Thailand Trip (Day 8 and 9)

Day 8:

Today we left Ao Nang for Krabi town. We traveled via songtaew (pickup truck with seats) and got off near where we thought the Thai Hotel was (where GVI would pick us up). Luckily, we were very close to the hotel and got directions from some locals. We arrived a half hour early and decided to get a sit down breakfast in a nearby restaurant (Thai service is remarkably fast!). We hurried to the hotel after breakfast and were a bit late, but the folks from GVI were too :). Global Vision International (GVI) is a international volunteering organization that we joined for an expedition. The expedition that we joined was Teachers Assistants in Thailand. Jill, the program direction picked us up in a Honda Jazz and we headed off to Ao Luk. The tourists and shops soon disappeared as we headed into the country side and forest. We arrived in Ao Luk, a sleepy and beautiful southern Thai town that has escaped the hectic modern world we live in. There are two town centers here (road intersections) and around 5,000 residents. The GVI base was just past the local Palm Oil plant which periodically belches out some dark smoke into the otherwise crystal clear air. The surrounding area is amazing with limestone cliffs covered in dense jungle in almost all directions.

We were introduced to Emily at the base who would be training us this weekend. She was a hilarious gal from the US who gave us a colorful tour of the base, warning us of dangers ranging from falling coconuts, to snakes in the grass. The base is pretty basic and consists of two large dorm rooms, three Thai bathrooms (bucket flush toilets and showers or Thai baths which are bucket showers), a kitchen, common room, and a large yard. The base has electricity and water, but no hot water or air conditioning. Everyone at the base is quite friendly and very helpful. After the safety briefing and tour we walked to the local National Park with Emily and Kirsti (a college aged volunteer from Canada). We had a great local lunch (wide variety of spicy food which was hard to identify). My favorite was the spicy soup. After lunch we ventured into the national park where Thais enter for free and foreigners pay 200 Bhat (34 Bhat=1 USD). Interestingly enough, the local like the free English service that GVI provides so much that we are considered locals too.

The park was filled with lush forests and a array of small waterfalls. Normally, they are crystal clear, but the rains have made them a bit clay colored. A short trek into the park led us to a local swimming spot were 20-30 Thai children were swimming. We entered and enjoyed the water. I decided to brave the currents and much to the amusement of the local children went sliding down the slippery rocks through a series of small rapids. You had to be there to enjoy the laughter! After leaving the park we visited a local "country club" type area owned by the palm oil plant owner. The club features a golf course, picturesque swimming pool, club house, and tennis courts all surrounded by the stunning jungle covered cliffs. Its quite out of place in Ao Luk and apparently is rarely used except to entertain business people who come to town. Similarly to the park, it is open to the GVI staff and volunteers because the owner appreciates the GVI village projects and English training.

Back at the base we freshened up and headed off to dinner. Jack (English name though he is Thai) picked us up in Jill's Jazz. Jack and Jill are married (neat name match up). The restaurant that we headed to was great. Jack plays the guitar and sings in Thai with his friend at the restaurant every Saturday. All the seating is in outdoor palapas (Bamboo and leaf huts) and the restaurant is run by a local family (two of which are in GVI night lessons). The children served us different Thai food that we had ordered and Supacha, the owner and their father came out with a complementary salad. It was incredibly spicy and a bit chewy. We all (a GVI staff member included) wondered what the chewy part was and asked Supachai. Though he speaks good English he could not translate it and made a phone call. We soon found that we had tried jellyfish! The meal was great and most dishes were a bit tamer than jellyfish. Throughout the night Supachai offered us different Thai beers and at the end of the evening even drove us home in his minivan.


Day 9:
During the first night at the GVI base, I found it a bit difficult to sleep given the lack of AC, geckos chirping in our room and the squeaky bed, but most off all I was excited! In the morning we woke up to Emily cooking breakfast and enjoyed a delicious spread of food. We trained throughout the morning (today is now Sunday) learning everything from classroom management to teaching methods. At noon we broke for lunch and found that Jack had arrived at the base to make a delicious Thai pork dish and Thai fried eggs. After lunch we continued training learning about vocabulary and the Thai school system (they just got back from summer break). By 3:30 we were done and Mike, Kirsti and I decide to go for a jog to the local meditation center. We were surprised to hear an uproar of cheering and hollering since a local football (soccer) match was going on. After another 5 minute jog we arrived at the pool and went for a much needed swim. When we arrived back, some of the other volunteers had begun to arrive back from the weekend (many travel on weekends). We met Stephen, a volunteer from the UK in his fifties who had just recently quite his job as a partner at a major British accounting firm for a change of pace.

The group of us headed to town to visit the night market and pick up some dinner. On the way into town we met Tim also from the UK. He was extremely tanned from a weekend at the beach and had just recently got a Thai bamboo tattoo. We asked his what it said and he told us, "Tim!" He also had one on his back which was some Buddhist saying that he did not "quite know yet," but would find out as to not be a "bloke with tattoos, who doesn't know what they even mean." Tim headed off to the base trundling his bag along with a giant strawberry Slurpee. At the market I bought several chicken legs, some rice, and the most delicious Thai dessert I have tried- mango sticky rice. It was amazing. We followed Tim's lead and headed to 7-11 to look for those Slurpees as well :). We arrived back at the base for the weekly meeting and played a rowdy game to get to know each other. In the late evening everyone was busy making lesson plans and talking. I talked to Tim to get his life story in the restaurant industry. He had recently been made redundant (laid off) and was ecstatic about it. He said when he found out he , had to fake being concerned, but really found it a giant relief. Apparently his former company had been acquired by a behemoth of a company and the culture had changed. After the layoff he book a several month expedition with GVI "without knowing much at all." After a long day I headed to bed excited for the first day of teaching!

**I'm writing this post Monday morning (Day 10), but will post day 10 later). I slept quite well last night!**