Whats the craic?

the rumors are true. we have four new roommates. our other ones decided Sydney was too expensive and lame (they were lame) so they moved to other cities. THANK GOODNESS or else we would have never gotten to meet these four boys. yes, we live with four irish boys who love their alcohol. they don't drink during the week, thus saving all their energy and money for the weekend. they start friday after work and DO NOT stop until sunday night, sometimes even monday. it's insane- last weekend they woke us up saturday morning at 7:30 AM- they had JUST gotten home from the bars. they discovered this one bar that is open 24 hours, and i'm pretty sure all the bartenders now know them by name. needless to say, it's quite entertaining. we love them though- they aren't really that messy and they are so incredibly nice. their accent is so thick though that at first i couldn't even tell they were speaking english. now we have even gotten one of the boys- Stevey- to start saying y'all!! it's great hearing him say that all the time.

i was sick on my birthday so we had to reschedule the festivities for this saturday. mexican food and margaritas- i'm sure there will be some good stories to post after that.

we are going to start updating a lot more now- JD and Gshore get here in 2 weeks!!!! and i don't have a job right now so i have time!

MISS YOU GUYS!

CONTIKI REUNION

Saturday night- we were finally reunited with the rest our Contiki friends! As most of y'all know Kel and I did a Contiki tour all over Europe about 2 years ago and have stayed in touch with most of our friends on the trip. Well Saturday our good friend Wendy came in town from Canberra, and we met up with her and her sister Emma to grab some dinner. After traveling all the way to this "Mexican" food place in Newtown we discovered it was closed for the Easter holiday...feeling very sad about this (even though it probably sucked anyways)..Emma suggested we try this famous Thai place. It was great eating Thai again because everything there reminded us of being back in Thailand- they even had Tiger beer and Singha!! We had spring rolls, pad thai, cashew chicken..it was fabulous. Oh and we had lots of wine too. After that we met up with Kendall and Anna (2 of our really good friends here that we hang out with all the time..also fellow Contiki-ers). Grabbed some drinks with them at this hotel then headed to the Argyle. The Argyle is this massive indoor 2 story club that has bottle service and good loud music..my kind of place. After meeting some weird English guys and needing to ditch them immediately we went next door to the Lowenbrau. This place is by far one of our favorites. It looks like this innocent little beer house with schnitzel and German beer, but above it on the 2nd floor is a massive club with GREAT music and dancing. After belting our heart outs to "I've had the time of my life.." and dancing we barhopped to a couple of other places and ended up where other than...SCARY CANARY. gotta love this place because it is open until 4 in the morning. Everyone eventually went home and Wendy and I decided to stay out late just like old times in Europe. After dancing to some rap and going to 711 for some "cheeeps" and a Snickers bar, we headed back to Emma's apartment around 4 AM. I woke up on the couch to George Michael's "Faith" music video and to Adam and JD calling me saying "where have you been, KELLY is looking for you." What a great way to start the day.

"I'm with the Texas girls, wanna meet them?" - our lovable Englishman Ben

Man I can't believe how much time has actually passed since the last time we were in the states. Last time we were on American soil was over two and a half months ago. We miss Mexican food desperately. We have been googling place after place, and two so far have ended up blahhhh. I guess what is partly to blame is that we want specifically Tex-Mex and the demand just isn't high over here. Not sure if many people know this but Americans are few and far between here. Until December we weren't allowed to get year long work visa's so barely any Americans took time to work over here. Everyone asks if we are Canadian when we speak . . . apparently it's the polite thing to do bc the Canadians get really offended if someone thinks they are American. Anyways, so tonight was are going to a place called Cafe Pacifico. One of our Aussie friends that we met in Europe suggested it to us, so we will see how good it actually is!
Besides that we have been laying low on the homefront bc we desperately need jobs. The food is really expensive here . . . I was watching a TodayShow-ish program a few mornings ago and they compared all the local grocery's price of white break. Ok now some of you adults may die . . . every price was over $3.80. And I'm not talking about gourmet white bread from Whole Foods either, it's absurd.
Aussie Jobs: Our names our in a database for temp work right now with a company and we are sending our names to get in to other temp databases. Ryann constantly is picking up job magazines and we go through them religiously. I almost got a position as an au pair just out of sydney for 3 months but they wanted me to live in, and I said I couldn't.
American Jobs: Well Ryann had planned on going to law school this fall and after getting accepted many places has decided to rather work in Houston when return in June. She's going to be working at a law firm and plans to live in Midtown.
I have been debating what I want to do the next year for some time. And I think I have decided that I want to possibly write a book about my life and compile all my stories into a novel. But, I also think I want some more technical skill at writing so I'm planning on going to get my Master's in creative writing some time in the near future. In the mean time, I decided that I would possibly like to be an Au Pair for maybe a year while I apply to schools. I really want to go back to Austin and today interviewed over the phone with an Austin family. It seems like this family and I are a great fit and hopefully when I return I will be moving to Austin to be a live in nanny with them!
Man, life is so unpredictable. Never thought "writing a book" would ever come out of my mouth. I still remember when my mom harassed me in elementary school about what the difference btw a verb and an adverb were - and those of you who know donna, i'm sure can imagine how that went, ha.
All for now. Cheers!

