October Break: Hong Kong, Krabi, and Singapore

October break quickly came around, and not only marked a well-deserved two week break from school, but the end of one full year of working in Thailand. And in an ironic sense, what better way to celebrate that feat than spend most of this given break outside of it?

After a couple months of planning, and getting Ezzy on board with travelling with me, we decided to visit Hong Kong, Krabi and end the trip in Singapore, where I'd also be having TWO job interviews for potential employment after I finish Assumption. As the dates for the trip had been shifted a few days earlier, I unfortunately had a few days in Korat to waste before I headed to Hong Kong after the weekend. After receiving the news that my original flight to Hong Kong has been cancelled, I had to ring the airline up and reschedule my flight, with the only decent time being a 4:30am departure. As far from ideal as it sounded, it did turn out okay in the end as it did give me a good full day to explore the city. Ezzy wouldn't be arriving until later that day so I spent most of the morning navigating the Hong Kong streets, checking in to my hostel, and sleeping off the exhausting before he arrived. My hostel, aptly named Hong Kong Hostel, was located on the main Hong Kong island in the fashion district. As expensive as it was, the location certainly made up for it. The room however, was incredibly tiny. Ezzy and I decided to book a private room but there was literally only space for a double bed and that's about it. After finally reuniting we decided to head to the famous Ladies night market and to the most densely populated area on earth, Mong Kok. Despite boasting that crazy feat, it wasn't as busy as expected (then again, it was a Monday). After spending the majority of the night trying to find what looked to be good food, we stumbled upon this little restaurant serving predominately noodle bowls. By this point, we were both super hungry so we just defaulted. Looking a little overwhelmed by the situation I was in (mostly non-english or vague menu items, and sitting on a tiny table with randomers), a lovely lady asked us if she could order for us. We explained what we would like and she ordered for us. Although I'm surrounded by generosity from Thais, I was blown away by the friendliness of a stranger in a place where I wouldn't have thought it to happen often -- like if I was in New York or London for example. In terms of food overall, we didn't have the best luck there; we mostly just ate noodle dishes. It was hard to find places to eat that suited both Ezzy and I, and weren't too harsh on our wallets; Hong Kong was far more expensive than I have prepared myself for.

Disneyland!

The next day, we met up with my colleagues Archna and Shubhu and ventured to Disneyland! Seeming that my whole family had just all gone to Florida without me, I was happy that I was able to get my Disney fix. Inevitably much smaller than its American counterparts, Disneyland Hong Kong didn't quite live up to other Disney parks I had visited. Nonetheless, it was a great day going on classic Disney rides and thankfully without the massively long queues. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to score any photo with Mickey and Minnie Mouse but I'm glad I was able to visit another Disney park to check off my list. Archna and Shubhu decided to stay for the fireworks whilst Ezzy and I decided to explore the city a little more. We decided to dress ourselves up and go to the Ritz-Carlton and visit the highest sky bar on earth, The O-Zone Bar. Located 118 floors up, the sky bar was very classy with expensive drinks to match. We only felt it necessary to have one cocktail each but the view was fantastic and really made me want to live in a city like this.

Drinking in style.

On our last full day in Hong Kong, we decided to visit the other big tourist spots on the island; in the morning we visited Big Buddha (also known as Tian Tan Buddha) and the Po Lin monastery. The Buddha statue sat high on top of a hill and took 268 steps to reach its summit. Inside was very plain and no photos could be taken but the outside and the view stemming from it was exquisite. Opposite the statue was the Po Lin monastery, where many devout monks reside. Lots of vegetarian snacks and meals were offered and it was very interesting to get a sense of Thailand again being surrounded by monks and hearing Buddhist chants. However, the monks at this monastery wore grey not orange. To save money, we decided to take the 45 minute bus ride to and from the statue, which gave us plenty of time to figure out what the next plan was. As time wasn't on our side, we decided to head straight to Victoria Peak, perhaps the most famous landmark in Hong Kong, due to it being the highest point on the island (554m above see level) which offered spectacular views of the city. When we reached, we had to wait around 20 minutes for the vernacular to take us to the top. When we finally made it, we weren't disappointed. We came just before sunset so luckily for us, it was too crowded. We were able to take pics of the hazy skyline and really see Hong Kong in all its glory. We spent that night visiting the Pier and seeing the skyline at night. It was a great end to our trip.

