Monk Visit

I don’t know if the date had any significance, but yesterday a group of monks visited Hang Chat Wittaya School. It was quite an amazing ordeal, and many people from the community joined the students in offering alms. Teachers and students alike lined up around the school with their bags of rice, juice, soymilk, and snacks.

Oh Yeah...Teaching

I realize I don’t post a whole lot about teaching, you know—the main reason I’m here. It definitely has its ups and downs. It is incredibly difficult yet incredibly rewarding. You ride the highs as long as you can because you never know when you’ll hit a wall of frustration and communication breakdown. Believe it or not, it’s totally worth it for me.

Most of my students are at a very low level of English. That might surprise you since they have been taking English classes every year since starting school. There are many reasons for this, some of which I probably don’t even know about. One reason they have such a hard time speaking is that their education doesn’t primarily focus on communication. Most time is spent prepping them for national exams which don’t have a speaking/listening portion. At my school, the other teachers teach grammar and I spend once a week with them working on communication.

Christmas in Thailand

A few days after Thanksgiving, Sara and I headed to Lampang to check out the brand new mall, Central Lampang. We've been in more malls during our seven months in Thailand than we ever were in America, but something was different about this particular visit; the whole place had been taken over by Christmas "cheer". They had a massive decorated Christmas tree, the stores were jammed with decorations and, hardest to swallow, Christmas songs blared through the mall's sound system. Missing out on the "holiday season" and the music that went with it was probably my number two reason for wanting to come to Thailand, so it was difficult to accept their presence here in our home away from home.

We were happy to find out that, for the most part, no one here really knows or cares about Christmas, it is just an excuse to celebrate and spend more money. The exception was at Sara's school. Her students worked for several days decorating the school in anticipation of the holiday, including an honest to Godness manger scene that included a baby Jesus doll that was later found decapitated.

Pai, Pai, Love

The morning after Loy Krathong, with three days left of our vacation, we hopped on a dreaded minibus (van) and headed for one of our last wish-list cities up north, Pai. The road from Chiang Mai to Pai is infamous as the Road of 562 Curves, and Sara and I suffered in the back seat through every single one of them. We crawled up and around the mountains for what seemed like an eternity, several times considering jumping out and hurling ourselves over the cliff to avoid hurling on ourselves.

When we finally arrived and were dropped unceremoniously near downtown Pai, we were dazed, nauseous, and had no idea where our guesthouse was (or where we were dropped). After a little over an hour of wandering, having encountered several helpful people who sent us in the wrong direction entirely, we made it safely to Good Morning Pai, a beautiful place to stay in the foothills of the mountains surrounding the city. (Pro tip: Always ask at least three different people for directions. Many times people won’t admit they don’t know and send you in any particular direction.)We had a nice little bungalow to ourselves at Good Morning Pai, and as far as I know we were the only ones staying at the resort. It was the cleanest place we’ve stayed in Thailand.

Loy Krathong-ta-tong-tong-tong

After five weeks on the road, Sara and I returned to Hang Chat ready to get back into a routine. Luckily for Sara, who had gotten quite used to not working forty-plus hours a week, that routine consisted of two four-day weeks, a three-day week, and, my personal favorite, a two-day week. The two-day week wrapped up the last week of November, and Sara was set free for five days in honor of Loy Krathong, yet another Buddhist holiday honoring the spirits.

(not my video)

The Gremmers Take Northern Thailand

None of us wanted to leave Phuket. If we hadn't had reservations in Chiang Mai that night, at least one of us would have climbed a tree and refused to come down. As it was, we had to keep moving!
 
We piled into Baan Mai's little boat and headed back to Chalong Pier. Our minibus ride to the airport was about two hours shorter than the one into town; this was on a Tuesday morning and the island seemed deserted. Turns out everyone was at the airport, which was hopping. We had quite a bit of time to kill, so we got something to eat, argued about whether we should pay the insane prices at the internet cafe only to find out it was closed—you know, the usual travel stuff. A few hours and another quick and painless flight, we were back in Bangkok, waiting for our overnight train to Chiang Mai.

Eventually we'll learn for good, but Sara and I were still taking classes in not expecting things to be the same the second or third time around. In this case, we went way overboard talking up the overnight train; how comfortable it was, how it was our favorite way to travel, and I think Sara might have actually called the Japanese style cabin "charming". Somewhere along the way we greatly angered the travel gods, who repaid us with a train that was two and a half hours late, bitterly cold, and absolutely reeking of urine and the ineffective rest-stop chemicals used to cover up the smell of said urine. After waiting so long for the train, it was one of those classic moments in life when you realize maybe the train never coming would have been preferable to being stuck in a refrigerated toilet for fifteen hours. We tried to laugh about it, but the smell only got worse when you opened your mouth.

