Its been an interesting week to say the least. Finally time to get down to the serious task of teaching. Will I make a good teacher after-all? That will remain to be seen. Although I have a proven record as a carer, being a teacher is a totally different ball game, as I am rapidly learning. But those who know me will be aware that once I have actually committed myself, I will do my best. Check in for my weekly reports and see how I do. Or should I say we? Boon is accompanying me as my classroom assistant and has shown an immediate aptitude for teaching, that has been one of the joys for me this week, watching him flourish as he takes over the job of explaining things that my level of Thai language does not allow me to do properly.
Indeed, on a scale of 1-10 for teaching ability this week I’d mark myself down at a dubious 6 and Somboon at a well deserved 9.
Given the task of teaching P4, P5 and P6 one of the first headaches was realising that the level of English taught previously means that many of these students have little chance of following the course book provided without being taken through the basics first. Very few of any of the levels go much further than recognising the alphabet.
The Thai system being what it is, the school is fairly insistent that the course books are followed by P5 and P6 as it is these books that their all important tests are based upon.
So the big task is to find ways of breaking down each exercise into the simplest components to ensure that the pupils understand what they are learning.
Being happy when my brain is well exercised, this , luckily, is one of the joys for me.
Another joy is the enthusiasm of most of the students for being taught by a native English teacher.
The first two days went reasonably well, accounting for my own initial nervousness and poor preparation on the first day. The main thing that came out of it was the need to use Boon much more as a second teacher, rather than just an assistant.
Three, back to back , hour long lessons is also a bit of a pain, but manageable. On Mondays and Tuesdays it is P5 from12.30 to 1.30, P6 from 1.30 to 2.30 and the delightful P4 from 2.30 to 3.30.
One of the first things we did with all the classes was the basic introduction, ‘My name is….’. As I went from child to child getting them to introduce themselves, Boon was busy with the camera taking photos of all the students.
P5 is the largest class with 16 pupils, yes I know, I’m lucky. The next headache was realising that maintaining discipline , even with relatively small class sizes may not be easy. The novelty of a farang teacher brings excitement and a tendency for some of the children to want to fool around and make fun. This was a minor problem for a couple of days. For me most of it was insignificant and did not detract from the class to much.
However, Somboon made it clear that he wasn’t impressed and warned me that the problem would likely get much worse if I didn’t lay the law down soon, pointing out the absolute silence in the other classrooms run by the Thai teachers.
Realising that although I don’t necessarily think that absolute silence is a good sign either, I do except that I must respect the culture here and find a balance between my own liberalism and what is expected in Thai schools.
Another mild headache came on Wednesday when we arrived early, as instructed. According to our timetable, we would be teaching P4 from 11.30 to 12.30, P5 from 12.30 to 1.30 and P6 from 1.30 to 2.3o.
Well 11.30 to 12.30 turns out to be lunch time. Then there followed a protracted discussion between all the teachers, who were somewhat perturbed that we were apparently teaching English everyday and that the times we had been given, did not match up with their own timetables. I rapidly made it clear that I had no wish to cause a problem and was happy with any timetable they came up with.
In the end it was decided that we would not be teaching P6 on Tuesdays or Fridays.
On this Wednesday we ended up with P4 from 12.30 to 1.30 and then P6 from 1.30 t0 2.30 and no P5. At least Boon did. I could only do half of P4s lesson because I had to shoot off into town to get my new visa at Chiang Mai Immigration. My work permit had come through on Tuesday, I managed to go to City Hall for that late after school. Yesterday I got to Immigration for around 1.30 and had a little over an hours wait until I got the first installment of my new visa. I have to go back in 1 month when I should then get a further 2 months after which I should receive a new 12 month visa. Happy days.
Having got my visa i popped in to The Brick Road Cafe, where Dimitri has now installed electronic mosquito zappers. Only stopping for coffee, I caught sight of a parade that came up Ratchadamnoen Rd to Wat Chedi Luang. Asking the staff what this was they pointed out that it is the annual 7 day festival at the Temple held to bring good luck for the city.
