Goodbye, Thailand - final thoughts

It has been an amazing return trip for me and I believe Judy and Russ would use the same descriptor. We have learned and experienced so much in such a brief time that it is hard to fully share in this blog.

I want to comment about many things, but will limit myself to a few observations.

FOOD - The food is so different from the USA. The spices used, the types of food eaten, the variety of food, the difference in taste from Western Food, all combine to make this very interesting. All three of us have avoided Western food which is readily available in Bangkok and other large cities, but is harder to find in smaller cities. Judy's favorite is Green Papaya Salad. Russ and I agree our favorite Pad Thai - a noodle dish served with Pork, Chicken or Seafood. We all liked the soups especially Dum Yum and Tom Kaa Khai. The variety of street foods is amazing. Almost every corner has vendors with carts selling every fruit, juice, drink, and food possible. There are other vendors who set up night restaurants that majically appear at about 6 pm.....they haul in tables chairs, portable kitchen units and operate till late in the evening. By morning when you walk past this sidewalk area you would never know that just a few hours earlier there was a restaurant here.

People in Thailand eat out very frequently, or at least buy prepared foods at the market to bring home and serve with rice. In the homes we stayed in, evening food was virtually never cooked at home.

PEOPLE - Everywhere we met we found friendly, courteous people. The people of Thailand appear to be a gentle people---that is hard to believe when you see a Thai Boxing match. Buddhism is a central part in the lives of most Thai people. As you walk by store after store, you will see altars outside and inside. Often you will see the owner taking time to pray before the Buddha image or putting fresh flowers by the image.

Family is very important in this culture. Taking care of elders and very often living with elders is part of this culture. Respect for elders is of utmost importance and this also means students respecting teachers. Families do much together including partying. A Thai enjoys a good party with music, food and drink. Parties can occur for almost any occassion and any night of the week.

Industry and Business in Thailand differ from the US most significantly in terms of the amount of labor. Labor costs must be much less than the US as even stores have many, many workers, often not very busy. Even farming is not highly mechanized and requires extensive labor.

NATURAL BEAUTY - We often describe the USA as a beautiful diverse geography. Thailand, in a much smaller country also has great natural beauty with mountains, beautiful beaches and seashores, great productive farm lands, and natural reserves to preserve nature. It is a very unique land.

That is it from Thailand....We leave in the morning and will see you all soon.

Fred

Last day today

Today is our last full day in Bangkok. Last night it was off to the night markets for dinner and a nearby Puppet Theatre. We saw a show based on the Birth of Ganesha. Interesting story really (at times it seems as though the English subtitles were mucking up the splendor of the show some).

Before that I was let loose in a couple bookstores. English Teachers and Bookstores is a mix to run out of Baht quite quickly.

Our final days in the land of Smiles

Thailand is known as the land of smiles. You will find people here very friendly. We certainly have experienced that throughout our stay here.

As Russ mentioned in his last post, we are back in Bangkok. Parting our friends was difficult especially for me as Tawin and I have become such good friends over the past two years. I know that Mr. Chusak, Ms. Ratree and Mr. Ceasar are very excited about their trip to the USA in April and hopefully we can make their experience in the USA as memorable as our experience in Thailand.

Here is our plans for our final days here in Bangkok.....Russ and I have to pick up our new suits that have been made for us. Cant wait to see the final product!!! We then will do some shopping today and this evening we are going to the Thai Traditional Puppet Theater to see their production. Puppetry has been used for centuries in Asia and we look forward to seeing this show.

Tomorrow we will visit the National Museum. In all the times I have been in Bangkok, I have not visited this museum so I will see something new. Tomorrow night we are meeting my friend Brian (from USA...here was a former Peace Corp worker I met last time I was here). Brian is bringing a friend of his and we will have a chance to talk about our trip in Northcentral Thailand. Early Saturday morning we head to the airport for our trip home.

Throughour posts you have learned a little about the people, schools, culture, history and food of Thailand. When we return toWisconsin we have so much more to share with you.

Fred

Back in Bangkok

We have arrived back in Bangkok this afternoon after saying a sad farewell to all of our new friends. I feel mostly recovered after a bout with heat stroke. Went to the hospital in SiSachanalai Monday Night, but am well on my way to feeling better. Everyone came with us to the train depot, and when the train was two hours late, to the bus depot to bid us a fond farewell today. We are resting up in Bangkok and picking up a few last minute items that probably won't fit in a suitcase, but I'm going to try anyway.

