Halloween at Isara

Instead of classes on Friday, Isara threw a Halloween party. It's not a holiday Thailand celebrates, so it was pretty much a DIY deal, from costumes to decorations.The kids had such a blast, they didn't even want to leave.


We had a costume contest for the boys...


...and girls.


Outside on the deck


Pumpkin carving


Jack O'Lanterns and snackies (pumpkins here are not quite like the ones at home)


I was pretty stoked about making some crafts. Made some mouse ears for me and some kids who didn't have costumes.


We played plenty of games. They were going nuts for the Balloon Stomp (above). I'm pretty sure the kids played 10 rounds. (We had A LOT of balloons.)

But overall, it was really fun! Great to see the kids having a good time.

Getting Ready for Halloween

For once, I don't have to think about what am I going to do this year for Halloween in the States. I don't have to look for the best party to spend the night at, or try to think of a super creative costume for one of those nights that is totally hyped up, and usually a let down. But you know, I am a little sad I am going to miss it (especially dressing up! 3 costumes just for last year, aww yeah). Thailand does not celebrate Halloween; but why would they? It's a Buddhist country.

But...Isara is going to celebrate! We are throwing a party on Friday, instead of holding classes. I am more excited for the kids to celebrate it really. It's definitely a children's holiday. We spent a lot of time today decorating the main classroom by making posters, coloring cartoons and blowing up balloons. We only had one class today, but there were a lot of kids helped out. They are very excited for tomorrow.

Here are some photos of everyone getting ready....








I'll post pictures of the actual halloween party when they are ready.

Happy Halloween!!!

First Lessons

Whew, made it through my first classes! On Monday, I taught an English class to six kids who were around 8-11 years old. I had a Thai teacher aide as well (thank goodness). The kids were so quiet in the beginning. I was a little worried that they weren't paying attention or understanding the content. But it turns out they were busy writing down the verbs and looking in their dictionaries to translate them at the same time. By the end of the class, I was able to get each student to (willingly on their own) come up to the board to fill in a blank in a sentence. It was nice to see them eager to show what they learned.

After that class, I feel lot more confident to teach. It was not as scary as I thought. I'm starting to develop my "teaching" voice too (haha..yes, me talking loud!). As much fun as it is, it is a lot of work. (Especially since I don't have a background in teaching at all.) Even planning a just a 1hr lesson takes me while, since I have to do research. Props to all you teachers and your hard work out there (i.e. Patricia)!

*I didn't take any pics of my first class but will try to take some today!

Nong Khai - Week 1

One week down already? I don't feel like I have done a whole lot. But it is definitely much slower here. My day to day so far has been waking up around 10:30am, taking a bike ride out to Tesco (kind of like a Walmart/Target), and then maybe do some miscellaneous things to help out, until the kids come in for class in the afternoon. Pretty chill. I haven't had my own class to teach yet, but will be doing so this coming week.

But here are some random notes on living in Nong Khai:

1. Thai people here think I am Thai.
A lot of Asian people I have met since traveling have a hard time understanding that I am from the US. What usually follows is "but...you look Asian." When I was trying to find vitamins today, I had to do the "I don't speak Thai" statement/gestures, and the salesperson (who was Thai) said, "You look Thai". It's kind of amusing. I was talking to a new Thai friend from the school, who says that even though I am from the US, the way I behave seems very Asian, not American; I agree with that. (Remember this conversation, Rutsu?)

2. Thai language
Some words/sounds are very similar to Cantonese, so it has been a little easier to pick up so far (like "saam" = 3). I have only learned the name of some dishes, drinks, and the numbers 1-10.

3. 7-Eleven in any Asian country is really awesome; Asian food at your convenience!
Speaking of drinks, they sell Thai Ice Tea (Chai Yen) right from the soda dispensers! It's so good! Their fast food options are pretty tasty too. I've had:
- toasties: they use the sandwich-maker machine from the early 90s (remember those?)
- sticky rice burgers: pork patty sandwiched in between two "buns" made of sticky rice patties
- baos: every Asian country I have been in so far has baos in their 7-elevens...love it.

4. Riding a bike is rad for exploring a small town.
You can cover so much more ground, plus any breeze is excellent in this hot weather! (We would bike just a block just because of that. And it's fun.) The landscape here is flat, so my rides are pretty leisurely (that is, when I am not trying to catch up with someone else).

