Finally

So the drivers ran. They are trained to do so, because the passengers will beat the shit out of them for messing up. They were also both drunk. They even took a non designated stop to get a drink together. Of course, we heard this afterward. We also heard that all the bus drivers drive drunk. Lovely. So safe. Anyway, were were sitting on the ambulance, and these three boys decide to help up with stuff. They began bringing us all of our bags from the bus- everything except my big bag with all of my belongings in it because it was stuck with my moms foot between two seats. They insisted I take the bus license plate #- good idea, and the tour company phone #- also a good idea. These boys were smart and helpful little cookies. The ambulance took us to a local government hospital. There my mom sat on a bloody bench, and no one spoke English. She dealt with it until she saw a nurse coming at her with a needle. She asked what it was, all they could say was medicine. So my mom insisted we go to another hospital. The boys who helped with the bags followed. They told us the other hospital was very nice and gave me their numbers in case we needed anything. We arrived. They helped my mom immediately. I sat around for hours. Finally after much insistence from my mom a doctor looked at me and I got a cat scan. They admitted both of us. We were taken care of extremely well. We met the head of every department. They set up internet for us to use, fed us every hour, bathed my mom (gross), and even let me use their cell phone to call the US. We had 3 people always near by to help us with anything we may need. One thing they didnt do was give us toilet paper. Welcome to India. They wipe with their hands. Ick. I asked for it, we got it, and were charged for it. Some luxuries we dont even realize are luxuries when we live in the greatest country ever- America. Ha. Anyway. My mom through the whole logistical process was invisible. I got to do it- including taking the phone calls from our insurance companies at various night hours. It worked out okay- turns out I have a lucky nack for that type of thing. So my ma and I had to be discharged at 6:45 am- 24 hours later, of course I got to wake up early and deal with it while my mom got to lay in bed- they let us stay until 11. Oh! I almost forgot. The hospital called the travel company for me, regarding my bag. I got it. They delivered it to me. It was in two and anything that could be crushed was. Shattered. Crazy. The impact was not a light one. I noticed too late that a bag was missing with my lovely new shoes- 2 pairs of Rajasthan camel leather shoes, my new silk bag, and a scarf. And, those boys that were helpful came to visit. So we left the hospital. They called us a taxi. A man from the hospital came with us- we had to go get the police report. At the po po station they gave us some pink guava- yum. We ate it- skin and all and no tummy problems! Yes! I guess the universe decided that we had enough to deal with. We got to our hotel- it was ok. Of course my mother had plenty to complain about. The next day or so we spent eating, sleeping, and figuring out how and when we were getting home. The man at the front desk of our hotel said his friend died the same night we were in the accident from a bus hitting his car. This type of thing happens a lot- the government is working on 4 lane roads. A couple hours before we left the boys came to visit once again. They bought us some local milk cake that was delicious. We chatted and headed off to the airport. Finally, and sadly we were on our way home. The flights were amazing. 16 hours of good ole plane riding. I barely slept because I was overwhelmed by all of the channels to pick from on my personal TV. Everyone had their own row except me and my ma. My mom got special service at the airport- she was in a wheelchair- so we zoomed right through all the lines. We arrived back in Burlington to snow and my lovely father. And now were are home- still jet lagged and my mom gets her stitches out in 2 days. Shes excited, but mad because she cant hot tub it. Oh and Yoli- our dog- is being held hostage by the head of Guiding Eyes- it's because she likes her too much. We'll have her back in a  couple of weeks until March! I cant wait! 

All in all. I liked India. The people that don't see you as dollar signs or walking George Ws are amazing. They are some of nicest most sincere people I have ever met. If you saw the news today, I'm sure you were in formed about the shootings and hostages in Mumbai- I have to say. I'd much rather be in a bus accident than held hostage. Here is the Mumbai Craziness Link. Thanks you all you dedicated blog readers. I hope you read these ones too. It took me long enough to write. If anything really interesting happens Ill be a sure to let you know. :)

Me and my ma- our last minutes in India

My mom's foot

Anyway...

I woke at 2:30 am to our bus slowing down and then to a sudden thrust, dust, and screams. I could barely see. I honestly thought we were bombed. Within seconds I had my small bag over my shoulder telling my mom to come. She only said, "Kali, I'm stuck." Immediately, I assessed what the hell was going on. We were hit by a bus behind us. This caused the luggage compartment behind us to push our entire row of seats forward into the seats in front of us, leaving my mom's right leg sandwiched between the two. Luckily, my big backpack was there to help buffer the situation. It took maybe 20 minutes to ease her foot out, in the process I had to wedge myself between my seat and the one in front of her to break it, to relieve some of the pressure. It helped, but didn't solve the problem. The man, on her right, was not hurt because the frame of the bus blocked him from being pushed forward. He helped get her foot out, once it was out, we wrapped it in a piece of cloth- it was bleeding-a lot. Some of her flesh is still on that bus. I crawled out of the way to another seat, within seconds I could barely see or hear and felt like I was going to vomit. While doing so, I had my head hanging out the window to see the other bus- the entire windshield was broken and shattered. Anyway, I forgot to mention, my headlamp came into use numerous times. The older man next to me disappeared, but his little boy was screaming endlessly. He was stuck between two seats, without the cushion of a backpack. Eventually people got him out, without blood too. People came and went, some were eager to help and others were ass holes. Within 45 minutes or so and a few more weird head moments, an ambulance came. I remember being assisted out, as soon as I stood up, the world became fuzzy again. I had to sit. Once I made it out to the ambulance, people were being bandaged up. I still couldn't see or hear well, and I still thought I was going to vomit. As my mom was being fixed up, the boy and his grandfather were carried to the ambulance. The boy had a broken leg and the grandfather's right leg was broke in two in two places below his shin, all the skin was in tact, it was just the bone that broke. more later

In India everything is possible, but nothing is easy...PHOTOS

INDIA #1
INDIA #2
INDIA #3
INDIA #4

So, India...

