It's a long way to Sanghklaburi...or you can't get there from here

We were going to do two photo workshops for a Mon post-10 school in Sanghklaburi, a pretty town tucked in a river valley some 230 kms north of Bangkok, close to Three Pagodas Pass on the Thai/Burma border.  So you'd think it wouldn't be all that far from Mae Sot;  which is even farther north.

But you'd be wrong;  we take the night bus south to Bangkok ( 7 hours ), arriving at 4:30 am and then the 7 am bus back north to Sanghkla ( 7 hours ). Because we wanted to ride bikes to the school, we decided to bring our trusty Giants.  Let me tell you, putting the front wheels back on, loading panniers and backpacks at Mo Chit bus station in the wee hours was not easy.  The place was packed with people coming, going, standing, eating, sleeping.  Finding the ticket booth for Sanghkla felt like trying to get out of Dante's 7th circle of hell!  

4:30 am  Mo Chit bus station, Bangkok

The last 40 kms to the town are on avery steep, windy, narrow road.  A truck has just overturned in the oncoming lane, its trailer half blocking our side of the road... We arrive around 2:30 pm, look for the post office which is a landmark on the way to our guest house.  When we can't find it, we call Allison Rhodes, one of the two teachers at the school who immediately hops on her bike and leads us to the Tea House, which will be our home for the next two weeks.  Fortunately, it is  downhill all the way.

Breakfast and email hang out at guest house

Looking down from veranda to our bungalow (left)

Our laundry outside our bungalow

 The Chuen-Jai Guest House is not on the river but is set at the top of a steep hill looking across what is now (dry season) a dry river bed .  There's an eating, reading, emailing area with pillows and low tables, and a main building with a kitchen and a large room with western tables and chairs.  Ton runs the place like a family home;  if you get up too early, you won't get breakfast until cook comes back from the market.  No worries, the fresh coffee is served with steamed milk.  Wednesday night is homemade pizza night here, made on a BBQ with real cheese, olives, mushrooms, ham, pineapple, etc etc.  It seems like all the ex-pats gather for this!

The mosquito net we love to hate!

The best coffee in Sanghkla and lighter than air banana shakes

We would start the day there, after Nat hauled the bikes up the hill from our bungalow, then pedal off to the Mon Post 10 school for a day of photos and hilarity.

Did I mention that Sanghklaburi is hilly?

After 4 hours of class time and outside shooting assignments, we would head back to town ( only one little bump to get up) where we'd drop off the student images to be printed (no photoshop please!) and head to Graf Cafe for the first  iced coffee of the day.

Dinner at the guest house or Toy's restaurant (up a looong steep hill, until we discovered an easier way), then back to the bungalow to file images, prep for the next day, and fight with the mosquito net.  Also check for wildlife;  one night we had hundreds of tiny little moths, another night we had a frog that decided to take up residence on the bathroom mirror.  On a couple of occasions a tokay lizard ( the ones that say uh-oh ) was singing at maximum strength underneath our floor.  Ah, wilderness!

The first 10

The school/living & cooking quarters are in a wooden house, complete with visiting cats, dogs, chickens, and roosters.   They have whiteboards, a digital projector, electricity and lots of extension cords.   We sat on the floor for the most part, and on plastic chairs to run the projector.  This is also where we ate lunch.

BeeJai and Tanai  (that's Teacher Allison in the background)

Aie Lyah Chan and Krak

Jaw Sajin and Pone Han

Sou Jae and Lewi Chan

Chan and Poine

Our students are ages 19 to 22  and VERY talkative;  this is a plus for us!

Beejai was our techie, setting up the projector every morning, while Tanai told him what to do.




Krak didn't say much, but Aie Lyah made up for his silence!


They are finishing a 2 year course in English, social studies, life skills (resume writing and job interviewing) and will soon return to Mon State where they must each teach for 2 years.  Because they have lived, worked, and studied together for an extended period of time, they work and play like a big family.

Jaw Sajin never saw a photo she didn't want to take!  We'd ask for 3 she'd come back with 6.  Pone Han wanted to know everything... lots of good questions.  Pone Han was a chatty cathy and, in very good English.  She managed to take some great photos too!  While Poine quietly produced some stunning shots.

Sou Jae was also on the quiet side but she really listened and 'got' what we were trying to convey.  Lewi Chan may not have understood everything but he more than made up for it in his eagerness to complete the work.





