FRIDAY 2nd AUGUST (Taken from group diary written by Christian)

After a relatively good night's sleep, although Lily was obviously feeling the effects of some kind of sickness, everyone had breakfast and got ready for a journey, in the rain, to our next destination. The team got into 2 trucks and headed off along a very muddy track. The journey was great fun as the muddy roads were so bad that we were closer to skiing than driving.
We stopped off at an elephant training camp where I saw one crazy customised 4WD vehicle. But the main attraction was the elephants and the show was really good. After the show the team had the opportunity to feed a mother and baby elephant with sugar cane and bananas.
We left the park and headed for a huge lake, about an hour's drive. The team had lunch on the elevated cafe overlooking the beautiful lake, and we came acroos some huge flies, about the size of frogs. Everyyone moved away from them when someone knocked them off the ceiling!!
We said goodbye to Jon, Michelle and Nicky, who were off to Chiang Mai for JOn's visit to the hospital. He needed something removed form just below his armpit and he was due for an operation that evening.
Everyone else took two-man kayaks for a 5km paddle to a raft in an idylic and peaceful location. This was our home for the night, and the night was spent enjoying the food, music and the bar, which was very well used.
Everyone went to bed late and tried to get some slepp for the next day of paddling.
posted by Sean Bettinson at 8:53 AM

THURSDAY 1st AUGUST (Taken from group diary written by Christian)

Hiking was the main objective for the day. A full day of backpacking, five hours plus, to another village where we would stay, was a challenge for most people. The hiking was made more arduous dues to the full packs we had to carry today. We started off well at a moderate pace, trekking through forest jungle areas, along barely visible paths. There were a couple of atery paths which gave some of the team problems, with Chris managing to fall over crossing one stream and smackoing his jaw hard oto soe rocks. Nobody laughed as it looked so painful but Chris quickly brushed himself off, changed his t-shirt, and carried on without a word. Just another event in the jungle.
We had a lunch break at a small, remote village, where a guy posed for some photographs on his elephant, which at the time was bathing in the river. Some of the team still had some energy and joined a couple of the villages playing a weird kind of volley-football. Soon it was tie to head on for te afternnon section of the trek. Everybody seemed okay but it was clear thirty minutes from the end that the day had caught up on everyone.
We finally made it to the village we were to stay in, where we had a shower - if you could call it that - and rested. Dinner and some talking followed and soon it was time for bed.
posted by Sean Bettinson at 8:42 AM

THURSDAY 1st AUGUST (Taken from group diary written by Christian)
posted by Sean Bettinson at 8:34 AM

WEDNESDAY 31st JULY (Taken form group diary written by Sam).

A lazy start to the day was followed by some adventurous rafting. We were met by three bamboo rafts, made that morning, and set off down the river for a two hour journey. The river was surrounded by the jungle and fields, and a one time some 'grazing' elephants. To begin with we contented ourdelves with steering and some mild racing. Soon the competitive spirit took over and boarding parties were organised.Boats, blood and profanities were exchanged unti a very tired and sorry looking team dragged themselves form the water and back into trucks to return us to base camp. At base camp we were met by Samantha, Jin and Nicky after a successful visit to Chiang Mai.
An hour or so bus journey took us to lunch for where the group walked to see some caves (more to put in here later).

From there another hour drive took us to our next remote jungle village for the night. We were housed in what can only be described as a chicken coup - the path to which was lined with local women selling - or trying to sell - their handicrafts. Resting was followed by dinner, followed by chat, followed by an early bed time.
posted by Sean Bettinson at 3:51 PM

TUESDAY 30th JULY (Taken form group diary written by Sam).

We began the day looking across the valley at the village we were to have lunch at. A stunning walk ensued as we walked a path around the sides of the surrounding mountains, instead of going down and then up the steep sides. We would emerge from a light canopy to an amazing view across rivers, jungle, and remote villages with the morning sun shinning above it all.
Lunch was in another village facing across the valley, but from the other side this time. A tasty meal of noodle soup was had and then we moved off to walk back to our base camp.
After a long day and difficult descent, we stopped as a waterfall for much needed cooling down. Some rather humorous river walking followed as several team members ended up butt first in the water. Shortly before we joined the track that led back to base camp, we walked through another much smaller, but very beautiful, valley - this one very sparsely populated and dominated by small fields and grassland. Absolutley amazing scenery.
We arrived back at vase camp only to say goodbye to Nicky, Samantha and Jon for the night, since they were going to the hospital in Chiang Mai for Samantha to be checker over. They didn't miss much that night. We were all exhausted.For dinner we were once again confronted with a glass noodle soup - luckily this time supplemented by rice. The looks on the faces of the team as they vainlytried to satisfy their hunger were both painful and hilarious to watch. Sleep was agin split between the hut and hammocks.
posted by Sean Bettinson at 3:39 PM

MONDAY 29th JULY (Taken form group diary written by Sam).

Michelles' 17th birthday and the team woke to an early breakfast of fried eggs and toast before beginning our first trek. Until lunch the majority of the walk was uphill, with packs. The humidity and intenisty of the treks was something that we had not expected. By lunch the team was on quite a low after Samantha stumbled and doslocated her shoulder and injuring her wrist. She had to trek nearly two hours back to base camp with Sean, Michelle, and a guide, before getting transport to a local hospital.
Lunch was in what seemed like a deserted village - populated only by dogs looking for a fight with the dog accompanying us (nicknamed BBQ). Tan, our guide for the week, and a very funny guy, always joked about what we were going to eat that night. He was a terrific cook but there always seemed to be one less dogs around after our meals!!
The terrain after lunch remained mostly uphill and by the time we began the short descent to our jungle village for the night most of the team were feeling pretty knackered. The heat during the day was astounding with sweat pouring of us constantly. None of the team had sweated as much of this in their lives before.
We started to set up camp in a very comfortable hut overlooking some amazing scenery. Some of the team were just dropping off to sleep when we were told to move huts because a bigger group needed ours. I was part of the proud group that manged to get lost between the two huts, less than 500 metres away. Our new accommadation was a much dingier and darker hut but with a much better view. While waiting for dinner, Samantha, Michelle and Sean returned with Samantha having a plaster cast on her wrist and a shoulder sling. They had a hair-raising journey in a 4x4 to reach us high in the mountains.
Dinner was had, jokes were told - again- mozzie nets were pulled off the wall (Christian and Chris) and then bed was found by all.

