Things have been crazy for the past two months. After my family left Bangkok, I have been on trips with the students non-stop. The last week of February was spent in the province of Ayutthaya, the setting of the magnificent bygone kingdom of Ayutthaya (circa 1350-1767), which managed to subdue the rival Khmer kingdom (who built the glorious Angkor Wat) and established robust trading relationships with Persia, China as well as some western European countries who ruled the seas back then. The kingdom was finally destroyed by the invading Burmese army in 1767.
Wat Sri Samphet – the old royal temple of Ayutthaya destroyed during the Burmese invasion.
Wat Chai Wattanaram – The Burmese used the highest point of this temple to spy within the city gates of Ayutthaya and managed to get information on troop movements & strategic battle plans that gave them the edge they need to defeat the mighty Ayutthaya.
After our history lesson, we went to Khao Yai, one of the largest tropical rainforests in Southeast Asia, where we got to see a lot of interesting plant adaptations, looked at plant successions and tried to spot bigger mammals but to no avail. At least we got to see porcupines and deer.
Just a patch of the magnificent rainforest. Spot the emergent:)
End of the grassland hike-a little lake. If you walk by the shore, you get to see animal footprints as well as some animal carcass.
Meanwhile, the remaining month of March was spent in Chiang Mai studying culture, northern lifestyle and livelihoods. The kids got to experience planting rice, staying at a Karen village as well as looking into the different local cottage industries.
A traditional Karen house.
One of the survival components of the programme: Building shelters
Little Mungo: taking an instant affinity with the mud:)
The water buffalo goes for a swim: trying to escape the oppressive heat.
That’s it, the past five weeks in a nutshell. I will be off to Jakarta to visit my dearest sister and best friend this coming Songkhran festival, which is making me really excited. It’s a long awaited break, an opportunity to finally change my pace and environment, albeit temporarily.
