Songkran - สงกรานต์

I woke up this morning at 6 am to use the bathroom and went back to sleep. I heard Cat up at 8:30 am and went downstairs to buy food. I slept until 9:30 am, then got up, and went downstairs. I read one chapter from the Danielle Steel book, "Malice" that I bought yesterday. I ate breakfast alone, took a shower, then went to meet Cat at her mom's work.

One of Cat's friend came to visit her. I think it was one of her ex-girlfriend. I went back home to stay with her sister.

Songkran Festival Tourism Thailand Blog

At 3 pm, Cat and I went by taxi to Khaosan Road to meet her friends and celebrate the Songkran Festival. Songkran Festival is the Thai New Year and is celebrate every year from April 13 to April 15. Thais celebrate it by throwing water at one another, or they may go to wats, and pray and give food to monks. Khaosan Road is a short road about 1 km north of the Grand Palace. There are a lot of tourists on this road because there are many cheap accommodations and travel agents that can arrange visas and transport to all other destinations in Thailand.

Songkran Festival Northern Virginia Mag

Today, there were hundreds of people roaming on Khaosan Road with containers of waters and water guns splashing water at passerbys. I don't even know why we went there. We didn't do anything except tried to squeeze our way through the crowds and I have no idea why we were doing that too! We got wet from the water people threw at others and hit us. Our faces and hair were painted with white powders too.

After we got out, we took a tuk tuk taxi with two of her friends to go home. The four of us squeezed together in the back. Cat put one of her arms around me and hold me tight next to her friends.

"Behind the Painting"

Last night, Cat's mom took us to wai and eat. I ordered a fried noodle and Cat had a chicken salad. We got home at 1 am.

This morning I got up two times to use the bathroom, and Cat was planning to go to school at 6:30 am but we were too lazy to get up.

We went downstairs at 10 am and had breakfast. We ate chicken with rice or khao man gai. It is my absolute favorite, I could eat it every day.

Khao Man Gai

After breakfast, we took showers and went to the movie theater. We watched a Thai movie called, “Behind the Painting.”

Behind the Painting Demonoid

This movie is about a young man who falls in love with an older married woman. It is his first true love and he refuses to give up on it, but things don’t always work out as planned. And many years later, they meet again with another chance to love again. 

They gave us a free CD soundtrack of the movie. To think of it, Thailand is a third country but they are always giving free things away to promote their products. This is something you don't see every day in the U.S.  They also have a variety of popcorn flavors and fountain drinks, and are way better than anywhere else. I also like the fact that when you purchased your movie tickets, they will ask you to select where you want to sit. And before every movie can begin, there is a video clip with the Thai national anthem depicting Thailand's king, his life and accomplishments. Everyone is ask to stand and pay their respect.

Mall Bangkapi Life Style Asia

After the movie, we went to the Mall Bangkapi to find something to eat. We walked around the food court once but didn’t see anything tasty; so we drove to Tesco Lotus, and ordered papaya salad, pad thai, and pork fried rice. It cost 95 Baht, about 2 USD.

We then went to a book store inside Lotus, and I bought a book by Danielle Steel for 327 Baht. We had ice cream at Baskin Robbins too.

Errands

Today, we got up at 11 am, ate breakfast, and took showers. I went on the computer to check my emails, then we went to stay at her mom's work until 2 pm.

After Cat's mom came back, we went home and cleaned the upstairs room for my friends. Before they went to Chiang Rai a few weeks ago, they called and told me that they will come back to Bangkok and stay with us.  We swept, vacuumed, and wiped the wooden floor until it sparkled!

Around 4 pm, we went to Klongtoey Market where I bought two shorts and two shirts. We ate noodles on the street and walked back home. We dropped my things at home and we went to a Kodak shop to buy photo albums for the pictures we developed. We bought two photo albums.

It is now 9 pm, and Cat's mom told me earlier when we were at her work that she will take us out to eat when she closed at 10:30 pm.

I got my airline ticket changed to June 13. It cost 75 USD to change it. They faxed me the changes already.

Visa extension

Cat woke me up at 9 am because we had to go find this place where I can extend my visa. Her mom said the office will close at 11 am for lunch and open again later.

Cat's mom and Uncle Q drove us to this office building. But when we went inside and asked, they told us they don’t do visas. They directed us to another building across the street called Immigration and Naturalization Service but this place doesn't do visa extension either. They told us to go to the Immigration Bureau office.

When we reached the Immigration Bureau office, Cat and I went inside and I filled out an application. But before I could submit it, they closed for lunch. So we walked across the street to eat noodles for lunch too. We went back to the office at 12:30 pm to wait. While waiting, this guy sitting next to us said I also need two photos with the application.  We had to go across the street again to a Kodak shop to get my picture taken. We got back just in time for the office to open.

