Time nearly up in Thailand

Published by Matthew J. Ward | Filed under Travelling, Thailand

Well we are in our last week in Thailand, currently on the lovely island of Koh Samet. It also seems that we are in the most expensive internet cafe yet. So a brief overview of what we have done so far;

Week 1

Spent a couple of nights in Bangkok at the Royal Hotel, which was based in the old city center. Enjoyed some sight seeing and general acclimatising to the heat of around 36 degrees C most days. From there we were taken to our Eco house where we would stay for the next two weeks. The eco house would best be described as dorm rooms in a very rural area of Thailand. It was around 20 minutes drive from the nearest town of Singburi. So to summarise the first week we did the following plus lots more;

Visited numerous temples
Thai Lessons
Thai cooking lessons
A welcome party with the local school children
Taught the local school children English (eventually after the communication barrier)
Visited many restaurants
Visited numerous Buddhas
Elephant village
Shopping

Week 2

This week involved our main insight into Buddhism and the culture of Thailand. We gave alms to the local monks at 5:30 am and the next day we went to a temple to stay with the monks for 2 days and learn more about Buddhism and meditation. The accommodation was simple on a hard marble floor which proved to be very uncomfortable. The stay however was very rewarding and I feel privileged to have been able to stay there.

Stayed at a resort

On the Friday we went to visit the zoo which was around 4 hours from the eco house. Which turned out to be fantastic, we had the chance to feed baby tigers and Orangutans as well as hold snakes and lots of close-ups with great animals.

The weekend came and we headed over the River Kwai Bridge (the famous one), we toured around the area and took a trip down the ‘death railway’. From there we visited a huge waterfall putting any in the UK to shame. On the Sunday we had the chance to ride elephants and go water rafting on the Kwai….a truly amazing experience.

Week 3

This week I was trekking in the north jungle of Thailand. The trekking took place over 3 days and we covered around 30K or so. It was pretty hard going, and was a real trekking experience. Climbing up waterfalls and vines and generally being aware of all the dangerous wildlife in the area. I would like to write more here but I really need to head off now. Pictures to be attached soon…..

As mentioned above in the post we are now soaking up the sun and sand on a beautiful island, may do some quad biking and jet skiing soon. Take care all..