Kanchanaburi

So...there’s one really bad thing I forgot about teaching, the fact that you’re sick more often than not. When you put 33 bodies into one small space, have them go outside, get hot and sweaty or wet from the rain before coming in to a nicely chilled air-conditioned classroom, there’s bound to be a lot of sickness, and we always one kid off at a time with something or other. The week before last I had a bad time in my class and seemed to do nothing but shout, by the end of the week I was off with a migraine. I felt like death and the headaches took about 3 days to go. Having recovered from this we decided that the following weekend we needed to take a break from the city and head out to the mountains of Kanchanaburi for some R ‘n’ R. We figured it would be a good idea to get some fresh air and chill out.

We have found an amazing place in Kanchanaburi; it is a small guesthouse on the banks of the River Kwai. We stay in a raft-house right on the river. About a kilometre up river is the bridge over the river Kwai. This is the famous bridge that was built during the Second World War when the Japanese wanted to link Thailand and Burma. It is estimated that 16,000 POWs and 100,000 Asian labourers died whilst working on the bridge, railway and the famous ‘Hellfire Pass’. I have been up to Kanchanaburi at least 15 times and most of those times have included a trip up to the bridge; when you can get a moment free of tourists (and there are many happy snapping visitors at all hours) you get to feel a little of the history of the place. Most of the time however, there are too many tourists having their pics taken so you just have to join in and look gormless with your camera. As you can see from the pictures though, the bridge has been left with a reasonably bare structure. Much to the entertainment of the local long-tail boat drivers, those with slightly less co-ordination and concentration have been known to step right through the gaps and drop 30 feet into the brown river below (not mentioning any names but for once it wasn’t me....).

This most recent trip to Kanchanaburi we decided we wanted to explore the hills a bit more. We hired a moped, stocked up on chicken fried rice and took off in the vague direction of the hills. When you leave the rather large and touristy town of Kanchanaburi behind, you soon get out into really scenic areas with people drying grasses in the road and farmers driving cattle and goats along the verges. The houses get fewer and further between and more and more rustic. It wasn’t until after an hour of riding in the baking sun that we realised we’d forgotten any form of drink and the chance of a shop was quite remote. After rehydrating at a random ‘Pepsi’ stop we then ate lunch under a tarpaulin while sheltering from the rain – very glam. On the way back to town we got caught again and ended up pulling up under a bus shelter as the rain hammered down. We started a trend and were soon joined by 4 others.

Anyway, after our rather wet and chilly drive back we have both spent over a week recovering. We both still have hacking coughs and sore throats, and due to the fact that I have to make myself heard amongst a class full of over-excited 6 year olds, I have been giving Marge Simpson a run for her money all week. So much for a healthy break from the city

Night-life....

Before we left England we swore that when we got to Bangkok that our recent lethargic attitude to going out and socialising would change. It was very easy to blame a lack of money or the immense cost of an English ‘night-out’ as the reason we rarely went anywhere. I think in 15 months we went out in Manchester about 3 times and in London about 5 times. I think to be honest we’ve just fallen into that 2 sided trap where we have gotten used to enjoying nights in on the sofa watching movies and being free from having to make unduly taxing conversation, and we’ve also given ourselves long enough of a break off alcohol to feel our bodies recover. Why is it that hangovers seem worse the closer I get to 30...? Surely I’m not getting too old..? It’s not long since I was back in Roatan, partying like there was no tomorrow. So what happened in a year and a half to make me change from having to convince myself it’s a good idea to stay in as opposed to now where I have to force myself to go out? Well...I’ve come to the conclusion that I never really used to feel my hangover that badly before because I never really felt that good in the first place. When you drink nearly every night (god bless Sundowners), you’re pretty much permanently hung-over anyway. It seems that now, not only are we going from sober to drunk far quicker than ever, but that the force of the hangover is far greater regardless on the substantially smaller amount of alcohol consumed.
It’s probably this reason that has meant that we have managed very few proper nights out. Even fewer when you take out those nights out that actually ended up being more shopping than drinking. The problem is now we can’t really use the excuse that we can’t afford the taxi home, or the drinks out for that matter, or that there isn’t anywhere near us worth going to. However, we now have a new excuse... having faced 36 bouncing 6 year olds whilst suffering from a hangover once or twice before, I have learnt that teaching and drinking are just not compatible.

