Part Two: Cambodia.

It was a pretty jam-packed and stuffy mini-van ride, but after a couple of hours, we made it to the border of Cambodia. It was finally time to say goodbye to the familiar language, food, people and land and say hello to the unknown. We grabbed our bags, hopped off the van and wandered up a street until we saw a Thai flag waving in the air and a small immigration building. Welp, here we go...

Stop 2: Cambodia. (Koh Kong ---> Sihanoukville---> Phnom Penh)

Before arriving in Cambodia, I had been warned numerous times about the safety concerns in the country. Between hearing random horror stories and reading about brick throwing and the frequency of theft, I was a little nervous. However, Cambodia was also the country I knew the least about and was therefore the most excited to see. And let me tell you- it did not disappoint. It was rich with beauty, history, character and glorious, glorious food. We only spent five days there, but I am already mapping out my next visit. Cambodia- I dig you. I dig you a lot. 

Highlights: 

* Getting to the border. Usually when you stamp out of one country and into the next, it's a one-two stamp process, but not in this case. We stamped out of Thailand and then were left to a stretch of barren land with no indication of where to walk. We slowly wandered forth, admired the random stretch of land on the water and continued forward until we saw a gate. But still- no sign, no other people, just us. When we saw the building, we were immediately beckoned over by a group of men, but we'll leave the rest of the story to the 'Not so highlights' section. (The suspense is killing you, isn't it?).

*Our first dinner in Cambodia. It had been torrentially down-pouring outside, so we were starving by the time the rain passed and we could find food. We had no idea of our whereabouts (Koh Kong is the border town- a quick stopover to get to the next destination), so we meandered into the first place offering food we could find, which just happened to be a pub next door to us called 'Paddy's Bamboo Pub.' It was a charming place where random backpackers sat while a large group of Cambodian men sat and had a jolly time drinking beers and playing cards. Dinner was AMAZING (Khmer curry...yum) and as we finished up, one of the Cambodian men came over to us and said "We would like to invite you to sit with us. We would like to enjoy with you.' How could we refuse? So we pulled up our chairs, drank some Anchor beer and had a grand ole time with them. Only two of the men knew English, but we've perfected charades, so it was all good. There was A LOT of 'Cheers!-ing' going on and a lot of "Do not forget us!" Obvi not! The highlight though was the man, the myth, the legend- Paddy himself! He was an unbelievable man who shared his story with us and made our time much more enjoyable. He even dropped what he was doing the next morning to drive us to the bus station in his tuk-tuk. He was pretty popular among the locals. Paddy is definitely a big deal. (I advise that you 'Like' him on facebook- Paddy's Bamboo Pub- DO IT!)

*Sihanoukville= Backpacker's paradise. The place is teeming with backpackers from all over the world. It was completely chill and so incredibly fun. And I ate very well there- hummus, olives, toasties, sandwiches! We had some good life moments on the beach, relaxing, chatting, taking jumping shots and enjoying the scenery. 

*Tuk--tukking through no man's land. We had walked a good hour away from our beach in Sihanoukville (also known as Snooky) so we decided to tuk-tuk it back since it was past dark. We hopped in and then took the most epic ride back to our hostel. The only route was a bumpy red dirt road, unlit, and full of potholes and puddles. It was ridiculous, but also amazing because we passed through a small village, where families of 10 gathered into a small hut with mats on the ground and a tiny TV playing football games.  It gave us a quick glimpse into their simple lives. Also- I am still completely impressed that the tuk-tuk even made it back to our hostel. 

*The fact that Sihanoukville is known as Snooky.

*Currency. The Cambodian currency is the riel, but they also use American dollars. It got really confusing when you paid in USD, and then got the change in dollars and riel. Oy. But the money also prompted a continuous outburst of "I've Got Riel" sung to the tune of J.Lo and Ja Rule's winner "I'm Real."

*The bus ride from Snooky to Phnom Penh. I can't bring myself to say that I actually enjoyed the 5 hour ride, but I really loved seeing the countryside and passing through villages, observing people in their everyday lives and taking note of the massive amount of yaks/cows/buffaloes. 

*Phnom Penh day of tuk-tukking. We hired a tuk-tuk for a day to take us to the Russian Market, the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, lunch, the Killing Fields and the Central Market. We were lucky enough to have a friend of a friend map out our day for us and give us tips (MUCH appreciative of that). The day consisted of iced coffee (the best in Phnom Penh!) with the locals, some shopping, good eats, a lot of history shocks and a lot of reflection. 

