Tourist for a Day

Brace yourself for photo overload, because today was a busy day! 

Last night, three new international students arrived from Japan. The international medicine coordinator had invited me to come with them to tour the city and let me tell you, I am SO EXCITED that they are here! The evenings have been really lonely and when you don't speak the language, it's frustrating and lonely. Best of all, the new students are living in the same apartment complex as me. Woo!

So, the coordinator picked us up and took us to Central Plaza, a big American style mall.

Letters spelling out "Khon Kaen" in front of Central Plaza

Outside of the mall is the gate to the city:

And, lots of yellow cassir trees--the official flower of the city of Khon Kaen. These trees are everywhere:

Inside the mall, we ate at this Thai chain called MK, which is similar to Korean "hot pot" in the US.

Basically, you order all of the ingredients that you want and there is a pot of boiling water (on sort of a built in hot plate) on the table in front of you. You put all of your ingredients in, cook them, and then pull them out piecewise to eat. Here in Thailand, there is this yummy spicy sauce that you dip everything in, versus hot pot in the US, where the flavor is in the water (I think...it's been a little while).

This was an egg that the international coordinator cracked over a slotted spoon. They're fancy around here.

She also loves dessert (woman after my own heart) and advised me to get coconut milk ice cream. It was pretty good, but it was topped with corn. It didn't taste bad, just...weird. I think it's meant to be more of a texture thing and from that perspective, it served its purpose.

After the mall and some grocery shopping, we were off to downtown Khon Kaen. This is the City Pillar--supposedly the first building of Khon Kaen and the most holy. There's some weird superstition with it about people that were buried (alive, I think) in its foundation. The coordinator was like, "It is just a story!" because we were shooting her dubious looks of, "Hmm, not cool."

In front of the City Pillar is a monument to the Thai king:

 The Thais adore their king and are very proud of never having been colonized. Monday (tomorrow) is a public holiday for Coronation Day.

Next, we went to a wat built in 1997, in honor of the king's 50th year of reign. Again, the Thais are very proud to say that he has been reigning longer than Queen Elizabeth II of the UK.

 The wat was amazing and ornate.

The coordinator told us a little bit about what to do--you don't ever step on a threshold because they believe that a spirit guardian lives there. She also showed us how to bow and pray in the temple. Some of us partook in the worship aspect. Others of us took pictures for their blogs.

I really still don't understand Buddhism. Temples are intended for people to "pray" and offer sacrifices, but they don't believe that Buddha was God. They believe that he was a man who achieved enlightenment and has set the standard for which they are striving. If they are not supposed to be worshipping him as a god, I don't understand why there are so many idols of him. I also don't understand the concept of gift giving. It's supposed to be making atonement for the dead, and offering a gift to the monk, who is the carrier and translator of gifts and messages. Except...literally anyone can be a monk. It is not a lifelong commitment and many people become monks for reasons such as having their reputation tainted in politics and needing to make a fresh start. How is that person qualified to be the intermediary to the gods (whomever they are)? And who are people praying to? And if they can affect their outcome of their lives of their loved ones who are dead by either praying or giving gifts, then why are they so rooted in the idea of fate? If "what will be, will be,", then why do either? It won't make a difference. I am so confused! The more answers I get about this, the more questions I have.

Anyway, I digress. Gifts surround the temple:

We also climbed 9 flights of stairs in 100 degree heat for this view of Khon Kaen. The monks live in those orange roof buildings and the lake was man-made by the king to support the city's agriculture.

The international coordinator kept asking what we wanted to do, so I asked if I could get another Thai massage today. PLUS, a two hour massage is 300 bhat ($10). I'm not trying to turn that down.

The boys were easily convinced that we needed a group trip the spa and that's where we headed after sightseeing in the city. 

The last massage I got was at the university. This was a more traditional Thai massage place.

First, we changed into the Thai pajamas (the norm for Thai massage). Then, we got our feet washed before going to the massage room.

There were no curtains between us, which was a little weird, because we're "friends," I guess, but not BFF-I-want-to-get-a-2-hour-massage-next-to-you. Anyway, it was fine and ended up being very funny.

I think women take a perverse pleasure in subjecting men to pain and KJ (lying next to me) basically got his butt kicked during this massage. There was a lot of groaning and "ow" and "no no no." I was giggling the whole time.

Meanwhile, Cookie (on the end) had a masseuse trying to put the moves on him. Once the international coordinator told the masseuses that we were doctors, the conversation quickly went all, "You are sexy, sexy man" and "I want to marry doctor." 

Of course you do. How come no one is reminding ME that I am "sexy, sexy woman" and asking if I no want Thai husband? THERE IS NO LOVE FOR FEMALE DOCTORS.

Finally, we headed back to the university. On our way to the night market, we kind of poked around looking at random things. There are these elephants made out of branches in front of the university president's office:

The American tourist wanted to take a picture with one of them.

Then, it was dinnertime! This is the Khon Kaen University weekend market. It happens on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights.

The benefit of having a translator was that we could actually ask what stuff was. This, for example, is an egg thing where the eggs are drained through a small hole in the shell, scrambled, mixed with flour and other ingredients and poured back into the shells. Then the filled egg shells are steamed, skewered, and grilled in front of you at the market.

Nom nom delicious shish kabobs, which I didn't eat because...pork.

This is a huge vat of noodles, but medical school has forever ruined my perception of street food. Whenever I see similar containers of fried rice, my mind screams, "Ahhh! Bacillus cereus! (a bacteria that gives you food poisoning that notoriously grows on fried rice that is left unrefrigerated)."

Things to also avoid at a hot, outdoor night market? SUSHI.

I had these fried curry rice ball things that were served smushed up in more fried rice. Fried-carbohydrate-feast-possibly-tainted-with-bacteria, get in my belly!

Lastly, there was a shih tzu puppy for sale in a cage at the market. It was really hot out and I knew he was uncomfortable (judging from a certain shih tzu that will literally lie down in the street and refuse to walk if he is hot). Is 34 hours too long to take a dog as a carry on item back to America? Asking for a friend...

Finally (so as to not end on that note), these are my new friends! (PLEASE NEVER LEAVE ME, IT IS SO PAINFULLY LONELY WITHOUT YOU!)

Our expressions hilariously reflect our level of hunger and tiredness as the day progressed.

Woo! We are still fresh and excited! Also, we just got out of an air-conditioned mall!

OK, getting a little hot, but still happy, because...friends! Tourist sites! 

We are tired and hungry now. Some of us are unable to smile. Is it time for dinner?