Our last full day in Thailand.

Today is our last day in Thailand :( I can't believe how fast it has gone by. It seems only yesterday we were stuck in Singapore waiting to board our flight. We had a slow morning with a 7 am wake up call and 8:30 leave time. We had out last school visit today.

We arrived at Chomsurang Upatham School in Ayutthaya, an all girls school, a bit after 12:30. We had a warm welcome. Students greeted us at the gate. 

We were ushered into two English classes. We were able to observe and interact with their English Program (EP) students. I was impressed with how fluent the students were in English, they had been learning it for about 7 years. Even the students that were not in the EP program had great conversation skills in English. While in the classes we were able to see the students learn from the teacher by power point.

In the other class we watched the students present their "most important item" to the class, in English!

In this class we were able to ask questions to the students and the students were able to ask us questions. They were concerned about uniforms, if we have them or not. At the school they wear uniforms, this class is wearing their PE uniform. They usually have a skirt, nice shirt and bow tie. Do you notice anything else that they all have the same?

 Their hair! They all need to have their hair cut short. If it is too long a teacher can cut it to the proper length.

Entonces we went to the English library. Here we were greeted with snacks!

Here is a Coca-cola!

This is a fruit we had named mangosteen. It was delicious! 

What's inside

As we enjoyed our treats we listened to two presentations from two groups of students in English.

Here students wander about the campus.

Some of the school.

The students lead us to their school garden. We were able to talk to students not in the EP program here. They had great English. 

The students are digging up the dirt in order to plant beans. The students were very animated and excited to talk with. We learned they like to read comic books. They also enjoy listening to music and studying during their free time. 

Some students are at school for many hours, they arrive around 8:30 am and leave around 7 pm. Our next location to visit was the library for the whole school.

Here are some newspapers in Thai.

All of the books are color coded and they even use the dewy decimal system. 

After our library visit we had to leave. The students gathered at the gate and sent us off. It was a great experience.

We then traveled to view some ruins. 

The reclining Buddha

Whelp it was our last day and I'm sad to say I'm going to miss it! We are about to go out for our last dinner. We have to be up at 4am tomorrow to get to the airport in time for our flight! 

Until tomorrow! 

We crossed that?

This morning was great! We got to sleep in! 6:45 am wake up call, it was wonderful! Had a fabulous breakfast with a lot of dragon fruit! We left the hotel at 8:15 to go to the Thailand-Burma Railway Center. Here we learned a lot about the railway for the train we were going on later that day. I learned that the Japanese used prisoners of war to complete the project. It took them 21 months to finish. The POW were promised better conditions but what they really got was the exact opposite. They were basically slaves, working on the railway. Many of them died of malnourishment, cholera, malaria, being over worked and not having proper equipment to be treated. Some examples of the conditions were forcing 28 men under an 8 person tent. It was an eye opening experience to learn about.

The Museum

After the museum we were lucky enough to go to the rail way itself and travel it. We took a train for about 2 hours to see Hell Fire Pass and have lunch. We arrived at the departure station and walked the River Kwai Bridge.

A map of the rail.

Me on the bridge!

A small train on the bridge while we were on the bridge!

Then our train finally arrived for our 2 hr journy about 2 hrs late!

In the picture above you can see a camera man. These men were filming a documentary for the railway, we saw them thoughout the day.

The inside of the train.

Ann Marie and myself!

The mountains were breathtaking.

We traveled the exact railway the POW constructed during World War II. When we crossed another  part of the railway it was nerve wracking! You could feel the train slow down so it wouldn't even have the chance to de-rail. You could also feel each bump and lean with intensity. Once I looked out the window and down there was just a drop, then the river! 

Dan just occupying my photo shot!

That is the raillway we crossed! 

If someone were to add a feather to the left hand side the train I wouldn't be surprised if the train tipped, at least that's how it felt!

We also saw some monkeys!,

Our next activity was the Hell Fire Pass. We just made it to the park before they closed! The Hell Fire Pass is a part of the original railway that is no longer in use as a railway. It is a memorial for those POW who died during the consruction of the rail way. It was a bit of a hike to get to the memorial but worth it!

The pass they POW had to dig out.

Me in a bamboo jungle.

Nicole and I in a tree!

The memorial monument.

Old rail tracks.

Me and the wonderful view!

After we traveled downto the River Kwai and caught a long boat to visit the Mon Village.

The entrance to Mon Village. They use solar power for their electricity.

Walkway 

A small boy asleep in a hammock.

The schools playground, and bathroom in the back ground.

This is their school. It has no walls or doors.

 A young boy came to visit us while we were there, we arrive too late so school was not in session. We were lucky enough to have a group of the students gather so we could talk to them and give them our donations!

Here is what was on their chalkboard!

We had dinner at a very nice resort on the river and were able to watch Mon Dancing. It was beautiful dance performed by young women and men dressed in traditional Thai clothing.

Tomorrow is our last day :( I'm sad that this trip is almost at an end! 

Until tomorrow!