YEP 2009

//ps: due to complain by many for the WORDY and small entry, i've decided to rearrange it. actually, it doesn't matter if you read the whole thing. i wrote everything down so that i can keep as many memories much as i can =)

hey yo i'm finally here to update!!!

sorry for the long wait eh. anyway, although there are MANY photos here, the bulk (nicer) are not with me due to some technical + human error.. will add in those once i get hold of them :D

anyway i'll try to blog in categories (3 parts: itinerary, photos and interesting happenings) so you can understand me.. but pardon me if you don't k. hahaha! i have 30gb photos to sort and i really have no idea how to start!

part 1: itinerary

day 1 23/5: budget terminal at 3pm. i was still quite sick but decided to go, was in a daze most of the time and i didn't even notice that cheapo pals (hui ting, kim, xx and pei) came to send me off! reached bkk at about 8pm, ride on a mini-van to a near-by church at rangsit and rest for the day before setting off to our destination which is 7 hours away the next day.

day 2 24/5: woke up early in the morning, left for phayakkapum methodist church at 12pm. supposed to be 7 hours ride away but only reached at 9pm due to traffic jam + stopping halfway to buy our groceries and necessities for the next 2 weeks.

day 3 - day 7: construction and education in school number 1. school number 1 is really poor, without proper facilities. there were only 4 classrooms and no toilet. don't ask me how the kids relieve themselves. anyway we also gave them money to build a toilet. (we only know they lacked a toilet on our last day there!) generally english standard was near to zero. we relied heavily on our translators.

day 8 and 9: construction on saturday (there is no half day there.. haha) and sunday was church service. non-christians were helping to prepare meals for devoters and boy it was fun and everything was vvvv yummy! after service, we went to the town to walk ard and bought badminton rackets. after which, we played games (badminton, captain's ball and soccer) with the pastor. while playing soccer, one of the team member slipped and fell on the ground and hurt her back. it was quite serious initially and all of us were in a state of shock. we brought her to the hospital for x-ray and luckily everything was fine :)

day 10 - 14: construction and education at school 2. school 2 is so much bigger in scale equipped with proper facilities! we "wow-ed" all the way and concluded that school 1 is a neighbourhood school (like bowen) and school 2 is some atas school (like RI) hahahaha! when we stepped in, the students actually greeted us "good morning. how is your day today?" wahseh... *salute* on our last day there, the kids actually wanted us to sign autograph *superstar* and they plucked all the flowers in the school and gave it to us! so touched!

day 13 & 14: home stay with the villagers. my friends and i (4 of us) drew lots and we stayed with the village chief. initially i was DAMN HAPPY cuz i expected the village chief's house to be the NICEST but in the end it was the most humble. however, i had the CUTEST kid to play with me (ok most of the time i tried to play with him but he ignore me TOTALLY). the experience is totally fresh and new and i enjoyed myself tremendously.

day 15: halfday at construction site and bidded our last goodbye. the students from the 2nd school managed to locate our construction site and started bringing us ard the area for 2 days. it was fun and we went around snapping TONNES of pictures. i also took the opportunity to treat them drinks which i think is considered a luxury to many of them. at night, it was cultural night and we took turn to perform. we sang song (a medley with singapore town, nian shao shi hou, di tanjong katong and rasa sayang) and did some dance while the kids performed for us! we didnt sleep for the entire night cuz we are scheduled to leave the church at 4am the next morning. we had facilitation until 2am haha!

day 16: travelled out of mahakarakham for 7 hours (and i slept the whole way... hahaha) and reached ayuttaya. ayuttaya used to be the capital of thailand. spent about 1 hour there. nothing much although we took some dumb pics. after that, we had a 2 hour ride back to bkk and we went chatuchak! i was dead beat...

day 17 and 18: left bkk and headed to kanchanaburi. the place has this fantastic waterfall! i spent 7 hours there although the journey there had many many hiccups.. will elaborate more later.

day 19 and 20: went back to bkk. my friends wanted to join me shopping at platinum mall but they decided to go for massage so i went shopping alone before meeting my sister (who was in bkk for business trip) that night. I MISS KING SIZE BED AND BATH TUB SO MUCH. hahahaha. anyway i bought 25 tops 2 bags 2 shoes :D reached singapore at 11.45pm and was shocked to see both my parents and my sister! hehehe!

