Teaching is excellent at the moment, all of my classes are a lot of fun and it really is a pleasure to teach them. It is difficult to comprehend that I only have 6 weeks of teaching left, so only 6 lessons for each class. I am tutoring one of the teachers niece's on a Saturday to earn a bit extra money, it isn't much, but it pays for the odd night out and still allows me to save some money!
I am excited to go home because I am looking forward to seeing everyone again, but I am also reluctant as it is so amazing here it will be very difficult to leave. The life here is so easy going and relaxed, it will be such a shock to get thrown into university and the busyness of everyone's lives.
Hearing about the weather at home is rather entertaining, the lowest temperature I have experienced since arriving in Thailand in about 26 degrees, and that was in the powerful air conditioning of a 7/11! I can picture arriving home wearing jumpers and long pants, whilst everybody else will be making the most of the minimal sun of a British summer by walking around in skimpy items of clothing. Most of you may expect me to have a tan since I have spent the last 10 months in blazing sunshine, but you would be wrong. It is simply too hot and uncomfortable to be anywhere near the sun, 5 minutes of exposure would turn anyone into a sweaty mess. Therefore, all of my time is spent undercover, either at school or at home, sitting next to a fan or Air-con. The only time I had a noticeable tan was during the holidays when most of my time was spent with my top off sitting on a beach or in the sea.
I am very giddy at the moment as I have made plans to meet up with Rob Kingston, Ben Wardell, Tom Vaughan-Jones and Sam Martin from school, and the six guys I met during the holidays. I have booked bus tickets and Waddle has booked accommodation, so I will see them next weekend! Seeing them will be phenomenal up until the point I leave when I expect I will become rather homesick and spend a couple of days moping around the house.
I have been scrimping and saving as much as I can so that I can see my friends, but I am also trying to save until the end of the year. We finish teaching at the end of July, and our flight is on the 15th August, so a few of us have planned to go to Koh Chang for a week, like we did for the New Year. This will be fun and a good way to say goodbye to everyone as some people are not going to debriefing!
TTFN x
Sunday, 16 June 2013
Thursday, 9 May 2013
I'M BACK!
I still have more to write about my holidays, but I will get back to that. I have been back teaching for 3 days, it is really nice to be settled back at home and into the routine of teaching. I do miss travelling, but by the end, I just wanted to come back to the house and not have to worry about where we were staying or about how expensive the meals are.
The teaching has started excellently, I have all new classes now and it is great to meet my new students. However, I do miss some of my old classes, which Dave now has the pleasure of teaching.
There is a huge storm going on at the moment and the thunder is astonishingly loud, with lightning slicing up the nights sky with long streaks of blinding light. The rain is like nothing I have ever seen before. it makes normal rain seem like a light spray. The power keeps cutting out in our house, every time the lightning strikes close by.
I stood out in the rain and felt a sudden urge to be a part of it, so I put on my trainers and ran. I didn't run for long, just a few quick laps around the school. It was incredible, the huge raindrops crashing into my skin making it fell like running through a tennis training centre, with a hundred people aiming at me. The crashes of thunder sent shudders down my spine and made my heart race, so I ran faster, and continued until I was almost sprinting, my eyes sore from squinting and my chest tight. I stopped to take it all in, the BANG a huge fork of lightning crashed to the ground about 100 metres in front of me. There was so much to take in at once, it was overwhelming, the sound of thunder, the rain colliding with the metal roofing of the shelters around the school an even toads complaining about the weather. I stood there in awe of the world, at how everything can change so quickly. Not long before it had been swelteringly hot, to the point you wouldn't want to move, or couldn't due to being stuck to the chair by sweat. Mmmmm, lovely.
Now, the storm is moving away and my heartbeat has returned to its normal pace. Bring on the next 3 months.
I'm ready!
The teaching has started excellently, I have all new classes now and it is great to meet my new students. However, I do miss some of my old classes, which Dave now has the pleasure of teaching.
There is a huge storm going on at the moment and the thunder is astonishingly loud, with lightning slicing up the nights sky with long streaks of blinding light. The rain is like nothing I have ever seen before. it makes normal rain seem like a light spray. The power keeps cutting out in our house, every time the lightning strikes close by.
I stood out in the rain and felt a sudden urge to be a part of it, so I put on my trainers and ran. I didn't run for long, just a few quick laps around the school. It was incredible, the huge raindrops crashing into my skin making it fell like running through a tennis training centre, with a hundred people aiming at me. The crashes of thunder sent shudders down my spine and made my heart race, so I ran faster, and continued until I was almost sprinting, my eyes sore from squinting and my chest tight. I stopped to take it all in, the BANG a huge fork of lightning crashed to the ground about 100 metres in front of me. There was so much to take in at once, it was overwhelming, the sound of thunder, the rain colliding with the metal roofing of the shelters around the school an even toads complaining about the weather. I stood there in awe of the world, at how everything can change so quickly. Not long before it had been swelteringly hot, to the point you wouldn't want to move, or couldn't due to being stuck to the chair by sweat. Mmmmm, lovely.
Now, the storm is moving away and my heartbeat has returned to its normal pace. Bring on the next 3 months.
I'm ready!
Tuesday, 7 May 2013
Koh Samui
After the craziness of the party island, we headed to Koh Samui to relax for a few days. Even though it is more commercialised than the other islands, it had a much nicer feel than Koh Phangan. We were all so tired, the first night was pretty uneventful, with an early night in a sweltering room.
The next day took was not so great, I woke up feeling great, but as soon as I went down for breakfast, I became dizzy and delirious, I couldn't talk properly, or even stand up straight. It was the beginning of a long and horrible day. I won't go into details, but I spent the rest of the day in bed, or curled around the toilet with the shower running over my head.
My migraine eased off at night and I managed to keep down some food, and then started to feel much better, but still I had an early night, hoping that the next day would be an improvement.
It was much better when I woke, we all went to the beach and relaxed in the sea. Jane and I rented a jet ski for half an hour and it was incredible! It was so powerful and the sea was a little choppy, so we were just bouncing across the waves, Jane was holding on so tight she had bruises. It was quite expensive, but was well worth it. One of the most exhilarating experiences of my life, it came close to bungy jumping. I would recommend it to anyone.
We returned to our accommodation and after about an hour, Tom seemed to have turned into quite a deep shade of red, which was entertaining for everyone else but him.
That night we met up with Charlie and his friends for a few drinks. It ended up being a nice night, nobody got particularly drunk and we just had a laugh. This was pretty much the end of our time on Koh Samui, so the next morning, we packed up and headed up to Bangkok to meet David's family.
The next day took was not so great, I woke up feeling great, but as soon as I went down for breakfast, I became dizzy and delirious, I couldn't talk properly, or even stand up straight. It was the beginning of a long and horrible day. I won't go into details, but I spent the rest of the day in bed, or curled around the toilet with the shower running over my head.
My migraine eased off at night and I managed to keep down some food, and then started to feel much better, but still I had an early night, hoping that the next day would be an improvement.
