Fun at the market

Ok, so apparently the pictures I loaded last night didn't actually count for a 'proper' blog, so here's a slightly longer entry!

The TLC5 had a relaxing morning at the hostel, before heading off after lunch to Chon Buri. The journey by bus took just under two hours, which gave me an opportunity to see some of the Thai country side (the others slept for much of the journey!). When eventually arriving in Chon Buri the bus driver wasn't content to take us to the bus station but wanted to drop us off where we were actually going which was great except we didn't know where we were going! And then the police got involved! It was soon sorted by a phone call to Ajaan Bu (the pastor of the Power Church), and we were picked up by his wife Pi Joy.

After briefly visiting their home to drop off our luggage we headed off to the Power Church, and had a bit of time to wander around the market before the church prayer meeting. Upon entering the market we found an elephant which needed feeding, and well, it would have been rude not to!

We then wandered around with Pi Joy and one of her daughters Peal, who brought some fried Meal worms and offered them to us, which we accepted, well, it would have been rude not to!

The prayer meeting at the church was a good evening with about 20 adults and another 20 kids. Here, I need to point out, in case you weren't aware, Thai's don't use the normal alphabet, but script, which is completely illegible, so for many of the songs we hadn't got a fighting chance of singing along so simply hummed along with the tune, but joined in with classic songs such as Jesus, we enthrone you, singing English along with their Thai!

We're now back at Ajaan Bu's house watching Thai TV and cramming for our first set of English lessons tomorrow!

Sam

Day of firsts

Which included...


...fanta in a bag!


...ride in a tuk-tuk (yes we did all manage to fit in...just!)

Bangkok sightseeing

Having had a lovely long sleep last night, the team all seem a bit more with it today and able to cope with the heat a bit better. Today we have spent the day in Bangkok. We started off at the Grand Palace with a guide named Tip and having looked around there, and learnt about all the gold stuff the Thai's have borrowed from around the world, we went on a boat to eat at the best restaurant in Bangkok. It was not a usual touristy place and the food was great (nice one Martin and Hannah for knowing about that one!). We then went to see the reclining Budda, the biggest Budda in the world (I think) and it is pretty massive and reclining (not suprising). Hannah tells me that it is supposed to be Budda about to die and having reached Nirvana, well he looked quite pleased with himself, so that's nice.

The girls decided that we would quite like to have a Thai massage, so that's what we did in a very reputible place in the grounds of the reclining Budda temple. The boys were not quite so interested and went off to do something manly. I've never had a Thai massage before, it was nice, a bit firm, and a bit concerning when a very strong little lady is pulling at your neck and back, but I think I would have another one. Now we have all regrouped before we go off to find some evening food.

Today has been a good day. I have tried loads of new fruits (right now it's a dragon fruit), and we have experienced loads of what I feel is Thai stuff. All good. Ready to move on to Chon Buri tomorrow.

Kate

Hi-Sukhumvit

We is here!!! Well, after what seemed like the longest plane journey ever, we arrived safely in Bangkok at 7.30 this morning (Thai Time). We nearly lost Tim in Mumbai. It seems that in India they like to have about 5 people all doing the job of one person, and they all like to do their job very thoroughly. This meant that it took us ages to get through security. And after they had given Tim's bag a thorough going through, they only went and forgot to stamp the paper work. This meant that as we went through the next check point (there were many!!) I turned around to find that Tim had vanished. The girls had already gone on ahead, so i waited in the hope that Tim would (like the shop keeper) miraculously reappear. At this point we only had abouut 10 minutes until our flight was due to leave, so i was beginning to contemplate having an extended stop over in India. As the last bus was preparing to take the remaining passengerss to the plane, Tim appeared with a very frustrated look on his face. He'd had to go through the whole process for a second time. Anyway, at least Indian airport security could never be accused of being lazy.

The place we're staying at for the next couple of nights is really nice. Hannah and i took the team out for a little bit of exploring, but not having slept properly for over 24 hours is taking its toll, so we're all back at the hostel for a bit of a siesta. Later this afternoon will go and enjoy some air-con releif at one of the shopping malls.

Martin

1 more sleep to go...

Hannah here, writing just before doing a final check and heading off to bed - we are being picked up at 5:30am tomorrow (thanks Peter for your sacrificial offer of a lift to the airport - and to Reg who is taking Sam, Tim and Kate).

Apart from that nagging feeling of having forgotton something (and it's not my passport, tickets, wallet, phone...) I'm feeling excited and apprehensive about the next few weeks.

Excited because we are going back to the country we love and miss! We are seeing friends, catching up with church out there and doing something meaningful and useful to support the work of the Power Church.

