I Had the Weirdest Dream (Part 2)

So let’s recap, I got into a cab in Khaosan Road; I fade out, and I magically appeared at the doorsteps of Kraivin’s house. I somehow manage to get myself in, and have a conversation with his mother. I fade out again and I wake up.

Kraivin and I started talking about last night and things started coming back to me. Kraivin asked, “How’d you get back home?”

I answered, “I wish I knew the story too… oh wait!” I paused, “The cab driver didn’t drop me off close by; I had to walk some ways to get here.”

Kraivin’s response, “Oh shit really!”

Oh shit really was right. I remember getting woken up in a cab, and not being ripped off! I managed to keep all my organs too (I figured he didn’t want my liver anyways)! I paid the appropriate amount of 120 baht, and got out to throw up in the middle of, what felt like nowhere, sitting on a bench. I threw up a lot. I didn’t recognize the area, but than again, I don’t recognize a lot when I’m hammered. I really wanted to get home! Determination is key children; this is how it’s done!

I walked down the biggest road in the area (I figured Kraivin’s neighborhood is big enough that it would lead me there), and decided to try couple alleys to see if there were shortcuts into his subdivision. No such luck. I don’t remember how long or how far I’ve walked, but it seemed long and far. I really have no idea what the walk was like…

To preface the miracle of finding Kraivin’s house, before you can enter his subdivision, you go over a decent size hill and the gate to it is just right passed the hill. Kraivin and I started our Saturday (July 27, 2013) touristy stuff in Bangkok, and as we were going over that hill then I remembered. Holy Shit (Jacob style), this is how I got home. I kept walking into things, alleys, and doors. I really wanted to walk straight, but I couldn't. Suddenly I came upon this hill, and I thought home sweet home!

Things are never as easy as it seems... I got myself through the gate and proceeded to walk to the house. I knew it was a straight shot passes the gate, but I really had no idea what the house looked like or the number of his house. I struggled for what it felt like an eternity. I did have a card with the address on it, but clearly, I was in no state to read, and that bitch was in Thai... I don’t know how far I got into the subdivision before the guard stopped me and spoke Thai to me (We are back in China again, I hate language barriers). I just handed him the card Kraivin wrote on, and the next thing I somewhat consciously remember is me on a motorcycle with the guard to the correct destination. I do a breaking and entering through the glass sliding doors and I was in.

A short conversation with his mom and I was asleep. Oh yeah and I woke the next day with two girls in my bed; it was Kraivin’s friends, and he invited them over and let them sleep in my bed… That’s all that I remember of that night.

So Saturday touristy stuff, we went to Wat Pho! The reclining Buddha was there, and he was huge! After the majesty of the temple, we took a tutu to a small port, and we hopped on a little boat and went out for a ride through what looked like the real Bangkok. It was just Kraivin and I, and the boat went from the main river through a smaller stream and back in an hour! Very peaceful and fun! I saw houses on stilts, temples, and people. The ride showed the very raw side of Bangkok, and of course after a trip like that the second port we get off on is a lot more touristy!

There we grabbed lunch! I had Pad Thai in Thailand! It was definitely better there than any Thai restaurant I’ve been to in the States!

We headed back home for a nap and a night out!

I woke up and met Kraivin’s best friend Toby!

We went back out to Khaosan road, and this time I’m pretty sober! Same Kim’s bar and we met friends from the night before (the ones I remember), and we started drinking. I decided to try and walk down this road again. I didn’t remember much of it from the night before I realized… As I’m walking guess what I find!!! An Amy Winehouse tank top! My life was complete, and so after this purchase, Kraivin, his friends, and I head over to a club on Khaosan Road, and I danced my ass off! Next destination was a different club called Whipped with different friends of Kraivin. We had a table and drinks, so we danced our ass off there and came back home! That was day 2 in Bangkok. I know a lot of people are waiting for the sorry that traumatized Kraivin and even me, that’s in the next part…

I Had the Weirdest Dream (Part 1)

I dreamt that I was in Bangkok with Kraivin... Oh Shit...
The world started my Bangkok trip with test, a nine-hour layover in Shanghai. The Pudong (post up, shout out to Kitty Kat) airport and I got real close! I know the place forwards and backwards! Thanks to a last minute decision on bringing Life of Pi, I managed to sleep, read, and drink my way through the 9-hour wait. I arrived in Bangkok at 3am, and after, what felt like a nap, I was ready to take on Bangkok, or so I thought.

