Thanksgiving in Thailand

Despite being out of the country on this American holiday, we had an amazing time celebrating Thanksgiving here in Bangkok. On Thursday I woke up and had a delicious lunch of noodles and fried pork. While this is not a traditional Thanksgiving meal, I was thankful to have such tasty food. I decided that since I have had the same foods on Thanksgiving for 19 years, I might as well eat Thai food because this year I am thankful for being able to spend time in this amazing country.

A not-so-American Thanksgiving meal.

For dinner on Thursday, all of the UNC study abroad kids went to a nearby "meat buffet" where you get as much meat you want and grill it at your table. The buffet also includes rice, curry, carrots, zucchini, french fries, and other tasty side dishes. It was quite an eclectic Thanksgiving meal, but we were all happy to be celebrating Thai-style, with our family here. We have all grown close and we depend on each other, so I don't think anyone was upset with having to spend this family-oriented day together. I sat at the table watching my friend Keith cook the meat, eating french fries with chopsticks, chowing down on massaman curry, and smiled because at that moment, life was really good. I am thankful for so much in my life and I know I'll never forget the Thanksgiving I spent in Bangkok with my study abroad family.

Mk and I at the meat buffet eating french fries with chopsticks!

On Friday morning, right after waking up, I received a beautiful photo of my family back home and I knew that they were all happy for me and I for them. While we missed each other on this special day, we all know that we have so much to be thankful for.

Cutest family I ever did see.

The festivities didn't end on Thursday for me though! One of our Thai friends organized a pot luck on Saturday night and we all had a blast. The 15 UNC students, 5 American teachers living in the area, a few exchange students from Europe, and some of our closest Thai friends all got together to have a more traditional Thanksgiving meal. There was still lots of rice and Thai curries, but the spread also included pie, apple crisp, mashed potatoes, and chicken! Those are sort of American, right?? I was very excited to make the apple crisp because we are the only apartment with a microwave. MK found a recipe online and I headed to the "Big Tesco" to get ingredients. I don't bake or cook much at home and felt pretty grown up going to the grocery store, getting all the ingredients, and figuring out how to make enough apple crisp for 25 people with just 4 medium size ceramic bowls and a microwave. Oh, and I didn't have any form of measuring cup! After many Google searches on "how many grams are in a cup of (insert ingredient)" I resigned myself to the fact that anything tastes good if enough butter and sugar are added. And boy, was I right. I guesstimated all of the ingredients and the apple crisp turned out delicious! I was so proud of myself.

My friend Christian and I also embarked on a journey involving "no-bake" cheesecake mix. We ended up with two delicious pies: one pumpkin cheesecake and one peanut-butter chocolate cheesecake. We were the hit of the party!

Now, you might be wondering why I'm going into such great detail on the preparation of these desserts. For me, they were kind of symbolic of my growth here in Thailand. Last Thanksgiving I stressed about how much sugar went into the apple pie, exactly what dish to use, and how it would turn out. Since living on my own in a foreign country I have become much more relaxed about everything and realized that it is SO not worth it to sweat the small things in life. So, yes, I just made a few desserts on my own, big whoop!? But for me, it's more than that. I now know that I can survive on my own, if absolutely necessary, and that I am a capable adult that can totally cook microwavable apple crisp for 25 of my closest friends.

Bangkok Standard Chartered 10K

Most people that are reading this blog know that running is not my favorite thing. But I have come to like it in Thailand for a few reasons. One is that my close friend here, Emily, ran cross country in high school and has completed many half marathons and one full marathon. She likes running and made it her goal in the beginning of the semester to get me to like it as well. She has persuaded me to go running with her most days and eventually I began to look forward to our nightly jogs. Another reason is that there is a great park next to our apartments that has a nice 1k loop. It is always "bumpin'" (as I like to say) in the evenings with lots of Thai people running, walking, chatting, playing badminton, and even playing ping pong. 

Photo I snapped of the sunset while running one evening. 

Exercise is an important part of modern Thai culture and people-watching at the park is a fun way for me to see what's going on with the rest of my community. At the park, we always try to run at 5pm or a little bit after 6pm because every single night at 6 the "King's Anthem" comes over a loud speaker and everyone stops and listens respectfully to the song dedicated to the beloved King. This song plays in most every public place in Thailand at 6pm and before all movie showings. But it really messes up your flow if you're in the middle of a run and must come to a halting stop! But anyway, I've started to enjoy running here and thought there was no better way to show my love for running and Bangkok than to participate in the 2013 Standard Chartered 10k race downtown.

Emily and I at the starting line!

If you look closely you can see the huge mass of people running in the race. 

Running over a bridge downtown was one of the coolest things I've done in Thailand. The roads were shut down and it was very surreal to be jogging across the river while the sun came up with thousands of other people. 

