Dear Family and Friends,

Today I had some of the best Thai food of my life – and I cooked it. Months ago I did some research into Thai cooking classes and settled on the mid-range Baipai school (http://www.baipai.com/). It looks nice, doesn’t it? Oh, and it was. At just after 9 am, a labeled, air-conditioned van pulled up at my guesthouse with several students already in tow. We rode to school silently although we exchanged raised eyebrows at one point when our driver got upset enough to actually climb out of the van to scold another driver. We went up and down and around and through a myriad of streets and back streets and alleys until we arrived at a small, open-air two story building. We were lead upstairs, fed sweet, cold, lemongrass tea and sweetly instructed to stow our belongings and don a “professional” apron. We were then lead downstairs by the interpreter “A” to our teacher “Noi” and instructed while seated around a large workbench with a gas burner and plenty of work space. The class was composed of 5 Japanese friends/family, 1 Taiwanese woman currently employed in Bangkok analyzing markets, 2 Australians, myself and a Thailandese-American character by the name of Rick. All the prep work had been done and continued to be done for us by at least 5 background kitchen helpers. We all agreed that cooking is more fun when there are some ones to do the prep work and 100% of the clean-up!

Our first lesson was on how to make a tomato rose. I was quickly established as the comedic light relief at my end of the work benchbecause I had to be given a second tomato and Rick started to tease me. I responded by telling him that there was always someone in the crowd who makes everyone else look good and that today that person was going to be me. He could thank me later, if he liked. (Actually he did thank me as he got out at his hotel – but in teasing vein as I wasn't that bad.). After the rose we carved a cucumber leaf and then got down to the meat by making a “Pandanus Chicken” (Gai Hor Bai Toey) – marinated chicken wrapped in a fragrant pandanus leaf, fried in vegetable oil, and dipped in sweet soy sauce. The chicken packets were fried for us (splattering oil too much for school’s insurance) while we students prepared the popular and delicious “Green Papaya Salad” (Som Tam). We then had “tasting” time where we actually sat down at a long table to eat what we had prepared. Next we fried prawns (this time we fried them ourselves) and made a mouth-watering tamarind sauce for a “Prawn in Tamarind Sauce” (Goong Sauce Ma Kham). Again, we ate. Finally, we prepared “Roasted Duck in Red Curry” (Gang Phed Ped Yang) – and ate that back upstairs while happily chatting and browsing the items for sale. With our tummies filled to the max, our new recipe books in hand, and quite pleased with ourselves, we were returned to our respective hotels.

A few cooking class items of note: The tomato skin rose & cucumber leaf were to decorate the papaya salad. Peeling a tomato in one long skin is much tougher than a teacher makes it look.

• Pandanus leaves are scented, edible, delicious, and apparently found in Asian supermarkets despite short shelf-life.


• Papayas are orange when ripe. Ripe papaya with squeezed lime is delicious.
• The Papaya “Som Tam” salad is made with unripened green papayas.
• Tamarind flavoring is wonderful. To make a fresh tamarind paste, Baipai peeled the tamarinds, kneaded & squeezed them together with water, and then strained out the fibers. Sour but delicious.
• Palm sugar is used all the time in Thai cooking. This sugar is quite complex, especially when compared with regular sugar. The combo of tamarind sauce, a fish or oyster sauce, palm sugar, and a fresh chili is fantastic and practically symbolizes good Thai cooking.
• The roast duck came from “a Chinese place around the corner.” Can you believe it???
• Our interpreter kindly informed us that we tourists are pretty wimpy when it comes to spice and that we should be fine if we order food “tourist hot.”

So the Baipai class was fun and I might have to do another one or two. The camaraderie was good and the pestle and mortars were killer (they had the nice heavy ones that I have been coveting as well as a clay & wood ones for salads). I must have one at some point – and I am trying not to think about how many books I’ll have to cast away in order to take one with me. I would, if I could, bring all of my cooking friends a “baby” mortar and pestle – the pestle of which could be utilized for a decent weight lifting routine.

Sadly, this class highlighted a fundamental weakness in my current life: a deficient of good Thai food. I know that sounds crazy, as I’m IN Thailand, but the best Thai dish I’d had up ‘til yesterday was the prawn salad with lemon grass that I could barely eat at the Davis on the night of my arrival. Out of necessity, I keep gravitating towards Japanese food and that just won’t do while in Bangkok. Stay tuned for the search for an excellent Thai restaurant… or three.