Michelle adds below how her birthday played out:
'Samantha, Sean and I were at the hospital for a couple of hours. Samantha had x-rays taken of her shoulder and wrist to be told that it was just a sprain. But this wasn't correct as we later found out once Trouble went for a second opinion in Chiang Mai a couple of days later. We had to get transport to join the group again and Min, a very funny Thai guide who spoke English, who had been with us the whole time at the hospital, organised a 4x4 to drive us up to the village to meet the rest of the group that evening. It had been raining so the dusty tracks up to the village were now muddy. We were getting thrown about in the back of the 4x4, holding on for dear life. Sean looked like he was about to have a heart attack (Sean adds that he was only concerned for the welfare of Samanath and Michelle!!), while Samantha attempted to eat a bag of rice - unsuccessfully. All in all a good trip came out of a potentailly bad situation. It would be a birthday I'll never forget.'
posted by Sean Bettinson at 3:16 PM

SUNDAY 28th JULY (Taken form group diary written by Sam).

The vast majority of the team were up at 9.30 fro breakfast - yes, at the Scottish cafe - while two late risers (Christian and I) eventually emerged at about 11am. The group had time to kill unti we were picked up at 1pm to be taken to our first base camp for our trekking phase. After an hour and a half of bouncing around in the back of two open trucks, we arrived at a very picturesque, and well equipped, camp. We had nothing esle to do taht day bar re-packing, exploring the surroundings - and a very rickety bridge - but Dave and myself did manage to find time to go swimming in the river, only 50 metres from our camp, while being throttled by Laurence with the throw line. We needed to make sure our kit was ready for our trekking the next day and also put up our hammocks.
Dinner was a much appreciated spaghetti bolognaise. A couple of hours of Doug's verbal games then followed - including the train game, Bamg! Bang!, Mrs Smith and several others. Most of the team elected to spend the night in their hammocks - under mozzie nets - while others slept in the camps wodden hut. The view from the hammocks wsa absolutley stunning. Mountains and rice fields surrounded us and we all went to be excited about the adventures which were to follow in the next few days. Oh yea, Dave, by now suffering from some poor stomach bug, ended up going to the toilet about 9 times in the day and night. He was suffering but he never gave up on any of the arduous trekking that we had to do that week.
posted by Sean Bettinson at 3:09 PM

SATURDAY 27th JULY (Taken form group diary written by Sam).

The day started on our fantastic overnight bus fro Udon Thani to Chiang Mai. The bus was just as hellish this morning as it was last night. From Chiang Mai station we took open backed buses to a very nice guest house. Rooms were decided, and many decided to catch up on the sleep they felt they missed on the overnight bus. David took advantage of the sit down toilets (a unique experience for us all in Thailand - squatting the norm), and Sean and Lily hired a moped to explore more of the city. Throughout the day the group split up after a western style brunch at a Scottish cafe, run by a very friendly Scotsman - doesn't make much sense but, hey, the food was good! All home made, from cookies, to banana pancakes, to chocolate milkshakes to toasted sandwiches.
Since it was a rest day the group took the opportunity to send emails, call home, shop or just relax. Dinner was at a pretty poor pizza restaurant (we were trying to take advantage of having meals which didn't consist of just rice or our favourite glass noodles!!) - in this writer's esteemd opinion, after which some of the team returned to the guesthouse while the rest went to visit Chiang Mai's night bazaar. From there we went on to a decidedly dodgy bar until quite late at night. From there it was off to bed.
posted by Sean Bettinson at 2:59 PM

FRIDAY 26th JULY (Taken word for word from group diary written by Laurence).

Got to our school this morning to find that we were going to a nearby primary school to teach English. We were taken there and given a class each at this school that we had never been to before, so facing a group of 30-40 11 year olds was quite daunting. We all had to try and communicate and get across some understanding of our language. However little their previous knowledge of the English language, and our little teaching experience, the children still tried their best to learn, and they had so much respect for you it made the whole expereince very special. Two hours went by and the teaching began to get harder as the children became a little restless, so I attempted to get the class to sing a few verses of Old MacDonald. Samantha, Michelle and Doug came to my rescue, as I screwed up the song, and we managed to get the whole class singing.We had a tour around the school, and the Headmaster showed extreme pride when he showed us around the school grounds, showing us the banana trees and ponds that he gets the pupils to grow and maintain.
Soon it was time to head back to our original school where we put the finishing touches to our paintings. Then we were invited to play in a football match, with sides mixed with teachers, us and the pupils, infront of most of the school watching.Harry, Michelle, Sam and I (Laurence) stayed back to complete our painting but the football math went well. Christian, Sean and one of the pupils scored to make the final score 2-1, but everyone had fun, even though it was roasting!
After the game the pictures were put into the main hall. Sam and David painted an amazing sunset, Chris and Samantha did an impressivewaterfall, while Sean, Lily and Joe completed a painting which included the Thailand and English flag tied together, and a hand shake. Nicky made sure her painting included everyone's hand prints, both of the team and some of the pupils inthe school. The main painting, by Harry, Christian and myself, was of the two countries, painted in the colours of their flags, plus the hand prints of every team member.
We then had a farewell ceremony in the maoin hall. We were sat at the front, with all the pupils seated on the floor in front of us. It was mayhem. Another awesome, and emotional, experience. One of teh local dignitaries prayed for us, whilst the children screamed and waved at us. The scene was breathtaking. We all had 'good luck' cotton strings tied to our wrists and we then moved to the staff room to receive our certificates. We were all getting very emotional now and needed to leave before we embarrassed ourselves with tears.
We loaded our bags into an open roofed taxi (more like a truck) and waved goodbye to the pupils and staff as we pulled out of the school.Seeing the pupils in the distance I was feeling down, not because I will miss them (although we all will very much) but because what is held in their future is a lot less than ours. They will have a much harder life than I and the rest of the team will ever experience.
We made our way to Udon Thani station, at first in silence, but we soon picked up the jokes. We were due to get an overnight bus to Chiang Mai, and so headed for the bus station. We had to wait a while inthe heat for the bus, but a local bar and rugby on the concourse kept us busy. When we boarded the bus for our 12 hour drive to our next phase, beginning at 7.30 in that evening, we were shocked to find the condition of our mode of transport. Our 'dinner' consisted of some sort of 'sponge' cake filled with a peculiar concoction, and the seats, with no seat belts, were rickety to say the least. Those that managed to fall asleep manage to miss the erratic and speedy course the driver took through the Thailand countryside. Hills and bends seemed to not exist on his route but they certainly did in reality!!
posted by Sean Bettinson at 2:45 PM