It was much better when I woke, we all went to the beach and relaxed in the sea. Jane and I rented a jet ski for half an hour and it was incredible! It was so powerful and the sea was a little choppy, so we were just bouncing across the waves, Jane was holding on so tight she had bruises. It was quite expensive, but was well worth it. One of the most exhilarating experiences of my life, it came close to bungy jumping. I would recommend it to anyone.
 |
| This was Boput Beach on Koh Samui |
We returned to our accommodation and after about an hour, Tom seemed to have turned into quite a deep shade of red, which was entertaining for everyone else but him.
That night we met up with Charlie and his friends for a few drinks. It ended up being a nice night, nobody got particularly drunk and we just had a laugh. This was pretty much the end of our time on Koh Samui, so the next morning, we packed up and headed up to Bangkok to meet David's family.
Full Moon Party!
We stayed on Koh Phangan for only 3 nights, but two of them were two of the craziest nights of my life! The first night, there was the jungle party, which was a warm up party for the full moon party. It was a lovely venue, hidden away in the trees, with nice stages and a variety of music. I met up with Charlie an some of his mates from home; Sleeve, Alex and Raf. They were nice guys and we had a really good time. Me, Charlie and Vicky even managed to get into the VIP area, I am not quite sure how, but I think Vicky was pretending to be really upset that we were not allowed in, then the bouncer let us in.
It was an amazing party, and I took it a bit easier than I might have done otherwise, if it wasn't for the Full Moon Party the next day.
I woke up mid afternoon the next day and got some food, I was so tired and could not comprehend going out again. I had to man up and do it, how could I not go to one of the worlds biggest parties?
I went for a swim in the pool, and felt much better. The sea was not so pleasant, it was a bit to warm and felt a bit slimy. I think I would have preferred to swim in Morecambe bay than in that sea.
We started drinking at about 9pm, with a taxi booked at 12.30. We didn't want to drink to much beforehand as most of us were eager to make it till at least sunrise. We had forgotten to buy some UV paint, so we had to go round asking people for some. We ended up just borrowing a few different colours from the guy next door. I had seen a few people had bought full moon party vests, but I went one step further and made my own and cut the words into my vest.
 |
| Getting ready to party! |
After putting all of our paints on and drinking quite a bit, we hopped into the taxi and made our way to the beach, singing at the top of our voices all the way.
We got to the beach and it was phenomenal, 2km of beach, 30, 000 people and a lot of different bars, as well as many stands selling alcohol. I found Charlie and his friends and we went off, going to different bars, drinking and dancing all night long. There were a few times when we lost someone and spent a while looking for them. David was hilarious, I only saw him a couple of times, but when I did, he was totally off his head.
It was a lot of fun and a few of us made it till about 9 o'clock, sunrise was nice, as we were all still rather drunk, just sat on the sand looking out over the horizon. However, the sun revealed the damage that had been done to the beach, and the people occupying it, it looked as if a bomb had gone off in a flip flop factory. There were hundreds of flip flops, and that was just in the area we were in, and there were a fair few people passed out in the sand. There were a couple of us and we were a little bored, so we started by burying the unconscious, not deeply, just enough to keep them warm. And when they had all arisen, we played flip flop frisbee, which ended up into a flip flop fight, where we were just throwing flip flops a each other. There were quite a few people who joined in, so when you threw one, you would ge
And that was the end of it, we finished by getting a bus back to Charlie's accommodation and going for a nice swim to sober up, before returning to my accommodation to sleep off the hangover.
Friday, 26 April 2013
Koh Tao
We started our holidays on Koh Tao, a lovely little island in the gulf of Thailand. Most of the volunteers were there as a lot of them wanted to do a diving course during their stay. I didn't fancy the diving, so I just stuck to sunbathing and snorkelling.
One of last years volunteers is now working at Bans Diving on the island, it was nice to talk to her and find out about her experience of Thailand.
We all had a lovely week relaxing in the sun and working on our tans, the only downside was that it was rather expensive, meals were 3 times the price than what we would usually pay in our projects, so we had to budget very carefully as this was only the first week. There were a few good nights out, one of the most entertaining was when we went to see the cabaret show, which ended up with David and I on the stage, with a few other reluctant men, dressed in boxers, a bikini top and a big wig!
It was so hot, all of the time, I needed to shower about 3 times a day. The worst part of the heat came when we went kayaking. We rented kayaks between us for a couple of hours and just went out into the sea armed with snorkels. After about 10 minutes of hard paddling, anyone would have assumed that I had just been for a dip, but no, I was just ripping in sweat and the sun was still beating down. This was about 4.30 pm, so it was not as hot as it had been earlier, but it was still roasting.
After Koh Tao, our plan was to travel to Koh Phangan and go wild at the full moon party!
One of last years volunteers is now working at Bans Diving on the island, it was nice to talk to her and find out about her experience of Thailand.
We all had a lovely week relaxing in the sun and working on our tans, the only downside was that it was rather expensive, meals were 3 times the price than what we would usually pay in our projects, so we had to budget very carefully as this was only the first week. There were a few good nights out, one of the most entertaining was when we went to see the cabaret show, which ended up with David and I on the stage, with a few other reluctant men, dressed in boxers, a bikini top and a big wig!
It was so hot, all of the time, I needed to shower about 3 times a day. The worst part of the heat came when we went kayaking. We rented kayaks between us for a couple of hours and just went out into the sea armed with snorkels. After about 10 minutes of hard paddling, anyone would have assumed that I had just been for a dip, but no, I was just ripping in sweat and the sun was still beating down. This was about 4.30 pm, so it was not as hot as it had been earlier, but it was still roasting.
 |
| Kayaking |
 |
| This was our view, every day we were there. |
After Koh Tao, our plan was to travel to Koh Phangan and go wild at the full moon party!
Friday, 22 February 2013
A whole lot of orange.
Last week, Me, Dave and 12 other volunteers joined the girls in Nakhon Sawan to do an English camp at one of the temples. It was very successful, and a lot of fun. There were about 120 novice monks, most of which were very good. Throughout the day, we did a lot of different games and activities, one of which was a scavenger hunt, and I was a Panda. I had to dress up and hide somewhere around the monastery and wait until I was found by a monk. It was really hot and I was sweating buckets, until finally I was approached by a monk, asking what size my shoes were. (Another item was a pair of size 36 shoes) After explaing to him that my feet were far too big, he realised that my strange black and white outfit resembled a panda, I was then escorted to the main hall where we were welcomed with a round of applause as the monk who managed to find me paraded me into the room.
Me and Dave ran one of 6 different rotations, ours was to do with food tasting. We had 5 different tastes, coffee for bitter, fruit mentos for sweet, chilli powder for spicy, lemon juice for sour and crisps for salty. We then had to blindfold 5 monks at a time and get them to taste different things. The monks had a lot of fun, and so did we. It was rather entertaining watching the unlucky ones who got spicy, however, one little monk ate a half teaspoon of chilli powder without complaint. There was a point when one boy was almost in tears after tasting the chilli powder. Dave managed to get chilli in his eye after a monk had coughed after his taste and blew it into his face.
Nakhon Sawan is a beautiful city and we were there for Chinese New Year. Following the parades was amazing, the streets were painted with colour, and as the nights drew in, the streets were lit up with floats and echoed with the sounds of fireworks. There was one pout where we were watching some floats pass buy and we hadn't realised that a long string of firecrackers had been lit behind us. t was terrifying when they started and we were being showered by bits of paper. We quickly ran off, but my ears were ringing for at least half an hour after.