As many of you know, my mom and I are home early. For those of you who don't I'll explain from the beginning.
We were sad to leave Udaipur, but we had to move on. We took an overnight bus to Ahmedabad. We were told we would be there at 6 am. We had a sleeper. This means a little cubbyhole above the seats. We shared one with our luggage, it was tight but comfy. We got to Ahmedabad at 3:45 am. Scary. We had no idea what to do. A tuk tuk driver offered to take us to his friends shop to buy bus tickets. With much reluctance, and few options, we went. We woke the people up of course, they told us a few different options on how to get to Diu, the island town we were planning to go to. We didnt like any of them, because it involved waiting around for 3 hours. So we made the driver take us to the train station, where we found out that there were no trains, we had to take a bus. So we went back to the shop and decided to buy tickets directly to Diu for the next night at 9:30 pm. The driver then took us to a place to stay. The first place, no one would answer the hotel door. The second one, I went up to look at. It was gross, but sleepable, also recommended by Lonely Planet. I made my mom decide. She okayed it. So we moved in for the next 15 hours. We slept. Woke up mid day. The town was ugly and industrial. We had ice cream for breakfast. We found a super slow Internet shop and a post office. We then ate lunch at a really good local restaurant. Everything in India is vegetarian. To find meat is actually hard. When we went back to the hotel, the owner said our bus was cancelled. There was no other one to take. We didn't know what to do. The town sucked, Lonely Planet failed to mention any nice town near by. We went to our room wanting to cry. He later came to tell us there will be another bus that left at 10 pm. We said we wanted it. He said they were seats, not a sleeper, and in the last row. But they were the only two seats left. The other company returned our money. The rest of the night we waited around talking with people in the hotel, and also went to a really busy yummy restaurant. That night we took off on the over crowded bus. Of course we had to have our bag with us, so they wouldn't be stolen, which was a pain in the ass. We thought the last row was all set with my mom, me, a grandfather and his grandson, and a middle aged Indian man. We were the only white people. Turns out the little boy didn't have a seat, it was shared with his Grandpa. A young, business looking Indian man came on and insisted he have the window seat, which was fine because it was his seat. Of course it wasn't easy moving things around to let him sit there though. Little did we know this would be our last bus ride in India- cut short.

India!

Okay...
India...
Is crazy...
To begin we were in Delhi. There, we were conned into hiring a taxi from Delhi to Udaipur, for 6 nights, including breakfast and hotels. We thought we were paying for train tickets to Udaipur, until we were being toured around Delhi and the driver said he would be with us for 6 days. It seemed pricey, but it was 7:30 am and we were in Delhi, any help we found we were bound to take it. Anyway, that day we toured Delhi, saw Gandhi's tomb, a mosque, and children banging on our windows begging for money and dancing. That night we headed for Agra for 5 hours, where the Taj Mahal is. The driver wouldn't let us sleep. The hotel was grungy. The next morning we went to see the Taj for sunrise, which turned out to be hidden by fog for the next 2 hours. Of course no one thought to mention that in the winter you cannot see it. So we wandered and saw what we could, went inside and so fourth. By the time we left it was visible but not clear. It was beautiful though! That day our driver took us to dumb shops that we didn't want to go to because he got a commission and we headed for Jaipur. He got mad because we refused to buy the expensive things (he got commission for it), so he wouldn't listen to us for our 6 hour journey. We had to pee and eat, we managed to get bananas and he brought us to a tourist trap bathroom, where again he gets commission for just bringing us. Also along the way we went to a mosque and a fort. We only saw the mosque, where people followed us around trying to tour us. A little boy wouldn't give up and in the end we just had to look at his families handicraft stand. He also asked for an American souvenir. We also met a tuk tuk driver with a little boy, who was very cute and wanted my mothers whistle, she wouldn't give it to him. Keep in mind this whole time beggars and children were following us and pulling on us. I even had a kid feel my pocket. When we got to Jaipur, it was amazing. The guesthouse we stayed in was all marble. The family was soo nice. And the room was impeccable. We stayed for 2 nights. The next day we went to Amber Fort. This fort was completely surrounded by a wall. It was built in the 1500s I think. There we tons of tunnels and such to explore. This was better than the Taj Mahal. Then of course the driver and his guide took us to another marble palace, it wasn't very cool, at least in comparison. Then to a stupid textile shop, I refused to get out of the car, but my mother did. Shes a sucker. They get commission for bringing us and it is over priced. My mom bought 2 things. Shameful. The driver also told us, not to trust anyone, not to talk to anyone, all men want sex and only sex from us, the kids will steal, the food is often poisoned, and taxi drivers rape and murder people. Yes, this is what he told us. We mentioned it to the guest house owners and they couldnt believe he was putting those ideas in our head. It made us hate India for a while. Then we realized he was our problem. Anyway, I told him I was angry because we told him we didnt want to go to the expensive government stores and he took us anyway. He got so mad and upset he dropped us off at a market and we were on our own for the rest of the day and night. We shopped in a market, met some nice local people who didnt rape, murder, poison or steal from us. Then we went to dinner at a nice place. After we had one bike carrier ask to take us home, it was far, he followed us for 20 minutes, until he realized that we really weren't going to take him. We also had a puppet man follow us and try to sell to us for a while. He waited while we were online in a shop and asked us again, and a nice little boy who didnt ask for money showed us the internet shop. The following day we left Jaipur and went to Pushkar. There a camel festival was happening and a religious bathing in the lake. It was insane!!! We met some cool people, we saw the lake but no camels. We only had 3 hours, our driver didnt even want to bring us to begin with. Also the driver at this time was still pissed off. We met some nice locals again. We had 2 guys come up ask to take our photo. It was interesting. And a man kept hitting my bum. We bought a good amount of stuff for very cheap. I know we must stop. Anyway from there we continued to Udipur, where we are now. We arrived late and the hotel was booked so we went to a different one. It was really nice. We had dinner at a Thai and Indian restaurant, which was excellent. It was fun to talk Thai again. Today, we changed hotels. The new hotel is sooo fancy and nice. We are very lucky.. We saw some boring gardens and then then told our driver to leave a day early. He hated us and we hated him. He was creepy and annoying. Then we walked around Udipur, which is the Venice of India. It's beautiful. Ill write more again later, people are waiting for the computer. Peace and love!

Crazy India

Literally, crazy! That is the best way to explain it. It is both good and bad. I'll update more later!

We are in India!

We are here and will be traveling around NW India over the next 10 days. I'll keep it posted if possible!

