Year of the Rat - Amanda

Happy Chinese New Year! It's the Year of the Rat!

Last week I assigned my students a project to present different events in Bangkok...partly for them to practice speaking but also partly so I could know about cool events going on. One group presented on Chinese New Year, which happened to be this weekend. I asked many questions and relayed the info to Genie.

Today we ventured into the center of Bangkok to Chinatown, which is the the biggest Chinatown outside of China. We saw that there was a parade at 3:00 pm...which means 4:17 in Thai-time, so we decided to try to make it to that.

We, the chronically early duo, arrived around 2, found parking and then headed towards Chinatown. Our first stop was this rather gorgeous temple. There was a Golden Buddha inside that was oh-so-shiny. Most impressively this temple offered the greatest gift...complimentary water. Drinkable water is hard to come by in water, especially free, non-bottled water, so we were over joyed that Chiang Beer offered water to the temple's many visitors.

It was nearing 3 and we continued toward the parade route...but not after stopping for this photo op.

After walking around for a bit we noticed that there were some barricades set up and other people had begun to claim their spots behind them, we followed suit...able to spin at least one pokestop (vital). The waiting began. About 3:45 the parade finally reached us. Don't worry, we caught the parade in all its entirety.  

You are welcome. We didn't want you to miss a second of this gem.

This reminded me of the Shriners dragon during the Rochesterfest parade. As a child it always scared me, I remember having my mom cover my ears while I covered my eyes. Mom - you'll be happy to know, I have conquered my fear. Genie did not need to cover my ears.

Guess which fan belongs to which girlfriend?

There is one long street that is the bulk of Chinatown, Bangkok edition, therefore it made sense to keep trekking it. The street was lined with food and drink vendors. We happened across a vendor selling traditional Chinese fans for 50 baht.

The crowds led us to more temples, Chinese temples this time. On a personal note, I enjoyed these temples immensely. The bright reds and golds were beautiful!

 

Rumbling tummies lead us to egg rolls. This have been my favorite egg rolls I've had in Thailand. Rochester friends, they reminded me of the eggs rolls I grew up eating at Hunan (the one at Northgate) but 10 times better. 

We, being the Pokemon nerds we are, had noticed a raid near by and ventured towards the gym. There was a huge crowd gathered in the vicinity, either they were all here for the raid or there was something going on. Police and military officials had closed down the street and we saw a temple a block away with a red carpet in front of it. I recalled reading that members of the Thai Royal family were often seen around Chinatown during Chinese New Year and based on the numbers of Thais sitting on the sidewalk just waiting we assumed it was a member of the royal family. We were going to wait around to do the raid anyway, so we joined the lot. Bad news, after an hour and two attempts we didn't beat the raid nor had the Royal Highness emerged from the temple. We were just debating heading off when the Thai Secret Service hurried to have everybody stand up. Genie climbed up a nearby electrical box and was able to see many photos of the somebody with "many shiny medals" on his uniform being taken. After a few minutes they got in their vehicle and headed towards us. Genie managed to capture this photo...

This may or may not be the King of Thailand. Based on the excitement of the Thais around us I think it's safe to assume we saw the King. 

These gals were thirsty and we also were curious to see the rest of the festival. I had been told by my students that there were going to be performances that we shouldn't miss. Juice was purchased and the crowds started to get bigger...so we decided to head towards the bike. 

We noticed that, yet again, many Thais were sitting in rows along the street. We forged ahead, hoping that the street we needed to cross would not be blocked yet. As we marched single file the people around us became ruder. Eventually we got to the blockade...Genie was knocked into and I had an older white woman come up to me and say "Oh they won't let us through? I have reservations at that restaurant over there...oh there's my group!" and move the string blocking off the street. Needless to say we were both irritated and headed through a slew of side streets to another blockade. Though I managed to snag this pic...

Another venture through some side streets eventually led us back to the beginning of Chinatown.

We returned to the temple we started it. 

There was dragon dancing going on...I have no idea what else to call it. There were two guys in each dragon costume and at one point one was standing on the other's shoulders creating the tallest dragon. 

