Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew

Last weekend Tricia and I ventured over to the Grand Palace. Way back when, we tried to go there but we couldn't find the door. That seems very silly, but the palace is guarded by extremely high white stone walls because back in the olden' days people would attack and jump over using elephants. This time we found the door.

I just read in my pamphlet that the walls are exactly 1900 meters tall, if that can give anybody a picture. It certainly doesn't help me because I still can't grasp how to think in the metric system. haha I am constantly trying to convert... That's besides the point. Here is a little bit of background info on the Grand Palace. It was established in 1782 to house the royal residence and a bunch of government offices AND the Temple of the Emerald Buddha. It is humongous. (218,000 square meters... the metric again). It used to be in Thonburi, which is on the other side of the Chao Phraya River, but then the awesome new king decided to move the capital to it's new location in Bangkok.

The Emerald Buddha is actually jade and was found in Chiang Rai (up north) in 1434. It was covered with plaster and for a little while everybody just thought "hey neato, another Buddha image", but then the plaster started flaking off and everybody saw that it was jade but nobody knew what jade was at the time and so everybody assumed it was made of emerald. That's a terrible run-on. Anyways, the legend of the Emerald Buddha began and the whole place is covered in these intricate amazing murals that tells the story of it. Also, the buddha has different gold costumes for the three Thai seasons. One for summer, rainy, and winter season. (Right now, it is dressed in the summer outfit.) Their is a big ceremony each time the season changes and the king comes to dress the Buddha.

So, basically- Tricia and I went to the Grand Palace. We took a tour. It was free and we were very excited about the fact that it was free. haha We played tourists for the day and had a great time doing it and then were very impressed with ourselves for not going shopping instead, especially since it is so incredibly hot and steamy outside. haha It was very cool. If you come to Bangkok, you should check it out.

The story of the Emerald Buddha written in old Thai script that is posted all over the temple.

The Emerald Buddha sitting high on a golden throne.

Wat Phra Kaew

Me and Trees in front of the Grand Palace

Even the bushes are shaped to match the temple and palace. Tricia is rockin' that rental skirt.

Lighting candles when we walked into the temple. I really have no idea what this means, but I'm guessing that it's being respectful.

Chiang Mai Cafes, Spas, and Boutiques...

As promised, I'll fill you in on the rest of my stay in Chiang Mai.

After the last day of Songkran, some people went back to Bangkok for work and some of us headed to the famous Night Bazaar. The Night Bazaar (me + shopping + in a market) was fun and I found some cool handicraft, hilltribe stuff that you don't see a lot of in Bangkok, so that was pretty exciting. We only stayed for a little while because we were zonked out and it isn't like none of us had experienced huge crazy markets before. haha

The next couple of days I spent a lot of time by myself exploring the city. I got up both days and went for walks into the center of the city. Most of the city was still closed due to the Songkran holiday being extended because of the protests, but nobody was throwing water anymore. I think everyone was tired and it was a great excuse for people not to go to work and to sleep for a couple days. haha I did find some really cool shops though. I stopped in at one store and talked to the guy who owned it for a while. He made hilltribe clothing. More hilltribe clothing that I had ever seen and I sat and tried to reason with myself for a long time why I need one of everything in the store, but I settled on just a couple of hats. haha He has somebody run a shop in JJ Market in Bangkok, so he gave me his card in case I ever wanted anything else. It was just really fun to talk to him about Songkran and everything. I wandered around the city for a while and passed some Wats (temples) and then headed back to the area we were staying in.

The area of Chiang Mai that we were in was a little bit farther away and was filled with cafes and boutiques. I loved it. In a very strange way, it kinda sortof reminded me of Waco, except it was kinda upscale and posh. haha I definitely indulged in a few amazing sandwiches instead of getting my faves from the street and bought some very cool things. haha I was even persuaded to get a facial / manicure / and pedicure. I saw a spa ad that was giving promotions out about cleaning up after Songkran... and that was enough to get me there. haha I felt much cleaner and healthier afterwards. haha

I took an overnight bus back to Bangkok and got in very early the next day and slept for a few hours. Then I had to spend the day doing laundry and organizing my life. I'm glad I got everything together because the next day, Tricia and I ventured to the Grand Palace... more about that later. I'm back at work today and it feels very strange to be here. haha I had a wonderful couple of weeks!

