Loy Krathong Festival Khon Kaen

                                                Loy Krathong is here !!

On Sunday it was finally the day of the big festival. Loy Krathong was here and as the song goes “every body was full of cheer”. We are living close to one of the big lakes on campus and have seen the preparation gone into setting it up over the past week, so it was an easy choice where to head. Regardless of where you went in the city or any where in Thailand, celebrations could be found. The sky was lit up with the Li Khoms ( fire lanterns ). When we arrived at the lake the roads were shut down down and huge markets were running the whole length of the campus.

A parade of floats and singers ran through the streets. We walked the full length getting a few unusual looks as most groups of farangs do. At the carnival section they had parlour games that you wouldnt find at home such as human whack a mole and the lady boy ghost house.. the lines were too long to wait but every one coming out was in hysterics laughing.

They had carnival games like dunk the Thai in a vat of water by hitting the target or just paying a donation to hit Thai men with water balloons which Kristine was very happy to try.. hmmm. They had Ferris wheel and bouncy castles set up for the kids. 

On our way back we found a section of campus holding some big game events involving Thai games one which is like hacky sack with a raised net about 15 feet from the ground, they would attempt trick shots to hit it in without letting it hit the ground.
 They played a game which could be described as football volley ball with a bamboo ball. The player would serve up the ball by kicking it and instead of the usual spiking in volley ball they would somersault while kicking the ball and landing back on their feet ready for the next return. Amazing to watch.

We began to observe a sack race when one of the teams asked if I ( Stephen) would like to join in. "Sure why not" was my reply and I was added to a team. They let me do a test run on my own while the whole crowd laughed and cheered and with my technique down, I was ready for the big race. My team won the semi's and were on our way to the finals. Having a Farang on your team was a huge crowd pleaser and they made me pose for a million pictures possibly for local newspapers and college flyers.. so I may be on the front page of every newspaper after this :) Unfortunately we lost the final by a hop or two but the team was given a cash payout which I was happy to give to the rest of my  team. Only after words I found out I could have gotten a cool 1000 baht but was happy to part of it. 

After that the girls got shown around the arts and craft section and where able to make their own coloured sand candles while we checked out the local guitar stand. Anthony played a few songs on the electrical guitar which drew a crowd of Thais and received a huge cheer. He is playing a gig next week in a bar in town so we are on hand as his hype crew.

We made our way past live music and shows and competitions such as Win free phone credit by popping a balloon with a pump in 15 seconds.. i got 16 seconds and Anthony took away the prize. Again they asked us to hang around while they took 100's of pictures of the falangs. We brought our premade Krathongs and queued up at the lake to drop them in passing through crowds of 1000's but was an amazing feeling standing next to the Thai's enjoying their festival

After we walked up to the stadium where they had a Beauty pageant which goes hand in hand with Loy Krathong. We stayed for a while taking in the show before heading an other lake which was aimed more at adults as the one on campus was very family orientated. 
The other lake was full of groups setting off their lanterns so we purchased one and a few beverages and went to the edge of the lake to let ours go and wish in the new year. We had an amazing night and Anthony even broke his bug cherry trying his first fried insect.



Next week kristine has sports week and I have a week of lesson planning in the sun... its a tough life really

Loy Krathong at Kristines kindergarten and Stephens first few days teaching uni students

So it was only a few days til Loy Krathong, one of the biggest festivals here in Thailand. But before the big day on Sunday I (Stephen) had 8 private lesson classes to teach luckily enough would mainly revolve around introduction ie where am I from, whats Ireland like and things I like and dislike. The first class as we were thought is all about assessing your students proficiency in grammar, past tense, pronunciation and vocabulary. 
From there you can build your lessons around this. So my first two hour lesson would be to 24 university students and I was, as they say in Australia “ packing my dacks” which im sure you can work out for yourselves. The most I had thought previously was 6 students and in a 1 hour lesson that I had a week to prepare. When I first arrived I was shown my new desk in the office. 
Oh no, back to an office I thought, but turns out its only where I keep my materials for the week and check in for absenteeism. Which is quite ironic as absenteeism was my major in secondary school. I was extremely proficient in it :) I was met by a man who is running the English program I had been assigned to and we were chatting for an hour just about life and my reasons for being in Thailand. 

