Skip to main content

5 nights in Bangkok, 1 night in Kanchanaburi


Thursday was our last day of teacher training at orientation.  It was getting really old by this time but I, along with all 35 other program participants, made it through with some useful information. 

The second day of orientation we went to see the grand palace.   I have been there once before, but even still it was incredible.  The attention to detail is fascinating.  Our tour guide, Ellen, was such a blessing.  She knew so much about the palace and about Thailand and she even had a sense of humor.  One thing that she had said was “It is very hot.  I am sweating.  I sweat because I am fat.”  Ellen also did a blessing for our group.  She gave a lotus flower and two incents to a statue of Buddha and put a gold flake on the heart of another statue for good fortune. 



We left Bangkok after our last training session and set off to Kanchanaburi.  We went to the Bridge over the River Kwai.  It was fun to hang out and look around the Jewellry Market.  



A boy on a train on the Bridge over the River Kwai
After this we went to dinner on a boat that was being towed by another boat.  This quickly turned into a disco dance party-a sober disco dance party.  We got to our hotel in Kanchanaburi at around 9:00 pm.  We then went swimming and played some drinking games.  We couldn't get too grazy though because we had to get up early to ride elephants!!


Friday morning we met at 7:30 am to ride elephants and float down a river on bamboo rafts.  It was a lovely morning.  The elephants were so sweet and, to my surprise, cute.  The elephant Kerriane and I rode handed us flowers, smiled for pictures, and even gave us a kiss.   


 
After an incredible morning we drove back to Bangkok to meet our school coordinators.  However, my school coordinator did not come to Bangkok.  Later I found out this was because she had forgotten about me.  At first I was a bit overwhelmed.  I knew I was going to have to fend for myself but I wasn't quite ready yet.  It turned out to be a blessing in disguise.  I got to have dinner with Khun Pooh, the manager of OEG, her daughter Fern, another girl from the program, Heather, and her school coordinator.  It was a wonderful dinner with the best Thai food I have had so far accompanied by amazing conversation.  Fern had recently graduated high school and just finished her first week at University.  She speaks English very well but says she does not get many opportunities to practice so she was grateful for Heather and me to be there for her to talk to.  I also got to ask questions about the Thai culture and got genuine first hand answers.  After dinner, Khun Pooh and Fern took me to the bus station for my overnight ride to Khon Kaen.  I felt like royalty.  They were so kind to me and took care of me so well.  So, what could have been a disastrous situation left me feeling so welcome here in Thailand and ready to tackle whatever Khon Kaen has in store for me!!

Comments

  1. wils9231May 16, 2011 at 11:29 AM

    yaya! sounds like an awesome first week and a half! keep these coming i love seeing the pictures and reading all about your fun adventures! love you :)

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Countdown: 4 days.

I have packed one box of books to put into storage, I have not picked out anything I am bringing to Thailand, my room is a mess with suitcases and laundry thrown everywhere, and I leave in 4 days.  So of course, instead of packing or cleaning or moving,  I decide to start my blog.  I hope to keep up to date on the adventures I have in Thailand, although I cannot promise anything.  But as of now, it is time to get my act together and get things in order for my departure on Thursday.   Next time I write it will be from Thailand! 
7 comments
Read more

Akame Shijuhachitaki Falls

Last Sunday, the lovely Sachiko brought Phil, Dominique and myself to the Mei prefecture to hike to see the beautiful Akame Shijuhachitaki Falls.  Akame Shijuhachitaki Falls is a series of crystal blue waterfalls that covers around 4 kilometers.  Overall there is said to be 48 waterfalls.  We didn't see all of them, but there is no way to tell how many we did see.  There were waterfalls of all sizes and who am I to judge whether a waterfall is big enough to be considered one of the 48 waterfalls of Akame? We headed to Nagoya station at 8:30 a.m. and took three separate trains and a taxi from there to get to the entrance.  Admissions to the falls also admitted us to the Japanese salamander museum.  There we saw some of the largest salamanders of our lives.  We renamed the display "This kids, is why you shouldn't swim in the river!"  
The given name "Akame (Red Eye)" is based on the legend in which Fudo-Myoo , commander of the Wisdom Kings i...
Post a Comment
Read more

AkemashiteOomedetou Gozaimasu - 明けましておめでとうございます

This new years I had two celebrations.  I had the countdown in Tokyo and I was lucky enough to be invited over to my boss, Mitani-san's, house for a traditional Japanese new year bento box.  The Japanese celebrate new years as we celebrate Christmas in the states.  It is a time for families to gather, dine and relax.   While the concept of New Years in Japan is similar to that of Christmas in the states the cuisine is very different.  Every family makes a osechi ryouri.  Osechi ryouri is supposed to be made before New Year’s Day dawn, and to last for days without refrigeration during the 7-day New Years holiday. The original reason for this period of rest or non-cooking was supposed to be to appease the fire god, Kohjin, who might get angry if one made fires so early in the year. Then in later years, this period of non-cooking was ostensibly to allow the wife (or cook of the house) a rest and time to spend with the family.  Mitani-san st...
Post a Comment
Read more