Today's Screenshot

"Pak Chong is not a valid city"

Like I needed Gmail to tell me that...

Good riddance, rainy season!

(Written October 30th)

Upon our return from Bali, the rain stopped and "cold season" was upon us. As a Minnesotan, I've experienced blistering cold, sub-zero winters and was a bit skeptical, but it actually is cold right now. Granted I live in a poorly insulated bamboo hut, but as I'm writing this, I'm sitting at my computer wearing long sleeves, long pants, and fuzzy socks with a fleece blanket wrapped around me.

Let it be known, I am not complaining in the least; merely observing. Pretty much any weather is better than the miserable, incessant rain that causes clothes to grow mold spots and my allergies to go berserk.

Life in Pak Chong from here on out will drastically improve. Plus, only 7 more weeks until my next vacation ;)

October Break Part I: Bangkok Music Marathon

On our first day of vacation, we headed down to Bangkok for Bangkok Music Marathon. Like I said before, I hadn't really gotten into Thai rock yet. What I had heard, I found really repetitive and borderline cheesy at times. However, this is how I initially felt about K-pop, a genre which is now very near and dear to my heart :)

The concert was a blast, and although it's still cheesy and repetitive, I'm developing more of an appreciation for Thai rock. It's much better live, for one thing, and we also got to hang out with a few of the musicians milling about near the stage, which always helps. Also, did I mention that Thai rock bands have awesomely ridiculous names, like "Body Slam," "Sweet Mullet," Big Ass," and "Potato"?

Here are my favorite acts of the night:

"Da" of Da Endorphine

This chick rocks. While a lot of Da Endorphine's songs are of the cheesy, sappy persuasion, 'Da' has an amazing voice and great stage presence. She was very fun to watch.

Thaitanium



Thaitanium, a Thai-American hip hop group, was hands down the best act of the night. One of the members was born in New York City, so they have a lot more street cred. than some of the other "rappers" here in Asia (Big Bang, I love you, but you are SO not gangster!)

Da + Thaitanium - even better!


Hanging out with a Thai rock star:

(Me & the guitarist from 'Jetseter')

A good time was had by all :)