Well folks, Boyz II Men says it best. How can I possibly put into words what the past six months meant to me? I left the states last October as a person who planned every move she made. I didn’t go to the grocery store without a list. I didn’t meet up for dinner with a friend without first putting it on my agenda. I didn’t let fish eat the dead skin off my feet. I left the states last October as a person who was a little impatient. I didn’t always take the time to listen to other people. I had no tolerance for lateness. If you couldn’t keep up with me, you were out. I left the states last October as someone who, although curious, had a fear of the unknown.
It was that curiosity that drove me to Asia and caused me to shed my inhibitions and have the best time of my life. Calm down, I haven’t turned into some carefree, bungee-jumping, hitchhiking maniac. But I know that great things can come from something that might seem a little scary or intimidating. Erin is going to make fun of me, but December’s hill tribe trek was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done in my life. Was it a pleasant experience? Not entirely. Did my life flash before my eyes at some points? Yes. But when we made it to the village, and we danced around the fire with the Akha people I felt such a sense of happiness and fulfillment. If it takes life-threatening mountainous treks to experience life, (after all, that’s what it was,) then I’m putting a pair of hiking boots on my birthday list. I can’t write this post without mentioning the incredible Thai people, who have some of the biggest hearts, most fun-loving personalities, and most comfortable clothing of anyone I’ve ever met. I can guarantee you that my students taught me more than I taught them. They taught me the value of appreciating what you have. They taught me how to have fun in any situation. They taught me the value of a smile. They taught me to always dance like no one is watching (just kidding, I didn’t need any help with that one). SOME of them were, by far, some of the kindest and most respectful teenagers I have ever encountered. I already miss them more than words can say, and I wish the very best things for each and every one of them. I find myself, these days, blasting the Thai music the students gave me while weeping alone in my too-big, too-comfortable bed. I want each of them to pursue what makes them happiest, and if that means farming in Hangchat, that is what I want for them. I think they have what a lot of Americans don’t have, and that is a sort satisfaction with one’s life. We are always hoping and wishing for something bigger and better, which can be fine, but it leads to a sense of discontentment. We met several people in Thailand who didn’t have much more than the necessities, but we never once heard them utter the words, “I want.” Although it was a completely unique experience, teaching in Thailand almost certainly made me into a better teacher. I mastered the skill of adapting a failing lesson when only crickets can be heard from the desks, as happened on many occasions. Those Thai kids were some of the toughest critics I will ever have. If a lesson wasn’t fun enough, they simply wouldn’t participate. I think my teaching has officially reached a new “fun level.” Our fellow teachers taught me to mai bpen rai, or “don’t worry.” If something doesn’t go well, there’s no point in dwelling on it. You’ll get ‘em next time.
Our good time is largely thanks to our fellow teachers and the people of Hangchat, who made us feel like family. Hangchat will always feel like home to me, and I most certainly hope to return someday. Special thanks to Lun, Pan, and Sutham who took the very best care of us. And finally, I think I need to take a moment to address the question in our header: “Will the 16 year friendship survive six months in southeast Asia?” It was tested. As I’ve been explaining , Erin and I lived together, worked together, ate meals together, and travelled together. Our longest times apart were when we were teaching, or when Erin would go for jogs around the field. I can safely say that most married couples I know would have divorced under these circumstances. We annoyed the hell out of each other. Our very different personalities clashed. We had disagreements. We had ‘silent treatments.’ We shed tears over a couple of heart to heart, ‘Let’s Work This Out’ sessions. But in the end I think we learned why we have been friends for almost as long as we can remember. We’re good for each other. Erin makes me do things that I would never otherwise do, like jump on a motorbike with a stranger and get taken to a mysterious wooded campsite. By the same token, I keep Erin in line, by doing things like booking guesthouses in advance. We disagree sometimes, but in the end we can always have a good laugh over some chips and salsa, or lad na. Where are they now? Erin Coneeny is currently trying to pursue a career in finance, specifically one that will land her overseas, perhaps back in Asia. Emily Duval will be moving to Brighton this spring and nannying for the summer. She is giving her resume to anyone who will take it, to try to find an elementary teaching position in her beloved Boston area in the fall. Erin and Emily are still in contact with each other on a daily basis and continue to take trips together, although on a smaller scale, (Hampton Beach, Boston, Five Guys). So yes, the friendship did survive and is perhaps stronger than ever.
