It is refreshing to be in a country where a leader is seemingly universally loved and admired, though I suppose that the King’s ceremonial post saves him from the difficult and sometimes unpopular political and economic decisions (and accompanying vitriol) that the prime minister faces. The absolute monarchy was abolished in Thailand in the mid 1930s, with the abdication of King Rama VII.* Since then, then king has been the figurehead and ceremonial master of the constitutional monarchy, keeper of culture and tradition and a Buddhist (this is required). The king can, however, inte [View Full Entry]

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I decided to give Bang Saen another try, since I hadn't been there since my first weekend in Chonburi. Also, I am expecting TEFLer visitors (yes, really!) in a couple of weekends and am looking into some of the activities available for our entertainment. Some of the options include movies, bowling, banana boat rides (haha), bicycles built for 3 or 4 and Monkey Mountain. I still found the beach at Bang Saen to be mostly unappealing compared to every other beach I've been on in Thailand and marvel at the fact that I see any foreigners on holiday there (that aren't [View Full Entry]

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One day last month I was walking to school, pondering how your standard of safety seems to change once you are out of your normal life. I was thinking about how I never really worry about seatbelts (not in the backseat anyway) when I am abroad and don't wear a helmet when taking a motorbike taxi, which really doesn’t make much sense, considering that my motto is always "safety first" when riding my bike in Boulder, even on the bike paths! I was thinking about how I “go native” in that sense, and when I see entire families, including babies and [View Full Entry]

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City buses, especially in Bangkok, almost always seem to stop 20 feet before or after the actual bus sign. I would be paranoid and think maybe there was a method to the madness that I wasn’t aware of, except that EVERYONE has to run to the bus and the last person on has to jump up the steps as the driver starts to pull away, so it’s best not to be the last person. I realized that the way to do it is just to be able to spot the bus as early as you can and then try to gauge [View Full Entry]

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It's no secret that I love elephants. I think they are strange and beautiful in their enormous oafy way. I think that their eyes are really soulful and that when you see their profiles, they often seem to be smiling and playful, a bit mischievous, too. They are definitely greedy for food, but I guess you might be, too, if you needed to eat 250-350 kilos of food a day. Despite what science tells us about the complexity of their brains, I choose to believe that elephants can feel and even if that is not the case, I feel content in [View Full Entry]

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About a month or so ago I was reading the Bangkok Post, which is an English language daily, when I saw a big color ad for a dance contest to be held in conjunction with the run of the musical Chicago in Bangkok. The winner would get tickets to see the show, the chance to do dance workshops, and also 10,000 baht. I immediately thought of Courtney because we have talked a lot about our joint love of musicals (including Chicago) and she has done all kinds of dance since she was a little kid. I ripped out the ad and [View Full Entry]

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Wats, wats, everywhere! Ayutthaya is a charming mid-sized city, built mostly on an island, and was an ancient capital of Thailand, established around 1350 on a Khmer settlement. Though the people of Ayutthaya successfully defended themselves from attacks many times, the city finally fell to the Burmese Army around 1767, at which point the capital of Thailand was moved to Thonburi (just across the river from Bangkok) and then Bangkok. History lesson over, fast forward to present day. Ayutthaya was left with ruins galore from the Burmese sack of the city, but also has a lot of new wats ( [View Full Entry]

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Today at school we celebrated Children's Day, which seemed like a lot of fun for the kids. They were allowed to come to school in their regular street clothes, and it was surprising to see them without their uniforms and also interesting to see what they wore. Like little girls all over the world, the girls wore a lot of pink (and some tiaras) and the boys wore a lot of superhero shirts, etc. Though when I was in school I was fiercely anti-uniform, I am beginning to see more and more of the benefits. I understand that it takes away [View Full Entry]

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Even after all this time, I still feel awkward wai-ing. I’m like a half wai-er. My wai is often followed by a nervous giggle. The 'wai' is the way that Thai people greet each other and consists of pressing your palms together, fingertips toward the sky and oh-so-slightly bowing your head . . . or not. The placement of your hands depends on the amount of respect you want to show for the other person, based on your job and age in relation to the other person's. You are not required to 'wai' people who are considered to be below you [View Full Entry]

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What can I say? I like to be on stage. So when they asked for audience participation at the drag cabaret we happened across in Ko Tao, I simply couldn't resist. As Courtney later noted, I literally leaped out of my seat. I really wanted all three of us to go up, but then who would capture it on film? And speaking of which, I think Courtney has some more pictures and possibly video of this performance, which I hope to add at some point. I don't think I have written about this yet, but it's no joke that there are [View Full Entry]

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