At dinner time, I discover a posh bookstore with plenty of English books (hooray!) and contemplate buying a dining guide but decide to actually read my Lonely Planet (which was spot-on re: accommodation) and take it from there. I found myself wandering around the Thai area of Siam Square looking for something more “authentic” when I ran across an older Thai lady with white threaded through her hair who told me that I was very pale and asked what I was looking for. She works at the local university bookstore... we had a pleasant conversation and she sent me towards the “MBK Center” – which is half way between my Wendy House and Siam Square. I duly went that direction and ended up at a food court/restaurant where you can order practically anything (I end up with dim sum + a local specialty of mango sticky rice that I had been told about at by one of the Australians in my cooking class). I also figured out how to walk from Siam Square to Wendy House without using the Sky Train. You would think that walking from Point A to Point B using pedestrian sidewalks should be direct and easy but it just isn’t as one needs to walk through shopping areas and over sky bridges. In the MBK Center, I also find another humungous amount of clothing/accessories/jewelry shopping and a less exciting grocery store that I shall have to later explore.

I have leftover mango in my fridge and every day is an adventure.

Fond regards,

Laura

Dear Family & Friends,

You may or may not know that in the last year or so, I’ve learned to keep a journal that accompanies me at all times. In fact, a stroke of accessory genius, my current journal doubles as entertainment and gives my slouchy handbag structure. Anyway, to get the creative juices flowing, each journal entry begins with a description of the weather. In Seattle, especially January, the fun of this is wracking my vocabulary and perspective for a description beyond “gray and rainy.” So I must say that so far, Bangkok weather hasn’t presented many opportunities to wax eloquent beyond the word “muggy.” At present, my body is operating akin to a fancy garden fountain: water is almost constantly poured through the mouth and then spouts from a myriad of places. The only thing that keeps me looking like an actual fountain is that I am fully clothed, so the water simply empties into my clothing. My face dislikes this place and is constantly spreading a sheen of oil across itself while growing an unpleasing number of pink spots. Luckily, my hair is thrilled! It happily bounces and fizzes and curls.

I continue to have technical difficulties – this time not of my own making. My initial euphoria re: the Wendy House wireless network faded as yesterday the network crashed. I wasn’t unduly alarmed although this did manage to ruin my plans to catch up on several computing items although the crash solidified my method of e-mailing you all (which is to compose in Word sitting on my crisp white bed and then go online to copy into Gmail or Blogger). Finally, the network did get fixed although the wireless in my room is now very spotty – oddly, it never seems to work when I’d like it but works fine when I don’t need it. Huh.

Yesterday I awoke early to check my e-mail; the bank informed me that there was “no reason” that my debit card shouldn’t be working and wished me a nice trip. Happily, my debit card and I had a successful jaunt down to Siam Square and on the way back, I took the wrong set of stairs and discovered a 50 B Bangkok map at a convenience store. After my paying Wendy House a month’s rent and consuming my complimentary “Western style” breakfast, I fiddled, a lot. Later I roused myself to examine my new map and decided that as Bangkok is often described as a water city, it was time for me to at least clap eyes on the river. So at the Sky Train station, I splurged 30 B for 5 stops, and stood holding a handrail as the train soared by a few parks and a multitude of buildings.

I disembarked at the “terminal” station noting some colorful wat spires not far away, an intriguing ruin, and visually located the Choa Phraya river. The air was heavier and rush hour had begun. Perhaps I caught the river on a bad day and I was not in the best section, but I’m still not sure that it is anything to write home about. The river is a wide, muddy brown expanse, with a noticeably strong current and populated with rusty commuter ferries. I was the only Westerner in the immediate vicinity and there were hordes of street vendors and tour operators to catch my attention and Baht. My “no” to all was enough to shake them and I purposely headed towards my ruin and the wat spires.

I’m constantly intrigued by stories or things that could pose interesting stories and I want, I really want to know, how my ruin became a ruin. My ruin was once gorgeous or could’ve been gorgeous… of this I am sure but the signs of ruination include haphazard steel construction wire emanating from the top and random other places, that some of its floors are dark brown concrete while others are painted white, and that there is no sign of construction. It is probably 30 stories high with each floor containing wavy-stone balconies akin to what is found at other nice hotels in the vicinity. As I walked down the street in the direction of the ruin, I caught a glimpse of the Corinthian columns that formed its entrance but I could also see that walking closer was futile as the ruin base was completely fenced off. Because my Thai still hasn’t advanced (“thank you” continues to be a challenge although I’ve had a multitude of teachers), I didn’t think that asking around would get me very far so I’ve resolved to do some research. There is a Thai Google.