THURSDAY 25th JULY (Taken word for word from group diary written by Laurence).

Today is the second day of the national holiday and so tere is no school again, and all our host families have planned a day of sightseeing. My (Laurence) family started the day off at an archealogical dig which contained pots, necklesses and ear rings from a 1000 year old Thai village. From there I was taken to the nicest restaurant yet in Thailand, where each table had its own hut on a lake, with a karaoke machine, which I decided to keep well away from. But my host and her sister, and her 5 year old twin daughters, had an obsession with the machine, which was fine since I was not forced into any duets!!
After the restaurant we took a four hour drive up to Nong Khai, which bordered the communist country of Laos. There I saw Wat Phru That Bang Phaun (Spelling?), a huge garden with Indian-style stupa, with up to 30 foot statues. It was a stunning sight. After spending time here I went to see the Friendship Bridge, crossing the river Khong which also marks most of the border between Thailand and Laos. Since itwas reaching the end of the day, the sun was setting, and red and purple colours were smeered across the sky, making the view of the bridge incredible.
We made the four hour journey back home to have dinner, where I came across Sam, also having dinner in the same restaurant. We swapped stories of each others' adventures that day, and soon Joe pulled up outside onthe moped he borrowed from his host. He tried to explain us something but he seemed to be overwhelmed with excitement. Finally we found out that he had scored with a buff Thai girl, living next door to him. Well, well, well, we thought. Someone has come to be the group's Romeo. But later we found out that 'she' was actually a lady boy, looking for an English husband so that she could get a visa!! Hmmmmmm.
We found out the next day that evryone elso in the team had a similar day to me. Visiting the similar places but perhaps in a different order. Sean, Harry and Jon visited a market as well, with Lily, Nicky and Christian going to the same place sightly earlier. Itwas a very long day for everyone so another early night was the best option for most.
posted by Sean Bettinson at 1:38 PM

WEDNESDAY 24th JULY (written in an internet cafe in Chumphon. Adapted from group diary written by Harry).

Wednesday and Thursday was a two day holiday as it was a religious festival. Some of the team woke in their hosts' houses at about 6 or 7am. The reason for such an early rise was that some of the team were taken to Burapawun (spelling?) Temple for a service, which started at 6am, which ended at 9am. David woke up at about 7am, Christian was wakened at 5am!! (for a run with his host apparently!!), while Laurence got up at about 6.30am. I (Harry) arrived at the temple at about 8am and found it crammed full of people, all on their knees or sitting on the floor, legs not pointing to the dozen monks on the raised platform at the front (disrespectful apparently - bloody uncomfotable truly!), with the monks positioned behind huge pots. Everyone bought food and at the end of all the sermones it was offered to the Buddhist monks. The monks filled their pots with the food - hmmmm!! - and we had photographs taken in front of them.
I met Sean, Jon, Laurence and Doug at the Temple, with their host families, whilst the others inthe team were probably allowed to sleep in (or spied on when changing - eh Sam?? Hee hee). Our knees were killing after just 15 minutes, but some pf the locals were there for nearly three hours!! After the ceremony we went outside with our host familes and ate ourselves. We were offered banana-coconut flavoured rice wrapped in banana leaves. We were also offered some of the left over food surplus to the needs of the monks, but we declined most of it as te rice seemed to have been touched by about ten different people and the spices were too hot.
Next we all went to the school and metthe rest of the team. All the team arrievd except Samantha and Michelle who were preparing for preparing for the days big event - the parade through town. We didn't know exactly what they were doing but we were soon to find out. Meanwhile, the rest of the team continued with their paintings started yesterday and practiced some Thai dancing - which we were supposed to be performing inthe parade later in the day. We received more paints and continued. Soon we were changing into special blue shirts, handed to us by the school, which we were to wear for the parade. We walked out of the school gates and made our way to the centre of town, less than 10 minutes away. As we turned into one of the main streets we were hit by the noise and festivities of the parade, the crowd and the whole atmosphere of the ocassion. As we walked along the road, with the parade moving towards us, we suddenly noticed two faces we recognised - just!! - clothed in some fantastic Thai costumes and with make up which made them both quite stunning - and leading the whole parade!!! A very special honour. So that's where Michelle and Samantha had been for the last few hours. We later found out that some of the school teachers took them away and spent ages preparing them for this unique and priviledges position in the parade. The rest of us watched the parade go by but were soon told to join the back of our school's section - who were dancing the routine we had been practising for the last couple of days. We danced, to the amusement of the hundreds of people lining the streets, down the streets for over an hour. It was truly amazing to be part of something so special, and to be encouraged by all the spectators on route. The temperature, according to BOF's technology, rose to 40 degrees. Our hosts were great in providing us water and, for Lily, an umbrella for protection from the sun. We followed rows of dancers and jeeps, carrying monstrous stereos, and joined in the fun to extremely loud music. We eventually arrived at the town's main square, where all the performers and spectators gathered, where a big stand awaited all the town's dignitaries and VIPs - which to our amazement included us. Speeches were made and more photos were taken before it was time for us to meander back to our homes. Some of the team managed to meet up in restaurants later in the evening, but most had meals at home, developing conversation and their knowledge of the Thai culture and language. Some of the group meet up at a temple for a candle procesion later in the evening, and everyone went to bed feeling tired but enthralled to have been such an important part of a very special day. An extremely full day which none of us will forget.
posted by Sean Bettinson at 10:20 AM

