Sunday, September 13, 2009
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
9/9/09 @ 9:09
I was in class this morning, 1/11, when Pi-ow came in and informed me that I must get the students organized and lined up in the hallways for "the singing to the King". All students in every building lined up in the hallway, facing the flag and sang to the King of Thailand for about 10 minutes, a very sentimental and sweet moment.
After class, Pi-Nuy told me that today is a very special day; it is 9/9/09. "9" is "gaew" in Thai, which also means "progress". Due to the many problems Thailand has been having over the last couple of years (especially regarding the prime minister), the Thai government decided to make note of today, and what it means for Thailand's future. They organized the ENTIRE COUNTRY to sing to the King at exactly 9:09 AM. WOW!!! Every single person sang to the King at 9:09 on 9/9/09.
In addition to "Progress" and Thailand's future, Pi-Nuy also stressed that the King is very sick. He is well into his 80s and if you don't know, he is the longest reigning and living King in the world, at this moment. She described her emotions while singing at 9:09 as "very sad because we Thai people don't know what we are going to do after the King dies. We are unsure of what will happen to Thailand. I, we, just can't imagine Thailand without our King."
Acknowledging the past and thinking forward, progress, service to King and country, prayer, song and UNITY... This is Thailand.
After class, Pi-Nuy told me that today is a very special day; it is 9/9/09. "9" is "gaew" in Thai, which also means "progress". Due to the many problems Thailand has been having over the last couple of years (especially regarding the prime minister), the Thai government decided to make note of today, and what it means for Thailand's future. They organized the ENTIRE COUNTRY to sing to the King at exactly 9:09 AM. WOW!!! Every single person sang to the King at 9:09 on 9/9/09.
In addition to "Progress" and Thailand's future, Pi-Nuy also stressed that the King is very sick. He is well into his 80s and if you don't know, he is the longest reigning and living King in the world, at this moment. She described her emotions while singing at 9:09 as "very sad because we Thai people don't know what we are going to do after the King dies. We are unsure of what will happen to Thailand. I, we, just can't imagine Thailand without our King."
Acknowledging the past and thinking forward, progress, service to King and country, prayer, song and UNITY... This is Thailand.
Monday, September 7, 2009
Farewell to Friends in Ayuthaya... and the long journey there
My Friday night journey - what a nightmare! Although, it really wasn't that bad, all was completely unplanned for and unexpected - ah, so Thailand!
As usual, the journey began with hopping on a bus to Bangkok; however, this time, I was headed to Mochit Bus Terminal - the north/ northeastern bus terminal, and 10x larger than Ekkomai. Often times, the bus 'manager' makes us switch busses, by pulling us off and leading us onto another bus that is heading straight to the wanted destination, and then they pay off the other bus 'manager' what is left of the bus fare. Well, I got kicked off in Bang Na, about an hour outside of Bangkok. The bus 'manager' motioned to me, hurriedly saying, "Mochit, Mochit?" I promptly got up, followed him to the front of the bus, and while on the last step, I turned around and said (in Thai) "Where?" He pointed to a bunch of public busses lining up on the street on the other side, and then with one step off the bus, I asked for money. He waved his hands and shut the door and bus sped off. So, yeah, I got kicked off. But, in a way, it was a message heard from above - because I had to pee sooooo bad, that I was going to get off soon anyway or pee in my pants right there in the bus seat. And, luckily he dropped/ kicked me off in front of a huge department store, so without even thinking about what was to come, I immediately went to the bathroom.
Then, I had a cigarette, and finally was in a state to figure out what to do next. I went to one of the many bus stops (it was a very busy area), and found three young Thai girls to ask where I could catch the bus to Mochit. It turned out that they three were also heading to the bus terminal. So we all got on a public bus together (picture below), for 9 baht and an hour trip to On Nut BTS station, the last stop on the southern end of the skytrain system. Then we took the BTS for 40 minutes, riding to the end of the line, and got off at Mochit BTS Station. Mind you, this is not the bus terminal. Normally (and I've done this only once before), you have to take a taxi from the BTS station to the bus terminal.
