There seems to be a certain age at which men loose all sense of, oh I don't know, lets call it self respect or style. They take to (in certain climes) wearing shorts without underpants, so where ever they walk a permanent wedgie is the sight from behind. The rolling, roiling chaffing of their butt checks during perambulation allows the pale cotton fabric to be further sucked upward, we must assk ourselves, are these the same men who promenade the beaches proudly displaying their beer guts above their g-strings.
Anyway enough about the sight-seeing in Bangkok! I went and taught at the orphanage in Ayuthya today, it was exhausting but lots of fun, I broke every piece of chalk I touched the board with, but hey if that is the worst thing that happens in my teaching career that is ok. The kids were pretty good, their knowledge of english was fairly rudimentary, but they were eager to engage which is the main thing with these kids as far as I am concerned.
A few days later.
Yesterday was the last day at school, so last night I went out with the guys from school, pub crawling in Sukumvit, the bathrooms in one pub has "vomit basin's" in it, I tried to get a photo of one but the batteries in my camera were flat :( so you will just have to imagine it, its like a square toilet at about the same height as the hand basins (yes it does have a flush mechanism. Glen said he felt very weird standing in the men's toilet surrounded by peeing blokes and flashing (well the camera was), I would have taken the one in the girl's bathroom but it didn't have the legend above it saying "vomit basin" just a neon sign saying "Heinekin", (draw your own conclusions folks).
The bars all close (legally) at 1 am and everyone pours, a half mixed cocktail of humanity out onto the streets and begins drinking in earnest. There are bars set up in a haphazard fashion along busy sois, tables and chairs litter the pavement and a parade of prostitutes and lady boys wander past to entertain you. Apparently you need to have a licence to set up one of these insalubrious unestablishments, they are just carts like the ones they use to sell food but they are loaded with alcohol and can be quietly rolled away again at daybreak. While we were sitting at one, some purveyors of pornography set up across from us, shooting their opening shots on the steamy streets, they wanted to engage the talents of a particular lady boy who, with one more jiggle would have freed her bustier top from it's tenacious grip on her bosom, she had hair the colour and style of monroe (which is quite a feat for someone with Thai colouring).
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
Friday, February 17, 2006
Bangkok 14/02/06
You know how you can tell the difference between civilization and the ass end of nowhere?
Footpaths, sidewalks, pavements, call them what you will Bangkok like developing nations all over the world suffer from severe lack of ambulatory space. The footpaths they do have are death traps waiting to happen, they are made with individual paving stones which were laid down long enough ago for them to now have the appearance of an unmade bed.
The traffic on the streets of Bangkok is insane, the back street we live in is a main thoroughfare for motorbike taxis, they congregate on the corner drinking beer and waiting for their next fare, Thai people of the feminine variety insist on riding these suicide machines side saddle. and of course as there is no footpath wallking the streets especially at night is a mission of the impossible kind (run sound track, cue squirrel).
Still unsure of what to do work wise, offered another job yesterday, down in Songkhla (the lawless south), not sure I want to go hang out in such a place, it's on a beach but the planet doesn't recommend it as a nice beach. in fact there is very little to recommend it, the pay is quite good especially seen as it is out of Bangkok where money goes further. Steve has said he will take me out to the school he wants me to take a job at in Bangkok, and has given me contacts in Phnom pen if I want to go there, but that sounds a bit dodgy on the money front. I 'm still waiting to hear back from the Phuket schools, before I make any decisions, I guess I'll give them to the end of the week.
I remember once years ago, I meet this guy traveling who told me about the rabbit in the moon, I of course thought he was making it up (an American drop bear story). But, you know just last night I finally saw the rabbit in the moon, a huge milk white moon with a rabbit leaping across it, of course I then walked down the road past the whicker baskets of trash that smell like the sewers, with rats the size of cats writhing and boiling within, balance you see, being in Thailand is all about the yin and the yang, beauty rubbing shoulders with squalor, neither soiled or rendered more gentle by proximity a study in opposites.
Tomorrow I am teaching two classes to orphans so I'd better crash.
Later, N.J.
Footpaths, sidewalks, pavements, call them what you will Bangkok like developing nations all over the world suffer from severe lack of ambulatory space. The footpaths they do have are death traps waiting to happen, they are made with individual paving stones which were laid down long enough ago for them to now have the appearance of an unmade bed.
The traffic on the streets of Bangkok is insane, the back street we live in is a main thoroughfare for motorbike taxis, they congregate on the corner drinking beer and waiting for their next fare, Thai people of the feminine variety insist on riding these suicide machines side saddle. and of course as there is no footpath wallking the streets especially at night is a mission of the impossible kind (run sound track, cue squirrel).
Still unsure of what to do work wise, offered another job yesterday, down in Songkhla (the lawless south), not sure I want to go hang out in such a place, it's on a beach but the planet doesn't recommend it as a nice beach. in fact there is very little to recommend it, the pay is quite good especially seen as it is out of Bangkok where money goes further. Steve has said he will take me out to the school he wants me to take a job at in Bangkok, and has given me contacts in Phnom pen if I want to go there, but that sounds a bit dodgy on the money front. I 'm still waiting to hear back from the Phuket schools, before I make any decisions, I guess I'll give them to the end of the week.