Apprehensive because this is all new - we've been as part of a team, been on our own, and even co-led a team, so surviving in Thailand is no problem, but actually leading a team? that's a new one. Fortunately our team are some of our best friends, and the best team we could hope for, so they make it easy and share the load.

It's also an opportunity for us to explore our future in Thailand, and the possibility of longer-term life and work there - again exciting and terrifying in equal measure!

The next time you hear from me I'll be on the other side of the world, so Kho Phra Jao ouay phra pon kha gap laew pop gan mai (God bless and see you soon!)

Hannah

hoovering and pistachio nuts

Took Red to Kate's mum and dad's today. That's our cat, who's name is Red, not Reg, he's kindly taking us to the airport at 5.30am tomorrow morning (Reg that is not the cat, who's called Red). I reckon he'll have a great holiday, chasing rabbits and birds, the likes of which he wont have seen before (Red that is). Not sure how Kate's mum and dad will take to all the fun a cat can bring, so if you're reading this you have all my sincerest apologies (if he does anything bad, which of course he might not) and I hope you enjoy having him, I'm sure you will. I had better go and finish getting ready, back to the hoovering...

Tim

Llamas Bread

A few people were asking me yesterday about the recipe for the bread i used. well here it is. Enjoy!

Lammas Loaf

Lammas celebrates the harvest and this recipe from Real Bread Campaign co-founder Andrew Whitley combines two (or more) cereals in a light loaf with a rustic crust and chewy crumb. This is a longer ferment Real Bread, made with a two-stage ‘sponge-and-dough’ process for a great flavour and additive-free keeping quality. Makes one large or two small loaves.

Note: 1 millilitre (ml) of water weighs one gram (g). If you have a set of digital scales, it is often easier to weigh small amounts of liquid than to measure them in a jug.

1. The sponge
5g Fresh yeast (or 3g active dried yeast/2g quick-acting yeast)
140g Water (at about 20°C)
160g Brown flour (i.e. around 85% extraction)
305 g Total

Dissolve the yeast in some of the water and add it to the ?our with the rest of the water. Mix until the dough has ‘cleared’, i.e. all the ingredients are thoroughly combined.

Put the sponge in a bowl large enough to allow it to expand to at least three times its original size. Cover with a lid or polythene bag and leave it at room temperature for at least 4 and up to 16 hours.

2. The soaked grains
Meanwhile, set up the following mixture:

100g Cracked wheat, jumbo oats, pinhead oatmeal or other grains or flakes
100g Water
200g Total

Stir the water into the grain(s), cover with a polythene bag and leave at room temperature while the sponge rises.

3. The dough
300g Sponge (from above)
260g Brown flour
6g Salt
170g Water (warm to the hand, i.e. 30-35°C)
200g Soaked grains (from above)
936g Total

Mix the sponge, flour, salt and water together into a soft dough. You may need to adjust the water to get the right consistency of dough. Knead, without adding extra flour, until it is stretchy (about 15 minutes). Cover and leave to rise for 1 hour. Then gently fold in the soaked grains until they are evenly incorporated into the dough.

Grease one large (900g/2 lb) tin or two small (450g/1 lb) ones. Shape the dough into either one large or two small loaves. Spread some cracked wheat/pinhead oatmeal/jumbo oats on the worktop and roll the dough piece(s) until completely covered. If the grains don’t stick well, moisten the surface of the dough with a little water and try again.

Put the prepared dough into the loaf tin(s). Cover loosely with a polythene bag (making sure that it doesn’t touch the dough) and let the loaf/loaves rise in a draught-free place until they have roughly doubled in size. Bake in a moderate oven (190°C) for 25-35 minutes, depending on your oven.

Reality Bites

So here it is! My first ever blog!

Getting the final bits and pieces together along with this mornings meeting means it's actually here, we're going to Thailand! We've spent so long planning, and now in three days we'll be there!

I've now printed my list of things to take and have got the whole day tomorrow to pack, but am sure I'll still end up doing right at the last minute!

Thanks for logging on, we really appriciate your support. Bye for now, my next blog will be from the other side of the planet!

Sam :-)

The programme

Above is the programme for us while we are away, now you can keep track of where we are and what we are doing while we are away.

Varying degrees of readiness

'Ready' can mean many things, and sadly for me it currently means, not ready at all!!! I'm still at work for today and then i have to jet off to Salisbury to pick up a new engine for my car. So as you can see, my Thailand readiness is being somewhat thwarted. Thankfully Hannah is fully aware of my lack of 'readiness' skills and is trying to be ready for both of us.

Martin

The team are (almost) ready to go

So this is us... the TLC 5, and we are almost ready to go to Thailand. Final plans are being made and panic is starting to set in (for some of us) about trying to teach English to Thai children. Hopefully our blog will keep you up to date with our journey and maybe will give you a bit of insight into our adventure. Enjoy!