24 hours of Bangkok

We only spent three full days in Bangkok, two at the beginning and one at the end of our trip. My expectations of Bangkok were not high. I thought of Bangkok as layover land. We would be here for the sole purpose and connecting flights to Phuket. I had imagined Bangkok either to be an industrial land crowded with business men, or you know, exactly how it is shown in The Hangover II. I was incorrect on both accounts.

While Bangkok is fairly industrial in comparison to the rest of Thailand, it also encompasses a different sort of modern laid back urban feel. Bangkok is a busy (understatement) metropolis. The city is full of beautiful Thai people (and an abundance of tourists), rushing streets with cars, and tuk tuks, lined with so many little shops and restaurants. It’s great.

Our first full day in Bangkok felt a little surreal. Stepping outside of our hostel to see what resembled remnants of jungle just outside our door was nice. Dogs were roaming the streets, lizards.. everywhere. We went for breakfast at this little outdoor place next to an auto shop. It was definitely apparent how laid back the culture is right from the start. I mean, how could you not be laid back living in Thailand? The atmosphere, and social interaction reminded me a lot of Cuba. We quickly learned that Thai food is ah-maze-ing. Everything is fresh and healthy and delicious.

Our first day was spent exploring. We took the sky train to the last stop Phaya Thai and just started roaming around with no agenda. I like the way we decided to tackle the day.

Markets & haggling: All throughout town there are markets, just everywhere. The weather is beautiful so everything is outdoors. Most of the markets we saw cater to females, so while it was great for me to buzz around from stand to stand, shop to shop, the boys were not having as much fun. The markets were certainly interesting though, and it’s fun just to haggle with people. We learned that heckling is a developed art form. Some people are good, and some people, just aren’t.  I consider myself to be a self proclaimed haggling pro. All six of us have very different approaches to haggling. Ranging from me who takes the overly friendlypatheticnicegirl approach, to Ryan and Dan who take the zerohagglingi’llacceptanypriceyougiveme approach to Derek who prefers the imgoingtotalkyourearoffevenifyoucantunderstandme approach to Greg’s approach where he just likes to see how low he can get a price… most times he isn’t even interested in buying anything. We all had moments of success, and moments where we were yelled at. All in fun.

Thai massage: Getting a Thai massage anywhere in Thailand is pretty hilarious. Women sit outside the parlors and will slowly drawl “Thai massaaaaaaageeee, want  Thai masaggeeeee”. The women yell at the guys in your group, and sometimes will get up and grab them. During the day the massage parlors are regular massage parlors, but at night they double at happy ending emporiums. We went in for an afternoon massage. It was a lot different from a Chinese massage. A lot more, painful. I’m sure when people think “massage” you think of a relaxing experience to loosen up your muscles. However, a Thai massage is a whole different experience. The job of a Thai masseuse is pretty much to ultimately pummel, prod and punch you. It’s a game of painful chicken. How much can the masseuse hurt you before you say “uh, no thanks”. It was an all around good experience, I think. But didn’t leave me feeling too wonderful.

Tuk tuk: A tuk tuk is pretty much a motorcycle covered in a big metal box type thing, and runs on three wheels. Our first experience with a tuck tuck was, interesting. I think tuk tuks are meant to fit only about 3 people. We were now at 6 people (Jeff met us in Thailand). We agreed on a price, and all just jumped in. Ryan, Greg and I were sitting on the main bench (actually Greg was hanging out the back). Derek and Jeff were squished on the floor. And, Dan sat in the front with the driver, on the battery… half falling out. It was pretty wild. If anyone hit us we’d be in trouble. I think it was a good first tuk tuk experience. The others may not agree though.

Muay Thai : Jeff, Derek, Ryan and myself decided to go to a Muay Thai match. I’m glad we got a chance to do be witness to such a cultural activity. In the crowds there was a lot of yelling and betting. Honestly I didn’t understand what was going on most of the time. And, I clearly do not understand the Muay Thai. I was usually wrong in my guessing of who was going to win. It was really cool.

 Another highlight of day one in Bangkok was getting my hands on some A&W! I never would have guessed A&W would be in Thailand. So happy.

Merry Christmarrrsss Part 3: Christmas with Grenica!

Christmas in China turned out to be quite successful, and less stressful than I had initially anticipated.

Greg and I started the day in a Christmas spirit stupor! Despite being on the other side of the world my affection for the holiday did not waver. We exchanged gifts. I skped with my family, and it was down to business. As quickly as I could I tried to tidy the apartment that Greg and I worked hard to clean the day before, get ready for our many guests, and start to cook!

Lizzie and Seth came over early in the afternoon to help with everything. We exchanged gifts and stocking stuffers. I was getting excited for Christmas dinner and our new friends who would be joining us to arrive, but, was still nervous as shit that I would screw up the cooking. I’ve never made dinner for this many people, Christmas dinner no less. Greg, Seth, Lizzie and I worked as a well oiled machine, and I think it all turned all pretty fricken great. I ended up making: a pot roast, butter chicken, shrimp/pork/broccoli curry, mashed potatoes (which were a group effort between Greg, Lizzie and I), salad (made by Greg), rice, and a stew thing with beef and carrots (it was originally supposed to be gravy but I messed it up a bit and made a last minute decision), Lizzie also made brownies that we forgot to eat at dinner… but I wasn’t complaining. The four of us ate them when everyone left, and they were damn good!

Our friends started to show up around 5:30. Slos and Maymay, Rita and Hyde, Jerry, Gangzai, Kamen and his girlfriend whose name I don’t know. The majority of them said they absolutely loved the food and were so gratuitous!! It made me feel so great (even if they were lying). Jerry walked in like he owned the place, so excited to be there. He brought us bottles of wine and champagne, and Angry Bird piggy banks for gifts. Slos, Maymay, Rita and Hyde kept telling us how amazing they thought everything was and how much they appreciated the four of us and how we invited them over. Though, really, it was our treat.

They brought tequila, and so the girls did a Christmas shot (or two). Our friends had to leave to go to work (at SoHo). And, while Seth, Lizzie and I were pretty much ready to go, Greg needed a little convincing. Maymay and Hyde made it their mission to get Greg out.

SoHo on Christmas. Weird. Not traditional at all. But, it ended up being one of the best night I think I’ve had there.

All in all, Christmas in China was great. It was no Ottawa Christmas with the Bansie’s, but it was a pretty swell substitute I’d say.