** sorry if the above sound too boring/too much details/too little details. will try to enhance it later*

omg. i have yet to post any pics and the entry IS ALREADY SO LONG!

part 2: photos!

day 1 =)

at budget terminal.. trying to sort and weigh all the luggage. i exceeded the weight limit of cuz, but no one scolded me cuz i wasn't feeling well = cannot pack properly = just throw everything in hahaha!


reached rangsit methodist church. was soooo hungry but i had no appetite at all.

after dinner, we went to shop for our calling card and how can we miss the chance to step into an air-conditioned place???!!!

happy kids with thai yakult!

the calling card thingy was such a headache. i shall not elaborate here but we wasted A LOT of time.. haha

thailand has steeeeep stairs everywhereeeeee

day 2 =)

our bunk beds! there is air-con in this church!!!!!! but too bad i didnt sleep at all that night cuz my insomnia was not over yet!

our daily temperature taking exercise... clearly i still look shag.. hahaha..

all fresh and "ready" for the 7 hours van ride!

before setting off, everyone was happy. but after that, 1 word: CUI!

on our stop at the supermarket i saw this ultra cute boy! hahaha!

beautilful sunset... but we still haven't reach zzzz

finally! dinner at 9pm!

one of the 1 million bugs there. this is considered the smallest! super ultra black beetle :S

everyone helping to prepare for the lesson in school.. making paper mask!

our water supply for 14 days!

day 3 to day 7: school 1!

yayyy! on our way to the first school for education for the first time!!!! excited!!! (ok except for the guy in the middle on foreground, haha!)

my name in thai =)

we played some ice breaking games like london bridge and... hopscotch. HAHAHA!

the kids warmed up after a while and they started piling on us! damn fun but way out of control!!!

*proper lesson!*

conversational english

this boy was not paying attention so i snapped a photo of him and showed it to him afterwards. he was so amused by it haha!

making bookmark!

the cutest boy in many pple's eyes, but i only have heart for 1! you will see my AP boy later hahaha!

*sports day!*

we played balloon stepping game as well as "passing the watermelon". the watermelon game is quite disgusting. they had to pass the watermelon and egg, open and finish everything! super dirty! they offered us but from the way they open them... we declined. hahaha! but all of us had fun!

balloon stepping around

passing and eating the watermelon..

scissors paper stone - form the longest line and you win!

see i can look like a pro photographer too! HAHAHAHA!

the super scary ride :S

one of my favourite girl. but so sad, all the kids i like have attitude problem! they don smile!!!! wait till u see the other 2 later, haha!

this boy is voted MVP cuz his soccer skill is realllllly goood!

the school actually treated us to lunch on our final day at the school. the principal actually teared when he was giving his speech! *touched*

the school also wanted us to "plant" a new tree for the school as a gratitute.. but it turns out that they just removed a tree and let us plant it back in again... haha (see the tree at the back!)

day 10 - day 14: school 2!

i hopped on to a pick-up to school 2!

playing bingo using shapes!

they have comics in the classroom!!!

their "tuckshop"! the sweet only cost 1 baht = S$0.04! super nice!

worksheet/exercise =)

sports day on the last day again!


lol i was stalking this boy too he is sooooooooooooooo cute! (he is not the AP boy)

lol the BIGGEST size boy i saw there! and he's only in kindergarden!!!!!!!!

pro photographer in actionzzz! hahaha! my pum pa sistas!

his name is shat, which my friend describe as "past tense of shit". SO BAD! he's quite good and cool looking.

his name is game! cute boy!

i was trying to ask his name so that i can write a personal message to him when he asked me to gave him my autograph... haha so sweet!

all my flowers were given by the 2 of them!

similarly school 2 also invited us to lunch on our last day, but the principal never cry. hahaha!

the fried butterfly (minus the wing) i ate!!!!!!!

construction!

i shall not bore most of my readers with the technicalities. just show u some pics of our HARD WORK! below are the things i learn in my course (half of my course to be specific)! hahaha! so stop asking me what i learn cuz how u expect me to describe??!!! hahahaha!

