Buggery, scrubbers, animals in the garden,old habits die hard, zen and the art of bicycle maintenance, lest we forget, no strings attached

Spot the ex teacher (thanks Kerry, the educational CD Roms are a hit). Spot the guy following the maxim - start with the little problems first.

The first week involved quite a bit of orientation, getting to know the people, the organisation and its culture. (Writing this at week 3 and we are still doing that). Our accomodation is a new 2 bedroom bungalow. It is very well appointed with furniture and fridge  and over the course of the week we topped it up with a few things like electric jug, mats, broom, toilet brush, dishcloths etc. Showers are cold, just how we like them?!

Alyson an English expat from Phuket is a regular volunteer has been involved with BTNC from almost the begining post Tsunami.  She speaks Thai and has a vehicle and this made our orientation relatively easy.  First night she took us to "the buggery" in Takua Pa, the town 5 mins away by car. The buggery is in fact a very pretty, leafy outside bar and restaurant. It also sells icecream and has a bakery. Bakery apparently is very difficult English word for native Thai speakers to pronounce.

We shared the week  with newlyweds Aaron and Christin from Massachusetts who came each day from their hotel to give some time on their honeymoon. Nice idea. Nice people. Amongst other things we scrubbed mossy walls in the rain at  an associated community centre, cut out stencils for the kids to assemble into Xmas cards to sell, and made a start on fixing the kids bikes that have unfortunately fallen into a sorry state of repair. Seeing this through will be something of a challenge.

 On Friday animals turned up in the garden and in the afternoon Sue helped returf around them. Later that day we went to Baan Nam Khem the beach and community that copped the full force of the Tsunami. The kids love swimming and the truck was packed with excited noisy children.... and 4 farangs. We parked outside the Tsunami Memorial , a long wave shaped wall of names of some of those who died, farang and Thai. Without prompting some of the kids took us by the hand and walked us silently down the wall. It was very poignant. Ten minutes later we were all swimming in that same sea. Shallow warm water, with gentle waves, and the sound of children's laughter everywhere.

 On Saturday morning we went to BTNC's temple for a Bhuddist ceremony marking the end of rainy season. As well as prayer lots of eating was involved. Hope it works. The temple is relatively new and is functional rather than elaborate or ornamental. The head monk started it after the Tsunami and it is on the site where the orphanage began its life as tents for Tsunami survivors, hence it is their temple.

Sunday marked the end of our first week. There was a party, but  not to mark that occasion, rather to see off 3 girls ( aged 12 -15) and one staff member who are being sponsored over to Austarlia for 2 weeks, and another staff member who is going to study English in Oz for 3 months.  Trips of a lifetime for some and they are very excited. Teachers, relatives, local politicians came, ate, watched dances and skits, made speeches and tied good luck strings around the departees wrists. We  sat at the top table etc and also tied strings. Seems that being resident farang comes with some reponsibilities, and some strings are attached.....

The Rain Song

These are the seasons of emotion

And like the winds they rise and fall

This is the wonder of devotion-

I see the torch we all must hold.

This is the mystery of the quotient-

Upon us all a little rain

Must fall.

Just a little rain?

Ooooh, yeah yeah yeah!

Page/Plant, Houses of the Holy 1973. (Perhaps my favourite album cover and sleeve, certainly in my all time top 10).

Sometimes the metaphorical is preferable to the real thing. Into our lives a lot of rain fell the first week or so at BNTC. Unlike some of the rain we had in other places there really wasn’t a pattern. It rained at night, it rained in the morning, it rained in the afternoon. It rained gently, it came in torrents, it rained for a few minutes, an hour, a day. In between there was some sunshine but it overall it was WET, and one wet day we had a power cut 9am -5pm. The local soils have an amazing ability to dry out but the ground was usually sodden. The explanation? "It is the rainy season". However this one by all accounts has been wetter than most.

Lick Road Clean

Luxury. Le Meridien Khao Lak provided a couple of nights of welcome luxury. Thanks to Kay and David for adding this to our wedding present. I had a slightly dodgy puku so wasn't able to partake in the famous Meridien  buffet brekky 2nd morning, but all in all a relaxing stay. Kay took us up to Baan Tharn Namchai Orphanage (40 mins north by car) on the Saturday for an introduction and dropped us off on Sunday Oct 4 for the start of our stay.

Patong Ping Pong

Yes it still happens. Men still approach you in the street and whisper hoarsely "ping pong show, you go to ping pong show? Very Priscilla Queen of the Desert, as are the Cabaret Queens that parade on Banla Street in Patong after the sun goes down.

We probably saw Patong Beach at its worst on our arrival. Our overnight bus from Hua Hin was fairly comfortable with full length reclining seats, but with  a midnight meal stop and some bumpy roads we hadn't slept  for long when rolled inbto Phuket Town 90 minutes ahead of schedule at 5:30 am. A hair raising tuk tuk ride over the hills later (was our driver on speed or merely punishing us for questioning the standard fare?), and we were at our hotel at 6:30am. We had booked the hotel on the internet but found it didn't suit. First impressions count, and the stream of drunk farang men returning from nearby Banlan Road to their rooms with bar girls set the tone. Our standard room when it became available ( from what?!?) at 7am was old and grubby, overlooking a party street, lacking an inroom safe, and the internet quoted rate which had  included taxes now didn't. There was a newer part to the hotel at the back with more expensive rooms but none were available. The hotel had rave reviews but it wasn't for us......perhaps if I was single.....and 25......and desperate. We walked around and found another place nearer the beach and further from Banlan St , with nice staff, and by 9:30am we were in and sleeping.