I remember once years ago, I meet this guy traveling who told me about the rabbit in the moon, I of course thought he was making it up (an American drop bear story). But, you know just last night I finally saw the rabbit in the moon, a huge milk white moon with a rabbit leaping across it, of course I then walked down the road past the whicker baskets of trash that smell like the sewers, with rats the size of cats writhing and boiling within, balance you see, being in Thailand is all about the yin and the yang, beauty rubbing shoulders with squalor, neither soiled or rendered more gentle by proximity a study in opposites.
Tomorrow I am teaching two classes to orphans so I'd better crash.
Later, N.J.
Monday, February 13, 2006
Bagkok 13/02/06
The entertainment at the San Lum Night bazaar is worse than karaoke, it's like the heats for American idol. embarassing in it's all round awfulness, a few of the acts are ok, but for the female acts, generally the willingness to wear tiny outfits and gyrate (all be it a little arhythmically) is obviously much more important than having vocal talent of any sort. Sometimes they turn the sound down low enough that you don't really notice and other times they turn it up way to high and it's all you can hear. We tend to find a seat about as far from the "entertainment" as we can.
Today is the anniversary of the foundation of Bangkok as the capital (as well as being my sister's birthday) Happy birthday SAM if your reading this. It is a public holiday (long weekend). so everything is shut pretty much and I will try to find a cyber cafe to post this form later.
I went top Siam square yesterday and bought a new mobile which I now can't make work, arrrrgh some days I hate technology, I think the battery may be stuffed. They found a stray malnourished cloud Leopard walking the streets around here yesterday (apparently someones pet) and to think I was considering getting a gerbil from Chatachuk, I was obviously showing a lack of imagination in my choice of pets.
Tomorrow is Valentine's day and the streets are awash with kitschy hearts and cute bears and things, oh and it has very unseasonably been raining in Bangkok for two days now!
all very weird.
It's very weird, I am suffering from library withdrawal, That big pile of books from Waverley I had under the bed that I never got the chance to read, how I pine for them now, the smell of freshly glued spines as I covered and coveted the new releases, the well loved books, as I checked them back in their little dog eared corners and yellowing pages asked to be taken home and fondled one more time. Alright I better stop now before my tears start to choke up the keyboard.
More later.
Love N.J.
Today is the anniversary of the foundation of Bangkok as the capital (as well as being my sister's birthday) Happy birthday SAM if your reading this. It is a public holiday (long weekend). so everything is shut pretty much and I will try to find a cyber cafe to post this form later.
I went top Siam square yesterday and bought a new mobile which I now can't make work, arrrrgh some days I hate technology, I think the battery may be stuffed. They found a stray malnourished cloud Leopard walking the streets around here yesterday (apparently someones pet) and to think I was considering getting a gerbil from Chatachuk, I was obviously showing a lack of imagination in my choice of pets.
Tomorrow is Valentine's day and the streets are awash with kitschy hearts and cute bears and things, oh and it has very unseasonably been raining in Bangkok for two days now!
all very weird.
It's very weird, I am suffering from library withdrawal, That big pile of books from Waverley I had under the bed that I never got the chance to read, how I pine for them now, the smell of freshly glued spines as I covered and coveted the new releases, the well loved books, as I checked them back in their little dog eared corners and yellowing pages asked to be taken home and fondled one more time. Alright I better stop now before my tears start to choke up the keyboard.
More later.
Love N.J.
Friday, February 10, 2006
Bangkok 10/02/06
Well the main part of the course is over now, just two weeks of young learners to go. I have been offered a job with the school where I did the course but I don't know first the pay and conditions or two if I want to stay in Bangkok. It is very flattering of course to be asked, but the jury is still out. I have applied for a job in Phuket which I think I am unlikely to get but what the hell.
We went and taught at an orphanage on Wed. which was great fun but the material was limited the kids just parroted the same thing over and over again, they were performing a play for the department of education in the afternoon so I taught them some basic acting skills which was fun, I actually find this teaching thing rather easy, maybe it is genetically passed on or something.
i go out in the mornings to buy fruit and can walk to the corner faster than the traffic can get there the traffic in Bangkok is madness, one of the reasons I am reluctant to end up working here, in the evenings we usually eat at the Suan Lum night bazaar which involves weaving my way through a car park past cars still exhaling heat from their recent arrival, and a whole tribe of local kittens.
Yesterday morning the alarm didn't go off and I leapt out of bed with half an hour to get to school (an put some clothes on), it's amazing how long it takes to poke yourself in the eye with a contact lens when the pressure is on, I then walked out without my jacket and spent all day freezing in the airconditioned class room. As I stood on the platform still ruffled with sleep, I looked down and saw the imprint of creased sheets still clearly imprinted across my breasts and hoped my face was not similarly adorned, I did not have time to concern myself with this thought too long as the train ground into the station carrying with it the aroma of the streets decaffinated by it's journey underground.
