A Thai Excursion to Remember and a Random Collection of My Thoughts

So it would seem that I have been slacking on updating my blog.  Sorry about that.  I've just been too busy traveling or taking care of business that I have failed to write some updates.  I think that soon I may start doing video updates instead.  We'll see how that works out.

So the last update was about the cold.  Well, sadly it hasn't gotten any warmer, but in fact it has actually gotten colder.  I woke up Monday morning and it was one degree outside!  Haha...this is the coldest weather that I've ever had the privilege of enjoying.  Apparently it has been 30 years since it's been this cold in Korea.  Boy did I pick a great winter to spend here.  As cold as it is here, I was able to spend several days in Thailand last month.  I left for Bangkok, Thailand on December 24th, and arrived there in the wee hours of Christmas morning.  I went with several of my teacher friends and we were able to enjoy the cities of Bangkok and Pattaya.  It was so cool because on Christmas we actually went to a Christmas party at my friend's house.   It was nice to experience a warm Christmas for a change.

My hostess friend Kathlyn on my right

I think one of the really great parts of the trip was how many different methods of transportation we were able to experience.  Let's see:

1. Car taxi
2. Van taxi
3. Boat taxi
4. Truck taxi
5. Scooter taxi
6. Ferry 
7. Tuk Tuk
8. Subway
9. Monorail
10. City bus
11. Long range bus
12. Airplane
13. Horse carriage
14. Elephant

Wow!  I think that's all of them.  It was just fun to try so many different things.  Yes, I did in fact ride an elephant.  I rode the head!  It was actually kind of gross because it was all hairy and what not.

The elephant ride happened at a place called The Sanctuary of Truth.  It is a building that is completely constructed out of wood.  I forget how old it is, but it's 80 years or something like that.  

We also went to the Great Royal Palace, China Town, a really famous road (I bought some souvenirs there), and a really nice beach in Pattaya.  Thailand was most definitely a unique experience for me.  Our very first day there, it must have been 90 degrees, and we were going to take the city bus.  We were all waiting at a bus stop when a bus arrived.  There was a woman who was about to step off but she looked like she was hungover or really dizzy or something.  Anyway, she sort of falls/slides on the stairs of the bus and threw up then and there.  I could hardly keep from reacting myself and I was feeling pretty sick to my stomach after seeing that sight.  Of course, I can laugh now...HAHAHA.  

Both me and my other male friend were propositioned by some attractive women...obviously we had to say no because they just wanted our money lol.  One of my favorite parts of the trip was being able to eat fruit.  And not only eat fruit, but buy it because it was so affordable (buying fruit in Korea is absurdly expensive).  I ate lots of pineapple, watermelon, mango, and papaya.  My friends tried durian; you know that fruit that smells like poop and has an awful texture?  Yea, that one!  

Now for the fun part.  On December 26, 2010, my life would be changed forever.  Well that's a little bit of an exaggeration but it's kind of true.  My wallet was stolen from me at an outdoor market.  Can you believe it?!  Innocent little me...shaking my head (smh).  Anyway, upon realizing that my wallet was no longer on my person (it contained my passport, money, korean bank card, and korean identification card), my friends say that I was unusually calm.  I reason that I was probably experiencing some form of shock at the time.  I just couldn't fathom that it would happen to me =(  So I proceeded to back track my steps and search the premises.  No luck.  So we went to the police station to file a report and get some important papers so that I could acquire another passport.  Monday morning involved going to the American Embassy to start the process.  My emergency passport was ready by Tuesday, and then we all journeyed to the Thai Immigration office on the other side of town.  Unfortunately their computers were down, so they could not really help me.  Next was the Korean Embassy.  They notified the office back in Korea of my situation.  

The whole process, while a headache, was not nearly as bad as I was expecting it to be.  I was able to get through the Thai airport with little trouble and into Korea with little trouble as well.  I was detained at customs however because I had a knife in my luggage.  But after that it was smooth sailing all the way to my little home away from home.  My neat little corner of Seoul.  

I have recently been able to get another Korean id card and a new bank card.  Both those processes took longer than I was expecting.  In a few months I will get another passport and all will be forgotten of the "day" that changed my life.

I don't completely remember...smh

See the sign in the back?  Yup, Pattaya City!

See how sneaky I can be?

I'm not gonna lie, I wanted to scream with those fish biting me.

Observations

• Koreans often have chapped lips
• It's really cold here but women still wear skirts from time to time
• I am now "Obama Teacher"  and not "Chocolate Teacher"
• I miss my friends
• I got up at 12 AM Monday morning only to watch my Seahawks get spanked by the Bears (it was a very surprising season nonetheless)
• Koreans are really good looking (it could be that I've been here for 5 months)
• My younger sister has her first boyfriend...yay for her! I guess maybe I should join the dating club sometime in the next few years...

My next blog post will be about the things I've experience recently.  It should be interesting.

Until next time...