Khao Yai

Thailand is jam-packed with national parks and a while ago I was lucky enough to pay a visit to one a few hours from Bangkok. This trip came about from the Thai teacher Tiu that I assist in grammar classes (and whince when she thwacks the kids with a ruler). She invited me out for the day to visit the Tan Dan Dam in Khao Yai with her husband and his friends. So I was ready Saturday morning and off we went. Once you've driven for a few hours outside of Bangkok, you start to remember where you are! It's a jungle out there. Bangkok may be a spralling city but it's in the middle of a rainforest. So it was a good way to regain a perspective on the environment.

Teacher Tiu's husband and friends are policemen and they drink, heavily. It seems that every policeman i've met is a big drinker. In most bars near my apartment, the main conversations I have are with police! Which is very useful if there was ever any trouble. The police know I'm not a disrespectful, angry farang that goes around causing trouble. Quite the opposite. So I went out for the day with the local police near Khao Yai and visited the biggest dam in Asia, designed by the King, it supplies fresh water to hundreds of thousands and is a staggering feat of engineering. Good old Rama IX!

After visiting the dam we went down to an eating/drinking area below with great views and a river to swim in. This was a very native experience as Teacher Tiu explained, many of the children there probably haven't seen a farang before so they were quite intrigued by my presence. Plus, the particular spot we were at was not a tourist attraction. That was on the other side of the dam which we passed on the way up. It was a very intense day because I had to learn as much Thai as possible to communicate. As Tiu was the only other (barely) English speaker there! It was a tiring but fun way to learn a rather complicated language and a good day out in the beautiful scenery of Thailand.

The Muay Thai Institute

So, after going to see Muay Thai once, I was once again taken over with the urge to train. I was starting to get out of shape and feeling unhealthy from all the drinking and eating rice. So, once again, thanks to the steak guy Boss and the old fighter Lo they took myself and an Aussie mate Darren to a proper gym that  is a reasonable price. It's a Muay Thai Institute that trains both professional fighters and people that just want to train. I remember what Matt said to me before I left, "Don't go to an old skool gym, they will break you!" Haha. So lucky for me, this gym is particularly farang (foreigner) friendly.

It's been running since 1995 and is pretty huge as you'll see from the pictures. It consists of a main area with two rings, about 2 dozen different heavy bags and a variety of equipment including tyres, which you have to jump up and down on for ten minutes. There is also a free weights and machines gym in a different section which everyone has full access to. From the outside it looks like a hotel because it basically is one! Foreign fighters from all round the world come over and live at the gym. There are Swiss, German, Australian, American, Indian and of course Thai fighters, that I have met so far. But I'm the only Brit that trains there which surprised me. I train there twice a week for two hours a session. As the only session I can make is the evening one - 5.30 - 7.30pm - I get a pretty sweet deal. There are always at least three masters there and the evening session is always quiet so I almost get one-to-one tuition every time!

The Grand Master is 47 year old Master Noi, he is something of a celebrity with a host of people that have trained with him. Namely many Thai actors and stuntmen, Miss Thailand, the two massive farangs from Ong Bak 2 Warrior King, lots of famous Thai fighters and... wait for it... Jean Claude Van Damme! Haha. He has a great picture that he is very proud of. He mainly sits around but every now and then he'll appear right next to you and bark something in your ear. The main masters I am trained by are Nui and Lek who are both incredible, very tall for Thais and speak enough English to make up for my limited Thai. The only downfall about the evening session is that around 7ish the mosquitoes attack a corner of the gym! So I try to stay clear of them, they love farang blood! The gym is also inhabited by bats that come out about 7ish as well and gekkos, of course.

I'm very happy to be training again and in such a great environment, it has the same atmosphere as the Masters Academy and only costs me a 7 baht bus ride there and back and costs 6400 baht for 20 sessions. So, it's my biggest outgoing cost (apart from rent) but I worked it out to about 2500 baht a month which isn't bad for private tuition. As another incentive, after each 20 sessions there is a grading session where you earn a kind of qualification in Muay Thai. I've had 8 sessions so far and my punches and kicks are back to full power, I can wrap my hands properly, remain in Muay Thai stance after each punch or kick (it's different to the Masters Academy stance and with very little head movement) and I'm learning the Wai Kru dance done before any fight and after training. It's also helping me get used to the humidity.

Some pictures of the Muay Thai Institute at Rangsit Boxing Stadium.

