Yes, I know- I haven't really kept up with posting regular blogs... my excuses is that we were on vacation from school all month. My school closed for a between-the-semesters break from September 27th-
October 27th (between the first and second semester). However, my Mom
and Dad still had to work every day except for Sunday (our family day). About every
other Sunday we did something together if everyone was free. We went ‘bai tieow’
(on a trip road trip) to a waterfall called Arowan and to a floating market. I
took the last week of the break to go to Chiang Mai.
Floating market- about an hour drive away- It was a great
experience to walk around with my family and see what food all of the floating
vendors had for sale. I bought some fruit- two new types of bananas, star fruit
and sapodilla. My favorite was the sapodilla. We ate a second breakfast of ‘gwit
dieow’ (noodles with pork or fish balls,
a few veggies and a soup). Then we went to the not as touristy area of the
market and walked around. We stopped for a lunch full of seafood meat and I
also got som tum (spicy papaya salad) and the Thai version of a snow cone
topped with corn, sweet red beans, and canned fruit. Then it began to rain
shortly after lunch, so we drove home in my dad’s new, shiny, white, Mazda Pickup
truck.
Arowan Waterfall - My two cousins Pee Orm and Pee Gluay joined
us too. (Pee is a title you use for people are older then you- it is pretty
much calling them your older sister or brother) Aerowan was about a two hour
drive away, but most definitely worth it! After first eating lunch, we went to four
out of the waterfall’s seven levels, stopping to swim/ wade in the water at the
third level. The water was filled with pretty large fish that were very glad to
swim up to you and try to nibble your skin every time you were still for more than
ten seconds. I liked the tickly feeling of the fish but everyone else was
afraid to go in the water for too long because of them!
The last week (five days) of my vacation, I went to Chiang
Mai to visit a family friend who lives there. I stayed with her and her granddaughter
as well as my good friend Pee Bpaw. We went on lots of trips- to a famous wat (Thai
word for a Buddhist temple) called Doi Sutep in the mountains, three other wats,
two waterfalls, a huge ‘safari’ zoo, three markets, The Queen’s Botanical Garden,
a famous scenic terrace farming area in the mountains called ‘Monjam’-( they
are known for their strawberries), and just walked around the city a time or
two. I really enjoyed my time visiting Chaing Mai!
I flew back on a Sunday (October 26th) and started school the next
day- (happy Sarah).
More to come soon about my Halloween in Thailand….
Signing off,
