The Hardest Goodbye...

No, it's not goodbye...its "see ya later" and I'm sure of it.  I am certain that one day I will find myself back in Nakhon Phanom, the town that has become my home.

The tears started flowing on Friday evening, and will only continue with increased frequency and intensity. I quite honestly cannot even begin to explain the heartbreak that I feel about leaving Nakhon Phanom.  Riding through town yesterday was glorious - taking in all the sights, sounds, smells, and reflecting about my time here. It's been one hell of a ride, that's for sure.

People keep asking about America and what I'm most excited for, and aside for seeing friends and family, its really not much.  There's a lot about America that right now absolutely terrifies me - the pace of life, the constant connection via phone/internet, not having a job, etc, etc, etc.  I really can't say that I'm excited to go back (dear readers, please don't take this personally). The sadness I feel about leaving far overwhelms any excitement or joy I have about returning to America (notice that I have not referred to America as "home" once in this post - for some reason that term doesn't feel quite right). Everyone keeps telling me I will be alright, but there's a feeling in the pit of my stomach that tells me this will probably be one of the hardest things I've ever done. I have nothing waiting for me in America - the temptation to cancel my flights and stay in NKP is incredibly strong (don't worry Mom, I'm already in Udon, no turning back now - unless of course, the airport floods). 

The "see ya later's" I have experienced so far have been incredibly painful.  First came the old man who fills my bike tires each week, followed by my laundry lady.  Then came the staff in the office, which I literally had to run away from to hide my tears (any show of emotion causes loss of face), though a few people chased me out to say more goodbyes.  Then came Haley and her new puppy, Naga, bright and early this morning.  Haley has been my best friend and confidant the last few months, and has shown me the more "hip" side of Nakhon Phanom (and introduced me to more people to miss).  Weekly Skype dates are mandatory, Miss Boone. Next was my goodbye with Pornchai (who I'll probably always refer to as my Thai Dad), which was far too awkward and anti-climactic.  He drove me and Pi Nok to the bus station this morning, took my suitcase out of his car and said "ok bye bye," and he walked away while I was a blubbering idiot barely even able to get it together enough to give him a respectful wai and thank you. Dear Thailand, let's make hugs an appropriate gesture - it would have saved the whole thing. I proceeded to walk on the bus and weep until Pi Nok made me stop.

And most recently was the goodbye to Nakhon Phanom.  As the bus drove under the provincial archway, I said a little prayer of gratitude to this wonderful place and to wish the people and province well until I could see them again. It was a beautiful moment between me (again, crying) and the lush green rice fields as I drove away from my home.

Tomorrow I will say goodbye to Pi Nok at the airport, and she's begged me not to cry, but I already have tears streaming down my face at the thought of yet another goodbye.  She's been telling everyone that my parents want me back for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years, and then I can come back.  When my duffel bag was just about exploding, she told me to leave things in the closet for when I come back in a few months.  What a wonderful thought...

"You should not cry, because you are going to happiness.  If you were going to sadness, ok, you can cry.  But you are going back to love and happiness.  We cannot be sad for that." - Pi Nok

Camp Thailand - Take 2

Just as I suspected, Orientation for the new volunteers flew by!

Helping run the show was a lot of work, but also a lot of fun.  It was a long haul with a straight month of 14 hour days, and it wasn't all easy and fun - though much of it was.  I am so glad to be able to stay and meet the new crew, and grateful for the valuable work/life experience.  Here are some highlights:

- sharing the orientation site with about 100 carnival workers for the first 2 weeks
- setting off (or failing to) kratongs - floating lanterns - on the night of Fireboat Festival
- BUMPCARS - bumpercars meets rave meets black friday...you get the idea?
- witnessing the newbies' "firsts" - a great reminder not to take things for granted
- watching (with a twinge of jealousy) the new volunteers begin to form bonds with all the wonderful thai people who have helped me so much in the last year

I am confident the new Krew are ready and excited for their adventure.  I imagine that when we sent them off to their sites it felt a lot like sending your children off to college - we did the best we could to prepare them, but all we could really do was give them a hug and best wishes. I can say that I'm very envious of their current positions, but I do know that my time as a Krew Assassamak is over - and I'm hopefully on to bigger and better things.

To the WorldTeach Thailand 2011-2012 Volunteers:  Savor every moment (the good and the bad) and let yourself fall in love with the people, the food, the culture, the music (yes, even the tone-deaf karaoke at 2 am) and the beauty that is Thailand. Best of luck to you this year!

Wang Gnai? Whats Up?

I have been a terrible blogger - but I have been so busy doing tons of different activities.  I hate to skimp on the details, but here's what's been going on since my last post.