Malaysia

Kuala Lumpur Photos
So you should comment on my previous posts, so I know people are reading them. Anyway, here are some new photos. My computer is dying, once again, so I am shipping it home soon. In about 12 hours we will be off to the airport to fly to India. Very exciting. I'll try to keep the blog updated as much as possible. I think India will be very hectic though, same with Morocco. So if you dont see a post within the next 20 days that is why.
So Kuala Lumpur...
After settling in, we wandered about the city. We saw the Petronas Twin Towers- some of the tallest buildings in the world. Insid there is a huge mall that sells only top designer clothes and such. It was scary. We went to KL tower and up to the 214 floor to see the view of the city, see the photos. We are staying on a Petaling street so from 10am-10pm we are getting hassled. The place we are staying in is really nice, for pretty cheap. As you can see in the photos it seems like people are everywhere, but at 5 the street is completely filled with stands of people selling,even more so than the photo shows. We went to Batu cave, where there is an Indian temple. The photos tell it all, but pretty much there is a temple at the bottom of the hill, then you go up 300 stairs to inside the cave where the temple continues. The monkeys harass you and steal, so you have to be on your toes. We were blessed numerous times for money, while in the temple. It is sad to see a very important temple turned into a commercial tourist trap, and worst yet I supported it! I have to admit it was interesting, but the whole area was built up for people like me. Other than shopping and sight seeing we dealt with logistical stuff. We are staying in China town and we discovered that there is only one bar- a reggae bar. Unfortunately, everyone smokes inside, so it is hard to breathe. So now we are sitting about to order our new favorite Malaysian dish, Tahau Sumbat, friend tofu with cabbage, lettuce and carrots and a sweet chili sauce. Oh yeah, this morning for breakfast we decided to wander around, we bought a peanut type pancake thing, delicious, 2 chinese donuts, a curry dumpling and, some soy sponge cake. It was very interesting and fun to try all these new things. Tonight we are going to some Saturday market and preparing for our early departure tomorrow. Hope all is well at home!

TONSAI

Awh Tonsai. Literally, we both fell in love with it. We planned on staying a few days, but stayed 2 weeks. We are not unusual tho. Some people end up staying for months. Tonsai is this little bay. It is surrounded by rocks and blue ocean. Climbers are everywhere. The atmosphere is backpacker and reggae/hippie. There are barely roads, but one truck manages to get around and maybe 3 motorbikes. There are jungle bungalows everywhere. The first two nights we stayed in a nice cement room with aircon for my hot mother. The next 3 we stayed in a bungalow. We booked for four, but monkeys broke in and stoles things so we moved out to a new cement place 30 ft from the beach with a fan. The first few days we just wandered about. It is easy to cross over to Railay east and west bay, where it is more commercial. There is an ATM there and power all day. Tonsai is run on generators and only has power from 5pm until 6am. Also Railay has white sandy beaches. Railay west is resorts, and railay east is not very pretty but a relaxing atmosphere. I rocked climbed 2 times. I love it and hope to keep it up. My mother batik-ed with Ozzy, a great Thai guy. We went snorkeling 2 times, once to Phi Phi and then to local islands, of course it rain both times. See photos. We got to know pretty much all of the locals, we have so many friends there now. I hope to go back next year. What made it such a great place was the beauty and the people. I was really sad to leave. Everywhere we went we felt so welcome, people knew us by name. It was just incredible. See the photos to get a better idea. On Halloween I got to see Job 2 Do, a very famous reggae Thai band, my mom was sick so she missed out. Now we are in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. I'd rather be in Tonsai, but this place isnt so bad. Ill do a Malaysia update before I leave. 

Sukhothai and Bangkok

Sukhothai is an ancient city that was the capital of Thailand in the 1700s. We took a bus from Chiang Mai to Sukhothai, very long and no bathroom breaks, yikes. Anyway we spent 2 nights in Sukhothai. The first night we just slept. The next day we woke, rented bikes and went on an all day journey around the ancient city, see the photos. Many of the Buddhas are very famous in Thailand. That evening we wandered around the small town, feeding stray dogs. That night we went back into the historical area. My mom was scared the entire time. Dog gangs were having barking wars, but other than that it was very peaceful and beautiful. The following day we took a bus to Phitsanulok where we caught a train to Bangkok. We had 8 hours to kill so we walked around a dead town, but by night fall the town brightened up, we had cheap massages, and wandered the night bazar. Once in Bangkok at 5 am we went to the backpacker street and got a shitty room for way too much money. We slept, walked around. Shopped a little bit. Went to the Grand Palace, where there was a ceremony going on with the King and Queen. They were honoring the deceased sister by adding a cap to the top of the palace. Tons of people gathered in order to be in the Kings presence. Very cool. At night we met up with some Payap friends and went to a bar. The next day we wandered and went to the airport. We arrived in Krabi, took a bus to a town called Ao Nang, stayed the night. The next day we arrived in TONSAI. 

PHOTOS GALORE

Don't be too overwhelmed...they are all worth looking at....it is from Thailand to Malaysia- the past 3 weeks
Sukhothai- and ancient Thai city

Phitsanulok and Bangkok

A little bit on Tonsai Bay- the most amazing place ever and Koh Phi Phi- where The Beach was filmed with Leonardo DiCaprio

Tonsai Bay- incredible and Halloween

More Tonsai Bay- saying bye

I went rock climbing!

Yeah!

Expensive Internet

We are doing great! The internet is super expensive, so I have little time to be online. We are having tons of fun, no need to worry. Still in S. Thailand. Next Sunday off to Malaysia. Ill update more when internet is cheaper.

It's been a while

Sorry about the lack of posting. I've been hanging out with my mom, taking exams, and preparing myself to leave Chiang Mai :(. I also don't have Internet constantly anymore. My mom and I have spent the last week shopping, a lot. Lucky you, gifts galore. I took my mom to the mountain temple yesterday, she loved it but got car sick from the 90 degree turns. I have met up with my friend Kyle, she went to Belize and UVM. She's now teaching English in Southern Thailand, and is in CM for the week. Last night we took Boon- my song tow driver- and his family out for dinner. He chose a place that is Thai buffet style. It was a huge area with play grounds and a stage, there is about 100m of food. There is raw stuff you can cook and then already cooked stuff. You eat until you puke, of course it was awesome. I don't really want to leave. We are not sure but I think tomorrow we will go to Sukothai, then to Bangkok, then to the islands to tan. Oh and I have been shivering when the temperature gets to be 80, I'm screwed for winter. Hope all is well at home.

