The hills on the way to Mae On

The cave is quite a trek up the hill with over 100 steps when you reach the car park but the view is worth it and the breeze helps. I entered the cave and found myself alone in an eerie dark space that continued deep into the mountain. I tried to not let my imagination run away with me, but I couldn’t help but think there was going to be a huge mega tarantula just around the corner. Lucky for me nothing tried to eat me. The place was huge with stalagmites and stalactites everywhere, in one corner of the largest part of the cave there is a leaning Buddha and throughout the entire cave system the theme continues with iconic Buddhist statues and images.

The leaning Buddha with a light for his head!

The place has amazing acoustics with an immense reverb such as that found in a huge catherdral, stamping your feet creates a huge deep bass sound which reminded me of the balrog from Lord of the Rings, again I was afraid I may wake up that mega sleeping tarantula, paranoia follows me everywhere. Definitely worth a visit for anybody wanting to get out of Chiang Mai and get into the country side.

The stalagmite Chedi in the cave

I left the cave and continued on to the hot springs. On arrival I paid the farang price for entry to the park and took a stroll to the hot springs. They have a hot spring bath where you can buy some eggs in basket to boil in the water. Looked like an awesome idea so for 20b I got my three eggs and a little bag of soy sauce and placed them in the water. Do not trust the signs, it took more like 25min to hard boil the eggs, not the 10-12min as advertised.

The eggs, mmmmm stinky!

Not very accurate, this is Thailand after all!

So I sat there eating my eggs when I realised I was the only white dude there, plus the only lonesome guy. Everybody else had a beautiful girl on their arm looking romantically into each others eyes as they sucked on their eggs. I felt a little out of place at this point but continued to chow down on my eggs down with ravenous delight as I starred at the beautiful scenery and the sexy unavailable girls. I highly recommend visiting this place as it’s stunning, it has saunas, hot baths and Thai massage available too with some accommodation close by if you want to make a few days out it. Next time I go I’ll take a girl though even if I have to hire someone, it would make it that much more enjoyable.

 
The main reason was John, the director of SEE TEFL, his communication was quick and consistently helpful. He was the only person that actually replied to any of my questions and provided me with information that was well informed and personal. The second reason was the offer of a class ‘B’ non immigrant visa that enables multi-entry in and out of Thailand for the next year, this was not offered on any other course and was well worth the money.

When you sign up for the course they have two accommodation options, I didn’t take any of these as they seemed over priced and I wanted a little freedom of choice. Two students on the course stayed in one of these recommended guest houses and were not totally impressed for the money. It’s real easy to just go around Chiang Mai and find a place you like and is always cheaper. I’m paying 3500b compared to the 9000b that the recommended guest houses cost.

Jenni one of the many wonderful staff member at SEE TEFL

I started the course with 10 other students who all had similar stories about deciding upon SEE TEFL, mainly Johns communication with each and every person. The first day we were orientated and the 4 week course was outlined to us, we had all been given a grammar book, notepad, marker pens and ring binder. Immediately we get started with grammar lessons, teaching instruction and an introductory course on Thai language (led by Ying, SEE TEFL manager and Johns wife). I suck at grammar and spelling, so I knew that it would be a struggle for me to teach grammar to students, but the instructors explained it well and I started to learn things about English that I never knew before. The first two weeks concentrate on learning grammar tenses and vocabulary lessons and then applying them to a lesson plan, John really stresses the importance of a good lesson plan to avoid any mistakes in a classroom. We also spent some time building confidence in public speaking by and presenting subjects to the class, people were obviously nervous at the beginning but as the weeks went by confidence grew and people were keen to teach.

Liam the ever excitable Mancunian, top bloke, top Man Utd fan!

The last two weeks are centred around completing the 6 practice lessons in schools in and about Chiang Mai. This is possibly the most valuable aspect of the 4 week course, it really prepares you for joys and horrors that await in a Thai classroom. Over the 6 lesson you will teach kindergarten (optional), primary school, Secondary school, university and a one on one lesson.