To anyone from the Masters Academy that wants to stay here and do some intensive training. It costs 480 - 560 (£11 - £13) Baht per night.

Muay Thai

Muay Thai. The national sport of Thailand and they absolutely love it. On my second week in Bangkok I met an 68 year old fella called Boss in the market that sells steaks! Imported from New Zealand, they are a welcome treat in between eating chopped up chicken or pork. His English is very good and we get on very well, he teaches me Thai and I eat there once every few weeks. Through him I met an old Muay Thai fighter 'Lo'. He doesn't fight anymore but he knows everything about whats happening in the sport. There are many boxing stadiums in Bangkok but they charge alot of money to farangs to get into these places. Which is fair enough if you are on holiday - a 1000 Baht entry fee is only £22 roughly. I'm not on holiday though and 1000 Baht goes a long way. So Lo gets me in for free! Being an ex fighter he seems to just walk in, I keep expecting to be stopped and asked for money but it never happens. I've been down to channel 7 studios to watch the Muay Thai a few times now and it is quite a spectacle. Lo pushes us to the seating section and haggles with a diminutive man who then gives us ringside seats for 100 - 150 Baht. So we get entry and ringside seats for 3 quid!

The fighting is without a doubt the toughest sport I've seen. Elbows and knees add a completely different dynamic than punches and kicks. The crowd are fun to watch as well. They cheer for every single punch, kick, knee, elbow, trip, throw, knockdown... pretty much anything that happens in the ring gets a roar from the crowd! Although gambling is illegal in Thailand, it's going on in the crowds. Every now and again an official turns around and shouts at them for gambling, he turns back round and it carries on!! Like naughty school kids! It's a wicked sport and it can be over in a flash. The championship bouts have been the most exciting and brutal but every fight is a clash between two highly tuned professional fighters.

Below is a video from channel 7 studios. I have lots that I might post at some stage but this one gives you a good idea of the atmosphere and the contest. Round 4 in a fight for a belt. The champion is in the red shorts and the contender in the blue. It was a great fight which actually ended in a draw. 

 

Temples (Wats)

During my time here so far, I have managed to visit a number of temples in Bangkok. They are incredibly peaceful places to be. Either alone with your thoughts, a pad and a pen or sharing the beauty of the temple with others. The Buddhist culture is quite beautiful in many ways and temples are their place of worship.

The Reclining Buddha: 42 metres long and 10.5 metres high. Carved out of brickwork and painted with real gold. It shows Buddha in a state of relaxation before entering Nirvana (formlessness).  

The Emerald Buddha: This was the most incredible place to be, even just for a short time. Just to sit (always with feet facing backwards) and wonder at this incredible piece of work gets you thinking. Then suddenly you feel relaxed with your thoughts. No shoes, hat or photos allowed inside but I was allowed this one from outside. The bowl in the foreground is full of holy water and you dab a lotus flower in it and onto your head for good luck.

The Grand Palace

Some pictures of The Grand Palace. The original palace (all pics except number 6) was built in 3 years in 1782 under the 1st king: Rama I. It's an incredible place to walk around and the fact that you can practically go anywhere and touch anything is quite refreshing. No jobsworths in sight! A very calm and tranquil place to be, away from the bustle of Bangkok.

The sixth pic is another part of the palace that was built by a later king, he had been influenced by his trips to Europe and brought lots of new ideas and designs to Thai life. The current king is Rama IX (9) who was coronated on June 9th aged 19. He has done more for the country than anyone has ever done anywhere! He revolutionised Thailand and is treated like a god. Every morning at 8am at school the kids sing the king song and wherever you are you must stop what you're doing, stand up if you're sitting and listen (or sing) to the song. He is ill at the moment though and the country is very worried. No Thai will ever talk about him though so we simply refer to him as 'he who can't be mentioned'. Long live the King, a very positive and powerful influence on the Thai people and their culture.

1st month of teaching

I'm back online, it's taken a while but I now have a more permanent internet connection running. My landlord has provided me with a better cable which works fine. So I'm back on the blog.

