Merry Christmas, Happy Birthday, Happy New Year, in that order

Hello Everyone,
We are still here. In Thailand now, since the 29th of December. We celebrated Christmas in Pakse, Laos. Our Christmas alarm clock being two gibbons calling for their breakfast. They are amazingly loud and sound just like a car alarm. I'll try and post a link to the sound when we return.

Laos was very different from Thailand. The people are much more poor and it seemed really dirty. We spent an entire day with a coffee farmer from Holland. He married a Lao woman who's family is in the coffee business. Phoebe and Ty enjoyed it. We ate the fruit of the coffee bean straight off the tree. Really good. The kids also played in the afternoon with our guide's nephew, Eddy. He didn't speak English and the kids don't speak Lao, so they communicated with laughs.

We celebrated my mom's birthday (Happy Birthday Grandma Liz!!) at a waterfall called Tat Lo. So amazingly beautiful there, and the guesthouse we chose was in the jungle. Beautiful flowers and at night they lit the falls up and they were in the process of building a gigantic deck overlooking it all. Beautiful. The tourist industry is just starting up there. We spoke to a local man who said that it has changed so much in the last 20 years. Many of the trees have been cut and two hydroelectric dams have been put in on the river so it's dirty now.

And finally, Happy New Year. We've been in 2010 for 12 hours and 46 minutes now. My stomach was bothering me last night, so we didn't stay up until midnight. We awoke to explosions at midnight. And I mean explosions. Nonstop for 15 minutes. I think it was a combination of fireworks and cannons. It was spectacular to hear. I felt a little bad for not being out. I've never heard anything like it.

I know the blog's not a lot of fun without the pictures, so we'll be sure to add some as soon as it's convenient.

Love and miss everyone,
Mrs. Larson/Kelly

Koh Jum

We have just returned to Prachuap after spending 3 nights at Koh Jum, an island in the Andaman Sea. The first night we stayed at the far end of the island and there were no motorcycles to rent. We were stuck and the accomodations were less than perfect. So we called a rival bungalow operation and they came and got us in their longtail boat. Too bad it was so isolated.

I read an email from the class the other day and I wrote back, but for some reason there was a computer error, so I don't know if you got any of my information about Koh Jum.

Koh Jum is a small island (only two small villages and upwards of 15 bungalow operations for tourists). The tourists are from Europe and the U.S. and Canada, although we were the only U.S. family in the guest register for a long time. We met people from Austria, Germany, the Netherlands, and Canada.

The island is covered with rubber trees. A woman from Holland who lives there for half the year told us that the people have cut down all of the native plants in the jungle to grow rubber trees. There are no more mangoes, no more bananas, etc. This is the really sad part: monkeys used to be really hard to see. They were afraid of people. Now, the people are the only way they can find food so they come to where the people are to beg for food.

We had a major travel day yesterday. We hike 20 minutes through a rubber tree plantation to get to a 7:30 ferry to a small village on the mainland. We rode in a songthaew (a truck with a canopy and two benches running down the sides) for a 1/2 hour, immediately caught a bus for 1 1/2 hours to a large town called Trang. There we did some food shopping for a 10 hour train ride to Prachuap (where our friends live). The train was soooooooooooooooooooooooooo uncomfortable. Hot, cramped, and my rear hurt from sitting for so long. We got here in Prachuap at 11:45 pm and our friends picked us up and took us to our hotel. Then, when most of us would crawl into bed, we were invited to our friend's parents where they fed us, and then they took us to the noodle shop with all of their friends for MORE food. Amazing. I tell you, it's like permanent summer here.

We leave tonight on the night train (we have beds this time) for Bangkok. We arrive at 4:45 in the morning. We'll check our bags at the train station and goof around in Bangkok until night, when we'll catch another night train to the east of Thailand. There we'll catch a bus to Laos in the morning. Then we are going to chill out. Our biggest plan is to take a coffee plantation tour. It ends with some coffee drinking.

One more thing about last night: there was no power in our train car so there were no lights, and when the sun went down we saw thousands of fireflies. The are so cool. They are like small white neon lights.

Happy Birthday Joan and Susan

Hope your birthdays are/were great.