*Friends! And I'm not talking about Megh and Sarah (although they are cool, too). Friends is an NGO-run restaurant, salon and shop that educates and trains former street children. We made a night of it by getting manicures at the salon, buying some souvenirs at the shop and then indulging in an incredibly delicious tapas dinner accompanied by a Pineapple Chili Margarita. Holy moly- deliciousness overload. 

*The digs. One of our friends in Suphan has a friend working in Phnom Penh and organized for us to stay in a serviced apartment for our two nights in the city. It was great and a huge jump from our spot in Koh Kong. 

*Food. I know- I sound like such a fatty, but it was seriously amazing. Just ignore the fried spiders and fried baby birds and focus on everything else Cambodia has to offer. One of my favorite meals of the trip was the Cambodian Crepes. I...died. 

*The Riverfront in Phnom Penh: bumpin' and beautiful! We met up with some friends there both nights to eat and be merry.

*The people. The Cambodian people were so kind, so friendly and very keen to chat. Our encounters involved a lot of "I will never forget you!' and wishing us well in life. I was also blown away with the amount of English everyone knew. In Thailand, I have to rely a lot on whatever Thai I know, but in Cambodia, learning English seems to be top priority because almost everyone knew a fair amount. 

Friends at Paddy's!

    

Puppies at Paddy's. Told ya it was awesome.

Walk along Serendipity Beach in Snooky

Snooky!

Best Iced Coffee in Phnom Penh!

Friends: Pineapple Chili Margis! And showing off the Manis.

Geez- look at me gushing on and on about Cambodia. I could probably go on for a good while about our time there...but I won't. I'll leave the 'Not so Highlights' for Part 3 because  there is a lot to be said about Cambodia and it's history. 

Fist Pumpin' Our Way Through Asia: Part One

After 18 days, 9 cities, 3 countries, 2 SARs, loads of new passport stamps and a whole lot of fun, I have returned to Suphan for a whopping 36 hours before I head back out on a new adventure. So between post-travelers depression and pre-travelers anxiety, I'm a bit of a disorganized mess. Mai Pen Rai- just let it happen. Megh's visit was a complete success and it was really hard to say goodbye at the airport. It was so amazing to have a familiar face (and a redheaded companion) to join the awesomeness that is Asia and to show off our new lifestyles. The past 3 weeks were full of silly antics, lots of characters, new friends, new food, new forms of transport and a little too much fist pumping. 

Stop 1: Thailand. (Suphan---> Bangkok---> Koh Chang)


We were super excited to show off Thailand to Megh since it is so near and dear to our hearts. And although we spent a mere 4 days here, we got a lot accomplished. Megh was able to hit up some of the more touristy spots (JJ Market and the Grand Palace), while also experiencing the more random aspects of Thai traveling. 


Highlights:
*Showing off the Suphan 'hotspots,' which basically consisted of the Dragon and our favorite food vendors. Within a few hours, Megh already had boys wanting to be her boyfriend... Breaking hearts all over the world. 
*Khao San Rd. The most overstimulating street in the world did not fail us. Lots of breakdancing, live music and some interesting attempts at pick-ups. 
*Koh Chang: We stayed in an amazing hostel, with a room overlooking the water. The only way to access the hostel was by a hefty walk along the beach. Any room with a mosquito net and a balcony on the water for $8 a night is a winner in my book. The owner (dubbed Mr. Whiskers) provided endless entertainment with his mumbled English. He was convinced he knew how to speak the language and insisted on telling a lot of jokes, but we literally had NO idea what he was saying and just smiled and nodded. 
*Banana shakes. Obvi. 
*Elephant rides! This was elephant number 4 for me, but the novelty has not wore off. Koh Chang provided a beaaautiful trek through the jungle. And I got to ride my elephant bare-back- Booyeah!

*Fish spa: Megh wanted to get the full Thai experience, so she braved it out and dipped her feet in a tank while little fish nibbled away at her toes. 

Not so highlights (but still completely awesome): 

*Taking an overnight bus to Trat to catch a ferry to Koh Chang. It sounded perfect- Arrive in Trat at 5:30 and get the 6am ferry to the island. Well...things changed when we were awoken by a nice little leg squeeze from a woman on the bus at 3:45am telling us we had arrived. After rubbing my eyes to make sure I wasn't still dreaming, I realized that we had been dumped off on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere at a small travel agency with about 5 stools and a desk. About 30 minutes later, we were piled into the back of a songtaew, with our luggage thrown on top of the truck, and driving for a solid 40 minutes to the pier. The 4:45am arrival didn't do much for our 6:50am ferry departure time. After a breakfast of Pringles, Goldfish and Pocky, I took a nice cat nap on a bench before finally getting on a ferry and making it to paradise. 

