Returning to Hua Hin after having had a great time in Denmark where I caught up with some pretty cool people, saw Sak Noel, got lost in my own home city, cried because I couldn?t get my ends to meet, slept in my own amazing bed, went to my favourite cafés, but most of all spent time with the family that I love more than anything, was a bit of a bummer.
However, just a week after my return, Lilou, Anita and I all went to Phuket again. It was Halloween weekend so we all had costumes prepared. Anita went as a devil (and got many comments but she always had the coolest comebacks that left many of the guys stunned) Lilou as Pocahontas and I went as a roman zombie. I had the coolest fake wound that I had bought months before, but unfortunately it wouldn?t stick to my skin? even after having bought real glue and superglue (which Lilou wouldn?t allow me to use? smart move by the way ; thank you for possibly saving my life) so I had to stick with fake blood. But it was still pretty cool. We met up with an old friend from British International School (the school where I met Lilou 4? 5.. years ago) and she was dressed up as a cat.
In general it was a fun weekend aaaaand we made it back to class Monday morning! (Despite being slightly knackered)

Time passed quickly and soon November came up. November = my birthday.
I was not expecting anything whatsoever, casually planning on going out at night and perhaps buying some bottles but honestly nothing spectacular. However, 4 days before my birthday I was sitting in the library studying for a marketing test (that I managed to get an A on 😀 ) when Lilou and Anita came and ?disturbed? me with their nonsense chattering. This lovely conversation turned into us making a spontaneous decision to go to full moon party the day after!! Full moon party is a party held on a white sand beach and begins at dusk. Around 10,000-30,000 people go there each month and there is something for everyone. It’s a wild and crazy dancing frenzy, with lots of different styles of music and many entertainers and entertainments. Definitely worth going there again.

Obviously, the day passed really slowly from there on. We were a group of 5-10 people all going on the same bus + ferry so it wasn?t that boring. The bus ride took around 3-4 hours as did the ferry to Koh Phangan. (The island where the party is held) We stayed at this gorgeous girl?s guesthouse, which was located right by the Pier and relatively close to the beach where the party is held. It was a lovely cute place with a great restaurant and we only paid 750 baht all together (that?s like.. 150 crowns!) for one night. SO cheap and so lovely and worth all the money.
The party itself?. Oh my, where to start.
We had all bought neon shirts/dresses/shorts and we made some crazy body paint on each other so we were literally glowing in all the colours of the rainbow.
The party was insane. Lots of drunk, happy, loud, funny and passed out people. We all got buckets filled with alcohol and drank x number of them. Anita and I decided to go down a slide that had flames on the side? I had to force myself to climb up there but once I made it, it was all worth it ? it was such a thrill.
We named Anita ?monkey? that night, because she was climbing anything and everything she could possibly get near; including the burnt out letters of the picture below. Crazy girl.

We only stayed one night and therefore left the day before my birthday. We had previously decided that we wouldn?t be able to make the ferry in the early morning and decided to go for a smaller ferry that would leave later. If I say it what the worst decision of our lives I would be underestimating. The ferry was indeed, small, but it was also unstable, no a/c and the toilet was merely the ocean flushing away waste. The waves were ridiculously big and the whole ferry was tipping and moving so much that it was impossible to stand.
After a while I finally fell asleep??.. but???? after about 15 minutes I got woken up by a big splash of water straight into my face – I had been leaning my head against the wall near the window, which we had to keep open in order to get some fresh air due to the lack of air condition, and due to the boat was tipping so much, a huge wave crashed in through the window.
So not only was I seasick out of my mind, I was also completely drenched. It only got worse. I was scared to walk anywhere in fear of falling into the water because the waves were so crazy, but decided to cross my fears in order to help Lilou to the bathroom as she had to puke (no, not due to the alcohol we had previously consumed, but because of seasickness.)
We finally arrived on land after 6 hours (worst 6 hours of my life) and when we got on land, I almost wanted to cry and I was so close to kissing the ground. We took a picture of all three of us after the trip, because we all looked so awful it’s almost funny.
After that, we had to take a small bus the true thai way; that means we were about 40 people cramped into a bus that was meant for 10 people. Sitting there, everything started to become a joke. We were stuck in between strangers, sweating, tired, hungover, feeling sick. We arrived at the train-station, but turns out we had to wait about 3 hours for the train to arrive, so we decided to take a tuk tuk to the bus station instead.
We arrived, but they told us that they weren?t any busses within the next few hours and that there probably wouldn?t be space on the next one. I was on the verge of a break-down. Honestly.
Thankfully, the irony of our whole trip turned around and we were able to get on the bus 1 hour later. I was beyond thrilled as you could imagine.