I kept telling the one Thai girl, who spoke the most English (and still very little at that) that we would have to take a taxi anyway from the BTS station, because she kept saying, "no taxi, no taxi". Her response was "No, BTS much faster, traffic bad, no taxi." Yes, I got that, but I knew we would have to get in a taxi later anyway, and I just wanted to confirm that they were doing this as well. I eventually gave up, and when we got outside the Mochit BTS station, I felt like saying, "see, this is what I meant." But, I think they got it and knew it and were just lost in translation about what I was saying before.
Anyhow, no taxis wanted to take us to the bus terminal because the traffic was too bad. It seemed worse than normal, and I think there was something going on. So, they were finally able to convince two motorbike taxis to take us there - albeit, we went speeding in between cars onto oncoming traffic, much closer than I am comfortable with (though, that is how you do in Thailand, at least if you want to get anywhere by motorbike). The Thai girl nicely paid for the taxi. Her friends must've gotten dropped off somewhere else, because after many back-and-forth phone calls, she started to panic. We walked around in circles around the huge, dark and grimy back parking lots of the massive bus terminal. Mochit is so crowded, dirty, loud, confusing, and just plain unpleasant. We finally went inside one of the many floors, and she asked the many ticket counters about a bus for me to Ang Thong.
I was planning on heading to Ang Thong to stay with Allie for the night, and then we were going to go to Ayuthaya together on Saturday.
"Don't have. Come back tomorrow, 5 AM" was the response I kept getting over and over. Then, I asked about Ayuthaya; same response. You can imagine how my heart and legs just sank beneath me. After all that, I finally arrived here only to find out they had finished services to this area. The girl finally left to find her friends, and I called Jacqueline, who was en route to Mochit Bus Terminal from Sri Racha. She was also going to spend the night in Ang Thong, but just left Sri Racha a couple hours after me.
We both decided I would just wait there for her. I got something to eat, well, quite a few things. And then, I just sat and waited. The place was crawling with hundreds upon hundreds of people, many with lots of luggage, many looking quite nomadic. It was dark and dingy, and definitely made me feel like I was in a refugee camp. Not a fun place to be, at all.
Jacqueline finally made it there after 9, and we jumped into a taxi towards Saphan Kwai, the area closest to the bus terminal with hotels. After checking out a few, with prices too high for our budget, we actually ended up in The Suda Palace Hotel - this is where we had our orientation! Can you believe it? We couldn't. But we made a late night of Chang and 4:00 am McDonald's delivery. Yup, that's right, we ordered McDonald's, which was promptly delivered to our hotel room door. Amazing. A good end to a long and arduous day.
The next late morning, we decided to skip the bus ride, were too far from the train terminal, so we opted for the mini-vans from Victory Monument. We arrived in Ayuthaya only an hour and a half later, or so, and after some walking around we ended up with our friends at Ayuthaya Hotel. We didn't see any of the sights in Ayuthaya; in fact, we only saw half the street of our hotel and around the corner down some side street, where Chang House was - home to our nightly activities.
There were about 11 of us in total, most from orientation, and a few boyfriends. Three girls are leaving in 2 weeks: Liza, from South Africa, Angela from London, and Ally from Texas. So, this was our farewell night out in a place we could all get too. And what a night it was. I won't get into the random drunken shennanigans that occurred, but we had a grand ole' time, and a few of us even got in some late-night swimming in the pool at our hotel.
Obviously, the trip wasn't at all about Ayuthaya, but rather friends... so my pictures, of course, are all from the night out - probably boring, unless you are one of them. :o)
As usual, the journey began with hopping on a bus to Bangkok; however, this time, I was headed to Mochit Bus Terminal - the north/ northeastern bus terminal, and 10x larger than Ekkomai. Often times, the bus 'manager' makes us switch busses, by pulling us off and leading us onto another bus that is heading straight to the wanted destination, and then they pay off the other bus 'manager' what is left of the bus fare. Well, I got kicked off in Bang Na, about an hour outside of Bangkok. The bus 'manager' motioned to me, hurriedly saying, "Mochit, Mochit?" I promptly got up, followed him to the front of the bus, and while on the last step, I turned around and said (in Thai) "Where?" He pointed to a bunch of public busses lining up on the street on the other side, and then with one step off the bus, I asked for money. He waved his hands and shut the door and bus sped off. So, yeah, I got kicked off. But, in a way, it was a message heard from above - because I had to pee sooooo bad, that I was going to get off soon anyway or pee in my pants right there in the bus seat. And, luckily he dropped/ kicked me off in front of a huge department store, so without even thinking about what was to come, I immediately went to the bathroom.
