Tuesday, August 31, 2010

More of Bangkok

There was a double rainbow after it rained today. It was huge and looked really pretty in the sky, but I liked it even more reflected in the puddles.


PAD SEE EW!! By far the best I've ever had, as it should be here. And the best part was that it didn't even cost me the equivalent of $1!


Banana roti for dessert... it's banana and egg inside a crepe, with sweetened condensed milk drizzled on top.


Ramkhamhaeng at night. Crazy traffic and street vendors on top of street vendors on top of street vendors!


Still loving it here!

School (!) started, so I don't have as much time for pictures, but here area few I took on our lunch break today.

I've been seeing these being sold by street vendors everywhere, so I decided to finally go ahead and try them, despite not knowing what they were. Luckily, they were delicious! It's sticky rice flour stuffed with pork and a red paste, and they were nice an sweet. It's actually a Thai snack food called sa gu say mu but to my surprise, they really filled me up for lunch!


We took a sort of boat taxi across the river that's right by our hotel. It's attached to wires at the top and there's a guy on one side of the river that petals to make it go back and forth! And it only cost 2 baht, which is a whopping 6 cents.


The other side of the river was just a maze of houses. We felt like we were intruding so we left pretty quickly, but what we saw was pretty awesome looking. It was kind of slummy and how I picture people living in Thailand, which was really interesting to see. This sign pointed us back to the boat.


We had arts and crafts time in class yesterday so we'll be able to make traditional Thai crafts with our students on the holidays. Everything was made out of different parts of a banana! We made little fish out of banana leaves and we also made krathong, which you put candles and incense in. They're made for a big holiday in November, and you put them in the rivers and they float!


Sunday, August 29, 2010

My first day in Bangkok

After all these months, I finally made it to Thailand! I've even picked up a few Thai phrases in the few short hours I was out and about. I don't know what else to say except that I absolutely LOVE it here already!


My very first taste of street food in Thailand... FINALLY! I don't know what it's called but it's kind of like a crepe shell (that tasted similar to a fortune cookie) with a creamy, custardy, bright orange filling.


And my second taste of Bangkok street food...


The guy didn't speak a word of English, so I just chose the one that looked the oddest. Too bad it was just crab! But he deep fried it and it was so moist and delicious, so I couldn't be disappointed at all.


The street is literally lined with vendors- HEAVEN.


Of course I've already been to the food store. That's always one of my first stops when I go to a new country. I'm so interested in seeing the different products they have, and the different packaging they have for the things that we have at home too.


Thai Coke!


Wild dogs who wouldn't stop barking at me! Good thing there was a fence separating us.


There's a 'complex' (for lack of a better word) of what I think are Buddhist temples right on my block. They're SO elaborate and pretty!


Am I even allowed to take pictures of these things?


A little surprise my parents snuck into my luggage... thanks Mom and Dad!


Last Day in KL

Yesterday was my last day in KL.. I did a bit of sightseeing and just walked around taking photos. I finally got my luggage back, so I made sure I got the most of my fully charged battery.

The Petronas Towers were the tallest buildings in the world until a taller one was built in Taipei in 2004.


They look really cool during the day, and even prettier at night!


I don't know what this is called, but I had one every day. It comes wrapped in a banana leaf and it's sweet coconut rice stuffed with something spicy. You know I don't do well with spicy food, but the sweetness of the rice complimented it nicely and I was able to really enjoy it!


Obligatory police photo for my Dad...


I FOUND MY JUICE!!! After a whole year of waiting, we're finally reunited =) It's sad, but I'm pretty sure this apple juice is what I miss most from Australia.


A statue outside of a temple near Chinatown


SO many motorbikes... everyone rides one here


I got a bag of fruit for breakfast every morning. They've got all different tropical fruits, so I tried a bunch of them and really liked them all! At this stall, I got the most amazing slice of honey melon I've ever had just after I took this picture.


Some sort of Indian snacks... anyone know what they're called? They were sweet and SO delicious. One was filled with dal and I think the other with peas? This language barrier thing is really starting to annoy me!


The streets all have these covered "sidewalks" which is definitely nice when it's pouring (which is always!) or really hot. Instead of concrete or something for sidewalks, they have tiles., which get nice and slippery when it rains. Someone didn't think that through when they were designing this city...


Creeping on this guy and his son.. the little boy was so cute! My hostel was one of the buildings on the right.


Bye bye, Malaysia!


Friday, August 27, 2010

Kuala Lumpur

Since my luggage is STILL lost and my camera was just about dead by the time I got off the plane, I've been savoring the last of the battery. I went a bit north of KL today to the Batu Caves, which were amazing. It's a sacred place for Hindus and you have to climb up about 300 stairs to get to the temples inside the caves. There's a HUGE golden statue outside right next to the stairs, and seeing it made me remember exactly why I came to Asia in the first place. Needless to say, I used up the last of my battery there!

The entrance to the whole area


The statue and the start of the stairs


The caves are filled with monkeys that are known for attacking the people that go there. They'll try to eat all of your food so they actually sell things to feed them at the start of the stairs. I learned the hard way that they don't like when you get in their faces to take their picture- one of them scratched my leg and scared me away with his big fangs!


No shoes allowed in the temples. These were a little boy's flip flops- I thought they looked so cute!


There are statues all throughout the caves... I believe these are Hindu gods?


Me, looking as exhausted as I felt. And sporting my new one-size-fits-all Malaysian shirt. It's too small on me, if you can believe that! I think the guy who took this for me accidentally hit the white balance button, which is why it's so blue.


Masjid Jamek- one of the oldest mosques in KL. It looks awesome during the day, and it's even prettier all lit up at night! It's 2 blocks away from my hostel and the first thing I saw when I got off the train on my first day here. I took this while they were praying... I feel like that probably wasn't allowed...


I definitely prefer KL at night... it's so pretty when it's lit up! And the fact that it's 10 degrees cooler doesn't hurt either.


Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Auf wiedersehen, Frankfurt!

I had PERFECT weather for my last day in Frankfurt. I made the most of it by walking at least 10-15 miles. I even got my fill of culture by making a stop at das Naturmuseum Senckenberganlage (the Natural History Museum) for a few hours.





für meinen vater (father)...

...und für meinen bruder (brother)!






Frankfurt's been good to me. I'm headed to Malaysia in a few hours, and I hope I love it as much as I do Germany!

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Day 3 in Frankfurt

It was a cold and rainy day here, but I still got some sightseeing in. And, of course, some gudt food!


Really good German chocolate... it's a truffle bar with a bit of coffee flavor. Yum!


My store!


A waffle! I don't know how they did it, but this tasted EXACTLY like sugar cookie dough. DE-LICIOUS!!