Don't I Need a Dryer for This?

Guess not. My poor shirt. 

Baby-tee 2k9, in yo face. No seriously, a nine month old could now wear this comfortably.

Shades of Green

Went on a motorbike outing in hopes of photographing some of the beautiful areas we have driven past recently. Ended up taking a new route, and this is what turned up. It was beautiful and fantastic. I have a whole different world just an afternoon motorbike ride away. Love it.

And then there was the ultra-Thai, what is going on, stuff I had to photograph. We decided to head towards a sign for the firefly chalet, not really knowing what all that entailed. After about 45 minutes of beautiful driving on backroads through the mountains, accompanied by consistently inconsistent arrows letting us know somewhere ahead it did in fact exist, we reached our destination. It was closed. We're kind of guessing it is busy in the tourist season, and people come out here for a getaway from Bangkok. Who knows, really, though. It was so far out and felt unnatural, but it was pretty. What's with the naked babies with trumpets statues? We'll have to check it out in full when it's open. Farther down the trek, we saw a lot of signs for "Amy Country Home". Things like this amuse us greatly. It was also fenced in and completely closed. Sad panda. I was looking forward to chatting it up with this Amy character and getting the scoop. Next time..

There must be hundreds of more efficient ways to rebuild a road, but this is how they were doing it. We watched for about 10 minutes. It was really loud listening to them pounding a column into the ground. We saw no movement.

Confusing Sign-age (sp?!)

Since it's Thailand, and you never know, at first I assumed they literally wanted you to trek through the jungle, field, or whatever may be directly to the left or right to get to where you're going. Hey, it could happen. I have since realized they place signs hundreds of meters in front of the destination in order to give fair warning (as opposed to the US, where we see a left arrow, we turn left immediately). For us, it is consistently entertaining to see them, and they are all like this. I will definitely continue to update as I take more pics. There is ample opportunity.

We would sit here looking at the sign and trying to determine exactly how to find the zoo...

Ah hah, there's the turn. I mean, it's so obvious. Why didn't we realize?!

They also don't usually put kilometer indicators on their signs, which we are used to seeing. Without them, I automatically assume it's less than a kilometer (silly me). From here to the zoo it's at least another 5 kilometers. On our way to the firefly chalet, we took a left at the first sign thinking we'd arrive in less than 5 minutes. An hour later, we were so there. Pretty typical.

Why So Small?!

This past week, we've noticed they tend to keep birds in spaces much much too small for them. 

Example 1:

We were stopped on the side of the road taking pictures, sort of waiting for someone to come out of the house and question us. Of course, they did. As a result, this is all I was able to take, but I think you get the point. I've since learned they keep them like this because they are fighters. Cock fighting is legal here if you have the right papers here from what I'm told. Not exactly sure what all that entails.

Example 2:

The manager of my apartment complex recently bought this bird. It is strange to see it in such a tiny cage. This week, they have started building a cage for it in the car port (which, I also find strange). As you can see from the top photo, it is quite a bit bigger than the current one, but it still seems much too small.

Embracing It

I have a friend coming into town this weekend, and I sent her a message explaining how to get here. I read it to myself afterwards, and found it humorous. It is definitely telling of where I live and how I have embraced the mentality. Just thought I'd share (bad grammar, irrelevant info and all)...

upon arrival:

okay, first thing. if you can avoid checking a bag and only bring carryon absolutely do it. i have everything you'd need here (i think) sans a razor. but otherwise we'll mostly be in hotels anyways. it will save you a lot of time in the end, esp since your trip is so short. actually, a back pack will do. less is more. i know it might be hard, but go for it. it will pay off.  

when you arrive, on the ground floor there is a front desk where they speak english and can help you get on a bus. apparantly it is not advertised insanely well, as they want the farangs to use other options that cost more money. tell them you want to go to si racha, make sure they know that. you can get on a bus to pattaya, but make sure they know you want to get off at SI RACHA ROBINSON. they will know what this is.  

