The Countdown Begins

Well, today is Friday the 13th. I leave the 15th for Thailand. I return to Cambodia the 22nd. I leave for the USA the 29th. After today, I have 5 more days of teaching. !??!?!?!?

I can't believe that my trip is coming to an end!! I know that Thailand is gonna be a blast......but I can't believe I'm missing one of the LAST weeks I have here!!

About Thailand, I've been actually pretty nervous! It'll be the most rustic trip I've ever been on. Laos was pretty glamerous, Cambodia has been comfortable, Thailand is going to be straight up hard. Check this out:

Itinerary
Day 1-2 Bangkok
As congested, polluted and hectic as it is, Bangkok has plenty of appeal. With towering skyscrapers pressed up against Chinese shop-houses and brand-new Mercedes squeezing past vendors with pushcarts, this is a city of distinct contrasts. Culture fiends will delight in the dazzling Grand Palace and the city’s countless pagodas, while shoppers could spend weeks sifting through Bangkok’s malls and open-air markets. Entertainment ranges from highbrow (classical Thai music concerts) to low (transvestite revues) with everything in between. Dining options are equally varied. Whether you’re eating French cuisine in a plush hotel restaurant or sampling fried crickets on the side of the road, prepare to have all of your senses engaged. This is the place to eat, drink and be merry. Travellers will be arriving at all times today so there are no activities arranged. Please try to arrive by 6pm for an important group meeting where you can meet the tour leader and the other group members. You have the day free to relax and adjust to the frenetic pace and humid heat of Bangkok.

On Day 2 we can have an optional visit to Wat Po, home of the giant reclining Buddha or your tour leader can arrange a longtail boat to explore the canals of Bangkok. You have free time after until we head off to the railway station in the evening to board our sleeper train to Chiang Mai. This train journey is 13.5 hours

Day 3 Chiang Mai
We arrive in the early morning and have free time to explore for the rest of the day. In the early evening, we can arrange an optional visit to the famous temple complex of Doi Suthep, about a 45 minute drive from the center of the city. Surrounded by rolling hills, Chiang Mai offers both pretty surroundings and old style architecture. Enclosed by a moat and crumbling walls, the old city features great cafes, shops and accommodations. An important Buddhist centre since the 14th century, Chiang Mai is home to more than 300 temples. Many visitors come here to attend meditation retreats, massage classes or yoga lessons. It is also a centre of handicraft production, with a long history of silverwork, woodcarving, pottery-making and weaving. Not to be missed is the Night Bazaar, a series of covered markets, shops and stalls that offer the best selection of handicrafts in Thailand.

Day 4-6 Hilltribe Trek
From Chiang Mai, we start a 3 day hilltribe trek where we visit various hilltribe minority groups, each with their own language, clothing and religion. We will get the opportunity to ride an elephant (approx 2 hours) and test our rafting skills while bamboo rafting.We walk approximately 4-5 hours each day along sloping hills and valleys. We leave our big packs in storage and take an overnight bag. Each person is required to be able to carry their own pack as our porters will be carrying food and water supplies. Accommodation is group share, where you will be sleeping on the floor of the village huts. Toilet and washing facilities are very basic in most of the villages so be prepared to rough it for a few days. During the trek simple food is provided for breakfast, lunch and dinner. It can be cold during the evenings so make sure you have some lightweight warm clothes with you. It is possible to rent trekking gear in Chiang Mai before the trek in case you have forgotten to pack something vital. We return back to Chiang Mai in the late afternoon of Day 6.

Day 7 Chiang Mai
Free time in Chiang Mai to do any last minute shopping or sightseeing before boarding an overnight train back to Bangkok. This train journey is approximately 13.5 hours.

Day 8 Bangkok
Arrive back into Bangkok at about 8am where the trip finishes and everyone is free to depart from the train station.

"be prepared to rough it for a few days"...

But, this really is gonna be a great adventure! AND my first day in Bangkok I arrive in the morning so that Marcia and I can spend the day together visiting the sites! She'll be there just for about two days on her way back home to Saipan from Siem Reap. That's gonna be too fun!

So, I guess I am pretty stoked for the trip. And everyone who goes on these trips speaks English so I ancicipate meeting some pretty awesome people. It'll still be weirdly hard to leave Cambodia even for the week, though. But, another volunteer whose name I don't know yet arrives on the 15th (the day I leave) so my kids won't ever have a day without a teacher there..which gives me peace of mind.

My students and orphans have begun giving me extra hugs and little presents. So far, I have 3 letters, 2 little things where you fold paper and cut shapes out, then unfold it and it's a pretty pattern, 1 head covering scarf, 1 Christmas ornament, 1 pair of earrings, 1 bracelet, 2 origami hearts, and countless hearts and flowers made out of pipe cleaners. I've taped most of them up on a wall in my room--I think I'll make a bulletin board that I can take to UGA. :)

All these presents have me thinking about what I want to give them before I go. I think for CLFCA I'll print out pictures of either me and them or them with their friends. I don't think they really have pictures of themselves--I'm sure they don't have cameras. I've gotten to know each of the students well enough, too, to write them each a short letter to go along with the picture. I also hope to see something cool in Thailand that I can buy in bulk for cheap for them.

I haven't gotten to know my students at KHK as well...I've moved around classes a couple times and students are in and out constantly. So, instead of something personal, I thought I'd get them all something goofy...don't know what yet. And for the ones who I have gotten to know, maybe try to write them a message in Khmer (hah) and give them my e-mail address. Most of the kids at KHK have access to a computer with internet.

As hard as it will be to leave Cambodia, I think I will be ready. I'd love to come back sometime in the future, but for the time being I feel like I've done my part. Of course, I'm sure all this will change on my last two or three days. It will be really weird to be home.

School time!

"Kgnom douv bong reein kong kmeng robuk kgnom! Kgnom meein pram t'nigh teit bong reein!"