It's Christmas in Asia! Which means nothing at all, except there are some trees in some places. In fact, I'm even working on Christmas day. That's just how much they care about it.

But, this being Thailand, it's an excuse to cancel classes. I had thought, for the first time ever in Asia, I would get out of being Santa. Nobody asked me at work, which is kind of my strategy at the current school. Keep your head down, but be cordial, look busy, and you'll be among the last to be asked for stuff. But then, I received a text the night before saying that Santa has food poisoning, a flimsy excuse at best, and that I was asked to fill in. Dammit. Like, I've said it before - I am the least qualified Santa ever. I am not fat, I don't have a beard, and up until recently did not own glasses. There are legit people at my school that look like Santa. Were they asked to dress up? No. There is no logic in Asia.

Anyway, Ella and I have continued the international food tour. We've checked off Korean (Bibimbap), Bangladeshi (Saak and Dal), Creole (Gumbo and Jambalaya), and German (Schnitzel and fried potatoes). While eating the Creole food, it struck me that how similar it is to Chinese food in some respects. Gumbo would be right at home in a 粥 (rice porridge) restaurant, and Jambalaya is pretty much like fried rice with tomatoes, which they already dig. Plan B - open up a Creole restaurant in Shanghai if this whole teaching thing doesn't work out. But in any case, let's run down the nonsense I've been into these past 2 weeks:

1) Went to the Bangkok Winter Market. Really expensive, sold kitchy hippy stuff. Not recommended.
2) Checked out a street show at Lumphini Park with a bunch of magicians and acrobats. We also got to play on swingsets, which is always a winner.
3) Finally got around to the Ban Kamthieng Museum. A small, historic house smack in the middle of downtown. Worth a trip if you're in the area.
4) Went to an animal rescue get together. There were cats. My coworker was volunteering there.
5) Our friend Sandra went back to Malaysia for a while, so we had a going-away get together. I met her Burmese friend, who I probably hounded too much with questions about Burma - on account that I want to visit there in the next few months. Later we ended up at Nana Plaza, cause... well I'm not really sure why. That night is a bit of a blur.
6) Our friend Boom is in a new art book, so we stopped on by to support him. At the show I told Ella "Hey I'm going to get drunk tonight", which is apparently a challenge for Ella to get drunk before me. Well, mission accomplished Ella.
7) Went to a jazz festival down in Sukhimvit. A little pricey, but the music was great. The best thing though, was this dude who was SUPER into jazz. Like, he was tearing up. He was standing right in front of the stage and moving his arms like a concert director. It would be incredibly awkward if he wasn't so damn funny.
8) Visited the Korean district. Pretty small place, but I got some soju and 2% peach drink. You all know whats up.
9) The Cameroonian restaurant I spoke about last week no longer exists. We found its former location, which is on a super spooky alley off another alley. I wonder why it shut down?
10) Ate liquid nitrogen cream cream. It tastes exactly like regular ice cream, but 4x as expensive.

Holy crap I've done a lot. I've got some time off coming up for New Year, but unfortunately I don't think I'm going to be going anywhere. Pretty much anything close has been done, and I frankly don't have the energy to go too far. Perhaps Pattaya, I've not done anything there except hit the bars. On the other hand, I'm hesitant to jump headfirst into party central on New Years.

I'm not a big blogger, or social media guru, so I could really care less about "networking", "SEO", and "Nyancat". But on a lark, I dove into the nitty gritty of blogger.com, and you can see some cool stats like what OS/Browser your readers are using (and for the 3% of you that use Internet Explorer - seriously?), but also I apparently have a reader from France and two from the Ukraine. So, from now on, to bolster my international audience, I will be catering to them.

Last Friday, after waking up and having my usual breakfast of borscht and crepes, I went back to Koh Si Chang Island with Heather, Ella, and friends-I-don't-think-I've-mentioned-before, Dylan and Jess. We left early in the morning, however since it was a holiday it was considerably more crowded this time around. The boat Paige and I took last time has been upsized to be quite large, and although there were a few farangs here and there pretty much everyone was Thai. I don't really know why, it's a nice island pretty close to Bangkok. You'd think people wanting to escape the hustle of the city, but don't have time/money to fly south could just dash on over. Anyway, the nice hotel we stayed at last time was all booked, along with almost everything else. After looking around for a while, we found a very rustic, traditional looking hotel run by incredibly nice folk. That evening, we settled on the beach, and took up pretty much the same activities as last time - drunken karaoke and drinking puns. Whatever that darn drink is. But for 60 baht (less than $2) for a giant mug of whiskey and fruit, it's the best deal in Thailand.