A few weeks ago we had our first visitor and had grand plans of going out to loads of places and showing her all sites of Bangkok. It doesn’t matter what kind of a budget you’re on here, there really is something for everyone. You can do it cheaply, either by going to small local Thai hangouts and paying the equivalent of 70 pence for a large bottle of Chang or Singha, or you can go to Khoa San road and hang out with every other foreigner on a budget; eat a square meal and drink yourself silly for less than a fiver. While there are the very cheap options for a night out, it is also possible to go out and burn money really quickly. There are a wide selection of bars for the wealthier locals, expats and more discerning tourist. A few of these places have decided to charge you more simply for the privilege of pushing you closer up to the smog line in the sky. For the price of 320 baht a cocktail (about 5 quid; quite cheap for London but very extravagant here), you can stand on the roof of one of the taller buildings in Bangkok and in very fine surroundings survey the city below you. The experience although somewhat extravagant for a regular night out, is nice to take people who are visiting. The view (once you get used to standing on the edge of nothingness and manage to open your eyes) is pretty unforgettable. Now we have another thing to add to list of ‘must do’ nights out in Bangkok, aside from the ping pong and Katoey shows that is.

The photos are from our night out with Kate at the Sky bar, 64 floors up.

Disasters waiting to happen

There’s always something new and unusual to see when you visit or live in a country that you’ve not grown up in and for westerners visiting Asian countries this is particularly true. Then again no doubt Asian people visiting western countries would find many of our day-to-day activities a little odd.
Back home when we get on public transport, it is the norm for people to offer their seats to old people or pregnant women (well everywhere outside of London anyway). In Thailand it is the norm for adults, old, pregnant or otherwise, to give their seat up for a child. Here it is children that are given the greatest respect (perhaps that’s why they are such brats half the time). If they don’t get given the seat on the bus or sky-train, then it is expected that they will sit on somebody’s lap. You frequently see children and bags farmed out onto complete stranger’s laps. I think that people back home would have a slight trust issue with this.

Perhaps one of things that stands out most here is the different ideas on safety and regulations. Having lived in a selection of places I’ve learnt that everywhere has its own idea of what is or isn’t ok. And, apart from the obvious ‘diving with student’ regulations I’ve never been a great stickler for rules. Living in Bangkok however and you’re constantly faced with things that either at best make you do a double take, at worst make you cringe and turn away for fear of witnessing disaster. Whether it’s 3 adults and 3 kids on a motorbike with no helmets on while travelling at speed in four lanes of traffic, or simply a guy on a moped with a Vicks nasal stick up each nostril (evidently this unique brand of air-conditioning isn’t that dangerous – until he falls off and it becomes a unique type of brain surgery), there’s always a reason to be looking out the window of your taxi.

The other day Nick and I were having breakfast on the back balcony and looking at the guys working on the new building across the way. They have been building some new apartments and are now painting the outside. This is a job that seemed to fall to one person who, as you can see from the picture, was in a rather precarious position. Every time he moved the whole structure (which wasn’t that stable to begin with) wobbled violently. The scariest thing however, was the fact that for him to go up or down a rung he had to span a distance greater than his actual height, while dealing with the wobble and the unsecured bucket of paint.

It seems that even where children are involved, even the precious little Faberge eggs that we have in our care at school, that there can be an insane disregard for danger. Very near our office, all the old school buildings have been knocked down to make way for a new larger structure. If you are to look through the door of my old classroom you will see three walls and a vast gaping hole where the opposite wall once was. Half of the structure has been knocked down and there are minimal if any supports to secure what’s remaining; stuff is constantly falling. The worst part about this is that children have been playing outside the classrooms and the doors have remained unlocked. It took one of the other English teachers to point out the potential danger in this before they actually thought about securing the area. It is a real miracle that there aren’t accidents happening all around us.

City Scape...

...whoever said cities couldn't be beautiful??? it seems that everyday we get something new to look at, be it spectacular sunsets, stormy skies and lightning shows, or even firework displays provided by the fancy hotels along the river.

Here are just a few of the things we get to see from our balconies.

Just a few of the sunsets within our first few weeks here.

