Having moved to Bangsaen mid-April I have been feeling slightly lost and lonely. I had a few days in Bangkok with my friend and then another weekend in Bangkok with some other friends and each time I had a fantastic time- but then I return to my new place and still feel a little deflated. Deflation- what’s all that about? One definition is “brought low in spirit” and that is definitely how I am feeling at the moment. I am not generally an unhappy person, nothing gets me down, I am always cheerful but I can’t muster any enthusiasm for anything at the moment.
However, I know myself and I know that in a few weeks once I start work and start to meet new people I will become excited about Thailand again and love living here but that’s in a few weeks. Although my friend did say to me that I am lucky to have the choices I have-not everyone has that. And this is very true.
It was the same when I started to live in Surin, although I had a Thai friend with me, it took me a while to meet people and get to know people and in the end I loved living there. At least in Bangsaen I already have a couple of friends who I have seen over the past few days and who helped me to celebrate my birthday.
But when you live in a foreign country away from your loved ones all your feelings seem heightened. As my mother told me it is my choice to come and live here (and you know your mother is always right) and it would be a knee-jerk reaction to go home. This is not an option for me but it has crossed my mind.
So the best thing I can do is get a new plan and one of my friends, Doyle, told me that one of the things he loves about me is that I always have a plan.
So my plan is: –
1. To get fit- and I mean really fit which means cutting out the booze and cigarettes (cutting out seems so extreme so it’ll just be cutting down for now).
2. To save loads of money- I still want to travel and see other countries so while I am teaching in Thailand it gives me the opportunity to save. Plus as I will be getting fit I won’t be going out and spending loads of money.
3. To learn languages- since I finished my Open University degree I have been lost without it so before I left the UK I started to improve my Thai and start learning Hindi. I need to speak Thai better than I do because I live in Thailand and Hindi is just for fun, although I plan to visit India at some point so that will come in handy. And I may throw a bit of Arabic in there as well. One never knows when languages will come in handy.
Whether these plans come to fruition time will tell but plans are good- they keep you focused and determined, instead of knee-jerk reactions. So after my contract finishes (or before) I can re-assess things and go from there.
I started to write this over a week ago and today I am feeling better about things already. Mostly I have my head screwed on and know what I want to do (although that awareness never came to me until only a few years ago) but sometimes, just sometimes I get confused and thrown about how I feel about things- but like I said I know myself and I know that I will be excited again about living in the place that I love and who knows what the future will bring.
Having been in Thailand since February and bagging myself a job as a primary school teacher, starting in May 2014, I am making the move to a little town called Bang Saen.
Bang Saen
I went to Surin to stay with my friend Mark, who generously let me stay at his house until I got myself sorted, and so after my trip to Kuala Lumpur, and a couple of weekends in Bangkok, I was on the job hunt.
My friends, Chris and his wife Na, have lived in Bang Saen for a good few years and I went to visit them to have a look around. As soon as I got there and had a couple of days and nights out I realised that this was the place for me.
It is a beautiful little place on the coast along Thailand’s eastern seaboard, right on the beach and about an hour and a half bus ride to Bangkok- just the things I wanted when I lived in Surin (from Surin it takes 7 hours on the bus to Bangkok and it is about 9 hours from any beach). I just had visions of myself on a Sunday afternoon on the beach reading my book.
Bang Saen is a favourite for Thais as a weekend getaway resort and, as such, busy at the weekend and holidays but during the week it is like a ghost town and no hordes of tourists anywhere- something that may change in the future- but for now it feels like the perfect place for me. Plus I already have two friends there who have been showing me around, for which I am eternally grateful.
So I went there for a second visit with CVs in hand and Chris took me round to the different faculties at the university there and to a few schools and basically asked for a job. (This is such the best way to gain employment here, rather than emailing CVs and most of the time getting no response-the Thais are very much about appearance and if you go in person they can see that you look professional and it also saves them the bother of advertising the job). However, the one I eventually got was actually advertised on the main teaching website, Ajarn.com, so I went to see them and arranged an interview for the following day.
