Picture this...

For those of you who read my last blog, you'll know I mentioned the start of the rainy season and by rainy season I mean crazy, torrential downpours. In the 26 years of my existence (in Seattle, WA for crying out loud) I have seriously never seen anything like this.

Anyway...all my RIS friends are nearly done with school (jerks!) and for those of them who are not returning next school year, a mad clean out of their past 2-3 years of purchases is taking place - things are just too expensive to send home. No complaints from this girl that's for sure. Last week alone, I nearly doubled my DVD collection and even added a new suitcase to my name.

Getting this new suitcase home is what I want you to picture. For those who have not seen my latest ride, it's a cruiser like bike with a bell and cute little basket at the front - pretty sweet if I do say so myself.

At first I had the brilliant idea of balancing the suitcase on the front of my bike (on top of the basket). This worked for all of maybe 2 minutes until the rain started. And by rain I mean buckets of water falling at a rapid pace totally drenching you. I soon realized my balancing skills were quickly failing as I could not see two inches in front of me nor could I hold on tightly to the slippery plastic handle. There was only one thing to do...wheel the thing behind me of course.

I wish you could have seen me try to get this thing home. It was absolutely hilarious. I had the giggles the entire time and still do when I think about how ridiculous I must have looked. The Thais I met along the way and the guard at my condo laughed hysterically when I arrived - rightfully so.

Here is a picture of me soaking wet and my new suitcase - really wish I would have got a picture of me on my bike with it. Maybe I'll have to reenact it next rainfall. Nah. PS Don't mind my hunchback - for the first time while being in Thailand I was actually cold (with soaking wet clothes on - not really a good feeling).

Let the rainy season begin...

Despite the 100 degree weather we experienced during the day today, I think the rainy season has officially started.

I type this at 12:57am - for those of you who know me, know I am rarely up this late (especially when a 9pm curfew is in order for all of Bangkok).

The only reason I am is because I cannot sleep for the life of me!!!

My entire room is lit up by streaks of lightning.
Car alarms are going off from loud bangs of thunder.
Did I mention the insane amount of rain that is falling or the fact that I left my laundry out to dry overnight, oops. Definitely won't be venturing out to get that tonight!

It has now been over 3 hours since this insane storm started and it doesn't look or sound like it is going to end anytime soon. I've tried everything: drinking warm tea (with the a/c cranked of course), reading a book, an eye mask and even ear plugs - all to no avail. It's going to be one long night. Sigh.

Let the rainy season begin...

Watch it - it's powerful!

Green Day-21 Guns:War of Thailand

Am I 15 again?

For the first time in my life I have a curfew.

After a completely chaotic day in Bangkok with riots, explosions and too many fires to keep track of, a city wide curfew was put in order last night and has been announced today that it will be kept up until Sunday May 23rd (if not longer). Everyone must be indoors by 8pm and not allowed to leave again until 6am.

Around 7:30 last night my friend Stacey and I headed out to the back soi of our moobaan to stock up on some last minute things we might need incase all hell continued to break loose here in our beloved city.

EVERYONE was racing around getting food and water to keep them fed and hydrated for the next few days. Both 7-11s and Tesco Lotus were already shut because they had run out of everything, but thankfully we were able to get what we needed from the small Thai grocery store down the street. I have never seen so many people squished into a tiny convenience store in my entire life, the lines were insane!

Walking back to our condos all was quiet and peaceful. There was a real eerie feeling about everything around us.

Both Stacey and I didn't want to be alone so we decided to watch a movie and have a sleepover.

I seriously felt like I was 15 again: curfews, movies, sleepovers; all was missing was the teenage drama - thank goodness that's over and done with in my life!

The Land of Smiles No More.

The smell of smoke fills the air.
The sound of explosions fill our ears.
Will this ever come to an end, and if so, will it be peaceful?

For nearly the 3 months now the United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD) aka the Red Shirts have been protesting in the heart of Bangkok. In the beginning all was peaceful, just some signs of concern - there was even a sense of a party with drums being played and horns being blown.

April 7th this all changed when the Red Shirts stormed the country's parliament and a state of emergency was announced throughout Bangkok.

Three days later, the deadliest clash in more than a decade between protesters (in this case the Red Shirts) and the military erupted, leading to the deaths of more than two dozen demonstrators and military forces.

Violence erupted again last week when protesters once again ignored an ultimatum to end their occupation in downtown Bangkok by Wednesday. Seh Daeng's (a well known Red Shirt leader) subsequent shooting by an unknown assailant raised tensions further and at least 35 people have been killed and 240 wounded in the latest wave of unrest. The government has imposed a state of emergency in 22 provinces and metropolitan Bangkok.

As of today, May 19th at 1:30 pm, 7 Red Shirt leaders have surrendered; however many Red Shirts were not satisfied with their leaders decision to surrender and end their rally. They have now set fire on various spots around the rally site and other parts of town.