It has been our last week of teaching this week and has been rather emotional, as we will be teaching different classes when we return from our holidays. I have been saying goodbye to my favourite classes, and telling them to come and talk to me whenever they see me.
Today was rather scary though, I was sat in the office when I saw a large cloud of smoke coming from near our house, so I ran to our house to find that our neighbours house was surrounded in fire and the fields were ablaze. The fire was started by the farmers of the rice fields adjacent to our house. This get the field ready for a new crop when the we season begins in June. However, it has been very windy today, and because it has not rained for months, all of the grass and surrounding land is very dry. Dave was already putting out fires when I arrived. I joined in and we spent about an hour traipsing round the paddy fields with buckets and jugs putting out fires. After the majority had been dealt with, we returned home and I now have cuts and burns on my feet and legs, nothing serious.
It has all been rather exciting, and now we are not teaching until may, so we are going to kick it off with a bang, David is buying us a crate of beer for tonight and in the next couple of weeks, we are going to travel around isaan visiting volunteers in the North East, before my parents hopefully come and we all meet up on the island of Koh Tao
Summer is going to be good.
Love and kisses
Ben xxx
Me and Dave ran one of 6 different rotations, ours was to do with food tasting. We had 5 different tastes, coffee for bitter, fruit mentos for sweet, chilli powder for spicy, lemon juice for sour and crisps for salty. We then had to blindfold 5 monks at a time and get them to taste different things. The monks had a lot of fun, and so did we. It was rather entertaining watching the unlucky ones who got spicy, however, one little monk ate a half teaspoon of chilli powder without complaint. There was a point when one boy was almost in tears after tasting the chilli powder. Dave managed to get chilli in his eye after a monk had coughed after his taste and blew it into his face.
Nakhon Sawan is a beautiful city and we were there for Chinese New Year. Following the parades was amazing, the streets were painted with colour, and as the nights drew in, the streets were lit up with floats and echoed with the sounds of fireworks. There was one pout where we were watching some floats pass buy and we hadn't realised that a long string of firecrackers had been lit behind us. t was terrifying when they started and we were being showered by bits of paper. We quickly ran off, but my ears were ringing for at least half an hour after.
It has been our last week of teaching this week and has been rather emotional, as we will be teaching different classes when we return from our holidays. I have been saying goodbye to my favourite classes, and telling them to come and talk to me whenever they see me.
Today was rather scary though, I was sat in the office when I saw a large cloud of smoke coming from near our house, so I ran to our house to find that our neighbours house was surrounded in fire and the fields were ablaze. The fire was started by the farmers of the rice fields adjacent to our house. This get the field ready for a new crop when the we season begins in June. However, it has been very windy today, and because it has not rained for months, all of the grass and surrounding land is very dry. Dave was already putting out fires when I arrived. I joined in and we spent about an hour traipsing round the paddy fields with buckets and jugs putting out fires. After the majority had been dealt with, we returned home and I now have cuts and burns on my feet and legs, nothing serious.
It has all been rather exciting, and now we are not teaching until may, so we are going to kick it off with a bang, David is buying us a crate of beer for tonight and in the next couple of weeks, we are going to travel around isaan visiting volunteers in the North East, before my parents hopefully come and we all meet up on the island of Koh Tao
Summer is going to be good.
Love and kisses
Ben xxx
Tuesday, 29 January 2013
Life...and Project Trust Staff Visit
Kate, our desk officer, and Heloise from Project Trust visited us at our project on Friday. They saw us teach and we showed them around our house. They were pleasantly surprised when we cooked them tea, we cooked a lovely Panang Gai (red curry, with chicken and coconut milk). It was nice to see them and talk about our project, and they were asking if we had any problems with anything. The only thing that came up was about money. Pying, one of our friends and teacher at the school was saying that she thought we were not getting paid enough. When Kate was volunteering, she was paid the same amount, but 6 years ago, and the cost of living has increased since then.
I was talking to them about my blog and everything and they were surprised at how many posts I had made. I thought I wasn't doing too well, as as soon as I haven't posted for a while I find a message from my Mum questioning me on my lack of post. I appreciate it though as it makes me realise that you want to know what I am up to and are supporting me. However, from my perspective, I have been here for over 5 month now. And not much happens that differs from what I now perceive as normal life. I blogged a lot more at the start because everything was new and exciting. But now, blogging about everything would be like you blogging about every little thing you do in your daily routine.
This morning, I woke up at 7.15, but it was a bit chilly, so I wrapped myself in my blanket and listened to a bit of music. I then rose out of bed at 7.30. I went downstairs to have a shower and a shave, yes, I actually needed a shave. We then heard a knock at our door to find Brayung, out host, waiting with a new fridge. Well, new to us, it was an old one from her house. Our last one has been broken fro a while, we opened it yesterday and were welcomed by an awful stench and an assortments of mould, lovely.
After replacing the fridge, I cut up some watermelon and poured myself a cup of coffee. We really need to go shopping as we have no food in the fridge. I still have Nesquick from home which I got for Christmas. We then brushed our teeth, fixed our hair and proceeded to lock up and leave for assembly. After signing in, I sat myself in the office, logged onto the internet and started to write this blog... this is my day so far.
Later I will most likely teach a few lessons, my first one at 11.15, then 2 in the afternoon. I am not sure what we are having for lunch yet, that is the exciting part, it is a surprise.
The weather has been much cooler this month which has been nice. I am not looking forward to the hot season when the temperatures will be dancing around 40 degrees.
That's a thing, my Christmas present, IT ARRIVED! It was an amazing day, I was so excited. I didn't even let Dave wrap them. I just dove in to the parcel to see what I got. It was so good. I got a few present that made me laugh, like a Rodney mask and some stick on monsters. A transfer tattoo that goes onto your hand between your thumb and index finger, so that you can have a talking monster.
There were plenty of sweets and biscuits as well that were polished off not long after the package was opened, I now wish I has savoured some.
I would like to say a massive thank you to everyone who sent me a present or card. It was very kind of you! I had a lovely Christmas morning opening presents with David, then a great second Christmas opening my package from my parents.
I didn't think I had that much to say, but I started writing and then couldn't seem to stop, until now.
Stay classy...world.
Ben
x
Sunday, 13 January 2013
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!
Celebrating the New Year in Thailand was incredible, all of the volunteers met up on the Island of Koh Chang for the festivities. It was great to see everyone and to catch up on how they were all coping in their separate projects. We also had a new member to join our group, Charlie, who was originally meant to be David's partner before he dislocated his shoulder playing rugby and was in need of an operation, that caused him to miss training and the flight. So he has joined Alex up in Wawee, north of Chaing Mai and miles away from anybody else.
It is a pretty good start of the year to be with friends on a 7 night, non-stop celebration on the sunny beaches of the Thai islands. I definitely want to return to the island as it was simply beautiful.
It is good to be back at school though, it feels like home and I did miss it whilst I was away. It i good to see all of my students and we even got a couple of New Years presents when we arrived back at school, which was a lovely surprise.
