Funny uses of the English language: May

Always remember to:

On the outside of a song thaew (pickup truck designed to transport people).

These strange proverbs are everywhere in my school.  Most of them almost make sense.

Hua Hin grocery store aisle:

Soda Cracker box:

I'll admit that my taste has been in need of companionship lately.

Incase you can't read the fine print on the right side of the broom I bought:

"Fancinating and modren design" is my favourite.  Oh and I pretty much bought it because I was somebody with "new life style".  It seemed appropriate.

World of Warcraft

(I am aware that there are many of you that will not understand the following reference; don’t worry about it – it is exceptionally geeky).

I can't explain quite what went through my mind when I saw this wild boar in the distance.  All I can say is that it’s a good thing I didn’t have my mace on me at the time…

Which gelatin would you choose?

I thought I might loose weight while I’m in Thailand but there’s just way too much random food to try for that to happen.  At the rate I'm going, I wouldn't be surprised if I put on twenty pounds. 

Jen and I conquered the market near our place tonight and also brought some food back to enjoy on my balcony.  (Below:  Photo of Jenn making fun of my ridiculously small chairs that "didn't seem so small when I bought them" while eating some pork on a stick (lots of meat comes on sticks in Thailand)).  

This market is about a ten minute walk from our apartment, and is about the size of a Safeway parking lot.  A single food item costs between 3 baht (10 cents) for meat on a stick to 20 baht (60 cents) for 6 spring rolls/half a pineapple/mango and sticky rice as well as a lot of things that I have never seen a Winnipeg equivalent of.  The fact that you can try so many different foods makes the excursion much like going out for dim sum…Except cheaper, far more crazy and quite a bit more colourful. 

Because we were stuck there during the daily storm (we've had one/day for the last week or so), we couldn’t help but gorge ourselves on delicious (and some not so delicious) Thai treats.  Although there were some things that were more delicious, these gelatin desserts were certainly the most visually appealing.

 And the unidentifiable green goop (in the video below) was one of the most random for tonight.

Sepak Takraw = Thai Volleyball

Just when I thought that I was going to have a predictable night of going out to the market for some food, and maybe a walk through the park, I came across this group of guys in the park playing this mind-blowing game, which we've been since referring to as "Thai volleyball".

The rules of the game seem to essentially follow those of volleyball -except that your arms are the only part of your body that are NOT allowed to touch the ball.

For some reason, I imagine that if Colin Kelly would have been there with me, he may have wanted to join in…

A few small differences

Some things are similar here, but different.. Other things aren't the least bit familiar...

More often than teens, it’s the dogs who loiter at the 7/11s. 

The cows are very skinny.

I’m taller here.

Ronald Wai’s the customers (a classic Thai greeting that signifies respect).  

Oh, and among the strange menu items, the McDonald's pie flavours are (rather than cherry and apple), pineapple, taro and corn.

The eggs are never refrigerated (not even in a grocery store).  And some are bright pink. (?)

You can buy water at the grocery store by the glass.

Our “Big Bite” (the classic hotdog that 7/11 sells in Winnipeg) has somehow been converted into a wiener salad…

At 6:00pm every night, supermarket parking lots everywhere host aerobics (see video below).

Where I live

Some have been asking about what my accommodations, etc are like.  So here are a few photos of my place and area.

My apartment: Super nice, amazingly clean, washing machine in the building, and best of all I took this first outside view of my apartment building (below) from inside my classroom.  How awesome is that? :P

This is definitely one of the nicer apartments in this area of Bangkok.  I feel very well-off and therefor out of place sometimes.

View from my balcony of the main security guard (there’s one on duty 24/7, this is the night guy).  I love this guy, he doesn’t speak any English really, but he’s so very considerate towards all of us.  It's hard to explain the bond that you get from seeing certain people every day and even harder to explain how such a bond can develop without any real conversation... I suppose this photo is one of the few that I've posted mostly for my own benefit.  "Where I live" wouldn't be complete without him.

