Mathieu made a cup of coffee to have with my burger that I had bought from 7-Eleven last night - that was extremely nice of him. Nana came by the volunteer's house at 10am to give us a cultural and language lesson. The lesson went on for about an hour and a half. There are some important 'Do's and Don'ts' that we need to keep in mind during our stay in Thailand.
Do's:
- Always be the respectful about Buddhism.
- Always dress appropriately in temples (shoulders covered and no shorts)
- Do try and speak Thai. Any attempt by a foreigner is greeted with happiness and encouragement.
- Wai, but use it sparingly. The 'way' is a Thai greeting (done by pressing the palms of your hand together, prayer-like). By all means return a way if one is offered to you.
- Do show great respect to monks. As a general rule woman should avoid all physical and eye contact with a monk.
- Take your shoes off before entering a Thai home or the temple.
Don'ts:
-Point at people or things with your feet. This is considered as highly impolite, as the feet are considered as the most inferior parts of the human body.
- Touch the heads of children. The head is considered as the most superior part of the body, and touch this part is not a privilege for foreigners.
- Touch, climb on or otherwise degrade a Buddha image.
Buddhism is the major religion in Thailand and Buddha images are treated with great respect and care.
Having studied one semester of Thai when I was about 7-8 years old and travelled to Thailand several times, I've got quite an advantage with picking up the language (I also have a Thai language app on my iPhone). I think Thai is quite an easy language to pick up, I ended up writing 3 pages of Thai words and sentences that Nana had taught us. Some basic words are already known such as Hello - Sawasdee Ka, How are you? - Saibaidee mai ka and Thank you - Kup koon ka. I picked up new sentences which will be very helpful for the next month such as My name is Sandi - Chan chur Sandi ka, Nice to meet you - Yin dee tee dai roo jak ka, How much - Tao lai ka, Are you hungry? - Hiew reu yang? I have already mastered the numbers, so it will not be a problem when it comes to paying for things. I'm hoping to memorise all the sentences I've learnt from Nana and make good use of it.
Mathieu and Sarah were feeling a little lazy so they stayed back watching Lost while Nana and I went down the road for lunch. We are located quite far from town, there was nothing in walking distance so I hopped on the back of Nana's bike and she drove us to a local restaurant just off the main road - we had noodle soup with duck (it was my first time having duck with noodles), surprisingly, the noodles were so tasty. Nana ordered us a milk green tea each - it was delicious. The meal was super cheap.
Nana dropped me back at the volunteer house and I concentrated on my blog for a few hours. I even managed to squeeze in a little nap. As the sun was setting, I managed to capture a nice shot - the sky filled with blue, yellow and orange. It was a gorgeous view from the balcony. I am leaving Chiang Mai today to Mae Hong Son. I'll be catching a night bus so it was recommended that I get some rest before my ongoing journey to my new placement.
Nana picked me up at 7pm and took me to a food court in a shopping centre. I told her that I was craving for papaya salad so I managed to lay my hands on a dish - I also had fried pork and rice from a Japanese restaurant. In the food court they do not accept cash, so what you have to do is buy a card that you top up with cash - any money left over on the card, you are able to get a refund. It's interesting the way it works like that in Thailand - but it makes good sense - because you don't have to fiddle with change.
I arrived at the bus stop and Nana helped me load my luggage onto the bus and located my seat . It is a mini coach and I was so glad that I was allocated with a window seat - it will make my ride a little easier to sleep through. Nana was really sweet, she gave me a hug and waved goodbye until my bus took us. I was the only foreigner on the bus. The bus ticket cost 319 baht and I have 8 dreadful hours ahead of me. It's too bad that I'm catching a night bus as I don't get to see the scenery at all - I've heard great things about the scenery route from Chiang Mai to Mae Hong Son. Mae Hong Son is located 349 kms from Chiang Mai consisting of 1864 curves. A lot of uphill S bend curves - anyone who suffers from motion sickness wouldn't enjoy this ride at all. They switched off the lights during the ride and turned them on during numerous stops. Looking forward to my new volunteer placement and location.
Good night world.
XOXO
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