Our desk officer from Project Trust is coming to visit next week, so we are doing a bit of spring cleaning to get everything in ship shape to give her the best impressions of our project. Its not like we live in a complete mess, there are just a few things that could be painted over to make our house look a little more presentable.
Thanks for stopping by,
B xx
It is a pretty good start of the year to be with friends on a 7 night, non-stop celebration on the sunny beaches of the Thai islands. I definitely want to return to the island as it was simply beautiful.
It is good to be back at school though, it feels like home and I did miss it whilst I was away. It i good to see all of my students and we even got a couple of New Years presents when we arrived back at school, which was a lovely surprise.
Our desk officer from Project Trust is coming to visit next week, so we are doing a bit of spring cleaning to get everything in ship shape to give her the best impressions of our project. Its not like we live in a complete mess, there are just a few things that could be painted over to make our house look a little more presentable.
Thanks for stopping by,
B xx
Wednesday, 26 December 2012
MERRY CHRISTMAS
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you all. I have just uploaded a new video blog.
http://youtu.be/LVCNnwRXpJA
We are setting off to Ko Chang tomorrow night, for a few days of New Years celebrations, and to meet the new volunteer Charlie. It is all very exciting.
B x
http://youtu.be/LVCNnwRXpJA
We are setting off to Ko Chang tomorrow night, for a few days of New Years celebrations, and to meet the new volunteer Charlie. It is all very exciting.
B x
Saturday, 22 December 2012
The day before, the day before Christmas.
This past week has been rather quiet, we have not had any lessons due to mid term tests, so I have kept myself busy with painting and cleaning the house.
I have received a lot of what seems like positive feedback to my video blog, however I am not sure if it is sarcasm or not. Overall, I am pleased with how it went and ave already started on the next.
I am going to give you all a little message for christmas, I may even sing, so make sure to keep the volume on your computers down if watching. I do apologise in advance.
This weekend has been lovely, we have met up with 6 other volunteers to celebrate Vicky's 18th birthday and Christmas. There is a big party at our school on Tuesday which should be good, as the teachers like to party. Me and David have been asked to perform, so we kindly accepted and have been practicing. David on vocals and keyboard, Me on standing up in front of everyone, forgetting the words.
Two weeks ago we helped to run an English camp at a monastery. It was a strange experience as I am still a little unsure of the cultural no no's when it comes to monks. It did turn out to be very productive and the novice monks had a great time learning english. They all had their heads and eyebrows shaved, so I gave myself a challenge of finding the one who looked most like my dad. There were a few close contenders, but then one came in wearing glasses and blew them all away. It did make me laugh.
I am learning the names of more students a school, which is a difficult task. I know the names of my favourite students, I know you shouldn't have favourites, but you just can't help it. One of my students has a remarkable resemblance to a friend, Phil Waite, so even though his name in Vun, I can't help but call him Phil.
I have received a few presents from home which is amazing, thank you so much to everyone who made the effort to send one, it really does mean a lot, you are making my Christmas. There has been a bit of a problem with the parcel from my parents, and it is somewhere in Thailand. It has all been sorted now, so I am just hoping that it arrives before Christmas.
I will post again on Tuesday...
Stay classy ... World
B x
I have received a lot of what seems like positive feedback to my video blog, however I am not sure if it is sarcasm or not. Overall, I am pleased with how it went and ave already started on the next.
I am going to give you all a little message for christmas, I may even sing, so make sure to keep the volume on your computers down if watching. I do apologise in advance.
This weekend has been lovely, we have met up with 6 other volunteers to celebrate Vicky's 18th birthday and Christmas. There is a big party at our school on Tuesday which should be good, as the teachers like to party. Me and David have been asked to perform, so we kindly accepted and have been practicing. David on vocals and keyboard, Me on standing up in front of everyone, forgetting the words.
Two weeks ago we helped to run an English camp at a monastery. It was a strange experience as I am still a little unsure of the cultural no no's when it comes to monks. It did turn out to be very productive and the novice monks had a great time learning english. They all had their heads and eyebrows shaved, so I gave myself a challenge of finding the one who looked most like my dad. There were a few close contenders, but then one came in wearing glasses and blew them all away. It did make me laugh.
I am learning the names of more students a school, which is a difficult task. I know the names of my favourite students, I know you shouldn't have favourites, but you just can't help it. One of my students has a remarkable resemblance to a friend, Phil Waite, so even though his name in Vun, I can't help but call him Phil.
I have received a few presents from home which is amazing, thank you so much to everyone who made the effort to send one, it really does mean a lot, you are making my Christmas. There has been a bit of a problem with the parcel from my parents, and it is somewhere in Thailand. It has all been sorted now, so I am just hoping that it arrives before Christmas.
I will post again on Tuesday...
Stay classy ... World
B x
Wednesday, 19 December 2012
Video Blog
I have now posted a new video on my youtube page.
Please take the time to have a look, it is only 5 minutes long.
http://youtu.be/u8Z6htRn7ZA
Hope you like it...
B x
Please take the time to have a look, it is only 5 minutes long.
http://youtu.be/u8Z6htRn7ZA
Hope you like it...
B x
Friday, 14 December 2012
Christmas is coming...
This month has been really exciting so far, with Christmas quickly approaching. I have been busy with making cards lots of cards, all by hand and doing a few paintings to give as presents. I decided to use glitter on my cards, I should have remembered from past experience that it never works out as planned. Glitter is just a shimmery pain, it is harder to get rid of than sand. I have turned up to school with it on my face and clothes after trying to keep clean.
The teaching is excellent, I love all of the students, and I am starting to remember more names which is good. Since Christmas is coming, I am doing various activities to teach them about Christmas, getting them to make cards for each other. It is all very fun.
I had an incident the other day though, I was playing a game which involves swapping chairs and as I was about to sit down, I slipped and then got taken out by one of my students, everyone was really worried, but I just got up and laughed. I also accidentally called one of my students a s**t, in Thai. His name on his name card is kie, which I pronounced as key, but it was meant to begin with a g.
I am going to start doing more video blogs, well I want to anyway, but I keep putting it off. Mainly because then I will be able to say more, show you how great everything is and I don't really like writing that much.
Keep posted and I will post a link to my Youtube channel.
B
x
The teaching is excellent, I love all of the students, and I am starting to remember more names which is good. Since Christmas is coming, I am doing various activities to teach them about Christmas, getting them to make cards for each other. It is all very fun.
I had an incident the other day though, I was playing a game which involves swapping chairs and as I was about to sit down, I slipped and then got taken out by one of my students, everyone was really worried, but I just got up and laughed. I also accidentally called one of my students a s**t, in Thai. His name on his name card is kie, which I pronounced as key, but it was meant to begin with a g.
I am going to start doing more video blogs, well I want to anyway, but I keep putting it off. Mainly because then I will be able to say more, show you how great everything is and I don't really like writing that much.
Keep posted and I will post a link to my Youtube channel.
B
x
Saturday, 1 December 2012
November
November has flown by, it only seems like a couple of days since we were in Bangkok, but then I looked at my calendar this morning and realised how much we got up to, we were busy pretty much all of the time!