Day one (July 26, 2013) - Kraivin and I started the day kind of late because of my long and treacherous journey from Busan to Bangkok. First things first, we started with some tourist sights, so we went to the Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew. Don't ask me what I am wearing in the photos! There was a dress code to get into the Temple and Palace. No tank tops, no shorts, no ripped jeans, no short skirt, no see through shirts, no short shirts... I happened to be wearing a tank top and shorts, so we rented pants and shirt for me wear, so the outfit you see in the pictures are the ones I rented. Nevertheless, I was amazed by the architecture and history of this place! It was huge and beautiful with rich colors and Buddha everywhere! I saw a replica of Angkor Wat, and I thought it would be a great idea to go and see it! Little did I know, Angkor Wat is in Cambodia, so… That didn’t happen.

Now we got tired of the temple, and we took a tutu to a place where people do their hangouts. It was set of shopping malls and markets in one block! It was like Shanghai, and of course, I couldn’t afford anything there.

After the malls and shops, we had lunch at a restaurant, and we took the Skytrain and a cab back home! Kraivin’s house is a beautiful house with a very contemporary design and a pond/swimming pool out front with an open garage. I had my own room and bathroom, which made my trip very comfortable! Thank you to the Chayangpath family for their hospitality.

Now, this is the part of the story you’ve all been waiting for. After a well-deserved nap, Kraivin and I headed out to Khaosan road. We decided a pregame is in order and drank away his mother gin (sorry mom). By the time I got to Khaosan, I was pretty hammered, but you know Kraivin was truckin’ on. We went to a small bar called Kim’s bar, and I met a lot of Kraivin’s friends, which I vaguely remember. After a shot and couple beers at Kim’s bar, I walked around Khaosan road, which I vaguely remember as well. This is bad… I remember bumping into people, seeing cooked scorpions and grasshoppers for sale, and the trusty 7/11.

I came back to Kim’s bar and sat there for a while and I started feeling really bad (I was really drunk), so I told Kraivin I’m going home, and being the wonderful wingman that I am, I told him to stay back because I have a card with his address on it! I thought surely that’s enough to get me home! It worked in Tianjin, Beijing, and Shanghai.

Bangkok was different. I got into a cab. I fade out, and the next thing I know I’m just about breaking into Kraivin’s house, I managed to get myself in through a miracle of remember that the sliding glass door was unlocked. The alarm went off when I entered and his mom rushes down to reset the alarm. After a couple questions from his mother, which I really don’t remember, I was in bed sleeping. I will continue the story later. The bits and pieces of my memory came back to me the next day, but I have to get some sleep now!

Adventure Number 2

I think there is and will be a lesson or two with every trip I go on. I don't know what it is until I leave and think about what happened during the trip. 
From China, I've learned that you can go to places by yourself, but it will not be the same without the people you love. No experiences, no sights, no nothing will just be that special alone. Second lesson I've learned and I think a lot of us at CSP 2013 learned is that life is not that serious! I've learned to let loose (you thought I was loose is Atlanta, you just wait for the new Young) and have some fun! Don't be afraid to jump in the pool, so what if your shoes gets wet! I am now starting my round 2 of my study abroad program and I'm really excited to learn and experience what life has to offer!
So the trip to the airport with Cat and Orin on Sunday (July 21, 2013) was a hot and hard one! We walked to our subway stop with 3 bags (2 months of life and gifts) in 38 degree Celsius! We almost died... But it was all worth it when we hopped on the meglav and took a 7 minute ride to the airport! It reached up to 430 kilometers per hour!
At the airport, we all seperated to our check-in and said our good byes. Now time for South Korea!!! I got to Busan and hung out with my aunt and cousins! It was then I realized that my back was in extreme pain... Oh shit! Maybe 4am cartwheels in Shanghai wasn't such a good idea. Thanks garrett! So I spent the 4 days in Korea getting acupuncture and running little errands!
The Korean food is amazing conpared to the oily and greasy food I've been eating for the past 2 months! A nice home cooking and couple glasses of whole milk can cure any homesickness. After I rested up a bit, I hopped on a flight to Bangkok! This story is soon to come!