I put aside my odd building intrigue and walked instead to the colorful spires that originally caught my attention. It is not listed in the Lonely Planet so I don’t know much about “Wat Yannawa” – my first Wat – except that it is a definitely a working complex of worship with saffron-robed monks. My knees and shoulders were properly covered and the guard waved me onto a path leading in, so I amazedly walked in. Photos of Thai wats are completely inadequate to express the incredibly detailed mosaic detailing and the… “BEEP BEEP!” I jumped as a polite, insistent beep sounded behind me. My heart then raced as I found myself facing the front of a not-small bus behind me. I quickly moved to the side of the path, aka the road, while the bus driver smiled and waved at me. I like to think that I looked so pole-axed by this sacred place that he was commiserating with my lack of attention to his enormous purple bus. As I continued to walk around, I remained awestruck and vigilant re: buses. I explored, took a few photos, and silently greeted the multitude of stray or straying dogs. I didn’t attempt to go inside any of the buildings so as not to disturb the worshipers. I was stared at by the monks, school children, and Thai tourist as if I were a stranger, but not an unwelcome one.

I then rejoined the street cramped with cars, buses with their windows down, and street vendors hawking unidentifiable food wares – so tightly packed that even the motor scooters were stilled. The resulting smog made me cough.

On the way back to the train, I ran across two brown dogs, centered in the middle of a park path, snoozing on their sides. They looked quite content and not even terribly hungry but I gave them a wide berth although behind me, an old, bent, wizened man with an asymmetrical face attempted to shoo the dogs away. Perhaps the man had a reason to do so but I silently cheered the dogs on as they barked their displeasure from the side of the path.

Rush hour in Bangkok is a misnomer as traffic during peak travel times truly moves slower than a crawl. At times it seems so stuck that I wonder that anyone ever makes it to their destination. On the train, the crowd of commuting Thais and I slid across those packed streets, past intriguing architecture (a topic for another day) and into the Siam station of the Gourmet Market. It took me forever to decide on a pricey sushi dinner of which I did not recognize any of the really fresh fish but nonetheless enjoyed. I then plunked down 39 B for 4 different types of water (I hate the ubiquitous Nestle water, 10 B, everywhere) and a Tim Tam. I went home to Wendy House and fished out Iris Murdoch – which almost immediately put me to sleep.

You all are never far from me in thought. --Laura

Dear Friends & Family,

No matter what continent you are on, the inevitable problem with switching from a beautiful, luxurious suite to a basic guesthouse, is that the guesthouse accommodations completely pale in comparison. In fact, the first glimpse of my room was rather disheartening: after a steep, steep, 4 story stair climb with my not-lightweight suitcases, the heat and humidity from my windows smacked me in the face as did the well-worn hot pink blanket, the teeny tiny desk, and the horrid florescent lighting. In fact, I shall not bother to show you all "before" photos of my new suite because the "after" pictures with my stuff scattered are rather more homey. In fact, I'm likely going to have to buy a lamp (as the lighting drove me batty after a minute and I am staying here for almost 5 weeks), and I had to quash an urge to obtain a plant, and I must, must figure out an alarm.

Standards aside, there is nothing wrong with the Wendy House. In fact, there is a lot right. It is clean, not crumbling, the staff has been friendly, and it has the promised amenities such as air conditioner (that I'm likely going to kill by running 24 hours a day), a 'fridge, a TV (that I have yet to try out), and my own bathroom (with zip, nada, zero storage). It is located on an alleyway of other "affordable" guesthouses and hotels and while the alley is dusty and one is forced to dive amongst the bushes when a car goes by, the budget guest crowd is evident and my internal safety alarm bell has not yet been set off. Although at 2:42 am, I was jolted awake by shouting; I did not understand the language, but was happy to note that the shouting was good-natured. World Cup, perhaps? Anyway, the Wendy House atmosphere is International dorm-like and I although I'm out of the habit, I could and shall love that atmosphere.

The best news about Wendy House is that it is a quick walk to the Bangkok Skytrain. The bad news about the Bangkok Skytrain is that none of my maps incorporate Skytrain stops and the signs were little help to me in regards to direction. Luckily, I'm located near the "Sports Stadium" and its stop - which is memorable. When I arrived at the station in the mid-afternoon, I did some "now what?" thinking and watched other patrons. Finally, I decided that I might as well get on the thing, travel a few stops and see where it takes me. I could always retrace my steps and as each stop is 10 Baht, $0.26, this exploration was financially reasonable. I obtained some change from a cashier, selected 2 stops on the machine, input 20 B into the machine and was issued a card with a magnetic strip. The card goes into the machine, the gates slide open, and then you repossess the card. The trains come often and are air conditioned. Every time I climbed on, I could barely suppress a sigh of relief in escaping the humidity. You give the magnetic card back when exiting at your destination.

