Orientation and Reaching Thawangpha

This blog post is long overdue. I’ve slacked on the blogging since I touched down in Thailand on Monday, May 5^th, so I’ve got a lot of ground to cover. That being said, for the sake of brevity, I’m going to kind of breeze through the orientation and Bangkok. Not that the six days of orientation aren’t worth detailing, it’s just that they can be easily summed up.

Orientation in Bangkok, at Louis Tavern Hotel consisted of various teacher training and Thai language training classes. The OEG (Overseas Ed Group) staff was very friendly and helpful throughout. Very close to Louis Tavern is a street that hosts numerous food vendors and a few bars that served as a typical hang out place while we weren’t fulfilling orientation obligations. The food from the street carts is delicious, but it is pretty hard to find food that isn’t delicious in Thailand.

                                                 Room at Louis Tavern Hotel in Bangkok

The one outing we made while in Bangkok was to the Grand Palace, which was quite impressive. The architecture was very ornate. Unfortunately, if I’m being honest, I didn’t have the easiest time hearing or understanding our tour guide, so much of the history was lost on me. It was incredibly busy with several different tour groups while we were there, so there were a lot of competing noises. Luckily, the palace can be enjoyed purely for its aesthetic value.

Fast forward to the last two days of orientation, and we made an overnight trip to Kanchanaburi Province, west of Bangkok. The natural beauty of Kanchanaburi was a nice change of pace to the urban sprawl of Bangkok. It was in Kanchanaburi that I had my first brushes with Thai wildlife (aside from the ubiquitous geckos I also saw in Bangkok). Just walking around the hotel I was able to see some interesting insects like this mantis-like one I spotted on a tree.

                                                                    Mantis Bro

                                        One of the many species of gecko found in Thailand.

Also while in Kanchanaburi Province, we visited the Bridge on the River Kwae, which was fine. It was a bridge. On the River Kwae. More than anything it kind of seemed like a tourist trap with lots of souvenir stalls lining the parking lot when you arrive, and all around the bridge itself. I did snap a pic of a majestic looking lizard in a tree, though.

                                                                       Proud looking.

Later that night we dined on a barge-like boat that doubled as a restaurant. Mid-meal we set off from shore which was pretty neat.

                                                             Barge houses/restaurants

The morning after the barge ride was the last of our orientation. We spent it at an elephant camp where we watched an elephant show, went on elephant rides, and rafted down a river. It was a nice way to cap off our orientation in a relaxing fashion. After we checked out of our hotel in Kanchanaburi we got in buses and headed back to the Louis Tavern Hotel in Bangkok, where we were greeted by our waiting host school coordinators. It was a mixture of nerves and excitement getting ready to meet Kru Rin and Kru Noi, but they couldn’t be any nicer.

                                           From left to right: Kru Noi, Cody, Me, Kru Rin

Once we had our luggage in hand, we got in our van with the driver, Pee Juan, at the helm (“Juan” is how you pronounce his name, I have no idea how to spell it, and “Pee” is a title used to show respect that means “older brother or sister”). It took about 12 hours to get to Thawangpha in Nan, with a few pit stops along the way for dinner and the bathroom. At around 1 AM we stopped for gas and to use the bathroom. Pee Juan filled up the van while everyone used the bathroom. As Cody and I were approaching the van at the pump after having used the bathroom, Pee Juan took off in the other direction, so we had to turn and walk back the way we came. I guess as soon as he saw that we were trying to catch up with him, he stopped, but he just so happened to stop in the most inconvenient place possible. All the rain water from the roof of the gas station was funneling and falling off the roof, inch perfect, at the handle to the van’s sliding door. We burst out laughing.

We finally pulled up to our apartment at Thawangphapittayakhom School around 3 AM. I crashed immediately after Kru Noi and Kru Rin showed us to our rooms.