Grand Palace and Kanchanaburi

During our 7 day orientation, which just ended two days ago, we got the chance to do a couple of touristy activities. The first was going to see the Grand Palace. This is the most holy temple to all Thai people and is located in central Bangkok. It was originally built as a home and temple for the monarch, but has since become a sacred landmark/very large tourist attraction. On the piece of land are the king's home and temple, as well as roughly 100 other buildings used for different ceremonies and practices. The largest temple is now the most sacred because it is the home of the Emerald Buddha, a rather small Buddha statue which is actually made of jade. It sits on top of a HUGE decorative alter and attracts Buddhists from all over the world. It was a really cool experience seeing such elaborate buildings and grounds while learning all about the Buddhist religion and history in Thailand.

As a treat on our final day, we got to travel to Kanchanaburi, which is about 2.5 hours west of Bangkok. This town is notorious for being the home of the Bridge of the River Kwai. This bridge is known as the 'Death Railway' because it was built by the Japanese using American POWs, thousands of which died because of the brutal treatment. Today the bridge is still used but there are numerous cemeteries, memorials and museums commemorating all the Americans who lost their lives. We arrived at Kanchanaburi two nights ago, so we got to see the bridge while it was lit up at night which was pretty spectacular. After exploring and having dinner on the river we went back to the hotel to celebrate our friend Olivia's birthday and our final night together as a group. The next morning morning we all got up very early to head to the Taweechai Elephant Camp where we got to ride elephants!! It was such a cool experience and quite a crazy ride...

Afterwards we headed to the river where we got to ride on bamboo rafts. We rode them down a small portion of the river and got to swim in the deeper sections. This was a great way to relax after the excitement of the elephants. Once everyone finished with the morning activities we went back to the hotel where we could shower and eat some lunch. After lunch Ciana, Andrew and I had to say goodbye to the group because our school coordinator came to pick us up. Suphanburi is only about an hour northeast of Kanchanaburi which is really exciting because they also have some great waterfalls that we want to go back and explore. When we first arrived we were taken right to our apartments...let me tell you, we lucked out. We each have a one bedroom apartment that is furnished with an armour, TV, bed, desk, bookshelf and AC (thank goodness!). We also have private bathrooms with a toilet, sink and shower. The interesting part about the shower is that it's just a shower head on the wall, there is no curtain or door, so when you're showering the whole bathroom literally becomes the shower. It seemed a little weird at first but actually isn't that bad. In the grand scheme of things I would say we are very very lucky.

After we moved our stuff in we headed to Tesco to get some basic food and supplies and then we went to see the school. It is quite large, but a really beautiful place. We start teaching on Tuesday and I'm excited to explore it a little bit. After we left the school we came back to our apartments to unpack a little then had dinner with our coordinator. The hardest part about not speaking Thai is definitely ordering food, so she was introducing us to different dishes and giving us the Thai names. Also, when Thai people eat in groups they almost always eat family style, so they order multiple dishes with rice, and share everything. When we eat we all try and order our own thing, and thus far it has failed every time. One way or another we don't get everything we ordered or we only get one order of a dish when multiple people wanted it, because it is meant to share. At some point I'm sure we'll get it down. After dinner we all just came back to our apartments and crashed.

Yesterday we spent the day exploring the city. We basically walked in circles trying to find different landmarks and food stalls that we wanted to try. In this process we've already come across a little food market and convenience store that we like. The shop owner, Tony, helped us out with our Thai and was extremely generous both times we went to see him. Being in a smaller town, that doesn't usually get any American tourists, is a little like being a celebrity. Walking down the street people are always looking at us, saying hi and asking where we came from. When we sat down to have lunch the restaurant owners got so excited that we picked their place they all came over to help take our order. It is actually a pretty good feeling knowing that everyone is excited to have us here and would be more then welcome to help us out where they can. Today I think we're going to do some more exploring and hopefully come across some more cool people!