Month 2 is in the books. We left Chiang Mai, Thailand two nights ago and have arrived in Siem Reap, Cambodia. Thailand was an awesome month, and there were a ton of stories that came out of it. Our ministry sites were cool, our contacts were awesome, and the people we helped and the activities we participated in were fantastic.
We arrived in Bangkok at the beginning of the month. We didn’t spend much time there, as the next afternoon for Mae Sot, which is a border town located right next to Myanmar. Here there is seemingly more Burmese than Thais, and most NGOs located there are focused on helping the Burmese people.
In Mae Sot we spent most of our time either at a refuge home or at New Jerusalem Home, both places which house young Burmese. Here we would teach english, give a small sermon or message, simply play games, and build relationships with the people who stayed there. We also constructed a small garden in one of our contact’s lawns where vegetables for Famous Ray’s, a burger restaraunt owned by our contacts, will be grown. We also ate breakfast almost every morning at Lucky Tea, a small place owned by Muslims.
We rode around on bikes whenever we could. When we all went out at the same time, some would have to ride on the back rack, which made for some interesting drives (however – there were no crashes). We ate basically everyday at a place called Casa Mia; their food was excellent, cheap, and had a very wide variety. It even had very good italian food, so I was a very happy boy.
Our contacts took us on a few excursions during our time in Mae Sot. One included climbing waterfalls, another climbing over a mountain, and of course, crossing into Burma. These off days were awesome, the natural beauty of Thailand is astounding, and the best part is that, unlike America, these areas aren’t all touristy. Another plus of adventures – it allows our team to just bond and have fun together.
And yes, during our time in Mae Sot, four people from my team got tattoos. I was one of them. Jacob, Bethany, and Alysa were the others. Here is a photo of mine, a navigator on my right calf. The needle points 51 degrees NE in reference to Galations 5:1 and Romans 5:1, a couple of my favorite vereses.
My last adventure in Mae Sot was not so pleasant. Maybe I should blame it on ignorance and stupidity but I will blame it on being a northerner and therefore a newb as far as humidity and heat are concerned. I ended up severely dehydrated and had to go to the Mae Sot – Ram hospital. I seriously don’t recommend this trip for those looking to come to Thailand. 36 hours there was enough for me (and Alysa and Bethany – bless their hearts). However, I won’t lie, there are some stupid hilarious stories that came out of this experience. Ask me about them via e-mail if you want to know, they aren’t meant to be posted here.
After Mae Sot, we rolled northward on a six hour Songthaew ride to Mae La Noi, where we stayed with our contact, Veerapong. Here we taught an english lesson to students at school, attended a Karen church, travelled by boat to a very remote village (only accessible by boat 10 months out of the year), and hung out at a girl’s home. Mae La Noi is in a very beautiful area of Thailand, it is completely surrounded by lush, green mountains.
After finishing our work in Mae La Noi, we headed to Chiang Mai to meet up with the rest of our squad before bouncing down to Cambodia. Chiang Mai was unlike any other area we had been to – white people all over! Here we went to the night bazaar, McDonald’s (where I spent 434 baht on my meal!), me and Allison got a foot massage, rode elephants, and went bamboo rafting!
So month two of eleven is complete. Month three has just begun in Cambodia. Tomorrow my team heads out of Siem Reap to Phnom Penh. We will receive training there for one day, and then travel to our destination of Kampot. Honestly, out of all countries, Cambodia was the one I was least interested in going to, if for no other reason than that I know nothing about it other than I’ve heard it’s hot, humid, and dirty. However, albeit it has been less than a day ago that I arrived, Cambodia seems pretty AWESOME. So yeah, I’m really excited to get this month started.
Yours always,
Jake
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A couple of my favorite moments from Thailand:
Climbing waterfalls
Bamboo rafting
Eating lasagna
Playing limp bodies in the back of a songthaew
Wearing a langyi through the Chiang Mai night bazaar and hearing tons of “Mingalaba!”s
Projectile vomiting in Alysa and Bethany’s general direction
Going to Myanmar
Conquering the monster
Talking life with Jacob whilst standing on the tailgate of a songthaew riding through the mountains
Having the tube for my stomach pump removed by the nurse while going to the bathroom
Riding in a boat down the river that separates Thailand and Myanmar
“You tryin’ to kill me?” “You’re outta your mind!” “No pain, just severely discomfort” “Me. There. Now!” -Note: The moments these quotes are from are only in my favorites list now that it’s over.
Eating McDonalds
Chang Gai Cow Moo
