My first weeks in Thailand

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Hello dear friends!

Sorry that publishing pictures and writing the story took so long! My first weeks here have been very exciting and busy, just traveling around and doing many things, never at home in front of my laptop!

When arriving in Thailand I thought the weather is ok until...I went outside the airport! Damn it's hot over here! But now I am getting used to it, summers in Europe will always seem cold now I guess :D

All the students are placed at 2 accommodations near the campus. University campus itself is huge, we have a swimming pool, football field, tennis courts, gym, 2 banks, supermarket, shops, market on Thursdays, laundry service, post office, fountains, park and what else not! It is HUGE!

The first weekend we spent doing some shopping in the Future Park on Saturday, one of the biggest shopping malls in Asia, but I was pretty disappointed, only bought lots of sunscreen and some towels. On Sunday we went to the famous weekend market of Bangkok with more than 15000 stands. That was big! Too busy and crowded! Not a nice fact-in 99% cases all the clothes are in one size! Starting from underwear to dresses! Imagine small Thai and tall Europeans wearing the same trousers..?

First school week went pretty fast, after classes we went to the swimming pool which is between our accommodation and the school, like 4 min walk from my bed 😊 One day we experienced the center of Bangkok, that's a big city! And very busy at 18.00, traffic jams everywhere, smells like gas.

Next weekend we went to Hua Hin with 3 more girls, the oldest resort in Thailand where the royal family used to go on holiday. The South China sea was very warm, perfect! We also did jet ski and, of course, sunbathing! Breakfast on sunbeds, coconut shakes during day! Seafood for dinner. 250 km ride cost us 34 Eur, imagine how much would that cost in Europe? Taxis are very cheap here, use them every day, it costs nothing. In Hua Hin we stayed in a nice bungalow hotel less than a minute walk from the sea, 8,5 Eur per person. Nice prices here in Thailand!

The next week we went on a field trip to Pattaya (9.02-11.02) and spent 2 days and nights in a great, very luxurious resort. Thai massage was included in the experience, the spa was marvelous! Meals were included as well, the whole trip was just GREAT! We went out both nights and after wards went swimming in the sea at night, so nice and warm! Much better than North or Baltic sea :P

This last weekend (12.02-14.02) we stared with a party and continued with cultural program, we went to the Grand Palace and the temple of Emerald Buddha. Very impressive! But it was soooo hot and we had to wear long sleeves and trousers to respect the religion. Verrrry hot! Saturday evening we went playing Bowling and for cocktails, then went out to a club, where us, Europeans, were probably the only ones who actually were boys and girls and not....ladyboys or whatever....
Sunday was the big celebration of Chinese New Year, Bangkok was crowded, all the streets are full! But the celebration itself did not really leave an impression, was nothing special, just millions of people, that's it.

And Monday morning to university again! But classes here are not that hard, unfortunately we have them every day, they could have put them in 2 or 3 days...

My relationship with Thai food is pretty friendly from the first day on, I deal with it well! Others have problems adapting to spices and chilli in everything you can or can not imagine. Food is very cheap here, usually dinner and a drink does not cost more than a Euro, but, of course, often we spoil ourselves and go for more splendid experiences 😊

What we love to do here a couple of times a week is having massages! The prices are, of course, not comparable to the ones in Europe, so we enjoy it often!!! Lovely 😊

Another interesting fact - the Buddha calendar starts 543 years before the calendar we are used to, so now it is year 2553 here 😉 Look at the pictures of water bottles!

So, those are my experiences and impressions so far. I am doing very well, enjoying myself and Thailand! Hope it is not too cold in Europe, in case it is, come and visit me over here 😊

Promise to keep you posted!


Love,
Ilze

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Comments

[Zanda]

:)
Sounds so perfect! Have fun.. :*