Then, I had a cigarette, and finally was in a state to figure out what to do next. I went to one of the many bus stops (it was a very busy area), and found three young Thai girls to ask where I could catch the bus to Mochit. It turned out that they three were also heading to the bus terminal. So we all got on a public bus together (picture below), for 9 baht and an hour trip to On Nut BTS station, the last stop on the southern end of the skytrain system. Then we took the BTS for 40 minutes, riding to the end of the line, and got off at Mochit BTS Station. Mind you, this is not the bus terminal. Normally (and I've done this only once before), you have to take a taxi from the BTS station to the bus terminal.
I kept telling the one Thai girl, who spoke the most English (and still very little at that) that we would have to take a taxi anyway from the BTS station, because she kept saying, "no taxi, no taxi". Her response was "No, BTS much faster, traffic bad, no taxi." Yes, I got that, but I knew we would have to get in a taxi later anyway, and I just wanted to confirm that they were doing this as well. I eventually gave up, and when we got outside the Mochit BTS station, I felt like saying, "see, this is what I meant." But, I think they got it and knew it and were just lost in translation about what I was saying before.
Anyhow, no taxis wanted to take us to the bus terminal because the traffic was too bad. It seemed worse than normal, and I think there was something going on. So, they were finally able to convince two motorbike taxis to take us there - albeit, we went speeding in between cars onto oncoming traffic, much closer than I am comfortable with (though, that is how you do in Thailand, at least if you want to get anywhere by motorbike). The Thai girl nicely paid for the taxi. Her friends must've gotten dropped off somewhere else, because after many back-and-forth phone calls, she started to panic. We walked around in circles around the huge, dark and grimy back parking lots of the massive bus terminal. Mochit is so crowded, dirty, loud, confusing, and just plain unpleasant. We finally went inside one of the many floors, and she asked the many ticket counters about a bus for me to Ang Thong.
I was planning on heading to Ang Thong to stay with Allie for the night, and then we were going to go to Ayuthaya together on Saturday.
"Don't have. Come back tomorrow, 5 AM" was the response I kept getting over and over. Then, I asked about Ayuthaya; same response. You can imagine how my heart and legs just sank beneath me. After all that, I finally arrived here only to find out they had finished services to this area. The girl finally left to find her friends, and I called Jacqueline, who was en route to Mochit Bus Terminal from Sri Racha. She was also going to spend the night in Ang Thong, but just left Sri Racha a couple hours after me.
We both decided I would just wait there for her. I got something to eat, well, quite a few things. And then, I just sat and waited. The place was crawling with hundreds upon hundreds of people, many with lots of luggage, many looking quite nomadic. It was dark and dingy, and definitely made me feel like I was in a refugee camp. Not a fun place to be, at all.
Jacqueline finally made it there after 9, and we jumped into a taxi towards Saphan Kwai, the area closest to the bus terminal with hotels. After checking out a few, with prices too high for our budget, we actually ended up in The Suda Palace Hotel - this is where we had our orientation! Can you believe it? We couldn't. But we made a late night of Chang and 4:00 am McDonald's delivery. Yup, that's right, we ordered McDonald's, which was promptly delivered to our hotel room door. Amazing. A good end to a long and arduous day.
The next late morning, we decided to skip the bus ride, were too far from the train terminal, so we opted for the mini-vans from Victory Monument. We arrived in Ayuthaya only an hour and a half later, or so, and after some walking around we ended up with our friends at Ayuthaya Hotel. We didn't see any of the sights in Ayuthaya; in fact, we only saw half the street of our hotel and around the corner down some side street, where Chang House was - home to our nightly activities.
There were about 11 of us in total, most from orientation, and a few boyfriends. Three girls are leaving in 2 weeks: Liza, from South Africa, Angela from London, and Ally from Texas. So, this was our farewell night out in a place we could all get too. And what a night it was. I won't get into the random drunken shennanigans that occurred, but we had a grand ole' time, and a few of us even got in some late-night swimming in the pool at our hotel.