We did it! (Emily and I after the race)

R is for Research!

Hello everybody!! It's been a while since I last blogged, but do not fret, I have not been up to anything interesting that you have missed. The past month has been filled with long hours devoted to researching, studying, and compiling data for school projects. One project for my class in Life Cycle Assessments is a term paper on the production and use of diesel as a transportation fuel in Thailand. This class has been very interesting and very applicable to my future career goals. Ajarn Shabbir teaches us to not just look at the object you just bought, but to think about everything that went into the production of that object. How did it get to you? Is it made of plastic? Where did that plastic come from? How many liters of crude oil went into the making of that product? Where was that crude oil extracted? I think you get the point. I now have a different outlook in regards to sustainability and know that there is a lot more to a product that meets the eye. The other project I'm doing is to assess the feasibility of producing biofuels derived from algae in Bangkok. Dang, just typing those, I sound smart! But really I have had a lot of help from other classmates and teachers and this has been a huge learning process. I'd say 70% of the past 2 months has been spent banging my head against the table, crippled by frustration, only to realize I was over thinking the task at hand and that the answer was right in front of me. I've learned a lot about the research process and it's an invaluable skill to learn. After many exclamations proclaiming none of us will "ever go to graduate school" after seeing what actually goes into publishing an article, I am very glad that I have had this opportunity to develop as a student and member of the scientific community while still an undergraduate.


So far I've completed one final exam and turned in my term project on diesel in Thailand today! Tomorrow I have a big presentation on our findings so far with biofuels from algae in Bangkok and then I have finals on Friday and Monday. After that I'm going to travel to the north of Thailand for a week and be back in Bangkok just in time for my Mom to come and visit me! The first week she is here I am going to show her all the rad spots downtown and then we are headed to Chiang Mai for a zip-line adventure and a day at an elephant conservation park. After four days full of adventure in Chiang Mai, we fly down south to the beautiful island of Railay for the remainder of her stay in the land of smiles. She'll head home the 17th of December and I'll have five days to pack up my life in Bangkok and head home. It's kind of weird to even think about not living here, but I've missed my family, friends, and probably most of all (no offense Mom and Dad) my dog. I have made a life for myself here and I love it, but Chapel Hill will always be my home.

Say Wat?

Andrew and I had a quick flight from Bangkok to Siem Reap Monday night and were graciously welcomed at the Golden Takeo Guesthouse. We had an early start Tuesday morning and were driven to 7 temples by our awesome tuk-tuk driver, Titi.

Andrew and I about to start our first day of exploring in Cambodia.

First, we rode about 15km out to Kbal Spean Waterfall where there were beautiful carvings in the rushing river. The hike up to the waterfall was a pleasant 2km and we enjoyed the scenery along the way and welcomed the challenge of the hike.

The ride out to the waterfall was one of our favorite parts of the trip. We rode through rural towns and the scenery was amazing.

Carvings in the water. 

 After that we went around to a bunch of temples along the "outer loop" of Angkor Wat. I didn't realize before going, but there are hundreds of temples at Angkor. You could spend weeks exploring them all but we just had a few days, so we saw about 15 in our 3 days.

It was a beautiful day. This is one of my favorite pictures from that day!

On Wednesday, we were joined by Mary-Katherine and Emily! We went to Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom, Bayon, and then watched the sunset on the top of Phnom Bakheng hill.

The gang in front of Angkor Wat.

The faces at Bayon.

View of Bayon from the back entrance.

 After visiting the main temples of Angkor we then headed to Phnom Bakheng hill to watch the sunset. We rode elephants up the mountain and it was so fun! I've always wanted to ride an elephant and we were all giddy with excitement.

Hitching a ride up the mountain :)

It was a beautiful sunset and a great way to end the day.

On Thursday, our last day in Siem Reap, we all woke up at 4:30am so we could watch the sun rise over Angkor Wat. It was very peaceful and definitely worth waking up for.

Andrew and I after we watched the sunrise.

 

After the sunrise we headed to see a floating village and forest. They were both so awesome! It was about an hour tuk-tuk ride to the river where we got in longboats and went out to the floating village. We then had the opportunity to get in a small canoe-like boat and go through the floating forest and along the canals of the village. The forest was breathtaking and the village was interesting to see. 

Andrew and I in the floating forest.

A glimpse of a home in the floating village.

  

We got a picture of the four of us with the best tuk-tuk driver in the world, Titi!