Gold Coast SB '08

For all of you that thought nothing was better than a cruise round Mexico or maybe an all inclusive stay in Cabo for Spring Break - YOU would be WRONG! For the unaware, the Gold Coast is on the East coast of Australia, with fabulous beaches, insane hostels, and equally interesting people. We decided to go on this road trip of sorts because one of Ryann's friends from the states was coming in for his SB. A couple days before we flew to Brisbane, we met an English guy who we invited on the trip. So the four of us set off to Brisbane and ended up in one of the greatest hostels EVER. Brisbane City Backpackers is for the party savvy. So we show up about 1130am to the hostel to check in, immediately they inform us that happy hour begins at noon. . . obvi we all race to our rooms to get settled so we don't miss a minute of the cheap booze. Well Ry's friend Matt, me and her all are in one room and it looks pretty nice. We make our way down to Ben's room and he walks our looking fairly shocked. He said when he entered his room the room was completely dark bc someone had arranged towels that covered the window and some guy grunted "welcome to the orange prison" - yikes. (fyi - it was deemed the orange prison bc the walls were all orange in the hostel) Anyways, we all settled in to our $7 pitches of beer and soon 1pm came around - Texas Hold 'em tourney time. Ben and I bowed out early while Ryann and Matt both got down to the final four. They still are bitter that the Chinese girl won, who then entire time had her friend walking up to her telling her what to do in Chinese - so basically no one could call them out on cheating. Ugh. So at this hostel we met some interesting fellows. Two Scottish guys whom we named Shrek and Donkey (one was huge and the other little tiny). One of the guys in our hostel room's name was Rich, whom we now lovingly refer to as "Tricky Dickey". Tricky Dickey will hit on any girl that is breathing. . . honestly. We just thought at first that he was in to Ryann, but later on we met up with him after the road trip in Sydney and truly it is sad how this kids hits on every girl. Anyways, we had a wild night in Brisbane filled with allergic reactions to onions and breakdancers who didn't mind falling on their heads over and over and over.
Next day began the real road trip. We went to Avis to pick up the car, and although Ryann made the reservations it was me who had to put my license down bc of course she wasn't driving. Mind you, they drive on the other side of the road in this place, AND the steering wheel is on the other side. I can't tell u how many times i accidently hit the windshield wipers instead of the blinker, and how I accidently walked to the wrong side of the car and tried to nonchalantly play it off.

Alright my comp is about to die so I'm gonna end this blog post here. Next up, Surfer's Paradise, Byron Bay, Nimbin . . .

"Didn't you know, George Bush caused 9/11"

So lemme back up a bit to the beginning of last night.
I went to a Rugby game with this American guy that I met on our booze cruise from about a week ago. I love rugby, everyone is so freaking hardcore and butch. They literally beat each other to death on the field. Beer is god at this game! The bathroom line is absolutely non existent, whilst the line for beer is 30 minutes long! It was the season opener game, and our team (the one the guy sitting in the row ahead of us told us to root for) won. So the game ends and of COURSE it is pouring rain, and the anorak no longer does the job and everyone on the streets is looking for a cab with a light on - and there are none. After wandering the streets for half an hour, cold and in need of a beer - we finally find a cab and meet up with Ryann at the Scary Canary. BTW if i have said anything negative bf about the Scary Canary, I don't take it back, but I would like to say it is now our fav place. We have a few drinks at the Canary and then our new british friend ben, ryann's friend matt from NC (who flew in for the week of his spring break) and me and my rugby friend corey and ryann all go to KARAOKE. And if any of you are unaware RYANN LOVES KARAOKE more than almost anything in world. So we go to the place round 11, and have to come back at 1am for a room. when we get back we see some poor drunken idiot vomiting in the room that is supposed to be ours next . . . grrrrrrreat. Well the kid lasted long enough that another room opened so we didn't have to sing in the Vom Room. Ryann bought us all a few bottles of champagne and that girl sang her little heart out, ha - what a sight. So finally we leave around 3, and it ended up that it was just me and ryann at the front for a bit with the three bouncers. So one of the bouncers starts chatting with us about how we are from Texas, and it's all friendly until one said the most evil statements I have heard in a very, very, very long time.
"George Bush caused 9/11"
Well i basically lost it and was beside myself. Of course this guy was trying to get me riled up, but I just ran back in the karaoke place to compose myself. Unbelievable, UNBELIEVABLY inappropriate. Then our friend ben almost got taken down by the bouncer bc he was trying to leave with two bottles of champagne - that mind you, were unopened. Even the other two bouncers where like, hey dude what is ur problem - he hasn't opened the bottles, he can take them.
Sheesh.
Well that was last night. Everyone is feelin a little bit rough today, think we'll prob catch a movie or not . . .

Funny thing happened on the way to the Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade

All apologies for taking this long to update.

Arrived back in Sydney last Wednesday. Went on a Mardi Gras boooooooooze cruise in Sydney Harbor friday night - $65 for all u can drink/eat. LOVIN THAT. Yesterday we got an apartment, much to the chagrin of our jealous American friends here who have been living in a hostel for the past month. Man hostels suckkk the big one over here. Last night we went to the Mardi Gras Parade, or as I like to call it - bizarro mardi gra. Somethin got mistranslated on the way over the oceans to Sydney concerning Mardi Gras. Instead of women flashers for beads - you get flamboyant gays on parade! What a goooood time! I have so many pics but i am currently typing from a convenience store and this comp doesn't have a memory card reader, grr. but get excited. Alright, gots to facebook!

Oh and this has only been a quick summary of the past few days. Don't worry I have a few funny stories for you listening pleasure and I am hoping to be able to get that all sorted out when we get to our APARTMENT TOMORROW!
Oh and concerning the apartment, we are living in a 3 bedroom furnished apt. Two twin beds are in our room and we are sharing a bathroom with two Irish girls that are our age. I have no idea who the fools in the other room are. I'm hopin these Irish girls can teach me and Ryann a little about Irish drinkin - ha, how hardcore this is going to be!

