Freakin blogger

Well it is taking me forever to get the last (and the best) photos up from my trip. It's really making me mad. Blogger just won't let me upload anything. I had a massive computer crash last night (which seems to have rectified itself) but that could be part of the problem who knows. I'll get them up soon though. I'm still pretty sick from this cold I got last week. Love bronchitis so much! Good thing about Thailand though..you can walk into any pharmacy and get whatever medication you want. You don't need to see a doc or get a prescription. I got LOADS of meds over there. I think I like that..you go in get what you need (for a ridiculously low price)without the doctor. So smart those Thais are! This weekend has been low key on account that I am broke as shit haha. I'm supposed to go watch some movies this afternoon but I am just to wiped. We'll see though. Hope everyone is great!

Beautiful Bangkok. Long Live the King!

Day One
Early Saturday morning, Raymond and I headed off to Incheon Airport to catch our flight to Bangkok, Thailand for the Chuseok holiday. I didn't know very much about Thailand other than it was a predominantly Buddhist country and it is hot there. I'm so pleased I didn't do much research because it was wonderful to discover it all on my own. We landed in Bangkok shortly after lunch where someone was waiting for us at immigration to take us to our driver. While walking through the airport I ran into an old friend from high school which was very strange but nice to see him. We hopped in our car and off we drove into Bangkok to our hotel Old Bangkok Inn which is GORGEOUS. It is in the Democracy Monument area of Bangkok (อนุสาวรีย์ประชาธิปไตย). I was struck by how BEAUTIFUL Bangkok is. I've heard many say it isn't the greatest place to visit but I fell in love with it. After freshening up we went out exploring around our area. We walked over to Khao San Road which is probably the most famous area for tourists in Bangkok. We both were NOT impressed with it. It reminded us both of Itaewon, here in Seoul. Lots of street shopping and restaurants but dirty and noisy and not very cultural. However, we found a little spot called Silk and had dinner and some beers before we headed back to our hotel to meet up with Raymond's friend Rosie and her boyfriend Shaun, who had come to meet us from New York. Shaun was ill but Rosie came out with Raymond and I to The Balcony We had some cocktails and enjoyed the music but headed back to the hotel around 1am because we were all beat.





Day Two

I was woken EARLY in the morning by Raymond who was anxious to get the day started. We both got ready and headed downstairs for breakfast. I was a little overwhelmed it was so incredible. Nantiya (the owner of the hotel)brought us out all kinds of wonderful fruits to try. I had my first dragon fruit, long gan, custard apple, and tambourin which were delicious. She also had our favorite fruit for us mangosteens we had had some at a wedding earlier in the summer and we had mentioned we liked them so she picked some up for breakfast (I love them so much I smuggled some back to Seoul!). This breakfast was everyday, included in the price of our room. After breakfast we met up with Shaun and Rosie and decided to head out to the Chatuchak weekend market. To say the least, it was INSANE. The market gets over 2 hundred thousand visitors a day and is only open on Saturdays and Sundays. Great shopping and worth the trip over there if you are in Bangkok. Afterwards we went and dropped our stuff off at the hotel and took a water taxi to the Jim Thompson House on Soi Kasemsan (2) Song. Rosie and Shaun had to pick up a rug at some store but suggested Raymond and I go to see it. We walked in but were bored so we left and went to the Discovery Center. The first proper mall I've been in in Asia. We munched on sandwiches and enjoyed the air conditioning (it was like 45 degrees or something mental outside). Raymond and I made our way back to the hotel to get ready for a night out. We went to the WORST restaurant ever Cafe de Laos it had excellent reviews but turned out to have nasty food. I don't want to relive it so I won't go into further details. Afterwards we headed back to Silom Soi and went to The Telephone for drinks. I got distracted by a tattoo booth and decided that I was going to get a tattoo. I have been wanting to get a new one anyway and the few beers I had already had made me say what the heck. Van, my tattoo artist, was excellent and everything was sterile and he used new needles and his work was great. Now I have a permanent memory of Thailand on my body which is awesome. Rosie and Shaun left us early because there were flying out in the morning. Raymond and I continued on at The Telephone until it closed then went to an after hrs bar called G.O.D. on a small alley between Silom Soi 2 and Soi Thaniya. It was AWESOME. I think I was like one of only two girls in the club which was totally fine. Hot men without shirts. Raymond and I were in heaven. I even got some interesting massage and back cracking in the bathroom. I had to leave Raymond at like 5am cause I was beat and drunk. I went back to our area and got McDonalds breakfast and sat on the Democracy Monument and watched the sun rise. It was the perfect end to the day.





Day Three

After a late night, we took our time getting up and ready. After breakfast we decided to walk over to The Golden Mount or in Thai, Wat Sa Ket. It was only about a 10 minute walk from our hotel and we had seen it glittering off in the distance for the two previous days so we wanted to check it out. It was amazing. You get an excellent view of Bangkok as you walk up and we were able to see the entire city. Afterwards we went back to the hotel and got changed to head to the Suan Lum Night Bazaar. We stopped and had a delicious dinner of curried stir fried crab, these fried pork balls, spring rolls, soup, and beer once we got to the Bazaar grounds. It was nice because the Bazaar wasn't so busy because it is open EVERY night. The shopping was AMAZING. After the Bazaar we headed back to the hotel because we had an early start for the best part of our trip.