We are not sure when or how this will end, but we are all hoping and praying a resolution comes quick.

Please join me in lifting up the people of Thailand and the country itself in prayer. My heart has become a part of this culture and it pains me to see so many lives taken too soon (on both sides).

War is never the answer.

PS Please know that I am currently in a "safe zone" and will not be venturing out of it anytime soon...I am even staying home from school (as are a number of teachers who do not believe we should still be open - don't even get me started on our head of school - she is unbelievable!). If things continue to get worse, I know I am only a plane ride away - no matter the cost or headache it may cause. Safety comes first in my book.

Flight of the Gibbon

What better way to start a Thailand adventure then to sail through an amazing rainforest via zip-lines!
Early Wednesday morning the girls and I hopped into a taxi and headed downtown to catch our private mini van out to Chonburi, Thailand. Chonburi which means "city of water" definitely lived up to it's name on this day...let's just say we got caught in a torrential downpour w/ thunder and lightening while being strapped to metal cabels hundreds of miles above ground...freaky? I think so!
Anyway, back to the beginning. After a 90 minute van ride, we were well out of the city and in the heart of the most incredible rainforest in all of Thailand. It was absolutely stunning!
The next 3.5 hours were spent gliding between 26 different tree top platforms including the longest and highest in all of Thailand reaching over 300 meters long!
I've been wanting to do the Flight of the Gibbon since getting to Thailand and I am so glad I was able to share it with close friends from home.
Many laughs and a few screams were had by all.
Check out www.treetopasia.com for more information.



Check out the video of Julie taking out the Thai man below - HILARIOUS!

And the countdown begins...

13 days until Bali.

58 days until school is out.

59 days until I take an 8 day vacation island hopping around all the southern beaches in Thailand.

68 days until I touch down on US soil.

Can this really be true?

Life is oh so good!

They're here!!!!!

After 222 long days of being apart we were finally reunited!

First of all I cannot believe I have been gone for so long and second of all I cannot believe Natanya and Julie are IN MY CONDO IN THAILAND - how crazy, yet cool is that?!?!

The girls arrived around noon on Tuesday and since I had to be at school until 4, I left a key to my place with the security guard downstairs. Whether he understood what I was trying to tell him at 6am I am not sure. Thankfully I am getting really good at gestures and he was able to put two and two together when two girls with big bags showed up around lunch time. I told the girls to make themselves at home: take showers, eat the food I left them, hit up the pool, watch pirated DVDs, but whatever they did try not to take a nap...we don't our first few days together a waste due to jet lag!

After what felt like the world's longest day at school, I was finally granted the okay to leave. While walking to my condo I felt like I going on a blind date - I was so excited that I was actually nervous. There were screams, hugs, tears and lots and lots of smiles. It felt like no time had past and it was oh so good!

We shared many stories and laughs then decided it was time to take a tour of Summakorn. Unfortunately my sweet ride does not hold three people, so we headed off on foot to a nearby restaurant by one of the lakes toward the back of the village. Upon reaching Olan the girls thought I was the most popular person in Thailand: we ran into two guys from school, my landlord Khun Sak and a couple that teaches at a nearby international school. I told them foreigners are rare in this village and those of us that are here are a close knit bunch; it's truly a blessing to be in such a great community of people (thank you Katie T. for convincing me to live in Summakorn and not on 164)!

The girls were amazed at how cheap everything was. We had 2 cokes, 2 waters, an appetizer, green curry, spicy tuna salad, pad thai and 2 servings of white rice all for the little price of 265 baht...that's about $8.20 (tip included)! Oh Thailand, I am going to miss you!!!

Since the girls could barely keep their eyes open at 8pm, I finally sent them to bed. Our first day was a success and I cannot wait for the next two weeks. We have many fun things planned: The Flight of the Gibbon; a beach trip to Koh Samet and sight seeing around Bangkok (Red shirt riots depending).

Watch out Bangkok, 3 Seattle girls are coming at ya!

Wine + long cab rides = one sleepy Sarah

After a night of celebrating THREE friends' birthdays I decided it was time to hit the hay and head back to the 'korn (Summakorn = the village I live in).

Let me tell you, one bottle of wine plus all you can eat tapas puts one in a food/wine coma. After eating an excessive amount of food (and wine) I decided it was time to go home while all my other friends stayed out to participate in the Suhkumvit Pub Crawl - had it been another time of year I probably would have stayed out, however they were in the heart of "riot town" and I didn't want to take any chances.

Bottom line: Alcohol + a long cab ride home = trouble.

I accidentally fell asleep and woke up to find my cab ride was over double what it should have been. The sneaky little cab driver probably drove me around my neighborhood atleast 10x before waking me up to let me know I arrived...cheeky little man.

None the less I arrived home safe and sound and had a wonderful night with all my friends from school.

**Picture to come**