It has been over a month of teaching now and I couldn't have found a better job for me. I absolutely love teaching. It requires creativity, adaptability and resourcefulness to get on in this job. It also requires patience, organisation and tact. Above all else, you need a sense of humour and a will to teach. I couldn't be happier, unless I had someone to help with the organisation! I have got into a good system now though and the school itself is quite organised. Plus, there are lots of other experienced teachers that love to help out with snippets they have discovered. Overall I have found it to be a very rewarding job. Everyday when a kid wants to speak to me in English about something it makes me smile. It means they are finding a reason to speak English which is that thought that I'm trying to instill in them. When they think about English I want them to think a happy thought, not a slaves thought, "I have to learn English because..." more like, "I choose to learn English because...". It's quite philosophical but these are my initial feelings about teaching and it's application. Subject to change of course! In a few years I'll probably think 'you will learn English you lil b******!' haha

The art classes with the posh kids are a different story to my English classes. Their English is very good already. There isn't a syllabus for art, I'm writing it! Other teachers have mentioned that its unfair but I think this is the best way to do it. Each art teacher has their own take on life, art and it's uses. When I got down to planning each unit I thought about how I was taught and how I would have liked to have been taught. So I decided to test the kids with the 1st unit on illustration, detailed analysis using a pencil of a subject. 4 weeks culminating in a very special lesson which is unique to the school, a life model class! I have made a lot of friends in the school and I sold it to them that all they had to do was sit and read a book for 40 mins - 2 x 20 min positions. And I ended up with 5 willing participants that all did great jobs as life models. Obviously the classes were fun and the kids enjoyed it but I wish I could show you some of these pictures. For their first ever life model class they all did well and some of them did really well. In particular the 10 year olds. They have improved so much since my first lesson with them and now they are really starting to look more with their eyes and less with their imaginations. Not that I'm stifling their imaginations in the slightest, I encourage them to add style to the drawings. Imaginative backgrounds and details that don't exist on the model. Just draw the model accurately first. They seem to enjoy my lessons and I enjoy them as well. The next unit I've planned is on light and shadow, then colour, then painting, then low-relief sculpting, then a sculpture. So, a nice transition from 2D to 3D will allow me to develop their core skills in the arts before I start to set projects that really test these skills.

Bangkok. It's cultural sights, sounds and smells. Coming soon.

Pattai School. The designers thought carefully about this place.

The ILP section of the school where I teach English to 11 and 12 year olds in classes of 40+. Basketball court on the left where my liveliest boys try and get me to play. I try the odd three pointer but it's so hot! I don't know how they run around all the time.

The IP section of the school where I teach art to years 5 to 9 (9 to 14yr olds) and I also help out for two hours on a Monday afternoon on big class projects. Phew, I now teach 23 classes a week! It's a lot of planning to do but it keeps me busy.

The school cafeteria where we eat freshly cooked Thai food every day. Jamie Oliver would do a little dance if he saw what these kids eat! Dinner is free and most days it is very tasty, though I admit, somedays it's a little too Thai for me! So there is another cafeteria where you can get something plain like chicken and rice with a fried egg.

A catelogue shot of the ILP office space. We get free bread and chocolate milk everyday!

 The football pitch. We will take the team to glory. The heat is stifling to us farangs but the kids are out there whenever they get a chance.

This section is like a miniturised road system and the kids run around it like its a race track! Thai kids will make a game out of anything, a mentality I can definitely relate to.

Oh yeah, there's a 50 metre gorgeous swimming pool as well. We can't use it but wow, a 50 metre outdoor pool!

Gekkos Everywhere

The most prolific, predatory creature seen on an hourly basis is the Gekko. Averagely about 100mm long, they are everywhere. At school they crawl around the classrooms. At night they can be seen everywhere. And I've just discovered there is one living in my room! I came in this evening to discover it on the ceiling. It then wriggled it's way behind the fixed shelving system. No wonder there is a distinct lack of ants in my room. Everyone talks about trails of ants leading to their bins but I hardly see any, and I always have watermelon and apple cores in there. Turns out I have a resident expert in pest control! A welcome intruder, I'll try and get a picture of it next time I catch it in the open. :)

Good morning Teacher Dan

Its 5pm on Friday which means that I have successfully completed one full week of teaching! And without any planning whatsoever! Just freestyle teaching.

The school is massive, I still havn't discovered it all but I've found many different parts. It's a private school, divided into different grades depending on how much the parents have paid. The poshest kids learn in the International Programme (IP) and they learn English, science, maths, social studies and art in English and Thai! They also learn Chinese. This is where I teach art class. The next department is the Intensive Learning Programme (ILP) where they learn the normal subjects in Thai and five English classes a week. This is where I teach English. There are other grades going all the way to council kids in another part. Put it this way, there are 300 Thai teachers and 30 farang teachers!

