Mid-July Update

Sunday at dusk

Thank goodness for end of term holiday! Here's who I said goodbye to on Tuesday...

The little girl in white is a heart breaker in the making!

This is what we call the standard lauw (handsome) pose.

One of the sweetest kids, ever.

So, I survived my K2 (UK equivalent of KindergartenPre-K4) substitute gig. The first couple of days were dicey, but after exhausting myself on anxiety, the kids made it home breathing and able bodied. I was even offered Year 2 (2nd 1st Grade) for Term 1, but it is a probationary period. I'll be switched back to the original plan of K1 (Pre-K 3) in Term 2 if my Year 2 position ends up being a bad match, since this is my first time teaching with a UK curriculum. I broke the news to my TA on our last day, and she was kind of sad. We took a funny picture together, but it made me realize I am in desperate need of a haircut! Here she is with the other K2 TA instead...

Two great TAs, but mine is in the blue.

I'd say one of the biggest problems with private English schools in foreign countries is faculty retention. Most teachers can only stay a year or two, and many students are in the same boat because of parents switching jobs or being relocated. It's definitely a weird world to be a part of. I am, nonetheless, still excited to be gainfully employed! Plus, the whole motorbike taxi doesn't even faze me anymore, as I cannot seem to find a regular taxi after 7:30.


I slept a ton this weekend, which just made me restless, so we swapped our standard skytrain routine for a trip on the MRT (subway).

Logs doesn't like the way he looks in pictures, so has recently opted for a new apathetic pose.

We went to the Ratchada-Lad Prao night market. Logan had been there the week before to record dig with some friends. It's minuscule in comparison to the cornmaze that is the Jatujak weekend market, but I enjoyed checking out all the 2nd hand goods and watching the dek wailoon (the Thai term for the post-teenager crowd). You won't see a ton of farang at Ratchada, which is refreshing since it's so easy to get by in Krung Thep without speaking a word of Thai. What am I talking about... All of those kids probably speak English, but at least we got to take a break from the "Is that White Guy a Pedophile or with an Adopted Child" game.

Neither, nor.

Prathu nam (water door) is a wholesale clothing district off the Ratchathewi BTS, two stops south of our place. The Platinum Mall is a shopper's Mt. Everest. I am too tired and lacking in the pictures department to demonstrate what an overload it is, so here's a little snippet of the neighborhood instead...

When my mind finally caught up with my body and realized that it is pretty much never going to be cold here, the sangria cravings began. It started off so innocently...
But quickly turned into the world's worst sangria!

Seriously, they need to get some 3 buck Chuck up in this country. Box wine? Yellow Tail anyone? Australia is right there (you can't see but I'm pointing in the general direction of Australia), right?! Boss Lake "Winery" sold this unidentified white "wine" as a combo of pineapple and passion fruit. Okay, questionable from the start, but I figured how bad could it really be? After one sip, I was Boss Lake Whinery (555) all night long! There is nothing worse than looking forward to a cold glass of sangria all day, only to be greeted with the semi-sweet taste of hobo piss on the tongue. I've decided that I'll either have to make enough money to drink in hotel bars once a month or buy overpriced bottles of Beringer (I guess Jewel wine is "fancy" here, since it sells for $30USD/bottle)! Ridiculous.

On the non-disappointed side of my tummy: ice cream.
Grocery stores pack your cold treats in these Mylar bags to help stave off the melty melt. I'm not sure how well this actually works because we live close to the grocery... but whatever gets the yummy in my tummy is fine by me!

Guess who had to purchase the ice cream with a DJ on the label?

This caramel and sea salt ice cream in a freshly made waffle cone is courtesy of the Japanese ice cream stand in Central World Mall. 110THB, but delicious and well worth it!


I have a new favorite neighborhood restaurant. It wins points for having an English menu, being medium priced and aesthetically pleasing.

Fake Bertoia chairs

Isaan is a region in northern Thailand, and the cuisine is usually eaten with sticky rice.

Moo (pork) laab

From my 2nd favorite neighborhood joint...

Kra thong taung (aka: mini taco bowls!)

Our new favorite cut of meat is kaw moo yahng (pork neck).

Dessert random: romit (sweet coconut milk over ice with jackfruit, whole waterchestnuts and waterchestnuts soaked in sala syrup, rolled in tapioca flour then boiled).
Romit can have many different ingredients. Some food courts will even let you pick and choose.


I bought these from the grocery the other week because the box sounded vaguely offensive. The nam prik noom flavor is just really weird though. Would not buy again, but they do also have cheddar and sour cream+onion flavor.

Mini Maxican Chicken Burgers, anyone?

I have been talked out of purchasing these several times.

Platinum Mall food court is setup like MBK's.

Curry chicken & rice + gang kew wan (sweet green curry)
w/something else I can't remember the name of.

Going to the evil aunt's house for the youngest aunt's birthday party turned out to be not so bad. Captain evil was at a wat (temple) for the week because of Buddhist Lent. The birthday girl wanted us to have a snack while she just spent time with her friends...

Oh boy.

We went with an escape plan though. Actually the plan was cracked by my dad's sister who picked us up and drove us to the birthday party. Then she told them I had an appointment, so we had to leave. Appointment was at the suki yaki (hot pot) restaurant we drove straight to after picking up her partner in crime.

Too stuffed for dessert.

Well, now that I've fulfilled my weekly picture purge, it's time for me to catch up on some internet tv, then pull myself together to go scope out salons that will hopefully not give me a mullet cut. And maybe I'll go back to Platinum Mall today! Oh, and maybe I'll go treat myself to my first 200THB ($6USD) Thai massage down the street! Yea for holiday!

Not going to this one, but this building is next to a weird rock club.