Obviously, the trip wasn't at all about Ayuthaya, but rather friends... so my pictures, of course, are all from the night out - probably boring, unless you are one of them. :o)
The public bus to Bangkok (with wooden floors)
From left to right: Me, Jacqueline, Ally, Liza, Jen, Bridget and Maddy
Sunday, August 30, 2009
My Weekend Getaway
on the beach in Ko Samet!
Playing with Angie and Tan (Naga children)
Tan
Burying Angie
Channi, Angie, Woods and Tan
Playing with Angie and Tan (Naga children)
Tan
Burying Angie
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Student Comments
Was grading M4 (15-16 year olds) listening tests tonight. One of my students, Pea, crossed out a phrase on one of the lines (which he then corrected), but wrote in tiny letters, in parentheses: "(Sorry, I don't have liquid paper.)" :o) Super cute, with perfect grammar, too! Students are obsessed with white-out here!
For English Club, taught by Howard, Jacqueline and myself, we each teach two teams (which we created in the beginning) in rotating groups: listening, reading and games. For each week, we do a scavenger hunt, for which the items/ information are due next week, as a team. Last week's first scavenger item was to find and write down three inventors and what they invented. Here is what one of the teams wrote: see photo below...
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For English Club, taught by Howard, Jacqueline and myself, we each teach two teams (which we created in the beginning) in rotating groups: listening, reading and games. For each week, we do a scavenger hunt, for which the items/ information are due next week, as a team. Last week's first scavenger item was to find and write down three inventors and what they invented. Here is what one of the teams wrote: see photo below...
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Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Motorbike Lesson 1
This past Sunday, Jacqueline gave me my first lesson on the motorbike at a field nearby, which has a paved road around it. After learning how to start the bike, I worked my way up to a steady pace, and then started making some turns. The location was perfect, as there are no other vehicles or pedestrians to get in the way.... However, we then moved to an empty-ish parking lot area, right between the field and the school. I took off to try and go at a normal speed and practice making U-turns and such. Well, while there were no road obstacles (such as other cars or people), there was a pack of dogs that suddenly took off after me!!
They started growling at my ankles, so out of total fear and instinct, my hand turned the gear up and I sped off onto some dirt road. I then realized this was a dead end, so I had to go back through them. Right back through I went, still being heavily chased by these mangy, dirty, horrible creatures we call dogs, barking and growling and perhaps even nipping away... I honked my horn continuously and started screaming, "Basta, Basta, Basta!!" (which, of course means "Stop", but in Spanish!). I finally found my way to Jacqueline, just around the corner, and made it safely to a halting stop, with my heart beating out of my chest.
What the hell? I mean, I walk through this parking lot everyday to go to school. Maybe, the dogs are attuned to knowing there aren't any motorbikes in this area during the weekends... but I just don't believe that. Maybe, they sensed my fear. Who knows, but I hate them. And overall, I had a successful first ride, now feeling a bit more confident after having come across my first obstacle, however unplanned and unwanted it was.
(Jacqueline shot a mini-video of me driving the motorbike in the first part of the lesson - before the dogs - which she posted on her blog. It's about 3 seconds long. Check it out: http://deaninthailand.blogspot.com/2009/08/weekend-in-videos.html
They started growling at my ankles, so out of total fear and instinct, my hand turned the gear up and I sped off onto some dirt road. I then realized this was a dead end, so I had to go back through them. Right back through I went, still being heavily chased by these mangy, dirty, horrible creatures we call dogs, barking and growling and perhaps even nipping away... I honked my horn continuously and started screaming, "Basta, Basta, Basta!!" (which, of course means "Stop", but in Spanish!). I finally found my way to Jacqueline, just around the corner, and made it safely to a halting stop, with my heart beating out of my chest.
What the hell? I mean, I walk through this parking lot everyday to go to school. Maybe, the dogs are attuned to knowing there aren't any motorbikes in this area during the weekends... but I just don't believe that. Maybe, they sensed my fear. Who knows, but I hate them. And overall, I had a successful first ride, now feeling a bit more confident after having come across my first obstacle, however unplanned and unwanted it was.
(Jacqueline shot a mini-video of me driving the motorbike in the first part of the lesson - before the dogs - which she posted on her blog. It's about 3 seconds long. Check it out: http://deaninthailand.blogspot.com/2009/08/weekend-in-videos.html
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
A Recycling Beauty Pageant (of sorts)??
