สวัสดีเพื่อน
ๆ และครอบครัว! ฉันเขียนถึงคุณจากประเทศไทยที่สวยงามในฐานะผู้นำการท่องเที่ยวเรามาที่นี่ในเมืองไทยเป็นเวลามากกว่าหนึ่งสัปดาห์แล้วและการเดินทางครั้งนี้เป็นปรากฏการณ์ที่น่าอัศจรรย์จนมาถึงแล้วด้วยสถานที่ท่องเที่ยวและประสบการณ์ที่น่าทึ่งกว่าแนวขอบฟ้า!
OK, now let’s try that in English…
Hello friends and family! I am writing to you from beautiful
Thailand as the proud trip leader of Trip T2. We have been here in Thailand for
just over a week now, and the trip has been absolutely phenomenal so far, with
more incredible sights and experiences just over the horizon!
Our trip started with travel, and a lot of it. After a quick
and easy 16 hour flight to Hong Kong and a two hour connection to Bangkok, we
were in Thailand, ready to take on everything. Our trip began in one of the
most scenic ways imaginable, with two days of touring Thailand’s capital city,
Bangkok. While in Bangkok, we experienced all of the major sights and sounds,
including a street food tour, night market, longboat rides, “tuk-tuk” (taxi)
rides through the city, and many of the lavish temples that have become famous
in Buddhist culture, including the Golden Mount, Grand Palace and the Reclining
Buddah at Wat Pho as well as the ruins of the temples of the former capital
city of Thailand, Ayutthaya. After spending some time there, it’s no wonder
that this amazing city has earned the nickname “City of Angels!”
From Bangkok, we traveled north to Chiang Rai. Our first
stop in Chiang Rai was to the White Temple, by far the most modern temple we
had seen to that point. The entire temple was bathed in white and acts as a
contemporary, unconventional art exhibit. It was really cool to see! After
enjoying a break from the steamy Thailand weather with some ice cream, we
headed back to our resort and prepared for our first day of community service.
Our first community service site was at Ban Huaymaesai
Primary School. Our service was twofold – on day one, we engaged in
beautification projects around the school, painting the cafeteria, exterior walls
and bathrooms to give the kids at the school something they could be really
proud of! Before heading back for day two, we had to make sure to treat
ourselves for a job well done, and when in Thailand, there’s only one way to do
that – with an authentic Thai massage. We all felt absolutely incredible when
they were finished, and we were ready to tackle our community service on day
two, which involved teaching the primary school children some English and
organizing games for them to play. The smiles on their faces were never-ending,
and surely will not be forgotten by anyone on our trip any time soon.
After Chiang Rai, we got into our vans and traveled to our
current location, Mae Salak, in a completely remote area of northern Thailand.
How remote? Well, the resort we are staying at isn’t even accessible by car –
we had to take a longboat ride just to get here! We can all confidently say
that the trip was worth the destination, however, as the resort in Mae Salak is
gorgeous, surrounded by mountains and a nearby river. The peace and beauty of
this section of the country is beyond words. In Mae Salak, we have gotten to
see how rural Thailand truly lives, cooking our own meals in an authentic Thai
hut over an open fire, mixing cement to help build a patio as part of our
community service, and even getting an opportunity to work with the local Lahu
tribe to farm rice by hand and using water buffalo!
This trip has truly been a once-in-a-lifetime experience so
far, and the good news for us is that it’s only going to get better! We are all
so grateful to be here and experience everything that Thailand has to offer,
from its breathtaking landscapes to its amazing people. We can’t wait to see
what the rest of the trip has in store for us.
Until next time,
T2
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