Blogs from Chonburi, Central Thailand, Thailand, Asia

Yesterday afternoon, after posting that last post, we went to a nearby weekend market at a temple (Wat Bang Peng Tai). This is worth noting because there were a number of exotic animals kept at the temple including Red-necked Wallabies, Sulcatta tortoises, morbidly obese Black-tailed Prairie Dogs, and quite an extensive collection of exotic waterfowl. Nothing incredibly rare, but not the sort of stuff you'd find commonly in a duck pond and reasonable diversity - three species of whistling ducks and four species of swans for example. Even Greater Flamingos too. The temple is on a Khlong, one of the many canal things that go through Bangkok, and the waterfowl enclosures are mostly entirely on the Khlong with floating wooden areas as the land area (some of them also have a bit of actual land). Actually ... read more

For last few weeks i pretty much did nothing else than party wild, sleep where i could or rent a room for a night at a time. went with friends roaming all pattaya bars, a go go bars, gentlemen clubs and what not. Was a daily routine of waking up, getting drunk and perhaps find some food along the way. The "Dark side" of thailand i guess, when it all becomes alcohol and women from you wake up until you go to sleep.. with one or a bus full of women -.- ( or ladyboys if you are not carefull - HA)... read more

So a couple days ago there was a Thai Holiday called childrens day taking place and I had no idea what to expect. Well Mary informs me that they completely dress the little kids from the school in different outfits for different dances. There were several different dance routines and it was a bigger deal than I was anticipating. The dances ranged from traditional thai to a techno themed crazy dance and from ages 5-11. I have a video that shows off some of the young ladies dancing and they are decked out with make up and look like tiny women, kind of creepy when you are standing right next to them, not to mention I am a huge white guy filming them to make it even creepier haha. I am not one for children but ... read more

Well, living in Bangkok certainly is an experience. I have found that trying to capture those experiences in a blog does not really do justice to small, everyday things, such as trying to cross the street in Bangkok. Which leads me into today’s topic - travel in Thailand. Now that is an experience. BKK has a great mass transit system. Above ground is the BTS, which is an elevated railway over the city. You can buy a pass, jump on board and look down at all of the people in their cars, sitting still, as you zip on to your destination. It is nice and air-conditioned. Of course, at peak time, the BTS gives a new meaning to the term “personal space”. The cars literally get crammed with people and you couldn’t fall down if you ... read more

The clock seemed to tick faster than usual as I tried to tie up all my loose ends in Chonburi. I was scrambling to make last-minute changes to the 'final exams' I had prepared for all the students and was also trying to pack and give away/sell the things in my apartment that I wasn't taking with me. I wanted to buy some small gifts for my one-on-one students and for the ladies in the office. There was so much to do and suddenly so little time left! I sold my refrigerator to the lady who manages the apartment building. Though we have hardly any language in common, I somehow managed to get my point across and she somehow managed to negotiate me down in price! I was just happy to get rid of it. I ... read more