I apologize for the delay in posting. Things have been starting to pick up here in Suphanburi. Between traveling outside the city to creating midterms, Jeopardy review games, correcting homework, and listening to country project scripts to just having time for myself, time has been flying out the window and I haven’t been able to sit down and write it all down.
The past two weekends have been a whirlwind of an adventure. The weekend of December of December 5 was a three-day weekend due to the King’s Birthday on December 5. In the States, we celebrate Father’s Day in June, but here in Thailand, they see the King as their Father. Thus, December 5 is Father’s Day. Our school had a long assembly on Thursday where they honored many fathers of the Sa-nguan Ying students, and it was wonderful to see some of our students honor and give thanks to their own fathers. It was very touching.
I decided that since we had a long weekend, I was going to do something crazy and travel on my own. Sammie and Amy decided they were going to travel up to Khon Kaen, so I figured I may as well join them and explore some of the Northeast. After school on Thursday, I gathered my belongings and bought an overnight ticket to Khon Kaen from Suphanburi. The ride took altogether about 8 hours. One of the things I'm still having difficulty with here is the language. Not only is speaking it a challenge, but reading it sometimes presents an even bigger challenge. At least with western languages, I can read what I’m looking at. With a dead phone and my Lonely Planet book in hand, I was that lost American who constantly asked where I was. But I got there safe and sound at 4 in the morning and was able to pat myself on the back.
Khon Kaen wasn’t exactly what I was hoping for. Since I’ve been here in Thailand, I haven’t really explored the rural areas or areas in the mountains. I’m not exactly sure why, but I thought Khon Kaen was going to be a bit more rugged and rural than the other cities I’ve visited. I was wrong, but still had an absolutely amazing time.
Some of the highlights include:
The past two weekends have been a whirlwind of an adventure. The weekend of December of December 5 was a three-day weekend due to the King’s Birthday on December 5. In the States, we celebrate Father’s Day in June, but here in Thailand, they see the King as their Father. Thus, December 5 is Father’s Day. Our school had a long assembly on Thursday where they honored many fathers of the Sa-nguan Ying students, and it was wonderful to see some of our students honor and give thanks to their own fathers. It was very touching.
I decided that since we had a long weekend, I was going to do something crazy and travel on my own. Sammie and Amy decided they were going to travel up to Khon Kaen, so I figured I may as well join them and explore some of the Northeast. After school on Thursday, I gathered my belongings and bought an overnight ticket to Khon Kaen from Suphanburi. The ride took altogether about 8 hours. One of the things I'm still having difficulty with here is the language. Not only is speaking it a challenge, but reading it sometimes presents an even bigger challenge. At least with western languages, I can read what I’m looking at. With a dead phone and my Lonely Planet book in hand, I was that lost American who constantly asked where I was. But I got there safe and sound at 4 in the morning and was able to pat myself on the back.
Khon Kaen wasn’t exactly what I was hoping for. Since I’ve been here in Thailand, I haven’t really explored the rural areas or areas in the mountains. I’m not exactly sure why, but I thought Khon Kaen was going to be a bit more rugged and rural than the other cities I’ve visited. I was wrong, but still had an absolutely amazing time.
Some of the highlights include:
- Climbing the 9-story pagoda temple known as the Wat Nang Wang. It offered an absolutely beautiful view of the lake in the center of the city and the surrounding areas.
- Walking around the amazing market that offered everything from toys and knickknacks to food, handmade clothing, and beautiful artwork. The smells, sounds, and sights of the market were enough to entice the senses as well as make your stomach churn. Beautiful colors and laughter would immediately change to smells of fish and mystery meat. We were able to explore a bit of the Silk Festival (the main reason why we traveled to Khon Kaen) and skimmed through the amazing fabrics that had been made all throughout Southeast Asia.
- I had one of the best burgers I’ve had in a long time at a restaurant called DiDiNES. It had bleu cheese, caramelized onions, and bacon! What made it even better was the American Craft Beer right alongside it. It was called the Total Domination I.P.A. I was in absolute heaven.
- We met some other English teachers from the States and ended up playing pool with them, swapping stories, and laughing over drinks and great food.
- We were invited to go to a goodbye party for someone we didn’t know. We figured, “Eh… why not?!” We met some wonderful people who instantly included us like we were one of their own.
The following weekend, we decided to hit the beach to celebrate Sammie's 22nd birthday! Destination: Koh Samet. We couldn't have picked a better location to spend the weekend. Again, even though each place that we visit we always say is our favorite, Koh Samet will always have a place in my heart. The clear blue beaches, the amazing food, the wonderful people that we met. Everything this past weekend on that island was perfect. I was with a group of people that I care about the most, and the memories from this weekend will forever stick with me. The moment that stuck out the most with me was the whole fire show on the beach. After our phenomenal dinner at
Red Ginger (a MUST if you ever go to Koh Samet), we made our way down to the water because we had heard that there was a fire show going on. We were welcomed on the beach by Chinese floating lanterns, loud electronic music, and fire twirlers. After an absolutely amazing fire show, Katrina tapped me on the shoulder with a Chinese floating lantern in her hands. It was one of my dreams coming here to Thailand to let off a floating lantern. Being surrounded by my closest friends here fulfilling my small dream of letting one go meant the absolute world to me. When our lantern was set free to soar towards the sky, it faltered a bit. With words of encouragement and a little push from the wind, it shot back into the sky up towards the stars. We all stood hand-in-hand, arms wrapped around each other, just watching it float. The moment that the wind ended up blowing out our lantern, a shooting star streaked across the sky. Literally, that exact moment! There was no hiccup, no fault, nothing. All of us burst into happy tears and belly-laughter. A couple minutes after, fireworks started shooting into the sky from the beach. I will never forget that moment.Koh Samet truly will always have a place in my heart. We met amazing people, experienced the craziness that is island nightlife, made memories that will last a lifetime, and created stronger bonds with my Thailand family. It would take me a couple of hours to describe everything that happened this past weekend, and I'm more than happy to talk about it. But for now, I can say that this weekend truly was the best.
Just some of my clips from the huge fire party on the beaches of Koh Samet! Pretty short, but an absolute blast! | Katrina and I discovered that Olly (the owner of the hostel we stayed at) was the star of one of our favorite YouTube videos. Check it out! |
This weekend (December 19 to December 21) will be my first music festival ever: The Wonderfruit Music Festival in Pattaya. So cheers to more new experiences, new music, new friends, love and life!
Wonderfruit Music Festival
Wonderfruit Music Festival