online it says it's 112 baht. online means nothing. but you should absolutely not pay more than 200 baht. tell them you know it's 112, and hassle. they always try and charge you more up front. if you know what it should be, usually you pay what it should be. from online it also says the bus leaves at 5. who knows. but you should be able to catch it. it should take something like an hour and 45 minutes, but who knows, really. it's always different. and i think there is a shuttle that will take you the 500 m from the airport to the actual station, free.  

i'll be waiting at robinson. you'll see me when you get off the bus. i can't wait to see you!  

my number is 0844357213 (with country code, which you shouldn't need, it's +66844357213). call me if you have any trouble. someone will be kind and let you bum a phone.  

i have tutoring tomorrow from 7-8 (9-10 your time). other than that i should be free and will leave my skype up

WTF, Thailand. No Seriously, What The Efffff?

Umm, I'm pretty sure I can't give you any information that could make this any better or worse. All I know is it stopped me in my tracks.

Dad, I'm Wearing My Mask

Just wanted to make sure you saw I was being smart. But, I can't wear it too very long, because I can't breath...

Takhli, Why Don't I Have a Hammock?

Behold, the most awesome part of my Takhi weekend - Dance off at the birthday party. Enjoy :)

In Takhli, my friends met a couple that spent the last 10 years living in England. The woman is Thai, so now that they are back home in Takhli, the pair is a great and unusual gateway for the farang into authentic Thai culture. It was fantastic to participate in this Saturday evening shindig of a birthday party. 

I was too surprised when I heard all the motorbikes come up to take any pictures at that time, but the arrival of this gang definitely got the party started. It was so unexpected, way out in the middle of nowhere, to hear all of these motorcycles coming closer and closer. When they started to pull in I knew I was at a great party. They were all very nice and just hilarious with their dancing, and they brought another lone farang from the town of Chainat, about 20 km away.

By far, the coolest bike around. It was just ridiculous seeing him drive up with a facemask, this helmet and matching belt buckle. 

I am so cool, and I know it. At first I felt a little bad just taking all these crazy pictures, but then I realized they were doing the same to us. Just walking right up thinking "Oh wow, a farang!!!" and snapping them all in our faces. By this time I realized it was no problem and went for it wholeheartedly.

Notice the matching belt buckle. Later in the evening he was trying to teach me to dance the authentic Thai way with their hands. It's actually really beautiful, and I had only seen it in a traditional setting. They do it in all circumstances, and I very much enjoyed the mini-lesson. It's easy, but not so easy as it looks..

Food and drinks for everyone, even a cute little baby with a mullet. You just never know, but it's always good in Thailand.

I arrived in Takhli Friday afternoon, which was great and allowed us to really maximize the weekend time. And by that, I mean maximize relaxation time. Since Takhli is so small and slightly out of the way, the last bus leaves Bangkok at 3:30 and costs 158 baht, which seems outrageous. From Si Racha to Bangkok, depending on how you go it differs slightly, but I always spend around 100 baht. The time constraints kept me from going in the past. It was the perfect thing to do with the day off from school. On the way home I took two mini-busses, for 160 baht into Bangkok and 130 baht to Si Racha. It cut about an hour out of the time, but both were significantly less comfortable than busses in the past (I think this is unusual, most of the time they are ideal). Minivan number 1 had a TV, which is almost always bad news for a farang in Thai transport. LOUD LOUD Christian-style Thai sermon over and over and over again for 2 and a half hours. Bus number 2 had no aircon and no open windows. Smelly smelly farang (aka me).

So, without the Friday, it would have been an almost impossible trip. I was so glad to have it. 

The view of banana trees from Bridget's porch. All the green was so soothing and relaxing. 

I really, really loved the hammocks, and we spent a lot of time in them as a result. From what I gathered, she uses them on a daily basis. I mean, why wouldn't you if you have them. This is one of the many reasons I will now be in search of a house in Si Racha. It was so great to have this kind of space.

