It’s been over two months since I last posted about Bailey and I’s adventures in Thailand. For those of you wondering, yes, we are still here and we are still doing well. I’ve spent a lot of time wondering what I would next write and when. While our days aren’t filled with tropical excursions and meetings with elephants anymore, we are still busy learning to navigate a life where we are the visitors. At the end of October, we moved to a small town called Fang in the north of Thailand, near the Myanmar border, where we began teaching English, first online, and then, finally, onsite.

It’s been a journey. Only two months into working in an ESL (English as a second language) classroom, we have already learned so much about ourselves, our students, and daily life in small-town Thailand.

In many ways, it’s been an incredibly difficult experience. There are language barriers and cultural differences that have been a challenge to work through and accept. While we taught online, we felt terribly isolated, unable to make real connections with our students and the other teachers we had yet to meet. Our living accommodations had abruptly down-sized in the move from Chiang Mai, and we still live without a kitchen (although for Christmas we were gifted a single-burner kettle-pot thing that we’re deeply excited to use for pasta –not noodles, pasta).

Since beginning to teach onsite, however, our outlook on our situation has begun to change for the better. We’ve been better able to make connections with both our students and our fellow teachers, which has, in turn, helped to make us feel like a greater part of our community. (Students calling your name in the grocery store and giving you hugs after school, really helps for some reason).

My mom always says you have to give anywhere new you live a year. It takes a year to really feel like a new house (or town or state) is your home, and I think when you move abroad it’s just as true. It takes time wherever you go to adjust. While we haven’t been in Thailand a year, we have had four months, (between Phuket, Chiang Mai, and Fang), and I think there are already many things that have become easier.

The Christmas season, for example, was a bit of a struggle at first. Neither of us had ever spent a Christmas away from our families, and when you’re used to white, snowy Christmases (or at least brown, rainy ones), it can be hard to get into the spirit in the Buddhist tropics where few people celebrate or decorate for the holiday. We bought a single strand of Christmas lights and hung them over our window, we listened to and sang Christmas carols as often as we could, but it still didn’t feel like Christmas without our families and friends and all the seasonal preparation that starts prior to Thanksgiving. (Our Thanksgiving was sponsored by KFC this year, which probably didn’t help our spirits.)

Christmas Eve was spent teaching at school, and in the evening we ordered pizza and watched The Holiday. (It’s one of my favorite holiday movies, and Bailey hadn’t seen it.) Christmas day, though, we’d been invited by our fellow foreign teachers to both a birthday party and their church’s Christmas party. Unsure of what to expect, but desperately needing to get out of our one-room apartment, we happily agreed to attend both.

Many of the foreign teachers we work with are from the Philippines. They are all extremely nice and welcoming, and my goodness, do they love to sing. For the birthday brunch, we took over an entire restaurant with homemade food, birthday songs, and an impromptu rehearsal for that night’s Christmas party, because, as their guests, they requested we sing with them instead of just attending as spectators. So we did.

After a dinner of spicy som tum, sour coconut-chicken soup over rice, sushi, and chicken skewers, we attended their Christmas service, which was followed by a Christmas-themed pageant put on by all of the Church members, from toddler to elder, at the end of which, our teacher group sang (and Bailey and I received our Christmas pasta-pot). Everything was in Thai, and we didn’t know what was happening for most of it, but it was fun to be welcomed into their community and feel a part of something on a day that means so much. We are still so grateful.

While there are some ideas and practices here that Bailey and I may never accept as our own, and that may keep us from staying longer, the time we spend here is a time of learning and of growth, teaching us what we value too deeply to compromise. I know our outlook will continue to change over the three months of this journey that remain, but I know that with it will come a deeper understanding of one another and of the incredible people we have met.

To our families and friends, wherever you may be, Happy New Year! We hope 2022 is filled with light and love for each of you.

–The Gordons

There is a Buddhist legend that a white elephant carried a relic of Buddha up Doi Suthep mountain, and when it stopped, it trumpeted three times before laying down and dying. This was interpreted as an omen by the king, and so the Wat Phra That Doi Suthep Temple was built. (If interested, feel free to look up more about the legend!)