TUESDAY 23rd JULY (from Sean and LIly in a cafe in Chiang Mai - taken from the group diary written by Harry)
'I awoke in my teacher's house at 7.30am, and was given breakfast. I met the rest of the group at school in the teacher's common room. We swapped stories of our experiences so far with our host families. Soon we were given games that we were to teach to the students in the school. We all dividied into small groups and taught different activities - except Joe, who was late. Nicky, Lily, Michelle, and Samantha taught 'feed the baby' to various groups in English. Doug, Joe (when he arrived), and Harry. taught 'time keeping', Jon, Laurence, Sean, and Dave taught the 'shopping spree', while Christian, Chris, and Sam were on the main football pitch, teaching 'Mr Wolf'. The activities all had the aim to improve the Thai pupils' English knowledge and speaking, either telling the time, or learning and pronouncing English words. Lunch was at 12pm and we had, yep, rice with pork and vegetables. Grasshoppers were passed around, and were eaten by Samantha, Jon (who had 12 by the end of the day), Harry, Chris, David, Christian, and Sam. Nicky tries, but failes, and Michelle ate one as well. After lunch we were told that we were going to do some painting in one of the main halls. We found out, however, that our painting involved us designing and painting large scale paintings, not decorating. Laurence and Christian designed the main 10ft by 4ft picture, but I spent more time signing more autographs and playing football with some of the pupils.
Next we went to play, as a group, shopping spree, very unlike the bonus round in Supermarket Sweep. This is when objects are placed on a chair, and when called out in English, teh children run out to collect them. Objects were things like rubber, book, pencil, pen, ball, shoes, cup, mug etc.. Sean bought juggling balls, which impressed the children, and we threw a rugby ball around before having a coffee break. We then went to continue with our paintings. Samantha and Chris painted together, as did David and Sam, Sean, Lily and Joe, and Jon, Doug and Michelle. Nicky was on her own.
Harry, Chrtistian and Laurence were doing the main drawing with only white and blue paint, but Joe made brown from the earth, and the school wnet to but some more. At 4pm it was time to pack up and finsh the paintings the next day. The main design was simply a map of Thailand in the colours of the Thailand flag, and opposite a map of the UK in the colours of the Union Jack. All our hand prints were included in the painting. Loads of children from the school were watching and hanging aound as we finished.
posted by Sean Bettinson at 9:31 AM

MONDAY 22nd JULY (from Sean and Jon - the others are all their host families tonight. I think our host thought Jon was smelling too much to keep him indoors so kindly let us escape to this cafe).
We all woke quite early on the train, about 6.45, as we were due to reach Udon Thani by about 7.30. As we got up Lily and I were presented with a lovelt breakfast that we had ordered the night before. Dave eagerly swooped in as he saw that Lily was not going to finish her plate. He knew that he had no chance with my breakfast!! As we pulled in to Udon Thani we were met by Mrs ???? (to be edited) and ???? (to be edited) who made us feel extremely welcome within minutes of stepping onto the platform. They made sure we boarded our huge open open-roofed 'truck' and drove us to a local restaurant for breakfast. I politely ate my second breakfast, not one to say no to food, and we got back on our bus for the one and a half hour journey to the village of Ban Doung. We were driven straight into ?????? (to be editied) school, which was to be the base for our project work for the week. We were met by children, teachers and official looking people we later found out to be principals and directors of the province's education. Wow. We began to feel that the village was expecting us, and expecting us on a large scale. As we got off the bus we headed for a room which we were to use as our meeting point and dining room for the week. Some introductions followed and we were then led to school assembly hall, a roof, and back wall, and..., well, that was it. We took our seats and felt in awe of the magnitude of the welcome laid on for us. Dances were performed on stage by pupils, speeches made, and lots of photographs taken (something that copntinued all week!!). The team thenwent outside to meet the rest of the school. Well, we spent the next 40 minutes signing autopgraphs, one after another, non stop. If there was no paper, the pupils wanted our signatures scibbled on their hands, their wrists, forearms, and even their foreheads!! We were all intotal shock at our welcome. We had lunch and most of the team went round the school, spending time, or even teaching, in some of the lessons. Lily, Dave, Jon and myself decided to spend time playing football and kick-ups with those pupils lucky enough to escape lessons. At 4pm it was off to our host families, drawn from a hat after the speeches in the morning in the main hall, and we bid farewell to our colleagues. It was then off to the houses and families which we would be staying with for the next 5 days. Christian, Sam, Joe, Harry, Laurence, and Doug drew the straws to say with their host families by themselves, while Jon and Sean, Nicky and
Lily, Chris and Dave, and Michelle and Samantha stayed with their host families in pairs. The pairings found it easier for the first day or two as it was particularly difficult for those by themselves. Our hosts didn't speak a great deal of Engliah and having someone you know stay with you was very comforting. But this was all part of the experience. Some of the team managed to meet up in the evening when some of their families took them out for meals. Jon and I had a traditional Thai meal with our family at home. They made us incredibly welcome and would do anything to make our stay both comfortable and enjoyable. They told us that they felt incredibly priviledged to host us, we felt incredibly honoured to be treated so well. After dinner, Jon and I tried to talk to our hosts, learning a bit of Thai as we progressed with our conversation. Soon it was time for bed, not far past 9pm. Happy, but exhausted, we went to our room, extremely excited about what was in store for us the next day.'

