Snow Day

For our day off on Thursday, the House Mistress in one of the other girls' dorms took a group of us up into the highlands near Mt. Halla to find some snow and go sledding. We thought we'd find snow easily since there was a big snowfall just two days previously, but we were sorely disappointed.

The place we were meant to go was only spotted with snow, and impossible for sledding. Instead we made our way up higher onto the mountain until we reached the highest point you can go by road.

There there was a sort of park, with families sledding down a small hill and building snowmen. 

We tried sledding there for a while, and then hiked up behind the park to try to find a better hill. Again, we were disappointed, but we did make a snowlady!

The Koreans are not impressed by Anna and my inexpert sledding...

Later in the night we warmed up with some Korean BBQ in town. Yummmm.

Korean BBQ

On Friday night I went out to eat Korean barbecue with some of the other gap assistants. The majority of us are leaving Jeju in less than three weeks, so it was a nice opportunity to celebrate our final days together. I'm going to miss my friends :(

Count Down Party on Koh Phangan

The main reason we stayed on Koh Samui was its proximity to Koh Phangan, the site of the monthly Full Moon Parties and the annual Count Down Party for New Years. We sort of knew what to expect from the whole experience, since our friend had gone the previous year. His advice was to avoid the fire jump ropes and keep an eye on our drinks. His night ended when he had to bring his roofied friend to the hospital in bare feet. 

Fully warned by our friend's story and by the hostel owner insisting that "20% of our customers get pickpocketed every year," we boarded the speedboat which took us over to Koh Phangan. Upon our arrival, we noticed many shops selling accessories for the party. We outfitted ourselves in flower headbands, purchased the requisite neon body paint, and spent the next hour painting ourselves for the party and sipping booze from one of the buckets being sold on the street. 

Sufficiently tipsy, we headed down the road to the beach, where the real party was happening. There were masses of bodies (50,000 people!) swaying to house music and lines of men relieving themselves in the sea.

With the new year came fireworks, which exploded in the air above us. They were set off so close, I could feel the debris from the explosions raining down on my shoulders and face as I watched. I covered my eyes to avoid getting still-heated bits of firework in my eyes. Way to go Thailand! Safety first!

Not long after midnight, we were ready to go home. We joined the obnoxiously long queue to board the speedboats back to our own island, and hoped for the best. Two and a half hours later, after dealing with pushy, grumpy drunk people and after hopping a fence or two, we were able to board our speedboat. We got to our hostel at around 5:30am and collapsed into bed as the sun rose. 

 

Post-party hamburger. Not delicious.

Koh Samui

Directly following our flight back from Chiang Mai, we spent the day in Bangkok and then took the night bus down to Surat Thani and then a ferry across to the island of Samui. 

We arrived at the ferry port in the early morning after an uneventful ride south. The night bus ride wasn't too terrible.... No, the terrible part was the ferry over to Koh Samui. We sat outside on the upper deck, mouths firmly pressed closed, hands balled up and white knuckled, eyes fixed on the horizon. Our mantra became, "I will not puke. I will not puke. I will not puke..." As the boat sped through tossing waves. 

A group of attractive Australians stood talking and laughing at the railing, like an ad in a travel magazine. I watched one model-esque tanned male flip his hair back in the breeze, as I continued to stare fixedly at the horizon, trying my best to ignore the retching sounds of the Chinese man sitting behind me. 

Finally, we arrived at the island, white faced and grateful to be on solid land. We took a cab to our hostel and sprawled into our beds, exhausted but ready to hit the beach. 

A good summary of our time on Koh Samui is as follows: We ate a lot, we swam a bit, we did nothing.

Unfortunately the weather was constantly overcast, but it didn't stop us from laying out on the beach all day, trying to catch some rays.

Chilling at a cafe in Bangkok

Chiang Mai

We spent two days and three nights in Chiang Mai. Mainly we ate, but we also got up to some pretty cool things. We visited temples, participated in a monk chat (where we talked with a monk to help him practice English), did a bicycle tour of the countryside, went for Thai massages, and visited the night bazaar. 