We get about 2 firework displays a week. The photos are a work in progress. It took us quite a few attempts to get remotely clear pictures.













And obviously with all the rain we're having, we get a few of these...

Even when the sun's gone down and there's not much going on the view can still be pretty cool.

Life in Bangkok

Well, so we’re back from the beach and turquoise water into the rain and the smog. The first three weeks back it seemed to do nothing but rain. Not the usual torrential downpour kind of rain, more like the constant grey drizzle that my home town is so famed for. At the time all I did was complain about it as I had been looking forward to spending all my free time before school started getting even browner. Now I realize how nice it was having weather about 10 degrees cooler. Bangkok currently has a heat index rating of about 47 degrees, and believe me that means it feels really stinking hot.
After all the worry about sorting out work, getting jobs was actually very simple. I wasn’t so worried about myself; female teachers with reasonable experience, TEFL certifications and real Degrees are like gold dust out here. Schools always prefer employing women as they figure they’re not just here for the sex life.... Anyway, as it turns out both Nick and I found work really easily. He nearly ended up getting a promotion in the first week when the main Grade 2 teacher didn’t turn up. Don’t think he liked the idea of so much responsibility straight off, so far he has managed to hang on to his Grade 2 teaching assistant position. 3 weeks in and our department alone is still 4 teachers short. People really weren’t kidding when they said there was a teacher shortage. Seems that all the new rules and regulations have scared everybody off. It’s a bit silly really, there are loads of really experienced and good teachers out here but they just can’t get the work as they haven’t got degrees. Instead the students just go without a teacher...round of applause to the Ministry of Education for that one.
By the time we had sorted out work and had been back in Bangkok for a couple of days, we realized that the apartments that we had gone back to (the same building Nicole and I had spent a couple of years in), really weren’t so nice anymore; dirty walls, dark corridors, dirty furnishings etc etc etc. Not only that but the traffic really has gotten worse. Take a city that’s roads are at a standstill half of the time anyway, throw in another 3 or 4 years of traffic increase and what do you get?? A desperate run for the Sky-train and Underground as everybody else queues an hour to get a mile or so down the road. Then again it takes a braver person that me to get on an Underground system in a city that’s foundations are constantly sinking and shifting. Anyway, we decided to look for an apartment within walking distance of the school. We got a little bit carried away and have now landed ourselves with a monthly rent far greater than we had budgeted for. As much as I hate spending unnecessary cash and generally take the budget option wherever I can, I’m really enjoying the treat of living somewhere a little bit more luxurious. We have a beautiful 2 bed apartment that has great views, loads of space, leather sofas, 2 balconies and a nice pool. It’s quite a step up from the £25 a month studio I started off in. It also has a kitchen which is both a blessing and a curse. It means that we can have people round for dinner, but it also means I’m having to cook more than I have in ages.
So now we’re all settled, all we need is for people to come out and visit us. Our first guest arrives on Monday and is coming with empty bags and a desire to do little other than shop. I’m really looking forward to doing yet another tour of the shopping areas I’ve already made myself very familiar with over the last few weeks. I’m hoping that we have somebody come out to see us once a month...sometime around payday so I can use it as another excuse to shop, go out, and generally spend money. Saving can start later!!

Return to a small island...