When my turn came, I went up to the counter, gave the agent everything, and he took a quick look at it, and stamped June 15, 2001 on it. It was easier than I thought! The processing fee was 500 Baht. I used my own money to pay but Cat's mom gave me 500 Baht when we got home. I feel so loved by her mom. 

Around 3 pm, Cat and I went to Konica, a photo shop. She wanted reprints of the pictures we took at the temples with her friends.  After this, we went to Carrefour. Carrefour is a store chain just like Tesco Lotus. I bought a few things including two t-shirts, one short, and a wrist watch. We spent about 3000 Baht which equals 66 USD.

When we got home, we went upstairs to sweep the floors. We played with each other and her brother came up to get something. I don't know if he saw anything. After he went back down, we laid on the floor because we were tired.

I will call the airline tomorrow and extend my ticket. I also called my mom and she wanted me to go home!

Something for mom

We woke up early but didn’t feel like getting out of bed. Cat had to send her sister to school but came back to bed again when she got home. We didn't sleep but instead fooled around with each other. I had a really weird dream about the Hmong boy in Chiang Rai.

We finally decide to get up and went downstairs at 11 am. We ate breakfast, took showers, and went to stay at her mom's work. I gave $300 USD for her mom to exchange it for me. Now the current rate is 45.40 Baht for 1 USD. We watched TV and Cat recopied a letter that I wrote and wanted to send to my uncle in Saraburi. She has very nice handwriting! I had him made two silver bracelets for us but it was too big so I need him to resize it again.

Around 4 pm, we took a Tuk Tuk taxi to the post office to send my letter. We ate pork noodles at a nearby vendor for dinner. When we got back home, her mom gave me 13,600 Baht; the money I gave her to exchange. Then at 6:30 pm, we walked to the Kodak shop to pick up our pictures we dropped off earlier for development. We took another Tuk Tuk taxi to Tesco Lotus. Tesco Lotus is a hypermarket chain located everywhere in Thailand, and is similar to Walmart Supercenter in the U.S.

I wanted to buy a gift at Tesco Lotus for her mom and aunt but when I asked her for ideas, she kept telling me not to buy anything. She got me really pissed and I told her I wanted to come home. We walked home, it wasn't far!

Right now I am upstairs and writing this. She's lying here next to me, talking on the phone.

Went to the temples with her friends

Grand Palace

Today, Cat and I went with her friends Toy and Maew to the same temples I went with my friends a few weeks ago. Last time when I went with my friends, I didn't bring my camera and Cat promised she would take me again so I can take pictures.

It was a very hot day with lots of people, especially tourists or farangs as Thais refer to them. I brought three rolls of films and we used all of it. I forgot that there is a Hmong boy from Chiang Rai that my friends tried to hook me up with. He really wants me to go with my friends up north so we can meet.  Anyways he called me on Cat's phone while we were taking pictures and said he will come to Bangkok if I don't go up north. He wants us to pick him up at the bus station when he arrives. I didn’t know what to tell him because I know he cannot stay with us in the same house and I don't have time for him either with Cat around. Cat wasn't happy when I told her that he was thinking about coming. I don't think he will come though. Cat wants us to travel down south on April 12th to celebrate the Songkran New Year there, so definitely no time for him!

We all took the bus home around 3:00 pm but her friends got off on their stops. Actually Cat and I went to MBK Center after her friends were gone. She was looking for something for her pager but didn't find anything. We then went to the food court and ate papaya salad and pork noodles. We didn't want to come home early so we decided to go see a movie. We watched “Save The Last Dance.”  We got a "Behind the Painting" Thai movie picture frame with our popcorn and soda purchased. We came home after the movie, took a shower, and went to help her mom at her work.

Just another day

We had so much fun at the karaoke place last night. Cat's mom and Uncle Q ordered a lot of food, so we ate, drank, and sang our hearts out!  They have both Thai and English songs. We stayed until 2:00 am!

I woke up at 11.40 am this morning. Cat was up half an hour before me because one of her uncle and aunt brought their baby boy to visit. She came back upstairs later and continued to lay down with me for some time.

Around 2.30 pm, Cat and I went with her mom, and Uncle Q to send her uncle and aunt back home. It was a 30 minute drive.

We ate at Chester's Grill before coming home. I have to say that they are so wonderful to me and I'm just speechless.  I've never received such kindness before.

"Valentine"

I was so tired last night that I fell asleep so fast! When I woke up this morning, it was already 10:30 am. Now it is 11:45 am and we just finished breakfast. Cat is taking a shower now as I'm writing this. We will go to the movie theater and watch the horror film "Valentine." This movie came out a long time ago back home in the U.S. but I never got the chance to see it.

