Thailand, Day 1

Thailand! Before we arrived, I didn't know what to expect. My first impression of the country was surprise at how modern and developed it is. After India, the sane driving and clean air are very welcome. We're docked in Laem Chabang, which is pretty industrial and not tourist friendly, as far as I can tell. Today I stepped off the ship and right onto an SaS service visit to the Pattaya Orphanage in the city of Pattaya. It's a privately funded Catholic facility that houses about 160 orphans and 40 deaf children. They all attend public school although the program provides tutors and other academic help. There's a wide variety of ages, because there is no set age at which the orphans must leave. They make the decision themselves, and some stay until early adulthood. After a brief introduction to the program, we waited in the outside playground area for the kids' recess to start. The kids came out and approached us easily. I guess volunteer visits are routine. They were way way cute. Mostly four or five years old, and they didn't speak any english, but it's amazing how easy it is to communicate with kids without using language. The orphanage provided us with some toys, and one little guy came up and immediately grabbed my hand and I spent almost the entire time with him, blowing bubbles and giving him piggyback rides. They all seemed pretty happy and well taken care of.

 

We also got a chance to interact with some of the toddlers, which was cool but I don't have an easy of a time taking care of them. I guess I need to see more babies.

 

A few of us opted to stay in Pattaya after the service visit, rather than return to the ship. We wandered around the city, which is touristy and frankly pretty sleazy. Without going into detail, I'll just mention that Thailand has a booming sex tourism industry, and it's not the most pleasant thing to be in the middle of. We did get a chance to have our first real Thai food, which is awesome. In addition to eating some great restaurant food, we stopped by a fruit stand and bought a bunch of unfamiliar fruits. They were all delicious and I'll need to show people pictures to find out what exactly we ate.

 

Indian-style rickshaws don't exist here. Instead they have pickup trucks with benches on either side of the flatbed, which are actually really comfortable. I know I said this already, but it's such a relief to be on safer roads.

 

Well that's all to report for now. I'll post again soon.