Yes, that's right... my school had a recycling dress-up contest this afternoon, during school hours - which resulted in many absences and 1/2 hour late students...! Students, I believe from M/4, M/5 and M/6 designed, created and presented recycled dresses and outfits to promote recycling. I wish I knew more about the event to tell you, but I simply did not even know it was going on until it was happening. I saw the last part of it, when the finalists were chosen, and then students were given out paper DNA wheels to put in the basket of whom they thought should win. Some students even dropped in 20 baht notes! Each of the finalists spoke for a minute or so, and I believe they were explaining their outfits - but alas, I could not understand. Nevertheless, it was a very cool event, and amusing at the least... the whole show really exhibits the creativity of Thais -- which is beyond credible... I've posted a few examples below. View the photo album in large to see some awesome close-ups, where you can really see the materials they used.
Students cheering their classmates on
A skirt made of straws... and check out her can-top arm band!
Check out those eyelashes and that hair-do! And yes, she has sleeves made of plastic bags and her dress if made from bottle tops and Whiskey boxes... how awesome is that!
Now, this dress actually looked wearable and fashionable, albeit made of newspapers.
The DNA genetic wheels that they collected from the mass (don't ask... I don't know)
Finalists lining up
Students cheering their classmates on
A skirt made of straws... and check out her can-top arm band!
Check out those eyelashes and that hair-do! And yes, she has sleeves made of plastic bags and her dress if made from bottle tops and Whiskey boxes... how awesome is that!
Now, this dress actually looked wearable and fashionable, albeit made of newspapers.
The DNA genetic wheels that they collected from the mass (don't ask... I don't know)
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Queen's Birthday/ Mother's Day
Today was Mother's Day (Happy Mother's Day, Mom!!) and the Queen's Birthday. And they are related. It is Mother's Day because it is the Queen's Birthday. The King's Birthday is in December, and that is Father's Day. For both days, everyone has off of work and school, so once again, no classes today. (In fact, we have not had a full week of teaching in over a month!)
Howard told me that he once asked what will happen when the King passes away; will Father's Day then fall on the new King's birthday? The response was that the King will never die. Such conversation is pretty taboo, so with such, no more questions asked.
I took another approach and asked one of the Thai English teachers when Father's Day was with the previous King. She shrugged it off and said she could not remember such a time.
So, there's Thailand politics for you, in a nutshell.
Ms. Bpun - the English Department head - took us out to dinner tonight, and brought along her daughter. Her daughter, Benz, just came back a month ago from 3 months of working in Midlands, Texas as a cleaner at Holiday Inn! I asked her about it, and she said that it was through a program that places students throughout the US to work. A cleaner at Holiday Inn?? She was excited about having been to America, and afterwards, she went to visit L.A. and was really excited about having been to Hollywood. Again, I ask a cleaner at Holiday Inn?? She comes from a very well-to-do family here in Thailand. Her mother is the Head of the English Department at Sri Racha School, her father is some bank big-wig and is the Director of the Bangpra Reservoir, among many other things, and she studies at a prominent university in Bangkok, majoring in Korean Studies. She speaks pretty good English, Korean, and of course, her native language is Thai. Kind of makes you think how many other cleaners at such inns we come across and never realize that they might be there on some work abroad program!
Howard told me that he once asked what will happen when the King passes away; will Father's Day then fall on the new King's birthday? The response was that the King will never die. Such conversation is pretty taboo, so with such, no more questions asked.
I took another approach and asked one of the Thai English teachers when Father's Day was with the previous King. She shrugged it off and said she could not remember such a time.
So, there's Thailand politics for you, in a nutshell.
Ms. Bpun - the English Department head - took us out to dinner tonight, and brought along her daughter. Her daughter, Benz, just came back a month ago from 3 months of working in Midlands, Texas as a cleaner at Holiday Inn! I asked her about it, and she said that it was through a program that places students throughout the US to work. A cleaner at Holiday Inn?? She was excited about having been to America, and afterwards, she went to visit L.A. and was really excited about having been to Hollywood. Again, I ask a cleaner at Holiday Inn?? She comes from a very well-to-do family here in Thailand. Her mother is the Head of the English Department at Sri Racha School, her father is some bank big-wig and is the Director of the Bangpra Reservoir, among many other things, and she studies at a prominent university in Bangkok, majoring in Korean Studies. She speaks pretty good English, Korean, and of course, her native language is Thai. Kind of makes you think how many other cleaners at such inns we come across and never realize that they might be there on some work abroad program!