Ok, so while I was definitely enjoying myself underwater in Tioman, after 7 days of early nights and quiet evenings reading I was definitely itching to get back to that little island of oh such great debauchery...Perhentian Kecil. Nick and I left Tioman with the intention of heading up north as quickly as possible. All going to plan we were to be back on the beach within around 24 hours. Of course things rarely go to plan... the twinge in Nick’s ear turned into a really nasty ear infection overnight that came with a raging fever and that seemed to be immune to antibiotics. We had to call halt to all plans and instead I rushed around town to find us somewhere comfortable and air-conditioned to hole up in. Once I managed to get Nick across town I then had to walk back and forth in 38 degree heat ferrying all our luggage from room to room. A very hot and stressful day indeed, think the locals thought me slightly deranged as they watched me trundle back and to with bags.
After a partial recovery from Nick, we made our way north and out to the Perhentian Islands. Argued as being the most beautiful of Malaysia’s Islands, they have “with crystal-clear aquamarine water and white-sand beaches” if you are to believe the guide books. From my numerous visits over the years I have always used it as the place to compare and rate all other places against. The islands advertised themselves as quiet, with nothing to do but dive, read and chill, and with alcohol prohibited. This meant that the type of people who made it over to the island went there regardless of forecasted boredom and lack of a party and were all really cool. More to the point a whole heap of alcohol and partying was always to be found. Long Beach had all the best bits, calm blue water (well most of the time anyway), powder white sand, low key wicked parties, and a small community where everyone (even the tourists) knew each other.
So...did it live up to expectations on my return...? Well, I’d like to say that Nick instantly fell in love with the place as I once did, but in actual fact it was a huge disappointment. As we pulled up to the beach, I could see that although white and sandy as ever, the sand that wasn’t covered by brightly coloured umbrellas had diggers churning it up as they trundled back an forth in front of the sunbathers. The diggers obviously there to play a key part in creating the largest and ugliest concrete monstrosity that I’ve ever seen, slap bang in the middle of the beach, directly in front of the dive shop where I used to spend most of my time. To make matters worse, it’s predicted that the building (that is apparently the bright idea of the government) will take 3 years to complete. 3 years of locals suffering and business owners moving out.
You can probably see from the pictures, that this beach really is spectacular. Imagine a 50 metre by 10 metre metal barge being towed into that picture and being left on the beach as they unload and dump all the building materials next to where you’re trying to soak up that relaxing holiday dream. Doesn’t quite fit does it...? The irony of it is this; it was the first time I’ve ever been charged a national park entry fee onto the islands. A fee that will no doubt be going straight into the destruction of a beautiful place that many people will now never go back to.
Ok...so that was possibly my longest rant yet! We did end up having a nice time on the island, we did some really cool dives, and met some more wicked people. And, if you turned your head to the left slightly, you could almost forget what was happening up the beach. While the partying front was never going to live up to past standards in the absence of the old Coral Sky crew, we did manage one big night in Palm Tree where I went back to making an idiot of myself on the dance floor. Some things will never change.

Bangkok to Tioman

So...we finally made it, back to the land of smiles. Back to the warmth; back to life with islands on the doorstep; back to cheap food, affordable taxis and days of shopping. It’s amazing what memories stay with you when you leave...and what memories get conveniently left behind. Back to the damp, sweaty, cloying heat and its induced exhaustion; back to the stinky overly ripe streets, drains and klongs; back to the stationary traffic and horrifically long journeys; back to that out of breath and close to dying feeling gained when climbing the steps to the sky-train in 36 degree heat; back to packed department stores full of shuffling people with no sense of direction and a strange desire to stop dead when disembarking from any and every escalator. Oh yes...it’s good to be here.

We arrived in Bangkok about a month ago, I was so excited to get back that it was bound to be something of an anticlimax. I had built it up for so long, telling Nick and just about everybody who would listen about how great life used to be. When I arrived I felt so nervous that it wouldn’t live up to everything I had made it out to be, that I found it all to be more than a little bit stressful. I found myself constantly apologising to Nick for everything...sorry for the traffic jam, sorry you’re sweating, sorry it’s raining etc etc etc. Anyway, after a few days of this we flew down to Singapore and I let myself relax back into beach mode.
We spent one night in Singapore (a slightly unnerving place, hardly a car on the roads and far too little rubbish to be in Asia) before heading up into Malaysia and catching a very seasick inducing ferry over to Tioman Island. Tioman was just how I remember it, quite a few bars and restaurants yet never quite managing to provide a decent night out. Every restaurant serves the same dishes badly and the bars aren’t really set up for a mad night out. While on land was lacking in that certain spark, the diving lived up to all my memories of it and we dived everyday and could have done more. It is nudibranch heaven, even I managed to find stuff and I seem to be going blind.

The pictures are the view from our balcony (what can I say, we splashed out, seem to struggle with the whole budget backpacker thing now), one of the cool nudis and a cuttle fish.

Bureacratic Stress

Ok, just a quick rant…..

Last week, seeing as I recently seem to have turned into a ‘super-organized’ bod and because I want my next adventure to include ALL the necessary documentation, visas and a fresh new empty passport for the Thai immigrations approval, I thought that I’d get a head start, book my flight ticket early and arrange visas etc etc. Don’t want to get turned away from the plane and stuck for a week like I did in Egypt.

