| Warren du Plooy 的个人资料Susanne and Warren照片日志列表 |  工具  帮助 |
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4月18日 April 18: VietnamWe loved our trip to Vietnam. We spent 3 days in Hanoi, then took a night train to Sapa in the Northwest, spent 3 days there, then back to Hanoi for a day, then 2 days in Halong Bay. I have lots of details about the trip in the photo album, but basically we loved Vietnam and want to return sometime. The travelling was quite easy, the food was good, the hotels were fantastic, and most importantly, it was dirt cheap. $7 Cdn for a hotel room with A/C, hot water shower, and 5th floor ocean view. And so on and so forth.
We are teaching at April Camp at a new building in the North East of BKK, and we can't wait to get back to our old school building. Nothing is here that was promised us, and we live in a pretty boring, undeveloped area. Not much for a young married couple to do, really.
 We are looking for flights to Canada July 15th and then Germany on Aug.2nd. We are going to make the most of our weekends that we have left, because there's so much of Thailand that we still haven't seen yet, but as for work, we're done.
We'd love to hear from you either by email or skype (get Skype if you don't have it already), and we'd love it if you also made your own blog like my brother did here. It's a great way to stay in touch.
See some of you soon!
Warren and Susanne
4月4日 April 5, 2006Check out the many new photos!!
Three parts to this update:
1. My parents toured around with us and are now back in Canada.
2. We're working at a new school building but we're having the same problems as at the old building.
3. We leave for Vietnam in 2 days, and we can't wait!!
1. My parents went with us to Phuket, Chiang Mai, and stayed with us in BKK for a few days. It was fantastic seeing them again and showing them around this crazy country. We will see them again in July when we stop in Manitoba for a couple weeks.
2. We are in the northeast corner of BKK putting on a holiday 'educational' camp for a new school building that just opened. They have done all they can to attract new students, but none of the supplies we requested were prepared. It wasn't unexpected, but it's just as frustrating when this type of thing becomes so predictable. It doesn't get easier the more it happens.
3. We fly into and out of Hanoi with Air Asia. We leave Thursday morning and return Saturday, April 15th. We're hoping to see Hanoi, some of the Northwest mountains, Halong Bay, and maybe head south as far as we can get. We've done very little prep for it due to the move to a different temporary (and much worse) apartment 2 hours across the city. It's going to be quite a change going into it with no details for once.
My dad and I went to the protest site at Government House and didn't see much violence, unfortunately. Turns out peace can make a difference: Thaksin resigned last night! That's got to have a positive influence on the currency exchange on my next paycheque, and after all.... isn't that the most important lesson of all?
See many of you in a few months!
Warren and Susanne 3月6日 March 6, 2006Here's the latest: We're signing our Leipzig contracts in the next week or so and my parents arrive in 6 days to travel with us for 2 weeks! We've just finished up the semester and are looking forward to 2 weeks of holiday, then 2.5 weeks of camp, then 10 days in Vietnam travelling again, then it's already May with 2.5 months until we're done!! Still not sure about when exactly we'll be in Canada, but it'll be end of July sometime. We went to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia again and we loved it. It is so clean and organized compared to BKK. We walked around the city park, went to the Police Museum and a butterly park, ate some good food, etc. We stayed at a pretty swanky hotel (3 star, $33/night) that even had a keycard lock on the door!! In K.L. I was a bit paranoid about watching my backpack after reading the friendly little reminder on the back of the "Tourism Malaysia" brochure that gently reminds us: "Trafficking in illegal drugs carries the death penalty". I hate being someone's mule, but not as much as getting caught doing it. Last weekend we stuck around here in BKK and went to Siam Paragon mall to visit Siam Ocean World. It's Asia's largest indoor aquarium, with shark feedings and other interesting tidbits. We went on a boat cruise up and down the river in BKK and it'll definitely be something we do again. It stops at most of the major sites such as temples, forts, churches, etc. We see takraw (volleyball with your feet) all over and it is fascinating to watch. They are so incredibly skilled that you don't want to leave where they're playing. I've played a bit with some of the boys at school but I keep my moves pretty simple.... I stick to my hacky sac skills picked up in the summer of '96 -- the overhead bicycle kick will come with time. Oh yeah, Russ and I played another soccer game with a "white guys" team here in the city, losing 2-0. We love playing, even though it's a 1.5 hr. commute each way. Oh yeah... if you've kept up on the news lately you may Well, that's about it for now. My next update will likely have a "fun with the whole family" theme to it -- I know you can't wait!! Keep in touch! 2月13日 Feb.13: BIG NEWS!!!Read to the end for the big news!!