Road trip

This past weekend I went road tripping with 3 of my new American friends. As you can see, we survived, and had lots of fun. We rented a mini mini van :). Nan is a Northeast town about 6-7 hrs drive from Chiang Mai. We stayed one night in Prae, a town about 5 hours away. In Prae we just kind of hung out, we met some 17 year old lady boys, they were cool. The next day we went to Nan, initially it sucked. But by the end of the day we found a nice guest house, and some traditional boaters and group exercisers. Also a nice restaurant and bar. The following day we headed back to Chiang Mai. Yes we did lots of driving, but it was fun and beautiful. I highly recommend looking at my photos 1) to get a grasp of young lady boys and 2) to see the beautiful scenery. This week was the last week of classes. Crazy! I am half way through my senior year of college. I feel old and not ready for "real life." My mom will be here in less then a week! So exciting. It'll be fun to show her all around, though I have stupid exams (1 the day after she gets here, 2 the following monday and 1 that tuesday- i probably wont do too well) then we leave Chiang Mai 2 days later :(. We will be begining our 2 month adventure, starting off with Laos. Hope all is well in VT and the US, dont forget to look at my photos and post comments :) Peace.

New photos from Nan

Photos from Nan 1
Nan 2

I have ants in my computer

Seriously, I just opened up my laptop and three were running around. Then two seconds ago another crawled out of a corner. I killed each and (oh another one) every one, you would think they would learn. And another one... They are endless. I don't understand why they like my computer. Probably because it's a Mac Book and its oh so pretty. Well, I didn't start a blog post to tell you about the ants in my computer, but because this past weekend for my Tourist Guide class (I just killed another ant) we went on a class trip to Pai, a town a little bit further north from Chiang Mai. I just killed yet another ant. I also flipped my computer over to look by the fan and there were five! Yes, I smushed all of them. I think they make babies inside, which is probably why my computer might die at any moment. Oh another one- it just got away! Got it. So back to the story, (by the way I am not exaggerating- I really have killed that many ants in the past 5 minutes), I just killed another, it crawled out of my F key, and another. Okay, well we (my class of 12 plus the instructor and 7 friends) left early Saturday morning for Huay Nam Dang a national park, see the photos, it was beautiful. Then we took off for some random Japanese bridge that is super old. Then to Coffee and Love, a coffee shop that I guess you have to go to before entering Pai. I just killed an ant on my arm. My bother just called, and I killed like 5-10 more. So then we went to a hot spring, very nice. Then to Pai to our resort. We ate, and relaxed. Then went to a market and bought food to bbq with. That night we just ate and hung out. The next morning we took off to a cave. See the photos. Then we saw a viewpoint, very nice. After we went back to Pai, ate lunch, walked around, saw a temple, and headed back to CHiang Mai. It was a good weekend. So I just killed like 20-25 ants. Im going to ant hell. Oooo 26....29...seriously ant hell.

Oh and here are some photos:
Very trigger happy
Even more trigger happy

Too much

My days in Chiang Mai are coming to an end. I have two weeks of classes left, crazy. So I went to Chiang Rai two weekends ago. Here is a brief description: Ping and I took the local bus 4 hours to Chiang Rai, where we found a nice backpacker inn. That night we wandered around to the markets and got some dinner. The next morning we hired a Tuk Tuk (taxi-ish) driver to take us to the boarder. Along the way we saw; a temple on a hill overlooking Chiang Rai, mountains that you could see a Lady of the Lagoon formation, monkeys and a cave, and then Mae Sai- the crazy boarder town. That night we got back, ate dinner, and passed out. The next morning we headed to the Golden Triangle- where Laos, Thailand, and Myanmar boarder. First we went to the Opium Museum. This explained the history of opium and why you should never ever do drugs. We then hired a boat that took us over to Laos for about 10 minutes to see a market solely for tourists to say "I went to Laos." I bought playing cards for $1- in Thailand they are like $6. The boat ride was nice, it was during sunset hours. That night we stayed in a very sketchy hotel, with a creepy owner. The town was empty. I was the only white person, therefor I turned a lot of heads. I decided to just hangout inside our room. The next morning we wandered a bit more around the Golden Triangle and then we went to Chiang Saen to get a bus home. But we took an hour to have a massage by the river. From there we took a bus to Chiang Rai, ate dinner, and took a local, very shitty bus home, on the way our tire popped- so we were delayed for about 45 minutes. Finally Sunday night I got back home to Chiang Mai.

The North of Thailand

I went to Chiang Rai, Maesai, and the Golden Triangle with my friend Ping. Here are the photos.
One
Two
Three
Four

Kickin' it in Chiang Mai

Hello Folks,
So nothing too exciting has been happening here. I've been going out a lot- too much- and just hanging out in Chiang Mai soaking up every last minute I have. I've made a couple of new friends, whom I will be sad to leave once Oct 16 rolls around. Tomorrow I am off to an even more northern town in Thailand with my Taiwanese friend, Ping. I'll update when I get back. Hope VT is spectacular!

Wow

The US is being attacked by a hurricane and Thailand is sinking into a political state of emergency. I was told today that we are not allowed to leave Chiang Mai. Hmm. Though no one seems too worried here. Chiang Mai is much safer than Bangkok. If your concerned stay updated with BBC. Anyway, on a happy note, as you can see by my photos, Payap Interntional College put on an Amazing Race. We were broken down into groups and given a list of scavenger hunt activites to do, each with varying points. We had about $15 and song tows (like taxis) were hired to take us around Chiang Mai. My team came in 3rd place out of 5, I think. We had to do things like, drink coffee from a plastic bag, interview the president, eat khao sauy, and many more. See the photos, they fully explain. Even though we didnt win, it was quite fun. The next good thing is I went zip-lining through the jungle. I organized a group of 17 from Payap. We got a really good deal on it. Sunday evening we all took off to Thailands third largest mountain. There, we geared up and were sent off to zipline. The highest point was 90 meters. Some people would scream the entire way. Of course, I kept my composure :). Literally, we would zipline from platform to platform for about 2.5 hrs. 3 times we were lowered on a pully- my favorite part. Once we finished, we were fed and brought back to the dorm. Look at the photos, they are much more interesting. Okay! Hope all is well! Peace.

MOre photos

Payap Intl. College Amazing Race
Zip-Lining!!!
Just some more photos. I'll post about the events tomorrow. Night! Oh and please make comments, it encourages me. Thanks.

Photos

Angela and I at Rooftop.

Me in Champ's glasses.

Birthday dinner- pizza.

At Swensen's- our favorite ice cream place

Kristie, Kirstie, me, Pauline, and Naomi

French Pizza!

Emily and I

At a bar

My trekking photos

Trek 1
Trek 2
Trek 3
hope you enjoy looking... :)

Oh the jungle...