Last weekend was interesting, robyn and claire came to visit and we had a little party, it was a good laugh and nice to get drunk in our house with someone else, rather than just me and david.
We painted a Union Flag on one of our walls and it looks amazing, there will be photos on Facebook.
I had a horrible migraine on Monday and spent the entire night with my head under the shower and head in the toilet. Tuesday was equally as fun as I was feeling pretty dead, I did start to feel better in the afternoon and ended up going to a wedding. I hadn't eaten for a while, and got drunk with al the teachers from a small amount of alcohol.
Wednesday was Loy Gratung, a Thai festival to give thanks to the river, we made our Gratungs and floated them on the river. It was quite a spectacle as there were hundreds of floating decorations on the river and lots of lanterns and fireworks.
Teaching for the past two weeks has been amazing, I am really enjoying it, I have started to use more games and activities to make the lessons more enjoyable for the students and they really get into it. The best part is that they are all becoming more confident at speaking in English. There are a few students that wouldn't even talk to start with, but now they are happily joining in with the activities.
I still love how bad the little pictures are in the advent calendar, I got a little train yesterday. The paper ones are much better than chocolate!
Thanks for stopping by.
B x
Last weekend was interesting, robyn and claire came to visit and we had a little party, it was a good laugh and nice to get drunk in our house with someone else, rather than just me and david.
We painted a Union Flag on one of our walls and it looks amazing, there will be photos on Facebook.
I had a horrible migraine on Monday and spent the entire night with my head under the shower and head in the toilet. Tuesday was equally as fun as I was feeling pretty dead, I did start to feel better in the afternoon and ended up going to a wedding. I hadn't eaten for a while, and got drunk with al the teachers from a small amount of alcohol.
Wednesday was Loy Gratung, a Thai festival to give thanks to the river, we made our Gratungs and floated them on the river. It was quite a spectacle as there were hundreds of floating decorations on the river and lots of lanterns and fireworks.
Teaching for the past two weeks has been amazing, I am really enjoying it, I have started to use more games and activities to make the lessons more enjoyable for the students and they really get into it. The best part is that they are all becoming more confident at speaking in English. There are a few students that wouldn't even talk to start with, but now they are happily joining in with the activities.
I still love how bad the little pictures are in the advent calendar, I got a little train yesterday. The paper ones are much better than chocolate!
Thanks for stopping by.
B x
Thursday, 22 November 2012
Nakhon Sawa and other things...
We had a brilliant time in Nakhon Sawan meeting up with Beth and Holly. We were helping them with teaching in their schools which was really interesting as it allowed us to pick up some new teaching techniques. All of the teachers were very welcoming and were pleased to have us at the school, some of them even wanted us to stay for longer. I was having troubles with budgeting and was left with very little money which was rather stressful, my Mum kindly gave me £30 which is enough to last me till the end of the month.
Budgeting my money is a new experience for me, and one I am not too good at. I have found that to be able to afford food for the whole month, even if I am just spending my money on food, I have to buy less than I need to fill me, so I am generally hungry most of the time, unless a meal is bought for us.
We are going to start cooking soon and get taught how to use our very basic equipment to cook some lovely thai meals. This should help my money problem.
After receiving the TRX from home, I have gotten David into it, he seems to be enjoying it, but then if he isn't he just has me shouting at him till he finishes the workout. I am also feeling a lot better as it really does give you a good workout, something I have missed. Before, I had resorted to using makeshift weights which were impractical and sore on my hands.
I have also been doing some painting which is very relaxing, it allows me to forget about everything else. It is a nice feeling to paint because I want to and not because I have to have it inspected by my teachers. I saw some oil paints in the Arts and Culture centre in Bangkok and was tempted, but was discouraged by the price tag as 4 tubes would have amounted more than a months wages. Its a good job I stocked up from school and will have some waiting for me when I get home.
I am loving teaching at the moment, mainly because I am jut playing different games with the students which have them practicing their English, and laughing hysterically for an entire lesson.
We went rice picking the other day, I was sort of dragged into it against my will, but ended up enjoying it. We worked for about an hour and a half and were dripping with sweat.
It is so hot all the time, it was almost 40 degrees a couple of hours ago, and in summer, if we go down south. Peter said it could reach 50 and that we would burn in a minute or two. I will have to stock up on the hats and sun cream. It will be a shock to the system returning home next year when it has rarely been under 30 degrees and 25 degrees is seen as very cold.
I am sat in the coffee shop at the moment, saving my money as we get free cake and coffee, I have not spent anything since monday. So I might be able to afford tea tomorrow night!
Love and Kisses
Ben
x
Budgeting my money is a new experience for me, and one I am not too good at. I have found that to be able to afford food for the whole month, even if I am just spending my money on food, I have to buy less than I need to fill me, so I am generally hungry most of the time, unless a meal is bought for us.
We are going to start cooking soon and get taught how to use our very basic equipment to cook some lovely thai meals. This should help my money problem.
After receiving the TRX from home, I have gotten David into it, he seems to be enjoying it, but then if he isn't he just has me shouting at him till he finishes the workout. I am also feeling a lot better as it really does give you a good workout, something I have missed. Before, I had resorted to using makeshift weights which were impractical and sore on my hands.
I have also been doing some painting which is very relaxing, it allows me to forget about everything else. It is a nice feeling to paint because I want to and not because I have to have it inspected by my teachers. I saw some oil paints in the Arts and Culture centre in Bangkok and was tempted, but was discouraged by the price tag as 4 tubes would have amounted more than a months wages. Its a good job I stocked up from school and will have some waiting for me when I get home.
I am loving teaching at the moment, mainly because I am jut playing different games with the students which have them practicing their English, and laughing hysterically for an entire lesson.
We went rice picking the other day, I was sort of dragged into it against my will, but ended up enjoying it. We worked for about an hour and a half and were dripping with sweat.
It is so hot all the time, it was almost 40 degrees a couple of hours ago, and in summer, if we go down south. Peter said it could reach 50 and that we would burn in a minute or two. I will have to stock up on the hats and sun cream. It will be a shock to the system returning home next year when it has rarely been under 30 degrees and 25 degrees is seen as very cold.
I am sat in the coffee shop at the moment, saving my money as we get free cake and coffee, I have not spent anything since monday. So I might be able to afford tea tomorrow night!
Love and Kisses
Ben
x
Tuesday, 13 November 2012
Presents.
I wanted this to have its own post because it was so amazing! I received a rather large parcel from home the other day and as soon as I opened it I was ecstatic. My hands were shaking I was that happy. I didn't know what to do with myself, I was running around like god knows what. I think I got a bit too excited with all the sweets and scoffed half of them almost immediately, it was the best. I did feel a little ill later on though.
I was so happy to have art materials as I had been really missing painting. I realised that the last time I had done any painting was in my Art exam for my A2. I did another on monday night and was quite pleased with the final outcome, I stuck to sunsets and landscapes, but missed out the birds.
I had quite a hard time explaining the teachers that the picture on my T-shirt of me, the one Kate Whiteside got me for my 18th, was actually me. David tried to back me up but they still didn't believe it. I didn't want to take my top off and show them as this would have been highly inappropriate, so I just left it there.
