La-gon Bangkok, Thailand

I fell asleep around 10:00 pm last night, hoping to get a good night's rest. However around 1am, 2 female backpackers mistaken my room for theirs and began swiping their cards numerous times causing the door to beep like a smoke detector and waking me up. I assisted them to their ladies only dorm. Afterward, I couldn't go back to sleep so I stayed up watching Thai TV and the Discovery channel. Around 4am, I finally knocked out until 10am.

Today is my last day in Bangkok so I took it very easily. I wanted to keep a part of Thai culture so I walked to the nearest bookstore and bought a Thai cooking book and a Vietnamese cook book. I am really excited to make my own Tom Yam soup and deep fried fish. Or make pho. Later tonight around 8, I will meet up with my SEALNet Project Laos group at Mo Chit skytrain station and we will take a bus to Laos! Talk about rough and tumble right. I met another traveler last night and he said Laos is boring and slow pace. I think I will appreciate the peace and quiet after being in a chaotic city like Bangkok.

I still have unfinished business here because I haven't seen a Championship Muay Thai kickboxing match nor been to the Red Light District and Soi Cowboy, nor shop on a long tailed canoe at the canal market. This city is amazing and I highly recommend you to go visit! Lao jer gun Bangkok (See you again Bangkok).

Spending Too Much Baht!

Shopping in Bangkok is amazing! I took a skytrain to National Stadium, which is a block of shopping malls. First I went to Siam Center and Siam Discovery but items were still pricey. If you don't care for authenticity then the MBK center is a wonderful shopping center! It felt like an 6 floor indoor swap meet.

I should stop spending money because I have to make my budget stretch in Laos and Vietnam. I almost spent $25o USD!

Good Morning in Bangkok

Today is my 2nd day in Bangkok, Thailand and I am loving every minute of it. First, my hostel, Lub-D, is very nice and my room looks like a page from an ikea catalog. My room for 3 days cost $95 USD, which is really cheap. The workers are very nice and helpful.

Yesterdy, I took a river taxi to Ta Tien pier to walk around the market. Everything smelled like dried squid and shrimp. Then I visited Wat Pho, a buddhest temple that house the Reclining Buddha. It is made out of brick and covered in gold flakes. It's fucking huge! Then I went to the Grand Palace. It highlighted the Thai Royal family and the country's history. I saw beautiful temples, wall paintings with gold flakes, Thai money and coins, weapons, and a golden gown the king wore. They really love gold. After I got back from the tours, at 2pm, I knocked out until now because I was jet lagged.

Today, I am going to one of Bangkok's shopping centers. I have to buy my sister and mike furniture and wall decor. As well as gifts for my friends. I am so happy that my UCD direct deposited my pay check!

One quick gossip, a backpacker took a ladyboy back to his room lol.

Hurricane Steven Cross

I went to conclave with Steven Cross, I should have mention this in the previous post but this case is special and requires its own post. Steven Cross is dumbass because he flooded our room haha. On the 2nd night we both got trashed but he drank 3 beers more than I did. Around 3am, we got back to our room to get ready to swim in the pool. He drunkenly picked up his trunks and went into the bathroom. Then I heard the water running and I assumed he is warming up for the pool. 20 minutes later, he was still in the bathroom. I knocked on the door and tried to open it but it was locked. I asked him if he's ok and he said hes fine. Another 20 minutes pass, and he' was still in the bathroom and the floor around the door was wet. I asked if he need help opening the door and he said he's fine. At this point, I was sleepy and I went to bed. Around 4.30am, a hotel engineer frantically knocked on our door and woke me up. I hopped out of bed and I noticed the floor was wet and I opened the door. The engineer said our room was leaking. Then I noticed Steven on his bed and he looked out of it. It turned out that Steven blackout in the bathtub with the water running and then he puked in it. After he puked, he went to bed forgetting the turn off the water, thus flooding our room.
hahaha

Sorry for the long delay but I've been really busy in August. Earlier this month, I went to New Orleans for the 2009 TKE Conclave for 3 days. 800+ Tekes from the US and Canada attended the biannual convention, it was a broverload. During the 3 days, I attended various seminars and events. Although it was humid as hell, I loved the "crescent city." It was a magical place which combined history, culture, debauchery, and alcohol.The food there is so good! I ate authentic Louisiana Popeye's, jambalaya, beignets, oysters, blackened alligators, and gumbo. Blogspot photo uploader sucks so I'll upload the pictures next time.
Hanging out with other tekes was a lot of fun. And it was interesting to see how each teke acted according to the fraternity characteristic spectrum. Most of the time, I hung out with Alma, Michigan tekes.

Eddie and Oliver Moved In

It's August, the best month of the summer! It's off to a good start cause Eddie and Oliver moved in. The three of us are sharing my room until I embark on on my travels, Aug. 6. Then they will share the room for the rest of the month. This is a preview of next year!

Summer School is Over!

Finals week sucked, I didn't sleep or eat well. I had my ASA1 final on Wednesday. I'll miss that class cause the professor was very cool and he has a lot of connections in various institutions. I will try to reconnect with him in the fall. Then I had my POL165 final, which was ok. It was multiple choice, 3 short essays, and 1 long essay. I hope I did well. That class was interesting because I think the TA likes me, romantically.

Anyways the night before my final, I helped Quach film his animation project. It took us 2 hours to film my parts, which I could've used to study. But it came out really good. Hoyi, Cha, and I starred in it.

Yo Jean-Paul Gaultier, holla at ya boy!
Why was I shirtless? To sell the movie? No, I was too lazy to put on a shirt.

Since summer school is over, I've been working a lot and wrapping up my projects. And I'm getting ready to move out and start my travels. Tomorrow I am going to Fresno for a SEALNet meeting. On August 6 to 9, I'm going to New Orleans for TKE Conclave. On August 17 to September 18, I'm going Southeast Asia for SEALNet Project Laos and to visit my relatives in Vietnam!!!