Third Week

31.08. - 09.09.

This week was filled with so many new and exciting experiences, but I will start from the beginning. We had the great opportunity to visit the Streetfood festival in Chumphon with our teachers from the cooking class. I was so excited to see the countryside for the first time, because I really admire the nature in Thailand. Especially the sea.

Our Teacher even introduced us to her family and showed us some delicous local food and special fruits, for which I am still very grateful. I am not sure if I otherwise would have been able to experience the couisine in that authentic way. Our teacher and her family really went out of their way to show us everything, and I am so thankful for their hospitality. 

At the Festival we tried to help the people who worked there, which was more difficult than we expected, because of the language barrier. But I still met a lot of really nice people and had some great exchanges (and of course food) there.

Our teacher even surprised us with a visit to a near Mountain and the beach. I was really overwhelmed by the view and the nature. 

After our stay at Chumphon we took the ferry to Koh Samui. It was the first trip we planned on our own, but it was surprisingly uncomplicated. I really enjoyed our trip there, because of the surroundings and to be honest, I just love travelling by ship.

Koh Samui was so extremely beautiful. The endless beaches, palmtrees everywhere, waterfalls, blue sky and the sea (which was unexpectedly warm). We stayed at a small hostel in a bungalow right next to the beach, which was owned by a guy who escaped germany to live at this beautiful place. It was quite amusing to sit at a beach in Thailand, at a jamaican themed reagge bar and to hear german and dutch people talking all around us. 

The next day we decided to explore the Island via motorbike, which in retrospect was really useful but also (as I slowly realized) not my favorite form of transportation in Thailand. Jakob is a really good driver, but we saw two motorbike accidents on our way around the island and I wasn't really comfortable with all the traffic. Still it was totally worth it and we visited some great places we wouldn't have discovered otherwise.

There was just one sight which disturbed me a bit when we went to the waterfalls. We drove into the jungle with our bike, but there was also the option to take an elephant ride to the place. I only knew a bit about the cruel treatment of the elephants in certain parts of Thailand, but I educated myself more about those practices in the evening at the hostel, after I saw how distraught the animals looked in those small cages. I know it's a big problem and unfortunately still common for tourists to visit those facilities, but it's gradually developing into a topic people know about. There are fortunately really great elephant parks who rescue disturbed and traumatised elephants and give them the space they need to exist peacefully.

I'm very grateful for all the differnt sides we were able to see in this week and for the people who made all this possible for us.

Right now, sitting in my room in Bangkok, I'm already thinking about when I can go back to the countryside.