Take The Weather With You

The weather changes pretty often in a lot of the world. It's usually pretty unpredictable no matter what Al Roker or any other crazed weatherman/woman tells you. 

Have you ever travelled to visit friends or family on a day where their weather happens to change from warm to cold or vice versa? If yes, then have you found people saying things like "oh, you brought the sun with you," or "ohh, why did you bring the rain with you from England?" I am an innocent traveller. I do not 'bring' weather with me, it changes when it wants to change and pays no regard to my travel plans. If it did, I would never 'bring the rain from England' as I often seem to do. Despite how aware I am of how weird this phrase is, I've found myself thinking it, and I may even have said it at one point, not sure, to our new visitor Matthew, Kelly's boyfriend. 

Matthew lives in San Diego, where Kelly also resided until she decided to jump ship and come to Asia like the rest of us in the CIEE programme. Anyone in a relationship can understand how hard it is to be away from your partner for long stretches of time and the experience has been just as difficult for Kelly and Matthew as can be expected. Apparently one week ago Matthew finally decided that it was just too long since he'd seen his sweetheart. Last Monday night (or Monday morning for Matthew) he managed to get Kelly to give him all the information he could possibly need to get from Bangkok to Tha Wang Pha including the name of the bus station, the name of our town, everything, using some fake story about a bar tender who told him that trains were better than buses in Thailand (which is FALSE...refer to this post from a couple of moths ago for more details). 

So on Tuesday morning San Diego time, Matthew hopped in his car, drove to LAX, took a plane to Tokyo (several hours in layover), then another plane to Bangkok (several hours hanging out in the airport), got a taxi to the bus station (a couple of hours of waiting...), bus from Bangkok to Nan, BARELY caught the last local bus from Nan to Tha Wang Pha, then hitched a ride with two students who found him on the side of the road, and showed up at our front door completely unannounced on Thursday night, about 38 hours after he had left. Wow. Talk about a big gesture.

Meanwhile, I was happily cooking away in the kitchen (which is in Kelly's room) when these two students pulled up. I couldn't see them in the dark, only their headlights, and all I heard was "hello," and then "Marianne, I don't know..." So I went outside only to see Matthew walking towards my front door having assumed that the room I was in was actually mine, not Kelly's. I recognized him because....well I'm a Facebook stalker (there I said it), and in breathless hysterics tried to explain to Kelly who was outside. I don't think she understood what I was saying until Matthew had been in the room for a good 30 seconds. 

So here he is. White person #5 to temporarily reside at Thawangphapittayakhom school. Unfortunately he's only here until this Friday when he will return to sunny San Diego to take care of some things before going to Australia and then back to Thailand in March which is when he was supposed to show up in the first place. Speaking of sunny - back to how I started this post. I know I just recently wrote about how incredibly cold it has been around here, especially at night. Well since the night Matthew showed up with his bags on the back of a student's motorbike it has been surprisingly mild. I wouldn't call it warm, but I no longer have to sleep with every item of clothing I own. I still have two duvet covers, but Matthew has, as they say, 'brought the warmth' with him. So thanks Matthew, for bringing a little sunshine to Tha Wang Pha and for giving this village some new gossip to chatter about. 

In other news, my friend Kim just wrote a blog about life in Thailand that I think does a great job of describing all the little everyday things. The only thing that differs between her life here and mine is that I do not have a 7-11 on every corner. We do have one, it's a pretty cool hangout. But in general, she's right about the abundance of this 24/7 convenience store. Also, my school does not have buffalo, we have pigs. Kim's blog. 

That's it for now. We tutored all this past weekend which was just as fun as it sounds. This coming weekend we are more than likely going to be running an English camp for the students, so I'll let you know how that goes. 

Finally - I want your comments. Tell me a story (any big gestures committed/witnessed lately?), say hi, talk about what life is like where you are, I don't care, I just care that you share it with me and the rest of the blog-o-sphere. 

