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4th January - Arrive in thailand
left the uk at 11pm the flight was a little delayed. also on my plane was laura, tom and danielle who would also be spending 4 weeks in thailand with me. Arrived in Bangkok mariport at 6pm (thai
time) on the 4th Jan 2008. the flight was long and i was pretty tired and stiff. met the minni bus to take us back to the royal hotel in bangkok. the drivers out here are mental overtaking where they
like INDICATORS!!!
hotel is very big hudge rooms were huge. Laura and i shared a room. that nite we met the others in the lobby and headed out for a few drinks to get to know each other. was alot of fun and everyone
was really friendly and we had a good time.
5-6th January Bangkok
went on a boat trip down the Chao Pharyay River with the group today to the flower market. Also saw the Wat Nopant and Chanpravit markets. after the trip a few of us went off expolring the city. golden mountain, roma vii bridge, giant budha, saw bottah temple, king Roma v, vimonmek mansion, domocracy monument qne lots more. in the evening we went out for drinks and dinner thai style from street stalls it was so good. on the 6th we checked out of the hotel and headed for singburi to the brown house where we will be based for the next 3 weeks.
Introduction to Thailand - Week 1
Monday 7th Jan
Woke up at 8am for breakfast, had a bad nights sleep as the springs in the matress were a little doggy to say the least. we had an introduction talk before heading into the town of singburi to get our bearings. it is a very local town and we were the only westerners there. luch was in a resturant, thai food so far is pretty good. in the afternoon we had a thai language lesson. so i remember sawadeeka - hello and kapoonkar - thank you. in the afternoon we had free time so went for a nice walk along the river. saw lots of local sites, a school, people m,aking coal and fishing. in the evening we had a welcome party where the local school children came and performed dances for us. there were all so qute and friendly.
8th January
today we had a thai cooking lesson, i learnt to cook phat thai which tastes so good will me making it at home as it only takes 5mins to cook. more free time in the afternoon so headed to singburi for a wonder. in the evening we hald a bbq where we each cooked our own food. a few sparkling wines at the bar then bed
9th January
another thai lesson this morning and a trip to a local school. the children were so nice we played games and taught them some english. in the afternoon few of us decided to go back to bangkok for some more sightseeing. on arrival we booked into a hotel and headed out for some food and drinks. welcome to thailand buckets were back on the menu and we all had an enjoyable night ending up in the club thai style.
10th January
had breakfast and used the internest before the others woke up. then headed to saian square in the afternoon to visit the MBK a massive shopping centre and Jim Thompsons house. the founder of thai silks. his house was amazing and the history of his live and insdustry fasinating.
11th January - Bangkok
an early start this morning for the floating market, something that is unique to thailand. it was an amazing sight stalls either side of the riverbank and even on the boats themselves there were alot of boats pushing for space. the stall keepers would hook your boat and drag you in trying to encourage you to buy. later we went tot he golden mountain a building with 300 septs which looksout ofver the best views of bangkok city. we caught a bus back to the eco house at 5pm.
12th January - Ayutthaya
we had roast potatoes for brakfast a little strange but good all the same. then i did my 1st lot of hand washing. before we got on the bus to go to the old City of Ayutthay. once there we were able to go for a ride on the elephants which was coolshelly and i rode on Ra Tree to see the Wat Ket ruins. next we visited a beautiful temple Wat Yai Chaya Mong kol. where we were able to use the stick box - a thai fourtnue telling method . in the tempole there was also a huge reclining buddha. we then went to an elephant village where we were able to feed and watch the elephants bath in the river. in the evening we went on a boat crusie which was really good. a nice thai buffet and kareokee.
13th January - Singburi
quiet day today late brunch then headed into singburi to the swimming pool
14th January -Eco House
Got up at 5aqm this morning and headed down to the river to give alms to the monks. who are only allowed to eat food that is given to them by locals. after breakfast we watched a dvd about buddhism. it was very interesting to see how the religion origanated and how it works. in the afternoon we were given a talk about buddhism by a young guy who is training to be a monk. later we went to Wat Phikun Thong temple which again was very p[retty . where we paryed and did a little meddiation, there was a big sitting buddha and a very fat one to but he looked very jolly.
15th january - Temple Stay
in the morning a group of 3 monks came to visit to give us and introduction to our templke stay they didnt speak english so it was translated. one of their phones when off in the middle of chanting. i was able to give and offering of food to one of the monks. in the afternoon we left for Wat Sanghathan the temple we would be staying at. on arrival we were shown to our room which was a little like a prison cell where we would be sleeping on a marble floor. then it was time for chanting, sitting and standing meditation. whihc was hard at first as your thoughts kept wondering off the task in hand. the heart of buddhism is the self and conciousness. no food tonight as monks only eat between 6am and 11 so im fasting from 11am today till 11am tomorrow.
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