I first volunteered with TMVolunteers in September for two weeks with two friends, Ami and Hazel. Nett and Anders were then living in Takua Pa, about an hour on the bus from Thai Mueang. In Takua Pa, it honestly seemed like we were the first foreigners the people there had ever seen! People often weren’t sure how to react when they saw us. Cars would beep at us in the street and, as the first volunteers in the school, some of the Kindergarten we were teaching almost passed out when they saw us for the first time. Teaching Kindergarten was brilliant and we tried to make it as fun as possible. We sang songs, played games, got the children to run, jump, hop, touch their toes and much more.

Kindergarteners are very active and made the lessons challenging for us because we were constantly thinking on our feet of new ways to keep them excited about learning English and stop them from losing concentration. It was amazing to see the children actually remembering what we had taught them and using their new words in the next lesson.
The teachers at the school were so nice to us. They came and chatted to us whenever they had a spare moment and they always made sure our lunch needs were catered for. When we were too picky to eat chicken feet (a delicacy here) we would be ordered a takeaway.

We also taught in the Diamond Hotel resort in Khoa Lak because the school holidays started at the end of our first week. It was a more challenging experience engaging adults in activities and we enjoyed getting them into groups and persuading them to ask each other questions. I really enjoyed teaching them how to give directions and to understand useful phrases like “the AC is broken”. I was amazed at how little English the hotel employees could speak, even at this luxury resort in Thailand. Thailand is unique in that it makes so much money from tourism, yet even the English Teachers here can’t speak English! If you would prefer to volunteer teaching adults than children, there is plenty of opportunities to do that here.

In Takua Pa, there were 7 volunteers, me and my friends from home, Sasha, Jodie, Kim and the only boy, Sean – who had come to Thailand to get away from women for a while. We had a brilliant time together and made several weekend trips as a group. One weekend we went to Bang Niang and took surfing lessons! Although Sean had to go home, the rest of us got on so well that we decided to all travel around Thailand together!

I actually enjoyed volunteering for TMVolunteers so much that I decided to come back and do it again. Nett and Anders have now moved back to Thai Mueang, an old ex tin mining town on the coast, just down from Khao Lak. When I arrived here I met the lovely Rose. I took over from her, teaching at the same school and I was able to discuss the material she had already taught the kids with her. She also gave me a great tour of the local area and introduced me to some of the locals, including my friends George and Uncle Tin.

This time I volunteered for a month, because two weeks just wasn’t long enough. I have a million good memories from the past month, so here are just a few. The children at the school are so fun and enthusiastic. I love how they all shout “Hellooooooooo!” when you arrive. I love how in a month you get to know each child individually and can see their personality traits. I really enjoy eating lunch with the head master, Mr. Arrom. He always teaches me Thai and he has been really great about introducing me to the Thai teachers, who are sometimes quite shy around you because of the language barrier. I can now go to any Thai restaurant and order Thai food in Thai, which is all thanks to Nett, who orders our dinner almost everyday, and Mr. Arrom.

In Thai Mueang I’ve been teaching at Wat Patchatikaram primary school. Surprisingly, I’ve actually really enjoyed the lesson planning for school. It’s great to design a lesson and then see how it pans out in class. When you do a lesson plan and your lesson runs really smoothly, its so rewarding. I enjoy finding a range of ways to teach the children. I’ve used flashcards, games, songs, worksheets from the internet, worksheets that I made myself and listening exercises. It’s fantastic to see children learning and smiling at the same time.

Of course, the teaching is only for about 4 hours most days so you get plenty of time to spend exploring Thai Mueang. The food here is amazing, and my favorite thing to do in Thai Mueang is eat. There are lots of restaurants you would never be able to find unless you were told by the people that live here. One of them probably has the best Pad Thai in Thailand and it only costs 40 Baht (about 80p). I also like going to the beautiful white sandy beach here. I go most days, sometimes in the morning before school. The beach is breathtaking and stretches right up the coastline. Nine out of ten times it’s just you and whoever you’re with! But if Thai Mueang is too quiet for you, you are just a bus ride away from plenty other places, which Anders is always more than happy to advise you about.