I think it was mainly to find out if I was another backpacker who would start a job and disappear without notice after 2 months once I had enough money to continue my trip. 
This happens all too often here with travelers but luckily for me it means there is always work all year round and not just at the start of semesters. So after the chat he showed me to my classroom which made my heart sink a little bit more as it was a huge room with a projector screen which would be more suited as a football stadium big screen. However I may consider watching a few movies on it if I get bored.


To my happy surprise I walked out of my first class grinning from ear to ear. All the students where attentive and happy to interact rather than shy away like some
 younger kids I've thought. The great thing is that I'm still teaching them intermediate English, so I have no issues talking to them, the hard pint is finding different ways of explaining it to them with gestures and diagrams. I knew all those Christmas's kicking ass at Pictionary and Charades would pay off :)

The second lesson I did about was a restaurant lesson on the Friday, were I would teach them different methods of using the verbs “can and would” and to give you an idea those two verbs can create a 1 hour lesson.
 I had them role-play sitting in a cafe ordering starters mains, drinks and dessert and then changing the quantities of items to see how they got on. In order to get the room a bit more more working as a team. Using some techniques and games I found online from 100's of teaching sites.. really all you need to teach ESL (English as a second language) is good internet connection and the ability to speak in front of a crowd.. oh and have fun..fun is 60% of the class. So using an instruction game where I asked them all to write out 3 personal questions and put them in a box then to stand in a circle at the front of the class. This took a bit of coaxing as they walked up to the front with expressions of "lambs to the slaughter" on their faces. 
I had written 10 rules on the board ranging from "ask a girl, ask a boy, answer 2 questions, ask the teacher and pick a topic" etc.. they would take turns to pick a number from 1-10 from a cup and then using that number pick a rule from the board then pick  a question from the box and choose another student from the circle to answer. This went so well as they would laugh when a question like do you have a boyfriend/ girlfriend would come out and giggle as a girl would ask another boy in the class slightly giving the answer away :) When the “ask the teacher” question came up fits of laughter as they would get to find out something about me. I would correct any grammar of pronunciation errors in the questions and answers. This lasted an hour and could have gone on longer so i will be returning to this game again in a few weeks, the topic question required them to pick a topic ie. cars and go around the circle until someone repeated or couldn't guess.
When I left that class 2 students met me outside and wanted to keep speaking English which i thought was a good sign.


On Saturday and Sunday I thought 3 classes each day to kids ranging from 12-16 year olds and only the first class having 16 students and the other 2 only four students which was a whole other kettle of fish and I was able to use my pre-made lessons from the TEFL course, so I have 5 weeks of no preparation for that class which makes life a whole lot simpler as I can take my time staying ahead of myself.


The same week I (Kristine) had been busy all week with my Kindergarten kids getting ready for the schools Loy Krathong parade, happening on Friday (15^th nv.). I was asked to wear traditional Thai garments which I was not sure what they were yet. I arrived at school and as usual was met by all the happy kids dressed in traditional clothes and began to prepare for the parade.
 The kids made their own Krathongs which are the floats you put in the water at the festival in order to wash away any past indiscretions and bring in the new year. The kids walked around the school grounds singing the Loy Krathong song and I had a blast spending the day with them, as did they. Loy Krathong falls on the Full moon of the 12^th Thai month. Loy Krathong translate to Floating Crown or decoration. Krathongs are made from banana leaves and trunks and decorated with flowers. On the night they have fire works, shows ,parades, sporting events, markets, beauty pageants and the release of the large fire floats or Khom Loi's which have now made their way to western events like new years and Halloween and look and act like mini hot air balloons. The festival itself they say may originate from an ancient ritual paying respect to the water spirits. 
The whole day was full of singing songs and some dancing, it was hard to wipe the smile off my face at the end. The kids are sooo respectful to each other and to their elders. They go out of their way to greet you before and after each class and bow and every time they see you. Ok here is a quick run through of how and when to give some one a Wai in Thailand. To Wai is to bow your head and bring your hands together in a praying action at chest level. You are suppose to Wai to your elders and to some one in a higher position first. Children Wai you first so you never initiate it. When giving a Wai to a Monk or to the King( if you ever get the chance you place your praying hands above your head. The higher the Wai the more respect given. A Wai is meant as “ Hello, thank you, I'm sorry or goodbye”. You are not suppose to return a Wai to a child, waiter, clerk etc simply nod and smile. I wondered why people in shops laughed when as I would leave I would Wai.