I rang my mum to say thank you and it was lovely to hear her voice, and my dad's as well. Nancy said hello, but in a very shy manor, unlike her.
I am still delighted about everything in the parcel, the TRX is great. I am getting David on it, he is not really used to excessive amounts of excersise, but hopefully I will be able to change that. I might take note of my Mum's motivational technique and just scream "COME ON" in his face. I may even add in "PAIN IS JUST WEAKNESS LEAVING THE BODY". David is going to love it!
HOO RAHH!!!
B
X
Travelling!
We have been rather busy since the last time I posted and it has all been very exciting. We have been having troubles with our visa and it has been rather stressful trying to sort it all out. The problem is that our school and town has never had to do anything like this as the project is new, and last year, Ali arrived with 3 months left with his visa already sorted. Therefore nobody seems to know what they are doing which led our teachers on a wild goose chase trying to track down the right documentation. This did lead to us making a visit to the immigration office in Bangkok at the end of last week with two teachers. It was quite tiring, but good to get out and about, the trip was pretty pointless as we didn't really need to go to Bangkok, but we ended up having a lovely lunch and going to the suit shop for a fitting for the suits we ordered on the first day in Bangkok.
We arrived back home on Friday rather exhausted after a day on the bus and I ended up reading pretty much all of eclipse, from the twilight series, which has been finished now and I have moved onto starter for ten.
Saturday was very exciting as we were meeting up with 4 other volunteers for a film, James Bond, and a good night out. I got my hair cut and ear pierced in the morning and we all met up at around 2 to check into a cheap hotel. We paid 150 baht each for the night. After the film, we retreated to the hotel to start drinking, I attempted to face time family and friends, but the wifi in the Hotel was poor and wouldn't allow it.
I drank red cock, which is a cheap white spirit that I picked up at Tesco for 130 baht. I proceeded to drink far too much and have memories of being up on stage in Mix Club without a shirt on and being applauded by lots of Thais. It was a very enjoyable evening, however, the morning after was not pleasant as a hangover plus the excessive heat can leave one feeling rather queasy.
We managed to get our visa sorted yesterday and last night, we had a lovely meal with Brayung (our host) and her family. She is an excellent cook and has promised to teach us how to make my favourite Thai dish, Panang Gai.
We caught a bus from Ubon last night and arrived in Bangkok at 5.30, which is really too early to function. So after monging out in a coffee shop for an hour or so, we dropped off our massive rucksacks at the train station and set off into the heart of Bangkok, coughing through the thick fog of fumes.
There is not much open until 9 or 10, so we visited a very extravagant temple, which isn't really my cup of tea, much like visiting museums or going on walks, or getting a jigsaw as a present, but I was rather pleased that we didn't have to hang around too long. We are now sat in a little coffee shop, using the Wifi and passing time so we can explore Bangkok more enthused.
We are heading North to Nakhon Sawan this afternoon to meet up with some other volunteers, Holly and Beth and to see their project. Amy and Robyn are also going this weekend, so I can see us having another big night out, I think ill stay away from the spirits this time.
Stay classy England,
Ben x
We arrived back home on Friday rather exhausted after a day on the bus and I ended up reading pretty much all of eclipse, from the twilight series, which has been finished now and I have moved onto starter for ten.
Saturday was very exciting as we were meeting up with 4 other volunteers for a film, James Bond, and a good night out. I got my hair cut and ear pierced in the morning and we all met up at around 2 to check into a cheap hotel. We paid 150 baht each for the night. After the film, we retreated to the hotel to start drinking, I attempted to face time family and friends, but the wifi in the Hotel was poor and wouldn't allow it.
I drank red cock, which is a cheap white spirit that I picked up at Tesco for 130 baht. I proceeded to drink far too much and have memories of being up on stage in Mix Club without a shirt on and being applauded by lots of Thais. It was a very enjoyable evening, however, the morning after was not pleasant as a hangover plus the excessive heat can leave one feeling rather queasy.
We managed to get our visa sorted yesterday and last night, we had a lovely meal with Brayung (our host) and her family. She is an excellent cook and has promised to teach us how to make my favourite Thai dish, Panang Gai.
We caught a bus from Ubon last night and arrived in Bangkok at 5.30, which is really too early to function. So after monging out in a coffee shop for an hour or so, we dropped off our massive rucksacks at the train station and set off into the heart of Bangkok, coughing through the thick fog of fumes.
There is not much open until 9 or 10, so we visited a very extravagant temple, which isn't really my cup of tea, much like visiting museums or going on walks, or getting a jigsaw as a present, but I was rather pleased that we didn't have to hang around too long. We are now sat in a little coffee shop, using the Wifi and passing time so we can explore Bangkok more enthused.
We are heading North to Nakhon Sawan this afternoon to meet up with some other volunteers, Holly and Beth and to see their project. Amy and Robyn are also going this weekend, so I can see us having another big night out, I think ill stay away from the spirits this time.
Stay classy England,
Ben x
Tuesday, 6 November 2012
Remember remember the 5th of November.
We decided to throw a little party for bonfire night and after telling our host, the ball started rolling until it seemed as if half the school would turn up at our humble home.
I decided that I wanted to enlighten some of the teachers to toffee apples, so after buying all of the ingredients, which isn't an extensive lift, I began. For my first batch I used muscavado sugar so the toffee would be more like treacle, it was very stressful as I had to heat it to 140 degrees, and I had a limited selection of tools, so i was trying to do it all with a metal spoon. The toffee was bubbling away in the pan and looked rather terrifying, I then just went for it and started to coat the apples in this bubbling mixture and overall was quite successful. The next batch worked even better, I am not sure whether it was due to the fact that I used different sugar, or just improved after my first attempt.
They were delicious, the best toffee apples I have ever tasted and everyone else enjoyed them as well which was good. We invited some volunteers from near our project and the teachers supplied the food, which was lovely. So, along with a quaint little bonfire that just made us sweat and an assortment of fireworks, we had a nice night. There were some problems with the fireworks and one I set off went straight towards Lewis, hitting him in the ankle and he just managed to get out of the way before the final explosion.
I did the gentlemanly thing and offered my bed to the girls, which the eagerly accepted, which left me on the floor, leading to a very poor nights sleep, meaning that I was not in the best state for teaching. Apart from my two lessons, I have been asleep pretty much all day, waking up about an hour ago feeling much fresher, but also with the realisation that I might not get to sleep so early tonight.
We went to Phana on Saturday to see Robyn and Claire, it was nice to catch up with them and after some free food and some whisky, we settled down to watch a film. We know how to PARTY!
This saturday should be somewhat more eventful as we are going to Ubon with all of the volunteers in the area for a night out and are going to stay in a cheap hotel.
Next week we are going to Bangkok for a day, then to Nakhon Sawan to visit some more volunteers. We are not teaching next week because most of the students will be helping at home with the rice harvest.
Everything has been good apart from one thing, the death of my phone, I was on my back and it fell out of my pocket. I assumed it would be fine as it had survived a similar trauma without a scratch. To my dismay, it just would not come back to life. The worst thing is that I had to buy a new one, which has made a rather large dint in my months allowance. It is much more difficult to live off £90 or 4500 THB than I had originally thought it would have been, money just seems to vanish, even though I am being very anal about what food I buy and making sure that it does not go to waste.
