Techno, Movies, & Sushi
On Friday night, we had a Welcoming Dinner for two of our principals, as I mentioned in a previous blog. Before it, we went to see Charlie and the Chocolate Factory at Seacom Theater, just blocks from where the dinner was to take place at 6:30pm. The movie was great, but it would have helped to be on hallucinogenic drugs. Johnny Depp had a pretty amazing performance and it was fun and entertaining with the goofy songs sang by the dwarfs or Oompa-Loompas, as they're called. I don't think it's appropriate for children, though, because the four children who don't win the contest (Charlie wins, of course - it goes without saying), are practically tortured. It's really a bit twisted, but funny.
The dinner was pretty cool...it was at an outdoor restaurant with small huts and dock-like walkways around a small man-made lake. The food was regular Thai fare, so I went with the veggies and rice. Leah and I shared some pan-fried cashews...cashews are everywhere around here!
On Saturday, we headed to school for the Open House, bailing on the bus at 12:30pm. I went to the Emporium, one of the many malls in Bangkok, to walk around with Jenifer, Goi, and John. We went to a really cool Japanese restaurant called Fuji on the fourth floor with beautiful views overlooking a park below.
In the evening, we had the Girls' Night Out gathering at our apartment. About 20 girls showed up, everybody bringing a small snack and beverages. The excitement was a fairly large building on fire with a perfect view of the blaze from our balcony! It took quite some time before we heard sirens, which wasn't real comforting, but the blaze was extinguished shortly thereafter. We were fortunate that the breeze was blowing east, so the smoke didn't end up in our faces.
The first guests arrived at 6:30pm and we headed to a nightclub at 10pm. It was a funky place, but the cost of beverages was outrageous! It cost 600 baht ($15) to get in, but included two drinks which were regularly priced at 250 baht ($6) for a mixed drink and 180 baht ($4.50) for a Heineken, which is the most popular and cheapest western beer in Thailand (I've been staying away from the formaldehyde-laden Thai beers). Those prices are absolutely ridiculous for here but from what I'm hearing, they're typical for the night clubs that bring in all of the western travelers passing through and using their home wages to fund the trip. The club was playing awful techno music, my least favorite music in existence. I'd rather listen to folk music! And the so-called dancing that goes on is really a bunch of drunk people jumping around. I'm definitely no dance professional (I can barely figure out step aerobics!), but jumping up and down to the monotonous beat of techno music, and I'm using the term music quite lightly!, can hardly be considered dancing. Leah didn't go out with us because she was tired and doesn't drink, but Jenifer and I hung out and eventually decided to head to a different bar, right around the corner. I felt like we had walked into the Middle East! There were many people in turbans and others that you could tell were from the Pakistan region. There were also quite a few people from France and a few from the United States. You really do see people from all parts of the globe here in Bangkok. It was much better than the techno joint, but the night was coming to a close and they kicked everybody out at 1:00am.
On Sunday, I relaxed and Leah and I headed to see Wedding Crashers around noon. I had already seen the movie, but it's hilarious and I didn't mind seeing it again. The movie theaters here are really nice, the decor is similar to that of the broadway theaters in the States, huge golden doors, extremely clean floors, reclining, padded lounge-chairs. You buy your tickets together with whomever you're with because you select your seats at the point of purchase. There are often employees that escort you to your seat, as they do in the real theater.
After the movie, we went back to the Fuji restaurant for some of the best sushi I've ever eaten! 
Our meal was only $3 and the views and ambiance are the best I've seen yet in Bangkok. It's officially my favorite restaurant in the city.
Today we were back at school, ready to start another week. This weekend we're planning to go bowling on Friday, which is supposed to be a huge deal here in Thailand, so it should be interesting. On Saturday, Darryl, a teacher at TCIS, has planned an Inter-International School gathering at the Local Pub in our neighborhood. It should be fun to meet some of the other teachers at the other international schools in Bangkok. The guy who hired me, Dr. Tom, will be there, as well. He's the headmaster at a different this year, so I haven't met him yet. Other than that, same, same, here in BKK!
