Hua Hin: Week One

Well it’s been one week in here in Hua Hin and this place is absolutely amazing! We had a busy busy orientation week full of fun activities, so here it goes!

On Monday we traveled from Bangkok to Hua Hin in the morning and then went as a group to the mall/grocery store in the afternoon to stock up on food and supplies. Later we met up at the XploreAsia office to go over important information and have our first Thai language class. After class a group of us went to the night market to explore and get dinner!

Tuesday was another huge introduction day. We met the XA staff and started learning more about our placement process and what to expect out of our time here teaching in Thailand.

Wednesday morning was my favorite session: Thai culture and politics. This was right up my alley and it was so interesting to learn more about the King and the history of Thailand. Wednesday afternoon we headed to the local market as a class to go shopping for our Thai cooking class the next day. We split into groups and were given a list of ingredients that we needed to make papaya salad. This was an awesome chance to practice our new Thai vocabulary in a real life situation.

Thursday and Friday were full activity and adventure days. Between the two days we went to a muay Thai gym, visited a temple, meditated with a monk, had a Thai cooking class, volunteered with Rescue Paws, visited the elephants at Hutsadin, and had a celebratory beach BBQ.

Rescue Paws is a nonprofit organization that helps improve the lives of stray dogs throughout Thailand. There is a huge stray dog population here because of the lack education about animal care. Most of the time pet owners just get tired of having pets and let them out of the house and never see them again. The staff and volunteers at Rescue Paws perform field work and aim to do reduce the stray population by providing sterilizations, vaccinations, and other vet care. Rescue Paws is also amazing because they help these dogs find forever homes by facilitating international adoption.   

The Hutsadin Elephant Foundation was started as a sanctuary for elephants who were used for tourism and farming. The foundation focuses on education and provides elephants a home free from work, abuse, and illness. Many places in Thailand offer elephant rides, but Hutsadin and many others discourage this because of the strain it puts on the animal. If you want to see, walk, and bath elephants in Thailand, this is one of the best places to do it!

Saturday was a slow day for our entire group. A few of us went and grabbed breakfast (bacon and eggs) and spent the day running errands and going to the market.

Sunday we organized an entire group trip to Phraya Nakhon Cave. We rented a songthaew (bus) to take us to the national park which was about an hour or so away. Once we arrived we had a short hike (about 30 minutes) to the temple inside the cave. It was absolutely amazing. I arrived with the front part of our group and we had a few minutes to take in the stillness and silence before the rest of our group and more tourists arrived. We stayed for an hour before heading back to the entrance. We then grabbed lunch/snacks and then headed back to our accommodations. Most of us spent the rest of the day Sunday working on our first homework assignment and preparing for the week ahead.

I’m glad we had this week for fun and games because we start our TESOL course today. This means class from 9-5 every day for the next few weeks. Hopefully I will know soon where I am being placed for my teaching assignment. Fingers crossed!  

Until next time, peace & happiness!