Saturday, January 29, 2011

Abroad Trip Day 24 - Last day...

Today is our last day in Thailand. Sad! I don't want to leave Thailand. I want to travel around to different cities and get out of Bangkok. I feel so anxious in Bangkok because it's always crowded and busy and takes forever to get anywhere. Ah well, Sabai Sabai!

We get up early this morning to go to the Floating Market, which is about an hour and a half out of Bangkok. It's like other markets, only the stalls are boats, and we're in boats and the vendors hook us with poles and pull us in to their boats. I like markets, but they all sell the same things, and when you don't have the option to walk away, it gets a little irritating to keep saying no and ignoring the vendor til your boatman starts paddling more. It was fun once we got to walk around, though. I bought a tacky hat/fan and a pretty green tunic shirt, which is probably a dress on Thai people. Too Tall for Thailand!

After, we ate lunch at a fancy hotel, where we were reunited with Julia, our classmate who has been in the hospital with pneumonia for a few days. One of the waiters was the Thai version of Neil Patrick Harris. I should have taken a picture. We debriefed as a class, and one person did the last presentation (the partner of Julia, who did a presentation for Ryan at the hospital instead, because we weren't sure she'd be out before everyone else left). Then we went to MBK, the giant shopping mall of Bangkok. It's not so great. Too much stuff to be able to enjoy it. Not many people from our class bought anything there. There are 7 floors, and each store has the same products as all the other stores on the floor. I don't know how they stay in business.

Then the group of 4 I was with grabbed the water taxi home. The water taxis have stops at different places along the river and canals, and you just wait on the side of the dock in the direction you want to go until the boat comes along. Then you climb in the boat, which was holding a couple dozen people, and a ticket lady walks around the outside of the boat on a small ledge (about 4 inches), and gives you a ticket for however much baht that taxi costs (9baht in this case). It's pretty fun. It's like a boatbus. We got out on the last stop, which is closest to our hotel, but is also in a super busy intersection with about 8 different roads coming into it, in a confusing area of Bangkok (aren't all areas of Bangkok confusing?). Hence, we got lost. Crossed a lot of roads, walked a lot. Finally, we gave in and got a tuktuk to bring us home. We paid 100baht to go about 6 blocks. However, they were 6 blocks we never would have thought to walk. We would have wandered for hours, lost, asking people for directions and getting different advice each time.

Anyway, we went to dinner at 6pm. We ate on a tourist dinner boat, with a dance show. Similar to the Lanna dinner when we left Chiang Mai, we got a show of traditional Thai dance and music. The food was as good and yet also as odd as the Lanna dinner. The boat trip was very nice though, and we had a good time. Dessert was fruit (pineapple, papaya and roseapple, which is delicious and you should try some if you can find it in the states) and traditional Thai dessert, which were all these gummy jelly things, and a prune, served in individual banana leaf bowls. Oddest things, but they tasted good.

When we got back, I went to get my finished suits. They look awesome, and I got 2 custom-tailored suits for 4000baht, or approximately $135 dollars. The jackets look best. I never look good in jackets, because my body type is too boyish for women's jackets, and men's jackets aren't fitted enough for me. I look great! Especially with my new haircut. I was also videotaped and photographed for their promotional material because I won their special promotion. Also, they included the garmet bag, which means I also have something in which to carry my winter coat! Thanks, komodo dragons! I appreciate the fortune you've brought me!

Now, since we leave for the airport at 3am, I'm going to go let fish eat my feet, maybe get a facial or something, and drink lots of coffee so I can sleep on the second flight and get a normal Minnesotan time sleep. I'll allow myself to sleep in 11 or 12hours, even though I've been up for 17 already today. I would rather get over jetlag fairly quickly.

Overall, I'm really glad I came to Thailand, and I am sad to be leaving, but I want to come back one day, and spend some time in other regions of Thailand and Asia.

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