doing marking...

first day was the most tiring cuz we had to dig a hole measuring 70cm x 70cm x 80cm... can die!

the hardest worker

photos taken near the construction site (while slacking)

the first shed: non-karma!

so emo! i didn't know my friend took this hahaha! but the colour is superb right? no photoshop!!!

the kids from school 2 managed to locate us and we took many photos!

i have to ensure everyone queue properly.. still have to shout and shout after school hours. haha!

happy game with his soya bean!

the shop selling drinks near our construction site. i think for the 14 days we were there, they earn more than what they earn for the entire year. we purchase > S$20 per day there and on the last 2 days i think i spent $50!

on our way back to construction site one day after educating the kids, we passed by a house selling goreng pisang! it never taste so goooood before!!!

*melts*

the flower the kids gave me =)

SI LIAM PUM PAAAAAAAAAA!

cui looking shot! hahahah!

we climbed up the lighthouse next to our site! gorgeous =)

LOL this is the ultimate karma photo! we zoomed his lips soooo much and we laughed so hard that 5 of us knocked our head against the karma shed roof in 5 mins!

karma shed!

my "home" for 14 days!

level 1

level 2, our sleeping area

kitchen

daily facilitation/debrief

scribble board

ground rules (which many didn't follow including me lol)

angel and mortal game

that night i cried so bad...

daily breakfast, with the cat in the middle. one fierce and hungry cat!

washing the super duper smelly clothes of the entire team daily after construction. i kena the first day and OH MY GOD!

sunday church =) kids service

pastor's tuk tuk

our main mode of transportation

AP baby number 2: always frowning =( but luckily she didnt pee on me. she peed on my friend lol!

pastor's wife! so sad i didnt manage to take a photo with the pastor. he is quite handsome! only 30!

rehearsal for cultural night

town near the church

shades at 50 baht, or S$2

dinner outside church: steamboat!

(trivia: their steamboat buffet is only 69 and 89 baht respectively, which is less than S$4!)

homestay


there is actually a fish inside the water tank. it is quite gross actually, and i stupidly use the water to brush my teeth when i can use mineral water. *heartbreak*

the view outside the house i stayed

this is the village chief's wife. she's very humble and accommodating to us!

my favourite dog! her name is xiao brown (cuz she is brown). but we realise that there are too many brown dogs around so her name is changed to charlie brown. actually there is a story behind her name. one day when i was talking to my friend, i wanted to say "village chief's house" but i said it too quickly so it became "village charles". as a result, the village chief's name becomes charles. to suit the name Charles, we decided to name the dog something starting with a C and is linked to brown. so Charlie brown came into the picture. we saw 3 other brown dogs and we named them dan brown, hash brown and eye brown respectively. i know we are damn lame, but the cheap thrill really kept us going!

actually there are 2 more white dogs and 1 more black dog. they have names too but too bad i don't have their photo now. will let u guys know their names again. hahaha. very very lame too!

the ultimate cutie/AP boy!!! hiu chang!!!!

the board right outside the house. i don't understand what is written there but i heard from my friend it is the particulars of all the villagers

just right outside the house, there is this magnificent temple! delicate craft work and architecture!

i really love the sky there! =)

on the second day, the village chief brought us around to his padi field! my friends actually try to harvest but i didnt cuz i had blisters around my feet and it was not safe to go into the field.

the chief also brought us around to see his cow and the other farms around! i even managed to record a video of a cow shitting! LIVE! right infront of me! hahahahahaha!

cultural night

i saw this super cute puppy! but this photo doesn't do the puppy justice, haha!

the villagers prepared a very nice meal for us!

we brought our 'yum seng' tradition over.. it was SO LOUD!

their performance for us!

R&R

*ayuttaya*

dan brown :D

*kanchanaburi*

crazy dog at the guesthouse

gigantic dog near the guesthouse
view outside my room

the trip to erawan waterfall is quite hilarious. initially, we wanted to take public transport ourselves cuz we didnt want to take the day tour (which cost S$50) nor ride the motorbike there (none of us has license, nor those pple who rented bike n ride there). however after waiting for the bus for 30 mins (it was 30 mins late), the bus finally came! but guess what, no one flag for the bus (we thought the pple infront of us will flag cuz they stood up and look like they want to board) but to our horror the bus went off!!!!!!

the bus stop. it has no sign at all. luckily the man selling ice cream guided us here.

we had no choice but to return to our hostel and call for the cab. it cost us S$60 for 2 way per cab. we were really dejected and had no high hope on the cab. we were expecting some tuk-tuk alike cab but guess what...