Trying out every level of teaching gives you the complete spectrum of education levels and enables you to make an educated choice of where you want to work. Before I did the course I thought that I may enjoy working in Kindergarten but when I did a Kindergarten class I realised I didn’t enjoy it. The level was too basic and the little 4 year old kids really intimidated me, crazy to hear but I was petrified of them. I’ve stood in front of grown men threatening to kill, maim and bludgeon me as a mental health nurse and I’d re-live that experience any day rather than teach 4 year old children again. I think my favourite class to teach in the end was University, but everybody has a favourite by the end.

Ben displaying the effects of teaching Kindergarten, exhausting work!

All in all I was impressed with the course, the staff are friendly, John continues to be supportive throughout the course and it is structured well enough to give you confidence that you will complete the course and not fall behind. For the money it’s pretty good a place, I would recommend it to people travelling to Thailand with the intention of completing a TEFL before they look for a job.

So the last day I didn’t make it to the graduation, I had a huge bender the night before, I’ve still yet to pick up my certificate and I’m in no rush. I’ve got a 1 week break now travelling around northern Thailand on a scooter then I’ll come back to look for a job.

Can you spot the dirty roger!

People have had mixed feelings, some good, some bad. I will not comment on others experiences, but if you have attended SEE TEFL I invite you to comment below leaving you views to help other decide if the course is for them.

 So can I read Thai?

In essence I can now read Thai. How well? Well I know all the letters and the vowel shapes. I understand the tones rules and am able to decipher which tone each syllable should be, but this is all agonisingly slow. It can take me 10 mins just to read a sentence sometimes depending if I have read it before or not. Common words and phrases I can pick up quickly but reading a newspaper for example is hard work. It’s all about continued practice and using the language, I’ve started to notice the same words over and over again and each time I see them it’s recognisable a little bit quicker. It’s also got to the point now that when I hear a new word I try to piece it together in my head to work out how it would be spelt. This almost never works though as the Thais have a weird way of spelling things sometimes using one of the four types of S, three B’s etc. But as a student of Thai none of that really matters, what is important is being able to learn new words and recognising the tones.

I have no idea what I am reading

I can read and pronounce the words but often I have no idea what I’m saying which still leaves me confused. I have a Thai-English dictionary at home which I sometimes use for reference but mainly just by seeing the same words over and over again in context I am beginning to learn words as I go. Walking around reading adverts, newpapers, magazines, street signs has introduced me to new words quickly but I am far from proficient at Thai.

Brett does not condone the use of a dictionary! Note the glasses... they makes I smartererer

I am a slow learner

Learning to read all over again is a strange experience at 30. I’ve never had to concentrate to learn something so much before, at university it was fairly simple and mostly I plagiarised each essay (Really!?!?!). But I have experienced so much mental distress trying to get my head around vowel shapes of Thai, I’ve wanted to quit almost every day. I’ll admit I struggled and maybe I probably haven’t put it enough private study time. Over the last few weeks I’ve wanted to smash my head, smash Bretts head, drink myself stupid, torture Brett, hang myself, hang Brett, but eventually after 7 hours of lessons I can pretty much read Thai. I no longer want to hurt Brett!

Brett is a great patient teacher

Brett knows how to teach, he understands the capabilities and level of each student. I got stuck many times on the vowel shapes, mostly because I was over thinking the process. Constantly asking why? I got stressed quickly when I didn’t understand something? Brett taught me to chill out when learning, just relax, stop asking why and just accept that’s the way things are done in Thai. Once I did this things progressed quicker, Brett tailored each lesson to my abilities and level of hangover I was experiencing that day. Recently we started using common sentences that I would use every day such as ‘I want’, ‘I like’, ‘I have’ etc. this has improved my conversational Thai as I’m able to use it every day and improve my tones and accent.