Now a special thank you to all of you, the readers and followers. We know we are wordy and sometimes less-than-funny. But we appreciate all the time you’ve taken to follow our adventure, and the feedback you’ve given us. We recognize that our number of followers have grown exponentially, and we are so happy to have been able to entertain and perhaps even teach you a thing or two! Be sure to keep in touch with us and help us find jobs, oops, it slipped out. Sa wadii ka, rak na, joop joop.
Sorry it has taken me so long to post this, but if you remembered to keep checking back you have gained true fan status! Enjoy the final installment!
After leaving behind our beloved Thailand, it was off to Hong Kong! Luckily, we were able to extend the layover that we already had in Hong Kong en route to America, from a couple hours to 3 days, to make this trip happen. We were excited to see the city because we knew Hong Kong would be a lot different than any other place that we had been in Asia. Unfortunately, we had bad timing because Paul, my friend who visited us who lives in Hong Kong, wasn’t going to be in town because he was on a business trip in London. He was nice enough to let us let us stay at his apartment even without him there though, which was great on our bank accounts, which were running low. Paul has two roommates, Julian from Germany and Guillaume from France, who were both around our age. We liked to call them our “babysitters,” because Paul had clearly asked them to keep an eye on us/entertain us/make sure we didn’t get into any trouble…even if they won’t admit it. For example, each night at least one of them was conveniently available to go out with us, even though they had to be up for work the next day. Thanks guys!!
Previous to this trip, Emily and I had had the task of trying to research before we got to a new place, trying to devise a plan of what we wanted to do while there. This was not the case in Hong Kong, however. Paul came through for us by emailing us an EXTREMELY DETAILED itinerary for our 3 days in the city. It was literally step by step...which way to turn when we exited his front door, the exact order to do certain things to lead us to the perfect place for lunch, etc. He let us know that it was easier for him to make it detailed and that we could follow it as closely or loosely as we wanted. We opted to follow it to the letter. We were so obsessed with the itinerary that we were hesitant to do anything that wasn’t on it. People would ask us, “Well, have you seen this yet?” and we would say, “Well, it’s not on the itinerary, so we probably won’t have time.” Or, “Where do you want to go out?” to which we would respond, “Well, the itinerary had a few options, so I think one of those would be best.” The itinerary was almost as good as having Paul there to lead us around…almost!
We didn’t arrive at Paul’s apartment until almost midnight on Tuesday (March 23rd). We met our new roomies/babysitters and chatted with them for a bit before bed. Wednesday we were up fairly early for Day 1 on the itinerary: exploring Hong Kong Island. For those of you who don’t know (we were quite confused ourselves), Hong Kong is located on the south coast of China and is made up of Hong Kong Island, which is separated from mainland China by Victoria Harbor; Kowloon and the New Territories, which are connected to mainland China; and over 200 islands. Hong Kong has been part of China since 1997 when it officially became independent of Britain, but is considered an S.A.R., or special administrative region, which gives it some sovereignty. For example, Hong Kong governs itself and has its own currency. It is also home to about 7 million people, which because of its small land mass makes it one of the most densely populated areas in the world.
Back to the itinerary…Paul lives on Hong Kong Island, and that is where the most “must-see” tourist sites are. We had our first misstep when we got on a “bus” instead of a “tram,” even though Paul made everything very clear. A taxi ride fixed that mistake and we were back on track…we found ourselves in the downtown business district with the looming sky scrapers of international companies that Hong Kong is known for. After checking out the sites from a free observation deck we headed to the famous Central-Mid-Levels escalator, the longest escalator link in the world. Hong Kong Island is steep and hilly so the escalators were built to make commuting quicker and easier. It consists of over 20 escalators and 3 walking side walks. After the excitement of riding escalators, we wandered some old streets, checked out a Chinese temple, and perused Chinese chotch (ehhh, I like Thai chotch better). Then, we had quite the experience at lunch.
