Suphan Pride

I have been in full teacher mode for the past couple of weeks, and the work load just keeps on coming. Between lesson-planning, test-making, grading, behavior reports, after school prep courses, tutoring and even more grading, I am one busy chica. There are about 2 1/2 weeks left of teaching before final exams start and I am both excited and sad for the break to come. Excited because I'm tired and need a break, but more-so because I will be filling my weeks with trips around Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Hong Kong, Bali and Malaysia. What's not to be excited about?  On the other hand, I'm sad about the end of the school year. I came into the school halfway through the school year, and next semester is the start of a new year so I will no longer be teaching some of my students. I have become so attached to my M2's and it's going to be hard to let them go. Luckily, I get to keep my M1's and I already know most of the incoming students, but my heart hurts at the thought of losing my M2's. Boooo. 


Anyways, my days and nights have been filled, and so anytime I can sneak away, I am more than happy to. This past weekend we went to Kanchanaburi (I'm totally crushing on it), just to get away and have the opportunity to speak in English (and eat pizza!). It was a great time and we even randomly bumped into a friend from home who is studying abroad in Bangkok. However, the highlight of the week had to be our excursion to the Don Chedi Festival with the EP Staff. There has been plenty of talk about this festival since arriving in Suphan, as I am pretty sure it is the city's pride and joy. I presume the only reason we have hotels here are to house the many visitors who come to enjoy the main spectacle. What kind of spectacle you ask? Oh, well none other than a live elephant battle....Duh. 



We arrived at the Don Chedi monument only to be completely shocked at the massive market set up with lights, live music and hundreds of booths and 'restaurants.' Our staff ate at the Sa-nguan Ying restaurant before getting escorted backstage to our seats, passing by men with samurai swords, girls in traditional dress, and a few elephants (also dressed for the occassion). We nestled into our seats (cement stairs) and waited in near darkness for the show to start. The set looked pretty legit, setting the scene for the story of King Naresuan and the war against Burma. Vendors came around selling fans and dried squid, (seriously, what happened to the days of foam fingers and cotton candy?) and soon the show began. As with every Thai celebration, they went above and beyond. I really wish there was a way to describe the 1 1/2 hour show, but nothing will do it justice. I felt as though I was on the set of a movie (somewhere between Star Wars and Gladiator), as music boomed over the speakers, men broke out into a full on war re-enactment with sword fights, cannon blasts, horses speeding across the grass, and pyrotechnics coming from all directions. The most climatic point was obviously the elephant battle. About 6 elephants came into the arena, and 2 with long (possibly fake, wooden) tusks stood face to face. And then...Battle Royale (elephant-style) commenced. They put on quite a show as they jabbed, they jumped, they ran and they embraced (in a not so loving way) until one of them was finally defeated. The show was seriously impressive. Luckily I was semi familiar with the story because the whole thing was in Thai. Even so- there was enough visual stimuli to keep me entertained and content. 

Oh...and I had a really cool balloon, so it was obviously the best night of the week. 

Now I just need to finish up the week before heading to Bangkok for the weekend to get some things accomplished. The top priorities are 1. See a movie. 2 Get Starbucks and 3. Buy a Thai Language book. I am so determined to learn Thai.

War scene

Elephants and Fire....scary!

                                            

Wedding Crashers

I finally did it. I spent an entire weekend in The Soup. It wasn't easy and it wasn't at all exciting, but I can finally declare that it happened. And I can confidently say that it probably won't be happening all that often. My life is simple now and I guess I am just not that good at entertaining myself. Good thing I live in Thailand where there will always be something to spice up my life. 

The majority of my weekend was spent at a coffee shop, grading papers and writing Progress Reports. When I wasn't there, I was wandering the town, digging for something...anything...to do, which just ended with me eating a whole lot of ice cream. You know your day is a dud when, while eating lunch, you are pondering what to eat for dinner, because the meals will most certainly be the 'events' of that day. Luckily for me, they are always delicious. 

Sunday night rolls around and I am basically pacing my room, trying to pass the time, when two of my friends knock on my door, say that they noticed some spotlights in the sky and wanted to scope it out, and then asked if I wanted to join their expedition. Hmmm...let me just stop what I am doing...oh wait, I wasn't doing anything...so YES, I will go. I hopped on the back of one of their mopeds (I'm becoming a natural) and we buzzed through town, trying to find out where those spotlights in the sky were coming from. After a few wrong turns and some highway action, we found our way down a random street. The small shacks suddenly turned into gorgeous houses and it felt as though we teleported into a gated community back in the States.  Cops surrounded this elaborate set-up of neon lights, flowered gates, banquet tables and a huge stage. We suspected it was a wedding, but second guessed ourselves once we saw the troupe of sequined girls dancing and singing on stage. We hopped off the bikes and moseyed on over to the scene. The cops didn't even flinch and let us wander right through the gate. As we stood in confusion, and attracted a whole bunch of stares, a table of Thai folk waved us over and invited us to join them. They immediately offered us bowls and told/forced us to eat the ridiculous spread of food on the table. They knew a few words of English, but for the most part, the next hour was spent miming and talking in broken Thai/English. Nevertheless, we made new friends. About halfway through the conversation, one of the women pointed to two beautiful girls in super trendy outfits coming towards us and said "Superstar!" We were then quickly shuffled up from our seats and pulled into a picture with the 'Superstars.' We chatted with them for a bit, and found out that they were actresses for a TV Show essentially called 'Super Cop.' As we talked to the two celebrities, we could hear the word 'farang' excitedly coming from the man on stage. I'm pretty sure we upstaged the 'Superstars.' Only in Thailand...

