It has been over a month since my last update.
Much has happened and much is unaccountable about Thailand life (I have you know I've started several blogs but haven't quite gotten around to posting them; this means that one of these days there will be 5 posts and all of them old news).
Here is one small snippet though: shopping is so cheap here in SE Asia (including in the Philippines), that I may never buy clothes in the States again. I just went on a weekend shopping spree and came back from the market with two dresses, a pair of sandals, and a gold necklace/bracelet/ring -- all for less than 1000 baht (for those unfamiliar with the baht/dollar exchange rate, it's about $30). A deal? I think so.
And this is just a normal weekend. I can easily buy a dress a week and be happy. In fact, I'm pretty sure I do.
So far I have two 'Ali Bubba' pants, a half dozen dresses, two more 'fun pants,' two pairs of sandals, a honkin gold necklace/choker, and two gold-leaf wrist bands. There's probably more in my closet, but it's midnight and I'm too lazy to actually open my wardrobe to see all my goodies.
You see, I shop for any reason possible. I shop after I just get paid, I shop when I'm happy, I shop when I'm stressed, I shop when I'm depressed, I shop for clothes when I go to get groceries. Is it a disease? Perhaps. But whatever it is, I want to catch it and never let go. My mom warned me about spending too much, but truthfully, (and more so here in Thailand), I don't spend more than $8 on anything. Anything. My dresses have all been $7, my sandals have been $3.50, and my jewelry has been $6. I am a well-kept woman with an eye for sales.
And the best part of all: every item has been bought from a market. I love market shopping because you can haggle prices. It is the best place to shop for clothes. It is the best place to shop for anything.
So who needs American prices or American brands? Give me a nameless dress any day for 200B and I'll be happy.
PS- I was at an early Halloween/costume party earlier tonight and realized that everything I was wearing was all bought here in Bangkok within the past month. That is awesome.
