After one week in Pattaya getting set up I moved to Bangkok. I lived in an apartment building, sharing a apartment with Erin L, with a shared living area that had a 'kitchen' (bench and sink crammed in the corner), table, couch and tv. We each had a massive bedroom with queen size bed, wardrobes and ensuite bathroom. It was set up really nicely, small and basic but that's all we needed. We also lived with Dave and Jesse, but they were in another apartment up the hall. Quite a lot of the single teachers from school lived in Eakthanee, but most have had to move out now. The school is just 1.5km down the road, but most mornings we had to catch a taxi. One of the best things about the apartment was the pool! I loved Friday nights at the pool, where most of the teachers living in the building would go down and drink and chat all afternoon. I learnt so much about the school and Thailand during those afternoons!
Bangkok itself was okay. I actually didn't get to see all that much because I was at school five days a week, then really tired or lacking money on the weekends. The times that I did go out I had a blast! On my first weekend in Bangkok we went out with three of the Thai office staff from school - Pack, Tuk and Ing. We went to Hard Rock Cafe, then to CM2, which is a nightclub in the Novotel hotel. We danced all night and have lots of smiley photos! Another night I went out with Chris and Bruce Campbell, two fantastic Aussie teachers from school. We went to Radio City, in Patpong (the scummy area of Bangkok - lots of strip clubs and go go bars), where they have Thai Elvis and Tom Jones impersonators. It was such a funny night, the only problem was that they didn't really have an area to get up and dance, so Bruce and I danced in our seats all night! Chris and Bruce were such great fun! They were bigger partiers than us gappies, and about 30 years older! I also spent a lot of time at the movies in Bangkok, because it only costs 100 baht ($4 AUS). We went nearly every weekend! One weekend in Bangkok we went to Dreamworld, just like the one in Australia, which was such a great day! I went on the Wipeout three times and felt a bit ill after!
Shopping in Bangkok was a big highlight! MBK (Mah BoonKrong) is a 6 story shopping centre and each floor is about the size of Westfield Marion! Chatuchak is also fantastic! It's a huge weekend market with everything from arts and crafts, food, pets, cloths, thai gifts, etc, etc, etc! I've spent so much money there, but it's all so cheap! Of course, it is all Thai quality, so not that great, but who cares when it only costs 100baht! Stef and I bought 5 fish for 2baht each, they all died by the end of the week, but it cost us about 50 cents! I love Chatuchak days, except that you have to be there about 8am before it gets too hot or too crowded!
Bangkok school was okay. I'm glad I went there first, because Pattaya is a lot better. The food at Bangkok school was horrible, and pretty much the rest of the time I lived on 20baht Pad Thai from a street stall down the road! At school I worked mostly with year 5 and 6 ESL kids and year 3's. I also did art assisstant work 6 lessons a week with Mel, which I loved! Mel is an Aussie teacher at the school and was very cool to hang out with! I'm looking forward to getting back to Bangkok to catch up with her and some of the other teachers. Deb Barr was also a great help to all of us gappies who have been to Bangkok. She's such a mum to us all despite having three boys of her own. I know that we all appreciated her help so much! I loved all the people I meet in Bangkok and had such a great time with them all. I didn't enjoy the lessons so much, but the people make it worthwhile. I also helped out the staging of the Wizard of Oz musical with grades 3-6 which was hard work, but I really enjoyed the experience. I was co- stage manager as well as back stage handler! It was tiring and frustrating when the kids wouldn't shutup, but I still liked it. And I must say that thanks largely to Bangkok, I know have such a bigger love for Australia!!! Clean, fresh air!