Walking

Arrived safely to Bangkok.  Believe it or not, got up this AM at 8 o'clock and walked 6 miles around the city.  Probably will walk 4 more before the day is over.

and the next day

Central World had a fabulous Japanese festival today. Sushi being sliced (off a fresh fish) and boxed right in front of my eyes! Walked another 6 miles today. Legs are aching and longing for R&R!

- These bits are from e-mails to my dad and friend (Kyoko).  It was late January 2011.  I have always been full of energy upon arrival in Bangkok.  The jet lag really throws me off.  The antidote: walking as much as possible.

 

Refreshing

These coconuts were knocked out of a tree in Kade's grandmother's backyard in Northern Thailand.  Although you can whack them open and drink as is, I prefer them chilled in the fridge.

Bangkok Street Food

This is the street I would walk regularly when I lived in Bangkok.   The English language school, AUA Rajdamri, was down there on the left.

J-lo & Bee

J-lo

w/ Bee.  

We had just gone inside Bangkok's main Hindu temple, Sri Maha Mariamman.

A couple of weeks later, we all went to the State Tower for drinks at the Distil Bar and Sky Bar.  Afterwards, we went to a noodle restaurant near Bee's home, close to Chulalongkorn University.

In the first few seconds of the video below, you can see the area down below where Kade and I had dinner with friends a few days ago.  It was at the Princess Terrance Pub & Restaurant.  You can see that experience here.

Florida Hotel - Bangkok

Although I took this photo in 2011, I actually associate the Florida Hotel with my time in Bangkok in late summer of 2000.  I had completed my Asian travels, and had already met Kade.  I had returned home briefly to visit family and make arrangements to move to Bangkok, where I ended up teaching English for a few years.  Once I returned, Kade had lined up this hotel (semi-budget) for me.  I stayed here for at least a week.  The name caught me by surprise.  I don't recall seeing anything inside that explained how it got this name.  And not long before that, I had stayed in the Atlanta Hotel, off of Sukhunmvit Rd.  Bangkok is funny and very eclectic, in this way.  At some point, you stop shaking your head and asking questions.  One thing I do remember about the Florida Hotel was the restaurant.  On occasion I would eat breakfast there.  Other times, I would eat dinner.  I clearly recall seeing the cook in the kitchen slicing up a papaya.  It was the sweetest papaya ever.  And although I had already eaten papaya quite a bit in Thailand, in my mind, this was the best.  For a nice-sized plate of papaya, it was about 25 baht (60 cent usa).  There was a slice of lime, too, which was to squeeze over the papaya.  I never did that.  I just like the papaya, straight up.  It was that sweet.  And as I ate it, I felt like had discovered the most magnificent joy.  I had traveled already quite a bit, but there was a special love for Thailand.  Of course, I was also in love with the girl that would later become my wife.  It was a double high.

Florida Hotel today

Long before there were selfies, we could just use timers to take photos of ourselves.  Believe it or not, I actually took this one of me while in my room at the Florida Hotel.  I was so happy and excited, and this captures it.

This video should start at the Florida Hotel.  You can learn about the Tampa Cafe.

Sweat

I am not big on selfies, and certainly mirror selfies.  However, in this case, I had to show how much I sweated when I took about a 15 minute stroll in Bangkok.  It was that humid.  When I lived in Thailand, I was a good 20-25 pounds lighter, and it was a consistent weight.  I actually exercise more today, in the USA, and my diet is good.  Probably, though, portion sizes are significantly larger.  But I think as much has to do with the weather differences, and the everyday walking I did in Bangkok.  You're sweating, and you're on the move.

Visiting Kin in Bangkok

Kade and some of her relatives

Out with friends in Bangkok

Former students of mine (AUA - Rajdamri) met me.  We went to a British pub on Sukhumvit Road, then met up with my wife and her some of her friends at a restaurant.  After that, it was noodles near Chulalongkorn University.

Bowling Night in Bangkok

Kade and I met up with one of her very good friends: Rose.  We were going bowling in Bangkok.  It's very popular there, and has been as long as I remember.  I went bowling a few times back in 2000, with Kade and her friends.  Now, the guy on the right is one of my former students.  I invited him to come bowl with us.  Fun night!

Flash Mob Dance

I filmed this while standing on the Siam BTS (Skytrain) platform.  Towards the end of the video, the BTS zooms by.

click here for full BTS, metro and airport rail map

A Bangkok Family Affair

I have a couple more videos to add this.  Kade's father took us to this restaurant owned by one of Kade's cousins.  After lunch, her father took us to the home of his sister-in-law, and then to the home of his brother.