Bangkok baby!

I'm sitting in our most wonderful hotel room in Bangkok, Thailand. If you ever go to Bangkok I highly recommend staying at the Old Bangkok Inn. There are 10 guest rooms and you are waited on hand and foot. I just finished breakfasting on exotic fruits and drinking lovely coffee. Raymond and I both have colds unfortunately but he is off to the pharmacy to get some meds. Today we are going to the weekend market and then out tonight I guess to some local we have yet to decide. We have a glorious next three days planned out courtesy of our hotel owner who is the sweetest woman ever! It is hot here but sunny and Bangkok is wonderful, it reminds me a lot of Cairo actually but cleaner. For all of those who told me Bangkok was not a good time, I beg to differ!

I'm going to Bangkok and will be back this time next week. Happy Chuseok everyone!

I shouldn't laugh but...this is funny.

When a kid makes a spelling mistake it can take the entire sentence out of context.




I haven't really been updating but I have a TON of pictures to post and will do so when I return from Thailand. So those plus Thailand (I'll probably take at least 2 gigs worth of photos there knowing me) means lots to see when I get back.

I love the McDonalds staff at 3am.

I'm going to sit and eat some yummy Indian food and watch Prison Break. I'm pretty stoked about it.

I'm starting to get excited!!!!

Next weekend I'll be there! I can't wait!!!

Jes, I hope you had as much fun as I did at your party! I think I may need to grow myself a new liver today..man I feel sick..it was worth it though!

Happy Birthday Jes!

Happy 31st to Jes! You're almost as old as me now! I hope you have a great one xoxo

Need a dentist?

It is very common for Korean children to make a quick trip to the dentist when they need a tooth pulled. It seems the old string and door trick is also a common house hold favorite. This morning, Cohen, one of my kindergarten students came in and told me that she and Amber (my partner teacher) were going to go to the dentist because her mom wanted her to get her tooth pulled out as it was very very wiggly. The dentist is on the same floor as our school so it would have been easy. Turns out the dentist wasn't in until 2pm. Amber called Cohen's mom to tell her and her mom asked if I could pull it out. Well, I don't usually get requests to pull teeth but whatever I said I would.

So I sat her down and all the other kids were totally fascinated that I was going to take her tooth out. Grabbed some tissue, grabbed on to her tooth, and one two YANK! it was out. Boy was she a gusher! I've never seen sooo much blood come out of a person's mouth who hasn't been punched! She didn't cry though so it was good. Then all the wiggly toothed kids were asking me to pull their's out. I said they had to ask mom first.

Mail..please send some. Postcards, packages, love letters..anything! Just please send mail..my mailbox only gets filled by bills. It's very sad. My address is on the left of the page. I promise to send something in return.

Sometimes I have to question the sanity of people. How people can do things so horrible yet think their behavior is appropriate. When I heard this story this morning I almost lost my breakfast. I hope very very bad things are done to these people.

Whew! What a week. I'm grateful to finally be out of the dark little patch I was experiencing. It's not like me to be down and blue so I wasn't enjoying it. However, the sun is once again shining and all is just about right with the world once again. I do get by with a little help from my friends though (thank GOD for them). I had a good work week and an excellent Friday night out with Raegs, Cam, and Saejin. By some off chance I did not have my camera with me but will post pics whenever Raegs gets around to passing them along. I'm back at the gym full throttle starting Monday which I am really looking forward to. I'm off to Thailand in a 2 weeks with Raymond which is going to be EXCELLENT. The hot weather has cooled some and I'm not complaining about that one. Things are good..I'm good.

Pics from Raegs...man the day after the night before looks messy :)

Leonard Cohen was right..perhaps the dice really are loaded.

Dear Sunny,

Are you reading this? Why have you not e-mailed me to tell me about all the awesome boys in your new American town? Are you still alive somewhere? Do you miss your mom's kimchi? Were you able to pack all of your short skirts without your dad noticing?

SERIOUSLY!!!

If you are looking for a twisted, dark, intense film..I just watched one. Notes on a Scandal. I recommend it.

My Raydon..

One of my favorite students (well former because he was moved to another class after he graduated kindergarten) Raydon, just returned from 3 months in California with his family. His mother e-mailed me these photos of Raydon and his brother and moms. I love this kid!

Yeah! It's September

Wow, September already. It will be a busy month for me. Preparing my university application (which will take a TON of time), busy with work, but most of all I'm looking forward to my trip to Thailand! I will be spending the Chuseok holiday with Raymond in Bangkok. We are staying at a lovely hotel and we have lots of fun and festive things planned. I certainly hope this month is better than last..because last month was slightly traumatic on so many levels. This also means 11 months from today I will be back home in Canada. I know my friends here hate me mentioning it but as much as I love them, I'm ready for a change.