- I spent a long weekend touring Siem Reap and Angkor Wat in Cambodia.  The trip was incredible. One of the highlights?  Climbing to the top of a temple with Rita, Ben, and J at sunrise. We had the place to ourselves for the whole thing.  Please refer to Rita's blog for the whole story:  http://ritaafarrell.blogspot.com/2011/07/cambodia.html - and to Ben's for some great pictures: http://muskratgoestothailand.blogspot.com/2011/08/cambodia.html
- Many of my fellow volunteers helped lead an English Camp at Pla Pak Wit (where we had our orientation a year ago).  It was a blast!  It was also so much fun to bring an end to our time with giving back to the school that gave so much to our beginning. 
- I had my last few classes teaching at Kom Pawk.  It was bittersweet, and a lot of fun.  Some of my fifth and sixth graders can read English better than they can read Thai!
- End of Service conference with my group was productive and fun, as well as difficult good-byes
- Planning Orientation with the new field director, Haley, has been a blast.  A lot of work, a few stressful moments, but mostly a lot of fun.
- To reward ourselves (and to give ourselves an incentive to finish planning the sessions faster) we scored an awesome flight down to Phuket for a long weekend.  We headed straight to Koh Phi Phi (Thailand's posterchild and the location of filming for "The Beach") and had a few wonderful days of fun in the sun (and rain).  We made a number of good friends...and even brought a few back with us to NKP!
- I finally crossed the bridge to Laos.  I really only went for a visa run, and it was not a lot of fun, but now I have an extra stamp in my passport and the pretty Thai one too!

English Camp Activities!

Cambodia!

This is the temple we watched the sunrise from

Hard at work...or hard at cheating....

No smiles for Kru Malee

This is what happened to my leftover stickers at the end of the year...

Camera crazed kids...i miss those munchkins!

 

(This is a video of my 3rd graders playing a letter identification game during our last day together.  Watch what happens when "W" appears.  There's a famous Thai pop song entitled "Lovin' you too much" and they like to substitute the "W" in...every.time.)

Tonight I am off to Bangkok for the weekend to celebrate a number of milestones: my 24th birthday, my one year anniversary in Thailand, and to pick up the volunteers for the start of WorldTeach Thailand 2011-2012!

What The...?!?

If you were reading my last post and came along the line: "There are not enough words in the English language to express my deep love and respect for this woman, nor for the heartbreak I will feel when it comes time to leave Thailand and her behind (although we are hopeful that she will be able to get a Visa to come home with me for a few weeks in November)." and thought to yourself "What the...?!?" you are not alone.  That's right folks, my return to the US has been delayed from the end of September to the first week of November, and I couldn't be happier about it.

The stars all magically aligned to give me the opportunity to continue to work for WorldTeach through next years' Orientation.  This was a hope of mine from the very beginning, and started to look like a semi possibility when I started as Assistant Field Director. I didn't want to get my hopes up because X, Y, and Z all needed to happen to give me this opportunity.  I started to resign myself to going home in September and even bought the plane ticket to prove it.  I planned a Welcome/Birthday party for myself on the very day I left for Thailand one year prior.  While this event made going home a little more appealing (I really was looking forward to having all my friends and family together, gazing at the autumn foliage, enjoying fall-like temperatures, etc.) I was (and still am) beginning to dread the impending Goodbye to Thailand.

Staying for the next groups' orientation just feels right.  I've learned so much this past year - about myself, about Thailand, about other people, that I am really looking forward to teaching some of the new "krew" about what it means to be a volunteer here.  In the office, we've already begun planning for Orientation and making site placements for next year, so it would be a real disappointment to go home without seeing the fruits of my labor.  Not only that, I am so curious about the new group of volunteers, staying just to meet them makes it all worth it. NKP will always hold a special place in my heart, and I want to make sure the new krew are well enough prepared to take care of this wonderful place in my absence.

I'll see ya stateside November 4th.

We are Family

Here in Thailand I have a wonderful family who hold an incredibly special place in my heart.  Perhaps one of my favorite things about Thai culture is that almost immediately upon meeting someone, a family-like relation is established based on age.  We use the word "Pi" to indicate an older sibling, and the word "Nong" for a younger sibling.  The line between actual family and close friend is too blurry to differentiate between the two.  And the way Thai people take care of everyone, it seems as though the community as a whole is the family, which is a little confusing, but so amazing to see and experience.  I have more wonderful Pis in my life than I could ever ask for:  There's Pi Nok of the office who's 5 year old son calls me Na (Aunt) Malee, solely based on the fact that his mother and I have established the sibling relationship. There's Pi Pornchai, WorldTeach's liason to the school district, a wonderful man who will stop at nothing to make sure all of our needs are met. There's Pi Louis, a new friend who suggests fun evening activities and enjoys tagging along and introducing us to his friends (even more Pis and Nongs there!).  There's Pi Mem of my laundry shop who is just a pleasure to visit.  On my last laundry day, she gave me a bunch of bananas and offered me a ride on her motorcy to the center of town. When I picked up my laundry today, she asked for my phone number so she could invite me to have dinner with her family.

