bitten by a soi dog, and lived to talk about it. (also known as: never use a credit card in malaysia)
A cancelled class and finally some time to myself with semi-working internet, a keyboard with all the keys, and some time to reflect.
Since I have moved to Bangkok, things have been, well, amazing and terrible. We moved here on the 3rd, I came by VIP bus, (nicer than a plane, I swear...) and Rin met me at the station, and we went to his friend's room, where we then stayed for a week. In Phuket I remember having a bathroom I idn't entirely enjoy showering in, as it was small, always hot, and never felt clean. Well his friend's room was a little bit worse than this. No bed, not enough floor space for the three of us to sleep, and with the whole Thai, 'not being able to walk over someone's legs,' thing, if one of them was asleep, I couldn't walk across the room. I cried almost every day in this room, eiher from the heat, or the lack of fan, or not being able to find anything in my suitcase, of being sick of Isarn food (all they had around there) or the two hour commute I had to and from work every day. I was actually excited when Rin and I were packing to go back to his house, in the jungle, where I had cried myself to sleep every night about a month prior.
We took the night train to his place, 90 baht once again, this this time, instead of being terribly hot, it was freezing, loud, and there ws more than one party of drunk Thai men more than willing to talk to a farang girl. And once again, if I would get up, with space being limited, if someone had their legs spread out, I couldn't walk over them, and I couldn't go anywhere. So when Rin, sitting next to me, fell asleep, I was locked in until he woke up. Joys. 11 hours in a moving prison. I did a happy dance and nearly fell over when we arrived in Lang Suan.
The trip to his house was actually quite good. I had prepared myself this time, bringing with me my computer, lots of books, magazines, snacks, comfortable clothes, a pillow, good shoes, and plenty of pairs of pants to wear while holding on for dear life as he flung me around the jungle on the back of his motorbike. It was Sonkhran, the Thai New year, which I arrived just after last year, so I was looking forward to seeing what it was all about. Dressed in nice clothes, Rin told me to be prepared to be a little wet, but nothing could have prepared me. As we rove along people would no politely splash water on people to wish them good luck, they would sling buckets of ice water, ice cubes and all at the farang, and once was not enough. And then there was the cooling powder which burns the eyes, but hell, it will bring you good luck. And so after the second day of going home wet and miserable, I asked him if we could stay in on the third day.
In an effort to get his ticket to Malaysia, as it wasn't working on the internet, we drove for 2 hours on a 100c motorbike to Chumphorn, only to find that we could not only buy the tickets, but that there was a soi dog waiting to bite me dangerously close to my special place, and having nowhere to clean it. Funny to the Thai men watching, no so funny to this girl, having to sit on a motorbike for another two hours, bleeding, and possible dying.
We also celebrated his birthday on the 16th, which was pretty uneventful. He had to go to the temple and give alms, so I stayed home and drank coffee and watched Bridget Jones, again. We set up a party that night, and plenty of local men crawled out of the woodwork to see Rin and his girlfriend, and to partake in free whisky. Oh the joys. I spent most of the night inside on his mother's bed infront of a fan, away from the men.
We left his place on Sunday the 17th, and took the train, this time 12 hours, at 4 in the morning back to Bangkok, hot as hell, standing room only. Miserable. When we finally arrived we couldn't get a hold of Boy, his friend we were staying with, so we took a taxi to the airport, as we were flying to Penang, Malaysia the next day for me to get a visa. (Mine was about to expire...) After trying and trying and longing for that miserable little room, we ended up spreading out on the floor of the airport, sleeping under sarongs, and being woken up at 4am by a German man being robbed by a Thai, and no one helping, so I had to translate...both of them drunk. And so, thus ends the fun of Don Muang Airport.
We arrived in Penang, and al was beautiful. Until my savings got cleared out by our hotel (so nice, by the way, thanks again mum, I owe you...!) in some sort of fraud being sorted out by my kind Thai bank manager who said "we should know something in two to three weeks." Bangarang. My visa was procesed without problem, and Rin and I slept in our frigid room, swimming in the rooftop swimming pool and roaming markets at night. A nice holiday after the train and airport.
