Volunteering Trip Thailand 2012 - Day 3

22/01/2012 - Orientation Day

Orientation day was quite relaxed starting with french toast with honey and banana for breakfast at 8am. All 3 new volunteers then started our orientation which consisted of any thai traditions like the 'wai' or the fact that we need to take off our shoes upon entering a classroom or house or any room for that matter. Things like bowing your head when passing in front of someone older, things we needed to know as we would be dealing with local teachers and local students.

After that we were supposed to head for the town tour but everyone was still quite exhausted from the night before so we decided to take the rest of the morning easy then head to a beach in Trat.

The songthaew picked all of us up and we were off awtankhu bay in trat. This place had absolutely no tourists as it is a local haunt. It was beautiful and the water was nice and cool. But the afternoon was really about the food. Meaw went to the restaurant opposite the beach which served food  on the table provided on the beach and chose a couple of local dishes some spicier than others albeit all spicy and some local beer. Until we waited for the food we decided to head in for a swim.The food came and disappeared just as fast. It was incredible. 

After our good meal we just relaxed by the beach and headed in and out of the water not after trying some coconut milk ice cream with some sticky rice, which was quite good. Me and meaw ended up in splash fight with the local kids who were playing in the water.

At around 4.30pm we headed back to the dorm, next for the day was the sunday market in Trat. We got home showered and left for the market to find it quite underwhelming and Meaw explained to us that since it was Chinese New Year it wasn't as busy and there were  less stalls than normally.

Soon we were off home, grabbed some dinner and had an early night, the next morning we would be starting our volunteer work.

Volunteering Trip Thailand 2012 - Day 2

21/01/2012 - Visiting Koh Chang

I arrived at the house late Thursday evening and had a plan ready for the next day. Me and another volunteer Nick, had previously decided that we were going to spend the next day on Koh Chang as the co-ordinator had informed us we had a free day on Saturday as orientation would be done the next day because another 2 volunteers were joining us in the evening on Saturday.

The day started off by me sleeping in...oops. We were supposed to wake up at 6.30am because a songthaew was picking us up at 7am so we would be at the pier to catch the 8am ferry to Koh Chang. We got there in time and bought a round trip ticket for the ferry which cost 100 baht ($3) and boarded the ferry. This trip took around 45min, in the rather slow moving ferry but the amazing view makes the trip much more enjoyable.

Once we got to the pier the one of two songthaews there left after being filled up so we asked the driver of the other how much it will cost us to get to a tiny village where we were planning to do the elephant trekking. The driver informed us that since it was just the two of us it would cost 100baht each for the ride, this is cheap by western standards but expensive by Thai standards. So we thought we would look for other alternatives. The previous volunteers who had been to Koh Chang told us that finding a songthaew on the island is not as easy as one may think so after seeing a 'for rent' sign on scooter we thought we should check that out. We somehow managed to communicate to the stall owner that we wanted to know how much it cost to rent one for a day and he said it cost only 250baht. I had no clue how to ride a bike but thankfully nick knew. There was one catch, since we weren't planning to rent a scooter we left our passports at the house, but the owner said he wouldn't rent it to us without a passport. I looked at Nick and said, lets try another stall, as he had a copy of his passport - maybe that could get us somewhere. We tried the stall opposite to the first one and the guy told us we could rent with the copy but we had to leave a 5000 baht ($160) deposit apart from 250 baht ($8) rent fee. We checked our wallets and collectively summed up the money and off we were. This is a testament of what money can get you in Thailand. We had a basic map with the major landmarks on that didn't include any roads so we just went one direction hoping it was the right one (and it was!!). We drove on a for a while and since the signs were all in Thai we had no clue where we were. We stopped and asked for directions and the lady told us to turn left on the next road. So we drove on looking for the next road but somehow we missed it and after a driving for a while we turned back hoping to find this road. We found it and followed on until we found the elephant trekking place. Once we got there we were asked to choose one of their two options and we chose the one that included riding the elephant for 45min and feeding it which was supposed to cost  500 baht but the lady told us it will only cost 350 baht each. I had never seen an elephant up close before so for me it was an amazing experience, seeing such majestic creatures.

The next stop was supposed to be Lonely Beach on the other side of the island but after a long drive we noticed we still had 8km left so we  turned back where we previously saw a sign for a waterfall which was quite close by. We went in with the thought of seeing a waterfall, taking some photos and we would be back out in 10 min or so. That did not happen. We went in bought a ticket which cost 200baht each and starting walking in a road filled with shops and stalls, then we ended up in a terrain like pathway which had a sign "500m to waterfall". We started walking and with the kind of terrain there was 500m seemed far longer than they actually were. We got there and saw the beautiful waterfall and alot of tourists swimming at the base of the waterfall. We had to swim. Who knows if we will be here again. The water was freezing which was a welcomed treat in that heat. I loved it. We stayed there for around an hour and then headed back to the scooter to continue the journey to Lonely beach.

