The June heat of
North Carolina had just started to kick in. Humidity was on the rise. Grass
needed to be cut. Mosquitoes were swarming, and the call of the road was
beckoning once again. I was only in NC 3 weeks since my job in Riyadh, Saudi
Arabia ended. Yet it seemed like a lifetime.
I love almost everything about Charlotte, NC. But being back
home and not working proved to be somewhat difficult for me. I missed life as
an expat like a puppy misses its owner. My time in NC was divided between
visiting friends and family and looking for the next adventure. Before long, I
was offered a job at Saipanya Rangsit School in the suburbs of Bangkok.
On July
2nd, I boarded a Singapore Airlines flight with a final destination
of Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport.
Anyone who has traveled in SE Asia has probably passed
through Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok. It is the regions cheapest
international hub and offers reasonably priced flights to most corners of the
globe. The airport handles around 53
million passengers a year.
After navigating my way down endless corridors and moving
sidewalks, I exited customs with my bags and grabbed a taxi for the city. My
first week or so in Thailand was just like all of my other visits here. I spent
time in the “foreigner ghetto” area of Sukhumvit.
The area is a mix of expats
from all over the world and resourceful Thais who are skillful at making a buck
from these foreigners. There are bars, night clubs, street markets, western
food places, and numerous hotels from 1 to 5 stars. By American standards, the
area is super cheap and exciting.
However, the following week I started to learn what true
Thai life is like. I found an apartment a few km beyond Don Meaung Airport and
only 5 minutes from my new job location.
This was my inductions to living in a true Thai lifestyle, albeit with
most of the conveniences that locals could not afford.
My apartment was rather simple. There was a queen sized bed,
two windows, a bathroom with a shower, a small balcony, lcd tv, a few small
tables, a mini fridge, and a breakfast table and chairs by the window. The
building is brand new, so everything was in nice working order. My place was on
the 6th floor. On the first
floor there was a 24 hour 7/11. Very convenient.
Just outside my apartment there were about 20 or so food
vendors offering the most delicious items I could imagine.
This is a look down my street
or Soi in the suburbs of Bangkok.
I love the Thai use of plants and water.
No shoes in class!
Endless supplies of exotic fruits.
I even had a chance to eat scorpion.
And I was always eating grilled squid!
