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Published: February 25th 2013
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Longtail Boats
Most common form of water transportation in Thailand "What's your name"
"Taylor"
"AHHHH LIKE TAYLOR SWIFT"
Exactly like Taylor Swift
I have been writing a comparative essay between the Cuban and Iranian revolutions for class, and I realized I should do the same for my life here in Thailand. This comparitive essay will prove to you how my current life is exactly the same as that of a famous celebrity...for example Taylor Swift.
1. I have a house in a big city, yet I spend most of my time in random cities throughout the country bouncing from one hotel to another.
How many times do you hear celebraties making this claim. They are rarely at their multi million dollar homes because they are off bouncing from one location to the next. Well so am I! Maybe my roost isn't a mansion in the hills or a flat in NYC, but nontheless, I spend more time on the road than I do at my humble abode.
2. I go on amazing beach vacations.
Celebraties are always photographed out cavorting about the most beautiful beaches with the most pristine, cerulean blue waters. Well, so am I. This past weekend
I spent my time relaxing, snorkeling, and swimming on the beaches of Railay on the Andaman Sea. Truly there are few scenes more beautiful.
3. I stay in little bungalows complete with canopy beds.
Seriously. Maybe my bungalow is a ten minute walk from the beach and the canopy is actually an epinephrine laced bug net that cloacks the entire bed and obstructs the exchange of any air through its tightly knitted mesh like a cell membrane protecting the nucleus, me, from highly charged molecules, oxygen and to a lesser extent bugs because of the large holes found throughout the 'protective' layer.
4. I am constantly followed by an entourage.
Well, maybe entourage is the incorrect word...but I am always travelling with some people and because I'm a fast walker, they're usually behind me. That counts right?
These final similarities are two prominent Thai nuances that I have neglected to annotate for you in previous blogs.
5. I spend hours traveling on tour busses.
Like celebreties I spend hours traveling from location to location on huge tour busses. These tour buses may not be tricked out with plasma screens and king sized beds,
Bungalow
Julia models our Bungalow but sometimes they show an action flick staring Bruce Willis or dispense goodies such as a blanket, a Thai Kanome latent with fully hydrogenated oils, a bottle of mineral water, a juice box that almost tastes like V-8 Juice and possibly, if you don't sleep through it, a donught. Thai busses deserve more than just a snipet, so I will follow this with an annecdote about my most recent bus experience.
Yesterday afternoon I was dropped off by a minivan at a janky bus station filled with over priced food and backpackers. In Thailand when you travel anywhere they like to keep you accounted for, so they give you stickers to wear on your shirt that you assume say something about where you're headed (but you have no idea because its typically written in Thai). I waited about 45 minutes at this bus stop (stickered and ready to go) just to get on a bus that looks as if it was a refurbished city bus....I was on that bus for a few hours before we stopped and they made everyone get out at a new bus station (similar to previous bus terminal). We had to trade in our old
stickers for new ones here. For about an hour I was sitting there chatting with this German girl, when suddenlysome guy came and asked if we were a group of two. When we said "yes", he carted us off into a new mini van which brought us to a new bus (this one was way nicer than the first one). BUT my seat was loose from its hinges so it felt as if I was riding a mechanical bull the entire time (hilarious actually except when attempting to sleep). At around midnight the seat behind me started leaking water which ensued a huge fiasco which led to a twenty minute stop at a 7-11 during which they did absolutely nothing about the problem. (stopping for absoluetly indeterminate reasons are frequent on these busses...they also turn on the light every single time with little concern for the time...example:4am). We finally left this 7-11, and just to make another stop after 5 more minutes of driving. We picked up more people at this stop (somehow...our bus was already full so new people had to sit in the rainy seat). Then we finally got to going for a couple hours. We stopped again
at about 4am for no reason. Finally we got to Bangkok...and we crossed over the bridge right by the grand palace. They just pulled over on the side of the road (even though they were supposed to stop at Khao San) and started screaming "BANGKOK" "BANGKOK" and ushering everyone out. Thankfully this was a very convenient spot for me and I was ready so I snuck out real quick before everyone got out. It was quite the hilarious trip, but I actually slept pretty well and got back to my dorm at 6:30am. This is not a unique experience.
6. Finally, I am followed by the paparazzi and excited eyes.
Similar to celebreties, I spend much of my time fending off the paparazzi who are constantly asking to take photographs with the oh so unique Farang ladies. Seriously though. This weekend on the beach we spent ten minutes, when we first got off the boat, appeasing a multitude of Thai people who wanted to take multiple photos with us. This is another common occurance which I have forgotten to explain, but it has gotten quite irritating sometimes. Most times these photo shoots lead to the conversation that I began this blog with. None of us can figure out why in the world they are so excited to take phots with us, but for some reason the paparazzi come out (some shy and others blatant) to take our photographs....
These experiences above are what makes Thailand unique and quircky and fun and always keeps you on your toes. Sometimes the disorganization and confusion is frustrating, but in the end all works out and the results are hilarious and beautiful stories (and pictures!!).
I'm looking forward to some visitors in the next couple of weeks!!! CAN'T WAIT TO SEE MY FAMILY 😊
Love,
Taylor Ann
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