 

My school:

 My Classroom:

Day 2 Chiang Mai: Elephants and white water/bamboo rafting

After reluctantly leaving Daniel, the folks from Israel, and the village behind, we trekked back down the mountain and into the elephant camp.  

Because I’m still not sure how well the elephants are treated at these camps, I stayed behind while the rest of the group went on the 45-minute elephant ride.  I instead chose to spend most of that time feeding and interacting with the elephants (as well as playing a couple games of checkers with some of the elephant trainers back at the camp). 

Time to state the obvious:  Elephants are REALLY big. 

They’re also magnificent creatures.  It was great to finally meet one in person.

We ended the day with some exhilarating white-water rafting and then some relaxing bamboo rafting.  The former looked pretty intense, but turned out to be a lot of fun.  I would recommend either type of rafting to anyone who gets an opportunity to try it out.

Overall, best weekend so far.  Chiang Mai was amazing.

No more Monkeys Curry!

I finally figured out how to add the comma. I hope you're all happy. :)

Chiang Mai: The Village

Again, not to sure what to expect, I knew that on this two day tour, the plan was to hike up the mountain in order to spend the night in “the village”. 

I was initially apprehensive about the inclusion of this part of the tour as I like to avoid places that are designed for tourists who like to pretend that they’re not tourists.  The way this place was set up, however, made a lot of sense. 

The people that live in the village recognize that tourists have money and also have a desire to see and experience new things.  One family in this village takes advantage of this by opening up their house to foreigners who pass through every weekend.  They treat this like a business opportunity.  

They had a room set up with bamboo mats and mosquito nets for all 9 of us to sleep in, they cooked us a delicious curry chicken dish, and then welcomed us to sit around the fire while one of them played some songs on the guitar.

Much to my surprise; I think they seemed genuinely excited to have us there. 

I went for a walk just to see what I could that wasn’t “set up for tourists”.  There was no electricity, but there was running water.  They grew vegetables in their gardens, and raised pigs and chickens for food (we woke up to the sound of about a dozen roosters at 4:30AM).  

The children don’t go to school.  There is no doctor or medical help within two hours of this village and in speaking to our tour guide, many children don’t survive their first two years up here. 

I had read that, in Thailand, daily tasks are only worth doing if they’re fun.  Rather than seeking out things that are “more fun to do” as we do in North America, I'm constantly encountering people here who make their existent lives more fun by joking around, playing games, singing, and laughing.  Although the village wasn’t particularly poor, they were far from well off either and the people within this village seemed to have a lot of “sinuk” or fun.  They made all of their daily chores seem enjoyable.  Although their lifestyle would be very hard for most of us to adjust to, their outlook is very inspiring.

Chiang Mai: I’m pretty sure I just climbed a mountain

I should have probably looked into what “trekking” meant before going on this tour, but in the end I’m happy I did it.

Ashley and I signed up for the tour because it seemed like the best way to cram the most of Chiang Mai into one weekend.  I’m not sure how far we walked, but it took almost 5 hours and was all uphill (note the direction the trees are growing in the previous picture).

   

I don’t think anyone has truly lived until they've walked for 5 hours uphill in +34-37 degree weather.

The sites along the way were phenomenal.  For a good portion of the trek we were walking right alongside a stream, which eventually led to a beautiful waterfall where we took our break.  

The forest was filled with the sounds of rushing water as well cicadas, which I initially mistook for a far away chainsaw.   

Our tour guide, Pan, was very knowledgeable, and his English was very good.  He does this trek once/week with tourists and has a good sense of humour (“watch out for the crocodiles” was one of his favourites). 

The other 7 who had signed up for this same tour included two from Bangkok, four from Israel, and one awesome fellow, Daniel, from Scotland (who at one point on the trek broke into a Barenaked Ladies tune!).  All in all it was a great group and it was nice to get to know some different people.

None of these pictures will do this trip justice.  What I saw, smelled, heard and experienced was absolutely exceptional and will be undoubtedly be one of the most memorable weekends of my life.