*Massages. Massages are always an excellent idea after a lazy day on a tropical beach. The 3 of us geared up and picked the most legit sounding masseuse - Cookies Massage II. We requested oil massages and the women promptly told us to take off our clothes. Usually, you're given some sweet flowy shirts and pants, but Cookies wasn't so into that. After some confusion, the three of us were stripped down and getting our oil massages. It would have been all swell and dandy if there wasn't a full-on parade occurring outside. And still, that would have been A-Okay, but the women were so giddy for the festivities going on outside that they decided it was a great idea to open up the curtains to reveal wall to wall windows. So while they smiled and cheered on the parade happening out on the street, the three of us nervously giggled and hoped to God that no one peered into the window to see 3 basically naked farang all oiled up. Good times...good times had by all. 

*Monkey-dog interactions. After our elephant treks we sat and enjoyed some fresh pineapple but were horribly distracted by an aggressive monkey and a submissive dog. I'll leave it at that....and just say that I am forever traumatized. (And Jason- no, I do not have any pictures). 

Our sweet hostel in Koh Chang

Swing on the beach!

Suay Maak

Eek!

Part One of our journey was wild, adventurous, sweaty, relaxing, oily and delicious. We had no idea what to expect from the next leg of our travels, but we packed up, songtaewed it, ferried it, mini-vanned it and eventually made our way to the border of Cambodia. That in itself was an adventure. Ill put up a new post every couple of days to share the rest of our journey with everyone, so be sure to check back in! But for now, I need to unpack, do laundry, re-pack and then I'm headed up north to Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai and Pai to celebrate Songkran. It's gonna be a wet one!

                                    

Life As I Know It

Summer classes are coming to an end and I'm gearing up for Megh's big arrival, so I am just a wee bit excited this week. I am about to take on Southeast Asia for the next two months, so I have to say a temporary goodbye to my "normal" life. After 5 months, I've made some major life adjustments and to commemorate, I'd thought I'd make a list. But then I got inspired to do some 'Highs and Lows', so you're going to get a double whammy- a list of highs and lows. It doesn't get more exciting than that, now does it?

Top Ten Life Adjustments Since Coming to Thailand

10. Walking: Seems silly, right? Well...walking isn't a normal activity here. Back in Boston, I walked everywhere. I love to walk/wander/get lost. Thailand doesn't share that love. 

Highs: I've become very good at dodging tuk-tuks, cars, bikes, motorbikes, restaurants on wheels while walking along the road. 

Lows: Sidewalks are non-existent. Seriously- it's like an obstacle course to walk down the street. Signs, trees, street vendors, stray dogs, cement slabs, poles- they take over the entire sidewalk. So I have no choice but to walk with or against the traffic (hence my Frogger skills). 

9. Beds: More like wooden slabs. 

Highs: My scoliosis is loving the rock solid beds. And it makes for an excellent table. I literally have breakfast in bed every morning.

Lows: There is no such thing as cozying up in your bed here. Between the lack of cushion and fighting off all the critters lurking in the sheets, bedtime is no longer the highlight of the day.

8. Exercise: Yeaaa, about that....

Highs: I think I sweat more walking down the street than I ever did during an intense workout back home. So really, is exercising necessary?

Lows: I haven't stepped foot in a gym since being here because there aren't any. I've attempted a few runs, but I'd rather not worry about hurdling chickens/stray dogs. Also- it's brutally hot here. Walking around the block is physically draining. Hooray for laziness!

7. Farang: White people represent.

Highs: Being a farang gives you automatic celebrity status. It's a real ego-booster to walk down the street while people yell out "Hello!" and "Beauuuutiful!" on any given day. 

Lows: At the same time, being stared at while you walk, eat, talk, sit, breathe can be a little overwhelming. Hearing the word 'farang, farang, farang' as you pass by anyone and everyone is funny...but I'm also kind of over it. 

6. Sweating: I'm so attractive, it's not even funny.

Highs: I maintain a natural glow. And I'm never cold.

Lows: I am a hot mess.... all of the time. As much as I'd like to convince myself that my beauty is causing all those triple takes as I wander the streets of Suphan, I've come to terms with the fact that the sweaty, red-headed farang is quite the spectacle. 

