Chiang Mai.. Well, I have to say I now understand why so many people love spending their holidays and going on adventures here in Thailand. It feels liberated in comparison to many asian countries I have traveled through. I mean I can see the women looking to make money through male tourists more than I have seen anywhere else but being able to travel somewhere with less worries about offending the local custom makes you feel more at ease. The sense of relaxed locals with a lot of easy going tourists makes for a very smooth ride through daily life here in Chiang Mai.
Each day I wake up at about 7am (enjoying the sleep ins for work as opposed to 530am) get ready and head to the main volunteer house where I meet two others, currently one American & one Dutch and we head out to the home via a songthiew, ie local taxi/bus/public transport. It can take half an hour or so of waiting on the street to have the one we want come along. Its about a twenty minute ride out of town. Costs 15 baht ie 50cents. We ride in the back of a ute with a cover on the top, that's what a songthiew is like.
Once I arrive I head to the 'nursery' where the kids are aged 1 to 5 yrs. While the older kids are at thai & english classes I look after the 1 & 2 year olds. It can be a mission to entertain them day in and day out but they are lovely and I thoroughly enjoy their personalities and extending their vocab and numeracy in english. We do snack time where the kiddies drink their milk then we eat fruit. I've tried some amazing and new fruits here. Rose apples, unripened mango, the best watermelon of my life, nice rambutan, banana etc. After the second classes it's lunch time. I generally just eat lunch and don't have to pay much mind to the kids but occassionally I receive a welcome cuddle or one of them will come sit on my lap for a while. Then I watch and help sort any dramas in the playground & sandpit for about an huor and then have to hustle them for teeth brushing and showering. Theyre all pretty good once I can get them under control. They love the game, run away and hide from the volunteer until she gets really angry.. And then once I finally get them ready to wash and in the act of brushing their teeth, they often run away again stark naked. It doesn't test me too much, if I ignore them they tend to come back easier than when I get stroppy about it. Bath time is fun, the water is cold & they usually have a good laugh. Encouraging their hygiene & independence is really important. After wash time it's nap time. It doesn't take too much for most of them to settle to sleep but I lay with them & try to help them fall asleep by brushing their hair or just keeping them company. I generally pass out asleep for some time too. After that it's snack time again & then I choof off home. A pretty easy day. Though it is all outdoors in the Northern Thai summer heat. At the end of the day I'm pretty tired.
After work I come home via 7-11 for a cheeky snack & just relax.. Then it's dinner time. I head to town with another songthiew, it takes about 10 to 15mins. There is such a wide variety of cuisine here, it's great. Thai (of course) & Mexican rank highly on my list here. There are loads of vegetarian restaurants. Mojitos are always on special & I love singha beer, though it the most expensive you can generally buy.
Pai was beautiful and romantic. I would love to be there with my beloved.
Tomorrow I will go to the tiger kingdom after work. I've read a mixture about this place. That the tigers are heavily sedated, that they are exploited, that it is cruel.. I am keen to see it for my own eyes.
I will write about it. I promise.
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