Overall, it was a fun day. We've decided to head back to Chinatown sometime when there aren't as many people around. I shall leave you with these lovely floral photos that Genie took today.

A Side of Thai Pad: Cuppachai

We're introducing a new feature to our blog "A Side of Thai Pad" where we have mini blogs about smaller adventures.

This past weekend we found our way to a delightful little Indian brunch spot in Bangkok., Cuppachai Thanks to an Instagram add and our love of Indian cuisine I knew we had to check it out. Located on Sukhumvit 31, this little cafe is sandwiched between tall apartment complexes, some fancy homes, and an International kindergarten.

It's a cozy restaurant with a wall of windows, bright colors, and a beautifully drawn peacock welcoming you into the cafe. The whole place was very Instagramable, as so many places in Thailand are.



After perusing the 4 page menu, the one thing we both knew we had to get were chai teas. Genie opted for the hot version while I enjoyed an iced one.

Photo courtesy of Cuppachai

The menu had so many items that looked delightful. We opted to pick two things and share them. Our first choice was easy, dal vada kibbeh naan wrap filled with dal patties. For our readers who don't consume Indian as much, dal is like a hash-brown but made with chick peas and Indian flavors.

Photo courtesy of Cuppachai

Our second choice ended up being a paneer mac and cheese. It may have been on the "kids" menu but we're both adult children so it was only appropriate to order that as well. 














Genie wanted a second pot of tea...I don't blame her one bit, it was devine...so I got a butterfly-pea lassi. Butterfly pea (aka Asian Pigeonwings) tea is a big deal at the coffee houses in Thailand because it changes color with the pH balance of whatever you are mixing it with. It also happens to be caffeine free (a plus for this Thai padder)!









Cuppachai was delicious, cozy, quiet, and a beautiful place to spend a few hours on a Saturday afternoon. We both highly recommend it and will be back to try more of their menu.

A Legal Sociopath - Part 2 - Genie

Alright. I promised my mother the second half of this post a long time ago, here it is!

The second day of getting my Thai driver's license was much smoother to begin. I knew where I was heading to and I knew who I was meeting up with. I confidently drove to the Land Transportation Office, parked, and headed toward the line I was destined to live in for the majority of the day.

The group of us going through the agency got in line and we waited patiently for the office to open. When they did open, there were large signs in Thai that weren't there the day before. Obviously I couldn't read them, so I turned to the LOVELY woman from the agency who's name I never did catch and asked her. She told me that the computer system that prints the physical licenses was broken and there was no ETA on it being fixed.

Cool.

Cool, cool, cool.

So we agreed that we would take turns standing in line (we had stellar spots) while the other people wandered and got coffee and breakfast. I got an iced mocha and a caramel latte and headed back to line. I asked the agency woman... she needs a name.

Sidebar: she needs a name. She needs a good Thai nickname. Amanda and I have settled on Bike.

Back to the story:

I asked Bike if she liked mochas or lattes and she wanted the mocha. I handed it to her and settled on a bench a few meters away and started writing a letter.

A full hour later and the machines were still broken. The line was still at a standstill. The Thai staff decided to switch the order of what was happening today and everyone was going to have to take the driving test BEFORE RECEIVING THEIR LICENSE.

I kid you not, they were going to print my license before I could prove I knew how to drive.

So we all got queue numbers for the order we were standing in line and headed outside to the driving course.

For the next hour, we stood quietly at the front of the course and listened intently as a man spoke in Thai. Ok. Fine. The guy who was standing next to me who also didn't speak Thai (he was actually much worse than me) and I were pretending to know what he was saying and giggling quietly in the back.

Finally, he asked for a volunteer to do the test first. The man in front of the two of us put up his hand and off he went.

The course was easy to start: 5 stop signs, some twisting roads, up a bridge with a stop at the top and the bottom, sections to use your turn signals, and SO MANY SPEED BUMPS. Then the hard part. There was a section where we had to weave between cones without putting our feet down and without going faster than 10km/hr. When you finished this, there was a 180 degree hairpin turn that led into the worst part: the balance beam.