I will miss SiSatchanalai, where I met some truly amazing people. I know look forward to returning home and telling everyone about my experience and the wonderful world that is Thailand.

Our last day in Sukhothai

Today is our last day in the Sukhothai province. I just got back this afternoon from our journey north and west in Thailand. I previously mentioned several roads we traveled with many hairpin curves. On the way back today we estimated that this trip I experienced over 6,000 hairpin curves. My stomach today is a little upset which I think is from the roads we have been on. But it has been exciting and fun and I have learned more about this beautiful country.

This evening we gather at Ms. Ratree's house for our final evening together. I have not seen Russ or Judy since Sunday. Ceasar tells me that Mr. Chusak called to say that Russ was ill yesterday and did not attend school. I am hoping he is feeling better today.

Tomorrow morning we board the train at Uttaradit at 8:30 am and head back to Bangkok arriving in the early evening. We have a day and a half to rest and do any last minute shopping and then it is back home.

fred

Wan-nee Duhn ten (Exciting day)

I don't know where to begin with this post....Yesterday after lunch Mr. Tawin's family and I separated from the rest of the group and took off along the western edge of Thailand and headed south...destination Umphang. There is only one road there...it is 90 miles from the next city and to get there you have over 1,200 hairpin curves on a narrow winding road....Umphang is basically the end of the road in this part of Thailand because south of here is the National Wildlife Refuge...This refuge is huge!!!! Approximately 100 miles north to south and over 50 miles east to west with basically no roads. Took us almost 5 hours to go thoe 90 miles.

We are staying at a small resort. Buildings are beautiful teak, but it is not the Hilton or even motel 6. After a good night sleep our adventure began at 9 am when we road in the back of a pickup truck for an adventure drive to take us to the river. Two guides steered the zodiac through 3 hours of unbelievable beauty. There were caves, towering mountains, beautiful trees and wild birds and animals. Wild birds and animals are not seen here in Thailand like in Wisconsin. You have to visit a reserve like this....Why??? Most things edible are eaten, so the reserve is the place you can still see them. While we were only on the northern edge of the reserve we did see a number of small animals and even some monkeys. But the birds were great.....Tam (the bird queen) would have loved this spot. Many species with beautiful songs in the air... We floated for three hours except for two short stops and never met anyone else along this wild and remote river except two fisherwomen. One of our stops was fantastic as a hot spring flows into the river at this point. It is shallow enough to lay down in and enjoy a perfect "nature's whirlpool".

After a lunch which we brought, we hiked a trail to see the highest waterfall in Thailand. Not only did we see it, but we swam under it with no one around. We did see a few hikers in the park, however this park is remote....to give you an example....it took us over one hour to traverse a one lane road with ruts that could bury my Toyota Prius...Even the worst Chequamegon Forest Road would have been luxury....not too many people get to do this and at the end our hotel gave us certificates for this adventure.

Tomorrow we head home , experiencing those 1200 plus curves again. On Wednesday, we leave for Bangkok. It has been an unbelievable adventure.....Thank you so much to Mr. Tawin, his family, Mr. Chusak and Ms. Ratree!!!

fred

Caving riding a bamboo raft

It is Saturday night and we are in Mae Hung Son in far NW Thailand in a remote area of Thailand hugging the border with Myanmer. Just finished looking at the night market (night markets are out door sellers on the streets at night found in many Thai cities). Today was an amazing day as we traveled from Chiang Mai to here ---a distance of only 260 km. but it took all day....why you ask....well you are up and down every hill and there are over 1800 hairpin curves on this road.....I know this because they sell t-shirts telling you about the number of curves.....If you get car sickness, you will never want to see this road!!!!

We went caving today!!! There is a river that goes through a beautiful cave. You ride on these rickety bamboo rafts, can feed the fish in the cave, see millions of bats, hear frogs, and take side walking trips through the caves to see the formations, all lit be kerosene lamps carried by your raft driver.

We also visited the Karin hill tribe. This particular part of the Karin tribe are well known because many women elongate their necks by wearing rings around the neck.. They add rings as the neck is elongated. They believe this is very beautiful. Today, tourism is the draw tothis village which in some ways is unfortunate, but it helps keep this tribe out of total poverty which many hilltribes face. That being said, there is no starvation here. There is food and clothing, but little other modern conveniences.

We continue our touring of NW thailand tomorrow with more adventure.....got to be ready at 5 am, so goodnight.

