Sawatdee ka!! (hello)
So we left Hat Jomtien a bit early too, due to lack of things to do in the evening, and ended up on Koh San Road in Bangkok, which I'm sure you've all heard of! It's amazing, literally a travellers heaven as you can buy anything you want/need from the markets, and it's got loads of bars and clubs full of other travellers! The noodles on the street are only 50p which meant we could spend the extra money on the famous Thai whiskey buckets, although my stomach definately didn't agree with me the next morning!
We spent 2 nights there, with shopping during the days, and then went to meet our fellow volunteers on the other side of Bangkok. There's a group of around 15 of us with Starfish Ventures (our volunteering company) doing a combination of turtle conservation (basically sunbathing on a remote island, apparently looking after turtles!), child care, school development, and physio. There's 4 of us actually doing physio, and we have our own house in Surin which is very basic, but nicer than expected! It's kinda like being back at uni again on placement, as the other 2 girls are also from brum uni, and we have to cook/clean for ourselves etc. There's also bars and nightclubs nearby which we'll be trying out on thursday night!
We had our first day of placement today, which was in a school for children with mental health disabilities, and it was really cool. The kids are absolutely amazing, so friendly (apart from a couple who managed to bite/kick sarah!), and they're so fascinated by us and are continually taking photos. One little Down's Syndrome boy even gave me a kiss on the cheek! They're all really interested in learning english too, so in return we've been learning a few thai words. So far we can almost sing "heads, shoulders, knees and toes" in Thai!
We didn't actually get much physio done today, but we're scheduled tomorrow in the same school for the morning and home visits in the afternoon to see some of the more sick kids. But so far it's great, and everyone is so welcoming. I've really settled in to Surin, and it feels like home! It's nice to actually have a base, and unpack, rather than live out of a rucksack.
This weekend most of us volunteers have planned to go to Cambodia, to Siem Reap and Angkor Wat, so our translators are arranging that all for us. Then the next weekend we're going to Don Det (Laos) where there's apparently 4000 beautiful islands! I'll update again soon. xxx
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Awesome!
ReplyDeleteSo pleased to hear that you're there now and sounds like you've landed on your feet and settled in already! Guess you'll also get to recharge your iPod too!
Enjoy Siem Reap and Angkor Wat - should be amazing: I'm very jealous. And watch out for Irrawaddy Dolphins and giant catfish at Don Det.
Huge love,
Dxx
Hey Anna!
ReplyDeleteSounds like you're having a fantastic time! Mmm shame I missed Pattaya- crazy.
btw- I'm loving the ghds- thanks!
have a wicked time at the temples, they are v cool.
love, Emma xx
Sounds amazing chicken, hope the placement is going well, I bet home visits will be a great way of seeing Thai people/culture close up, I bet its very different to visiting English homes... Big love, enjoy Cambodia, dom xxx
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ReplyDeleteSounds awesome, I didn't know you were planning on going to Cambodia, I wish I'd had time for that.
ReplyDeleteKao San's pretty awesome eh - it's always nice to be coerced into buying an armani suit/wooden frog/novelty lighter while sitting down to a meal. Surin sounds very cool, that's also pretty amazing that the other two physios happen to be from Brum; I trust you're all representing British red-bricks well at those bars and clubs, (and, to a lesser extent, in your expert physio-ing).
Rich.
Oh we are definately representing British red-bricks well, don't worry! And so far I've managed to resist the frogs, armani (dresses for us) and lighters! Thanks for all the comments, miss all you guys xxxx
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