Good bye Hong Kong, Hello Thailand

How fast time is flying! I have been in Khao Lak for two days now, and I am quickly learning to love the culture. People here are so nice and friendly and it is very much a chill pace of life. Their driving though it another story! Cars and motor bikes pass on both sides and they drive on the opposite side of the road! I am just glad I am not behind the wheel.

Before I continue with Thailand talk, I want to share my last few days in HK. They were a blast! (other then the food poisoning I got... that sucked!) My last night there, Emily and I met up with Bruce and Greg and some South African pilot friends of theirs. We went to Rat Alley for dinner... Sounds lovely I know, but the food was great.

Dinner at Rat Alley (Me, Emily, Bruce, and Greg)

After dinner we headed to the horses races which was right down my alley! We were able to catch the last three. We placed bets on 2 races and one of our horses placed second... thanks to Emily and mine good choice!

Back in the Saddle again!

Once we finished at the races, I got a second wind and we all decided we needed to go out, after all it was my last night in HK. It was Emily and myself and the 4 guys and ladies night which meant free drinks for the ladies ofcourse... recipe for disaster! I was well behaved all night, honestly! Emily soon needed to head for bed as she had to work early and well the rest of us had nothing important to do the next day, so we rallied on! Needless to say it was a great last night! Big Thanks to all my friends in HK, you guys are awesome and I hope to see you all very soon!!!

Out for the night! Brett, Emily, Bruce, Me and Nigel

Greg and I
Since in Thailand I have been working everyday.. well the two days I have been here. I arrived late Thursday night and basically went straight to bed, as I was exhausted from the night before. On Friday, I woke up and was a bit clueless on how to get around, but the hotel owners wife, Mook, took pity on me! She is Thai and her husband Swiss. She speaks Thai and German, so our most common language is German. So it has been fun brushing up on my German skills. Khao Lak is a big resort area for Swiss and Germans, so I feel I am speaking as much Thai as I am German.
Mook drove me to the Tsunami Volunteer Center (TVC) were I started my first day. I had a quick orientation and was introduced to some other education volunteers. There are lots of couples here, so I am the one solo flyer. Simon, a Scot and Laura and American are one set, the other are Tim and Cholete ( who I have not yet met, as she has been sick). The four of us have been the teaching team the last two days. Yesterday Tim and I went to teach one lesson at a near by school. We taught about European countries. Quite fun!

Last night Simon, Laura and I had a quick beer and then headed home as we were all exhausted from a long day and we knew that today would be a long one too! Today we got up early and drove 1.5 hours NE to an orphanage. I was a bit nervous having no idea what to expect and really no lesson planned. I was to teach time and numbers, but I was not sure of there ability level. When we arrived we were greeted by about 20 kids ranging from ages of 6 months to 20 years old. All beautiful and smiling! There were a few that were getting over the Chicken pox, so I was glad that I had already had them, otherwise I might have been in trouble!

Kids hard at work making fortune tellers. We had them make these to practice colors, numbers, shapes and simples sentences that they had learned during the day.

We taught 4 30 min lessons, It reminded me of our EE days back at Hemlock! I was smiling and laughing the whole day. The kids were really bright and knew lots about numbers! I was very impressed! At the end of the day Simon, Laura, Tim and I took them all outside, which was quite hot. We got them all in a circle and did the hookie Pookie! This was hilarious! Then I lead them all in Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes. This got some laughs too! All in all is was an amazing day!

This is Tim! He was teaching them about directions.

Tonight I am heading out into Khoa Lak Town to visit one of the girls that works at TVC, who also works at a local bar. This should be a good time. But I cant stay out late, because tomorrow I have a very early morning to go diving!!! I am sooooo excited and I am sure I will have lots to report on my day! I will also add more pictures next time... this computer takes it sweet time to upload!

I miss you all tons and wish I could share this amazing experience with all of you! I hope everyone is well and thanks again for all the emails and comments, they all make me smile!