5. Entertainment: Karaoke just isn't my cup of tea.

Highs: Travel is my entertainment. And that defeats all. If that doesn't win you over, then this will. 

Lows: I really miss American TV and music. Suphan isn't the most exciting of places, and sometimes, I just really want to curl up in my wooden slate of a bed, cuddle with the ants and watch some good ole American TV. I can only self-dub Thai soap operas for so long. 

4. Fashion: Fisherman pants are so in right now.

Highs: I wear elastic-waisted clothes everyday. My wardrobe is chock-full of comfy clothes. My rice baby belly really appreciates that. 

Lows: Basically- I am just a frump now. Trying to be culturally appropriate while not over-heating is actually really difficult. And to top it off- we are surrounded by adorable Thai women and their super trendy clothes that are so inexpensive...but made only for tiny, adorable Thai women. Meh. And I knew my life without pretty shoes could only go for so long. Let the withdrawals begin...

3. Showers: Yes, I am still being a pansy about this. 

Highs: With summer here and temperatures reaching 100 degrees, the water in the pipes heats up during the day and allows me to have a bearable shower. 

Lows: Cold showers are just not something you can adjust to. I hate them. 

2. Language: Jing Jing!

Highs: I'm learning. I've made a lot of progress but I still 'Mai Kow Jai' (don't understand) a lot...most...of what is being said. I know most of the key phrases and I can pick up a few words per conversation. And 'Jing jing' has changed my life. It just means 'Really?!' but I use it as much as I possibly can in everyday conversation. Probably too much...

Lows: I'm learning, but I am still so far away from knowing a decent amount.  It's hard stuff to learn a new language, and without it-it is so much more difficult to delve into the culture as much as I would like to. 

1. Food: Just call me Fatty.

Highs: It really doesn't get more delicious than this. Settling in at our favorite "restaurant' (and by restaurant, I mean an area with chairs and tables where I am constantly swatting mosquitoes away and pushing a cat off of the table while a man on a motorcycle skims my leg with his bike), and devouring a dish of freshly made Thai food is heaven on earth. The spices, the flavors, the veggies, the tropical fruit, the banana shakes- MMM!

Lows: Don't get me wrong- Thai food rocks my world- but my diet still has its random American cravings. For instance, right now, all I want to do is destroy a wedge of cheese. But, that is not happening here. Delicious sugary, chocolaty, glorious baked goods do not exist (womp womp)...which is probably a good thing, but it doesn't do anything for those intense cravings.

So there you have it- a little peek into my life changes. And even if the lows were lower and the highs not so high, my life here is awesome. I'm sure I've missed some essentials- but I'm just too giddy because on Saturday, I embark on an epic journey:

Suphan- Bangkok- Koh Chang- Sihanoukville- Phnom Penh- Ho Chi Minh City- Hong Kong- Suphan- Chiang Mai- Chiang Rai- Pai- Suphan - Bali- Langkawi. 

 

5 countries in 2 months.... Let's do this thang.

That being said- my updates will be far and few, but hopefully I return (safely) and with good stories to tell. 

No, really....I'm with them.

So you know those giant Asian tour groups that bus around a city with matching hats and/or t-shirts and flood the touristy locations until every single person in the group takes an adorably, cheesy photo? Welp...I reached a life-time goal by joining one of those groups this past week. And let me tell you - It. Was. Awesome. From the moment I arrived at school and was handed a bucket hat and a pork hair sandwich, I knew it was going to be a good week. 


Let's back up. About 2 months ago our coordinator mentioned that Sa-Nguan Ying would be bussing through Thailand and Laos to go to Vietnam for 5 days and that if there was space, the foreign staff was more than welcome to join. With the trip being paid for (minus the Visas), I couldn't refuse. So I committed, got my Laos and Vietnam Visas, and waited for March 1st to come around. We literally had no idea what to expect. When we asked about an itinerary, all we got was "Snack in Laos at 10am." Oook. Luckily, 4 days before the trip, we were given a rough itinerary with a lot of misspelled words (including the city names). With some killer Google research skills, we were able to figure out that we would be headed to Hue, Da Nang and Hoi An in Vietnam. I had heard so many good things about Vietnam from friends and random backpackers, and so I was super excited to make the (long) trek there.


