Cold Snap

It looked like winter would pass us by here in Thailand. My Thai friends have told me that it's been the hottest winter on record. Although we had  a few 75 degree days (which was nice!), it's been back in the 90's recently.

 

That changed on Sunday morning, when we woke up to a cold front that had come down from China, bringing the winter with it. The sudden surprise winter really took me off guard! It's gotten cool here in the past, but waking up to 56 degree weather is really a shock in Thailand. Normally I laugh at the students who bundle up in our 75 degree "winters", but this year even I came to work wrapped up in my jacket.

 

 

Some days this week have been COLD! I mean, really cold! To the point where we were shivering in our office, and had to shut the windows, bundle up, and keep drinking hot coffee.

 

It's not just Bangkok. At Doi Inthanon (the highest peak in Thailand), temperatures got down into the 30's!

 

There's been snow in Taiwan and Vietnam.

 



 Anyway, things are starting to warm up again. We can still keep the windows open to enjoy the fresh air, but by tomorrow, I think we might need the AC again. Our four-day winter is almost over. It was nice while it lasted.

Lumpini Park Travel Fair

One of the cool things about living in a city like Bangkok is that there are so many things going on. Last weekend, the Tourist Authority of Thailand (TOT) organized a travel fair at Lumpini Park to encourage people to visit the different regions of Thailand.

It was a hot afternoon, and the park was pretty crowded. Although it's supposedly "winter", this year has been unusually warm, even for Thailand. After walking around through the Northeast (Issan) displays, I wanted to get something to eat and a cold drink.

On the way to see the sections representing other regions, loud noises caught my attention. A parade was making its way through the park, highlighting traditional outfits of people from the different regions. Though Thailand is just one country, there are many different ethnic groups and regional areas all with their own unique culture and traditions.

Going to the travel fair made me realize that, despite having lived and worked in Thailand for the past three years, I've actually seen only a small portion of the country. Most of my travels here have been limited to the central region, with a few trips to Mae Sot (the only place I've been in the north) or on short holidays to the southern islands.

I'm hoping that will change soon! I want 2016 to be the year when I finally see the places in Thailand I've been hoping to see for the past three years. At this point, it's almost embarrassing that I've never been to Chiang Mai!

New Year on Koh Larn

I didn't really count down on New Year's Eve this year. My good buddy James (no, not that James) visited me in Bangkok for the New Year's holiday. With him suffering from jetlag and me just plain tired from picking him up at the airport at 4am and running all over Bangkok old town in the heat the day before, we ended up just crashing around ten.

We decided to count down New Year at midnight in the USA instead, which happened at 1pm the next afternoon, Thailand time. By this time, we were hanging out on Koh Larn island with a glass of dragonfruit juice and a plate of prawn fried rice.

We left Bangkok at 7am, and were in Pattaya by 9. It was January 1, and the signs of last night's parties were littering the street. It seemed like it was a crazy night. I was happy to get out of Pattaya! By 10:00 our ferry was arriving on the island.

sailing for adventure on the big, blue, wet thing (I hope someone gets the reference...)

Koh Larn is very different from Pattaya City. It's small, quiet, and clean. It's the closest nice island to Bangkok, at just three hours away, and it's a perfect weekend getaway. As your ferry chugs through the muddy waters of Pattaya Harbor, you'll suddenly notice the water change from gulf brown to striking island blue. Unfortunately for us, the ferry we took brought us to the wrong side of the island. That's where all the beautiful white-sand tourist beaches are, but we were staying on the other side of the island, in the village. One terrifying motorbike taxi ride later (imagine two biggish guys with backpacks and a driver on the back of a motorbike) and there we were!

Temple on the island

The resort was run by an English guy named Martin. As we waited to check in, he brought us a cup of tea, pulled up a chair, and chatted with us about the hotel business and life on Koh Larn, while swapping our best layover stories. One thing that I love about Thailand is the friendly and interesting expat community that you'll meet. I read somewhere that no other city on Earth has an expat community as vibrant as that of Bangkok. I believe it. The expats here are really a part of the society. Rather than just existing in Thailand, the farangs actually have a role here.

What's nice about Koh Larn is that it's so small that you don't really feel like you have to do anything there. There aren't really many tourist sites to visit, so walking along the beach or sitting on the deck at the hotel looking out at the harbor feels like a great way to pass the time. It's very relaxing.

The Gulf of Thailand with Pattaya City in the distance

Visiting Koh Larn was actually one of the first things I did when I arrived in Thailand. My colleagues and I went there when we received our first paycheck! We just went for the day though, and spent the night in Pattaya. This trip, we stayed on the island. It costs a little more, but it's much nicer. In the future, I don't mind paying a little extra in order to stay on the island.

In the end, my favorite part of the trip was the deck at the back of our hotel. In the evenings, we sat out on the deck trying out a variety of snacks and drinks that we had picked up at Family Mart. Our favorites were Calpis Lacto (a yogurt-flavored soda) and Potato Snack (a french fry-type chip that even comes with little packets of ketchup).

Not a bad place to spend New Year's Day! Happy 2016!

New Year 2016

Happy 2016!

Where I've been - 1 January 2016

I spend last New Year's Eve in Siem Reap, Cambodia with a bad cold. I don't know why I always end up visiting Cambodia, but I went again later during my October holiday.

I didn't get to add many countries to my map this year... in fact, the only new country I visited was Japan, when I took a stopover there on the way to visit the USA back in April.

I did, however, get to see some pretty cool places, like Bali (Indonesia), Bagan (Burma), and Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia).

My mom visited me in Bangkok, and I finally got to go to Phuket, Thailand's most famous island.

Not everything has been perfect here though. There were a few tense weeks after the Erawan Shrine bombing back in September, and I attended my first Thai-style funeral.

Still, it's been a great year in Bangkok overall. Midterms are over and we are on a short holiday now! That's the greatest way to end out the year.

I want to thank those of you who follow this blog. The reason I started writing it is to keep in touch with friends and family back home while I'm abroad. I always appreciate the encouraging messages!

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2016! I hope the year brings you all happiness.