Next morning, we went around to the 2 tourist sites of note on the island, the Chinese Temple and the big buddha/cave. For photos/a recap of that, the old entry is here. Except Paige, if you're reading, the little cable car thing was running! OHHHH MYYY GOOOOOD!

Dylan and Jess decided to stay another night, but Ella, Heather and I went back to Bangkok to have dinner at an amaaaaazing Spanish restaurant downtown. Which, Ella and I have embarked on a newish project around Bangkok - to eat at as many ethnic restaurants as possible. If I can say one good thing about America, we really kick ass at international food. Granted it's because we don't really have enough of a history to call any food "ours", except maybe southern style BBQ. So we kinda had to borrow others or starve. Regardless, we're lucky to have a lot of international cuisine exposure, which is something Asia lacks. There's lots of new experiences for Ella, and I really enjoy hearing her opinion on new things like, chorizo or pretzels. And there's some pretty interesting restaurants on the "big list of ethnic restaurants I made", like Cameroonian food. I don't know the first thing about Cameroonian food. I even had to look up where that country is (East Africa), so I'm excited for that.

The next day, we went out to a meetup downtown that was at a board game cafe. Their coffee was a little expensive, but on the way in I saw a taco place (tacos - another first for Ella), which was delicious and had maybe the crunchiest tacos I've ever had. The meetup itself was lots of fun and what you'd expect. We played two games, the first one was The Resistance, an odd game where there are secret spies amongst the players, who know each other but the good guys don't know them. Then it's a game of lying and deduction to oust them before the end of it. It's not a long game to play, but was made long because people talked TOO GODAMN MUCH. "No he's a spy because blah", "No she can't be because blah, it's actually blah", "No, it's not me because blah" OH MY GOD SHUT UP AND PLAY. When another game opened up, we switched to Citadels, which was tons of fun and I recommend picking up to the board game nerds back home (Jesse, Dan, Ryan, Tony, Bob, etc) There are 8 characters with different abilities that are shuffled each round, and you race to build a city before anyone else. Ella basically suicided on the others at the end to let me win, which is how you know she's a keeper.

The next day I had to work, but I stopped off at Central Lad Prao to check out an exhibit that just opened, and I was excited to see. NASA, the Human Experience! Dun dun duuuunnnnn! It was really well put together, and had authentic pieces on loan from various museums around the US. A little expensive, I enjoyed it immensely. But I think unless you are really interested in space travel, you wouldn't get much out of it. On the other hand, if seeing a ration kit that flew on Gemini 8 gets you excited, it's your jam. They advertised an "astronaut training simulator" for an extra fee, which I really hoped would be those 3 ring things that spin you all around, but it was just an arm holding a chair that rotates. Boo.

I also checked a big box off my Thailand checklist, that I went to a Muay Thai match. My coworker said he had some tickets, and if I was interested in going. I said sure. What actually went down is that another, Thai coworker knows one of the referees, a retired 2-star General. A really cool guy, he got us in for free in some great seats just above where the fighters enter. I learned a lot about the sport from another coworker, Sean, who has really done his homework on the sport. First, man, is it high stakes. They announced the prizes before the matches, and it was up to 1 million baht ($32,000) before we left after the third of ten matches. I heard match 7 and up are the really big ones, but that wouldn't be for another 3ish hours, so we didn't stay. The other thing I learned is that is nowhere near as bloodsporty as I thought. It actually has a lot of finesse, ritual, and respect. You're awarded points for hits, not for knocking out your opponent. It reminded me of sports like fencing than boxing. It also seems the mob is involved in it. We seated near older, expressionless men in suits amongst the roar of the crowd, dressed far less nice. Occasionally, other men with very sincere bows would appear, hand them stuffed envelopes, and after a word or hand gesture, quickly disappear. I wanted to make a bet to continue my as-yet-unblemished overseas gambling record, but our coworker said it was not a good idea. Not knowing how to explain, she asked a man next to her about it, and he said it's not safe for foreigners. The betting is all hand gestures and verbal agreements (pretty much exactly like the cock fighting in The Philippines). I don't know how the bosses keep track of everyone, but I was told that no matter what I bet, they would say I bet otherwise and for a much higher amount. And, going against the mob isn't a good idea. Wanting to leave that evening with my kneecaps intact, I did a side bet with Sean for less than a buck. I won, so the record remains.

