Phuket2008

PHUKET & KOH HAE 2008

2004 / 2007 / 2008 / 2009 / 2010

27th - 29th February 2008

Our transport

DAY ONE: This camp started like all of our camps - EARLY! It was around 5:30 in the morning when everybody started to arrive at the entrance to the English Program at Kanlayaneesithammarat School. The coach that was to take us had already arrived although we weren't allowed to board it until everybody had arrived and we had all had our names checked. Ajarns Geordie, Thomas and Neung were taking their own cars because there were more of us than could fit onto our 60 seat double decked coach. After a short time, we were all accounted for and at 6am we were allowed to board the coach and get ready for our journey west to Phangnga, Phuket and Koh Hae which is an island off the east coast of Phuket. There were all the students from M101 and M102 on the coach as well as Ajarns Mayurie, Michael, Gege and Gege's friend. They kept us entertained all the way with songs and games. After a few hours driving, we arrived at the Municipal Park in beautiful Phangnga. This park is situated in the shadows of Khoa Chang, a mountain in the shape of an elephant. *Chang is the Thai word for elephant. In this park we ate our lunches and then played a few more games before re-boarding the coach to continue our journey to Phuket. We crossed over the bridge that joins Phangnga and Phuket, drove through the checkpoint and we then knew that we were on Phuket Island. Our first stop was Surin Beach. Here we had to interview the western tourists on the beach. Each of our groups had to interview at least 3 tourists and we had a short list of questions that we had to ask. Our class met students from Australia, Israel, Sweden, Norway, America and the United Kingdom. All of the people we spoke to said that they liked Thailand very much.

Interviewing tourists on Surin Beach Gate and the beautiful blue sea

We soon had to leave Surin Beach so after a little shopping at some of the many kiosks, we got together again and got back onto our coach. Ajarns Geordie, Thomas and Neung drove their cars where they would meet up again with us at our next stop on the camp, Patong Beach. The drive from Surin to Patong is not really that far but in a big coach it takes some time because of the hills and the windy road. Anyway, after nearly an hour, we arrived in Patong. Patong has a very famous beach and there were many more tourists there than there were at Surin. The coach parked on the Beach Road and we all got off. We were given some free time to have a walk around and do any shopping if we wanted. After our free time we all grouped together and played some games with Ajarn Thomas. Some of boys played football. By this time it was around 5:30pm and we still had one more place to go to before we went to our accommodation for the night, Phuket Fantasea! We left Patong and headed north along the west coast of Phuket to Kamala beach, the home of the Phuket Fantasea complex. Phuket Fantasea is a spectacular Thai cultural extravaganza with everything from elephant rides to traditional Thai dancing and it is very popular, especially amongst the tourists that visit Phuket. We all enjoyed the show very much but after a very long and tiring day, we were happy to board the coach for the last time and head towards our accommodation for the night.

DAY TWO: We were up at 6am this morning after a good night's sleep although some of us stayed up chatting with our friends later than we should have. We all met up in the restaurant downstairs for our breakfast which we really enjoyed. Once we had eaten, we boarded the coach again for the journey to Chalong Pier where we would catch the speed boats to Koh Hae (Hey).

The M2 staff on Koh Hae (Hey)

We soon arrived at Chalong Pier and because the tide was low, we had to walk along the pier before we could board the boats that were to take us to Koh Hae island. We climbed down the stairs and in our groups boarded the boats.

Boarding one of the boats Walking down Chalong Pier

Once we were all aboard our boats they set off for the 30 minute ride to Koh Hae (Hey). The sea was a little rough so our boats were bouncing and banging their way across the waves ... very exciting for some of us and very scary for others. Soon, we could see the beach we were going to on the horizon and knew that in a few more minutes we would be back on dry land. Ah, land at last. We got off the boats and walked a little way up the beach. The seas around Koh Hae (Hey) were crystal clear and soon we were all in the water, most of us with snorkels and goggles on allowing us to see the corals and colourful fish which live in them. We stayed in the water for a long time. After our time in the warm waters, we showered and then had our lunches. After eating we relaxed for a while before playing rotation games with our teachers. We'd spend 20 minutes with each teacher doing whatever games they had thought up for us. It was really good fun. After playing the games, we showered and got ready for the journey back to Chalong on Phuket's east coast. The journey back was a bit better as the sea had calmed down quite a lot and before we knew it, we were back on dry land again. We boarded the coach for the ride back to where we were staying.

Free time at last! Yes, we were given free time, time when we could do anything. Some of us played, some slept but most used their time to practice for the evening's campfire. Soon the day started to darken and the evening soon arrived. We had our dinner and then we all met up in our groups outside in the car park. It was time for us to show off our acting abilities with our presentations .... in front of everyone else. One by one, the different groups acted, sang and performed. It was a very funny evening. After our shows we had some snacks and then showered before sleeping for the night.

DAY THREE: We all woke early today as it was the last day of our camp. We showered and ate our breakfast before having a little free time before the long drive back to Nakhosithammarat. Soon we were all back aboard the coach and heading north towards Krabi Province where we would be stopping for our lunches.

Lunchtime and we were having a look around 'Wat Tham Sur' or Tiger Temple as it is also known. There were lots of monkeys there and it was an interesting place to look around. Before we got back on the coach, we had a ceremony where we were all presented with certificates for attending the camp. Once we had our certificates, it was back on the coach for the drive home. We duly arrived back in Nakhonsithammarat where our parents were waiting for us and we could tell them all about what we had been doing during our trip to Phuket.

Thank you very much Kanlayaneesithammarat English Program

Photo Album HERE