As I wasn't able to completely leave my goal-oriented nature where the sun doesn't shine, my hoped-for Skytrain travel goals were to (a) figure out how to get around without car/taxi, (b) find a bank in order to pay Wendy House its due, (c) find a book store for a city map, (d) find a power surge protector (yes, ensuring that my computer is happy is still top of my list!) and perhaps (e) a grocery store. I soon realized that the next station over from mine, handily titled "Siam/Interchange station" is the station for Siam Square - a humongo mish-mashed Western-style mall complex and the location of my ECC school. I had to take a few incorrect trains to figure out how to get back - all in the name of exploration, of course - but finally got my bearings and headed back to Siam Square.

The "square" part of Siam Square is composed of lower buildings with Thai retail shops in maze-like formation similar to the "native" ones that I had run into yesterday but definitely a level or two higher on the posh scale, with names on the outside, hip music, and a crowd of hip shoppers - mostly teens, I think. I wandered around the square, keeping a sharp eye out for my school (which I found later while standing on the train platform to return to Wendy House), stopped at a bun place for a delicious 22 B sausage roll and 20 B "lemon tea" and then attempted to use an ATM to withdraw money for the guesthouse. It was declined. I'm already pretty good with the online banking and could tell you almost down to a penny my available balance (which, for the record, is in positive territory), so I walked into a Thai bank for suggestions on what to do. They referred me to the tourist information booth - which was closed. That was discouraging as it was 4:00 pm here and somewhere in the middle of the night in Seattle. Huh. After some vexation and thought, I returned to Wendy House to explain my dilemma, e-mailed the bank, and have permission from Wendy House to pay tomorrow.

Now hungry, I decided to return to Siam Square to work on my other goals (surge protector and map). And now I must confess that I'm in huge, huge trouble. Siam Square has an Internationally chic, large, shiny, echoey, Western-style shopping mall called the "Siam Paragon." The mall portion is filled with couture names such as Coach, Chanel, Valentino, Hugo Boss, Hermes, and many more. Admittedly, this isn't truly a problem for me as I'm scarcely better able to afford couture items here than I can at home. And I'm likely to prefer a trip to Phuket than a designer handbag. However, the "Paragon" part of the name of this mall is because there is the most amazing department store called Paragon also located there. Paragon is at least 3 times the size of your average Nordy's and definitely could hold its own in New York or Paris or Hong Kong. The place has everything. Upon entering, I was greeted by makeup: Helena Rubenstein, Bobby Brown, Mac and many more. It seemed like forever to make my way to the center escalators. I by-passed the clothing, admittedly mostly because it looks like my size will be unavailable, and quickly found that my favorite sections were the "Read & Write" section (all Thai for the "read" section but from the covers I could tell that they carried some of my favorites such as Harry Potter, In Her Shoes, Inkspell, and He's Just Not that into You) and the upstairs high tech section. I also browsed the lamps - I really liked one for 1,477 B - a mere $38 (the same would likely exceed $200 in a Western store) but shall look for something more easily disposed of. Although Paragon is the coolest department store that I've ever shopped in, again, this isn't why I'm in trouble.

After Paragon, I was hungry so I caught an escalator to the basement food court. Just your average expansive, food court with French espresso, homemade gelato, fusion Thai food, sushi bars, etc. However, I passed by them all as I just did not fancy the notion of sitting by myself to be served a meal when I spotted a grocery store. A grocery store really doesn't describe this place - and the aptly named "Gourmet Market" could be my Waterloo. Gourmet Market is akin to a high-end hybrid of Whole Foods and Uwyjimaya - and it is incredible. Plump, shiny, fruit, vegetables chilled to perfection, enough deli stations to make your head swim, not to mention rows and rows of everything grocery/drug-storish from tp to Pantene to teas to juices to frozen items to seafood to well, everything. Those who know me well know can probably picture my joy, my sheer glee as I wandered up and down aisles. However, mindful that I cannot cook and that my Visa isn't working, I contented myself with the purchase of a salmon Bento box for dinner (180 B), 2 apples (32 B), a Cadberry bar (24 B), plus milk & sugar for in room tea (35 B). Having spent ~300 B, about $9, I took my purchases to my penthouse suite. I felt a bit guilty realizing that the average Thai citizen, the street vendors that I passed and even our front desk attendant cannot afford to make Gourmet Market a regular shopping experience. But I can - within reason - and you can bet I will.

All and all, I'm settling in quite nicely. One can purchase a coupon for an hour's worth of web time for 60 B ($1.75) - and this includes wireless. I can utilize the wireless downstairs in the tiny Wendy cafe but I've also found that it works just fine while sitting on my bed. I suspect I'll be purchasing many of those coupons! Mostly so I can describe to you all my latest purchases at Gourmet Market.