The itinerary told us we should try a place that was one of the last remaining authentic dim sum halls in Hong Kong. Although Paul did warn us that it would be no easy feat to eat there, we were still a little culture-shocked upon arrival. First, you enter a room packed with people and no hostess, so you have to seek out some empty chairs and invite yourself to a table with strangers. Then, in order to actually eat you must track down the “waitresses,” who are little old Chinese women pushing carts holding bamboo containers full of food. You must pick up the lids and point to what you want. When we first entered we had a mini panic attack when we realized we were the only non-Chinese people in the whole place and every table seemed to be full. I saw a couple of empty chairs, but when I tried to ask if they were free the people just shook their heads at me without making eye contact…awkward. As we pondered what to do, an English-speaking Chinese man saved the day and told one of the waiters to tell us we could sit with him and his friends. He was very sweet, spoke fluent English, and shared some food with us, including tea that he had brought from his home garden. I was too flustered to make informed choices from the bamboo containers, but everything ended up being delicious. I’m glad Paul led us there because it was a truly cultural experience...one neither Emily nor I will soon forget.
After lunch, we were off to the Peak Tram, which brings tourists up, up, up the hilly terrain of the city before stopping at Victoria Peak, where a mall was built with a viewing platform on its roof. The view of the city was spectacular, or as the itinerary put it “unmatched,” as Victoria Peak is the tallest mountain on Hong Kong Island. After taking advantage of the great photo op the itinerary allowed for us to go home, and thank goodness because we were beat. We had a little time to rest before going to the horse track that night. Every Wednesday night at the Happy Valley Race Track there is horse racing, and apparently betting on horse racing is extremely popular in Hong Kong, making it a popular weekly event. Unfortunately for us, there was also an event called Rugby 7s in town. Rugby 7s is a popular rugby tournament that travels around the world and comes to Hong Kong every year that same weekend, with most people arriving earlier in the week to make a trip out of it. Therefore, Hong Kong was overrun by beer-bellied rugby lovers, mainly from Australia, it seemed. We aren’t sure if it was the actual reason that there was no racing at the tracks on the one Wednesday we were there, but we are blaming Rugby 7s anyway. We still had a good time though, with babysitter #1, Julian, and a couple more of Paul’s friends that he had let know we were in town. Live racing from another track in the city was shown on big screens and people were still betting, but it just wasn’t as crowded as it normally is. After we had had enough we headed back down by Paul’s apartment to go out for “Ladies Night”. Boston really needs to get one of these, or I need to find out about it if it already exists…but every Wednesday night in Paul’s neighborhood, girls drink for free until 3 AM. Pretty good deal!
Thursday took us to Kowloon upon the Star Ferry. It’s only a short ride from Hong Kong Island to Kowloon across Victoria Bay, but the itinerary called it “among Hong Kong’s most iconic features… the best sightseeing bargain in the world.” Paul really knows how to sell his city, doesn’t he? We arrived with maps, books, and itinerary in hand. Paul had us following a walking tour from a Frommer’s guide. First, we walked along the Avenue of Stars, which is Hong Star’s version of Hollywood’s Walk of Fame, which was right along the water, giving a great view of Hong Kong Island from the Kowloon side. The Hong Kong natives were particularly obsessed with the Bruce Lee statue, which you could hardly see because of the crowds posing around it. I, on the other hand, was more interested in Cheung Ying (as you can see above,) you’ve heard of him, right?
Next, we hit up the History Museum, which Paul noted he had spent over 4 hours exploring. Emily and I had a feeling we wouldn’t need QUITE that much time. The museum was very interesting though, and had been newly renovated to add impressive 3D displays. There were also several elementary school field trips there that I kept getting caught in the middle of and therefore getting descriptions of the displays shouted at me in Cantonese through a loud speaker. The kids were so darn cute, though! After the museum, Paul’s friend Hayley, who we had met the night before, took her day shift as our babysitter. Our walking tour took us through a park; some shopping streets; the Goldfish Market, where Hong Kong residents buy fish as pets because they are good luck; and through the Flower Market, which was full of fresh, cheap flowers for sale.
After a lovely but tiring day we had a babysitter switch-off, with Hailie dropping us at restaurant where Julian met us for his night shift. Our itinerary told us to make sure to get back down to the Avenue of Stars to see the “Symphony of Lights” laser show, which is set to music and projects off of over 40 buildings on both sides of the harbor at 8 PM each night. We were “ready to be wowed” as the itinerary prepared us to be, but Julian ate too slowly and we missed it. Ugh, aren’t babysitters supposed to wait for you, and not the other way around? Just kidding, Julian! The view at night was beautiful with or without the laser show, as you can see above! After dinner we head to an itinerary-approved bar for some live music, drinks, and chatting with our new friends.
