Blogs from Chonburi, Central Thailand, Thailand, Asia

Well im going to be quite honest. The night I arrived in thailand i was rethinking things because almost nobody seemed to know any good english and I was freaking out in my youth hostel not liking my first experience with the country. I was laying in bed from 2am to 7am from jet lag in my dorm and already feeling slight culture shock at everything that I didnt have access too(netlix, american TV, food, english). Which was expected but different once you actually have no access to it. So I checked out of my youth hostel and started walking around at 7:30am and things immediately changed. The street i stayed on is a huge backpacking community which i didnt realize was as big as it was, there are backpackers everywhere!!! Most of them speak english ... 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

On Thursday Fon took us for a drive around Chonburi Province, the area immediately surrounding Pattaya. This was our first opportunity to see the countryside and stop at a few places along the way. We visited a huge 140m high Buddha which had been carved into the side of a mountain and then painted in gold. We then drove around and through one of the better beaches of Pattaya (Hat Jomtien). We also stopped off for a quick trip to another market to buy dinner. ... read more

Though I am really excited about traveling for the next two and a half months (first with Stephanie and Kari in Thailand, then on to Laos and Vietnam), it is totally bittersweet to leave the school. It is even sadder in this case because I will probably never see these children again. Even though I may come back to Thailand again in the future, it is unlikely that I would find myself in Chonburi. Highly unlikely at any rate, though I never like to say that anything is impossible. The end of the term came so quickly for me, although the students actually have finals for the next two weeks and will only be on their summer break then. The Thai school year begins in mid-May and consists of two terms with a break between each. ... read more

There are two concepts/phrases that always come up in books and articles about Thai culture. They are “jai yen” (in Thai: ใจเย็น) and “mai pen rai.” “Jai yen” literally means “cool heart,” even though the Lonely Planet Phrasebook translates it as “Easy, tiger”. (Don't believe everything you read in LP, though it is the backpacker’s bible!) Contrary to meaning you should be cold-hearted in the western way of thinking, it means you should try to stay calm when faced with difficulties small and large, and not get worked up or get your panties in a bunch. If someone is getting worked up over something, it is acceptable to say, "Jai yen yen na!" The opposite is “jai rawn,” which is “hot heart” (hot-headed in our parlance, rather than passionate in a good way), and should be ... read more

I wondered if Valentine's Day would actually be celebrated in Thailand, but I quickly found out that many of the hallmarks of American Valentine's Day have made their way over here-- giving chocolates and red roses, cards, and heart-shaped everythings seem to be standard procedure. Tami, Courtney, and I conspired several weeks ago to have a girls' weekend in Chonburi, and it was a perfect way to spend the 'holiday' weekend. On Thursday evening I noticed that a couple of the usual street stands near my apartment had turned into all-out V-day extravaganzas of red and pink heart-shaped pillows and balloons, flowers, and even Ferrero Rocher 'bouquets' (see photo). I got a care package from mom last week, just in time for the holiday. It had the old V-day standard- candy hearts- and other candy, as ... read more