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PENANG
December 5th,
6th and 7th 2006
Day 1
It was time once again for our Mattayom Two students to go on camp.
After much deliberation, Penang, an island off the west coast of
northern Malaysia was chosen. The reasons being that the distance is
not too far and it would give the students a great opportunity to
practice their English language skills.
So, at 2:30 am on the morning of Tuesday the 5th December, all the
students and teachers met up at Kanlayanee ready to leave on the M2
English Camp to Penang. After a short wait, we checked that everyone
had arrived and when our coaches arrived we boarded them ready for
our trip to Malaysia. We were taking two coaches, one for M201 and
one for M202. With everyone aboard the coaches we set off on the
2006 M2 English Camp.
Our first stop was the southern Thai city of Hatyai. This is where
we transferred to the Malaysian coaches which were to be our
transport for the next few days. It took a little while for everyone
and their bags to be transferred but we were soon on our way once
again. An hour drive from Hatyai brings you to the border station at
'Dan Nok'. It was here where we would depart Thailand and enter into
Malaysia. Most of the students had never been outside of Thailand
before, so this along with all the formalities was very new to them.
After a short while we soon had new stamps in our passports from
both the Thai and Malaysian checkpoints and headed south down the
highway towards Butterworth. It was now 7am and we were all awake
watching the Malaysian countryside going past.
The teachers did a lot of activities with the students and songs and
games helped the time pass. Before we knew it, we could see the city
of Butterworth and turned off the highway to head for the bridge and
our final destination of Penang.
When
we arrived in Georgetown (the main city in Penang), we stopped at a
Chinese restaurant for our lunch. After lunch we boarded our coaches
and we went to the Royal Thai Embassy to meet up with the Thai
Ambassador for Penang. We were given a very warm welcome by all the
staff at the Embassy and we were given an opportunity to listen to
the Ambassador as well being able to ask any questions we wanted. It
was a very interesting experience for everyone. This was the 5th of
December which is the King of Thailand's birthday, meaning big
celebrations throughout Thailand but also meaning that all Thai
Embassies around the world are closed. The Embassy in Penang was
opened just for us and we were extremely grateful to be given the
chance to visit and interact with the people there. Thank you very
much.
After our time at the Royal Thai Embassy, we boarded the coaches and
headed to our resort, Sri Sayang Resort in Batu Ferenghi some 15
kilometers away. We soon arrived and could not believe how tall the
building was, over 33 floors! The students and staff were given a
two or three bedroom apartment (sharing) which was to be their home
for their time in Penang. Once settled in one group of students went
to the Evergreen Hotel in Georgetown to play music and perform for
the Ambassador and other dignitaries in celebration of HRH King
Bohumibol's birthday. The other group had dinner and then went
shopping in the night market of Batu Ferenghi. It had been a long
day for everyone and at 10pm we were all back at the resort where we
showered and slept.
Day
2
At 6am we were all woken and after our showers
we went downstairs for our breakfasts to get ready for another day.
We boarded our coaches and set off for a first place of call,
KDU College
in Georgetown. We soon arrived and were met by Amy and CK who led us
up to one of the lecture halls for a nice presentation of the
university and its facilities. We had a short question and answer
session afterwards followed by an interesting tour of the study
rooms and computer labs. We exchanged gifts and then had an
opportunity to take some photos.
Lunch again in a Chinese restaurant and then we all went to see
Penang Hill and the near vertical railway dating back to 1923. We
queued up for our tickets and after having a M201/202 singing
competition were able to board the 'train' that would take us to the
summit of Penang Hill. The train itself was slow and very hot, but
it was interesting. We saw many monkeys and the views were
incredible. You could see for miles and you could even see
Butterworth and the hills beyond.
We spent some time at the top of Penang Hill looking at the various
buildings, admiring the views and enjoying the cool breezes before
lining up to take the train down again. When we reached the base of
the hill, we boarded our coaches and headed into Georgetown to do a
little shopping. After shopping we went back to our resort and got
ready for activities on the beach. On the beach we played games
until sunset and then had a BBQ on the sand. When we'd finished, we
all went back to the resort, showered and generally relaxed. Some of
us walked back to look around the night market which was just a few
minutes walk away.
Day
3
Our last morning saw us again up at 6am so we could get ready for
our breakfasts at 7. After our meals we packed and got ready to
leave the resort. We put our bags on the coaches and took our seats
for a little sightseeing and the the journey home. We departed the
resort at 8am and headed to our first place of interest, the Kek Lok
Si Temple. This is one of the largest Chinese temples outside of
Thailand and was a very interesting place to walk around.
After looking around the temple we went to 'The World's Largest Toy
Museum', home to thousands of toys from around the world which was
enjoyed by all. Soon though, our time in Penang came to an end and
we had to begin the journey back to Nakhonsithammarat.
The drive back was filled with games and songs and then we watched a
DVD. These activities passed the time quickly and before long we
were back in Hatyai transferring to the Thai coaches that would take
us home. We arrived back at around 8:30pm and our parents were there
to meet us and listen to our stories about our time in Penang.
Thank
you very much Kanlayaneesithammarat English Program
J
To read other
trip
reports, click HERE
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