"Why you make your face like that?"

This weekend Cortes and I travelled to Ampawa floating market with Bank, Ong, and Pook!! Yeah, we have Thai friends, no big deal. I had been wanting to visit a floating market since I got to Thailand but they are surprisingly challenging to get to via public transportation. There are buses and switching buses and boats and other random vehicles, plus, they are not usually in the most touristy of locations so housing etc can be interesting. As a result, Bank (who Sarah and I had met our first month in Thailand on a bus going to Bangkok... he was laughing at me asking if it ever snowed in Thailand so I knew that he understood us). And he helped us go shoe shopping. No gay though. Just very helpful. Awwww.

So Bank and Ong went to college together and I am not sure how they know Pook but she came with us too! She was a little more quiet and knew less English but was very touchy feely which naturally made me like her a lot. After getting very lost looking for our lodging we finally came across it and got settled in. Played a few card games, took a few shots. Then, 4pm, long boat comes to pick us up at the hotel and we are on our way to the market!!

The pictures can pretty much speak for themselves but it is such a cool place. The boats line the winding canal and sell everything from touristy goods to fresh seafood to colorful fruits and mmm so exciting! And not only are the boats selling things but lining the canals on the land-side are tons of stores and food stahls and all kinds of things. LOVE Thailand. We just walked up and down the canals buying and tasting as we went along (Ong really likes tasting... I think he tried everything, and bought enough food for at least 10 ppl on top of that... then he said he wasn't hungry at dinner that night, weird...) I bought an ornament for grandma that somehow got lost before I left Ampawa, so sad, and a piece of twine that is dyed and hangs picture frames... looked cooler when I bought it. On the boat ride back to the hotel from the market we coasted along looking at the hundreds of fireflies that lighted up the trees! It was so pretty but made me a little sad because it reminded me of Christmas lights and I might not be home for Christmas this year.

That night was one of the best times I have had in Thailand. The 5 of us just hung out and played cards white eating amazing Thai food and drinking A LOT of Leo. We introduced the Thais to Kings and they were very very into it. Some translation issues led to hysterical moments like 9--busta' rhyme... to which Pook said Dog (next person is supposed to say something that rhyme with dog.. hog, log, bog... etc) but then he shouted BOX! He got teased a lot about dog BOX after that. Overall another amazing weekend in Thailand and next one is filled with lots of adventures since Babs and Face are coming to visit!!!!!! WOOT WOOT!!!!!!

This is the buddhist temple in ampawa that a tree decided to grow around and smother basically... so cool.