The biggest worry for me is that I will not be able to afford a substantial amount of food to keep myself in shape, so I might be returning home next year actually fitting my Grandads description of be of being a long, long... pipe cleaner.
B
x
I decided that I wanted to enlighten some of the teachers to toffee apples, so after buying all of the ingredients, which isn't an extensive lift, I began. For my first batch I used muscavado sugar so the toffee would be more like treacle, it was very stressful as I had to heat it to 140 degrees, and I had a limited selection of tools, so i was trying to do it all with a metal spoon. The toffee was bubbling away in the pan and looked rather terrifying, I then just went for it and started to coat the apples in this bubbling mixture and overall was quite successful. The next batch worked even better, I am not sure whether it was due to the fact that I used different sugar, or just improved after my first attempt.
They were delicious, the best toffee apples I have ever tasted and everyone else enjoyed them as well which was good. We invited some volunteers from near our project and the teachers supplied the food, which was lovely. So, along with a quaint little bonfire that just made us sweat and an assortment of fireworks, we had a nice night. There were some problems with the fireworks and one I set off went straight towards Lewis, hitting him in the ankle and he just managed to get out of the way before the final explosion.
I did the gentlemanly thing and offered my bed to the girls, which the eagerly accepted, which left me on the floor, leading to a very poor nights sleep, meaning that I was not in the best state for teaching. Apart from my two lessons, I have been asleep pretty much all day, waking up about an hour ago feeling much fresher, but also with the realisation that I might not get to sleep so early tonight.
We went to Phana on Saturday to see Robyn and Claire, it was nice to catch up with them and after some free food and some whisky, we settled down to watch a film. We know how to PARTY!
This saturday should be somewhat more eventful as we are going to Ubon with all of the volunteers in the area for a night out and are going to stay in a cheap hotel.
Next week we are going to Bangkok for a day, then to Nakhon Sawan to visit some more volunteers. We are not teaching next week because most of the students will be helping at home with the rice harvest.
Everything has been good apart from one thing, the death of my phone, I was on my back and it fell out of my pocket. I assumed it would be fine as it had survived a similar trauma without a scratch. To my dismay, it just would not come back to life. The worst thing is that I had to buy a new one, which has made a rather large dint in my months allowance. It is much more difficult to live off £90 or 4500 THB than I had originally thought it would have been, money just seems to vanish, even though I am being very anal about what food I buy and making sure that it does not go to waste.
The biggest worry for me is that I will not be able to afford a substantial amount of food to keep myself in shape, so I might be returning home next year actually fitting my Grandads description of be of being a long, long... pipe cleaner.
B
x
Thursday, 1 November 2012
Back to school.
We arrived back in Muang Samsip on Sunday morning after narrowly avoiding another nights stay on the hard, uncomfortable bed at Mister Nick's house. We spent all of Sunday around the house, apart from a trip to Tesco for our weekly shop. We slept, cleaned and planned for our lessons this week.
I was nervous about teaching again after having more than a month off but also rather eager to return to the classroom. I was feeling a bit down at the start of the week and I couldn't put my finger on why. I was feeling a little homesick and really wanted to be at home in my own bed. However, the change from the busy life in Chiang Mai, where we were doing something different everyday, to returning to the comparable monotony of life around school.
Things started to pick up as the week went on and I started to sink back into the life of a teacher, enjoying the company of different teachers and being able to make simple conversation with some who I had never had the chance to speak to because of the language barrier.
Tuesday was exciting as we found out about a festival where the monks came out of the temples after 3 months, the celebrations involved a lot of fireworks, which I was more than happy to be a part of. A quick trip to the market and we returned home with bags full of assorted explosives. Miss Brayung then took us to a school just outside of Muang Samsip to let off our fireworks and she also bought us some huge flares, which were great fun. We visited the temple to pay respect to the monks and were suddenly attacked by a gang of young children armed with firecrackers. We chased them away and they ran as fast as they could as they were screaming with laughter.
We have also planned a little party for bonfire night and have invited teachers and some other volunteers, so we have some fireworks left over and have been searching for marshmallows to toast over a bonfire.
I have had some very successful days of teaching this week, on of my lessons yesterday involved a very heated competition of Chinese whispers.
I had my first Muay Thai lesson on Wednesday and it was great, I am still feeling a little sore as the constant moving, kicking and punching really takes it out of you, I am still looking forward to next weeks lesson though!
We went to Ubon last night to meet up with Claire and Robyn, we were planning on having a nice dinner at a floating restaurant, but these thing never seem to go to plan. We realised that Skyfall had been released, so we hurried to the cinema to watch it. I had a moment of panic when I realised I didn't have enough money for the cinema, as well as the taxi home, and I was not able to get any from the bank, so I resorted to borrowing some from David, which I have yet to pay back. Skyfall was excellent, it is one of my favourite films and hopefully I will be able to budget another visit.
I received my first letter from home the other day from Kate, which was lovely, even though it was quite difficult to read, it was a breeze in comparison to my Mums, or Davids. Enclosed was a scratch card, which I ended up winning £2 on, which was great until I realised that I can't change it over here.
It would be lovely to here from more people and to get more letters or packages, so if you fancy sending me a letter my address is:
I was nervous about teaching again after having more than a month off but also rather eager to return to the classroom. I was feeling a bit down at the start of the week and I couldn't put my finger on why. I was feeling a little homesick and really wanted to be at home in my own bed. However, the change from the busy life in Chiang Mai, where we were doing something different everyday, to returning to the comparable monotony of life around school.
Things started to pick up as the week went on and I started to sink back into the life of a teacher, enjoying the company of different teachers and being able to make simple conversation with some who I had never had the chance to speak to because of the language barrier.
Tuesday was exciting as we found out about a festival where the monks came out of the temples after 3 months, the celebrations involved a lot of fireworks, which I was more than happy to be a part of. A quick trip to the market and we returned home with bags full of assorted explosives. Miss Brayung then took us to a school just outside of Muang Samsip to let off our fireworks and she also bought us some huge flares, which were great fun. We visited the temple to pay respect to the monks and were suddenly attacked by a gang of young children armed with firecrackers. We chased them away and they ran as fast as they could as they were screaming with laughter.
We have also planned a little party for bonfire night and have invited teachers and some other volunteers, so we have some fireworks left over and have been searching for marshmallows to toast over a bonfire.
I have had some very successful days of teaching this week, on of my lessons yesterday involved a very heated competition of Chinese whispers.
I had my first Muay Thai lesson on Wednesday and it was great, I am still feeling a little sore as the constant moving, kicking and punching really takes it out of you, I am still looking forward to next weeks lesson though!
We went to Ubon last night to meet up with Claire and Robyn, we were planning on having a nice dinner at a floating restaurant, but these thing never seem to go to plan. We realised that Skyfall had been released, so we hurried to the cinema to watch it. I had a moment of panic when I realised I didn't have enough money for the cinema, as well as the taxi home, and I was not able to get any from the bank, so I resorted to borrowing some from David, which I have yet to pay back. Skyfall was excellent, it is one of my favourite films and hopefully I will be able to budget another visit.
