Tropical Island Getaway

Over my last weekend I went to Koh Samet for 4 days and 3 nights. It is a small island about 3 hours South of Bangkok. I traveled with my friend Sina. We left on Friday morning. We took a taxi to the nearest bus station where we got a small van to take us South to catch the ferry.

On the ferry we met a Dutch couple, Fritz and Yeti. They are experts in mindfulness and meditation. Fritz was actually a practicing Buddhist monk for 5 years and speaks fluent Thai. Fritz and Yeti had just completed a 4 week meditation retreat at a temple somewhere in Thailand. During their retreat they only saw each other a few times and neither of them spoke for the entire four weeks! I think that Sina and I were some of the first people they conversed with. They had been to Koh Samet many times and knew the island very well. They helped us get accommodations for the first night and we saw them frequently throughout the weekend. On my last night, they invited us to dinner with them. It was a really nice meal and there was a fire show. I didn't take any photos because my phone was dead, but the three Cambodian guys did some amazing stuff with flaming hoops, balls, chains, and sticks. The youngest performer couldn't have been older than 11.

Because it was Valentine's weekend and the start of Chinese New Year, the island was busy so our first night of accommodation was not so great (no ocean view and very dark) and it was a bit over priced. We couldn't stay another night at that place so we searched elsewhere. We found a gem called Lablanc Bungalow Resort. We weren't on the water, but it was cheap and we could sea the ocean so it was an improvement.

We spent a lot of time on the beach and on the porch of our bungalow. It was the most relaxed holiday I have ever taken.

All together I think I spent less than $130 for travel, accommodation, and food.

Scooter loves Thailand

From our usual restaurant 

Inside of Bungalow 

View from bungalow porch

Food and Weather

The weather has been phenomenal. It can get humid, but usually there is a nice breeze. The temperatures are usually in the low 90's during the day and the low 70's at night.

I have had some more delicious foods. My new favorite is BBQ pork on a stick. I also had some chicken teriyaki with rice.

The most exciting thing for me food wise was McDonald's deliver, or McDelivery. The service is 24 hours and the delivery charge is about $1.10. I wanted McDonald's all day following the trip to Hua Hin because it's some of the best hangover food. As soon as we got back, I got online and placed an order for a few of us. I got a large Double Big Mac Meal and a Spicy Chicken sandwich. It took about 30 minutes to arrive.

Typical weekly forecast 

Chicken Teriyaki 

BBQ Pork on Stick 

Double Big Mac (Disturbing but delicious) 

Hua Hin School Trip

On Friday the Rangsit International College Student Union took us on a free school trip. By free, I mean I spent 6. We went to Hua Hin, just Southwest of Bangkok. Hua Hin used to be a small fishing village, but now it is really developed and quite touristic. It's a bit sad to think that the quiet village is long gone and has been replaced by resorts and water parks, especially when you consider that its just one of a few dozen villages that were discovered and developed for tourism. I suppose it's capitalism.

Despite the fact that Hua Hin is really developed now the trip was still very enjoyable. We left at 7:30 am, although I arrived at 6 (due to some miscommunication). It took about 3 hours to get there. We didn't immediately go to the beach, but instead went to Vananava Water Park. The entrance fee was paid for, and my only expense at the water park was a locker fee ($3). I rode all of the slides with 2 Australian girls. I really like water parks so I enjoyed myself. Although I would have rather been at the beach, it was nice to get out of Rangsit and the Bangkok area.

We left the water park around 4:30 and got to our bungalow resort around 5:00. Our bungalows were right on the beach. I could see and hear the ocean from our front porch. Obviously, the first move was to get beers so we took a walk to try to find a 711. There were none in walking distance so we Hey Mistered some guy with a scooter for a ride to the 711. Two of the Finnish girls went because only one guy could fit and we are all about the buddy system. Once they left, we got nervous. Luckily, they came back in 20 minutes with no problems and a backpack full of beer.

Dinner was supposed to be served at 6:30, but because everything on the schedule had been 30 minutes to an hour late, we showed up casually at 6:40 to find that most of the food was already gone. The bulk of my meal was onions and rice. I could care less about the meal because the beer was free.

I had two beers at dinner and then we were given two options: take the bus to the Hua Hin Night Market or stay and drink free beer for 4 hours. The decision was obvious and six of us stayed behind to drink beers. We were exhausted from the water park and we knew that the best markets in Thailand are in Bangkok, and when you've seen one, you've seen them all. I'm not exactly sure but our estimates suggest that the three guys drinking had 35-40 Leo beers. At 11 pm, the resort staff was closing up shop but our Thai friend, Mig, negotiated with them to let us keep the cooler with the beer so we could keep drinking. Free beer is a blessing and a curse because it's free but it will sneak up on you. We left around 1 am walk along the beach to our bungalow, which was identifiable by my American flag swim trunks hanging on the line up front.

Once back, my friend Leo and I walked down to the water and chatted while we had our feet in the water. After an hour or so, an army guy appeared out of nowhere and kicked us off the beach. At home I've never felt threatened by the military or the police, but here the country is under Martial Law and I constantly feel intimidated. We obviously didn't argue with the official and we quickly left the beach.