Chiang Mai: Snake Charmer

The main event of this stop on the tour was to watch a “snake charmer” (much like a lion tamer) do a bunch of tricks with a variety of different venomous snakes including cobras. The whole thing was pretty cheesy in my opinion, but it was interesting to see some of the snakes.


The cobras really do sit right up and watch you while you walk by – very creepy.


Because I was one of the few to react calmly to the site of a large python out of its cage, one of the workers decided that I would also like to wear it around my neck. Although I didn’t really know what was happening until the weight of this enormous snake was draped around my neck, I really enjoyed the experience – very cool.

FYI for any of my fellow reptilian lovers (David? Don?) cobra's skin feels amazing. It doesn’t even compare to that of a python or boa. The whole cobra felt like the underside of most snakes but even smoother and with more of a lacquered quality.

Chiang Mai: Orchid Farm

The first stop on our tour in Chiang Mai was at an orchid farm. The flowers were beautiful and it was really interesting to see how they grow. Their roots pull all of the moisture they need right out of the air (demonstrating just how humid Thailand really is).

The Desire to Be Exactly What You Are Not

It never even occurred to me that it might be difficult to find normal moisturizer in Thailand. Everything on the shelves comes with some sort of “skin lightening” substance in it. Having lighter coloured skin is highly desirable here. All advertisements etc, contain images of Thai girls with digitally enhanced ghostly white skin. I had to look in two separate shops before finding a lotion that didn’t have any “whitening power”.


Funny to think that back home, the shelves are stocked high with “self-tanning lotions” and bronzers.

Kanchanaburi - Team Building: Staff Retreat

CEDC should go here for their next staff outing. :P My school, Lertlah, had their team building day at this crazy resort in Kanchanaburi in which we participated in an obstacle course full of challenges which closely resembled many of the stunts from the TV show Fear Factor.



From zip-lines, to hanging bridges, to balance beams, it was a really adventurous day. I wish I had more photos, but had nowhere to carry my camera -as when one fails any of these activities, they fall directly into the marsh.


Our beautiful hotel rooms overlooked the river Quai, and the whole resort was incredibly breathtaking.





Group photo below taken outside our hotel room: The girls at campus 1 (with me) from the U of M. I'm lucky to be with such a great group of people. From left to right: Yours truly, Lisa, Ashley, Jenn, Rosanne, and Maite.


My only regret is not getting the chance to see this guy, lol (he wasn't playing the night that I was there).


In the evening, some of the Thai teachers put on a show for everyone and we watched our principal chug back a wine cooler in less than 5 seconds. Have I mentioned that things are very different here?

Kanchanaburi - Tiger Temple

As my friend, Richard, pointed out, having spent my first weekend at Monkey Mountain and my second at Tiger Temple, it sounds a little like I’ve been playing out the levels of some video game.



(As a side note, this water buffalo, also in the sanctuary (or at least we thought it might be a water buffalo) scared us all a lot more than the tigers did).

And these ones below were just plain weird. I might dub in some audio when I'm feeling more creative. :P

Tiger Temple is an animal sanctuary in Kanchanaburi that came to be when an orphaned tiger cub was dropped off by villagers at a monastery to be raised by a group of monks. Word quickly spread that this was a good place to take animals whose mothers had been killed by poachers, etc. The idea is similar to an animal refuge centre, except that the main people caring for the animals are the Buddhist monks.


I was initially skeptical about any place that kept tigers on display for the entertainment and viewing of humans. Through reading up on the sanctuary, however, I learned that the two hours in which the temple is open to the public every day are essential to the funding of this sanctuary. The large cats consume up to 60 lbs of food every day and what better place to get the money for this food than from rich tourists wanting to “see the tigers”.



When the tigers aren’t in the canyon, they’re free to roam about in a section of the sanctuary that is much larger and very similar to their natural habitat.