Sue had been to Patong before but I hadn't. It was pretty much what I expected  package tourists, sex tourists, bars, hotels, restaurants, street stalls galore and a nice beach. We probably didn't see it at its best  (dry season) but did get some solid  beach time in  between the inevitable  rain.  There was some energy about and some fun to be had on Banlan Street but overall it seemed a little old (hat) and tired to me. When the taxi came at 10:30am on our last morning to take us to Kao Lak we were good and ready.

(Forgot to take any photos in Patong.  The one above is of the beach at Hua Hin.)

Stickmen, stickwoman, stickmen

Caught a minibus from Victory Monument in Bangkok, 2 hours + south to Hua Hin. Residents Michael (aka Mike, aka Pottsy) and Tai met us at the bus station and drove us to our hotel which was near the centre of town. We caught up with them later at JW's, the bar where Pottsy plies his trade and as a pool shark and raconteur. We watched Pottsy play some competitive pool on a couple of nights at JW's and I let him beat me a few times as well just to enhance his reputation with the other locals.

We were originally going to stay 2-3 nights in Hua Hin but liked the place, so extended to 4 nights and on the 5th caught an overnight bus to Phuket. The royal family has a residence at Hua Hin and it and nearby Cha Am are popular weekend spots for Thais. The beach at Hua Hin is wide and white sanded and at this time of year not crowded even with the weekend influx of Thai people. There is the usual resort array of eating places, shops, bars and girlie bars, but the town has a pleasant feel to it. We had the added advantage of Pottsy's local knowledge and his chauffering.

A couple of days in Sue sprained the top of her foot slipping on wet tiles poolside. Later that night we both had an hour long massage after which Sue found she was unable to walk. Lying on the massage table had exacerbated the sprain. Great consternation ensued amongst the massage staff. "Not massage?!? Not massage?!?" they cried. I was also concerned as we were late for JW's....

Leaving Sue in capable concerned hands I hurried out to look for a long umbrella to buy to be used as a walking stick. Instead I found a shop selling wooden items including various walking sticks. Perfect. I selected a stout looking carved stick, bargained the price down from an outrageous 950 baht to a very expensive 500 baht and returned brandishing it to much laughter amongst the massage staff. Off we went to JWs.

The next day Sue's foot improved hour by hour which was just as well as in the afternoon the handle of the  stick broke cleanly off. Early evening we took it back for a replacement or preferrably a refund as we didn't need it anymore. On approaching the store with the pieces in hand the man who sold it to me turned from extrovert to introvert and his English language skills deserted him. In the face of our persistence he called in an older colleague who turned "bad cop". There was no way he could refund or replace as Sue had clearly placed too much weight on the stick. How impolite! At my suggestion that we perhaps we should go to the Tourist Police he became more belligerent. "You go, you go, you bring Tourist Police!" Our bluff was called.

Bluff what bluff?  10 mins later we were back in a lovely air conditioned tinted window squad car, with two handsome and dapper young policemen. More accusations concerning Sue' excessive downward force on the stick ensued, whilst we quoted parts of the NZ Consumer Gaurantees Act. The lead policeman examined at length and minutely the break point in the stick, before coming up with a solution - we pay 100 more baht and we get a replacement stick. We settled on 50 baht. Face saved all round, the police return to base with another case solved and we head off with a walking stick we no longer need.

Clearly another win, win, win.

To the Grand Palace Driver, and Don't Spare the Horses

We found that Bangkok 4 weeks into an Asian journey doesn't have quite the same appeal as when it is an exotic stopover. Still we were able to get some essential supplies eg speakers for the ipod, which should come in handy when we reach Kao Lak. Our newish hotel in the shopping district of Pratanum was handily placed to a station on the new overhead railway from the airport. Unfortunately the railway which was supposed to be opened several years ago is still not operational. The hotel staff when asked said it will be opened next month.....hopefully. Others say it is still a way off.

We took the opportunity to visit Wat Pho (with giant reclining Bhudda) and the Grand Palace (with Emerald Bhudda).  The day was a hot  and sunny one. The ex army officers on tourist control at the Palace were more officious than I remembered from my last visit (20 years ago), but the beauty and colours of the buildings and and statues shining in the bright sun made it a memorable day.

The journey there was memorable too. Our young taxi driver spoke no English and seemed uncertain of the whereabouts of or route to the Grand Palace. This was somewhat surprising given that he was picking us up in the main tourist shopping area and taking us to the main tourist attraction. After studying our map he headed off in the right direction. 15 minutes and several wrong turns later we were lost. He stopped and we showed him on the map where we were. At this point we gave him our map which turned out be something of a mistake. 45 minutes into our journey and we had seen a number of interesting back streets and had crossed onto the wrong side of the river.  The humour of the situation was beginning  to wear thin and the driving was becoming more erratic as the driver searched for the right streets. Finally we recognised we were near Wat Pho and the journey was mercifully at and end. We gave the driver 80 baht, about half what was on the meter and he seemed disappointed. The taxi ride back took 15 mins and cost 80 Baht. A tale of two taxis- same same, but different.