Ukraine - best country on Earth, amirite?

After getting back, I met Dylan, Heather, Jess, and new friend Bok and Ning at the bowling alley. The night is a bit of a haze, as the bottle of water Bok brought was actually vodka to spike the otherwise super weak cocktail towers they serve there. And now I write this to my future self, partially hungover. But today is a day off because it's Constitution Day, which is presently, much appreciated.

This is more of a "housekeeping" sort of blog, because I don't have too much to report on my wild and crazy Asian life.

But, as excepted the mid-semester break is over and it's back to work. Kind of. I heard the 2nd semester was easier because the kids are always getting classes cancelled for some sort of thing. I mean, I'd guess last semester that number was around 10%, which I consider exceptionally high. So far, we're around 50%. There are some days where I just plain don't work at all, which is nice from a free time point of view, but I'm honestly starting to get quite bored. And when I do have lessons, I find myself kind of half-assing it. I don't want to be that guy that comes in and does the bare amount possible, gets his check, and leaves. I'm hoping it will pick it up a little bit at work - or maybe even better, at least have some sort of consistent schedule to get me motivated again. Cause you know, getting paid to watch movies is also nice sometimes. But I also repeat my mantra that Thailand really doesn't seem to take education seriously.

The first major cancellation was Sports Week, which is exactly that. 3 days of sporty sports, in hopes one team sports more than the other team sports. We were not expected to do anything, so, free time! Except for watching the giant parades with scantily clad girls doing sexually suggestive dances for 12-17 year olds, because Asia is hilarious. There was also Scout Camp for my young ones, and my older ones doing college prep. Which I get is important, but man, a whole week off from school to study? Sheesh.

In non work related nonsense, we also had a holiday, Loi Krathong. It's basically when you light a candle and let it float out into the water, and if it makes it to the other side your wish comes true. Then my question is, Thailand if you believe this why aren't there tiny, 1 foot wide canals set up for this purpose? Anyway, when in Rome. We tried to go to Asiatique, as supposedly it has the best view. Fuck. That. So many people, a confusing mess, we got on the wrong boat, and it was so densely packed even getting cell reception was nigh impossible. Instead we went to Lumphini Park, which was much nicer and we actually got to participate. One dude drove his candle over the lake with a remote control boat, which I mean, that dude does Loy Krathong right.

Hm, other things. I went bowling, a first for me in Asia, and a first period for Ella and another Thai friend. They were not that terrible, certainly better than my first bowling attempts. There was also some karaoke at some point, and there exists embarrassing photos of me that are/will be on Facebook. And I wouldn't have it any other way.

On more personal notes, Ella and I are both learning how to swim. She was taught very recently, and is passing that knowledge onto me. It's interesting that it's taken me this long to get around to learning, and while I think it's a nice skill to have, I can't imagine myself ever using it. Water stuff is just... meh. Don't care that much. Still I quite enjoy the experience of having a new method of travel open to me, cause ya never know when the only way to get that beer is to swim to it. In general, with all my free time lately I've been thinking of what makes me happy. And I think some of my happiest moments are hanging out with silly people that laugh a lot, even at the not funny things. I find that I meld into these laugh fests quite well, but I'm never the one to set that mood to begin with. So, future Weg - laugh more. Unless you're old and bitter already, in which case, tell those damn kids to get off your lawn.

Alright, so Cambodia! This is going to be a picture heavy entry, and very lacking in pictures of me. Because it's been half a month and those lazy people that came with me haven't put their pictures on Facebook. But I'm tired of waiting, lest I forget, so we'll work with what we have.

The aforementioned van took us to the border, Poi Pet. I've been here before, for a visa run. A small town, filled with extreme poverty among the towering grand casinos catering to the elite of Thailand (gambling is illegal in Thailand, since it is forbidden in Buddhism). But let's be curt here, Poi Pet is kind of a shithole. There is perhaps the most massive income disparity in the world here, and I constantly kept a hand on my pocket, and eyes on everyone else's pockets. Thankfully we weren't here long. The previous night I was kept up with worries that I didn't bring my old passport, since my new one doesn't have any entry visa into Thailand, only my residency permit. Turns out they didn't care after all, and I was 90% sure they wouldn't. But hey, ya never know.

