This includes Nusa Lembongan pictures through the end of our trip in Bangkok, Thailand:
http://umass.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2139219&l=1634b&id=9111623
Monday, August 27, 2007
PICTURES!!!
Here are some more pictures.
The first link is the perhentian islands in Malaysia, Taman Negara (national park), Malaysia, Singapore, and Malaysian Borneo.
http://umass.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2139170&l=6d496&id=9111623
The second link is Malaysian Borneo, and Bali & Lombok up through Sanur, Bali.
http://umass.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2139195&l=81821&id=9111623
See most of you soon!!
Brittany
The first link is the perhentian islands in Malaysia, Taman Negara (national park), Malaysia, Singapore, and Malaysian Borneo.
http://umass.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2139170&l=6d496&id=9111623
The second link is Malaysian Borneo, and Bali & Lombok up through Sanur, Bali.
http://umass.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2139195&l=81821&id=9111623
See most of you soon!!
Brittany
Padang Bai, Gili Islands, Sanur, Nusa Lembongan, and back to Legian
John and I stayed in the Bali area for about 20 days. After leaving Tulamben (a town in Bali, which is an island in Indonesia), we headed to Padang Bai where we spent the night so that we could leave in the early morning for a full day trip to get to the Gili Islands. The Gili Islands are off of Bali's neighboring island Lombok. Even though the Gilis are in between Bali and Lombok, the journey requires a really round about way of getting there unless you are willing to pay a staggering $40-60 a person to go straight there. HAH. Now that I am back in the U.S., it sounds funny that I was unwilling to pay that, but when traveling in Southeast Asia travelers can make their money go farther by adapting to a different price scale. Instead, we paid $10 each, a price we bargained down from approximately $15 from a company sitting on the dock in Padang Bai. This price included a ferry from Padang Bai to one port in Lombok, a shuttle bus up the coast, and then a small local boat to the island. It is pertinent to note that when taking this trip, you will have to either book a trip back through the same company when reaching the small boat or you will have to put up with their distaste for you if you choose not to book. We booked it. We stayed on Gili Trawangan, known as the party island, though it was still really quiet. The reason I believe it is considered a party island compared to the other two Gili islands is that there is a bar open every night and the other islands are EXTREMELY quiet.
We spent 3 days snorkelling and hanging out on Gili Trawangan, which was very beautiful though a little pricey compared to where we had been in Bali thusfar. We left to return back to Padangbai and then took transport to another coastal town called Sanur. I thoroughly enjoyed Sanur as we decided to get massages on the beach every day (they only cost $7) and to stay at the most expensive place we had stayed at so far ($20 a night). It was a really cute place that had a little pool in the middle and resembled a garden. It's owned by Australians and thus, had the western idea of cleanliness in place. I liked not having moldy pillows for once:)
A couple days later we headed over to Nusa Lembongan, a small island belonging to Bali, to do some diving. We were on a quest to see mola molas (pacific sunfish is their other name), huge ugly fish that look very prehistoric-check them out online http://www.oceanlight.com/html/mola_mola.html
We were also trying to see Manta Rays. Unfortunately, we saw neither, which only means we will have to return some day to try again. Some of the people I was diving with did see the Mola Mola, which was sad that I did not see it as well. Manta Point where people can see the manta rays was unreachable due to strong currents. The diving here was a lot colder than anywhere I had dived before so I used my air up really fast, probably because I got nervous when I went through the really cold patches of water. Nusa Lembongan was cute and quiet. There was pretty much nothing to do at night, which was fine for diving. An interesting note is that the people here harvest seaweed, which is the reason for the strong smell that hovers in the air. Also, people on the island are very concerned about the build up of plastic bottles from tourists, so now sell purified water to refill water bottles.
In our last days, we decided to head back towards Legian stopping at a few places on the Bukit Peninsula that we had previously missed such as the temple on the cliffs (Pura Ulu Watu) and a famed surf spot (Dreamland)-though there were no waves the day we were there. We returned to the same hotel we had stayed in our first days in Bali, and spent our last two days surfing on Legian Beach, which was fun and left me with some huge bruises. I didn't quite get up on the board, but I tried really hard, which is all that counts, right?! :)
We spent 3 days snorkelling and hanging out on Gili Trawangan, which was very beautiful though a little pricey compared to where we had been in Bali thusfar. We left to return back to Padangbai and then took transport to another coastal town called Sanur. I thoroughly enjoyed Sanur as we decided to get massages on the beach every day (they only cost $7) and to stay at the most expensive place we had stayed at so far ($20 a night). It was a really cute place that had a little pool in the middle and resembled a garden. It's owned by Australians and thus, had the western idea of cleanliness in place. I liked not having moldy pillows for once:)
A couple days later we headed over to Nusa Lembongan, a small island belonging to Bali, to do some diving. We were on a quest to see mola molas (pacific sunfish is their other name), huge ugly fish that look very prehistoric-check them out online http://www.oceanlight.com/html/mola_mola.html
We were also trying to see Manta Rays. Unfortunately, we saw neither, which only means we will have to return some day to try again. Some of the people I was diving with did see the Mola Mola, which was sad that I did not see it as well. Manta Point where people can see the manta rays was unreachable due to strong currents. The diving here was a lot colder than anywhere I had dived before so I used my air up really fast, probably because I got nervous when I went through the really cold patches of water. Nusa Lembongan was cute and quiet. There was pretty much nothing to do at night, which was fine for diving. An interesting note is that the people here harvest seaweed, which is the reason for the strong smell that hovers in the air. Also, people on the island are very concerned about the build up of plastic bottles from tourists, so now sell purified water to refill water bottles.
In our last days, we decided to head back towards Legian stopping at a few places on the Bukit Peninsula that we had previously missed such as the temple on the cliffs (Pura Ulu Watu) and a famed surf spot (Dreamland)-though there were no waves the day we were there. We returned to the same hotel we had stayed in our first days in Bali, and spent our last two days surfing on Legian Beach, which was fun and left me with some huge bruises. I didn't quite get up on the board, but I tried really hard, which is all that counts, right?! :)
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Fire Dancing and Shipwrecks
We left Legian-Kuta with Sara (our Swedish pal) and headed to Ubud. We spent the first part of the day at Gunung Kawi, a beautiful area with rice terraces and ancient stone carvings in the rock. Then we headed to the Monkey Forest in Ubud where a monkey proceeded to sit at Sara's feet and chew on her skirt...slightly frightening and cute at the same time. The monkeys were pretty aggressive-i saw one try to climb up a guy's shirt-hah...i thought it was funny. He did not. We went to a Balinese dancing show that night where they acted out a myth and then at the end a guy walked through a fire containing coconut shells. Very interesting. There was no music, except for the voices of 100 men sitting around the scene, who made different noises throughout the dance. There are nightly performances of Balinese Dance in Ubud. It is not hard to get a ticket. Again it is worth trying to bargain for a better price, especially if you are going to buy more than one.
While Sara continued back to Kuta, John and I stayed at the Lecuk Inn, which we ended up liking so much that we stayed for 3 nights. The room had a bathroom with an open ceiling and a balcony facing the woods, which was perfect for reading. That's where I finished Hillary Clinton's book A Living History. John just read it as well and found that she has a lot more experience than most people give her credit for. It's worth a look anyway.
We went from Ubud north to Tulamben, which is a small strip with no nightlife and not much to do, but it has great diving right off the shore. John dove about 1 hr after we arrived at the wall. He said it was gorgeous. Then we tried a night dive on the shipwreck that night where John saw huge parrot fish and I ended up going up early since I could not relax...it was a bit eery under there in the dark. Night diving is not for everyone. Some people enjoy it immensely since you see different creatures than you would in the day time and can see the glimmers of gold plankton that show up when you run your hands through the water. However, others find it hard to adjust and sometimes suffer from the inability to tell which way is up to the surface.
The next day was a lot better for me when we did two beautiful dives at the shipwreck. The corals were pretty and there were tons of different types of fish. The town has a group of people that have organized to carry tanks down to the beach and back for the visiting divers. You will see women with two tanks balanced on their head which is quite impressive. They pool their money and divide it equally. It's really great for the local economy. We stayed at a nice spot their called Puri Wirata, which was really cheap and nice. The activities in Tulamben are limited to diving, so if you are uninterested in diving, it is probably better skipped.
While Sara continued back to Kuta, John and I stayed at the Lecuk Inn, which we ended up liking so much that we stayed for 3 nights. The room had a bathroom with an open ceiling and a balcony facing the woods, which was perfect for reading. That's where I finished Hillary Clinton's book A Living History. John just read it as well and found that she has a lot more experience than most people give her credit for. It's worth a look anyway.
We went from Ubud north to Tulamben, which is a small strip with no nightlife and not much to do, but it has great diving right off the shore. John dove about 1 hr after we arrived at the wall. He said it was gorgeous. Then we tried a night dive on the shipwreck that night where John saw huge parrot fish and I ended up going up early since I could not relax...it was a bit eery under there in the dark. Night diving is not for everyone. Some people enjoy it immensely since you see different creatures than you would in the day time and can see the glimmers of gold plankton that show up when you run your hands through the water. However, others find it hard to adjust and sometimes suffer from the inability to tell which way is up to the surface.
The next day was a lot better for me when we did two beautiful dives at the shipwreck. The corals were pretty and there were tons of different types of fish. The town has a group of people that have organized to carry tanks down to the beach and back for the visiting divers. You will see women with two tanks balanced on their head which is quite impressive. They pool their money and divide it equally. It's really great for the local economy. We stayed at a nice spot their called Puri Wirata, which was really cheap and nice. The activities in Tulamben are limited to diving, so if you are uninterested in diving, it is probably better skipped.
Friday, August 3, 2007
Borneo ends and Bali begins
Hey all,
I am on the last leg of my 5 month trip away from home. I am now in Bali, Indonesia after one week in Malaysian Borneo. After Sipidan diving, which was spectacular, we spent one night two days in the Central Eastern seaboard area near Sandakan going to the Sepilok Orangutan Sanctuary and then to the Kinbangtan River where we saw wild elephants, macaques (pig tailed and long tailed), a snake, and Probiscus Monkeys (really cool looking, long nosed and big bellied). We then returned to Semporna where we spent one day diving at Sibuan-where you can see Mandarin fish (really small, really colorful fish that hang out in the sea urchins), and then John dived again at Sipidan while I had to opt out due to a cold and snorkelled instead. John got to see a HUGE school of Barracuda swimming in a circular pattern as if to protect themselves even though they really are so large that they are only second to sharks in the area. He also got some cool pictures of himself right next to reef sharks and huge turtles. I saw a black tipped reef shark and many turtles snorkelling along with some beautiful neon colored fish.