Below is a photo from dinner, from left to right: Howard, Jacqueline, Ms. Bpun, Me, Benz and Ms. Mon
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Lopburi & Angthong Weekend
After another long, but so-Thai journey, Jacqueline and I arrived in Lopburi Friday night around 12:30 am. We left Sri Racha at 4:30 pm. See some photos of the first leg of our journey below (after all the text).
We spent Friday night in Lopburi at Angela's (my roommate from orientation, from London) along with Ally, who came from her home teaching town of Anthong. Ally is from Texas and she was one of the girls that went with me to Ko Samet... back in May.
Saturday afternoon, we took a 45 minute minivan taxi to the small town of Anthong, where Ally, Jen (Canada) and Maddy (Australia) teach. They are all girls I met at orientation and new teachers in Thailand.
Sunday afternoon, we went to Wat Muang, which holds the second largest Buddha in Thailand, as well as scenes from the 7 tiers of Hell! Wait until you see the photos. After separate bathroom trips, we all kind of got separated from one another, and only came across each other later on in the afternoon, all horrified and deeply disturbed by the 7 tiers of Hell. It was very calming to walk around the Buddha, and much needed after the gory display of Hell. Kind of gives you an insight into Thai buddhism - one that I didn't know was there! As always, I've only included a few photos, but you must see the rest to grasp the full horror of the temple displays on my Picasa site.
Photos below:
Lovely Restaurant in Anthong with the Woman of the House/ Restaurant
The Restaurant Owners
We spent Friday night in Lopburi at Angela's (my roommate from orientation, from London) along with Ally, who came from her home teaching town of Anthong. Ally is from Texas and she was one of the girls that went with me to Ko Samet... back in May.
Saturday afternoon, we took a 45 minute minivan taxi to the small town of Anthong, where Ally, Jen (Canada) and Maddy (Australia) teach. They are all girls I met at orientation and new teachers in Thailand.
Sunday afternoon, we went to Wat Muang, which holds the second largest Buddha in Thailand, as well as scenes from the 7 tiers of Hell! Wait until you see the photos. After separate bathroom trips, we all kind of got separated from one another, and only came across each other later on in the afternoon, all horrified and deeply disturbed by the 7 tiers of Hell. It was very calming to walk around the Buddha, and much needed after the gory display of Hell. Kind of gives you an insight into Thai buddhism - one that I didn't know was there! As always, I've only included a few photos, but you must see the rest to grasp the full horror of the temple displays on my Picasa site.
Photos below:
Motorbike Taxi-ing it... as you do in Thailand
Sittin' on Trains... the 4 1/2 hour journey to Lopburi
Lovely Restaurant in Anthong with the Woman of the House/ Restaurant
The Restaurant Owners
Creepy Wat Muong Temple in Anthong: The 7 tiers of Hell
Notice the beer bottle in his hand... due to too much drinking, he must now drink hot lava in Hell!
Philanderers must now climb cactus trees naked...
Hmmm, maybe they gossiped too much, so now have to be impaled.
A baby spitfire?
Ah, relaxing Buddha
2nd largest in Thailand!
Notice the beer bottle in his hand... due to too much drinking, he must now drink hot lava in Hell!
Philanderers must now climb cactus trees naked...
Hmmm, maybe they gossiped too much, so now have to be impaled.
A baby spitfire?
Ah, relaxing Buddha
2nd largest in Thailand!
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Bangpra Day Trip
No school today because the teachers have a seminar, something about how to help the students get better grades (hmmm, maybe go to school?!).
