DAY EIGHT TO ELEVEN (Tuesday to Friday)

We continued going round to schools. SO MANY SCHOOLS. Most of which only had a handful of teachers who spoke some English, I say some because it wasn’t fluent but you could tell they were making an effort to communicate. Every single day we left at around 8.30-9ish in the morning, and by about noon the sun was at its hottest and I was so worn out. Despite only having to visit about three schools a day, it took us hours and hours because they were so far out, some of the roads were so bumpy as well which doesn’t help with speed!

At one of the schools, the teachers asked us to stay for lunch at the school canteen and I discovered a new love for Pink Milk as it’s called here, or in Malay speaking countries Bandung. It’s so ridiculously sweet and syrupy but when they fill a whole cup up with crushed ice and then pour it on top – it’s SO good on a hot day.

At every school I had a little survey form to fill in and make notes on, some of the schools were nice and the teachers were just as nice but we went to some pretty bad schools – like one with the kids in TOTAL CHAOS when we walked in, and one where we were greeted, told to wait 15 minutes and then left alone in front of the school (not so hospitable!!). Primary school kids are the cutest though, I manage to walk around relatively unnoticed because I’m Asian, they’re Asian, nothing new… but when NYBoy comes into view they all get so excited! At one of the schools he made a little girl scream by putting his head into the classroom to wave hi to the kids. SO CUTE.

On Friday after all the school visits (thank God, I was sooo pooped) we got a flight to Bangkok for the weekend. My first REAL time in Bangkok because when I flew in I spent only a few hours there and even then it wasn’t in the city, it was closer to the domestic flight airport where we were supposed to get on a flight at a ridiculous early hour to get to Ubon Ratchathani.

The city is so dirty and loud, I was overwhelmed.

We went to dinner with a friend of his dad’s and his girlfriend, whom I’d met before on my last trip over because she’s a friend of NYBoy’s Thai stepmom. Dinner and company were both good, but the walk back was so scary.

Note for future travelers to Bangkok: Cars do not stop for pedestrians.

NYBoy having lived in Bangkok for a while kept insisting we cross at certain times, and me being the little island girl I am, not accustomed to all the hectic traffic, froze like a bunny in headlights. Very very bad person to cross roads with.

DAY TWELVE TO THIRTEEN (Saturday and Sunday)

We went to see NYBoy’s stepmom and little brother Saturday morning, and then a friend from the school he did his TESOL certificate at in Bangkok last year for a lunch feast of Lebanese food in one of Bangkok’s distinct Arab areas. I love Arab food.

After lunch I was set free to window shop as much as I liked! Siam Paragon was my favorite, but everything in there is so expensive – it reminds me a lot of KL Pavilion, but no Forever 21 which is my favorite part of Pavilion I googled “Forever 21 in Bangkok” the night before we flew out, and got nothing back?! I think it’s very weird that they have a couple of stores in Kuala Lumpur, some in Singapore, but have missed out Bangkok? I think Bangkok is a much more tourist populated place than KL.

We visited Siam Discovery and then the legendary MBK. I can see why some would like it, there are so many tiny tiny shops, but most of the stuff was the same in each one and although things were cheap, you get what you pay for and the quality wasn’t anything exceptional.

I spent a solid 8 hours window shopping, okay not ENTIRELY window shopping, I did pick up one or two things…. but mainly window shopping. It did the job though, and by the time we went to the BTS station to get to our steak dinner date with one of NYBoy’s real mom’s friends and his wife, I was famished.

Anyone who knows me at all will know that I love steak.

I felt like such a pig ordering a junior prime rib, NYBoy ordered the same, his mom’s friend ordered a NY cut steak and his wife ordered… a chicken salad. Oh damn, I should have gone for something a little more lady-like than a giant slab of meat. Things only went downhill from there… by the time the steaks came out I was even hungrier than I was when we entered and I ate my entire steak in about 15 minutes flat. I turn to my side and see that NYBoy is only halfway through his steak, his mom’s friend even further behind, and even the chicken salad still present at the dinner table. *PIGGY MOMENT*

Lucky for me, NYBoy thinks my monster appetite is attractive. (What?!)

Sunday was the usual pre-flight routine that I go through on every single trip; frantically packing bags, rushing to the airport and then finding there is actually more than enough time and sitting with nothing to do at the airport. Will I ever learn??

DAY FOURTEEN TO SIXTEEN (Monday to Wednesday)

All of this week so far has been spent inside, me tapping away at my laptop and NYBoy on his, we haven’t been out of the house very much but believe me we are working.

I promise I will fill you guys in on all the details soon enough, but as of now it’s very much a work in progress and I’d like to have something substantial to show before I start publicizing it! It is very very exciting