ChanomiTalk

I traveled to Thailand last year with some friends.  We went to BKK, Koh Samui and Phuket.    All were amazing places full of great food, beaches, Thai culture  and amazing things to see.     You can find cheap guest houses for as little as $7 USD per night.   Hotels start at around $33 USD and go up from there.   The big resorts on the islands start at $50 per night for a room on the beach.   But prices change depending on the season.   Oct – March is usually the high tourist  season and the price of everything goes up but its still very affordable.

Our first day there we opted to catch the train from the airport to BKK.   The taxi drivers will assume you are stupid and try to take advantage of you and ask for what seems to be a low price for people from the U.S or Japan but is actually very high for Thailand.     I was tired from my flight so I didnt feel like haggling with the taxi drivers so we got the train.  Which is very easy to use by the way.   If you do decide to use a taxi negotiate the price from the airport to your hotel in BKK before you get in the car.   If they are asking you for 1000 baht or more walk away.   It shouldn’t cost more than 500 baht or so to get from the airport to most hotels in BKK.  That is including the road tolls.

The food is great in Thailand but beware.  Some foods are extremely spicy.  Street food is very cheap and I loved trying it all.    How ever I would advise people not to eat street food from vendors that have food that looks like its been sitting out all day.   Be particularly mindful of seafood that is not on ice.   You dont want to get sick and send your vacation in your bed or in the hospital.

Traveling in BKK is very easy they has a skyline called BTS and a subway called the MTS that can get you almost anywhere you want to go in the city cheaper and faster than a taxi during peak run hours.   Traffic in BKK is horrible and you have to take extra care crossing the street.

Near Khao San are many ancient temples as well as a huge shopping district.    The easiest way the get there is by catching the MTS subway line and riding it to the very last stop.    From there you can get a taxi the rest of the way for about $2 dollars or you can just walk.    Taxi drivers like to try and go on detours and charge you extra money or they will offer you and very low fair but wont take you directly to where you ask.   Instead they will try and take you to some merchant who sells suits, jewelry, tours or something.    These merchants give the taxi drivers gasoline coupons for bringing in customers and they also give the taxi drivers a commission if you buy something in the shops.    Don’t thing you are getting a good deal.  The shop owners charge you more to cover the commission they give to the taxi driver.

If you want to learn how to make real Thai food there are  lot of cooking school you can go to that are fun and easy.   I went to two different schools in Silom both were very affordable.   Only 1000 baht which is about 35 dollars.    Class started at 9am  with a tour of the local Thai market where we shopped for ingredients and our guide explained how to tell if things were fresh and how other things were made.   It was very interesting.  I think i liked buying snacks from vendors and tasting strange looking fruit the most.    After that we all went to the school where we prepared and cooked a  full meal.    After the cooking the best part happens.  THE EATING!!!!!   hahahahaha    all the students get to sit down and enjoy the food they made.      The Silom cooking school and the Somphong cooking school are on the same road but they each teach different styles of thai cooking.      I enjoyed my time and both.

people I saw at the floating market

今月もグリーンライフ湘南という福祉施設で、ヴァイオリンコンサートをして参りました。
クラシックの小品や映画音楽、日本の歌などを、ひとりで一時間弾きました。

聞き覚えのある曲では、ヴァイオリンのメロディーを口ずさんでいるのが聞こえてきました。
また、日本のメロディーでは、皆さん大きな声で歌っていました。
そうなると私もつい、ひとりでオーケストラのように弾いておりました。

この次は、漫才のようなおしゃべりで笑わせたくなりました。
ヴァイオリンを手に漫才もいいかもしれません。パートナーがみつかるでしょうか？

Let me tell you about these pictures. I went to a nursing home called Green Life Shonan for a violin concert again this month. I gave a solo performance for one hour. I played classical violin music, famous movie music, and Japanese songs. Some violin music was familiar to the audience, so I listened to their humming while I was playing. Also, when I played melodies of Japanese songs, they enjoyed singing aloud, which was nice. I tried to imitate an orchestra while they sang. It would be fun if I could act like a comedian next time…maybe I should find a partner for a comic duo?

Michiko Nakamura

演奏を終えて、最後に、グリーンライフ湘南の明るい職員の皆さんと。

スイス在住のヴァイオリニスト赤木さんが住んでいる村です。美しい春を迎えました。
まだ行ったことがありませんが、赤木さんの写真を見ているとこちらも嬉しくなります。
すぐにでも行きたくなりました！！

中村　　「このあたりに住んでいますか？」

赤木　　「みちこさん、右に見える村がボクの住んでいるタイリンゲンですよ～～」

中村　　「ずぅっと先に、腰が曲がるころ、ヴァイオリンを持って遊びに行きますよ～～デュエットしましょう！」

Aloha Sensei,
I am enjoying reading my story with you in Japanese. I want to learn slowly and pronounce
Japanese words correctly. Mahalo (thank you) Aloha