For a long time, the path that the elephant took was the only path to Doi Suthep temple. Now, there is a road that takes you up the mountain and a village that sits at the foot of the temple. Before the road was built, however, Buddhist monks followed the route of the white elephant up the mountainside along what has come to be known as the Monk’s trail. It can still be hiked today.

During COVID-19, and due to the washing-out of parts of the trail during the rainy season, the Monk’s trail is currently closed. However, with some local encouragement, and some spunky pharang (or phalang; meaning foreigners), you, too, can break the rules and hike straight up the mountain. Okay, don’t panic. No one got hurt and no one got in trouble; it’s more a warning and precaution for those not prepared for rugged terrain. We weren’t entirely prepared for how rugged the terrain became, hiking 4.4 miles and gaining 2,700ft of elevation in the process, but it only took us about 3.5 hours.

Okay, it was brutal, (we hadn’t seriously hiked in months,) and I never want to do that particular hike again, but by hiking we saw more than one mountain temple, made some friends, and connected with a history far greater than ourselves. It was amazing and beautiful, and you’re going to have to go look at all the pictures of these incredible temples. Most of the pictures we took are of Wat Pha Lad, a much smaller temple in harmony with the jungle around it. Doi Suthep was far grander, but somehow, the temple that alternately disappeared into and rose from its landscape stuck with us more than the gleaming grandeur of the famous temple at the end of our trek.

The city of Chiang Mai was once the capital of a kingdom called Lanna. The Lanna people, as well as their language and customs, still persist in northern Thailand, influencing the culture and the local dialect.

In the past couple weeks, finished with training for school and awaiting our journey north, Bailey and I have explored much more of Chiang Mai and nearby areas, getting to know more about the local peoples and their history.

To celebrate the end of the rainy season and the coming of winter, or the cool season, there are two important Buddhist festivals held around the same time each year, Loy Krathong Festival and Yi Peng Lantern Festival. They usually take place around the beginning of November, so they haven’t happened yet, but preparations are already well underway. (If interested, you should definitely look up the history of each festival.)

We met the “master lantern maker” in Chiang Mai, an elderly man who receives orders of up to 10,000 lanterns each year for the November festivals, and he makes each one himself by hand. Not only did we meet him, but he also gave us a lesson in lantern making. Bailey and I each made our own lantern, and it took us four hours to complete them (whereas the master could have made each in about an hour). Each one is made from bamboo, traditional paper or light fabric, and (traditionally, sticky-rice-) glue.

The skill and artistry this man possesses is incredible to witness, and even so, he was kind and humble and understanding as Bailey and I did our best to replicate his work in a single afternoon. Our guides told us that he was happy to share the knowledge of his craft and customs with us, so we could take it home and share it with our own families. He also said that he’d be calling us up to fill some of his lantern orders in the future, and then he laughed a lot.

Be sure to check out the photos I’ll post, because these lanterns are probably not what you’re expecting. Yes, there are the floating lanterns sent up into the sky, as well as those they float down the river (both important to the symbolism of these festivals), but the lanterns, I’m talking about are different. These lanterns, with different shapes and colors, are hung in temples, store fronts, and around homes, to send good wishes to those whose names are written upon them. The tails that hang down represent angels’ (or spirits’) wings, and when you walk beneath them, the brushing of the wings upon your head is said to bring good luck.

After our lanterns were complete, our local guides took us to a temple in the nearby town of Lampoon, where locals were already beginning to hang their lanterns in rows outside. So that we could keep the ones we made (with traditional paper that would melt in the rain), we made a donation to the temple to purchase lanterns we could hang, to send good wishes to our loved ones, surrounded by a glowing rainbow of lights. (You really have to check out these pictures.) We were overwhelmed by the beauty of this tradition that leads up to the festival in November, and we felt so lucky to be welcomed to participate in this local custom that many tourists never know much about.

Or From There to Here

For two weeks now, Bailey and I have been in the northern Thailand city of Chiang Mai. Our first week was spent in grammar reviews and English as a Foreign Language (EFL) methodology classes, and our second week was spent in teaching practices both online and in person with Thai students ages seven to seventeen. I forgot, I think, to explain before this that Bailey and I have come to Thailand to teach English as a foreign language. Our beautiful vacation in Phuket was an enforced, two-week quarantine before we were allowed to travel throughout the country. (We definitely weren’t going to complain!)