Staying in the volunteer house is also really fun. I like staying up, listening to music and chatting on the porch at night. At the moment I’m living with a really cool couple from California called Kat and Garrett. We have got on really well and always seem to have a laugh together. We always go for tea with Nett and Anders and we’ve even started going for lunch with them quite often as well! Chris, our friend who teaches at another local primary school usually comes too. So our dinner table is always full of great stories and banter.

Overall, I’ve had an unforgettable time volunteering in Thailand and I will be very sad to leave. I think this experience has definitely taught me to be more independent and given me more confidence in myself to overcome the challenges that life brings. I would like to thank Nett and Anders for having me in Thai Mueang this month. They are really friendly, enthusiastic people who really believe that the volunteers make a big difference in Thailand and they are always there if you do need anything. If you are thinking about travelling to Thailand, in my opinion, volunteering is the best way to get to know Thai culture and you will not regret it.

This is a brief overview of my experiences while volunteering. During my time here I have been lucky enough to form a new friendship group of truly unique and wonderful people, who have challenged, irritated and overwhelmed me.
Over the month of October (school holidays) we taught as a group, in hotels, health centers and even a group of Buddhist monks. Teaching and lesson planning as a group was difficult as I felt overly self-contuse about making small and (looking back on it) irrelevant mistakes. Lesson planning was hard going, but really necessary. However, laughing with a class of monks, who had the energy and humor very similar to that found in any group of boys, hearing the quietest member of staff at a hotel greeting me confidently in English, more than made up for lesson planning blues.

The students where ever we were teaching were a little shy at first but it was clear that they were eager to learn.
In November we moved back to Net and Anders home town of Thai Mueang, this took a bit of getting used to their were five of us living in one small house and the usual issues with who was going to do the washing up and who purchased toilet roll last, but all in all it was really good fun. Lots of nights in playing cards, star gazing and putting the world to rights. The food also got a lot better and a lot cheaper thanks to Sue-jin at Bam Bam’s restaurant, Georges Pizza at the beach and Towy’s cooking at Lucky restaurant!

With the start of a new term all the volunteers got a school each to go and teach English in grades 1-6. I have been teaching at Wat Patchatikaram School, I don’t think I can accurately describe my school, its pupils, teachers and charmingly eccentric headmaster. You just have to meet them to and you would understand what I mean.

However here are some tips for volunteers!

• Make the most of your free time, you will only teach on average 3/4 hours a day, go cycling exploring the national park etc!
• Plan a few weekend trips away, Anders and Net can always give lots of advice but its best to do a little reading before you leave.
• Bring smart (cotton) clothes and for teaching at a yellow, green, pink, purple and blue polo top or shirt, I wish I’d known this but Thai teachers wear a different colour for each school day, it’s such a small gesture but would be much appreciated.
• There will be children with learning and behavioral difficulties in your classes partially in the younger years, I know it sounds like something that shouldn’t need saying, but don’t just write them off or ignore them. A little love and interaction goes along way for these children in particular.
• At Patchatikaram have lunch with the Headmaster, he doesn’t speak a lot of English but he will give you very entertaining Thai lessons, he will make you laugh a lot! (I avoid the school canteen it made me sick the first day). Then go and get some dancing or tackro lessons of your Grade 5-6 who are keen to practice their English and teach you Thai!
• No lesson plan is full proof! Always have a work search or a crossword to whip out if case of emergency (did I mention the canteen food!).

This sort of volunteering is a big commitment; it has been frustrating and tiring at times. The teaching has been challenging work, but for me the real challenge was to slow down, and coming to terms with how much time you have time to think here. Not working 12 hour days and not really being very useful, or independent as Net and Anders are so good at organising and sorting things, it really unnerved me. This little bit of Thailand will find even your most deeply hidden faults and floors, but love you anyway.

I have just finished my first year at Uni, and I wanted to push my limits and figured volunteering would be a good bet. Thailand is one of the best places to do volunteering. The people, the culture, the atmosphere and so much more make this experience like nothing you will get at home. I remember first arriving here and meeting Anders, Net and the other volunteers. Instant friendship. Without each and everyone of them I am sure Thailand wouldn’t have been the same.

