Christmas, the away from home and overseas while on the
World Race way.
Leaving our campsite, we made the 3-5hr truck ride back to
Chiang Mai, arriving just in time to hit up the night market to pick up a last
minute gift for Tyson. Someone on the
squad had come up with the great idea of doing a “Secret Santa” exchange where
you spent the time leading up to Christmas praying for the person you drew and
bought them a gift costing less than two dollars. I drew Tyson. I got him some chocolate and a bracelet so cool I was contemplating
buying it for myself instead. I hope he
liked them, I figured if he didn’t like the bracelet, he would at least enjoy
the chocolates.
Chiang Mai, arriving just in time to hit up the night market to pick up a last
minute gift for Tyson. Someone on the
squad had come up with the great idea of doing a “Secret Santa” exchange where
you spent the time leading up to Christmas praying for the person you drew and
bought them a gift costing less than two dollars. I drew Tyson. I got him some chocolate and a bracelet so cool I was contemplating
buying it for myself instead. I hope he
liked them, I figured if he didn’t like the bracelet, he would at least enjoy
the chocolates.
Christmas Eve in the Siam Paragon Mall
The next day, I headed to the mall to buy some chocolates to
surprise the women of team Jubilee with when we saw them at the bus station
later that night as a Hey We Missed You at Manistry sort of thing. At the store
I looked at all the boxed chocolate sets all wrapped with their pretty bows and
I realized how expensive Americanish chocolates would be in Chiang Mai. Finding the perfect set, I noticed the one I
had picked was lacking a bow. “That will
not do,” I said to myself and anyone standing nearby. I talked to a store employee who was placing
bows on everything in sight, asking if I could have one of the hundreds of bows
she had in her makeshift Christmas decoration shopping cart. She said, “no,” and that I had picked the
wrong chocolate set. “I’ll show her,” I
said, slightly whispering to another customer who wasn’t in the least bit
unconcerned about my chocolates, as I pondered how I would sneak away with one
of her bows. My conscience promptly
punched me in the jaw, and I purchased a build-a-bow kit. After coming out of the store with the goods,
I saw what must have been a mirage… As I
checked out at Dunkin Donuts I noticed the women of Jubilee coming down the
escalator and looking around… busted? No… I hid.
surprise the women of team Jubilee with when we saw them at the bus station
later that night as a Hey We Missed You at Manistry sort of thing. At the store
I looked at all the boxed chocolate sets all wrapped with their pretty bows and
I realized how expensive Americanish chocolates would be in Chiang Mai. Finding the perfect set, I noticed the one I
had picked was lacking a bow. “That will
not do,” I said to myself and anyone standing nearby. I talked to a store employee who was placing
bows on everything in sight, asking if I could have one of the hundreds of bows
she had in her makeshift Christmas decoration shopping cart. She said, “no,” and that I had picked the
wrong chocolate set. “I’ll show her,” I
said, slightly whispering to another customer who wasn’t in the least bit
unconcerned about my chocolates, as I pondered how I would sneak away with one
of her bows. My conscience promptly
punched me in the jaw, and I purchased a build-a-bow kit. After coming out of the store with the goods,
I saw what must have been a mirage… As I
checked out at Dunkin Donuts I noticed the women of Jubilee coming down the
escalator and looking around… busted? No… I hid.
Christmas Eve, in front of the Paragon.
Sitting at the bus station and overly proud of ourselves
Matthew and I busted out the build-a-bow for dummies kit, only to find out that
we had no idea what we were doing. A
pocket knife, a piece of tape recycled from a Hello Panda Cookies package, a
few failed attempts, a little frustration, a few minutes later, and I had built
a bow. As the ladies arrived Matthew and
I carried our box of fun (carefully) over to where the girls were unloading and
presented our present. I knew they would
be excited about Chocolates (thanks Bill Bush for the idea)!