 After a long day, Andrew and I took a taxi to Phnom Penh because our flights back were the next day. I don't have any pictures from our day of exploring in Phnom Penh Friday because we went to the Killing Fields and S-21. Both of these landmarks are places where people were tortured and killed during the Khmer Rouge regime. It was depressing to learn all about the atrocious actions of the Khmer Rouge during that time but Andrew and I were both glad we went because the exhibits were very well done and we learned a lot. I got on a plane that afternoon and headed back to Bangkok, a little sad. I was sorry to say goodbye to my big brother and also subdued from the long day of hearing about the millions of innocent Cambodians that were killed in the genocide that took place in the 1970s. 

All in all though, Andrew's visit was amazing and we both couldn't believe how much fun we had together. We will always remember our week together in Southeast Asia.

Two Burnses in Bangkok

This weekend was one of the best I've had so far in Thailand. My oldest brother, Andrew, came to visit me in Bangkok! He had a business trip to Singapore and asked if they could also set up meetings in Bangkok because he knew I would be here. It was so amazing to be able to show him around, introduce him to my friends here, and hang out. I hadn't even realized it but I haven't been home in 4 months. That's a long time to go without seeing any family members! I was giddy with excitement when I went to meet him at the airport, and the whole weekend was so much fun.

He flew in Friday night and we went straight to his hotel downtown. I dropped off my bag because I was staying the weekend with him and I experienced, on a small scale, culture shock. The hotel was quite fancy and I hadn't been anywhere so decadent in a long time. My apartment is really nice but it's simple. Also, when I've traveled these past few months it has been to budget backpacker hostels. I absolutely love the places I've been staying, they are just very different from a 5 star hotel!

We walked around the streets outside the hotel after dinner and were pleasantly surprised that right across the street was Patpong Night Market. It's the biggest night market in Thailand. The market and hotel are also right next to the Red Light district. One must keep an open mind when exploring that part of town. It's something everyone who comes to Bangkok should experience...but you just have to go and accept what happens there and understand that you can't change any of it. It was quite an experience to see it all (well, for me it was the second time), but the two of us had an interesting time navigating the streets looking for fun things to do. After exploring the market, we headed to the most famous rooftop bar in Bangkok: Sirocco Sky Bar. It is located on the 64th floor of the State Tower and was used in the filming of the movie "The Hangover Part II". The view from the top was incredible! I love how beautiful Bangkok looks at night with all of the buildings lit up.

View from the Sky Bar.

Andrew and I hanging out on the 64th floor.

The next day, we headed to an indoor market because it was raining. The hotel had a handout with the name of the market printed on it to give to our taxi driver and it said "Pratanum Market". We were very tickled when we arrived to our destination and saw a huge sign on the building that said "Platinum Mall". If you sound it out...it's close enough! It was neat to wander around for a few hours checking out the thousands of goods for sale.

Andrew outside the "Platinum Mall"

Saturday night was great because we met up with one of Andrew's friends from Camp SeaGull who is from Thailand, Krit. We all met up at Fallabella, a neat restaurant/club and had a delicious dinner. I love going out to eat with Thai friends because they order a bunch of plates and we all share. Krit is one of the nicest people I've ever met and we had such a good time at dinner hanging out. I hope to see him again during the rest of my stay in Bangkok. He is actually a news anchor for Channel 3, so I will definitely try to tune in to more Thai TV and see if I recognize him!

Krit, Andrew, and Rob at dinner.

Krit and I at Fallabella with our friends.

Sunday was probably one of my favorite days because Andrew came out to Bangmod and saw where I live! It is SO different than downtown Bangkok; I was glad he got to see both parts of town. He was surprised at how different it was and was delighted to see that all of the local Thai people are so kind and smiley. Not many people get to see this part of town when they come to Bangkok for just a few days. Many travelers get a skewed perspective of Thai people because they are only in the touristy areas. We had a delicious meal at the market I go to every day and it was also for about a third of the price as all the other food he'd had downtown.

Andrew about to chow down on delicious Thai food from the market.

I'm so glad that Andrew came and got to see where I've been living. At dinner, he kept asking why I liked it so much and why I was so happy. I think after seeing where I live and go to school, he sees how cool it is and how great my life really is! I'm writing this hastily because I need to catch our flight to Cambodia in a few hours. We will be there for the rest of the week...I can't wait to explore Angkor Wat together!

Vang Vieng, Laos

I went to Laos last week for a "visa run" and it was spectacular. I put visa run in quotation marks because we were all more than willing to spend a few days there! We just coordinated the dates so that we could also renew our 90 day, multi-entry visas.

Ty, Reade, Keith, Jessica, Adam, and I all rode the night train to the Thailand-Laos border Wednesday night, August 29th. In the morning we easily crossed the border into Laos on a 15 minute train/bus and went through customs without any hiccups. We hopped in a minivan with two other travelers and after 5 hours, made it to our destination: Vang Vieng.  After a refreshing meal of cornflakes (first Western menu we'd seen since Koh Tao) Emily and Mary-Katherine joined us at Pan's Guesthouse, where we were all staying. Thursday night was Ty's 21st birthday so we went to a pizza place and had a really fun night celebrating! Not many people can say they were in 2 countries on their 21st birthday.