Never a dull moment on Patong Beach, Phuket

Not much time to write this entry but there are a few plaguing stories I must get off my chest.

1. After age 5 it is not "ok", "cool" or "in good taste" to bite someone's arm while flirting. So Ryann and I are sitting at the bar having a nice game of Connect Four (I won all of the many games except one where Ryann admits that I lost because I was checking out a guy) and these two guys next to us strike up a convo. Well I don't know how drunk this guy next to me was but at least 4 times in the conversation he decided to playfully bite my arm. Any of you the know me AT ALL know it was completely out of my character to let this slide but I didn't want to get my ass thrown out of the Tiger Discotech because weirdo didn't know where the line btw flirting and outright stupidity lie.

2. DO NOT strike up a political debate on the dance floor of a disco. Ryann and I were dancing (to some annoying Eurotrash music) and this group of about four guys in pink visors (shoulda been a red flag, I know) appear around us. So we start chatting with them and one vehemently tries to put his visor on my head, let me tell you that last all of two seconds. Then he asks where I was from and says he's from Sweden. Well after he got wind I was from America the low blows busted out. I can't remember the exact words that riled me up so much, but it was to the tune of how awful a country America was and how we need to get the F*** out of everyone else's business. OMG INAPPROPRIATE. I know some of you reading this would have probably dropped kicked the sucker Chuck Norris style (and believe me I wanted to) but I held back and after attempting to set him straight for a good five minutes I dropped the subject and walked away.

Beach is gorgeous. We are going to a all inclusive $1000 baht party at a place called Rock City tonight that is supposed to have an amazing Nirvana cover band. We were guaranteed that there would only be westerners there - cuz as out little Thai waitress told us last night, stay away from the places that you have to compete with cheap/ready and willing Thai girls to steal guys away from you, ha. Tomorrow we scheduled a trip to the Phi Phi Islands that includes snorkeling and visit to a monkey beach.

That's all for now!

Is that brownie green??

Woke up yesterday morning with a horrible hangover from a few (well def more than a few) Leap Year Martini's at the NYC Steakhouse in the heart of Bangkok. But fret not, I persevered and was good to go by happy hour. We went to this Mexican buffet at a Cajun restaurant called Bourbon St. and it hit the spot. It is truly unbelievable how this city caters to every kind of craving for food you have. This place had some serious TexMex although the queso was a little watery, but ya know you just can't beat a good Bob Armstrong from Matt's el Rancho and why would you want to. Anyways, the important thing was that the rita's were stout and the guac was muy bueno. In fact the rita's were so strong that I was easily convinced by Ryann to go karaoke'ing. So we asked one waitress for suggestions on some karaoke bars, . . . about 5 waiters later we finally got a solid answer in English. The Holiday Inn was said to have a great karaoke bar with thousands of English songs so away we went. Well of course after a twenty minute cab ride out to the HI we find that the place had gone under. No prob though, Ryann asked the concierge for a close by suggestion. She told us to go to a place called The Sphinx so we hopped in a cab anxious to embarrass ourselves on the stage. So we get to The Sphinx and it actually seems pretty upidy so we go upstairs to the karaoke lounge. We arrive and the place is empty, it was only 830 so we just sat down ordered a round and Ryann decided on starting off the night with some Backstreet Boys. So it wasn't too long before a group of young Thai guys arrive and they start in on the karaoke and drinking. Then more and more young trendy looking Thai men arrive. And then again more tight shirted, popped collared Thai guys come in. . . are you getting the picture yet? Well Ryann befriends this one guy in which the ice was broken over a little duet of Sandy and Danny "Summer Nights" from Grease - great entertainment for me. So after the song the guy comes by and chats with me and Ryann. At this point I'm feeling a little tipsy so I just come out with it and ask, "So is that guy you're with your boyfriend?" Apparently the guy Peter was with was just a friend but he did have a boyfriend named Louis back in Portugal, they met over the internet. Next I just decide to blurt out, so this is like a gay bar right, peter? Yeah, the freaking concierge at the freaking Holiday Inn sent us to a gay karaoke bar. And personally the more interesting the clientèle at a karaoke bar the better, but I have to stop and wonder - what the hell was this woman at the Holiday Inn thinking. Did she think to herself, oh look two young pherang (white - that's what they call us over here) girls surely I should send them to a male gay bar because that's the kinda scene they would thrive in. Sheesh. And this place wasn't like around the corner, it was a good cab ride aways. Ha, oh well we made friends and Ryann sang her little heart out while I almost laughed up a lung watching her.
So that's what we did last night. Tomorrow we are flying out to Phuket and soo pumped. Can't wait to celebrate Valentine's Day at the Banana Discotech on Bangla Road in Patong Beach, Phuket!

Fuck it, we didn't get a bucket . . .