Bye for now

Obama becomes America's 8th left handed President

So Barack Obama is President. 

I just watched the inauguration sitting on my bed in Thailand with Kelly watching Aljazeera Network huddled up in my sweater and my blankets. 

I wish I could have been there in DC, but it was great to watch this event. 

Obama is still as always a great speaker, although to be honest I wish his speech had done more. It was good, but not so memorable. I can't really remember any full phrases from it already... except something about harnessing the wind, water and earth for power or something along those lines. Definitely no "ask not what your country can do for you..." moments.

The Aljazeera panel is basically ripping apart his speech right now. Should of kept it shorter buddy, then at least they'd have fewer quotes to criticize. 

There's not much else to say that hasn't been said before by hundreds of people, but it feels pretty amazing to be around in a time like this when so much is happening and so much change is trying to bust through the door. What will happen in the next few years? Watch this space I guess.

Meanwhile - just watched Obama sign those first executive orders. Who knew Obama was a leftie?? As a fellow leftie, I can't help but like him just a little bit more for that.  

Obama - you are officially hired. Let's see what you got. Don't let us down, that would be upsetting and just kind of awkward for you, sort of like the whole 'Mission Accomplished' thing. Lets learn from our predecessors there please...

Thai Tunes

I've added a fun little widget to the side of this blog called 'Thai Tunes.' 

The playlist includes My President is Black (see my post about Obama two below this one) and then songs that I hear here in Thailand. So this gives you an idea of what Western music gets played over here. All these songs are ones I either hear repeatedly at karaoke or at Thai bars/clubs (except So Long, Marianne....I just threw that one in there for myself...:-)  ). 

I'll update it with anymore songs that I find are favs over here, or just songs I feel like you should listen to...

We'll see how it goes

Photos of it all

I know these have been long awaited by some people and my internet finally wants to cooperate, so here it is. Photos from all these old stories I've been telling. I don't blame you if you don't have the energy to go through all of them at once, but here are all the links for those not on Facebook to peruse at your own pace. Enjoy.

The most recent album is from this last weekend. I went to Chang Mai and met up with the girls plus the lovely Sophie and Claudia from London! They are here in Thailand/Laos/Cambodia for the next few months and it was great to see some familiar faces for a couple of days. You can check out their blog about their travels here. 

Sophie and Claudia/Chang Mai/Rai

Tha Wang Pha

Tha Wang Pha Sports Day

Pai

Nakhon Sawan English Camp

Chang Mai 

Kanchanburi

Sukhothai

Bangkok (way old)

Obama and my generation

So Obama is about to become the new President of the USA. I know it's old news now, but I was just watching last Friday's ABC World News webcast and they had the 'exclusive premiere' of the music video from Young Jeezy called 'My President is Black.' 

Despite what you might think of the song and this rapper's eloquence, when's the last time you heard a popular song about how great the president is? I'm sure more than one rap/pop song feature digs on how much Bush let everyone down, but it's been a long time since the US ever had a president that was 'cool' to the young generation; one that has created anything but indifference. 

The video is here if you want to have a look. 

Apart from the fact that I think it's pretty amazing how much people my age are talking about politics, it got me thinking about the fact that this kind of thing could only happen with a political system like the one in the US.

For a few years now everyone's been complaining non-stop about George Bush and Tony Blair, and yes they're both (almost) out of the picture, but what did Blair get replaced with? Certainly not Britain's version of Obama. I know I'm part of the young generation, so I have a bias here. 

If you look at the voting records from last November in the US, the amount of young people that came out to vote is astonishing. This election year gave me a new found respect for the way the US government works. That is to say, no matter who is in the government - the members of the House and Senate, the American people still get to dictate (more or less...let's not bring up Gore's election here) who's going to be the number one in charge. The system's not perfect (again...Mr. Gore...) but no system ever is. I suppose my point is that even if the young generation in the UK did start to rise up and call for change, who can we follow? No matter what, we still have to hope and pray that the party members pick the right leader. Sure you can say that they're the ones who know what's going on and understand what's needed, but sometimes what's needed is someone to inspire change, not someone who has been intrenched in old politics for years and was probably part of the problem in the first place. 

