10th November – 5th December 2008
Some things in life are easy, some things are not and some things are very heavy going. My time in Chiang Mai was certainly the later of these.
Okay, four weeks on an intensive CELTA course that should be run over six weeks (but for present day economic realities), combined with the tranquil isolation that was Nugent Waterside had an effect on me that I have no desire to repeat ever again. The other eleven teachers on the course were great and we all got on amazingly well. Our tutors Jacqueline and John gave us some great tutelage and helped us achieve our goals. The location was beautiful, accommodation excellent and the food very good. So what was the problem? Well I felt locked away, miles from civilisation only able to live and sleep for CELTA, in the end I was getting claustrophobic and had to get out a couple of times a week, taking a taxi into the city, where I felt able to live and breathe again. During those four weeks, I would go to bed between midnight and 1 am and wake up at about 5 am and I know I wasn't the only one there suffering with sleep deprivation.
Out of the twelve teachers attending the course, only American Chris, lived out, preferring to live in the city and riding a motorbike in each day. When I booked the course I thought that being at Nugent with everything in one place would be good – Chris got it right and I got it wrong. It took almost a week back in Bangkok for me to recover and stop dreaming CELTA.
So I'm not going into detail except to say that the students we taught were a great bunch, so nice to teach, so willing to learn. They helped me to realise that Asia is where I want to be teaching and not Europe. The people in Chiang Mai, whenever I made my escape were terrific and very friendly and I will miss them. On our last day teaching they gave each of us teachers a present of a scarf and cartons of milk. I love my scarf and look forward to wearing it when I get back to England.
Our first week we were still quite relaxed; and with the first twelfth lunar month occurring on the 12th November came Loy Krathong, the biggest festival in Thailand after Songkhrang (the Thai New Year). It is a festival which celebrates the end of the rainy season and is held to honour the spirits of the water. Alan, Canadian Chris, Despi, Pat and I went into the city for the evening to experience the festivities first hand. We took a taxi to the Night Market then meandered along the street towards the river to see baskets of flowers and lighted candles were floated on the river together with paper hot air balloons by the thousands which were released into the clear night sky. Fireworks were set of everywhere and Alan got hit by two, one in his side and another on his arm, fortunately he got off relatively unscathed. On the following Sunday afternoon we visited Doi Sutep, considered to be the most important temple in the north of Thailand, it is situated atop a mountain just outside Chiang Mai and was founded about 600 years ago. The drive there is by way of a steep and winding road and upon reaching the summit one has a stunning view over the city. The temple is very beautiful and at the centre stands a Gold Pagoda which glistens in the sun.
Then there were my escapes, when I would head to the night market in the city where I could do some therapeutic bargaining at one of the stalls. A couple of times I went for a massage and on one occasion treated myself to a facial, body scrub and massage pampering that lasted two and a half hours. I would always end up later in the evening at Kim's Cocktails, situated on the street on the Loi Khroi Road opposite the Thai Boxing stadium and when I say the street, it was actually in the road itself, this little cocktail bar with eight stools squeezed around it, where I would sup on a Gin and Tonic with ice and freshly squeezed lime while the music played. I introduced this bar to my course mates and on our last night, most of us celebrated together with Jacqueline and John, enjoying our last drink together as a group. If you ever go to Chiang Mai, you must seek out this unusual little bar and enjoy the experience, the owner Kim, I know for sure, will take very good care of you.
On one of my trips into the city, I met up with Art, a local Thai, who together with his friend decided we were in the wrong part of the city, so I became the second pillion passenger on a 125cc Yamaha motorbike. Not having ridden a motorcycle for nearly 20 years, nor been a passenger for even longer, I was quite nervous, however there I was squeezed onto the rear of this bike crossing from one side of Chiang Mai to the other in a fair amount of traffic. Later that evening I tried to get a taxi home but nothing was available, so once again I was perched on this bike for nearly 20 kilometres to get home. When I got off the bike, at Nugent Waterside, I was walking bow-legged back to my room. The next Saturday, Chris gave me a lift into the city on his motorbike and I really did enjoy it. I managed to ride pillion a few times during my stay and loved the sense of freedom that comes with a bike.
Whilst on the course, Thailand got into the mainstream international news over the closure of the airports in Bangkok by government protesters. This went on for nine days and things only started returning to normal the day before I flew back to Bangkok. The situation had no direct effect on me whatsoever.
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