Breakdown

Well it's finally happened- I've had my first breakdown/freak-out as an expat in Bangkok. The kind that leaves me crying uncontrollably, unable to move from the couch, cursing everyone and everything, etc. The cause of this breakdown- the fact that we have to leave Bangkok.


Ever since the floods hit Ayutthaya and the Rojana Industrial Park, our future seems to be changing so quickly and nothing seems to be under our control. Eric's company kept changing their mind about what they were going to do with the expats here in Thailand, but finally they've decided to move everyone back to the United States. 


This is not how I imagined our transition back to the US would go. I though we would have plenty of advance warning to prepare, both mentally and logistically. 


I focused so hard on making Bangkok our home, that having it ripped away so quickly makes my heart hurt.

Batten Down the Hatches- Preparing for Floods in Bangkok

Bangkok is currently in preparation mode as flood waters from the north move closer and rain continues to fall. In our neighborhood, life seems to be going on as normal, with a few exceptions:

Shop owners building a concrete wall in front of a shop along Rama IV

Lumpini MRT station with new steel gates on the windows

Pile of sandbags outside the Silom Complex 

Nearly empty shelves at the local grocery store

While things may be deceptively calm here in our neighborhood, we are still contemplating going south to get away from the floods.

In a related note, the manufacturing plant where Eric works is currently under six feet of water. The flood waters broke through levee after levee and inundated the entire industrial park. We are still not sure what that exactly means for us and our stay here in Thailand. Hopefully, we will have some answers soon.

Image from The MacLeod Thaimes

If you are the praying type, please pray for all of the families that have been affected by these floods. Entire cities are currently underwater and the devastation is so immense, it is kind of hard to comprehend. 

If you are looking for up to date news about the flooding in Thailand and you are on Twitter- @RichardBarrow and #ThaiFloodEng are great sources of information.

A Day in the Life as Eric

Hello internet, this is Eric. I am sitting in the van while our driver takes us home, so I thought it would be a good idea to send an update of what my typical work day is like.

I usually get up at 5:30 am and take a shower and get ready for work. At the moment, the apartment we are staying at provides a free breakfast, so at 6am Melanie and I go and eat. There is quite a bit to choose from, but I think Melanie talked about that already so I will not bore you with the details. At 6:25 I go back to the room brush my teeth and say goodbye to Melanie and head to the HTI van that is waiting for me.

The commute from Bangkok to Ayutthaya is usually uneventful, most of the trip I either talk to Greg, read The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, or play free cell on the cell phone. We take a toll way most of the way there, but the last portion is on some local highways. This part of the trip can take 30 minutes to 1.5 hours, depending how bad traffic is going into all the industrial parks. It is interesting to see all the motorbikes buzzing around and all the shops on the side of the road. I normally people watch this leg of the trip. We usually arrive at work around 8am, give or take 15 minutes.

They are still getting the office space setup so at the moment I work out of a double wide trailer. It isn’t too bad, it had internet and a few tables. But I can not wait to get into the office area.

For lunch, the cafeteria, or canteen, serves a variety of Thai dishes, so I grab some free steamed rice and a few dishes and a coke, all of which cost be about 50 Baht, or less than $2. It has only been a week and the food seems pretty good. Ask me again in a month and I’ll give you a new opinion. After lunch I head back to work.

Recently for work, we have been leaving around 4:30. We leave the same way we came. Most days I get home around 6pm. Melanie normally has dinner all ready and then we eat. After dinner I plop on the couch and quickly read my email. At around 8pm I go to bed. I know this is early, but you can’t imagine how much energy heat drains from you (and I don’t even work outside!) I hope that pretty soon I’ll soon I’ll be able to stay awake later and wake up earlier without being too tired, but right now I need my sleep. :)

I think starting tomorrow I am going to start waking up at 5am, this will give me 30 more minutes a day to get ready and maybe talk to some of you guys in the morning (your evening) We’ll see how that goes :)

Well, we are approaching the city now and I think that is probably enough writing for one day. Talk to you all later. If you have any other things you would like to hear my perspective on, post it in the comments section, and I’ll “write” about that next.

Truth *fist bumps the world*

First Impressions of Thailand

Well, its been a week since we've gotten back from our house hunting trip to Thailand. I can honestly say that a lot of my fears and anxieties about picking up our lives and moving halfway around the world have been dispelled. Before the trip I was about 90% worried about moving and 10% excited, and after the trip those percentages have flip flopped.

I think what really eased my fears was how kind and easy going the Thai people are. Also, the great food and beautiful scenery helped too!

Well, enough of my jibber jabber- on to the photos!!!

Ayuttaya:
This tree has grown around a sandstone Buddha head

The ruins of the old capital of Thailand.

The new HTI Plant

Bangkok:
Chatuchak market: One of the largest markets in Thailand. It is only open on the weekends, but you can buy pretty much any thing there. We only went through a small portion of it.

Our friends Greg and Mary were approached by this group of school girls. Apparently they needed to find Americans and ask them a series of questions. I think they gave Greg a pin for helping them out.Monitor lizards in Lumpini Park
The Reclining Buddha
Decoration around the Grand Palace