Fred

Chaing Mai - Mae Hung Son

This weekend again took us to Northern Thailand. We left after a morning of teaching and a quick box lunch on Friday and arrived in Chaing Mai. We spend the evening at the night safari which was amazing. We took a footpath around that allowed us to see several smaller animals in the park, and then took two Tram rides through different parts. Much like an African Safari, parts of the grounds resembled Rain forests, and we saw many different animals, both indigenous and foreign. Our second tour guide was a hoot. A great sense of humor and spoke Thai English with an Australian accent.

Today we took an extremely windy trail through the mountains. The drive was long, and arduous, but the views were absolutely breathtaking. Our tour ended in the town of Mae Hung Son. Where we toured a very large cave, climbing over stairs and rocks of various degrees of stability and riding bamboo rafts (Okay I thought I'd step right through them, but they're surprisingly stable). Our raft driver only stumbled once (bad images of him falling face down in the river went away as he recovered quickly while pulling the raft by hand and walking up stream). Following our cave tour we drove to the outskirts of town to see a hill tribe called the Long Neck Karen. The women of this tribe where long brass coils, most noticeably on the neck to push down the collar bones and make the neck look longer. For me, a humbling and memorable experience I will carry for a long time.

Touring

Tomorrow at noon we all leave to go North for the weekend....that means we will probably not post till next week....we shall see...I have my computer along and if a hotel has wireless we might be able to post something.

Russ and Judy will be back at school on Monday and Tuesday, however, Mr. Tawin and his wife are taking some vacation time and we will be extending our touring into next week.

This evening (Thursday), we had a party at Chaimongol Pittaya School with the teachers. Wonderful food and drink (Lee Ann said I should call it water). The pah-au (principal) presented me with a beautiful hand made spider made from parts of the coconut tree. He said that this exchange is like a spider where we can weave together in a web many cultures and ideas...neatly said and done. I was told tonight that tomorrow morning I need to say good-bye to the students as I will not be back at this school next week....got to go, so I can think of what to say...in Thai that is!!!

Fred

Classrooms and Tech School

A day of many differences for me today. I started in the classroom and saw both ends of the student spectrum. The seniors who are at the top of their class, and the eight graders. The seniors know English very well, and I didn't have to slow down much for them. The eighth graders a really had to stick to basics and try to show them some things, I hope they learned something.

This afternoon Judy and I visited the Si Satchanalai Industrial and Community Education College. This is not a college as we would know in the United States. It is actually a secondary school serving grades 8 and up. Students may go to this school and receive an industrial education instead of the more traditional education. They can learn computer sciences, technology, and auto mechanic types of things. We had a very good visit with the administration and staff and got to see a lot of interesting student work (Think Science Fair on a very big scale); for example one student had built an automated hand dryer like you would find in the bathroom. Something we may take for granted in US, but here very unique, and intriguing to see a student had done the planning and assembly.

From there it was out to the very naturally soothing Si Satchanalai National Park, for a short walk around the park (too hot to hike too far, but we did get to see some of the natural beauty all the same). Though it was a bit disconcerting to see a river full of fish and then settle down for a dinner which included fish. (Hmm...fresh caught perhaps?) Our groups venture into the world of frog and squid for poritons of our meal resulted in us teaching a new word to our Thai teachers as Karen (here from PA as part of Fullbright) found the meat selection to be rather chewy!

doctor visit and a funeral - no, not my funeral

I have had a sinus infection for over a week and today they decided I should see the doctor, so off to the clinic in my village. No waiting as the doctor was ready to see me and Caesar had to translate for me....Well, I ended up with medications....moxocilin (not sure of spelling but I think you can figure it out....if I could write in Thai I would tell you in Thai, something like Claritin, a cough syrup that looks like it was made out of some roots or something strange....the taste is terrible, and finally some pills I was told to suck on for my cough.....oh, they are bad!!! BUT, they are working. I feel better this afternoon.....the docctor visit and all the medicines were less than $10.

Did some teaching this morning and this afternoon I was asked if I wanted to go to a funeral for a teacher who had died. She was 55 years old and taught in a neighboring elementary school. Several hundred people were there at a covered outdoor building and the crematory building. There was a ceremony and prayers from the monks. All of the people then file past the casket and place a paper flower on the casket. After the people leave, the body is placed in the crematory for burning. The remains are then given to family members the next day. The ceremony was over in less than one hour. Similar to a funeral in the USA, there were displays of flowers from friends and relatives, someone reads a history of the person's life, and prayers. Yet there were great differences as virtually the whole village turns out for the funeral, there is no direct meeting or visiting with family members, and no food at the funeral. At the end of the ceremony people pass by the casket and then leave quickly. I was told that close friends go to the persons home where the monks will come and pray with the family. It was interesting and I am glad I had the opportunity to attend.