I had no idea how teaching was going to go. I mean it all sounded pretty straight forward, all you need to do is follow procedure. Screw procedure, I thought, I can do things my way, I don’t need to lesson plan. I will improvise. If I was ever wrong, well, that was the moment. Lesson planning is like the Holy Grail of teaching English as a second language. Make sure to go into the lessons over prepared. Better to be safe than sorry. But once you are in the lessons, you just feed off the kids energy, it’s like your adrenaline is pumping 3 hours straight, every day. There would always be laughter, and the concentration some of them had was just remarkable. Also make sure to cover your ears when you say the word ‘Game’. The kids just go nuts. Best way to end a lesson.

As a volunteer I not only taught English at a public school, but I also experienced Thailand from a non-tourist perspective. Which in my books equals towards: Priceless. Net, the other volunteers and I went to Khao Lak (semi-touristy, but not anywhere close to Patong), to a Waterfall, to shopping malls and almost everyday we went to the beach. Bliss. There is a 13km beach here, just for our pleasure. Not another soul is on the beach. Sweet as. The weekends were filled with fun stuff, and meeting just cool people. The friends that I have made here, will go down in history with me.

The memories are also priceless. I mean how many people can say that they have eaten chicken feet and crocodile, been stung by a scorpion, driving a motorbike everyday and been given fresh coconuts almost every day.

Unfortunately all good things come to an end. And my one month (Not nearly enough, next time I am going for 3 months, for sure) volunteering came to a quick end. Saying goodbye to the kids went alright up until the point where the wanted to hug me and kiss me on the cheek. Crying my eyes out is an understatement, I literally balled my eyes out. And what happens when 25 kids see a ‘farang” (foreigner) cry, well, they all cry, which made it even worse. Cheers. Off I go back to the ‘land of the long white cloud’ aka New Zealand. But as Arnold Schwarzenegger says “I’ll be back!”

Thank you Net, Anders, Rose, Lisa, Tom, Chris, Matt, the lovely people at Bam-Bam’s Restaurant (where we had Dinner almost every night) and the crazy cool people in Khao Lak. This ride has been AWESOME! Cant wait to catch you again soon.
Also future volunteers, a tip: You will have an amazing time here in Thai Mueang. No matter where you come from, how old you are or what your profession is you will love it! I promise!

Smile!

Photography Lesson with Michele and the students

Phratom 3 and Michele volunteer English teacherVolunteers in Thailand swimming in the waterfallMichele having fun with RoseAt Tonprai Waterfall in Phang Nga Province

Just before I left the UK I felt so stressed. Scared about my whole trip I set off anyway and spent two anxious days getting to Phuket. When I arrived and saw Nett standing there with a sign in purple bubble writing with my name on, all my fear instantly dissolved and I’ve been relaxed ever since. Nett is absolutely fantastic and can sort anything out for you within minutes. She has taken us to two weddings, a funeral, shopping at Central (where we managed to find tea bags!!), to local festivals and always knows the best places to eat and what to order. If anything I think I may have been too well looked after because now I don’t want to leave!

Basically, I came out here because I am thinking about becoming a teacher in the UK when I head home. I wanted to test myself and see whether this was something I enjoyed and was capable of. Now that I’m leaving I am seriously considering doing a TEFL course instead and coming back to Thailand. I have found so much satisfaction when a lesson goes well. You just pray that the next day some of it will have gone in!

I arrived before the schools were open in October so spent a few weeks teaching adults from Health Centres, Hotels and some Monks at a local Temple. One of my favourite memories is when I learnt that, as a woman, you can’t pass anything to or accept anything from a Monk…unless they are throwing an inflatable world globe beach ball at you! In this scenario it’s best to catch it rather than dive the other way for fear of accidentally offending Big Monk. During this time there were five of us and we were team teaching. I think all of us found this a massive challenge and were all eager for the school holidays to finish so we could have classes of our own.

Anders has given us a lot of advice and been a bloody lifesaver with lesson plans at times but most importantly made me understand the importance of creating your own lessons. Personality is the most important thing to put across. You will have fun, the kids will have fun and if they enjoy it they’re more likely to learn.