Last, but certainly not least, there's Pi Nok, my roommate and the greatest older sister in the world.  When my life turned upside down, she so graciously welcomed me into her home and her life without a moment's hesitation.  There are not enough words in the English language to express my deep love and respect for this woman, nor for the heartbreak I will feel when it comes time to leave Thailand and her behind (although we are hopeful that she will be able to get a Visa to come home with me for a few weeks in November). She is the epitome of "jai dee"  (good heart) and is so generous to all the people in her life.  She anticipates mine and others' needs and makes sure everyone is well cared for.  Not only that, but she can read people's feelings and emotions so well that it amazes me how she's got all the volunteers' down. She also tells the funniest stories of her embarrassing moments, but she has no shame at all.  We laugh together all the time as we are both "ding dongs" more often than we are geniuses (example: nearly blowing up our bathroom when we lit candles during a power outage). We have deep conversations about current topics in Thailand and about her past - despite the language barrier we truly understand each other.

About a month or so ago I traveled to Pi Nok's hometown of Chaiyapum with her and Rita.  She'd been looking forward to this trip all year and was so excited for us to see the home she's built and meet her extended family.  We toured her rice field and her village, and stopped at nearly every home to be introduced to yet another member of the "family."  Pi Nok is obviously the fun, cool aunt that everybody loves and looks forward to visits from. I don't know if I've ever seen Pi Nok so happy as she was in Chaiyapum and it was a joy to see.

Rita and I touring the orchid mountain with Pi Nok's family

With Tomtam, Pi Nok's niece

 Pi Nok!

Ain't No Gift Like the Present

Upon returning from our travels, I, along with most of the other volunteers, began to sense some anxiety in the air about returning home and ending our journey in Thailand.  It all started with the task of changing our return flights – a process that very literally brought me to tears - and it all spiraled from there.  Soon enough, weekend conversations were dominated with “What’s next?” instead of the usual, “What crazy/interesting/awesome thing happened in your village this week?” I too got swept up in thinking of what was coming next, and trust me, the whole thought of returning home is so anxiety ridden that it completely threw me for a loop.  It got to the point that I was thinking so much into the future that I entirely neglected everything that was happening in the present.  Sure its kind of exciting to get caught up in imagining what I’ll be doing after Thailand, but the truth is there’s still three whole months left to enjoy this experience.  It feels like forever and absolutely nothing at the same time. Why should I waste this precious time worrying about the future when I am in the midst of an incredible journey?  As time seems to just fly by, it’s now my goal to keep my thoughts on the wonderful moments that make my life in Thailand so special.  Here are some of my favorites:

-          Laughing with Pi Nok every day about how forgetful we both are about silly things like where we left our keys.  Or maybe not so silly things, like the time we almost blew up the house.

-          My students, particularly 3^rd grader Jet, who every single time I ask him anything, will giggle and squirm in his seat and respond with, “I am thank you!” It’s so adorable I almost don’t ever want to teach him the correct answers.

-          The woman at the market that I buy vegetables from each week.  Our interaction lasts all of 30 seconds, but I always look forward to seeing her smiling face.

-          Whenever I go to a fruit stand and ask what some mysterious fruit is, I always get offered a taste, and the owner grabs a piece and rips it open for me.  Most of the time its delicious, sometimes its durian.

-          The bike shop owners who one time chased me down the street so they could refill my bike’s tires.

-          Whenever I drop off clothes at the laundry shop, the woman always invites me inside for a glass of water and asks me questions a mile a minute.  Somehow, I can always understand her. I don’t even know her name, but she’s one of my favorite people here.

-          My fellow volunteers who have become family, and who always have the ability to make me laugh so hard tears stream down my face.

-          One of the office lady’s adorable little sons always walks slowly and nervously to my desk to show me whatever toy he has that day.  Never says a word to me, but he’ll let me drive his toy car over the side of my desk.

-          Pornchai asking about the intricacies of English to and from site visits.  On our last trip, he wanted to know the differences between see, saw, and seen. The end result was either “I haven’t seen you in a long time” or “It has been a long time since I last saw you.” I realize more and more each day how ridiculous the English language is.

-          Each week when I go to the Som Dtam shop, the woman automatically starts making it exactly how I like it.  While she’s mashing away, someone in the shop always remarks about how novel it is that I can eat Isan food. When I explain to them that it’s my favorite meal I’m always greeted with squeals of delight.

With wonderful moments like these, why would I even try to think of anything but today?