This evening there will be a small party at the school for some of the teachers I have worked with the past week. Most of the teachers I knew from two years ago, so this will be a nice event to talk with them. Some can speak a little English and others help to translate when I don't understand the Thai. I will not see Judy or Russ until tomorrow afternoon when we leave for Chiang Mai and the mountains of Northwest Thailand for the weekend.

Finally, I need to comment about spelling!!!! I have little time to write and do not proofread my posts, so I am sorry for the spelling and grammar errors....When I talked with Tam on the phone, she keeps telling me that I should read my work before posting it....sorry everyone!!!

Fred

ah hahn gahnwahn for 4 = 80 baht

I know I keep talking about food, but food and the many varieties of food is a big thing here. Well today against major protests, I convinced Kuhn Caesar to have lunch in the school cafeteria. He keeps telling me it is not good, but yesterday I looked at what was being served and it looked great. I took two teachers along with Caesar and myself for lunch (ah hahn gahnwahn). We had a great Thai chicken noodle soup (quite different from ours) for lunch along with orange juice...Total bill, 80 baht or $2.30.

The hot lunch program at Chaimongkol Pittaya School is different from ours. They subcontract out to vendors who each sell different types of lunches. At this school there are about six different vendors. At Muangchaliang, there are over 15 vendors. Each vendor must produce a lunch for 15 baht (about 40 cents). One other vendor sells drinks and snacks. At the small school one vendor sells noodle soups, another vendor sells rice with stir fry, and another vendor sells curried vegetables and a meat of some kind (who know what----but it is protein) with rice. There is also a similar breakfast program. Most teachers bring lunch from home or stop at the market on their way to work to buy some stir fry or a soup to bring to work....often lunch is a communal affair for teachers where all the food is put in dishes and you can pick a little of this and a little of that----but in all cases the main ingredient or food staple is rice or rice noodles.

Taught again this morning and this afternoon we were off to visit the University in Phitsanulok. 10,000 students are here studying everything from the sciences, to business, to teaching. We visited with the Languages Department, meeting faculty and some English speaking teachers working in this University. There were three westerners teaching here, one from Scotland who has taught in Thailand for 7 years, one from New Zealand and one from USA. We learned that IP Video ---teleconferencing, like we have at Solon Springs, is just coming to Thailand and they are now budgeting to bring it to Phitsanulok next year...maybe.... So our idea of using IP video to share students working and to have students interconnect, will have to wait a while. We will instead focus on technologies like skype and sharing video recordings of student presentations.

I am staying at Mr. Chusaks house tonight in Si Satchanalai. He wanted me to stay here sometime while I was here so tonight is the night.....and we are actually here before 9 pm!!!

Fred

In the class

It is good to be in front of the class again. I love the touring, but it feels good to be in class and teaching. I have gotten to work with several classes already, 7 the past couple of days, and am enjoying every minute of it. Look out Solon students, I showed my classes some of the presentations I created at the school and the Thai girls were very impressed with the American boys. :) Last night we were graciously treated to a huge dinner at Mr. Chusak's factory. He and his brother operate PK Drinking Water, right here in Si Satchanalai. It is time now for lunch and then off for more touring!

Fred's Teaching again...he's too old!!

Well, I came back out of retirement to be a school administrator and now I am even teaching school again!!! Got to teach grades 7 and 9 English classes today and we worked hard both periods on speaking English....Gosh, teaching is work!!! I got to meet with the English staff this morning to plan out my teaching schedule. Russ and Judy are teaching at Muangchaliang (the larger school) and have also had busy schedules.

For lunch, Mr. Ceasar took me, his mom ( who also teaches at this school) and two of the English teachers. We had frogs cooked two ways....one way was in a spicy soup, the other was with a gravy...lots of fresh, uncooked vegetables, sticky rice, and for the second time I also had pork entrails.

This afternoon we visited the Thai Silk museum in Si Satchanalai. This area is very well known for silk production going back many years. If you don't find a ready made garment you like, you can pick out the fabric you want and have it handmade for no extra charge. Since we are hosts of the school, we received a 50% discount over what tourists are charged.