Interviews in Thailand are not like they are back home- they are, shall we say, less formal. Yes, you have to dress smart and yes, you have to sell yourself but they asked me strange questions which were actually quite amusing because, Thais being Thais, they like know what’s going on with you- Are you single?; Do you have a boyfriend?; Where are you going to live? And statements like “the guys are sexier in Bang Saen than in Surin”; “oh you can live there (I told her I was going to live in a particular apartment) you’re single”; “give her the job she’s single”. Questions and statements that would not be heard in your own country (not in an interview environment anyway) but I took it in jest and thought it was pretty funny.
So having completed the interview, which included showing them how I would teach young kids- question: what’s an animal beginning with A?-answer: Ant; question: how do you spell it?-answer A-N-T….., and answering their unusual questions, with a smile on my face, I got the job.
I have never taught little ones before, the previous teaching job I had in Thailand was teaching 12-15 year olds. But I think it will be fun and it will be less serious- learning through fun activities. I think I will have to brush up on my football and singing skills (not that I have any skills in those areas).
I was wondering how I was going to get all my stuff from Surin to Bang Saen and since leaving the UK I have acquired more of it. I looked into hiring a car with a driver but this is very expensive for me- 5500 baht (about 100 GBP), so am getting the bus. Nachon Chai Air is the best way to travel in Thailand. Gold class is the best actually but they were sold out-it being Thai New Year here- so silver class it is. NCA have stewards and overhead compartments just like on a plane and as the bus leaves the station the steward or stewardess stands at the front and lets you know how long it will take and what time it will arrive at the destination. Plus you can put your luggage underneath. The thing they don’t know yet is I have a very large, heavy suitcase, a smaller case and a big box (I did have two boxes which I had in storage, at my friend Patrick’s house, for the two years I was away) but I have been ruthless and got rid of a load of books and DVDs. But I have been reliably informed I should (should being the operative word) be able to put everything underneath the bus for free. The cost of the journey? About 376 baht (7 GBP). Much better than 5500 baht.
The bus should get to Bang Saen around 6.30pm but as it is Thai New Year it might take a while to get to my final destination because, although it starts around 12th April in Bangkok, in that area in gets staggered so Bang Saen will celebrate it on 16th-17th. I don’t half make things difficult for myself because the 17th is the date I travel, but I will just have to take it in my stride and put up with the potential 2 hour + journey from Chonburi to Bang Saen- normally about 15 minutes. Although I shouldn’t say that in the first place I might just jinx it!
After five hours travelling north from KL my friend, Matin, and I arrived at Lumut on the western coast of Malaysia.
After a 45 minute ferry ride we arrived at our resort-Purnama Beach Resort which is set down a little lane off the main road. The accommodation is great- set in lovely gardens with a swimming pool- the rooms themselves are a little dated and quite small but you’re not in your room all that much anyway so not a problem.
We ventured out to explore our surroundings which didn’t take long- the whole resort is tiny (beautiful, but tiny). In my opinion if you want the tranquility of the beach in the day-time and just a place to chill out, then this place is for you. However, if you want bars and restaurants for fun filled nights then think again- there is one restaurant (that we found) that sells alcohol. Don’t get me wrong I can live without it but I do enjoy a few drinks, especially on holiday. Here is a mostly Muslim resort and, as such, most places do not sell alcohol. So after a little sulk, thinking what the hell we were going to do for the next two nights, I decided to get over it and enjoy my time there.
It is a beautiful place- the tree lined beach with the clear green water, of the Strait of Malacca, lapping onto its shores. It is not busy at all with only a few enjoying the water sports facilities. It is far too hot for some of the people who come on holiday here- they come out to swim and enjoy the beach later in the day when the sun is on its way down (unlike me who laid there for six hours and ended up with a burned back- not cool!) A cultural difference you see in most Asian countries- the locals all swim in clothes and keep out of the sun and they find it strange that western folk are happy to bare their skin, in swimwear, and lay there until they go brown (or red in my case). Although I had a couple of Muslim ladies ask me for a photograph with me in my bikini. I said “no” at first not realising what they wanted but then obliged them and off they went- maybe the talk round their dinner table later that evening!
There are animals on Pangkor. Oriental Pied Hornbills are large birds and seem to be happy to be among humans- it was amazing to see so many of them, on roof-tops, in trees, in restaurants. And Macaque monkeys come to human inhabited areas to scavenge in the dustbins and restaurants- it is exciting to see for the first time but for the locals they are a nuisance, who soon shoo them away when they get to close. There are also majestic sea eagles hovering over the bay- huge birds even from that distance away- unfortunately I didn’t get any photographs of them.
