beach photos that you probably think are postcards

this one is my favorite. that small island is uninhabited and you can supposedly swim to it in the high season (nov-april).


im no longer this white. (and for those of you concerned with skin cancer, i spent all 10 beachside hours underneath an umbrella with 50spf lotion so how i got any sun is beyond me!)


when these are all in a row they are pretty indistinguishable but i couldn't decide which was better!


not quite sunset...this is looking back towards the town.

its the "rainy season" now so we have to expect days of rain and torrential downpours but it hasn't been an issue yet. our weekend in phuket was rain-free. i hope i didn't just jinx anything...

Phuket/Kata Beach

Last weekend I spent 10 hours beach-side in Phuket. We went to Kata Beach and stayed at the Sugar Palm Grand Hillside Resort (for cheap!) in what had to be a room designed for two lovebirds--lots of privacy, a window into the giant tub-for-two, a giant rainshower, a giant bed, some rooms had private pools! here's some photos:


the pools were like waterfalls that cascaded into each other. the hotel was on the side of the mountain which was fun to hike up every time we went to our room! (not)


some rooms had tubs on the balcony.


view of the town from the hotel. the land goes straight up into mountains from the water.

I also took surfing lessons! (Kata Beach is where the best waves are at on Phuket)
Here's some photographic evidence that I'm not lying when I say IT WAS A SUCCESS! I got up a few times and it was awesome. After an hour, I was so tired that I slept on the beach chair the rest of the day.


this is like the loch ness monster photo. but that's me, clearly vertically oriented on a surfboard!


every time ended with a crash into the water. see the chubby thai boy with the older western man? yeah, thats the norm around here.

Me and my instructor.

One of the Wats

 

See how ridiculously detailed they are!  

Grand Palace

 

Spent some time last Saturday wandering the Grand Palace  complex.  It is where the king lives.  It also has the Emerald Buddha temple and a lot of other temples, shrines, etc.  All the buildings were very ornate.  They all look like little jewel boxes.

This Weekend...

I'm leaving Bangkok tomorrow to spend a week in the south. I'll be in Phuket for the weekend We're staying at Sugar Palm Grand Hillside Hotel at Kata Beach. Kata beach is supposed to be less crazy than Pattong Beach (the place that puts the Hedonism in Phuket) but still fun. Monday, we move up to Phang Nga, the province we are working for.

I'm very excited to spend a few days on the beaches, maybe some snorkelling? Jungle trekking? Elephant riding??? who knows!

Rock & Shop Market

For the people who aren't in Thailand next Saturday.....you should go to the Rock & Shop Market in downtown Raleigh! It's June 20th from 1-5 at Tir Na Nog. I've been for the past couple of years and I'm really sad I'll miss it this year for at least 3 reasons:

1. I've always enjoyed the "rock" part of the market as much as the shopping! This year, Wembley will be one of the bands playing. They are one of the local bands I just don't get to see often enough!

2. My friend Randi is selling at the market!!! I am so excited about her clothes and cute headbands she will be selling. I love crafty/sew-y friends! (Her shop is called oimeetsgrrl)

3. A non Erin-related plug but a genuine customer review: I love Metamorphosis. I bought some earrings from this shop a few Rock-&-Shops ago and I just love them!

There are lots of other cool shops there, obviously. so if you're in town, GO! I DEMAND IT. I guarantee its less sweaty and smelly than any market I've been to recently.

(look at me, creating hyperlinks in blog posts)

Muay Thai Boxing!

 

Last Friday a group of us went to muay thai boxing!  This is a photo of the main event fighters doing a warm-up dance.  (the guy in red shorts was KO'ed in twenty seconds--pretty anticlimactic).  There was a very eager salesguy at the door who wanted us to pay about 50USD for ringside seats but instead we sat in the "third class section."  He claimed we wouldn't be able to see anything, wouldn't be allowed to take photos, and we couldn't bring in anything.  Clearly the first two claims were false and I totally walked in with a beer.  The seats were just planks on poles.  

After the matches, we went to a nearby night market (which is so much better than the day markets because you don't sweat through your clothes).

I came to Bangkok to find my Daddy Dough

 

I love the name of this donut shop!  It's a new version of the phrase "sugar daddy."

snakes in a bag

So, i went to this domestic travel fair last week. It was for Thai people who want to take vacations and do fun things. One of the booths was a zoo in Bangkok, or somewhere. They brought some wildlife in hopes of intriguing fair-goers into wanting to see more of these unrestrained wild creatures! At one point, snakes were just hanging out in chairs--no one was holding them or restraining them from randomly attacking people or slipping into bags or whatever other crazy snake attacks I can think of. Later, my coworker asked where the snakes were and they started looking under tables and chairs (I started backpedalling as far away from the booth as possible!)

CRAZY SNAKE TIMES!

