We're on Our Way to Wembley

Well not quite.

A fair amount of our sweat and toil went into the new soccer pitch at BTNC.

      







A few others helped as well.

 It isn't full size, it isn't altogether flat..... but its theirs!

In the Swim

For the children under 13 swimming is the favourite treat. Ours too. We generally go to a beach, Baan Nam Khem or Bang Sak. This is a local waterfall which was a bit colder.

Chang Chang

Elephants have a lot of skills. They can do any thing from hauling logs in the forest to Hotel PR.

What's Ngoo?

Ngoo is quite a hard Thai word to pronounce correctly but we have been getting a bit of practice in lately.

Our first snake encounter oustide of the zoo, was at Leela Resort, where dinner one night was interrupted  by the sounds of a staff member throwing rocks at a small cobra about 20 metres away from our table. Fortunately he had a good arm and a decent sized chuck of concrete dispatched the slitherer.

On our return to BTNC there were reports of snakes being seen in the garden of the boys building which also houses the office and the computer room. A day was assigned for a snake hunt and I donned my protective jandals, shorts and singlet. Unexpectedly however sand arrived for the the new soccer pitch diverting my fellow snake hunters away before the chase had even started. Undeterred I began clearing the overgrown garden armed with secateurs and a hand fork.......and a 5 metre bamboo pole!

Yo, the head designer in the craft shop/driver/general hand and good guy, pitched in to help, and after an hour or so he identified snake burrows coming from adjoining waste land under the concrete wall and into the BTNC garden. There were no ngoos present but the bamboo pole got a good workout smashing up their lair. Subsequently Sue and I with some help have tidied up the whole garden around the boys building in the process we hope eradicating any snake habitat.

Problem solved.....or perhaps not. Recently I came across a snake near our bungalow on the footpath outside the kitchen which is adjacent to the girls building. It (a rather beautiful olive green thing with some burnt orange colour near its head) quickly slithered into some concrete block work where the dishes are washed and would have been impossible to catch but for its own curiousity. I had cried "ngoo!" immediately and apparently my Thai pronounciation is on the improve. When the ngoo slithered out again a staff member (Pa (ie Aunty) Tar) was on hand to deal to it swiftly with the rake Sue had arrived with. One down how many more to go?

Three so far. A couple of days ago 2 boys helping us in the garden around the girls building cried "ngoo!". Beween us and a plasterer working on the fence this one was dispatched with a bamboo pole, but not before it made a spirited and rapid dash for freedom, and not before it flapped its cobra wings at us! There is something quite chilling about a cobra.

As result that part of the garden/lawn along the fenceline has been dug up in the last day yielding two more ngoo.

We just hope there aint ngoo more.

Dog Day Afternoon

At any given time there are between 6  to a dozen or more dogs floating around the BTNC precincts. Some of them are owned by staff but others are of indeterminate origin. We supect a number come from nearby houses and supplement their diet looting the BTNC rubbish bins, but some could be of no fixed abode. Some are a little scruffy by NZ standards. The odd one is downright repulsive. They operate as a pack, allowing some other (often remarkably similar looking) dogs to visit from time to time, but ruthlessly persecuting other dogs who are seen as invaders. Each night there are fights. This is apparently repeated from street to street so if "our" dogs weren't here apparently another pack would move in to fill the void. A little unnerving at first but we have found whilst they fight each other whatever their origins they are generally deferential to people. Any problem dogs get shipped out. That is why the worst looking dogs are generally at the temple.

Vegetarian Kebab

The Vegetarian festival takes place in Southern Thailand around October/November.This year it ran between 19-26 October.

The festival's origins are not clear. Whilst having a Bhuddist flavour it is a Chinese festival and supposedly Taoist in origin. Apparently though there is no record in China of such a Taoist festival and we are told that some of the trance like behaviour and piercing involved has Malaysian parallels.

 

As well as meaning a change in diet for us we also had some interesting experiences. One night we went up to the temple in Takua Pa old town which had a fair running along side it. There was a big  crowd gathered many enjoying the fun of the fair. Some were inside the temple with a number working themselves into a controlled state of frenzy shaking their heads from side to side and hopping around.

