Last night Anne, Vicky, Spanky and I ate at the Green Leaf restaurant in town. It is one of my favorite restaurants in Hua Hin because it has everything you’d want to eat. And a whole vegetarian section. We were there for a couple hours, drinking, eating, talking. It was great. Afterwards we went to the night market. Anne still needed souvenirs, last minute. I had made Crab a card. And I gave it to him. Along with a pin of a crab. It had diamonds on it and he proudly wore it on his jacket. I am sad to leave Crab, and I am sad to leave Spanky. Sar. Kelsey. Nino. Everyone.


My last day in Thailand started at 11am. Sar called. Anne and I went to his room and drank coffee. Then Sar and I motorbike’d it to Tesco/Lotus to get groceries for a barbeque. That was fun and I am going to miss him. The rest of the day I’m going to finish packing and help Sar cook. I am practically done packing. Vicky, Anne, and I rented a taxi that will take us straight from Hua Hin to the airport in Bangkok. That makes things convenient. We leave Hua Hin at midnight. Our flight leaves at 6:40am. This concludes Thailand.

some last minute details about thailand
so that i won't forget the small things


the practice of sharing..

Thai people love to share. Meals, alcohol, motorbikes, everything. A traditional thai meal involves a group of people ordering different dishes, accompanied by a big pot of rice. The dishes are shared between everyone. It’s not like in America, where everybody orders their own. The thai method of eating is probably more economical, and more fun. You get to try several different things as opposed to just one.

Alcohol is the same way. When people go out to a club or bar, the most common way of drinking is ordering a big bottle – of whiskey or beer – and a bucket of ice and cups. If you are drinking whiskey, you order a few bottles of soda water and pepsi. You set the cups out and make as many drinks as needed with the bottle and chasers. The beer is even served with ice, which may not sound too good, but it’s surprisingly better than the usual way of drinking beer. I wish this is how it was in the states. So much money would be saved if everyone went in on a certain drink and kept to that throughout the night. Also, thai people are very generous with alcohol. If you have a cup, and it is empty or near empty, they will fill it up for you and then do a round of “cheers”. Last night I was at Style and a cute little thai girl whom I didn’t know saw that my cup was empty. Moments earlier I saw her pouring herself a drink. When she saw my cup, she gave up half her drink to pour it into my cup. I know what you’re thinking.. this is not safe, to drink from a complete stranger. But like I said, I watched her make it.

Motorbikes are also shared. Families of four are seen often cruising down the street on one motorbike. The mom, the dad, a toddler, and a kid slightly older. Sometimes there is even a small dog in the bike’s basket. Usually with the toddler, they wedge him/her between the two parents so there is little chance of him/her toppling off the bike.


Thai people love plastic bags..

No purchase in Thailand is complete without a plastic bag. You could go to 711 and buy a single pack of gum, and it would be given to you in a plastic bag. The reason this is unusual is because in the states, employees hate bagging purchases. You can tell. Some won’t even do it unless if you ask. It’s not very considerate. But in Thailand, they really care. They don’t want you to have to carry several different items in your arms – they want it to be easy on you, they want you to be comfortable. I have been grateful for the plastic bags.

Straws go with sodas..

I hardly ever see a person in the states drink a can of soda with a straw. They usually put their mouth right on it and gulp it down. In Thailand, every beverage in a can is served with a straw. This includes soda, cans of coffee, and even beer. Also, bottles of water. At 711, if you buy 3 cans of something, you also get 3 straws. In a plastic bag. They have different size straws to accomodate all different sizes of drinks. I think there is more of a scare in Thailand that the can is dirty. I heard a rumor that beverage cans sit in filthy places where rats go to the bathroom. So nobody wants to touch the can. I will be drinking my cans of whatever with straws from now on (except beer, it doesn’t make any sense to me).

i just finished my last final. buddhist arts. now it's really over and all i have left to do is pack. last night me, anne, alicia, and vicky went shopping for last minute christmas gifts. then we went to samsam and then a different bar, where we drank mohitos. and mohitos are the best drink ever. rum, soda, real mint, brown sugar. so we stayed there awhile. a lot of webster people were there. now alicia is on her way to vietnam. ben and lauren have gone back to the states. carly as well. aaron is going to chiang mai and cambodia with his parents. jamie and tristen left for pattaya, i think. i guess we'll see them on the plane. there aren't many more study abroads left here. kelsey is going to china today. i'm getting sad.