We arrived in Bali on August 2nd. I think Kuta could rival most touristy places as one of the most touristy areas I have ever seen. The streets are fairly narrow and completely taken up with touristy restaurants, shops, and hotels. I am getting a little sick of how touristy it is so we will be heading off to a more cultural area tomorrow. We got to experience Kuta nightlife last night when we headed to a club that was having a foam party-interesting, though I ended up with bruises all over my legs since people decide that they can tackle you NFL style since there are so many suds to block your fall-ouch. The club was just past a monument to the 200+ people killed in a bombing at a club in 2002 close by to the one we attended. Very scary but I think we cannot let terrorists ruin our fun or we'd be staying inside and even then would we really be safe? Before travelling to Bali, I got nervous about the bombings that had occurred in 2002 and 2005....but then I realized that for some reason despite the issues that have been occurring in London-there are no travel warnings for London-interesting...and there were never travel warnings for NYC...interesting as well....just some words for thought. For anyone who this causes concern, we are now headed out of the area where they had problems in the past...but not recently...and off to discover different parts of the island.
Ciao,
Brittany
I am on the last leg of my 5 month trip away from home. I am now in Bali, Indonesia after one week in Malaysian Borneo. After Sipidan diving, which was spectacular, we spent one night two days in the Central Eastern seaboard area near Sandakan going to the Sepilok Orangutan Sanctuary and then to the Kinbangtan River where we saw wild elephants, macaques (pig tailed and long tailed), a snake, and Probiscus Monkeys (really cool looking, long nosed and big bellied). We then returned to Semporna where we spent one day diving at Sibuan-where you can see Mandarin fish (really small, really colorful fish that hang out in the sea urchins), and then John dived again at Sipidan while I had to opt out due to a cold and snorkelled instead. John got to see a HUGE school of Barracuda swimming in a circular pattern as if to protect themselves even though they really are so large that they are only second to sharks in the area. He also got some cool pictures of himself right next to reef sharks and huge turtles. I saw a black tipped reef shark and many turtles snorkelling along with some beautiful neon colored fish.
We arrived in Bali on August 2nd. I think Kuta could rival most touristy places as one of the most touristy areas I have ever seen. The streets are fairly narrow and completely taken up with touristy restaurants, shops, and hotels. I am getting a little sick of how touristy it is so we will be heading off to a more cultural area tomorrow. We got to experience Kuta nightlife last night when we headed to a club that was having a foam party-interesting, though I ended up with bruises all over my legs since people decide that they can tackle you NFL style since there are so many suds to block your fall-ouch. The club was just past a monument to the 200+ people killed in a bombing at a club in 2002 close by to the one we attended. Very scary but I think we cannot let terrorists ruin our fun or we'd be staying inside and even then would we really be safe? Before travelling to Bali, I got nervous about the bombings that had occurred in 2002 and 2005....but then I realized that for some reason despite the issues that have been occurring in London-there are no travel warnings for London-interesting...and there were never travel warnings for NYC...interesting as well....just some words for thought. For anyone who this causes concern, we are now headed out of the area where they had problems in the past...but not recently...and off to discover different parts of the island.
Ciao,
Brittany
Monday, July 23, 2007
Sipidan
We arrived two days ago in the place we have been told has the best diving around-Sipidan. Sipidan is an island off of the coast of Sabah, Malaysian Borneo (the eastern state of Malaysian Borneo). Noone is allowed to stay on Sipidan anymore since it is now a marine park and also has some political relevance since the Phillipines have been trying to claim it as their own. So now only military men live on the island, and others are granted permits (only so many per day which is why it's necessary to book ahead for snorkelling and diving) for the day for 40RM each or $10. We luckily got to go to Sipidan diving yesterday since some other people had cancelled. We saw reef sharks, many turtles (big huge ones), angelfish, and triggerfish. It was a great 3 dives-one was right off the coast of Sipidan where there is a really deep dropoff-the reef just drops for 2,000 meters not far from the beach. It's a beautiful island-and kind of nice to see from the boat the whole unspoiled side where there are no buildings or people allowed.
Semporna, the town we are staying in is very sleepy. There is not much to do despite the many tourists who come to dive famous Sipidan. We found a good place to stay with a tv which was probably a good call since there's little to do.
We were supposed to go diving today but woke up to pouring rain and cancelled-i know we're wimps but i just didnt feel like being out all day in the rain. Now we are looking into our options for exploring the rest of the region. I will be posting pictures later today.
Semporna, the town we are staying in is very sleepy. There is not much to do despite the many tourists who come to dive famous Sipidan. We found a good place to stay with a tv which was probably a good call since there's little to do.
We were supposed to go diving today but woke up to pouring rain and cancelled-i know we're wimps but i just didnt feel like being out all day in the rain. Now we are looking into our options for exploring the rest of the region. I will be posting pictures later today.
Saturday, July 21, 2007
the tiger
So apparently, that growl we heard in the jungle, was pretty much most likely a tiger. I talked to one of the guides on the bus back to Jerantut (so we could catch the night train to Singapore), and he said yeah that was prob a tiger. He said he was walking with two people one day and there were two tigers-one on either side of them. There's apparently not much you can do but wittle a stick into a sharp point and remain calm.
Well hah thankfully, I am still alive.
In other news, Singapore is a really cool city. It's so clean probably because chewing gum is not allowed, you can't spit in public, and the MRT (subway) has a sign that says it is $500 Singapore dollars for eating or drinking on the subway, and $1000 fine for smoking (it's 1.70 Singapore dollars to the US Dollar). Raffles Hotel is this classic, old hotel, that has such a Marilyn Monroe-esque glamourous feel to it. And Orchard Street area is lined with malls-I think Singapore and Bangkok have more malls in one place then I have seen anywhere else. There's also some really good Muslim-Middle Eastern food here.
Tomorrow, I have to catch a bus to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia so I can fly out in the a.m. the next morning to Malaysian Borneo. Until Later, Brittany
Well hah thankfully, I am still alive.
In other news, Singapore is a really cool city. It's so clean probably because chewing gum is not allowed, you can't spit in public, and the MRT (subway) has a sign that says it is $500 Singapore dollars for eating or drinking on the subway, and $1000 fine for smoking (it's 1.70 Singapore dollars to the US Dollar). Raffles Hotel is this classic, old hotel, that has such a Marilyn Monroe-esque glamourous feel to it. And Orchard Street area is lined with malls-I think Singapore and Bangkok have more malls in one place then I have seen anywhere else. There's also some really good Muslim-Middle Eastern food here.
Tomorrow, I have to catch a bus to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia so I can fly out in the a.m. the next morning to Malaysian Borneo. Until Later, Brittany
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Ko Tao to the jungle
After Kanchanaburi and a brief stint in Bangkok, we took the overnight train and then early a.m. ferry to Ko Tao, an island on the east coast of the Southern peninsula of Thailand. Ko Tao is absolutely beautiful so stay tuned for some pictures once i get around to uploading them. I finished my open water and advanced diving course at Buddha View divers in Ko Tao which means I can now dive to 30 meters. I saw my first sharks while diving! Grey tipped reef sharks which according to the dive instructors will not harm you...i'm still not quite so sure about that, but they def are not great whites so that's a plus.
After a fantastic week in Ko Tao, we unwillingly left after two days of checking out and back into the same hotel room (hah we had a hard time leaving), we spent a day getting to the West Coast of the Southern tip of Thailand-to Krabi. We stayed in the best hotel room there for only 10 dollars. It had a sea motif and an outdoor shower which was really cool. We spent a day on Ao Nang and Hat Rai Lay West beaches-completely beautiful and surrounded by limestone cliffs. Krabi and surroundings is where many people go to rock climb-it looked pretty tough to me, but I can see why they would choose that location.
From Krabi, we took a day journey to Georgetown, Malaysia (on the island of Pulau Penang off the West coast of Malaysia) and only spent one night there to get up the next morning and head straight to the Perhentian Islands on the East Coast of Malaysia. We stayed on the small island called Perhentian Kecil, which was gorgeous. The water was incredibly clear. We did two dives and were amazed by the first one. It was called Temple of the Sea and there were just so many different types of fish, stingrays (blue spotted-really cool looking), and sharks (really small-hide under rocks-bamboo sharks mostly-the only sharks i'm def not afraid of). The second dive was at Sugar Wreck-a shipwreck that sunk about a year and a half ago carrying sugar from Thailand. There were scorpion fish and other fish that completely look like rocks at this site---these fish are poisonous-well only if you accidentally touch them, so you have to be careful.
We then spent another day's journey to get to Taman Negara, Malaysia (right smack in the middle). Taman Negara means National Park. We hiked yesterday to the Canopy Walk, which was cool and made me aware of a slight fear I have of heights. We then hiked yesterday evening to a hide (a small building on high stilts) where we spent the night on the lookout for wild animals. We managed to see a Tapir (a large anteater-really cool looking). The hike to get to the hide, which is built near a salt lick (not exactly sure what that is hah even though I've been there), was a bit frightening as we were asked to wait a half hour to leave since it was raining and then since it wasn't letting up were told we'd have to go really quickly and hike as fast as we could. The hiking fast was not easy as because of the rain it was very muddy. To make things more frightening-about 10 minutes into our 45 minute hike we heard a loud growl. We never found out what it was exactly but I am convinced it was some sort of large cat. The experience was definitely worth it.
Tomorrow I leave for Singapore. From the jungle to a really clean city, I'm seeing it all.
After a fantastic week in Ko Tao, we unwillingly left after two days of checking out and back into the same hotel room (hah we had a hard time leaving), we spent a day getting to the West Coast of the Southern tip of Thailand-to Krabi. We stayed in the best hotel room there for only 10 dollars. It had a sea motif and an outdoor shower which was really cool. We spent a day on Ao Nang and Hat Rai Lay West beaches-completely beautiful and surrounded by limestone cliffs. Krabi and surroundings is where many people go to rock climb-it looked pretty tough to me, but I can see why they would choose that location.
