Sally dropped us a line during the first few weeks of her third programme with Gap Year For Grown Up - the Thai Adventure.
Arriving into Thailand…
Here I am in Thailand and have spent the first 3 days in Bangkok doing cultural stuff. We then moved about 150 km to Singburi where we're staying in an eco lodge type place which is great - all meals provided - all Thai food - yum!
Great bunch of peeps here and have had a fab week. We're right out in the sticks here and we're located near a river along which I amble in the evening. You have to be fairly robust though to brave the regular ambush and cacophony of barking dogs all defending their owners dwellings but it's worth it. Local peeps almost without exception smile and wave as they go about their daily tasks and there are THE most stunning butterflies I think I've ever seen which are all too quick to photograph!
The cultural programme... This last week we've visited enough temples and Buddha's in various positions to last me a lifetime -not that they're not beautiful you understand but you can suffer from a degree of overload! We had a visit to a very interesting place yesterday - a temple-come-village for sufferers of HIV and AIDS. People living there are in various stages of the disease; some still live in ‘sheltered' accommodation and others in hospital in a pretty rough state. We were permitted and even encouraged to walk through the ward of poorly peeps and we smiled and said hello in Thai to them and some smiled and wai -ed back (Wai-ing is where you put your hands together as if in prayer at a height between your chest and head -and where you put them all depends upon whom you are addressing).
We've also had the opportunity to learn the basics of Thai culture, some language and some cooking -it's been really great. There are 13 of us on this trip and on Monday 4 of us do the elephant bit about 3-4 hours away for 2 weeks whilst the others do more cultural stuff and some trekking, then we all meet up again in Koh Samet for a week of R and R. I've had some late nights whilst here - 1and 2am; I blame Jo and Andre who are 2 people I've particularly hit it off with - unfortunately neither are ellie-ing but it'll give us loads to catch up on when we get to KS.
The cost of living out here for us Farangs (Westerners) is so cheap - I bought 3 lovely hand made bracelets and some earrings this morning - 90 baht the lot (60 baht is a quid). There is an abundance of fresh fruit at every turn too - every morning pineapple and water melon is available in addition to bananas and oranges. Along the ‘lane' where we are, there are banana, mango, papaya and even pomegranates growing!
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