As per typical Thai bus rides, the adventure was accompanied by Thai entertainment at an abnormally high volume. But, thanks to Tylenol PM and the smooth beats on my Ipod, I was knocked out until early the next morning when we crossed the Thai border into Laos. Unfortunately, we didn't spend much time in Laos besides the 4-5 hour ride across and a lunch stop somewhere along the way. However, I was still able to enjoy its beauty. Laos is a very undeveloped country, and the majority of the ride was spent admiring the greenness of the fields, the hills and the trees. Grass huts were scattered between rice paddies and long stretches of trees. It was just pretty shocking to see that people live in such simplicity. Also- it was impossible to ignore the surplus of plastic bags littering the land, as well as the ridiculous amount of goats everywhere. Seriously...big goats, black goats, baby goats- thousands of goats- everywhere. As the goats faded away, and the hills became mountains, we reached the Vietnam border. 


The ride from the border to Hue was absolutely stunning. As we wound up and around the roads, mountains enveloped the area. Down below, people in traditional Vietnamese hats worked in the rice paddies, while above us, the fog lingered. It was seriously one of the more beautiful places I have ever seen. Vietnam had already made a huge impression on me. We ventured further in and I was immediately shocked at the amount of motorbikes on the street. I have always said Thailand is filled with them, but, Vietnam is reeeaaally filled with them. For every 100 motorbikes, there is maybe one car and a big truck or two.  Scary. And I don't understand why, and I don't personally like it, but they beep all of the time. They never stop. Ever. Maybe that's a rule of the road in Vietnam, but every single vehicle beeps at every person, car, bike, ant in the road. It was unbelievable. 
    

After about 18 hours on the road, we made it to Hue, a UNESCO World Heritage Site (due to its involvement with the Vietnam War). Hue apparently suffered a lot of damage during the war since it was located so close to the North/South border, and we were able to see firsthand some of the leftovers from the battles. We walked in and around the Vinh Moc Tunnels, which caused a weird sense of guilt to stir up inside of me. It was really interesting to see the war from their eyes, but it was all very eery. Throughout the week, we were able to explore some other areas of Hue, including the Grand Palace and another temple. Sadly, since the entire tour was in Thai, I had no idea what was going on 90% of the time, so I don't know all the information I should about my whereabouts. 

Our days were spent bussing between the three cities and stopping multiple times to eat and to ...shop! I had no idea that Thai people loved to shop so much. My fellow teachers were so intense about it and knew how to get it done. Their bargaining skills are really something to admire. Their abilities rubbed off on me, and when we wandered around the streets of Old Town in Hoi An, I couldn't help but go a little shopping crazy myself. Speaking of, I really liked Hoi An. The French influence was completely obvious in this area. So, thank you France for that delicious chocolate croissant. Between the cafes and the French architecture, I really felt like I had slipped out of Asia and into Europe. And then I heard the motorbikes beeping and almost got run over by a bike and quickly realized that I was still in good ole Asia. It was a really beautiful area and I wish I could have spent more time (and more dong) in Hoi An. I did, however, get to dip my toes in the South China Sea that night at our beach resort, which is pretty cool. 

Temple in Hoi An

Old Town

Before coming to Vietnam, I expected to see a lot of similarities between Thailand and Vietnam. I had heard that Thailand is just a 'jacked up' version of Vietnam, but I was struck with how different the two countries are. Of course, there are the familiar landscapes and the heaps of motorbikes, but just about everything else was different. Vietnam seemed much calmer to me. Thailand is overflowing with its culture. Street vendors fill the streets and their accompanying smells fill the air. Stray dogs cover every nook and cranny of the streets and 7-11 is at every turn. Temples are placed in the bustling areas and somehow maintain their sparkle in the (mostly) polluted sky. Every building, billboard, and house shows their love to the King. And of course, farang are a big deal. I've gotten really used to being a celebrity here. Vietnam was vastly different. The air was so fresh and I loved being able to take a deep breath while looking around at the rolling mountains surrounding me. No food stalls took over the sidewalk, but rather people wearing their Vietnamese hats riding bicycles occupied the space. The temples were located in more reserved and hidden locations to support the idea of peace and quiet. And no one was shocked at our white skin. Whereas Thai people want to do nothing but help foreigners, the Vietnamese couldn't care less (and they have good reason). The food was still delicious, and the coffee was even more amazing. We were lucky enough to go on a boat cruise down the river while watching a performance of traditional Vietnamese music. The instruments were very different and produced a completely new sound. I think I was more surprised at how different the people were. Even their version of English was different than Thailand. And surprisingly, their selling schemes are so much more aggressive than the Thais. I was very often being pushed and pulled towards many stalls and getting followed down the street with prices being yelled out. I think a lot of it had to do with the fact that I don't speak a word of Vietnamese, which lent nothing to my bartering skills. At least in Thailand I can get by with whatever Thai I know and understand some of what is being said to me. 