Our day did not end until after 10 pm again this evening and we are all exhausted, but we are so excited to see, do and experience all of the things they have helped us to experience.

Its 11 pm and I have to get to bed cause it is up at 6 am!!!

Fred

More Batty Commentary

I see Fred has posted about our visit to seek out the millions of bats. I thought I'd add a bit of photographic evidence to the mix. I'm not sure however that the pictures can do this scene justice. (We also hit an absolutely amazing mountain sunset at a resovoir along the way).

Bats, Bats, Bats----no, not for lunch!

Chaimongkol Pittaya School is a small grade 7-12 school in a little village called Ban Mai. When I was here before I was also at this school as it is across the street from Mr. Tawin's house (where I lived). Since I had lived in this village, I would socialize with some of the teachers in the evening (that means having a few beers after dinner on the school grounds). The teachers here are very friendly and even though their English is limited and my Thai VERY limited, they became good friends of mine so I am very happy to see them all again. I would guess there are about 300 students in this school.

This morning at morning roll call, I was introduced by Ceasar and addressed the students in Thai. I told them that my Thai was limited, but I knew that they all spoke good English, so I expected them to speak with me in English...that brought some laughter, as Thai students who have studied English since grade 1, have almost no skills or confidence to speak English. Later in the morning I had a chance to work with students in grade 10 English and I desparately tried to engage them in English conversation. The limits were their name, how old they are and what sport they like to play.....The interesting thing is that they are able to write complete sentences---but cannot speak the sentences!!! That is the reason for this project---to find ways to have Thai students speak English with American students.

Later in the morning I was picked up by Mr. Chusak, Ms. Ratree, Russ and Judy------oh, and we forgot to mention yet that we have a photographer who follows us everywhere (He is an Art teacher from the school) and take many, many photos at every site.... We visited a School of the Arts today. It is one of one 6 or 7 in the country that teach Thai music, dance and the other arts. Students in this school can begin here in high school and can stay until receiving their bachelor's degree. In Thailand there are specialty schools like this one, often boarding schools, that teach specialties such as the arts, agriculture, or the vocational trades.

We then visited Sukhothai Historical Park ---part of the first capitol of Thailand. Like Si Satchanalai, these two cities were considered the first capitol city and shared the title even though they were about 40 miles apart. These cities date from the 1300s....think of that....its before Columbus arrived in the new world. The site is fantastic to see with the remains of the ancient capitol.

In the evening we visited a National Park in the Mountains west of Thung Silium. There is a rugged mountop here with caves in which millions and millions of fruit bats live. Every night exactly at 6 pm they all leave the caves in search of food and return at 6 am. It is an unbelievable site to see and lasts for only about 12 minute with waves and waves of millions of bats flying overhead. The sound from these bats was like many mosquitos circling your head. I have never witnessed such a site.....and no, Mr. Garay, we did not have any too eat, however, I was told that many people in the hill tribes do eat bats.

Fred

soaking in a hot sulphur spring

As Kuhn Russ mentioned, it was a fantastic weekend! For me, visiting inside Laos again was super. Laos is a communist country with a government that still rejects many western ideology. It is very rural, poor, and without the infrastructure found in most other countries. Most people live a subsistence life of farming small plots of land. I got to try a whiskey with a cobra floating in it and also a whiskey that also included tiger testicles....very interesting!!

With all of the eating we have been doing, we are ready for major modifications to Mr. Garays menu to include some most unusual soups with floating fish meatballs or maybe slivered octopus!!

On our way south after lunch Russ and Judy and their hosts headed back home.....I had a major treat as Mr. Tawin, his wife and son, Ceasar, headed to a spa. This area has natural sulphur hot springs. They use part of the hot springs to generate electricity. They also have a resort area where you can view the geysers, have a hot foot bath in a natural hot stream, or get your own private hot tub with hit mineral water. It was so relaxing. I think everyone will notice tomorrow that I look 20 years younger!!!

Back to work tomorrow at the school. I am at the small high school in Ban Mai by myself tomorrow and I have to address the student body in Thai!!! I have been working on my talk and practiced it tonight in the car coming home from Northern Thailand.

Fred

Merry Valentine's Day!

Yes, I said Merry! We spent the Valentines day weekend in the Northern Provinces of Chang Rai and Chang Mai. We woke up very early on Saturday for a lengthy drive to the Golden Triangle on the Mekong. The Golden Triangle forms the border of Thailand, Myanmar, and Laos. We took a boat tour along the river, and then crossed the river to Laos where we spent an hour shopping in a marketplace along the shore. It was quite an interesting contrast between Laos and Thailand.

