Back to Thai time & many changes!

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Ok I'm sorry! I have been writing my blog every day, I just havent got around to actually putting onto here or sorting out my pictures until now. I'll try to drip feed the story so far throughout this week and then promise to keep up to date with it more regularly. Honest. Promise. Ahem.....
Wednesday 9th may
After leaving at 2.30pm yesterday (after much re-weighing and reducing of my case) I finally arrived back in Thailand at about 4pm Thai time. I’ve initially come back to the elephant camp with a perhaps optimistic hope of trying to convince them to let me stay here long term to help out. I don’t expect that there would be any chance of being paid for this, so I’m hoping that I can do a deal with them to get free accommodation and food in return, and then I have an extra little plan!
Arrived feeling very tired and jetlagged and then was bombarded with changes and people having left, which considering that the main reason I’m back here is because of the friends I made, is not good news. The most significant change is that EcoExplorer no longer work with the elephant camp that is next door. The last time I was here I went to see another camp that they also wanted to take on so that they could offer more challenging rides for the volunteers and show them how different mahouts (elephant trainers) work. But now I find out that they don’t have anything to do with it. Personally this means that I wouldn’t be able to work with my old elephant Surichok and mahout Mr Tong, but also it means that the camp is no longer supported so they won’t be receiving money from the project. Ao also said that the land-owner had taken back some of the land so that he can put up apartments. Three people have also left the project. Ao is one of them but he was here to meet me, Nippon the manager of the camp who I got along with really well (and was my unofficial translator - now what am I going to do?) and Noi who worked in the office. Ao called Noi and I spoke to her, she’s going to come and see me tomorrow evening at 6pm. I was feeling a bit shell shocked from all this (probably not helped by the tiredness, jetlag) but knew that I’d feel better when I came down to dinner and spoke with the other volunteers, because I knew that they’d be so enthusiastic about the camp and the elephants. When I came down to dinner however……there were no volunteers. I found out later that they’d stayed overnight at the camp in one of the mahout huts. Went to bed and it sounded like there was a karaoke competition going on outside my door. I remember some of the other volunteers saying they had trouble sleeping with this the last time they were here but I’d never noticed it, it must just be if you’re staying in an room at the back of the building. Tried earplugs and managed to get to sleep, but then I woke up again at 2am - of course, my body thinks it’s only 8pm and I’ve just had a snooze after dinner. The karaoke was still blasting and even the earplugs weren’t masking it now. I eventually managed to get to sleep after another hour by turning on my ipod to drown out the noise and at least listen to some music that I liked…………………

Thursday 10th May
………..only to be woken at 6.30am by the ghostly sound of Noi’s voice calling my name outside my room. She’s come to see me at 6am not 6pm! So there I am sat in my pyjamas with Noi perched on my bed, her telling me that I should still go to the old camp, not stay at the apartments and stay with her instead. Very nice of her to offer, but it all added to my confused state. I decide that I’m not going to go anywhere today and then I’ll do Friday and Saturday at the old camp to catch up with Mr T and Surichok and then see how I feel. I do want to see them but I don’t want to be the only one over there while the other volunteers are at the new camp. Aaaargghh, this is supposed to be enjoyable. Think the tiredness/jetlag combo is making me a bit irrational!!! After breakfast I moved to another room at the front to avoid the karaoke, so spent the morning moving my things and going to Tesco to buy toiletries and mossie repellent. I was feeling quite smug when I was unpacking in my new room as it’s huge, with a double and a single bed. Then a cockroach crawled out. As a complete bug phobic this was bad. Last time over here the only time I’d had a freaky time with bugs was the night I slept in the raft/room in Kanchanaburi fully clothed and wrapped from head to toe mummy-stylee in a sheet. I thought I’d be brave and put a glass over it to keep it where I knew it was, and then go and ask some one to move it. As soon as I picked the glass up though - I didn’t even get near it, it flew (FLEW!!) up, crashed into the wall, flew over the bed (that was scary “not the bed”) crashed into the wall again and lay dazed on the floor. This gave me enough time to run screaming (inside) to ask Ao to move it. I think what I actually did was just squeal "cockroach" while pointing in the direction of upstairs. Then later as if that wasn’t enough for my already frayed nerves I opened a drawer when I got out of the shower and a massive moth was flapping around in it. Slammed it shut and again ran downstairs, this time Ao told me he was going out and he would do it later. Not wanting to be seen as a complete wuss I thought that would be ok. It was shut in a drawer after all. When he came up later though and opened the drawer there was nothing there. I swear there was one in there; I’m not so bad that I’m hallucinating! But he emptied all the drawers out and there was nothing. Maybe it was squashed at the back somewhere?
When we got back from tesco Serweng, one of the mahouts from the camp next door was here and he told me that Mr Tong had gone home to Surin for a week. He’ll either be back tomorrow, on Saturday or next week - I’m not entirely sure. They were all mentioned when I asked when he’d be back. This is why I’ll miss Nippon. In the afternoon I just slept, not sure if that’s a good idea and will stop me sleeping tonight but I couldn’t keep myself awake any longer. At dinner there are no other volunteers again, I’m beginning to wonder if I’ve misunderstood them and I’m actually the only one here. I’d given Lam a present when I got here of a pink spotty apron. Unfortunately he just took it off me and didn’t open it (I think that’s a cultural/shyness/reserved thing though) and when I asked him later if he liked it he said no (hope that’s a language thing!) I ask him again though and this time he said it was ok. Wonder whether I should just ask him if he’s rather have the money as I really like the apron. Bite count after sitting out tonight for a while covered in citronella mosquito repellent is 32!