The balance beam is a block of concrete that is six inches across and four inches high.

You drive up a lip and suddenly you're on a 15 meter long balance beam.

If you fall off, you fail.

Simple enough, right?

Well, it was for the first guy. It wasn't for the second, third, fourth, fifth, or sixth. It was getting much closer to my friend's and my turn. I went and got my bike (you have to rent one if you want to use one of the horrifically bad bikes from the LTO), strapped on my helmet, and drove through the test.

Thankfully, nine months of practice seems to have paid off. I got it on the first try.

If you passed on the first try, you're given a stack of paperwork and are told to wait in an area.

If you fail, you have to take the test again and all of us in the area just sit and stare at you until you've either passed or failed three times. It took about forty minutes from the time I passed until everyone had either passed or failed. Three people failed and they were told that they had to wait five business days before they could come back and try again.

Those of us who passed went back into the building. Bike was anxiously waiting for us and as soon as she saw both of us come in with stacks of paper, she grabbed two queue numbers and ran to the back of the line. By the time we wove our way through the crowds to the line, she was still EXACTLY WHERE SHE HAD BEEN BECAUSE THE MACHINES WERE STILL BROKEN.

We asked Bike if this was going to be fixed today or if we had to come back. She shrugged because honestly, we both knew she didn't know.

I went to find us more coffee and lunch.

The man I was taking my test with was named G. His name was much more confusing and he was Bhutan. He said his name once and then laughed and asked me to call him G. I laughed and told him that my coworkers called me either G or G-Spot because my name is Genie.

We got lunch (I got mystery meat on rice with fresh cucumber and carrots - it was delicious), grabbed coffee for ourselves and Bike, and headed back for the air conditioning. It was now about 2pm and the lines had finally started moving by the time we got back. We traded spots with Bike and chased her out the door to get lunch.

By the time she returned, we were next in line. We had our paperwork checked one last time (a Thai tradition) and got our licenses printed!

After that, we went our separate ways. I headed back to my apartment (which Amanda had cleaned and scrubbed in my absence!) and for the first time in Thailand, drove legally on the roads.

**

I won't lie. I've had my license now for about a month and it's been very freeing to know that I won't be fined for not having it. On top of that, it's also a valid form of ID here - so I no longer have to carry my passport along with me where ever I go.

All in all, it was a long and irritating process, but I'm very glad I did it.

**

Also, Mom, I love you, but I stayed up very late to write this and now I am very sleepy. OJ!

Our Dental Detour - Genie

We've come here to the land of 1000 smiles (which if you ask me, statistically, for a country of 69 million people, is quite low) and with all that smiling, you show a lot of teeth.

Well, the last time I saw my lovely ladies at the Rushford Dental Clinic was TOO long ago. It was all the way in April. Amanda saw a dentist around the same time I did and we both knew it was time we both had a cleaning. We were both nervous because the water we drink is not fluoridated, the sugar intake here is astoundingly high, and I have dental habits that deserve much less lovely teeth. (Sorry, Mom, I did not inherit your made teeth-cleaning skills. But Amanda brings me my toothbrush with toothpaste on it quite often with a disapproving look you'd be proud of!)

So last week we went off on a mission: we were going to find a dentist office.

Thankfully, Thailand advertises everything with giant pictures... so we just drove down the road by my school until we saw a big cartoon tooth with a neon "open" sign. We walked in to make appointments.

The woman working behind the front desk was lovely and distraught that she had to make us wait. Unfortunately they were booked for the next 90 minutes and she asked us to come back in about an hour and a half.

AN HOUR AND A HALF.

They also had cute pillows. I was sold.

At home, I book appointments to get in to get my teeth cleaned months in advance. I was THRILLED when Kim managed to get me a spot with three weeks warning. We went back about an hour later (after a brief Pokemon Go excursion), because we're chronically early and the dentist was ready to see us.

We were in the dentist's chair for no more than 25 minutes each.

While waiting for Amanda (who went first), I watched Thai TV.