Birthday boy

Thursday, we woke up and decided to visit the Kaeng Nyui Waterfall, which was a 7km hike away. Dad (I know you'll read this), you would be proud, we had the option to rent motorbikes and scoot up there in 15 mins, but we all opted for the safer, but more strenuous option, of biking up the mountain. I'm glad we chose to bike though because we had an accident-free trip and could also enjoy the scenery better!

Emily, Mary-Katherine, and I enjoying the view.

It took about 45 minutes to reach the waterfall and I was quite exhausted, but it was incredible. The waterfall was MASSIVE. Larger and more powerful than any other waterfall I've seen by fivefold. We were able to walk right up to it and at one point Mary-Katherine and I were standing on a ledge right next to the running waterfall and we had a special moment of realization. There we were, two 20 year olds, standing so close to such a beautiful and powerful sight, in Laos, having the time of our lives. We were happy, to say the least.

At the waterfall!

After playing around at the base of the waterfall for an few hours, we headed back to town. The bike ride back was one of my favorite parts of the trip. We didn't have anywhere to be and took a nice leisurely ride back, stopping frequently to take pictures. It was a beautiful day. 

Friday was full of adventure too because we booked a full day of trekking, caving, and kayaking around Vang Vieng! We were picked up promptly at 9:30am by our guide, Nok, and headed to the caves. After walking through three awesome caves we headed over to the river for lunch and cave tubing. Now, if you've kept up with my blog you know that I do not necessarily like caves. In Vietnam I came to appreciate caves and even enjoy walking through them when they had big caverns and weren't claustrophobic. Well, I was not too keen on our next activity because it involved pulling myself on an inner-tube through teeny crevasses and navigating a cave with a very low ceiling. AH! I'm getting the shivers just typing this post. After a LOT of coaxing from my friends, I pulled myself through the cave with the rest of the gang. Terrified for every single second! I was glad that I did it, but it wasn't the most enjoyable of experiences. That being said...I would definitely do it again! After cave tubing we walked for about an hour all through the countryside. We saw many rice fields and beautiful mountain landscapes. I happily proclaimed on the walk that Laos was the most beautiful place I'd ever been.

The gang stopping for a picture break in the beautiful countryside.

We arrived at the rushing river and quickly hopped into big red kayaks (and put on life jackets too of course) and paddled down the river. There were a few rapids which were really fun but it was mostly a relaxing 7km kayak down the river. It was too perfect; here I was floating Nam Song River with best friends, splashing, laughing, and singing, looking around at the most beautiful landscape in all of Southeast Asia. Life was good!

We got up early Sunday morning, had one last Western breakfast, and headed back to good ole Bangmod. 

Happy travelers

Photo I snapped while crossing the Laos-Thailand friendship bridge on the way home.

A minivan, sleeper train, taxi, and 24 hours later I was opening the door to my apartment, quickly changing for class, and heading to KMUTT for 3 hours of Life Cycle Assessment class. No time for breaks in Thailand!

Wat Pho

Two weeks ago (August 25th) Emily, Mary-Katherine, Christian, Ty and I went to Wat Pho. It contains the temple of the Reclining Buddha, a must see in Thailand. The Reclining Buddha is 15m high and 43m long and quite magnificent. I didn't realize how massive it would be so when I adorned my lime green "polite" robe (to cover my shoulders) and stepped into the temple, I was struck by the beauty and size of the Reclining Buddha.

Not the best photo of the Reclining Buddha, but there were so many tourists cramping my photo style!

 A wall of tranquil Buddha statues. 

We explored around the grounds for a while because there are several wats and it's full of cool sculptures and temples to visit. 

 

Emily and I inside one of the many temples. 

 Mary-Katherine and I posing in front of one of the stupas. There are almost 100 on the grounds of Wat Pho and all are intricately decorated.

A very famous massage school is located right next to the Reclining Buddha and we all got 30 minutes Thai massages. Some parts of the massage were quite painful because they focus on myofascial release and stretching but we all felt amazing afterwards. I definitely want to go back when my mom comes to visit in December! 

 
Here we are waiting outside the parlor for our massages. 

After exploring Wat Pho we headed over to Little India and ate at a restaurant, Royal India, that we heard about from our guide book. It was quite funny getting there though because we had to get a cab or walk, but were all slightly delirious from our relaxing massages. After a few frustrating conversations with taxi drivers and looking at the map we carried, we realized we were just a few blocks from Little India. It just took a bit longer than normal because we all were loping along at a leisurely pace :) 

Here is the group content after a tasty meal of Indian food.