I think I have found lesson planning the most difficult thing. It gets easier to think of things to do but I never seem to be able to find a good balance. I either plan way too much and nothing gets done, or to counteract this, plan hardly anything and then get stuck on what to do. There is nothing worse than have 40 pairs of eyes on you waiting for the next task when you’re trying to make it up on the spot!

I have been shocked by things I’ve now seen and heard about the education that Thai children get. Even though Anders had told me already I was still shocked the first time I walked into a classroom to find the class being taught by a television screen. Not even being supervised by a teacher! It’s been lovely as most of the kids are keen to learn and keen to please. Thai people are so friendly, you literally can’t walk down the road without people stopping to offer you a lift.

It has also been a massive challenge learning to share a house with four people and only one bathroom! It has been incredible how quickly you form attachments with people though. Being in this environment has meant I was a lot more open a lot more quickly.

One of my favourite days was our Barbeque down at Georges Pizza place. Weirdly, we had 5 people’s birthdays within 4 days so we had a big party with amazing steaks and copious amounts of vodka. Anders has taken some shockingly bad videos from that day which I’m not too happy about but all in all it was a great day with the group.

I have learnt so much about teaching and a lot more about myself. Before now I had no idea I would be able to cope when faced with 40 1st graders, all desperately trying to make me understand them and some practicing their fighting techniques on each other. I will definitely take a lot away from this entire experience. I would recommend Thai Mueang Volunteers to anyone. It’s a totally worthwhile experience but just make sure you are prepared for some hard work and some fun times!

Cheers now,
Cara xx

These are my last few days in Thai Muang. I have no teaching as I wanted a week off to sit back, chill and relax before heading back to freezing UK! There were a few things that I wanted to do. I went to the Thai Muang Turtle Sanctuary and they had turtles of all different sizes, amazing coral and giant sea clams, wonderful stuff. I went to Phuket to say goodbye to Andoo and buy a few last minute presents. I asked Tin is he could arrange some snorkelling for me and yes it’s all set for Friday morning.

Thursday night went out with Anders and Net to George and Veronicas as a going away supper. Very enjoyable and they bought me a lovely present, thank you both xx

Tin and I went snorkelling with Mud, the fisherman, although not terribly successful as apparently the water was too high but we did sail around the coastline and swim. It is the most beautiful unspoilt beach that I’ve ever seen and I would hate to see it turned in to another Patong beach. Where all you’ll see is sunbed after sunbed after sunbed!

I am just getting ready to go out for the last night. I’m off to school tomorrow morning to say goodbye to everyone and then Tin has kindly offered to take me to the airport.
I am not looking forward to getting back to the very cold weather in the UK but I’m sure I’ll get acclimatised quickly!
This is Laney signing off – good luck and enjoy those who come to help out in Thai Muang. You wont regret it! 30.01.10

Fri 8th Jan
Good news, Fon and I are going to Ubonratchatani! The director has approved our going and Kwang is very pleased. They are now looking at the best way to travel there. In the mini-bus which has a possibility of breaking down because it’s renowned for not being very reliable or take the coach to Bangkok and then another to Ubonratchatani. I would love to fly but it’s not a direct route and not particularly cheap and as I’d want Fon and Kwang to be with me have decided to go with whatever transport the school provides. More practising with Kwang. Anders and Net are away so I went to George and Veronicas for supper, pizza, chips and garlic bread!!

Sat 9th Jan
I decided to take the bus to Khao Lak and had sent Christin a text to say I’d meet her there if she fancied some company. I waited for a bus from 09.30 until 11.00am and not a bus to be seen!! Christin was also waiting but about 30 kms away. So the only thing to do was to jump on my bike, grab the helmet from home and go ad pick her up. We then went to Bang Niang Beach (just past Khao Lak) and had lunch. WE then went further up the coast to White Sands – called because the sand is white!! Clever. Also they have little crabs that crawl about in their shells. Hard to find but we managed to find one or two, I’d never seen this before and it’s amazing how they can squeeze themselves into their own shells! They’d never be homeless! Took Christin back to Baluga school and then I came home I was very tired, I hadn’t realised what a difference it made when you had another person on the bike and also I felt a huge sense of responsibility for her too. Picked up some spring rolls and pancakes from town and headed home for a reasonably early night!

