[WAT-TED OUT?]

Week #1 is done of my volunteer program and I cannot believe how quickly it went! I spent 3 days at the hospital this week and the rest of my time was spent exploring Bangkok and all that this amazing city has to offer. On Monday we went to Wat Arun, which I had already been to but this time not in the rain so I actually got a few pictures! We took a water taxi to the temple and then learned how to take the Sky Train and Subway home. I have to take these home from work everyday so I have started to become a pro at this! ;) You can't really tell but these steps are super steep! It was definitely a teeny bit scary on the way down but I survived!

Every day after our volunteer work we go and do a fun group activity. Tuesday was Muay Thai boxing at a real Muay Thai training camp. Our trainer was a big time champ in Thailand (of course now I can't remember his name?)! He showed us a lot of the punches and kicks and let us practice with the bags that the actual boxers get to use. Andd...the smelly gloves that they use. There was a much needed shower after this activity. 

The next day we explored a Wat (temple) in China Town. I had actually been to this temple with my first tour company as well but it was still really interesting to see. This temple holds a 5 ton pure gold Buddha. There is a museum in the bottom few floors of the temple that explain the history behind the Chinese settling in Thailand.

The rain clouds were coming in so we had to tour the top floor (where the Golden Buddha is located) pretty quick so we didn't get caught in it. We headed to a seafood restuarant for dinner located right in China Town. I'm sure if you like sea food the meal was great but I stuck to the veggies so I can't say much about the food at this place! Everybody else seemed to be oohing and ahhing about it though!

The next night we headed to a "lady boys" show. I had never been to a drag show before so I really wasn't sure to expect but I loved it!

These actors/dancers used to be men (or still are) and now they are women. Most of them have had multiple surgeries to switch their genders. I did not know this before I spoke to a surgeon in the hospital the other day but Thailand is famous for male to female gender surgery. The surgeons in this country are very recognzed for this surgery but not the reverse, female to male. The country is also very accepting of transgender people. I couldn't believe how beautiful some of these "men" were. If you saw them on the street I really don't think you would ever know they were men if they didn't talk to you. They lip-sync the words but the few times someone talked into the microphone you instantly knew they really were men. The show had tons of acts with the most extravagant costumes! It was definitely worth seeing :)

 We don't go to our worksites on Fridays so we have 3 days of weekend to explore Thailand.This weekend we are heading to Amphawa and Ayuddhya! More posts to come :)