Hua Hin and Prachuap Kiri Kan

Time to write again. Let me pick up where I last left off.

On four hours of sleep the BBA kids set off to Hua Hin, a beach about two and a half hours south of Bangkok. Courtesy of Thammasat and the BBA program, we were treated ridiculously well. We stayed in a five-star hotel, the Dusit, and enjoyed its gourmet buffet and private beach before we started “team-building” activities. A lot of them I had done before at LeaderShape, (yes, it’s spelled correctly), but I eat that sort of stuff up. The human spiderweb, the wooden islands, I love it all. When we were divided into teams and told to come up with a name for ourselves, how appropriate that each team came up with something alcohol-related. My team was “Singha,” which is the cheapest Thai beer, and our slogan was “smooth and fizzy.” Another one of the groups was “Happy Hour.” Beer is the major Thai cultural element that I guess we all readily identify with.

The resort we stayed at in Hua Hin:


After the games and get-to-know-yous were over we all spent the night on the beach, listening to music and truly getting to know each other this time. With the privacy of the beach we truly weren’t bothering anyone, which was nice. Something that made me laugh was that some of the other students who are not familiar with beaches panicked because the tide was low. I understand everyone’s tsunami fears, but come on. High and low tide!

The next day we visited the king’s summer home, which was my dream house. It’s technically a palace, but not ornate in the least. It’s a maze of highly polished, outdoor wooden walkways that connect small rooms (small, at least, for a palace). It’s all painted pale yellow and light aqua. Because the whole thing is on stilts, I felt like I was walking through a beautiful treehouse. It’s set on the water so it gets a nice breeze, and every room is open, so even while I was in them I felt like I was outside.

The palace:


After the palace visit the rest of the BBA group went back to Bangkok, and I stayed behind with about 10 others. We took a taxi to the city and got the first hostel that could fit all of us. It was… not nice. “Dark and gloomy” was how Lonely Planet described the hostel, and dark and gloomy it was. It also didn’t have enough rooms for us, so Marney, Meris, Charity and I decided to all share a room (one queen sized bed) for 100 baht ($3) each, but Charity got sick and threw up, so the rest of us ended up sleeping with two more people. Five to a bed was sort of fun, but every time anyone rolled over, we would all wake up and have to roll over, too.

All the girls in our 400 baht room:

The rooms locked with a padlock:

Not on the private beach anymore, Hua Hin was gross. It’s choc full of ugly Europeans who have been in the sun for too long, and when I got out of the water, a brown film was clinging to each of the hairs on my arms. Blech.

We stayed for one insect-bitten night and then did the most dangerous thing I’ve ever done before. We rented motorbikes (for $6 a day!) and left for Prachuap Kiri Kan, which according to all our travel books has a decent beach and a mountain in the middle of the town swarming with monkeys. The motorbikes were amazing. Amazing amazing amazing. I had been feeling homesick before we got on them, but once we got going that was no more. We went about 100 km/hr, which felt fast, for about 90 kilometers. And yes, I was wearing my helmet. We all were. I wish I could write more about it but I really can’t describe how I felt. Exhilerated, yes, but better than exhilarated. After the ride was over I felt a lot closer to the 6 other people on the bikes. We just kept saying to each other, “Eek! We’re alive! We’re so happy!” One of the guys I did it with (I was one of only two girls actually driving) was terrible. He weaved in and out of the road (for the most part, we stayed on the left shoulder) and would slam on his breaks at everything. If I was ever attracted to him before (not very much), I’m not at all now, haha. Oh yeah, and driving on the left side of the road was a trip. It’s actually not that bad, and I think I’m used to it now. At one point I found myself trying to remember which lane was the passing lane in the United States, and I got myself all confused.

Our newly formed biker group, from left: Bruno, Dylan, Brian, Jon, me, Meris, Brad, Natalia

The monkeys ended up being nothing special. They were really aggressive and all had a humungous tumor growing beneath their chins, which grossed me out. The town, however, was what I think of when I think of Thai beaches. Not clear water, but nicer than the water in Hua Hin, and a lot of green bluffs sit on the horizon. We motorbiked to one of them, and it was pretty incredible. Prachuap Kiri Kan is not a big tourist destination, and at both of the restaurants we went to when we were there, we ordered things that they didn’t have. (Basics, like chicken.) We should have just told them to make whatever they have, because I think we all ended up eating squid anyway. Prachuap is abundant in squid.

Marney at Prachuap Kiri Khan:

Still haven’t eaten bugs, but am now determined to tackle jellyfish. They dry it out here, which looks positively gross. I’m excited!

Last night was one of the best nights in Bangkok yet. We stayed in and made friends with a girl, Katy, who lives in the penthouse of the Rattanakosin. We spent the entire night on the roof of the whole building (38 stories high), just talking and looking at nighttime Bangkok. My friend Jake pointed out all the major buildings and temples that were lit up. I invited Justin but he couldn’t come because he’s getting over a cold. I can’t wait to hang out with him.

