So this past week was a lot of fun. Fernando, my old roommate from USC, came to visit Meris and I in Bangkok. He is studying abroad in Hong Kong at CUHK for the semester. First of all, I think he really enjoyed his time in Thailand. It was a lot of fun for us because it was our first chance to play tour guide in our new home. He also enjoyed the bargains to be found in Bangkok. Apparently Hong Kong is very expensive. Fernando arrived on Tuesday. We had him meet us on Khoa San Road. We were already out playing flip cup at a bar called "Half Tank." It's a gas station by day - bar by night. It's funny because at about 5 pm they start to break out chairs and tables and put them in the gas station. Only in Thailand...
Wednesday, Meris, Jimbo and I wanted to take Fernando to Chote Chitr - and the taxi adventure began. An HOUR AND A HALF later, we were still without food AND lost.
The worst part is we had a map and the business card of the restaurant and we STILL couldn't find the restaurant. We decided to cut our losses and go home. That night, since it's the year of 21, there was another 21st birthday. Matt, from Cal Berkeley, turned 21. We went out to RCA at Route 66 and had a good time.
KUNG HEY FAT CHOI! Thursday was Chinese New Year. I didn't make it out for any of the adventures in Chinatown on account of the rain. It was POURING! I don't think I've ever seen rain like that before. I could see rain approaching from my window but I didn't think it would reach Ratanakosin. I was wrong. It was like a hurricane for about 45 minutes.
And this isn't even Monsoon Season. I don't know how the city survives. What I heard from the people who were out during the rain was that the streets flooded within about 5 minutes and the worst part of the rain - all the roaches and rats were flooded out of their homes... So they all came out wandering the streets. It didn't take the Chinatown adventurers long to return home...
That night, in continuation of Matt's 21st, he wanted to go out and find this club called "glow." An hour taxi ride later, we find ourselves lost...again. Fortunately though, we were able to find the club. We were so excited and when we walk in, we find that we were the ONLY people there. Quite the ladies night... So we decided to go to Q-Bar on Soi 11. It was a really good time. They were having a Chinese New Year Party called "Mickey Rat," since the new year is the year of the rat. At midnight, they blocked off the streets and shot off fireworks. It was pretty cool to see. Q-bar was nice but the crowd was a bit too old and farang for my taste. (Thai lesson for the day - farang is a thai word meaning "tourist" or "foreigner" - learn something new everyday...)
Friday, we were feeling up for some Bangkok culture. So we all throw on our school uniforms (because we're cheap and wanted to get into our cultural event for free!) and head out. We decided to go to Wat Po, which is near Thammasat and the Grand Palace. It is famous for being the largest Wat in Thailand and it houses the world's largest reclining buddha. (History lesson of the day - the Reclining Buddha's position represents the last moments before death of buddha's life. Unlike the typical meditation position of Buddha, the reclining buddha is in a relaxed position on his side. Learn two new things everyday!) This buddha was huge! It dwarfs the wat that houses it. It's about 150 feet long and is covered with gold leaf. His toe nails are made out of mother of pearl. It was very cool. And we made it to the wat around the sunset so everything had an extra sparkle to it. It was definitely one of the best cultural events thus far.
the reclining buddha
Me with the Reclining Buddha - just a little clue as to how massive it is
Wat Po
Abby called this my James Bond picture - at Wat Po
That night, Noon, one of our Thai friends from Thammasat, told us about a modern dance performance in a park near school. We decided to just walk there from the Wat Po. The dance performance was about the class system in India and cross class marriages. I wouldn't have understood that if Noon hadn't told me because the performance was very, VERY modern. But hey, it was a cultural event. After the performance, Noon took us to a nice restaurant on the river that overlooks the Rama VIII bridge. We had some nice seafood and returned to bed to rest up for our day of cultural events.