The Gremmers Take Bangkok (and Phuket)

With impeccable, and totally coincidental timing, my mom and dad arrived in Bangkok on Sara's final day of orientation. They took our advice and flew in on Korean Air, with twenty hours in the air split between Chicago, Seoul, and Bangkok. The day they arrived, I'd been staying alone in various guesthouses and hotels all over the north side of town and was elated not only to see them for the first time in six months, but to have a bigger sense of day-to-day purpose than finding the best deal on a bottle of Coke Zero.

Back to Base Camp

After three days of intense relaxation, I was still not ready to go to work. But alas, putting in some time with OEG was going to help fund our month-long vacation. It turned out to be fun to meet two new groups of teachers, scare them shitless with spider and snake stories, and assure them they’d probably suck at teaching because we all do at first.

The most amazing part was going to Siam Niramit, which we did not attend when I was in orientation. It seriously blew my mind with a little bit of Thai history, theatrical depictions of heaven and hell, and a sampling of Thai festivals. Before the show, you can wander around a faux Thai countryside complete with crafting stations and musical entertainment.

Koh Phangan Style

After a few days stumbling around Bangkok in the oppressive heat, Sara and I were both excited about spending some quiet time on the beach. Sara had been talking about visiting the famous island beaches of Thailand even before we left America, but she was still finalizing plans for our trip to Koh Phangan the night before we left Bangkok. She found us an amazing guesthouse with beachfront cottages called Ocean View, whose name turned out to be the understatement of the year.

But, first, we had to get there! We loaded into a taxi and headed to the Bangkok train station, Hua Lamphong. The station is a pleasant enough place to spend four hours waiting for a train, and afforded us the opportunity to do some great people watching - dividing time between guessing the nationalities of the countless hordes of incoming tourists and suffering through the first presidential debate on my laptop.

“Winter” Vacation

The semester’s over, grades are in, and we’re free for the next 4+ weeks! (Well, sort of. I’m helping OEG with 2 orientations in Bangkok, but that’s not until 11 Oct.) We booked the overnight train to pick us up in Lampang and take us to Bangkok for a few days before heading to some sandy beaches. Turns out the night train is our new favorite way to travel. It’s cheap, cozy, and air-conditioned.

Second to Nan

Even with the semester break looming right around the corner, Jack and I decided to take advantage of a long weekend and head east to a small province near Laos. We were planning to take a bus right from Lampang, but the seats were booked by the time we got to the station (quite a rarity!) Instead we hopped on a minibus (read: van) to Phrae and another to Nan.

The secret to minibus-riding is being stocked up on motion sickness medicine and avoiding watching the driver. The curvy mountain roads are not conducive to passing other drivers and, although the lane lines prohibited such dangerous behavior, our driver wouldn’t heed the painted suggestions. Instead he seemed to enjoy spiting them by spending time leisurely in the oncoming traffic’s lane. So, just stop watching. Ok? Ok.

We made it safely to Nan and hopped in a songtaew to our hotel Srinual Lodge. This place turned out to be clean and charming, and we were blown away that it’s available for about $100 a month.

How ‘bout those Hill Tribes?

Jack had to go to Chiang Mai this week to extend his student visa so I hopped a bus on Friday to meet him and spend the weekend on a little getaway. Every time I visit Chiang Mai I like it a little bit more, probably because we avoid the other farang (Westerners) and get into the rural surrounding areas. This time, I wanted to visit some hill tribes so we wandered a bit to find the best price on a tour. Pro tip: The way most of the tour companies work here is that they all book on the same tour: usually no matter who you book through, you will be on the same minibus with the same people. Knowing this, we can shop around town for the best price (which can be as much as $10 difference) on whichever tour we want, as long as we pay attention to the descriptions. I had already found a place I wanted to book with online, but on the way we spotted these guys outside a tour company and I started snapping photos.

I’ve Reached a Turning Point…

My perspective has changed since arriving here 4 1/2 months ago. It wasn’t an overnight switch, but a gradual shift from an American consciousness to a more Thai-ish consciousness. I’ve got an entirely new “normal.”

Hang Chat Spotlight: PaPan

May I present a new section of our blog, Hang Chat Spotlight, where we’ll give you a peek into our daily lives by introducing someone very special to us. Today I’d like you to meet PaPan (Aunt Pahn).