From Krabi, we took a day journey to Georgetown, Malaysia (on the island of Pulau Penang off the West coast of Malaysia) and only spent one night there to get up the next morning and head straight to the Perhentian Islands on the East Coast of Malaysia. We stayed on the small island called Perhentian Kecil, which was gorgeous. The water was incredibly clear. We did two dives and were amazed by the first one. It was called Temple of the Sea and there were just so many different types of fish, stingrays (blue spotted-really cool looking), and sharks (really small-hide under rocks-bamboo sharks mostly-the only sharks i'm def not afraid of). The second dive was at Sugar Wreck-a shipwreck that sunk about a year and a half ago carrying sugar from Thailand. There were scorpion fish and other fish that completely look like rocks at this site---these fish are poisonous-well only if you accidentally touch them, so you have to be careful.
We then spent another day's journey to get to Taman Negara, Malaysia (right smack in the middle). Taman Negara means National Park. We hiked yesterday to the Canopy Walk, which was cool and made me aware of a slight fear I have of heights. We then hiked yesterday evening to a hide (a small building on high stilts) where we spent the night on the lookout for wild animals. We managed to see a Tapir (a large anteater-really cool looking). The hike to get to the hide, which is built near a salt lick (not exactly sure what that is hah even though I've been there), was a bit frightening as we were asked to wait a half hour to leave since it was raining and then since it wasn't letting up were told we'd have to go really quickly and hike as fast as we could. The hiking fast was not easy as because of the rain it was very muddy. To make things more frightening-about 10 minutes into our 45 minute hike we heard a loud growl. We never found out what it was exactly but I am convinced it was some sort of large cat. The experience was definitely worth it.
Tomorrow I leave for Singapore. From the jungle to a really clean city, I'm seeing it all.
Sunday, July 1, 2007
PICTURES!!!
Go here for pictures--you shouldn't need to have facebook to view them.
For N. Thailand, Laos, and N.Vietnam:
http://umass.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2124465&l=9d4ab&id=9111623
and
For Mid-S. Vietnam, Cambodia, and Central Thailand:
http://umass.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2124493&l=0c5d3&id=9111623
For N. Thailand, Laos, and N.Vietnam:
http://umass.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2124465&l=9d4ab&id=9111623
and
For Mid-S. Vietnam, Cambodia, and Central Thailand:
http://umass.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2124493&l=0c5d3&id=9111623
Kanchanaburi
We are now in Kanchanaburi about 3 hrs by train and 2 hrs by bus West of Bangkok. It is a really relaxing, serene town that reminds me a lot of the towns we visited in Laos. The locals have been extremely nice and a great break from the hustle and bustle of Bangkok. Everyone in Bangkok seems like they're trying to scam you, well except maybe the one guy we met who actually seemed like he was just trying to help us find our way....but other than that the taxi drivers, the tuk tuk drivers, and even normal looking guys just hanging on the street were trying to get us to do some overpriced tour. The point is I really like Kanchanaburi...it's beautiful, scenic, and a great place to relax
Today, we rented a motorbike and found our way to Erawan National Park. There is a 7 tiered waterfall at this park, which was beautiful. We swam in a couple of the pools and hiked to the top. We drove by mountains, a dam, and beautiful scenery to an Elephant Park. This is a sanctuary for elephants who would otherwise become extinct in modern day Thailand-they used to roam wild but it appears that is no longer possible. It was really quiet there and the elephants were so cool to watch--if you stick out your hand towards them they try to touch you with their trunk. We then got a flat tire so got that fixed for $2.50 cool huh---and then tried to get to the Tiger Temple (monks raise tigers from birth and you can sit with and touch the tigers), but we got there as they were closing--oh well-a trip for another time hopefully.
We're heading back to Bangkok tomorrow. I definitely think Kanchanaburi was worth the trip. I'm posting pictures on facebook so if anyone wants to take a look.
Today, we rented a motorbike and found our way to Erawan National Park. There is a 7 tiered waterfall at this park, which was beautiful. We swam in a couple of the pools and hiked to the top. We drove by mountains, a dam, and beautiful scenery to an Elephant Park. This is a sanctuary for elephants who would otherwise become extinct in modern day Thailand-they used to roam wild but it appears that is no longer possible. It was really quiet there and the elephants were so cool to watch--if you stick out your hand towards them they try to touch you with their trunk. We then got a flat tire so got that fixed for $2.50 cool huh---and then tried to get to the Tiger Temple (monks raise tigers from birth and you can sit with and touch the tigers), but we got there as they were closing--oh well-a trip for another time hopefully.
We're heading back to Bangkok tomorrow. I definitely think Kanchanaburi was worth the trip. I'm posting pictures on facebook so if anyone wants to take a look.
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Vietnam to Bangkok, Thailand
Last time I wrote I was in Nha Trang, Vietnam. There I unfortunately could not equalize my last day of diving so I had to get a small refund on my diving course and will have to finish it once I get to an island off of Thailand.
We then travelled to Dalat, Vietnam. A beautiful town up in the mountains with cool weather reminiscent of fall days in New England. We took an Easy Rider motorbike tour through the surrounding area, which showed us the beautiful countryside, the coffee plantations, flower farms, the blacksmith who searches the woods for pieces of metal leftover from the Vietnam War-some unexploded ordinances are found as well- and creates knives out of this metal, the crazy house (a hotel with themed rooms that overall looks like you're in Alice in Wonderland), sitting buddha, happy buddha and a beautiful waterfall. A great tour overall. I came down with some strange rash-nice huh so we had to skip the shore side town of Mui Ne and head straight to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon).
I really liked Saigon. Really cool, international city. Great medical care by the way. The hotel we stayed at was right across from a Bar that was open until 5 am and managed to make me think that it was 9am even in the middle of the night-it was a great hotel besides that. We met some cool people, took a tour of the Cu Chi Tunnels, and went to the War Remnants Museum. The latter two made me feel sad for what my country did during the Vietnam War-the aftereffects of Agent Orange were and are devastating for some families in Vietnam. I also felt strange watching a propaganda film at the tunnels that called Viet Cong war heroes "American Killer Heroes."
From Ho Chi Minh City we took the Mekong Express Bus (12 hrs) to Siem Reap, Cambodia. We passed through Phnom Penh (the capitol) but did not stay more than the 10 minutes it took to switch buses. The bus ride was comfortable. We arrived at Siem Reap late around 8 pm to find that a lot of hotels were full. Angkor Wat (one of the seven wonders of the world), ancient city of temples, appears to be a HUGE tourist attraction unsurprisingly. The city was nice, but expensive for SE Asia. We paid a whopping $15 a night for our room when we have been paying between $8 and $10 for the most part in every other place we've been.
Today we took a 4 hr. taxi ride to the Cambodian border and crossed into Thailand. The road to Thailand is infamously bumpy. It turned out to be better than I expected, though it is clear the condition of the road when I say it took us 4 hrs to travel 100 km. The border town of Poipet, Cambodia was the muddiest place I've ever seen with children grabbing at me as I tried to enter the line to get into Thailand. John had to physically push them away-a terrible feeling. I gave them my coke and water which I believe they were asking for, but unfortunately I cannot allow even children to be grabbing at my things. It's really sad because I know that this is not the children's fault-they have either been taught to do this or are desperate. Cambodia overall appeared to be the poorest country I have entered thus far. Their history alone is devastating. It was not that long ago that millions of people were murdered their by a regime that was trying to cleanse the population of the urban dwellers, intellectuals, educated, and government workers. This happened between 1975 and 1979-it's frightening what people do to each other.
We then travelled to Dalat, Vietnam. A beautiful town up in the mountains with cool weather reminiscent of fall days in New England. We took an Easy Rider motorbike tour through the surrounding area, which showed us the beautiful countryside, the coffee plantations, flower farms, the blacksmith who searches the woods for pieces of metal leftover from the Vietnam War-some unexploded ordinances are found as well- and creates knives out of this metal, the crazy house (a hotel with themed rooms that overall looks like you're in Alice in Wonderland), sitting buddha, happy buddha and a beautiful waterfall. A great tour overall. I came down with some strange rash-nice huh so we had to skip the shore side town of Mui Ne and head straight to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon).
I really liked Saigon. Really cool, international city. Great medical care by the way. The hotel we stayed at was right across from a Bar that was open until 5 am and managed to make me think that it was 9am even in the middle of the night-it was a great hotel besides that. We met some cool people, took a tour of the Cu Chi Tunnels, and went to the War Remnants Museum. The latter two made me feel sad for what my country did during the Vietnam War-the aftereffects of Agent Orange were and are devastating for some families in Vietnam. I also felt strange watching a propaganda film at the tunnels that called Viet Cong war heroes "American Killer Heroes."
From Ho Chi Minh City we took the Mekong Express Bus (12 hrs) to Siem Reap, Cambodia. We passed through Phnom Penh (the capitol) but did not stay more than the 10 minutes it took to switch buses. The bus ride was comfortable. We arrived at Siem Reap late around 8 pm to find that a lot of hotels were full. Angkor Wat (one of the seven wonders of the world), ancient city of temples, appears to be a HUGE tourist attraction unsurprisingly. The city was nice, but expensive for SE Asia. We paid a whopping $15 a night for our room when we have been paying between $8 and $10 for the most part in every other place we've been.
Today we took a 4 hr. taxi ride to the Cambodian border and crossed into Thailand. The road to Thailand is infamously bumpy. It turned out to be better than I expected, though it is clear the condition of the road when I say it took us 4 hrs to travel 100 km. The border town of Poipet, Cambodia was the muddiest place I've ever seen with children grabbing at me as I tried to enter the line to get into Thailand. John had to physically push them away-a terrible feeling. I gave them my coke and water which I believe they were asking for, but unfortunately I cannot allow even children to be grabbing at my things. It's really sad because I know that this is not the children's fault-they have either been taught to do this or are desperate. Cambodia overall appeared to be the poorest country I have entered thus far. Their history alone is devastating. It was not that long ago that millions of people were murdered their by a regime that was trying to cleanse the population of the urban dwellers, intellectuals, educated, and government workers. This happened between 1975 and 1979-it's frightening what people do to each other.
Sunday, June 17, 2007
Diving Vietnam- I saw some Nemos!
Today was my third day in an Open Water Diving Course. It was my first day in the ocean. The last two days have been classroom time and afternoons in the pool. I had a good experience today. I was relaxed in the ocean which is probably one of the most important things you can be while diving. I equalized well (cleared my ears on the way down), and was enjoying my first look at really bright corals and beautiful fish. When I got back today, John, who went with a different diving school to do his Advanced Course said he thinks he saw me at the first dive site underwater, which seems funny.
