The Big Mango.

I've just moved into my apartment in Bangkok, it's quite a sight to
behold. When it comes to roughing it, Bangkok deals it out lavishly.
It's kinda like living in a linoleum prison cell that smells like a
tennis shoe that just came out of the oven, swarming with mosquitoes.
Not to mention my bed is a piece of particle board with two blankets
draped over it, I guess they call in a mattress.

Alright, rewind to Ban Phe. So I was teaching at a Buddhist monastery
for a week, doing reading, listening and speaking exercises with
awesome little monks. They love football (soccer) and jokingly called
me Wayne Rooney the whole time (Rooney is the star player on
Manchester United, and he has the face of a neanderthal).
The last weekend there we took a hike through the jungle. It was
intense to say the least. We walked up this raging river, up a
mountain for a few hours, then had to turn back because it started
raining so hard the trail was becoming washed out. There wasn't much
wildlife, just a few frogs and lizards, but I tried to catch a fish
with my bare hands, there were dozens of them swimming upstream next
to the trail.
I passed the course with flying colors and said goodbye to Ban Phe.
It was a teary goodbye, I miss that place already, and especially my
classmates who have now travelled to every corner of Thailand to begin
their teaching positions. Luckily I have two weeks before I have to
begin teaching, so I'll be able to travel around and see everyone.
I am now in The Big Mango (Bangkok, A.K.A. Krueng Krup), and it is a
sight to see. Unfortunately it is not a walking city, Thailand
doesn't have very good city planners and when Bangkok began to sprawl,
it never stopped. There are three main city centers, One is just
south of me called Banglamphu, where the infamous Kho Sarn Road is,
along with the Grand Palace. Another is to the east, where Chinatown
is, and the last is down south, called Lumphini Park. Lumphini Park
is amazing, it reminds me of Central park in New York and is gorgeous.
Adjacent to it is a Beer Garden with excellent German Beer and a
night market where you can haggle to your heart's content. I just
bought bought 2 silk ties for $3.
The Kho Sarn Road is a backpacker's dream. Dozens of hostels and bars
line the streets, and there are tons of street vendors that will rip
you off like no other. But the people you meet there are great, all
of them taking world-wide trips and seeing the sights of SE Asia.

On Thursday I'm hopping on a plane to Phuket, which is a small island
in the Indian Ocean that is supposed to be beautiful. Hopper flights
in Thailand are ridiculously cheap, I could either ride a bus for 14
hours and pay $10, or catch an hour flight and pay $20.