Tuk-tuk- Vietname style!

All in all, my short trip to Vietnam left me wanting more. I want to know more about their culture and experience it outside of a group tour. That's not to say being on the group tour was anything short of incredible. The group of teachers was the happiest bunch of people I have been around. Everyone was constantly in chipper moods and beaming from ear to ear. The bus was constantly in an uproar of laughter (or painfully loud karaoke) and I am so happy I got to be a part of it. Although, no one in Vietnam believed that the 7 farang were part of the group. At every museum, temple, and restaurant, we got stopped because they didn't believe we were with them. Umm hello- do you not see my matching bucket hat? But seriously- we had to convince a lot of people that we were indeed with the Thai group tour. Luckily for me, I will be headed back at the end of the month to explore Ho Chi Minh City down south when our friend, Megh, from BC comes to visit. Yay!

The whole gang

Sarah and Ally at Marble Village in Da Nang

Saturday morning rolled around and we packed up and headed back on the bus for an epic ride back. Goodbye cool temperatures, coffee, goats and mountains and hello mosquitoes. Literally, as we walked across the border (yes, walked), mosquitoes flooded the area. How does that even happen? As much as I loved Vietnam, it felt so great to get back to Thailand. As we drove through and all of those familiar things came back into my life, I realized how much Thailand really feels like home to me now. 

I love....Lamp.

The past few weeks have been super busy and pretty stressful with the semester coming to an end. The students took their finals last week which then had to be graded within 24-48 hours so any necessary re-sits could occur. The whole process of letting a student re-take a test until they pass is beyond me. I personally see no positive outcome with that system, but I have to suck up some of my educational beliefs while in Thailand because this is their system and I have no say in what is occurring. That said, it was a fairly busy week and my desk was constantly covered in heaps of tests. It looked like a disaster... and I needed to step away from the situation. So, I stepped really far away and headed to Koh Samet with Sarah and another co-worker, Alex. 

After about 6 hours of disgustingly hot and clustered van rides (a random Thai man accidently snuggled me on one leg of the trip), we made it to Ban Phe, the mainland beach with the needed ferry service to Koh Samet. We waited a bit at the pier and played with two adorable little puppies. They were only semi-clean but I am so deprived of puppy play that I just embraced the cuteness of the situation. And then, finally, we made it to the island where we were abruptly brought to a panic when we saw that a massive music festival was being set up for the weekend, and we had no place to stay. Luckily, we found a pretty cool spot, but we had to fork over more baht than expected since all of the cheaper rooms were full. But, I was okay with spending about $10 to sleep in a bungalow on the beach. Gotta love Thailand. 

We immediately took a stroll along the beach and then sat and devoured an amazingly delicious BBQ meal. I forgot how good beef and baked potatoes were. Mmmm. The rest of the night was super fun and spent at a place called 'Lamp.'  It was a random tiki-esque bar set-up on the beach with room for about 9 people to sit. The bartender looked like a baller, the music was bumpin' and we couldn't resist the simplicity of it so we settled in and ordered some drinks. As I sipped my mojito, I spotted the tiniest little black puppy resting in the sand and I died a little bit from the overwhelming cuteness of the baby mah  (dog). Obviouly, I immediately swept her up in my arms and barely let go for the next 3 hours. She was only 4 weeks old and it was true love. Later in the night, she dozed off in the connect 4 pieces on top of the 4 foot high counter. I literally turned my back for 2 minutes and when I looked back, she was gone! Apparently she rolled over in her slumber and off of the counter. Poor little pup. But don't worry- she was okay. 

Lamp Bar....awesome!

The next day was perfection. The three of us soaked in the sun with banana shakes by our side, a whole lot of swimming and floating in the tropical waters and playing a lot of frisbee. It felt amazing.... until later that afternoon when we all realized how burnt we were...whoops! But, we aloe vera-ed our bodies up (thanks to Alex's purchase who claims that sunburns make him very emotional - 555) and took on the night once again. The beach was bursting with activity and we were able to catch a fire show and a Muay Thai match, both of which were scary and exciting to watch. 

Srall lovin' life

Fire Show.

  

Stolen from Google. But you get the gist. 

The weekend was loads of fun and so needed after the frenzy of finals. The only downside? We had to miss the music festival because we had to come back to Suphan to teach on Sunday. ON A SUNDAY! Oy! And the festival looked incredible, especially since it included a performance by my favorite Thai band, 25 hours. Seriously- listen to this song, and feel bad for me. 