So this weekend could very possibly had one of the best weekends of my life. For those of you who do not know, I went trekking. I went with a tour company called Panda Tours. It lasted all weekend, Friday to Sunday. Friday we had a late start so our itinerary was moved around. So we arrived at a field where we were fed. After, the tour guide, Kay, led the way. Little did we know we would spend the next 5 hours hiking. There was me, 3 Spaniards, 2 Swedes (we called them Mr. and Mrs. Rambo) they looked like they should be on the cover of a fitness magazine, 2 Korean girls, and 1 Canadian guy named Javieer. We hiked through the jungle, walking on logs over huge holes in the ground, very steep terrain, and to a bat cave. The cave was interesting, I didn't see any bats though. We then proceeded another hour and a half up and down to a Hmong village. This is where we spent the night. We stayed at a large hut designated for tourists. The tour guides made us dinner. Oh another tour guide joined us, named Bond. We sat around enjoying the fact that we no longer were carrying backpacks and our feet had no pressure on them. I took some photos of the village and the surrounding nature. After dinner the tour guides played some games with sticks, thinking games with simple solutions. We woke the next morning, ate breakfast and headed off for our first waterfall. Bond, the tour guide was showing off by climbing up the waterfall. You will see in my photos. The next part included going on a ten minute walk to the elephant camp. There, I refused to participate in the riding of the elephants. So I hung out, played Uno with Bond, Kay, and a guy who worked at the camp. I also wandered, found a waterfall, took photos, and played with the elephant that I was supposed to ride. I was dreading the start of hiking again. Little did I know that the next 36 would be the best yet. It began with a steep climb through the jungle. As we hiked, Bond took note when Javieer and I were tired. So he would stop and show us beetles and such. Once we got past the steep stuff, Bond showed us spiders, interesting trees, and a natural swing (see the photos). He led us all the way to a new waterfall. This was the best one. We went behind part of the waterfall. It was simply a nice setting in the sunshine and a pleasant reward after the hot hike. Once we were cooled off we hiked for another 10 minutes to our home for the night. When we arrived the place was a mess, but within the hour someone came and cleaned up. Bond made us noodles for lunch (see the photos). We were greeted by a cute black puppy, who I later found tics on. We arrived around 2, I think. We decided to just hang out for the rest of the day. We hung around, took photos, talked, and cooked dinner. Some village children came to visit and played with our phones and cameras. Overall it was a great day! By night, I went to bed to only be woken by Javieer every few minutes saying " ppssstt... Kali, you awake? Did you hear that?" There were critters about, but we had nets surrounding us. I think it was just the puppy anyway. Instead of consoling him, of course I had to make the situation worse by saying bats and rats were surrounding us. What can I say, it is in my nature to be an ass hole. Once I finally feel asleep, the next morning we woke up, mingled about, the kids came back to hang out, Bond made us french toast, yum. We took off hiking for about an hour to go bathe in a waterfall. This one was nice, but not my favorite. We arrived back at the cabin, and headed down the road to a lunch spot, where we met some Japanese who were taking off on the trek. Oh, while walking down, Bond wanted to show us fighting beetles, so he took off into tall grass. When he came out, his leg was bitten and bleeding! We think by a snake. I was worried but Bond didn't seem to be. He had a snake bite kit. We continued walking, he wasn't as cheerful as he normally is. But he turned out to be okay. We were fed some fried rice, Bond sang Karaoke, and we watched the men's final volleyball Olympic game. After about two hours the rest of our group arrived and we headed off to go white water rafting! We rafted for, 1 hour supposedly, but it felt like 20 minutes. It was a teaser trip, so now I want to go again. We then headed home. I went home showered, and took Javieer out in town. He didn't get a chance to see Chiang Mai, so I offered to show him around. Maggie came with me and we met up with 2 American girls. GOOD WEEKEND!!

Lots o' crap

I write this blog as I listen to Radiohead- not a typical band I listen to but due to my lack of options lately, it seems to be the only band that I have not over played. It's been a while since I have written on this blog, actually written. Feel free to skip this entry, I have a feeling it will be long and I'll probably write some things that might be better off not published on the Internet, but oh well, I'm going for it anyway. Ha, now I have you all hooked. Seriously, I am writing it more for myself because I find myself more inspired to write for others while typing, rather than writing to myself in a journal. So you can choose to read it; no judging allowed though. Here it goes: I am truly overall enjoying Thailand. I have all the free time in world. I get amazing massages a couple of times a week for dirt cheap. I read, play on my computer, bike around, go into town to wander, swim, get acupuncture, eat good cheap food. School is easy. Seems like the life. And it pretty much is except I wish I could share it with all of you from home. Wasting time the way I am is much more enjoyable and memorable when you have the opportunity to share it with people you love. Wow, now I am sounding corny. It's the truth though. Okay now I am going to break down the rest of the blog into categories, so you can easily pick and chose what you want to read.
School: Warning: this paragraph has a lot of complaining
My school, I will not mention the name because I don't want it to come up in google when it is typed in, sucks. There are a couple of my teachers who care a little. Two of them are so oblivious to teaching and knowledge I don't know how they got to the position they are in to begin with. One of those being the worst teacher I can ever imagine. They simply give us articles each class we read it, and write a response, hand it in and leave. No discussion, no feedback, nothing! I am more than half way through the semester and I have not received one grade, not one, from any of my classes. We had midterms two weeks ago, I still haven't heard about those either. I feel bad for the people getting an education here. Also, everyone plagiarizes. I have had a couple group projects and people copy and paste their papers! I've thrown a few fits because of it and still the teachers don't really seem to care. It's bizarre. On the other hand one of my teachers really tries to teach everyone, which is hard because there are varying levels of English in the classroom. Overall, it's nice it is an easy semester, but I never thought I'd be so frustrated with not learning, especially because the topics are interesting. I also came to Thailand more for the experience than the learning, but I would really like to learn an Asian perspective on some topics, like tourism. Another thing is one of my teachers blames everything that is wrong with our world on America. I know we contribute to a lot of materialistic values and such, but not everything is our fault. They also always mention how we influence Asia to be like us, but they put the full blame on us and doesn't think that it's Asias fault in anyway for conforming to our ways. Anyway, that teacher is my favorite though. My ranting about school is done.
Things I've been Doing:
I have actually been going to the gym regularly, which is nice. I have also began acupuncture. I did it initially for a sinus infection, that wouldn't leave. Now it is for allergies, immune system and stress. I like it. It was $100 for 10 sessions, I've always wanted to try it, it seemed like the perfect opportunity. The doctor is really interesting. her son used to live in Burlington Vermont- she visited him there last year. He teaches at Brown now and is a Cardiologist. Her daughter goes to Columbia. And her other daughter lives here. She is a spunky older woman who has been doing acupuncture for around 20 years. She used to be a anesthesiologist, but she told me she liked acupuncture more, obviously, so she decided to only do that. I found a massage place that is not even $3 for an hour long massage by a trained massage doctor. No complaints there. I have also been going to town and staying the night the past couple of weekends. It's more fun and just as cheap as getting a cab ride back to my dorm. Yesterday, I went to a pool and the Thai sun was out! :) It's is more intense than I have ever imagined sun can be. Luckily I swam in my sunscreen numerous times so I am not burned. I have been keeping my eyes open for a class, such as Thai Massage, or a Chakra healing class but they are all expensive and are 5 days a week, which I cant do. Hopefully, I'll find something by the end, if not, oh well.
Thai Culture:
I need to take photos, but here are some things that I find weird. Public places rarely have toilet paper, so you need to carry it around with you. They also have sprayers by every toilet to spray yourself when your done, I have yet to try it... The showers are often just a shower head in a bathroom so water gets all over the toilet, floor ect. When Thai's cook food with meat they use every part, the fat, bones, everything, so I need to watch out what I am biting into. MMMmmm one of my favorite things is green papaya salad. It is shaved green papaya, with peppers, tomatoes, sugar, fish sauce, peanuts carrots, tamarind juice, maybe some other things too- they usually add dried shrimp and crab- but I ask for the veggie version. It is oh so delicious! If any of you ever come to Thailand you must eat a roti, papaya salad, and their smoothies. Oh they also make waffles a lot, and I tried one with sliced banana cooked in, very good!
I have about six weekends left: This is what I am going to do...
Go to hot springs
Go to a cave
Go ziplining
Go to Laos
Go to the Golden Triangle/ Chiang Rai
Go on a jungle trek
Go to Pai
...and I want to do more photography