I also popped to the photo shop by the Three Kings Monument and had the childrens photos developed into passport size pics, and took the chance to go for a foot massage at ChiangMai Reflexology Centre while i waited for the photos.
Today at school went very well with all the classes. there was a bit of a swop around again, when we took P6 first, (12.30-1.30), then P5 and P4.
Boon had already stuck the photos onto individual cards which we handed out to all the students at the start of each class, getting them to write down, my name is………. This was very popular with the children and a great tool for me to get to remember all the names.
Boon then did a great job in both P6 and P5 helping to explain a few of the basic grammar points, such as the verb ‘to be’ and all the tenses. Again I am fortunate to have him helping as he was able to explain in one hour what it may have taken me a week.
P4 today got the first real dose of me laying down the law. They really were quite excitable today and a few of them were constantly chattering and playing around. A sharp rap on the table and a short speech on behaviour, delivered in my most ‘angry’ tone along with the threat of a visit to Khruu Yai for any pupil who wanted to disrupt the class in the future, and all was well and at the end of the lesson I took them outside for a team game of ‘find the word’, just to show that learning in my class can be fun, if they behave.
The weeks not quite over but i am feeling much more comfortable about it all after getting the first couple of days out of the way and already looking forward to next week.
The leafy village of Chompoo, sits around 20 minutes out of Chiang Mai, off Highway 11, and is a beautiful place to visit, with its large village ‘square’ centred around the small but delightful, Wat PayaChompoo.
In front of the Temple is the canal where you will see many huge catfish, and maybe join in the popular pass time of feeding these hungry monsters.
The large tarmacked square is home to a stunningly beautiful tree;( anyone care to identify it?
The Temple itself is small but nonetheless attractive. The modest Chedi behind the Temple has one of the pulley systems for blessing the Chedi by dousing it with water from a silver bucket , decorated by a lovely phoenix type bird.
The young novices we saw there were very happy, (and why not?), living in such a peaceful setting .
Yet another trip into Chiang Mai. This time it was back to the second hand motorcy market to get the registration book for the bike we bought last week.
Finally meeting him there, we went to Mee Mee Cafe for ice coffee before going to check out the bikes.
As we searched around for something in the 5-6000 bracket for Marc, we bumped into a few old faces we had got to know as customers in The Brick Road Cafe; Roger , Sam and Bill.
Then it was in to The Brick Road to say ‘hi’ to the staff , chill with a cold drink and watch the Sunday Walking Street Market set up. We actually hung out for a couple of hours, and I couldn’t resist ordering a plate of those great British Chips, still the best in town. After saying hello to a few of our old market stall friends we headed back home at around 5.30pm as it began to threaten rain.
Coming back to the house first, to find the Honda registration book for Marc, we then rode over to the Childrens Home. Marcs only just learning on a motorcy, having had a couple of lessons from Guy at the home, so it was a slow ride over with me and Boon leading the way.
Making the age old mistake of not sorting the price first we then got a tuk tuk to the border crossing, stopping first at an agents where we booked one night in a hotel in Vientiane. We knew we’d be paying a little over the odds but i wanted to relax as much as possible.
Getting through the border was simple enough, and because we had booked the room the hotel had sent a minibus to pick us up and we were at the hotel by 11am. Having already decided to treat the trip as a mini holiday we were in no rush and spent the rest of the daylight hours in our room, showering and sleeping.
In the evening we found a very nice restaurant 5 minutes walk up the road. Well, the restaurant was nice, and the food excellent, shame that the service was very much on the slow side and barely a smile to be seen.
We had hired bicycles from the hotel and after putting in the application we went first to a nearby massage shop, for Thai massage, and then for food at a local cafe.
After some time at the famous concrete Gate and a bit more clothes shopping we returned for more scowls at the French Restaurant up the road, before taking another early night. We just didn’t find any inspiration for a decent night out there.
For 150 baht each we had access to the 3 pools available.
We ended up spending one more day, visiting Wat Phratat Luang, a large Temple complex.