Man in Wire, Bangkok

For anyone who has lived in Bangkok or traveled there, this scene won't shock you.  Pun intended.  

Gotta Love Durian

Durian remains one of my favorite fruits.  I made this video - roadside kiosk in Sri Lanka, then the Khaosan Road area in Bangkok.

But Thailand has the best ones!  The reason I am eating one in bed is because I had just emerged from a serious case of the flu (H1N1 virus).  When I started getting better, Kade brought me some durian.  What a treat!!!

Rosabieng Restaurant

source

click here for Rosabieng's Facebook page

Badminton

This badminton facility is across the road from Central Pinklao in Bangkok.

View from Bangkok Bookstore

This is the view from the huge window at the back of Kinokuniya Bookstore at Siam Paragon in Bangkok.  That's Wat Pathum Wanaram (temple), and shopping plaza/office tower Central World just behind it.  To the right, be sure to check out the skytrain (BTS) moving through.  In 2014, my wife and I strolled the temple grounds, and then went inside.  You can experience that with us here.

 

Erawan Shrine Bombing

 above photos from Yahoo article 

Police hunt 'foreigner' in deadly bombing of Bangkok shrine

The shrine is already back open for business.  

These photos are courtesy of Richard Patchett, a British expat in Bangkok.   

 

Here's a video I made in 2011 on a return visit to Bangkok.  At the 3:30 mark I start filming at the Erawan Shrine.  When I lived in Bangkok, I walked by this site regularly.

And this video is excellent if you desire to know more about the shrine

Settling Down in Bangkok

After leaving the bank in Headland and saying my goodbyes, I was off to explore the Far East.   I blogged about that experience here.  Towards the end of my travels, I decided to settle in Bangkok, Thailand and teach English (ESL).  A couple of substantial reasons:  I was in love with Kade, plus Bangkok was a great hub for continuing my travels (in Asia and beyond) whenever I wasn't working.  

AUA Rajdamri, the English language school where I worked full-time in Bangkok

from 2000 to 2003.

These colleagues just happened to be in the teacher's lounge my last day.  Hope you can spot me!  We probably had 80 teachers overall.  The basic qualifications to teach at the school were a university degree and native English-speaking skills.  And we came from all over.  Of the teachers in this photo, Canada, the United States, South Africa, Australia and Great Britain are represented.  Of the six from the US, Alabama, Massachusetts, California, Pennsylvania and New York are our home states.   I can't say this enough, so I am going to reiterate it here:  The time I was in Bangkok, even if you narrowed it down to simply being around my colleagues at work and outside of work, was a time of tremendous learning for me.  Whether eating dinner numerous times with Emma (from England) as soon as work ended at 9 PM or taking a long weekend trip to Hong Kong with Steve (from Australia) or talking politics with Ross (from St. Louis, MO) in the lobby of a 5 star hotel many nights after work, it was a time of great growth for me - intellectually, and just as a human being.

One of my colleagues (not pictured) was from Indiana.  He ended up spending 22 years working in Thailand, six months in both Cambodia and Taiwan, and has already taught one year of EFL (English as a Foreign Language) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.  Just recently, after pretty staying in touch with me over the past ten years, this friend came to Asheville, North Carolina to visit me and to ponder his Southern heritage. 

At AUA, I taught six terms a year, with approximately 100 students per term.  That's about 600 students per year for a total of 1800 students!  Below are pictures of a few of my classes.

 

 

 

in the back row

For almost a half year, at the same time I was at AUA, I taught Business English at Sasin Graduate School of Business Administration at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok. 

Below is a picture of one of my classes at Sasin. 

 

After every term at AUA and Sasin, there were always students who wanted to treat me to dinner or throw me a farewell party.  To this day, I am still friends with a number of my old students.  On my return visits to Bangkok, I always arrange to see some of them.

  

Now that I have to wait in line to buy gas, I think back fondly to my days in Bangkok when getting to work meant jumping on the BTS (Skytrain) and simply walking to and from stations. I certainly was in better shape, and I didn't have to worry about filling up the car. Besides the Sky Train, the City of Angels has a brand-spanking new subway system.

My school (AUA) was near the BTS station.

this school was much larger than my high school

Lovely buildings I could see every day from AUA's hallways

2009

Phil & Steve, 2009

the BTS

After some unrest in Thailand a few years ago, a former student and current friend did volunteer work in the city.  Here she is near the front entrance of AUA Rajdamri.

This image I took in 2011.  

It's the hotel where I would often go after work to read the newspaper and chat.

2013

 source