A MERCEDES!!!!

the bus which we are supposed to take... luckily *phew*

*erawan waterfall*

i spent 7 hours at the waterfall as there are 7 tiers! simply stunning =)

roadside food stalls!

super salty egg

super nice satay

super nice squid

super nice seafood omelette

on our way back to bkk from kanchanaburi, we took the train! choo choo train!

chatuchak

too tired from shopping, i played the swing next to chaktuchak.

there is another funny story behind this mother and son. when my friend saw the boy, he was flipping his shirt and my friend immediately thought about the 'naked man'. so she told me in mandarin "the boy is trying to take off his clothes and show me". we started laughing and guess what, his mum walked towards us and said "HELLO" in mandarin!!!! *horror* the mum actually understands mandarin!!! goodnessssss! what are the chances??? anyway, i tried to divert the topic by asking for the boy's name. his mum replied "xiao hui" but i heard "xiao gui" (tortoise) instead! luckily i asked her to repeat herself if not i think the mum will just kill me infront of her son. hahaha!

the last 2 days was spent at bkk. nothing much to show you cuz i was busy shopping. hahahaha. oh my god. i spent 5 hours writing this entry. pls read and comment ok. i will be so hurt if you guys just read and keep quiet. HAHAHAHA. i will try to get hold of the rest of the pictures as soon as possible. meanwhile, i need to prepare sharon's, kah's and weikang's presents.

part 3: random (and interesting) happenings

1. the church we stayed in attracts MANY MANY BUGS OF ALL KIND cuz it is the only "bright" place in the rural area. basically the floor has bugs crawling around every second. i don't dare to sit with my shorts cuz i'm worried some teeko bug will crawl in. i sleep with my long pants every night.. until the 2nd week cuz i am too tired n cannot be bothered. hahaha!

2. when i was bathing in the church on the 2nd day i was there, a rat was hiding below the washing machine and i was trapped inside with the rat w/o my clothes. i have to change slowly so that i don't distract the rat. it was a HELL 5 MINUTES. i just started my shower! :(

3. on day 5 (i think), i was so hungry that day that i ate 2 servings for dinner. on my 2nd helping, on my 2nd bite, i realised in the vegetables there is this BIG BIG BIG (3cm? 4cm?) bug in my plate. i stopped eating immediately and never tell my friends, only after we were about to sleep. haha!

4. i ate fried butterfly =\ it is crispy and super salty. i had to drown myself with f&n orange after that.

5. i am the drama queen of the team. i really dunno why.

6. we have wireless internet there! that explains for my random msn appearance :D

7. next to our construction site are 2 resting area (or 2 shed) for us. 1 of it is called the "karma shed". the ceiling for the shed is so low that we always knocked our head. i was the first victim. among the 18 team members, i think there were at least 15 victims. the most serious case? my friend knocked and her head bleed. and she can still LAUGH AND LAUGH after that. it was cuz we were laughing at a photo, which we call it 'the karma photo'.

8. we taught shapes, numbers and colours in school. to teach, we must learn the thai pronounication for them too and the most memorable has to be rectangle. it is pronounced as "si liam pum pa". sounds damn vulgar right? we laughed at it so much that we always emphasize the 2 words "PUM PA" cuz it sounds the most vulgar to everyone and now i am part of the famous 'SISTA PUM PA' :D

9. there is this naked man walking around the town very frequently. initially we will always laugh at him but he has a very sad history. his parents abandoned him at a very tender age and he was supported by the villagers who gave him food. he didnt like to wear clothes since young and even till now. my friend actually took a video of him... porno video to be exact.

10. we played mahjong in church. HAHA!

SHAG SHAG SHAG.

and also, need to come up with wishlist for my birthday. HAHAHAHAHA!

ok i will be back soon! :D:D:D