Love,

K,S,T,P

Hello To All

Wow! We just got done reading all the comments on the previous posts. We saw one Christmas tree from the train on our way down to Prachuap, and we've seen a few other hints of Christmas, but not much at all. Boomerang and the Australia Network are the only English speaking TV there is where we've been staying. Half the time Boomerang is in Thai. Funny how good Daffy Duck can make you feel.

I feel like I'm missing out on all of the Christmas spirit being in the hot weather, but I'm sure there will be many more to come. Santa found us in Thailand last time we were here.

Tonight we leave on the V.I.P. bus at 10:30 p.m. It will be an 8 hour trip to a place called Krabi, where we will take a ferry to an island called Ko Lanta or Ko Jum. We aren't sure which yet, but either will be fine. The snorkeling should decide for us. I thought of Jase's mom when we went to the aquarium because they have turtles there. Beautiful creatures. Also, I thought of the entire class because there was an entire exhibit of invertebrates. We just studied that before I left.

The picture of Ty and Phoebe is at the top of a mountain where there is a temple. It's famous for it's 396 steps and it's monkeys. Notice one in the left of the photo with Phoebe and Ty.

So Many Things To Do

Our friends here have completely adopted us. Daily we are chauffered around. They buy us meals and take us to the tourist attractions. They won't let us do anything for them. One of Nid's brothers may send his daughter to live with us when she is a bit older. Just for a short time, so that she can improve her English. We have gone to an aquarium, to a beautiful National Park and it's 7 level waterfall, to some Buddhist temples and to a market at the Burmese border.

A Thai Wedding

Well, as it turns out, our friends had two weddings. One in the north; a traditional Thai wedding. And one here in the south; a chinese wedding. The groom is 3/4 chinese. The wedding was in the home and then celebrated in a hotel. Very beautiful.

To The Beach

One of the reason's for our visit was to meet up with some Thai friends. Today we were reunited. It's fun to know local people. We went to the park with them tonight and hung out with them in their home. The front of their home is two garage doors (very common) that are opened during the day. Everything is cement so it stays very cool. They don't have a ton of possessions. Their house is just two rooms with a bathroom and a loft for sleeping. They are so nice that they have lent us a motorcycle. We all four rode it tonight.

They have a dog named Tokyu (he's named after a department store in Bangkok. He is a golden retriever like Lucy. His best friend is a cocker spaniel mix named Mayco (a different department store).

We are in a town called Prachuap Khiri Khan. It is on the beach. It is very reminiscent of Loreto, Baja California, Mexico (another foreign place we've spent time in). We were here three years ago and it was hardly visited by tourists. Now there are at least three new hotels and A LOT of European tourists. It's a little like Jacksonville that way. The people here are very nice. Thailand is known as "The Land of Smiles."

We rode a train 5 hours to get here yesterday after spending our first two days in the Chinatown portion of Bangkok. It's a lot easier on the senses in Prachuap. Much quieter and calmer.

As I type this it's 7:30 in the evening, but you all are in bed at 4:30 in the morning. Just a couple more hours and you'll be getting up for school on the day that's just ending for me. I'm 14 hours ahead of you. Good morning!! I'd post some pictures for you, but now I've got the cord and I can't get to the CPU to hook up the camera. It's behind the counter and I don't want to try to explain in English.

We've Arrived

We made it Thailand on December 6th, Scott's (Mr. Larson's) birthday. We only spent about 6 hours in December 5th. Tim (my brother), we thought about you on your 4oth.

Highlights: awesome food (very cheap), smiling people, able to get around without too much trouble, walked about 8 miles yesterday (great way to work off the calories of the excellent food), saw Chinatown and Indiatown, $6 dollar pedicure, $5 dollar haircuts for the kids.

Lowlights: sick on the plane (long story for another time), really jet lagged (woke up this morning at 5am right when you were going to afternoon recess, the first night here woke up at 1:00am which was something like your Sunday morning at 9:00 I think), no pictures to share with you yet because I don't have the cord to hook up the camera.

We leave Bangkok for Prachuap Khiri Khan today. We'll take a train. I think it's about 4 hours away. That is where we'll meet up with our Thai friends. It's supposed to be about 100 degrees today.