Expedition Thailand: Lessons Learned

Now that its been 2 months (oh my goodness, how time has flown!) since I've returned from my travels, I wanted to share all the life lessons that I learned while backpacking around this wonderful country:

1. When someone offers you the opportunity to do something crazy, fun, adventurous, etc. - Do It!  Had I backed out of unfamiliar circumstances, I probably never would have gone scuba diving, never seen the mosque in Pitsanulok, never met a number of wonderful people, never would have jumped into the back of a thai family's pickup to circle the city for Songkran, and never would have had many of the experiences that I did.
2. While sometimes incredibly confusing, cramped, and disgustingly hot, public transportation is the way to go.  Its cheaper, (sometimes) faster, and ALWAYS more entertaining.  I met a lot of enjoyable people on public transport - like the little boy that tried to bite my fingers off, the man that tried to match up the 3 American girls with the 3 German boys just because we all had white skin, and the old man who for 8 hours constantly narrated our entire trip in Thai, "We're turning left. We're 400 km from Nakhon Phanom. You can sit next to me, don't be afraid.  Now we're turning right. We're 399 km from Nakhon Phanom."
3. Learn a little bit of the local language.  Now, having been in Thailand for 5 months before heading out, we were all well ahead of the game of most travelers.  But here's the thing - hello, please, thank you, and excuse me, are enough to show the locals that you're invested in learning about their culture.  Knowing Thai probably saved me about $200 USD because I could get the "friend price" for nearly anything that cost money, it led to wonderful cultural exchanges, and it just made the whole journey so much easier.  We could travel off the beaten path more freely and truly experience a number of different places.
4. Before getting on a bus, calculate which side of the bus the sun will be on for the majority of the trip. Sit on the opposite side.
5. Don't be shy - talk to everyone you meet. Sure, you might get yourself stuck talking to someone who blabs on and on about nothing you care about, but you also just might make a great new friend.

To help you get a better idea of where in Thailand I traveled during my 5 weeks on the road, copy and paste this link into your browser:

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF&msa=0&msid=
201852724059212416675.0004a2fbd928fa9cd8fa8

This weekend should have been filmed and titled Hangover 2

Returning to NKP after 5 weeks on the road truly felt like going home, and it was so nice to be able to actually unpack and sleep in my own bed (even if that bed is not at all like my bed at American home).  I enjoyed getting back into the office and sharing stories with some of my co-workers.  Meeting Jes' husband, Abe, was also a joy as I'd heard so much about him over the year.  Abe moved to Thailand in March to be with Jes when she has their baby (any day now....c'mon baby!) and it was great to finally get to know him.

Anyway, Jes and I were out to lunch with the office the day before she and Abe left for Bangkok (where she is living now in the last few weeks of her pregnancy) and we were told about an office field trip to Bangkok and Kanchanaburi.  Naturally, we were invited to go too.  Normally, this is an invitation I would refuse, as sometime I feel alienated in the company of only Thai people after a few hours. However, because I would be in the office alone during Jes' maternity leave, I wanted to take the time to bond with the rest of the office staff without her. Kanchanaburi was also one of the places I wanted to hit while traveling but wasn't able to, so I figured it was a good idea to go.

So, at 7 am the next morning I boarded Crazy Bus Thailand (seriously, that's what the bus company was called) and knew I was in for a great trip - especially when all the men broke out their boxes of wine (where did they find wine?!?) Sure enough, the blaring karaoke began as soon as we left the office driveway...and lasted the entirety of the 14 hour drive to Bangkok (as well as any time we spent on the bus - a total of about 40 hours).  I did notice the laser stage lighting that the bus was equipped with and was grateful they opted not to turn that on - until they did on our journey back. Just wait for the video at the bottom of this post :)They tried soooo hard to get me to participate in the karaoke, but I refused.  However, they also know that I'll say "ok" to pretty much anything I don't understand (usually I won't have much of a choice anyway).  So while I had my headphones in attempting to drown out karaoke, someone asked me a question in Lao, not understanding I just said "ok" and immediately the mic was passed to me.  Thankfully there weren't any songs in English, but man those Thai people are tricksters!

We arrived in Bangkok in time for the Educational Directors Conference to begin, which was the reason for this outing.  I was told to wake up at 6 am...even though we wouldn't be leaving until 10? No worries, I was able to find a LIVE Sox game on TV.  Epic. There was a lot of just wandering around the conference center and meeting people.  The Director of the office I work in (I'll refer to him as my boss, but he's not) tried to find me a husband so that I wouldn't have to leave Thailand. I only found this out after the 5th young man brought to meet me could speak enough English and explained my boss' plan. Awkward.

Basically throughout the conference I was dragged in a million directions, because no one knew what to do. There was a redeeming moment though - one of the presenters was from America and was giving a presentation about teacher collaboration and observations.  Perfect!  Taking over the Field Director position I was tasked with site observations and leading a few volunteer conferences, so this guy's presentation was very timely. Of course Pornchai (the liaison between WT and the district office - my closest collaborator) dragged me up to the podium to meet him, and as soon as I turned to introduce Pornchai, he disappeared.  His excuse was that he had to go the bathroom. Yeah, right.