Instead two nights ago on Khoa San we went for the 3 liter majigger that had a spout at the bottom so whenever you needed a refill you just filled 'er up yourself. . . classy, we loved it. Then we went to an upstairs bar with some live music. Man the Thai's are hilarious when they cover American songs - we had the pleasure of listening to "Every breast I take" by Sting, ha.
Today we dined at Cabbages and Condoms Restaurant in Bangkok. This place was originally in promotion of safe family planning, but when HIV and AIDS become the huge issue of topic in the 80's this has become primarily their focus.
For those of you wondering, the origin of the name: Cabbages are a common food in Northeast Thailand, in fact they are a staple part of the diet, they are grown in all villages, there are everywhere and everybody uses them. Now, if condoms could be as common and used as often, then some of the population and health problems facing Thailand could be overcome!
Anyways, the place has great Thai food and it actually was the first time I had delved into the local food and yes I have been in Thailand for almost three weeks already . . . but seriously they have every type of food you could imagine here and it seems I am more attracted to say a chicken sandwich at Tony Roma's or chicken quesadilla's at an awesome texmex place called Coyote, sue me.
Ryann and I just booked our flight for Phuket for Thursday afternoon. For those of you unaware, Phuket was hard hit by the Sunami a few years ago but that hasn't stopped virtually anyone from visiting - we have had a hell of a time finding hotel rooms that weren't full near the beach and the popular hot spot of Bangla Road. We are staying at two different hotels, first couple night at Tiger Hotel and the next two at Rico's . . . should be interesting to say the least!

Fuck it, let's have a bucket . . .

We have so much to update and so I will begin with where we last left off. For those who are unaware, there is a famous young hippy area round Bangkok called Khoa San Road. So about a week ago Thursday, Ryann and I trekked out and investigated this area. Never seen so many white people in an area in Bangkok such as this, I realized, this is where all the foreign young white partiers go. Before we arrived my aunt had told me about this infamous bucket that they serve in this area. It's called a bucket, and I'm bringin this little recipe back with me to the states for some insane fun. First, they bust out a bucket. The style of the bucket varies, anywhere from a beach pale to like a big pitcher. Then comes the ice, added by a huge flask of possibly the cheapest whiskey available. Next, a can of pepsi, followed by some off brand red bull. Let me say, before this stuff came up the next day - I was it's biggest fan. Price 240 baht, which translates into aprox. $7US and with the amount that is consumed in this, you would be happy paying even $15US for it. Well, needless to say two buckets later I have no idea how we got home, and even less an idea of how not much money was missing from my wallet. I'm sure almost every one of ya'll reading this can remember many a nights where a blackout occurred and the next morning the dread of opening the wallet ensued. . . but on this road, in this city, have no fear - this shit is CHEAP!
Next day . . . vom. And although my stomach felt like it was the morning after new years eve, I refrained from saying I would never consume a bucket again. Bc lets face it, it really hurt so good. ha. We have already made plans to make it to Khoa San Road tonight, our first day back to Bangkok from Bali. Oops. I will see what tomorrow holds for my tummy . . . yikes.

Old Men Love Red Fingernail Polish

Saturday night = the night Al was brought into our lives.

After many beers and some home made ritas thanks to miss Kelly, we decided to venture out to the Londoner. (see previous post) We knew a band would be coming on that night so thought why the hell not? Not long after we arrived and after the band played a song by The Police which I've never heard (apparently I am supposed to be embarrassed by this and "never in my life admit that to anyone")..anyways, after all this is when we were introduced to a 70 year old man from Missouri named Al. Ohhh Al. Well let me start off by saying Al's introduction was not of the norm. All of a sudden we see this old man dance --more like shimmy-- his way across the dance floor and start beckoning me towards him. At first, of course, I politely shook my head. It was only after it began to look like he wasn't going to leave until I agreed coupled with Kelly saying in my ear "just DO IT." so again I thought why the hell not? To top it all off "Big Girls Don't Cry" was playing. Yes thats right...BIG GIRLS DON'T CRY...not the radio version either- the Thai band version. As I got up I mouthed a "I really hate you" to Kelly. Now when I'm a little tipsy or more so drunk is when I can pull out the dance moves. But when I am completely sober? That's just pure embarrassment. Even though I should have been more embarrassed that I was dancing with a 70 year old man who was yelling at me the entire time "you aren't supposed to talk when you dance so stop asking questions", I was more ashamed of my dancing than anything. I mean I could feel just how bad I was, but that's OK because without that there would have been no Al story. FINALLY the dance was over and Al and I went back to the table where little Miss Kelly was just waiting to pull out the jokes. He sits down next to us and proudly says he's been in Thailand for 40 years and will be for the next 40 more. (UMM ok Al) Then he screams "I'm a single 70 year old bachelor and the COOOOOOOLEST guy in town!!" WOW. Woooow. I hope I can never proudly announce that in my life. (maybe the coolest guy in town part..) So yes. Here we were, two 23 year old Americans getting hit on by the coolest 70 year old kid in town. After we politely declined some more dances and decided to head home, Al walked us out and gave us some sound advice "you two girls stick together--one girl is dangerous, two girls very very goooooooood." OK Al...Thanks Al...we'll be sure to do that. Oh and the best part...he looks at my hands and goes
"Honey, I love your fingernail polish...Old men LOVE red fingernails."

And that was Al. I think he frequently visits the Londoner (maybe even has his own chair) so next time we go back I'm thinking there will be some more good stories to post.

Let's go to Cabbages and Condoms

(Ryann)


Thursday night.

Another great night out with Uncle Gary. We started off at Gullivers..this huge expat bar with lots of pool tables and Thai ladies. It was his friends going away party so a bunch of his co-workers were there to celebrate AKA get drunk. After watching Kelly play pool with this guy who thought he was way better than he actually was, and after witnessing her unexpected/awesome comeback, we were ready to hit the streets. And by streets I mean the coolest freaking street of bars we have ever seen- and yes, we have seen some baaaaaaaars. It was this alley which had all these built up wooden bars side by side separated only by a thin wall...most had a pool table and the best ones towards the end of the alley had their own stereo systems. The one we finally decided on was a fun little bar with Rhianna's "Umbrella" blaring and a nice bartender named Khun Jane (note to reader: not real name). And thank goodness we graced ourselves with Khun Jane's presence. She was so excited that we had chosen her bar and then her friend, Khun something-I-can't-remember, made some darn good B-52 shots.

