Thailand

Ok so I walked graduation (Yay! J) and ran to the airport to get on a second-rate American Airlines flight to LA where the seats are horrible and the service is worst.  The plane was oversold, the snacks were awfully overpriced but at 9pm, after the day I had, food was priceless.  5 hours later in LA, I transferred over to Cathay Pacific for a 14 hour flight to Hong Kong.  Now this is flying.  Although I had to forego first and business class where the seats are beds, economy is better than first class in the “Atrocious American Airlines”. There’s a thought…I see the commercials now.  My seat neighbor, Becca saved me –and herself- from a huge catastrophe.  When I realized I was given the middle seat and almost had a heart attack from imagining myself sandwiched, being robbed of my ability to freely roam.  Bible towing, missionary volunteer, Becca offered to trade her heavenly aisle seat for my purgatory.  She’s a saint, I was blessed.   What to do for 14 hours?  Well, I could watch 100 movies, over 350 television shows, 888 CDs, 22 radio channels and over 70 video games, including interactive ones with others on the same flight.  I could also choose to brush up on my Thai before landing by using their language CD’s.  The plane rocks, the food is outrageous and the staff is very accommodating.  There’s one stewardess who’s so cute with her flawless Asian skin, her perfectly placed bun and adorable dimples.  I want to take her home and stick in her in my curio cabinet! We just flew over Okinawa but the clouds are so thick we couldn’t see a thing.  Not even from the camera placed under the plane that I can tune into from my TV. Watching takeoff from the camera was pretty cool.  I’ve flown halfway around the world and about to land in Hong Kong, where Becca and I will change planes for Bangkok.  It’s only 1hr 40min away.  Piece of cake!  Almost there…

I’m in Thailand!!!  Went straight from the airport (where I bought a $30 SIM card for my iphone with unlimited internet use and 300 talk time for 1 month) to the resort in Pattaya Beach, Cabbages & Condoms. It is beautiful.  The minute you arrive you are surrounded by nature; exotic birds, trees and plants.  There are paths named communist & capitalist walk.  I never did see what was down the communist path; my instincts took me down the other.   There are bikes that when peddled set off sprinklers and showers.  The hotel also has resident bunnies who allow you to pet them J Apparently, because of the prominent sex industry, the owner is trying to prevent the spread of STD’s so there are condoms everywhere on the property and it’s the after dinner mint you receive on the way out of the restaurant.

At night we went to “Walking Street”.  I’ve never seen anything like it.  Imagine the red light district but full of clubs, bars and hookah lounges.  It was about 10 blocks long; on the menu you could find food, drinks and sex.  You could see pictures of who you could be with, how and what it would cost.  There were themed bars, women dressed as stewardesses, men dressed as military and “ladyboys” (tranny’s or crossdressers, didn’t find out) dressed in negligees.  We never felt scared. The area was very well lit, neon signs and flashing lights everywhere.  There were police at the entrance and exit of the street, as well as constantly walking around.  Many older men being showed around by a younger Thai.  There was one club with a boxing ring and a live fight you could bet on.  Moreover, there are 7-11’s everywhere!!! Just like the ones we have in the states.  You can find one on almost every other block, I had no idea. 

Today, we left the resort and headed for Bangkok.  It’s a major city! It’s huge!  It’s Manhattan multiplied 10 times over.  There are malls with 7 floors which have their own Lamborghini dealers within.  We visited the Emerald palace Filled with golden temples.  I was wearing shorts (because the heat & humidity are off the charts!!!) so I had to rent a skirt to enter the temple.  After lunch and some more sightseeing we went on a dinner boat cruise down the river.  The river is full of luxurious hotels (Mandarin Oriental, Hilton, Shangri-la) and, you guessed it, more temples.  Thai food is very tasty, full of exotic spices and hot peppers. 

Work starts tomorrow…

First day of work! We’ve transferred to Sichang Island, 70 miles south of Bangkok.  Holy hopper it’s hot and humid! It’s definitely worst than Miami.  Worst part is that it’s rude to show your shoulders.  I’m suffocating most of the time. Our project consists of working with Sichang Harbor to help best mitigate environmental impact of their cargo vessels, ferries and tugboats.  These people are dumping all of their trash and human waste overboard and it’s washing up on shore to ruin their touristic beaches.  It’s pretty nasty and the smell takes some getting used to.  The island is very pretty; it’s like a tiny Jamaica with a couple of temples off the cliffside.  Both temples very ornate and one has a prominent golden Buddha, the skinny type with legs crossed and beaded hat, not the chubby one we’ve seen.  We (my group, as well as 4 Thai university students) spent the day traveling by tugboat surveying about 20 light boat vessels which transport cargo from the larger vessels to shore.  It was quite impressive to see how these people and their families live in very small quarters. The tiny quarters are shared with a bed, kitchen and an impressive karaoke system.  They wait around to work for days so entertainment is critical.   The students teased us constantly, apparently, it’s a good thing.  The custom here is that if they tease you, it’s their way of saying they like you.  If not much conversation is going on it means you’ve upset them.  Lucky for us, our group doesn’t shut up! Someone saw me swatting mosquitoes and they said not to worry as they will disappear in an hour.  It’s a natural phenomenon; the insects come and go between 6:30 and 7:30pm.  Never heard of that before but boy am I glad!