Backtracking to Bangkok

So, my lazy ass finally got my internet working on my computer.  It turns out, my Norton Anti-virus was blocking the internet from working and I couldn't for the life of me figure out how to unblock it, so I just ended up uninstalling it and now everything works just fine.  Seriously, Norton?  Do I work for NASA or something?  You have to block the entire internet??  All I'm doing is watching movies on YouTube!  Screw you, Norton and your inferior, loser program!  And yes, I'm pretty sure it's not user error, they're just assholes!

Anywho, I thought now that I have wonderful working internet and a computer full of pictures (thanks Babe), I would go back and post a few that I couldn't post before.
Let's start with Bangkok.  This was our first night, when we went out with our English friends, Joe and Phoebe.

We were on Khao San Rd. and got drinks and street food:

I ate a scorpion!!!  I seriously ate a scorpion.  OMG.

I think my face says it all.  Yes, I swallowed it, but no I didn't eat the whole thing.  I'd say about half.  I also ate a tiny grub/maggot thing.  Man, the power of alcohol.  I can't remember who that guy is, but he was nice.

Random selfie of us in a tuk-tuk:

Aaron even got the driver in there!

The next day we explored some of the more famous temples and Buddhas in Bangkok and it was such a refreshing change because everywhere we've been so far has been chock-full of churches and cathedrals, which are beautiful, but it was a nice to see something different.  This is the first time we're staying in a country that isn't predominantly Catholic.  Isn't it interesting how so much of the world is the same religion?

As a sign of respect you cover your shoulders and remove your shoes in many of the temples.

Obviously, Aaron didn't cover his shoulders in that one...oops!  To be fair, it was sweltering (and his tank top is DJ Bruce Lee and who wants to cover up that magic?).

"I'm on a boat" selfie!

At The Golden Palace, my shawl wasn't good enough, so they made me rent an ugly shirt.  Aaron was wearing shorts and they made him rent pants.

Absolutely stunning.  The intricate detail of each building and statue was just mind-blowing.  One of the most amazing sights I've ever seen.
That night we went to Siam Paragon, an upscale mall:

They were having some sort of beauty pageant contest or something because there were all these women in wedding dresses taking pictures inside the mall.  Hmm...no idea.

Now let's go to Phuket:

Seeing a sign with my name on it just never gets old.  So cool.  Believe it or not, our driver's name is Porn.  Yup, you heard me.  Porn.  A lot of the guys in the tourism trade here adopt ridiculous nicknames.  We've also met a Marijuana.  No joke.  Guess what he's hawking?  Yup, you guessed it: jet skis.  Oh yea, and marijuana.  They really must think we're idiots.

One of my favorite things about Patong (our town) is our epic view:

It's just unbelievable.  We can see people parasailing during the day and fireworks at night.  It's the best.

I found our house from down below at the grocery store:

We're on the far left, above the billboard, the "S" in "Thailand's" to be precise.  See:

The coral roof, to the right of the blue roof is us!

The front of our complex is nice too and we have a pool, which is pretty sweet for those humid days:

Our local mall is called Big C and it has the giant grocery store, as well as a bunch of shops and restaurants. The courtyard has a random pirate ship:

Somehow it just makes sense.

Night out (Aaron bought me a flower necklace and it smelled incredible):

Our scooter (still unnamed, but I'm working on it):

Patong beach:

We rented jet skis (not cheap) and raced around the ocean.  I didn't get pictures because I didn't want to take my phone in the water.  Just take my word for it, I looked awesome.  The other popular thing to do is para-sail, which is next on our list (however, also not cheap).  

Our local bar (it's a 2 minute drive down the street) is called The Rasta Bar and it's tiny, but everyone's super nice:

Aaron lost and had to do push-ups:

This is Moo Moo, The Rasta Bar mascot:

Thanks to Rasta Bar, I found my new favorite snack:

It might look gross, but they're delish!!!  They're thin-sliced banana curls, fried and coated with sugar and sesame seeds.  I'm not saying it's necessarily healthy, but OMG they're addictive.  I bought a bag at Big C and they were gone in 24 hours.  I wish I could say Aaron helped me, but I didn't even give him a chance.

This product is advertised all over Thailand.  In Bangkok there all billboards everywhere.  It's called Snail White and I saw some at the store the other day and snapped a picture of the back of the box.  Seriously read this:

It's snail secretion that women are rubbing on their face!!!!  I'm sorry, I think I'll just age naturally, thank you very much.

Yay!  We're pretty much all caught up now!  Whew!  

So, today we had a pool day:

Of course, Aaron took better pics on his phone, so I'll have to get them from him and update this post tomorrow.  There was an adorable frog on our side table:

Cute, huh?

Then we went downtown and ran into this group of outdoor tiki-hut-bars:

We stopped at one and had a drink:

They had papers all over the ceiling:

and we don't like being left out, so Aaron added one for us:

YAY!

Then we went to a Muay Thai championship match at The Patong Boxing Stadium.  It was something I wanted to do because we're in Thailand, but it wasn't something I was necessarily excited about...until I got there.  The energy was contagious and it ended up being so much frickin fun.  

Here's the flyer for the match:

Woo!  Not cheap (I'm finding none of the touristy things are), but worth it!  Let's go!

They have a gym outside, and people can take lessons.

So, there were 7 matches and they started with teenagers (maybe 13-14 year olds) and gradually worked there way up to adults.  There were guys from all over: Switzerland. Australia, England and even a guy from The U.S!  

Here are some pics from the matches:

The American had a giant tiger tattoo on his back:

Although he was much bigger than his opponent, he ended up losing.  Boo!

Even though it's men hitting each other until they pass out, I thoroughly enjoyed myself.  We even got free muscle shirts!

Just what I needed!  And who doesn't look good in neon yellow?  Score!  Tomorrow we're going to hit up some outdoor markets in Patong, so look forward to that!  I know I am!