Visa Run: Vientiane, Laos

So what exactly does a "Visa Run" entail? What does Visa run even mean? Well for us it means a 2 day vacation to the closest country, in order to get our Visas renewed. 

And what a process it is! In Bangkok, they have "Visa Run" services that take care of everything. Due to my lack of knowledge in this area, this was the route we chose. Called up, made a reservation on the night van to Vientiane, Laos [the "s" is silent, pronounced Lao]. Most of you probably have never heard of Laos, and I don't blame you. I had no idea it was a country till I moved all the way over here.

 So here is a little background (brought to you by the internet):

  Laos is a land-locked country between Burma, China, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. Like Vietnam, Laos is a communist country but the communist party has since the eighties been relaxing its grip on the whole society. Rice production still makes up the biggest portion of Laos’ economy but they also grow coffee, tee and opium.  The country is rich in minerals like gold and copper and more areas are being mined every year.  The country is still pretty poor with about 30% of the population under the poverty line.                Laos has the honor of being the most bombed country on this earth.  I read somewhere that during the Vietnam war, America hit Laos by an average of one B-52 bomb load every eight minutes, 24 hours a day, between 1964 and 1973.  That is more explosive power than was used in the whole of WWII. [CrAzY!]

Now that we are all caught up on our world history. I shall let the story begin. Our journey started in Bangkok, where we met a group of people doing the same thing. Hopped in a van at 8pm. Estimated Time of Arrival: 6am. It will take approximately 10 hours.  Luckily we sat next to a lovely couple, a woman from Chicago and her Thai boyfriend who actually spoke the local Laos language, Issan.  [It is the language of northern Thailand, where he is from.] We hung out with each other the entire time and had a blast along the way. 

Prior to crossing the border we were warned with this sign: 

[Apparently it is illegal to play cards of any kind.] [& since Thailand has a King and Queen it is referred to as "The Kingdom"]

It took us about 2 hours to cross the border after filling out a plethora of paperwork. Thankfully organized by the service we took. The service cost us 6000 Baht which is about $180.00, but that includes the 10 hour van ride there and back, 4 meals, 1 night stay in a guest house, and all the visa fees. Amazing trade off if you ask me. Normally once we cross the border, we would have had to go to immigration, which is exactly like going to the DMV. But, since we are using the service all we had to do was drive by, each take a number and then hand our number, passports and paperwork to the service, and THEY wait there all day and take care of what ever it is they have to take care of.  

While our visas were magically being taken care of, we joined our 2 new friends [whom we did not learn the names of until the taxi ride home, woopsies] for a Tuk Tuk ride to a local temple where they give Laos massages. To be honest the massage stunk, and I currently consider myself a Massage Connoisseur, so I can accurately judge these kind of things!  

The scenery was so very peaceful, and calming.. it was a fair trade. Following the massage was time spent in an herbal sauna!

After our massage, we decided to rent some bikes [at 1$ for 2 days] and ride around to see the city. This trip was not planned, our director at the school actually told us that morning that we had to leave the country. Originally we were planning on going back to Cambodia to visit our friends.. but the van going there had already left. But it worked out lovely... once again playing each day by ear we got a lot accomplished in our short stay. 

Here are some pictures from our ride: 

We were able to take the stairs all the way up to the top. 

This was the view looking down. 

 A woman working in the rice fields. 

We stopped off and went to 2 temples. During a previous war, most temples were destroyed by the Thais. However, the ones that we visited resembled the Thai temples, so they believe that that is the reason they were not burned down. 

The temples were beautiful, we went to one that had over 6000 Buddahs, some big and some small. The landscape was beautiful and so peaceful, obviously you can tell by this random man taking a nap!! [haha]

Laos was very beautiful and still strongly French influenced, you can tell by the architecture. It was actually much prettier than Thailand. The street vendors even sold baguettes with veggies, and eggs. It was delicious and something you cannot easily acquire in Thailand.  But being one of the poorest 3rd world countries in Asia, you would never be able to tell by the state of its capital, filled with such friendly well dressed people! Everything was dirt cheap, they accepted Thai Baht and American dollars as currency which was kinda cool! In Bangkok we have been able to buy DVDs for about $3 a pop, in Laos I found Disney movies for 15฿, or .50¢. Needless to say I stocked myself up! I bought all the Harry Potters, and any Disney movie I could get my hands on, including but not limited to: Snow White, Fantasia, Emperor's New Groove, Cinderella, and Mulan. Buying DVDs has become a slight obsession of mine! When the price of Disney movies is at LEAST $20 in America... I cannot pass up a .50¢ price tag! 

