Exploring the Night Market on Walking Street in Khon Kaen: Saturday, August 25th, 2012

Looking for a song-teow to take us to the night market. Luckily, we had a Thai girl who could communicate with the drivers and tell him exactly where we need to go.

The song-teow costs 9 Baht (6 Baht if you wear your uniform)-- which is only 0.33 cents!

We got on the Song-teow and are excited to explore the night life of Khon Kaen! 

Look at how many people there are at the market!

Every Saturday Night, the downtown night market opens up at 5pm and stays open until midnight. There are so many food, clothe and other accessory vendors. I got grilled chicken on a stick that night, while others got  coconut water, pineapples with mangostein, fried spinach dumplings, etc.

Look at all of those colorful noodles!

This was a nice entertainment piece at the market! It was this Thai man who was dressed in a patoon and wore really drastic make up as he danced very seductively with his hands. 

This was a  rock band and a dance team from Khon Kaen University.

A singer from Khon Kaen University.

Can you guess what I will eat by my facial expression? 

A cricket!

Can you see the progression of my reaction to the cricket?

(1) At first, all I am thinking is that, "Oh, this won't be so bad. It is only a small cricket-- no harm." 

(2) Then I am thinking, "Oh this is soooo exciting! I am eating a cricket in Thailand!" 

(3) Finally, I am thinking, "Oh my goodness! Why did I do this? I ate a cricket and it is not going down that well!"

Actually, the last picture is just a bad photo of me, but it seems as though I did not enjoy eating the cricket, hehe. In fact, it didn't taste much like anything! It was fried, so it almost tasted like a fried egg since crickets do not have much of substance. Extra protein, right?

Victory is mine! I have eaten my first bug in Khon Kaen and I survived!

Other people eating the cricket too! I am not the only crazy one! 

And now we are back on the song-teow to come back to our apartments-- all cramped up!

Saturday: In the evening, both the Development and Globalization and the Public Health program were able to get together and go to the Saturday night market to enjoy the weekend before classes started. We had a chance to relax, eat good food (including crickets) and enjoy some entertainment.

Sunday (the next morning after this night market), August 26th: In the morning, we had a course description, which basically laid out the syllabus of the semester to come. I can't wait to get started and learn all about Thailand's Public Health System and other Public Health topics. In the afternoon, we had a Thai lesson which taught us how to tell time and describe our activities throughout the day. In the evening, we packed our bags and traveled to the Theparak 5 Slum community where I will be staying for 2 nights!