My plan for tomorrow is a map and homework, I think. Thursday is my first cooking class. On Friday, I'd like to venture to a few tourist spots - I may just do a lame tour hoping that it'll help orient me to the city. Anyway, my real reason for coming to Bangkok - to be schooled and to school - is fast approaching.

With Much Love,

Laura

Dear Family & Friends,

Well, you’ll be happy to know that I’ve been out and about Bangkok utterly playing into the “ugly American” stereotype. First of all, I cannot for the world of me, get “hi” or “thank you” in Thai right. According to the hotel’s tourist map, “hi” is pronounced “sad-wad-dee” and “thank you” is “kob-koon” – how difficult could this be? However, when I place my fingers together to mini-bow in greeting, the words magically skitter from my brain and I’m left with “hello” and “thank you.” I’ve placed buying a resource such as “how to speak Thai for really dumb Americans” on my list of things to buy. Yesterday, I managed to both relax and have plenty of adventure. Aren't I just the multi-tasker? As threatened, I wallowed in my suite and for a while, I played on my laptop at my granite “working desk” at the window overlooking the street with what I believe is the China Resources Tower (http://www.skyscrapercity.com/photopost/data/503/103dscn1357.jpg) in the distance. I was just in the groove of writing up a description of my journey and replying to individual e-mails when I got a low battery warning from my computer. I took that as a sign that I finally needed to do something about the power conversion issue. So I closed my computer and took a nap.

As you all know, not every country uses the same electricity system. I realized this before departing but couldn’t figure out what I would need and reasoned that I wouldn’t be the first dumb American to bring a laptop to Bangkok and that I could ask for what/where to buy what I needed when I arrived. So I packed my American surge protector + my computer power cable and I went downstairs to query a receptionist. She had no clue what I was asking until I used the word “computer” which inspired her to get out a shopping map and recommended that I go to something called the “Pantip.” She then laughed when I asked her if I could walk there. So I the doorman hailed a cab for me and directed it to downtown Bangkok.

So far, I find Bangkok driving and drivers amazing. Especially as I examined the bodies of the cars - and few had any scratches or other signs of damage. As I settled into my cab, I felt a bit disconcerted to notice that while the driver gets to be anchored to his seat with a belt, there are no such luxuries for the passenger in the back. And I looked... running my hands between the seats. Initially, this became very disconcerting as the driver shifted his car into gear and barreled ahead barely staying within the road markings. Admittedly, my understandable fear was almost completely forgotten as I began to take in the city sights. Oh, I wish that my camera could capture every image that my mind’s eye did! The lines of motor bikers forming walls on the outside of lanes of traffic. The school girls in their yellow, loosely fitting light cotton uniform tops, with black bags slung across their shoulders, walking away from school, many chatting on their cell phones. The little Buddha altars unexpectedly set in bank plazas or in building corners or in alley ways. Or the many, many altars with bigger-than-life portraits of the beloved Thai king. The mother on her (regular) bike with a basket with her toddler in front of her - also clutching the handlebars. The pedestrians pacing the side of a busy road, trying hard not to breathe in the smog, their faces each individually contorted. Some roads are snug with buildings and thin sidewalks while others are many-laned and clogged to a standstill with traffic. From the back of the cab, I craned my head this way and that attempting to note signs just in case I could accidentally get my bearings. I never did. I began to quietly giggle as I began to suspect that the driver thought I was having seizures as I twisted and craned in the backseat - he kept glancing at me through the rear view mirror – when he wasn’t quietly humming to his tunes on the radio.

The cab finally dropped me off at the Pantip – and charged me 77 B for the ride. Remember that amount. Anyway, I wandered into the Pantip and forcibly had to keep my jaw from dropping. I had entered frenetic shopping center, filled with booths lit with florescent lights and jammed full of high tech equipment everywhere – stacked, hanging, in bins. There were DVD players, digital cameras, a myriad of cheap “optical” computer mice (I really wanted to buy one but restrained myself under the theory that you get what you pay for) and so, so, so much more. I kept flashing my mind to a typical Best Buy store and then to my reality – and couldn’t help but wonder: whatever makes Americans think they have the corner on high tech gadgets? Really. Oh, and I was the only Westerner in that entire place. Happily, I didn’t seem to attract a lot of stares. Anyway, after marveling and wandering, I finally stopped a booth and with hand gestures and with my surge protector, bought 2 power converters for 30 B each. Feeling pleased with myself, I wandered some more and succumbed to one more converter that looked better put together for 50 B and a CD disk for “new arrivals” on how to speak Thai for 250 B. Finally the noise got to me, so I walked out of that mall and headed to another that I had noticed down the street. I walked past vendors hawking luggage & backpacks (i.e. North Face – well probably faux North Face!), street vendors with piles of fruit, skimpy sandals, perfume, and very cheap massages (99 B for an hour). I crossed the street on a sky bridge – peering down the street jammed with cars lined with mostly short, ~5 story buildings, greenery hanging from every crevice. One sky bridge a crouched, tired lady with a toddler begging while another had a lady missing several limbs waving a cup and third bridge had a man with a prosthetic leg. Heart-breaking. Some beggars got some of my change and I’ve resolved to set a daily budget or rule for giving money to beggars. No matter where I am, this is a moral issue that I always, always struggle with.

