Tuesday, March 8, 2016

March Madness

2016 has been flying by - apparently it's March? When did that happen? I'm awful at keeping up with my blog when so much is going on so I apologize. Even as I write this I am checking my email to see if my Vietnam visa has been issued, typing up a letter to the school to pardon 3 of us teachers being absent, attempting to put together a map with some pins to show you all where I'll be at some point over the next two months, and figuring out when I should start my laundry and get a workout in. Haha, oh the life! And heading to Mae Sai tonight to get my re-entry visa stamp so I can come back into Thailand! Okay well school has ended! Sort of? We gave exams last week so in theory one would think Friday would have been the last day...well welcome to Thailand. We are kind of babysitting for classes this week. Even though my students have graduated and my P6 class is in Chiang Mai...haha oh well! Exam week was insane, but I welcomed the busy workload. Been a bit antsy lately as it's end of term and everyone is just ready to leave. This is their "summer break," but as I've been out here awhile and have way too much UK influence on me, I refer to this as my "Summer Holiday" and that's what I will be referring to it as :)


Okay so my attempt at updating ya'll on my shenanigans...


February was a bittersweet month, one of my really good friends left our little town to head to Myanmar to teach summer school before she moves back to South Africa...So we had a really delicious dinner and then a night at Your Pub (Thai club in my town) because yup. .Then it was crunch time for administering exams and trying to figure out the Thai schedule as they gave me the schedule in Thai so I couldn't read it...735 exams completed by Friday! Success! I had already started marking/grading/recording exams by Friday afternoon, but called it quits around 4PM to do a workout and then meet my friends for their end of the year dance at their school (they teach Kindergarten) and my I forgot how little kids can get! So stinkin' cute. We got a late dinner and headed to bed because we were all exhausted from the week.


Saturday was spent sleeping in, yoga, workout, and then a day trip to Chiang Rai to buy some books for my travels and we made pancakes for dinner and I went to a friend's to watch Law and Order SVU before calling it at night by 11pm. Sunday I slept in until around 1-2pm? The temperatures have risen as summer is approaching so apparently I just sleep a lot...I made a new friend in Chiang Mai and she was coming to Chiang Rai to visit me for a couple of days (she's also a teacher) so I made my way to Chiang Rai to meet up with friends for some dinner and a relaxing evening sitting by the pool at this adorable new hostel that has opened in the city. Monday we headed back to my town as I didn't know if I needed to be there and well turns out I only needed to be there for one class so we rode our bikes to the hot springs and relaxed in the sun. I played games with one class for about 40 minutes then changed and we went back to CR. Feasted on Thai food and nonstop laughter. Refreshing to make a new friend who is actually going to be staying longer than just a few months (even that's a long time for Thailand). This is an expat country and people are constantly coming and going - it gets exhausting trying to meet people. Especially now that I know I'm on holiday for two months and then leaving for California in September then onwards to Australia (I'll get to all that in a bit). Okay so we had a good evening and made friends in our hostel from around the world and enjoyed the warm summerish night. Tuesday (yesterday) I had to come back for a hot minute so she rented a bike and explore around CR while I showed my face to administration and the school. Didn't have to teach so once I was in the clear I headed back to CR and we got some food and met up with another friend and chilled at a cafĂ© until her bus was headed back to CM. Had a great time.


Okay so headed back to my town in the evening and nerded out on excel to get everything perfect and ready to print for the next day. Wynie, Jeffrey, and I stayed at the office until midnight. Oh the joys of teaching! Oh and I forgot to mention. The Thai teachers gave me back the wrong exam and was informed it's locked in one of the classrooms so have to find a teacher with a key to unlock the classroom for me to get my exam to finish one last class...Oh Thailand! Ole! :)


So today is Wednesday (happy hump day) and have one class to babysit at around 2pm so updating my blog, printing my grades to give out to teachers, and typing up a letter to the school to let them know that we are all leaving the country for summer holiday!


Now here is my poor poor attempt at letting you all know (namely my mother) where I will be gallivanting this summer.


Tonight I head to Mae Sai to see two of my besties before we part for break and then immigration office in the morning to get my stamp and back to school in the morning. Thursday will be spent packing and buying my bus ticket to Chiang Mai. Friday I wander around school to show I was there and then I head off to Chiang Mai! Going to stay with Hailey for a few days to chill out and not spend money. I'm planning on taking the Monday overnight bus to Bangkok (joy) so will arrive early early Tuesday morning. Head to hotel to drop my bags off and then meet my friend Becca to explore China Town in Bangkok for the day. Probably an early dinner and an early night as I need to be at DMK (airport in Bangkok) by 5AM for my flight to Hanoi, Vietnam!


So this is what's happening flight wise...
16/3 Bangkok --> Hanoi, Vietnam
11/4 Ho Chi Minh City --> Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
12/4 Kuala Lumpur --> Manila, The Philippines
12/4 Manila --> Puerto Princessa (El Nido) (The Philippines - voted one best beaches in world)
18/4 Puerto Pricnessa --> Cebu City (headed to a small village to swim with whale sharks!)
20/4 Cebu City --> Borocay (best beaches in the world)
25/4 Borocay -->Manila
25/4 Manila --> Bangkok (arrive Bangkok around midnight JOY, but wanted more beach time in Borocay)
26/4 Bangkok --> Krabi --> Ferry to Koh Phi Phi and will be seeing my California loves just in time for lunch!
29/4 Koh Tao with Becca
4-5/5 Koh Tao -->Chiang Mai--> Mae Chan




I have to teach an English Camp 9/5-13/5 so heading back before then to attempt to adjust from holiday mode to teacher mode and will need a few days...


But yup! That's my itinerary. Vietnam I have plans for Halong Bay, canyoning in Datat, getting dresses made in Hoi An, exploring the beaches, learning about their sad history, and eating as much Pho as possible. My good friend lives in KL and she said I could stay with her and her bf so we'll do dinner and a night out to see the towers lit up and a little sight seeing and then have to be at the airport around 8am I think (I should probably check on that) to catch my flight to The Philippines! The Philippines I just have beach and swimming and yoga - rinse and repeat for two weeks since I'm crunched for time. And then my best friends from California are flying out and I am meeting them in Koh Phi Phi (island in Thailand) and cannot wait to see them! Then chillin' on Koh Tao with Becca since I've never been to Koh Tao and then either flying from Surat Thani to Chiang Mai to bus home or taking a really long bus ride home...I think I will just go into debt and book the flight since a long bus ride after two months of mayhem sounds awful.




So that's my summer holiday plan. I'm getting my GoPro case fixed soon (I hope) so I can take some silly underwater selfies. I don't plan on being online a lot (like last year) so I have a travel journal and will most likely just transfer everything once I get back to Thailand. I am also spoiled with Thailand Internet (it's faster than anything in America) and the other ASEAN countries don't have access to Internet like here. Just know I'll probably have a coconut or a mango shake in hand and will be lying on some beach in some country for the next couple of months!


However until then I need to figure out how to get into a locked classroom, get my Vietnam visa, get my immigration stamp, do laundry, pack, buy bus tickets to Chiang Mai and Bangkok, go over my finances and see how poor I really am going to be for the next two months, and get my crap all organized...




Here's to the nomadic lifestyle of a California dreamer :)


Until next time!


Cailin