Almost everyone was dressed in white which is the clothing colour of choice during the festival. Sue had a white top, but the best I could manage out of my wardrobe was some light grey and blue. As far as we could see we were the only farang present. The slight feeling of self consciousness I was feeling increased when after 10 minutes or so Din, the 8 year old boy whose hand I was holding, indicated that he wanted to go to the toilet. Being a farang, at the vegetarian festival, not dressed in white, waiting outside the public toilets for an 8 year old Thai boy, I did feel  a tad conspicuous. The head shakers were too busy to notice though. Din later went on to win a large bottle of fabric softener on the wheel of fortune which made his night.

The gentlemen pictured visited BTNC on the last day of the festival with his band of merry men and women. Not sure what he does for a day job, but once a year  for a week he apparently takes a break to build up some  scar tissue on his cheeks. Lots of head shaking and drum beating took place. Offerings were duly given and received blessings given, and firecrackers exploded. For some reason a pineapple left out as on offering was presented back to Sue. We both along with everyone else received red and white cotton bands tied around our wrists. Beats Guy Fawkes.

Two Thirty

My dentist has been recommending I have my last two wisom teeth out for about 15 years. Any problems have always been minor so following the "if it aint broke why pay lots of money to fix it" school of medicine, I have never bothered. Some minor problems arose in Songkhla which by the last day had progressed to being unable, because of pain and swelling, to open my mouth properly to eat.  The next day back in Takua Pa we went on a tour of 1 dental practice (due to miscommunication) and 4 pharmacies. The last pharmacy had a charming English speaking pharmacist who provided peridontal antibiotics and anti-inflammatories, and some cold medication for Sue, all for the princely sum 130 baht, around $NZ 5. Three days later....as good as new. Who needs 5 years at dental school?

Song and Dance in Songkhla - Part 4

Last day of the conference. We go to where the children are staying (Vic's parents) and then drive in the truck to the Songkhla Folkore and History Museum. This is on an island in a large inland sea which is home to thousands of shrimp farms. The museum is very good though the adults, us included, linger a bit longer on the exhibits than the children.

 Back at the conference after lunch the children and we are the audience for the teachers practising with the puppets they have made. All in Thai but a lot of laughs. You don't necessarily need the language to understand the humour.

The kids have a swim at 4pm then back to Vic's parents for dinner. Later we visit Vic's grandmother in hospital. There appears to be no limit on visitor numbers as about a dozen of us drop in. The scene is somewhat different from a NZ hospital, with seemingly very sick and elderly patients crowded together with little privacy.

It turns out be a long day and night capped off with a puncture on the way back to Leela. That's me under the van. When the van was converted the hole where the nut to release the spare was covered over. That and having the wrong size wheel brace made changing the tyre something of a challenge but we eventually make it to bed. Next day is the long trip back to BTNC, via a tyre shop when the repaired tyre fails after an hour, and via Trang for lunch with another staff member's family.

Song and Dance in Songkhla - Part 3 - Whatever Will Be Will Be

Que Sera Sera is a popular song in Thailand at the moment. We even heard a club mix of it the other day. It has become popular due to a heartrenching ad on TV ....... for a bank. On our second night at BTNC we with the other farang Allyson were prevailed upon to sing it in English for the children to learn. Fortunately  for that performance we were provided with a backing track. No such luck at Songkhla. For a moment we thought we had got out of it, but no, the microphones appeared and for an audience of 100-150 attentive  preschool teachers we sang it again, this time unacompanied and amplified. They said it was good, but that sounded like a Tui billboard to me. The Thais are very polite.

 After that we were free. War memorial, Songkhla Aquarium, lunch and kite flying in the park, watching the monkeys, eating icecream, up the cable car to Tang Ruan Hill and the wat at the top, back to Leela for dinner with Rotjana and friends. A day just like when I was just a little boy and I asked my mother what I would be - would I be handsome? would I be rich? And do you know what she said to me? Que sera sera, whatever will be will be, the future's not ours to see, que sera sera, what will be will be.......

Song and Dance in Songkhla - Part 2

Day 1 of the puppet conference with the BTNC kids as sample audience. The puppets were great - even did a Thai version of the 3 Billy Goats Gruff. This was followed by a swim then into Songkhla for trip to the zoo which was great fun for all.