He really does look like that, Yes, Really!!

Being able to read Thai totally changes the way you speak Thai, most English transliterations are completely off the mark and the tones are mostly non existent. But being able to read it greatly improves the pronunciation of the words and sometimes even the Thais know what I’m on about, mostly!

Learning with Brett was worth every penny, He is a great teacher with an ability to make learning the language fun, easy and relevant to your experiences. You may find cheaper but I bet you it will take longer than 7 hours with any other teacher to learn to read Thai. Contact him through his blog to arrange the first free lesson, he’ll teach you the middle class letters in 30min and will prove how easy it really is!

Monk chat for farang

Friendly Burmese monks. They study at the university and dream of travelling the world teaching people about the Buddha

I know very little about Buddhism so went to ask some basic question plus a few more about personal development through following the teachings of the Buddha. On arrival you enter a meeting hall away from the huge Wat and was met by a young monk and then introduced to an English gentleman who has been involved with the monk chats and living in Chiang Mai for the last 14years. An American couple then turned up and the conversation just flowed. I won’t go into detail as I would most likely say it wrong but we talked about, life as a monk, the 5 precepts, the role of a ley Buddhist, karma and meditation. The talk continued for 2 hours and every moment was insightful.

small Buddha statue in the Wat

Statue of a enlightened monk in the Wat, name???

The Middle way

I’ve never been a religious person so you’ll never find me converting as I have nothing to convert from. But the way they talked really makes sense and basically provides a good structure to lead a good life. The idea of karma makes complete sense to me and is even proven in physics as for every action there is an equal or larger reaction.  I’ve done some bad shit in my life and am always aware that it comes back in equal or larger amounts. I very rarely get angry about this as I’ve learnt over the years that I most likely deserve it. Karma works in both ways so I guess i’ll just start doing good shit.

Large pagoda behind the Wat!

Happy Buddha stuck in the tree

Buddhist candles

Good Karma

Being a nurse doesn’t automatically create good karma in my opinion, my intention isn’t completely pure. I do it for money not because I like people, don’t get me wrong I don’t like to see people suffer and would always want to help, but the reality is I do it for money. And the chicks! OK I wish I got the chicks….

So I’ll stop babbling and just get to the point, I’m going to go back again and ask more questions. I may even enter their 7 day mediation retreat. My only concern is that I may go psychotic but that’s another post for another day.

large Buddha statue in the temple

This was in the Wat, I think it's like a guest book

Doi Suthep is one of the tallest peaks in the Chiang Mai are and looks over the city it’s impossible to  miss it as it looms over you everywhere you go.  It’s only a short ride from where I live and within 5 minutes I’m at the base of the mountain and entering the thick jungle that covers the whole mountain. It’s an awesome ride up with great views over Chiang Mai from the scattered viewing points.

View of Chiang Mai from one of the many waterfalls

I rode up to the Doi Suthep temple but decided not to visit the temple this time and would leave it to another day. It only took 20 mins to get to the top and then I enjoyed the fast winding route all the way back home. I’ll get more photos the next time I go up.

One of the many waterfalls on Doi Suthep

Panoramic view over Chiang Mai from Doi Suthep

The teams before the game

We got a Song Tao from the old city of Chiang Mai to the stadium which is about 10km north of the city centre, this cost us 50 Baht each (£1), the journey was quick and the driver dropped us off right outside the ticket gate. The atmosphere was awesome when we arrived there was a huge crowd, the stadium has a capacity of about 20,000 and it seemed to be half full.  There was an amazing sense of team pride outside the stadium everybody was wearing team shirts and people had huge flags flying in the air.  With all the sights, smells and sounds it took us a while to get our senses back and then went to buy some tickets. The tickets range from 40 Baht to 100 Bath (£.90 – £2) so we went for the 50 Baht tickets which situated us on the far side of the stadium away from the VIP shelter. Great value!