Inside the next shopping mall, I glimpsed perhaps 5 westerners but surprisingly, none would meet my eyes. I found this odd – where was the camaraderie? Mayhap they were too cool for me. Anyway, this mall had a dizzying array booths filled with purses, jewelry, clothing, massages (some places had chairs plainly meant for foot massages, others had little mattresses spread on the floor with sheet curtains for privacy). Everywhere I could see gifts: in fact, Jade-colored Buddhas for everyone! Just kidding. Kind-of. I didn’t buy a thing… just wandered and contemplated. One thing I decided was that the main difference between Thai-style shopping malls and our shopping malls, besides polish, is branding or lack of. None of the Thai stores had signs up (no Gap or JCPenny or Nordy’s evident) and no booth advertised brands – well, except for the obviously faux stuff. Finally, I got lost in a maze of a mall and began to tire. I eventually found my way out, bought a bottle of iced water from a street vendor for 10 B and began to contemplate heading back. However, finding a cab on the crowded Bangkok streets is not terribly easy so I finally took myself to the nearest hotel – and it was then that I realized that I had forgotten to bring the address of the Davis with me. At this point, I was beginning to feel a bit nauseous (could’ve been exhaustion or being overwhelmed or not having eaten enough or all of the above) so I walked up to the hotel porter and easily adopted the ugly American guise. The porter was sympathetic but while he could assist with a taxi, he hadn’t heard of the Davis. [grimace] "Oh." So he sent me inside and a really nice man behind the front desk finally helped me look up the address and then he wrote it out in Thai – since even my hotel card key did not have the address. I gave the address to the porter, who hailed me a cab and I climbed in. Again, no seatbelt. I gave the address to the driver. The driver smiled at me and said something which I didn’t understand. He kept flashing 3 fingers at me and although I still didn’t understand, I agreed. I suspected that he was telling me that he’d take a toll road which the passenger has to pay for – which was fine by me. He skillfully drove back to the Davis in about half the time that it took to get downtown. He and I unsuccessfully attempted conversation – he showed me a few malls and told me that the “If it Swims, We Have it Restaurant” was good. (I had also been told this by a friend in the states). When we pulled up to the Davis, I attempted to hand him a 100 B note (shouldn’t this be plenty?) and he kept saying “no” and flashing the 3 fingers. Finally, I realized that he had not metered my ride and instead, I had agreed to a 300 B taxi ride. [grimace] "Oh." So I pulled out 300 B and gave it to him. I was vexed because he had taken advantage of me... although my logical voice told me that it was going to happen as I’m a strange stranger in a strange land.

Lightly fuming, I headed back to my room. I pulled my hard-won converter out of the packaging, plugged it into the wall. It fit and that was just beautiful. Then I plugged my surge protector into the converter and “poof” the surge protector made a poof sound and flashed a bit of light from within and the electricity panel went dark. I then tried the other converter in both the wall next to my desk and in the bathroom. And no, I wasn’t dumb enough to test my computer on these; I used my digital camera battery charger. Nothing worked. No power for my computer. So much for my practical plans for the evening. So much for my “native” shopping experience. Deprived from my plans to finish my blog, deprived of my music player, my DVD player, my financial tracker and planner, for the first time I began to feel a bit lost and homesick. So I did what every self-respecting American would do: I went out to eat.

A friend had told me that the best Thai food she had had on her trip to Bangkok was in a Thai restaurant adjoining the Davis. Problem: there were 2. So I decided to try one that night and one for lunch. Walking into the first place, I almost immediately suspected that I wasn’t in the right place as the restaurant was fancy and there were no customers. But the waiter told me to sit so I did. I ordered a non-alcoholic drink of mint and lime and crushed ice and other stuff “the best that the bar had ever created” and had an over-priced but at least not spicy meal of noodles with soft shell crab for 472 B. As the food went down, I contemplated good sources to assist with my computer problems and as soon as I paid, I went back to the hotel concierge to discuss my issue. Finally, we decided I should ask the “IT Manager” who would be in at 8:30 the next morning. It was now sunset, 6:50, so I drew a bath, read for a bit, and then by 7:50, I was in bed. I figured I could use the sleep and that I’d wake early.