I like to call Saturday the day of "overrated events". In our valiant effort to show Fernando the sights of Thailand, we booked a day-long tour for Saturday that included the Floating markets, the Bridge Over River Kwai and Tiger Temple. Going back to the Floating Markets was OK - we got some good Mango and Sticky Rice again. As much as I didn't like it, Fernando liked it - which is all that matters. Then we headed further north to Kanchanaburi, which as Thai's call it is the "armpit of Thailand." It was soooooo hot. and we were all wearing jeans and the girls had to have long sleeves since we were visiting a temple (tiger temple). I wouldn't be surprised if the temperature was well over 100 degrees. To make it worst, we had to stop at the Bridge over River Kwai. My ignorance aside, I don't know why this is such a tourist destination in Thailand. The real bridge doesn't even exist anymore. It was probably the worst museum I have ever been to. And to make things worst, we spent the whole time jumping from shade to shade. It was a miserable stop - even for a history buff like me..... If you want to learn anything about it, look it up on Wikipedia, because I sure didn't learn anything. But, 30 minutes later, our third and final stop for the day made up for that "bridge." Tiger temple was AWESOME! We got to pet and get our pictures taken with real, live, full sized, UNCHAINED tigers. It was probably one of the coolest things I'll do while I'm here. We waited in line for about 30 minutes and got to take our picture with about 6 tigers. Then we walked up the hill to the nursery and played with tiger cubs for the rest of our time at the temple. They are so cute and so playful. One even bit Meris - it was pretty cute. We're calling it her souvenir from the temple.
me and a big ol' tiger
Meris and I with a tiger
me with the tiger cubs
After that, we returned to Bangkok and rested a bit before heading out for the night. That night we went to a new place called SANTIKA. It was a really cool club. Supposedly it's one of the best in Bangkok. I could tell by the Porsche, Mercedes, BMW, etc in the parking. Quite a change from the usual Toyota Corolla. The inside was decorated like a church so we were all joking saying that we partied with Jesus and didn't need to go to church the next day. We also ordered very cool shots that they lit on fire - see below. Quite the sight...
the fire shot
the interior of SANTIKA
Meris, Fernando and I at SANTIKA
Sunday was another day of Cultural Events. We went to the Grand Palace - dressed in our uniforms and everything....Prepared to pay nothing. However, we don't have our real Thammasat ID's yet, we only have temporary ones. So the staff wouldn't let us in with our temporary ID's. And we weren't about to pay...so we left. We were close to Chote Chitr and our stomachs were growling. We were determined to find this restaurant. And we did. And it was closed for repairs for the month of February. Quite the let down. After we got some street food, we were on a mission to have at least one cultural event for the day, so we decide to find Wat Arun. We split up into two taxis - I was in the one that didn't know where we were going. So of course we arrive at Wat Arun first - and it was closed. Everything was shut down and there weren't any people there. I call the other taxi and tell them to go home because it's closed. I found out later that our taxi driver had taken us to the wrong temple.... whoops, my mistake...
One thing that Fernando did that I didn't take part of was get a traditional Thai tattoo at "Tattoo Temple." This was done with a long needle and a hammer. He said it hurt pretty bad. It was performed by a monk and it's a sort of blessing to rid the body of harmful spirits. When you walk in, the monk is supposed to decide what tattoo they place on your body. But fernando knew he wanted a tiger, so the monk decided on the text. He ended up getting a 10 inch tiger on the left side of his back and Thai characters saying "Do not be afraid." It took about 30 minutes and only cost 100 baht.
Fernando's Tattoo
Well I have officially been in Bangkok for a month now. And time is flying by... Before I know it, I'll be back in LA. It kinda bums me out to think about that. Next week we are headed back down to the Southern Gulf. We are going to stay on a different island near Koh Samui called Koh Phan-Ngan. It is the home of the world famous FULL MOON PARTY. I am so excited to go to this party. Ever since people found out I was coming to Thailand, all they could talk about was the full moon party. It happens every month when the full moon occurs. And it's basically a beach party from sundown to sunup. I can't wait to return and tell you all about the party.
(world) peace
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