On our second morning in Chiang Mai we went for a bike tour of the Thai countryside. Our tour group was small - Just the three of us and two other American women who are chefs in NYC. Our group meshed really well, and we had nice time cycling around and chatting with the women and our tour guides.

The tour included several stops at local places of interest. At each location, our guide, a fluent English speaker, would give us information about the place. First we stopped off at a local temple, followed by a rice mill. Our third stop was at a kindergarten, where we brought the kids snacks as a special treat. It was their last day of school before the New Year's holiday. The kids were cute. Bit grubby.

Next we went by a wood carving studio owned by a family. The shop we visited specifically dealt in elephant statues, but one of the women there was producing hawks. The studio's workstation was completely outdoors under a pavilion. We were able to watch women carve details into the sculptures, but we did not see the men, who were across the street doing more of the rough cutting and heavy lifting. The deftness of the female sculptors was astounding, and our guide told us that the family trains its kids from childhood to carve the elephants. They don't go to school, he said, they just learn how to carry on the trade.

Woman carving details into wood hawks

Debbie enjoys a cup of tea in the studio

The final stop on our bike tour was at a place where they make very elaborate wood, paper, and foil "death houses" to house bodies for cremation. The houses are built on request after someone has died, with the elaborate structures taking about three days to build. Once completed, the body of the deceased is placed inside for the funeral pyre.

Some of the more expensive houses were quite large and elaborate. The houses we saw were incredible works of art, and it was a bit sad to know that their purpose is to burn.

Wooden skeletons for the "death houses"

We were relatively tired after our 20km cycle, and chose to get massages in the afternoon. We had heard about a women's prison that has a program to train soon-to-be-released inmates in Thai massage, and we wanted to go there. Unfortunately we couldn't find the place and settled on a spa that employed ex-inmates.

Debbie and I opted for the traditional hour-long Thai massage ($6), while Hannah went for the expensive option, an hour and a half Western style massage + facial ($10).

In other words, Debbie and I shelled out $6 for a combination massage/ torture session. It started out nice, we were told to change into looser clothes, provided by the spa. We locked up our valuables and street clothes and they brought us into a big room with mats on the ground. It was a little odd because there were curtains in the room, but they weren't pulled shut, so I could see everyone else getting their massages. The room was also hot, and I was sweating through the first half hour of the massage.

But that was the least of my worries because the masseuse then began her work. It started out nice, like a normal massage, but some of it was extremely painful. She walked on my calves and quads, pressed her full body weight into my pelvis, cracked all the knuckles in my fingers and toes, and for the cherry on top she sat me up, put a pillow between herself and my back, and laid her whole body weight across my back so that I was physically folded in half. At this point I started going "ow ow ow ow owwww." and I looked over a Debbie, who was laughing....until her masseuse did the same thing to her and we were both crying out in pain. But then it was over, and maybe it was the relief from pain, but my body felt really good.

We celebrated the end of our torture session with Chang beers and nachos at the restaurant across the street as we waited for Hannah to finish off her soothing massage.

Cooking in Chiang Mai

On our first day in the Northern city of Chiang Mai, we took a Thai cooking class at the Asia Scenic cooking school. It was recommended through our hostel, so we were a bit skeptical about its quality, but it turned into one of my most memorable experiences on the trip. This was made possible due to a fun, young instructor, and a great group of classmates from around the world.

We were shuttled over to the school for the morning class, and right after meeting everyone, taking tea, and deciding our menu, we made the short walk to a small tourist market. There, our teacher taught us about different types of Thai rice, tofu, and noodles. We also got a chance to wander around and try some of the food in the market. 