We're in an economic downturn right now (in case you've been living in a cave for the past few months...just look at any news source - it's story number two after Gaza/Israel these days) and aside from some miracle plan to switch it into an upturn, what we really need is someone to provide some optimism and inspiration to get us off our lazy arses and doing something about it instead of sitting at home panicking. 

Throwing stupid amounts of money at the problem doesn't seem to have gotten anyone anywhere yet and at the end of the day everyone's going to have to tighten their belts and re-prioritize what's important in life, even if that means taking jobs you never thought you'd have - like all these new jobs Obama plans to create that certainly won't have fancy executive titles and cushy offices. Whether or not Obama turns out to be our man stateside, at the very least he's created an amazing amount of drive in a generation that previously wouldn't have dreamed of going to the polls in such numbers. 

I just hope that my US peers stay motivated to work through these inconvenient times, I hope Obama does turn out to be our man, and I hope that the government in the UK can find their own way to get the people moving. 

Putting clothes ON to go to bed

This week back has been pretty hard so far. I've been reminded of all the things I find so frustrating about the Thai education system - mainly that the kids have no discipline whatsoever and are impossible to control. Then there was a small dramatic episode with our visas and work permits. On Monday we went to extend our visas only to find out that they would expire on exactly the last day of school. That means that we would have to do a border run to Laos either the weekend before, or on the very last day of school which is time consuming and not free. We finally got that sorted out, and I can now stay in the country until March 31st with no obligation to leave which is a huge relief.

In case this all wasn't annoying enough, it is FREEZING here. When most people think of Thailand, they think about tropical weather, beautiful beaches, etc. Read my last two posts to see evidence that this does in fact exist. However, up here in the North, when the sun goes down it takes the heat with it. Yesterday I wore a huge pair of wooly socks, long pajama pants, a long sleeved T-shirt, a sweatshirt with the hood pulled over my head and a SCARF to bed. And I was still freezing underneath my two thick comforters. Our rooms have tiles floors and cement walls with no insulation and no heating/air conditioning, so if it's cold, we're cold, if it's hot, we're still kind of cold. If you've been thinking of sending that care package with the electric blanket, now would be a good time. 

Let's hope it only lasts a couple more weeks, then bring on the Thai summer!

Koh Samui and Koh Tao

After a great New Years 2009 Kelly, Kim and I made our way over to Koh Samui and settled in to our bungalow a few yards from the beach on Hat Lamai. 

That night we enjoyed our dinner on lounging platforms by the beach before Kim and I headed out to see what nightlife this place offered. The only bar we could find that wasn't full of dirty old men and Thai prostitutes was the Irish pub, so naturally we entered. A surprisingly excellent cover band from the Philippines was playing and we met three fantastic Brits who were having the time of their lives so it was a good night. 

After helping one of the Brits find his guesthouse in his very drunken state, we crashed.

The next day we were joined by Anthony and all four of us enjoyed a lazy day by the beach and explored around a bit. That night we went out for dinner, then Kim, Anthony and I went out to explore Hat Chaweng beach. The rest of the night is a big blur of moving around to a lot of different places. We found two bars, around the corner from where we had been (which closed down) that were open air and right next to each other. Both packed, both playing good music, but two open air bars playing competing music right next to each other gets a little confusing. I found myself trying to dance to two different beats. It just doesn't work. After these bars both closed we managed to find a 'Black Moon' party. Sort of like full moon, only there's wasn't a full moon, we were on a different island, and it was much smaller scale. It was fun in it's own way, but we didn't stay too long. The sun still beat us, hence the sunrise photos in my photo album...