Working in this heat in trousers, long sleeve shirt and a tie has been testing but I'm getting used to it. The 1st day was hot. The principal - Plah, pulled me out in front of the IP department and introduced as Mr Dan, who drives past Buckingham Palace every day! Haha, slightly misinformed but certainly entertained the kids. Then I basically got given rough lesson plans for the week and thrown in a class in the ILP department. Away I went. Each class has a Thai assistant that is there for extra control and to explain anything complex to the class. I teach three classes, all 11-12 year olds and my assistants are Ms Youee, Ms Plah (another Plah, which means fish!) and Ms Tip. They are lovely ladies that are very heplful but discipline is a problem. I wondered how I would deal with unruly kids and I surprised myself. In my P6 room 7 class there is a kid called Oh who is a maniac, probably got a mental problem but that doesn't exist in Buddhist culture. Anyway, that's another story. Oh is a nutter and infects the class around him, and I can spot a ringleader. Once he'd pushed it too far I changed my tone, pitch, volume and eyes almost instinctively and told him to get out of my class, 5 minutes, outside! Followed by an intimidating move towards him and more words, he froze and the class went chillingly silent. Once he was outside I changed my tone for the rest of the class, Thai is tonal and it appears to deeply affect them. They were shooken up and I reassured them that I want to help them, I made them laugh and went outside to speak to Oh. He was definitely the leader cause the rest of the Hydra metaphorically bled to death. Since then, he has been one of my best students!!! I could not believe it. I've got two other classes, P6/11 is gifted and full of smart kids that are a pleasure to teach and play games with. The other, P6/10 is 40 nutters that are pretty dumb except for one chinese girl. I'm trying to get her moved into 6/11 cause she needs a better environment and seems to be subject to bullying. Not happening. I now deeply understand the complexities of bullying down to the most subtle gesture. So I've already put those wheels in motion.

I've started off teaching art class to IP 5, 6 and 8. I prepared a great lesson utilising the only art book I have out here with me. A German, Ernst Haekl, saw beauty where scientists saw only form. So he used a microscope to illustrate perfect drawings of thousands of life forms. So my class was that you don't need a microscope, your eye is your microscope. Use it like one. Before each class I collected gorgeous still life from the area and I mean gorgeous (this is the tropics!!). I did not pick anything living, only things that had fallen already, Buddha is watching! :) Then set the class into groups and set up a still life for them. You would not believe it but they've never done a still life before. IP 6 gave me a bloody round of applause! Just for setting up 6 still life's for the groups. Then, I'd say 70 % produced the most amazingly intricate pieces while I ran round each class helping them out wherever they needed it. Half way through the first class I realised something about the kids, they were scared of getting it wrong! So I stopped them and said that, in my class, there is no right or wrong, effort is what counts. And then boom, away they went. I did this at the start of the next classes and the word has spread. Now principal Plah wants me to teach all the art classes to the posh kids! So next week I'll have IP 7 and 9 as well. The art teacher before is a nice bloke from Dublin but no experience in fine art and no feeling there, he also looks buzzing all the time! Half wasted, half wired. So the teachers were happy to switch their rotas around to fit with mine. Wicked! I keep having to control the boy in me, he's quite excited about the potential in these kids.

So, first week done, settled into the area perfectly. Made friends with just about everyone I've met that is western and many Thais. My Thai is improving, I'm reaching a stage of politeness now. Short interactions with waitors and everyone around the area. Your street is your home and I have something mildly embarrassing to put in this blog. Thailand is a respect culture, there is a beautiful respect between men and women, old and young but also sociological. Wait for this, the order of respect in Thailand goes... Buddhist Monk... King... Teacher! So some Thais even give you a little bow! It gets me an even better discount if I mention it but, my nature is not to take advantage of anyone so I've been avoiding it! But how funny.

Oh, before I post. Karaoke. It's like a national pastime. Last night we took a walk down a new street and found an amazing little restaurant, bit more expensive than the strip but still really cheap. Guy playing acoustic guitar on the stage singing beautifully just starts talking to us and asking us to sing. How can I say this, you feel so welcome and relaxed that no is not an answer. Well, turns out I'm not that bad at singing, (thank you Dad!) after about three or four songs I could finally sit down with the other teachers. A band came on that had a lead singer who looked like a Thai Santana! Called Billy and the Green Apples! Well, once they'd done a few songs he got me and a friend Callum (top northerner) up there to sing with the band! We nailed Hotel California (thanks again Dad!!) :), and then Cal did a runner and left me to sing Take it Easy, just me and the band. Surreal experience, the guy on lead guitar played the Eagle's solos note for note. Hotel California blew me away.