Anyway, Jacqueline and I went off exploring the Bangpra area again, to find the ends to what we had previously tried to do. After a most delicious lunch (I wish I could remember the name), we headed to the Butterfly Garden. The guard did not want to let us in, as he said it was closed. However, we had just followed a huge Chinese tour bus through the gate, so we were confused as to why he was telling us that it was closed. I whispered to Jacqueline that if we continue to just sit here and question him, and speak our horrible Thai, eventually he's going to have to give up -- which he did. So, we followed the group of Chinese tourists through to the ticket counter, where we continued to walk, as they did. They tried to stop us, but we looked back, smiled, motioned that we were with the group, and kept on walking. No more questions asked. Well, there were no butterflies in the butterfly garden!!!! We followed the tour into the building, which displayed random dioramas of ancient Thai people, I suppose, doing something. There were no English captions, and the tour guide was a smartly dressed man speaking Chinese.
Following further, we came across glass window cases that displayed honey jars. Hmmm... now, you tell me, what does honey have to do with butterlies - the butterflies that don't exist in the Butterfly Garden? Well, we never did find out. After another 15 minutes of total randomness, we left.
Off to Chan Ta Then Waterfall, which we had previously tried to go to, but it was closed. Once we came past the gate, we didn't know which way to turn, so we chose the wooden path that led into the jungle bush, a more likely guess than the cement paved road, especially since we were not allowed to bring the motorbike in. Well, we chose wrong to say the least. After the path ended, we ended up in the jungle, and while still on a path, we both a sense that we were heading the wrong direction.
So, we turned around, walked down the cement paved road for about 1/2 hour, and then finally came across a stream. So, we headed upwards, came across a group of Thais eating a late lunch and drinking Whiskey on the rocks. They told us the waterfall was quite a ways up, but to be careful and that it's beautiful. So, up, up we went... once again, trekking through the water and rock hopping (as we did in Koh Chang). We never did reach the waterfall, as it was getting late, and we didn't want to drive back to Sri Racha in the dark. But, as it goes in Thailand, it's all about the journey, never the destination. And, who knows if the waterfall would have been anything more than what we were already coming across along the path of the rocky stream... as waterfalls in Thailand are not what we consider waterfalls, but rather rapids? maybe...
Photos below:
The group of Thais we came across:
Anyway, Jacqueline and I went off exploring the Bangpra area again, to find the ends to what we had previously tried to do. After a most delicious lunch (I wish I could remember the name), we headed to the Butterfly Garden. The guard did not want to let us in, as he said it was closed. However, we had just followed a huge Chinese tour bus through the gate, so we were confused as to why he was telling us that it was closed. I whispered to Jacqueline that if we continue to just sit here and question him, and speak our horrible Thai, eventually he's going to have to give up -- which he did. So, we followed the group of Chinese tourists through to the ticket counter, where we continued to walk, as they did. They tried to stop us, but we looked back, smiled, motioned that we were with the group, and kept on walking. No more questions asked. Well, there were no butterflies in the butterfly garden!!!! We followed the tour into the building, which displayed random dioramas of ancient Thai people, I suppose, doing something. There were no English captions, and the tour guide was a smartly dressed man speaking Chinese.
Following further, we came across glass window cases that displayed honey jars. Hmmm... now, you tell me, what does honey have to do with butterlies - the butterflies that don't exist in the Butterfly Garden? Well, we never did find out. After another 15 minutes of total randomness, we left.
Off to Chan Ta Then Waterfall, which we had previously tried to go to, but it was closed. Once we came past the gate, we didn't know which way to turn, so we chose the wooden path that led into the jungle bush, a more likely guess than the cement paved road, especially since we were not allowed to bring the motorbike in. Well, we chose wrong to say the least. After the path ended, we ended up in the jungle, and while still on a path, we both a sense that we were heading the wrong direction.
So, we turned around, walked down the cement paved road for about 1/2 hour, and then finally came across a stream. So, we headed upwards, came across a group of Thais eating a late lunch and drinking Whiskey on the rocks. They told us the waterfall was quite a ways up, but to be careful and that it's beautiful. So, up, up we went... once again, trekking through the water and rock hopping (as we did in Koh Chang). We never did reach the waterfall, as it was getting late, and we didn't want to drive back to Sri Racha in the dark. But, as it goes in Thailand, it's all about the journey, never the destination. And, who knows if the waterfall would have been anything more than what we were already coming across along the path of the rocky stream... as waterfalls in Thailand are not what we consider waterfalls, but rather rapids? maybe...
Photos below:
LOL: O.k., so you tell me, what is a dinosaur doing on this sign?
A wonderful quote....
The group of Thais we came across:
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