A beautiful little gem of an island, located off the coast of Perak. I only saw a small part of the island but I enjoyed my couple of days there.
Matin is from Chittagong, the second largest city in Bangladesh. He is currently living and studying economics in KL. He is also co-founder for Green Volunteers, a non-profit organization in Bangladesh, working for community development and unprivileged children. I thought it would be fun to interview him. Enjoy 🙂
1. Why did you come to KL?
I came here to study- Master of Economics.
2. Why study here in KL rather than your home in Bangladesh?
The economics in Malaysia are close to how they are in Bangladesh. KL is a developing city so I can get ideas for my studies. The Malaysian economy has developed in the last few years and I want to get to know the systems they are using to develop the economics. And then I could return to Bangladesh to use the same systems to help develop my country.
3. What do you like about KL?
The lifestyle is cheap and the people are very nice. I love the environment, it’s not too crowdy and the weather is the same throughout the year. The infrastructure is good compared to Bangladesh.
4. What do you hate about KL?
I think that people from the third world, living and working here, are sometimes not respected and discriminated against. Police are corrupt, something I did not expect in a developed country such as Malaysia.
5. Would you like to live here permanently?
No- I want to be a professor of economics, either in Bangladesh or another country but I would prefer to be in Bangladesh.
6. Can you say 3 top attractions that tourists should visit (in your opinion)
– Pangkor Island – Malacca – Genting Highlands
7. Can you give 5 top-tips for a foreigner living here? – Use LRT (skytrain) it is so much cheaper than taxis, and quicker – Eat local food- it’s cheaper – Don’t go out late at night- be safe – Be aware of motorbikes – If on tourist visa, don’t leave on the same day (at the end of 90 days) because it might look like you are working
Matin Chowdhury
Thank you Matin. It was fun interviewing you on Pangkor Island 😉
After a sky-train, taxi, airplane, bus, train and sky-train I made it to the Izumu Hotel, in Bukit Bintang. I have been to Kuala Lumpur twice before and, coming in on the train, it is so sparse compared to Bangkok. As soon as you leave the airport in Thailand you soon come across the tell-tale high rise buildings that make up the city. When you leave the airport in Kuala Lumpur there is nothing but forests of palm trees on either side for quite a long way of the journey. When I went there in 2009 there was almost nothing until you reach KL Sentral- but now there are new housing estates dotted along the landscape.
KLIA Train Station
KL reminds me of Colombo a little bit- as you travel towards the city centre all of a sudden you see the tower-blocks emerge from the, otherwise flat, landscape.
My friend, Matin, met me and we went to a South Indian restaurant, Nasa Kasang Line Clear- a little like a school canteen with trays of meat, veg and rice-it was delicious and reasonably cheap. There is a large Muslim presence in KL and you will find that, certainly in restaurants such as this one, there is no alcohol served. However, you don’t have to go far to find it if you want to have a few drinks- there are several, western, bars and restaurants not far from Jalan Berangan.
The Izumu Hotel is on Jalan Berangan, right in the middle of Bukit Bintang- if you take a left onto Jalan Sultan Ismail you can easily walk to the Petronas Towers- I got lost a bit and had to double back on myself until I found Jalan P. Ramlee which leads you right up to the towers.
Jalan P.Ramlee
I stopped off to have lunch in a restaurant, called Ava Bistro, and sat and watched the world go by (something I do quite a lot). The restaurant does a range of Arabic, Iranian and western dishes and the staff are very friendly –giving me directions to Simfoni Lake.
The Petronas Twin Towers are as spectacular as ever, particularly at night when they are all lit up. I never get tired of seeing them. If you have never been to KL before a trip up to the sky-bridge (which connects the two towers) is well worth it, although you need to get a ticket as early as possible because they only allow a certain number of people up every day. Once up there you can enjoy 360 degree views of KL and the surrounding area.
The Petronas Towers were the tallest in the world from 1998 to 2004, when they were dropped down the ranking by Taipei 101, but they still remain the tallest twin towers in the world today. Together with the KL tower they reign over the skyline of Kuala Lumpur’s CBD.