Our last full day in Hong Kong: Big Buddha and The Peak.

The next afternoon, Ezzy and I headed back to Bangkok on separate flights and spent the next couple of days catching up on missed sleep and just generally relaxing before we headed to our next destination: Krabi. Before we headed to Krabi though, we stumbled upon what was perhaps the craziest cafe I have ever visited. It is called Unicorn Cafe and it was just this pastel, rainbow-filled cafe scattered with plush unicorn teddies and yes, UNICORN ONESIES. I encourage anyone who visits Bangkok to go there -- its simply magical! haha.

Unicorn Onesies exist!!

Anyways, I was a little sceptical as to how Krabi was going to stand out from all the other islands/beach towns I had visited in Thailand on previous trips. However, as much as Krabi is a tourist destination, it didn't feel as overpopulated and full on as the other places (most notably Phuket). We stayed in a beautiful 4 star hotel about a 2 minute walk from Ao Nang beach with lots of delicious local (and halal) street food nearby. The first night we were there, some of Ezzy's friend were staying just down the road from us, so we decided to meet them, explore the night markets in the local town and catch up over a few drinks. However, the rain adjusted those plans and after a quick 5 minute walk around the tarp-covered market, we decided to sit at a local bar and have a few drinks. We bonded over a game of Jenga and danced the night away with new friends. Certain people had to be carried home (clue: not me) but overall, it was a great night and an exciting opportunity for me as I was able to make some new friends who were living in Singapore! Kevin and Kaja, it was so nice to meet you! 

Made some new friends.

On our last day in Krabi, we went on a day tour around the islands. The "4 Island Tour" visited Railay beach, Koh Tup, Koh Poda, and Koh Gai (known in English as Chicken Island). Unlike the other day trips I have been on, the stops we made were also points of interest for perhaps 10 other companies, which meant that the small little beaches were inhabited by tons of tourists. Being the xenophone I am, it didn't make a pleasurable experience for me. I just wanted to relax on the beach in silence and maybe take some pictures. Yes, I still took pictures and made the best of the situation we were in; that's not to say the islands and beaches I visited weren't beautiful, they were really pretty. We had our lunch on perhaps the quietest of the islands, Chicken island (although I still fail to see where that name comes from -- apparently the island looks like a chicken? Also, Ezzy spotted one in the distance that resembled more a turkey and we somehow thought they maybe got mixed up? haha). During low tide, you would be able to walk between islands by a narrow strip of land. However, with the timings that we visited each place, we were not able to do that. Despite the hoards of people around the beaches, it was a nice change to see yet another beautiful part of the country I've had the pleasure of calling my home the past year. To end the trip in Krabi, Ezzy and I had a full body massage...for him, a good experience. For me? Not so much....haha. If anything, the massage made me more tense as it hurt so much, despite the numerous attempts at telling the guy who was massaging me to be softer haha.

Last stop on our 4 Islands tour: Koh Poda.

The last part of my trip quickly came around. We left Krabi early Tuesday morning (20th) and headed to Singapore. As much as this trip was for fun, I also had two job interviews lined up in the latter half of the week that could potentially change everything for me, so nerves were definitely settling in. That night, we met up with a bunch of Ezzy's friends and chilled out. (It's been nice meeting his friends as it gives me the opportunities to make connections in Singapore without feeling like I have to be attached to Ezzy's hip the entire time.) The next day, I woke up and my body was aching all over (I blame the Thai massage!). This was the last thing I needed before my interview the next day. To avoid being stuck in bed and feeling sorry for myself, I spent the day with my girl, Marisa. She was visiting her sister and brother-in-law who lived in Singapore. We decided to spent the day on Sentosa Island and hoped that a familiar face and positive interactions and laughs would make me feel better. We went on the Skyline Luge, which offered two tracks totalling 1.2km to race around on. We had to take a chair lift to reach the top and we were allowed three attempts. Despite the hesitance the first time round, the track was super fun and it was nice to go back to Singapore and do touristy things - the last two times I hadn't really done anything of the sort. That night, I rested at Marisa's sisters house and they had made dinner for me. With all of us being teachers, this presented the perfect opportunity to take the time and prep myself for the impending interviews. We spoke for about half an hour and I took notes and tried to absorb as much information as possible. It definitely made me feel more prepared for them. The first day of my interviews finally came around. Thankfully, some Chinese syrup/medicine made me feel better and I went to the HQ of the company and sat with the CEO of the company for around an hour -- mostly talking about myself and my experiences as a teacher. No real questions were answered but it was still intense and I had to really sell myself. That night, Ezzy and I were supposed to go to a secret show hosted by a local Singaporean band, The Sam Willows (check them out here). However, the UBER that was arranged to pick us up never did...after waiting over an hour for it. So, instead we drowned our sorrows in Nando's. The second of my interviews followed the next afternoon. For this one, the dress code was more casual and I met with the Head of Recruitment at a cafe downtown. The structure of the interview though was very formal and intense, I was asked questions that really put me on the spot and I had to think and act quickly and really sell myself without sounding too cocky. This interview lasted almost 2 hours (the longest interview I've ever had!), but there was never a silent moment and lots of questions were answered from both parties so I felt the interviews went well. In exciting news, I was offered potential job contracts by both employers! However, due to not being able to start until April next year, nothing has been set in stone yet. To celebrate two great days of interviews, I joined Ezzy and his friends at the local bars and just enjoyed life. I wasn't too sure how often I could actually do this if I was to move to Singapore, so I tried to enjoy it as much as I could then. Sunday morning was soon upon me, and that meant my two week adventure was over. Can't really be too sad to leave Singapore as I will be back next weekend to see Taylor Swift in concert!