For Friday activities the itinerary gave us many options, as it was our last day but much was left to see. We could go see the Big Buddha Statue, but we were kind of Buddha’d out; or we could go to Macau, but we aren’t really into gambling; or we could go to one of Hong Kong’s many islands...yes, this was right up our alley! We decided on Lamma Island, because of its short distance from HK Island, only a 25 minute ferry ride. The island is the 3rd largest of Hong Kong’s islands, but it was still very quaint. Buildings larger than 3 stories are not allowed and there are no automobiles. A walking path connects the northern part of the island to the eastern part and takes about an hour to walk. I was a bit unprepared as I was wearing flats, not realizing quite how hilly the terrain would be. We did get to stop about halfway at a surprisingly beautiful beach for a rest though, where we fit in some of our final self-timer shots.
That night was our last in HK, but we also had a 9 AM flight the next day…rough. We obviously had to go out though, because our itinerary wasn’t aware of our early flight and had set the night up to be our biggest night out. Don’t worry, we made sure to pack our bags before going out. Guillaume, babysitter #2, was in charge of us for the night. First, we met up with a friend of Emily’s, Nate, who happened to be on business in Hong Kong…small world! After a lovely dinner in SoHo, the four of us headed to Lan Kwai Fong aka LKF aka the most well-known party area in Hong Kong for expatriates. It truly was crazy. There was one big road with a few small side streets full of bars and restaurants, with people overflowing out of them into the streets (see above). Rugby 7s took over once again making it even more packed than usual. This also meant that the old beer bellies thought that the streets were a rugby field and therefore we found ourselves dodging stuffed miniature rugby balls that were being thrown around all night. Oh, Rugby 7s! We had a fun night hopping to a few different places, including an ice bar and a bar with a roof deck that gave a beautiful view of the city at night.
All in all, it was a great and extremely packed trip. We missed Paul, but he set it up so that we had a great time even without him (hard to do though, I must admit,) so we are very thankful to him! Sadly, Hong Kong was the last stop on our awesome month-long trip and wrapped up our 5 months in Asia. It certainly was the perfect way to end it, though! If you were wondering, we did make our flight home, but just BARELY…blame a phone alarm that was accidently set to silent!
Stay tuned for Emily’s final goodbye post, it will most likely be posted in a much more timely fashion than I posted this…because Emily is much more organized than I am!
After leaving Sarah in Bali, Emily and I were back to honeymooner status and off to leg #4 of our journey, which took place in Bangkok. We were in Bangkok for about a week when we first arrived in Thailand for orientation, but we spent a majority of the time in a hotel attending courses, leaving little time to explore the city. Many people we’ve met in Asia seemed to be full of negative things to say about Bangkok: it’s overcrowded, dirty, etc., and therefore not even worth visiting. Though, we felt that after living in Thailand for 4 months we couldn’t pass up a trip to the bustling capital and a chance to make our own judgments. We also had to go because it was from Bangkok that we were flying home.
As for accommodations, we had been used to our $5 a night private guesthouse rooms, but this is not the case in Bangkok. Since the city is so much more expensive than the rest of the country, we had to stay at a hostel for the first time. We weren’t looking forward to showering in a public restroom and sharing a room with 4 other girls and all their noise and heaps of belongings, but this hostel was incredibly nice. Supposedly, it was voted the best hostel in Asia. It was fairly new and stunningly clean. It seemed that as soon as someone got out of the shower there were maids scurrying to get in and tidy it up. There was also Wi-Fi throughout the entire place, which is always a plus!