Hello to everyone. Give Lucy big hugs and kisses for me. The dogs around here don't have the great life she does. Will post again soon when we get to Prachuap. It's a much smaller and quieter place than Bangkok and I'll include pictures. Maybe Mrs. Boylan can help get this up on the classroom television.

Returning

This trip has been wonderful. We've learned so much about Thailand, met so many great people, and seen so many beautiful places. Occasionally, though, I'd get to missing home, you all, Lucy, etc., that it felt like the end of two months would never come. Well, it's almost here. We have all day tomorrow in Thailand and then leave Tuesday at noon.

I've extended my leave of absence to Monday, January 22, to make the transition easier. Don't worry, I'll be in to say hi, even though I won't be teaching. I wanted to share a few great shots of a beautiful country before I sign off.

I miss you and I'll see you all very soon.

The People We Meet

We have met so many wonderful people on this trip. It's interesting how they weave in and out of our vacation. You say goodbye, and then two islands later, maybe a week or two in between, and there they are again.

We've made friends from Sweden, England, Japan (actually a New Yorker teaching English in Japan), France, Sweden, Australia, Austria, Sweden (yes, there are a lot of Swedes on the islands), South Africa, America, etc. Harry and Karen from Austria left Ko Adang and I told Scott I almost cried because they were the last of the people we knew to say goodbye to. He told me not to worry, there'd be other new friends. Of course, he was right. We ran into a family from France that we had been on Ko Adang with and I cried when we said goodbye to them.

The most amazing thing happened yesterday, though. Back when we were in Prachuap Khiri Khan (early December) we met two young women who were from Prachuap, Nid and Kwang (pronounce "nit and juang", respectively). They just happened to be riding by on their motorbike with a golden retriever onboard. They stopped to talk to us. They just liked the kids.

We hung out with them several times while we were in Prachuap: at the beach, at a local festival/fair, a dinner, etc. They were so friendly and it was nice to be taken in by a local family (Kwang's parents and siblings were at the fair with us and at dinner).

Anyway, we were walking through a GIGANTIC mall near the hotel we are staying in in Bangkok, when all of a sudden, someone was following us saying, "Hallo, hallo, hallo." It was Nid. I cannot tell you the odds of this encounter. Very small indeed. Remember, Bangkok is a city of nearly 9 million people. We thought we'd never see them again. While we stood there and talked, Kwang came running up. They have both moved to Bangkok to practice speaking English and both work in that mall.

Clean Food, Good Taste

Many restaurants have this sign posted on their premises. Even street vendors have them. There is an inspection system and it works. The only one who's gotten a food-borne illness on this trip was me.

The food in that particular restaurant, on Ko Hai, was HORRIBLE and they didn't have this sign posted, so I assume they don't have clean food (in fact, I know) and the taste was NOT good.

American Breakfast

Ko Adang offers "American Breakfast" on their menu: two pieces of toast, 3 pieces of sausage, and one fried egg. They call it ABF.

Tsunami Country

We are currently in the area where the tsunami hit Thailand. The second anniversary of the disaster was on December 26th, 2006. There is nothing that reflects its destruction. Life goes on. There are a few businesses that never reopened, but it's impossible to see evidence of it happening.

We have met several foreigners who were here during the tsunami. Everyone's stroy is a little different. The common thing I hear is that no one knew what was happening. We met a family who was staying on an island called Ko Bulong Lea when it hit. Their son had just learned of tsunamis the week before in school in Sweden. He warned everyone that it was coming.

The locals didn't know what to think. We've been on two different islands, Ko Jum and another I can't remember, where the locals refused to come down the mountain for days. They thought it would return.

The most goosebumpy story I've heard is of a man who dropped his kids off on the beach to play at Hat Bang Ben, then went to visit his friend (the person who told us this story). His friend asked him to stay for coffee. The man said that he couldn't because he needed to pick up the kids (the beach was about 2K away). He took a picture of them waving and smiling 15 minutes before the tsunami hit. They were fine.

The only thing I've noticed, is that there are always signs posted warning of tsunami danger and signs telling you where to go in case of a tsunami.