When we got back to the school, we had some traditional Thai hors d'oeuvres, and took a tour of the back garden, where we learned about Thai herbs including lemon grass and ginger. The school was set up so that everything was under a pavilion. There were a couple chopping stations with cutting boards and cleavers. There were also wok stations and Western- and Thai-style tables all set up beneath the tin roof.

Finally, we got down to cooking. The first thing on my menu was Pad Thai, which I chose because I'm hoping it'll be the easiest thing to duplicate back home in the States. We started out by chopping massive tons of ingredients, and then we all converged around the wok station to cook. It was fun to throw down oyster sauce and stir ingredients and pretend that I knew what I was doing.

Next, we made soup and curry. Our teacher told us to spice our dishes according to our own preferences and tolerance, but she said, "The spicier the dish, the sexier you are!" So of course some of the men wanted to show off their manliness by adding many chillies to their soup and curry. I chose to make tom yum soup and green curry with medium sexiness. The curry was the hardest because we made it from scratch, grinding up the ingredients with a mortar and pestle.

When it was curry time, our class split up into competing teams for each type of curry -- red, green, and massaman. My team, composed of Debbie, Chan, and me, came in last, and our teacher had to come over and help us finish up the operation. We are weak. BUT, we did have the excuse that green curry is the spiciest, and we had to cover the dish with a hand to keep green pepper paste from flying into our eyes.

We gathered once more around the cooking station, finished cooking the dishes, and finally converged around the table to gorge ourselves before we were rolled back to the hostel. We spent the rest of the day working off our food babies by walking around exploring temples within the Old City.

The finished product - Tom yum, green curry, and rice

Wat Arun

On Christmas, before flying to Chiang Mai, Debbie, Hannah, and I went to Wat Arun. It was the last big must-see temple in Bangkok left on my list.

The main event of the temple is basically a big structure that you climb up, and then admire the view from the top. We left Hannah at the bottom with our bags to make the trek up.

Our Bag Lady

Honestly, the climb was a bit scary, as the stairs were long and steep. Once we got to the top, there was a fabulous view of the river and the city. 

Ladyboy Show Calypso

As a Christmas Eve treat, Debbie and I bought tickets to see Calypso, one of the top rated ladyboy shows in Bangkok. All of the actors performing in the show were male, but some were ladyboys and dressed as females, while the backup dancers were male.

The show was great. The choreography and costumes were expertly planned and the ladyboys were stunning -- they looked exactly like real ladies. Some of the acts required the ladyboys to dress in swimwear or very revealing clothing. I have never seen men with such curves. They had breast implants, but I think some of them had naturally curvy hips. I'm not sure. Regardless, it was convincing and I found myself envying some of their legs...

Post show photo shoot. They look more feminine than me :(

Jim Thompson's House

One of the few things that was really recommended for me to do in Thailand was to visit Jim Thompson's house in Bangkok. The house, located in the middle of the city, is like an oasis of green. Stepping out of the cab and into the walled enclosure we found ourselves surrounded by western-inspired Thai architecture and a beautifully tended garden. 

My favorite part about the experience is that rather than just blundering our way around the house, we were given a free guided tour through the premises. Our tour guide was funny and informative, explaining the different artifacts, art collection, and architectural points of interest. 

Another highlight of the day is that we were able to explore the house with Kirsten! A California native, Kirsten is currently on a three month exploration of Asia. We met for the first time way back in October when we stayed at the same hostel in Seoul. Just by coincidence we were in Bangkok at the same time, so we decided to meet up.

I really recommend a visit to Jim Thompson's House if you ever find yourself in Bangkok. The house itself, and the story behind it, are really cool. Jim Thompson was an American who singlehandedly made Thailand famous for silk goods. He took the already established Thai silk cottage industry and expanded it into global markets. He set up his house in Thailand before disappearing forever into the Cambodian jungle. He was never found and his body was never recovered. Some think that since he was in the CIA, his enemies finally caught up to him. Others say he probably just fell down a ditch. 