Sun 10th Jan
I was aching on my shoulders but it soon wore off. Lovely day and so I rushed through the household chores and went off to the beach. Stopped off at Georges first for pizza and chips, again, not at all healthy but tasty all the same. Then went to the beach and watched some children rushing around trying to catch the sand crabs, occasionally they were successful and it was great fun watching them. The children are so friendly, they came over and they told me their names, Chi and Bing and I took some photos of them. I decided to go in to the sea and they joined me and we messed around in the waves for a while, great fun. I packed up and went home and then met Anders for supper. We went to Rimhad’s on the beach and had typical Thai food, papaya salad, green chicken curry and rice. The rain started again but wasn’t too heavy when I went home but certainly turned in to a storm and carried on for about a couple of hours.

Mon 11th Jan
No school today as the teacher’s were on a conference but I’d arranged to meet Kwang at school so we could do some more practising. I did the usual chores, read my book and then took some washing to the lady in town and met Kwang. We went through the speech and she remembers just over half of it at the moment. Tomorrow she’ll read the speech in front of the whole school and before we leave on Friday for Ubonratchatani she’ll say it to the school from memory. She remembers most of the gestures and facial expressions that I’ve taught her. This is a very important part of the speech and I think about 25% of the marks can be given for this. Meeting Anders and Net soon so will close for now.

Sat 2nd Jan
I planned to go to Khao Lak but changed my mind when I saw the sky. Still overcast and it looks distinctly likely to rain. I chanced it for a while by going to the beach and having pizza and chips at George and Veronicas. Can’t say it’s doing the waistline any good! Back home to the regular chores and just in time before the heavens opened! I was very thankful to be inside. Managed to go out in-between downpours and met Anders and Net for dinner as usual. Movie night again.

Sun 3rd Jan
Had an acute attack of utter laziness and so stayed in all day. Read, watched TV updated my CV and thought long and hard about what to do next….. no answer as yet, but will let you know as soon as I know!

Mon 4th Jan
Back to school. Fon’s classes today. First were the mechanics and I’d prepared a list of questions concerning time-keeping (which we had done in the last lesson) and asked them to write the answers in their books. They then read them aloud which the students love to do even if you ask them to stand and 9 times out of 10 they giggle – even the boys – it’s lovely to see. Second class were the computer students. I went through body part names with them and then onto how to tell a doctor that you have a pain and where. Yes, I did tell them the naughty word for ‘bottom’! I now, what a bad girl I am. Fon wasn’t in school today and when I managed to get through to her on her phone she’s had to go to hospital. She’s been experiencing some weird headaches and they were taking tests! She’ll be back tomorrow so nothing too serious. Absolutely pouring again and I have no intention of going out in that! So I stayed home, had strawberry jam on toast, good old English cup of tea and all was well. Thankfully, the electricity didn’t go off!

Tues 5th Jan
Went through again with Sunisa yet another speech she had written for the English speaking finals. I’d already sat down with her last week and we’d agreed that I’d re-write her original, so I spent a good amount of time doing just that and had it ready for last Thursday (Kwang was meant to be visiting Sunisa – which didn’t happen!) only to have Sunisa hand me another. Unfortunately again there were mistakes and this is hardly surprising when you have a Thai writing in English. I re-wrote the bits that needed it and when it was typed up, sat down with Jiranan (Kwang) to go through it with her. It’s about the advantages of Vocational Education training! Yeah well as you can imagine it’s a tricky piece. I went to see the Asst Director as this time I really feel, that for Kwang’s sake it would be a great help if Fon and I went with her to the finals. She needs T.L.C. and she’ll get it from us. Not so sure of what he made of it but nothing ventured nothing gained! Did I mention that this was the finals for the whole of Thailand – so can you imagine if Kwang gets placed? What it will do for the college? I can and so want Kwang to get as much help support etc as she possibly can. Especially as there isn’t much time, the competition is either on 18th or 19th January 2010! And the piece has only just been written! I’m not saying another word! Time will tell! It started raining again but I managed to get to Anders in-between the rain and went with Net for dinner, however, we both got soaked coming back! Home to carry on reading my book and early to bed.