Hmmm...that's all I can write for now. Pictures to come soon, once I have uploaded them all!

Naga Fireball Festival

The Naga Festival is held every year along the Mekong River on the last full moon in October. There is supposed to be a natural phenomenom of Naga (dragon) fireballs appearing at this time, and many towns along the Mekong celebrate this event, including Nong Khai.

While we didn't see any fireballs, there were plenty of lanterns being lit and released to the sky, and smaller ones were sent down sailing on the Mekong River. It was a pretty magical sight.

3-2-1!

Here's a song one of the students kept playing on repeat. Gotta love pop music!

Nong Khai: Home For The Next 4 Weeks

After traveling for weeks at a time, I'm finally in one place for more than 6 or so days. I'm in Nong Khai, in the northeastern part of Thailand, along the Mekong River, and right across from Laos. I'm volunteering at Isara, a wonderful organization that holds after school English and computer classes for kids. (Visit the website... each visit raises $0.01!) I'll be doing a whole mix of things, from helping out in class rooms, maybe some designing, and pretty much anything the organization might need help with.

On my first day, I pretty much just sat in some classes and watched the other volunteer teachers. I helped one of them out by drawing pictures to accompany some words (that was fun, trying to draw "sky"). Yesterday, I helped out with teaching a computer class, but I didn't feel too confident in it just yet, having it been my first time. I'm sure it will get better as I gain my confidence. A group of kids can be intimidating!

Nong Khai reminds me of when I was in Masaya, Nicaragua. It's small town, not that developed, and the pace of life here is very relaxed, which I am enjoying a lot. Since the new school term does not start until the end of the month, we are not as busy at the moment (but that will pick up). The other volunteers have been great and super nice. I'm staying at the school (upstairs are 4 bedrooms), so part of me feels like I'm back in a college dorm :P

During one of our conversations, my age slipped out, and someone asked if this was where I thought I would be at this age...ha! I would have never ever thought I would be living in Thailand for a month, that's for sure. Pretty amazing. But I'm taking it all in...from the bike rides around town to run errands and to the kids coming in for a class or just to hang out...I can't believe I am here and doing this.

Train Wreck!

Good lord. What was supposed to be a 12hr overnight train ride turned into a 24hr ordeal. The train from Bangkok to Nong Khai departed on time, and I was supposed to arrive at 8:25am, but when I woke up, we were stopped and nowhere near Nong Khai. Due to heavy rains during the night, there was flooding along that tracks. It took us a while to figure out what was going on, due to language barriers. There was talk about waiting for a free shuttle to take us to the next train station, and then there was talk about paying for a truck to take you to the next town, and then there was talk about the train we were on would go back to Bangkok....it seemed like such a mess. You would think there was a standard procedure, but there didn't seem like one.

But in the end, I took the free shuttle, and was able to get on the next train, so total time delayed was probably 6 hours. I met a couple other travelers, so it wasn't so much of a lonely ride: one girl from Belgium and a couple from New Zealand.

When I finally arrived, the head of the volunteer organization, along with two other volunteers, were there to pick me up. They were kind enough to drive my new friends to a hostel as well.

So glad everything worked out!

Bangkok Day 3 - Chatuchak Weekend Market and Chinatown

I was feeling pretty hung over, but it was my last day in Bangkok, so I had to make the most of it. I managed to wake up at 7:00am! Cathrine and I ended up going out the the Chatuchak Weekend Market. (Martin probably overslept, because we waited for him for about 45 min, but he didn't show up.) Yes, it was another market, selling the usual tourist trinkets, local foods, and other wares. But what I liked about this one was the local designers that sold their clothes for cheap, considering it was pretty well-made and unique. The stores were set up like boutiques, and it was neat to see what they could do with such a small space. There were even vintage clothes shops. (I didn't buy anything though, can you believe it?)


Vintage Dress Shopping ath Chatuchak




After the Chatuchak Weekend Market, Cathrine and I headed over to Chinatown, via the MRT (underground subway). There was only one line throughout the entire city. (There's the SkyTrain as well, but that is above ground and I believe there were about 3 lines for that.) For single ride, you pay for an electronic token that you tap to enter, and then deposit when you exit. First time I had seen that. Usually it's some form of paper ticket.

