Rakhi: Thanks to Joel, my birthday weekend was action packed and fun filled. After my last class on Friday, we dashed off to the minibus station hopped on a bus and arrived in Bangkok by 6:30 pm. Not bad. I pestered and pestered and harassed and begged Joel to tell me what he had in store for me over the weekend but he wouldn't budge. It wasn't until we arrived at our hotel that Joel made his revelation.

On Friday night we went for an Indian meal at the unfortunately named 'Planet Bollywood.' Thankfully the food was better than the name and since we'd deprived ourselves of Indian food for quite sometime we totally overindulged to the point of making ourselves sick. We tried to go for a stroll and digest around the nearby and infamous night bazaar but we were so bloated that we were fit for no more than an early night.

On Saturday morning we awoke with a dip in the rooftop spa of our hotel and a walk around Lumpini Park- Bangkok's answer to Central Park. Then we made our way to the Golden Mount where in the blazing midday sun we walked up lots of steps. We scalded our feet on the ground at the base of the monument but were rewarded with a great view of Bangkok. Joel had suggested going to a Muay Thai boxing match before dinner which is something I would definitely like to do. However, on this occasion I preferred the idea of having one of the discounted massage packages offered at our hotel as a birthday treat. After much deliberation, I went for a one hour Swedish massage and a one hour facial and Joel chose a 1hr30 mins Swedish massage after which he sneakily entered the sanctuary of my room to take this incredibly unflattering pic...

Feeling rejuvinated, looking refreshed and like a million baht, we went for a pre-dinner dinner drink at what is quite possibly the coolest bar in the entire world. Vertigo is an open-air, rooftop bar on the 63rd floor of the Banyan Tree hotel and it's absolutely exquisite. The bar is amazing and the view is even better. We saw the sun going down and for an hour and a half watched the distant skyline haphazardly illuminate in flashes of lightning. From there we went to a beautiful French restaurant where we ate steak and cheese and the French restaurateur admitted to us he was partial to plastic cheese slices on toast every now and then! After an evening of fine food, fine wine and a couple of liqueurs we were once again ready to hit the hay. This is what turning 25 and getting up at 6:30 every morning does to you!

I think the highlight of Joel's trip to Bangkok, nay, his trip to Thailand is what happened on Sunday but I'll let him tell about that in his own words.

We were greeted upon return to our home in Takhli by frazzled creatures that had found their way into our home and cooked to death in the heat of the house. I'm slowly getting used to our friends but I did get the shock of my life when last week, feeling brave, I went into the kitchen to make myself and Joel an iced coffee. The kitchen is our main source of creepies since there are gaps between the house and the roof either side of the kitchen. Out of nowhere, right in front of me a huge lizard popped it's head up and I screamed and ran like a girl shouting for Joel who was peacefully lazing in the hammock. I went right back to square one after that fright!

Since the weekend, I've been really tired and desperately feel like I need a day of nothing to recharge. However, Joel and I have been selected, along with a handful of other native teachers, to go to English Camp MC training this weekend in Lopburi. We're not obligated to go but we can get paid for it and furthermore if we're asked to do any camps in the future and MC them, we can ask for higher pay. The only problem is that all camps, whilst they're fun, take place over the weekend and since we're only here for a short amount of time anyway I don't know if I want to be working every weekend. Hmmm...