Month: February 2010

Tales from Thailand – FINALLY!!

After enduring a loonnggg flight from Dubai to Thailand, those of us who can’t sleep on flights – me, Jeremy & Pete White, were all thinking there’s a good reason that people splash out the fares for Business class where they can stretch out!

At Bangkok, we said farewell & commiserations to Tracey & Marge as we left them to endure a 7hr stop over @ the airport prior to their NZ flight.
On our way through Bangkok to our hotel, Pete W reminded me that he had officially retired himself from Ugandan tour leader & had nominated me as Thailand tour leader. I can’t remember any nomination/ fair voting democratic process with any of this…

At the Century Park Hotel, they upgraded our rooms so we found ourselves about 20 floors up in rooms that would happily accommodate the average Watoto house!
We spent that afternoon basically relaxing, enjoying the air conditioning, swimming & catching up on sleep. (I know this as Pete H has a very unflattering photo of me looking like I’ve been shot dead on the bed.)

The next day, we found our way through Bangkok for a tuk tuk tour. Bangkok has about 10 million people & the road system is only built for about 3 million so it can take ¾ hr or longer just to go one block. The traffic lights have lit up signs telling you how long it’s going to be before the lights change again – they count down from 100 – slowly. They should just use the Ugandan road system – ignore the traffic lights, centrelines, traffic islands, use the footpaths & you’ll get there quicker.
Our tuk-tuk tour was hilarious. Our guide “Jerry” was Chinese & his grasp of the ‘Eengwesh’ language was pretty creative. Lloyd & I had to really concentrate to understand what he was saying & then translate it to the others. Pretty hard work but Jerry’s enthusiasm for his job made up for it – & besides, he kept calling me ‘sir’.
Tuks-tuks are not for the faint hearted but once we realised they were reasonably stable at the speed of sound, then we could relax our white knuckled grip on the seats! (Speaking for myself here).

Pete ‘Motor head’ White couldn’t take the smile of his face after his first blast in one of these death machines & was obviously thinking from then on how he could get one into NZ. (Might have a bit of trouble getting over Mt Hercules in one of these on your way down Sth Westland for carpet laying, Pete!)

There are about 100 temples or ‘Wats’ in Bangkok & we figured we must’ve visited every one by the end of the day. They were amazing though – the Thai didn’t muck around building small ones as they were enormous & most were decorated with tiny tiles &/or gold leaf.
It was a stinking hot humid day that meant we all were all nicely marinating in sweat the entire time – very pleasant!
It was blissful to get back to the motel, the air conditioning & the pool. Jack & Jeremy wee the resident pool sharks.

We visited the “Suan-Lum” night bazaar – with its 3,700 shops. Jeremy & Jack felt they had just entered Aladdins cave with all the electronic gizmos, watches, knives, switchblades, & all the other gimmicky gadgets you could imagine that wouldn’t be (legally) seen usually in the average shop.

Day 2 saw us up & leaving @ 6.30 to visit the floating markets @ Damnoen Saduak, Sth West of the Bangkok.
We stopped @ every touristy place on the way as our bus group was one of many buses who were touring that day. Thai tourism ingenuity is a well-oiled machine– they are very slick about getting every Thai baht out of your wallet. As you step out of the bus, unbeknown to you, someone takes your photo & waiting for you when you go back to the bus, is a plate with your photo on it. Multiply this by more touristy stops, & one could accumulate quite a dinner set.
The actual floating markets are up a maze of canals so the bus dropped us off for a ride in long open boats for a “very exciting ride, madam – just like in James Bond movie, madam” to the markets.

I feel that tuk tuk drivers & long boat drivers are of the same breed – suicidal adrenaline junkie maniacs. I’m convinced they have a wild desire to see the whites of their passengers eyes at all times…
Anyway – one very wild exciting 20min ride later & we arrived @ the floating markets – hair standing on end & wide grins –(especially Pete White who was obviously trying to calculate how he would fit a tuk tuk & a 5 metre long boat with a 3litre turbo charged motor into the overhead locker on the plane home).

The floating markets are a wonderful seething mass of noise & chaos that has to be seen to be believed. Long open boats selling anything & everything are crammed against each other in canals. Although over the top touristy, it’s great photo fodder.
While there, Jem, Jack & other brave souls had (rather nervous looking) photos taken of them with snakes wrapped around their necks.
Kate & me were nearly sick at the thought when they were offered to us.