Ahh that is all for now...I hope it was semi interesting... Feel free to post questions and I'll answer them

oops..here is the right one

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2109525&l=37236&id=6906696

More photos

More photos

Sorry for lack of posting. Nothing that exciting has been going on. Just going to school watching movies, and walking around town. I might go trekking next weekend. I'll keep it posted.

JUST SOME PHOTOS

NEW PHOTOS

I want to cry...

I was tooling along on my bike returning $40 headphones, when a motorbike pulls up next to me and takes my bag. I chase them. They win. I immediately go and put a hold on my local bank card. Then I went and spoke with Payap officials. I then filed a police report. I also put a hold on my bankcard at home. Anyway this is what they stole; $25, Payap ID, iPod- yes the last source of my music, my headphones, cellphone, bankcards, gym card, all, literally all of my school work- notes, handouts ect.. and a few other random things. And my nice bag that I bought here. Of course they already took the sim card out of my phone, so we cannot track them down. I think I am cursed.

Pinky and the Brain

So, we (as in me and my roommate) have 2 new pets; Pinky and the Brain. They adopted us. They hang out on our ceiling and eat our fly and ants, yes they are geckos. Anyway, they are little babies and come and go as they please, they especially like hanging out on the ceiling above my bed. This week was yet another boring one. I am "studying" for midterms. My first one is on Wednesday, I have 4 total. I experienced a group project with foreigners. Anyone in my group that was from SE Asia seems to think plagiarizing is perfectly fine. I had to be the evil one and tell them it is really illegal and we can get kicked out of school for it, they wernt pleased. Anyway, we redid it and it worked out okay, only okay though. So I have been sick again. Bah. I think a sinus infection got me. It's almost over though. Next week is a camping trip for Payap students, it should be fun. The weekend after that I think I might go trekking. So life should get more exciting shortly. I can't believe that half the semester is already over. Honestly though, I'm excited. I am too bored here. I need to be busy. Don't worry though, I am taking advantge of the relaxing semester. Well if anything exciting happens, I'll be sure to update. Maybe Ill go around and take photos of weird things Thai to post. Peace.

Boring week..

This week was uneventful. My computer seems to be in and out of the computer hospital. I have it back now, but my external hard drive is broken, so now I am starting from scratch. All of my information is gone. I dont have word or microsoft, because my disks are at home, therefor I cannot do any homework on my computer. The internet isnt good enough to download open office. Oh, the internet only works on 2 computer right now, the one I am on in the lab and my roommates laptop. Every time the internet goes out, it seems to choose a couple computer to still work. Its weird. But the internet has been out for a couple of days now. Also you can get rip off, microsoft here for like $3, but they only have it for PCs not macs. As you can see not really the best week. On the bright side I got a facial, bought the turquoise pendant I have been wanting since I got here, and I got a sweet henna tattoo. Anyway, I'll update again soon. Peace.

KJSDFHAJKSDFHUIASDFNAWEKR!!!!!!!!!!!!

ALL OF MY INFORMATION IS GONE FROM MY COMPUTER AND MY EXTERNAL HARDDRIVE!!!!! 6,000 SONGS, 6,500 PHOTOS, AND 3 YEARS OF COLLEGE WORK. AWESOME.

the photos

Ko Chang and more

White sand and blue water

So this past week I was on holiday from school. Thank you Buddha for having a birthday. I decided to go to Ko Chang, an island on the eastern side in the Gulf of Thailand. I flew from Chiang Mai to Bangkok, slept in the airport, and after a lot of wandering and questioning I found the bus to take me to the pier that would carry me over to the island to get a taxi to then go to the TreeHouse, on Lonely Beach. None of my friends were interested on coming along, so I went on a lone adventure. The trip there was long an tiring. Once I got to my destination, I found a place to stay. The guy running the place was very rude and not very nice to converse with. But i chose to stay there anyway, it was about $2.50 a night. I had my own bungalow near the ocean, with a mini porch and a hammock. Sounds nice right? Not really. Very, very budget. The huts were made of sticks and the beds were moldy and there were no locks on the doors. We had shared bathrooms, that were squaters. The showers were buckets. I liked it though. But because of the situation there was little airflow, and it was quite hot to sleep in. I stayed in this hut for 2 nights. I moved to a place behind it that had its own bathroom, a fan and locks for $6 a night. This place was also moldy and very dirty. That is Thailand budget accommodation. If I really cared, I could have spent $30 a night on a super nice place. I know it sounds like I didn't like it, but is really wasn't bad. I enjoyed the hut more than the moldy room. The first day in Ko Chang, I took it easy. Ate some food and wandered around. The second, I made friends from Canada and Amsterdam, went to the beach and wandered again. I also laid in my hammock and read. The third day I just went to the beach. It was great. The sun attacked me again, but now I am nice and tan. The fourth day I took it upon myself to wander around the western side of the island. I first went to a fishing village, than to a beach where I walked like 5 miles and waded thru waist deep water, then to a couple of towns, and back to Lonely Beach. It was a good day. Sunday was down pouring. I left at 8 am to head north with the Canada friend. The taxi ride was in the back of a truck, without side panels. Very, very wet. Anyway about 10 hours later I was in Bangkok. I went into the city with Canada friend and we shopped. I bought lots of gifts...We wandered for a long time, I slept for about 2 hrs before catching a bus to the airport to come back to Chiang Mai. Now I am here. I am typing on my computer, but everything was erased. My external hard drive isn't working. And I cant seem to get connected to apple support. Fun times. Anyway, check the link Ill post later for more details and photos from my trip.