Anyway….have been investigating one way flight ticket and visa requirements, I checked with the Thai Embassy and they say I need a non-immigrant B visa to get a work permit, told them I knew that but I'd get it from Malaysia when I go on holiday, they say I can only get it here, from my place of birth. This definitely has neverbeen the case before, and the problem is I can't get it here because my school won't give me the documents needed for the visa until I go over there have the interview, meet the board, and show my degree.

So...can't get the B visa without the documents that I won't get until I go over there and give them my documents which I can't do unless I get a visa. THEN they tell me 'you do know you need a police check to get a teaching permit in Thailand now don’t you'.... to which I say ‘no….I didn’t know I needed a police check, how long does that take....?’ '5 weeks' they say.....

Then....Gill from work (who's generally well informed for a scouser...) tells me it costs about 100 quid to get a police check. 100 quid for that, 100 quid for visa....aaahhhhhh.

Just tried to call Nicole in Thailand to just get the info on what she had to do when she went last March but...can't get through.

So....phoned the police and found out that the check I need does take 5 weeks but only costs £10 and they will post it out to wherever, but….I need to have 2 forms of picture ID to take with me to the station. Problem with this is I need to send my passport off for renewal asap otherwise it won’t get back in time to be sent of for the visa that I’ll never get!!
This is turning into an organizational nightmare and I'm completely exhausted from trying to deal with all this while doing overtime at work.

Why is it so difficult to do things the official way….?

Beautiful Manchester....

Just wanted to post this picture that I’m quite impressed with (even if I do say so myself…). Took this over the weekend, during which I did little more than laze around feeling very sorry for myself with a major head cold. Nick and I were housesitting for his dad in Bowden and I managed to peel myself off the couch to see this sunset. It was one of those times where you’re really happy to have a camera with you, even if you do have to turn it on 3 times to take on picture because the battery’s dead. Anyway, still feeling sorry for myself and behaving like a complete space cadet at work so feel I’m in need of a half-day. Daytime TV here I come.

Part 3....

Last week Nick and I went away to Zell am See in Austria for a weeks snowboarding. It was a far more successful trip than last time, with me being able to board every day and remain largely bruise and concussion free. It was quite strange to get back to it after 2 years’; I knew that I had to be able to do everything as I’d done it before, but it seemed harder and scarier second time around. I have a real issue with the fact that you’re supposed to throw your weight down hill when your mind is screaming at you to lean back and brace yourself. Had to start completely from scratch but got the hang of it quite quickly. Did have a dicey morning where Nick and I went right to the top of the mountain, planning to test our new skills all the way down; scared of heights so the lifts are kinda hard to deal with anyway, then got to the top and found that I had to deal with edges of piste that dropped off into nothingness. Anyway, a major panic attack ensued which continued all the way back down the mountain, a journey that I made from the safety of the cable cars. Soon got my confidence back and was back to flying down the slopes in a mostly controlled (but sometimes completely uncontrolled) manner. Can’t wait to go again, thinking of Japan for Christmas.

As for further travel plans, I now have my departure date set, the flight has yet to be booked but the leaving do is planned. I have been offered a job at my old school in Bangkok, which I am absolutely thrilled about; it was hit and miss as to whether I’d get a job again there as it’s such a good school, but they seem eager to have me back. Hopefully Nick can get a job there as well, they’ve shown interest in him for a job teaching part PE and part remedial classes. This is every teachers dream job; getting to run around outside doing something fun for half the time, then get to relax back in the air-can teaching small specialist groups the rest of the time. Thanks to Nicole we have an apartment sorted already, she’s leaving us with a pretty much fully equipped pad while she heads off for a few months of beach bumming (otherwise known as 'becoming a dive instructor). If all goes to plan then we’ll get there at the start of April, dump bags and head straight off to Tioman and Perhentian islands in Malaysia to catch up on our water time for a month or so. Can’t wait. Think I’ve forgotten everything. God help me next time I have to teach a course.

Ok...think I’ve gone on enough. If you’ve bothered to read to this point then you really must be bored and in need of taking up a new hobby. So ciao for now, and for those of you who fancy a visit to Asia, Nick and I are getting a two-bed apartment with pool so you’re more than welcome to come and abuse our hospitality.