Kelly and I proceeded to play some pool and soon we found ourselves surrounded by a few onlookers cheering us on. Since...I can spot a tranny from a mile away...it immediately occurred to me that ohhh yes these were guys in little skirts and tube tops probably trying to look for more than just a pool game. The real shocker came when we got escorted by this nice young lady who said here you go girls..or more like "HERE YOU GO GIRLS" (imagine a man's deep voice)...whoa that hurt my I can spot a tranny ego...failed to notice that one. But this is Bangkok and you gotta love it. This alley was exactly what I was looking for in Thailand. A row of small bars with some pop music and a couple games of pool. And can't forget the B52 shots. Whats a vacation without those? Thanks again to Gary for showing us to another great part of this city..First Titanium and then this (I was too drunk to remember the name) ??? Street. The best 2 nights of our trip so far!!

I can spot a tranny from a mile away

I don't think I ever want to leave this city. And no, not because of the "Who-can-spot-a-transvestite-first game." This place is like Sixth Street on steroids...I think you can live here your whole life and still not go to all the bars in this city...well ok ok maybe WE could. But seriously, every night this week has been a new adventure- as cheesy as that sounds. I'll start with Wednesday night.

"The Londoner"

Aunt Rhonda and Uncle Gary's friends own this pub called "The Londoner" which is an English bar/restaurant with good American music and traditional English food. All they had to say was "Wednesday is buy one drink get one free" and we were sold. So the four of us show up to the pub at around 7 or 8 and immediately Kelly and I go for the "pint specials"-- her with the Vodka/Redbull, me with the Vodka/Cranberry Juice. The owners ended up coming the same night and immediately we were invited to join them at their table for dinner. Two drinks in and we were both feelin' pretty good. It was only when I started swaying and singing too loud to Santana's new song "Into the Night" featuring Chad Kroeger from Nickelback that Kelly had to step in and "politely" ask me to abstain. Obviously I was beginning to embarrass her. Anyways, we ate dinner (club sandwiches) and were probably four "pint specials" in by now, feelin' pretty darn good...Then our night got a lot more interesting. Gary announces that he wants to take us to this club called "Titanium" a few streets over and of course we are sold on that as well. WHAT A CLUB. So far, probably the best place we have been to since we've gotten here, hell maybe even better than most of the places we went in Sydney (besides Scary Canary of course...note: see older posts) Every night they have this all girl band called "The Boss" who play any and all American songs you could imagine. A lot of pop songs=my dream come true. They busted out everything from The Cardigans "Love Fool" to "Murder on the Dance Floor." These girls could siiiiiiiiiing AND played guitar/drums/bass really well...I was so amazed with their performance and not to mention borderline Suze that I cornered one of the girls in the bathroom to express my amazement at their talent. I went on to say how "OMG, you need to move to America and play, you could be famous, you don't understand, you are better than all the bands in America, i know..i know when people can sing, i love famous people." Uhh slightly embarrassing now that I think back...Needless to say she was very flattered and I even got a wave from her when they did their next set.

"Bathroom girl is on the far right"

So then Gary and Kelly decided it was time to make a visit to the Ice Bar that was upstairs. And when he said Ice Bar, he meant ICE BAR...it's in a separate freezer type room and the bar is carved completely out of ice. I think they have something like this in Milan... It was awesome- we were in short sleeves and flip flops so we could only bare it for one vodka shot, but it was all worth it. (Thank you Gary!!) After more drinks and some dancing to California Love we were ready to head back home and get some much needed food.

New Obsessions

(Ryann)

1) Bryan Adams "Please Forgive Me"
2) the TV show "Koffee with Karan" - what a guy
3) Tiger Beer
4) Pad Thai
5) Tanya Tucker and Randy Travis. songs from my childhood
6) Ping Pong shows.....NOT


more to be added

The Pong Show

So Ryann and I went out to an Irish pub tonight called O'reilly's. This place apparently has this awesome Beatles cover band, but it's a Monday night here so when we got there they told us they aren't on til Friday. It's supposed to be awesome so we are scheduling to be there at 930pm when they come on fri. We did meet a group of Americaners at the bar who were in Bangkok for a 6 week excursion through UNC business school. They were all really cool so we joined them for a local "pong show" that they had heard about on the street. For those of you wondering what a pong show is, think amsterdam sex show with a lot less class and skill. So Ryann and I walk with this group down the street and we all decide on one of the local clubs to go in to. Girls no cover, nice, but not surprising. Well five minutes in to the show we are accosted by some intensely angry older woman who basically seemed to be the "mother pimp" of all the girls at the club. She demanded all of us to bad 200 baht for our beers. . . one of the girls we were with vehemently argued with her and said how we were told at the door that girls could get in free and a beer was included. The mother hen was a total UGH and told our friend that nothing was for free but kept repeating that if she wanted to take her shirt off and get up on the stage she wouldn't have to pay the 200 baht . . . needless to say we all paid the 200 baht each to avoid even further a seen. Anyways, soon after we leave with the group and Ryann and I go on our way back to Rhonda and Garys. When we reach the major street there are a group of taxi drivers waiting to give us a ride, obvi trying to rip us off. We get in a cab and immediately the driver asks what hotel i'm staying at . . . I say The Davis, which is right next door to our apt. I am quoted 300 baht, HAH! Cab ride there was barely 60 baht, I laughed at the guy and scooted out of the cab, he quotes me 150, now I start yelling. I told him 50, knowing that that was possibly a little under what a meter would cost, we settled on 100 even though I knew i was being ripped off. Ugh. I think I'm learning how to negotiate though, i regrettably didn't bitch more at the cabby but, I think i was just tired . . . tomorrow's another day though!