narita japan. temples. khao pao. motorbikes. ayutthaya. massage. buddhism. bootlegs. papaya salad. ocean. beach. island. phuket. koh phi phi. buddhas. sukhothai. loy krathong. flowers. chiang mai. art. royal flora. doi suthep. night bazaar. night market. hua hin. muay thai. grand sport. swimming. poker. vietnamese. nepalese. norweigan. korean. american. canadian. indian. bangkok. pollution. sky train. grand palace. his majesty. pak chong. khao yai. scorpion. greenleaf. koh tao. snorkel. full moon. buses. trains. planes. cars. taxis. tuk tuks. monkeys. elephants. coup d'etat. party. samsam. hilton. dance. shop. market village. cha-am. pala-u. waterfalls. tofu. rice. vegetables. hiking. hard rock cafe. major cineplex. halloween. sa wat dee ka. di chan mai kow jai. mai chai. mai tai. pranburi. caves. monitor lizard. sea turtle. monks. nuns. robes. friends.

leaving soon..

we leave Thailand in about 8 days. To go home. I’ve started sleeping more and not wanting to get out of bed. Last night I went to sleep around midnight and didn’t get out of bed today until 2pm. Mine and anne’s room is in shambles. We’ve completely lost interest in cleaning, doing the dishes, straightening up. We just don’t care anymore. And I hope we are able to leave the room just like we found it: filthy. I have a million little things to do. I have to buy a new suitcase. Make cards for the good friends I’ve made here. Finish the scrapbook I’ve been putting together ever since I got here. Figure out a way to present my pictures to people back home. I was working on a powerpoint project, but I’ve decided to abandon it because it just takes too much time. I figure I’ll finish the scrapbook on the plane. I’m reading a book called “a cure for dreams” by kayne gibbons that I’ll also work on during the plane ride. When we get to Bangkok the night before our flight, I’m going to try to locate criterion collection bootleg dvd vendor guy. Because the 4 dvds I bought from him work perfectly and I want to buy the whole Catherine breillat collection off of him. I still have a few more souvenirs to buy for people. I have to sell my cellphone back. I got an internship interview with the botanical gardens, that’s really cool. I’m very happy about that.

i used to want more than anything to move to california. now all my friends are moving there, and i don't think i want to anymore. maybe i want to stay in st. louis. i think right now, i just want to go home.

this past weekend was collage of cultures, an annual webster thailand event. groups of students from different cultures perform dance and music acts at the hilton. it is the biggest event held by the university. we all got dressed up got front row seats, right next to the stage. the show lasted a couple hours. some of the acts were quite raunchy. it was confusing because it was supposed to be a cultural event but girls were dressing up in tight black outfits and booty dancing. i don't really understand what that has to do with culture and diversity. canada had the best performance by far. kelsey and emily dressed up as snow fairies. sam beat-boxed. emily's sister sang the canadian national anthem and emily's sister's friend did a fire dance. a very impressive fire dance. they were definitely the most entertaining. america didn't have a skit. because americans are lazy.

after the show we went to Sam Sam. 75% of webster was there. a fight broke out between patrick, a wut student, and another guy about 15 minutes after we arrived at the bar. it ended quickly. we were all out till about 5 in the morning. fun times.

island trip - day 5 - final day

4 decembre 2006

this concludes the trip to Phuket and Koh Phi Phi. it was a great finale to my time in thailand. we got up and went to the dock. we took a boat to Krabi - another island that we didn't get to see. at krabi, we caught the bus back to hua hin. the bus ticket was only 450 baht. i sat in between 2 american guys on the very back of the bus. to my right was tim, who had countless stories about his drunken adventures in bangkok. to my left was.. i forget his name.. but he wore a No Use for a Name shirt and got up to use the restroom once every 45 minutes. the bathroom, by the way, was disgusting. i had to use it one time because i couldn't hold it any longer and the bus would NOT stop. it drove for 6 hours straight with no break. the condition my bladder was in was becoming a medical emergency. the light wasn't working in the bathroom so it was pitch black. the floor was wet, covered with lord knows what. you couldn't even open the bathroom door all the way when entering and exiting because most of the space was taken up by a huge bucket of water. so you practically had to crawl into the horribly foul smelling toilet area. it was naaaaaasty.

