Tasty treats & rainy river rides

After teaching on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, the weekend began with a trip to a dinner theater on Silom Road. We ate scrumptious Thai food like cashew chicken, honey-glazed duck, crab meat sausage dipped in plum sauce, and veggies. I had a coconut frosty in a hollowed-out coconut and taro in coconut milk for dessert. Needless to say, I'm eating well. Also, six vignettes of traditional Thai dance and martial arts were performed right in front of our table (it pays to have reservations). The picture below gives you a sample.

On Sunday, I took a guided boat trip up the Chao Phraya River to Kho Kret- Bangkok's largest, car-free island. Along the way, the boat stopped at a monastery with a couple neat wats and a huge, gorgeous garden that provided a nice escape from the city streets of Bangkok. We also stopped at a dessert-making village along the water for lunch (my heaven!). On the island of Kho Kret, I enjoyed looking at the handcrafted items for sale, especially the beautiful and ridiculously inexpensive pottery. On the way back to the pier I treated myself to the tasty treat pictured above: rich and creamy coconut ice cream drizzled with coconut milk over a bed of sticky rice in a banana leaf bowl accented with a vibrant purple orchid. Quite a nice adventure, even when it started pouring on the boat ride back. Naturally, I was sitting on the edge in prime territory to be drenched by the monsoon outside the boat. Thankfully, the boat had large plastic covers for the windows, which provided sufficient protection from the elements once they were secured.

Now, I'm in the last week of orientation. I'll go to my province on October 22nd, which is where I'll be teaching for the semester and living for the next five months.