The bus ride took about 5 hours and I officially turned 19 on that ride. After taking a motorbike trip from where they put us off we FINALLY arrived home.
It was wonderful. Beautiful. Amazing to be home after a 12-14 hour trip.
We all went straight to bed and I slept well into the morning. I decided to take a well-deserved shower, but as soon as I got out of the shower (only wearing a towel) I heard some people giggling on the corridor and then knocking on my door. As I opened, I saw two crazy girls standing, holding plates with buns, a huge cake, balloons, candles, presents, flags and I-don?t-know-what. It took me by such a surprise I almost started crying (I shall deny any picture of me with teary eyes) The candles were ?trick-candles? which neither of us knew, so after I blew them out the first time they re-lit! Huge confusion occurred as we were desperately looking for a way to turn off the candles before burning the cake. We finally achieved it by using wet toilet paper and squeezing the candles.
I got the most lovely presents from Anita and Lilou, despite some of them being.. well.. perhaps, slightly inappropriate???
My mum sent me Christmas stuff. I think she might have mistaken my birthday for Christmas Eve, but it was still lovely of her to send it. I received the most beautiful letter from my brother though, that I can?t deny left me with tears in my eyes.

I quickly got dressed and we left to get oil massages. It was amazing, until the point where the lady massaging me, told me to turn around and pulled down the towel. For the people who don?t know what an oil massage includes; you?re naked. (or only wearing underwear.) I quickly pulled the towel back up to cover my, ehm, more private parts and mumbled that I would prefer not to have my THOSE parts massaged. That was probably one of the more embarrassing moments of my life and I?m sure I will be able to laugh at it.. in a few years, perhaps.

After eating lunch, we all started getting ready for our night out. I had previously decided that we should eat at a steak house, which is really good. As I mentioned before, I don?t eat much meat here except at that place? and Lord was the food amazing. We had lovely cocktails and I couldn?t have wished for better company (perhaps only had my family been there.) After dinner we went out to the local bar that everyone goes to here.
The night involved a few body-tequilas (I blame it all on Anita), playing and losing pool, dancing, eating McD’s, running around and being surrounded by lovely people. Inevitable I got a little drunk? very fast.. so I was sound asleep in my own bed at 2 o? clock as far as I can remember.

Despite the fact that I didn?t see my family (they called me and sang the Danish version of ?happy birthday? though which was really cute) it was a great day 🙂

Have a great day 🙂

-Anna.

We had midterms right before the Autumn break, which thankfully went really well for me. I really want to get a GPA of 3,5+ (Danish scale around 11+) which seems within reach at the moment. In the autumn break I left to Denmark to see my family as well as go to London to see the Webster campus over there. I don?t know which was better; they were both amazing. My mum cooked the most amazing foods that I have been missing dearly while living here. I don?t eat much meat here? at all actually, because I tend to dissect my food way too much and find imaginary bones/veins/eye balls etc. so when I returned home it was AMAZING to eat steaks, meatballs, ?leverpostej? and anything else I could possible get down.
You really learn which things you miss the most, when they are not within reach ? which also means I have learned how much my family means to me.

The London campus was beyond expectations. It was SO beautiful?. Actually so brilliant that I decided that I want to transfer there next year ? I have already sent in my transfer applications. I received an email yesterday which said;

?Thank you for your application to study at Webster University ? London Campus at Regent?s College.
I am pleased to confirm that your application for site transfer starting Spring 2012 has now been accepted.” 

I cannot wait at all. There are so many things to explore and so many things to do ? definitely not like Hua Hin. I don?t want to give off the wrong impression, because I honestly do like it here? but I?m a little restless because of a certain apathy that is easily picked up here.
London in general gave me an amazing impression. We went and saw ?Wicked? ? the musical, which is an adaption of The Wizard of Oz. I have never seen a musical that well played, with so many effects and I was blown away. However, as my attention span usually doesn?t last for as long as I would like for it to do, it was at times a bit tedious at times and it could?ve been cut down to 2 hours instead of the.. 3-4 hours it was. (Or maybe that?s just how I remember it.) Still ? I?m happy to have seen it and I can?t wait to see more once I move to London.
The shopping was, of course, just my thing. All these amazing shops and it was strangely enough relatively cheap! We went on a sightseeing bus and for the first time in my life I found it really interesting ?unlike my previous experience in San Francisco where I actually managed to fall asleep.
The city seems to offer so many stories (such as the devastation of the city due to a fire that started in a bakery and destroyed more than 13,000 houses and before that how the plague has killed nearly 70000 people) and secrets. We went into the London Dungeon as well, which was so much fun, despite Thomas and I almost peeing our pants around every corner, because the horror house in Universal Studies seriously must have scarred us badly.

We stayed at a small hotel that wasn?t incredible? nor anywhere near it. The most interesting part about the place was the stairs. They were so uneven, crooked and unsymmetrical it was more fun to take them than the elevator.
Despite only staying for two days, we managed to experience a lot. My parents used to live in London for four years (actually I was made in London????) so they knew a bit more and were able to show us around which made the trip less stressful.