Have a great week!! To conclulde, check out this article from Jersey about the Thai economy and the Mama Noodle Economic Index...http://apnews.myway.com//article/20050904/D8CDHGN00.html
The dinner was pretty cool...it was at an outdoor restaurant with small huts and dock-like walkways around a small man-made lake. The food was regular Thai fare, so I went with the veggies and rice. Leah and I shared some pan-fried cashews...cashews are everywhere around here!
On Saturday, we headed to school for the Open House, bailing on the bus at 12:30pm. I went to the Emporium, one of the many malls in Bangkok, to walk around with Jenifer, Goi, and John. We went to a really cool Japanese restaurant called Fuji on the fourth floor with beautiful views overlooking a park below.
In the evening, we had the Girls' Night Out gathering at our apartment. About 20 girls showed up, everybody bringing a small snack and beverages. The excitement was a fairly large building on fire with a perfect view of the blaze from our balcony! It took quite some time before we heard sirens, which wasn't real comforting, but the blaze was extinguished shortly thereafter. We were fortunate that the breeze was blowing east, so the smoke didn't end up in our faces.The first guests arrived at 6:30pm and we headed to a nightclub at 10pm. It was a funky place, but the cost of beverages was outrageous! It cost 600 baht ($15) to get in, but included two drinks which were regularly priced at 250 baht ($6) for a mixed drink and 180 baht ($4.50) for a Heineken, which is the most popular and cheapest western beer in Thailand (I've been staying away from the formaldehyde-laden Thai beers). Those prices are absolutely ridiculous for here but from what I'm hearing, they're typical for the night clubs that bring in all of the western travelers passing through and using their home wages to fund the trip. The club was playing awful techno music, my least favorite music in existence. I'd rather listen to folk music! And the so-called dancing that goes on is really a bunch of drunk people jumping around. I'm definitely no dance professional (I can barely figure out step aerobics!), but jumping up and down to the monotonous beat of techno music, and I'm using the term music quite lightly!, can hardly be considered dancing. Leah didn't go out with us because she was tired and doesn't drink, but Jenifer and I hung out and eventually decided to head to a different bar, right around the corner. I felt like we had walked into the Middle East! There were many people in turbans and others that you could tell were from the Pakistan region. There were also quite a few people from France and a few from the United States. You really do see people from all parts of the globe here in Bangkok. It was much better than the techno joint, but the night was coming to a close and they kicked everybody out at 1:00am.
On Sunday, I relaxed and Leah and I headed to see Wedding Crashers around noon. I had already seen the movie, but it's hilarious and I didn't mind seeing it again. The movie theaters here are really nice, the decor is similar to that of the broadway theaters in the States, huge golden doors, extremely clean floors, reclining, padded lounge-chairs. You buy your tickets together with whomever you're with because you select your seats at the point of purchase. There are often employees that escort you to your seat, as they do in the real theater.
After the movie, we went back to the Fuji restaurant for some of the best sushi I've ever eaten! 
Our meal was only $3 and the views and ambiance are the best I've seen yet in Bangkok. It's officially my favorite restaurant in the city.Today we were back at school, ready to start another week. This weekend we're planning to go bowling on Friday, which is supposed to be a huge deal here in Thailand, so it should be interesting. On Saturday, Darryl, a teacher at TCIS, has planned an Inter-International School gathering at the Local Pub in our neighborhood. It should be fun to meet some of the other teachers at the other international schools in Bangkok. The guy who hired me, Dr. Tom, will be there, as well. He's the headmaster at a different this year, so I haven't met him yet. Other than that, same, same, here in BKK!
Have a great week!! To conclulde, check out this article from Jersey about the Thai economy and the Mama Noodle Economic Index...http://apnews.myway.com//article/20050904/D8CDHGN00.html