SUNDAY 21st JULY (from Sean and Jon in another internet cafe - but same village in the middle of nowhere!)
It was a 6am rise this morning and a few faces looked liked that they wished for a much earlier night the previous evening. We needed our bags packed and by the two open-roofed mini buses to leave by 7am. We left our picturesque guesthouse and drove 10 minutes to Kanchanaburi railway station. It seemed strange to be back here; it seemed so long ago that we were met here by Toi before heading off to Sai Yok National Park. But now it was time to head back toBangkok before moving onto more adventures in the north of Thailand. The train journey was more solemn than the outward trip - Joe decided to give back some of the drink and food he had had earlier. The train floor was the ideal place to leave it. Jon and others decided to adopt their roles as barbers, with Harry having a light trim off his head and Joe - a glutton for punishment - decided to have a little shaved off his chest. They agreed to the treatment, well that's what Jon told me, but their eyes closed shut and their heavy snoring told another story. Once back in Bangkok it was straight to the nearest Tuk-Tuk or taxi, the group heading for the now familiar Khao San Road. It was a weird feeling when our Tuk-Tuks turned into Khao San Road. We felt at home and knew what to expect. We felt happy to be back eventhough we had had a wonderful week in Sai Yok and Kanchanaburi. We all met up at the bar-restaurant we knew so well, dumped our bags and made a base for the day. We had an evening train to catch so we had time to kill. Some of the group decided to stay in the bar and watch the movies, eat more rich dishes, or just sleep. Some dropped some excess kit off at our contact in the nearby dive shop, while others shopped for clothes, changed money or searched for 'Boots' to get some much needed medicine. Dave's cold was not getting better and there were signs of others feeling fatigue and possibly at the mercy of catching Dave's symptoms (all ended up well though!). I decided to shop and go for a swim in a bar close by. It's amazing what a swim and shower can do to one's mental state. Unreal!!
Back in Tuk-Tuks or taxis at 8am for the short ride to Bangkok's railway station to board our overnight train to Udon Thani, North Thailand, for the next phase of our expedition. The train looked cramped as we got on board but we soon got used to our surroundings. The beds were all made and it turned out to be one of the best nights sleep all week. Lily, Jon and Harry drew the three straws for first class tickets, but Lily, seeing the poor state that Joe was still in, offered her ticket so that he could get a good night's sleep. I think Lily was pleased that she joined us in moderate conditions when we found out that Jon, Harry and Joe had been offered, and duly ate, grasshoppers that still looked like they were ready to jump up at you!!
We were all very excited about our stay in our village outside Udon Thani, and talk of our project work soon turned into sleep.
posted by Sean Bettinson at 4:33 PM

SATURDAY 20th JULY (from Sean and Jon - same internet cafe!!)
As we were all very tired fromthe day before we decided that we would have a late breakfast. We got up at about 10am and walked the planks - literally - to the guesthouse's restaurant, on the River Kwai itself. The view this morning, in daylight, is just as spectacular as it was the night before. We can see right up river and can just chill watching the variety of boats that pass. We wanted a leisurely breakfast and that is exactly what we got. Sam ordered just after 10.30 am and received his food at about 12.30. Sean ordered at 10.30, at 11.00 he was told there wasn't any eggs left, so ordrered an omelette and received it 30 minutes later.Very relaxed here, but we are not complaining. It's the way of life and we all seem to be easing quite easily into this way of life!
Lunch was optional, particularly as some had only just finished breakfast, after which we had time to visit more of Kanchanaburi. Jon and Joe chilled at the Guesthouse, Dave was suffering froma cold so wnet back to bed, the rest hired some push bikes - nice too!! - and headed for the JEATH museum. The language barrier sent us on quite a circular route to the museuem but I guess we saw more of the townas a result. The museum itself was small but it gave us a chance to see a hidden, but well kept local museum, again about the tragedies of the building of the Burma-Thai railway during WW2. A relaxing couple of hours relaxing round town or back at the Guesthouse was followed by dinner in a bar-restaurant in town. This was brilliant. I will write a bit about it, particular for the benefit of Joe and Laurence who may have forgotten about what happened by now!!
The restaurant served western style food, with chips, sandwiches, tuna salads, and fried chicken a welcomed break from the rice and noodles. A pool table, free of charge, kept a lot of the group entertained, connect four was also popular, along with lounging on the Thai floor cushions chatting, while Joe and Laurence kept the barmaid busy serving shots of apple juice!
Harry drank a bit too much of this juice and was absolutely hilarious playing pool against other travellers. Wearing sunglasses because the white ball was too bright, and his dance routine before and after every feeble shot kept the group's spirits high. It was about 1.30am when the last stragglers got back from the bar, and the group had set 6am as the time to get up!! Oh dear!! Tomorrow we need to get back to Bangkok, get provisions and head overnight to Udon Thani and onwards to a school for our project work. Everyone had a good time, much needed after being in wilderness for a week, but the two or three who decided to drink may regret it tomorrow. Hee hee!!

FRIDAY 19th JULY - continued (from Sean and Jon in an internet cafe somewhere!!).
Last night was quite enjoyable. Toi met us at our Guest house and took us into the heart of Kanchanaburi for something to eat. Lily and Sean immediately headed for a food stall on the side of the road and bought some delicious corn-on-the-cobs. We then headed to a nearby street restaurant and ate quite a tasty meal. Jo and Nicky had some fish which they desribed as the best fish they had ever tasted. Back to the Guesthouse,with some 'refrehments' from the air-conditioned (very important this!!!) Seven Eleven,and chatting and card games soon slid into bed time. Everyone had had an unbelievably packed day and needed some sleep. Even the noise of the river animals wasn't going to keep anyone of us awake tonight.

