In mid-December, I had the chance to travel south with my school class, M5/1. It was a LOT different than travelling with the Rotary Inbounds.
The day before we left, the entire class made a service trip to one of the schools at the foot of one of the mountains. We brought bags of clothes and candy for them, and played with them for a while. The language barrier was a bit of an issue, but it's easier with children. The kids were so sweet, but very shy. Nan and I also had a lot of fun running off.
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| With Bas and Nan with bags to give to the kids. |
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| In the Kindergarten room |
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| With Mo Tui, a student, and Bas in the Kindergarten room |
The next day, the trip began. We drove through the night for two nights, in a hotel one night, and packed in many more activities than one would think possible. Our first official stop was in Ampawa, at the floating market for breakfast. Unfortunately, we arrived before the floating market began so we didn´t actually get to see it. However, we did explore the market around it, the old building where the monks live, and explored the open market around it. A short walk away from the floating market, was a beautiful garden we walked through, taking pictures of the flowers, old statues, and river. Exploring the garden with my Thai friends was not as exciting or lively as with the exchange friends, but it was more involved with the surroundings and we weren´t the awkward odd ones out.
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| The whole gang :D Well, a large part. Me, Fly, Bank, Noon, Name, Bas, Fame, Kik, Beer, Ao, Mo Tui, Bus, and Kat is taking the picture |
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| Old statues in the beautiful garden, with Bas and Faem. |
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| Crocodile hunter :o With a friend, Bus, Name, and Bas. |
We drove to one of the old king´s castle and looked around. The castle itself was beautiful, but I love how Thai people have an unshakeable awe for the royal family, which added so much to the castle. It was like we were walking on holy grounds and we were so blessed to be there. In the top floor of the castle, we formally offered a donation and a flower to the late king. The surrounding castle grounds were beautiful as well; the trees were arched and warped around each other. We took many pictures.
Before arriving at the hotel, we made three more stops. One was at a small mall-like area where we looked around a some of the stores. Some of my friends bought hats and I bought a cheap Thai flute [which plays very similar to the pennywhistle], and a few of my friends taught me a Thai song. The second stop was for lunch and the third one was a quick 20-minute stop to explore an army base. I skipped this one to sleep, along with a few others, because it really was a long day and we hadn´t had any sleep on the bus the night before, plus I really wasn´t too interested in the army base.
Our final stop was.... Chaem, the seaside city! We put our things in the GIANT hotel, changed, and then headed out to the beach. It was so beautiful! I forgot how wonderful it feels to look out as far as you can and see only water, feel the breeze, and smell the salt. We swam and hung out and rode the rafts for hours, until it began to get dark, and we bought dinner on the beach from small vendors. After heading back to the hotel to change, we went out to explore the small city of Chaem for a while. Walking around at night, in any country, truly is wonderful. The darkness, the breeze, the mysteriousness of everything, and heightened sense of hearing make everything so much more exciting. Plus my class is like a family.
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| Swimming in the ocean with classmates Beer, Name, and Fly. |
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| They buried me xD Bas, Beer, Kat, Fly, me, Bank |
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| In front of the hotel with me, Fly, Bas, Faem, Kik, Beer, and Bank |
The next morning, we had breakfast at the hotel buffet. Okay, as someone who´s eaten at hotel buffets before, this was exactly like any other breakfast buffet. They also served European breakfast food though, which was a great release from the constant rice and noodles for a morning. For my friends, however, it was an incredible, once-in-a-lifetime experience. Then we played pinball and headed out on the bus again.
We went to a giant garden with a wax museum in the centre. Inside the museum were models of various historical Thai leaders and Mother Theresa. In the garden outside, there were many, many giant, ancient Buddha statues surrounded by beautiful and gardens and walk-through history stories. We stayed here for lunch and then carried on by bus to a smaller park in another town. Here we watched a swordfighting demonstration between four young boys. It was so much fun to watch because it was very complex and the swords hit each other REALLY hard. We took a tour of the building, which was the site of an ancient castle where many battles took place. After a while, straining to understand about 20 percent of the tour guide is exhausting, so I separated from the group and learned about ancient elephant battles. This was really interesting too!
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| With Kik in the Buddha garden. |
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| In front of a waterfall in the Buddha garden with Bus. |
Other various stops before driving through the night were: a temple with a giant Buddha, an incredibly huge dragon, a large bulk market for dried fish, and dinner. In the bus, we watched various ghost and redubbed movies, and karaoke. Oh goodness... karaoke. I REALLY hope Canada adopts this sometime. This wonderful, shameless passtime is a ridiculous amount of fun for everyone!
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| Temple with a giant Buddha |
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| A really. Big. Dragon. |
We arrived back at Suanboon around 3 in the morning, where Bas gave me a ride back home.