Tomorrow will be my second day in the ocean. I will go down twice-the same as today. I have to complete more skills testing to pass the course. This includes filling up my mask and clearing it, recovering my regulator, breathing off of a buddy's tank, and making a controlled emergency ascent, which means that i have to take a breath and go up breathing an AAAAHHHHH sound all the way to the surface..among other things. I don't love the skills, but it's necessary to make sure you're diving safely and know what to do if anything goes wrong.
Tomorrow will be my second day in the ocean. I will go down twice-the same as today. I have to complete more skills testing to pass the course. This includes filling up my mask and clearing it, recovering my regulator, breathing off of a buddy's tank, and making a controlled emergency ascent, which means that i have to take a breath and go up breathing an AAAAHHHHH sound all the way to the surface..among other things. I don't love the skills, but it's necessary to make sure you're diving safely and know what to do if anything goes wrong.
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
As I said-Vietnam is Hot
I forgot to say that in Vietnam it is so hot and humid that I am sitting at a computer with a fan on me, sweating-yuck. Hah. It's especially hard when I'm trying to try on the suits I just bought which are cashmere wool. Tomorrow night we leave for Nha Trang. Once I started travelling, I now get restless whenever we stop for too long.
Vietnam is hot
I am in Hoi An, Vietnam now, which is basically the tailoring capital. John and I both got some suits made. This is a strange stop on our trip as I don't really like to spend time shopping, but when you can get a suit jacket, skirt, and pants for $75 then I guess shopping you must do. We are in the process of planning out the rest of our trip since we have learned from many other travelers along the way which places are the must gos and which we can pass by without missing out on much. I am thoroughly enjoying Hoi An. It is a much quainter city compared to Hanoi. While my guidebook gave me the impression that Hanoi is a romantic city, I must disagree and tell you that Hoi An is the romantic city of Vietnam. The buildings are old and have an old French look to them. Our room is $8 a night with A/C, TV, and it's own bathroom. Pretty nice. We have been spending about $2 each on meals. As you can see, money goes far in SE Asia. I hope to post some pictures soon. The only problem is a lot of the internet places I have been to lately are just way to slow. We will be leaving to dive in Nha Trang within the next couple of days. I am going to do my Open Water Certification course. Wish me luck!
Sunday, June 10, 2007
VIETNAM
I am in Hue, Vietnam right now waiting for my bus to FINALLY leave again at 1:30pm. We were on a bus all night from Hanoi, and then apparently it went too slow and we missed the bus we were supposed to jump right on at 8am. Go figure.
After calm Laos, Hanoi was a slap in the face. We arrived in steaming heat, with motorbikes flying around us every which way, about 15 men on motorbikes vying for our business-i was not able to hop on the back with my huge bag, which they didn't seem to notice, and honking galore. The driving in Hanoi is hopefully the worst in the world. There seems to be no real system for driving except for if you honk at someone they better move out of the way. Honking seems to mean, well I warned you, even if I was two inches behind you, so now it's your fault if i hit you. The way of crossing the street is to slowly inch out and slowly walk as motorbikes continue to zoom around you.
There are fruit ladies everywhere with a pole over their shoulder, on each side hangs a basket. It's actually pretty heavy and I know this because one woman threw hers over my shoulder as I passed and would not take it off until I had John take a picture of me with it for which she then wanted money---ooohhhh. At least I got to wear the pointed hat that everyone thinks of when Vietnam is mentioned. These hats are definitely allll over the place here, not so much in Laos or Thailand. The Thais just had huge circular ones.
The book sellers are incredibly amusing. They go around with a box of copied Lonely Planet's and other books travellers would want. The books are wrapped in plastic so you cannot see the quality of the copy. They try to charge what it says on the back of the book. Yeah right. The funniest book seller zoomed by us on the back of a motorbike and stuck the books out to us "Book??" he said as he went past. Hah they never stop! It's actually incredibly amusing when you stop to think about it.
We stayed in a room in Hanoi one night that John alikened to the ones in Saw, which I never watched because I can't stand horror movies. After that one night, we escaped to Halong Bay, which was quite beautiful. There are more than 3000 islands in Halong Bay. Many are too small to live on but beautiful nonetheless. We went for a trek one morning, which was verrrry hot, think sweat pouring off of everyone and not stopping even when we sat for a good 10 minutes. It again was pretty however. We stayed on Cat Ba Island at a hotel the first night and then on a boat the second night, which was cool. One of the workers on the boat was not so nice. She got very angry very easily. I got yelled at for buying a drink from one of the women floating by on row boats selling things-how was i supposed to know!! She also had a hard time understanding why i did not want the hot tea or hot coffee that was free in the a.m. I had to say no a couple too many times-again providing amusement. I have found Vietnam thus far to be incredibly interesting, at first a big culture shock even after having already been in Northern Thailand and Laos. Until later, Brittany
After calm Laos, Hanoi was a slap in the face. We arrived in steaming heat, with motorbikes flying around us every which way, about 15 men on motorbikes vying for our business-i was not able to hop on the back with my huge bag, which they didn't seem to notice, and honking galore. The driving in Hanoi is hopefully the worst in the world. There seems to be no real system for driving except for if you honk at someone they better move out of the way. Honking seems to mean, well I warned you, even if I was two inches behind you, so now it's your fault if i hit you. The way of crossing the street is to slowly inch out and slowly walk as motorbikes continue to zoom around you.
There are fruit ladies everywhere with a pole over their shoulder, on each side hangs a basket. It's actually pretty heavy and I know this because one woman threw hers over my shoulder as I passed and would not take it off until I had John take a picture of me with it for which she then wanted money---ooohhhh. At least I got to wear the pointed hat that everyone thinks of when Vietnam is mentioned. These hats are definitely allll over the place here, not so much in Laos or Thailand. The Thais just had huge circular ones.
The book sellers are incredibly amusing. They go around with a box of copied Lonely Planet's and other books travellers would want. The books are wrapped in plastic so you cannot see the quality of the copy. They try to charge what it says on the back of the book. Yeah right. The funniest book seller zoomed by us on the back of a motorbike and stuck the books out to us "Book??" he said as he went past. Hah they never stop! It's actually incredibly amusing when you stop to think about it.
We stayed in a room in Hanoi one night that John alikened to the ones in Saw, which I never watched because I can't stand horror movies. After that one night, we escaped to Halong Bay, which was quite beautiful. There are more than 3000 islands in Halong Bay. Many are too small to live on but beautiful nonetheless. We went for a trek one morning, which was verrrry hot, think sweat pouring off of everyone and not stopping even when we sat for a good 10 minutes. It again was pretty however. We stayed on Cat Ba Island at a hotel the first night and then on a boat the second night, which was cool. One of the workers on the boat was not so nice. She got very angry very easily. I got yelled at for buying a drink from one of the women floating by on row boats selling things-how was i supposed to know!! She also had a hard time understanding why i did not want the hot tea or hot coffee that was free in the a.m. I had to say no a couple too many times-again providing amusement. I have found Vietnam thus far to be incredibly interesting, at first a big culture shock even after having already been in Northern Thailand and Laos. Until later, Brittany
Saturday, June 2, 2007
Vang Vieng
Today marks my 4th day in Vang Vieng. The big draw here is the beautiful mountain scenery and the river that runs right by the town. Tubing is the big deal here, which costs $4 a person for the rental tube and the tuk-tuk that takes you the 3km to point where most people start their tubing adventure. The river is a great place to view the sharp mountains, they look very different from any mountains I have seen before. The river is lined with bars, some play different music from different eras and most have different types of swings or jump off points or ziplines. It's pretty chill.
They play Friends reruns at a couple of the restaurants here and Simpson's or Family Guy reruns at others. It's kind of funny how often I have heard the Friend's theme song. "I'll be there for you..when the rain starts to fall...." too bad it's going to be stuck in my head forever! We're having a good time here and loving the place we're staying at for $5 a night which is our own bungalow-made out of bamboo, but no, it's not really roughing it, it has it's own bathroom and though we do have to use a mosquito net, I actually haven't even seen that many mosquitos here in Laos, at least not as many as seemed to seek me out in Thailand.
We'll be leaving here for Vientiane in the next day or so and then flying on to Hanoi, Vietnam. We were supposed to bus it to Hanoi, but we've heard that the 24 hour bus ride has been titled by travellers as the "bus ride from hell". Therefore, we're sucking it up and purchasing the more expensive plane ticket.
It's funny how not scary it is here. I never would have even thought to come to Laos and was not even planning on it until the last second, but it is a beautiful, rather untouched country. It's weird to think that some of these places that I am going will probably not be seen by a lot of people that I know. That's why I am taking really good pictures so that you all can see.
They play Friends reruns at a couple of the restaurants here and Simpson's or Family Guy reruns at others. It's kind of funny how often I have heard the Friend's theme song. "I'll be there for you..when the rain starts to fall...." too bad it's going to be stuck in my head forever! We're having a good time here and loving the place we're staying at for $5 a night which is our own bungalow-made out of bamboo, but no, it's not really roughing it, it has it's own bathroom and though we do have to use a mosquito net, I actually haven't even seen that many mosquitos here in Laos, at least not as many as seemed to seek me out in Thailand.
We'll be leaving here for Vientiane in the next day or so and then flying on to Hanoi, Vietnam. We were supposed to bus it to Hanoi, but we've heard that the 24 hour bus ride has been titled by travellers as the "bus ride from hell". Therefore, we're sucking it up and purchasing the more expensive plane ticket.
It's funny how not scary it is here. I never would have even thought to come to Laos and was not even planning on it until the last second, but it is a beautiful, rather untouched country. It's weird to think that some of these places that I am going will probably not be seen by a lot of people that I know. That's why I am taking really good pictures so that you all can see.
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Bye Luang Prabang
John and I left Luang Prabang today for a 6 hour bus trip south. Luang Prabang was fun, a small touristy area surrounded by beautiful mountains. The bus trip was around a mountain making it a windy, but really an incredibly beautiful trip.
Yesterday we took a tuk-tuk to the waterfall in Luang Prabang. Really pretty turquoise water and a preserve area for a tiger and some bears-yes they were behind a fence, though not a very high one-I really think the bears could get out if they wanted, but maybe not because they all looked pretty content in their area behind the fence. We climbed to the top of a hill with a wat at the top for a view of the surrounding area...really nice-green for miles. Laos is definitely very beautiful. It is not very built up which I assume would make their economy suffer, but definitely does something for their landscape andfor the air...it feels cleaner here than it did in Chiang Mai. Luang Prabang had a small night market and quite a few western restaurants. I haven't had any food here that is different from Thai food yet.