Team SONGKRUNK

YaY Songkran! haha Songkran is quite possibly the best holiday ever. It's the Thai New Year that lasts three days long. The first day is a celebration for the last day of the year, the second day is a transition day, and the last day is a celebration for the first day of the new year, which is Thailand is 2552. People splash water on another for cleanliness and I think something to do with bringing in the rainy season. Nowadays though, it's basically a reason for everybody to throw buckets of water at anybody and anything.

To celebrate Songkran, a bunch of languagecorps peoples (I think 18 of us from all over Thailand and Vietnam...) got together and went to Chiang Mai. Our celebration started a couple days beforehand when everybody met in Bangkok at me, Tricia's, Ryan's, and James'. We made team t-shirts by painting them with the Thai flag colors (red, white, and blue) and then went out that night to Khaosan (backpacker's area). The next day we slept in and had a pool party complete with pizza before making our way to the train station to catch our overnight bus.

The train station was a mess because all the trains had been cancelled because of the protests. Speaking of the protests (which are over now), nobody worry because I certainly wasn't worrying and wasn't effected in any way. Luckily for us, we procrastinated a little bit and got stuck with bus tickets instead of train tickets and were still able to travel. Yay. We arrived in Chiang Mai about 7 o'clock the next morning and were all extremely tired. The hostel that we stayed at was a converted house and nobody was up yet, so we all took short naps outside until we were able to check in.

When we got settled in, the manager of the hostel, Noom, took us to his village in the back of a pick up truck. On the way there we splashed people on the road and on the side of the street. When we got there, we watched them make a Thai dessert that I had never heard of before called karame. It was brown sugar, cashews, and sticky rice roll things all put together in a giant wok. It didn't look all that appetizing, but it was delicious. We were given free food (pig's blood... I tried it- it was okay, but it freaked me out being pig's blood and all and couldn't actually get myself a bowl... haha), Thai whiskey that they brewed themselves, and the dessert. Noom sat and explained some about Songkran and the protestors. Most of our group got distracted and ended up water fighting with each other and local village children. We headed back and went to Mike's, a restaurant with burgers and chili- something that you can't find in Bangkok. Most of the group ate there for most of their meals. haha

The next day was all about the water fighting. In the morning, Noom provided a Chang (a Thai beer) happy hour. Then we were off to a foam party at a mall near the moat that surrounds the center of the city... none of us made it to the foam party. We walked there and we were having way to much fun dancing in the streets and splashing people to go to a foam party. The streets were packed with people having a good time and were lined with stalls selling buckets of ice water, water guns, water blasting rods, and beer. I was actually dunked into a trash can full of water and had a bag of ice poured down my back. Then our group hijacked a trucked. We saw an empty truck and thought it would be a good idea to all get in the back of it to throw more water at people. The driver was a great sport and thought it was hilarious that a group of farangs would do such a thing. He helped us retrive barrels of nasty moat water into the back of the truck, passed out a box of KFC, and passsed around a bottle of whiskey. The boys in our group kept jumping back into the nasty moat water to fill up our barrels. The moat was absolutely disgusting (Thom actually found leeches on him afterwards...) and needless to say, most of us are recovering from injuries and illnesses, (I got pinkeye... AGAIN) but I don't think any of us have ever had more fun! haha

The next day, we were all very very tired. Most of us went and found some curry for lunch and then either watched or participated in sitting outside of Mike's (the staff loved us) splashing water on passerbys. To demonstrate that this holiday is for everyone- the cutest Thai family was across the street from us doing the same thing. The youngest looked like she was about 3 or 4 years old. We were pretty calm and subdued that day, but nobody could go anywhere without getting wet and laughing about it.

Most people either left that night or early the next morning, but I hung around for a couple days afterward to recover and see a little bit of the city. I'm gonna have to blog about that later though, because right now I need to go buy a new phone and possibly new camera. They both drowned in all the fun. More about Chiang Mai later!

Rum Puree

Hello friends. I just got back from a massage. I bought this package deal down the street a few weeks ago where I got ten massages. I go get one once a week now. It's wonderful. I get all stretched out and stuff.

I went and took a Thai dance class last Sunday. I scoped out a studio where they gave classes a long time ago and I decided to take a trial class. I emailed them beforehand and told them that I was an English teacher here and was wondering if I would be able to take the class. I was worried that everybody else would have been taking the class for a while and it would be all Thai people and maybe it would be disrespectful for me to be there... haha. So they emailed me back and told me that it would be fine and that I should come.

I got to the class and the class consists of me, a Thai college girl, and the receptionist. The teacher is this cute older Thai lady that doesn't speak any English at all. I showed up a little bit earlier so I could register and pay and the receptionist was very confused on why I was not joining the ballet class that started at that time. haha I tried to explain to her that I was just very interested in learning about Thai dance a little bit and I wanted to try it out. Apparently it was not an everyday occurrence for them to have a white girl show up for it.