We eventually got to Chinatown, but I wasn't that thrilled about it. Maybe because I was so familiar with chinatowns growing up, but it was what I expected. I think I heard some people speaking Cantonese along the way. There was the Sampeng Lane market, which was extremely crowded and narrow. We only lasted one block of it. It was a little to much.




I finally got to ride a tuk tuk when we left Chinatown. It's funny how they try to scam foreigners, because Cathrine had taken one her first day. And for 40 baht, she had a personal driver for 3 hours. So when we tried to flag one down, the first one stated his price was 80 baht, for a ride that was probably only 20 minutes at the most. We talked him down to 40 baht, but he wouldn't go any lower so we passed. (A metered cab starts at 35 baht, so we knew that wasn't going to be worth it.) The next one we flagged down stated 20 baht, much more reasonable, and I tried to get him to take 10, but he wouldn't, so we just went for 20 baht. In USD, that's less than a $1 :P It was fun ride, and the timing was great because by the time we got back to our hostel area, it started to pour heavily.



Our last thing on our to-do list today was to get a foot massage. It was raining so hard though, we had to stand in front of a bank awning so we wouldn't get soaked. It seemed like it was taking forever, so when it started to get a teeny bit lighter, we ran over to the massage place. It was well deserved, after 2.5 full days of walking! After that, I went on my way to leave Bangkok and on to Nong Khai...

Bangkok Day 2 - Wat Phra Kaew, Grand Palace, Wat Pho, Museum of Siam, Sukhumvit, and RCA

It was my last day in Bangkok, and boy was it full. We started off early at Wat Phra Kaew and the Grand Palace. I was wearing a dress with tights on, but apparently, my tights were too tight, so I had to rent a sarong to wear since it was on royal grounds. Kind of a hassle, but turned out to be fun, since it was like a dress change.

We saw the Wat Phra Kaew, home of the Emerald Buddha, and walked around the Grand Palace. The temples here are so ornate; things still look shiney and sparkly. We'd occasionally see people working on restoring the temples, buddha statues, and wall murals. It's amazing to see how well kept everything is.




We took a lunch break over at the Chao Phraya River with some fried rice and fresh pineapple.



Afterwards, we walked over to Wat Pho, housing the Reclining Buddha. I can't imagine having to build the temple around this thing. It's gynormous!! Good thing we went inside when we did, because it started to pour outside. And smart me, I decided at the last moment to ditch my windbreaker and umbrella right before leaving the hostel. We walked around the Wat Pho area to try to find the massage school, but we kept getting turned about, so we gave up.




Martin and I decided to check out the Museum of Siam, and it was pretty cool. The exhibits on Thai culture and history were interactive and fun. I went to the Hong Kong History Museum the day before I left for Thailand. It's pretty cool that these countries can trace their history way back into time, where as in the US, well, it's not even 300 years old yet.





When we left the Museum of Siam, it was still pouring, and without an umbrella or any cover up at all, I gave up and just headed back to the hostel to rest up. I made plans to have dinner with my cousin's friend, Joe, so it was time to nap.

Good thing I did, because it turned out to be a super fun night! It started a little bit off though. We planned to meet at this restaurant named Beach 22 out near the Sukhumvit area, but what was supposed to be a 1hr trip turned out to be almost 2 hours: 15 min cab ride to the SkyTrain, 15 min SkyTrain ride, and an 1.5 hr cab ride that went in all the wrong directions. We eventually made it though, with Joe and his girlfriend, Elle, waiting for us with food already on the table. They were super nice and great hosts. We ate some yummy (non-street) Thai food, although I had trouble with some dishes that were a bit too spicey for me. I kept choking and had to wash it down with some Singha beer!

Afterwards, we were deciding on what to do, whether to just go to a bar for a couple drinks, or go all out and go clubbing at Royal City Avenue (RCA). I was hesitant about going to RCA at first because it would be pricier, but when was I going to be in Bangkok again, and get to party with all these random people that became instant friends? It was a no brainer.

RCA was crazy fun...clubbing in Bangkok was pretty awesome because:
1. Martin had to rent shoes across from the club since his flip-flops were not allowed inside. They even provided socks for him! WTF? Where can you do that in the States?!


2. Everyone gets a table together with a bottle of whiskey (with mixers) to share. Communal drinking? So Asian. Good deal too.