But what a trip it has been. Draining in so many ways but an amazing experience nonetheless. Now back to (what I call) reality with work. My last semester at Assumption...let's end on a high!

Until next time.

From Cymru to Korat: 1 Year On

If you had told me one year ago that I'd still be working in Thailand a year on I would have liked to believe you but honestly I thought that it wouldn't have happened; Maybe my contract couldn't be renewed? Maybe I got fed up of Thailand and decided to come home? Or maybe (just maybe) I met the love of my life and we decided to travel the world together? But alas, none of those happened. And almost exactly one year since I got my confirmation from Assumption, I am sat in my office writing this blog and reminiscing on the whirlwind year I've had.

When I first received that email from the school, never did I think I'd be able to experience the things I have, travel the places I have and along the way, met some of the most amazing and interesting people. Of course this all could have gone very differently, not just through out of fear of exploring outside the bounds of Korat, but also if I didn't actually pluck up the courage and came to Thailand in the first place. When I initially decided I wanted to start my career in teaching English in Thailand, I ideally wanted to stay in Bangkok as that's where I felt most opportunities presented itself. Honestly, when I found out I'd been placed in Korat my heart sank a little as to me I felt it was so far from Bangkok that there wouldn't be a lot of ways to get there. Furthermore, when my agency stated that the level of English there was poor, this further discouraged me. However if you know me, I do believe everything happens for a reason and after the lightbulb moment of "Why are you second guessing this Matt?!", I never looked back. Now, when I applied for a teaching position with my agency, I ideally wanted to work with Primary aged children. But due to my work experience at summer camp, I was placed with Secondary 2 and 3. Despite the initial disappointment, I was ready for the challenge and looking back on it now, I did enjoy it. Yes, my throat constantly hurt and yes, most of my kids were lazy or naughty...but a) it could have been much worse and b) there were some hilarious and wonderful moments during my time teaching them. One moment that will always stick with me teaching that age group happened at the end of the school year last year (March); it was my final class with my Secondary 3/1 class, an amazing class who were always willing to learn and their standard of English was to a much higher standard than any other classes I taught. At the end of the lesson, I gave them all lots of sweets and thanked them all for being such a pleasure to teach. This then prompted one kid to say back to me, "Master, it wasn't your pleasure teaching us, it was OUR pleasure having you as our teacher". That moment melted my heart and cemented to me that this was the career path I was meant to embark on.