So Sunday is the big festival and we cant wait.. plus Kristine has sports week next week so preparations for egg and chopstick races are in order.. yep no spoon used here :)

A night on the town and Super Nintendo night on the projector

After a first week of teaching for Kristine and a week of well nothing for me (Stephen ) we fancied a night on the tiles. During the week I would pick Kristine up from school, after spending the day attempting to learn a new skill. We were fortunate enough to meet a couple from the UK who have numerous talents. To name a few they shared, we have mixed martial artist, yoga, Juggling, hooping (Hooping combines technical moves and tricks with freestyle of technical dancing), Slack-lining (walking and tricks on a suspended nylon rope or walkway, more like a long skinny trampolining, combining tricks with balance) and contact juggling with a crystal ball, which blows my mind to watch, here is a YouTube video of someone doing it - check it out: Contact juggling video. Picture David Bowie in Labyrinth. And that's just a few of their many talents.
So feeling lazy, we said we would try a few new skills and they lent me some juggling balls, as it's been on both our... lets say bucket list, as I've always wanted to learn. So after a few hours of practicing and getting very frustrated, I can now juggle 3 balls up to 9 catch and releases and Kristine started practicing as well. That night they set up the slack-line in the bar and we had to give it a go. It was a lot harder then he made it look, as he was bouncing and dropping to his knees, as he walked it. I on the other hand tried to stand up on it bounced off and landed bare foot on a small rock, which was quite painful, thus ending my possibly promising career as a Slack line artist.  Kristine however was able top stand up and walk un-aided a few steps, but more practice is definitely required but she is also attempting the hooping and has fun doing it :).

This is another reason we came to Thailand, as even at night here, it is still 25 degrees, so the whole area is alive with groups of people playing games like Lawn Bowls, Basketball, football, volleyball and many more. They have big sporting events as well as markets and shows. And this means we are a lot more active during the week, with the Muay Thai as well. During the week Rainny was able to get a basketball and we spent one evening trying to get at least one single shot in, but had fun in the process. A group of  Thais playing volleyball asked one of the lads to join their game and from all the laughter we could hear, it sounded like a good game. Thai people are officially the nicest people I have ever met. With the basketball we said we would keep it up, so NBA here we come, I'm sure a 5ft 7 guy could learn to dunk....right ...right?  "The hoop is how high *cough*, never-mind", But still fun to play :-)

On the Friday a group of us headed to the students bars as Rainny's sisters boyfriend was playing  in a band in one of the big bars. We all got a little merry before heading out and ended up going to a club in town called U-bar, it was a huge club with live music in one bar and outside in the garden was a DJ. Place was a bit pricey but we all had a good night. A small amount of night swimming in a city hotel may have been done as well...

The next day we nursed our hangovers and as Rainny is having a "Street Fighter" for the Super Nintendo tournament next Thursday, we said we need to get in some practice. We had downloaded all the best games for the Snes and it was amazing playing them on the projector through a website, which has every Sega game, every Snes and every other console games you can think of ready to download. I got all nostalgic as I remember playing a lot of these games as a young teen.