Before arriving, we made sure to devise somewhat of a plan of things that we wanted to do. This is definitely necessary in a city the size of Bangkok, home to over 9 million people. We landed in the city in the late afternoon on Saturday, and after an early dinner at a Lonely Planet suggested spot (obviously,) we decided to go see a movie, which we had yet to do while in Asia. We took the sky tram, which is the public transportation that runs on a track raised above the streets throughout the north and east parts of the city. The sky tram made traveling throughout a city as congested as Bangkok very easy. It was also extremely clean, well air conditioned, and we never had to wait more than 3 minutes for one to arrive. The closest theatre was at the Siam Paragon Mall, which is quite a wonder. It's only 4 years old and is one of the biggest shopping centers in Asia. Along with a 15 theatre movie theatre and a slew of top-end stores, the mall is also home to an aquarium, an art gallery, an opera concert hall, a bowling alley, and a karaoke center. THAT is what I’d call some one stop shopping! We decided to see Alice in Wonderland, because Emily had been “hearing about it for years,” and honestly, we didn’t know many other movies that were out since we haven’t been able to keep up with American pop culture. I was personally disappointed by the movie, but this is not a movie critique so I will spare you my thoughts.
Good thing we got to bed early, because Sunday was a big day for us. It was our last official Thai chotch-buying day…and you know how much we love chotch! Off we went to the Chatuchak Weekend Market, which is thought to be the largest outdoor market in the world, with over 5,000 stalls of chotch to peruse! It is so large, in fact, that maps are given out to help you navigate your way through it (see above). We made lists before we went so weren’t tempted to buy everything in sight…we couldn’t forget to pick up those last minute presents and a couple things for ourselves that we had always wanted but kept putting off. It was a full day event, but we did well and didn’t even spend as much as we were scared that we might. We ended the day with our last $5 foot massage, which was great after a long day of walking around in the heat. Boy will we miss those!
Sunday night, after dinner, we made our way to Sky Bar, which was voted the best rooftop bar in the world (at least in the article we read). Our friend, Christina, had sent us an article about it before we’d even arrived in Thailand, so we had to check it out! Good pick, Christ! It was located on the 64th floor of State Tower, the second largest building in Bangkok, and is part of Sirocco, which is the world’s largest open-air restaurant. Clearly, we like going to the world’s biggest and best! We were ushered off the elevators by a sharply dressed maitre d’ and into the rooftop bar adjacent to Sky Bar, although unknown to us at the time. After waiting our turn we got to move onto the cushions by the windows that overlooked the entire city. We were one of the only couples that wasn’t an actual “couple,” so we laughed watching all the canoodling twosomes take close-up pictures of each other while sipping overpriced drinks. The view was good but not what we were expecting out of “the best rooftop bar in the world,” so we were a little confused. On our way out, we noticed a bunch of people outside and thought it was must be a private party, but upon asking we realized that it was actually the bar we had wanted to go to all along. It certainly wasn’t a mystery why this bar was the one that had gotten all the accolades. It was absolutely breathtaking. Once you opened the glass doors, the entire restaurant was outside, giving a 270 degree view of the city. A large staircase led down to a circular bar, the Sky Bar, which was an extension off of the building, holding you over the street and giving you an incredible view of all the lights and action of the city. If you turned around and looked back up at the building there was a gorgeous lit up dome topping it. We couldn’t stay long because we kept getting asked if we wanted a drink, and since we’d already spent one day’s salary (as Emily figured out) to buy one next door, at the wrong outdoor bar, we were certainly all set.
Next, we headed to a night bazaar which had both a market and an outdoor venue with a concert stage and food vendors. We had read that there were good Thai cover bands, so we thought we’d have a couple drinks and enjoy some botched Lady Gaga covers. Unfortunate for us, non-soccer lovers, that night there happened to be a very important (or at least we hope so) soccer game on, featuring two Premier League teams. Side note: Thailand is obsessed with the Premier League, and supposedly the biggest fan club for the league isn’t in England, but in Bangkok. Therefore, several large projector screens were set up with the game on, which meant no live band for us. Luckily the game was almost over, and when it did end the live music started, but there was only time for a few songs before another game began.
Enjoy the video we captured of Beyonce's future backup dancers.
