A quick guide to American Girl doll hairstyles

Cute American Girl doll hairstyles

 

My daughters both got their first AG doll two years ago. The dolls turned 1 last Christmas and yes we celebrated their birthday's. Since we have to keep them looking nice, I found myself a new hobby, creating new hairstyles. Ruthie has short hair and Marie Grace has long hair. Ruthie really gives me a challenge since she has short hair, but it's fun. Thailand is such an inspiration for me when it comes to new hairstyles! Below, you will find pictures of my creations.

 

 

 

Rough play from little ones!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hairstyles modeled by Marie Grace, Ruthie, and Hannah

A guide to Thai Transportation

Types of Transportation in Thailand

 

There are many different ways to get around in Thailand, even in rural areas. My city is more like a large town and we have many different styles of rides. Each fare is at a different cost.

 

This is a Tuk Tuk. A single family can catch a ride in one

of these. They don't go very far and the fare is very fair. They range from 40 to 100 baht. Make sure that the fare and destination are negotiated before the passenger gets in or you may be paying much more. Tipping is always appreciated when riding a Tuk Tuk.

 


Motorbikes and scooter rentals are available for rent short or long term. We rented ours on a monthly basis. My scooter was 2000 baht a month and my husband rented his motorbike for 1000 baht a month. The price of the rent depends on the kind of bike you rent. My husband had an manual while I had an automatic.

 

This three wheeled bike is called a
samlor. The average fare is about 70 baht. This is more of a slow paced sight seeing ride rather than a get there now ride. A tip is genuinely appreciated.

Renting a driver is a great option if you are moving or wanting to travel long distances especially if you have children. We used this option twice so far. It is nice and relaxing and we can stop whenever we choose to. We paid 6000 baht to get from Bangkok to Mahasarakham. It was very nice and well worth the hassle of having to drive and figure out directions on our own. Giving a tip is much appreciated.

 

 

Buying your own bike is an option if your planning on staying a long time. These bikes are nifty. They are new electric motorbikes. They are nice and quiet. BTW-children like quieter bikes.



 

 

Another long distance option is the bus. Fares range depending on the distance you are going. the fare from Mahasarakham to Khon Kaen is 50 baht. The trip is about 45 minutes long. This is the big pink bus. bus. Apparently its the best option for busses. Apparently its the best option for busses.




The taxi is a good option if you need a lift anywhere. They make long distance trips and prefer them but they are more expensive if you choose to go long distance. The going rate for a trip across town is 100 baht. They don't like to use their meters and sometimes wont even when you ask. Always ask. They never used them when we asked so we just usually paid the 100 baht. Tipping is nice but we almost never did unless they used the meter.

 The city bus is an option. We never have used this option although we see them everyday. They pack them full of people and generally are very cheap about 10 baht a ride.












 Songthaews are an option but don't try and catch one just before or after school. They get packed but again, are generally cheap. About 10 baht a ride.

 When riding your motorbike or scooter, remember to always wear your helmet. It is very easy just to say your going down the street and it wont be long thus not wearing it. A lot of Thai's don't wear them either. Don't let those things be an excuse. You can get ticketed or easily get into an accident. Protect yourself and wear eye protection and your helmet!

 

 

 

 

 

Paying Your Thailand Water Bill

Water bill in Thailand

Paying the utilities are an experience of its own here in Thailand. For starters, we live in a detached house in a residential neighborhood in Mahasarakham,  Thailand.  This is a college university town in the northeast part of Thailand. We got our first bill in a small box on our outside gate. You have to be on the lookout for it because it can easily be missed. Translation of this bill goes as follows.  The bill was delivered on January 12, 2015. You can pay the bill from January 13, 2015-January 19, 2015. The date at the very bottom says that they will turn your water off on January 26th, 2015. Believe me, there is no grace but what it says. They will turn it off on that date. This bill was very confusing to read at first. Now, how the heck do you pay it? We asked around and of course the language barrier hits again. So we use body language. I show my bill to any local I see on the street and they point me in the direction. I drive a little farther and continue the process of showing the bill and them pointing until we find the place. I knew the place was in town near my school but I wasn't for sure of the exact location. If you don't want to do that, you can go to the mall or a place where foreigners hang out and ask them. Foreigners in my town like to hang out at the amazon cafe. There are two in my town. Either way, there is a way. The top picture is a picture of the inside of the water department.  If your interested in more from Thailand, check back often. I have a few posts brewing about my electric bill, transportation, and a very large informational one on travel vaccines. Have a great day!

