Well, I just snuck out of my hotel room to the courtyard to blog a little since I couldn’t sleep anymore; Vanessa noticed and poked her head out and asked what time it was.
I told her 5 A.M. and she happily said “We slept in!”
I suppose we made a little progress in our jet-lag!
This time of day is beautiful and very peaceful outside, and is conducive to blogging (I guess).
We accomplished quite a bit yesterday, and I’m inching my way toward being comfortable in this city. Vanessa and I visited Thammasat University in the morning by taking a bus. The bus rides are always very exciting what with motorcycles and scooters zipping between you and the bus next you. They are only 8 baht (approx. 25 cents) and are surprisingly cool with just open windows. It was nice to just sit back and relax and see the city. We didn’t know where to get off, so I asked the bus driver “Thammasat?” and he motioned that it was coming up. At one stop a man motioned to us that it was our stop and I asked the bus driver again and he nodded. Well, here’s a lesson for everyone out there! We knew it was a bad idea to follow the guy who motioned but we thought that since the bus driver said it was Thammasat we’d follow him a second since the University is supposed to be close to the bus. Well, he led us the wrong way and after about 5 minutes we just started to distance ourselves from him and luckily saw another farang (foreigner) and asked her. He had been leading us south instead of north. Just goes to show you how easy it is to get scammed in this city, even when you make what you may think to be reasonable assumptions.
Its hard to give an entire days summary because so much happens here!!! We finally got to Thammasat; one of the roads it is on is covered with people selling amulets of Buddha and it is very nice. No tourists in that area of town (well, not many). The university is nice, but was mostly closed down for the weekend and holiday (the Queen’s Birthday, which acts as a sort of Mother’s Day). Oh, and in that spirit, here’s a picture of me with “Miss Charlie” (of Charlie House). She’s so nice!
Later I went and looked at an apartment and decided to take it. It is a very modest room with a sink and two beds side by side. Matt will be my roommate. For those of you interested in housing in Bangkok, we got a single room, one desk, a table, two beds (no linens), a closet, no TV, “aircon,” a sink, and a flush toilet and shower supposedly with hot/cold water, for 8000 baht. Wireless internet will be a bit more (probably 400 baht-ish), and that is without water or electricity. However, it is right across the river from our school, so we can just take a boat in the morning, and the nice thing is it is very safe (24 hour guards, barb wire and wall, gate, etc… I wouldn’t exactly say it is nice, but it is livable. I’ll be paying around 5000 baht or less for my half after all is said and done though, which is about $125.
It downpoured for about 15 minutes, twice today. We were extremely lucky to have been indoors both times! Hard to believe considering we were outside nearly 90% of the day! The sun has graciously stayed overcast, which has been nice for me. Another tip for those in Bangkok? Buy an umbrella! I need one.
We visited the touristy Khao San road. There is a lot of stuff there! We had some really, really great pad thai from a booth on the road, with the help from a very charming guy from the Netherlands. For those of you who are wondering prices of things, it was 30 baht (less than a dollar). I also had some street-side “orange” juice which are made from what look like miniature oranges (golf-ball sized). It is delicious!!! They have to juice a lot for a little bottle, I’d imagine!
Well, I’m sure more happened but that’s all I can relate off the top of my head. Nothing exactly “exciting” yet but it sure is for me. I’ve been trying my Thai skills all I can, just saying “khap kuhn krup” (thank you) or other little things. It is surprising how much every little bit helps, like knowing “kai” (chicken) and “muu” (pork). Hopefully I’ll be semi-proficient later on. I would recommend to everyone to learn a little if you are here, it is a fun language and locals will respond positively to your attempts to speak it (sometimes, if only with amusement, but others with elation).
What adventures are in store today!?!
2 comments:
The place you are staying does look like an Oasis, you all look pretty rested too, thats good!!! I hope things continue to go well :)
Well, this is probably too late to say, but I think 3J Court is a little bit better. It's quite a distance from Ruan Indra Court to TU. I believe it's cheaper as well. I used to live in that area and went to TU. Anyway, I hope you also know by now it's Khob-khun-krab, not "Khap-khun". Oh, and even as a Thai student who isn't from Bangkok, I wouldn't take the bus on my first day. It's confusing even for Thais. You should have taken the ferry and walk. You could have even looked on google map where TU is exactly. Oh well, I know the area myself after I get lost as well. Just want to let you know "scam" is quite an assumption!
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