We arrived to Bangkok last Wednesday night, to find his friend's phone was still not working (we later found out he was in a nasty motorbike crash in Isarn, and had no phone...) and so opted for a hotel. However, all my school clothes were still in said friend's room, and I had nothing to wear to school. Tired and work out, we checked into a hotel, and I went to work the next day, leaving him to sort things out. Finally I was paid by my boss in Phuket, and Rin managed to break into his friend's place. "We can sleep here, no problem!" he said. Well...looking around the hot box, I silently packed our things, and opened the door. He understood and we went and checked into another hotel, where we are currently staying until monday. We have found a place really close to school, but there were no rooms until Monday. One little hiccup, our current hotel also happens to be a brothel. At least there is free porn all the time, and cheap room service. We have managed to find some food I can manage to eat (the food in Bangkok is not what it was in Phuket...so bland here!)
We are happy for now, have been touring markets looking for things for our new place, excited about having a place to call our own, and for Rin to start working again. (It's about damn time!) No plans of a trip home, as my holidays aren't until next March..we will see what happens. Things are settling down, I am learning my way around this mad city, and really starting to enjoy a more "western" lifestyle in this big mad city.
School is going well. Fifteen foreign teachers, though I am the only female. Nice to be with people who want to work and a chool that will work well with us. A proper school, studetns who truly respect us, and who are, well, quite smart. The guys at school are all quite a bit older than me (most nearing 40) but we gt along really well. I think this has been a really good choice for me.
Another week of holiday next week, perhaps will simply stay in town and see some things we have wanted to see, or perhaps go to Chiang Mai. Will keep more regular updates, as I have a more regular brain now.
(As for the dog bite, I am fine...)
Since I have moved to Bangkok, things have been, well, amazing and terrible. We moved here on the 3rd, I came by VIP bus, (nicer than a plane, I swear...) and Rin met me at the station, and we went to his friend's room, where we then stayed for a week. In Phuket I remember having a bathroom I idn't entirely enjoy showering in, as it was small, always hot, and never felt clean. Well his friend's room was a little bit worse than this. No bed, not enough floor space for the three of us to sleep, and with the whole Thai, 'not being able to walk over someone's legs,' thing, if one of them was asleep, I couldn't walk across the room. I cried almost every day in this room, eiher from the heat, or the lack of fan, or not being able to find anything in my suitcase, of being sick of Isarn food (all they had around there) or the two hour commute I had to and from work every day. I was actually excited when Rin and I were packing to go back to his house, in the jungle, where I had cried myself to sleep every night about a month prior.
We took the night train to his place, 90 baht once again, this this time, instead of being terribly hot, it was freezing, loud, and there ws more than one party of drunk Thai men more than willing to talk to a farang girl. And once again, if I would get up, with space being limited, if someone had their legs spread out, I couldn't walk over them, and I couldn't go anywhere. So when Rin, sitting next to me, fell asleep, I was locked in until he woke up. Joys. 11 hours in a moving prison. I did a happy dance and nearly fell over when we arrived in Lang Suan.
The trip to his house was actually quite good. I had prepared myself this time, bringing with me my computer, lots of books, magazines, snacks, comfortable clothes, a pillow, good shoes, and plenty of pairs of pants to wear while holding on for dear life as he flung me around the jungle on the back of his motorbike. It was Sonkhran, the Thai New year, which I arrived just after last year, so I was looking forward to seeing what it was all about. Dressed in nice clothes, Rin told me to be prepared to be a little wet, but nothing could have prepared me. As we rove along people would no politely splash water on people to wish them good luck, they would sling buckets of ice water, ice cubes and all at the farang, and once was not enough. And then there was the cooling powder which burns the eyes, but hell, it will bring you good luck. And so after the second day of going home wet and miserable, I asked him if we could stay in on the third day.