We then returned to the Thai side of the border and climbed three hundred steps to an outlook to see the border with Burma. Following that trip we headed to an evening market for a Valentine's dinner where we were serenaded with the sounds of music for the holiday including Hark, the Herald Angels Sing. (You get my title now don't you?).

We retruned home today through Chang Mai where we spent sometime at the natural hot spirngs, and an area that is part one of the King's projects. The area included a large agriculture center where they grow all kinds of fresh, organic herbs, vegetables, and fruits. There is also a zoo on the grounds that contains animals native to Thailand. Truly some amazing animals including a Peacock that flew directly over us as we walked one of the paths.

The trip is also one of a lot of food. We got to try something new pretty much everywhere we stopped, including a wonderful evening snack when we got home here to Si Satchanalai. I'm so full I think I may burst at some point, but the food here is so amazing that any time you have the opportunity to get some, you must take full advantage.

Ancient Si Satchanalai--a city from the 1300s

This will be a very quick summary of today as it is after 10 pm and I have to be up and ready to leave at 4:30 am for the Northern part of Thailand bordering Laos and Myanmer. We will be visiting what is known as the Golden Triangle, and may even cross the Mekong River into Laos.

The morning today was spent at our schools. I had a fantastic lunch with Pau (the word for school leader or principal) Tawin. With us was the head of the English department and several other teachers. We had some of the best Pad Thai I have ever had. Pad Thai is a wonderful noodle dish with meat, bean sprouts, peanuts, cilantro, and maybe a spoonful of sugar on top if you are really Thai. Desserts are rare in Thailand, however, today we had Shaved Ice topped with sweetened coconut milk and several different jelled fruits. To drink I had oneof my favorite, Chai yen - Thai Iced Tea....tea served with sweetened milk over crushed ice.

This afternoon I met up with Judy and Russ and we were taken to the Ancient city of Si Satchanalai....There is a modern city which Russ and Judy are living, however, the ancient city is ruins from the 1300s and 1400s as part of the first Capitol City of Thailand....These ruins along with ruins at Sukhothai (which we will visit later) were the capitol cities of the ancient empire.

The ruins are amazing and include many ancient ruins of buildings temples and city walls scattered over a 5 square mile site. We also visited the ancient kilns that produced pottery in the 1300s that was shipped to Indonesia and China. In this area they still produce modern pottery and of course we went shopping and found some beautiful and very cheap pottery.

This evening we hosted our guests for dinner....we ordered 8 different dishes to share along with beer and Thai whiskey. The bill for 9 people.....$30.....Lee Ann, you would be proud we didnt bust the budget!!!

more in a few days when we get back from the North.

Fred

Check out our fellow traveler's blog as well.

Judy Peterson, the third member of our traveling team, has her own blog. If you'd like to check it out you can find it by clicking her picture in the followers section of the page. (We follow each other's blogs as a way to interconnect them! She is very good at the photograph thing as well, so she posts several interesting photos.

Warm Welcomes

Following our warm welcome of the past couple of days, we are back at Muangchaliang School this morning. This is the first chance I've had to add to the blog, but Fred has been keeping you well informed! I've truly been enjoying this so far. The students and staff here are great. I've been walking around campus, greeting students in English and talking to some of them. Some of them speak English quite well.

I'm currently living with Mr. Chusak and his wife in Si Satchanalai, near the school. Just a few block drive each day. Today we will get to tour some of the quite historical areas this afternoon. They have been very gracious about welcoming me into their home and yesterday made me a wonderful American Breakfast consisting of fried eggs and three different kinds of breakfast meats. They wanted to be good hosts for their American visitor. I did convince them today to cook us a more traditional breakfast, which they did. We were joined by Karen, a Fullbright teacher from Philadelphia who has been a great resource for us while we are here, and enjoyed a wonderful sampling of traditional Thai breakfast fare, which seemed somehow appropriate after awakening to the sound of Monks chanting.

I've been enjoying every facet of this culture. It is very relaxed, and the people here are very warm and caring and go out of there way to make you feel comfortable and welcome. The schools here have amazing campuses with most passing areas actually outside between buildings. I do find it interesting that anywhere we are introduced, including my overall introduction to the student body here at Muangchaliang included the word "single". So LeeAnn, I think you're rubbing off on Fred a bit :).