Just when we thought we had seen everything, it was onto elephant riding, (a rather sad) monkey show for some & then a wood carving workshop.
The woodcarving was a surprise as it turned out to be amazingly intricately carved huge pieces of furniture – ie some of the table / chair sets had seats that were about 4 metres long. Think of the size of the house that would be needed for a lounge suite of this size– or the entire family could just share one chair in an average sized house.

Next, it was onto a cultural show that included Thai dancing, fingernail (I am not making this up) dancing, wedding & monk ordination ceremonies, kick- boxing, sword & long pole fighting & elephant work.
We figured we got our money’s worth for this day’s tour! This is what happens when I’m nominated as tour leader, guys…

That night we went on a Bangkok river cruise. One of those events were they pack about 200+ people on, feed them up & put on live entertainment & get every one up dancing as the boat cruises up past all the temples lit up & the lights of Bangkok.
It was a great night & where we saw a side of Jack Hines never seen before. He was the first up dancing as the Thai girl hosts were quite taken with this tall blonde Kiwi guy & every time they got him up for a dance, he was given cheap fluro flashing headgear or glow stick jewellery.
So you can imagine my surprise when I was up dancing myself, to see this tall grinning glowing flashing apparition of dancing fluro-ness heading towards me leading a Congo line! Yep- Jack managed to find himself leading the entire boat load of passengers in this rather wobbly Congo line with the Thai girls clutched firmly behind him. Give me strength.
They couldn’t believe me later when they found out he was only 13.
Day 3 – secretly feeling shattered but ready for another day of danger & excitement – we left (nearly without the sleeping divas -Kate & Olivia) @ 6.30 am to travel up to the River Kwai & Hellfire Pass railway @ Kanchanaburi –Nth West of Bangkok toward the Burmese Border.
At Kanchanaburi, we visited the war museum that gave us the history of the Japanese invasion into Thailand during WW2, the reason behind the railway & the conditions that the prisoners had to endure.
We also walked over the large iron bridge over the river Kwai. We were advised to “not panic (read here, don’t leap off the bridge) if train comes”.
There were heaps of people walking the bridge & it was barely as wide as the rail tracks so passing each other was an exercise in balance& nerve as there were quite a few wooden planks missing & not many places to pass. I couldn’t help but wonder how they got any unsuspecting tourist out of the river before they either floated off towards Burma or were eaten by something. Don’t they have crocs or water snakes in Thailand?!

After travelling to Nam-Tok, we boarded a rather dodgy looking train. For $NZ 3.00 we could be up graded to first carriage- which meant a cup of tea that tasted like turps & a bizarre looking muffin.

The railway journey took us over the actual Thailand- Burma railway that Prisoners of war built during WW2. (We all hoped it had been adequately reinforced over the years as some very precarious looking wooden bridges & viaducts built along the mountain side were VERY high up & the river looked a very long way down!)

We then bused to the very nice Kanachanaburi Motel that is spaciously spread out, surrounded by trees & built on the banks of the Kwai Noi River. As we were almost the only ones there, when we arrived for lunch, the very attentive staff practically hand fed us.

After our intimate lunch, our intrepid team got into long boats to SEDATELY cruise up the river to Kaeng Lawa Cave, which once you survived the 300 or so vertical steps to the entrance, contains amazing limestone caverns & formations.
It had really poor lighting inside but Jeremy found the cave blacker than most as he forgot to take off his sunglasses. Worse still – he then announced this to everyone there! (Mental note to self – keep these wee errors of judgment quiet or they will be repeated on blog sites!).

The hotel contained several swimming pools one of which had a great water slide. The ‘kids’-Kate, Jack, Braydon, Olivia & Jeremy must’ve spent 3hrs going up & down the slide. More sedate older sensible people like myself & the Petes, sat at another pool, on the other side of the motel, sipped G & T’s & enjoyed the peace & quiet.
Pete & I decided that if we ever go away on any holiday again – we’d take Jeremy with us as he entertains the kids so well.

A visit to Hellfire Pass brought us back to reality. This is a long narrow pass cut through solid rock wide enough for the WW2 railway. So named because to keep to the railway completion deadline, the POWs worked through the night so lighting was candles or lamps nailed to the walls of the cutting. A prisoner remarked that if he died, he wouldn’t go to hell as he felt he was already there.
It was quite eerie to walk through the pass along the railway as it was very quiet & marks could still be seen on the walls of the cutting from steel poles that were hammered in to make holes for the dynamite. It was very easy to ‘hear’ the tap, tap, tap of hammers around you –especially when others remarked on the same thing.