Right, if you're still reading then thank you. My typing is improving, as well as my English grammar. Did I mention that the Thai teachers smack the kids with rulers across the palm when they get something wrong? I didn't, yep, I have two English grammar classes in Thai to sit in on and help mark the work. The teacher smacks them (hard) with a plastic ruler and I feel it. Culture shock. I'll explain these another time, for now, I need a well earned 50p glass of Singha or two!!

Two Americans, two Brits and two Thais + two bottles of Sansong Rum. You know who was left standing!

Thai chess or Bakloh. Very similar in some ways to chess but also very different. I beat him twice and let him win the third one for fear of disappearing during the night! My sacrifice paid off in another way as well, he then taught me some very useful thai bartering phrases. lok dai toa lai - give me discount. I say it everywhere and it always works!

Another beach, another crocodile. Except this one actually has a dead poisonous puffer fish in its mouth! And is made from the most beautiful sand i've ever felt.

So I had to make a mermaid as well.

I climbed up on a precarious chair to get this picture, I just love the reaction on everyones faces! Especially the old windsurfing master crouched in the middle! This pic just about sums up the time in Rayong. 

Meanwhile, in the land of smiles

I am alive and very well in Thailand. Flight 911 contradicted it's name and was completely uneventful. I learnt some useful Thai phrases from the cabin staff as I was sat right next to their area. As opposed to Latin masculine and feminine words, the Thai language is about polite syllables and is extremely phonetic. Women add krah and men add krap to the end of many sentences and is also used singularly in agreement. It's a fascinating language and i've been absorbing the basics quite easily. But the intonation is going to take a while. For example, in the last week, i've discovered four uses for one word; maa. - dog, horse, come here and very! It may explain the relaxed culture. A word usually has five meanings out her. But used in different contexts they mean completely different things.

I spent the first few days in Rayong province and went to Ko Samet (Ko means island in this context). A beautiful island and completely took my breath away. Met up with 20 other teachers and lots of Thais. Too many stories to go into detail but we had a great time and is the happiest I've felt since Tignes 2007. The foreign office were still not allowing any travel to Bangkok so some people were apprehensive but I'm beyond any worry anymore so have just been going with the wind. And the wind has blown me to a new school.

I was previously headed to the Sunflower school but Plah has rearranged me to work at Pattai school teaching art and english, it's an absolutely beautiful school. We arrived in Bangkok a few days ago and have been getting set up in the area. I've gone for a flat which is 5 mins walk from the school and the lively food street. I've finished buying the essentials and have opted for fans over air con, gonna save me money on electricity and I want to climatise to the heat. It has been working. The first night was tough, the second was better and last night I slept incredibly. The heat surrounds you and my way to deal with it is to slow down my breathing, relax and drift off. Lovely. I did rent a fridge though for cold fruit and water. All in all, living in a cool place within 5 mins of the school with a fridge and paying for bills is gonna cost me roughly £150 a month. I'm getting paid well and food is so cheap I can't explain it. So I'm set up now. My landlord is called Jump (Thais have simple nicknames - Jet, Top, Jazz, Ohm, Plah, Bai, Duck, Nut. To name a few.) He has set me up with free internet, it is unreliable and very slow, but its completely free. So I'm back online and looking forward to hearing from everyone.

I start teaching tomorrow and I have three emotions, excited, scared and composed at the same time (the boy, the teenager and the adult I would say!) but I am ready. I bought a squidgy english football before I left England and I plan to use it to introduce myself to the kids and use it in a game to learn everyones names. So, it's gonna be difficult and I'm just gonna have to feel my way into this job but there have been some reassuring signs. I've been intrigued by the number 9 for a while now and it has been popping up all over the place. Turns out to be the lucky number of Thailand, I became the ninth teacher on the list to go to Pattai school when Plah rearranged it and my room number is 207. Synchronicity with the number nine without lifting a finger, just blowing with the wind.

Dan Cooper is going against the advice of the foreign office

On Monday the 24th May I'll be flying from Heathrow (which is on strike), through Europe (which has volcanic ash floating in its atmosphere), to Bangkok (which is still enduring political unrest), on... wait for it... flight number ?... you guessed it... flight 911. The signs are looking good! I'm packing a parachute. :)