PS. We alljust want to say a big thank you to Iain - Sean's friend - who is helping with all the technical difficulties we are experiencing trying to publish our diary on the web site. Iain works in the city and is spending a lot of time helping us. Cheers mate. Everyone really appreciates what you are doing! :-)
posted by Sean Bettinson at 2:33 PM

FRIDAY 19th JULY (Taken word for word from Group Diary - written by Lily). It was an early rise for the gourp as we had to be at the car park of Sai Yok National Park at 6.30am. This meant we had to wake up at 5.30 and pack our bags in the dark, but it soon got light. Most people were really tired but at the same time excited about what lay ahead. The team was picked up by Toi's Tours by two mini buses with air-con. Everyone was happy to see that Toi had also knidly bought us some food for breakfast. The drive down was to Hell Fire Pass Museuem was about half an hour. This was a very enjoyable drive as we had air-con (for once!) and a free bar at the front of the bus. The museum illustrated what actuallt happened in WWII, and walking through the Pass itself, and across parts of the railway and a bridge, was quite a moving experience. Back on the buses for 9.30am for a short drive to Sai Yok Noi waterfall, which was absolutely gorgeous. Most of the group managed a dip, although Jon managed to slip 6 foot into the plunge pool. After half an hour at this beautiful waterfall we made our way to the centre for elephant riding and bamboo rafting. The elephant riding was something I had always wanted to do but I had mixed emotions about the experience. The elephants were as I had expected, it was just the way the handlers treated them that made me feel uneasy, and at times quite bad, about being a tourist here. I wouldn't mind reading more about elephants, and the way that they are treated in captivity - often for the benefit of people like me - to fully understand and appreciate the elephants' feelings.
River rafting on the River Kwai was good fun as we had a chance to swim down river, and obviously everyone did so. We were picked up at the other end where we were taken to have a big plate of rice, soup and water melon. Chris had a few too many green Fantas which made him fall off his chair, breaking two plates and a bowl. Thay was quite funny. Ha ha.
After lunch we made our way to a cave where we saw a sitting Buddha, There was an amazing view of the river and surrounding countryside from the Burma-Thai railway right outside the cave. We had a team photo on the part of the railwayt which went over the river which was not the safest thing to do!!
We then made our way to Tiger Temple. Unsure about what we were going to see - apart from the tigers of course - we walked through the entrance and saw a monk with a tiger lying next to him. We all got a chance to get our photo taken stroking the tiger but I was the lucky one who got to walk the tiger from its cage, about twenty yards, to the tree where he would sit in order for people to stroke him. I found this an amazing experience and could not believe what I had just done!
Walking on from the tigers we found some wandering goats and deer. Here, many of us fed them leaves from the trees. Just next to this was a monky in an open cage. We managed to get hinm out of his cage and play about with him and stroke him. When Sean and I stopped stroking him he would grab our hands and put them on his head to tell us to keep stroking him. This was an incredible feeling and we didn't want to leave him.
The team then made their way to the Bridge over the River Kwai. It was a wobbly walk across but agaion we saw some brilliant views of the river. We then made our way to River Guest House. Everyone was extremely happy with their room, as they had showers and 'proper' toilets! The rooms were right on the river and only a ten minute journey to the centre of Kanchanaburi. Today was a great day which included entrance fees and transport to all the places, and a tour guide to take us around - this all cost 550 Baht (about nine pounds) and lunch was included.
This was an amazing day which I didn't think could get any more perfect - until I saw the guesthouse and its setting!
posted by Sean Bettinson at 12:13 PM

THURSDAY 18th July (Taken and adapted from Group Diary - written by Dave). The group woke up at about 7.30 this morniong and went for some more raw eggs - or rice for those already feeling dodgy - and were ready for the days activities by about 9.30am. Today we took advantage of the National Park in which we were staying, and used the services of our guides to take us on another trek, This time our nature trail took us 1.8km through dense and insect filled forest. A lovely viewpoint greeted us on the half way mark and was breathtaking. The view consisted of the whole valley in which the river flowed through. YOu could see for miles and hear only the animals restless in the forest. The trail was good but the humidity, 14 sweating bodies to be precise, rushed us back to the waterfall where we swam and washed. We had lunch half an hour later and at 2pm we had our floating bungalow towed along the river to several waterfalls. At one river, about 1/2km up river, we were roped up and swam through and behind the falling water. A picturesque setting but our hearts were rasied! Safety has always been at the front of anything we do and the safety rope and guidance from Doug made it a very enjoyable dunking. We also had the chance to get into the river to swim, wash and....well, Harry will tell you the rest!! At 7pm it was time to eat, and we ate........yep, you guessed it, rice and noodles. Some of the group went down to a bar on the river, just under the wobbly bridge we had to cross the previous day for one of our treks, and enjoyed the first beer that we had drunk since England. However, we couldn't stay there too long, even though it was a scene from a postcard, as we all knew that an early morning awaited, Bed time was soon after 10pm.
posted by Sean Bettinson at 12:12 PM

WEDNESDAY 17th July (Taken and adapted from Group Diary - written by Dave). We all got up and washed by about 8am after a good night's sleep. At 9am we had breakfast, consisting of two fried eggs - but taking out the word 'fried' would describe them better - yummy!!! (really??). Michelle and Dave organised a guide to take us to a bat cave about 1.5km from where we were staying. The cave looked like a prop from the film Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark. It was excellent to see these bats swooping inches from our heads, and at one point, as we all stod in the heart of the cave with torches off and in silence, hearing the bats flap their wings as they approached and flew close to us. On our way back to our raft we came across a natural waterfall. Excellent!! We spent the next hour swimming, posing and sliding down parts of the fall, cleaning our bodies and realising that none of us had tans after all. A refreshing walk back ot lunch was then followed by our guide, free for the whole day, on a nature trail. We came across an old railway, part of the Burma-Thai link, Japenees stoves, and whatwhat we thought was the skin of a snake. A tarantula was spotted by the leading members of the group, and spiders, weird looking plants, and an array of creepy crawlies were obsereved by the rest. We all came back to our raft at about 4pm and decided to swim in the river. A strong current meant that we first had to walk along other rafts, upstream, then float, with buoyancy aids, back to our raft. Christain Hart mannaged some impressive backflip summersaults, and Harry was never to far from any dunking! Seven o'clock was the time for dinner where we had the same rice and noodles dish as last night. As it became dark at the start of our meal, it wasn't long after that we decided that it was time for sleep.
posted by Sean Bettinson at 11:58 AM