Ubiquity

Of course there are the obvious things you can’t miss when you visit Thailand—rice fields, temples, and orange-clad monks. Instead of the obvious, here’s a list of things I didn’t expect.

Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Chiang Rai

The city of Chiang Rai, located in the far north of Thailand, had been on our wishlist from day one of our journey. We had both seen pictures of the famous Wat Rong Khun, the "white temple" of Chiang Rai. Sara never needs an excuse to go on a weekend adventure, but for myself, being more of a homebody, I was excited to see the white temple in person.

The First Kingdom of Siam (Part 2)

Ok, here we go…the reason we came to Sukhothai: the Historical Park! We spent the entire day here, and we still didn’t see it all. To be fair, some ruins really are more impressive than others and once you see one slab of bricks, the next one just isn’t as earth-shattering. We did hit up almost everything on the must-see list, and they really were incredible. Get ready for a history- and photo-heavy post (and remember—you can always click on an image to see a larger version)!

 

Wat Chana Songkhram

This temple appears to have been built around the fourteenth century. The bell-shaped stupa is a very good example of the "Sukhothai" style that is considered the highest form of Thai art.

Yeah Yeah, I know…

We haven’t written in awhile. There are a couple of reasons for that. Firstly, not a lot has been going on in Hang Chat. We’ve settled into jungle living and have a pretty good daily routine going. Also, I’ve been very busy with school stuff—lesson planning, script writing, game creating. I know, there’s no excuse. But hold tight: we will soon have pictures up of Sukhothai. Until then, please enjoy this video of our furry wild rabbit friends:

Matty little buggers but they really couldn’t be more lovable.

The Roof of Thailand (Doi Inthanon)

I’d been craving a particularly big adventure, so last weekend Jack and I headed to Chiang Mai to book a tour to Doi Inthanon. We hadn’t seen much of the beautiful natural wonders in Thailand so this was long overdue. I wanted some waterfalls, damnit!

Since haggling is a part of everyday life here, we weren’t sure if we should book online or see if we can get a cheaper price at a travel agency. Turns out tours are one of the few things that are not haggleable—lesson learned. We paid about $33 each for a full day (9-5) group tour, which seemed reasonable enough anyway and turned out to be well worth it!

Doi Inthanon is known as “The Roof of Thailand,” being its tallest mountain at 2565m (8415 ft) above sea level. It is named after Chiang Mai's last sovereign, King Inthawichayanon, who worked hard to preserve the forests in the north.

The company picked us up at our hotel at about 8:30 in an air-conditioned minibus, where we met another couple (the woman was Thai and the man Turkish). After picking up a Chinese woman and her son, a couple from France, and a couple from Bahrain (as our bus represented almost all corners of the globe), we headed out. The drive to the mountain was about an hour and 15 minutes (~65km away).

The first place we stopped was the Sirithan Waterfall:

The Temple on Top of a Mountain (Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep)

Yesterday Pii Pan had to go to Chiang Mai to pick up her daughter and she was sweet enough to invite us along. Chiang Mai is about an hour and a half drive from Hang Chat, through some beautiful (and sometimes treacherous) mountains. We are always up for an air-conditioned car ride anywhere, especially with our good friend Pii Pan. We had some extra time before we had to pick up her daughter, so she brought us to the most famous wat (temple) in all of northern Thailand—Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep. It is a beautiful temple on top of a mountain overlooking the city. Jack is somewhat “wat”-ed out, having seen a dozen temples already. I agree that many Thai temples are similar-looking, but they are always very beautiful and we can appreciate the craftsmanship and work put into creating them. Besides we couldn’t pass up the trip to the top of a mountain.

Wan Wai Kru (Teacher Appreciation Day)

Today was teacher appreciation day at Hang Chat Wittaya. There was a big ceremony where students presented the teacher and principal with beautiful pan (bouquets) decorated with hand-folded banana leaves and fresh flowers.

Lampang: The Big City (relative to Hang Chat)

Jack and I spent another night in Lampang this weekend. It’s the capital of our province and only about 15 minutes away by motorbike. Whenever we need something that we can’t find in Hang Chat, we can get it here. It’s also not a tourist-y city like Chiang Mai so we can experience authentic Thai life. We love it!

The first weekend after I began teaching we headed to Lampang for a little stay-cation. As a reward for bearing the jungle house for a week, we splurged on a night at Auangkham Resort. At $20 it was a little pricey but well worth it. It was beautiful, clean, and very high-so.