2 weeks down

I've now officially spent 2 weeks in Bangkok! Sometimes, it slips my mind that I'm on the other side of the world (like when I'm at work, in a tiny, windowless meeting room with my 5 other teammates) but usually I'm walking around taking in the sights and in awe of everything. I've had some computer issues recently (specifically macbook wanting to give up and me pushing it just a few months further) so there are lots of photos I haven't uploaded yet. This past week of work was spent getting acquainted with things, getting some logistical things taken care of, and running back and forth between the mac service center.

This weekend, we went to a thai boxing match, went to 2 of the "hippest" clubs in town and went to a huge weekend market. We got lost in the weekend market in the pets section, which if you can imagine was incredibly unpleasant and foul-smelling. More photos to come of the first two events that were not necessarily any less-foul smelling (its very hot and humid) but very fun!

Bagged Drinks

 

Here are some examples of drinks served in bags.  This image is from a design exhibit I went to about the history of street food.  It had displays of all the traditional and more modern ways street food vendors have prepared and served food.  I loved it!  They also had displays of common street food so it was nice to find out what a lot of things are.  

(can you tell I'm hungry right now?)

WHAT IN THE WORLD IS SHE EATING

 

You're probably thinking, EW GROSS WHAT IS THAT.  I might too.  Street food to go is poured into plastic bags and sealed with rubber bands.  Everythng comes in bags, actually.  You can get drinks poured into bags--a makeshift handle is created with the rubber band and a straw is used for easy drinking.  This feast is some delicious noodles and soup.  I beleive it was gai (chicken) and basil.  The orange bag is hot sauce.  very good.  In terms of earth-friendliness* even though plastic bags aren't that great, and they definitely litter every public space, they are better than enormous styrofoam boxes.

*thailand loves to save the earth.  Well, make products that ask you nicely to "Please, please save the earth!"  with animals hugging.  It's funny how even a serious issue like conservation and global warming are asked politely.  Also, surprisingly, there are parts of the city that provide bins for trash, recycling, and composting.  If Bangkok can do it, we can too.

Banana Wontons

 

slices of banana wrapped in dough, fried, covered in powder, dipped in chocolate.  sure, you could probably get this at the state fair but it wouldn't cost you only a dollar.  

First Week in Bangkok

 

I guess it HAS been a while since I last posted (I have a blog-minder).  One of my favorite things here is the food which probably isn't a surprise.  There is so much variety--in flavor and price!  This is a shop in the grocery store.  It was all bananas.  I had banana wontons and a banana-honey smoothie.  It was all delicious!  Get ready for a barrage of other food-centric posts!

Random Indie music in Thailand

I just heard an ad for "Once" on the TV--glen hansard singing intermingled with shouting thai sales pitches. Also, there is a little "jingle" that plays inside the subway stations and i SWEAR it is the beginning of "Reckoner" by Radiohead. The subway stations are so clean and quiet here so it actually fits with the ambiance. The ambiance of a subway station--HAH.

MBK

 

I had to go to this mall tonight after work.  We went here on Saturday night so I could buy a phone and I had to come back because my phone didn't work.  No one could hear me when I called them (which is the same issue I'm having with Skype, coincidentally).  Anyway, MBK is this crazy mall that is all vendors, no real stores.  It is tight and crowded and you can bargain with the sellers.  The 4th floor is all phones and phone accessories.  It is pretty overwhelming!  It is also adjacent to two other malls--both of which are "normal" malls and much fancier.  I made it in and out alive and with all my belongings, so that feels like a success for today!

My New Street

 

Here is where I live in the city.  Sukhimvit Soi 24.  It's a fancy part of town with a lot of flashy, new high-rise condos.  This is where ex-pats and japanese tourists stay.  The area is safe to walk around in at night but it doesn't have as much street food as we had before at the university--it lacks the "city grit" as I described it earlier today.  

Bangkok Urban Form

All the city buildings with apartments look similar to this: some sort of balcony or window grid on front. I really like the way they look lined up because each one is a little different. Add in a teeny bit of greenery, electic wires, and the occasional laundry line and it's picture perfect urban living!

floating market again!

 

from the top of the bridge.

Floating market!

On friday afternoon, we took a bus 1.5 hours out from the city to a place that is famous for its floating markets. the area is mostly small villages with some nice, small resorts and lots of canals and rivers throughout. first, we went to one of the resorts--i think it had 10-15 rooms. it was like living in the jungle! while we were there, we experienced our first monsoon! it rained really really hard for 30 minutes straight. we were outside in a metal-roofed shelter so it was impossible to hear anything but the rain.

we travelled from the resort to the floating market by boat, naturally! (photo is post-storm)

here's the market! the water so crystal clear, you could drink it! (just kidding.) we got out and walked up and down the two sides (photo taken from bridge) there are boats that go up and down the canal selling food and gifts. i bought a grilled corn cob for dinner and it was the best corn cob i've had in a long time! there were also all kinds of wacky food items including deep-fried insects. i love the street food here--its just so fun, quick and easy! the only non-food i bought was a tee-shirt with bears on it that say "i love thailand" and "save the earth" its very cute.