Although I would consider this a fairly 'boring' weekend, I still managed to pull a 'Wedding Crashers-esque' stunt and steal the show from Thai celebrities. Like I've said before, nothing in Thailand will ever be 'normal.' 

Sidenote: I still have no idea what the party was for. 

Myanmar, Motorcycles and Malaria

I've been traveling a lot lately. A lot a lot. I am by no means complaining, but being on the go takes a toll on your body. So, last weekend I was prepared to spend the weekend doing absolutely nothing. I planned to stay in bed and be as lazy as can be with some Friday Night Lights and chocolate. Then Thursday afternoon rolls around and we find out that we have Monday off. Well- how am I supposed to stay in The Soup when I can take advantage of a long weekend and explore Thailand some more??? So after little research and no preparation whatsoever, Sarah and I were off to Sangkhlaburi for the weekend. Sangkhlaburi is in the Kanchanaburi Province, but falls on the border of Thailand and Burma (Myanmar). We were told there was nothing to do there, but the scenery was so beautiful that it was 100% worth a visit. And, by golly, was it gorgeous. 


It is about a 5-6 hour trek from Suphan and 3 hours of that drive is spent winding up a mountain on narrow roads with incredibly sharp turns. I expected to feel carsick, but I felt so much worse. The van driver, probably used to the epic drive, felt it necessary to speed up the entire mountain, not slowing down for anyone or anything. I clung on to dear life with every turn and hoped 1. I didn't vomit everywhere (sorry- TMI) and 2. We didn't topple off of a mountain cliff. It was terrifying. When we (thankfully) arrived, Sarah and I just looked at each other and thanked the heavens that we were still alive. After recovering from our panic and grogginess, we opened our eyes to the stunning scenery. We were completely surrounded by mountains that overlooked a river and little villages. Our hostel- P. Guesthouse- was by far the most unbelievable place we have stayed thus far. Completely built and furnished from teakwood, the place provided the perfect environment for relaxing and taking in the views. The multi-level lawn looked over the lake, where floating houses (not boathouses, but actual houses on rafts) drifted along. Across the way were sprawling mountains with some glistening temples lurking amidst the trees. The whole scene was very Asia, and it was the perfect way to 'get away' without the craziness of traveling. 

Despite the lack of tourist attractions and hullaballoo, we found ourselves counting down our '9 lives' throughout the weekend. For the most part, our time was spent wandering around the small town, and even stumbling upon and exploring a village. At night, we sat among the other backpackers and ate dinner, watched the sunset over the lake, played cards and went to bed embarrassingly early. It was super relaxing, but somehow we managed to risk our lives... a lot. I'm only slightly exaggerating. From almost getting run over by a floating house while on an early morning canoe ride to realizing a little too late that we were supposed to take our malaria pills while madly itching our 12 new mosquito bites, we were constantly living on the wild side. We trekked to Three Pagodas Pass to be on the Myanmar border, and had about 4 mini- panic attacks when immigration stopped us multiple times to check our passport and visas....which we didn't have. We were so not ready to be detained and held in jail for illegally crossing the border. Luckily, we successfully made it there without being arrested. After our adventure, we were zonked so we decided to suck it up and take our first motorcycle taxi to get back to our hostel. I've voiced my fear of mopeds in Thailand. They take over the streets and don't pay any attention to pedestrians. Thailand is also known for having an absurd amount of motor accidents and I have heard far too many stories directly from the victims. However, Sangkhlaburi is a very quiet place and I was more than tempted to hop on one....so I did! And I loved it....so I hopped on another one later that evening. I'm still going to use caution when driving on the back of a motorbike, but I'm glad I've gotten over the initial fear. And I'm even happier that I didn't fall off. 

 
We also made our way to the Mon Bridge, the longest and oldest wooden bridge in Thailand. I'm not going to lie- I did not enjoy walking across it. It looked like it was being held up by toothpicks and the wood panels were a mess. Some parts were loose and others were shaky and I wanted to turn around and run back to safety. But after seeing an 8 year-old boy jump from plank to plank without looking down, I held my breath and tiptoed my way across. The sights were gorgeous and I'm still alive, so I'll stop complaining. 


