Singapore!

Singapore was really cool. Its like a country and a city all in one. The first day we took a tour of the city via "duck tours" which is a boat and bus all in one! So that took us to all the main attractions (Merlion, Singapore Flyer, Harbour, Raffles Hotel) which was very touristy but a nice overview of the place. We also visited the Jurong Bird Park, which was really cool and had tons of birds. We saw a show there that had lots of audience participation and at one point giant macaws flew through a hoop that I was holding, and another bird flew onto a friends arm and took his mons! We also went to the night safari which was SO cool and I saw a giraffe! The botanical gardens were also really nice, especially the orchid garden (1 dollar to get into [student], but totally worth it). We also went to the WWII bunker that the Captain Officer was in when Singapore surrendered to Japan, it had a bunch of demos that were pretty cool. Probably my favorite part about the town was the transportation, it was very easy to purchase trip tickets and to get literally anywhere on the MRT. It was also super clean and very organized.

ps. the Singapore Dollar was really cool too! Made out of a plasticy paper substance... very cool!

Travel:
Flight- Airasia.com flight was $100-150 USD
Accommmodation: http://www.the-inncrowd.com/ very nice hostel in little india, pretty cheap ~14 SGD a night, very organized had a make-your-own breakfast and was right next to a 7/11!
Getting Around: the MRT goes literally everywhere and is quite cheap ~2 SGD each trip

A week in the islands

So i just got back from a week in the southern gulf on the islands of Koh Tao (turtle island) Koh Phangan (home of full moon party) and Koh Samuii. We were in Koh Phangan for full moon party which was a lot of fun. We also went scuba diving in Koh Tao which was amazing and made me want to get my PADI certification. We rented bikes in Koh Phangan which was fun because we went to a bunch of different beaches, My bike fell in the sand though and got scratched a little and since its such a touristy area they ripped us off when turning the bikes in. It sucked a bit, but could have been worse. Koh Samui was alright, more for the older crowd with more money but the sand at the beach was nice and it was good to get away from all the crazy kids in Koh Phangan.

Koh Tao:
train from BKK to Chumphon (340 Baht) then the Lomprayah from Chumphon to Koh Tao (450 Baht). Stayed at the Simple Life on Sai Ree beach, 600 Baht a night and was a large room with two single beds, very nice. The place also had a scuba shop downstairs that offered courses and discover scuba diving sessions. Also had cheaper bungalows and rooms which were full at the time.

Koh Phangan:
took the Lomprayah from Koh Tao to Koh Phangan (200 Baht) and then took a taxi to Leela Beach (100 Baht), stayed at Leela Beach Bungalows, which were cheap but very bungalow-esque 400 Baht a night for the second shitties bungalows, had a double bed, mosquito net, bathroom with shower (cold water). Had a restaurant as well that was decently priced. Second night we stayed at another place in Haad Rin which was way nicer with air-con and hot water but cost a little more, about 800 Baht.

Koh Samui-
took the Sea Flower (150 Baht) to the Big Buddha on Koh Samuii and then took a taxi for 60 Baht to Chaweng beach where we stayed at Marine Resort, which was quite nice. We got two rooms one with 1 double and 1 single bed, fan and somewhat warm water for 600 Baht and another room with king size bed and air con for 900 Baht/night. Then we took the seatran from Nathon to Dansok for 180 Baht and another taxi to the train station in Surat Thani to catch the train back to Bangkok.

Khao Yai

This weekend we went to Khao Yai National Park in Central Thailand, it’s the largest national park in Thailand and it was great!!! We camped the first night in tents and went on a night safari, then the next day we trekked through the jungle for 5ish hours and saw waterfalls and a big hornbill bird. At one of the waterfalls there was this bramble hanging from a tree that swung over the waterfall pool and we all swung on it! Then later that day we went to a winery, the largest in Southeast Asia and Thailand… it was really cool! We did wine tasting and saw the winery and how wine is made and then had an amazing 4-course meal!!! It was in the middle of the vineyard and was so beautiful! That night we drank at the resort and played dominoes and wandered over to the campground next door and met some Thai civil engineers that were really nice. Then the next day we hung out at the resort at the amazing pool and then it was time to leave to go to the train station. The cab that was supposed to pick us up was 15 minutes late and so we were really in a time crunch to make the train, so the cab pulls up and there are 6 of us that need a ride, anyway the car that pulls up is a small Honda civic hatchback. We all couldn’t fit so the people that had to make the earlier train got in (and so did I because there was enough room) and then we try and get the driver to get going but hes discussing something with all the hotel staff and won’t get in the car even though we kept pointing to our wrists to tell him we needed to go. So finally he gets in the car and SO DOES HIS FRIEND, his friend sits in the front seat with one of the girls (so she’s pretty much on his lap) and we finally go. Keep in mind we’re in Thai wine country so the roads are really windy and he’s going 100 km/hr on them, all of us girls in the back start feeling woozy, so finally we get into the town and the car pulls over on the side of the road at some shack and the driver gets out. We sit there for about 10 minutes trying to get them to drive us, we had to call our friend who speaks Thai to tell them we’re in a hurry and they tell us they’re going to charge us 150 baht each x 4 (around 5 US dollars) which is such a rip, and by this time we’re very irritated, so finally A DIFFERENT GUY gets in the car and drives us to the train station. We gave the guy 200 baht and booked it. He started yelling at us in Thai and came back with his wife and kid and just stared at us, never approached us but just stood there. Anyway, while all of this is going on the other two guys are back at the resort and the taxi’s friends are there pissed that we didn’t pay them enough. So the guys have to pay them more money and the manager of the resort ends up driving the to the train, barely making it. We finally make it to the train and end up getting third class because the others are full. So we get on the train and go straight to the snack car and keep buying beer until we make it back to Bangkok.