It was a very sobering experience & I can imagine on Anzac day, it would be very moving to be there.

While in this area, we also were able to go for an elephant ride & also bamboo rafting on the river. But we must’ve been a bit heavy as Pete W had to get out at one stage & help the raft guy push us out into deep water as we grounded at one stage!
How embarrassing! The hotel staff obviously were feeding us too well.

Back in Bangkok – we had one more frenzied visit to the Night Bazaar to buy more must have items –& while we were aware the goods were ‘authentic genuine fakes’, we all had a great night bartering with the store owners & then comparing our bargains. Bartering brings out a skill in people & I must admit Kate Hines & Olivia are pretty ruthless to see in action!

We finished our last night in wonderful Thailand with a tuk tuk race. I bartered with the drivers for 3 tuk tuks to take us back to our motel. And then we were off! The drivers decided to race & obviously had as much fun as we were. At one stage, I swear we were travelling faster than our guardian angles could keep up but they obviously were as Pete White was in motor head heaven. We soared (flew) up to the front of the hotel beside a limo hooting & yelling at the top of our voices – all beaming & looking as though we’d been in a wind tunnel.
Wow!

Thailand was great & we saw some amazing sights (not just Jack leading the Congo line) & experienced amazing things. It was a full on trip but well worth the fatigue!
The Thailand events may be written slightly out of sync- but not by much. For the purists out there – (Amanda)- dare to sue me.

Over the course of the entire trip, I saw people change & grow in response to challenges & experiences we encountered on the way.
At the risk of this sounding like a thankyou speech after winning an Oscar –

Jeremy – considering you were a choco, KFC & MacD’s only sort of a guy – we were all very impressed by your willingness to try different foods. We’ll be around for homemade chippatties, boiled coleslaw, omelettes with plum jam & dried bananas.
Kate, Jack & Braydon – always gave everything a go & got stuck in to help even when it was hot & we were all really tired & scratchy with each other. We loved standing back & watching you guys communicate so well with others who couldn’t speak English. Your fellow humans could learn from you.
Amanda – thankyou for obliging us with entertainment @ every airport security check – they never did find the bag of peanuts…
Marge – for your patience teaching cryptic crosswords, providing reading books “The Shack” that challenged our idea of God, profound talks & for not going completely insane when the internet kept going down.
Lloyd & Olivia – thankyou both for sharing this journey & allowing us to get to know you. You both fitted into the team as though we had known you for years. And lets note forget Olivia’s choco pudding!
Pete & Pete – thanks guys – another successful trip. Can’t ignore the ongoing call of Africa! Another team will be back.