We rented out a van for the trip to Siem Reap. A rather uneventful drive, Cambodia is quite rural. Fun fact, Cambodia uses US dollars for their currency. Turns out they don't really have a lot of faith in their own, and use it only in small amounts. It's about 4100 Cambodian Riel to $1, so they just assume 1000 = 25 cents and ditch coins. It's actually kind of an interesting idea, and it was 1) weird to use US dollars again 2) have a combination baht, riel, and dollars in my wallet and trying to work out THAT math problem. We arrived at the hostel, which was the nicest thing in Siem Reap. Australian owned and operated, they had great deals on food and drink, and was one of the cleaner hostels I've stayed at. We dropped off our bags and they arranged a trip out to a floating village.

When Cambodia says floating, they apparently mean really godamn floating. Like, out in the middle of a lake, with no land to be seen floating. It was an odd experience, and I considered what life would be like if my house was on the water in the middle of nowhere. I imagine I'd be able to swim. Also, it would be annoying to have to use a boat every time you wanted to go somewhere. But I suppose they also have things like convenience stores, and there were solar panels and generators for electricity. Still, crazy life. We passed the town, and were out in the middle of the water. Then a boat pulled up next to us with children who wanted to sell us beer for $2.

I remember that time, I was in the Philippines. When I hiked to the top of a volcano, and some woman approached me with a bucket full of golf balls and a driver. This was a time where money lost all meaning, and I would give up everything in my wallet to do that. It was pretty similar here, as I loved the idea of being boarded by children to sell me beer in the middle of a godamn lake. And it was cold, even! At showing even the slightest hesitancy, the price dropped to $1. Shit, I would've paid $5. But then, the trip kind of ended at this point and went into "Okay, lets see how much we can get from these foreigners".

First, an offer to see some sort of grove or trees or something. Declined.

Next a stop to some shop to buy trinkets. Nothing was bought, except maybe a bag of chips or something.

Next a stop to a market to buy rice for orphans. We were encouraged to "give with our hearts". I think everyone was thinking, but nobody wanted to say, "This is bullshit." Well, Ella and I did in Chinese. We eventually settled for the small, incredibly overpriced bag of rice. Seriously, you can get those at a Bangkok Tesco for 1/3rd the price. And I'm sure in Cambodia it's a heck of a lot cheaper. Ah well. We dropped it off at the school, cute kids. Turns out they were learning Vietnamese, which Ella can speak. She asked the teacher if they were orphans. The teacher said "Eh, not really."

Well. Shit.

Anyway, we headed back to the hostel for some drinking nonsense, ready to tackle the next day in Angkor Wat.

Angkor Wat is one of those places I would have never expected to be 5 years ago. I definitely wouldn't have expected it when I was 10 years old playing it as a dungeon in Illusion of Gaia. (Great SNES game, look it up) But, here I am. And there's actually surprisingly little to say about Angkor Wat. It's a bunch of old temples. They're massive, and impressive as hell. But it's impossible to convey the scale, or the "oldness" without just recycling words like "very" and "really". So let's just throw out some pics. Angkor Wat is the most famous temple, but by no means the only one. There are others like Baphuon, Preah Khan, Ta Prohm, and Angkor Tom (not Angkor Steve). The names kind of start to mean nothing, as they're all pretty similar old temples. With maybe the exception of Ta Prohm, as it was all overgrown and probably the coolest. Angkor Tom is actually a big complex with lots of temples, including Bayon. In the evening, we climbed Phnom Bakheng hill along with a million others to see the sunset. And then, rain. Torrential rain. I was lucky to find a little tower thing that kept me mostly dry, but pretty much everyone decided being soaked from head to toe was no bueno, so we left without a picture. Not that it would've been a pretty one anyway. It was the 2nd most soaked I have ever been - 1st has to be that crazy rainstorm in Taizhong, also experienced on a mountain. Back to the hostel for more drinking, as seems to be the theme. Anyway, here's a bunch of Angkor Wat pics.

The third day, Kristi and Manish decided they haven't had enough temple stuff. The rest of us had, and we went out to a folk village that made silk stuff. It was actually quite fascinating and totally free. We saw the whole silk process from beginning to end, and I mean real beginning - with silkworm larvae. It was something I knew nothing about and I quite liked it. After we went to Wat Bo, the oldest continually operated Wat in Cambodia. Meh. For lunch we tried to go to Pyongyang Restaurant.