Last Words in China

This week it was Finals week. It was whole lot of work, but I still had fun! Watching Modern Family till midnight even with assignment that were due the next day to waiting till the last possible minute to get work done for my finals. I did go to a North Korean restaurant, which was a whole lot of scary and fun, but I had good company! (I didn't tell them I was from South Korea because I didn't get my food yet.)

Friday (July 19, 2013), Soohan, Ethan, Garrett, Kuch, Nikhil, and I found another Green Man in Shanghai. This program has come full circle for us when we got there!

We had our closing ceremony for the China Summer Program, and we went out with free drinks and KTV. The way it ought to be!

Now, China Summer Program is over, and this is my last blog post in Shanghai and China! Fuck you VPN! Now I don’t have to trick the Internet to get onto Facebook and Youtube! This trip, program, or experience (whichever you want to call it) exceeded all my expectations, and I will forever be grateful for all the people I have met and gotten know on this trip! School was a bitch on this program, but it added to the experience. All the things I saw in China (Beijing, Great Wall, Carrefour, Huangshan, Shanghai, Tianjin, Muse, M2, Pub Crawls, Green Man, Helen's, and more), really was something I would have never imagined. To the more casual stuff like the convenient store runs because we just want 50 cent ice creams at 2 o’clock in the morning, and rolling out to the bars and clubs 30 minutes late just because we could get our shit together are the things I’m going to miss. Just saying, “Fuck it” to our assignments and making bad decisions on the dance floor has been my two months in China! This program really let me be a kid again. I’m really going to miss that. Not the people! I kid. I really am going to miss everyone on this trip. Everyone contributed something to this program. This trip really would not be what it was without the people. China Summer Program 2013 has been something else. It really blew my mind away.

I’m going to bed, and when I write on this blog again, I will be in Busan, South Korea. As much as I hate saying good bye, I hope everyone has a safe flight back to their homes or their other destinations. I hope to stay in touch, and when I get back, CSP 2013 reunion please!

Can never forget the fuckery of CSP 2013!

Part 1 of 3 study abroad is done. Now time to take over South Korea! 

In the famous words of Glozell, "Peace and Blessings, Peace and Blessings!"

Our Last Week of Freedom in Shanghai

Last week built up pretty well, started with an essay I had to write for my LCC course, which was a B****. It really didn’t stop us from going out or enjoying ourselves like we usually do… So it wasn’t all bad. Monday night (July 8, 2013), we partied at a club called Mook and got Alex drunk!!!! (Another one corrupted!)

The next day Cat, Chad, Kat, Julie, and I went to the Old City of Shanghai. We saw the classic building from back in the days! We did some souvenir shopping and gift shopping. Chad to leave us early for a workout, so the girls and I went down a shady road around the Old City and got some amazing food! Came home and I started on my paper.

Thursday (July 11, 2013) is when the week really started. It was Kat’s birthday, so naturally we had to get CRAY CRAY! We started the party with a pub-crawl, which now we have done all the 3 pub-crawls in Shanghai! Basically everyone came and got shit-faced including the birthday girl, which in my book marks a successful birthday!

We woke up the next day, and Ethan, Garrett, Soohan, and I went to the Old City where I went earlier in the week. We decided to visit the Yuyuan Garden, (which I didn’t get to do with Julie, Cat, and Kat because it closed by the time we got there) and it was beautiful, but hot hot hot!!

Later that night, we went to the Vue Bar where we enjoyed a nice drink, and saw the nicest view Shanghai had to offer! It overlooked the Bund and Pudong from the Hyatt on the Huangpu River. Afterwards Ethan, Chad, and I ventured out to the French Concessions to meet up Chad’s friends. Ethan and I thought the drinks were too expensive, so we left and came back to the hotel for Master Kong Noodles.

Saturday July 13, 2013, the group ventured to the former longest suspended bridge in the world, and found out it was closed. So we hung out for a minute and came back home. That night we went to the observatory of the “Bottle Cap Opener” building, and we saw the view from up in the 100^th floor! It was amazing!

Afterwards we went out for another round of drinking at the Gay bar for their open bar special and got shit-faced yet again. This has become a normal thing in this program if you couldn't tell...

Sunday was just a chill and relax day from one of the hardest weekend in Shanghai! (Our last week before Finals start)

Now we are in the last week of our program here in China and finals are about to start. I think most people are ready to leave and be back home! I, however, will not have not luxury, I will be in South Korea for adventure part 2 of 3.

It’s going to be hard to say good bye to everyone.