Reasons why the temple is only open for this small window at a specific time of day:

1. It would be cruel to have them cooped up there any longer, two hours is plenty long to begin with
2. This is the hottest time of day and the felines are more lethargic under these conditions
3. The workers/monks feed the animals just prior to the temple opening meaning they’re both satisfied and sleepy (anyone who has a cat at home that they feed once or twice/day should be quite familiar with this phenomenon. After meal time, my kitty is heavily sedated and pretty much dead to the world for a few hours).
It was almost humorous how structured the event of meeting the tigers was (I suppose one can never really be too careful with such a large carnivore), but I ended up getting some good pictures out of it.

Kanchanaburi - Safari

When given the choice, I seem to always choose the option with the most animals, so in Kanchanaburi, I was pretty keen to check out the safari tour.



I didn’t quite know what exactly to expect, and was surprised to see that the experience was set up a little bit like a large scale petting zoo. The giraffes were a definite highlight of the tour.

But this one particular giraffe took the cake. :)
(Thank you Richard for taking this video).

Not a Market

I accidentally tried to buy someone’s laundry today. (I was really desperate for pants). Oops.

Markets/Bartering

I assume that bartering is quite common in many places of the world, particularly tourist spots, but having not traveled much, this was all very new to me.
Hua Hin, day two after arriving in Thailand I was already introduced to Thai markets and the concept of bartering. The markets in Thailand are amazing. They seem to sell anything and everything at these mile long markets. Some daytime markets have mostly food:
Others are only open in the evenings and sell clothes, jewelry, home decorations, gadgets, etc.


The non-food markets encourage “bartering”, which essentially means that they would rather you buy something for a lower price than what’s posted than leave the store empty-handed. Because Hua Hin is such a tourist spot, the Thai sales people are all equipped with a calculator to communicate prices.

An example of how this works (choose your own adventure style):
The owner of a Thai kiosk spots you looking at a miniature tuk tuk made up entirely of a Singha beer can and will rush over to you with their calculator and show you that what you’re looking at will cost you 350 baht.
You:
A) Reach into your wallet and pull out 350 baht to pay for your tuk tuk
B) Decide that’s too much for a beer can, no matter how clever it’s been transformed
C) Offer them 175 baht for the tuk tuk
These options will usually have the following results:
A) You’ve got a tuk tuk can! Congrats! 350 wasn’t THAT much…
B) You’re followed by the sales clerk who is now holding out the calculator with the price of 320.
C) The sales clerk laughs at you and then offers it for 300
You:
A) Are super happy that you’ve got your tuk tuk and are out of that crazy market. An extra couple hundred baht was a great price just to get out of that place in a hurry!
B) Still act uninterested. It’s just a beer can.
C) Offer 200 baht
Results:
A) You’re at home playing with your tuk tuk. Good times.
B) You leave the store empty handed (they’ll generally only lower the price once without you participating in the bartering before giving up)
C) They laugh again or just plain shake their head and then offer 280
With option C you can generally get them to knock between ¼ and 1/3 of the price off whatever you’re buying by faking disinterest, acting concerned about the price, pretending you can get a better deal elsewhere, or if you’re male, flirting with a female sales-lady.
I, personally, went with option B. Although there were a couple of people back home who I thought could appreciate the tuk tuk, and who have likely had a Singha or two during their time in Thailand, I couldn’t justify taking up the room in my suitcase with something so unnecessarily fragile. :P

Hua Hin

The beach in Hua Hin was pretty amazing and yet I've heard that it doesn't even compare to most of the other beaches in Thailand.

Most of my beach pics didn't turn out because my camera was set up strangely and there was too much sun, but here's a pic I took of a woman and her daughter who came by selling stuff to us on the beach (VERY typical, we had about 10-15 different people come by with different things to sell from Thai massages, to silk table runners to Popsicles. I bought a headband off of these two (the little girl was so cute, she wanted to make sure that I saw every colour before deciding). :) I'm happy they agreed to letting me take their picture.