This morning I awoke at sunrise, around 5:30 – is it possible that I’ve become a morning person? I read in my favorite suite spot: a silk chair with ottoman – which I reversed away from the TV and towards my view of the city. I watched as the city awoke, ordered room service of fruit & noodles (room service looked reasonable at 300 B after last night’s dinner), ate some, read, showered, read, went to Starbucks, packed, and was at the front desk at 8:45. A lady came up to my suite, couldn’t assist but returned with the "IT Manager" and they figured out that my breaker had been flipped (hmmm… wonder how that happened?) and that I can plug my computer into the wall. [grimace] "Oh." So here I am, after another breakfast, drinking bottled water and typing away. I’m going to finish this morning’s room service breakfast at lunch, depart from the Davis and head to my Wendy guesthouse. There, I’m going to settle and wander and plan for the rest of the week. Must buy decent map of the city and am keeping my eyes peeled for wallet that can contain Baht, credit cards and my passport. Not having any luck so far but things are bound to improve in this city for shoppers.

Ok, so I'm not yet a savvy traveler. But I’m learning, yes? After all, I’m sure that Rick Steeves & Rudy Maxa & Pico Ayer & Jan Morris & Bill Bryson had to start somewhere – and so can I!

By the way, I strongly suspect that the length of these postings will decrease as “real life” kicks in. (Currently defined as: guesthouse + school). If you like the length of these last few descriptions, sorry. If you do not, well, they’ll get more succinct. Oh, and I’ll soon figure out the picture thing. I cannot quite decide how to politely take photos in public – although I managed to get some photos of my suite before I began leaving a trial of clothing and books around.

Fondest thoughts of you all,

Laura

PS: Another difference between their malls and ours: the TP hangs near the sinks and doubles as paper towel. For the record, I was initially puzzled at the lack of tp rolls in the stalls… but almost savvy in dealing with this!

Dear Friends and Family,

Well, here I am, safe & sound in Bangkok. Thailand. Southeast Asia. You know, I do believe that the reality of this adventure has finally begun to dawn on me!

Since tearfully departing from my family, I easily slipped through security, wandered around SeaTac in fruitless search of a wireless connection, and then boarded my plane. We were delayed by some cargo paperwork issues... but boarding afforded me a spectacular view of Mt. Rainier with every crag evident and Mt. St Helens (?) in the distance. From my last row window seat and once airborne, the crystalline day and the magnificence of Washington was apparent as we flew past Alki, above Bainbridge, on top of the almost-melted peaks of the Olympics and finally over the Straits of Juan de Fuca + Neah Bay. Marvelous! I then settled down to the 9.5 hour flight. Interestingly, I had already become a member of the minority as the plane was filled with Asians - understandably mostly Japanese; Northwest Air even had a Japanese translator to make announcements. My seat-mate was a friendly youngish Japanese girl who spent the entire flight flipping through movies and playing them rather loudly... she was good company and we didn't talk until the end of the flight - which was perfect. One thing I will say is that the term "seat cushion" on an airplane is a misnomer. The other thing I will say is that having those little television screens to choose individual movies and music are excellent - they do help time fly in a brainless manner. I alternatively watched the Pink Panther (farcical but enjoyable), ate dinner (beef only & I severly annoyed the hostess by asking if there was a vegetarian option), slept to the music of the new Pride & Prejudice, watched Failure to Launch (mediocre - only pay matinee prices!), ate breakfast (hostess hadn't yet forgiven me) and kept a sharp eye on the in-flight map which showed us where we going. We were skirting the Alaskan peninsula when I fell asleep so I missed Russia and the rest of our geographic path 'til we were over Japan.

