Veggin' Out

I am going to have to apologize to you all beforehand - I have gotten pretty good at making this whole Thailand experience look like an adventure, which it has been, don't get me wrong people. But this weekend, well...I don't think any amount of exaggeration would be able to make it seem interesting, haha! It was one of those weekends which confirmed that no, I am not on a perpetual, 7-month vacation here, and yes, I do work and live here. Key words being work and live.

Friday night we headed to go to Central Ram Inthra - one of a million shopping malls in the Bangkok area - to see "The Playbook," (the new movie with The Rock) only to find that it was only in Thai - not English. Slight problem. Then, instead of shopping, I spent over an hour browsing Boots - the British pharmacy which has transplanted itself in Thailand!

Yesterday, I bummed around Saimai - went for a run, did laundry, hung out by the pool for a couple hours, went for a pedicure (you are never too poor for a 100 baht=3$ pedi!) then walked around Wongsakorn Market, which is the biggest market in Saimai. Here is a lovely shot of my main market's entrance!

The best part of the day was definitely our Thai feast! Us young, female teachers - Suzi, Joanne, Lauren and I - went to Suzi's house, ordered a plethora of dishes from the local restaurant and stuffed our faces with all the deliciousness, including my favorite - Som Tum Polaimai! It is fruit (guava, pineapple, pears, grapes) and vegetables (green beans, tomatos, carrots) in a slightly spicy sauce - the BEST! We also had suki and Som Tum (spicy papaya salad), along with other soups, noodles dishes, fried fish and of course, rice and khai dao (fried egg)! Oh man...now this is good Thai cooking!

After dinner - fully stuffed like a Thanksgiving turkey - I was actually pretty tired. I think all this teaching, running around and flitting about from here to there caught up with me, because I slept for like 12 hours last night! Now, I am ready and rarin' to go - although, I think it might be another veg out day in Saimai. Oh well, we are probably going to need all the energy we can get for the kiddies this week. As for next weekend, Lauren and I are thinking Buddhist meditation retreat...going to see if I can make it happen!