MooMoos, Magic Shows, and Minor Sunburns

Sunday, January 13th, 2013
MooMoos, Magic Shows, and Minor Sunburns
 I have now been in Thailand for a week. When I first got here, the adjustment was extremely minor and surprisingly easy. The people here are unbelievably friendly and a smile just lights up their world it seems. I can say with great pride that since I've been here, I've semi-learned (pronounciation is still questionable) two Thai words: hello and thank you. Simple, but they go a long way. I've also been mastering my bartering skills (though if you've ever traveled with me, you know that this is one of my favourite activities). It's funny because no matter the price you end up paying, even if it's ridiculously low, they will still smile and laugh and genuinely thank you. Love it! The rest of the world could learn a thing or two from Thai attitude.

 Since I arrived on a bit of a weird day, I haven't actually started volunteering. I quickly learned that it's crazy easy to resort crash here - not so surprising that I was introduced to that skill by my father. I've pretty much been to the pool everyday this week. Apparently it costs 300 euros per night to stay there, but if you play the part, you can go in, use their facilities and steal their WIFI. I think they put way too much faith in tourists... Anyway, pretty much right when I got here, I started to meet people. First some Finnish girls, and a couple Americans. Now that other volunteers are here, I'm surrounded by Brits and Scots and am pretty sure I'm picking up an accent. I have yet to meet any Canadian travelers, so I guess I seem kind of 'exotic' to the rest of the group. It's a little nuts how you meet people, have a drink and maybe dinner with them, and the next day, it's as if you'd been traveling with them the whole time. I think many people come to Southeast Asia with the hope of that happening. Before I left for my trip, I wasn't overly excited to come to Thailand, thinking that it would probably be filled with people wanting to get drunk at Full Moon parties and go to pingpong shows (if you're not sure what that is in Thailand, look it up, trust me). Turns out it's actually a great way to meet travel buddies who are looking to explore and experience the world just like you. Definitely comforting.
 The guesthouse I'm staying at right now is also phenomenal. Anyone planning to travel through Khao Lak should definitely check it out. It's called the Walker's Inn and it's owned by a British man and his Thai wife - who also have an adorable daughter with mountains of energy (hence the pic). They're unbelievably kind and friendly. Yesterday, the owner took all the volunteers on a day trip. First to a waterfall in one of the amazingly lush parks, then to a beach out of town (the one in the pic). He also took us to the hotel where they filmed the new movie The Impossible about the tsunami. I wasn't sure before I came, but it turns out that Khao Lak was one of the worst hit areas in Thailand - I think he said five or six thousand people died in this tiny community. Even the guesthouse was up to the second floor with water and apparently bodies were piled up in the ditch right outside our window. It's crazy to think that just eight years ago, this place was literally a graveyard. And now, there's almost no evidence at all. All the resorts have been rebuilt (and added to) and the community is fully functional. By the way locals act, you would never know that they had faced such devastation in their lives.
 I also haven't yet mentioned that I did go to the schools with a couple of other volunteers, mainly just for the sake of tagging along. They were so happy to have a Canadian with them for the pronounciation...Of course they were asking me to pronounce the names of Asian cities, so I probably wasn't super helpful... On Friday, the schools had a holiday called Children's Day. They pretty much throw a giant carnival for the kids. The one I went to had a ton of games, free food and a stage for shows. Of course, it wouldn't be a Thai show without a MooMoo performance. Tranvestites - or ladyboys as everyone calls them - are a huge thing here and they put on a Vegas style show with lip syncing. And it's sometimes so hard to tell that they're men! I've definitely heard some horror stories from guys here who accidentally take one home...I think that's a mistake you only make once... There was also a magic show, which definitely brought out the inner child. I grabbed a front row seat, and took lots of pictures of course. I guess I'm easily excited.

 Tomorrow we're headed to the schools in the villages. Some of the volunteers get to stay in a super nice hotel during the week. Unfortunately, I'm not one of them. My place only recently got a Western toilet, so I've lowered my expectations. Though after Tanzania, I'm pretty confident in my ability to handle just about any living situation. As much as it'll be fun to teach, I'm getting pretty excited to start moving around and start REALLY traveling. There's so much to see here it's crazy! I've come across so many options of what I could do with my time here, which is the exact opposite problem I thought I would have. One more exciting detail...I found out today that Saskia FINALLY booked her ticket to Bali! Every time I think about it, I get ridiculously excited. SO I've just begun my little adventure and it's already been so satisfying. Can't wait to see what happens over the next five months!