TUESDAY 16th JULY (Taken and adapted from Group Diary - written by Dave). Yet again, after a late night, we woke up at around 6am to head off early to reach Bangkok NOrth Station. Most of the group travelled to teh station by Tuk-Tuks but they took it nice and easy this time. We had lots of kit in them this time and we were all aware that they could topple over if we turned a corner too fast! Others travelled by cabs, although Doug, after a major argument with a Tuk-Tuk driver, eneded up having to take both. Sean, Lily, Jon, Micelle, Samantha, Chris and a couple of others were taken to the wrong station at first, then had to find a bus to travel a few minutes to reach the rest of the group. The language barrier our main problem. After about a half hour delay, in which Dave and a few others went to the market to but some breakfast in the stalls - not the food we are normally used to! - the 'Thailand Express' arrived. The journer to Kanchanaburi lasted about three and a half hours. It went very quickly and was a good experience. We arrived in Kanchanaburi at about 11.30 where we were met by a smiling lady called Toi. Minute is not the word, but her smile made up for her stature. Always joking and having fun, she has proved to be an unbelievable contact. The taxis form the station that took us to Sai Yok National Park were open roofed, almost like a cage, seven of us to each taxi. The drive was an hour and a half and, at times, was hilariuos. Passing water and other goodies between the buses waas only half of it (enough said!!).Once at the Park we bartered for a bungalow raft for the 14 of us. We got the owners down to 1000 Baht a night - that's about sixteen pounds!! It was as it sounds, a raft on the river, woth beautiful scenery. We had dinner at about 7pm, varieties of rice dishes again, and were soon tired enough to get to bed by 9pm (well most of us Samantha and Michelle anyway!). The river flowed only feet from our heads, and the animals were extremely noisy - but a peaceful night was had by most.
posted by Sean Bettinson at 11:38 AM

TUESDAY 16th JULY
And so to Tuesday and beyond. It's been absolutely amazin. We are all having the time of our lifes. I've taken over 13 films on my camera and tere is no intention to start slowing down. THere is just so much to see.
We're sorry we haven't posted anything on the net since Monday, but we've been living on a raft on a river near Kanchanaburi (West Thailand) in Sai Yok National PArk. No one has had a shower (until today) as we simply dived a few feet from here we sleep into the river soon after we wake up. Not bad.
The scenery is amazing too! It's about 10.30 on Friday evening so I'll s[end some time tomorrow filling you in on every day's progress. Least to say we couldn't be having a better time. Today, for instance, we rode elephants, went rafting, showered under a beautiful wwaterful, stroked a tiger, sat and played with monkeys and deer, walk across the Bridge over the River Kwai, and went to the Hell Fire Pass Museum. Hmmmm! Not bad, eh?
We all got up at 5.30 this morning so we are all a bit tired now. We are planning a lie in tomorrow and then visiting more places tomorrow. We should be having a bit of a rest during the day so one of teh group will come down to an internet cafe and write out their diary for you. It's been, quite simply, superb!
Please keep those emails coming. I've got four poor souild\s beside me reading their mail now. I know we have only been away for a week but it seems much longer. ALthough we are all getting along really well, and having a great time, memories of home seem to be creeping into the minds of some of the team. With three weeks to go your emails will give them comfort.
We will post all our weeks activities on this site tomorrow. Until then, take care and love to everyone.
Sean.
posted by Sean Bettinson at 4:59 PM

MONDAY 15th JULY

Sorry. It's Friday 19th. I (Sean) wrote this message on Monday but the computer was so slow in the Bangkok bar that had internet access that it was unable to load what I wrote onto the physed site. But here it is:

Hi everyone. It's Sean. Thanks to all those sending emails and posting messages on our message board, found on the Thailand 2002 homepage (a link from physed.co.uk). It's only Monday and everyone is settling in extremelly well to our new surorundings. We all went out to dinner last night and had our first sightings of the 'Lady Boys'!!!! We were in the courtyard to our guesthouse and heard deep voices passing our gate. We looked up and were met by the vision of four 'goodlooking' (said Chris!!) 'females'. Strange!
The food last night was superb. So cheap and so tasty. The exchange rate is a little over 60 Baht to one pound. A plate of egg fried rice with mixed vegetables costs a mere 30 Baht. A bottle of water is about 10 Baht while the internet is 40 Baht for an hour. After the meal we wandered up and down the famous Khao San Road (our guesthouse is about twenty metres down an alley off this road) sampling more food and taking in the buzz of the whole place. Shorts and t-shirts were kept on as the humidity is mad. Sleeping was difficult for some of us last night because of the heat but it is something we are going to have to get used to quite quickly. Some individuals, not Lily of course, needed to sleep in a bit to recover from quite a hectic two days, but it's been another day to remember. Some of the group needed to sort out transport for tomorrow's trip to Sai Yok National Park; 6 hours worth of transport to be precise. A group meteing decided that we should therefore LEAVE our guesthouse no later than 6.30am so that we can travel without missing much of the day.
Sam, Dave and others had to go and meet our in-country agent in a diving centre near where we are staying, where stoves and essential contacts were sorted out. I took the ever increasing load of smelling, sweaty clothes from individuals to our local 'launderette'. No machines of course but 30 Baht per kilo was soon handed over for our 6 kilo load. I felt a bit sorry for the girl lumbered with opening the bag and having to wash the kit! Urrrgghhhhh!
A light lunch, sandwiches, rice dishes or banana pancakes dipped in honey, soon went and we now had the delight of visiting The Grand Palace in Bangkok. It was very impressive but my memories will be of the little TUK-TUKS that roared around the city centre taking us to site after site, en route to the destination we originally asked to go to. We had read about these guys literally taking us for a ride, but it was great fun. TUK-TUKS are And for the chaos in the city? Well one web site describes it as follows: 'Everyone in the city seems to be careering around on an amazing variety of vehicles adapted in an amazing variety of ways, carrying an amazing selection of goods. Most people seem to have motorbikes, and lots of these have been adapted Heath Robinson style - with welded scaffolding sidecars - to carry broomsticks, ice, fruit, people and so on, through the hectic traffic.'
But these Tuk-Tuks! Well. They're another thing. The same web site describes them as 'probably the nosiest and smelliest things you'll encounter on the road, but they're great fun to ride in, as long as you don't value your life too highly, you don't mind inhaling neat traffic fumes, and you have the ability to override the driver's opinion on where HE thinks you should go (usually his brother's brothel, or his mate's bar). Best not to hire one of these anywhere near Khao San Rd, as they'll think you're new to the town / stupid, and try and charge you over the odds (expect to pay about 50 baht max for a 10 minute bone-jangling).' Ha ha! SO true!
We were taken to a tailors. Nice but they didn't realise I teach physical education and would be rarely seen in a suit wandering round Emanuel School. Not if I could help it anyway. Funny to see the shop assistant (or suit maker?) showing me different types of materials when I don't even know the difference between Cashmere and Vinyl!! But imagine Lily, Chris and myself in one Tuk-Tuk, Joe and Nikki (one of our leaders), and Jon, Michelle and Samantha in another, all racing to get to the next 'stop' before the other. Hmmmm! We all paid different amounts of money for our Tuk-Tuks. The cost of mine came to a mere 50 Baht to the palace, via the standing buddha, the sleeping buudha (but he was so fast asleep the temple was closed!!) and the suit makers.
On our return some of us decided to do some shopping. I bought a pair of cototn trousers for 150 Baht and a shirt for the same price. Shopping here can become addictive as it's cheap, so much to choose from and done at such a leisurely pace.
Right, I better go now. It's nearly 7pom and we are meeting back at the guesthouse. It's been raining for the last hour and some of the team, Dave, Chris, Joe, Nikki, Lily, and Laurence have been swimming in the small, outside swimming pool adjoining a local bar. I'm inside writing this as it's my turn. I'll get someone else to write the next instalment. I hope!! I'm not sure when. Maybe later tonight or in a few days time. We're off to the west to Sai Yok Natinal Park so not sure when we'll next get inbternet access. But please keep those emails and messages on the board room.
Until then, have fun and keep well.
posted by Sean Bettinson at 4:24 PM