Song and Dance in Songkhla - Part 1

Rotjana the Director of BTNC is also well known in Thailand and beyond as the leader  of the Nithan Caravan Puppet Theatre. Rotjana was invited to run a puppeteering conference for preschool teachers in Songkhla in October. And so it came to pass that in the first week of the school holidays the truck and the van were packed up with 15 -20 kids, assorted adults including the farang volunteers from NZ, puppets and food….. but not necessarily in that order.

The drive from Takua Pa on the Andaman coast to Songkhla on the Gulf of Thailand coast is about 500 kms and took most of the day. This included plenty of food stops (7/11 truly is global company, and apparently doing well in Thailand thank you very much). Lunch was in the grounds of a Wat just south of Krabi. We got a little bit lost around Hat Yai (for all you map followers) but eventually arrived around 6pm at Leela Resort, the conference venue, on the coast about 50 kms south of Songkhla city.

We found that we were staying at Leela (in a cabin) but everyone else was not! They were staying 50kms away back near Songkhla itself, being accommodated and fed by the family of a staff member. First night we dined with a couple of Rotjana's friends from Bangkok, ex school teachers who were helping here run the conference and various conference staff including the Director of the Community College putting on the conference. Below is the beach at dusk from the dining area.

Play that Funky Music White Boy

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

Game, Ton Nam, Sue, and Bill

Honourary Australians

Q: Is it an honour to be a honourary Australian? A: Depends which Australians we are talking about.

 We met a (Thai) man today working in his family hardware store in Takua Pa who had studied English for a year in Qeenstown. He met his Thai wife in NZ when she was in Queenstown on holiday from Christchurch. His English was quite good so it can't have been all beer and snowboarding that year. It was refreshing not to have to explain where NZ was ("next to Australia") or that NZ and Australia are not actually one and the same thing. Admittedly  though we do sometimes resort to: "NZ - Australia - same same but different".

Being mistaken for Aussies  around here is understandable and not as bad a thing as you might imagine given the role that Hands Across the Water Australia and its supporters play in funding BTNC . The  funding and running of the orphange is a multifaceted thing with many organisations and individuals involved, some ongoing, some on a one off  basis. The day to day management of the orphange comes under the umbrella of the highly respected Duang Prateep Foundation. Hands Across the Water who we are volunteering through provide major support. Other supporters we have become aware of include the Thai Children's Trust, and Willie's Orphan Fund.   No doubt there are many others we don't know. What we do see week to week are holiday makers who come to volunteer a few days or donate some rice or supplies. Whatever help BTNC and its children receive, large or small, they do seem to truly appreciate it.

Further info at :

handsacrossthewater.com.au 

en.dpf.or.th ( Duang Prateep Foundation)

thaichildrentrust.org.uk

handsacrossthewater.org.uk

Rubber Steamboat

Oct 12 and the start of the school holidays. We both awoke with colds, but hallelujah the sun was shining, no rain for 24 hours! Most of the children who have relatives to go to for the holidays have gone leaving 15 or so behind.

Our trip to the bikeshop to buy some more tools and parts was postponed because the orphanage's Director, Rotjana was needed at short notice at the orphanage's rubber plantation. Everyone packed into the truck and off we went with lunch supplies to be cooked there. The small  rubber plantation is 15-20 minutes drive away and is part of the orphanage's plan for sustainability and for employment opportunities. As well as rubber trees there are newer plantings of palm oil palms, pineapples and bananas. There is also a large pond stocked with an abundance of fish which will be ready for eating in around 6  months time. Ducks and pigs complete the scene.

Later we did some fishing but not for fish. We had managed to lock our keys in our bungalow as we hurriedly departed for the truck. The spare keys  due to a mix up were apparently on their way to Australia with the group being sponsored over there. On our return we removed some louvres and fashioned a hook on a long pole and voila! Not quite as satisfying as battling a kahawai or hauling in a snapper, but egg safely removed from face.

In the evening as a treat  for the remaining children we went to an all you can eat "steamboat" restaurant, the type where you cook your own food on a steamer. 99 baht per head. Great fun. Bargain.