Tuesday, March 2, 2010

March 1, 2010






Monday, March 1, 2010

Kanchanaburi

We began the day with a long train ride through the countryside, passing mountains, villages, rice fields, banana plantations, corn and always, the River Khwae which, towards the end of our 2½ hour journey flowed into the Mekong River, somewhere near the border of Myanmar (Burma).

After a pause for lunch at a roadside outdoor restaurant/souvenir shop we proceeded to the second elephant ride of the week. Unlike the one that we took at Ayutthaya, this one took us up and down steep jungle-like trails and even into the river, just below the level where our feet dangled. It was a much more realistic experience than walking around the paved walks at Ayutthaya.

Speeding by vans back to Kanchanaburi, we arrived with just enough time to change into our team “uniforms” for our GSE presentation to five Rotary clubs from the Kanchanaburi area – which was held on a large raft that was gently towed for several miles down the River Khwae. While a large buffet dinner was being offered, we circulated among the five clubs, each of whom was wearing different colorful shirts to designate the club.

Our presentation went over quite well and I got much further into my speech in Thai before succumbing to English than I had in Suphanburi. The clubs seemed genuinely appreciative of my attempt at their language and rewarded me with applause after my first paragraph. The reception was equally enthusiastic for each member of the GSE Team.

After the presentation, we exchanged banners with the presidents of each club, and they presented us with gifts, including t-shirts commemorating our elephant rides that afternoon.

It was then that the real fun portion of the evening began. After months of telling me that none of them had any talent or aptitude for performing, when the karaoke started, they all got up and sang a rousing version of YMCA, which brought down the house. I am going back to my computer and re-writing the “American Culture Show” that we will present at the District Conference.

Karaoke was followed by dancing by both the Thais and the Americans until the very late hours of the evening. Despite everyone being exhausted, with evening temperatures still in the high eighties, we all had a wonderful time.


2 comments:

sontonglom said...

Hi! Everyone.
I'm grad you like and happy in Kanchanaburi.I like and love you too.I wish you will be happy in everywhere that you have a trips.See you at Trung.

Ernie said...

I heard about your YMCA rendition all the way over here! Keep up the good performances.

Your counterparts arrive in 3 more days. Any suggestions about how we can compete with elephant rides, etc.?

Ernie