Transitioning

To say this was a full day would be a massive understatement. I met the group I was traveling with in the morning and we traveled in vans (separated into groups of six) from Bangkok to Hua Hin (2.5-hour trip). Our hotel that we are staying at in Hua Hin is called Glory Place and part of our initial fee into the program covered the housing for the entire week. There are a total of 15 teachers (13 women and two men). We stopped along the way for the following reasons: opened a Thai bank account and went to the mall where I bought a Thai cell phone.

I had been told Hua Hin was a resort town so I was expecting it to somewhat resemble an American resort town but I was dead wrong. It is a vibrant bustling Thai city much like Bangkok. The streets are small, there is condensed housing, alleyways everywhere containing food vendors and there were even more scooters being driven chaotically through the streets. The main difference is that the hills are covered in thick lush green foliage. It is beautiful.

We then went to the main Xplore Asia office which is a combination of two separate buildings on either side of the roadway. I am very impressed by the staff’s professional demeanor and they are thoroughly preparing us to be teachers in Thailand. I did struggle a little bit when I first came into Hua Hin because I was expecting a resort town that I am accustomed to seeing in America. Fortunately, Christy shared with me that my son had an issue at school that needed my attention. This gave me a great perspective and refocused my priorities to what really mattered.

At night, I walked around with my group and ended up at a night open-air market. I sat down at the open-air bar and talked with a man named Chris over several Leo beers. He had been living in Hua Hin for the past twenty years, was from Britain, and had traveled throughout Asia. And a quick side note and/or thought: I finally didn’t get scammed. What happened was I sat down to buy a beer and the normal beer price for foreigners in Bangkok is around 150 Baht. I assumed this was the price so I gave the bartender 300 Baht because I thought he motioned with his hand that he wanted “three hundred” Baht. I felt a little dejected and didn’t want to argue with him so I again handed over the money trying to get the scam over with. I finished my first beer and the bartender brought me a second beer without asking. I asked Chris how much the beers were and he said 65 Baht. I proceeded to finish my second beer and the bartender immediately brought me a third beer without any hesitation. I was so happy that I didn’t get scammed or treated like a foreigner that I forgot to get my change.