Pausing for a sec, Siem Reap has a lot of Korean tourists for some reason. Pyongyang Restaurant is a straight up, North Korean owned and operated business. I ate at one in Dandong, China, and it was an interesting experience. I've heard they're basically used as vehicles to launder money into the country, and the waitresses are basically indentured servants. So, with my moral compass thoroughly intact, we unfortunately missed lunch by about an hour. Darn! I hear there's one in Vietnam, I'll have to give that a try if I end up there next year.

The next destination was definitely the highlight of my trip. Angkor Wat... MINI GOLF. Yes. It exists, and is glorious. I haven't played mini golf in years, so I quite enjoyed it despite the blistering heat. And holy crap, this mini golf was HARD. Par 8 on one of them. Lindsay got a hole in one, somehow, which meant she got a free drink. After a rest at the hostel, we went out to the night market for some rather delicious and cheap food. It was short lived however, as we woke up at 2am to head back to Thailand. Which, after many delays and border crossings, Kristi and Manish managed to make their 3:30pm flight to Phuket at like. 3:15. As for the rest of us, we had a lovely evening in Khao San, and eating pad thai for dinner at the world famous Thip Samai, who claims to invented pad thai. I am skeptical, but it's delicious nonetheless.

Whew! And that my friends, is the story of... my friends. In Cambodia with me. It was quite a ride, and a huge check off the bucket list. Thanks very much for coming everyone, and I hope to see you again next year!

The Cambodian Crew

"The Infiltrator"

"The Rock"

"The Brains"

"The Experience"

"The Wild Card"

"The Muscle"

"The Sushi"

Lessons:

1) Everyone gets a SIM card
2) Everyone arrives at roughly the same time.

The delightful bunch of Paige, Aaron, Dan, Lindsay, Tiffany, Kristi, and Manish arrived in Thailand on 5 different days, which necessitated 4 trips to the airport. Ugh. Let's avoid that next time. I think the ARL ticket people began to recognize me.

The first 2 days was just Paige and myself, and we set out to Koh Si Chang. The closest island geographically to Bangkok, but not frequently visited since... well I'm not really sure. The boat leaves from some random dock in the middle of nowhere, maybe that's why. Anyway we arrived around dinner time, and set out to see a Chinese temple on the hill. Really pretty, with a great view of the island. They also had some stupid broken down cart they used to haul stuff up the hill, which apparently was the most fascinating thing there to Paige. The day was almost over then, so got dinner, rented a scooter, then searched for a place to sleep. We eventually found one on the other side of the island. It was quite fun, swerving through those dark roads, trying my hardest (not) to throw Paige off the back.

Our bungalow was amazing, despite the giant bathroom spider Paige wasn't too fond of. Now quite dark, we went out to the beach, outside our front door, to check it out. I made a flying leap for the water, and this time, no anchor! Yay! While we were sitting there, a stray dog walked up between us. I caught him in my perif and jerked. Paige turned to look and let out a scream, to my amusement.

After drying off we went out to the local bar, where a police chief and his deputy from some small nowhere town were doing karaoke. They were drinking some sort of smoothie out of pint glasses. We asked what it was, and he said "A Pun". What is in a pun? "Ice, Fruit, Spices, and Whiskeeeeeeey!" he said, holding a smile while pronouncing the E. I still don't know what's really in them, but it was one of the best drinks I've ever had, and got me pretty drunk. So, you'd better believe there was singing. During the nonsense the entire island's police force showed up, so I hope there wasn't any crime happening, cause that response would be delayed.

The next day we wanted to catch the boat at lunch, so we got up early to catch dawn at the beach. After swimming a bit, we hit up Rama V's palace on the shore. It was super quiet, peaceful, and we got drenched from the rain. It did have some interesting stuff, like the Gothic - themed stupa. After we checked out Wat Tham Yaai Prik, which has a cave - which was new for me. There were bats! Bat Buddha.

...

Bananananananana Bat Buddhaaaa!"

And finally, a trip up to the giant, "Remember me", Buddha on the mountainside. There was also a cave there. The monk blessed us before we went into the cave, which was nice of him. Not much of a cave, more like 3 living room sized chambers, but unique nonetheless. Rushing back to the pier, we hopped on the boat with minutes to spare. On the way back, Paige got a call from her SO.

"Hey good to hear from you! Everything is great! We went to this island, and they had a cart!"

No words.

