1. There are thousands of 7-11s in Thailand. They are everywhere; on the same block, across the street from one another....everywhere. They are pretty similar to 7-11s in the US in that they sell snacks, slurpees, and a few select grilled items, but all have a product section (shampoo, soap) and some even have a pharmacy. 7-11 is pretty important because you have to go there to ‘top up’ your phone, a procedure popular in many countries except the US. Basically, it’s a declining balance system; you put money on your phone and each outgoing text/call costs you money. You get a text alert when your balance is low, so you head to 7-11 to ‘top up’. Pretty easy and no phone contract/commitment.
2. Not unlike 7-11s, pharmacies are everywhere and they have everything. One block from my apartment, there are two across the street from one another, and there are dozens more on my way to school. You can buy prescription drugs over the counter cheaply, and most pharmacists speak at least a little bit of English and can recommend something for your ailment. Again, a good system. One more thing you can find everywhere? Pictures of the King. Everywhere.
3. The women in Thailand are obsessed with their skin; the mall has several ‘skin clinics’ which offer procedures and products. More specifically, the women are obsessed with lightening their skin. Every skin product here (wash, cream, scrub, acne medicine) is ‘skin whitening’. Who doesn’t want to look like a porcelain doll? I’ve totally bought into this marketing scheme and invested in my own cream.
4. Probably the most frustrating thing about living here is the lack of paper products. It’s a crap shoot (no pun attended) whether there will be toilet paper or paper towels when you use any restroom other than your own. That’s odd, right? I don’t get it. Even the teachers' bathroom at my school is lacking toilet paper, and the same nearly-empty soap dispenser has been on the counter for a month. Ugh. Likewise, napkins are at a premium; I’ve never seen a heavy duty paper napkin here (or cloth napkin at all). Some tables at restaurants have dispensers, but the napkins are about ¼ the size of a tissue, see-through thin, and disintegrate in your hands. Again, I don’t get it.
5. This song is really popular right now; they play it at school over the loud speakers during lunch, and the other day, I saw the kindergarten kids dancing to it. Catchy.
6. Dogs line the streets here and they freak me out. I feel bad for them during the day, when I see them lying all over the place because it’s so hot, but then walking by a bunch of barking dogs later in the day is unnerving. So far, they’ve been all bark, no bite; fingers crossed that this behavior continues.
7. Thailand is known for its fabulous food, and the street vendors are cheap and good. However, pre-packaged food can be tricky. Half of the time I expect to eat something sweet and it turns out salty, and the reverse is also true. I tend to have a somewhat adventurous attitude with the food here because I usually don’t know what I’m buying, but there’s nothing like wanting a plain piece of bread only to discover that it tastes like sugar. Yuck.
8. The iced coffees and iced teas are amazing! It probably has something to do with the fact that a can of sweetened condensed milk and a ton of sugar goes into every cup. It’s my biggest vice. The fruit smoothies here are incredible also, and though a little more healthy, they also come with added sugar.
Green Tea. Yum!
9. I dry my clothes on racks on the roof of my building because we don't have a dryer (you’d be hard pressed to find one in Thailand), I take a somewhat cold shower every morning because I don’t have hot water (getting used to it), the shower is in the same room as the rest of the bathroom with no division (so the entire bathroom gets soaked when you take a shower), and I’ve yet to sleep in a comfortable bed here (my bed and pillow are hard as nails). Such is life.
10. Many Thai people have nicknames, and the ‘names’ are often random words picked from a dictionary or elsewhere. For example, I have a student named Milk, and the other day, I met a guy named Tah-dah (as in what a magician says after a magic trick). Too funny.
11. You can fill up your water bottle at any of these dispensers; this one is located one block from my house and I’ve seen them all over town. Put in a small coin, stick your bottle under the spout, and viola! A huge money saver and also good for the environment.
12. Chonburi is a pretty big place but I haven’t done too much exploring as far as nightlife is concerned. However, the American girl placed at my school before me told me about a place at the end of my street called The Babe. She said it’s one of the most popular places in Chonburi, and I’ve been there a few times; they have live music every night and a great atmosphere.
My neighbor from China (Grace) and me at The Babe; first ones there when they opened at 5:00.
The band comes on at 7:00pm nightly and they are really good
13. I live two blocks from the Chonburi Football Club stadium, which is pretty cool because football (soccer) is such a huge sport here. The stadium is beautiful and has a nice turf track that I’ll never get to use (imagine trying to use the field at Lincoln Financial Field- not happening). However, behind the stadium is a really pretty park, complete with a paved running path, coconut trees, a pond, and free outdoor equipment. I got a kick out of this scene.
I hope everyone has a fab Thanksgiving weekend! In honor of (but having nothing to do with) Thanksgiving, Audrey, Shari, and I are heading to visit Katie and Alex, our British friends that we met in Koh Samet. They live in Ban Chang, a beach town not too far from Chonburi. We’ve rented a boat for Saturday and are looking forward to sun and sports on the water! I still can’t go in the water because of my foot, but I’ll consider myself the official event photographer for the weekend. Until next time….Sawatdee kah!