Wed 6th Jan
Sat from 08.30 – 12.00 with Kwang going over the speech. She really does have an aptitude for learning and she’s picking up the new words reasonably quickly. Poor girl, the pressure is on her. Every day we’ll practice and hopefully we’ll sort something out for the finals even if I have to buy plane tickets! The finals are being held in a place called Ubonratchitani and it’s somewhere between 15 – 20 hours in a mini bus! Now you know why I’d consider the plane. Went with Fon and two other teachers to Khao Lak to a couple of hotels where the college has work experience students. There have been some problems, ie some of the students haven’t turned up! They needed to resolve them. I wondered around the hotels, had a good nose and made the mistake of sitting at the pool bar and ordering an iced coffee. I normally pay 30 Baht. This time, I paid 141 Baht and the coffee was revolting! There I learnt my lesson didn’t I? Looks like rain again so I guess I’m in for another soaking. Will close for now……….

Sun 13th Dec
My niece Tara’s birthday today so I thought I’d go and celebrate with her so I went to Kho Lak, approximately 50 km round trip. Word of warning when going anywhere on the bike – keep your mouth shut! Plenty of bugs around and it can come as quite a surprise when you realise you’ve just swallowed one! Very pleasant ride over there and found a lovely place for lunch. Right on the sea front serving traditional Thai and European food, so to make a change, I had a toasted cheese and ham sandwich and chips! Just next door are several beds where you can get different sorts of massages. I sat watching for a while and was quite envious and will definitely have one next time I visit. It was all open plan so what better way to relax than to have some-one massage away your aches, pains and stresses, with the sea playing it’s magical music and the breeze stirring the heat away, can’t think of much better! There are many very smart hotels on the beach. All have been rebuilt since the Tsunami. The only good thing I can say about these places is that it gives the locals work. I’m sure the guests have a lovely stay but it just doesn’t seem real, somehow. It’s a strange feeling seeing so many foreigners around. The only way I can explain that is that as I’m here living and teaching in the area, it’s not the same as going somewhere for a two week holiday where you expect to see foreigners. I went in to a large supermarket and not only could I find things from Tesco and Waitrose stores but there wasn’t one Thai person shopping there. I only went in for cereal and tea bags!

Mon 14th Dec
I have decided not to go to Trang for the competition, not because I didn’t want to see Jiranan say her speech but due to school politics. I wont go in to it but suffice to say I stayed behind with Fon. We were thinking of her all the time though.

Thurs 17th Dec
Happy Birthday Adam.
Today is the day of the competition and I have no classes and so I decided to stake myself out at the beach. Wow, not a person in sight and fantastically hot but I took my umbrella for shade! Clever or what. Took a lunch break at George and Veronica’s and then back out to the beach. I went into the sea a few times, not for a swim, because I’m a coward, but for a refreshing dip. Jiranan rang me at 4.30pm to tell me that she came 2nd. I am so pleased for her and now she has to go to the finals, early January 2010. What a star she is. She won’t be back until Monday so I will have to wait until then to give her a big hug. On my way home from the beach, the heavens opened and we had a terrific storm and the rain just poured down. Saw two youngsters come off their bike as they took a corner too fast. They bounced back up though, their pride more hurt than anything! Went to meet Fon for dinner by the beach, once the rain had stopped, which was very pleasant, her son was with his Grandmother and so it was just the two of us. Home to soothe my sunburn!

Fri 4th Dec
Fon’s students today, learning about tourism. I am still amazed by how little these students understand English and trying to have a conversation about where you would like to travel proved very difficult this morning.
The second class were also learning the hotel trade and so I have started talking about a hotel, what you would find in it. That also became very difficult because as soon as I got to ‘Reception’ I met a stumbling block. Very very slowly we managed to get as far as booking in! I just don’t have enough time.
Had a third class today, computer students and we talked about our daily routine and telling the time. All very basic stuff but it takes a long time to help them understand. Oh well, onward and upward!

