Monk-eying Around

Pardon the bad pun.

Monks are everywhere in Thailand. This is not unusual of course seeing as ninety percent of the population is Buddhist making Thailand the largest Buddhist population in the world. Monks dress in orange robes of varying shades-almost neon coloured to more of a brown hue, they have shaved heads and eyebrows and all of them are, of course, male. You get nuns in Thailand but they’re less prominent. However, they too have their heads shaved but wear white instead of orange. I had not been acquainted with any until one fell asleep on me during in the back of a pickup truck. Long (and awkward) story.

Back to monks. We volunteers had all been invited on another English camp in Nakhon Sawan by a previous volunteer who has moved back to Thailand after university. This time we’d be teaching high-school aged novice monks. We were all slightly nervous, the girls especially as women aren’t allowed to touch or make physical contact with monks or even pass them things. If we wanted to hand out sheets we’d have to put them down and hope they’d pick them up. Even though I don’t go around touching monks (or any random people actually) I found myself being extra aware of monk-proximities. Even after the camp was over I kept automatically flinching away from men walking past in the street. I probably looked mental. Anyway, we were split into pairs and given a topic to teach Chess (Francesca) and I taught fruit all day to different groups of monks. We played the game ‘Fruit Salad’ and watching robed, religious young men run around fighting each other for chairs so they didn’t have to say ‘apple’ in front of everyone was a lot of fun. Weirdly you get lady boy monks which are an even stranger sight- watching monks mince up and down with false eyelashes on and saying ‘strawberry’ in the campest voice ever.

When the day was over, we all got given certificates and presents. Which all turned out to be the same. A towel. Hope they weren’t hinting at anything. Afterwards we hit the streets of Nakhon Sawan for my second New Year of the New Year. This time it was Chinese New Year and as Nakhon Sawan has a large Chinese population we saw parades of floats with Chinese dancing and music playing, there were fireworks and firecrackers and the streets glowed red with the hundreds of lanterns that had been strung across them. We saw a show with fire breathing creatures that could change their faces with a flick of the head and naturally the famous Chinese dragons.

This weekend has been a lot different as we travelled to the next village where some more volunteers are posted. Though their village is much tinier than ours, they have a spa! Which you can use for free! You have to sign some forms (they wanted my parents names’ for some bizarre reason) and give your blood pressure and are supposed to make a donation but apart from that we had a free afternoon going in and out of the steam room. Ah, bliss!

Sawat Dee Ka!

And Happy New Year. Again.

Trippin'

I loved school trips. The coach journeys, the laughs, just the change of scenery. But then there were always the work booklets or the timetables or questionnaires with which to annoy the general public.  If only there were schools which took you to places just for fun and not because they’re vaguely related to what you’re learning.

Welcome to the average Thai High school trip!

We left for Bangkok on Tuesday night having only been notified twenty four hours previously and arrived at a temple school the following morning. We dropped our bags and went off to our first destination. The Airport. This may sound odd but most of the students on the trip had never been to an airport. We’re country bumpkins remember. So they were all fascinated by check in desks and landing strips. At one point the excitement reached breaking point as a large crowd began to gather near the arrival gate. When I enquired as to what was going on I was told that a “Superstar” from...wait for it...Korea was arriving. I swear you could hear the screams from Cambodia they were that loud. Obviously this was mildly boring for us but it was strange to think that the next time we’d be in that airport, we’d be on our way home.

When one thinks of Bangkok, the word “beach” does not exactly spring to mind. “Sprawling Metropolis” yes. Beach? Not so much. None the less, we set off with an open mind and were pleasantly surprised to find a real beach just outside Bangkok. We spent a very relaxing afternoon there watching roast crabs and prawns and cuttlefish on the sand and enjoying iced chocolate. (The best cold drink ever)

After sleeping (surprisingly well) on a school hall floor, we travelled to Ayutthaya, the cultural capital of Thailand. We looked around Bang Pa In palace and admired the stunning former residences of past kings, fed some turtles in the surrounding ponds and saw a memorial for one of the past queens who had drowned in a boat sinking. Thai law at that time forbade anyone to touch her so no-one tried to save her. The law was quickly changed. Afterward we cruised along on a four-hour round boat journey. I watched the sun set on the river and enjoyed papaya salad (a student mad a non-spicy version especially for me!) smoked fish and of course, rice whilst sitting on the deck.

After another night spent on another school floor we began the long journey home, stopping off several places on the way. First, the floating market where you can buy cups (yes cups) of strawberries from boat-stalls and visit the many lakeside shops for touristy souvenirs. We had to stop every five minutes for photo moments. Thai people love taking pictures and will keep you standing in front of some monument while they swap positions and cameras or make you hold things until everyone has a record of every photo. Next stop, Wat Yai Chaimongkhon. (“Wat” means temple) There was a magnificent, giant reclining Buddha draped in gold cloth and a huge stone chedi (pagoda-y tower thing) which was once completely covered in gold that had been burnt off by the Burmese when the two countries were at war.  For a small price, you could buy some gold flakes to stick back on the many Buddha statues in the hope of one day returning it to its former glory.

Back on the bus we had to put up with another love of Thailand. Bad Karaoke. (Well, karaoke that they don’t realise is sung in a way that makes you want to jump out the nearest window. Oncoming traffic or no oncoming traffic) After five hours straight I was glad to see the lights of Lerng Noktha finally coming into view and as it was midnight by this time, was grateful just to be able to collapse on the nearest school floor. No, I did actually make it home to a proper bed!

So it might not have been the most educational of school trips but it was exciting and interesting and thoroughly enjoyable. And that, let’s be honest, is probably a lot more valuable.

Sawat Dee Ka.