In order to get her drinking water, she has to syphon it out. I found this pretty entertaining.

Her daily ritual of preparing to kill all the roaches that have gathered in her apartment while she's away. Simply the fact that I was capable of taking part in this photograph demonstrates how much I've changed. Dad, can you believe I could really do this? I can :)

Some of her neighbors..

Yep, putting up the satellite in rural Thailand.

Outside the temple and the buddha. There are always always roosters and dogs. These dogs weren't very nice to us at all, they smelled farang and didn't like it much.

View of Takhli. So green and pretty!

Bridget and the big Buddha on the hill.

Another Buddha she hasn't figured out how to reach yet. A lot of exploring doesn't get you where you intend to go, but you always find something new. Eventually she'll figure it out. It looks huge!!

Friends and Their Thai Stories

1) A friend of mine had a student bring a bag of fertilizer to class. By fertilizer, I of course mean human feces. 

2) A friend of mine lost her wallet and her bus dropped her in the middle of rural Thailand, over 30 km from her town. She was able to hitchhike home.

3) A friend of mine got locked in her bathroom for over an hour. They had to unhinge the door. She had been in the shower.

more to come...

Rockin a Full Week Off

So, I ended up with an entire week off in Si Racha during mid-terms, only having to show up in the morning to sign in and out. This was fantastic timing, as two friends were given the week off because of swine flu (not sure how worried I should be about all the swine flu over here, for now I am aware and mildly concerned) so they decided to spend it with us in Si Racha. Having visitors is so much fun! Especially when you don't have to work either...

The next five posts are of all the new adventures we were able to share with friends. If I wasn't sure before, no matter how many times you do something here or think you know what will happen, time and again I am left surprised and confused. In a good way, of course.

Bangkok - Si Racha - Koh Si Chang - Bang Saen - Pattaya - Koew Keaoh Open Zoo are a few of the places we visited.

Saturday -- New Si Racha Finds

Giant turtles on Koh Loi Park. They are awesome to watch and endlessly entertaining. I seem to become more and more easily amused, but I guess that's a good thing.

This kid has not one, but two rat tails on the top of his head. A rare sighting, but we were excited about it. The pic isn't so great because I was trying to be stealth in my photo-taking. Not sure if I was successful on either count.

Horseshoe crabs anyone? These suckers look pretty cool; I'm sure I'll get around to tasting them before I leave.

Cats everywhere at the temple on Koh Loi.

View of the ocean from the temple on the hill. So colorful and pretty.

Families picnic on the mini-island a lot, and on the weekends this turns into the place to be. There is always so much life in Si Racha.

Umm, yes, this is where I live.

Nice view of the turtle pond from beside the temple.

Saturday Night -- Pattaya Walking Street

How very Thailand of you, Thailand. We stayed Saturday evening in Si Racha so Bridget could see the park aerobics and the bridge bumpers (not yet blogged about these guys, will come with photos. they are absolutely awesome!), and then headed off to Pattaya around 8 pm. Just far enough out of town, yet still nowhere near Pattaya, we got a flat tire. My first. Realizing in no way could we continue to drive it, we found a service station and started to figure out how we were going to fix the problem. After a lot of misunderstandings and negotiation, we continued down the road to find a man who looked like he might help us, and we were right.

Not entirely understanding what he was offering us, we agreed to go with the flow. Awesomely, the plan turned out to be loading the bike in the back of a tuk-tuk (fantastic!), and following behind in this nice man's car. They drove us all the way back to Si Racha, where the tuk-tuk driver's motorbike taxi driving friend fixed us up right quick after hours. This man not only drove us, he waited with us until the bike was good to go, and he offered to pay (we, of course, politely declined). There are several people in Thailand with very good hearts who want nothing more than to help, you just have to know where to find them. We were very lucky in some sense, but, before we had any help at all, we knew we would be lucky, because we knew what to look for and were able to find it. It was an excellent way to start the evening and put us in Pattaya at a much more reasonable time, rolling into town around 11.