Pictured here are Fred Judy and I eating lunch with the staff leaders at Muangchaliang School,and some of the agriculture students work at Sawan Anan Wittaya.

A Feast for the King of Siam

As you may know, Thailand was known as the kingdom of Siam until the late 1940s when it became Thailand and now has an elected government. Their is still the king and queen of Thailand who are greatly revered, however, there is a separate elected government that governs the country. Today there are over 65,000,000 people living in Thailand. The largest groups of people are known as "ethnic Thais". There are many separate tribes of people (often known as hill tribes). One tribal group you will recognize is the Hmong. The Hmong were groups of farmers found in Laos and also in Northeastern Thailand. Someone once told me there were over 50 different tribal groups in Thailand.

This evening we were invited to Mr. Tawin Hirunsri's home for dinner. Mr. Tawin was the former principal at Muangchaliang and is now the administrator of an even larger school in Sawankhalok known as Sawan Anan Wittaya. This grade 7-12 grade school has over 3,000 students and is the most highly regarded school in this area. Thailand has open enrollment meaning parents can choose which school they will send their children to. Some schools have better programs and are known for higher standards, and so parents often send their children many miles to attend a better quality school.

Mr. Tawin Hirunsri was my exchange partner in 2006-07. He came to Wisconsin and stayed in my home for almost two months. I also stayed in his home when I visited Thailand my second time for two months.

He invited a number of teachers to his home this evening for dinner and what a feast we had. Tawin and his wife Ong served us a dinner with over 10 different dishes!!!! Many spicy curry dishes, noodle dishes, meats, vegetables. It couldnt have beena finer meal.....which of course....was followed by karaoke!!!

more later.....
Fred

Muangchaliang Rhong Ree an (School)

Rhong Ree an means School in Thai. We traveled by slow, slow, slow train yesterday from Bangkok in the South of Thailand to Sawankhalok located in the Sukhothai Province of North Central Thailand. We were met at the station by Mr. Tawin, Mr. Chusak, Ms. Ratree and several other staff from the schools. We then went to a hotel for a Thai Banquet with at least 8 different Thai dishes..... My favorite is Tom Ka Kai----a spicy soup with coconut milk base, lemongrass, vegetables and chicken....oh, it is so delicious .

Lots of introductions, drinking of beer, conversation, and finally it is time for Karaoke!!!! I had to join Mr. Tawin singing For the Good Times....we were pretty good. The three of us joined Ms. Ratree singing Top of the World....Russ is a pretty good singer and I think he could be a guest preformer with the Solon Choir.

This morning I was awakened by loud Thai music being broadcast on the village speakers at 4:30 am!!!!!! They were awkening people because of a special early morning event with the village monks......oh, how I had forgotten all these little things!!! Kuhn Russ and Kuhn Judy are living in the "city" of Si Satchanalai so they did not experience this early morning joy.

We are now at the school Muangchaliang School......2,000 students in grades 7-12. There is a morning roll call with prayer, announcements and morning exercise. As part of the announcements I was introduced and then used my Thai to greet the students, tell them we are from America, introduce Russ and Judy, and finally I told them I only speak a little Thai so they should practice their English skills by talking with us.

Later today we will meet the department heads of this school and then head to visit two other schools we will be working in.

For me, it has been like an old homecomming. It is great to be back with these gracious friends. That is it for now, but I did notice last night that Russ was eyeing up some of those Thai women...Le Ann, that should make you happy.

Fred

Thai Temples and Palaces

Another tour of several Thai sites today! We took a boat up and across the Chao Phraya River to visit two of famous Buddhist temples. We went to several Buddhist Temples. We started at Temple Arun (Temple of the Dawn). This fascinating Mosaic temple created with broken plates that were salvaged from the ballast of ships. The plates then glued to the concrete to create amazingly intricate patterns. Our temple visits afforded us the opportunities to see the famed Reclining Buddha at Wat Pho.

We then went to the Grand Palace where we saw the Emerald Buddha along with a great deal of history of the current royal line. They are have truly an amazing history.

We finished our tour with a tuk-tuk ride (it's a good thing Fred knows some Thai to be able to barter with these drivers! We took the tuk-tuk to the Dusit Palace and the Vimanek Teak Palace. It is truly an amazing structure.

Fred and I have been fitted for our suits in a great tailor's shop in a hotel down the street from ours. I'm excited. This is my big gift to myself for my trip.