Kathy

Friday 16 Jan
A pretty uneventful day leaving Gulu early morning after visiting the new Bulrushes and church site. Construction of the Baby’s home is well under way and most days they have about 300 workers on site with the cost being met from a donation from an American Evangalist.
The road back to Kampala was generally in good condition but we also went over part of the same road that we took to Murchison Falls National Park. The good news was they had removed some of the speed humps but the bad news was that they had tar sealed another 3 kilometres and put 355 speed humps on the road!!
Arrived back in Kampala mid afternoon and after a quick trip to the mall for launch and internet it was back to the guest house to chill out.
Saturday 17 Jan
We headed out mid morning to look at other Watoto Villages around Kampala that we had not yet visited. First stop was Buloba village which was one of the first developed by Watoto in the mid late 1990’s but is relatively small with around 30 houses. The vast majority of the children have been moved to either Suubi or Bbira where there are primary schools. The village is now being converted to a retirement village for the “mothers” that worked for Watoto and can no longer cope with 8 kids. It shows that Watoto continues to evolve with time & is future proofing to prepare for looking after the mothers as they retire. It has lots of trees etc and is such a peaceful place.
We then moved on to Bbira when the last team had built. Pete, Kathy, and I were pleasantly surprised at the landscaping & development that had occurred since August 2007 when we were last there, considering the massive amount of building being carried out at the other villages of both Suubi and Gulu. The momentum of building had continued in all Watoto villages.
Back in Aug 07, we built a high school classroom- the second block of 4 rooms built at that time. There are now 8 blocks of 4 rooms each completed with 1 further block to be started. In addition there are 3 blocks of high school teachers’ houses (4x 2bed units in each block) and about another 8 classrooms at the primary school, a new Kindergarten & more primary school teachers houses.
There are now 15 circles of 9 houses completed & occupied. It is intended to have 20 circles to finish the village. Nothing is planned on a small scale!
We then drove to Watoto Central Church (formerly known as Kampala Pentecostal Church –KPC) in the heart of Kampala City to pick up some more money & tickets from the safe. There was a wedding happening in the main church. It cost about 300,000 shillings ($NZ 200) to hold the ceremony there – this is about the same as NZ, the difference being the average monthly wage say for a labourer on our building site, is 100,000 shillings. The bride wore white but the bridesmaids were very colourful in their fluroscent pink or vivid aqua blue (depending upon their ranking) and the men in suits with bright ties (6 Groomsmen) plus youngsters.
Next was a trip to the Authentic Craft market for a bit of retail therapy. Still selling the same sort of things as last time. Part of the fun was bartering over the price( about half the original asking bid) Things may be a bit slow for the stall holders as they came down rapidly and in some cases quite aggressive in attracting your attention. By the end of our visit, there were some happy stall holders & some Kiwis worried about excess baggage costs.
Sunday 18 Jan
Up early and glad rags on before church at Watoto Central. This is the parent body for the Watoto Orphanages. We attended the 10am service which was the 2nd of five for the day holding about 1800 people at each service. We were privileged to be @ the front row in reserved seats. People start to line up for the next service just after the last service goes in. The last song from the service is the first one in the next service.
The actual service has the first hour of mainly singing with a choir of 60 & a band of 6 players. The second hour was a sermon from the big guy (Gary Skinner) concentrating on a passage in the bible (in this case – using your gifts/Talents) which will form the basis for the next couple of month’s sermons. His bible quotes were read off his i-phone.
After Church, we visited Bbira Village for lunch with a family. We split into groups of 2 or 3 & went to different houses in one circle. Our group had lunch with Mother Docus who had 8 children- 7 of which were there. One young girl was away with the latest choir and another, Grace, was practising for the next one that is visiting NZ. The oldest boy was 15 while 3 were under 5. 2 of which had recently come from Bulrushes’. It was a great meal that included local dishes such as fried chicken, beef stew, large pink yams, rice, boiled potatoes, greens, chippates, matooke (steamed banana mash) ground nut sauce, bean stew, some other unidentifiable dishes &, of all things –soup. No separate plate was given for this so we poured it over our rice! Pineapple and bananas were dessert.
We had the usual compulsory game of soccer with the kids after lunch which completed a very satisfying visit. We all came away with an insight into how the Watoto system actually works & how fortunate the kids are who, while have a such a bad start to life, in the end are fairly well off.
That night we went to the Ndere Cultural Centre for a performance by a local troupe of dancers and musicians. It was mainly local musical instruments & dances from the various regions of Uganda and a compare who told both local legends and funny stories. He mentioned how Americans and Europeans have watches but Africans have time. It was a great show & in typical African time, the show went for 4 hrs & not the advertised 2.5 hrs. Late to bed at 11 pm.
Monday 19 Jan
Up early and building clothes on for a day of painting at Sanyu Babies Home. This was the second part of our trip to Uganda. The 2007 group visited Sanyu & decided it was the poor cousin of Watoto & that if we went back we would raise money for Sanyu & if possible, do some work there. Sanyu has been operating for about 80 years & relies totally upon donations & even through it operates under the auspices of the Ugandan Anglican Church it receives no funding from this source. It is an old building in need up a major upgrade with the home surviving on a month to month basis. Our project was to paint the outside of the kindergarten block. We started by moving firewood from the front gate to the boiler room, a distance of 100metres uphill. We were given paint and off we started on the windows etc but just as we were to start using rollers on to the main walls we were told this colour was for the base boards. They then arrived with the right wall paint being “flamingo” or salmon pink. Not very inspiring! Marge became the washing walla & disappeared into the laundry for the day learning how to do the washing from a deaf mute. Back to the guest house stuffed after a big days work. Not used to the work after a week of travelling about.