Friday 11th may
Went to the camp next door today. Felt guilty as Ao is looking after me if I’m at this camp and that means that he can’t do his 5 other jobs. So presumably that means he isn’t making any money. Mr Tong is still in Surin so his sister-in-law is looking after Surichok, all she is doing though is making sure that she is fed, showering her and keeping the area tidy and she wouldn’t let me do anything, as soon as I started to do something her and Ao started doing it too. So it was a bit boring really. I had my Pa-Kam ceremony calling on the spirits to protect me during my time working with the elephants and some of the mahouts came over to say hello. I gave out some of the presents I’d brought with me, a Man Utd wallet and key ring for Mon (he didn’t say anything but was smiling to himself as he walked off so I think he liked them), a picture/jigsaw for Num of him and his daughter (he said thank you very much but sounded a bit sarcastic), Whicha gave me a hug and asked for beer - nothing changed there! I’d brought some English flower seeds for Pinoi and he was the most gracious, he looked really pleased and both he and his wife came over to thank me and they were looking through them for ages. Hope they manage with them ok as obviously the growing instructions are all written in English!
This evening I finally met the other volunteers - and they are leaving this weekend! So that meant the inevitable boozy last night for one couple, and Gof (whose name is actually spelt Kop which I didn’t know) came back from the camp too, so it was great to see a familiar face again, and his English is pretty good too. He was an absolute angel for one of the guests tonight who had an infection on his legs. He kept going off on his motorbike to get medical supplies and even spent about 20 minutes squeezing the pus out of the spots - way beyond the call of duty! Then we sent him to get some ice from 7-11!!!! I’ve also been re-acquainted with the collection of dogs at the apartments: Osca - top dog, Kangyang - dopey dog (I love him), the one that broke its leg when I was last here (which is now dangling uselessly) and a new tiny dog called Jungle that Ahnon rescued when it was attacked by bigger dogs.

Saturday 12th may
Across at the old camp again this morning, Mr Tong still isn’t back. Fell asleep in the afternoon when I was reading in my room to escape the heat for a while, it’s hot but also quite damp at the moment so really humid and oppressive, I ended up sleeping the whole afternoon away! Another boozy night as it was another volunteers last night and 2 new volunteers arrived, they’re from Derby and seem really nice (I have to say that as they might read this….. no really they were lovely!!) Claire (the leaving volunteer), Mark, Alison and I went to a fantastic restaurant that I’ve been to before just down the road and had an amazing meal. I had my usual order here of the green chicken curry which is amazing. Then back to the apartments where we continued to sink the beers for the rest of the night.

Sunday 13th may
Last night I had hardly any sleep at all. I spent all night reading & watching films, then thought that might not be the best thing to do as the light might be keeping me awake, so I tried my ipod which had worked the other night, but tonight it didn’t have any success. The worst thing was that I tried my reiki music to induce me to sleep, but as each tune is 5 minutes long I kept working out what time it was that I was still awake at. When I was still awake at 7am I turned my alarm off and decided to give breakfast a miss. I was woken at 11.30 by the ghostly voice of Noi again! I was going to go to her house this afternoon but she came to tell me that she has to work, and also that she has changed me to the new camp, good news as I will be there with Mark and Alison. Went over to the camp next door to see if Mr Tong is back and took them with me to have their first experience of an elephant close up. It was great to see their awed first reaction and funny to see their initial contact, standing at arms length. I remember being equally cautious. They didn’t get much chance at being cautious when Serweng got hold of them though, he practically pushed them onto Kammoon and forced them to take photographs! In the evening I took them to the night market where we sampled the local food - sausage on a stick with chilli and gorgeous fresh fruit smoothies. Then a much needed early night. I made myself not sleep this afternoon, so hopefully I will be so exhausted that I’ll get a good night s sleep.

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Photos

Pra-Kam welcoming ceremony
This is at the "old" camp and is to ask the spirit guides to protect me whilst I'm working with the elephants