Another really cool thing about Laos, there are tons of butterflies. Whole groups of white butterflies fluttering in a group and random large monarch butterflies-some blue, some gold (are the blue ones called monarch butterflies too?). I tried to take a picture, but it doesn't quite capture the sight as sometimes pictures cannot.
love, Me
Yesterday we took a tuk-tuk to the waterfall in Luang Prabang. Really pretty turquoise water and a preserve area for a tiger and some bears-yes they were behind a fence, though not a very high one-I really think the bears could get out if they wanted, but maybe not because they all looked pretty content in their area behind the fence. We climbed to the top of a hill with a wat at the top for a view of the surrounding area...really nice-green for miles. Laos is definitely very beautiful. It is not very built up which I assume would make their economy suffer, but definitely does something for their landscape andfor the air...it feels cleaner here than it did in Chiang Mai. Luang Prabang had a small night market and quite a few western restaurants. I haven't had any food here that is different from Thai food yet.
Another really cool thing about Laos, there are tons of butterflies. Whole groups of white butterflies fluttering in a group and random large monarch butterflies-some blue, some gold (are the blue ones called monarch butterflies too?). I tried to take a picture, but it doesn't quite capture the sight as sometimes pictures cannot.
love, Me
Monday, May 28, 2007
Slow Boats
Hi everyone,
So my travels have just begun and this part of my trip is definitely completely different from the first part. I was sad to leave Ban San Faan, but left with great memories and a desire to return sometime in the future---I can't wait to see how the kids turn out...they are all such great kids. I almost started crying when all of the kids were hugging me goodbye. It was so great to see how well they are treated at BSF and how much opportunity they are being given.
I left on Saturday morning for Laos...the first leg of the trip was a 6 hour minibus to Chiang Khong-nothing much to it, just a border town for crossing into Laos. We stayed at the Nam Khong Guesthouse I believe it was called, though I could be making that up. All we did that night was found a place on the road that sold drinks and let us watch whatever movie we chose-The Prestige with Christian Bale was pretty good. We left the next a.m. to cross the border into Laos which involved a stamp out of Thailand and some bs fee since it was a Sunday, a ferry across the river to Laos, a stamp into Laos and another Sunday fee, and then a ride to the boat to Luang Prabang. The boat took 7 hours approximately to a town called Pak Beng, which is a town that appears to subsist only on the tourists that have to stay overnight there on the way to Luang Prabang. Their electricity was from generators that went on (very loudly) at 7pm then shut off at 10pm and for some reason were on for about a half hour at 6am. We took a walk down the street to see how far it went-the town seemed to go on for quite a bit--people used candles for light. We stayed at a nice, clean hotel for $5-the only downfall was that because of the electricity the fan went off at 10:30pm and it was pretty hot. We got back on the boat this morning for another 7 hrs approximately and arrived in Luang Prabang around 5 pm today. The boat ride though long was beautiful--mountains rose up on both sides, there were really small villages around the river and then stretches with no civilization. I saw water buffalo and goats roaming on the sides, there were sandy areas and then high rocks. The boat we were on was long and had wooden benches for seats. I will have to put up some pictures when i get the chance. The Mekong has brown water-but not because it's polluted-it is just that the bottom is silt. Here in Luang Prabang we found a nice hotel again for about 8 dollars a night with a fan, hot shower, and tv with english channels woohoo.
That's all for now folks.
love, Brittany
So my travels have just begun and this part of my trip is definitely completely different from the first part. I was sad to leave Ban San Faan, but left with great memories and a desire to return sometime in the future---I can't wait to see how the kids turn out...they are all such great kids. I almost started crying when all of the kids were hugging me goodbye. It was so great to see how well they are treated at BSF and how much opportunity they are being given.
I left on Saturday morning for Laos...the first leg of the trip was a 6 hour minibus to Chiang Khong-nothing much to it, just a border town for crossing into Laos. We stayed at the Nam Khong Guesthouse I believe it was called, though I could be making that up. All we did that night was found a place on the road that sold drinks and let us watch whatever movie we chose-The Prestige with Christian Bale was pretty good. We left the next a.m. to cross the border into Laos which involved a stamp out of Thailand and some bs fee since it was a Sunday, a ferry across the river to Laos, a stamp into Laos and another Sunday fee, and then a ride to the boat to Luang Prabang. The boat took 7 hours approximately to a town called Pak Beng, which is a town that appears to subsist only on the tourists that have to stay overnight there on the way to Luang Prabang. Their electricity was from generators that went on (very loudly) at 7pm then shut off at 10pm and for some reason were on for about a half hour at 6am. We took a walk down the street to see how far it went-the town seemed to go on for quite a bit--people used candles for light. We stayed at a nice, clean hotel for $5-the only downfall was that because of the electricity the fan went off at 10:30pm and it was pretty hot. We got back on the boat this morning for another 7 hrs approximately and arrived in Luang Prabang around 5 pm today. The boat ride though long was beautiful--mountains rose up on both sides, there were really small villages around the river and then stretches with no civilization. I saw water buffalo and goats roaming on the sides, there were sandy areas and then high rocks. The boat we were on was long and had wooden benches for seats. I will have to put up some pictures when i get the chance. The Mekong has brown water-but not because it's polluted-it is just that the bottom is silt. Here in Luang Prabang we found a nice hotel again for about 8 dollars a night with a fan, hot shower, and tv with english channels woohoo.
That's all for now folks.
love, Brittany
Thursday, May 24, 2007
on to laos
Today, I went up to Doi Suthep with John and Jenny (an Australian working at Chiang Mai University on a forest restoration project through a grant from the Australian government). Jenny was a great tour guide as she had already been up there a couple of times and showed us some of the different tree species as well as a waterfall and the temple on top of the mountain-a really grand Buddhist temple. I was amazed at how many places there are for people to give money around the temple. There are many buddhas all around and bowls in front of each of them and donation boxes for everything under the sun. The temple was very ornate and gold covered almost all of it. When we walked in there was a large group of people all dressed in white-Malee said this was a meditation service. Interesting anyway. Yesterday, Malee and Bryan took John and I to see the silk factory, area where they sell wood products (furniture, etc.), the umbrella factory where i got a butterfly painted on my purse-they have people who will paint on anything you have for 50 baht (approx $1.50), the jewelry factory, and the Empress Hotel for a buffet lunch-really good...overall, it was a good day and showed me the rest of Chiang Mai that I had not seen yet. The new volunteer arrived today who will be staying at Ban San Faan for one year. I will be leaving Saturday for Laos with John. We will take a minibus to the Laos border, then a boat down the Mekong to Luang Prabang. Our plan as of now is to take a bus south to Vieng Vian (sp?) and then east to Hanoi, Vietnam. I will continue to write about my travels here though again, these have nothing to do with Ban San Faan nor with any money raised for Ban San Faan. love, Brittany
Friday, May 18, 2007
Still Around
Hi All,
Sorry I have not been writing but the internet has been down at BSF so I do not have as much access to the internet. I am still doing well. John is now here at BSF with me after a lengthy trip from the South of Thailand. He travelled from Chennai, India to Bangkok, Thailand down to Ko Tao island to do a diving class and then up through Bangkok via train to Chiang Mai to see me. We will be leaving BSF after my two lovely months here to travel for a couple months. All of the money donated prior to my leaving will stay with BSF and has nothing to do with my travels after leaving. I am excited to travel but will be really sad to leave BSF and all of the people there. It has been a great experience and I will miss them. I will be heading North through Laos then on to Hanoi, Vietnam, South to Ho Chi Minh and then hopefully back to the south of Thailand, down through Malaysia and Singapore than back to the good old USA.
Love , Brittany
Sorry I have not been writing but the internet has been down at BSF so I do not have as much access to the internet. I am still doing well. John is now here at BSF with me after a lengthy trip from the South of Thailand. He travelled from Chennai, India to Bangkok, Thailand down to Ko Tao island to do a diving class and then up through Bangkok via train to Chiang Mai to see me. We will be leaving BSF after my two lovely months here to travel for a couple months. All of the money donated prior to my leaving will stay with BSF and has nothing to do with my travels after leaving. I am excited to travel but will be really sad to leave BSF and all of the people there. It has been a great experience and I will miss them. I will be heading North through Laos then on to Hanoi, Vietnam, South to Ho Chi Minh and then hopefully back to the south of Thailand, down through Malaysia and Singapore than back to the good old USA.
Love , Brittany
Tuesday, May 8, 2007
Pictures
I added pictures to the April 26th post. Below are some more pictures of Thailand.
This is Grace after ballet class. Every Wednesday I accompany Averil and Grace to ballet.
This is a Coffee Garden that Averil and I went to. I just thought it was cute. The people working were taking a really long time to bring Averil's coffee and my iced chocolate (basically chocolate milk-i take all the real milk I can get as we drink the powdered kind here at BSF), apparently, they were trying really hard to make a perfect chocolate flower on my drink below.
This is Grace after ballet class. Every Wednesday I accompany Averil and Grace to ballet.
This is a Coffee Garden that Averil and I went to. I just thought it was cute. The people working were taking a really long time to bring Averil's coffee and my iced chocolate (basically chocolate milk-i take all the real milk I can get as we drink the powdered kind here at BSF), apparently, they were trying really hard to make a perfect chocolate flower on my drink below.
Before school started last week, I went to the Wang Tarn Resort with the kids, the nannies, Malee, and the house parents. It is a resort where people can stay, has a restaurant, but is also used as a park. We bought roasted chicken and sticky rice on the street and then went to the Resort for a picnic. The kids played on the swingset and in the sand box. All in all a pretty peaceful day.
Some of the other food they purchased, none of which I actually ate because it was either too spicy or chicken livers.
Sarah, Peach, and Hope. The 3 oldest children..Hope is almost 10, Peach is 9, and Sarah is 8.
Pretty, pretty blossoms
Malee, the kids, and Pi yay (house father)
Pretty, pretty blossomsMalee, the kids, and Pi yay (house father) Abby just before we got in the car with chocolate ALL over the place.
