Phetchabun

When I said yes to the invitation to stay with the Thai family I met in Phitsanulok, I expected that it would last maybe 2 or 3 days and then I would move on. Once there, however, it seemed they didn`t want me to leave and were constantly finding new ways of keeping me entertained. Suddenly two weeks has passed and I feel like part of their family with strong ties to many of their friends. I found myself so often thinking, "Is this really happening? Look at where I am right now...what`s happening in front of my eyes right now. I am a part of this scene, not just watching it!" The Thailand that Mel & I experienced was completely different than the Thailand that I experienced when I headed off the beaten track. At first, I felt a whole new culture shock and couldn't possibly imagine living the lives I was witnessing. By the end of my two weeks, it all seemed so much more normal to me and I really believed that many of them were just as happy with their lives as people are in our part of the world. It`s all about making good use of what you got and enjoying the important things in life. I found the family & social atmosphere to be very strong in Thailand.

While I`ll never be able to completely describe or re-live exactly what happened over the past two weeks, here are some short stories & pictures from my time in Phetchabun & beyond.

Almost immediately after publishing my last blog post, Dolly called and was wondering why I wasn`t back yet. She was throwing a BBQ back at her home with a bunch of her friends & students who wanted to meet the foreigner. I definitely stuck out in the small town they lived in; locals were excited to meet me yet often shy to speak the English they`d been learning. Despite the language barrier, I got to know a fair bit of people that night by speaking the basic sentences they knew plus a few Thai phrases that I`d throw in, with the help of my language dictionary.

I also had the privilege of meeting Dolly`s brother-in-law; the Master Monk at the nearby temple. The first time we met we had an interesting conversation about the meaning of true happiness versus artificial happiness, i.e. the happiness that people try to buy with possessions. He also invited me to stay at the temple whenever I wanted. I met another monk who spoke very good English and he told me I could use their computer to go on the Internet whenever I wanted. I found this a bit funny but did take him up on it a few times.

One day the Master Monk invited me to spend the day with him. He took me on a road trip to check out nearby temples. What better way to explore temples then with a Master Monk!

The first temple we went to was on the water where we could feed weird fish swimming around.

There was also a mini zoo at the temple. This monkey especially liked the Master Monk.

We also went to a temple that was inside a cave - very cool. The stairs up to the cave temple & the old car we were driving around in.
Back at the Master Monk`s temple
On the street near Dolly`s house. There are pictures of the King everywhere.
Another day we took a trip to a nearby waterfall. We all went for a good dip to cool off. For some reason all of the guys had their t-shirt on so I went with the flow...but it felt so wrong swimming in a t-shirt.
Good fun, except the part where I smashed my elbow off a rock. ouch!Back at my favourite restaurant. The third time we went I decided it was time for me to insist on getting the bill. 350 baht (approx $12) for 5 people with drinks & dessert. I paid more for dinner by myself in Australia!

One of Dolly`s English students had been getting to know a British man on the Internet, named Howard. Howard was coming to Thailand to meet her, and Dolly asked me to come with them to the airport to pick him up. We had to leave at 3am, but I agreed because I thought I`d be keeping her company on the 1 1/2 hour drive. Turned out 9 of us were going...seems no crowd`s ever small here! This is the ladies getting breakfast together in the back of the truck at the airport.

See the animal? At first all I saw was a bush.
That`s a lot of Buddhas!
Buddha`s got a brand new ride!

We all went to Dolly`s friends place so Howard could meet her parents. People were quickly asking when they were going to get married. Aside from that, the elders were tying string bracelets to his arm for good luck. They did the same for me, but I made it sure it was clear that I wasn`t marrying any Thai ladies!

Out to dinner. In the middle is Dolly`s friend, Chinita, and her new acquaintance, Howard

I also got to know a student of Dolly`s who`s married to a German man. They`re both in their 30`s and lived in Germany together for 8 years before moving to their new home Thailand. One day they took me to another nearby waterfall for a swim. This was the waterfall I first saw and thought they were talking about...haha

That night they had a dinner party at their house. They are the couple on the far right.

That`s all for now, except a small comment about how unbelievably hot it is here! One day I decided to sit in the back box of the truck because I thought the wind would cool me off. Definitely not the case, it honestly felt like there was a giant hair dryer blowing hot air at my entire body!

Another time we got in Dolly`s sister-in-law`s car and she cooled off herself a bit with a hand fan, then waved it a bit to cool me off, then gave it to me. I politely said, "No, I`m okay thank you," and she quickly replied, "No, you fan me!" I thought she was just offering me the fan...but apparently while she was driving I was supposed to be the fan slave.