The oddest part of the whole experience was that here, they drape your face so only your mouth is showing. You just open wide and lay back for a nap because the dentist doesn't speak English conversationally, you don't speak Thai well enough to be understood through hands in your mouth, and there's a giant curtain over your face.

I can't comment on Amanda's experience, but the mask for me was very odd. It was also oddly heavy, rather like an x-ray vest. The funniest part of my experience was the dentist handing me a mirror to "show where big cavity is".

I grabbed the mirror and she pointed to two very large, black masses in the back of my molars. As they were not there two days ago, I knew they weren't cavities, but she didn't.

Laughing, I grabbed her cleaning utensil and went to town on my tooth.

She.

Looked.

Horrified.

But after about 10 seconds, I was holding the remnants of a passion-fruit seed and handed it to her saying "passion-fruit smoothie".

She laughed, laid me back down, and went to town digging the other one out. I won't lie, the little buggers were hiding very stealthily.

I made it out 3 minutes later with a clean bill of tooth health.

Amanda was not so lucky. Her 5 cavities she found out about in April had now gotten bigger. This was to be expected. We don't have access to fluorine and eat boatloads of sugar even when we don't want to. However, we wanted to nip it in the bud, so we went ahead and scheduled her for an appointment to have them filled, paid for our cleanings, and left.

Because they were closing for the new year, Amanda was booked for January 5th.

Total cost for 2 teeth cleanings? 1,830B (60USD). No insurance. No appointment. That's 30USD each.

Now, I love my home clinic in Rushford, but my cleaning there before I left the states was 175USD.

***

Time passed and finally this morning, Miss Pyfferoen went in to get her cavities filled. Her appointment was at 11:30. We got there at 11:25 and the dentist took her back at 11:35.

She was back out at 12:15 with five new fillings.

I was quite curious as to what was happening back there because not once, but twice, I heard small noises that I immediately recognized as Amanda's "that hurts but I'm trying really hard not to bitch about it" squeaks.

She looked at me squarely and said: "They don't do Novocaine. That was fun."

***

Here's where we take a brief break from the story for a quick message from my favorite "dental hygienist who makes me homemade caramel" aunt. This is in direct juxtaposition to my childhood dentist who only gives out sugar-free gum at Halloween.

I shot my aunt Cindy a message asking about pricing for cavity fillings. She got back to me almost immediately (thank you, social media).

I was looking for how much it would cost to get 5 surfaces on 4 back teeth done.

Some pretty easy math from AC later and we figured it would have been approximately 825USD. Amanda and I both agreed that this was a completely reasonable price back home. We've both had a cavity or two before (I have only had one as an adult and thankyouverymuch I would like to keep it that way), and this fit the budget both of us assumed it would be.

***

Propel your thoughts back to winter in Bangkok. It's over 100 degrees and humid... you know, casual winter.

So Amanda and I are sitting in the dentist's office getting prepped to be hit with about an 825USD bill.

I was kind of hoping that the same proportional math would work here as it did with the cleanings:

30:175 = x:825. x=142

A girl can dream that five surfaces can be filled for under 150USD, right?

It came in at 4,730B (157USD).

Dreams really do come true.

**

With that said, we'd like to give special thanks to my aunt Cindy for her quick numbers this evening and to our new Thai dental clinic for it's cheap and fantastic service. In future, we can recommend they get Novocaine.

2019 - A Year to Remember

With less than 12 hours of 2019 left I thought it was the perfect time to reflect about this year.

Let me start off with saying that this has been one of the best and most challenging years of my life. I have accomplished many goals and tried so many things I never imagined that I actually would.

Things I Did
- changed a car battery in MN in Jan with Genie and Nikki
- judge one act and state speech for the first time
- dry walled the kitchen ceiling
- drove around the Twin Cities several times (as a new driver I was proud of myself - I know people who've been driving for decades who don't drive up there)
- baked new concoctions (my hedgehog carrot cake and boozy tres leches stand out to me)
- finally got a stamp on my passport (ok more like 6 pages full now)
- flew to the other side of the world
- moved to Thailand
- started a teaching journey
- adventures in Thai food
- learned how to ride on the back of a moped (it's harder than it looks)
- attempted to drive a moped
- started actually working out (I have grown to enjoy going to the gym)
- quit a job
- moved to Bangkok
- traveled around Southern Thailand (I <3 Ko Lanta)
- several anxiety ridden trips to Laos
- discovered how much I enjoy getting massages
- read so many books!