Saturday, May 5, 2007
Still going well
Hey everyone,
I am at an internet cafe since the internet at Ban San Faan is currently going on and off and I generally get a few minutes to type before it goes off again. Anyway, I am now in my second month at Ban San Faan and still having fun. The kids started school again on Wednesday and I know have more tasks than before. I help Averil with English and Math classes and one day was put with the one Kindergartner, Abby, since she doesn't quite fit into the classes. This is a bit of a challenge since she has to be taught Thai and English and I cannot really teach Thai as I don't know it. I think that was probably only a one day thing, but only time will tell. I have been continuing to attempt to help Caleb learn English (the newest child), which is interesting. He seems to be picking up on the animals I am teaching him, but not on the alphabet.
Today, I went to a wedding for an Australian girl about my age and a Thai man-of the Karen hill tribe in Thailand. It was small and simple, but nice. There was a ceremony inside which was supposed to be outside, but due to rain had to be moved. The grooms family were all dressed in traditional Karen clothing, which consist of tunics for the men, and dresses for the women. I'll have to take a picture of this and post it. Most of the older Karen people do not speak Thai, but speak their own language. The younger people tend to learn Thai as well. It was kind of funny to hear the bride's parents say they didn't know exactly what was going on when we asked where the reception was (well in which building on the property)...it's funny to hear that other people too feel the go with the flow nature that must be present when visiting Thailand. Often things are unclear, so if you're not willing to be laid back about life in general, than you might have a hard time here-i just find it comical. The food at the wedding was good-sweet and sour chicken, vegetables, rice, pineapple, and of course wedding cake. It was a short affair-no dancing or alcohol as was present in all the other weddings that I have been too. It was a lot simpler than American weddings tend to be.
I hope all is well with the rest of you. John will be joining me here within the next 10 days, which is exciting. I will post more pictures as soon as the internet at BSF stops acting up.
Love,
Brittany
I am at an internet cafe since the internet at Ban San Faan is currently going on and off and I generally get a few minutes to type before it goes off again. Anyway, I am now in my second month at Ban San Faan and still having fun. The kids started school again on Wednesday and I know have more tasks than before. I help Averil with English and Math classes and one day was put with the one Kindergartner, Abby, since she doesn't quite fit into the classes. This is a bit of a challenge since she has to be taught Thai and English and I cannot really teach Thai as I don't know it. I think that was probably only a one day thing, but only time will tell. I have been continuing to attempt to help Caleb learn English (the newest child), which is interesting. He seems to be picking up on the animals I am teaching him, but not on the alphabet.
Today, I went to a wedding for an Australian girl about my age and a Thai man-of the Karen hill tribe in Thailand. It was small and simple, but nice. There was a ceremony inside which was supposed to be outside, but due to rain had to be moved. The grooms family were all dressed in traditional Karen clothing, which consist of tunics for the men, and dresses for the women. I'll have to take a picture of this and post it. Most of the older Karen people do not speak Thai, but speak their own language. The younger people tend to learn Thai as well. It was kind of funny to hear the bride's parents say they didn't know exactly what was going on when we asked where the reception was (well in which building on the property)...it's funny to hear that other people too feel the go with the flow nature that must be present when visiting Thailand. Often things are unclear, so if you're not willing to be laid back about life in general, than you might have a hard time here-i just find it comical. The food at the wedding was good-sweet and sour chicken, vegetables, rice, pineapple, and of course wedding cake. It was a short affair-no dancing or alcohol as was present in all the other weddings that I have been too. It was a lot simpler than American weddings tend to be.
I hope all is well with the rest of you. John will be joining me here within the next 10 days, which is exciting. I will post more pictures as soon as the internet at BSF stops acting up.
Love,
Brittany
Tuesday, May 1, 2007
The place
Ban San Faan from the front
Some flowers waiting to be planted by the fence that marks the entrance into Ban San Faan
The strange contrast that is the home of the Burmese people who helped build Ban San Faan and are now building another structure on the property as well as help with landscaping, etc. There home is clearly very poor. They shower outside-the women in sarongs and men in shorts. Their toilet is a small outhouse structure located to the left of this picture. If you're familiar at all with the current state of affairs in Myanmar (Burma), then you will also know that there are a lot of refugees and immigrants that enter into Thailand and the surrounding countries.
Looking outside from the front door
The carport-where there are also quite a few motorbikes and usually the van is there too that can seat all of the children and adults-well a few children go on laps.
The middle of the building that has a covering over it-called a sala
The bedroom I'm staying in
My bathroom-only difference is no shower curtain or door, which seems pretty unnecessary here anyway.
Things I have learned
Some things that one learns in their own country have to be thrown to the wind in order to fit into another culture. Some of the things that are common knowledge in the U.S. but just don't fly here are as follows:
1. Eggs belong in the refrigerator (Here most of them don't even go into the refrigerator)
2. Dogs cannot eat chicken bones. They may die if they do. (Thai dogs are given bags of chicken bones)
3. Don't name your child after a fruit, it's just plain weird and is reserved for movie stars such as Apple Martin, child of Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin from Coldplay (In Thailand, you can name your child after fruit and it's fine, we have a Cherri (cherry i know but that's how they spell it) here and a Peach-one of the girls used to be named Orange, but she chose a biblical name. Also, the niece of the builder who I spent two days conversing with in English to help her with her English said her little brother is affectionately nicknamed Pineapple (sip a rut is the word for it in Thai) because her mom ate tons of pineapple when she was pregnant with him).
4. Fruit is fruit and goes along with other sweet things such as with chocolate fondue or sometimes the combo of apples and peanut butter. (Thais consider unripe mango to be too sour so they eat it with a spicy mixture-its actually quite good, but I also will eat the unripe mango alone because it basically tastes like an apple to me)
5. Defensive Driving (I don't think Thais even have a word for defensive driving or if they do they certainly do not use it)
6. Traffic Lights are non-negotiable. (Traffic lights as far as the turning from yellow to red are simply a reason to rush quicker through the intersection-even if it is red as you pass the light. You best watch out if you're on the side where it has turned green.)
7. Spicy food is good, but doesn't kill you. (Spicy food in Thailand should not even be touched by people who do not know what spicy food is in Thailand-Basically, spicy here has a whole new meaning, it means if you are not used to constantly eating burning spicy foods, then probably steer clear-it's not even enjoyable for me to eat that stuff- i am convinced that Thais have developed different taste buds that make spicy stuff bearable and stuff that to others would not seem sour, seem really sour.)
8. Staring at people is not nice. (Staring at people, especially farang in Thailand is completely acceptable and sometimes must be done with such an enthusiasm that one almost falls off their motorbike as their head does a 180 to continue staring at what is now behind them.
9. Pointing feet at objects isn't necessarily totally cool, but it's not an insult. (DON'T DO IT HERE IN THAILAND, THIS IS COMPLETELY RUDE. and furthermore, don't assume you just won't do it-i did it oops! fortunately, Averil saw me and noone else so she just pointed it out to me....i was eating food and had my hands full and was trying to show her which purse I liked-thus i realized, yes i do sometimes point at things with my feet).
10. You can say whatever you want about authority (Do NOT say anything bad about the King. I haven't done this but I certainly can tell it's completely unacceptable. Also stand at attention if in a public place at 8am and 6pm every day when you'll hear a song playing-even though you don't understand it, you'll quickly learn which song it is. Also, Thais wear yellow on Monday since Monday is the day the King was born and yellow is the color of royalty. There are pictures of the King and royal family everywhere. His face is on the money-so don't do anything to that either).
Well that's all for now folks. I'll be back to put up pictures later. I have a good one of Abby with chocolate all over her face-really cute and priceless.
Later, Brittany
1. Eggs belong in the refrigerator (Here most of them don't even go into the refrigerator)
2. Dogs cannot eat chicken bones. They may die if they do. (Thai dogs are given bags of chicken bones)
3. Don't name your child after a fruit, it's just plain weird and is reserved for movie stars such as Apple Martin, child of Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin from Coldplay (In Thailand, you can name your child after fruit and it's fine, we have a Cherri (cherry i know but that's how they spell it) here and a Peach-one of the girls used to be named Orange, but she chose a biblical name. Also, the niece of the builder who I spent two days conversing with in English to help her with her English said her little brother is affectionately nicknamed Pineapple (sip a rut is the word for it in Thai) because her mom ate tons of pineapple when she was pregnant with him).
4. Fruit is fruit and goes along with other sweet things such as with chocolate fondue or sometimes the combo of apples and peanut butter. (Thais consider unripe mango to be too sour so they eat it with a spicy mixture-its actually quite good, but I also will eat the unripe mango alone because it basically tastes like an apple to me)
5. Defensive Driving (I don't think Thais even have a word for defensive driving or if they do they certainly do not use it)
6. Traffic Lights are non-negotiable. (Traffic lights as far as the turning from yellow to red are simply a reason to rush quicker through the intersection-even if it is red as you pass the light. You best watch out if you're on the side where it has turned green.)
7. Spicy food is good, but doesn't kill you. (Spicy food in Thailand should not even be touched by people who do not know what spicy food is in Thailand-Basically, spicy here has a whole new meaning, it means if you are not used to constantly eating burning spicy foods, then probably steer clear-it's not even enjoyable for me to eat that stuff- i am convinced that Thais have developed different taste buds that make spicy stuff bearable and stuff that to others would not seem sour, seem really sour.)
8. Staring at people is not nice. (Staring at people, especially farang in Thailand is completely acceptable and sometimes must be done with such an enthusiasm that one almost falls off their motorbike as their head does a 180 to continue staring at what is now behind them.
9. Pointing feet at objects isn't necessarily totally cool, but it's not an insult. (DON'T DO IT HERE IN THAILAND, THIS IS COMPLETELY RUDE. and furthermore, don't assume you just won't do it-i did it oops! fortunately, Averil saw me and noone else so she just pointed it out to me....i was eating food and had my hands full and was trying to show her which purse I liked-thus i realized, yes i do sometimes point at things with my feet).
10. You can say whatever you want about authority (Do NOT say anything bad about the King. I haven't done this but I certainly can tell it's completely unacceptable. Also stand at attention if in a public place at 8am and 6pm every day when you'll hear a song playing-even though you don't understand it, you'll quickly learn which song it is. Also, Thais wear yellow on Monday since Monday is the day the King was born and yellow is the color of royalty. There are pictures of the King and royal family everywhere. His face is on the money-so don't do anything to that either).
Well that's all for now folks. I'll be back to put up pictures later. I have a good one of Abby with chocolate all over her face-really cute and priceless.