Overall, our trip to Laos was very successful. We made some new friends and we are 1 step closer to  getting our Work permits, and never having to worry about Visa runs for the next year! 

Till next time, Cheers!

Party like its 2554: Songkran Water Festival 2011

 I have been looking forward to this week for the past year in a half, in preparation for the big move to Thailand.This is the reason I bought a waterproof camera.  April is finally upon us, and it was time to experience Songkran for what it is... 

...So What IS Songkran really about?.. 

The festival falls on April 13 and  it is the annual celebration that is held throughout the kingdom. In fact, “Songkran” is a Thai word which means “move” or “change place” as it is the day when the sun changes its position in the zodiac. It is also known as the “Water Festival” as the Thai people believe that water will wash away bad luck from the previous year and bless you with good luck for the following year. 

With that being said, this next year should be the luckiest year of my life!  In every guide book, and any website it stated, " If you do not want to get wet, then do not leave your hotel room." This statement could not be more true, and even in some cases false [Depending who your room mates are]. The festival that originally began as the cleansing of The Buddah statue, to wash away bad luck eventually evolved  into a nation wide water gun fight, also known as the best 2 days of my life. 

The festivities began at school where we were required to 

where our floral Hawaiian shirts. Classes 

were supposed to be cut short so the kids could all "cleanse the Buddah" themselves, but since we started summer school a little later than the others we needed the time to get some work accomplished.  Although the kids did get a chance to take part in the ritual at the end of school when their parents arrived. We too had plenty of time after class to partake in the festivities.  It was really special to be involved and be able to appreciate the meaning behind the event. After school we went home packed our bags and took a taxi to our old school to meet up with our friends. It was extra exciting because our friends from our TESOL class who have been living in Cambodia since January will be meeting up with our gang later! 

The teaching hat's came off and the water guns came out! Off to Khao San road [Some of you may recall that this is known as the backpackers district of  Bangkok, and where we first lived when we arrived in good ol' BKK] It really would not have mattered where we went. Everywhere you go north, south, a small village or a big city everyone participated. 


We immediately hopped in the first taxi we saw. The driver set the tone for the day by instructing us to shoot at the cop with our water guns! With very little hesitation we rolled down our windows and proceeded to soak the cop. What did he do? Shot us a Big smile, and laugh! Could you imagine doing that in the US? Yeah right!!! 

We arrived in Khao San road and expectations were blown. There were people everywhere Thai's and Farongs in all shapes and sizes. I cannot truly explain the level of excitement everywhere I looked! We didn't waste any time as we had already been shooting people the entire car ride there!  The 4 of us jumped right into the madness. [Michelle, Jason, Nick and I] Without hesitation people soaked us down.  Nothing was off limits, Waterguns, hoses, buckets of water, water bottles with holes poked in the top, those old school water bottles that they would have on classic comedy shows where they would randomly spray someone down. Haha, I even saw someone with those containers that pest control people use to spray for bugs!  If you didn't come prepared there were PLENTY of street vendors selling supplies! 

I already had a hand-held but I the water gun back pack was calling my name. Along with water, you are also pleasantly greeted with Thai's coming up to you with bowls of clay and wiping it on your face, and in some cases throwing it. It was shockingly very civilized, and as MOST would come they would either Wai to you, or say "Soowyyy" as they kindly marked ur face with clay. The other 3% would come up behind you and wipe it in your eyes.. this was the only negative thing I could possibly say about the entire day. That and the cold water.

When Monks bless things, like cars or homes.. they usually use chalk. So basically the Clay is supposed to signify that. Again, on a much larger scale! lol As you can see from this photo! At times it would get in your eyes and you would see people walk over to the side and try to rub it out. If any Thai person saw you doing this they would immediately pour water over your eyes and help you clean it off. 