Our whirlwind tour of Bangkok has been amazing. This is definitly a city that never sleeps, ever. There's always something, going on, there's always traffic, but more importantly there's always life. I can see why Fred really likes it here. It is vibrant and excited and the people here are really great.

We leave to head to the schools up north tomorrow. I'm excited to meet the teachers that we will be sharing this exchange with, and to be back in the school life. Looking at our agenda, it appears there is a lot planned for us, and we will have ample opportunities to see and learn about the schools in norhtern Thailand.

a whirlwind of touring Bangkok

Well, we just finished our last day of touring Bangkok and Russ showed me how to do a post by myself on this thing.....(Dave....you should have showed me this before I left....you should know I am illiterate)....

On a very hot day we started with a typical Thai breakfast of fried rice with pork and a fried egg on top...wonderful! We then set off on the sky train ...like a subway only above the street level.... took the sky train all the way to the River Chai Praya and then caught the boat ...kinda like a bus on water....up river. (cost of water bus service about 30 cents) Our first top Wat Arun an ancient temple probably 200 years old along the river bank . We had to cross the river, so we got another boat (cost 9 cents). This temple is of plaster/cement with glass and ceramic pieces all the way up a 200 foot tall prang (tower). You can climb very very steep steps ...almost like ladder steps...to a lookout way up...really cool view of the area....

We stopped for some shopping and we all bought some intricate leatherwork done on water buffalo hides...they are really cool!!!!

Crossed back over the river too see the Temple of the Reclining Buddha. This buddha is probably 50 feet in height and is in a lying position. it is gilt with pure gold. It is an amazing structure.

Next stop (no time for resting) was the Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew. Each of the 9 kings of the modern era (last 200 + years) has added structures to this temple/palace area. The central feature is a large golden chedi or tower that has a relic of Buddha inside. On the grounds is also the very famous emerald buddha ( a very old buddha image), greatly revered....when you see our pictures of this site you will be amazed and the variety and beauty of the many temples and structures here.

Stopped for lunch at a street market and had rice with an assortment of dried shrimp, vegetables, cooked pork , etc. along with great chili sauce and peppers....all quenched with Thai Coffee --- Iced coffee with milk and sugar....what a great treet on a 94 degree day.

Then bartered with a tuk tuk driver to take us to the Teak Palace...A tuk tuk is a three wheeled vehicle found all over southeast asia resembling a three wheeled golf cart with a back seat....These things zip in and out of traffic at high speeds....kind of dangerous but fun. The driver was convinced that Russ was Thai...and then I used my Thai to tell him that Judy and Russ were both my children.....He did believe Russ was my son, but he knew I was pulling his leg regarding Judy....

We visited the Teak Mansion all out of teak wood built by Rama 5 (the fifth king of Thailand modern era) in the 1800s. This beautiful house was only used for a few years and then closed for over 80 years and used as a warehouse until it was restored and opened as a historical site.

Can you believe that is all we did today!!!
Tonight Russ and I go back to the tailor for our first fitting of our new suits and shirts that are being hand made for us .....Lee Ann....don't get nervous...it is not school money we are using for our new suits!!!! We aare also going shopping tonight at the Big C....kind of like a Target with a food store and about a dozen restaurants included....pretty cool....we will eat there tonight...will let you know what later.

You wont hear from us for a few days as we catch a train to Suwankhalok...a city in NorthCentral Thailand in the Sukhothai Province. This is the area we will spend the next several weeks.

Sawasdee Krub, kun peuen (Good bye my friends)

Fred

Greetings from Thailand! We arrived safely yesterday after an overnight delay in Tokyo while they fixed an airplane. (Didn't see much other than a bus and a hotel and a few disgruntled travelers).

Thailand is as amazing as Mr. Schlichting made it out to be. He has been taking us around showing us several sites within the city, and just outside. Last night we were able to see the night markets in action, it's amazing how many people can sell how much stuff in one area.

I got an opportunity to work on my bargaining skills today in the floating markets. Shops on the edges of canals, and actually in boats on the canals that sell anything you want. I was able to find a few gifts for people, and haggle my way into actually purchasing the items.

Spent today there as well as at the Thai Cultural Center, where we saw a wonderful presentation about Thai culture. We also went to an elephant park where I got the opportunity to ride an elephant. (Pictures to come as soon as a recharge the camera. I took so many that it died at one point today)!

Thank you to those of you who are following the blog and posting comments; I truly enjoy hearing from you.