Breakfast was at 7:00 am but we overslept until 9:30. The bus left at 10:00. Luckily we had lunch at 12. I had a great time. The beach was beautiful and not crowded at all. Everyone that went was really friendly. No one can complain about free beer. And, I didn't have to organize any of the logistics.

The resort cooler Mig got us

The Gulf of Thailand (extension of Indian Ocean)

Free Concert

On Thursday I went to dinner with some Thai students from Rangsit. I still don't speak a lot of Thai, but I always have a good time hanging out with the Thai students. I am starting to learn some useful Thai words and can pick them out of conversations. The one I always hear is farang, which means foreigner (white person). I'm usually the farang…

After dinner, we went to a free concert at the school. It was all Thai bands, but the music was enjoyable. There were a ton of people out and it was nice to just sit on the grass and listen to music. I had to leave early in order to pack and sleep for a few hours before the school trip to Hua Hin.

This is the stage set up at the University for the concert

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Tuesday, we had a school field trip to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. At the Ministry, we learned about Association of South East Asian Nations, or ASEAN. It is an organization with goals similar to those of the European Union. ASEAN member countries want to facilitate trade among each other and with outside countries as well. Although ASEAN was founded in 1967, it has had few notable accomplishments. Beginning in December 2015, ASEAN will begin taking steps to amp up trade in the region and to expand transport infrastructure in the entire region. I think ASEAN will become a major player in global politics and economics as countries such as China, Russia, and the US have serious interests in the region. However, I think that the biggest issue facing ASEAN is that a majority of the countries don't exactly have democracies, despite arguing otherwise. Many of the countries have military regimes and have faced coups in past decade or so.

I wanted to take an ASEAN integration course at school here, but the credits would not have been transferred back to CC in a way that would have been beneficial toward my graduation requirements. Many of my classmates are taking the course and find it very extremely interesting and beneficial because ASEAN will become important in the near future. I really hope that CC will actually require all students that come to Rangsit to take the course rather than prevent them from doing so…

The lecture about ASEAN was about 50 minutes long so there were only 10 minutes for questions, but it was still very informative. After, we split into two groups. My group went to the PR department which discussed its initiatives to inform the people of Thailand about ASEAN and how it will affect them. Our group finished really early so we all got to hang around and socialize. I really like talking with the other International College students, answering questions about the US and asking questions about their countries.

Some of Group 2 hanging in the VIP reception area (which we
got kicked out of)

Super Bowl Monday (Morning)

I arrived in Thailand on January 7 and have not watched any football. I listened to the first half of the NCAA Championship game on ESPN radio, but that was it.

Watching the Super Bowl was a must.

The challenge: Kickoff time, 6:30 am Monday, February 2.

I woke up at 4:00 am and got a taxi fairly quickly. He took me to Sukhumvit (area in Bangkok) where the bar I had researched was located. I grabbed a snack at 711 because everything else was closing down at 5:00 am. After eating on the curb I headed inside. I didn't have a reservation because it required a 1000 baht deposit and I didn't want to make an extra trip earlier just to pay for a table. Luckily, I was early enough that I found a nice seat by the wall with a good view.

As the place filled up, a couple asked to sit with me at my table. The guy was from Toronto and was a Steelers fan. His wife was Thai and didn't speak much. I doubt she had any interest in the game. There were a lot of Canadians in the area where I was sitting.

Half time approached and Steve, the Canadian guy I was sitting with, managed to get an empty booth closer to the bar. The half-time show was alright. The big tiger robot was bad-ass. Lenny Kravitz was a good cameo, but Missy Elliot owned the night.

I didn't get to see any of the esteemed Super Bowl commercials because we watched the game on NFL Network, but I can youtube the best ones in the next few days. (Please leave recommendations.) I also didn't have the same announcers for the game.

Following the exciting finish, I had two beers and chatted with a couple from Annapolis, MD. They were the first Americans I've had a lengthy conversation with since I arrived in the country.

Pre-Game: Irish Coffee
First Quarter: 2 pints of heineken & 1 shot of tequila
Second Quarter: 1 Chang Beer & 1 shot of tequila.
Halftime: 1 Chang Beer
Third Quarter: 2 pints of heineken & 1 shot of tequila (Uh oh, happy hour!)
Fourth Quarter: 2 pints of heineken
Post-Game: 2 pints of heineken
**at least that's what I recollect**

After a long morning of drinking, I was pretty hammered and needed to get back to Rangsit. I went into the bar when it was dark, and came out when the sun was noon high. It was so hot and so bright outside. Walking into the street was like that seen from Blast from the Past when Brendan Fraser comes out of his family's fallout shelter.

Good Reference?

To this point in, I had never used the train, but after my 800 baht tab I wasn't willing to splurge for a taxi. I found the stairs to the train station, said goodbye to the couple from MD and made my way up. I took the train all the way to the end of the line. On the train, I met a woman from Scotland. She was older and backpacking by herself. I thought that was really interesting. As soon as I got off and down to the highway, bus #29 pulled up and I got on to head to rangsit. I met a Thai student that goes to one of the universities here. She was on her way to class. She studies economics. We are Facebook friends now. She was very nice.