Later, Brittany
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Comings and Goings
Last week, John and Matthew went home with their parents for good. I had written this in a previous post which I deleted. That day I knew the boys' parents were visiting, but I think everyone was hoping that they would not actually take the boys back so no one seemed to really expect them to leave that day. As I had said before, the newest child, Caleb, 7, arrived with a few small bags of clothes, and John and Matthew I believe left with nothing but the clothes they were wearing. It is strange with them gone, but also a lot more quiet. The dynamics of the children have changed, and it even seems that a few of them are acting more mature now. It may be because they feel more mature in comparison to the new child or because they no longer have the same rivalries that existed with John and Matthew here. I am not sure, but it is interesting to watch. I only hope that John and Matthew's parents give them a good life, as good or better than the one they would have continued to have here.
I have been meeting a lot of interesting people here, mostly missionaries. Two of them are English, Jenny and Adrian. This English couple is among the cutest I have ever seen. They have three children, a girl and two boys. They are self-supporting and work on computer software out of their home in Chiang Mai. They live here because they work with an orphanage up in the mountains that mostly consists of tribal children (from the hill tribes of Thailand: Karen, Akha, Hmong, etc.). They teach Christian songs to the children here. Jenny plays the guitar and sings, and her kids have many different dances that go along with Christian songs that they also teach. Adrian says they would not consider themselves missionaries exactly because they are self-supporting, but a lot of the work they do here would be considered missionary work. They are really nice and I like them more and more each week I see them. Another couple I met is here to retire. They are Canadians from British Colombia and are hilarious. They are not missionaries. Foreigners live here for many different reasons, but I find all of their stories intriguing and find myself wondering if I could ever really do that-pick up and move for the long haul to a country that is so different from the one I grew up in. Don't worry mom, I think for now I prefer the shorter visits :)
I have been meeting a lot of interesting people here, mostly missionaries. Two of them are English, Jenny and Adrian. This English couple is among the cutest I have ever seen. They have three children, a girl and two boys. They are self-supporting and work on computer software out of their home in Chiang Mai. They live here because they work with an orphanage up in the mountains that mostly consists of tribal children (from the hill tribes of Thailand: Karen, Akha, Hmong, etc.). They teach Christian songs to the children here. Jenny plays the guitar and sings, and her kids have many different dances that go along with Christian songs that they also teach. Adrian says they would not consider themselves missionaries exactly because they are self-supporting, but a lot of the work they do here would be considered missionary work. They are really nice and I like them more and more each week I see them. Another couple I met is here to retire. They are Canadians from British Colombia and are hilarious. They are not missionaries. Foreigners live here for many different reasons, but I find all of their stories intriguing and find myself wondering if I could ever really do that-pick up and move for the long haul to a country that is so different from the one I grew up in. Don't worry mom, I think for now I prefer the shorter visits :)
Below are some pictures from when Matthew and John were still here. The pictures are actually I believe from the day before they were taken home by their parents. The kids had made hats with an English woman, Esther, Esther's mother, and Esther's grandmother (both who were visiting her).
This is the whole crew. From Left: Abby, Grace, Ruth, Cherri, Mark, Sarah, Matthew, David, Peach (behind David), John, Naomi, Paul, Hope (behind Paul), Esther, Caleb, Daniel (behind Esther), and Faith (on the end behind Caleb)
Close-up. From left: in Front: John, Paul, Esther, Caleb, in Back: Naomi, Hope, Daniel
Daniel, John, and Matthew...they all chose to be Kings :)
Abby
Me, looking ick, and Paul. I think his knight hat is really cute.
Pat (one of the teachers), in between is Peach, and then Sarah
Love,
Brittany
Trying New Things
First of all, I have to express how happy I am that it has cooled down here in Chiang Mai. It was steaming hot for a couple of days-pushing 100 degrees Fahrenheit...or at least it felt that way. I was grateful for a thunderstorm two nights ago, despite the fact that it scared the children since it happened just as they were falling asleep, but that took the temperature down to a more comfortable level. It rained again early this morning so that it is now a very comfortable 70 degrees. I love it when the weather is like this!
Two days ago I decided that I was going to try the fried chilies (which are about the length of my fingernail mind you) that the Thais have told me are probably too hot for me. I thought that I should try it since I am in Thailand. So I started to eat a little teeny bit of it at a time, and thought oh okay, it's a little hot, but it's bearable. I crushed the rest of it up into my food and mixed it in so that it just seemed like I had put crushed red pepper into my food, which is something I can eat in the U.S. I was completely fine and proud of myself (though not too proud since the children were eating the chilies too :) ) All of a sudden my tongue started to burn with a vengeance and I couldn't bear it any longer...I tried to quickly make myself some Milo (hot chocolate), and as I had finished making it the pain subsided to soon be replaced by a burning sensation around my mouth (right under my nose and under my lips)...hah which then turned bright red--It was so embarrassing. The Farang (term for foreigner) tries a chili and gets a rash. Haha! It must have looked really funny. I then had to go take a nap until I felt better. As Malee said: "You are not Thai. You cannot eat like the Thais." I will remember this advice from now on and listen to the Thais when they say they think something is too hot for me. It's nice to have someone looking out for your best interest, but as a naughty child I had to learn that lesson for myself. :)
Tonight, I might be going with the teacher Pat out and then to stay the night at her Aunt's house in Chiang Mai. She has to ask Malee first if I can go...since last time she asked was during Songkran and her request was turned down-thankfully in my opinion, because I am guessing the reason she said no is because Pat drives a motorbike and during Songkran there are a lot of drunk drivers and a lot of dousing motorbikes with water on the streets-i.e. it's a time when there are a lot of motorbike accidents. Again, I am very happy to have someone looking out for me here. It's really nice. Ro (another teacher) also asked if I want to go visit her home about 4 hrs from here by bus from Saturday night to Tuesday night. I would like to see something new though I am not sure if I will go this time or not. The time I have here is quickly dwindling and once John gets here I will be off traveling and seeing more of Thailand.
Until later,
Brittany
Two days ago I decided that I was going to try the fried chilies (which are about the length of my fingernail mind you) that the Thais have told me are probably too hot for me. I thought that I should try it since I am in Thailand. So I started to eat a little teeny bit of it at a time, and thought oh okay, it's a little hot, but it's bearable. I crushed the rest of it up into my food and mixed it in so that it just seemed like I had put crushed red pepper into my food, which is something I can eat in the U.S. I was completely fine and proud of myself (though not too proud since the children were eating the chilies too :) ) All of a sudden my tongue started to burn with a vengeance and I couldn't bear it any longer...I tried to quickly make myself some Milo (hot chocolate), and as I had finished making it the pain subsided to soon be replaced by a burning sensation around my mouth (right under my nose and under my lips)...hah which then turned bright red--It was so embarrassing. The Farang (term for foreigner) tries a chili and gets a rash. Haha! It must have looked really funny. I then had to go take a nap until I felt better. As Malee said: "You are not Thai. You cannot eat like the Thais." I will remember this advice from now on and listen to the Thais when they say they think something is too hot for me. It's nice to have someone looking out for your best interest, but as a naughty child I had to learn that lesson for myself. :)
Tonight, I might be going with the teacher Pat out and then to stay the night at her Aunt's house in Chiang Mai. She has to ask Malee first if I can go...since last time she asked was during Songkran and her request was turned down-thankfully in my opinion, because I am guessing the reason she said no is because Pat drives a motorbike and during Songkran there are a lot of drunk drivers and a lot of dousing motorbikes with water on the streets-i.e. it's a time when there are a lot of motorbike accidents. Again, I am very happy to have someone looking out for me here. It's really nice. Ro (another teacher) also asked if I want to go visit her home about 4 hrs from here by bus from Saturday night to Tuesday night. I would like to see something new though I am not sure if I will go this time or not. The time I have here is quickly dwindling and once John gets here I will be off traveling and seeing more of Thailand.
Until later,
Brittany
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Apology
It has come to my attention that in my past 3 posts, I have been misrepresenting my time in Thailand. Betty Van Riper from the Calvary Church that sponsors Ban San Faan thankfully brought this to my attention. I would like to extend my apology to anyone that was offended by my words. The worst part about it is that I am actually having a wonderful time here despite what I made it sound like. I really love the Thai people and their smiles (it's called the Land of Smiles for a reason), I love the children here at Ban San Faan, and I love the people who made all of it possible. There is so much good that is being done in Thailand that it is amazing. There are so many homes that have been created for children to give them the opportunity for a better life and I have met so many people here who have found it their purpose to help those less fortunate than themselves. I have encountered all that I ever hoped for here and despite the difficulties that accompany being in a culture much different from one's own, I have found that I am having an experience that I would never trade for anything else. Thank you for giving me this opportunity. I hope anyone offended by me will accept my apology and know that my intentions were never to do so.
Monday, April 16, 2007
The Lake
The Longtaow, which shuttled us from shore
View from the Longtaow of the place where we had stayed for the day
The large meal
Really fresh, Really good fish
View from Where I was sittingToday, I spent the day with Averil and missionaries, Brigitta and Jeff and their son Josh, and their friends from Australia and their 3 sons. We went to this lake in a national park, where there were floating guest houses and restaurants. We went to one particular place that was awesome. We were just there for the day, but you can rent out the rooms for the night. They cook your food right there and it's delicious. Below are some pictures. I'll write more later. I'm too tired right now.
My Birthday
I spent my birthday first at church with the children and then Averil took me out to lunch and to the mall. It was a pleasant day. When I got back, they had a cake for me, which was unexpected and really cute. It was really pretty. I took a picture of it. The kids were busy trying to give me their things as birthday presents. It was really cute though I wasn't allowed to accept any of the trinkets since they were given to them by their sponsors. One of the children, Hope who's almost 10, wanted to pray for me. It was the cutest thing I've heard in a while. She said thank you for me coming to play with them and that God watch over me while I'm sleeping and awake, etc. Really cute and innocent. The House Mother, who I've been teaching English also gave me a pair of sunglasses and the House Father who has not spoken English to me since I arrived (well, because he doesn't speak it hah) said God Bless You and Thank You. I had a nice birthday.
Friday, April 13, 2007
Sonkran
Pictures of Sonkran
The typical group for Sonkran loaded up in the back of a pickupYesterday, was the beginning of the Thai new year celebration in Chiang Mai. It consists of people riding in the back of pick up trucks with buckets of water and dousing those on the street who also are armed with squirt guns, pails of water, or just a hose. Water seems to be plentiful around here because no one seems to think twice about leaving the hose on all day even though it's supposedly the dry season. People standing on the street throwing water target the pickup trucks with people in the back, people walking, and those on motorbikes. I was in a van hah so I was shielded from all of this. It's quite amusing actually and seems like a lot of fun. Drinking is also involved and I saw many bottles with dark liquors being drank in the back of pickups. I took some pictures of this and also the parades that were in the street, carrying floats with Buddha on them, which people would then approach and pour flower scented water on the Buddha.