Chan was a chatty cathy; in very good English.  She managed to take some great photos too!  While Poine quietly produced some stunning shots.

Once again,  they will share cameras:  one camera, two photographers.  We start off with the usual:
Use the wrist strap, don't get the camera wet, don't point it at the sun, put it in its case when not in use, blah, blah, blah.
Their first assignment is to take 3 photos of their team-mate from 3 different points of view.

They took pictures, we downloaded them, everyone looked at all the photos and everyone talked about the images;  and did they ever talk!  At times, Nat and I just looked at each other and said, 'Who's in charge here?' 
In their eagerness to get the shot, students sometimes tend to jam down the shutter button, causing camera movement and a chorus of ten shouting; 'Teacher, it's SOFT!' 

Poine  photo:  Chan

Hands  photo:  Tanai

Krak  photo:Aie Lyah Chan

Rain, rain, go away

Let it rain!  photo:  Krak

Waiting for customers  photo:  Jaw Sajin

After the first day of classes we were invited to a Mon festival near the big Mon temple on what is called the 'Mon side' of the river.  This is the village where the Mon people displaced by the building of the dam were re-settled.

To get there, we walked across the longest wooden bridge in Thailand,  recently repaired, as it used to have quite a few missing timbers.  The students were selling salads and snacks at what was a country fair with rides, games, DVDs, CDs, and tons of plastic stuff to buy.   Unfortunately it started to rain that afternoon and kept it up for the next four days. 

Mon temple on the 'Mon side'

Selling food at the festival  photo:  Jaw Sajin

 Undaunted,  the students carried on, even though it was blanket and sweater cold.  Very unusual weather for hot season!

Snacks  photo: Chan

 If you close your eyes and pretend it's potato chips it's not so bad.

School's front yard

Note Jaw Sajin's hoodie!

Beejei dressed for the cold

Blankets and sandals:  planning session

Luckily the students had lots of blankets to share with us.

The ultimate in chic rain gear

This was the warmest thing I had!

Did I mention that Sanghkla is hilly?

The only flat places in Sanghkla are the three main streets!  Nat got quite a workout hauling the bikes up and down the hill to our bungalow.  The bad news was that after he hauled them up in the morning we still had a 10 minute uphill ride to the school.  The good news was that it 95% downhill on the way home.

View from the wooden bridge.  The Mon temple is off to the right.

Kids climbing up the bridge.  No fear here!

Temple post-festival

Everything, I mean everything, is painted gold

Looking down from the bridge

 On the weekend we walked over the bridge to the Mon temple, a replica of one in India.  It looks just like the Temple of Doom in the Indiana Jones movie, minus the snakes.

Ban Umrak, a real bakery... chocolate cake for breakfast!!

(Photos courtesy Nat and me)

'Temple of Doom' from the water

'Temple of Doom' entrance

On Sunday we took a long-tail boat up to the old temple that was submerged when the dam was built.  Because there is a crack in the dam and the water is very low, the temple is no longer under water.   

On the boat...a breeze!

Inside the no-longer submerged temple

Doing the tourist thing

Temple ruins

Sreet sign

Hos's this for an ATM?

Second 10

Week 2 and a new group of 10; ten new faces and ten new names.  This bunch is just as talkative and energetic as the first group.  And while  it has stopped raining, one of the electrical circuits is dead, so we are down to a couple of outlets and a massive coil of power bars and wires for everybody's computers, rice cookers, and the projector.

Layih Chan and Seik

Sahai Chan and Jamper

Pyah and Kamoom

Sou Hlaing and Kopesam

Teachers David and Allison have been doing resume writing and interview skills with the group that isn't busy taking photos of them.  They have pointed us in the right direction for coffee, photo prints, cello envelopes, food.  Thanks!

Oung Sajim and Oak Chan

Lunch time

Who's in charge here?

Group story meeting

Who's in charge here?

Nap time

Self-timer

They presented group photo essays, they edited their work into 4 images from each student, and then it was time for the exhibition and closing ceremony.

David arranged for all this to happen at Graph Cafe which meant that many of the ex-pat community would attend.  We forgot to take into account that it would be dark by the time everyone assembled, but with a little judicious re-arranging by Nat and David, light was shed on all the photos.

Getting ready....

What's wrong with this picture?

It was a tight fit, but they all squeezed in.  Bye bye!

Writing captions