                                         Yin Dee Tee Mai Roo Jak

Welp, now its back to the grind, submitting final grades while the students take their Thai exams. I can't believe my first semester is already coming to an end!  

Sexy Elephants

I have been out of the game for a while now. For the past month I haven't ventured very far. I haven't made it much further than Bangkok and Kanchanaburi, both of which I have already frequently visited. But a couple weekends ago, I was pleasantly surprised when I bumped into some fellow teachers that I had not seen since the beginning months of our Thailand adventure. It was great catching up and as we discussed future plans, we realized that we had all planned on going to Khao Yai National Park the same weekend in February. So, obviously, we organized it together to make it one, big happy trek. 


Although I was not excited about the 5-6 hour trek to Khao Yai, which consisted of a van ride, a cab, a train ride and a car ride to the hostel, I was kept highly entertained during the majority of the trip....all courtesy of my white skin. From the moment we stepped onto the third class train with our standing room tickets, we were thrust into 3 hours of endless stares. The train employee kept bringing us further into the train until he had us sitting in the very rear of the train, surrounded by M6 boys and soldiers. Awesome. Within minutes, the schoolboys were handing us their practice service entry exams, asking for our help and then taking our pictures and staring at us with huge smiles. Sarah later noticed that our faces graced the backgrounds of their phones. That's not creepy at all. Needless to say, the train ride went by fairly quickly with all that was going on. 


The next morning, we woke up bright and early to begin our 12 hour day of hiking in the jungle. Anon, our guide, was a fiery little one. He was typical Thai tiny, but he was incredibly vivacious. Everything- and I mean everything- was 'sexy' to him. Us, our bug spray, our socks, the trees, the monkeys, anything and everything was 'sexxxxxy.' He was a great tour guide, and took us completely off of the trail, which I totally appreciated. After dousing ourselves in 100% deet, tightening our leech socks (yikes!), making a 7-11 pit-stop and channelling our inner sexiness, we began our journey. Anon told us that we may see red hornbills, snakes, gibbons, elephants and tigers, but only if we were very lucky. He was completely determined to see any and all of the animals, but I didn't really expect to see too much. 

Leech socks are so IN right now.

Leaf hat!

BAMFS 

As we trekked around, dodging branches, hopping over bamboo shoots, climbing rocks, and trudging through all sorts of greenery, we saw some cool trees (sandalwood, cinnamon) and could hear the animals in the distance. Anon belted out some really impressive gibbon calls, and it was really cool to hear them respond from way high up. But, despite their excitement, they were no where to be seen. At one point, we heard the red hornbill batting its wings, and we hurried along to find its location, which Anon was successfully able to do. We all stood in awe as we saw 2 hornbills flap their giant wings and disappear into the sky.   


We journeyed on, making our way back to the songtaew to grab some lunch, when Anon excitedly hushed us and pointed up in the trees.  Way above us we spotted a family of black gibbons and we strained our necks as we watched them for the next hour. They were so entertaining while they slapped each other, swung from tree to tree, lazily hung from a branch and then stared at us with their fuzzy little white faces. It was really cool, and we left the jungle very content with our sightings. But little did we know that things were about to go all Jurassic Park on us.

The man, the myth, the legend

Gibbon!

After lunch we headed to go see a waterfall that was featured in 'The Beach' and then hike up to swim in a more isolated waterfall a little further into the jungle. Before entering the park, a German couple warned us that they had just seen an elephant about 15 minutes prior. All day we had been warned about wild elephants and how we had to be quiet, and then run back to safety to avoid getting charged. Scary! Despite the warning of a wild elephant, Anon basically had us running in silence to catch a glimpse of it. We made it pretty far in when we heard the loud crackling of branches and the familiar sound of flapping ears. We all froze...excited but kind of nervous. We hid behind bushes, trees, whatever we could as we listened and watched the elephant come closer and closer. And this guy was huuuuge. Beautiful, but large with large tusks. I really had no desire to be charged by him. Our guide disappeared (with my camera) and got as close as he possibly could to steal a snapshot. As we saw the elephant come closer and closer, we kind of panicked. We had no guide and no idea how to get back to safety because we were no where near a path. Anon finally emerged and told us to run and so we nervously ran/fell down the hill to safety and to a gorgeous waterfall, which Anon proudly named "Sexy Elephant Waterfall' in celebration of our spotting. 

Pretty Waterfall

Wild Elephant!