A lot of the confusion surrounding the conference was due to the fact that it was being held at the same venue as the finale of Thailand's version of American Idol. Seriously. Screaming teenagers filled the streets around the center. And the next day the Prime Minister of Education was slated to speak. You could have fooled me...I sort of thought it was a magic show.  It was held in the Royal Jubilee Ballroom and it featured mysterious music, fireworks, and a smoke machine. Seriously.

Then we were off to Kanchanaburi, the site of the Bridge over River Kwai (actually pronounced like "square" minus the s and a little bit of the r). We had about 15 minutes to look at the bridge and take a million pictures and then we were off on our dinner cruise on the river. I would have liked to explore the museums and actually learn something, but there was no time for that apparently. The beauty there was indescribable, and I was even able to enjoy it for about an hour before the karaoke began again! After the dinner cruise we went back to the hotel and were off first thing in the morning for the trip back to NKP.

In all seriousness though, I am so happy I went on this trip.  While I laughed to myself pretty much the whole time about what I was experiencing, I enjoyed every minute of it (ok, not the karaoke so much). I loved getting to know the office folk and even trying to learn their names (eh, I still only know 3). I loved their generosity and their interest in teaching me new things.  My boss would teach me the Thai and Lao words for just about everything we were surrounded by like umbrella, fingernail, sidewalk, etc. - of which I remember not one word.  Because of the gender roles in Thailand, the men and women were distinctly separated, and the women were given the task to care for me even though Pornchai is my main contact in the office.  Pornchai would still sneak over and make sure everything was ok though.  Nok, (not Pi Nok) the woman who invited me, certainly made sure I never got lost - I couldn't even go to the bathroom by myself! I could tell that among the women, though, there was a sort of "you invited her, now you have to make sure we don't lose her" attitude about me.  All of which I still find hilarious. 

Overall though, it really helped me bond with the other people in my office.  Everyday a few people come up to my desk and have a conversation with me.  The cute little old man reads from an English conversation book to me each morning. Nok's sons call me Na Malee (Aunt Malee) and give me hugs when they come to the office after school. And I was even invited to the nearby high school's pool with some of the women. It was a great trip, and the memories of it still make me laugh to this day.

The River Kwai at sunset

The Royal Jubilee Ballroom in BKK - where the magic happens

Me and Nok at the bridge

the bridge

Autumn in New England?...nope. Thailand in the hot season! Who knew?

Houses on the river

"Dump," the karaoke station on our dinner boat...at least they got that part right"

rainbow!

 

And now the moment you've all been waiting for...Karaoke with Laser Stage Lighting. (Please turn the volume all the way up to get the true taste of 40 hours on a bus is like)

Expedition Thailand Part 5: Last Legs...Chiang Mai

We arrived in Chiang Mai on the Eve of the Eve of Songkran...which in Thai time means that it had already started.  From the bus station we snagged a saawng tao and made our way to Rita and Michelle's guest house where we'd meet up with Rita's parents.  Along the way we realized that the water fights had already begun as children with water guns attacked. We ran into Rita's parents outside their guest house and immediately took cover.  I repacked my valuables into a dry bag, and headed out on a search for the hostel I would be sharing with 8 other WT volunteers and friends they met along their travels.

Just a little background info about Songkran.  It is traditionally the Thai New Year Celebration, although Thailand has adopted the western tradition of changing the calendar on January 1. Thailand has held onto its numbering system as it is currently the year 2554 here in Thailand (hello from the future!). Anyway, Songkran involves washing the Buddha's and it is considered a way of rinsing away any sins from the previous year.  The festival has since evolved into a country-wide water fight, with Chiang Mai as the center of the party.

I made my way to the guesthouse and met up with the friends I hadn't seen in about a month.  We shared some travel stories and enjoyed each other's company.   Another one of our first stops was to arm ourselves with watery weapons.  There were choices galore from tiny guns outfitted with umbrellas, water guns with tank backpacks, water rockets, and buckets. We stocked up on a variety of weapons and readied ourselves for the next day.

We went out on the Eve of Songkran (the festival still hadn't officially started yet!) and all around the moat surrounding the Old City were people on sidewalks spraying anyone that came close.  We decided to scope out the situation from the quieter side of the street.  As we watched the revelers across the moat, I spotted a familiar face. Who could it be?  It was Martin, one of the friends we met in Railey!  I called across the moat, and he ran over, joining our crew for the remainder of the week.  Once we knew what was going on, we joined in on the water fight and were quickly soaked to the bone - including everything that was in my "dry" bag (everyone's phones, my camera, my bus ticket home, etc).  Unusually chilly during Thailand's hot season, we were actually freezing and decided to call it a night early to place all our items in a bag of rice...which was surprisingly difficult to find. (No worries, everyone's phones, and even my camera, all made a successful recovery eventually).

The next few days carried on much the same way, a blur of water.  Knowing Thai allowed us to take part in a more exciting part of Songran.  Thai people load up their trucks with water buckets and ice and stereos and drive around the moats.  We had researched how we might charter a truck for the day, but we soon realized with the slow traffic and knowing Thai, we could easily just hop on any truck that had some friendly people. It was great to see the entire city and tourists from the world over take part.  People young and old reveled together in the watery streets.