Ayutthaya

Finally Debbie joined me in Bangkok! And on our second day together we took a day trip out of the city to Ayutthaya, the old capital. The train ride there was long and hot, but eventually we made it to the station at Ayutthaya, rented bikes, and dragged them down to the river to ferry over to the main part of the city. At the bike rental shop, they gave us a map of the old city's ruins, which are scattered throughout the suburbs of modern-day Ayutthaya. 

Our first stop was the closest ruin to the train station - Wat Mahathat - which was full of people taking pictures, but still empty enough to wander around and get a feel for the place.

Next, we cycled to Wat Phra Ram, which is a bit off the beaten path since it is farther from the train station and too distant for most people to easily walk. Its distance and the fact that it was later in the day resulted in the temple being virtually deserted. We explored the ruins, and then having seen our fair share of brick piles, made our way to Wihan Mongkon Bophit, which we read housed one of Thailand's largest bronze Buddha statues....

....Unfortunately we were never able to see one of Thailand's largest bronze Buddha statues because the doors were shut and locked right in front of us as we approached the hall. At this point it was already 5pm, and our train back to Bangkok was set to leave at 7. Debbie and I decided we would take a leisurely ride back to the station and perhaps have some dinner and drinks before boarding the train.

We figured it would be nice to bike across the bridge, instead of taking the ferry back. That way, we could see more of the city and we wouldn't have to drag our heavy bikes down the many stairs to the river and ferry boat. The bridge ride would be easier and leisurely, right? RIGHT????

Wrong.

We followed our map up and across the river bridge, continued along what we thought was the right road, and then ended up smack dab in the middle of the Thai countryside. Kids were racing us on bikes, nobody knew English, and the signs were all written in Thai. We had no idea how to get back to the ferry terminal and the train station.

With the sun slowly setting and the last train's departure time creeping closer, we started to get a bit worried, but breathed a sigh of relief when we reached a sign pointing towards the ferry terminal. This quickly turned into almost panicked gasps as we discovered that this was in fact the wrong ferry crossing, and we had inexplicably crossed back over the river, or crossed some tributary and were once again on the opposite side of the river. It made no sense! Somehow we had entered some magical Thailand Harry Potter world where maps and directions and gravity no longer apply.

Along with some commuters and motorbikes, we boarded the ferry, as per the directions of the ticket collector, and crossed back over the river. The whole time Debbie and I sent each other crazed mental messages. Our faces fraught with confusion and primal angst, I sensed a telepathic freak-out from Debbie, "WTF. Why do we need to cross the river again!?" I read from her wide-eyed gaze. Eyes equally saucer-like, I slowly turned towards Debbie and responded with my own telepathic, "F*************************K...We're screwed."

Then our savior appeared. She came in the form of a lady on a bike wearing a bright green t-shirt. A baby was propped before her on the motorbike. Perhaps sensing the drift of our telepathic communication, she turned to us and, in perfect English, recited directions to the train station. Unable to believe our luck but still confused, we stared at her blankly. Seeing that the stupid foreigners were unable to comprehend her perfectly described directions she stated, "It's alright. I'll take you there."

And so there we were, following The Lady in Green on our bikes as she scooted ahead on her motorbike. By this time the sun had set and we were going down major roads on our bikes, praying that we wouldn't get bumped by crazy Thai drivers and hoping that somehow, O God, somehow we would make it back in time to catch the last train. By this time it was after six, and we had less than an hour to get to the station.

Looking back on the whole experience, I can laugh. It was incredibly stupid, and we must've looked like idiots. My bike had no manipulatable gears, but for some reason the gear was set so low that I had to pedal extremely fast just to go at a normal pace. My legs were flying around in circles just to keep up with Debbie and The Lady in Green.

Eventually we made it to the station, under our savior's guidance. We thanked her, returned our bikes, and collapsed into chairs at a restaurant. With a half hour to go before our train departed, we indulged in a much needed beer and promised not to talk about the experience for at least twenty-four hours.