Sexy Elephant Waterfall

Good times

After swimming, we realized we had to make our way back to the entry, and most likely past the elephant again. Oy. We silently walked through the jungle and saw no sign of our not so little friend. I let out a sigh of relief as I noticed the entry gate up ahead, but was quickly set aghast when Anon jumped a mile backwards in shock. I was sure the elephant was waiting for us, but, no, it wasn't an elephant this time- it was a King Cobra, an extremely poisonous snake. Seriously? C'mon! We backed up and waited until it slithered a little further up the path and then slipped on  by it. But only after Anon poked and prodded at it with a giant stick to secure a better photo. That guy was insane, but in the best way possible. 

Cobra in the leaves. YIKES!

Obviously a good idea 

The rest of the weekend was not as adventurous, but it was still great. We swam in natural springs, we lounged, and we saw a really cool temple where we got to practice meditation with a very well-known, well- traveled monk. All in all- a great weekend with a great group of girls. It felt amazing to get back in the traveling game, which is good, because the next 2.5 months are jam-packed with all sorts of adventures. I don't hate it. 

Mythbusters: Thailand... Part One

As I prepared to leave my old life in pursuit of my new Thai life, I was told a lot of things. Although I had no real expectations of my forthcoming year, other people apparently had big hopes for me. Between learning Thai, becoming 'Thai skinny', and falling in love, I had a lot laid out in front of me.  So, with about a third of the way in, and no sign of any of these proving true in my journey, I would like to welcome you to part one of what I would like to call- Mythbusters: Thailand Edition. 

One of the more common things I had heard about my future life was that I would return to the States fluent in Thai. I would be able to show off my impeccable skills at all of the Thai restaurants I liked to frequent. Sadly, I have no idea where else I would be able to utilize my killer skills, but I would find a way. Everyone said that I would definitely pick up the language after living here for a year. How could I not? And seriously- how could I not? I live in a town where 99.99999% of the people speak only Thai. The only other people that speak English are our students (and that's debatable), a handful of co-workers, the other farang, and a few random locals that we meet here and there. But, the majority of people speak Thai without an ounce of English. And that's my problem. I am living in their country. So, really, the assumption that I would pick up the language isn't that unbelievable. But try listening to Thai for a few minutes and you'll see why I am struggling to just 'pick it up.

In the beginning, Thai terrified me. When I went to the local street vendors, I put my head down in shame as I butchered their language. I panicked as they continually asked for my order. I ate a whole lot of 'kao gai' which isn't even a real thing. All I was saying was 'rice chicken.' Luckily, they found my farang-ness amusing and made something delicious. Even as I gained confidence in my small vocabulary, I still made a fool of myself. Ordering 'kao phat gai' (fried rice with chicken) could have been a number of things. It's the tones... those dang tones. The Thai language has 5 tones and and at first, they all sounded the same to me. Now, I can hear them, but I haven't even come close to mastering them in my own speech.  'Kao' is one of those special words that has multiple meanings, depending on the tone. AKA I could have been ordering 'fried fishy chicken' or 'fried news chicken.' You would think that in the context of ordering food it would make sense to the vendor...but I was met all too often with a very confused gaze. Yikes. 
                                           

Months have gone by and I have definitely made a lot of progress in my Thai. Between working with my students, mingling with Thais and asking fellow teachers for help, I have picked up a lot of words. I tried to compile a list of all of the words I knew, and to my surprise, I had written down a couple hundred Thai words/phrases. And my diet has gone far beyond simply rice and chicken. My food-ventures have become much more exciting, as I can communicate more detailed orders. However, I am so far off from understanding what is going on around me. For every 15 words spoken to me, I can maybe understand one or two. I may know a decent amount of words, but when I try to communicate them to the students, they usually laugh at my abysmal Thai accent. And then there's the sentence structure. It is still beyond me. Something as simple as 'What is your name?' ("Khun chue arai, ka?') is literally translated as 'You name what?" There are no articles and the adjectives come after the noun and it's all very confusing. 

I am getting much more aggressive in my attempt to learn the language by asking a million plus one questions to those few coworkers or friends that speak Thai and English. Sarah and I bought a book this weekend in Bangkok, which we plan to practice with daily. We plan on spending a lot of time at coffee shops and 'restaurants' in hopes that the Thais will assist our learning. But learning the language is going to take a lot of time, dedication and guidance. There is literally no chance of just 'picking it up.' I have high hopes of advancing my skills, but only because I am determined, not because it will just come to me. 

So, I can confidently say that Myth #1 has been busted. Sorry, suckers. 

Thai alphabet

Wish me luck!