Although we feared for our lives a few times, the trip was great. Sangkhlaburi was the perfect place to recover from our busy schedules. I even got to play with the most adorable little puppy AND eat Khao Soy! Not even the ride from H-E- double hockey sticks on the way back could take away from the peace and tranquility I attained during our stay.
  

Pretty Sunset

The Scariest Bridge Ever

Flioating Houses

Row, row, row your boat...

Three Pagodas Pass

At the Burma Border

LOVE

Sidenote:
I was just informed that dengue fever is a huge problem in that area. So there's that....




To see more pretty pics, check out Sarah's photos:  http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2321109&id=1606236&l=a795bb50cb

Happy 2554!

Happy New Year! Hope everyone has started 2011 (or 2554 here in Thailand) off on the right foot. It was definitely different celebrating the New Year in a different culture/country, but it turned out to be my best New Year's yet, so cheers to that! I knew it was bound to be a good one when I was invited to the Sa-nguan Ying School cowboy-themed New Year's party. Silly me leaving my cowboy boots and flannel back in the States! I did my best to look semi-cowgirl, but my pigtails paled in comparison to the Thai staff fully decked out in suede-fringed vests, cowboy hats and steel-toed boots. The party mainly consisted of food, karaoke, cowboy contests and gift giving. I hit the jackpot with a new fan and a rice cooker. Although, I was slightly bummed I didn't win the brand spankin' new refrigerator. 

Sooo excited about my gifts!

The next day in school, the party continued and the kids held classroom parties. Now, when I heard there would be celebrations in every room, I figured there would be food to snack on, some music and maybe some games. I was not prepared for the full on ragers that were taking place in every single room. Silly string, garlands, confetti and glitter was thrown around. Lights, Christmas trees (a little late there, kiddos) and gifts took over half of the room, while full buffets of Som-tam, fried chicken, sushi, desserts, rice, etc, covered the remaining desks. Some students jumped around in a mosh-pit in their classrooms, and others just belted out Lady Gaga and The Cranberries on the giant karaoke screen projected onto the wall. I'm still not entirely sure how I was suckered into singing Poker Face in front of not one, but both of my M2 classes. The scene was completely wild, but such a fun way to end the year with the students. Sarah and I were able to sneak out of school a little early and begin our own New Year's adventures. Where were we going? No idea. 

Showing their Justin Bieber pride

Decorating the Christmas Tree....4 days after Christmas

Mmm fresh sushi!

      
Bags packed with no destination known, we headed to the train station about an hour away and hoped to find an open train that would take us far away from Suphan for the long weekend. We were semi-prepared to head to Laos since we just received our multiple re-entry permits into Thailand (whoop! whoop!), but we were up for anything. Even though we got rejected time after time when trying to get tickets to Chiang Mai, we were still bummed out about it, so just for kicks, we thought we would mention it. So, we went up to the desk, said 'Chiang Mai,' expected heartbreak, but instead, received a miracle. There were two tickets that night on an overnight sleeper train that would be getting into Chiang Mai, one of the greatest cities in the world, early the next morning. Done and done. We then began our journey northward.


Chiang Mai- how I love thee. I could go on for hours listing the reasons why I love it oh, so much. NYE day was spent wandering around, exploring various Wats and chatting with some monks. Talking with them was such a great experience because we had so many questions to ask them! Monks are such a prevalent part of the Thai Buddhist culture, but I was not entirely aware of their practices, especially those regarding women. Chatting with them gave us the opportunity to understand them more and it gave them the chance to practice their English. But, more importantly, it gave us the chance to see how normal they are. We spent a good hour or so talking with 2 monks from Cambodia. At one point, their ajarn (teacher) came out, spoke no English, but presented us with an amulet for good luck and protection, which was super cool. 

   


After delighting ourselves with the most delicious Thai dish yet, Khao Soi, we headed out to the main road to start the NYE celebrations. Floating lanterns filled the sky and created the most beautiful sight. Sarah and I even lit and set off our own. The remainder of the night included markets, live music, new backpacker friends, a live performance from Potato (jealous?) and a countdown in English! When midnight struck I was expecting loud cheers, lots of hugs and a lot of ballyhoo. Rather, while our small group of English guys and Canadian/American girls enthusiastically greeted the New Year, the Thai crowd around us tamely watched the firework show in the sky without so much as a hoot of excitement. That is...until Potato came on the stage. 

Happy New Year!

                   
The rest of our Chiang Mai trip was glorious and I had no desire to leave. It was so great to go exploring, eat new dishes, get a Thai massage (I needed to start the New Year with a knot-free back, right?), make new friends and wander around the multiple markets. The night markets were out of control and I went a little crazy and spent a wee bit of baht. Mai Pen Rai. We were pretty bitter on our 14 hour trek back to The Soup on Monday, but only because it was the best New Year's yet. It was the first time in a long time that I have felt revived and very ready for the New Year. I am excited to tackle some new resolutions and begin what should be one of the best years of my life. 


2011....bring it on. 

Monk meditation + stray dog = Very Thai

I'd feel wrong if I didn't include Bob's love for Chiang Mai