Sat 5th Dec
The King’s birthday today, don’t think he’ll be up for much celebrating as apparently he’s in hospital. He’s just over 80 years old I think. There were celebrations in the evening at the Municipal building in town and Net and I went along. Lots of school children were singing and dancing. Tiny little girls and boys all made up with eye make-up and elaborate hair styles – weird in a way, they were pretty but they weren’t, if you can understand that!

Sun 6th Dec
Mr Sakunsa, the Asst Director had asked me to go to a local Temple as it was the first anniversary of his Mother’s death. I went with Sunisa and Tammy, another teacher and we visited the monks and had a long look inside the Temple. It was amazing, different pictures, each telling a story painted around the whole inside. We had lunch and then we went to Lampii Waterfall, about 15 km outside of Thai Mueang. It was very busy with both Thais and foreigners. Lots of children swimming but the water was very cold. Not a large waterfall. A nice place to visit for a short time.

Mon 7th Dec
Bank Holiday as it was the King’s birthday on Saturday! Anders and I went to Phang Nga on our bikes, across the mountains. Absolutely amazing and some beautiful views. A little bit hairy here and there but you get used to it. We visited a very large Temple the animal kingdom had a wall which had masses of monkeys climbing over it and one particular fella decided to take my coffee, which I had inadvertently left on a table, he rushed up the tree and proceeded to drink it, using the straw! He got fed up with that, threw the straw away and drank from the cup. I took some pictures but not too sure how they turned out. We then went down into a huge cave, a monk sitting by the entrance, so if you wanted to pray, he was there. The cave just went back and back into the mountain, I am sure it’s inhabited by millions of bats but fortunately didn’t see any. Typically my camera wouldn’t take the photos well enough as it was so dark but just believe me when I say it was amazing, with water at the bottom, no idea if it was a river but it must have come from somewhere. Then we went into ‘Hell’. All I can say is that the Thais have some amazing imaginations, it was awful. Statues of people being tortured and killed in the most horrific manner. Honestly it was like a Stephen King story. I’m not even going to tell you what was going on there, if you want to know ask Anders! I took Anders to the same place that I had lunch with Sunisa for Papaya salad. Then back home, same way. A great day out – 110 km! Wow and yes my bum knew it!

Tues 8th and Wed 9th Dec
School is the same but am working hard with Jiranan for the English speaking competition. She is working very hard and on Wednesday spoke in front of the whole school. Unfortunately she was very nervous and so it wasn’t as good as perhaps it could have been. Met up with her after school, at Georges and we practiced some more. Fon joined us and she’ll speak in front of school again on Friday.

Thurs 10th Dec
Another public holiday, lucky me, something political this time I think. Anders, Net and I went to Khao Lak, about 35 km from Thai Mueang, for lunch. There are so many resorts on the beach for the holiday makers that when you walk around, you see more white people than you do Thais! Had a very tasty lunch, little wander and then back home to catch up on chores!

Mon 23rd Nov
First shot with the mechanics and electricians. The photos went down well so we’ll see what they can remember next week! Four hours of teaching is fairly heavy going so am always glad when it’s lunch time. I go to the school canteen with Fon and usually have the pork noodle soup. I’m getting better because I add my own chilli now, must be getting more used to the taste of Thai food.

Tues 24 Nov
Today, Sunisa dropped the bombshell that she had the subject matter for the English speaking competition, in two days time. Could I please write a piece on how the students are against violence, a five minute talk. I would meet the student the following day to practice. Nothing like leaving things to the last minute. Had Accounting and Electricians for class. Not bad classes, although I had to tell the boys that being late for class was not really acceptable! Not sure that the Thais have the same idea about punctuality as we British do! I worked on the piece for the English speech and just hoped it was what they were looking for.