I did take one day to explore the surrounding area.  I met back up with Michelle, Rita, and her parents for a day of trekking.  We started off bamboo rafting down a river, took an elephant ride through the jungle, hiked through hill tribe villages, and swam in a waterfall.  It was a wonderful break from crazy Chiang Mai, and we really enjoyed getting to know our bamboo raft and elephant guides (again, thanks to knowing Thai). 

It was a great way to end 5 weeks of traveling around.  And man was I grateful to be finally home in NKP.  But little did I know, my travels wouldn't officially end there...

Friendly family who's truck we hopped on

Insanity

the moat surrounding the Old City

Expedition Thailand Part 4: Northbound: Bangkok - Chiang Mai

We landed in Bangkok at around 7 pm, just hours after we’d booked our flight (who’d have thunk you can still book a flight the same day you fly).  We headed straight to the backpacker paradise of Khao San Road.  While heading directly to Farang central isn’t typically my method of choice, we knew we’d be able to find food and beds and that the Taxi driver would know exactly where it was – and after sitting in traffic for a few hours, we knew we’d made the right choice.

Bangkok, this time around, actually made a better impression on me.  Maybe it was because we’d been there before and knew what to expect.  Maybe it was because, 3 weeks into our travels, we were used to being surrounded by foreigners.  Whatever it was, I enjoyed it.  We spent the day buying train tickets north, exploring the grand palace (except that it was closed because of yet another holiday) and crossing the river to Wat Arun.  We ended the day at Siam Square, the ritzy shopping center, hoping to catch a movie.  We walked into the theater area, didn’t recognize a single movie, didn’t know how to use the fancy ticket machines, and quickly opted to hit the basement aquarium instead.  It was really fun to explore the aquarium after we’d been scuba diving, because we could point out all the cool things we saw.

The next morning we headed back to the train station to catch our train to the northern-ish town of Phitsanulok. I love trains.  Taking trains in Greece and from Germany to the Czech Republic really established rail travel as my top choice.  You just get to see so much of the country that can’t be traveled by road.  We chugged through Ayuthaya and its ruins, rode past Lopburi’s monkey temple, and saw innumerable ricefields.

We got to Phitsanulok and I ran through the city trying to find a hotel, while Rita waited in the shade.  She’d come down with a flu-like something, and I wanted to get her to AC and a bed ASAP.  Turns out the maps in Lonely Planet stink (surprise surprise) and we’d gone past it.  I walked into a store and asked a few women where a hotel was.  I explained that my friend was sick and needed to find a place soon.  They jumped up and offered to take her to the hospital, but I politely declined.  While waiting, Michelle met a guy that offered to drive us in his pickup truck, and we made it safely. Of course, when I went to move the fan in the lobby, it chopped part of my finger off (not really, just a nice slice), and both Rita and I were “mai sabai” for the night.

With Rita’s illness, we decided to stay there and recuperate for a day. I was itching for an adventure and some alone time.  I’d seen a mosque on our way in, and decided to go check it out.  Most of the deep south of Thailand is Muslim, which has resulted in a lot of violence there, so I was intrigued to see how it was perceived here in the north.  Not to mention that traveling in Turkey and Egypt has inspired an interest in Islam for me.  I walked over and took a few pictures, but didn’t venture inside because I didn’t know what the protocol was.  It was then that I saw a woman in a hijab working at a pancake stand.  I walked over and started chatting with her, telling her that I was interested in the mosque.  She immediately closed her stand and took me inside with her.  She took me to children’s Islam classes that we being held inside and I explained to them what I was doing there.  She even snuck me into the main part of the mosque where women are usually not permitted.  All of our conversing happened in Thai, and I really enjoyed this wonderful cultural exchange that we shared. That afternoon I walked along the riverfront to the biggest temple in town, where they were preparing for Songkran.  It was a wonderful day of learning and experiencing.

The next day we bussed over to Sukhothai, where we would explore the ancient ruins there. The first afternoon in town, though, was reserved for relaxing and reading.  I had seen a sign at our bungalow that a nearby hotel allowed guests access to their swimming pool.  Of course, that was my destination to the afternoon.  I left Michelle and Rita and went on another adventure.  I was the only one in the pool for a while and enjoyed swimming laps.  Then a Thai mother and daughter showed up.  All the Thai people I know are deathly afraid of the water, so I immediately asked how they knew how to swim and what they did.  I ended up having a wonderful conversation with a woman from a province near NKP.  Her daughter learned how to swim at a private school as it was part of their gym classes.  I spent about an hour talking and playing with the young girl – I even taught her how to flip!  It was so nice to be back in the water and teaching swimming.  I know that one thing I’ll miss most about home this summer is working at the pools.