I made it to Rangsit and hopped into one of the little trucks to catch a ride to the university. I took a snap chat with some of the students on board that were headed to class. Once I arrived, I bought some chicken and french fries for my walk up the street to the apartment. Once inside, I passed out until 5 pm. What an adventure for a Monday. Looking forward to watch some baseball games in April! Cardinals v. Pirates please.

Cheers to the Sportsman Bar & Restaurant!

Food is Good

I had my first real Sushi experience with Malte for his last meal before he left Thailand. I have no idea what I ate. I think they were both salmon. I have tried sushi before in the US but I never liked it. Actually, I found it repulsive. But, I'll try anything twice (except the hard stuff) so I gave it a second try. It wasn't that bad. It was very filling. With wasabi and soy sauce it was palatable and for 200 baht ($6) I think I made out alright. AND I DIDN'T GET SICK!

Sushi

Although it's in the 90's every day, I have really started to enjoy eating won ton soup from one of my favorite restaurants. It's a simple dish with won tons, which are a bit like dumplings, some lettuce, and boiled meat.

Won Ton Soup

I have a bit of an aversion to eating eggs for breakfast since my bout of food poisoning so I have begun eating a vegetarian rice meal. It's very flavorful and mildly spicy.

Vegetarian Option #3, Sita Villa, Breakfast

At first I couldn't handle the spicy foods, but now if something isn't spicy I find myself reaching for the chile powder. Coming back to the US will be a big adjustment because everything I eat won't be spicy. I think the spicy food is helpful in handling the hot weather, but it's difficult to explain why.

Reevaluating Food Poisoning
I had a conversation with one of the new German girls who studied in Brazil for a year. She explained to me that I most likely got sick from the salad I ate, not the chicken. This is probably the case because the salad is washed in tap water, which my body cannot handle. Because the water is not boiled and the salad is obviously not cooked, I caught something through the water.

H2O is the essence of life…but I'll be damned if it doesn't wrong you a time or two. 



Thai word for water:            (Nà)        น้ำ   

If You Lose Something in Bangkok...

On Saturday night I went to Bangkok with two German guys that just arrived. They wanted to watch their football (soccer) clubs at a German Bar in Bangkok.

To get to Bangkok in a speedy fashion and at night, it's easiest to take a taxi. The three of us bought road beers at 711 and grabbed a taxi. The traffic was bad so we took the tollway (120 baht). Our driver was very pleased about this and got us to Bangkok in record time, at least in my experiences so far. We cruised at a comfortable 86 mph.

The bar was called "Old German Beer House." We watched the matches, which occurred simultaneously and drank some good German beer. Then we took a tuk tuk to Khaosan Rd. It was my first tuk tuk experience. Basically, a tuk tuk is a motorbike with a little hut on the back of it. At Khaosan we went to one of the many bars and drank San Miguel beers. I am quite fond of San Miguel after my summer in Spain so I was pleased to be reunited. Around 2:30 am we bought some deliciously questionable street food and decided to head back to Rangsit.

We negotiated a flat rate of 300 baht with the taxi driver. En route to Rangsit we all dozed off intermittently. The taxi driver had no idea where we needed to go, despite saying otherwise. We were in the neighborhood but still a few kilometers from the apartment. Eventually I got my bearings and directed him to the apartment turn by turn. He kept asking for more than 300 baht so I gave him 310 baht and got out. As soon as we got back to the apartment I realized that I didn't have my cellphone. Drunkenly we tried to find out how to call the taxi company, but I knew it was a lost cause.

Once I got to my room I tracked my phone on the "Find my iPhone" app on my computer. I declared it lost so the phone would be locked. It allowed me to remotely display a message across the phone. I google translated "Please call" into Thai and left the number to my apartment building. In the event that he would actually call, one of the Thai ladies would answer and possibly work something out. In the morning the taxi driver actually called and left his number!

Knowing that I wouldn't be able to any negotiating, I talked with my Thai friend and described the situation. She immediately asked for the number and worked it all out for me. I met her last night and got the phone back. It only cost 400 baht; well worth it. I am so grateful that she is my friend. I don't know what I would have done without her.

From backseat of tuk tuk

With road beers

Tuk Tuk

Newcomers

With the previous group of Stenden students gone a new group has arrived. There are nearly twice as many. In all, I think there are about 80. Most of them are Dutch or German with a handful of other countries represented.

With just under a month of being in Thailand, I am the most veteran occupant at Sita Villa. Tonight (Monday, February 2) I showed a group of 10 one of my favorite places to eat. In my opinion it's the best Pad Thai in Rangsit. Almost everyone ordered it and they all liked it. It's an outside restaurant and the owner is called Noi. She is such a sweet lady. I am a frequent customer and she knows my name. She was so happy I brought so many people to her restaurant. She asked everyone what their name was. The Finnish students and I refer to the restaurant as "Noi's Place" because it has no name. I forgot to pay for my water and I told Noi but she said it was ok and didn't make me pay for it. The next time I go I will get her a small gift.