One of the Floats
The government building next to Ban San Faan appears to have many many many parties. Every night, I hear loud music from their direction. Apparently, it is more play and less business over there :) Averil and I took a walk down our street today--the people who saw us were very happy to stare as we walked by almost falling off their motorbikes...and we got come here's from a couple of men drinking in their garage. Westerners are stared at a lot here--despite the many tourists, Thais apparently can't get enough of staring at a white person.
Yesterday, we had a visit from the baby who will soon take his place at Ban San Faan as the youngest, displacing Abby, 4, from that position. His name is Sammy and he is incredibly cute. He never cried the whole time he was here and seemed happy to be stared at and to play with the other 17 children who live here. It seems that he'll fit in nicely. He is 8 months, and DoDo (one of the nannies) said he seemed really skinny to her. He looked fine to me, but I seriously can never remember what babies are supposed to look like or be able to do at certain ages.
Today, we went to the Carrefour mall to let the kids play on the arcade games and various toys and then to KFC. This was a birthday celebration for the two who were born in April, Paul who will be 6 at the end of the month, and Cherri who will be 7 tomorrow. We saw a procession for Sonkran in the mall as well. Averil thought one of the women, who was being held up by men with no shirts and those wrap skirt like things on, was a he-she. Apparently, there is a lot of that here since Buddhist's are very tolerant and operations for changing sex are readily available in Bangkok.
Paul on one of the rides. He always has the best camera smile.
I will post more pictures soon!
Love,
Brittany
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
A New Arrival
Today, was quite uneventful to start out with. The children were really busy because a Thai professor (the wife of the builder of Ban San Faan) came to assess their Thai. They were taking tests for most of the day and the Kindergartners were busy being antsy and trying to avoid doing their homework.
At 1pm, I taught an English lesson to Mali and ChiChi, the House mother and one of the nannies, respectively. During our lesson, a new child arrived. His name is Caleb. He is 7 years old and does not speak English. He is really small and looks more like a small 5 year old. He seemed to warm up fast-the other kids were really helpful since at first, he seemed really frightened. He was repeating English words that Averil was speaking to him so hopefully he'll be a fast learner. It struck me as really sad to see the small bags of clothes that were the only things that accompanied him to his new life. However, the children here are really lucky to be here, they have more here than probably most Thai children who live with their parents.
Tonight, we had a group of English people come and sing Christian songs and do a short play about the life and death of Jesus Christ. It was actually really cute. The woman who sang and played the guitar comes weekly with her husband. The mother of the children who did the play, Esther, comes weekly as well to do crafts with the children. Two other families accompanied them who were just visiting from England. I love English accents! :) It's funny how I see Westerners here and immediately think oh yay another American, but for the most part they are either European, English, Australian, or from New Zealand.
At 1pm, I taught an English lesson to Mali and ChiChi, the House mother and one of the nannies, respectively. During our lesson, a new child arrived. His name is Caleb. He is 7 years old and does not speak English. He is really small and looks more like a small 5 year old. He seemed to warm up fast-the other kids were really helpful since at first, he seemed really frightened. He was repeating English words that Averil was speaking to him so hopefully he'll be a fast learner. It struck me as really sad to see the small bags of clothes that were the only things that accompanied him to his new life. However, the children here are really lucky to be here, they have more here than probably most Thai children who live with their parents.
Tonight, we had a group of English people come and sing Christian songs and do a short play about the life and death of Jesus Christ. It was actually really cute. The woman who sang and played the guitar comes weekly with her husband. The mother of the children who did the play, Esther, comes weekly as well to do crafts with the children. Two other families accompanied them who were just visiting from England. I love English accents! :) It's funny how I see Westerners here and immediately think oh yay another American, but for the most part they are either European, English, Australian, or from New Zealand.
Sunday, April 8, 2007
Out in Chiang Rai
After leaving the girls at Mercy House for the night, we went to dinner at an Indonesian restaurant, well hah but they served Thai food-go figure. This is the restaurant below.
The above not very good picture is of the 4 college students we met for dinner, who once lived at Mercy House, but were the few who completed high school and now are attending college thanks to Bill and some sponsors. The one on the left is an accounting major and the other three are English majors, but really cannot speak much English. Bill is in the center. The girls are sooooo small hah and I am so large compared to them. They hugged me goodbye, which only made me notice this more.
The front of the "Indonesian" restaurant.
After dinner, Malee took me to the night market where they had a stage with Thai dancers. Thai dance is a really slow dance-almost hula dance like except no hip movements. The kids at Ban San Faan take Thai dance lessons and it's really cute to watch. Peach especially has really graceful hand movements. She looks like a natural dancer.
Another bad picture hah of the night market. I'll work on taking better pictures, I promise.
The above not very good picture is of the 4 college students we met for dinner, who once lived at Mercy House, but were the few who completed high school and now are attending college thanks to Bill and some sponsors. The one on the left is an accounting major and the other three are English majors, but really cannot speak much English. Bill is in the center. The girls are sooooo small hah and I am so large compared to them. They hugged me goodbye, which only made me notice this more.
The front of the "Indonesian" restaurant.
After dinner, Malee took me to the night market where they had a stage with Thai dancers. Thai dance is a really slow dance-almost hula dance like except no hip movements. The kids at Ban San Faan take Thai dance lessons and it's really cute to watch. Peach especially has really graceful hand movements. She looks like a natural dancer.
Another bad picture hah of the night market. I'll work on taking better pictures, I promise.
Chiang Rai Pictures
On Friday, I visited Chiang Rai with Bill and Malee. Here are some pictures from the trip. The following are of Mercy House- a home for girls and one boy from the hill tribes that live up in the mountains where they can live and eat for which they must work in the coffee fields. They come down and live here so that they can attend school. We were there so that we could meet with the girls who wanted to attend high school. Bill finds the funds to allow them to go to high school, which, though tuition is free, has a lot of fees associated with it for books, uniforms, etc. At first, Bill was going to have to tell certain girls they would not be able to go since he had not yet raised the funds, but he said he was taking a leap of faith and enrolling them all- 8 in total. About $600 for the year a child.
This is the house that the girls live in. It has Thai toilets (squat toilets) and no shower, only a barrel full of water to bathe with. They have two rooms full of bunk beds and a kitchen area across the dirt road.
I thought the flowers above and bike below looked so bright in front of their drab lodging.
I did not feel comfortable going inside and taking pictures so I took one from where our car was parked. I cannot speak Thai and the girls cannot speak English so I would not even be able to explain why I was taking pictures. I felt like it'd be imposing for me to go inside like a tourist taking pictures of their impoverished lives.
This is the road leading to the house. The house would be about right where I am writing. There were some sort of cattle across the street, though they did not look like cows in the U.S. I am not quite sure what they are called.
A picture of behind the home where the girls hung their laundry to dry. Really pretty fields.
The home from a distance. That is Bill's car parked in front. The girls and one boy for the most part take care of themselves. There is one woman that supposedly looks after them, but she is never really there.
This is the house that the girls live in. It has Thai toilets (squat toilets) and no shower, only a barrel full of water to bathe with. They have two rooms full of bunk beds and a kitchen area across the dirt road.
I thought the flowers above and bike below looked so bright in front of their drab lodging.
I did not feel comfortable going inside and taking pictures so I took one from where our car was parked. I cannot speak Thai and the girls cannot speak English so I would not even be able to explain why I was taking pictures. I felt like it'd be imposing for me to go inside like a tourist taking pictures of their impoverished lives.This is the road leading to the house. The house would be about right where I am writing. There were some sort of cattle across the street, though they did not look like cows in the U.S. I am not quite sure what they are called.A picture of behind the home where the girls hung their laundry to dry. Really pretty fields.
The home from a distance. That is Bill's car parked in front. The girls and one boy for the most part take care of themselves. There is one woman that supposedly looks after them, but she is never really there.
The Night Market Last Weekend
Last weekend, we went to the musical "High School Musical," the following pictures are from that day:
This is a picture of Abby, 4 and the youngest, and Ruth, 5 who has a twin named Esther. Esther has 3 freckles near her nose-that's the only way to tell them apart that I can see anyway.
This is David and Sarah. I often forget their ages. David is around 7 and Sarah is a bit older-about 9.
Ruth, Esther, Matthew, Malee (the manager of the Children's home)and Abby
After the musical, we went to the Saturday market to eat and walk around. These pictures were taken at the restaurant and market. We had pork and noodles-really good.
Ruth, Abby, Matthew, and Esther
View of the Saturday night market
Paul, 5, in front of the Lanna Music Truck, really loud gong-like sounds
Saturday Market view from the restaurant
The restaurant-everyone in purple is from Ban San Faan
whoops repeat picture and i cant figure out how to delete it!! This blog is starting to annoy me.
Paul again, 5 years old
Really bad picture-i think the point of taking it was to show people what Thai writing looks like (yeah that's it)-see on the blue sheet of paper behind Faith, who is about 7 yrs old i think hah i can never remember except for the 5 year olds). This was where the kids were coloring pictures of different superheroes and/or Hello Kitty.
This is a picture of Abby, 4 and the youngest, and Ruth, 5 who has a twin named Esther. Esther has 3 freckles near her nose-that's the only way to tell them apart that I can see anyway.This is David and Sarah. I often forget their ages. David is around 7 and Sarah is a bit older-about 9.
Ruth, Esther, Matthew, Malee (the manager of the Children's home)and AbbyAfter the musical, we went to the Saturday market to eat and walk around. These pictures were taken at the restaurant and market. We had pork and noodles-really good.
Ruth, Abby, Matthew, and Esther
View of the Saturday night market
Paul, 5, in front of the Lanna Music Truck, really loud gong-like sounds
Saturday Market view from the restaurant
The restaurant-everyone in purple is from Ban San Faan
whoops repeat picture and i cant figure out how to delete it!! This blog is starting to annoy me.
Paul again, 5 years oldReally bad picture-i think the point of taking it was to show people what Thai writing looks like (yeah that's it)-see on the blue sheet of paper behind Faith, who is about 7 yrs old i think hah i can never remember except for the 5 year olds). This was where the kids were coloring pictures of different superheroes and/or Hello Kitty.
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