When June came around, this presented a perfect opportunity to seize the moment and ask to be moved to Primary. After 6 months of teaching Secondary, I felt a change of scenery would be good for me. Thankfully, my plea was accepted and that's when a set of whole new adventures began. Obviously, the differences between teaching Secondary and Primary are very clear. For one, I had to get out of this strict mentality and teaching style and adapt it as best as I could to teaching 6-8 year olds. My idea was to channel my inner camp counselor, be enthusiastic yet firm, but just have fun with them. Granted the first several weeks were very difficult; without having a Thai teacher to assist me, it felt like I wasn't teaching at all. I felt very deflated. But, after Master A came to assist me, my classes have been wonderful and I've barely ever had to feel the need to vent my frustrations or problems with my classes which seems to be a common trait with some teachers at the school. At this moment in time, I am LOVING teaching the age group I do. These kids bring me such joy and never fail to make me smile every single day, even if its just a hello, or a hand shake, or a hug; knowing that they're are excited to see me and portray that they enjoy my classes (haha), that's all that matters to me. Going forward, this is the age group I want to teach in the future I really feel that I can make a bigger impact and positive influence on them. Unfortunately, by the time they reach Secondary, I feel many of the students just give up with teaching English and its an extremely difficult task to change their minds. I mean, we all remember how stubborn we were as teenagers right?

Apart from the teaching side of things, I have been extremely fortunate to travel to some amazing places and meet some just as amazing people along the way. Everyone knows about my love of Singapore, and I'm so happy I've been able to visit the city 3 times this year (and a further 3 trips are planned before the year is out). And of course, if I didn't make that spontaneous decision to go to Singapore in March, I wouldn't have met Ezzy who has not only been a great travel companion over the past few months, but a new friend who I am so grateful to have in my life. Closer to home though, I've been able to visit some great cities including Ubon Ratchathani, thanks to my friend Tay; coming to see you was an amazing experience and I was able to see parts of Thailand I wouldn't have been able to see as a regular tourist, and learn about the cultural and historical heritage of your country which is always fascinating to hear. So if you're reading this, thank you and I hope to see you very soon! Also, thanks to Kang and First, two great guys I have had the pleasure of meeting whilst living in Korat, I have been able to experience my new hometown in a different light so I thank you both for that. Hopefully before the year is out, I will be able to visit some new places both in Thailand and overseas. In a week's time, I will be travelling to Hong Kong for 4 days which I am so excited for! Then, I'll by flying down to Krabi to see yet another side to Thailand and the beautiful beaches and islands that surround that area. Finally during the Christmas break, I am hoping to visit Vietnam for a few days, and explore the capital, Hanoi, as well as Hoi An, an UNESCO world heritage site that has been mentioned to me several times now as somewhere to go visit. And as much as I have tried to get out of Korat and explore as much as possible, I have really come to like the city I'm living in. It has its own unique charm and can somehow feel like a city, but still in a weird way have a small town feel to it. The only thing I would wish for was that it was just a little closer to Bangkok.

Now, if you have been reading my blog since its inception (thank you loyal followers! haha), then you might remember that I wrote myself a letter entitled "Dear Future Me". When I wrote it, I told myself that I'd reply to it 6 months when I finished at Assumption, but now seeing I'm still here a year later, I thought that now would be a fitting time. For those of you who need a reminder of what I said in the letter, here it is:

Dear Future Me,

Well, its now coming to the end of your adventure in Thailand and I want this experience to have been it has been everything you expected and more; that you got to visit some outstanding places, experiences things you never thought you would and make friends and connections that will last a lifetime. Additionally, I anticipate that you have used this time to work on yourself both mentally and physically and can come back to the UK (if you want to come back that is) with a fresh outlook on life; that you can take a look in the mirror and be happy with what you see. Most importantly, I really hope this experience has opened your eyes to whether a career in International Education is for you (I really hope so because I want to travel more!).

I hope you had a wonderful Xmas/New Year break and got to spend it with incredible people in incredible places. And that your trip to Malaysia in December worked out and the visa situation sorted itself out by then! I have a checklist in mind which I have taken with me to Thailand and by the time this letter is read at the end of the trip that you can tick most of them off - riding an elephant, petting baby tigers, checking out the Bangkok Gay scene and taking a massive selfie with your class are the top priorities!

On a more personal note, I wish that everything that seems hazy and unsure to you at the moment has become clearer and you are happy with the direction its going in. This may mean saying farewell to some things/people as you leave Thailand or more positively welcoming new people and things into your life. I really hope the relationship between a special person in your life (and you know who you are if you're reading this too) has gone in the direction in which you think is for the best, and after months and months of emotional journeying(?) has brought you both to a place where you can be happy again. I want you to finish this journey having no regrets. Everything you have gone through on this trip has happened for a reason, even if you might think it wasn't what you wanted. Without meaning to sound too sappy (I am writing to myself after all), I want to say how proud I/you should be that you did this! It may have flown by and at times you may have wanted to pack it in, but you did it! And like I said before, I really hope this is just the beginning of an exciting career and goal.