Thailand is still beautiful in my eyes, it still offers so much more, has so many wonderful advantages but I?m ready to move on. Lilou has also decided that it is time to discover new places and will most likely start university in Belgium? Anita, however, seems to have ?been taken by Bangkok? (or Thailand/the people she has met here? hehe ;-)) and wants to stay even longer than originally planned.
It?s hard to figure out what we want ? we are all so young and there are so many opportunities, but if we don?t take any chances we won?t ever make it further in life.
It?s sad that we are all going different ways, but I?m in no doubt that we will all stay in contact. 🙂

🙂

Due to numerous complaints about the lack of updates on my blog, I have decided to pick up on it again. I had otherwise previously decided to lay the writing aside for a bit, in order to focus on school, but I guess it all comes down to prioritizing. Perhaps fewer body tequilas will help in this case. As I haven’t updated in a while, this will be a very long update, but I have decided to split it into smaller sections in chronological order as to not bore you too much. 🙂

 = more blog updates.

I am not sure where to start. For the past many months, so much has happened and yet ?so little? to me, because it has become an everyday experience having to stop in the middle of the road while driving, because some cows decide to randomly cross the streets, or seeing 5-6 years old at 2 o?clock in the middle of the night, running around desperately trying to sell roses (and punching the boys in a certain area if they don?t). Finding snakes on campus, seeing hookers everywhere ? and trying to decide whether they are in fact women or men. (Usually if you look at the size of their feet, their height + width of shoulders and their throat it?s mostly visible, but otherwise I separate the most beautiful ones into the lady boys section.) I?m not kidding. Some of them are beyond gorgeous?

I have developed an unfortunate hatred towards most pale, fat, middle-aged and older men (whom are in my theory mostly bald) down here  when they walk around with a petite Thai woman my age.
I am not sure if it?s because I have watched too many romantic movies, but I hardly believe that >true love< can be bought in the middle of a wild night. I find it to be a slightly naïve and superficial way of compensating for something else. (But, of course, I won’t deny that it happens sometimes… still though…)

During one of our weekends, we went to Bangkok which was a unfortunately a disappointment. In my opinion it?s too crowded, too stressed and too dirty. Honestly I think it?s overrated?. (Except the shopping part, which was quite lovely.)
Phuket on the other hand?. My God, Phuket is the reason I love Thailand. It?s smaller than Bangkok, simpler, more beautiful, down to earth, I know my way around and I. Just. Love. It.
Lilou and I made a trip down to Phuket during September. It was indescribable.
Hua Hin doesn?t have an airport that actually works so we took a bus down there, which takes about 9 hours (a nightmare) but thankfully we took it at night so we could sleep through most of it. We stayed at our friend?s guesthouse which is located perfectly ? right near the shopping/food mall and in walking distance to Bangla Road (the party road which is also connected to the beach.) We left on a Thursday night because our art classes were cancelled on that Friday and our plan was taking the bus Sunday night back to Hua Hin in time for our classes Monday morning.
However, it was impossible to leave. We had so much fun, partying, drinking, dancing, shopping, meeting people and so on that we decided to stay one more night?.. bad idea, because when the time came to leave on that Monday we realized that we had gotten wrong information regarding the bus schedules and had missed it by 30 minutes?.. which meant: 5 minutes of regret that we would be missing another day of school and another 23 hours of pure freedom and fun. 😉
Lilou knows a wonderful, tiny place where tequila can be bought for 30 baht -> ~5 crowns. We would start each night there (I would have approximately 2-3 shots, whereas Lilou ?the crazy tequila drinker- would have at least 4.) and then see where the night took us. At one point (I blame the tequilas again) I decided to go skinny dipping on the beach. Not the best idea, but at least I can now tick that off my list of ?things that must be done while young?.

September went by quickly. Needless to say we had lots of fun during the weekends, especially one night is memorable as we decided to drink near the pool which lead to the decision to have our own little pool party.
We also went and saw some tourists things such as the view of the whole of Hua Hin (which meant that we had to walk a lot? again needless to say this wasn?t the thing for neither Lilou nor I, but joyful and hyper-active Anita seemed to love it) and we also went to the ?floating market? which is a basically just a market built on top of a small lake. Cute, but prices were ridiculous.

Hua Hin doesn’t offer too much of a nightlife, but we have our own little local bar called Sam Sam (33 in Thai) where we play pool and if we get “really” drunk, we go to the only real club that Hua Hin has, which is filled with hookers and Thai gangsters. It’s usually always fun though, because it’s almost an unwritten rule that you only go there if you’re really drunk.

I think I’ll leave at this note. 🙂

– Anna.