Wed 25 Nov
Spent the first two hours with Jiranan – nickname Kwang (meaning deer), the student who will read the speech. This is the young girl that can also speak a little German, she’s 15 years old but really seems quite mature for her age. I had to explain nearly everything in the piece as she didn’t know what violence was – so you can imagine it took a while but for her to give feeling to the piece, she really did need to understand it first! I had a lesson with accounting students and we talked about what you can buy in certain shops. It’s so hard when they have such a limited understanding of English – just as well I can act and mime!! Met with Jiranan at Georges so we could go through the speech. Told her to practice in front of her family and that I’d see her bright and early in the morning at school.

Thurs 26 Nov
Arrived at school at 08.00 to meet with Sunisa and the students so we could drive to Phang Nga, where the contest was being held. Jiranan was feeling fine and we had several chances to practice. Once we arrived at the college in Phang Nga, she was able to stand with the microphone and practice a little more. As the starting time approached, she was understandably a little nervous. Success, she has got through to the next round to be held in Trang province (about 300 km from Thai Muang) against, I believe, 27 other students. I have to lengthen the speech and do more practice with Kwang. There was also a competition of students demonstrating something. One girl was showing us how to make New Year’s cards. She very kindly made one for me. Her name is Nutcharee. The Director of the college also asked me to stand and talk to the students about the competition and what I thought of the contestants. I’ve never been very good with a microphone but they were still smiling at the end, so I guess I did okay. Sunisa took me to a lovely restaurant where we had papaya salad, sticky rice and some vegetables. Wow, was it spicy but very tasty all the same. The views around Phang Nga are amazing so I intend going back to get a better look around.

Fri 27 Nov
Quiet day at home as there was no school as the Director was leaving to go to Trang and all the teachers go with him to the new school. I went to George and Veronica’s for pizza, lovely. They are a really friendly couple and make it all so much easier as they both speak such good English. I am off to Phuket tomorrow, to visit Andoo and Beakie so home for an early night.

Sat 28 Nov
Caught the 09.10 bus and arrived in Phuket just after half ten. Met a very friendly Buddist monk, who was off to Phuket to buy a laptop! That surprised me. Met up with Andoo and Beakie and we wandered around Phuket for a while then caught the bus to Patong Beach. Another huge shopping center and again full of foreigners. Went to the beach and boy was it crowded. It was fairly late in the day so didn’t bother hiring a sunbed and just watched the world go by, which included, of course, the much older men and their much younger Thai female friends! Back to Phuket in the evening and found a very pleasant hotel called The Chrystal. 850 Baht , just over £15.00 for the night, air con, safe, mini bar in the fridge and own bathroom. Very comfortable bed too. Had a lovely dinner close to the market, spicy papaya salad, deep fried chilli pork and a bamboo dish (not to my taste!) Watched a film on the TV and slept like a baby.

Sun 29 Nov
I went to the market to see how Andoo was doing, not a bad day for her considering it’s a Sunday. She sells jewellery, hair slides and other bits and pieces. I had a wander and went into Robinson’s food hall. Can you imagine my excitement when I spotted the sign ‘cereal’! I rushed over and there they were: Cornflakes, Frosties, Branflakes, All Bran and a few others. Picked up a couple of boxes and bought them along with a few other essentials. In my excitement I’d forgotten to check how much the cereal cost so you can imagine what I thought when I realised I had just paid £9.00 for just two boxes! Ouch! This cereal is going to last a long long time, however I’m sure it’ll be worth it! I met up with Andoo once she’d finished. We had lunch and then went to the bus station. I caught the 1 o’clock bus and got to Thai Muang at 2.30. It was very cloudy and rain was definitely in the air. Popped in to say hi to Anders and Net then got home just in time before the rain started. Another amazing storm which carried on for some time. I had the usual stuff to do at home and to get ready for school tomorrow. Had a power cut but only for about half an hour so no worries.

Mon 30 Nov
Mechanics first and I was reasonably impressed as they remembered quite a bit of last week’s lesson, the names of parts of the car. We went through ‘free time’ again and what they did and all in all it was a good lesson. The electricians were late and there were only 9 whereas last week there had been 17. Their memory was very good on the photos and we progressed a little on to nouns and their plurals. It’s another very hot day but with a pleasant breeze. Off to meet Anders and Net for dinner.

…to be continued.