These two small experiences sum up exactly what I love about Thailand.  All the people are so friendly and you can just go up and start talking to them like it’s the most normal thing in the world.  It’s also why I love being able to speak at least a little Thai.  Had I been just another tourist, I wouldn’t have been able to communicate with these wonderful people. 

We headed to Sukhothai Historical Park the next day, and it was serene and beautiful.  We rented bikes and spent a few hours riding around the ruins and exploring them.  I wish I’d studied up on Thai history before visiting, but it was still a wonderful experience.

Next stop on our Journey:  Chiang Mai and the craziness that is Songkran!

At Wat Arun...the Grand Palace is right across the river in the background

Crossing the river to get to Wat Arun

Only in Thailand.  On the wall it says "Karaoke Saloon"

Khao San Road

The Mosque in Phitsanulok

Inside the mosque...Its simplicity is interesting to compare to the ones I've seen elsewhere

Riverfront Phitsanulok

Outside a temple in Phitsanulok

Sukhothai Historical Park

Man cleaning the ponds

Man, I wish my bike in NKP was like these ones :)

Expedition Thailand Part 3: Water Water Everywhere - Railay

After our liveaboard trip we decided to head to Railay, a peninsula that can only be reached by longtail boat because it is surrounded by limestone cliffs.  This place was pure paradise.  Soft beaches, warm water, absolutely gorgeous scenery - this place had it all.  You know what else it had? Rain, and lots of it.

We arrived just as the clouds started floating in and quickly trekked across the peninsula to the cheaper side where the beach was muddy and covered in mangroves.  We hiked the stairs up to the bungalows that had been recommended and immediately agreed to stay there.  We sat on the porch and in the hammock watching the rain pour down around us.  It was then that we met our next travel friend, Kevin.  It was approximately 4 pm as he left the bungalow next door, walked by, and casually greeted us with a "good morning."  We laughed it off and wondered who this kid was.  Little did we know that the very next night he'd invite us to join him for dinner and we'd be spending the next 9 days coming up with adventures with him and his French friend Martin. We had an early dinner at the bungalows' indian restaurant (my new favorite cuisine) and called it an early night.

We awoke in the morning and quickly agreed we would not be spending another night in our soggy bungalow, as cute as it was.  We were out of the door by 8 am and made it into another bungalow with more substantial walls just as the rain started for that day.  Whenever there was a respite from the deluge, we'd rush out, explore a bit, and run back to shelter in the pouring rain.  This went on for about 4 days, until the day we'd been planning to leave when the sun finally peeked through the clouds. The rain wreaked havoc on our laundry intentions (no dryers in Thailand), and slowed the healing of my poor infected toe that got chewed up from the scuba fins (I prefer to say that I got attacked by a triggerfish - hey it ALMOST happened!) But we didn't let the rain dampen our spirits.

We spent one whole day watching movies and playing Skip-Bo before we decided that we would not be stuck inside and we'd be happy braving the rain.  We spent a few hours each day exploring the caves that littered the 3 beaches around the peninsula.  Finally, when the rain stopped for a few hours Kevin, Rita, and I rented a Kayak for a few hours and explored the same caves from the water.  We would kayak through islands and have to duck our heads to keep them safe from the rocks. It was the one "I'm not leaving Railay until I do this" activity that I had in mind and it definitely lived up to my expectations.

When the sun finally came out the next day, we decided that we'd take a hike up to the lagoon and the viewpoint that Martin had suggested.  We had walked by the trailhead a few times and completely dismissed the idea due to the fact that it was basically rock-climbing in mud.   Eventually though, we were convinced to do it, and my toe was finally able to fit comfortably inside my sneakers.  It was an interesting and slippery hike, that was probably not the safest to do, but the views at the top were more than worth it.  We could see the entire peninsula and all the cliffs.  After standing in awe for a while at the view, we headed down to where the lagoon was.  At one point we had to repel down an incredibly steep hill that was covered in mud.  Unfortunately because the trail was so sketchy we couldn't get to the lagoon itself, but we made it to where we could see it between the rocks. We eventually made it to solid ground, but not without getting covered head to toe in red mud.  In short, it was awesome.

The rest of our time in Railay was pretty uneventful as we were finally able to enjoy the beaches - and all the monkeys that hang out on them.  We ended up extending our stay even a few days longer so we would be able to enjoy the sun.  That, and we'd heard a number of differing accounts about the state of the roads we'd need to take.  We knew Koh Tao had needed to be evacuated because of the flooding, the railroad had been washed away at one point, and our friends had been picked up by the Thai Navy as they were trying to travel north - so we didn't want to risk traveling until we knew that it was safe.  Even so, we ended up catching a flight from Krabi to Bangkok because we couldn't get a clear answer about the roads.