If you realise that this isn't for you, then I know that there is a good reason for it. I've always gone with my gut instinct in the past and it has never steered me wrong so far. Just enjoy the ride and look at this blog as a wonderful way of looking back on what could be/has been a life changing experience for you.

Finally, I want to say this: (lets hope you can read Thai by then!)

หากคุณสามารถอ่านภาษาไทยแล้วฉันจะภูมิใจ หากคุณสามารถแปลมันฉันจะประหลาดใจ ;)

MC (Oct 2014)

As weird as this is that I'm now answering my past self, reading through this letter brought back a ton of memories and a realisation that I am not the same person as I was back in October last year. So the best way I feel I can address this letter is to, in my typical cheesy fashion, reply back, So here goes...

Dear Past Me,

Although my adventures in Thailand haven't quite ended yet, I felt this was a fitting time to write a reply to this letter as it is almost one year since I/you (ok this is weird) wrote it. Thankfully like I've stated in this blog post, I have been able to see some outstanding places and gain experiences I never thought imaginable. And yes, there definitely have been people I've met along the way who I will be friends with for a very long time and I'm incredibly thankful for that.

I feel for the most part, this time has been an opportunity to work on myself both physically and mentally; there are still things to work on on the thinking side of things, but I've now got into running and find it very therapeutic...when I actually get off my lazy ass and actually decide to run haha. If looking back at myself last year, I can definitely say that I am happier with the person I've become - I was in such an emotion rut back then which I have now climbed out of. And yes, I have really discovered the joys of International Education and hope to continue my journey in Singapore if these interviews go well this month...**fingers crossed**.

My Xmas break was pretty great yes. Reigning in New Year on the beach was pretty spectacular. My trip to Malaysia didn't go quite as planned, I kind of reached breaking point then but after that trip I realised that I needed to pull myself together and move on from that crappy situation and take control of it, because nothing was going to change. However, I've been able to go on so many other trips which have been amazing. Unfortunately, the checklist I had in mind I haven't completed...I won't be riding an elephant after seeing the conditions some of those elephants are in. Again, same with baby tigers...I can only pet them if they're drugged up to their eyeballs so no thanks. But, I DID check out the Bangkok gay scene and have taken many-a-selfie with my classes so be happy I've completed those at least.

Now...moving to the personal stuff. Things did become clearer for me and through the pain and the time, it did provide clarity and I was able to slowly move on from it. I really do think the direction it went was for the best. Further to that, I'm not one to have many regrets however if there is one thing I do regret, it's being as open and true to myself here as I have been. Seems like a stupid regret I know, but it might have saved me from getting sucked in to a lot of negative vibes in my workplace and away from the drama. Sadly I learnt the hard way and realised that the best way to have an easy life (personally) in my school is not to deal with issues face to face or tell it how it is, but to rather vent about it to other people and to bitch and moan behinds people back - until it reaches a point of no return and people just have a hidden dislike for one another. Unfortunately, I've been labelled as a bitch one too many times where now I have no willpower to change that opinion and to instead focus my energy on the people that DO actually like me and most importantly, focus the energy on MYSELF and the exciting prospects I have ahead of me. Yes, like you said, 'everything you have gone through on this trip has happened for a reason, even if you think it wasn't what you wanted.' and despite the personal ups and downs this journey has had, I do agree with that statement and have to focus on the future and not on the past.

Finally, you'll be happy to know that I have realised that this IS the thing for me, and the career path I want to embark on and see where it takes me. Thailand has been wonderful, but if the opportunity presents itself, I think its time for me to move on to another place once my contract ends.

And in true foreigner style, I think I'll stick to my trusted friend, Google Translate, to do the Thai reading for me...although I can write my name in Thai which is pretty neat.

Here's to the next chapter, whatever it brings!

MC (Oct 2015)

There's so many other things I could talk about that have happened over the past year, but my memory is terrible and I want to think about the experience as a whole, which overall has been absolutely amazing and as I always say, I am so blessed to have this opportunity and I feel like I have utilised it well. Just over 5 months until my contract at Assumption finishes which means 5 more months of crazy adventures and badly-written blog posts!

Until next time.