A haircut and a movie . . .

#1: The absolute nastiest thing I have ever seen---a treat at KFC--a corn sundae!

#2: Kris, Sara, and me

#3: Jello from Sizzler

#4: Rotee--chocolate!

#5: My new hair cut!

#6: Cheeseburger and potato!

Hello!

Well, it's been a crazy couple of days! On Tuesday, after resting from our arduous journey to the Golden Triangle, we decided to take it easy and headed to the Airport Plaza. I had never been to this mall, but it was really nice--at least 4 floors, tons of shops and restaurants, etc. Kris, Sara, David, and I wandered around for awhile before deciding to see a movie. We picked Journey to the Center of the Earth--it cost 120baht (4 bucks). What a deal!

We were all starving by this point, so we headed to Sizzler for some American food. I had never been to a Sizzler before, but the moment I saw they had real ranch dressing, I was sold. I'm sure people were highly amused by our very concentrated efforts to eat as much food as possible. We filled our plates at the salad bar, and let me tell you, there was no conversation--we were way too busy stuffing our faces! I ordered a cheeseburger and a baked potato--it was so good! And they had jello! I was in heaven!

Anyway, we were a few minutes late to the movie, but we only missed a few previews. The movie theater was really nice. Plush red seats that reclined, carpet on the floor. When you buy your ticket, you choose your seats. We chose seats in row C, even though there were not a lot of people in the theater. The girl searched my bag to see if I had a camera--the pirated movie business is popular, as you can imagine. Before the movie started, they did this homage to the king. We all stood up and watched this short little clip showing pictures of the king, etc. Way weird!!! I guess it's the same concept of us standing up when the national anthem is played . . . still, it was very strange. Like they say here, same same but different! :)

After the mall, we headed to the orphanage to see the kids! They are so precious. They are quite a few who have stolen my heart! :) It's always nice to be able to see the kids and just hug them!

After the orphanage, we headed to dinner at the place I've named "The polka dot plate place" (pdpp for short); I had fried rice, even though I was not hungry at all! But pdpp has the best fried rice in the world, so I ate it anyway! UGH. After dinner, Kris, Debbie, Sara, and I all played Rummikub, which was really fun! I didn't win any games, though. :(

So anyway, on to Wednesday. We headed out with Tutu and headed to Lotus (again like Wal-mart) and got our hair cut! Kris, Sara, and I all decided to be brave and get our hair cut . . . I love my hair! And people, yes, those are BANGS. I had this gay guy cut my hair, which was interesting because I don't speak Thai, so I really had to trust that he knew what he was doing. The best part was that it cost . . . (drum roll please) . . . 160 baht! And they washed and dried my hair! That's 5 bucks, people. Wow. :)

Ok, after wandering around for 3 hours (Tutu was getting her hair straightened), we headed home. We rested a bit and headed to dinner. The place we wanted to go to was closed, so we ate rotee from a street vendor---flat fried dough filled with milk, chocolate, etc. YUM. We headed to another place for dinner, but the fried rice there was gross. Yucky. Then home, off to bed.

Funny moment: I received a phone call at 4:15 am this morning from my friend Bonnie. I was soooo confused. Apparently my phone is working, but I can't make calls . . . weird! I was so disoriented this morning, I said, "You do realize I'm in Thailand, right?" She was planning on leaving a message, but I picked up the phone. I hope that didn't cost me hundreds of dollars!

Well, it's Thursday morning here, and I have to get my laundry done today. Cheryl arrives on Saturday, and the third part of this trip begins . . . write more soon!

Susannah