It has been
almost two weeks since I wrote my last post. I feel like so much has happened,
that I've had to go back and review what I've already said. Even though time
travels fast when you're having fun, I'm enjoying myself and I still feel I've
been here for ages and known some of the volunteers for much longer than a
couple weeks. With that said, I'll start from where I left off...
After my last post, we were driven
to the small community where Julia (from Denmark), Sabine (from Australia) and
I were supposed to be teaching for the week. We arrived at the house to find
that it was completely empty - no beds, no kitchen tools, nothing. We found it
strange and started preparing ourselves to be sleeping on the tile floor.
Luckily the neighbour informed our driver that they had moved the volunteer
accommodation into the school (remember that Western toilet I mentioned? Turns
out the landlord took advantage and decided to raise the rent, so the school
didn't want to pay it anymore...Very sneaky). Anyway, after being shuffled
around, we ended up at a teacher's house who was emptying out one of her kids'
rooms for us. It seemed a little sketchy so we made a call and long story
short, we ended up back at the Walker's Inn in Khao Lak. Though we were
disappointed about not seeing something new, we definitely couldn't complain.
We had just been lined up for another week of resort crashing and amazing food.
Because there are so many holidays in Thai schools, we only actually taught a
couple days that week, but they were definitely rewarding. We also visited a
local orphanage (Enya - the little girl I talked about in my last post - came
with us and was our official teacher's assistant. Very handy). It was actually
very impressive. The orphanage had set up a coffee shop where you could buy
different coffees and cakes, and all proceeds went towards the kids. We gave an
English lesson, and then watched the kids show off their dance moves to Gangnam
Style (they were even doing back flips!!!). I then had my ass handed to me at
pingpong by a kid playing with a book... The week was pretty laid back, and we
quickly established our favourite spots in Khao Lak: we found a Scandinavian
candy store (for the tourists), and a gelato shop that even sells green tea
frapps!!! I'm in heaven (obviously I've been back to this place several
times)!!!
We decided to make our weekend a
little more eventful and started with a trip to the MooMoo Cabaret show. Yes,
the ladyboy show. Honestly, it was slightly disappointing. They lipsync and
dance, but it's nothing spectacular, and we all agreed to leave early and go to
a bar... Solution to any problem? Thai whisky!
The next morning I went scuba
diving! I was a little worried because I've had a hard time recovering from an
ear infection I got almost two years ago in Dominican, but I thought I'd at
least try it out and see. We went to a site called BoonSung wreck - a shipwreck
that has broken into several pieces, partially because of the tsunami. The
dives were definitely successful and we saw quite a lot: rockfish, porcupine
fish, lion fish, stingrays, cuttlefish, catfish, barracudas, lots of eels,
different kinds of shrimp and other weird invertebraes. There were also TONS of
schools of fish. There were literally times where you had to part the fish to
swim forwards. I was surprised though by the lack of colour. I wasn't sure if
it was because of bleaching or just the wreck itself, but there was a lot of
grey and brown. I'm excited to dive on the other side of Thailand though to
compare!!!
On Sunday, a big group of us decided
it was time to get out of Khao Lak, and went on a daytrip to Khao Sok National
Park. Apparently, this is the oldest rainforest in the world, and is located
about an hour north of Khao Lak. We started by visiting a local market; as
usual, I was one of the few who had no issues with loading up on yummy street
food and local fruit. We then went river rafting along a river where we fed the
fish (every time you through in food, a swarm of them would flap out of the
water...HILARIOUS). We also spotted some sleeping snakes along the way. We
headed to our next stop for lunch. It was kinda random, but it turns out that
an Olympic Thai boxer's family owns the restaurant where all the tour groups
go, so you meet him, get a boxing demo, and get to take photos with him and his
medal. Next we visited a monkey temple. Basically what happens is the tour vans
get there, and the people start 'summoning' the monkeys down from the trees.
They then give you fruit to feed them and a ton of monkeys swarm you for food.
I sometimes wonder how people come up with these tourism ideas, but there you
go. Last on our tour was the infamous elephant trekking. I have to admit, I was
a little skeptical about this one because animal abuse is something that I just
can't and don't tolerate. It just gets to me. Fortunately, it seemed fairly
reasonable, and I didn't witnessed any elephants being hit or tortured. Sabine
and I paired up and all the elephants started trekking up a ravine. It was
completely terrifying at some points because you're sitting on a metal bench
tied in by a string and an elephant is tipping up and down steep hills. It's
basically like that nightmare of falling off a chairlift come to life. Sabine
and I hung on to eachother for dear life, but all we could really do is break
out into hysterical laughter. We took turns riding on the elephant's head,
where your legs secured behind the elephant's ears is the only thing holding
you on. 
When we found out that we would be
heading to the 'luxury hotel' with the other volunteers for the next week, we
were relieved, and SUPER excited to see something new. It's actually amazing
here: we have AC, TV, a fridge, and a normal hot shower. All the luxuries of
home!
We've now been teaching for a couple
days and I think(?) we have the hang of it. I've realized that I'm actually
quite a confident teacher. I think all those years in acting really helped
(plus, I'm sure teaching in Tanzania and Peru didn't hurt either). I'm also using
similar methods to the ones that were used for me to learn French in school,
and they're working really well. The challenge for me is adjusting to Thai
customs. There are so many little rules that you have to follow related to
their religion and social statuses. The one that I still haven't mastered is
that you can't point at someone. It's considered deeply disrespectful, but it's
such a habit of mine! You also can't show the bottom of your feet, you can't
touch a child's head, and of course you must cover your shoulders and knees at
all times. You also have to endure the school lunches which are less than
appealing, but there is no alternative. We've resorted to bringing a backup
supply of cookies from 7-Eleven. It's definitely an adjustment, but the kids
are respectful and enthusiastic about learning, so you can't really ask for
more.
After this week, we're headed back
to Walker's and I think I've finally hatched a plan for at least the next few
weeks. A couple of volunteers from Scotland and I have decided to travel
together for now. Next week, we're headed to the islands Ko Phi Phi and Ko
Lanta. We are then headed to...Singapore! We needed to leave the country to get
our visas renewed and extended, so we decided to make a trip out of it. As of
today, we've booked our flights. One of the girls has a friend there, so we'll
even have a tour guide. We are then planning to head back and finish up the
islands before heading up North to Chiang Mai. I have to say, I'm a little
relieved that I've met some people to travel with, and I can't even begin to
imagine how many people I will still meet on this trip. It's really amazing to
be constantly introduced to travelers from around the world! Anyway, I'm
excited for the next few weeks of adventures!
P.S. I just
ran home in my first torrential-down-pour-thunderstorm in Thailand. Note to
self: Don't do that again!
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