No cock fights today sorry...

(RYANN)

So today we woke up and went to the outside market. Now the outside market is HUUUUGE. literally it's like the Louvre- you can be there all day and still not see everything. it covers i don't know how many blocks and blocks of downtown Thailand...they had everything from Mark Jacobs goggles (sarah and JD) to GOLDEN RETRIEVER puppies. seriously- there was a whole section full of just animals...from hundreds and hundreds of puppies and kittens all the way to flying squirrels, snakes, spiders, and fish...lots of NEMOS!! it really was unbelievable and so so cheap. then on our way out we discovered bootleg DVDs...movies that have been recorded from theaters across the world for sell on the street like National Treasure and American Gangster and even...HANNAH MONTANA!! which i was very tempted to get but refrained myself just to evade Kelly's criticism and ridicule. we spent most of the day there then came back to her aunt/uncle's apartment to order pizza and salad and watch one of the bootleg movies we had just acquired. Kelly is currently taking a nap (surprise, surprise) and I am waiting for her to wake up so we can maybe go out. that's all for now, but miss y'all and hope everythings well back in the US of A.

Who will be the one to pee outside

Oh, how I love Bangkok.
So Ryann, me, and my aunt and uncle (Rhonda and Gary) headed off to dinner tonight round 530. We went to a place called Coyote which was a short cab ride away from there place. Man, theme restraunts are SO entertaining. We walk in and two asian girls open the doors and are wearing dark jeans, boots, hard core belt buckles, denim collared shirts, and, of course, cowboy hats. Surprisingly though, some great rita's and nacho's at this place . . . if you ever come to Bangkok and want some good Texas food I definitely suggest Coyote. So anyways, midmeal Rhonda spots an ELEPHANT walking down the street we are looking out on. Nevermind it's a major street, nevermind there are tons of cars parading down the street . . . THERE IS AN ELEPHANT WITH A MAN RIDING ON IT DOWN A MAJOR CITY STEET. Old news in Bangkok apparently, but, I got pics of it and it will be posted on facebook soon enough.
After all the gooooood nachos and empanada's (personally didn't eat any, too much pastry for my) we headed off to one of my uncles' fav bars, Mojos. At this point Gary begins to talk much shit to me about how he will kill me in pool, so we head over to the pool tables across the street where, how shall I say this delicately, . . . I kicked his ass in pool. But, I guess soon enough he will request a rematch. Maybe I'll let him have one.

When in Rome? . . . no, Bangkok!

All apologies to ya'll, sorry it has taken so long for us to post another entry. Currently I am in Gary and Rhonda's (my aunt and uncle) high rise in Bangkok. We just returned from lunching at a restraunt at the local mall where we devoured three vodka punches (each) . . . and Rhonda just whipped up some strawberry rita's in the blender.

Ok, so continuing from the last post . . .
Cowboys lost, ugh. Ryann found out she got into Miami law school, so we decided we must go out to celebrate . . . not sure what we were celebrating though. She's happy she got in but still not sure if she is going to go in the fall . . . but she sure as hell has a while to figure that out - specifically April 16th. So we go out and have a fun dinner on the water right by the Sydney Harbor bridge and so we "got our drink on" enough to be tempted back to this HUGELY metro bar Cargo. Got to Cargo. Ordered a round of drinks for me and Ryann, finish those. Ryann orders a round, we get up to move seats, I straight up drop my glass. Dropping the glass actually wasn't too bad bc we met a lot of ppl after that. . . Hassan Sr. and his friend Baba who we later went to the Scary Canary with (bar next to our hostel).*

Anyways I'm gonna fast forward a bit bc I'm lazy.

So we just got to Bangkok last night. We went out out Thursday night and at 345am on Friday a cab picked us up from our hostel to go to the airport. 6am, flew to Melbourne, and 9am got on a flight to Hong Kong. Holy Hell I am never flying long distances in economy, bc we flew business class and it was the shit. There were 3 of us in business class out of 18 seats. So basically William (out steward) was Ryann and I's personal butler. My highlight of the ride was the many cafe latte's that William brought out to me and Ryann's I am guessing was the cheese platter . . . does anyone remember that scene in the movie French Kiss with Meg Ryan on the train and all the cheese, ha, this reminded me of it.

Alright, nap time. I'll post more later, kinda tired right now.

Oh, just fyi, Iaw Atonement with Ryann in Sydney bc she just finished the book. I laughed the entire way thru it, . . . not supposed to be a comedy.

*If you want a good laugh and further details of this evening, contact me privately hence I have rated that night TEB aka Too Embarrassing for a Blog.

