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Published: November 17th 2008
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Well I have had to make a slight detour for a couple of months to Mae Sot until early January 2009, when the rest of the team officially relocates to Mae Hong Son. This must be one of the reasons for me working in resettlement, I am definitely having enough personal experiences of my own!
I have been in Mae Sot for over 2 weeks now and Jacquie and I have managed to find a 2 bedroom house next to the UNHCR office, which has security guards 24 hours. It is a really nice place with a great outdoor verandah. It is in a quieter area which is like music to my ears, after being woken up every morning listening to PA systems, traffic and people yelling or dragging furniture around at the hotel in Mae Sot. We still hear all the dogs barking, roosters crowing and people singing karaoke but it is a lot better then what we had to put up with for a week and a half at the hotel. As you can see I have really taken a liking to the Thai and Burmese furniture having bought quite a few items now to decorate the house
- the mirror, lamp and study unit.
I have had nothing but positive experiences since arriving to Mae Sot and I feel blessed. All the people have been extremely friendly and inviting. I played badminton in my first week at work with some Thai trainers and have already befriended some locals featured in the photos. My Manager has lent me his bike while he is away and Herbie is my new mode of transport, I bike everywhere. The only things that frustrate me are:
- the wandering stray dogs who are temperamental and make running and often riding around the streets difficult
- the erratic traffic and cars regularly cutting me off
- frequent beeping of cars and noise
Honestly there is very little to complain about and I am loving the country lifestyle. Although I would argue that this is not rural because it is a bustling border town. I do like the fact you can talk on your mobile phone while riding your bike without being fined!
Jacquie told me that there is never a dull moment living with me, it is full of adventure as I regularly have amusing stories to share. For example
on the weekend I went for a jog around the soccer field and locked up my bike. I lost the key to my bike on my run and decided that rather then make 2 trips (go home and get the spare key and then come back to pick up my bike) that I would carry it home on its back wheel. As I was walking along the Asia highway a man on a scooter with a sidecart carrying a gas cylinder took pity on me. He put me and my bike on his sidecart and drove me home. No worries that he couldn't speak English and I barely any Thai, he still managed to get me home safely. No problem that I also could have been stealing someone's bike, nothing is strange or unbelievable here.
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