Ma! The rain's a comin!



Walking to Bang Pang Primary in the Wet



The past few days have been all sorts of wet. And we have been treated with a minor tropical storm and flooding. Traffic has been a bit chaotic and we have had to walk when the buses couldn’t go any further- the students have taken it in their stride and have enjoyed the cooler weather. Singing in the rain- “Under my Umbrella” has been a favourite.

Yesterday we had the fortune of visiting the Vienping Children’s Home- a government run orphanage in Chiang Mai. The children are mostly abandoned and the majority are girls. They have a great educational program there and children stay there until their late teens. Adoptions are common and after spending time with these children you can see why. They were affectionate, playful and the girls just loved them.

We had a lesson in Thai Massage, visited the Big Market- where China meets India, chatted with the Monks and then the Night Bazaar- where the girls used their pro bartering skills… some of your daughters are quite ruthless!

Today we visited the Bang Pang Hang Primary school that we worked for last year on Community Service. It was such a joy to return and see the Sala we built last year still standing strong and being used. The 2010 Year 9’s had raised money last year by knitting a blanket and then raffling it off- I bought the money with us and it went towards a much needed fridge and sports equipment. We couldn’t lug the fridge up the boggy hill roads today, but we brought the sports equipment along and had a great time with the kids. The school’s Principal was very grateful and he was so glad to see us visit again this year.

One of the fun games we played with the children was ‘Pass the baby powder’. Sitting in a circle they passed the powder around and when the music stopped the person holding the powder got to smear it on another persons face. It was hilarious- no language needed for “Who looks funny with a powder face?”

We then visited Mok Fa Falls. Due to the rains it was raging! This is a massive waterfall on a dry day, but it was enormous and powerful today- far too strong to swim under like last year so we played in the river lower down and ‘rode the currents’. Ms Cusack and I both took large tumbles on the slimy rocks- sliding down like a water slide- a source of great amusement for all. We both agreed that we both felt like we were five again and loved it.

Hancock arrived back to Triadhos today and went straight to the Night Market and Tonkin arrived back from the Barge. Amazing photos to follow…

Marian Haddrick

Hancock - Community Service Project in Mae Taeng Area

Our Community Service Project this year, involves the building of a basketball court for the Huay Taad School. So here are girls preparing the footings for the cement slab

Using all manual tools it is quite a labour intensive exercise

Children from the school help out

A game with X Man at the end of a hard day cement mixing is lots of fun

The beautiful landscape enhanced by low lying cloud

Breathtakingly beautiful, this is a place of serenity and peace

Alwyn Cameron back from Golden Triangle

Buddha on Mae Khong River - Golden Triangle

Elephant statue on Mae Khong River - walk under and around the elephants' belly 3 times for good luck

White Temple at Wat at Rong Khun

 

Walkway looking back from Temple entrance



Lorcha Village - Akha Tribe



Mountain Bike Riding - Sri Lanna  National Park

Long Neck Hilltribe - weaving cotton scarf

Buffalo Girls - A story in pictures

A tour of the jungle garden....

... led to a discussion about how we can use the food around us to...

... make delicious food....

...which can be cooked over a small coal fire...

... and then presented beautifully....

... and ready for us to eat.

A bike ride to see the buffalos on a working rice farm...

... leads to tilling the paddy...

...which leads to a fall...

... and an all in mud fight can lead to...

... some quiet contemplation.

Some Photographic Memories

Elephant Nature Park

On the Path to Pun Pun

The Le Su Village

Happiness is a pair of Plastic Shoes

It feels wonderful to be back again this year and see beautiful Thailand. I have been shocked at how lush and green it has been this time round- the wet season has come early and the rice paddies are overflowing and the bananna trees are plentiful! We can pick the banannas off of the side of the road here- and not have to pay an arm and leg like back home.

Speaking of food I have been so impressed with how the girls have embraced the Thai cuisine so far- they are piling up their plates and trying every new dish and local delicacy offered to them; spicy sausage, crickets and silk worms, curries and many new and strange fruits. Most have developed a real taste for the rambutans, dragon fruit and star fruit. Every day we have the freshest fruits and vegetables and of course rice! Our eyes are bigger than our bellies and we will all roll off the plane when we get home, I am sure.

This being my second time here on this trip it has been great to have such confidence in the activities before us and knowing how much the girls will get out of it. Yesterday one of the students was quite petrified by the Elephants and being so close to them. I remembered the absolute thrill of touching and patting an Elephant for the first time last year and I wanted her to have the same experience. I took her hand and led her over to the massive, but gentle beast and stood by her as I touched the Elephants leathery skin. At first she shied away and I assured her and held her hand tighter. She tentatively reached out, felt the bristles on the skin and gained enough confidence to pat her. I looked at her as I held her hands- her mouth was agape and her eyes were wide. "Does it feel like you imagined?" I asked. "Yes! But better! I cant believe I was afraid!" We laughed and I looked around at the other tourists cheering her on and clapping. It was the highlight of my day.

Today I really enjoyed seeing the girls just embrace the dirt and the mud and get filthy! When we had washed the Elephants they had no qualms about splashing around in the muddy water and today was the same. So often girls are told to keep clean and look pretty, but it was great to see them not care and just experience the fun of being soaked in mud. They even managed to make some mud bricks, but I think that was just an after thought.

One day in Thailand is like a weeks worth of school- they are learning so much.

Last year the best thing I bought was a pair of rubber boots to combat the climate here, but this year my crocs have been champions as well. With Thailand being just constant states of wetness (sweat, swimming, showering, raining, sweating, jumping in rivers, showering again and then sweating) happiness really is a pair of plastic shoes.

Marian Haddrick

Update from Thailand!

There have already been many highlights of this trip - which does tend cause the mind to boggle when we stop to consider that we have only just finished our third full day of the program. The girls are all displaying very adventurous spirits, getting involved with everything; It has been a joy to watch the students getting down and dirty making mud bricks...

... which quickly became a chance to have a mud fight.

Another highlight has been the chance to wash the elephants at the Elephant Nature Park. All of these elephants had been used in domestic situations and had been abused or damaged through the course of their work, so the students were thrilled to be able to participate in the important rituals of feeding and bathing the elephants. It was a truly exceptional experience for all.

Last night was a chance to experience how some of the local Thai people live in their local communities. We trekked (in the heat of the day) to stay with the Lesu Tribe. There was the chance for some much needed rest and relaxation when we arrived, and many of the girls used this as a chance to play with the local children, who fed us with some local flowers and helped to make bracelets out of the leaves off the trees.

After dinner we were treated to a traditional dance, usually only performed on New Years Eve. The girls were given the chance to participate in this, and had a great time dancing around the bonfire. We then reciprocated by singing "Kookaburra sits on the old gum tree" and, perhaps somewhat unusually, "Someone like you" by Adele. Our guide "X-Man" then taught us all some of the local songs and dances that are sung by the Thai people, with some help from the local children.

Alwyn will be back with us tomorrow night are all looking forward to their contributions to this blog when they return. It will still be a few more days before we see Hancock or Tonkin.

While I am sitting here typing this, I am listening to some of the chatter from the girls that is filling the room. One of the comments that I just overheard was, "This is a life changing experience!"

I couldn't agree more.

Jacqui Cusack