Emergency Room Trip Cost In Thailand

ER trip Mahasarakham, Thailand

 

I recently visited the ER in Mahasarakham, Thailand for my ear that I thought was infected. I originally had planned to visit the doc upstairs of the hospital who had an actual office. Due to the fact that I can't communicate fully to the Thai's, they sent me to the ER area. It was fine but I just didn't want to pay an arm and a leg. I know how expensive it can get in America, what I am used to. They told me the spot behind my ear (forget the technical name) was infected and my ear in fact was not infected. They prescribed me an antibiotic and made an appointment for the next week in case I needed to come back. They were very helpful and all went well. I was there probably a total of 20 minutes from start to finish. The icing on the cake is perfect. I only paid 106 Baht, which is about 3 dollars with no insurance. 3 dollars for the whole hospital visit plus antibiotics, which I filled right there in the hospital lobby. I am going to be going to get my tooth looked for a loose filling and also an eye exam for my family and I. I will keep you posted on my findings as far as prices and such. Have a great day!

 

 

Feeding Elephants in Thailand

Elephants in Thailand

During our visit to Khon Kaen, we stumbled upon an elephant and his owner. He allowed my girls to feed the elephant for a small fee. My girls have been wanting to meet a real elephant and we're so excited for this great experience. Check out my pics and video below. 

Immigration office trip, Khon Kaen

Trip to immigration office

Khon Kaen, Thailand

My family and I took a trip to the immigration office in Khon Kaen this weekend to get a 90 day visa extension. The trip was altogether successful but we did hit some roadblocks along the way. On the way there, we had two flat tires, my front tire and my husband's back tire. Luckily there are little bike shops strategically situated on the road. They are pretty much everywhere and thankfully it only takes about 10 minutes and 100 baht to get it done and back on the road. Once we got to the office, we had to fill out some paperwork and get some copies of our documents.  The whole process worked out very well and went smooth. The workers speak enough English to get by and are very clear as to what they wanted us to fill out. I really like Khon Kaen. They have good food and it's pretty easy to find western food. We ate McDonald's for lunch and had pizza at the hotel for dinner. Below are some pictures from our short trip.  

Ballet in Thailand

Yes There Are Ballet Studios For Expats In Thailand!

Before I moved to Thailand, I researched ballet studios in my area. I could not find anything and started getting worried because Rose is obsessed with ballet. When I got to my city, a coworker at the school told me there was a ballet down the road. I also found out there was another ballet studio for a total of 2. I went to sign up my girls and I was pleasantly surprised to find that they speak English.  It's not the best but I can communicate well with them. There are many people who can speak English in my city but most do not. I have pretty much learned a little bit of Thai to get by. Anyway, the studio offered to teach private lessons to my girls at no additional cost. Wow! I was astonished. They are very advanced and know what they are doing as my girls have been in ballet back in the states. I'm very pleased with the whole thing and am so glad I signed them up. It costed 1800 baht per uniform per kid and 1400 baht per kid per month. My girls go once a week for an hour. The school is called I school ballet but they do not advertise and are not found online. Although they are on "line". You can download "line" from the play store. Here are some pics. 

Making food in Thailand for your kids

Food in Thailand

My girls do not like Thai food at all so I have to make due with American food the best I can. A lot of people say Thai food is wonderful. I've tried a lot of it and only like a select few things. We have a supermarket called the Big C similar to Walmart and a Tesco Lotus like the Big C but smaller. They don't have much food there as far as ingredients. We have to be very creative. Thankfully we are. We have to be especially creative because we don't have an oven. We only have a hotplate, microwave, and we just bought a pressure cooker. Some food we have made in Thailand so far- rice and beans, stir fry, cheese sandwiches and tomato soup, minestrone soup, pizza sandwiches, fried mushrooms, peanut butter and jelly, nutella sandwiches, fried chicken, shredded bbq chicken sandwiches, fried rice, fried noodles, eggs, eggs-the mess, hard boiled eggs, egg salad sandwiches, homemade French fries, and of course spaghetti with garlic bread. I know there are other options but I just haven't discovered them yet.

 2 liter and 1.5 liter

 shredded bbq chicken, beans, and homemade coleslaw

 Thai fruit salad

 Thai salad

supermarket

Thai street cart vendors