Having booked into The Karin Hotel (400baht double aircon), we took a stroll around town.
Much higher on my list of return journeys than Vientiane.
After a brief walk around and breakfast at the cafe we set off for our next destination, Wat Pa dara Phirom. To get there we turned right out of the car park and carried on down the road which follows the continuing canal from Chiang Mai, to a small intersection with a bridge.Turning left over the bridge and immediately left again going down the otherside of the canal took us to the very impressive Wat Pa Dara Phirom.
This Temple wat developed in the 1890s, on land donated by a decendant of the great Lanna Princess, Phra Raja Jaya, born Chao Dara Rasmi, 11th daughter to Chao Inthawichayanon, one of the last rulers of Chiang Mai and the Lanna Kingdom. Doi Inthanon was named after this King. For an excellent 
The extensive compound holds various Temple buildings and Viharns and is has feast of historical relics spotted all around.
The plush main Temple has exquisite decorations on the outside and equally extravagant decor inside, including chandeliars and a silver metal beaten image of the Princess.
There is some remarkable art work inside the white Chedi to the right of the entrance, including an interesting ‘Buddha foot’ impression in the centre.
The gardens are as stunning as the architecture with such a wide variety of trees, many of which were in glorious bloom when we visited.
Turning left out of the Temple road, towards the mountain we soon came to another Temple at a small village,Wat Ampa Wan.
We then tried taking the side road that the Temple stood at the corner of and ended up on a mud track passing some local women harvesting Jack Fruit, who happily informed us that we could carry on and just keep turning left. Well we tried, but ended up returning the way we came. Still, it was fun.
Once on that road we stopped outside the Elephant camp for a fresh coffee, passing one of the camps elephants on its way home from work, before carrying on around the Loop that takes you around the western side of Doi Suthep and its neighboring peaks.
Look out for mountain streams;
a beautiful terraced landscaped resort which we discovered, on our next trip that way, has a Thai cookery school, with classes held in the wooden construction you see at the top of the garden area.
It is not until you get to the top of the entrance steps that you realise that the grounds then extend up the hillside behind the Temple and that there are many more steps to explore the whole site.
There is a wonderful Monks building to the left of the main Temple with a roof completely covered with a lush climber with orange flowers. There was also a large courtyard which then led through to a large school in the land adjacent to the temple grounds. For more photos, please visit our 
Wat Tay Par Lam (my translator is not 100% sure on this as the sign is in Lanna language)
Needing to get back to the business there wasn’t much time for stopping elsewhere other than to catch the many fantastic views along the way.
For more photos from this day please visit our 
Here’s yet another great day out for you. Quite a special one with lots of historical and cultural interest. We tend to start these days out at around 11am, due to business commitments, but if you were to set off a little earlier you’d give yourself even more time to take it all in.
When the River Ping changed course, during the Burmese period,the area became flooded and was buried under river mud and silt. In the 1980s, after rediscovery during construction of a football pitch, the ancient site was developed into an historical park.
There are several Temple sites revealed over quite a large area with a wonderfully rural feel to it.
A popular way to get around the whole site is by taking one of the pony and cart tours available.
So, after our brief visit to Wiang Kum Kam, it was a short excursion on the outer ring road (Rte 121) towards San Kampaeng and taking a lunch stop at Inter – Mini Golf, an 18 hole pitch & put obstacle course, on the San Kamphaeng Road opposite the turn off to Bo Sang.
Once again, even having been in Chiang Mai for 3 years now, I got that ‘newcomer’ feeling as we entered Bo Sang from the opposite direction to the one I have used previously.
Lo and behold I finally saw the main Umbrella factory that I have always missed on my previous visits.
Much more ‘touristy than the smaller affair mentioned in my previous Bo Sang report, from my family visit, it is nonetheless much more interesting, with a much better insight into what goes into the making of the famous Umbrellas.
Behind the huge shop is the ‘factory’ area, where you can stroll around at your leisure and watch the five stages of the manufacturing process.