I always wanted to travel around the world but I can honestly say that Asia was never high on my list. (I don't have a a good reason for that). This year has had it's ups and downs but I'm happy that I'm here. I'm happy that I'm on this adventure with Genie. We push each other to be better versions of ourselves and I am so grateful for her.

I've never really been into making New Year's Resolutions - I think it's a bit cliche. I tried to make them a few years when I was younger but now I've started to just remind myself of one thing as the new year rises...be yourself. That's it. Just be yourself Pyff and continue to be authentically you. Don't be afraid to grow and try new things.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here's to 2020 and whatever it brings!

(hopefully a Trump free White House)

A Legal Sociopath - Genie

To understand trying to get anything done legally in Thailand is to imagine doing everything at the DMV in blue ink.

To that point, the DMV in Thailand is called the Land Transport Office. My mission: a driver's license.

I started this adventure months ago when we still lived in Nong Khai. Unfortunately, while there, I didn't get my work permit until right before we were leaving so we didn't have time to do the process there. However, the employees there were incredibly friendly and invited me back when I had free time. If I hadn't moved, I assume I would have had a license by the end of that week.

Then we moved to Bangkok (Min Buri, more specifically - and no, we don't know if it's one word or two becauseThaisdonotputspacesbetweentheirwordsinasentence.) and I needed to rent a new bike. This was more difficult because I didn't have a license but I did have a Non-B Visa.

Here's the breakdown of how and when you can drive:

Tourist: They can drive on a tourist visa with a home license so long as it is in English.

Non-B Immigrants: It's illegal to drive without a Thai license. Go get one.

As I'm in category 2, I needed a license to rent a bike. Luckily there are many lovely people who are more than willing to rent you a bike without a license. This is mostly because they don't get in much trouble for renting to you if you get caught driving without a license. So for the past four months, I've been driving without a license. That means that every day and every time I get on my bike, I risk a 3000B+ fine for driving without a license and I can't get insurance to cover me in case of an accident.

So, the first time in Nong Khai I didn't get my license. I was unswayed. I tried to go again in Bangkok.

I went to the local Land Office. I got a queue number and sat back with my book. When my number was called I was informed I was in the wrong place. I was in the Land Office, not the Land Transport Office. I got back on my bike and drove to the address the secretary at the LO put into my phone.

Arriving at the LTO, I got another queue number and waited again. Eventually, I was pulled into the main honcho's office. He very curtly told me that because I was "no from state of New York, California, or Chicago - no license for Thailand".

I called the woman I was renting a moped from and asked her to speak with him. She had seen all my documentation from the US and knew exactly what I would need to complete this process. She got back on the phone and said that the man had told her that only licenses from New York, California, or Chicago got automatically transferred.

I laughed and asked her how he got that information, he said he got it from the book. (He was looking in a giant, 4-inch, 3-ring binder. I told Emma (the moped renter) that there was no state of Chicago and that he should maybe look into that in the future.

At this point, the misogynist behind the desk had had enough of the two women asking him difficult questions and he asked me to leave. I then pointedly asked him what I needed to get a license. He stated that I needed a letter of residency from my embassy, a work permit, a non-b visa, a doctor's note, and money. He said it all very quickly and in Thai while pointing at the door.

It was easily the most rude encounter I've ever had with a Thai person.

So for that point, I gave up for a while. I was rather dejected. But I knew I would eventually need one, so I made an appointment at my agency to get that letter.

Fast forward about three weeks and I went to the US Embassy.

