Bangkok!

This weekend Anita, Lilou, Charlene (a swedish girl who also attends Webster) and I all went to Bangkok together, where we met up with Stefnie and Austin (Adorable couple from California, students at Webster too).
Only Lilou and I have classes on Fridays, because we both chose art. Our teacher is brilliant, I was so confused all the time, because he didn?t speak a word of English to me. Yes, he even spoke Thai to me, and as much as I pride myself on being able to understand numbers, ask ?how much? and order my favourite dish at a restaurant, I had absolutely no idea what he was talking about.
However, as art is mostly visual it didn?t matter. He showed me some great techniques and I?m so excited about our next class, because even though I don?t know what exactly I will be doing work-wise in the future, being creative definitely will pay off in most jobs.

(my drawings from art class)
Straight after class, we hurried home, packed and ordered a cab to downtown, so we could catch the mini busses that drive between Bangkok-Cha am-Hua Hin every 30 mins.
It would be a understatement if I said the trip there was good!
The mini bus was so cramped, we were 13 people in a bus the size of the car you would usually have 7-8 people in in Europe. It was also hot and humid and whenever the car would go over the tiniest bump in the road (which there are a trillion of in Thailand) the bus would literally be bouncing because of it for 2 seconds, which meant that by the time we arrived, I had knocked my head into the window numerous times, had a banging headache and was in a general bad mood. Furthermore, 4 indian/Chinese/Thai girls were sitting behind us and were so unbelievable loud and rather annoying because they apparently didn?t understand the normal courtesy of speaking with low voices, and, most definitely not playing loud music and singing along to Thai songs. I was close to throwing myself out of the car, especially by the time we reached Bangkok and made it into rush hour where it was literally faster to walk than stay in the bus (so we did).
Anyway!
We arrived ?well? and found our way to our hotel, where we had to  take  the Skytrain! Definitely an experience 🙂
4 girls, in a 2 persons room with one extra bed was where we were destined to stay for the weekend. It was quite fun, despite the hotel being far off and not very luxurious. The funny thing was that it was called the “Convenient Park”, very ironic and at least we can laugh at it now.

Lilou had been talking about a so-called ?Playboy Party?, where a guy from BIS (our previous school) would be DJ?ing, so we decided to go there. However, as she had to pick up the pre-paid tickets first and both Charlene and I weren?t ready yet, we decided to split up and meet at the club later. This was a terrible idea, because the cab driver that Charlene and I got did not know his way around Bangkok. He didn?t even know where/what the place we were talking about was/is. So, there we were, casually driving around in underground parking lots for 10 mins, driving in circles. We both got quite frustrated and even after Lilou talked to the guy in Thai explaining him the way, he still didn?t take us there. I can?t figure out if he was only trying to make more money or if he was really lost (which he seemed to be, because at one point Charlene got really angry and threw him her opinions about his driving. )
However, we finally arrived and met up with Lilou and Anita as well as the other couple. Everything was finally going right? till we went inside and saw that the party was filled with 14-year olds local Thai?s. We were, not only almost the only foreigners, we were also way too old. The bartenders ignored us so many times that we were all getting into a bad mood.
Therefore, even before the open bar was over, we decided to leave.
We went to a few more places that were definitely better than the first, however, nothing could really compare to the chilled atmosphere that both Anita and I so admire from Phuket. We had funny moments though, such as being 8 people in a small 4-persons cab (sitting on top of each other, because that’s what you do in Thailand, haha) and dancing on various podiums and laughing at drunk people.
We ended the night in McD?s, (terrible for our healthy lifestyle, but by then we had already broken it) and the food was delicious?
We went home rather early and completely sober, something I can’t recall I have done in quite a while.

Next day, we went shopping. And, Oh.My.God.I.Love.Shopping.In.BKK. I bought so many adorable things, including a lovely leather bag that I intend to use as my school bag, as I?m currently without one. I also bought cute shoes that are excellent to wear for school. Furthermore I bought earrings (3 pairs for 50 baht?.: 10 crowns / little more than 1 euro) Flip flops (40 crowns), a brush set (!!!!! 40 crowns!!!! That?s the price of one freaking brush in Denmark and here I got at least 10! I was so excited about this, that I bought it even without the need of it), eyeshadows (20 crowns).
All in all, I felt rather poor but in reality I hadn?t spent more than 110-120 crowns?..