The 4 of us had a freaken blast, shooting people left and right.. dancing to music, occasionally drinking beers. 

It turns out the Hawaiian shirt was THE thing to wear! Luckily we were on top of it!!!

It was a complete blast, and people of all ages were there. 

From adorable little kids like this guy: 

To the more sophisticated, like this lady. 

Everyone had 1 thing in common, a big smile and good intentions.  It was really amazing how respectful everyone was, I went to bed that night with such ease as visions through out the day of smiling faces drifted me right of to sleep.. only to wake up and do it all over again the next day !

A Thai New Year surprise for you !! 

For Nick's take on the Songkran MaDnEsS Click HERE or read the following blog!  

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Question of the Day! 

What's your take on all of this!? 

I want to hear from you! If you randomly clicked my blog, you are an avid reader or secret Facebook stalker, it would be lovely to hear some comments from people other than my family! :) [No offense]

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The Periodic Cameo Blog with your pal, Nick Watt

I’d like to start by thanking Lisa for letting me cameo in her Thai blog. We can all agree, her blogging is wonderful and I couldn’t be happier that she has so many readers. That being said, I feel it’s necessary to have a second opinion on our amazing experiences in Thailand from time to time. So, here’s my crack at it..

At last, we are completely moved in to our final apartment in Thailand. I honestly can’t recall the how many living arrangements we’ve had over here. Ballpark figure? Nine. Also, we’ve started full-time teaching. Well, it’s not completely full-time; just summer school, so our Monday to Friday is a simple 7:30-Noon with the new school year starting on May 16^th.  I’m pretty sure Lisa’s already brought all that good stuff up, so I’ll jump into our newest adventure: The Songkran Festival.

It’s Thailand’s new year, and celebrated with ample supplies of water and grey clay. To join in on the festivities we visited a popular area in Bangkok for tourists from all over the world, along with thousands of Thais, of course. Almost everyone participating is armed with some form of water gun. If you find ice-cold water for loading, use it. Cold water reigns supreme in most battles. Those unarmed should be holding a small pail filled with the grey clay. The basic routine is: you shoot them with water, they smile and walk over to you while covering their fingers with the clay, then they wipe it anywhere on your face while saying either, “Happy New Year!” or “Thank you, sorry!” The oceans of water used by everyone celebrating represent the washing away of the year’s sins, and all that good stuff. The clay used in the event is a sort of a “spin-off” of the holy clay used by the Monks to bless Buddhists with good luck. So, with three full days of non-stop face smearing and water drenching I should be pretty set for the New Year, 2554.

The festival was better than I thought it would be. In fact, it was spectacular! The Thai people are overly gracious and light-hearted, and their hospitality towards foreigners is remarkable. Regardless of the obvious translation gap, it’s very easy to tell that they are filled with pride seeing so many walks of life joining in on their favorite religious ceremony. To sum it all up: I loved Songkran and I love Thailand. Happy New Year, Everyone!

The Good. The Bad. and The Ugly.

Hello my friends, I apologize for the delay in post but as soon as I posted my last message we had a meeting with our boss and were told it was time to move.... AGAIN!! 

The Good.

I was not excited for this at all, but I was really trying to trust that everything will work out. It's just that after 3 months we were finally beginning to settling down.  And here we are, 2 days later were were moving again, leaving all of our friends, and moving into the middle of no where, Bang Phao.  About 2 hours outside of  Bangkok.  

It was finally pay day and we went to get our money from our Boss, is always a production as she is a very popular woman especially when it comes to pay day. However she has grown quite fond of our little group. (And that IS an understatement) She actually refers to the 4 of us (Nick, Me, Michelle, and Cas) as  "Her Angel Crew". She is so thankful that we are working at her school, because we are so "smart, professional, and beautiful" (and these are direct words lol) After receiving more money than we actually were supposed to get,  she gave us even better news. 

[to be read in an Asian accent]

"I want you and teachuur Nicholas to be team leadars, and I want you to know dhat I am looking out for you, and care about you vewy much, so because of dhis I am going to let you keep your room here in Bang Bon. Dis way you can come back on dhe weekends to hang out with your fwiends and go in dhe swimming pool." 