On our next day out, we rented a 4x4 car which Anthony was capable of driving, luckily. We went exploring and found a great waterfall, after a small episode of almost getting stuck on a very very steep windy road that we had to partly reverse down. THAT was interesting....

To get to the waterfall, we were guided by a Thai man up what was basically a cliff for what felt like an hour. We pulled ourselves up over rocks, using tree roots and random ropes to stop ourselves falling to our deaths. Near the top was a little pool that we swam around for awhile, going into the little cave area behind the waterfall etc. The highlight was probably just watching our Thai guide strip down to his skivvies and jump off the cliff into the water. No big deal.

The way down got more interesting when we had to half jump over a part of the waterfall. I had one good foot at the time, and my bad foot was clearly lonely, so I smashed my head into a rock, fell back into the waterfall and did a nice job on my knee and my previously functioning foot. Then Kim, Kelly and I watched as the top of my foot turned from pink to a very dark purple. Hmmm... The way down was slightly more painful, but our guide was awesome, he rubbed some plant on my cuts to help stop the bleeding and guided us through what I assume was the 'easy' way down. Then when we got to a part that was paved he drove us the rest of the way for free which was huge. Really I just did it all for the free ride. 

That night we watched Taken. Very good movie, unless you happen to be a girl traveling for the first time with another girl...and you're in Paris. Watch out for those taxi rides. 

So after some fun in Koh Samui, we discovered that there were no boats back to the mainland....so we headed to Koh Tao! What's another couple of days?! We're all really glad we did this, Koh Tao was our favourite island and I really recommend it. A lot of people say it's only worthwhile if you plan on doing some scuba diving, and yes there are a TON of diving companies, but it's still a beautiful island, not quite as built up as Phangnan or Samui, with plenty to do. We were able to relax, watch movies at an Australian bar and listen to some good live music, as well as go on an amazing snorkeling day trip. I swam with sharks! SHARKS! I did my best with the underwater camera, but sharks aren't cooperative when it comes to holding still for a snapshot. Can't figure out why. 

On our trip we were taken to another island called Koh Nang Yuan which is actually three islands connected by sandbars. Really beautiful. 

For dinner we ate on the beach and I had a red snapper that was probably caught that day that I got to pick out, grilled for me right by the ocean. Not a bad time. The photos are here. 

After that, the honeymoon finally ended, we waved goodbye to Anthony who had one more day before a border run (gotta love having a long term visa) before heading to Bangkok to meet up with some of his Kiwi friends. The three of us arrived in Bangkok only to realise that it was too late for any of us to get a bus. Another night in Bangkok?! Yes please! We found an overpriced hotel and the next day after saying bye to Kim, Kelly and I met up with Waqas for lunch before heading to the CIEE office with him (where he works) to see our lovely coordinator, Phil! It was nice to have a place to hang out, and to see some familiar faces before getting on yet another overnight bus back to good old TWP. 

After arriving at about 5 am on Friday, Lisa showed up! She'd been home for a week already at that point, my how time flies. Luckily she wasn't too demanding and we basically spent two days doing nothing while I recovered from the long journey home. It was good to see her again, when you feel like spending two days in your pajamas it's nice to have company. 

So now it's back to 'reality' if that's what I can call it. Tomorrow I teach for the first time in.... well who's counting anyway. We'll see if I remember what to do. 

By the way, my left foot (the one that turned purple) is back to normal. My right foot is still healing, but I survived. And now I have fun war wounds with cool stories, so that's something right?

I hope you all had a great New Years, whatever country you were in.  

In case you missed the links check out photos for:

Koh Samui

Koh Tao

Now that the internet more or less cooperates I'll try to add more photos of previous events. 

Koh Phangan New Year. Full moon or no full moon.

I'm finally back after some much needed days by white sand beaches and turquoise ocean water. If you are going to get jealous after reading more about beach parties, beautiful waterfalls and snorkeling trips then stop reading now.