We played for hours games like: Street fighter 2, Mortal Kombat 3, Donkey Kong, Mario all stars and a few more. I'm waiting for Crash Bandicoot to download and that will be me happy :) I was surprised I could remember a lot of the moves seeing as it's been nearly 20 years. Roll on Thursday night, as not only is it "Street Fighter" tournament night but that evening I start "my new job" :) Yep you heard me I'm starting to work, no longer a kept man :)

So the new job is really 2 part time jobs that I found through different sources. I'll be teaching adults conversational English on Thursday and Friday for a few hours in a German/ Thai Technology University and Saturday and Sunday in a different school, teaching 3 classes a day for 8-10, 12-14, and 16/17 year olds which because it's all beginner I can teach the same 2 lessons to all students so only have to create 2 a week which I have plenty of time to do, if the juggling doesn't get in the way :)

My first lesson will be introducing myself and where I'm from, so I've printed off loads of pictures of the

greener side of Ireland and where we are on the map. Don't think I would have gotten away showing pictures of every pub I've drank in, in Dublin as most schools are looking for non drinkers but sure everyone says that in the interviews. I heard one guy who was asked this and didn't want to lie so said he drank a bit on the weekends and they went cold for the rest of the interview and no call.

Kristine is spending this week preparing for Loi Krathong the big Festival here with her kids making the Krathongs (Floats made from banana tree's). This Friday they have a big show on and she has been asked to wear traditional Thai clothing. We don't know what that is yet :)
So next weekend for the festival we will be heading to the city to send up the lanterns and make our floats to send down the river, last time we where in Chiang Mai for this and it was amazing, unfortunately our camera decided to give up on life and in the process deleted every photo we had from that time. So we're not even going for us we're going for the pics :). It's kind of like a new years eve atmosphere and every one comes out so hopefully we can share our pics next week at the festival.

Kristine's first week of teaching break down

So one week down and only good things to report. As nervous as I (Kristine) was, I have really enjoyed getting to know all the kids so far. My biggest fear was remembering their names,  they can be quite long just to give you an example, one name could be Ratchaneekon Kransuang and imagine trying to remember 44 kids names with similar lengths. Luckily for me and all teachers most Thai students have nicknames which helps immensely. So once I got the list it was hard not to notice that some of the names were definitely chosen by the parents.

The ones that may stand out are Anfield which is the grounds where Liverpool F.C. play and are one of the four main teams supported in Thailand including Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal. Then I have a student called “Vodka”, hmmm I’ll say nothing and another called “Mixer” so it may make things easier to sit them beside each other :) You can see some more unusual names on the list.

The week is made up of Monday to Friday from 9-3.30. Each day I attend assembly, where the kids sing songs, pray and sing to the national anthem. I have been advised I only have to attend this for the first few weeks then I can relax and have a coffee in the teachers’ lounge while they do this, as most of it's in Thai and I cannot contribute too much. I start the day with the alphabet, the date and weather for the day and then into that week’s lesson. This week has been about holidays and next week will be about Loi Krathong, which is one of the biggest Festivals in Thailand and it is something we are looking forward to ourselves but we'll tell you more about it closer to the date.
The main lesson uses flash cards with pictures of ways of transport, such as car, bike, train, walk and plane and another set of card with destinations such as the mountains, the beach, the city and so on. Using a number of different games and songs I would introduce them to the new words and ask them where they went on their holidays and how they got there. Then putting the pictures on the ground I would have the kids run to the mode of transport they used and then run to the place they visited which they love. Any sort of physical activity mixed with learning is the best way to keep a 5/6 year olds attention.
After that they have a small break where they get milk and cookies or fruit. I was starving on my first day, as I had no time for breakfast but was blown away as each kid came up to me all doe eyed and offered me a cookie. After a few I was quite full, but out of politeness had to keep scoffing them down which helped by giving me a sugar rush, as one thing I've learned this week is you need a lot of energy to control 44 five year olds but I love it.
Once my morning lesson is complete I bring the kids to whatever additional class they have that day such as P.E, Computers (where they learn word and paint) and music class, I have asked if I can join in and learn to play keyboard and drums, so I may be part of Thailand’s next big rock band :-)

