Since we teach at a private school, we don't get too many days off. So, as a courtesy to the foreign teachers, the principle granted us off the 24th and 25th of December. So... for Christmas, Catie's mom warmly gave us a night at the Sheraton Resort, Pattaya. It was a great night in a little slice of paradise. Pattaya is generally not known as a beautiful place. It's laden with ladyboys and prostitutues, drunken old white men, and a lot of rundown bars. It also includes a beautiful beach, the largest beachfront mall in SE Asia, and some beautiful resorts and hotels. So, for one night we stayed in this beautiful hotel with three pools and a private beach, had drinks at a rooftop bar, ate some street food and had beers in a robe and slippers on our balcony. I woke up on Christmas morning, had a breakfast of poached eggs and toast, and an afternoon of pampering: a massage and body wrap courtesy of Alex. It was bliss.
Although I much prefer Christmas Eve with my family, gorging on seafood, watching It's a Wonderful Life, waiting for Santa to come by on the firetruck, and Christmas Day with lasagna and presents, this Christmas made a close second. Not having any snow on the ground, surrounded by Thai children who love red and green and Christmas music but have no idea why, and living my life 12 hours ahead of my family made the separation a lot easier. It didn't FEEL like the holidays, and so I wasn't entirely spirited, but I think that also made it easier. I enjoyed my Thai Christmas... but I missed my Baldino Christmas and already can’t wait for next year.
New Years was also a holiday to remember. Immediately following our international day celebration at school, where I dressed up as a French man, we ran home to change and pick up our bags, and were out the door! We were headed to Krabi, a southern province with beautiful beaches. After a one hour to Bangkok via minibus, a 40 minute skytrain ride, a 15 minute motorbike chase, and a 12 hour overnight bus, we had finally arrived. We made our way to the hostel, quickly changed and made our way to the beach! After about 5 hours of sleep, and it only being 9 am, I couldn’t concentrate on anything but a cup of coffee and a nap on the sand.
Overnight busses are definitely the way to save. However, be forewarned that they are not the easiest or most comfortable. I heard so many bad reviews about bus companies rummaging through your stored luggage throughout the trip, so I kept my backpack with me. I had little leg room, but wasn’t worried about my belongings. However, my friend did store her backpack and everything was fine. You are assigned seats and given a blanket, as well as a small box with water and a pastry. I immediately wished I had more snacks with me. The ride began with a safety video, where I think they explained how they breathalyze the drivers, and then the Thai language television shows continued all night. A little after midnight, we were shuffled off the bus to walk around and get dinner at a rest stop, and we didn’t stop again until we arrived.
Krabi was immediately beautiful, and we were eager to do everything the islands offered!