The teacher motioned for me to follow along and stretch my arms like the other student and then all of a sudden she started playing music and the other girl started dancing. I had no idea what to do. I just followed along the best I could. The teacher joined in and told me to watch her. We ended up doing 6 traditional Thai dances. Their was no warm up or explanation. The only thing I could really understand from the teacher was qua and sii, which means right and left. The receptionist was able to tell me that one of the dances was from Issean and another one was a northern tribal dance. I actually thought those two were the most fun to do because they were a little bit faster pace and kinda funky. The whole time I was there I was worried that I was just being a nuisance and bothering them, but then somebody came in and started taking pictures of me in the class. I usually don't like having my picture taken here (it makes me feel like an alien), but this time it acutlaly made me feel more welcome. haha At the end of the class the teacher kept wanting to know if I was coming back and seemed really excited that I had come. The receptionist told me that I should join. I told them I'd think about it. It would definitely be fun.

I don't really know how to explain Thai dance. It is mostly a lot of bending your hands in very unnatural ways and having your head follow them. haha Anyways, here is a link to the studio's website where you can watch one of the classes on a video.

http://www.rumpuree.com/dsp_dance.cfm?danceid=20

Dusit Zoo and Ahaan Thai

K3 went on a field trip! haha We went to the Dusit Zoo last Thursday. The kids were so excited! It's pretty much your average zoo, but it was a lot of fun. We hit some highlights like the big cats, snakes (for some strange unknown reason this was most of the kid's favorite), monkeys, birds, and lots and lots of turtle. The turtles were met by many rounds of "Tiny Turtle". It was great.

Malaysian Bear. I tried very hard to teach them all sic 'em... they didn't get it. By I thoroughly enjoyed doing sic 'em bears by myself several times. haha

Malinee, Manolia, and I in front of some anteloupe. Peace- Asian style.

Aly, Vanessa, Callum, Pavlos, and Vincent waiting to see the snakes. Boys will be boys.

Meena and Aly playing with bubbles. Don't ask me how they all acquired bubbles at the zoo.

YaY! Look guys- it's a WHITE tiger! haha My favorite kind of tiger. haha

In other exciting news- today was my first day of Songkran break! I'm pumped. I think I've typed that about Songkran several times and I always mean it. haha Today I took a Thai cooking class, which I was very very excited for and it definitely lived up to my high expectations. I have been planning on taking this class for weeks and weeks now and I finally did it. I only signed up for one, but I think I'm going to do a couple more, so that way I can get a Thai cooking certificate.

There were 11 people in my class and they were all traveling around. I was the only American and the rest were French, British, Taiwanese, Canadian, and Chinese. It was a good mix of people. Our instructor's name was Nusi (pronounced like nosy). He made the group laugh quite a lot, not because he was funny but just because of who he was. He was gay Thai guy who hated Americans and just acted annoyed by everybody, but not in a bad way. haha He turned out to be very nice.

As soon as we all got there we headed to the market to buy all of our ingredients. It was cool to actually buy things from the market that weren't cooked already. I mean- we bought EVERYTHING there, all the herbs, chicken, shrimp, eggs... everything. To be quite honest- I would normally be very spectacle about doing such things, but apparently it's actually okay. Who would've thought. Then we came back and had to wash and prepare everything. I was fine washing all the vegetables and herbs, but then the job of preparing the shrimp came to me and I quickly had to get over the grossness of ripping of the shrimps heads and peeling of their legs and deveining them. Then we made our own coconut milk. Which was probably my favorite part of the day. It's so simple and fun. All you do is take ground up coconut- add water- moosh it around with your hands- squeeze out of the juice and discard the solid parts. It was crazy fun playing with the food. haha We had to use the coconut milk in all of our dishes, except pad thai. We ended up making tom yum goong (I must say- I made a smashing tom yum), pad thai goong, green curry paste, chicken green curry, laab gai, and rubies with coconut milk. Rubies with coconut milk is a dessert that are these little jelly things in coconut milk- but today I found out that the jelly things are actually water chestnuts and tapioca pudding! I couldn't believe it. It was just very cool to learn about how all the food I eat here is made.

All of us at the end of the day.

Pounding green curry paste in the mortar. My arms will probably be sore tomorrow. haha

Nusi- adding green curry paste into my geng keawa gai. Chicken green curry.