Update!

Okay, so last weekend we went to the old capital, Ayutthaya, which was really cool. It has all these ruins of old temples all over, we rented bicycles and biked around and saw all the ruins. This weekend I'm off to a national park to go camping and visit a winery!

Ayutthaya:
Took the train there (15 Baht) and then rented bikes for 40 Baht, some of the Wats charge to get in (around 40 Baht) and took a mini bus back to BKK (victory monument BTS) for 70 Baht

The Uniform:

A white short sleeve button up shirt, a black or navy skirt, a brown belt with chula belt buckle, silver chula buttons (for shirt), a chula pin.

-the skirt has no belt buckles so the belt doesn't behave well
-in order to launder the shirt, the silver buttons must be removed prior to washing (as well as the chula pin)

So apparently women don't play sports in Thailand.

1) The IM soccer team is boys only.
2) Its taken me 3 weeks to find a decent sports bra.

Culture Shock #1

So one of the first days here I'm browsing the isles of one of the large department stores and i see this stuff that is "whitening" formula so naturally I assume its for teeth, then upon further investigation i find out that its for the skin! Being white and pale is a sign of wealth here so people go to great lengths (as do people in the states to get tan) to become more white, including using whitening lotions.

Koh Samet

It was amazing! We got a bungalow right on the beach and just about everyone from the exchange program went. The beach was sooo nice!! Everything would transform throughout the day, during the day there would be beach chairs and umbrellas on the beach and then around dusk they would move the chairs off and put mats and tables and cushions down for dinner, then after that the bars would open and some would do a fire show... I swear there was this one bar that only came out at night... I tried looking for it during the day and could not find it, i think it would just emerge out of the sand. We had to take a bus to get there and then a ferry to the island, some people rented motorcycles and travelled the island and others just relaxed on the beach and out on a raft in the water.

Groceries!

so after many days of asking around we finally found a fairly inexpensive grocery store, it was on the top floor of this shopping mall and I bought:
-case of beer (~24 pack)
-laundry detergent and softener
-milk, eggs, butter, yogurt etc.
-and plenty of other groceries
and it was all only $30! Amazing!

and we also ate in the cafeteria on monday (first day of class) which was really good food and was only like a dollar for a big plate of rice and pork and egg mixy. yum!

My Apartment!

its saweet! We have a master bathroom (which I am currently in because I got here first) another bathroom off the living room (verry nice so guests don't have to go thru my room) and then another bedroom (with no attached bathroom) there is also a living room with a DVD player and a surround sound system (which i hook my ipod up to and jam) and then a nice little kitchen with breakfast bar and bar chairs. Everyday there are new towels and all my things are put in order because we have a MAID SERVICE. Last night we played beer pong here and predrank and this morning when i got up everything was clean and put back in order. My roommates are 1 german girl (hasn't arrived yet) and 1 boy from japan and 1 boy from california. Its shaping up to be a pretty nice little bunch. We are the only coed apartment which is cool, because coed is always more fun.

I'm here!

After 24 hours of traveling we finally made it!! Its crazy!! So on our first day we woke up at about 7:30 am and went and got some breakfast at the apartment and checked out all the amenities. Then we went on a ride on this thing called a tuk-tuk which is like a small cart with two seats in the back and one in front for the driver. Anyway, we wanted to see the town so we really had no final destination so the driver took us to all these random shops where his friends work (so if we buy something he gets a share of the profits) he took us first to a travel place so we looked at all the different places we can go in thailand, then we went to a tailor where they can custom make suits and such for you (my friend Pat ended up buying two dress shirts for pretty cheap (like 35 dollars each) and he took us to a jewelry shop and then to the mall. The mall was crazy!! I couldn't tell when one store ended and the other started, there were all these little shops everywhere with lots of ipod stuff, watches, fake DVD's, designer jeans (fake? most likely yes but they are only 10 dollars- i may have to invest in a pair). OMG and the funniest part at the mall is they had this sign for a bra store that had names for all the different shapes of boobs! We took a picture which I'll try and upload sometime. So after that we came back to the hotel and met up with some of the other guys, went back to the mall to find a grocery store, bought some cereal and booze and then wandered our way back to the apartment. We went out last night to the backpackers district and it was good times, bars everywhere and clubs too. Not too wild or anything because we had to wake up early this morning to get some business done for school. Alright I'm off to shower! My apartment is amazing!!