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Published: February 20th 2013
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I am now writing this blog two weeks after I actually did all of this because I have been quite busy with midterms and papers (shocking, I know).
Preface: Tanner is my cousin (my dad's older brothers son). He is 25 and is in his last week of serving two years as a Peace Corps volunteer in Thailand. I was lucky enough to have my study abroad here over lap his Peace Corps service.
I have been looking forward to this weekend since arriving in Thailand! Tanner happened to be coming up to Bangkok for a post Peace Corps health check up and asked if I would want to go back to his village with him after his stay in Bangkok. The timing couldn't have been better for me, after a month and a half without family having a weekend with my cousin was the perfect distraction. We met at the train station and took the sleeper train (more comfortable than my dorm bed but freezing cold) fifteen hours down to his village Talae Noi.
We arrived in town at around 6 or 7am, and we spent the morning meeting, what seemed to me, everybody in town. Tanner
Mile marker on bike ride
Apparently this is a 'must have' picture has great report with the people of Talae Noi, and they all wanted to know who the new farang was (they always thought I was his girlfriend...welll he is from Kentucky(JK Kim)). Of course food was one of my primary concerns on this trip because Southern Thai food is much different than Central (where I live) Thai food. This first day Tanner had me try traditional Thai rice breakfast soup (only way to explain it), fried chicken (x100...they love fried chicken here and constantly try to tell you its better for you than KFC chicken...), yellow curry soup, assorted fish dishes, curried frog, a califlower dish, and a million Thai Kanomes (that is how I'm going to spell that...it means treat). Sorry I can never remember names of anything, but its difficult...wait until you come to Thailand. Needless to say the food was delicious, and the first day getting to know Talae Noi was wonderful. We also went on an absoluetly beautiful bike ride on the largest raised bridge in Thailand (that may be an incorrect stat). The bridge went over the fresh water lake in the middle of Thailand accented by mountains, water buffalo, and water lilys, also I
finally got my beautiful Thai sunset.
The following day we woke up bright and early to go on an Island/snorkeling trip off the west coast of Thailand with Tanner's two Thai mothers. First and foremost, these two women are amazing and so sweet. They absoluetly adore Tanner and offered me a place to stay if I ever returned to Talae Noi (they also invited me to Malaysia...yes please.). When we got to the boat, the ladies told me we had to try to disguise my farangness a little bit because they had paid the Thai price (100Baht $3.3333) for me instead of the Farang price (400Baht $10.3333) for my ticket. This, of course, was impossible but it made for a hilarious beginning to our day. We snorkled, beached out, and swam through the beautiful Andaman Sea (part of the Indian Ocean). One of the most 'Thai' parts of our days was when the entire boat (about 50 Thai and 2 farang) was forced into life jackets and into the water into a single file line in which you hold the life jacket of the person in front of you. This little conga line was manevuered through a pitch black
cave which opened to a small annular opening (kind of the opposite of a blue hole) surrounded on all sides by steep rock walls. We made our way back to his house and immediately fell asleep.
My final day I spent around the village. I helped teach an English class, met with more friends, biked, shopped, and saw the national parks. I went to the train station that evening with P Tina, her husband, and Tanner. They, of course, bought me one last dinner and invited me back whenever. I took the train alone for the first time and felt like a true adventurer!! Two older Thai women on the train were very concerned that I was traveling alone and were quite protective of me. It is amazing how cared for I feel over here.
Although this is a little late, I think it is appropriate, as Tanner is currently on his way to Bangkok at the end of his Peace Corps service. I am so proud to have a tradition like the Peace Corps in my family. I can only speak on the work that I saw, but it is quite impressive to see the relationships, projects,
and growth Tanner has cultivated over the last two years in Talae Noi. Congratulations Tan! Super proud of all you've done.
This past weekend I went to Ayutthaya about an hour north of Bangkok to see the old temples from the 14c. Most of them have been quite destroyed by the Burmese, but this old kingdom was during the time of Angkor Wat, so it was wonderful to be able to compare the two! Other than that I have been doing homework and getting over a cold 😞 Hopefully this weekend in Krabi (beautiful beach in south Thailand) will clear me up!
Love you all,
Taylor Ann
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