I received my first letter from home the other day from Kate, which was lovely, even though it was quite difficult to read, it was a breeze in comparison to my Mums, or Davids. Enclosed was a scratch card, which I ended up winning £2 on, which was great until I realised that I can't change it over here.
It would be lovely to here from more people and to get more letters or packages, so if you fancy sending me a letter my address is:
Muang Samsip AmphawanWittaya School
Amphur Muang Sam Sip
Ubon Ratchathani
34140
Thailand
They don't celebrate christmas here, but we are going to have our own celebrations. I would absolutely love it if I received a few gifts to open on Christmas morning.
That's all for now,
Ben
x
Tuesday, 23 October 2012
Busy Times.
So much has happen since my last post and I have busiest I have ever been.
First I have to share my bungy jumping experience. It was the best thing I have ever done, the feeling of throwing yourself off a platform 160 feet in the air is both terrifying and exhilarating. I highly recommend this experience to anyone, even if you are scared of heights. There were 14 of us there and more than half had to be pushed because they couldn't bring themselves to jump. I get butterflies now if I think about standing on that platform, looking down at the water I plunged into with my friends shouting from the ground. As soon as you leave the platform all you experience is pleasure. It is quite similar to Oblivion at Alton Towers. When the ride stops on the edge and you get that tension running through you, but as soon as you start to fall, you just love it. However, the all of the feelings are heightened as it does not feel like you are strapped in safely, it feels as if you are standing on the edge, with nothing keeping you safe and then you have to throw yourself forwards...
Would you do it?
We finished our language course on Friday and the AUA bought us pizza and gave us certificates. We all celebrated in our own way on Friday night. Everyone was leaving on Saturday which was rather sad as we have all become very close and there were a few tears as a large group set off to go travelling.
My bus was scheduled for 12.15, according to David, so we arrived at the bus station to find that the bus was at 12.15, on Sunday. So we went back home and I went to bed. I woke up and was really quite unwell, I wont go into details.
This fever ended up with me in hospital, where I am now. Thankfully I feel much better now and I am being able to practice my Thai with the nurses. The doctors are not sure what is wrong with me, so I have to wait in my luxury hospital room for a diagnosis.
x
First I have to share my bungy jumping experience. It was the best thing I have ever done, the feeling of throwing yourself off a platform 160 feet in the air is both terrifying and exhilarating. I highly recommend this experience to anyone, even if you are scared of heights. There were 14 of us there and more than half had to be pushed because they couldn't bring themselves to jump. I get butterflies now if I think about standing on that platform, looking down at the water I plunged into with my friends shouting from the ground. As soon as you leave the platform all you experience is pleasure. It is quite similar to Oblivion at Alton Towers. When the ride stops on the edge and you get that tension running through you, but as soon as you start to fall, you just love it. However, the all of the feelings are heightened as it does not feel like you are strapped in safely, it feels as if you are standing on the edge, with nothing keeping you safe and then you have to throw yourself forwards...
Would you do it?
We finished our language course on Friday and the AUA bought us pizza and gave us certificates. We all celebrated in our own way on Friday night. Everyone was leaving on Saturday which was rather sad as we have all become very close and there were a few tears as a large group set off to go travelling.
My bus was scheduled for 12.15, according to David, so we arrived at the bus station to find that the bus was at 12.15, on Sunday. So we went back home and I went to bed. I woke up and was really quite unwell, I wont go into details.
This fever ended up with me in hospital, where I am now. Thankfully I feel much better now and I am being able to practice my Thai with the nurses. The doctors are not sure what is wrong with me, so I have to wait in my luxury hospital room for a diagnosis.
x
Thursday, 11 October 2012
Fluent in Thai already...almost...well, not really.
We are half way through our language course and it is very difficult, it is like trying to speak a new language and sing in tune at the same time. The tones are so hard to get the hang of, I struggle to even pronounce the rising tone.
Chiang Mai is still incredible and we have had some great trips to various place. We have been swimming in various outdoor pools around the city and yesterday we went to the zoo to see the pandas for Holly and Stephen's 18th birthdays. I have never really taken an interest in pandas before, but they were amazing to watch running around.
We had such an amazing time on saturday as dad booked in for a day of adventure. We started with a visit to an elephant sanctuary and fed some, we then climbed aboard and rode them for about an hour through the mountains of Chiang Mai. We dismounted and headed off on a trek through the jungle, which was much more fun than I thought. We walked unit we reached a waterfall which was spectacular, with cascades of water crashing down on us, it gave a nice massage, but felt a bit like getting repeatedly punched. After walking back, we went white water rafting, which was great, the boat was thrown around like a toy in the powerful torrents. There was a point when our rafting guide said we could get out and swim, so I jumped out to find the water was much shallower than I had expected and ended up scraping my legs and back on some sharp rocks.
We finished the trip down the river on a bamboo raft, which was rather strange as it floated just under the surface of the water, which made it difficult to stay on.
It was a day I will never forget, especially fraternising with the elephants. We have bungee jumping planned for Saturday and I would like to do a massage course on Sunday.
I got a message from one of my friends from school saying he was coming to Thailand and will be in Chiang Mai on the 14th, which is perfect timing to take him to the UN irish pub and watch Leicester Vs Toulouse on their massive TV's. This will go down very well with a steak sandwich and a trip to 'town' afterwards.
However, this will be a special treat as I am trying to save as much as I can. For example, today I have spent just over 100 baht, on food and drink, which is around £2.
Toodles,
x
Chiang Mai is still incredible and we have had some great trips to various place. We have been swimming in various outdoor pools around the city and yesterday we went to the zoo to see the pandas for Holly and Stephen's 18th birthdays. I have never really taken an interest in pandas before, but they were amazing to watch running around.
We had such an amazing time on saturday as dad booked in for a day of adventure. We started with a visit to an elephant sanctuary and fed some, we then climbed aboard and rode them for about an hour through the mountains of Chiang Mai. We dismounted and headed off on a trek through the jungle, which was much more fun than I thought. We walked unit we reached a waterfall which was spectacular, with cascades of water crashing down on us, it gave a nice massage, but felt a bit like getting repeatedly punched. After walking back, we went white water rafting, which was great, the boat was thrown around like a toy in the powerful torrents. There was a point when our rafting guide said we could get out and swim, so I jumped out to find the water was much shallower than I had expected and ended up scraping my legs and back on some sharp rocks.
We finished the trip down the river on a bamboo raft, which was rather strange as it floated just under the surface of the water, which made it difficult to stay on.
It was a day I will never forget, especially fraternising with the elephants. We have bungee jumping planned for Saturday and I would like to do a massage course on Sunday.
I got a message from one of my friends from school saying he was coming to Thailand and will be in Chiang Mai on the 14th, which is perfect timing to take him to the UN irish pub and watch Leicester Vs Toulouse on their massive TV's. This will go down very well with a steak sandwich and a trip to 'town' afterwards.
However, this will be a special treat as I am trying to save as much as I can. For example, today I have spent just over 100 baht, on food and drink, which is around £2.
Toodles,
x
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