Six weeks in

I'm six weeks into my new job and loving it so far. Some parts are better - like having awesome teammates and getting foot massages in Bangkok - and some parts are worse - like working all weekend in Bangkok when I had a friend in town and wanted to go exploring - but on the whole, it's challenging, exciting, and above all, worthwhile because I can see the difference we are making to the client.

I've spent four weeks in Bangkok now and really haven't had the time to see much except the road between the office and the hotel. It's quite ironic really, since we've been with this client on multiple projects and they're typially known as a more relaxed, decent working hours kind of client. Still, not too many complaints so far, as long as I get to catch up on sleep during the weekends.

A sign I spotted on the way to Pratunam on the 2-hour shopping spree I managed to fit in on Sunday morning:

Alien marriages - signed, sealed and delivered in 20 minutes

Some impressions of Thailand:

1. The service is great, if you're grading on eagerness to help. If you're looking at effectiveness, though, it's a different story. One of my teammates left the key to our office in an envelope at the reception because he was going on leave. It took the staff 15 minutes to find it again. They even tried offering my job manager an empty envelope from the business center, at which point he very nearly lost his cool. They were running up and down like headless chickens and the whole time, the envelope was right there on the desk in front of them. The same thing happened when I tried to leave my room key for my friend who was visiting. I ended up having to go back to the hotel to open the door for her. If you're trying to leave anything other than an envelope, however, your chances are much higher - a USB stick was handed over with no fuss at all.

Moral of the story: Don't leave anything in an envelope at the reception. Stick it in a stuffed toy if you have to, just don't use envelopes!

2. I'm always hungry in Bangkok. Well, now I've learned my lesson, but the first week I was there, I was eating Malaysian-sized portions and I was hungry all the time. I think it's because of the spicy and sour food. The spiciness makes my tummy feel fuller than it actually is while the sourness aids digestion so within about two hours of a meal, I'm hungry again. Now I just make sure to eat more rice and eat more than I normally would at home. Oh and I also try to eat whenever possible, because meal times are rather haphazard on this project. I skipped a McDonalds "snack" at 6pm but that ended up being dinner for the team so I only got to eat at 1am when I got back to the hotel.

3. The weather is very much like Malaysian weather - hot and humid. The forecast always says it's going to rain but so far, I've only seen it rain once.

4. The traffic jams in Bangkok are horrendous. It took me half an hour just to get to the end of my street once. And since I was on the way to the airport, I was not happy. But ever since I've learned I only need to get to the airport 40 minutes before my flight leaves, I'm a much happier camper.

5. I think I'm allergic to tom yum. Or it could be the prawns. Whatever it is, my lower lip swells like a balloon every time I've had the dish. I'm devastated. Tom yum goong is one of my favourite foods :(