Arge-ee Barge-ee

As I don't go on the Barge tour I thought I would let you know from a staff member what it is like to experience it. Our leader of Group One will now fill you in:

Group 1 (9K) have spent the first 6 days of their Thailand adventure living on a Barge travelling on the Chao Phraya river. The girls were very excited on the flight over and couldn't resist the latest release movies available to them! As you can imagine the girls were already tired when they arrived in Bangkok and therefore the first day seemed extremely long for everyone...and it was clear that we were being kept very busy to avoid falling asleep on the deck of the Barge!

We met our Group Leaders - Stan, Pare and Daniella - and quickly settled in to life on the Barge. This consisted of sharing a wooden box as a wardrobe between 2, cooking all meals, cleaning, navigating, creating group games and of course, the widely talked about 3 minute showers! Yes the girls adapted very quickly to undressing washing, drying and dressing all in 3minutes! I was very impressed with their positive attitude, sense of humour and commitment to not only conquer the 3 minute shower challenge but all of the group and individual challenges presented to them.
Sleeping arrangements on the Barge were comfortable and very 'social' with everyone sleeping below deck together! After a very welcomed 'lights out' on the first night we were ready to face our first full day on the river. Essentially the Barge program encompasses the other 3 principles of our Thailand adventure (Environmental Studies, Community Service and Thai Culture) within its own unique environment. Our days began at first light and consisted of visiting the ancient city of Ayuttaya, the historical sights of Bridge on the River Kwai and Hellfire Pass in Kanchanaburi. The girls also participated in Alms Giving to Buddhist Monks, buying lunch in a local market (a great way to practise their Thai language skills), talking with Buddhist Nuns, shopping in the Ko Kret island market whilst learning about the Mon culture and their history.

After an exciting and rewarding 6 days we are now settled into the Prem Centre and preparing for our trek into the Karin Hill tribe village before embarking on our 5 days of Community Service.

Deb Cassar

Pun Pun

Fun Fun at Pun Pun!

Yesterday I went with Group One (9K) out to a farm called Pun Pun. Pun Pun (which means thousands of thousands which then translates to mean diversity) is a farm nestled up in the hills that focuses on sustainable living and tending to their four basic principles. Principle one- Food- which is not genetically modified, natural, harvested by themselves and that produces seeds that can be used again and again rather than for just a one off crop use. The food they eat is all vegetarian, to promote good health in the body and mind. Principle two- Home- they have built all of their structures out of earthen bricks, which are made from mud, rice husks and recycled products. The mud homes are cool and have a calm feel about them... if a house can be calm! Principle three- Clothes- they all have just enough clothes that they need, they don't follow fashion or buy into commercialism or materialism. They avoid technology and don't have TV and reject the trappings of a busy modern life that makes the mind and body unwell. Principle four- Diversity- of people, food, crops, seeds and ideas. In short- they are Hippies!
We were shown around the farm and then how to make soy milk and tofu. The soy milk was really yum- especially when flavoured with a bit of vanilla and cocoa. We then enjoyed a scrumptious lunch of home made bread, salads, noodles and sooooooo many avocados. Some of us had fruit smoothies and tried the Moselle tea (which tastes like a red wine tea; best served chilled with a bit of sugar). After lunch we watched a film on making mud brick homes and then we went and made some mud bricks. This was a lot of fun and there was more mud on the girls than in the brick moulds. They then jumped into a dam to clean off and relive themselves from the heat. We popped into a market on the way home and I bought some short gumboots; my sneakers are completely ruined from community service and I need some protective shoes to go up to the Karin tribe next week. They will be perfect for the wet season!
Now that we are coming to the end of the first week the girls seem to have really adjusted to the heat, the food and the changes to their environment. It has really taken it out of some of them and we are constantly reminding them to drink more, take electrolytes, rest and clean their hands. It is quite a challenge to adjust to so many changes but I have been really impressed with their attitude and even when they have been feeling a bit unwell they have kept a positive attitude and their friends have been very supportive and kind. They are learning so much so quickly and proving to be resilient. It excites me that there is still two weeks to go and I feel like we have done so much already.

Some interesting tid bits about Thailand

Grasshopper anyone?

In Thailand... seat belts are optional...whole families travel on the one motorcycle...the plumbing here can't handle toilet paper and often sends it back to you and more...you can be a Buddhist and a Christian and an Animist all at once...People are so polite here that you can't just say no (My) you have to say No, Yes (My Kah) as No on it's own is too rude... to maintain modesty here the women sometimes choose one of two options- a singlet top with long pants or a long top with short pants, to wear short pants and singlet top is just tarty!...to use a public toilet costs 3 Baht and you have to provide your own toilet paper... women and men are discouraged from touching each other in public but men can hold hands with men and women with women... Shims/ Kathooeys/Lady Boys are widely accepted and employed as women but they are also mercilessly teased...They have bird here that squawks from its beak like a rooster but emits a sound from its bottom akin to a gibbon... interesting.

Ban Pang Hang Primary School

Ban Pang Hang Primary Scool

Day one- Levelling out the ground

Day three- laying out the concrete slab

The children of the Karin tribe play with balloons and bubbles

Mok Fa Falls

Community Service Part Three...

Whilst on Community Service we stayed at a place called the Royal Project- an establishment set up by the King to conduct research into 'cash crops' for the Hill tribe villages. In order to discourage the cultivation of opium the King has gotten the tribes to farm in other high return crops such as Arabica coffee, Japanese Cucumber, Orchids, Avocados etc. As a result we were surrounded by coffee plants and other more exotic crops.
Our accommodation, whilst still basic, had a wonderful eating and rec area, a small cafe and the girls shared apartments. One thing about Thailand, that wherever we have gone, the beds are HARD! It may well look like a mattress, but to touch it is a slab of wood. This has been quite unkind to our hips and shoulders but apparently it's good for you. My pillow top chiropractic mattress with latex pillow back home would beg to differ, but when it Thailand I do as the Thais do.
Every day we were trucked out to the the local primary school called Ban Pang Hang to work away at building them a canteen and eating area. The first day we looked at the grassy slope and were told we were going to make it level- so we got out our hoes and took out one side of the hill and lugged it over to the other side and packed the dirt down. Once that was done, and that took a day and a half, we made the wooden frame for the concrete slab. The girls loved to hammer! In fact a lot of them loved the hard labour and learning new skills so much it makes wish  we had wood work classes for them- every young woman should have a well stocked tool box and know how to use it!
Then came the concrete mixing. It was all done by hand. Buckets of sand, buckets or water all passed in a chain to a large container which was then mixed with a hoe with concrete mix and gravel and then poured into the frame. It was hard and arduous labour and took another day and half and we hadn't even seen the school children yet! Our group was unlucky enough to arrive during their public holidays so it was only on the final day that we were there that we got to spend some time with them; teaching English and playing games. At first I thought that the girls would be quite miffed about that but they just focused on the canteen and kept in mind that they were building it for the kids and that was the most important thing.
The school, set up by the Lion Club originally some years ago, has two main buildings, about 60 children and two teachers. A Thai Christian Missionary comes to teach the children English every week and I was really impressed with what they knew. We sang songs together, went though the alphabet and numbers and then we played pretend 'shops' where the girls had to speak in Thai and they had to speak in English- it was all a bit adorable.
At the end of the time there the girls all felt a huge sense of accomplishment and pride in what they had done. As a reward, on the way back to the Prem Centre yesterday, we stopped at a local waterfall and the girls swam and squealed under the flow from way above. It was a great ending to one part of their stay here.

Lee Su Village