We just arrived back from a long weekend in Chiang Mai in the north of Thailand. I went golfing, Susanne went sightseeing/shopping, and we both went to the Sunday Night Market. We stayed at Chiang Mai's Belle Villa Resort with Alana and her parents. Alana is a friend and co-worker from school. Her dad is the head doctor for the Canadian Medical Association, and her mom is a nurse. They were very hospitable hosts this weekend. I went golfing with Brian (Alana's dad) and was joined on the course by 2 Thais: the director of Customs for Northern Thailand and a Regional Director for Customs. They bought us lunch after the game, which I thought was a nice gesture.
My parents arrive in 4 weeks and will join us on a whirlwind 2 week tour of Thailand. We can hardly sleep in anticipation of their arrival. That's not sarcasm, either. Serious.
Big News!!
Susanne and I will be teaching for 2 years at Leipzig International School in Leipzig, Germany starting in August! I'm doing PE and she's doing Kindergarten. We are very excited about it, and will send you more info as it's made available to us. The school's sponsors include BMW, Siemens, Marriott, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, etc. and the city looks amazing! There is so much history, and the school borders a massive public park with a horse racetrack in it. The World Cup stadium is a few kms away but it'll be over by the time we arrive.
1月29日 Jan. 29Check out the new photos (Jan.29). We spent last weekend at Hua Hin (beach about 3 hours south of BKK) doing nothing. We slept and played Settlers on the beach and ate Western food (the usual German breakfasts).
We had Sports Day at school, which is an excuse to dress the kids up in ridiculous costumes, make them sit in the hot sun, and cheer their peers on in three-legged races. Oh yeah, and to blare crappy Thai love songs over a massive speaker system.
I caught another rat in the office, only to see it released by the Buddhist janitor who won't let me kill anything... ever. The rat's probably nibbling on our bread in the office right now. If I'm reincarnated as a diseased street dog or a rat, I want to be in a Buddhist country so I live the good life instead of being Kervorkianed out of my misery.
I got kicked out of the gym again this week so the melodion (an instrument only played in Thailand) band could practice for their huge concert. The kids had to sleep on the concrete school floor for 2 weeks and practiced in shifts. It was child abuse.
This Friday we had a Teacher's Party put on by the school in celebration of Chinese New Year, since most of the students and all 4 owners are Chinese Thais. The food was not great, the music was worse, but Susanne won a purse, and photo frame, and got to see me dance on stage with semi-traditional Thai dancers.
We went to Chinese New Year's events this weekend and took some photos. Chinese New Year is when thousands of Thais dressed in red celebrate by eating strange food, praying at shrines, and blocking Warren and Susanne's taxi ride home (thus increasing their fare to over $1.25 Canadian).
We're back to another 5 day work week, then a weekend with no plans yet. The Feb.10 weekend we're heading to Chiang Mai to scout it out before my parents come. I'm still looking at international school jobs, but most don't have any solid idea of whether they'll need teachers until at least March or April. Keep in touch with us by email (suduplo@hotmail.com or wduplooy@gmail.com). Bye! 1月17日 Jan. 17: PhuketCheck out our new photos in the gallery to the right.
We spent the last weekend on Ko Yao Noi (Island Yao Small) in Phang Nga Bay east of Phuket island.
 After the expected 1.5 hour Air Asia departure delay, we flew in to Phuket airport, stayed near the airport, then took a 30 minute taxi, 1 hour ferry, and 30 minute sangthaew (small truck) to our bungalow on the east coast of Ko Yao Noi. We spent the afternoon on a moped ride around the island, then stopped at a deserted beach. It was bought by a yoga company from Bangkok but they weren't operating at the time, so there was noone anywhere.
We went diving on the Sunday at Shark Point and Anemone Reef south of Ko Yao Yai (the bigger island just south of Ko Yao Noi). There, our favourites were the boxfish
 and leopard sharks . I swam by 4 sharks (between 2-3m long) but they're lazier than my gym students, so I felt very safe. The boxfish just looks so comical. It is shaped like a box, with a little mouth that wishes it could say "Shut up. I know I look ridiculous, but I won't be bald in a few years." We dove with a banker/printing businessman couple from Glasgow, Scotland and they were very interesting. They've dived in Indonesia, Maldives, Egypt, Caribbean, and Australia, so we felt better about our safety than if they wouldn't have been there. Monday we walked around the beach again and did some more reading in our balcony hammocks. There was only one other couple at our bungalow resort, and we only saw them at two meals. The seclusion and privacy was probably the best part of the weekend. We didn't hear one bus or see more than 4 people together at one time. I think we'll take one of these types of weekends at least once a month. The bungalow owner collected some of the rubber from the rubber trees around the property (the island was covered in rubber tree plantations). In raw form, the rubber smells like pig manure, but this didn't detract from the weekend.