At 12 pm the assistants help the kids to get showered and changed into their pyjamas and they all take out there blankets and it’s time for lunch. As part of the contract I was over joyed to find out I get free lunch every day and it gives me a chance to try Thai food I've never heard of.
After lunch around 1 pm I read to them a bit as they fall asleep, usually an extract from war and peace... nah just kidding nursery rhymes mostly and once they are asleep the assistants watch them while the teacher's cross the road for some coffee for a well needed caffeine fix.
Then just before 3 they are woken and dressed and we spend the rest of the day recapping that morning’s lesson and a few more games. I have to say I think I have landed the dream job but it’s not for everyone, as young kids can be a handful but they are the cutest little people I have ever worked with and I come home every day looking forward to going back in the next day, compared to dreading it. I did like my old job working in an office but the job satisfaction from seeing young kids ask you questions in English that you have thought them a few days before is just amazing.

On Thursday morning I had gate duty, all teachers do it once a week and had to be there 1 hour before and after school to greet the parents at the gate and to be grilled on where I was from and why I am in Thailand. Another benefit is I have also made some really good connections , such as one child's father gave me his wife’s details, saying if I'm sick to go to her, as she is a doctor in the local hospital and she will take care of me and a few police officers have kids in the school so always good to have on your side.

Roll on next week. Stephen got offered weekend work which may lead to a full time job working 3 hours Saturday and Sunday teaching adults conversational English where he pretty much just has a chat with them for an hour and then gives them activities and is also working on some tutoring flyers, to get some work during the week. Just doing 3 hours a day you can make more than most schools pay but you don’t get a work visa, which means he would still have to do visa trips to Laos every 3 months but we can use that as mini break if needs be. The part time position will be a trial basis for a full time job with work visas from one of the wealthiest and well-connected woman in Khon Kaen, so a good contact to have. She introduced him already to 2 other directors who will have work coming up in the foreseeable future.

So it's the weekend and one week down im ready to celebrate with a deserved night out in town...

Visa run to Laos and Kristines first day of school / my first day of unemployment

So it had finally arrived, the end of our first 2 month visa. Prior to arriving we had purchased a triple entry visa which meant we could enter Thailand 3 times and each time would receive a 2 month entry visa with the option of extending it from within Thailand for 1900 baht giving you 3 months at a time. So with Kristine starting a new job, she was advised it may take up to 1 month to sort her work visa which is what allows you to work legally in the country for the contract provided, usually 1 year, so rather than chance it and cut it close we gave up the extra 1 month and went to Laos to cross the border and come back later that day without having to go to the embassy there to pay for another triple or double entry. The one draw back is you still have to pay for a one month Laos visa to enter which cost 1300 baht for Kristine and once I mentioned I was Irish the price seemed to go up to 1500 baht for me, so it's either different prices depending on country of passport issue or he had a bad experience with an Irish man in the past and wanted to get some revenge. (some how I don't think it was the latter)

We decided to drive there, as we were to pick up two friends who had been there for 4 days doing the same, but as an extended holiday. They where staying in Vientiane, the capitol of Laos and it is only 2.5 hours drive from Khon Kaen. In the 19^th century (yes it is history lesson time, deal with it) Laos was ransacked by the Chinese black flag army and was rescued by France however in 1940 only 600 french people lived in Laos. In 1953 Laos gained full independence. They had a lot of French influence as seen in the city names and also by the structures and buildings in Vientiane.

500.000 baby

When we arrived at the border we had to go through immigration and change some money and for one day we thought 40 euro would be plenty. So after the exchange that gave us, half a million kip, which some Thais joke is as useful as toilet paper due to anything lower then 2000 kip is unchangeable crossing back but it was still nice to hold half a million in notes in your hand. Last time we were here we took a slow boat on the Mekong and a bunch of falangs(foreigners) would take bets on how long the boat would take to cast off as it was delayed every day and the pot got up to a 300,000 Kip for the winner :). While there we decided to do some sight seeing and maybe due to the french influence have some of their famous baguettes which can be bought from nearly every shop and food stand in the city.

