(Actually, it's Eastward Ho Chi Minh City but the pun wouldn't have worked.)
So long since I've blogged! Actually been pretty busy
. Joe was here for 9 days and had some dinner parties and went to Vietnam for a spell. A good time. I'll try to upload some pictures but I've been having more trouble than usual doing so.
Scott and I joined two Thai teachers and a bunch of people from the Ministry of Education to go 5 hours up north to Sukothai, Thailand's first capital, to donate to a small wat there. It's an annual pilgrimage thing called gra teen where Thais go to a particual temple for a celebration and to donate money. Loads of fun, the real village Thais are super nice people who plied us with food and bottles of water and gave us chairs to sit in while old grannies stood. We are very welcomed and respected in the countryside. Again, I will try to upload some pictures.
We went into Bangkok proper Friday night to pick up my pricey Bollywood outfit (it is lovely, though.)
So we met with Teacher Gabriel and his fiancee' who live nearby and went to dinner at a Cajun restaurant
. Gabriels is from New Orleans, hence the cajun fare. It was delicious and the company was good.
I will be going upcountry to Korat for 3 days December 4-6 for Gabriel and Polly's Thai wedding (van and resort provided) and then to Bangkok the following week for the Americanized celebration. So at least I'll get some use out of my tailor-made Bollywood outfit. (At home, I'll probably wear it for Halloween only.)
It's winter now and the weather is just delicious - high 80's, low 90's, very pleasant. I actually have slept a few nights without the air con. I bought a fan which now substitutes for the air con as all I need is a little bit of cool.
I am coming home to PA Dec 18 - Jan 7 or 8 - I thought about travel but 3 weeks is a long time and I can travel in April during Songkran. I am anxious to get to Bali which is about a $100 RT airfare away so I might as well visit all of SE Asia while I'm here and it's so cheap
. I'd like to get to Nepal this year also. I can't believe how busy I am - there is something every weekend and I rarely have time to read or write.
I went to the gym as Watcharee's guest yesterday. I still find it hard to pay $70 a month (plus $35 joining fee) for a gym membership. What do the big gyms in the US charge? I thought I only paid $30/month at Kole's. I still can't for the life of me figure out how these Thais can afford it. I only take home $1200/month and supposedly the Thais earn 1/2 of our salaries. But they are big on health and exercise - so concerned about getting up to 100 pounds, I guess.
We proceeded to a Vietnamese restaurant where I had gai taud (fried chicken) and fried spring rolls while Watcheree (all 90 pounds of her) ate a variety of 4 or 5 different leaves, cucumbers, chilies , green bananas, and green mangoes wrapped in rice paper. (Small wonder they are such tiny people.) All for about $3.90 total. Good deal. My friend advised me to be sure to order "gai tauD" (fried chicken) and not "gai tauT" (chicken farts.) Good to know.
Well, time to aggrevate myself trying to upload these pictures. See you in Dec. Start planning our dinner soire now.
Westward Ho Chi Minh City
Monday, November 08, 2010
Saigon, Hồ Chí Minh, Vietnam
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