Loading our bus at
around 7pm we were back to Bangkok, where
we arrived at around 7 o’clock in the morning on the 24th. After digging through all of my stuff I
realized that my debit card was missing. A few hours later and my card was
cancelled, a new one was ordered, and some money had been Western Unioned and
was waiting for me at a bank in Siam Square. Michael Parise also needed to go
to Siam Square to pick up some gifts for his teammates and secret santa at one
of the many malls, so we headed out. I
hadn’t the slightest idea of how to get there except that I would need to take
a bus numbered 46, no… 48 “I think,” and
then the skytrain, and that the bank would be somewhere near where I got off
the skytrain. We loaded the Blue 48 bus, which we thought was supposed to be
yellow, and took off. Made it okay after
asking a few people and enjoyed a day running around downtown Bangkok on
Christmas Eve.
around 7pm we were back to Bangkok, wherewe arrived at around 7 o’clock in the morning on the 24th. After digging through all of my stuff I
realized that my debit card was missing. A few hours later and my card was
cancelled, a new one was ordered, and some money had been Western Unioned and
was waiting for me at a bank in Siam Square. Michael Parise also needed to go
to Siam Square to pick up some gifts for his teammates and secret santa at one
of the many malls, so we headed out. I
hadn’t the slightest idea of how to get there except that I would need to take
a bus numbered 46, no… 48 “I think,” and
then the skytrain, and that the bank would be somewhere near where I got off
the skytrain. We loaded the Blue 48 bus, which we thought was supposed to be
yellow, and took off. Made it okay after
asking a few people and enjoyed a day running around downtown Bangkok on
Christmas Eve.
Everything was way overpriced at the mall… I couldn’t afford to buy both Crocs so I had to walk with the left foot only.
Looking out at the Skytrain from the Paragon
Christmas Day (which was about 90 degrees), Team Jubilee
shared a nice waffle breakfast, and then swapped some small gifts. Matthew and I got a new Soccer ball and Pump
and some candy. We then were informed
that later that night we were having a surprise Christmas Party. Apparently, Jake back at AIM headquarters
found a way to hook us up with a sweet Christmas dinner at a restaurant
downtown Bangkok. It was a great time of
hanging out with the squad and doing silly things as well as exchanging gifts
with everyone’s secret Santa.
shared a nice waffle breakfast, and then swapped some small gifts. Matthew and I got a new Soccer ball and Pump
and some candy. We then were informed
that later that night we were having a surprise Christmas Party. Apparently, Jake back at AIM headquarters
found a way to hook us up with a sweet Christmas dinner at a restaurant
downtown Bangkok. It was a great time of
hanging out with the squad and doing silly things as well as exchanging gifts
with everyone’s secret Santa.
Team Jubilee at the Christmas party
After dinner, Janna, Chelsea, Michael Parise, and I all went
to see a movie at the Paragon Theater. The Paragon Mall is ridiculous, and is way nicer than any mall I have
ever been to. The mall itself has all of
the designer stores like Versace, Gucci, Burberry, etc… and also has stores
inside that sell things like Lamborghinis, Lotus’, and Porches’. Going to the Paragon Theater feels like you
are going to some huge red carpet event and has seating options from around $6
all the way up to like $50 or $100 a person. We weren’t able to sit in the $50 seats so we had to settle for the
“Privilege X” chairs, which were awesome, and cost less than ten dollars.
to see a movie at the Paragon Theater. The Paragon Mall is ridiculous, and is way nicer than any mall I have
ever been to. The mall itself has all of
the designer stores like Versace, Gucci, Burberry, etc… and also has stores
inside that sell things like Lamborghinis, Lotus’, and Porches’. Going to the Paragon Theater feels like you
are going to some huge red carpet event and has seating options from around $6
all the way up to like $50 or $100 a person. We weren’t able to sit in the $50 seats so we had to settle for the
“Privilege X” chairs, which were awesome, and cost less than ten dollars.
I contemplated buying one of these Lambo’s to drive around Asia in. Turns out it wasn’t in the Support Budget.
Michael and I posing for a photo with the cast of an upcoming movie.
The Theater Lobby… Being at the mall and such nice places was kind of a culture shock for us.
We wanted to sleep on the couches… or the floor.
We, taxied back to the YWAM base, and the next day we were back
on a bus back to Chiang Mai to head out for the second half of Manistry.
on a bus back to Chiang Mai to head out for the second half of Manistry.
