post birthday things...

10:55pm

I returned from dinner at See Fah about an hour ago. It was really great getting to see my three cousins (my mom’s brother’s kids). They’ve really grown up. Pat, the eldest, is now in college and studying piano composition. She is so gifted, she even teaches piano on the weekends. Pete, the middle child, studied abroad (student exchange program) in North Carolina last year, and he actually visited me during Thanksgiving break, so he’s been the most recent Thai relative I’ve seen since 2004. Pete just started his freshman year in college and is majoring in economics (god help us). Put (which translates to “Wednesday” in Thai), the youngest of the bunch, is finishing up high school and just came back from a year-long study abroad program in Michigan and is a prodigy on the violin. All three of them have also studied abroad in New Zealand. They are so smart; I’m so jealous haha. I’m the closest to these three out of all my Thai cousins. I’m hoping to get to spend more time with them while I’m here. We’re actually planning on having me stay the night at their house someone next week for a few nights. Pat’s friend is having a party and she wants me to come with her. I’ve never been to a Thai college party before.... this could be quite amusing.

I wish I could explain what it’s like here. It’s hard to find another city to compare it to. You really just need to check out some of my pictures on facebook, although some of them don’t really do justice. Some places around the city look dirty, while some look really ritzy. It just depends on where you go. Does it resemble Tokyo? Yes and no. Does it resemble Hong Kong? Yes and no. It’s really hard to find a good definition for what Bangkok is like. It’s like a mix between old traditional Asia and modern European-influenced pop-culture. Bangkok is up to its ears in mega malls. I am talking about insanely wide and tall shopping complexes. You cannot get bored here. These malls are so colossal, chances are you will get lost. And that’s not even to mention all the dining it has to offer, as well as clubs and bars to go to. Also, Bangkok, over the past 5 years, opened a Sky Train (monorail) system. It’s really cool actually, and it even stops at a pretty nice mall (MBK). My grandpa really enjoys taking us on it. I think it makes him feel important and more “hip” haha. He’s 84 years old but is pretty up-to-date with the cultural change going on here. Usually that would be pretty rough on an old fashioned guy, but it’s good that he’s open minded.

So in other words, I guess I still have a hard time truly explaining what Bangkok is like, other than it is insanely busy and there are skyscrapers everywhere. I swear I see a new one pop up everyday. I don’t know where they are finding all this vacant land. My guess is they are just tearing down old buildings and building up ones that are 4 times taller than the original.

If you wander away from Bangkok, you can either go north or south. If you go north, then you hit more of less-developed towns and cities. If you go south, then you hit the more tourist-y places, such as Pattaya Beach. If you go even further south toward the peninsula, then you have all the islands to choose from, such as Koh Samui and Phuket. Phuket, by the way, is gorgeous and I wish I could go there this year but that just isn’t going to happen. It got hit by the tsunami in 2004 and it took a while to rebuild itself, but things are finally back to normal now.

Another word of wisdom... Thailand public bathrooms never have toilet paper! Ughhh, I totally forgot about that and when I went to the bathroom the other day, I didn’t have any toilet paper. Thank goodness my servant (god I sound like such a priss) was actually standing in the bathroom too, so I had her hand me some. Apparently they put the toilet paper in front by the sinks. WTF?? So yea.... word to any future Thailand travelers... bring your own paper! Oh, and don’t drink the water unless your wish is to contract dysentery.

I guess this is enough rambling for now. I bought the book “Bringing Down the House” from the Kinokuniya Bookstore today (we stopped there before dinner because it’s by See Fah) and will most likely read that now. If you’ve never heard of this book, it’s the book that the movie “21” is based off of. You know... MIT students trying to beat the blackjack system, yada yada. Looks like a good read.