The Patuxai Gate

We met our friends and headed to "The Patuxai gate" in Thannon Lanxing. The name Patuxai literally meaning Victory Gate or Gate of Triumph and looks similar to "The Arc De Triomphe" in France. As we arrived it was a huge gate in the centre of the city and costs only 3000 kip to go to the top or €0.28 cents. 
Personally, we were blown away by the structure however the description sign, they have put up on the wall, begs to differ, stating that: "On closer distance it appears even less impressive, like a monster of concrete", (Way to slag off your main city attraction) But we still enjoyed it.

We thought that was unusual as it was build as a war memorial but maybe its just translating signs isn't there forte' as we seen with the "no passing a grass”sign. Which may be Laos humor, but we are not convinced.
The building was built in 1957 and the Architect was paid a total of 30,000 Laotian kip and the construction cost 63 million Laotian Kip so the architect received a whopping 3 euro for his work and the building cost 6000 euro to build, shows you how much labour is but it may have been different back then.

That aside we were impressed, as the art work on the building is amazing and the view from the very top is just as impressive. However walking to the top you pass 5 floors each one selling souvenirs, which takes away from the beauty just a bit, but the view from the top and the sculptures are amazing.You can see the main square from the top and also the Mekong river in the distance 
The river starts in the Tibetan Plateau and runs down through Burma, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam.The river itself is named Mae Nam Khong which translates as the "The Mother of Water".  

So after a few hours we picked up some Indian take-away as it's every where in Laos and is cheap and amazing and had another baguette (had to be done) and hit the road back to Thailand, stopping again at the border to get our new entry stamp, giving us 2 more months tourist visa and one month extension in Thailand if we want which will cost 1900 baht.

The next day was Kristine's first day in her new school and very nervous she went in not knowing what to expect. She said it was amazing, already she has 2 kids who won't leave her side but the first week is going to be observation and getting to know the children, but she is free to teach in between and create activities. She now knows she has 44 students split between a Thai/English teacher and herself,  so only 22 at a time which is brilliant and also two teaching assistants who can speak and explain to the students any words they can't understand. She said they are all extremely cute and wants to bring one home and has demanded a Thai baby ( We may have to work out the dynamics of that at a later stage). Around 12.30 pm she goes to a coffee shop while they have there 2 hour nap ( I know right..), so she has landed a pretty sweet job in a school that's very highly regarded, as it costs alot of money for Thai kids to go to and is also affiliated with the Khon Kaen University( so extra holidays). 

So with it being the 1st day of my (unemployment /holiday till I decide to work) myself and some of the gang from Supans house were heading to the river by the Ubol Ratana Dam. the Dam is only 30 mins drive away and the boys brought guitars, beers and the mentality of a group of 12 years olds, which was well needed. We spent the day trying to catch fish using plastic cups, skimming stones, climbing rocks and climbing on any piece of art sculpture they had around the parks such as a huge bicycle and a couple of giant dinosaur sculptures. 

Always watching for that mean old park ranger like Yogi (should have brought a pic-a-nic basket). Rainny happily used the dinosaur to reenact the opening scene from the Flintstones were Fred Flintstone is finishing work and Rainny surfed down the tail :). 

On a side note we've found some nice traveler quotes, we may start adding to each blog as a sign off.

"The world is a book, and those who do not travel, read only one page"- St Augustine

"Not all those who wander, are lost" - J.R.R Tolkien  

The second quote i like a lot, as the first (lets say longer than any Roald Dahl or Goosebumps) book, I (Stephen) remember reading  was "The Hobbit", at the age of 11 it blew my mind and have loved it ever since. At age 12 i read "The Lord of The Rings" and am a life long fan of J.R.R Tolkien for that, so i feel this quote is fitting.

At the end of this week we will have an update on Kristine's first week of school and less interesting, my first week as a kept man ;-)