Anyway, it was back to BKK, then off to the airport, to get Aaron and part two of our story.

With the party size now 3, we went to Chatuchak. Except on the way out, it expanded to include Heather and Damon. Now rocking a party of 5, we arrived at Damon disappeared instantly. After a call and agreeing to meet at the GIANT LANDMARK IN THE MIDDLE OF THE MARKET, he seemed confused, and apparently left after not showing up. Soon after, we also lost a Heather but gained an Ella. After getting lunch and deciding what to do, we headed to Terminal 21 and the Arab district. Of course, on the way we had to stop at a BTS station to buy BTS souvenirs. Which apparently exist? And Paige apparently wanted them?

Back to Terminal 21, we browsed for a little bit while I enjoyed those cush, cush toilets. Then to Nana for dinner, at an amazing streetside place. Then, I started getting emails from Kristi saying they would arrive that night? But that their flight was delayed? And now they're arriving later? Thoroughly confused, and Paige suffering from a slight case of heat stroke, we had to split up so I could run to the airport to get Dan and maybe Kristi and Manish. Kristi and Manish did not actually show up, 10 minutes after I arrived at the airport they said they will arrive at 5am. Thanks for that timely info. Anyway, the good news was Dan made it, though if it was just him I wouldn't have come to the airport. Not because I don't care about Dan. But because Dan is some sort of travel wizard, and can navigate to my front door from 2 cities away in China, so he's the last person needing of an escort.

Now with Dan in tow, it was back home to have Kristi and Manish wake everyone up at 5am. So after an early start, we set out to Lumphini Park to chill out and see some Monitor Lizards. Or to mess with them if you're Kristi. The next stop was the Snake Farm. I've written about that here, so go have a read if you're interested. This time was venom extraction. Exciting! Next on the list was Wat Hua Lamphong, where Mr. Tom told us how to do a good luck blessing. Following that was Hua Lamphong station, Wat Tramit (the big ole gold buddha), and the Jim Thompson house. Or is it Tim Jimpson. Tim Hortons? Jim Timson?  There's still not much to say about that place. It's a nice, historic house. An interesting diversion for a few hours on a hot day. By this time, everyone was pretty much winding down, and we headed back to the house. The girls all wanting to stay in, the guys headed out to hit up the night life in Sukhimvit. Of course, all details of that night will remain classified on a public platform.

The next morning, Aaron was out for the count. The rest of us went out to Koh Kret. I thought we'd for sure need 2 taxis, but we lucked out and found the coolest taxi ever! He put on DVDs of concerts, and invited everyone to sing along. So, been there, done that. Read more about Koh Kret here. After we went to Khao San, because you just have to. You know how Muslims are obligated to go to Mecca at least once in their life? I think Khao San is like that for any traveler under the age of 40. We had dinner at Magic Max's, who never fails to impress. Honestly, I have no idea how the card got on the inside of that tomato. Anyway, after, it was off to the airport for the (siiiiiiiiigh) 4th time.

Next morning, group finally complete, it was off to the Royal Dragon for their buffet. No shark fin soup this time, but still delicious. Then we went to Bang Nam Phun Floating Market, only to find out its not open on the weekend! After seeing Wat Dan on the BRT, we headed to Wat Saket and made it to Loha Prasat minutes after it closed. Found cats instead though, so a win all around.

The next morning was a trip to Ayutthaya, which I have covered extensively before, such as here and here. The evening concluded with yet another trip to Khao San, as the lot of them all got fitted for new suits. Plus drinking. Mostly drinking.

And then, the final day in BKK started out with the whole crew plus Ella. A mega group of 9 people, we started towards Loha Prasat, After that, we did Wat Praekow, Wat Pho, and the Queen's Throne Room. (All of here and here). We had to get back to catch our van to Cambodia, which I assumed would be easy. NOPE.

No buses. No taxis. No nothing. After walking forever, we got a bus, but then it ran smack into Bangkok's classic parking lot of traffic. The plan was to get boat noodles at Victory Monument, but now we were running quite late. After quickly shoving down waffles from a BTS food stand, we rushed back home to pack. I think we made it with minutes to spare! About 20 minutes outside of Bangkok, we got another call from my landlady saying that our van has arrived. This seemed a little odd, considering we were already in a van. Turns out Kristi had emailed two companies, but one never responded. Apparently that means send a van anyway? This hilarious situation was filed under "not our problem", because it's off to Cambodia!