Today, an average day in Ubon

(That is an average day while looking for a job at a very leisurely pace.) Sarah went to the Wednesday market at the big Wat down the street (why Wednesdays? I don't know). She bought a bunch of shirts and cloths for $1 each that she really liked. She brought back a haul of the really good meat sticks that we have recently decided that we really like. A man with a cart often will sell lots of types of meats on sticks, often 4 "balls" of meat per stick for 5 baht (15 cents) each. They are pretty much all the same except for the vegetables that come with them and the sauce they put on them. The meat sticks Sarah brought back had a very good sauce, slightly spicy. Sarah doesn't like spicy things, but she has a real taste for this sauce. She came back kind of late because it was raining really hard the whole afternoon.

Then we left around 6 because I needed to buy a motorbike (we are currently renting). I have heard I can get a really good used one for 20000 baht (about $600) and that it has plenty of resale value. I was told the best brand here is Honda and it was recommended to us to go to the Honda dealership. Unfortunately we got there late and though they had staff to sell their new models, but the had closed the section for the second-hand models and that staff had gone home. The cheapest new one was probably around 40000 baht.

 We left and went to Makro, a Costco-like store. Sarah thought it was so similar that she said "It's exactly the same." We ate a really good pork and noodle dish there at their little food court (many superstores have food-court sections) and then set out into the store to buy a hot water heater, among other things. By the end we had found smuckers jelly, gold kiwis (the kiwi that the Kiwis (New Zealand people) eat). As well as a whole bunch of Fuji apples. We were told that the smallest fans were at Makro, but we had neither the space on the motorbike nor the determination to buy one today. Fans can get really expensive. The cheapest small little desk fan is 300 baht ($10) and the tall (seemingly totally average) fans go for up to 3-4000 baht ($100-$140). Cup of Noodles-like things are much better in Thailand than they are in America (as I have learned this time being here) so we bought a bunch of those to go with our hot-water heater. We also bought what we thought was like hot chocolate, but we must have prepared it wrong because when we got home it tasted disgusting. We salivated over the expensive cakes (most whole cakes for around 300baht/$10) which looked beautiful (as only the Thais can prepare) and scrumptious. It was a lot to carry on a motorbike down the busiest road in town at night (not that I want to scare you all or anything) but we did it with no difficulty.

When we got back we decided to go running in the park which is a short drive away. The park is packed with people lounging, exercising, and activities (including dance lessons and aerobics classes) during the evening, but we arrived there kind of late so there were only lovers and people left over from lounging earlier. There were a few people still using the free weights though (yes, free free weights in the public park).

We tired ourselves out and came back to the apartment and decided to go to the 7-11 to stock up on some toiletries and go to the local water dispenser to buy some drinking water (as you might guess or know the running water is not drinking-safe). Thais LOVE 7-11 and they are everywhere in Thailand. Sometimes you can find one just a few stores down from the next one. This is very common in Bangkok and ironically it is the case with this 7-11 that we went to. We bought chocolate milk (a real treat), some yogurt, and other little things though forgot the toiletries. Even though it is 7-11, the price difference between it and a grocery store is usually only 1 baht so it does not burn a hole in your pocket to do some shopping there instead of at the supermarket.

Outside the 7-11 was an open fruit store and two meat-stick carts with more carts down the road (probably in front of the other 7-11). We got some more meat. Sarah got some imitation crab and I got beef (a rarity in Thailand) chicken, and tofu (which turned out great). The sauce he put on was a common yet amazing sauce that you can easily get in the States at any supermarket but between the freshly-fried nature of the meat, the cucumber garnish, and the sauce it was a midnight snack of the gods.

We then went to the water dispenser around the corner from the apartment. We have a bottle that holds probably around a gallon or 1 1/2 gallons of water that I bought at the 7-11 a few days ago. This was the first time we were filling it up at the water dispenser. We were told that it would be 4 baht to fill it up, but it turned out in reality either by fault of the machine or the fault of another's memory--it was only 2 baht (6 cents).

We returned to the apartment and put the water back into our mini-fridge that came with the apartment and smiled at how awesome it is to live in Thailand.

In Ubon

Sorry for doing this so late. The internet here isn't so good. We left Bangkok and arrived in Ubon Ratchitani about a week ago. We stayed in a relatively expensive place for a few nights (230 baht, $7.66/night) before we met a really helpful person who owns a local business, an Aussie named John. He owns Pepper's which has farang (westerner) food an coffee, homemade pasties including croissants, free wifi and a welcoming atmosphere. He even drove us to two prospective places where we could live if we wanted. We ended up picking one of them Thai Mansion, nearish the center of the city, within walking distance of a good bar. It is on a very quiet road. Free wifi, though not very fast. Really homey. tv, AC, bench, big bed, shower, hot water, western toilet, fridge, 3500 baht/$117 per month+utilities+2000baht/$67 deposit. We have not yet received our certificates for the TEFL online class that we took but we have been told that we may not need it. We have several promising contacts for job openings and it seems like that we will have a job soon. Unfortunately the free internet at the place where we are staying isn't the best and we only have intermittent and slow service most of the time.

Back in Bangkok

Been here two weeks and we have decided that we want to get an apartment in Ubon Ratchitani. We are picking up our big bags from Bangkok and then heading there by train. We will arrive tomorrow morning.

In other news, we were walking yesterday in Bangkok and saw an old-old running car and it was covered in unlit Christmas lights. Odd.

Isaan

We have toured/sightsaw two cities in the Issan (northeast) region so far. Korat and Ubon Ratchitani. Korat had a temple where a monk had rescued the stalagtites and stalagmites of a cavern that was to be destroyed and placed them all over a room of his. In there there are coy fish and several Buddha images. We also went to the mall there, called "The Mall" in Thai. They had a mini-waterpark there and a pool. Ubon is a smaller city with a much nicer feel to it. There is a beautiful park here that people jog, meditate, and sit in during the early evening near the night market. My personal opinion is that the food is better other places, but Ubon does make up for it in character!

Arrival

Day 3 in Thailand

Hey. I'm here safe and sound. Sorry to all the people that I promised to email when I got here. I have some password issues and I won't be able to access to that email address for a while. The only safe bet for contacting me right now is facebook.

The flights were long but easy enough. I enjoy flying and the airplane food was exceptionally good. I had the tastiest salmon I have ever tasted on one of those flights. Bahrain was very hot and steamy. Being outside for the couple of minutes I was at the airport was intense and probably the hottest I've ever felt outside.

So Sarah and I have been having a great time in Bangkok, seeing all the main sights. My Thai is really coming back to me in a way I did not expect. Our next leg of the journey is Korat in the Northeast, and every time we tell a Thai that they say, "Why you want to go there?" It's considered kind of a backwoods-y area. We plan to travel to four cities in the Northeast region over the next couple of weeks, and we are leaving today. Let me know if there is anything you want to know for when I sign on again.

leaving soon

For friends and family, you can read about my travels and life in thailand via this blog.