At the end of all this boring babble -- the important facts: cost of the trip:
flights, transport, food, scuba trip, bungalows: $193 Cdn per person
This weekend we're going to Hua Hin
 to sit on the beach with Speedo wearing Europeans with rented Thai girlfriends. We're also taking some Thai teachers from our school with us so they get a sense of what the West has done to their country (though I suspect they don't need to go that far away). Hope to hear from you soon!
1月4日 Jan. 4: new photos in the albumCheck out our photos in the Jan.4 album! Susanne and I went with some teaching friends to Ko Chang for our New Year's 4 day long weekend and it was great. After a 5.5 hour bus ride, we stayed the night in Trat (provincial capital close to Cambodia), then truck-ferry-trucked it to our resort (Kachapura Resort). We spent about $14/night but had a very nice bungalow close to the beach. We spent Sunday snorkelling and swimming off a boat all day, and the rest of the time was spent on the beach and in restaurants. Ko Chang is starting to develop into a mini-Phuket, but there are still a few smaller, laid-back areas available. We probably won't go back due to the 7-8 hour trip, but we were very happy to be there. We missed Bob Froese's wedding in Canada over Christmas, which Ryan was able to go back for. We were both happy for Bob and jealous of Ryan, but in general disbelief that Bob was getting married. Next weekend (in 2 days) we'll probably be here in BKK, since we leave for Phuket on the Jan.12 long weekend. New Year's was nothing special (only a small fireworks display on the beach that we watched from our balcony) and that's how we wanted it. We were able to talk to family over Christmas, which we really enjoyed. The weather has been perfect with temps hovering in the 30C-33C range in the day and dropping to around 27C at night. I'm a little disappointed we're missing the warmest start to a Manitoba New Year in recorded history!! Why can't it be -30C right now like it's supposed to be when I'm not there!! We are looking forward to our parents arriving in March, and are looking for international school jobs for the Fall. Susanne took som Amoxycillin for a throat infection, forgetting that she's allergic to penicillin. She now has a bad rash and has to stay home for a few days to recover. She's definitely pulled the short end of the health straw since we've been here. I've started reading my Photoshop for Dummies book and should be dazzling you with new photos in the next few weeks, so hold your breath! Have a look at the Ko Chang photos I've added, and please drop us an email if you get time. Also check out the blogs from my brother in LA and from my friend Ted Konkel who is travelling South America. Till next update, Warren (and Susanne) 12月25日 Dec. 25Hi. It's now Christmas day, and here it's not much different than last weekend, except for one thing: ................ Susanne had a root canal today! We spoke to family this weekend, which really helps with the homesickness. The only Christmassy thing around here are the Mandarin oranges and the Santa trash they sell at the local Tesco (Thai WalMart).
Last weekend we went to the Grand Palace and walked around snapping photos for about 2 hours. It is amazing, but we couldn't take much more than 2 hours of it. Most of the tourists are here for a week or two, so that was the first time they saw huge temples, whereas we've seen so many already that it didn't seem that "Grand".
We took our Thai co-teachers out for Indian food at Royal India restaurant -- down a narrow alley just across the river. The food is so delicious we've been there about 4 times now, despite the selection of international restaurants here. The Thais were very uneasy about eating Indian food for the first time, but they really enjoyed it after trying it.
It's midterm exam week, so I have a lighter load since P.E. doesn't have midterms. Susanne has a regular schedule. We are going to Ko Chang next weekend for a 4 day long New Year's break. We plan to dive, snorkel, read and motorbike around the National Park.
 Hope to hear how your Christmas was.