In one of the shopping malls we went to, there was a Japanese fest. Everyone was dressed up (or I wasn?t sure whether they would usually dress like that, which I have heard isn?t at all that uncommon?)
There is also a ?Madam Tussaud? in Bangkok, which is a famous wax museum where celebrities are sculpted. Despite not entering it, ?Tom Cruise? was casually standing outside and we took a photo with him. Unbelievable how truly realistic he looked!

At night we went out again, this time on the famous ?Khao San?-road, which is sort of like ?Bangla Road? in Phuket minus the hookers. It?s a place with many bucket bars and a few clubs. This night was definitely a trillion times better than the night before. We all had a blast, despite Anita accidentally losing her phone in the cab where it must have fallen out of her pocket/bag and the fact that it was raining like crazy and we were all drenched. Lilou and I also bought a the most hideous friendship bracelets for 10 baht each (2 crowns..) and had a thai massage at 2 am in the middle of the street.
After having a blast at numerous clubs and bars, we went back to the hotel, all safe and in a very good mood.

 

We had tried to different opportunities of traveling home, but unfortunately it was either too expensive or not possible. So, as we were walking towards the horrible busses, we decided to buy two seats each, which made the trip so much more comfortable and I am not afraid to say I will do the same again, next time we go to Bangkok.

When we came back, we were all exhausted and just ate in our rooms. However, both Anita and I made it down to the restaurant where there is free and unlimited coffee/chocolate/cookies etc. Doubt it?s a good deal for them, with the amount we drink.

Today I had my first Marketing Communication classes. Unfortunately the A/C wasn?t working properly, it?s hard to concentrate when it?s 30 degrees+ in a classroom. Despite that, it was fun. We had to think of slogans and made a competition. In the end, I believe both Anita and I were quite frustrated because we were able to think of so many Danish slogans (?Hvem ka? ? Bilka?, ?Det skideskægt i BonBonLand.? ?I Legoland, land? ?Alle har råd til et fedt køkken? etc.)
We came in second place though, with slogans such as ?The only place where it?s allowed to dance naked on the bar? (The Happy Viking/Den Glade Viking.) Just in case you were wondering, it was hard to seem serious when reading out that one.

I also had International Relations classes. Our teacher is so engaged and has so many opinions, the classes are actually really interesting.. and I can?t believe I?m saying this.. but.. I actually find politics really exciting and interesting and I truly look forward to my next class! However, as we were talking about the average age in various countries and the teacher read out that ?The average age in Scandinavia, that is Sweden, Norway and Finland, is 40+? I had to bite my tongue from correcting him. I don?t think that?s the best way to make a good impression on the teacher, in the beginning at least. So despite having at least 30 different comments where I could casually place the content ??.In Scandinavia.. that is Sweden, Norway and Denmark, despite the common mistake of thinking Finland is included there is?.? and ?? the Scandinavian countries, Sweden, Norway and Denmark ? not Finland?.? Etc. I didn?t say anything? but I will keep it in mind and definitely drop a comment sometime in the future? 😉

We are still looking for a good restaurant nearby, because the few ones we have eaten at so far we have either been waiting for hours or feeling quite insecure about the quality of meat. Hopefully we will stumble upon one soon, because constantly eating cereals and bread with Philadelphia is slowly beginning to get quite boring. I would pay a lot to get a really nice Danish salad right now!
We are also still looking for a place to rent a car. I really think it?s important to see more than where we are, considering all the opportunities we would have if we could just drive around a bit. Also, I would love to go to Phuket soon, but getting there is more difficult as such, because first we would have to go to Bangkok, in order to take flight which isn?t always that cheap and once we arrive there, there?s quite a drive from the airport to where we would be staying. In the end it would take the same amount of hours as driving, but be a lot more expensive as gas is really cheap here.
We also haven?t received our SU yet, (money from the government that students get each month for studying), because it?s so complicated and the government does not seem to want to help us and they want all sorts of irrelevant information and can?t seem to ask for it all at the same time.

However, despite all these ?problems?, I am having a good time. I miss my family, my friends and the areas I know, but I?m enjoying the culture, the new friends, our ?home? and the weather here.

Lots of love

Anna 🙂

xx