Having been up to the sky-bridge before I decided to walk around the towers and head for a beautiful little park surrounding Simfoni Lake. I didn’t know that this place existed on my previous visits but it is there at the back of the towers. Right in the middle of KL it is so peaceful and the hustle and bustle of traffic and city life seem miles away. I wandered round the two small lakes, looking at the different species of trees and plants, where there were people chilling and taking a break from whatever they were doing in their day.
The following day I decided to go to Central Market, so having consulted my map I went out in search of breakfast. (the hotel has since started doing breakfasts, although it has a limited range). The first place I found was called Sahara Tent- an Arabian restaurant decorated with rugs and other ethnic adornments. I had hummus served with bread and a mug of Arabian coffee. The restaurant itself is lovely and, although I was the only one there and the staff were having some sort of disagreement, the food was delicious. I had never had Arabian coffee before and when it came out I wasn’t sure I would enjoy it (it wasn’t the normal black coffee I like) it smelt of cloves and was a muddy brown colour but it was surprisingly refreshing- it felt healthy to be drinking it (whether it is or not I am not sure).
So leaving the restaurant I walked to Jalan Raja Chulan, took a right and walked all the way to Jalan Tun Perak. It is quite a walk and as usual I didn’t have decent walking shoes on (this I must rectify, after all I have my walking boots with me but they are somewhere in the bottom of the wardrobe). You take a right onto Jalan Tun Perak, cross the road, walk across a lovely little square, with houses of different colours and you get to the outdoor stalls. At the end on the right is Central Market which has been open since 1888. It is located in a big blue and white building and has two or three floors full of stalls, selling souvenirs, batiks, clothes etc., and you can have lunch in there as well. It is a beautiful little place.
From Central Market if you follow the road, passed the National Mosque, on the right hand side is the entrance (through the National Museum) to Perdana Botanical Gardens. There is a lake surrounding beautiful landscaped gardens with oriental inspired bridges and small pavilions, an edible garden, and different species of trees- one of which was a huge Brazil nut tree with decking around the base of the trunk where you can see the whole gardens. It gives you a feeling of being in the middle of a tropical rainforest, even though you are not very far from the city.
I have heard KL described as soulless but I disagree- I came here first in 2005 and there has been so much change- it is much more developed than it was back then. There are Malays, Indians, Bangladeshis, Canadians- a whole host of nationalities- who have made KL their home. There are so many different bars and restaurants and yes, there are the worldwide KFC’s or MacDonald’s and if this is what you want you need to seek them out. But there are so many Indian, Arabian, Malaysian restaurants- so many tastes you can choose from- you might have to be a little adventurous and have hummus for breakfast or Mee Goring for lunch. I think that KL is a city that is on the move- onwards and upwards- and, whatever your opinion, it is definitely worth a few days to explore this exciting place.
I took the bus from Pattaya back to Bangkok which takes two hours and cost 124 baht (about 2GBP). Once back in Bangkok I wanted to go to one of the big shopping malls, MBK, to see if I could find a new laptop battery, so I took myself on the BTS (my new way of getting around) from On Nut to Siam as I knew I could walk the rest of the way to MBK. So one of the reasons I wanted to go by BTS is because I did not want to find myself in the middle of a political demonstration, which had been going on in Bangkok for quite some time. So, of course, once off the BTS I found myself smack bang in the middle of a demonstration. The whole of the main roads were cordoned off and people had set up stalls selling stuff. Directly outside one of the entrances to MBK a stage had been erected and there was peaceful talks going on, with the supporters camped out everywhere you looked. Just a few weeks ago there was a bomb set off in a busy shopping district killing two and injuring quite a few more, so I didn’t want to be in the wrong place at the wrong time but as I walked through the swarm of people I didn’t feel threatened or unsafe. Their cause is not with foreigners but you still wouldn’t want to get involved. Having only used the BTS once before I am on a mission to explore Bangkok (BKK) by this method of transport. Once you know what you are doing- get change for a ticket, choose where you are going, and put the correct money in and hey presto your ticket comes out- easy really- it is so cheap (42 baht from On Nut to Mor Chit (takes about 30-40 minutes), taxis or tuk-tuks would be so much more expensive and they would take so much longer.