The first visual indication that I had that we were approaching a different country was that the cars were driving on the left-side of the road. The Tokyo (Narita) airport must be fairly rural as I never glimpsed the Tokyo skyline but there were plenty of pretty green patches and houses evident as we approached through the mist. Because our plane was slightly delayed, the Northwest announcers kept saying things like "don't worry, Bangkok & Manila passengers, your connecting flights are assured" - they seemed so certain of this that I was pretty anxious re: making my next flight. So anxious, in fact, that I skipped the ladies room, fidgeted during the Japanese security check, and used the electronic sidewalks... but I made it to my next flight in plenty of time to enjoy the final boarding call and a long line. This time I had an aisle seat, the majority of the plane was Caucasian, and there were two interpreters – one Japanese and one Thai. This flight I alternately slept, ate dinner (lunch disappeared during the crossing of the International dateline), and watched Something New (best of 3 dumb movies I watched!). My quota of tolerably silly movies is already filled for the month! The flight was turbulent but not to the point that it made me sick and we landed pretty much on time in Bangkok. Customs was easy, as was acquiring my bags (although admittedly handling my bags wasn't without effort!), as was finding a friendly agent willing to provide me with a driver + ride + Toyota Camry with leather seats for 700 Baht. I'm hopoing that a telling sign re: navigation in Bangkok is that the street signs are both in Thai and English. Although it wasn't raining, the streets were dark and shiny and lightening flashed high in the clouds in the distance. I arrived at my pricier, nice hotel, The Davis (http://www.davisbangkok.net/mainwing.html) at around 1:00 am - earlier & with a lot less trouble than I anticipated.

Upon my arrival, I was relieved to discover both a porter and a receptionist. Sadly, the Davis was out of the Deluxe-style room that I had reserved so I got upgraded to a suite! And it is truly sweet. There is marble everywhere, I have a kitchenette, a sitting room, a 4-poster bed and tub practically big enough to swim in. Upon entry, the bellhop showed me how to place my room keycard in a slot by the door which activates the lights. A bit later, after I removed the key to place it in a safe place, the entire suite went dark and I had to grope my way back to the doorway and re-insert the keycard. I thought this a nice way to save electricity. Oddly, considering that I had done nothing but sleep & watch movies in the recent past, I was hungry so I decided to order a snack from room service. After all, here I was by myself in the nicest hotel room I've ever stayed in - so why not call room service at 1:20 am? I flipped through the menu and ordered a spicy shrimp salad, picturing spice-encrusted shrimp on a bed of lettuce. 5 minutes later a waiter with a silver-domed plate appeared at my door and placed a delicious-looking salad on my dining room table. There were a few leaves of lettuce on the side but the shrimp was in a bed of slightly tough lemon grass and sliced red peppers with seeds - granting me a vivid reminder that the first definition of spicy is hot. But the flavor was Thai and delicious and I ate the prawns, attempted to eat some of the lemon grass by wrapping it in lettuce but in the end had to diminish my burning lips and mouth raiding the minibar and utilizing some Pringles chips! I then ran a bath - which took forever to fill, dumped the entire small bubble bath jar into water and relaxed in the tub. That helped me relax and consider sleeping so I dug out my quilt and subsided into sleep.

I slightly awoke several times but truly aroused myself at around 9. Without haste, I showered, got dressed in a sundress (remembering a friend's story of being underdressed at her first breakfast at nice hotel in Bangkok), and wandered downstairs for the buffet breakfast. As you all know, I almost always adore the opportunity to try new food but oddly this morning, I did not. There were long tables with fruit, salad fixings, domed odd-looking sausages, baked beans (American style), eggs, noodles, French toast, glass vats with different colored juices and servers for tea and coffee. Breakfast is over at 10 and they had indeed folded up by 10 - but I managed a decent if slightly odd breakfast. I then walked outside the hotel to be immediately blanked by a sheen from humidity - although it is not intolerably hot. I wandered a few blocks from the hotel, enjoyed a mocha at Starbucks for 100 Baht and wandered back to send the family an actual e-mail.

So far the predictions about the Thai people being very nice have been true. The traffic isn’t too bad in my little corner – although I’ve already been amazed by the daring of the motorbike riders sans helmets and a bit too intimidated to cross the street. Luckily from my suite, I have a direct view of the street so I can take notes on how to cross the street and I can see the Bangkok skyline – must learn the names of recognizable buildings. Today I plan to wallow in my suite, organize e-mails and blogs, figure out the currency & tipping situation (I obtained 100 Baht notes from the foreign exchange office & keep tipping with those - which is $2.61 dollars but I'm not sure if this is too much or too little), nap, explore a bit more and avail myself in the books & advertisements on tourist things to do, and take another bath. And I’m going to need to find myself a power converter or dozen or so electronic necessities – luckily, the Thai are quite happy to assist the naïve tourists to spend their Baht; I have about 20 maps of where to shop in Bangkok.

I'm really glad to be here but readily admit that I already miss you all.

Laura

Dear Friends & Family,

If you have made it this far, you have discovered that (a) I've set-up a blog and (b) I really haven't a clue what to do with it now. I depart for Bangkok on Saturday, June 24th.

Thanks!

Laura