I will post again in a week...

Computers....

So my computer died. Yesterday, I woke up to do my usual computer obsessive email checking, and it wouldn't turn on. It just beeped at me. I called Apple and they told me to bring it to an Apple dealer. So I did. I showed them the beeping, they all surrounded my poor computer and began to point and laugh at it with wide eyes. Good sign. I asked if they had seen this symptom before, they said no. And quickly after he asked if I had everything backed up. Another good sign. Luckily, I bought a hard drive before I came and even brought it with me. Everything is backed up until right before I left. So I am only losing a little bit. Good thing I have mastered procrastination and have not began any projects yet for school. It would have been a total waste of time. Anyway, if they need to ship it to Bangkok- which I think they will, I won't have it for about 2 weeks. So my posts may be minimal.

Photos of me for family...

At the bar with the Thai blues band
Dinner, the new face is John
Song Tao Ride, Ping, me, Naomi
At Doi Suthep
Bamboo Rafting
Ox ride with Ping and two people we met
Me, Kirstie (my new roommate), Naomi, Pauline, Andrew
Me and Pauline at the Queen's Garden

my dance pants

The best kept secret

We discovered, by default on our way to get ice cream, the best market in Chiang Mai. There were no other farongs, aka westerners. Everything was even cheaper then normal and it was HUGE. The best part is, it is right around the corner from Payap. Every Friday night. I bought a bag and a shirt for $5. I need to stop buying crap, I know. It's hard here. Everything is soo pretty and cheap. The odd thing is, this market has been going on forever, and it's only a bike ride away. No one ever mentioned it. Well it's ruined now, I discovered it and it will be completely bought out by the time my mom makes it here, by me. Last night a few friends of mine and I ventured into town to see a Thai blues band. I met the lead guitarist a couple weeks ago. The bands name is Boy Blues Band. Because the guys name is Boy. They rocked out! I didn't know Thais liked good American music, most of them cover bands like Maroon 5, ick. These guys were so talented. They covered Stevie Ray Vaughn, BB King, Lightnin' Hopkins, and Eric Clapton. Click here to listen to them. Oh and back the the name Boy. All Thais have really long, complicated first names. So as children they get nicknames. Most Thais go by their nickname for life. Often their names are English. Some that seem very odd to me, but are fairly popular here are Computer, Tree, and Boy. They think it sounds cool. Just like how some hippie-down-to-earth Americans think its nice to name their kid Tree in some Asian language.
If your interested here are some Thai words:
Men add Krap to the end of every sentance
Women add Ka

Hello- Sawadi ex. female- Sawadi-ka
Thank you- Kha Phun ex, male- Kha phun-Krap
Yes- Chai (no ending)
No- Mai (no ending)
How much does it cost?- Mun racer tao-rai (with ending)
I want this- Chun ow anee (with ending)
Excuse me- Khor Thot (with ending)
Please- Ka- roo- na (with ending)
1- nueng
2- song
3- sam
4- see
5- ha
6- hok
7- jet
8- paed
9- kao
10- sib
20- yee sib
30- sam sib
40- see sib
and so on...

It's not that easy

Thai Dance

This is an example of Thai Dance, one of the classes I am taking. I know it doesn't look too hard, but you'd be surprised. It's a graceful dance...I am not graceful...

AND...

Oh, by the way, I now have an American roommate. My Thai roommate didn't like me, so she traded me off. I'm over it, I didn't move, she had to. I like it better this way. She was very young and immature, we barely spoke any words to each other. Also, if you haven't heard my mother and I will be traveling for two months after my semester; we will be in Thailand for 2 weeks, then to Malaysia, India, Morocco, Spain (briefly), Sweden, maybe a few other European countries, Ireland, and then home. Great trip, huh?

link

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2103230&l=17dfc&id=6906696

Bad immune system

So I have come down with a cold. It's not slowing me down much, especially because I have so much free time anyway. Saturday, the day I was supposed to meet the ladies to help out at Lanna Dog rescue, I never met up with them. Luckily, my friends were on their way up to a mountain so I joined them. The mountain is called Doi Suthep. It has a temple on top, a huge tourist attraction, but one of those things you need to see. The next day is when the cold came. I have been keeping low key, to try to heal. This weekend the International Student Union has planned a camping trip, that I would love to go on. Last night, I went to a real Thai market. It was even more inexpensive than the others. I also bought 6 movies for about $13. Not too bad. Ive posted more photos at...

If you read my blog....

You should post comments...they are fun to read. Kaphun Ka aka, Thanks.

