• Melanie Marks
  • Melanie Marks

Longwood in Thailand 2023

A group of 13 of us will travel to Qatar (just for 24 hours) and Thailand. While there, we will culturally immerse, interact with wonderful people, and learn about countries that are very different from ours. FOLLOW OUR JOURNEY ON THIS JOURNAL. Read more
  • House of Joy

    May 28, 2023 in Thailand ⋅ 🌩️ 84 °F

    We just returned from visiting a local orphanage that has his 140 children, some of which are infants. The government does not allow adoptions, so some of the kids will live in the orphanage until they are 18. But it is a truly lovely place and the kids are healthy and happy. It's vegetarian, the kids meditate every day, and they are on the river so they can go swimming. They also have a women's empowerment weaving project. Our goal is to have a big economic impact by buying a lot of beautiful things in their store. And we ended up spending $406, which for them was a huge economic boost.Read more

  • Baan Unrak Bakery

    May 28, 2023 in Thailand ⋅ 🌩️ 84 °F

    The orphanage also runs a bakery in town. Since it is raining and thundering, we decided to come spend more money. Again, nothing here cost very much so we move into chocolate cake, coconut cake, butter cookies, and cheese bread. Outrageously good. The brings are economic impact for the orphanage up to $440 plus some tips.Read more

  • Tour Guides

    May 28, 2023 in Thailand ⋅ 🌩️ 81 °F

    As we walked along the bridge, we were offered tours by school children who are trying to earn some money for their families. The first was a 12-year-old girl and we took her up on the offer, even though we had our own guides. It was a way to support a clearly low income family that sat out in the rain so that their children could paint faces for donations. She was adorable and we rewarded her handsomely. A second pair of boys made the same offer, but since we had already had a tour, we paid them to tell us about their lives and their families. That was also quite enjoyable. They were also quite happy with their tips.Read more

  • Burmese Face Painting

    May 28, 2023 in Thailand ⋅ 🌧 81 °F

    You can identify a Burmese person because of the tree bark paste that they use on their skin. On the bridge, there will be several children offering to paint faces for donations. We had a good time having our faces painted by a very young child, maybe four years old? some of our students are posing to show you the results.Read more

  • Night Market

    May 28, 2023 in Thailand ⋅ ☁️ 79 °F

    Tonight for dinner, we hit the night market and students enjoyed try lots of different foods. Again, rain made it a bit soggy, but it was still a really good time. Since this is not a touristic place, the locals had fun seeing our group. I think our very tall, blonde cross country runner was a hit.Read more

  • Monk Processional

    May 29, 2023 in Thailand ⋅ 🌧 82 °F

    We had to get up very early so that we could participate in the monk processional. Every morning, the monks walk through town and they can only eat food that they have been given. So this is an organized process of giving food to the monks. Any extra food will be brought to poor children. Students went to the market last night and purchased items for donation.Read more

  • Sunken Temple

    May 29, 2023 in Thailand ⋅ 🌧 82 °F

    The water that you see is actually the result of flooding a previous community. So underneath the water are thousands of houses. There was a temple up on the hill and it took many steps to get up to it. Now, given that everything has been flooded, you can only get there by boat. This is the start of the dry season, so we are able to see the entire place. But during the wet season, you may not even be able to get out of the boat. Students learned how Buddhist make offerings using incense, candles, flowers, and at this location goldleaf that gets put on the Buddha images.Read more

  • Thai Massage

    May 29, 2023 in Thailand ⋅ 🌧 79 °F

    Tonight we all participated in time massage. In general, I think the experience was a good one. But not everyone enjoyed it. It is not like deep tissue massage at home, and at times it can be a little rough. It involves pressure points, stretching, and isolating muscles and at times they are actually standing on the bed using their feet. The language barrier might make it hard to indicate that you want somebody to be more gentle. But overall, it is definitely something everyone should experience while here.Read more

  • Game Night

    May 30, 2023 in Thailand ⋅ 🌧 84 °F

    We are playing Thai party games on the barge and some might be x-rated so this is a warning. The first game...put the long bean in the bottle. Lol. Then musical chairs. But we think there might've been a major role violation at the very end! And there are big money prizes.Read more

  • And Not Sure What To Caption This!

    May 30, 2023 in Thailand ⋅ ☁️ 82 °F

    All I can say is that your travelers are having a very good time and my friend is an amazing host. In fact, between the boat, prizes, staff, she has spent more than I paid for for the rooms tonight in her resort.Read more

  • Cooking Lessons

    May 31, 2023 in Thailand ⋅ ⛅ 91 °F

    Our friend tom, a.k.a. cooking God, is leading the students in a great cooking class. They will be making spring rolls, Curry, pork with garlic sauce, and pad Thai noodles. I hope they do a great job, because this will be our lunch. I will post the results later. A picture with Professor Brazier with the largest mangoes I have ever seen has been thrown in for comic relief.Read more

  • Chinese Style Temple

    May 31, 2023 in Thailand ⋅ ⛅ 91 °F

    We just climb to the top of this beautiful Chinese temple. Well, that is most of us. The views are spectacular from the top, as this is surrounded by rice fields. This area used to have very cheap land but now, since I was here in 2019, there is much more development. I am told land has tripled in value.Read more

  • Thai Style Temple

    May 31, 2023 in Thailand ⋅ ⛅ 91 °F

    Next to the Chinese temple is a Thai-style temple. And I have posted a picture from a distance so you can see the entire complex. This is my favorite structure in Thailand. The two temples are dropped into the rice fields so it has a wonderful backdrop.Read more