It has only been a couple of weeks, but they sure have been busy. Go to school, eat, prepare lessons, eat, repeat.

Even so, this intensive program has been highly rewarding in not only the knowledge, preparedness, and confidence we’ve gained, but also in the experiences and people we’ve met along the way. Many of our small group of EFL teachers-to-be are from various parts of the UK as well as the US, and even from Vienna, Austria. (For those of you who know I spent a semester there in college, you’ll know how excited I was to talk to someone who knew all the places I’d visited back then!)

Yesterday, we received our official school placements. In another two weeks, Bailey and I will be moving to Fang, a small town three hours north of Chiang Mai, while our friends either stay here in the city or move south to other regions of Thailand. We’re both excited for this next leg of our journey where we’ll put down roots for the November through March semester. I think we’re both ready to have a place that’s ours and finally be able to unpack our bags!

With winter highs of 88 degrees and lows of 60, we’ve been warned by locals we may need some warmer clothes for the cold months ahead. Bailey and I smile politely while secretly looking forward to the “cooler” air in the mountainous region we’re bound for. We dream of making it through a day without staining our clothes in sweat.

While here in Chiang Mai, we hope to make a few more excursions around the city. We have already found a couple of coffee shops we love to frequent and ferreted out some amazing Indian, Japanese, and Israeli restaurants. We’ve visited a Buddhist temple and learned how to make an offering to the Buddha and the monks who reside in the temple. We’ve visited the Old City of Chiang Mai and a museum dedicated to the history and culture of the Lanna people, here in northern Thailand.

While the city has so much more to offer than we have time to see, we’re both looking forward to the slower pace and quieter lifestyle of a smaller town. We can’t wait to be in the classroom, working with students, and making connections throughout the community.

We’re working on common Thai phrases as we go, hoping to learn enough to get by with less English (outside of the classroom). So, until next time, khab khun kha and sah wat dee kha!

Where to begin? Bailey and I have had a memorable week since we visited the elephant sanctuary. We’ve visited Phuket Olde Town, the Chalong Bay Rum Distillery, taken a boat tour of Phi Phi islands where we snorkeled and swam in the bluest lagoon, had massages, and met some of the kindest people along the way.

1. Phuket Town

Our first trip after the elephants was to Phuket Town, the largest town on the island of Phuket. We spent the day in and out of museums and cafes, exploring the town through its history and cuisine.

After we learned that Phuket’s tourist population had decreased from 14,000,000 in 2018 to 400,000 in 2021, it became clear how empty the streets were in comparison to where they would have been before COVID-19. We could see how much the town, as well as the surrounding areas, have been struggling, and many of the restaurants and shops we passed were closed.

Despite this, we were still able to enjoy our day exploring the town and its history.

2. Chalong Bay Distillery

Saturday, we visited the rum and gin distillery in Chalong Bay. We took a tour of their facilities, saw the sugarcane they grow and harvest to make their rum, sampled their product in a tasting my palate was not developed enough to properly enjoy, and learned how to make three delicious rum cocktails.

The weather was beautiful, and our companions, from all over the world, were a delight to spend the day with.

3. Phi Phi Islands Boat Tour

Sunday, Bailey and I set out for the marina. After an hour on an exciting but choppy boat ride, we stopped at our first island where the Leonardo DiCaprio movie, The Beach, was shot. (I’d never heard of it, but maybe you have). We took a picture with a beautiful cliffside in the background, and while the boat rolled in the waves, I got sick into a trash bag. Luckily I wasn’t the only passenger of the twenty-odd people onboard to do so. Otherwise, that would have been embarrassing.

After that, feeling much better and excited for the day that lay ahead, we stopped at a blue lagoon to swim. I have never swam in such clear, turquoise water. Not only was it one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been, we were the only boating group there, so we were able to enjoy a typically booming tourist location all to ourselves.

Snorkeling came next! There were two locations where we snorkeled, but the first was my favorite. We literally swam with the fishes and explored coral reefs while convincing our brains we could in fact, breathe with our faces in the water. It was incredible!

After lunch on Bamboo Island, we spent some time at Khai Island (or egg island, named for it’s small, egglike shape). Though small, this island used to be a popular destination for tourists with options for food and drinks filling half of the available real estate. Now, because tourism has decreased so much, the place has been abandoned. The buildings have started sinking into the sea and only the cats remain.

