Katie and I had our last exploration in Bangkok today. I only had to teach 2^nd period, due to testing for M1, 2, and 3’s, so we decided to explore a few more things in Bangkok. It is weird to think this is it… I won’t be walking the streets of Bangkok again this trip besides traveling through the city. As I was on the van back to Bangplama, despite being stuck in traffic and looking at the smoggy air of Bangkok, I realized I will actually miss having a city like Bangkok so close to where I’ve been living for the past 5 months.  We visited the Leaning Buddha and Temple of the Dawn. They were both very convenient to get to from Kao San Road where we get dropped off from Bangplama.

 Climbing the stairs to the top of the Temple of the Dawn was a steep hike and not a very practical one to be done in a skirt when it’s windy outside. Thank goodness for Katie’s extra pair of shorts to put on for the climb down. The view from the top of the temple was great! You could see the Bangkok city’s skyscrapers to the right and different parts of greater Bangkok to the left including the beautifully architected Rama 8 Bridge. We took a River Taxi up the river for some air and different views of the city. After temple sightseeing, we made our way back to Kao San Road for the last run through of the famous party and shopping street. It was definitely a shopping day! Too early to join in on the crazy parties that go on on that road though. We were both pretty successful shopping wise I would have to say. I came home with 2 new dresses, some makeup, a delicious mango, and a pair of Green and Gold Ray Bans!! So pumped to wear them during football season! I’m going to miss being able to bargain for adorable clothes and MAC makeup and eat yummy street food for only 30 baht, or $1!

Rewinding to last week, Katie and I went in to Suphan Tuesday after school for our teacher friend, Andrew’s birthday. It ended up being a surprise that Katie, Olivia, myself and some of the other teachers in town were going out to help him celebrate his birthday. He was very surprised to see a group of us waiting in the lobby! It was great. Katie brought the noise makers that we used for my birthday along with the “Suk saan wan guud” candle for the fabulous Mickey Mouse cake we bought. The group of us enjoyed dinner at a hot pot restaurant. A hot pot restaurant is very similar to what I would expect a Melting Pot to be like, or something very similar. You order food items such as chicken, fish, and a bowl of vegetables and egg. They bring the hot pot, which is a big rock bowl filled with flaming hot rocks and a cylinder like grill over it, in which you cook the ingredients. It’s a do-it-yourself kinda thing. It was fun I guess. It was more so being with a group of farang and hearing different people’s teaching and travelling stories that was intriguing to me. During dinner we were greeted by a harmonic playing elephant, which was random! This is Thailand… We took the party over to the bar next door, The Play Room, where some intense games of pool were being played uhhum, Katie and Andrew, along with a farang dance party! Since Katie and I hardly ever get out of Bangplama during the week and because we were having so much fun, we decided we would spend the night and just wake up really early to catch a tuk-tuk back to school. When we got back to Liz’s room, Olivia, Liz, and I started to create an “acrobatic” show. I’m still not really sure how this was stirred up but it involved music specifically Lil Wayne, neon orange and neon green shorts, Liz’s hot hiking socks, the splits and high kicks, and talk about the Green Bay Packers. It was hilarious from what I remember! It was a fun night.

It wouldn’t be Thailand without another National holiday in February just a week before students have finals; so the girls and I planned a trip to Koh Chang this past weekend of February 18^th through the 20^th. We all ventured in to Bangkok and met for dinner at Cabbages and Condoms before our overnight bus.  Very strange name I know, but great food and even better atmosphere! The restaurant reminded me of a two story outdoor garden terrace and then add manikins and light fixtures completely decorated with colorful condoms throughout the entire restaurant.  

The bus ride was rather awful; no one really could sleep very well due to the blasting Thai opera music being played on the T.V. We arrived at the pier extremely early around 5:00 a.m., ferried over to the island at 6:00 a.m., ate breakfast by 8 a.m., and ended up on the beach by 9 a.m. We were so tired that we all ended up crashing on the beach which led to some pretty interesting tan lines for the remainder of the trip. I indulged this weekend on delicious Thai food, including pad ceeyou and a rice curry dish with vegetables, banana and mango smoothies, and a delicious egg sandwich. The girls and I stayed in cute little bungalows that were a two minute walk to the beach. One of the nights was spent dancing to an astounding Thai band at a restaurant right on the water.  I was so impressed by the variety of songs and artists this band performed; each song they chose to play seemed better than the previous. Jenna and Allie decided to take over for the band for a few songs though. They delighted us with Keisha’s, “Tik-Tok” and “I Will Survive”. It was great! The whole weekend was a lot of fun. Although, when Sunday arrived it was sad to leave everyone knowing that there would be only one more time that I would see these girls here in Thailand at the end of my trip at Full Moon on Koh Phangan.