Bullet Dog, Bookstores, & Bars

Two days in Thailand goes by in the blink of an eye. There is so much to do, explore, feel, and experience. On Thursday (06-27-2019) morning, I gave in to the motor scooter ride again and learned the hard way that no two motor scooter drivers are the same. As chance or the universe or God would have it, I sat on the back of a rickety red motor scooter that was driven by a wannabe motorcycle racer. We sped through stop signs, flew over speed bumps, dodged cars in the opposite lane of traffic, and were attacked by a feral speeding bullet dog that nipped at our heels for longer than was possible for any living creature. Fortunately, I made it to school and wondered to myself if I had a death wish. 

After school, I went with another teacher into Bangkok. I had my first three-man motor scooter ride to Future Park. You can imagine how that went (maybe try it once in your life and that’s it). 

• 

I learned how to take the van from Future Park to Mo Chit BTS station in Bangkok for 35Baht (30-minutes one-way). Once at Mo Chit BTS station, we rode the train to Siam BTS station for 44Baht and found a beautiful bookstore (Kinokuniya Books) on the 3^rdfloor of the Paragon mall (Western style mall) that is located right outside the Siam BTS station.

• 

• 

Don’t hate…Yes, I am a bookstore rat and this bookstore put Barnes and Noble to shame for two reasons. First, they offered a global selection of authors that will fire up any person’s inner book geek. Second, the prices for books were cheap! 

• 

On Friday (06-28-2019), I walked out to the motor scooter area and fate smacked me across the face with a large oven mitt. Waiting for me was the motor scooter driver from the prior day. He waved at me like we were old friends and I watched him don his motorcycle helmet in anticipation of me accepting a ride. I had a choice. Go with him or wait agonizingly long for a taxi. I chose to face death again and climbed on the back of the motor scooter. What do you think happened next? No dog this time but it was raining, which made it a surreal tea cup ride of stop and go traffic, horn honking, near misses, and feeling the back-tire slip and grab to the roadway. During school, I have observed the students are attentive to the lessons but not completing their assigned class work. I responded by being pro-active and spent the day collecting assignments, workbooks, grading, providing extensive feedback and meeting one on one with them to assess where they were struggling or succeeding. 

That night, I met with two other teachers at Robin Hood bar and restaurant located across the street from our apartment complex. The best way to describe this establishment is it’s an open-air bar inside of a large boat permanently moored in the canal. There is a DJ and live music later in the evening. They have great chicken fried rice and cheap beer. 

• 

Both the teachers have been wanting to take me to Kho’s Country bar and restaurant which is similar to Robin Hood but the theme is scary country. I think it’s about two restaurant boats down from Robin Hood. Look at the pictures and you will understand. Staring at the mannequin sitting on the bench along the canal says it all. They also have live music and they will also let you sing karaoke (owner plays bass and an older Thai female sings 80’s-90’s American music). I highly suggest going there if you ever visit Pathum Thani, Rangsit!

• 

• 

• 

•