You know what's worse than needing an appointment to get into your own embassy? Finally getting in to see a giant oil painting of Donald Trump. *shudder*

I waited in line for a hot moment before I filled out a piece of paper with my name and address, had it notarized, and paid A HUNDRED FREAKING DOLLARS FOR IT.

Fast forward a couple weeks again and I went back to the same misogynist. He refused to see me because he didn't want to deal with it. I then asked who he reported to and got their contact information. I asked Emma to write up a short letter in Thai for me to send to his boss. I sent it and moved on with my life.

And then three months passed. After much discussion with my coworkers and friends, I decided on going with an agency to get my licences. I looked up many agencies before choosing Fat Boy's Driver's Licenses Services Bangkok.

I shot them a message on December 23rd asking about the process for getting a motorbike licence. They got back to me very quickly stating that it would be 4000B and take 2 full business days. They had openings on Thursday (three days from then). So for the next hour, I chatted with the woman who ran the agency and got all my paperwork in order - from inside the pool at my apartment.

Then Christmas came and went and suddenly it was boxing day! I got up early ----- ehhhhh Amanda got up early and woke my butt up ---- and drove to downtown Bangkok. It took a little over an hour to get there (it is about 15kms away). When I arrived, I was whisked into a doctors office where they took my pulse and BP (72 and 118/78) asked me for my height and weight and gave me a blue "you're healthy" stamp.

We then ran (and I'm not lying - we ran) to a taxi stand and got a motorbike taxi to the LTO in downtown BKK. Then my agent sent me to grab us coffees and when I got back, she had my paperwork done and I was number C0199 in line.

I sat down and started reading my book. Then the guy next to me started chatting. He was a lovely guy from India and we ended up spending the day chatting together. I made it through the paperwork line by 10am and then we were waiting to get to testing. There was an odd machine I had to put my face into and then identify the colors of lights in my peripheral vision.

Fun story: I don't know colors in Thai.

So I very carefully eavesdropped on the people in front of me and learned what noises I should make for each sound. Apparently I did well enough for the lady to laugh at me and stamped me through.

Then we moved on to the section where you check your depth perception. You move two sticks until they're next to each other. It was ... I didn't understand the point. It didn't matter. I have plenty of experience with chopsticks and I can move two sticks. It wasn't difficult.

Then there was an odd foot contraption where you had to make a fake machine "go" 75km/hr and then stop almost immediately. It was oddly accurate to BKK traffic. That part was harder. I got it on the second go.it was weird because I had to use my 'not driving' foot from the US (as cars are backward here in Thailand).

After passing these odd tests, I was yet again waiting. For what? A video.

I waited from 10:20 to 12:00. When my number was called I filed into the room and sat on the seat with my assigned number. I was all the way at the back. I could barely see the screen and the video was entirely in Thai. It was also supposed to be 40 minutes long.

I did manage to snag some gems from the subtitles:

"Please watch the characters ignite the car."

"You are a full fault failure."

"Your bad drive will send to hell."

"Do not cause passengers to feeling scared. It is not niceness."

"Please do not perform the killing of passengers or pedestrians. It is not niceness."

"The carrs cannot see when the high beams are high beaming."

"Use the fog lights when the rain is falling with both dogs and cats."

"Do not put the waste on the road or it need an antibiotic."

In my free time, I made some memes.

After the video, I went to wait in line to get my printed license.

Yes. Before the written test, they were going to print and give me a license.

I don't... Thailand.

Technically I had a valid license after it was printed and they just TRUSTED ME to go upstairs and take my test.

Also, in this photo, I was not allowed to smile. And the lady kept moving my chin. It was highly irritating.

After I got my printed license, I headed upstairs to take my test. I was greeted by a very angry Thai woman who said she was closed for the day. My agent disagreed saying it was 2:07 and the last test was at 2:30.

The lady begrudgingly gave me a testing booth and sighed exasperatedly when I asked for a written test in English.

What was I supposed to do? Take it in Thai?

I got a 48/50. Not bad for not actually studying.

FYI: according to Thai law, I can totally take a tank on a highway - but not a car without a taillight.

And that was it for my car license.

Stay tuned for updates on my motorbike license.