Being sick in Bangkok

In such a hot climate, it took awhile for me to realize that I was sick (don't worry, Mom, I'm fine now). I felt hot and tired, but who wouldn’t at almost 40 degrees Celsius. What finally clued me in was when I went to my apartment to get some rest and found myself turning off the air-conditioner and curling up under my blankets. This was the first time since I had arrived that I felt cold. After two nights with the chills and two days of feeling woozy, feverish and not holding down any food I was advised to go to the hospital.
Although there are fewer clinics in Bangkok, meaning that more people go to hospitals, my visit went much more smoothly than I was expecting.
One of the Thai teachers took me to the hospital (bless her heart). She spoke more English than most of the doctors and nurses and filled out my forms for me with my help and with the information on my passport. The forms were all written in Sanskrit, which meant that I couldn’t read them, and I could tell that she was very unfamiliar with writing in English characters. It was a team effort.
Once all of the forms were filled out, we moved to the waiting room. Having spent my first 4 days in Thailand at a more tourist-oriented location (Hua-Hin), this was the first time I’d realized just how much of a minority I was. I was not just the only white patient in that room at that point in time, but based on everyone’s reaction, I might also have been the only one they saw that week or month. Many stared but pretended they weren’t. Kids stared openly. It was all very unfamiliar and interesting.
After seeing the doctor and handing in my prescription to the in-hospital pharmacy, they processed it and handed over 5 different packages all with different pills to take at different times (before meals, after meals, before bed, etc). Having recently had my health plan expire on me, I’m very aware of how expensive all of this would have been in Canada. However, in Thailand, it all came to a little under 400 baht (about $12.00). Was Thailand mentioned in the movie Sicko? I was overall very impressed.
To top off my adventure, the Thai teacher Krou-Ply suggested that we take motorcycles back to the school because it would be faster. I knew my first motorcycle trip would be exciting, but I didn’t think I would be doing it with a fever, carrying a laptop or wearing my uniform (I’d gone there straight from school). This transportation is efficient and cheap, but it will take some getting used to for sure. I would definitely advise against the skirt as not being able to straddle the bike meant compromising some safety for the sake of being more ladylike…Not cool. It was exhilarating though and made me all the more happy to be back at home.

Monkeys!

I’ve always had a fondness for monkeys as a kid. I’ve read books on Jane Goodall, Diane Fossey, and Koko (one of the first gorillas to learn sign language). Because I’m clearly still a kid, when I heard about a place called “Monkey Hill” I was more than eager to check it out.
I had no intention of feeding or petting the monkeys when I arrived there, but I was strongly encouraged (through a series of gestures and smiles) to do both by the Thai women who worked there.



The monkeys of Monkey Hill are called macaques and they were a blast to see in person. As nerdy as it is, being surrounded by dozens of screeching macaques will certainly be a highlight of this trip. I regret not taking any videos of their antics, but I am hoping that some of the photos I took will remind me of their awesomeness. ☺

Dogs

I’d heard that there were stray dogs in Thailand, but the amount is pretty overwhelming. I have seen a couple dozen or so stray cats as well, but the number of stray dogs that I encounter on a daily basis will be pretty hard to get used to. In walking from my apartment to my school, (which, for a Winnipeg comparison, is about the distance from the Pyramid Cabaret to Mitzi’s), I am likely to see between 4 and 8 dogs (or even more at night).

What it takes to travel to the other side of the world

My timeline:
April 30
5:30pm Arrival at Wpg Airport to clear customs
8:30pm Departure to Vancouver
9:30pm Arrival in Vancouver (11:30pm Wpg time)
May 1
2:55am Departure to Hong Kong (4:55am Wpg time)
May 2
6:55am Arrival in Hong Kong (5:55pm Wpg time (May 1))
8:55am Departure to Bangkok (7:55pm Wpg time (May 1))
10:35am Arrival in Bangkok (10:35pm Wpg time (May 1))
We still had a two hour drive from the airport to our apartments, a meeting at the school another 3 to Hua-Hin, and dinner once we got there. No one got any sleep until 10:00pm that night (10:00am Wpg time (May 2). Yes, I'm now exactly 12 hours ahead of you guys in Winnipeg))
At least most of us (a pretty ridiculous percentage actually) had laptops with us to help pass the time during the 6 hour stopover in Vancouver.