That’s right. Cats. At least fifteen (probably more) stray cats manage to live on this tiny island (we think someone brings them fresh water and leaves buckets out for the rain), and accustomed to tourists, they are extremely needy and affectionate. I think almost everyone wanted to take them back with us, but, unfortunately, we had to leave them behind.

4. Spa Day

Monday was our spa day. Afterwards, we joked about how one person could experience bliss and the other torture while being pampered in the same room.

Because there was a promotion available that made three hours at the spa crazy affordable, we both signed up for an afternoon of relaxation. The first hour, we received a body scrub, the next ninety-minutes, a full body massage, and the last half hour, an in-depth facial. I loved every minute: it was gentle and relaxing and I felt like a vegetable monster when my face was covered in layers of ice-cold cucumbers. It was great. Bailey, however, sunburnt from our boat trip a day earlier, was scrubbed and elbowed and frozen by a much less gentle masseuse than mine.

“Did you tell her medium or strong?” I asked him when he’d told me how aggressively battered he felt afterward.

He said, “I didn’t tell her anything.”

“Well, didn’t she ask?”

“Wait, did yours ask you?”

Mine had, in fact, asked how intensely I’d like to be massaged as well as what trouble spots I’d like her to focus on. Apparently, Bailey had no such conversations with his masseuse and woke up this morning feeling like he’d been in a car accident. I felt awful for him, because I’d had such a nice time, and I’d wanted him to have one, too. Unfortunately, forced relaxation isn’t always what it’s cracked up to be, and I don’t think he enjoyed feeling like he was being buried alive in frigid cucumbers, either.

So.

I wanted to write an update about Bailey and I flying from Indianapolis to Chicago to Qatar to Phuket, turning a strange two(?) day journey into one long day that touched on three days and left us surprisingly awake–able to relax and rest in our room–while we awaited the (hooray, negative!) results of our second mandatory COVID test in a week. It probably wouldn’t have been worth a whole post, but we want you to know that we arrived happy and whole Saturday afternoon, and aside from spending about twenty-one total hours on three different planes, the journey really wasn’t that bad. Since then, we’ve been exploring the Pullman Arcadia Resort where we’re staying, which is absolutely stunning. Go check out the pictures I’ve uploaded. This place is insanely beautiful: jungle flora, white-sand beaches, turquoise waters, infinity pool, gosh the list goes on.

Today was the first day that we left the resort, and I am so excited that we did! We. Saw. Elephants!!!

We went to the Phuket Elephant Sanctuary that was founded in order to give old, injured, and abused elephants a forever home in their natural habitat, but with medical care and assistance. All of these elephants are rescues, and they come from backgrounds in circuses, logging companies, riding companies, or being privately owned. Many of the elephants we met were blind or partially blind, and two of them had broken legs when they were rescued from logging camps and have since been rehabilitated. Too often, elephants’ stories are those of torture and abuse endured as labor animals and as entertainment for tourists very like us. It was hard to hear that, but it was important.

Phuket Elephant Sanctuary is different and because of that, it’s making a difference. There are many other elephant parks here on Phuket Island that we could have visited to feed the elephants and help them bathe and all sorts of activities, but did you know that elephants are shy? They like to bathe alone and can become stressed if there are too many people in the water. At Phuket Elephant Sanctuary, the needs and comfort of the elephants are respected. Yes, we got to feed one (it was snack time and they eat so. much. food.) and yes, we got to walk near them and take pictures, but the main difference is that the elephants are free to do as they please, and their boundaries are respected. We gave them their space and trusted their mahouts (their human guides and caretakers) to do what was best for the elephants, and not what made the most exciting tourist attraction. Interacting with elephants is about observing them, understanding their needs, and not forcing our own agenda on their complex and meaningful lives.

It really was the most amazing experience. These giant, beautiful, personality-filled wonders took my breath away, and I know Bailey felt the same. Walking their jungle paths, and observing them from the skywalk above, brought us so much closer to these animals than any sideshow or elephant ride could. It allowed us to see them be themselves with no fear of pain or punishment, and it was an honor.