View from On Nut BTS Station
So on the way back to my hotel I decided to get off at Nana and go in search of a beer or two. On the way along Sukhumvit Road a guy walked passed me and said “hi”. I said “hi” back and carried on walking, I looked back and he started to follow me. Eventually I stopped and we chatted and agreed to meet later in the evening. He was an airline steward for Sri Lankan airlines and, although I don’t make a habit of meeting random guys, we ended up having a good night. (I was recently sent a book to give feedback on and one of the things throughout the book was the guy wanted to say “yes” more to experience more things than if he had said “no” and gone with his “I want to but I dare not” side). So this was my “say yes more” and I am glad I did because, like I said, I had a great time and I dare say a new friend has been made. On the way back to my hotel I had missed the last sky-train so I walked to the end of the soi and tried to get a taxi, but no one wanted to take me because Sukhumvit Road between sois 19 and 23 had been taken over by some of the protesters, and my hotel was quite a long way away. Eventually I found one but no sooner had he taken a turn into soi 19 he said he didn’t want to go and could I get out. So I walked a couple of sois and eventually found a motor bike taxi to take me the rest of the way. I gave in and paid the over-priced (150 baht) fare home because I just wanted to get home. There are so many people around at that time of night, a few of them drunk, I didn’t feel unsafe but you just need to keep your wits about you- like anywhere. Needless to say I was happy to get back to the hotel.
The next day I went for lunch and afterwards I wandered around seeing places I recognized and new places that I hadn’t seen before in the two years I have been gone. One thing I love about Bangkok is it is so diverse-modern, high rise hotels and apartment blocks; run down shops and houses; bars and restaurants; locals, tourists and stall holders amongst a whole host of other things.
And even though Bangkok is quite a dirty, smog filled city there are trees, plants and flowers planted along the sois making it look relatively pretty- especially at night when all the little fairy lights come on.
When I first came to Thailand in 2008 the place I knew the most was the Khao San Road area, in Banglampu but a friend introduced me to Sukhumvit and I am slowly getting my bearings in that area as well. Whereas KS Road attracts a lot of backpackers and a younger crowd, Sukhumvit has an older crowd and there are some very nice, albeit more expensive, drinking holes and places to stay. I will get to know the whole of Bangkok before I am done, but it is so big it might just take me a while but I am not planning on going anywhere anytime soon so I have plenty of time to explore this City of Angels.
As I sat one night, waiting for my pizza, I was thinking that I have noticed in places, like Pattaya, that the Thai’s speak very good English- they have to because most of the tourists that come here are western- UK, USA, Russian etc., and it is in their interests to understand the tourists (at least for business purposes- to know a few English words to entice the customers in to restaurants or bars. And we all know that some races are very lazy when it comes to learning a language and will want to speak in their own language when they are on holiday). So as someone who is trying to master the Thai language (both spoken and written) I always try to speak Thai, so when I say “hello” and ask for a beer and an ashtray (Sawadee Ka, Leo kwuad yai, tikkia burree ka), they almost look surprised and I can see them thinking –“huh? the Farang speaks Thai”. I do think they appreciate it though, although once I say a few words they reply back to me in Thai and then, with a cheeky grin on my face, I have to say “Mai Kow Jai, pood pasa Thai nitnoi” (I don’t understand, I only speak a little Thai). It never fails to get a laugh.
However, it is a very difficult language to learn, there are five different tones and most westerners, including me, struggle with them. If you get the tone wrong you can find yourself asking for rice whiskey (lao khao) rather than rice-which is what happened to me on Koh Samet a few years ago (I didn’t drink it I might add). Also the word for rice is “khao” but it also means white in a different tone- so “khao khao”-white rice. Confused? I am, yes! The Thai word “maa” means horse, dog, and come (here) all with different tones.You get the picture?
But when you live in a country, learning the language helps a lot, especially if you live in the provinces that are not on the tourist trail. You need to know the basics for when you want to go food shopping, or to the market, and it certainly helps when you get in a taxi and they don’t want to put the meter on. Or a persistent tuk-tuk man who wants to take you to the nearest jewellery store. A simple “mai ou” (I don’t want) usually works, even if it is just a bit of banter about how you can speak (a little) Thai.