Hot weather and three legged dogs

Yesterday, I hung out with two older European ladies. They are the founders of Lanna Dog Rescue. The began by picking up a cat from a ladies house, who found the cat in the woods. This cat, still a kitten, was paralyzed in her back two legs, one of which was so stretched out it was straight and looked like a tail. It was the most mangled cat I have ever seen. We brought it to the vet, they x-rayed it and determined that there was nothing they can do for it and that the deformities were caused by an accident of some sort. They don't put animal downs here, so we took her back to the lady, she has decided to keep it as a pet. Hopefully the kitten will grow strong enough to be able to get around on its front legs. Next we went to the Lanna Dog Rescue shelter. There were probably over 20 dogs. A good amount of them were missing legs. One was paralyzed and missing a leg. She managed very well though. Even though many of the dogs had been there for years and had some sort of deformity, they seemed happy. They were all up for adoption, but since they are not puppies and not perfect no one will adopt them. That is the exact reason why some people get rid of their dogs to begin with. The situation for the dogs is actually quite nice; they have a huge area to run around in, with a place to swim and the kennels are all open so they can come and go as they please. There is a couple who lives in the house on the property that take care of the animals daily. Oh, I also went to one of their homes. She has adopted 6 dogs. One of them is 3 months old. When it was a baby another dog bit its leg off. Someone brought him to her. She had to have the leg re-amputated. He is probably the cutest dog I have ever seen. He had such a good personality. I might just have to steal him. So later the ladies took us to the Temple to look for puppies that people dropped off. We couldn't find them so they two ladies took Naomi and I to lunch. We learned about their lives. One of them is a anthropologist, she spent 6 year with a hill tribe in northern thailand. Very cool.  After, Naomi and I went and hung out in town and then went to a Chinese market. This market is not even remotely positioned for foreigners. It was very interesting to go to a market and have an authentic experience. I will be volunteering for Lanna Dog again on Saturday. 

First official week...

So sorry it took me this long to post. I have had a busy week. Here is a quick view of my week:
My school schedule is set in stone. I am taking: Thai Drama and Dance, Tourism and Sustainability, SE Asian Societies, Tourist Guide, and Environmental Problems. I am going to volunteer for Lanna Dog Rescue on my days off. I am in search of an air conditioned gym and a pool at hang out at, I have yet to find one at a bike-able distance. School does not seem very challenging, still. I am interested in the subjects though. I eat ice cream on a daily basis, it's necessary in this heat. This weekend I went in to town and on a safari. Town, on Saturday, was a sweaty adventure, but a good way to explore the city. I went to my first temple. The safari, on Sunday, was fun and not very expensive, but I was sad to see all of the elephants in a domestic setting, entertaining people like me. They are incredibly intelligent animals. The safari began with a elephant show, then a ride on them through the jungle, then we went on an ox ride, ate lunch, rafted down a river, went to a butterfly and orchid farm, and our last stop was at a elephant dung paper making facility. It was in interesting day. The night concluded with the Sunday night market. Overwhelming, but fun. It was an exhausting day, but the most eventful one yet. You can check my photos by clicking on this link: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2102233&l=df06f&id=6906696

I've been busy!

Tomorrow night, my time, photos and all...

Thai Fun

Yesterday, I was saved my a few of my friends from laying in my bed all day, bored. They brought me back to the mall, where I shopped for shirts that I forgot to bring. We ate in the Thai food court, I had a crepe type food. It was dough on the outside, like a crepe and on the inside was banana and egg mixed together, condensed milk and sugar on top. Sounds gross right? It was incredible. Anyway, after that I went to the night bizarre. It was the best place I have ever been. Tons of clothes, jewelry, food, drink, and the list goes on. I bought quite a bit. I got a 1/2 hr foot massage for not even $2, pretty sweet. I drank a coconut, freshly squeezed OJ and carrot juice, and ate sweet corn all for $2.40. Today, I had 3 classes. They are all going to be really easy I think. I will probably be cursed for saying that and they will be really hard. I am dropping the Ethics class for Thai Dance and Drama. That's all for now.

Also...

I slept all night! I think I am finally adjusting to Thai time.

Wake up call

So I woke up this morning to people screaming through the halls banging on our doors. Apparently, it was our first fire drill. Not only did we have to proceed to the parking lot at 6:30 am, but they decided that it would be fun to play a name game with all 60 of us, since we were all up. Most of us were still in our pj's and for me that includes being bra-less. So I just stood there with my arms crossed. Luckily I managed to sneak out and back up to my room to write this blog and read my book. As for the rest of them, they are now having relay races- it was over an hour ago from the initial alarm. Looking out my window, most of the white people have peaced out, but the Thai's look to be having fun. My roommate has not come back. I simply don't understand, how you can be forced out of bed to then play games outside in your pj's and be happy about it. I guess i have a lot to learn. Anyway, the past few days have been good. I had fun at orientation. My classes are: Thai 1, Ethics and Lifestyle, Foundations of SE Asian Society, Impact of Tourism and Sustainability, and Environmental Problems in Society. I am the only student here that does not go to church. So all afternoon, I don't exactly know what I will do. Read, I guess. Tonight I will be going to the famous Night Bizarre. I will update you later on how that goes. It should be a lot of fun, and I will probably buy a lot of crap. Very exciting. Anyway, I don't know if I will ever want to leave Thailand, it is soo cheap. Yesterday, my new Thai friend May brought me to the mall- not my first choice- but anyway we went to eat at a restaurant. I got garlic rice, miso soup, Thai tea, and bottled water for $2.40 US. The buffet, containing mostly meat, was only $5. One thing I am really struggling with, since I am one of the few here only for the semester, is no one wants to travel on the weekends and I cant go alone. So I am stuck. Hopefully, I can find someone. I also find it hard to find people who want to venture around Chiang Mai. The school is outside of the city, so it is challenging to even get a ride in. The bus runs every hour, but you don't know when it will come. Oh well. With time, I hope to see and do everything I want, or else my mother will have to put up with me wanting to not leave Thailand. That is all for now.

Plaid blanket with sail and bird sheets....pretty sweet

Finally awake

I am writing this blog entry at 8:26 am from my new dorm room in Thailand. Yesterday was a day I barely remember. I was exhausted, and slept all day. I went shopping with my new roommate in town for some things we needed. She is a sweet girl, almost 18 years old. Most of the people around here are about 18. There are 3 other Americans that are about 22-23 who are in the graduate program. I have only had a chance to talk with one of them so far. I met a Chinese girl this morning who is technically a junior and transferred here to finish her last 2 years of school. I barely slept a wink last night, not only because I slept all day but also because it was afternoon in my brain. Hopefully I'll make it through today without napping so I can adjust to the Thai time. I have a cell phone number it is 66 801 289 1688. Sawatdi Ka is how to say hello if you are a female in Thai if your a male it is Sawatdi Krap. I have posted some photos, check out my bed spread...probably the most attractive set I have ever seen. Also, my uniform is someting to brag about (note: I am cheating- the waist should be up to my tits with button covers, a broach, and a Payap belt). Anyway I have to go tog o to orientation!

Ugh.

I wrote a nice long post and for some reason it didn't show up. Pretty much it said, I am here safe and sound. I haven't had much time to interact or explore due to exhaustion and I get to wear a sick uniform. Nap time!