Onwards and Upwards

So I know last time we spoke I promised to update more regularly... :/ clearly I did not at all manage this, but I will try again this time :D.

Last time I think I posted just before heading to Bangkok, yes? Yes ok.

As I mentioned Bangkok had a few different purposes, the first being to say goodbye to Josh, an amazing volunteer from Australia loved by all.

To get to Bangkok it was decided that we would travel by train, this was not my favourite experience of travelling in Thailand :/ but the boys enjoyed it quite a lot :). The train trip was about 10 hours so we had beds in the sleeping section for the trip, the beds were surprisingly comfortable however the air-conditioning was so cold that it felt like we were travelling through the arctic (a remarkable achievement for Thailand).

Josh and Jason



Goodbye dinner for Josh.



Mum and daughter.

Wayne

Aw and Aui before the others got there.



Playing around.





Aui and Josh.









All in all we arrived in Bangkok in one piece around 8:30am, ready to drop off our things at the hotel, have an amazing breakfast and take care of some last minute shopping for Josh and some helmet shopping for Jason.

The boys waiting while I get my instaspam on.

Josh enjoying a rest on an awesome seat.

Oh Bangkok, I do not miss your traffic.

Jason with big bunny.

Josh with big bunny.



INDIAN FOR LUNCH

We spent a lot of time on the subway.

Josh realising that he was being photographed.

Off to the airport :( all round.

One last goodbye.

Can't wait till you are back Joshy.

After saying goodbye to Josh very late Thursday night we were up bright and relatively early to head to the massive immigration centre in Bangkok and I do mean massive (although I seem to have misplaced my photo of it). Last time I did this sort of visa extension I did it at a different processing centre and it took ALL DAY so we went with not much hope of leaving anytime early and had written the day off as 'stuck at immigration'. After an hour by subway and bus to get there we arrived not long after 10am AND WERE OUT OF THERE BY 11:30 a huge thanks goes out to all who were praying for my visa to go smoothly, it went very well :D.

So with some time up our sleeves we went off and had tacos for lunch and SUBWAY for dinner (if you are wondering why Indian, Mexican and Subway rate a mention in my blog it is because there is nowhere in Khon Kaen to get any of those things unless you make it yourself or are lucky enough to have friends who will :D).

Jason looking quite happy to be eaten by a shark.

More subway trips.

Most adorable Kleenex box ever.

We also found a great
cupcake shop :D

Went to a market.

Bonsai.

As much as it was lovely to have a few days in Bangkok I was happy to return home Sunday in time for my first day at the school on Monday :D.

School so far has been an amazing experience, there are about 15 children in my class (6-7 years old) with everything from minimal English skills to a little girl who is virtually fluent in Thai and English (this has been a massive help). A lot of the learning is self directed so I move between stations and the children that are ready to learn English will normally get an English book off the shelf or some letter cards and start practising while they wait there turn. There are some children who are a little shy so I am working on encouraging them to have a go, 2 of them actually let me hear them speak English today :D.

Three afternoons a week I get to teach English to the teachers which has also been an amazing experience, my Monday and Thursday class are particularly fun :D.

After work Monday afternoon Aw and Aui came over for a girls night in, they brought burgers from the only burger place in town and we had a great night :D.

Aui and Aw enjoying dinner.

Nail art (and a little hand painting) Thank you Aui.

Nawww a star.

The party was so girly it involved cuddling teddies.

Aw and Aussie.

Me and Squishy.

We also visited the large Wat on the lake, we got there a little late and almost got locked in :/ oops.

All lit up.

Aui and Aw.

A giant gong and some Elephants.

It was also Aui' birthday this week :) so on Thursday we headed off the dinner :D.

Earn and Aw.

Earn.

Bow

The beautiful birthday girl Aui.

L to R: Bow, Earn, Aw

All together :D

Dinner was followed by some
fun posing like the models
in store windows.

There are a few of these :D.

The birthday girl.

More fun than it looks :D.



At Starbucks.

Even tho it was closed.

My last few weeks have been so busy and I am a little tired but I am looking forward to blogging slightly more often. Blogging so far apart leads to mammoth blogs, which are probably a little long to read and are a little long to write with a less than sound internet connection :D.

Until next time Guys and Dolls, stay safe and thank you for reading :D.