Our nice new friend and the tuk tuk driver loading up the bike. 

Tee-hee. Something I've never seen before, and I really enjoyed it. 

Our view from the car. We were rolling laughing the entire time. So ridiculous to see my bike in such a state. I can't believe it didn't fall out!! 

Wowza. It was seriously, seriously blown. Lucky they were able to fix it immediately.

Watching and waiting. This was the first of two flat tires over the weekend, just fyi. I guess two months is about their max.

Walking street at night. There are several other images I have on facebook, none of which are appropriate in any way. I've never seen any place like this, and I can only hope I never do again. It's amazing the bubble some people live in, just trapped. And it's even more amazing the people who choose to have this life. With all our faults, we are so blessed not to be thrown into this kind of life or forced to choose between our morals and putting food on the table. Many of the women are here because it helps them to support their families. And, to be fair, many of the women here are actually men (or used to be). Stupid stupid unsuspecting farang men..

Bob Marley, Che Guevara, and a Texas Longhorn (Native American included?!). Apparently, we're pretty up there as far as the icons go. I dig it.

Monday -- Koh Si Chang

Ferry from Koh Loi (Si Racha) to Koh Si Chang: 40 baht one-way. leaves on the hour until 6 p.m. and then you're stuck.

Tuk-tuk: 250 baht for the day. we found this to be a fantastic deal, and split it 5 ways.

This was my second trip to Koh Si Chang, and I saw the island from a completely different vantage point. First trip we thought we could outsmart them and their attempts to bamboozle farangs out of money left and right. The difference with Koh Si Chang, though, is that it's not really a touristy island. The only tourists there are other Thais from the mainland, so the same rules don't apply. We tried to walk everywhere and do everything on our own. It's much too big and we missed a lot as a result, including the main attraction: King Rama V's (1868 - 1910) summer palace and grounds.

This time we opted to pay for transport, and were surprised by how incredibly reasonable it all was. Plus, we were obviously able to see a lot more in a shorter amount of time. The palace (more like a cottage surrounded by its own mini-city, equipped with swimming holes and lots and lots of stairs carved from the rock) was a great find, and it was fun to share with so many people. It's so very different from the other tourist islands I have visited in Thailand. The locals seem to be living their lives in spite of your existence, rather than them being dependent upon us, as they are in Bangkok and Koh Samet, etc etc.

Our yummy appetizer before our absolutely amazing meal. All the seafood was as fresh as you can possibly get, and it's western owned, so they did it just the way we liked it. Unbelievable.

Our tuk tuk driver sleeping while he was waiting on us to eat our meal.

The palace. For a more complete history (as opposed to the nothingness I have given you) click here. King Rama V traveled through Europe, apparently really dug it, and wanted his palace and grounds to have a European style. Well, it's definitely not Thai..

All of us in front a swimming pool that was made to be like the bottom of the ocean, right in front of the actual ocean. It seemed pretty dangerous to me to swim in that thing.

I'm not sure why they do this, but it's pretty!

Exploring on the grounds.

Hands up!

Another one of the many pools. We were showing off our talents; obviously, we're chock-full of 'em. 

A tree growing out of the cliff (obviously you can see this, but I felt like it needed a caption).

A temple where the king used to meditate and pray to buddha.

All of our shoes outside of the very, very un-Thai, European temple.

What is that over yonder? No idea, we didn't have time to find out; but I'm intrigued.

Trying to climb, unsuccessfully, of course.

Walking back to the tuk tuk. I had to do it. This is Liza, Lia and Denise, btw.

Colorful colorful boats at the dock.

Getting ready to head back to Si Racha, Thai-style. We don't need no stinkin seats, we'll sit on top of the boat thank you very much. Oh wait, you're cool with that?! Of course you are..

Boys swimming and playing in between the boats. Some might say this is dangerous (because it is), but they definitely know how to have fun and enjoy life while it's there.