This news was amazing, but I did feel a little guilty, there was no need for us to take up a room only for the weekends, but what Boss says goes! The following day, 8 new teachers piled in to a van taking all of our belongings. We were keeping our news a secret, we didn't want anyone getting jealous, or start any unnecessary drama.  

We pulled up to our brand new apartments and unloaded our things. In the Thai tradition when there is  a new building or home there is a ceremony that takes place. There were monks praying and blessing the rooms and a big tent and tables set up with more food than you could imagine. Many new foods I have been very curious to try but wasent sure exactly what it was. It was so sweet. The apartment building is run by a very big Thai family of which 2 speak English.  Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all. 

To the left is a collection of Thai Desserts, mostly coconut and rice flavored, all very delicious. 

The Bad and The Ugly.

Time came for the passing out of the keys and picking of rooms. After a quick speech of how, important it is to represent ourselves correctly and if we are going to bring a prostitute home to make sure that she is a "Nice girl, and speaks good" Of course Boss comes to us first and asks which room I would like, and which room Nick would like. Hold up, we get our own rooms? Hmm.. Interesting. Well they are much smaller than our apartments in Bang Bon, but was that really necessary? Boss said that we could use one room as a hang out room or kitchen since that was the only thing lacking from these BRAND NEW apartment. Fully furnished and stocked with a refrigerator, microwave, iron/board, air con, plates and silverware and bedding! [All provided by the school] So up we go to our new places. As we head up we see some sad faces! Our Philippino foreign teachers were forced to share  a room, and a bed. Why? Because they aren't westerners. So here we are, sitting on 3 pieces of prime real estate and the Philippinos have to share a room, and a bed, with someone they didn't know, and to top it off , if they wanted to get their own room they both had to pay 2,000 Baht.  This didn't sit well with me at all! SO racist, I spent the greater half of the day trying to accept the situation but there was not much I could do. If I gave up my room to one of them, they would make them pay anyways. Here I am being treated better than a King, and they are being treated like dirt. Many rationalizations crossed my mind.... " Well there flight was only 3 hours, compared to our 28?" "  English is OUR native language, it is their second..." But nothing made me feel better. I talked to them and expressed that I did not agree with how they were being treated, they didn't like it either, but that is the way it goes. This is Thailand and they do things their way, and there is not much else you can do than Smile and carry on. 

 Having our own rooms is going to be interesting, like I said in my previous post  I am excited to finally get settled in [for real this time] decorate, and start making Thailand feel more like home. Nick of course calls his room "The Man Cave" and plans on decorating accordingly, I just want my room to be cozy and make sure it smells good. Im a sucker for candles and such, Now if only I could find some Glade candles ANYWHERE in Thailand I could be happy. For now I will settle for scented oils, and tea light candles. The next couple of weeks are going to be very exciting. Summer school started on April 1st and we moved in the weekend prior. I am teaching kindergarten again, and 2 classes of pre-school, subjects English and Drama! Hahah This should be interesting! :) Nick is teaching 2nd, 3rd,4th,5th, and 6th Social Studies and Science. Summer school is only a month long and then we get ANOTHER 2 week vacation. Life is pretty rough at this point ;)  [Sarcasm of course] To make things even better we have 1 day off for the Thai Memorial Day in the first week, than the following week is the Thai New Year, also known as The Songkran Festival, this tradition started with the cleansing of the Buddah. They would pour water over all the statues to cleanse them and make a good luck wish. As the New Year is during the hottest month of the year, this tradition eventually turned into a country wide water fight. No one is safe. Elderly, police men, woman, children... if you walk outside at any point during the week, [oh yeah, did I mention it is a week long celebration in which we, yet again get the entire week off from school] You will get SOAKED! Buckets, Guns, Balloons, everything is an option! I have been looking forward to this event since the moment I chose to come here! The week is finally upon us, and to Bangkok we go!! Our friends are actually joining us from Cambodia and I am very excited to see everyone again!! :) 

More to come, pictures, stories... I hope I survive this one and yes I will be safe! :) 

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Question of the Day!

If you were to become a teacher, ideally which grade would you want to teach and why?

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These aren't the Droids you're looking for.