I hate snakes

I saw a snake the other night in the darkest dark, while walking from my bungalow through the grass to the road. i have been scared stiff ever since. especially since my dad sent me an e-mail about the jack daniels viper. If this snake doesn't kill you instantly, apparently it deteriorates some gland which makes you regress in age.....oh the jokes about my height and 12 yr old appearance are endless.

one of the class rooms. not bad eh? the corridor of the hotel rooms - ok pretty pointless photo.

the new 3 class rooms and hotel rooms (above class rooms

swimming pool - obviously. full of green water. nice.

sa-wat dee ka!

well, whats been happening? quite a lot and not a lot.

I started "working" pretty much as soon as i stepped off the plane; went into my boss's office for his money making real work (developing about 1 billion luxury villas on a little island off phuket). Got myself familiarised with the staff in Phuket (the ones i'll be able to go to when i get stuck i hope), also was taken to many shopping centres so i could see where i was buying 'suff' from - to be honest, at this point i wasn't quite sure what 'stuff' i was supposed to be buying anyway...but the shops were very nice anyway!?

Phuket is a crazy place, maybe its just Thailand that is a crazy place - i wouldn't know having never been, but i couldn't get over the difference. I had just spent 6 months in sleepy chidham/bosham, with the occasional trip up to london, and now i was "back on the road".

I have upgraded to a suitcase with wheels this time though, something i envied flashpackers for.

After a day in phuket being shown the shops (exotic places like Big C, Index, the stationary supplies store, and of course the huge tescos), and taken out for expensive meals with old men and beautiful young thai girls, i was taken to Khao Lak, my new place of residence.

Driving up, Boom, the thai lady who i will kind of be working with on tha charity, told me her story of what happened when the tsunami hit. she was in khao lak at the time with her husband and my boss and loads of his friends. Khao Lak was one of the most devastated areas, and had just had its best ever tourist season (the areas main source of income is from the farangs-foreigners). of about 5500 people killed in the tsunami, roughly 5000 of them were in the khao lak region. there were - i think - about 70 hotels here before, the tsunami left behind about 20.

so she told me her story and it was awful. i don't think i ever really comprehended (is that a word?) the impact the tsunami had until she told me her story and i saw khao lak, i'm sure i wont ever be able too - thank god. i've been doing loads of research on it since i've been here - for work, and it has got to the point where i have to stop reading stuff as it was making me a little crazy. there was a storm the other night, and i'm living kinda by the sea at the moment, and my imagination was just running away with all the stories i'd been reading and pictures i've seen. obviously the chances of it happening again are slim.

so i was dumped in khao lak, after a tour of the school and site of the new buildings. when i sawy dumped- i mean left in a hotel. but still, i knew no one in khao lak, except for trhe thai guy, shoo, who i had been introduced too, and who was to look after me.

so since i was dumped here i've been mostly working in the school, taking photos of the new buildings and putting together a fundraising pack to send computer companies, dunno if it will work, but may as well try.

the buildings are nearly done, maybe a month or so - which means there is a lot of wokr for me to be doing. at the moment there are only a few people working on the charity - i'm the only one at the khao lak end at the moment (apart from the 3 teachers we have employed, and shoo, who doesn't have much to do yet).

i have to get some teachers sorted out, everything furnished and kitted out, and loads more boring stuff too. but i am really enjoying it - its nice to have a project; and one that seems worthwhile and that will work (i hope!).

right now i am waiting for shoo to pick me up to help me move my stuff into his neices spare bungalow. i feel really bad because she had a car accident at the weekend and is in hospital in phuket, but i actually can't say no; i have tried telling her, but she is insisting - even from her hospital bed. that sums up thai people really - there is absolutly no end to their generosity.

i'll write something more interesting another day (maybe more interesting - probably not).
sorry i have been quite lame so far at getting in touch - i will be better at it when i have internet connection of my own, in a house of my own (i can't wait), with a motorbike of my own sitting outside!?