My final days in Bangkok were great, but they were also pretty stressful because of the “naam tuam” (flood). While center city Bangkok stayed dry (for now), much of the city flooded, and everyone in Bangkok prepared. Stores couldn’t get their shipments, and when they did the non-perishable food went really quickly. There was no bottled water to be found anywhere. Some sources said that Bangkok might be flooded for 4 to 6 weeks, and to prepare accordingly. Thinking of the worst, my roommate Andrea and I took measures into our own hands. We didn’t have any empty bottles to fill up with water- all of the containers at the store were sold out too, and our dorm’s huge plastic garbage bins “mysteriously disappeared,” as well. Scary, right? So, we took everyday plastic grocery-store bags and filled them up with emergency water. It was unnerving to open up our refrigerator and to see it stuffed with grocery bags filled with water. A couple of days before I moved to Ubon (where I am settling in now) I found bottled water being sold for triple the price it was worth. It was disappointing to see some people profit from an emergency situation.
However, there were also many inspiring people I met during the flood. After Fulbright canceled our entire last week of training due to the flood (staff needed to tend to their homes and people couldn’t drive through flooded roads to get to work), I spent the week volunteering at the Red Cross and seeing as many touristy sites as I could. My highlights include: Wat Arun (a magnificent temple made entirely from broken pieces of porcelain), climbing to the top of the Golden Mount to see a beautiful panoramic view of Bangkok, visiting Wat Po to see the great Reclining Buddha, exploring the glittering Grand Palace, holding a giant Burmese Python at one of the largest snake farms in the world (not to mention watching the snake handlers poke extremely dangerous snakes), and eating bugs for dinner (there was some serious crunch).
I just moved to rural Northeastern Thailand: Ubon Ratchathani. It has been a whirlwind. A post on Ubon Ratchathani to come next! Enjoy the Bangkok pics.
There is no traffic like Bangkok traffic.
Bugs for dinner. Tastes like chicken! False. The bugs did not taste like chicken. The taste is indescribable. There are some things in life that you only need to try once!
Mini shrine in the heart of the city, cool juxtaposition
Khon. So beautiful!
This girl was selling birds that you could pay to set free near the shrine.
Bamboo scaffolding
Fluffy fake-looking cloud behind Bangkok's tallest building...like a painting!
I'm pretty sure it's E=mc^2, but you know, "n" and "m" are almost the same, right?
Golden Buddhas at the Golden Mount
People praying
Banging a gong in Asia. Classic. Many Thais have Chinese roots, and many Chinese
believe that the number 3 is good luck...so I banged the gong 3 times.
Me + a guilt-leaf Buddha
Tuk Tuk ride!
Wat Arun- hard to tell that the entire temple is made from chipped porcelain from this photo. Do you see me?!
Grand Palace: Me + half bird half woman mystical creature + Flat Stanley
Grand Palace guard
The Reclining Buddha (HUGE!)
The Reclining Buddha's feet are so intricate! The mother-of-pearl toe-finger-prints were incredible.
A store next to my dorm prepares for the flood with sandbags
When sandbags were scarce, some people built cement walls
A whole lot of sandbags outside of Chulalongkorn University. I spy the skytrain!
Birds eye view of a bustling Bangkok street before the flood
A news crew reports on the flood from a canal
The Chao Phraya River is flooding. All of the nearby homes are submerged under water.
Red Cross volunteers drilling holes in plastic tools to make make-shift "suwam!" (Toilets)
We are so proud of our toilets!
Fake marijuana plants make lovely restaurant decorations
Snake handler "playing" with a Cobra.
In Thailand, it's okay to hold super venomous snakes right up to your face so you can get a cool photo to remember not dying
"It's Britney B***h."
Burmese Python giving me a hug. What a lovely pair of slingbacks that skin would make. Kidding.
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