Bizarro Cheers

So Saturday night Ryann and I decided to do a touristy thing and ate dinner at Darling Harbor. It reminds me of some sort of boardwalk in the states, and is really similar to Baltimore. Anyways, so after dinner we aren't sure where to go "out" so we settled on the bar next door to our hostel. Let me initially say, sketchy. We get to the door and this scantily clad girl says it's a $20 cover. Psh. That wasn't gonna happen. So Ryann was like, umm we are staying at the hostel next door so do we have to pay? The girl let us in for free. So we survey the clientele, let me tell you it was not too appetizing. Some fool who I referred to as "Hassan" (if you have read Kite Runner, you should know what kinda person I am describing) starts chatting it up with Ryann. Ryann's topic of conversation for most of that night was how she couldn't believe that people talked so much smack about American and ALL the music in the bar was American music, and how "where would they be" if America didn't create their music. Needless to say that got pretty redundant, ha. Anyways so Hassan tries to get us to come with him and one of his friends to their beach house, but they weren't leaving til 4am, sketch again. I slightly entertained the idea til we met "the friend", I will call him K Fed. Ohhhhh man, this kid was a trip. Skinny, shaved head, diamand earings (fake, obvi), and a, i think, burlap looking GREEn (and i mean like pea green) suit. Wowee. So ry and i ended that night soon after and went to sleep at the hostel.
So yesterday we stumbled upon a bar called Cheers, which JD and I have now lovingly refer to it as Bizarro Cheers. I have to hand it to Ryann, she did drag me to a REALLy good and fun bar - we are actually about to go watch the cowboy came there now. FYI, it is 745am monday right now, and we are about to watch the 330pm sunday game. So this cheers is THREE stories, 3 plasma's on the street level - about 5 on the top level that have a couple pool table, lower level has a full restraunt menu and pool tables and more plasma's. This place is awesome, and we actually ran in to a decent amount of Americans. Oh and turns out they have a Jute Box. Ryann's first tune was "I'm so Hood." Although it was not the "remix", we were thoroughly entertained and amazed that this place had that song.
After a few pints, we decided to go see a movie. Shockingly the movie theaters here have assigned seating. My jaw dropped when I paid for my ticket and the girl asked me if I wanted to sit in the front middle or back. Weeeeird.
Well must be going, Cowboy game starts i thirty mins.

They have American Idol in Australia!!!!!!!!!!!!

(ry)
Another little thing to add. If you've ever been to Europe, you know that there is always the "IT" place to go to. In recent years it's been Prague and even more recently, Dubrovnik in Croatia has slowly started to take its place. Well in the Pacific everyone tells you: "you HAVE to go to Thailand." They say this over Fiji, New Zealand, etc. etc. So I guess it's the "Prague of Europe." This makes us extremely happy and excited!!!! Also, as of last night, over beers and many shots of (I can't say the name because it is way too vulgar and when I ordered it at the bar, I whispered the name out of pure embarrassment)...anyways it was decided we are going to Hong Kong for a week after Bali and before we head back to Aussie land!!!!!!!

We aren't going out tonight because Kelly is dragging me to a sports bar that opens at SEVEN IN THE MORNING to watch the damn Cowboys game. It starts at 8 AM on Monday here. Not that I am complaining or anything because who could pass up breakfast, beer, and American football? Not me friends, not me.

Look for pictures and videos to be posted soon. Miss y'all!!

Saved by the Bell . . . the College Years.

A few observations that Ryann and I made thus far:

1. Target is not the cheapest place on Earth - $39.99 beach towels.
2. No one looked attractive in the US in the 80's. So, all the boys here wearing white high tops, with untied pink laces should reevaluate their fashion choices.
3. No gratuity necessary . . . yessssssss.

Tracy takes on...

It's Ryann now..I feel like I need to respond to Kelly's post below. Not surprising in the least and actually very expected, even the Aussies loved Kelly's aura of anger and "bitterness"..we all know what I mean. After only about an hour talking to us, one of our new Aussie friends pulled me aside and commented on how much he loved her cynical personality and that he very much enjoyed the prospect of pushing her buttons just for fun. Obviously I agreed to take part in this and as the night went on we both were loving just how easy it was. That's where the Patriot and Cowboy talk came into play the most..also threw in random comments on how a Democrat was definitely going to be our next President (which I do still firmly believe.) But aside from all this and the "yall frustration" Sydney really has been a blast so far. Last night was awesome and the club Cargo we went to was half inside/half outside with views overlooking the whole harbor. One thing we have found is that the drinks are quite expensive..don't think that is going to stop us though.

Stage 5 Clinger

Well not much is different in Sydney when it comes to the party scene. We spent last night at an outdoor bar happy hour (which extended into the late evening) that was situated in the middle of downtown Sydney. Man there are some hot guys here, sheesh. So we found out about this place from one of our sorority sisters, Heather Gillett, who has been living in Sydney for the past year and we hung out with all her friends. Then we went to some bar near the shore called "Cargo" - I swear people in these parts are sooooo ultra trendy and metro - WAY more so than Dallas if you can imagine that. I asked one of the guys we were with last night actually how to differentiate btw the guy guys and the straight guys. Well apparently ALL the guys that were at the bar that we were at were straight, coulda fooled me!
So on a side note, I got into a huge argument last night with some fool that was talking smack about the Dallas Cowboys. Ugh. Even ppl so far removed from the Texas have some grudge. Then I had Ryann sitting there talking about how she just "knew" that the Patriots were going to beat the Cowboys in the Superbowl, gimme a break. I'm not gonna even get into how I feel about fair weather fans . . . ugh, now I have re-angered myself.
Today we hit Bondi Beach for the second day in a row. I think Ryann and I have officially gotten our first coat of Sydney sun, yes . . . let the tannning come on down!
Anyways, that's all for now.

ps. if I hear one more person comment on Ryann and I's affinity for using the contraction "yall" words will be had . . . ha.