In an effort to get his ticket to Malaysia, as it wasn't working on the internet, we drove for 2 hours on a 100c motorbike to Chumphorn, only to find that we could not only buy the tickets, but that there was a soi dog waiting to bite me dangerously close to my special place, and having nowhere to clean it. Funny to the Thai men watching, no so funny to this girl, having to sit on a motorbike for another two hours, bleeding, and possible dying.
We also celebrated his birthday on the 16th, which was pretty uneventful. He had to go to the temple and give alms, so I stayed home and drank coffee and watched Bridget Jones, again. We set up a party that night, and plenty of local men crawled out of the woodwork to see Rin and his girlfriend, and to partake in free whisky. Oh the joys. I spent most of the night inside on his mother's bed infront of a fan, away from the men.
We left his place on Sunday the 17th, and took the train, this time 12 hours, at 4 in the morning back to Bangkok, hot as hell, standing room only. Miserable. When we finally arrived we couldn't get a hold of Boy, his friend we were staying with, so we took a taxi to the airport, as we were flying to Penang, Malaysia the next day for me to get a visa. (Mine was about to expire...) After trying and trying and longing for that miserable little room, we ended up spreading out on the floor of the airport, sleeping under sarongs, and being woken up at 4am by a German man being robbed by a Thai, and no one helping, so I had to translate...both of them drunk. And so, thus ends the fun of Don Muang Airport.
We arrived in Penang, and al was beautiful. Until my savings got cleared out by our hotel (so nice, by the way, thanks again mum, I owe you...!) in some sort of fraud being sorted out by my kind Thai bank manager who said "we should know something in two to three weeks." Bangarang. My visa was procesed without problem, and Rin and I slept in our frigid room, swimming in the rooftop swimming pool and roaming markets at night. A nice holiday after the train and airport.
We arrived to Bangkok last Wednesday night, to find his friend's phone was still not working (we later found out he was in a nasty motorbike crash in Isarn, and had no phone...) and so opted for a hotel. However, all my school clothes were still in said friend's room, and I had nothing to wear to school. Tired and work out, we checked into a hotel, and I went to work the next day, leaving him to sort things out. Finally I was paid by my boss in Phuket, and Rin managed to break into his friend's place. "We can sleep here, no problem!" he said. Well...looking around the hot box, I silently packed our things, and opened the door. He understood and we went and checked into another hotel, where we are currently staying until monday. We have found a place really close to school, but there were no rooms until Monday. One little hiccup, our current hotel also happens to be a brothel. At least there is free porn all the time, and cheap room service. We have managed to find some food I can manage to eat (the food in Bangkok is not what it was in Phuket...so bland here!)
We are happy for now, have been touring markets looking for things for our new place, excited about having a place to call our own, and for Rin to start working again. (It's about damn time!) No plans of a trip home, as my holidays aren't until next March..we will see what happens. Things are settling down, I am learning my way around this mad city, and really starting to enjoy a more "western" lifestyle in this big mad city.
School is going well. Fifteen foreign teachers, though I am the only female. Nice to be with people who want to work and a chool that will work well with us. A proper school, studetns who truly respect us, and who are, well, quite smart. The guys at school are all quite a bit older than me (most nearing 40) but we gt along really well. I think this has been a really good choice for me.
Another week of holiday next week, perhaps will simply stay in town and see some things we have wanted to see, or perhaps go to Chiang Mai. Will keep more regular updates, as I have a more regular brain now.
(As for the dog bite, I am fine...)
posted by isobella at 10:31 AM
1 Comments:
hey heath...sounds like quite the adventure these last few weeks since your big move to bangkok...it does sound like you are beginning to enjoy living there tho as i'm sure it's a huge adjustment from phuket town...in response to your comment, leesh and i would love it if you and rin could come to taiwan...of course, you would have free accommodations and it would be great to see you again! don't have any plans to come to your neck of the woods, although i don't think one needs a reason to go to thailand...we have planned a trip to vietnam/laos for 2 weeks in august, so the stopover is in bangkok...i'm sure that we could @ least meet up for a meal if not more..anyway, take care of yourself and i'll chat with you soon.
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