Railay is a place that I know I will go back to one day.  There was always something to do, even in torrential downpours, and it was probably one of the most beautiful places I have ever been.  We met a number of wonderful people, including a couple from Australia who invited us to come visit and stay with them anytime,  Ida and Tim from Norway who were traveling around the world, Sebastian from Germany, Marco from Israel, and of course our buddies Kevin and Martin.  Kevin was headed back to Canada, and Martin was headed north, but Railay wasn't going to be the last place we saw him...

The main shopping street - impacts from the flood

the view from our hike!

The hike at its least steep part..."DANGER. slippery area ahead"...yep.

beautiful sunsets

absolutely stunning

caves everywhere!

we kayaked all around here

longboats take travelers to and from Railay

so. much. rain.

cliffs behind our bungalow

Michelle, Rita, and I with our new friends Sebastian, Martin, and Kevin

monkeys visited everyday!

Expedition Thailand Part 2: Liveaboard Dive Trip to the Surin and Similan Islands

When we arrived back in Surat Thani, we were met with a frantic search to find Peter within the 20 minutes before our bus left.  Our bus left from the new bus station, which was also called Bus Station 2.  Peter’s bus arrived at Bus Station 2, but it wasn’t the new one.  The word for “new” is “mai” which is also the word for “no” and the word to use when asking questions in general.  I think it’s clear that finding Peter was not easy.  Thankfully we managed to ask the bus driver to wait for our friend and Peter strolled up with seconds to spare.

We were headed back to the other side of the Thai coast, with Khao Lak as our destination.  Having loved Scuba diving so much, we decided to look for a 3 or 4 day liveaboard headed to the famed Surin and Similan islands.  Peter, an experienced scuba diver, had waited for us all to get certified to begin his vacation underwater.  The town of Khao Lak was not at all impressive – I’d go so far as to say that it was the Hampton Beach of Thailand.  But it was the best place for liveaboards so we found a place to crash for the night and went off in search of dive shops. 

We knew exactly what we wanted in terms of our liveaboard.  We wanted a relatively small boat that would be departing within the next 2 days.  Many dive shops would also keep their boat out at sea, with divers coming and going every day depending on how many days they wanted to dive.  We wanted to be sure we’d be with the same people for the duration of our trip, which was actually very hard to find within our very limited price range.  During our search, the rain started pouring and we became more and more discouraged with every shop we entered. Feeling defeated we opted to check one more shop before packing it in and heading either down to Railay or back to Koh Tao.  Then we entered Liquid Adventure.  Their trip was leaving the following evening and had everything else we wanted.  The shop had a great atmosphere and we immediately signed our lives away. 

Ben and Zach managed to join Rita, Peter, and I just in time for the trip.  We boarded the boat with excitement and became even more enthusiastic when we learned more about the boat and what our trip would entail. 

Having had mediocre dive conditions on Koh Tao, we had no idea what to expect when we awoke at our first dive site in the Surin Islands.  We made an easy descent and could see for what felt like miles around us.  The corals were more colorful and the fish more plentiful than any of us could have imagined. We came up from that dive even more astonished than we’d been during our course, and we knew we were in for an incredible few days.  Each dive seemed more impressive than the last and we experienced such thrills from all we saw.  We dove at a site with a swim through which tested our buoyancy skills, and we did a wreck dive covered in lionfish that tested our nerves. We dove the famous Richelieau Rock, a pinnacle covered in purple soft corals near the Burma marine border, which was discovered by none other than Jacques Cousteau. We also did two night dives that scared us all shit-less as we had no idea what to expect, but we were so enthralled with what we’d seen all of our fears melted away.

We saw countless creatures as well with our most impressive sights being a leopard shark, a juvenile angelfish and a manta ray, which I spotted in the deep while each and every one of my comrades searched for tiny creatures in the corals. I spent a good minute try to signal for the manta ray – which looks like awkward flailing about – but to no avail.  I was the only member of my group to witness this magnificent animal, but the sighting was verified from other groups aboard the boat.  Other creatures we saw in abundance were pufferfish, boxfish, angelfish, triggerfish, butterfly fish, clownfish, giant blue starfish, parrotfish, and limitless others. 

It was a remarkable 3 days filled with 14 dives – totally worth breaking my travel budget for this trip.  We met incredible people from around the world – Sweden, India, Germany, etc.  The trip had been sold to us as “eat, sleep, dive, eat, sleep, dive” and that’s exactly what it was.  Each and every day we’d wake up, have a quick breakfast, dive, eat a real breakfast, nap, dive, eat lunch, nap, dive, eat a snack, nap, night dive, eat dinner, sleep. We hated having to leave the boat and wished we’d been able to spend our entire vacation on the liveaboard. But we knew that even more adventures were awaiting us.

Rita and I on the boat

Ridding the boat of evil spirits as we set off

Surin Islands

This might be Koh Bon?

Life on the boat

One of many dive briefs...

Peforming the Buddy Check PADI high-five...Divemaster Dave would have been so proud...

The group on our last dive

Lionfish on the Bon Soon Wreck Dive