The days here with Cat go by so quick. It will be three weeks this coming Sunday that I've been here. I don't want to go home yet. I will try to extend my visa and plane ticket so I can stay until the end of May.

It is actually night time now in the U.S. and I will probably call my family later if I have time. We will go to a karaoke place tonight after Cat's mom gets off work around 11:00 pm. Also today, my friends will travel to Chiang Rai, a northern province in Thailand. They have several Hmong friends up there. They say they will come back to Bangkok for one week before going back home but we'll see if they do!

Right now it is 8:00 pm and we just got home not too long ago. We went to Ramkhamhaeng University because she had to register for summer classes. After that, we went to Major Cineplex across her university but they closed the theater for the day. We then went to the one in Ekkamai and we made it inside just in time for the movie!

Qingming Festival - 清明节

Today was the Chinese Qingming Festival. It is a time when people go outside and enjoy the greenery springtime and tend to graves of departed ones. The festival is celebrated by Chinese people yearly. Cat's mom and grandma are both Chinese.

We had to get up at 3:30 am to go to Kanchanaburi with Cat's mom and grandma. Kanchanaburi is a town located west of Thailand and about 129 km from Bangkok. Before we left at 4:00 am, Cat took a very long shower. Since she was in the bathroom for so long, I didn't get to wash my hair or use the toilet. My hair reacts to humidity. The weather here is always hot and my hair is always frizzy and curly. I haven't had any good hair day since I've been in Thailand.

Cat's mom hired a private van and driver to take us. It took two hours to get to Kanchanaburi. I admired Cat's mom a lot. She always encourage and make it a requirement that I participate in every event. I am clueless most of the time but thanks to Cat and her patience, she guides me through everything.

At the grave site, I had to do everything they did which was waied, burned paper money, and offered food to grandma's ancestors.

While Cat and I waited for her mom and grandma to finish, I suddenly got a stomach ache. I had to use the bathroom immediately but we were in the middle of nowhere, and there was none in sight. Last night I ate some very spicy instant noodles for dinner. Every time I eat spicy food, I get a stomach ache the next day. They were telling me to hold on a little longer but I couldn't. I had to go and the woods was my only option. Cat stay guarded while I went a few feet from her. It felt so good to let all that nasty things out of my stomach! When I came back to where her mom and grandma were, her mom said, "You look thin!"

On the way back home, we stopped to have lunch at a restaurant on the side of the road. I had a bowl of spicy noodle again!

After we got home, around two in the afternoon, I called Bat. She's also a lesbian that I met online but much older than us. She is 45 years old. I talked to her online once in a while, and I promised her that when I go to Thailand, I would visit her. I was supposed to meet her today but since Cat was tired from our morning trip, I had to cancel the meeting. Bat said she wants to take Cat and I on a dinner cruise along the Chao Phraya river.

We walked to her mom's work after we ate dinner. It was only a few steps down the alley. We usually sit with her mom and watch Thai lakorns on TV. But tonight we just sat there and reminisced on our long journey.

Promises

"I, Cat, promised you that I will never break my words. I will always love you for as long as I live. Will wait for you and will never change my mind. I love you so much, more than I can ever say. I will never change my mind. I will do everything for you if I can. I want to be with you forever. I will try my best. I hope that you will have and feel the same way. I have never love someone like I love you. I promise I will love you and be with you as long as I live. P.S. I am a chicken but I do really love you."

"I promised Cat that I will never break my words. I will always love you for as long as I live. Will wait for you and will never change my mind. I truly love you and you have been so wonderful to me. I will always cherish you and the memories we shared together. You are the love of my life. Whenever you need me, I will be everything for you. I will show you all you need to see. "Let me be the only one to keep you from the cold." I love you forever and always."

Klongtoey Market

Klongtoey Market  Wikipedia

"Klong Toey market is one of the cheapest in Bangkok, being situated away from the city center and catering more for the needs of the poorer inhabitants. The traders display their wares in a somewhat haphazard fashion, fish being sold alongside clothing for example, but there is always a wide range of goods to choose from. Klong Toey Market is also known as Khlongtoei Market."

Today we went to Klongtoey Market. We woke up around 11 am, took showers, ate, and walked across the street to the market to buy shorts and shirts for me.

I bought three shorts and one shirt. We then walked across to another side of the street to a post office to send a letter to my uncle in Saraburi. About two days ago, I also sent home 17 post cards and a letter to my sister.

After we got home, I tried on the shorts, and two of them were too tight. We walked back to the market to exchange them.