After spending the morning shopping/being overcharged at the local market on Monday, it was time for cooking class. It is hard to portray, in words, the absurd personality of our cooking instructor, but I will try. He was a mini Thai man, who I assume was gay (although it’s often hard to tell with Thai people,) with an extremely dry sense of humor and ridiculous facial expressions. In short, both Emily and I were in stitches laughing for the majority of the class at this man and his antics. He started off by taking us to a local market to buy some fresh ingredients for the 5 courses that we would be making, which included: tom yom goon (seafood soup,) sweet green curry with chicken, pat thai, Thai chicken salad, and a sweet potato and coconut milk dessert. When we got back to his cooking school, he showed us how to wash and prepare everything. For this and all his other instructions, he would say them all extremely fast, while smirking, and then run out the door to another room. Emily and I, along with the two other women in our class, Kylie from Australia and Nicola from England, would always find ourselves looking at each other puzzled every time he left. Everything was fairly organized though, as he had little stations set up for each of us both inside to prepare ingredients and outside with a wok and burner. He also had three young assistants, our “minions” as we liked to call them, who were basically his slaves. At one point, he was showing us baskets full of different spices and he accidently knocked one of them over, making a mess on floor. He immediately said, “No problem, my staff will clean it” before yelling “Staaaaff!” to call them into the room. He also liked to try his humor on us. When we were making the paste for the green curry, which requires beating all the ingredients for a good 20 minutes with a mortar and pestle, Emily said to him, “Ugh, this is difficult!,” to which he replied, “Mmmm, yeah, keep pounding,” and abruptly left the room, disgusted with us. Then, each time we finished making a dish, he would look at us and, with mock excitement, exclaim, “YES! You… made it happen!” All the food we made was delicious, but 5 meals along with 5 sets of spastic directions was a lot, so I can’t say I remember it all. It was a fun way to spend an afternoon though, and a good way to see what goes into the meals we had been eating the last 4 months. At the end, we insisted on getting a group photo. Try not to laugh at his beyond ridiculous “smile” or the fact that his reply to our request was, “Ok, pictures are FUN…STAFFFF, come take our picture!!!” The man was something else.
That night, we invited Kylie from our cooking class to come out with us, as she had come alone to Bangkok for a few days before she joining a group tour. Emily and I never mind adding another member to our honeymoon crew. She had been to Bangkok before but never to Khao San Rd., which is unacceptable as it is must-see for any tourist. Emily wrote about it in one of our first posts, as we went there during orientation, but as a refresher: it’s a backpacker’s haven...a completely ridiculous road full of bars bumping techno remixes to every song imaginable and chotch being sold at every turn. We enjoyed some great people watching, and I mean GREAT, along with our last Thai beers. I’ll note that I had to work hard to keep up with Kylie, as Emily’s last post was no lie, those Australians are quite the drinkers!
Tuesday was our last day in Bangkok, but our flight wasn’t until 7 PM, so we had some time to kill before then. We had already accomplished everything we had set out to so Kylie had suggested a museum, Suan Pakkard Palace, which was somewhat off the beaten tourist path. It is the former residence of the grandson of the former King of Thailand, Rama V. It consisted of 4 traditional Thai buildings connected by walkways, displaying old artifacts and antiques. It was a good way to learn something while simultaneously killing time before our flight. As a bonus, Emily and I got our own private tour guide along with our admission price, which was nice, because we usually just walk around places clueless, trying to read any plaques that we may stumble upon.
Overall, it was nice to be back in Thailand, our old stomping grounds, after being gone for almost 3 weeks. We could finally converse at a basic level again and not feel totally out of the loop with the currency, customs, etc. It was really weird leaving it all behind for good this time though, not to return until an unknown time in the future…but we’ll always think of it as not only a place that we visited, but a place that we called home, even if only for a short while. Sawatdee ka for now Thailand…
I need to make this entry as dramatic as I possibly can, so please click the green arrow below to accompany your reading of this final post.
Our good time is largely thanks to our fellow teachers and the people of Hangchat, who made us feel like family. Hangchat will always feel like home to me, and I most certainly hope to return someday. Special thanks to Lun, Pan, and Sutham who took the very best care of us.
Where are they now? Erin Coneeny is currently trying to pursue a career in finance, specifically one that will land her overseas, perhaps back in Asia. Emily Duval will be moving to Brighton this spring and nannying for the summer. She is giving her resume to anyone who will take it, to try to find an elementary teaching position in her beloved Boston area in the fall. Erin and Emily are still in contact with each other on a daily basis and continue to take trips together, although on a smaller scale, (Hampton Beach, Boston, Five Guys). So yes, the friendship did survive and is perhaps stronger than ever.
Sa wadii ka, rak na, joop joop.