On Monday, January 29th, Kelly and I took our first of many overnight buses. We arrived in Bangkok at about 4:30 am on Tuesday morning, a time reserved for the morning market vendors and the drunks who have finally been kicked out of the clubs. We made our way to Khao San Road and rented a room in a guesthouse for 5 hours - enough time to nap and use the showers. Perfect. It wasn't exactly the Hilton, more like a 6x10 cell, but I slept great all the same. It's amazing what a 10 hour bus ride will do to your ability to sleep anywhere.

So after our rest, we spent the day doing a little shopping and wandering around Bangkok until Kim arrived on her bus that afternoon. Then the three of us took another overnight bus, this time to Chumporn. Then at about 5 or 6 am on New Years Eve, we got a boat from Chumporn to our first destination: Koh Phangan. Home of the world famous Full Moon Party. 

After meeting a great Thai girl named Joy who helped us with our taxi and waiting

 around for awhile, we gained access to our two little beach huts at Green Peace Bungalows and were met by Lisa and Jen who came over from a few days in Koh Samui. 

After more preparation, we were met by Anthony at our huts. Anthony was mentioned in a previous post about my trip to Pai, which is where I met him. He is a traveling soul who I kept in touch with after Pai, and it turned out we had the same New Year plans. Lucky him. 

When we were ready to go, we headed to Anthony's room on Haad Rin - the Full Moon Party beach, to meet his roommates Shanna and Jessie from Canada. On our way to the room we managed to run into Joy and her friend. Out of the thousands of people that were already on the beach, we found the one tiny little Thai girl we already knew. Fantastic. They joined us for a little while as we all got covered in glowing body paint - the only thing you really need to wear to a Full Moon Party. And before you get too confused or start to think I'm losing it, I know that New Years Eve was not a full moon, but on Haad Rin that doesn't matter. Full Moon parties happen every full moon, yes, but they also happen on Christmas Day, New Years Eve, and really just whenever they feel like it. 

The rest of the night was several amazing hours spent dancing and rocking to drum 'n bass, trance and house music played all down the beach while watching fire shows, fireworks, and neon light displays. It was all I wanted in a Full Moon Party.

I'm keeping this blog post light to appease readers of all ages, but I've already received criticism (thanks Lis..) but I like to leave things to the imagination. If you are familiar with/have been to a Full Moon party over here, then I don't need to say more. For everyone else, think massive rave parties that seem to always occur in random warehouses. Music with no words, a LOT of glow paint, a LOT of alcohol and a LOT of drugs. Anthony and the girls' place was next door to 'Mellow Mountain' which advertised their wares on large blackboards stuck up on the rocks. Yes it was a bar and you could stop off for a beer on your way down. You could also step in for a couple of little white pills, or a 'special' shake made with everyone's favourite fungus plant. Or you could just eat the mushrooms raw if you preferred to skip the blending process. That made for a lot of pretty hilarious people watching. Lisa's new found fascination with glow sticks will always be a highlight of that night. 

The only downside of the night was that I managed to step on a piece of broken glass slicing the bottom of my right foot open. Luckily this happened near the end of the night anyway, and Anthony happens to be a medic, so it got taken care of.

The next morning...okay it was definitely the afternoon...I discovered that I was one of hundreds of people sporting bandages of all shapes and sizes. So now I felt like part of the crowd; like me an all the other injured shared some special bond. That somehow we had enjoyed ourselves more than everyone else just because we had managed to spill blood while doing it. 

After my most memorable NYE yet, we had to say goodbye to Jen and Lisa who headed back up to their schools. Kelly, Kim and I headed to Koh Samui where we would be joined again by Anthony one night later to continue our island holiday. 

Facebook seems to finally be cooperating, so click here for the public link to see a few photos from our time on Koh Phangan

To read about Koh Samui and Koh Tao, click on my next postings!