Souless in Seoul

Alright I take it all back. The Koreans are not all happy . . . well maybe the stewardesses but certainly not the ppl if you aren't paying them for a service. Over a ten minute span, I think I was cut in front of at least three times in one line or another. No apologies, no acknowledgment of rude behavior. Just people A LITTLE too rushed at the airport for my taste. Ugh. And for some reason, don't know why, everyone keeps staring at me and Ryann. Ha. We do stick out pretty bad, but it could be worse. We decided to respect their customs and put on pants and not just shorts, which is what we were planning on doing for the plane. Ugh. Can't wait til we get to Sydney for some beer and friendly Aussies!

Two Lost Souls in Seoul

Yay, we started our adventure off with a delayed plane flight to Seoul, South Korea! Well, atually it wasn't that bad, just made our trip more entertaining. We arrived at the Incheon, S. Korean International Airport a little outside of Seoul right at the same time that our connecting flight to Sydney was taking off. The plane flight wasn't that bad at all, Ryann and I attribute most of the great flight to the ultra attentive Korean stewardesses. Those girls had freaking smiles plastered across their faces for the entire 15 hour flight (I am assuming they were on some uppers of some sort, bc it boggles my mind that ppl can be so friendly - but maybe that's just bc I am American and/or I'm a huge cynic when it comes to believing ppl can be genuinely happy). So anyways, Ryann tried one mean on the plane - aside from the seaweed soup she claims that her vegetables and rice were very good. I on the other hand brought my own food from the airport Einsteins's to sustain me.

Ok, arrival in Incheon, S. Korea . . . we walk off the plane and we are accosted by a woman with a Sydney sign. Obviously we missed our flight so we had to go thru customs and were directed to a Korean Air Kiosk for further details. Ry and I, along with a few other foreigners were given vouchers for a free night stay in the Hyatt Regency and three free meals. Wow we lucked out with this place! Dinner was fairly good, spaghetti, and although the beds were pretty rock hard, the soft duvet made it quite lovely. We met a guy from Fiji at dinner who chatty chat chatted with us. At one point during the convo he asked us "So how is America?" - ha, we said it was pretty good. He went on to tell us how he was planning in the future to move to the Us - we asked where . . . he said Missouri. Hmmmmm, odd? Turns out he has a gf up in Tokyo, where he lives, that is from Missouri which helped us to understand the randomness of his answer. Actually I'm not even sure if i have been to Missouri, oh well. Moving on . . .

We passed out round 930 pm Korean time, and of course Ryann woke up at 3am and couldn't go back to sleep. I woke up round 730 and heard her rumbling in the bathroom which was odd bc i could have sworn I had also heard her an hour before in the bathroom. Hmmm. So i proceed to changed the channels on the tv and she emerges from the bathroom, book in hand. She had been reading in the bathroom for the past hour or two trying not to disturb me by turning on the lights in the main room.

I talked to me madre right bf we headed out to breakfast and she asked what sort of attire we had been sporting when we got off the plane in S. Korea. The question seemed highly relevant since the temperature was 32F when we got off the plane, but more importantly she brought up the fact that Asian countries aren't exactly "cool" with the whole "wear whatever the hell you want" mentality that Ryann and I usually maintain. This point was illustrated when we went down to breakfast wearing wind shorts and the matre'd politely asked us to change. Ryann and I look at each other a little frightened. . . shit, we didn't have any other clothes. Then I remember I had some sweat pants and Ryann some capri pants that we wore on the plane. We quickly changed and returned, the guy was pretty cool about it - and we did explain to him that we had missed our plane and were actually supposed to be in 80F weather in Sydney.

Now we're just hanging out in the hotel room watching - can you believe it - Without a Trace on one of the many English speaking tv stations. Ryann even watched Good Morning American early this morning and has fully described the goings of the elections. Apparently Hilary teared up at some breakfast in New Hampshire after some woman asked her how she was doing, and now she has freaking won the state. Ugh. Oh well, it's not like a Democrat is gonna be elected into the Presidency anyways so I shall not fret too much!

Last night in America

Well in eleven hours we will be on our first plane ride (17 hours...) headed to South Korea. I have managed somehow to fit most of my entire closet into one big duffle bag that weighs 160 pounds. Plus a carry on tote bag and newly impulse-bought backpack...(thank you Kelly). Now Kelly on the other hand (minus the huge duffel bag she is taking also) has to carry around not only a very large, HEAVY red tote bag, but in addition to a second carry on bag AND a backpack. Now let's do the math...Kelly, with her bad back, three carry on items, a 17 hour flight, THEN another 11 or so hour flight...How bad do you feel for the person that has to not only travel with her for the next 30 hours but also sit by her...ie: ME.**

Besides all that, the thought that in a day and a half we will be FINALLY there on the beach makes it all worth it. We created Skype accounts tonight so if anyone has that just email us with your username etc. Also thanks to Donna we have wireless internet pretty much anywhere we are over there so be looking for some blog updates in the near future. We are going to miss everyone and don't think just because we are on the other side of the world, we don't want frequent updates on the current events in America..ya know...the Presidential race, ummm gossip? well you get the point.

Next time we post we will be there!!






*no offense Kelly, but it had to be said, and you know that not only will I be thoroughly entertained, but also will be using your approach: put on the ipod and pretend to listen. haha i kid i kid.

Apparently someone upstairs really likes us bc not only are we spending 40 days in Thailand, Kelly's aunt and uncle have booked us flights to Bali from Feb. 1-8 to celebrate the Chinese New Year. Up until now I guess I could have given a flying flip about the Chinese New Year but this year that all changes. I don't know how they party in SE Asia but rest assured that Ryann and I will be partying "Asian Style" til the wee hours of the morning each night we are in Bali. Jealous? I'm sure you are!

42 more hours til take offfff!