SUNDAY 14th JULY

Hi everyone. It's Sam. Lily and Sean in an internet cafe in Bangkok. We're just opposite our guest house, which we are paying one pound twenty per person a night for, and are sweating like made in the heat. The accommodation is a tiny room with a double bed for two people. Apart from the bed, there's just enough room for a small table, a fan and foe the door to swing open. We have already been shopping. Lily has just bought a new wardrobe for a little over six pounds, and will probably get Sean to lug it round for the rest of the month. The food is unbelievably cheap too. Good, wholesome and cheap!! Hmmmmm. We have only been in Bangkok for a few hours so we are still getting used to our new surroundings and climate. It will obviously take a few days but we are already overwhelmed by our adventure. Bangkok is not what we expected. It seems better than we had first imagined. We have been here no time at all but have already we seem to have experienced so much. Lily mnade a comment an hour ago that she has never, ever been in such an environment before. We are only now beginning to realise, or indeed appreciate, the enormity of the adventure that lies ahead. And we can't wait!!
Our build up day on Friday went really well. Sean pottered about in the office for ages so we didn't get down to Polyapes until about three in the afternoon. The cabin and surroundings were ideal. Peaceful and spacious, with a pub and bakery within walkng distance. Kit was checked in the afternoon and repacked before the team discussed matters of finance and leadership. Laurence and Samantha have taken on the role of finance officers, looking after our budget and letting us know how much we have to spend every time we want to eat, travel or book places to stay. Chris has begun the expedition as the leader, making sure all the team are well and in good order. The leadership is an enormous responsibilty and everyone takes onthis role for 48 hours. Chris has been excellent and Sam wil be taking over at about six this evening. Michelle is in charge of the team diary so she may be able to post up pages of her diary on this site.
The flight was as you would expect. Long and tiring. But the expereince of being in Thailand has meant that we all need to be awake and aware of ourselves and the rest of the group.
Lily is bossing us about now, making sure we are not late for our next team meeting. It's 5.20 in the evening and we need to get some food. The stalls on the roads sell amazing food and quality clothes. Just got to make sure we don't spend too much!!
We'll try and get different people to write for this diary but time is always hard to find on such an expedition. We will be in Bangkok for another day so we can keep you all informed tomorrow. That's if we don't all sweat away by then!!
As for now, we're all starving so we must go. We all hope everyone is well at home.
Speak soon. :-)
posted by Sean Bettinson at 11:31 AM

FRIDAY 12th JULY

Well, were off on our bulid up day 2day and then we fly out tomorrow.(Sat 13th July) Just a last post from me to say how exicted (and nervous) the team are at this point, having comlpeted the final check of my kit list and hoisting my very full bag onto my shoulder for the first time I finally realise what kind of undetaking it will be to carry it. Suddenly all those essential items I packed dont seem so essential any more!!!
Many thanks to those who supported the team and I to get to this point and I'll have plenty of stories for you I'm sure upon our return.
See ya soon!!
Paddy :)
posted by Sean Bettinson at 10:39 AM

THURSDAY 11th JULY

This is the last evening before the build up day. It's gone 9pm and I haven't even started packing yet! It was good to see everyone on Monday and Wednesday nights. Good group bonding sessions!! The next time I will update this page will be when we are all in Thailand. Remember that we are meeting at school tomorrow at 11.30am and heading down to Polyapes at about 12.30 for our training day and sleep over. Don't forget your team polo shirts and some goodies and photos for the school where we will be doing our project work. Heathrow at 11am on Saturday for a 2pm flight and we're finally on our way. Lily has had an email reply from Sweety Guest House, just off the Khao San Road, so we may be staying there. Good prices but no one seems keen on us booking over the phone so lets hope they have availability. Right, time to start packing!! Can't wait for tomorrow!!!
posted by Sean Bettinson at 9:27 PM

Hiya team. This is Sean. Hope everyone is well. I've just created this web diary for us to use in Thailand. Friends and family can keep tbs on what we are doing and how we are getting on. Let me know if you have any more ideas on this. See you all Monday to meet Doug. The Duck could be a good option as they do two pizzas for the price of one!! Heavy!!!!! :-)
posted by Sean Bettinson at 7:21 PM