Adventures on Adventures
To pick up where I left off…we had our night of rest in Bangkok, woke up the next morning and got ready to go to the massive market within the city. We were smarter this time around and broke off into smaller groups. Us 3 girls and 3 guys. This day felt substantially more hot and humid than the previous day…and midway through our exploration, the group knew my sentiments on staying there too much longer. I was ready to go…ready to finally submerge myself in our infinity pool (albeit the infinity pool that overlooked piles of construction material from a job that had been long since abandoned–at least it appeared that way). We finally all agreed to leave. Rode the sky train back to our stop and walked the rest of the way to the hotel. We spent some much needed time by the pool and then decided it was time to start getting ready. Tonight was going to be my first night out in Bangkok. I’m not sure if you’ve been warned about Bangkok and the crazy things it can lead you to…well I have. Before actually arriving to Thailand, I was apprehensive to even explore much of the night life in any parts of Thailand. A foreign country and a petite, young female…didn’t seem like a likely combination. After arriving in Thailand, I realized there were cautious, like-minded people who felt the same way but still wanted to peruse the city…so that is what we did. With about 20 of us in tow, we got aboard the sky train, stopped at the appropriate stop, separated into two tuk tuks (and one motor bike–Richard), and finally arrived at the infamous Khaosan Road! We had heard about these “buckets” which I guess are just really strong drinks in a bucket that looks like a bucket you’d build a sandcastle with. So we searched profusely for a place that could accommodate 20 people to sit down and share a bucket with the person next to them (or not share it). Within 10 minutes and the constant sound of “pop” along the way–which was merely intended as a sign of invitation to see a ping pong show (I’ll let you Google that one), we found our place. I’ll be honest…the night was pretty simple and not filled with too much debauchery and everyone made it back alive. However, we did hear that one of the guys brought a Thai girl home…we’re still not certain which guy…or if it was even true. I wouldn’t really be surprised either way.
The next morning was Sunday morning, which meant our last full day in Bangkok. We still hadn’t made it to Grand Palace and I wasn’t leaving until we got to explore it. With another small group, and a bit of a hangover, we got in our tuk tuks and raced (not literally…but I kinda wish they would have) to the Grand Palace. This is a sight everyone needs to see if visiting Thailand. It truly is magnificent and nothing that pictures can portray alone. We walked around there for an hour or so until our tummies started rumbling, indicating their desire for some food.
Now I would consider myself an adventurous person–moving to Thailand is indicative of that–but I feel like I’m losing some of my adventurousness…when it comes to food. I’ve had family and friends back home ask me how things are going. My response is typically something as follows: “I’m doing really well and having a great time…but I don’t like the food”. People say that will change in due time and I slowly think it’s starting to. I’m trying random items from street stands (as long as they look relatively fresh) and more frequently trying meals that aren’t the standard fried rice with chicken…partially in thanks to the South African, videographer– Liam (I’ll talk about that later on).
We traveled back to the hotel to get ready for our meeting in preparation to depart to Hua Hin the following day.
We’ve have now made it to Hua Hin and our classes have begun for the TESOL course. At this point, we still don’t know where we will be placed to teach. Fingers will remain crossed in hopes that Sara, Lauren and I end up relatively close to one another. Our choices for placement are south Thailand, north Thailand or Bangkok. I’m pretty confident I would be happy with any of those. I believe the three areas have their distinct pros and cons, but a wonderful learning and unique cultural experience within each of them!
Our first day in Hua Hin was spent getting everything situated. We went to the local mall and Tesco (which is like a Wal-Mart or Costco) to gather all the necessary items for the next month…to take back to our accommodation…where Lauren and I share a king-size bed…and a very tiny bathroom with an interesting shower with no door and just a couple of feet from the toilet.