If you want to see pictures of the elephants and their beautiful home, make sure to check out the Photos tab!

Here is a list of the requirements we each needed to travel to Thailand during COVID-19 + requirements for our TEFL program for teaching abroad. The list itself may not be long, but it sure felt like it while we tried to figure out how to safely and affordably acquire all the necessary documentation.

• A valid passport (can’t go far without one of those)
• A negative RT-PCR (Rapid COVID Test) no more than 72-hours before our first flight (can’t get on a plane with COVID – don’t worry, we’ve been vaccinated, but still)
• A Certificate of Entry (COE) – which cannot be obtained until the following are first obtained:
  • Proof of Travel Medical Insurance of up to $100,000 dollars in COVID coverage (quantity specific to our program)
  • Proof of Vaccination with name, current address, and passport number (of course, no state vaccination record had our passport number – states can’t really require that for vaccination when so many people don’t have passports – but it seemed to work out)
  • Proof of SHA+ accommodation (our regulated quarantine hotel)
  • SHABA ID (given once your SHA+ booking is confirmed and needed to schedule the following PCR tests and enter Thailand)
  • Proof of three purchased and scheduled RT-PCR tests to be taken upon arrival and throughout our 14-day quarantine (we’re quarantining on a resort island through Thailand’s “Sandbox” program – can travel all over the island, just can’t leave it for 14 days, except on the days we receive our PCR tests: those three days we have to quarantine for 24 hours in our hotel room)
  • Proof of Flight Reservations with arrival date and location of entry (we’re doing our best to avoid Bangkok right now – that’s where the worst of their COVID numbers are)
  • Picture of a valid passport
• ThailandPlus App or another of its kind (to track possible COVID-19 interactions)
• A local background check (for potentially working with minors in school)
• Our original diplomas with our university degrees (to prove we did actually graduate from a university)
• Our official transcripts from our university (to see how competent as students we were?)
• Transportation from Phuket (our quarantine resort island) to Chiang Mai (the city of our training and school placement – a distance of 980 miles by land and 754 miles by plane)
• Proof of onward travel (out of Thailand after our 40-day tourist period has expired)

There’s probably something I’ve forgotten. As we begin our travels I’m sure we’ll quickly discover if there’s anything we missed on the documentation side of things. If new requirements come up or I remember anything I missed, I’ll add them here, so keep an eye out for updates!

If we forgot anything important, you can probably look forward to reading all about it as a separate blog post. Possibly under a title like, “Entering a Foreign Country Without…”

Cross your fingers, say a prayer, or send us good vibes for smooth travels!

Updates from Thailand soon!

When I asked Bailey what I should share about us in this first and most terrifying post, helpfully, he said, “everything.”

“That we’re cool and love Peanut M&M’s?” I asked.

“Exactly.”

If you’re here you probably already know Bailey and I enough to acknowledge that we’re pretty cool, and we do, in fact, love Peanut M&Ms. If you didn’t know those things, but you’re here anyway, welcome!

Knowing that I love to write, several friends and family members asked if I would keep a travel blog of our adventures as my new husband and I move to Thailand for the next half a year to intern/teach in a Thai school. My plan is to share as many cool things with you as I can without making any of them up and to post pictures and other miscellaneous things here, especially since Bailey is super excited about his new GoPro. We are by no means professionals, in writing or in photography, so we hope you’ll enjoy our amateur log-and-blog that we’ll do our best to keep somewhat up-to-date.

In case you weren’t there or didn’t know, Bailey and I were married July 31st of this year(!) after meeting at Butler University where we both studied Vocal Music (classical singing – think opera) and dated for most of that time – even while I was abroad in Vienna, Austria for a semester. He minored in Recording Industry Studies, and I double majored with English, creative writing. Out of school for over a year now and making our way through the COVID era, we’re setting out to travel (carefully and thoughtfully) hoping to create some small impact in the world while also experiencing a lot more of it.

We don’t have a plan yet for after this adventure; we’re taking this thing day by day and figuring it out together. It is both exhilarating and terrifying, but we have each other and we know that opportunities like this are lifechanging.

If you’d like to stick around and see how our lives are changed by this experience (and hopefully more to follow), we’re so excited to have you along for the ride.

Here’s to proof of onward travel!

We welcome you!