of Koh Phi Phi, and island in the southern part of Thailand. From that second on, I knew I had to get there. However, it's expensive as shit, especially in peak season. So, I decided to go to the even more popular island of Phuket, which is pretty close to Phi Phi, and while it's still pretty expensive, I knew there were lots of hostels/guesthouses that I'd be able to stay at. I've never traveled much by myself, so I was a little nervous about taking this trip by myself, especially considering I don't speak the language very well, and I was going to be pretty far out of my comfort zone. However, I did move to the other side of the world, and it would be pretty lame of me to not see as much of it as possible. So, I headed south.

My flights were delayed for about a billion hours, so it took me awhile to actually arrive in Phuket. Then I had to find a way to Patong beach, where I was staying. I found a van/bus thing that was headed that way, so I hopped in there. I got dropped off pretty much in the middle of Patong, so I had no idea where I was going. I had been in Phuket for an hour and was already lost at 2 in the morning. I walked around a lot, and thankfully I can ask for and understand directions in Thai, so I eventually found my way. I stayed at a little guesthouse owned by a wonderful, nice, and extremely helpful Korean couple. They were fantastic.

The first day there I wandered around to find coffee and ended up at the beach, so I stayed there for the rest of the day, because I had no idea how to get back to my hotel. However, I had forgotten a crucial supply for the day. I had coffee, water, snacks, books....but no effing sunscreen. Thus, I got possibly the worst sunburn of my life. Sooo painful. But that's not all that interesting, I guess. Anyway, the Thai guy who was in charge of the beach got me all settled with my chair (80 baht for the day....score!), table, and umbrella. We talked a lot and he was always willing to bring me more beer, sweep the sand off my chair, move my chair in and out of the sun all day, and all other kinds of things. We quickly became best friends, obviously. He called me his favorite teacher. We had an on-going battle about spicy food--he said it was weak and not spicy in Bangkok, and I assured him it was not. We finally settled it when he went and bought some soup from a local street vendor and we tasted it. It kicked my ass. He was so right. So that was pretty much my first day. I read a lot, swam a lot, looked around a lot, drank some beers, took some naps....pretty amazing day on the beach. That night in search of dinner I ended up at a restaurant that was pretty much a whore-house, but I didn't realize that until I was leaving. So that was silly. Good food, though.

The second day I got to do what I had wanted to do for the past 10 months. I booked a day trip to Koh Phi Phi. I was going to just take the ferry and figure it out myself, but I'd probably end up lost in the jungle or something. So for like 40 dollars I got a full day trip. I, as is my standard, never really knew what was going on, or where I was supposed to be, but it was hands-down one of the most amazing days of my entire life. It was definitely the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. I spent most of the day with an Australian couple who were also on the trip. She was 16 and he was 34. They were really fun, but I'll just leave it at that. We went to three or four different islands (2 of which are considered Phi Phi) via speedboat. Now, I've never gotten sea sick, but I now understand why people do. While the boat was fun and all that, holy shit, it was bumpy. So we went to a small island and walked around for a bit. That wasn't actually all that fun, but it was pretty. I spent most of the day just looking around. We then went to Monkey Beach, where you can feed wild monkeys. However, there weren't any damn monkeys. But the beach was nice, and the water was amazing. Then we went to Pileh Lagoon, which was just.....I actually don't think I can explain it. My friend Sarah saw a picture and called it the Mermaid Lagoon. I think I'll just leave it at that. It was breathtakingly beautiful. Then we went to Maya Bay, which is where they filmed the movie The Beach (you should watch it because it's pretty. the movie kind of sucks though. read the book). It's the most popular part of Phi Phi island, and it's pretty obvious why. Pure white sand, completely clear water, with cliffs and the jungle surrounding it. And, obviously, leonardo dicaprio has been there. Anyway, we had heard before we got there that we could only stay for a little bit because they were shutting off most of the island because the King and royal family was going to be there. The King is a huge deal, so I wasn't surprised that when we got to the beach there was lots of security. BUT THEN, the royal family arrived! I got to see them arrive! I know none of you who read this have been to Thailand, so you don't know how huge that is, but it is. It was awesome. Ok, so then we left Maya Bay and went to another beach which was pretty much the same as the others. Then we went snorkeling. I've never been snorkeling before, so I was pretty excited. You didn't even really need to go snorkeling to see all the way to the bottom of the water, but it was still awesome to do it. I don't like fish, in fact I hate them, but it was pretty amazing to swim with them. There were huge corals and lots of different kinds of fish everywhere. There were also sea urchins that were at least the size of my head. Terrifying. I think I got stung by something while I was out there, but I'm not dead, so it must not have been something bad. So that was my trip to Phi Phi. Something I'll never forget. Ever.

The next day was pretty much the same as the first day, but with a lot more sunscreen. I did, however, go parasailing! So fun. I asked my favorite Thai guy about it, and he told me to get on his motorbike and we flew down the street to another beach. They grabbed my purse and stuck it on a chair, and started harnessing me up. I've never parasailed....I had no idea what was going on. At one point the guy who was attaching the sail thing told me that all I had to do when he told me was run. He didn't give me any direction, didn't say when to stop running, he jus told me to run. I was so confused, and positive that I was going to faceplant and then be dragged in front of the hundreds of people on the beach. Thankfully, I was wrong. When he told me, I ran, and then all of a sudden I was up in the air. I got to see all of Phuket, and it was stunning. When I started coming down I realized they hadn't told me anything about how this whole thing was going to end. Slightly terrifying. So I just crashed into the water. It was really funny.

So, I guess that is a very long-winded version of the highlights of the trip. It was wonderful to travel alone. I'm glad that at 23 I know that I can do that, and do it pretty well. It's very...freeing. I think it's so important for people my age to get out and just...do something. So, I guess I'm proud of myself for doing it.

I'm a lucky girl. A very, very lucky girl.

Ok, picture time, if any of you made it this far.

[Snorkeling--Khai Nai]