If you are wanting to find out more than just what you get from looking it is possible to get a guide to go around with you, who can answer your questions.
A nice touch to the set up is that the artists, of which there are many, will, for a small fee, paint one of their many designs onto to virtually anything you give them. One present craze is mobile phones.
All that said, Wat Doi Saket is one of those that can be considered to be on ‘the tourist trail’, as many of the larger mountain Temples are.
Most notable for me was the Chedi ‘within’ a Chedi, something I’ve never seen before.
And the artwork inside the main Temple is another mind blower, with some quite surreal and futuristic works included on the huge walls.
At the top is a recently landscaped area with terraced lily ponds and even better views than you get from the Temple that it overlooks.
It has a grand statue of the Buddha aboard a multi headed pink elephant.
There are tables spotted around the terraced garden and it is a perfect place to sit in meditative thought. For more photos please visit our 
Guarding Chiang Mai City and out lying areas, sitting near the top of the mountain, Doi Suthep, is this beautiful Temple complex with the best view over Chiang Mai that you are likely to find.
There are varied versions of how and when this Temple was founded. It is said to have been founded in 1383. This appears to be when the first Chedi was built.
The other piece , the King placed on the back of a white elephant which was released in the jungle. The elephant is said to have climbed up Doi Suthep, which in these times called Doi Aoy Chang (Sugar Elephant Mountain). The elephant is said to have trumpeted three times before dying near the top of the mountain. Interpreting this as a sign King Nu Naone ordered the construction of a Temple at the site.
A large area at the foot of the Temple grounds is taken up by gift stalls and for those not wanting to have to scale the long, steep steps to the Temple it self, there is now a cable train available for just 10 baht per person.
Within the Temple compound at the top there are coffee and snack shops and regular shows of traditional dancing and music by local school children.
Within the inner compound is the Chedi, surrounded by many many sacred Buddha images.
This was just 3 weeks ago, in the first week of April, when Lars, a Danish plumber, with a penchant for interior design, had been visiting for a couple of weeks and was keen to get out and see more of Northern Thailand.
Boon had quite a busy schedule with his business, but we decided to fit in a couple of days traveling with Lars, who had turned up with Conga Dave, an old friend from the UK. Shame Dave had already gone home really.
Lars had been out and rented a 250cc Honda Chopper.By all accounts very comfortable and certainly handled the hills a touch better than my 150cc JRD., but then I did have a passenger.
By midday we were pretty much melting and on the hunt for a waterfall where we might be able to cool down.
It took a while but eventually we came apon a beautifully refreshing spot, around 30kms from Phayao, and free! Always the best.
We joined many Thais, including a bunch of village kids who had been taken there by a group of Buddhist Monks, soaking in the natural beauty, and getting soaked in the wonderfully cooling water that gushed down the mountainside.
The first is entered via an old stone stairway, which, apart from the very first few steps, which take you under a very impressive archway, is long but not so steep.
There are actually several small Temples of differing styles on this first site as well as quite an array of impressive stone statues, set amongst the mountain forest trees it is so peaceful, apart from the hums and buzzs of the forest insect life.
If ever I take the plunge and sign up as a Monk , this is definitely high on the list of places I’d like to do it.
So quiet, and so much beauty, both the architecture and the scenery, some great views of the surrounding countryside .
This Buddha was obviously very old and possibly in need of renovation, and looking across to the third sight where the replica of Buddhas Temple can be found.
Completely different in design to Thai Temples this blue/white stone edifice casts an imposing feature on the landscape. It is set in manicured landscaped gardens , another must for anyone interested in the Buddhist theme.
This small Temple is located south of Wat Jet Lin on the other side of the road down a small cul-de-sac that ends at the Temple gate.
The nearby houses boasts some beautiful trees that make it a very nice walk into the Temple grounds.
On the other hand, the Bell Tower, hidden behind trees to the rear of the compound seemed to have a some what older feel to it.
Behind the Temple is a medium sized, square Chedi. The things that caught my eye here the most were the green stone Angels on the compound wall as you walk in.
