Our last 2 days of orientation were spent on a field trip to the province of Kanchanaburi, about 3-4 hours northwest of Bangkok. The first major stop was the river Kwai and the bridge over it, which you will recognize from the movie bearing the same name. I am embarrassed to say I haven't actually seen the movie, but that is on my list of things to do. Another fun tidbit: the correct pronunciation of the word Kwai is actually like square or way, not why. If you pronounce it like why, you are saying water buffalo. The more you know!
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| The bridge itself--only the ends are original |
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| Me and Amy on the bridge |
So after the bridge we continued on to dinner. The word that most accurately and succinctly sums up the evening is unexpected. Basically, we got on a floating platform that was then pulled out into the river Kwai by a small boat. We had a lovely dinner surrounded by some of the most beautiful scenery you can imagine and then passed some time admiring it. Once the sun set, our boat was converted into a floating dance floor as we made our way back down the river. It was a wonderful evening filled with awe-inspiring scenery and lovely company. As I said: unexpected.
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| My lovely dinnermates |
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| Just wow |
Not a whole lot more happened after dinner. We headed over to the Pavilion Hotel, which turned out to be quite nice, for our last night together as a group. It felt like the end of summer camp, when everyone had to get ready to go home after spending so much time together. So we all decided to go out and relax by the pool. A few of us (Pam, John, Ian, Kiara, and I) even went on an expedition to find the second pool, which was totally worth it--much more isolated and natural looking. A very nice end to the evening.
Early wake up for the most hotly anticipated activity of orientation: Taweechai Elephant Camp!!!! I wish I could show all my pictures, but I actually ended up taking about 300 just that morning--kind of excessive, I know. I will say that riding the elephants was quite strange. The way it works is that 2 people sit on a sort of bench on the elephants back and it is driven by a mahout, who sits on the elephant's neck. The motion of the elephant is really unlike anything I have ever experienced--it has a really odd swaying gait. In the beginning it was a bit uncomfortable, but Kiara and I got used to it pretty quickly.
Our elephant ride went around a little jungle loop and then through a small village before heading down to the river. We then waded into the river on the elephants! Ours stopped to take a drink--he was particularly fond of taking breaks, but I can't say I blame him, what with carrying 3 people on his back in that heat!
After coming out of the river, our mahout gave us the opportunity to "drive" the elephant by riding on his neck. Kiara is scared of heights, so I hopped down first. WOW!!! If I thought that the motion was odd while riding on his back, it was really strange between his shoulder blades. That being said, every second was like being in a dream. It was such a surreal experience (thanks to Michael for finding the right words to describe it).
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| Baby elephants are SUPER cute |
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| Through the river we go! |
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| Maybe I have a future career as a mahout? |
The whole experience was quite exciting, with the mahouts singing and joking as we went along. After the ride there was an elephant show where some of the younger elephants did tricks (throwing darts, playing harmonicas, swinging hula hoops). They also gave elephant "massages" where they would lightly step on you and hit your back/butt with their trunk. No joke. Some people even got picked up by the elephant's trunk, but I didn't do that.
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| My first Thai massage |
After our show, we had one last surprise: a rafting trip. This was a bit different than what most of us would imagine as rafting--don't think white water rafting. Instead, imagine a raft made of bamboo drifting down the river. Most people got out and swam most of the way, but with all of the miscommunication, I didn't know there would be rafting so didn't wear a swimsuit. It didn't matter much though, I was quit content to sit on the raft with my feet in the water and talk with the other 3 swimsuit-less people.
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| Our trusty raft...no 3 hour tours though |
After all of this we headed back to the hotel to shower and then return to Bangkok. Yay for another 3.5 hour bus ride. Once we got back to Bangkok, everything erupted into a frenzy of activity. Most peoples' school coordinators were at the hotel waiting to escort them to their new homes, so those people just grabbed their bags, said hurried goodbyes, and went off for the beginning of their grand adventure. Some of us didn't have coordinators waiting, mostly because we would be taking buses later in the evening and meeting our coordinators on the other side. So we hung out, grabbed some cool drinks, and waited for taxis to take us to the bus station. Now THAT was funny--watching a taxi shove the guys luggage into the trunk, try (and fail) to close the trunk, and (in true Asian style) decide to just leave the trunk open for the ride and tie down all the the luggage. Tricia and I were in a second taxi and all our luggage fit safely within the confines of the vehicle. However, all people and luggage did make it to the bus station, so all's well that ends well.
We had a bit of a wait again at the bus station, but with Bangkok traffic you never know how long it will take to get anywhere. I did have some tasty pork bao (funny side note: the word for pork in Thai is "moo"), and there was free wifi, so it was an easy wait. Tricia and I eventually got on our bus at 8:30 and settled in for the 10 hour ride. Let me just say that if I have to travel anywhere for 10 hours, I want to do it on a Thai bus. That thing was luxurious. The seats reclined almost flat, there were blankets/pillows, and we had fancy bus attendants and meal service. We even had a movie! (Chinese with Thai subtitles, but hey, can't be too picky) Overall, it was not a bad way to pass a few hours.
We did make it to Nan, although we arrived a little early so our coordinators weren't there. I am going to have to save more information for my next entry since this one is so long, but Pee Neat and Pee Nura are amazing! I love my coordinators so much--they are really helping me to get settled in. I am really happy here and will update everyone soon with pictures of my new place. Tomorrow is our first day of classes, so I need to get some stuff done. See you soon!
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