the bus ride wasn't too bad, but tim wouldn't stop talking. and i kept drifting in and out of sleep. and unbeknownst to anne and i, in the luggage compartment below, her camera and my ipod were being pocketed by the bus drivers.

island trip - day 4

3 decembre 2006

we got up early for our scuba diving adventure. we got to the diving shop around 8am and began our lesson. greg told us important rules and procedures for diving. i was starting to get nervous even though i had gone scuba diving once before. after about 30 minutes of instruction, we headed for the boat. our boat ride lasted about 30 minutes. once we arrived at our diving spot, we put on the wet suits and the tanks. it is so hard to walk with one of those things on your back. and then you jump in the water and you can't feel it at all. basically, scuba diving was great. we went on 2 dives. the first was about 35 minutes long, the second was close to an hour. i had trouble with my ears at first but then it went away. i figured out how to fix it. we saw a sea turtle, and schools of fish. and beautiful formations. and other creatures. i took some pictures but they didn't turn out too well. i love scuba diving and i wished i lived somewhere i could do it all the time, and get certified. in between dives, we all did flips and jumps off the boat.

after diving we had to find a new place to stay. we found a place, i forget the name, which was run by a real jerk of a guy. he was thai, and he was being very rude, but i don't know if he knew that. i said something and he said, "listen! why don't you listen?!" and i said, "don't yell at me!" and then under my breath i called him a jerk or something. he was angry with me after that. and i was in a horrible mood after being around him. but we stayed at the place, no air conditioning only a fan, and took showers and naps. once we woke up, me anne and vicky went to dinner. the food was amazing. well, mine was. green curry with coconut milk and tofu. reminded me of lemongrass back in st. louis. all of our dive instructors were at the restaurant. their boss - Mr. Tom - was taking them out for dinner. greg was eyeing anne and wanted to know what we were doing tonight. we told him maybe going to watch fire dancing.

i ended up staying in the room that night and going to sleep early. i was exhausted and not really feeling well. the idea of "partying" again.. third night in a row.. was not at all appealing. i kept the windows open and the fan on full blast and it felt very nice. anne and vicky came back to the room late at night.

island trip - day 3

2 decembre 2006

we woke up late, after check-out time. we got ready very quickly and within an hour, we were on a boat to Koh Phi Phi, the island where The Beach was filmed. in the van, on the way to the boat, maria and pamela met a dorky guy from israel. he had a bad smell and was traveling alone. he attached himself to the girls, esp. maria, and sat next to us on the boat. we didn't have any reservations for a hotel room, so once we arrived on the island 90 minutes later, we had some trouble. we were being bombarded by hotel agents to come stay at their place. and it is quite expensive on koh phi phi. finally we found a place. it was called Natacha Hotel i think. and the guy from israel followed us there. he stayed in a room right next to the 2 that we checked into. we devised a plan to get rid of him because he was under the impression that he could follow us 6 girls around and join us on our trip. we were quiet and tip-toed around his room. we left the hotel, without the guy, and spotted him later having dinner with some attractive females at a fancy restaurant. hmm..

we really didn't do much on day 3. we explored koh phi phi and made plans for scuba diving with a company called Visa - Padi Divers. there are no tuk tuks on the island because it is so small. you either ride a bike or walk. we went to Tiger Bar and drank buckets. everyone except Anne and I danced. all of our scuba instructors (the ones that would be teaching us the following morning) were at Tiger Bar, drinking. which was strange. we ended up hanging out with Greg, one of the instructors who was kind of creepy. vicky talked with Bobo (another instructor, real name was chris) for hours. anne and i left the bar early because it was getting boring.

island trip - day 2

1 decembre 2006
We arrive in Phuket around 7:30am. I didn’t look closely at the map before we left and thought we would have to take a boat to Phuket. But we didn’t. I was very confused when we arrived there on the bus. It’s hard to explain. The bus stopped in Patong Beach, an area of Phuket. We got a taxi. We got a guesthouse called Baan Patong (“Bon Pa Tong”). Ate breakfast at a buffet. Where they had real brewed coffee, from a coffee maker. Weird. But very good. Then we got ready and went beach hopping. The girls – Daniela, Pamela, and Maria – got a “tour guide” (a little man who I called Charlotte) and he took us to 4 different beaches and a view point, all in one day.