The Chiang Mai firm!

We got ourselves a pint of beer each at 65 Baht (£1.25) and went to go in the entrance with a beer in one hand and a bottle of water in the other. The security guards wouldn’t let us in with the water but the beer was fine, I love Thailand!  We got a little lost inside so found ourselves in the pricier seating but stayed put as the game was about to start. The atmosphere inside was electric, I have never been to a football game where the fans where so vocal and passionate about the team. We first sat on the side next to a band leader called Doctor Monkey who had the fans singing to a bass drum in a rasta style chant.  Then moved on…

Get your flares out for the team!

Chiang Mai FC Army boy

The game lasted another 10 minutes of nail biting intensity it finished with Chiang Mai winning the game and then celebrations started. The crowd went into full voice as the team circled the pitch and sang a song that must be an anthem as the whole crowd knew the tune. Awesome!

Check out the Offical Thai site here Chiang Mai FC and the english fanzine Chiang Mai Football Club.

Any other people been to see a Thai football game? What was you experience like?

Be warned these beds are not made for our wimpy skin… I had no idea how to really get the fact that these beds are sooooo hard, so as it’s a Friday night, and I have tonsillitis, I’m not drinking because of the antibiotics and I’m waiting for the Enlgland game on the radio, I made a video . Woot!

I spent many sleepless night on this bed, until I went out and got this overpriced sickly duvet that I now have under my sheet. Adds a whole extra 2cm of polyester comfort!

I didn't vomit on this image, it really looks like this!

Thailand is beautiful, I promise. I just haven’t shown you all the good bits yet, they will be here soon!

I’ll try to get an album from a Thai music shop. Not the kind of Thai music you see on all these pop music channels they have here.

I think I prefer this song though from the first album, plenty more on Youtube!

Any body else recommend any other Thai bands?

Huay Kaew in the early morning

Nimmanhaemin in the morning

Fitness Intructions at the park

exercising at Nimmanhaemin in the morning

View of Doi Suthep from Nimmanhaemin

driving around Nimmanhaemin in the morning

Thai flags in the Fitness Park

View of Doi Sutep from a distance

Now to find some legal drugs to knock me out

I could sit here and write about every detail but that would most likely bore all of you and myself too. Lets just say it’s been super busy. I flew in to Chiang Mai from Bangkok on Thursday morning bright and early. I flew Air Asia who are pretty cheap and provided a great service, punctual, clean and again pretty ladies. Cost me about £18 for the flight with my huge 30kg bag and only took an hour to get to Chiang Mai compared to the 12 hour train ride thats costs £10. Money well spent I think!

Air Asia flight to Chiang Mai

View above Bangkok

So this is kind of how the last few days have gone:

• Arrive in Chiang Mai
• Sweat
• Pick up free sim card from pretty ladies
• Sweat
• Pay for overpriced taxi to wrong destination
• Sweat
• Meet Brett
• Sweat
• Look at places to stay
• Sweat
• Decide on an apartment
• Sweat
• Move in
• Set up bank account
• Sweat
• 

  Great Pad Thai with all the extra spices

  Buy mobile phone

• Sweat
• Go out get lost and buy some tasty Pad Thai
• Sweat
• Meet Keith and Ogi from Couchsurfing, great couple, got drunk.
• Sweat
• Went to more bars, met Christina and Z. Got paralytic.
• Sweat
• Walked home
• Sweat
• Slept

I’m guessing you can see the reoccurring theme, it’s damn impossible to not sweat doing anything here. It’s just constant I won’t go into the second day as it’s boring as hell. Same shit, more sweat! I’ll leave with some pictures of the last few days and you can make your mind up what its been like. Only remember this quote “Every night is f**king satruday night here, get used to it!”, he made a fair point, I immediately downed my beer and got home to prepare myself for the next mental saturday night!

Covers band at Heavens Beach

Tempting treat on the way home