Tuesday 20 Jan
Another day painting at Sanyu. Finished painting the rest of the pink walls with Kathy the artist painting a mural on the wall. She was handed pots of forest green & saffron yellow & told to paint pictures…
When we went looking for the grey paint to finish the base, the local help could not find it and said “If you can’t see it then it has gone”. Typically, there was 10 litres yesterday and none today but had 5 litres of a different grey that did not match!! The management of Sanyu were so appreciative of us working there and gave true heart felt thanks to us.
Kathy and Kate finished her mural just as the first big fat raindrops of a thunderstorm began. After Sanyu – back to Watoto church for Tshirts, the markets for more drums, & the shopping Mall for last minute shopping to spend remaining shillings.
For our last night’s dinner, Livvy made chocolate self saucing pudding for dessert which was a real treat & then we had quite a few laughs reflecting on pearls of ‘wisdom’ that people had said during our time here.
Wednesday – 2hrs of creative packing of our giraffes, drums, etc. Moments of panic when memory sticks were mislaid etc…
Now at Kamapla airport waiting for the flight to Dubai and Bangkok. Pretty uneventful thru customs and immigration .
I asked everyone on the trip what their thoughts on the trip.
Pete White: This has been another great experience, very different from the last one but just as good. The team has been a wonderful group of people who all have worked very hard in sometimes trying conditions. Uganda is a lovely place and the Ugandans are so friendly and appreciative. Sanyu was also a great experience and well worth doing, they really appreciated our effort. Been twice now and still not out of my system. Wonder what God’s got planned next for me. See you all in a week. Cheers, Pete White.
Braydon White: It’s been great, apart from 3 things – heat, traffic and travelling. The food has been really nice and the house was spacious. The building was hard and Sanyu was a bit boring.
Tracy Hall: Uganda is an amazing place with many contrasts. It has unusual sights, smells and tastes, some pleasant, others not so. It is a lot greener than I thought it would be. The people we have met have been willing to share their knowledge and passion. They are friendly, welcoming and appreciate what we have done. The children no matter whether at a village or as we passed in the bus would share a smile and a wave. It has been a wonderful experience and an amazing adventure which has changed the way I will look at things. I feel fortunate to have had this opportunity and will carry Uganda in my heart.
Kate Hines: When I thought of Africa before we came I thought of animals, heat and people living in Mudhuts. Now when I think of Africa, I think of smiling faces, different smells every second, and hot, hot weather. Africa has been amazing, even more so coz I came with my family. When I go back to school everyone will ask “What did you get up to in your holidays?” and I’ll probably answer “Just been on an experience of a lifetime, how about you?”
Jack Hines: Uganda is by far the best place I’ve ever been to. PROS- Kindness of people, meals, and the great Guest House. CONS – traffic, roads and weather. It has been awesome!!!
Kathy Hines: When we left Uganda in 2007, the challenge given to us was not to forget Uganda & its people but to be ambassadors for Uganda & to return. It was a humbling to be able to say –yes, we have returned. But the ongoing challenge is renewed again for 2012!
Lloyd McGarvey: It still hasn’t really sunk in that I have been in Uganda for 2.5wks. We have done so much. The trip has been a wonderful mix of work, touring, relaxing and meeting people. It is rewarding to feel like we have made a contribution to people’s needs here but humbling when you think how great their needs are.
Olivia McGarvey: So many things to remember. The heat was hard to work in though. The smells were a big part of making Uganda so very different. I really don’t have a lot to say and lunch is ready BUT I am very glad I came
Marge Teft : It has been an incredible trip; very glad I came. Never having been to Africa before it was a real eye opener to the culture, struggles and joys of this part of the world. Great to have been part of the work of Watoto and Sanyu ( even for a short Time )and hopefully to have made a positive contribution to some folks in Uganda.
Jeremy Ewen: This has been an experience that I will never forget. To come to Uganda and built a house for orphans has been very special. I have enjoyed meeting the people of Uganda and seeing their friendly, passionate and sincere nature. It has been a joy to bless them and that they are genuinely grateful. The safari was wonderful and I enjoyed seeing all the different animals. Thank you for the opportunity to do this. I am definitely taking part of Africa home with me.
Amanda Ewen: How do I sum up this experience in just a few words. Uganda now has a special place in my heart. A smile and a wave is an International language that breaks down all language barriers. The joy these people share is amazing. In new Zealand we seem to have so much and only want more. Here is Uganda the people are so grateful for the little they have. The smells and scenes are so different from New Zealand. I wish there was a way to capture the smells to remember them always. Uganda is a place of laughter joy smiles music and potholes.
Pete Hines: Another very successful trip to Uganda with both projects more or less completed. It gives me great personal satisfaction to be part of an Aid programme that actually works and you can see the results before your eyes. The trip while similar to last time it was different with visits to other areas especially Gulu as well as a different group of people. It is with Africa the most important thing is people people people. Not only us but the locals as well. The challenge now is for 2012.
You can take the “boy” out of Africa but not Africa out of the “boy”
Many Thanks to all who supported us both in spirit and financially
Cheers Heinzey