HELLLLOOO! Running a bit late with this post SORRRRYY! almost forgot! but being held accountable surely helps, even if there is only one day before next month haha! Quick update: I am well. I am sure you have all heard about the political unrest here in Thailand, rest assured, we are completely safe and cozy in our villages.
For the past month and a half I have been doing ALLLOTT of traveling. I am finally home, working again, and enjoying seeing all of my kids and families. Today, I will take you all on my journey! Heres a map of all of my trips starting March 31st- May 10th! =)
Of course my journey began at my home in Nong Phai Phetchabun. March 28th I left home on a 5 hour trip to Bangkok for our Midservice Conference. This means that we officially met the midpoint of our service! YAY!! Midservice was a great time!
After about a 3- 3.5 hour ride south, I made it back home. Just in time to participate in the Song Kran Festival at site. This is by far my favorite of the Thai festivals. Everyone comes home, no work for days, tons of food, parties, and lots of water!!! Great times with friends and family!
Bright and early the next morning, 4 am to be exact, I woke up and went to catch my bus to Chiang Mai. After a long long 12 hour journey, I finally made it to Chiang Mai. This was Song Kran Pt 2! It was basically a HUGE water fight all day long. If you don't want to get wet, this would be the wrong place to go. We ate food from 3 pigs, a delicious western food place, and Mexican! And yummy breakfast with omelets filled with cheese and avocado! Sadly, I have no pics of this delectable food. It was all captured on my camera, which is no longer =(.
Lampang was a great close to Song Kran and so I headed back home. I stayed at site for almost 2 weeks then headed to Phitsanulok. This journey should take no more that 4 hours but for some reason it took me about 9 hours to make it to P'lok. Phitsanulok is our consolidation point. If there is ever a major crisis in Thailand, the 8 people in my region would have to make their way to Phitsanulok to ensure our safety and if the problem escalated, we would be evacuated back home. Don't worry even with everything happening here were are not to that stage yet. We are probably in the safest place possible, our villages. During this trip to Phitsanulok, I had to buy myself a new pair of glasses. Yee was my guide. Scared but fun times for sure lol.
Next up, we went to Bangkok( 6/7 hrs) for the night and left for Hua Hin early in the morning to beat traffic. We thought we would be the only ones thinking this way but we were completely wrong and we were crammed in the back of this mini van. All part of the PC experience, I guess. This was our first meet up for both groups 125 and 126. Beach time is always a great time! We also had games and special nights hosted by some 125s. Mexican night was my favorite... filled with food and margaritas!
Back to Bangkok for some doctors appointments. Lots of meetings/dinners as well as a great day trip to the Camillian House for Children with Disabilities. I only wish I had the pictures to share. That was truly an experience. I wish the kids in my villages had the same opportunities as those in the city. Also, made some trips to the Peace Corps office of course!
Annnndddd! NOW, I am home!!!! Back to village life... Back to the bike life... back to letting student nurses take my blood smh... back to thai-nappings! Oh how I missed thee!
After Midservice, eight volunteers, including myself, decided to head up north a bit. We went to Khao Kor, Phetchabun (Brandon aka Phetchabun's site) which is in the same province as Nong Phai about 3 hrs north of my home. And about 7 hours from Bangkok. The terrain is beautiful and mountainous. The weather amazing. In fact, very chilly on the way in.
The weather was so amazing in Khao Kor that we were able to sit around a fire late in the evening and make s'mores.
 |
| Photo Credit: Mere |
I left Khoa Kor before everyone to participate in the Song Kran (Thai New Years Festival) in Nong Phai. We had to wait on the side of the road to flag down my bus for me to get there. Haha! Here we are waiting for my bus.
 |
| Photo Credit: Mere! lol |
After about a 3- 3.5 hour ride south, I made it back home. Just in time to participate in the Song Kran Festival at site. This is by far my favorite of the Thai festivals. Everyone comes home, no work for days, tons of food, parties, and lots of water!!! Great times with friends and family!
Bright and early the next morning, 4 am to be exact, I woke up and went to catch my bus to Chiang Mai. After a long long 12 hour journey, I finally made it to Chiang Mai. This was Song Kran Pt 2! It was basically a HUGE water fight all day long. If you don't want to get wet, this would be the wrong place to go. We ate food from 3 pigs, a delicious western food place, and Mexican! And yummy breakfast with omelets filled with cheese and avocado! Sadly, I have no pics of this delectable food. It was all captured on my camera, which is no longer =(.
 |
| Photo Credit: Julianne M |
After all the water and fun in Chiang Mai. We headed to Lampang which is only about 1.5 hrs away from Chiang Mai. Lampang is Mayumi's site. It was great to get back to the village. After living in the village for so long, it is hard to be in the big city for an extended amount of time before feeling over stimulated. In Lampang, we participated in yet another Song Kran festival. It is nice to be able to see how things are done in other villages. Great low key fun. Lots of laughter, hanging out, eating, just enjoying life. In accordance with Thai tradition, we added some jack fruit to our meal for good luck, in the new year. ( oh and I did Mayumis hair haha)
Next up, we went to Bangkok( 6/7 hrs) for the night and left for Hua Hin early in the morning to beat traffic. We thought we would be the only ones thinking this way but we were completely wrong and we were crammed in the back of this mini van. All part of the PC experience, I guess. This was our first meet up for both groups 125 and 126. Beach time is always a great time! We also had games and special nights hosted by some 125s. Mexican night was my favorite... filled with food and margaritas!
 |
| photo credit: Christine B. |
Back to Bangkok for some doctors appointments. Lots of meetings/dinners as well as a great day trip to the Camillian House for Children with Disabilities. I only wish I had the pictures to share. That was truly an experience. I wish the kids in my villages had the same opportunities as those in the city. Also, made some trips to the Peace Corps office of course!
Annnndddd! NOW, I am home!!!! Back to village life... Back to the bike life... back to letting student nurses take my blood smh... back to thai-nappings! Oh how I missed thee!
   |
| The military came to the village to 'check in' |
No comments:
Post a Comment