3. The music was super fun...Joe mentioned most of the DJs were Thai, but were from the States.


4. LAZERS! Lazers were everywhere! Joe said it best. They party here like it's NYE all the time.


Only thing not so awesome, was the fact that there were tables throughout the entire floor. Meaning no real dance floor. People just danced around their tables. Such a shame, since the music being played was defintely dance your @ss off music.

After a semi-long cab ride home, our night wouldn't be complete without some street food after a night of drinking.


Unfortunately, that still didn't help out my hangover the next day :|

Bangkok Day 1 - Khao San Road, CS gathering, Suan-Lum Night Bazaar, Pat Pong Night Bazaar, Si Lom, Sri Mahamariammant Temple

I felt a bit nervous about going to Bangkok. For the first time on this trip, I'm totally by myself in a foreign country. My cousin had put me in contact with her friend, but we had not made language barrier, but everything turned out really well!

I arrived at Suvarnabhumi Airport in the early afternoon and took an Airport Express bus to my hostel, NapPark, in the Banglamphu area. It dropped me off just about 2 blocks away, very convenient. No one was in my dorm (of 8 beds) when I got in, but about half an hour later, I met Cathrine, a girl from Norway, making a stop in Bangkok for about the same amount of days as me. She was very friendly and sweet. She was also traveling by herself as well, so we made plans to grab dinner. I wasn't going to eat alone my first night in town, after all.

After a little bit of a wait, due to miscommunication, we were on our way out to explore Khao San. As we were stepping out, a fellow named Martin (from UK) asked if we were grabbing dinner, so we invited him to join us. He was traveling by himself as well and had only arrived the previous night.

We stopped by a pad thai stand for a quick meal and proceeded to find a bar for a drink. Unsure of where to go, we ended up buying a beer from a street vendor and just strolled around, which turned out to be a better option.




I remembered there was a Couch Surfing meet up that night going on at Silk Bar, so we decided to land there. I just joined Couch Surfing recently, with the intention of maybe finding a couch to surf on in Bangkok, but I was still a little hesitant about messaging someone to see if I could stay on their couch. Plus, it took time to research who you might want to stay with, which I didn't have a whole lot of. But after going to the meet up, I would try it. We met some really nice people and the great thing was, even if you don't do a couch exchange, at least you can find a fellow traveler to meet up. Such a benefit if you are traveling alone. Instant connection right there.


Khao San Road

Cathrine, Martin, and I felt a little bad that we brought our drinks into Silk Bar, and weren't planning on ordering anything, so with the advice of one of the CSers, we went in search of the Suan-Lum Night Market. I've been to several Asian markets by now, but this one was pretty cool in that there was one section where there was a giant stage set up with performers singing pop songs, with a full band and even dancers. The singing was a little bit like karaoke style, but I think they were more serious than that.





Next, we planned on going to Chinatown. We walked a bit and found ourselves on Thanon Silom, where was another night market going on on the sidewalk, along with several side streets filled with bars. We walked down one that had a couple gay bars, where Martin got a lot of stares haha. Eventually, we found ourselves in yet another night market, Patpong. Similar to other night markets, only it was sandwhiched in between bars and sex clubs. I can't tell you how many people came up to us with laminated lists of "sexy shows". And even just walking past the club doors, you can see about 20 or so women in bikinis just dancing on the stage. it was really strange for me to see. No thank you!




We wandered around some more, thinking we were in Chinatown, but it turned out to be in another direction, so we decided to head home. We stumbled across the Sri Mahamariammant Temple before we grabbed a taxi home. I'm glad they lit it up, because it just looked amazing.

Heading to Bangkok Today

Time is seriously going by so fast here! I've been in Asia for 3 weeks now. So far, my travel time increments have been about a week in each place, so at the moment, I'm not really grasping that I will be in traveling for the next month and a half. I will spend one month at Isara, the organization I will be volunteering at, but Laos and Cambodia for maybe 10 days total...haven't thought about a plan for that yet. (Although, I am definitely going.)

I'm looking forward to volunteering though. I haven't worked since end of June, and although I've been doing things for myself, I'll be glad to focus and apply myself towards something else. Plus, you can only sight-see and travel for so long. It will be nice to be in one place for a chunk of time.

Bye bye, Hong Kong!

KAWS at Harbor City

I walked by the Kowloon ferry area today and saw the KAWS sculpture amongst a colorful, graphic background. Check it out (and the rest of the exhibit) if you are in Hong Kong too.



V=