To straighten or not to straighten...
Today, I am a burned pumpkin with frizzy hair. It is not attractive. I am sat at Udon Thani University surrounded by tiny, impeccably dressed thai's who all wonder what a falang is doing amongst them dressed in funny wide leg trousers (they go for the tight jeans look even in this heat) and a red baggy cotton top.
Attempts to tame my hair failed spectacularly this morning too.
Last night, Femke and I got a ride to Udon Thani, the biggest city in the North East, with a teacher at her school.
Wanting to thank her for all her hard work at the school, the teacher, her husband and two children took her to dinner and I tagged along. We had a lovely Korean Barbecue (all you can eat for 99Baht) as the sun set in a pretty place not far from the station.
Fem then took the night train to Bangkok (very exciting) and then I met up with Jeab, the coordinator for Namsom. We popped to the night market and bought fried chicken and sticky rice (typical Isan food) and banana mixed with coconut, sugar and some kind of flour wrapped in banana leaf and a similiar pumpkin mix - very delicious.
There were no buses back to her sister's dorm so she phoned her brother for a lift. Ah ha, success. Until I realised that a lift with her brother meant motorbikes. You soon get the hang of a motorbike when you're racing at 50mph through the streets, weaving in and out of traffic with only one hand to steady you as the other is holding all your food. I loved it!
Her sister lives in a one room with another girl, with a very small bathroom and one bed. However, among the teenage belongings, they had a rice cooker and a sort of portable electric wok in which her sister cooked up noodles mixed with egg and powder flavourings. Pretty impressive given the size of room and lack of facilities.
I managed to amuse them all, despite communication difficulties, because I had taken advantage of the blue skies and soaring temperatures to attempt to get something of a tan. It's actually not that easy here - Isaan small town life dictates covered shoulders and knees at all times when in public. Even in the privacy of Ban Falang if I am wearing a bikini top with trousers, it can embarrass Thai visitors (maybe it's my tummy hanging over the top...)
But yesterday, I threw a little caution to the wind and sunbathed with my trousers rolled up over the knees and bikini top on.
Oh dear. There is not only a very clear line just above each knee where tan ends and white skin starts (although nobody will see it in public I don't want to arrive on the beach in September with a hardy tan on the bottoms of my legs only). Oh no. The worst things is that I was extra careful to put a blob of suntan lotion where a newish mole is. I now have a 1p sized white patch around said tiny mole. ha ha! and burnt boobs!
I will never learn.
After helping the girls with their English homework (well, doing it for them really) we all bedded down for the night, myself and Jeab guiltly taking the bed while they girls slept on the floor.
Today, I am on a mission to buy some cheap hair straighteners - I have to do something, it is neither curly nor straighten and flicks in weird ways so even if I can control the weird flicks until my hair grows it will be a blessing - find some cool flip flops I saw Pi Mon wearing last week, buy mother a present for her birthday etc etc. And maybe to find the cinema if I have time...
Udon Thani is a purposeful place. Concrete and grey but the night market is a huge bustling place where you can buy anything and everything and the Thai's in Isaan love the shopping and cinema, big nightclubs and things to do from bowling to swimming and golf.
Again, a lot of older falang men with young thai girls...
Tonight we head to Nong Khai and out for drinkies so I hope to find a bed at the dorm or failing that, to find a cheap guesthouse where I can bed down for tonight.
I know several people were asking for my address so you can send stuff to:
Wattana (Charlie)
355 M. 3
Nangua Muncipality
Nangua District
Namsom
Udon Thani 41210
Thailand
This is Jeab's office and she can bring anything to me. However, I will prob only spend another 3 weeks in Namsom due to its quietness and maybe try and transfer to Pai for the last three weeks...
If anyone wants to call, my number is 00 (or+) 6652286956. However, there are loads of cheap ways to call this number - through Skype on the computer, or by putting a number in before calling it. I found one website where it cost 1p per min from a Brit mobile to a Thai mobile (you had to buy credit there first) and another that was 3p. So no excuses family members!
Attempts to tame my hair failed spectacularly this morning too.
Last night, Femke and I got a ride to Udon Thani, the biggest city in the North East, with a teacher at her school.
Wanting to thank her for all her hard work at the school, the teacher, her husband and two children took her to dinner and I tagged along. We had a lovely Korean Barbecue (all you can eat for 99Baht) as the sun set in a pretty place not far from the station.
Fem then took the night train to Bangkok (very exciting) and then I met up with Jeab, the coordinator for Namsom. We popped to the night market and bought fried chicken and sticky rice (typical Isan food) and banana mixed with coconut, sugar and some kind of flour wrapped in banana leaf and a similiar pumpkin mix - very delicious.
There were no buses back to her sister's dorm so she phoned her brother for a lift. Ah ha, success. Until I realised that a lift with her brother meant motorbikes. You soon get the hang of a motorbike when you're racing at 50mph through the streets, weaving in and out of traffic with only one hand to steady you as the other is holding all your food. I loved it!
Her sister lives in a one room with another girl, with a very small bathroom and one bed. However, among the teenage belongings, they had a rice cooker and a sort of portable electric wok in which her sister cooked up noodles mixed with egg and powder flavourings. Pretty impressive given the size of room and lack of facilities.
I managed to amuse them all, despite communication difficulties, because I had taken advantage of the blue skies and soaring temperatures to attempt to get something of a tan. It's actually not that easy here - Isaan small town life dictates covered shoulders and knees at all times when in public. Even in the privacy of Ban Falang if I am wearing a bikini top with trousers, it can embarrass Thai visitors (maybe it's my tummy hanging over the top...)
But yesterday, I threw a little caution to the wind and sunbathed with my trousers rolled up over the knees and bikini top on.
Oh dear. There is not only a very clear line just above each knee where tan ends and white skin starts (although nobody will see it in public I don't want to arrive on the beach in September with a hardy tan on the bottoms of my legs only). Oh no. The worst things is that I was extra careful to put a blob of suntan lotion where a newish mole is. I now have a 1p sized white patch around said tiny mole. ha ha! and burnt boobs!
I will never learn.
After helping the girls with their English homework (well, doing it for them really) we all bedded down for the night, myself and Jeab guiltly taking the bed while they girls slept on the floor.
Today, I am on a mission to buy some cheap hair straighteners - I have to do something, it is neither curly nor straighten and flicks in weird ways so even if I can control the weird flicks until my hair grows it will be a blessing - find some cool flip flops I saw Pi Mon wearing last week, buy mother a present for her birthday etc etc. And maybe to find the cinema if I have time...
Udon Thani is a purposeful place. Concrete and grey but the night market is a huge bustling place where you can buy anything and everything and the Thai's in Isaan love the shopping and cinema, big nightclubs and things to do from bowling to swimming and golf.
Again, a lot of older falang men with young thai girls...
Tonight we head to Nong Khai and out for drinkies so I hope to find a bed at the dorm or failing that, to find a cheap guesthouse where I can bed down for tonight.
I know several people were asking for my address so you can send stuff to:
Wattana (Charlie)
355 M. 3
Nangua Muncipality
Nangua District
Namsom
Udon Thani 41210
Thailand
This is Jeab's office and she can bring anything to me. However, I will prob only spend another 3 weeks in Namsom due to its quietness and maybe try and transfer to Pai for the last three weeks...
If anyone wants to call, my number is 00 (or+) 6652286956. However, there are loads of cheap ways to call this number - through Skype on the computer, or by putting a number in before calling it. I found one website where it cost 1p per min from a Brit mobile to a Thai mobile (you had to buy credit there first) and another that was 3p. So no excuses family members!
posted by charlie at 6:23 pm
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