The metro and skytrain here are incredibly efficient with new trains pulling up every five to ten minutes, they are pristine and the platforms are patroled it's almost Singapore, they are also expensive by local standards and again freezing cold, enough with the airconditioning already.
Lunch time must scram.
More soon. Love N.J.
We went and taught at an orphanage on Wed. which was great fun but the material was limited the kids just parroted the same thing over and over again, they were performing a play for the department of education in the afternoon so I taught them some basic acting skills which was fun, I actually find this teaching thing rather easy, maybe it is genetically passed on or something.
i go out in the mornings to buy fruit and can walk to the corner faster than the traffic can get there the traffic in Bangkok is madness, one of the reasons I am reluctant to end up working here, in the evenings we usually eat at the Suan Lum night bazaar which involves weaving my way through a car park past cars still exhaling heat from their recent arrival, and a whole tribe of local kittens.
Yesterday morning the alarm didn't go off and I leapt out of bed with half an hour to get to school (an put some clothes on), it's amazing how long it takes to poke yourself in the eye with a contact lens when the pressure is on, I then walked out without my jacket and spent all day freezing in the airconditioned class room. As I stood on the platform still ruffled with sleep, I looked down and saw the imprint of creased sheets still clearly imprinted across my breasts and hoped my face was not similarly adorned, I did not have time to concern myself with this thought too long as the train ground into the station carrying with it the aroma of the streets decaffinated by it's journey underground.
The metro and skytrain here are incredibly efficient with new trains pulling up every five to ten minutes, they are pristine and the platforms are patroled it's almost Singapore, they are also expensive by local standards and again freezing cold, enough with the airconditioning already.
Lunch time must scram.
More soon. Love N.J.
Wednesday, February 01, 2006
Bangkok 01/02/06
Wow, it's nearly two weeks since I last wrote, school has been busy, trying to write a resume and of course can't open the old ones, so it goes.
It was Chinese New Year on Sunday (year of the woofer) and we went into China town, it was mad, the princess was there so the place was completely packed, the food was good, yum cha and bar-b-q seafood as far as the eye could see, women selling metallic helium baloons shaped like animals, great clouds of them festooned above their heads. Outside all the wats they were selling little concetinad dragons, they curl up a stick which has a little red drum on the top and when you twist the stick it beats, (I guess you've got to see it). Everybody was wearing red and there were kids in some really cute outfits but i didn't get too many photos as you feel a bit like a stalker, and you have to be quick and I am still learning how to use my new camera, infact I still have no idea what most of the functiions do. It's amazing whenever you buy a new piece of technology these days you get a bare bones manual and then you have to pick up by some kind of ozmosis how the thing actually works. One of the guys on my course showed me how to use the wifi on my computer the other day how cool is that, but I would have had no idea if he hadn't showed me.
Went to the zoo with Tamsin (one of the girls from the course) yesterday it was cool, lions and tigers and bears (oh my) bengal white tigers, leopards and black leopards which are well cool. meercats, girafees and the usual suspects, the grounds are actually quite spacious clean and pleasant though of course the cat cages are too small.
Have been doing lots of shopping this week and catching boats up and down the Chao Phraya which is probably my favourite way to travel, though the metro and skytrain are great additions to the Bangkok transport issues but they need to be extended.
Anyway it's time for me to do some work on phonograms for my next class.
Love N.J.
It was Chinese New Year on Sunday (year of the woofer) and we went into China town, it was mad, the princess was there so the place was completely packed, the food was good, yum cha and bar-b-q seafood as far as the eye could see, women selling metallic helium baloons shaped like animals, great clouds of them festooned above their heads. Outside all the wats they were selling little concetinad dragons, they curl up a stick which has a little red drum on the top and when you twist the stick it beats, (I guess you've got to see it). Everybody was wearing red and there were kids in some really cute outfits but i didn't get too many photos as you feel a bit like a stalker, and you have to be quick and I am still learning how to use my new camera, infact I still have no idea what most of the functiions do. It's amazing whenever you buy a new piece of technology these days you get a bare bones manual and then you have to pick up by some kind of ozmosis how the thing actually works. One of the guys on my course showed me how to use the wifi on my computer the other day how cool is that, but I would have had no idea if he hadn't showed me.
Went to the zoo with Tamsin (one of the girls from the course) yesterday it was cool, lions and tigers and bears (oh my) bengal white tigers, leopards and black leopards which are well cool. meercats, girafees and the usual suspects, the grounds are actually quite spacious clean and pleasant though of course the cat cages are too small.
Have been doing lots of shopping this week and catching boats up and down the Chao Phraya which is probably my favourite way to travel, though the metro and skytrain are great additions to the Bangkok transport issues but they need to be extended.
Anyway it's time for me to do some work on phonograms for my next class.
Love N.J.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
