lisbonchick

It has been a while….  This studying to be a teacher business has been rather time consuming!  First placement is done so now I can focus on blog writing before the second placement beast is unleashed.  I think I like teaching, I’ll let you know more once I am over the shock of teaching and being scrutinized on a daily basis.

In October, we went to see some whales, as you do.  Not just any whales but Bryde’s whales, I never knew they had whales in Thailand but there you go.  We went on an organised trip with other teachers, it was a great day and ABC news station from Australia was on-board.  See their short film: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-10-11/thailands-whales-at-risk-after-mystery-deaths/7923696.

Leaving the harbour

It’s a feeding frenzy!

We had a few days off and went exploring despite heavy protesting from the kids.  First to Krabi and Railay beach with its beautiful limestone crags.  It is a stunning location on a peninsula only accessible by long tail boat due to the high limestone crags.  Sadly, it has been overbuilt on and lost some of its magic but it is worth a visit.  It also poured with rain during our stay.  Still, it was warm…

Arrival

Not sure the rope’s going to do it…

Sound advice!

British resilience in awful weather!

Grey skies

These rocks are rather impressive.  The cave on the bottom left was full of penises!  Shrine apparently…

These boats are amazing

After a couple of very wet days in Railay, we continued to Kho Lanta in the hope of finding fairer weather.  It is a long journey with the kids asking why we are here and not at home. It is hard work at times!  We want to show them the world and its beauty but all they want is to be home and do nothing.  Still, we persevere and I wonder if they will grow up to hate travelling, especially budget travelling.  Kho Lanta is dead and wet but we enjoy it.  It is like having an island to yourself, there is hardly anybody anywhere which is kind of spooky, like an apocalypse kind of thing but peaceful.

Sunset swimming

Father and daughter pondering life…

Kho Lanta National Park

Hey, the sun is out and so are we!

Beautiful beach!  We later saw the signs warning against swimming due to abundant and dangerous jellyfish.  Oh, well….

Geoff is impressed by the giant leaves!

Lunch with a view

Marianne western style riding with a dreadlocked, Thai cowboy!  

It was great to get out of Bangkok and the huge building and crazy traffic.  It is peaceful out there and very pleasant indeed.  Life in Bangkok is missing a connection to nature and is horribly commercialized.  I have never seen anything like it before, the excess, the amount of stuff you can buy, everywhere, all the time!  It is frightening and feels so shallow and pointless – we don’t need it!!!!  I think Tanzania made me see beauty as well as horrendous deprivation.  It was life at its rawest, at its simplest and it was hard but it felt true (yes, corny, I know).  It is hard to explain, I feel I am in the Truman Show, I am being brainwashed with commerce, adverts and the masking of nature.  Onwards though!  Life is also good here and it is an amazing experience.  Some snapshots of life around us.

Rather large…

Outside local temple

I am starting to realise that temples can be rather unusual…

Statues in the peaceful temple’s garden!  What does it mean?!

Not so weird after the other stuff…

My quest to find bugs continues

Cows wallowing in the mud by the road, as they do…

On the boat into Bangkok, best way to get into town!

Signs for birds nests and shark fin soup!  It’s everywhere.

Surely there is some good fortune in one of those cookies…

Walkabout in Chinatown

Thai sweets in the classroom

Yum

Our local

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Bangkok vistas

Nuan and Ed Sheeran enjoying a snuggle

We are sat in a restaurant and what comes by…  People selling food and people actually buy it too as they are eating their orders.  

My new friend

Remember not to ride elephants too!!

Crazy wiring

Marianne trying to blend in

More chaos

So, the moral of the story is…  Do not leave blogging for so long as you will forget all the quirky things that have happened.  On another note,  I am pleased to report that Geoff’s unfortunate encounters with food continue.  Chicken feet this time!  What next?!