As I type this I’m sitting on a bench facing the river outside Thammasat’s cafeteria. It’s a nice day in Bangkok, and at 5:15 p.m. the sun is already beginning to set behind the water.

This entry is a bit scattered, because there's too much to write about.

Bangkok is DIRTY. Like, the most polluted city I've ever been in. Even though every day is cloudless, by 2:30 the sun goes behind the pollution, and the city becomes hot and muggy, but not what anyone would call "sunny." It's as if a light cloud were covering the entire sky. That means that I have to utilize my AMAZING condo's pool between 10:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. (or 14:30, which is how they tell time here).

The people are incredible. First, they're all extremely friendly and helpful. Instead of being put off that Westerners are visiting their country, they're delighted, and do most of what they can to help us in any way. I read that this is because Thailand was one of the few Southeast Asian countries not to be colonized, so they never got a bad perception of Westerners. I had a man approach me on the street and direct me and my new friend, Andy, to the most inexpensive canal ride in town. He went out of his way to draw Andy and me a map. And the students at Thammasat are just as nice. In my accounting class we have a homework due on Monday. Since it's about a Thai company, my teacher suggested that each exchange student pair up with a Thai student. When I first heard that I assumed I would have to ask a Thai student to help me out and be my partner; instead, two girls approached me and asked if they could be my buddy. They were excited to help me out. Really! I love it.

On the other hand, because they're poor and we're not, we get exploited. I've already learned to bargain a bit. At first I felt really shy and peculiar, even rude bargaining, but now that I've done it, there's no going back. It doesn't matter that 500 baht is only $15 and I would pay that much or more normally, it matters that they charge everyone else 200 baht.

A few things that drive me nuts:

- Very few garbage bins anywhere, so you have to hold your trash for miles. Absolutely no recycling bins.
- No sauce on sushi
- Every shampoo and conditioner sold is made for "straight and weighty" hair
- No toilet paper anywhere, and for the most part just sprayers
- No napkins to speak of
- Only ob tampons

The food is fantastic, and I've become a very adventurous eater.
I try to eat at least one very spicy dish per day, so that my taste buds get used to it. This is for my own personal satisfaction. I also love to try new things. I've eaten anything set in front of me, but a few goals of mine include eating jellyfish and insects. The other exchange students are worried about the street food, but I've gone as far as to have sushi from the street and I've been fine. If we're going to get sick, we're going to get sick.

Sample street food I'll eventually eat: (This is a chicken claw)


Tonight we went for Korean barbecue, which was delicious until I scalded my knee. The grill is set in the middle of the table, but it's plenty hot underneath. Afterward we set out for a club called "Bed," in which the seating is entirely beds, but we somehow wound up in the Red Light district. No worries (mai pben rai), Thammasat warned us all about it.


Everyone else seems pretty great so far. I'm rooming with a beautiful Hawaiian girl named Meris, who goes to USC. We live in a completely furnished (and when I say completely, I mean we even get wine glasses) condo on the 34th floor with two balconies overlooking Bangkok. It's beautiful and spacious and just $255 a month. Beat that, Austin. The other two girls from our group live directly one floor above us, and the eight other guys are scattered throughout the complex. We hang out every night, which I love. In fact, last night I can tell that no one did anything because three separate facebook albums went up.

We're going to Hua Hin, a beach down south, tomorrow on a field trip. Instead of coming back with the rest of the group, though, we're all staying through Sunday. I'm excited! My first real beachy Thailand experience.

The other exchange students have asked me, in complete sincerity, whether I have a gun or not. And have been similarly sincerely surprised when I've told them that there are many gay clubs in Texas. I've become accustomed to adding the phrase, "But I hate George Bush," after I get introduced to people. It's my personal mission to dispel all their preconceived notions about Texas.

Similarly, Thai people stare. I don't understand why, because I see caucasian backpackers everywhere, but it's true. Especially children. It's a humbling experience to be the minority in terms of race for the first time in my life, but I like it. The little kids and babies, especially, don't know what to think when they see me and the other exchange students. Some get really happy when we wave and smile, and others are too shocked to respond. What I didn't expect at all, though, was that Meris, who is Chinese by descent, would be the most conspicuous. She gets stranger looks than any of us, because Thais wonder what she's doing in Thailand. They can't figure out whether she's a funny looking Thai, or a Thai of Chinese descent, or what. And most of the time they try to talk to her in Thai. When she doesn't speak it back, they're even more bewildered that she's an American.

Lastly, (and since I'm technically here to study), I'm going to say that classes are the biggest culture shock of all. I feel more like I'm in high school than college, because the teacher spends most of the time trying to control the class. Thai students go so far as to talk on their cell phones while teachers are lecturing, which blows my mind. It's also to my disadvantage. I feel like I'm being more lectured at than anyone else since I'm the only one not talking.

Four hours until Hua Hin! I need some sleep. Pictures when I get back, I promise.