Living in Bangkok

I am writing this blog post from our new apartment in Nana, looking out at the nighttime city skyline through the window. It's been a busier couple of days. On Friday, I went out with Darren, a choreographer and director from the UK that I met through Kathryn. We met for iced drinks in Sathorn, then headed to the Thong Lor apartment of Darren's friends Cherrise (Cherrine?), a dancer and choreographer from the UK. I also met Laura, who is Thai-Australian, runs an arts program in Bangkok, and is super connected with the arts (and alternative therapies) community in Bangkok. It's been exciting to realize there's more of a theatre/opera/dance scene in Bangkok than I'd known (of course, there would be much more if we weren't in the middle of a pandemic). Darren is a total connector, and he's already scheming for me to meet up with various artists, composers, etc. I also went stand-up paddleboarding with Sean and Emma and another friend, Jo. We took a taxi to a ...

First, an update on the Immigration stuff: it seems for the moment like everything is going to be ok. On Tuesday morning, I went to Immigration with an HR person from my school (who I only know as Ms. Rundon) and applied for the Covid extension. They didn’t even ask for the TM30 form that I don't have—and that Ms. Rundon had thought would be a requirement (a situation which had contributed to my stress and the passive aggressive texts from our current landlord, please see Monday's post—or, you know, don't bother reading through that anxiety rant).  I didn’t actually get the visa extension yet, though. I paid the 1900 baht and I got a stamp in my passport saying my extension is under consideration— I have to return to Immigration June 4 to get the stamp. I’m not really sure why, and Ms. Rundon couldn’t really explain— maybe  it’s because it’s too early for me to get the extension? I don’t know—it’s almost easier to not question the convoluted nature of the Immigration p...

Riverboats and Immigration Woes As you can maybe guess from that headline, the first part of my day on Monday was more fun than the second part... Inspired by my trip on the canal taxi, I decided to take an express boat up the Chao Phraya river on Monday morning. I considered going to Nonthaburi, which is almost at the end of the route and is technically, I think, a separate city from Bangkok, though they are becoming one. Willy told us there’s a big wet market there and that the river boats wouldn’t be crowded because of Pandemic Times.  But I figured the trip might take a long time and it didn’t sound that fun making a big journey like that by myself, so instead I decided to head to the Wang Lang market, which we visited on our last trip to Bangkok. I figured I could pick up some pandan and fresh fruit, at least. Also, "large open-air market with many snacks" is one of the most appealing descriptions ever I walked the mile or so to the BTS, took that to Sathorn Pie...

Life is still quiet around here. I walk in the mornings when Roman leaves for school, and we explore Bangkok in the hours when it's cool enough to do so. We've been getting to know a handful of people from various meetup groups and we'll sometimes grab a tea or a dinner with someone. And I've been taking advantage of the free time to make some calls to friends & family. Morning doughnut from a street cart Roman looking sharp for school Sample text from my school--they're often just a little bit hard to parse Croissant toast, mango, and aged cheddar for breakfast (our first hard cheese in months!) Omelet and rice lunch, with fruit bowl Congee dinner Oh, and I took a boat! It's really more like a river taxi--it runs along the Saen Saep canal and picks up commuters, but oh, how I love a boat! View of the canal from the dock View of an approaching boat View from the boat View of the departing boat View of a footbridge View from the bridge A different footbridg...