The first beach was Surin Beach. We paid 50 baht each to sit in chairs. We went swimming. The water was great. Pamela went topless. Guys started surrounding our beach chairs because of that. Swimming was wonderful, though. Anne and I would dive into the tiny waves. There were so many nasty European men.

The second beach was Kamala Beach (I think). It was kind of the same as the first one.

We decided to get lunch before going to the third beach – Karon Beach. We ate at an Italian restaurant and our waitress was mean. At Karon Beach, everyone except Maria and Anne took a free ride from the Waverunner from Hell. We asked some thai guys if they would drive us on the thing, and they finally agreed to. Vicky and Pamela went first. Vicky flew off within seconds. She was unharmed, though, but completely frightened. Daniela and I went next. I had no idea how frightening it was going to be. I was really scared. The guy was driving like a maniac. He was going over every single wave and current. We would fly out of the seats. I was on the back and I held onto Daniela for dear life. It would have been fun to fly off, but I didn’t. I could have easily let go and been propelled 10 feet in the air, but I was scared of getting pulled under the waverunner. It was really fun. You have absolutely no control.

Our fourth destination was a view point. I’m looking at the map, at the path we took, and I think it was simply called Sunset View Point. It was really pretty, and the girls were really into taking pictures of themselves with the scenic background. I was feeling insecure, so I stayed out of the pictures.

Our fifth destination was, I believe, Rawai Beach. We were so tired by that time and just sprawled out on the sand. Anne and I made a sandcastle temple in ruins. We had spent an hour to an hour and a half at each destination. It was a full day of swimming and sun bathing. All the while, St. Louis was getting pummeled by an ice storm.

We went back to Baan Patong. MPD went to a Thai circus show at 9pm. Anne, Vicky, and I stayed in our room and talked. Then we got ready and the girls got back from the show and we went to a huge bar place. It was open air. Dozens of little bars next to each other. Soon after we arrived, Vicky and Pamela (mainly) attracted 2 friendly Australian guys with lots of money. None of us (it was 5 of us – Maria stayed in for the night) bought anything the rest of the night. It was all bought for us by them. We were at the bar place for a couple hours and then everyone wanted to go dancing. That’s around the time my stomach started to really hurt, but I tried to avoid it. We went to a club where it is 250 baht per person, but since we were with the 2 australians, we all got in free. We walked in like movie stars. It was funny. The place we went to had a little circular stage in the middle, which the girls took advantage of. The place was lit all crazy and there were many creepy guys hanging around. I wasn’t having a good time, and my stomach really started killing me, so I left. I got a motorbike taxi and the driver did not know where my guesthouse was. He didn’t recognize the name. But the area where we were was pretty small, so I told him I would show him where to go. We drove around for 5 minutes before I realized exactly how to get back to the guesthouse. And I got back safe and sound, and fell asleep watching cable television in the air conditioned room. Anne and Vicky stumbled in around 5 or 6am, but I hardly remember it.

island trip - day 1

30 novembre 2006
Thursday was hectic. We had class. And after class I went to Market Village to put titles on my photo that were in the Art Society exhibition at Starbucks. The opening of the exhibit was at 8pm, but I couldn’t attend because our bus to Phuket departed at 8:40pm. Anne, Daniela, Pamela, Maria, and I took a taxi to the bus stop. Vicky met us there. The bus was late. We got on the bus. Fell asleep and were in Phuket in no time. That was the last time I used my ipod before it ran out of batteries and was stolen.

this past weekend, thursday through monday, i was on islands. phuket and koh phi phi. they were hit badly by the tsunami last year. no problems this time. i went with anne, vicky, maria, daniela, and pamela. i really need to write an in depth account of my trip, but for now, this is what happened:

- took a 10 hour bus ride on thursday, arrived friday in phuket
- went beach-hopping on friday (to 4 different beaches around phuket)
- partied in phuket friday night
-took a boat to koh phi phi (where The Beach was filmed) on saturday
-partied in koh phi phi saturday night
-went scuba diving in koh phi phi on sunday
-took a boat to krabi on monday, then a bus back to hua hin
-got my ipod stolen
-anne got her camera stolen
-didn't go over my "islands trip" budget

last weekend i went to chiang mai. we went to several temples and royal flora.