When we entered the Lonely beach area I knew this was going to be a treat. The views from afar were already beautiful. We got there parked the scooter and walked to the beach, only to be left speechless by the scene in front of us. It was stunning!! The view of the islands afar was amazing and the beach itself was stunning with white sand and light blue water. It was something out of a dream. First thing i did was drop by backpack on the sand took out my camera and took a couple of shots, second thing was drop my camera and go swimming. After some swimming I decided to simply lay on the sand and relax which resulted in me sleeping and getting sunburnt.

At around 3.30pm we decided to head back to the pier to catch the 5pm ferry. On our way back we stopped at viewpoint to take some photos, and off we were again. After about half an hour of driving we noticed we were a bit early so we said that if we see anything of interest on the way, we will stop by. 5 minutes later we came to see an ornate temple which seemed interesting so we stopped by for some photos before continuing the journey to the pier.

We got back to the pier, returned the scooter and got on the ferry to get back to Trat. My living quarters for the next 3 weeks.

We got back only to notice that getting a songthaew at the pier was not so easy because it cost a lot (by thai standards) for only 2 people. So we called Meaw to get us our usual songthaew which she did but that took quite a while and a whole lot of my patience.

We finally got back home at around 7.30pm only to find guests for a BBQ we were all having later that night, and 2 new volunteers. The BBQ was great, thai food was starting to grow on me. We were 4 volunteers, meaw and 3 of her non-thai friends which were living in Trat. It was nice hearing the different stories from across the globe. After alot of food and alot of thai whiskey and beer we called it night at around 4am. We had to go to bed, big day the next day. 

Orientation Sunday!

Volunteering Trip Thailand 2012 - Day 1

20/01/2012 -  Arrival

Malta to Dubai

The flight from Malta to Dubai started off a little bit rocky as we were delayed for an hour on the ground. Most of us who had connecting flights started to worry that we won't be able to make them in time, and I had a domestic flight to catch so that was another worry! After being stuck in the heat of the cabins we were all getting the antsy the pilot informs us that we have another 55 minute delay. This re-affirmed our thoughts that we were about to miss our flights and me and some other passengers started discussing other options. After a 10 minute brainstorming session the pilot informed us that things worked out in clearing airspace and we will be getting off the ground in 5 min. This showed all of us that we might have a chance to get to our respective locations on time. During all this chaos I came across two very interesting south africans who were in Malta on business, and we were discussing all kinds of subjects ranging from the culture differences between Malta and South Africa to the political situation of Malta. To cut things short, the 7 hour plane ride passed by like a breeze. Once I arrived in Dubai Airport these two kind gentlemen who had a later flight than I did, kindly showed me around the airport to get to my gate as fast as possible since my flight was about to board! Thanks to them, and the comfortable shoes  was wearing while running through the airport I got there on time and boarded on the next part.

The flight from Dubai to Bangkok was quite uneventful, I met two Tanzanians who were very shy so we only exchanged a few words but they were definitely interesting people. The rest of the 5.5 hour flight was spent attempting to sleep - unsuccessfully, and watching one movie after another! Needless to say that when I arrived in Bangkok airport I was knackered. I had a 4 hour waiting time for my next flight. Once my gate opened I checked in my luggage and was told I can stay in the Bangkok air boutique lounge while I waited for boarding. This was a welcomed treat. Once I found my way there and took a seat, I started talking with a couple opposite from me which after 20 minutes of talking to them I discovered they were from Malta.What are the odds!! After about an hour they left and two American guys and one from the UK took their seats. The 2 americans were hilarious with their bickering, I couldn't help but smile which promoted the british guy to say "they the stereotypical american don't they?" and from there on we started talking until I had to leave for my flight.

The flight from Bangkok to Trat was quite short (1hr) considering the other flights but by this time I was completely exhausted! The bangkok air plane was quite small and from the outside it was adorned with toy fish which I found particularly unique. I arrived in Trat to find the co-ordinator and one other volunteer waiting for me there. The airport in Trat is very small. The baggage claim consists of a truck dumping the luggages on the platform just after landing and you take your own and leave. Well I found mine and went to meet them where we had my first Songthaew ride.

Once we got to the house we are staying in I was jet-lagged and exhausted. It was 7pm in Trat and I was told to get ready so we could go out to dinner. Me and another volunteer along with some of Meaw's (our coordinator) friends went to a korean BBQ which I surprisingly loved. Finally after a long 2 days I was headed for bed.

Culture Shock

I was expecting the culture to really hit me when I got in Trat but I never expected it to be as bad as it was. While attempting to sleep on the first day I was regretting the whole thing as panic consumed me! I was in an area where no one spoke my language, very few people lived in good conditions which I thought led to the people being miserable.

Basically, I was wrong.

I have never in my life seen people who have so little yet they have something very few of us have. The ability to be happy and Smile and really appreciate what they have.