Stay in touch!!! 12月14日 Dec. 14 update: Lots of photos!Hello again! Russell Willms arrived from Canada and will be joining us on many of our travels from now on. On the Dec.2-5 long weekend we went to Sam Roi Yot National Park in Prachuap Kirikhan with Ryan, Kiki, and Russell. We stayed Friday night in Hua Hin, then headed out on mopeds after I saved Russell's butt. He crashed into a couple mopeds in the parking lot of our hotel, damaging one quite badly. I calmed down the furious Swiss owner and had the bike repaired in an hour for about $17 Cdn. The Park was beautiful... mountains, a river, bird sanctuary marshes, temples, beach... despite being a cloudy day. Drove back on the Monday in the rain, then bused backed to BKK on Monday evening. Last weekend we overnight trained it to Nong Khai on the Lao border ($12).... we each had a sleeper compartment and slept quite comfortably. We checked in to our guest house (Mutmee Guest House) and headed out on bicycles to see the town and a temple with Hindu-Buddhist concrete sculptures. Next day rented mopeds and drove along the Mekong River toward the west. There we stopped at a few waterfalls and temples, chatting with some monks and a construction contracter who was finishing a huge temple on top of a hill. He was shot in the back by the Vietcong and advised we shouldn't visit Laos 'cause everything is always late and it's expensive. He said schedules in Thailand were always punctual and it was cheaper to travel in Thailand. I guess he is ignoring the reports of thousands of travellers who've visited both countries recently. I would too if I was shot in the back in that country. We flew back to BKK from Udon Thani (an hour shuttle from Nong Kai) with Air Asia (30 minute delay) for about $45 including taxes. We started taking Thai lessons from a Thai lady who teaches us at our apartment. It's once a week and she seems very good. This next weekend we're staying in BKK to see the Grand Palace and go to Chatuchak Market again (biggest in the world). We're planning on going somewhere for New Year's... hopefully Cambodia. Stay tuned for more photos and updates soon. Oh yeah.... we'd love to hear from you and what's new in your life! 11月23日 November 23 updateWe were in Kanchanaburi this past weekend. I went golfing at www.bluesapphiregolf.com and Susanne went to a safari park. The pictures in the album on the right give some idea of the park, but you'll have to check out the golf site for pics -- Susanne had the camera. A couple drunk old British teachers came with us in the school vans, which put a damper on the weekend, but overall a relaxing weekend. This next weekend we're running the Bangkok 1/4 marathon (sounds real short 'cause it is!) and then picking up Russell Willms from the airport!! He's going to live in our building and teach at our school. We're now applying for jobs for next year, so if anyone hears of anything let us know.
Check out Gareth and Dayna's blog at www.californiacanadians.blogspot.com
Keep in touch with us.
Bye for now!!! 11月6日 November 6 updateSee our new Nov.6 photos!
Well, it was tough getting back to work after 2 weeks in Phillipines, but we've got lots to see and do here in Bangkok and Thailand. A few weekends ago I hit my head on the roof of a taxi going over a canal bridge. I got a minor concussion, spent the next day in bed in our guesthouse in Kanchanaburi, fainted at supper, went to the hospital, and went on a great hike to Erawan Falls the next day! We were at Dusit Zoo in BKK today and saw tonnes of animals: lions, white tigers, hippos, poisonous snakes found in Thailand and the rest of the world, local crocs, etc. We also stumbled on a drill practice for the Thai military.
We have to work a couple shifts promoting our school at the mall this week, so we'll be in BKK next weekend.
We're deciding what to do next year after our contract ends, so stay posted!!
Keep in touch!! 10月17日 October 17 update!!Check out our new October 17 photos on the right!! I've tried to describe most photos, so email any questions to me. Been a while, but we were gone for 2 weeks to Malaysia/Philippines. Spent 3 days in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, then met Nathan and Mary Enns in Manila, Philippines for about an hour! Went up to North Luzon rice terraces for 3 days, then flew south to Panglao Island (off Bohol Island) for a week of scuba diving and day trips. We had an amazing holiday, but now we're back at work in Bangkok. We have lots of long weekends coming up, so stay tuned for more great pics! Please stay in touch with us!
Bye for now,
Warren and Susanne
P.S. My new cell # is 011 66 5922 8363 (from Canada). 9月13日 Sept. 13 Hua Hin updateWe went to Hua Hin (3 hour bus ride) for the weekend to sit on the beach, moped around the countryside, eat non-Thai food and see what else we could find. We watched the King's Cup elephant polo tournament which was kind of disappointing, but we weren't really expecting much anyway. Hua Hin is very developed with massive resorts and hotels. The one we stayed at was clean and cheap ($10/night) and close to the beach. We found a monkey Buddhist temple mountain (that's the only way to describe it) and found a nun looking after wild monkeys.
We're enjoying the gym we started going to. Ryan and I sometimes chat with former Mr.Asia who works out there (there's never more than 5 people in the weight room including us). The weather is noticeably cooler now, feeling only about 40C at noon rather than 50C.
We're staying in Bangkok this next weekend (so far) and starting to plan our October Phillipines trip. We have exams to give at school and then an easier week after exam week. I lost my cell phone in a taxi again, so stay tuned for my new #. Susanne's is still as earlier posted. If any of you can get Skype or MSN Messenger, that's by far the best way to stay in contact. Let me know if you can.
Stay tuned for the next update, and stay in touch!! We want to hear from you! 9月4日 Sept. 4th update!Check our new photos! Not much travelling since our last update. We've had to teach Saturday classes for the past two weeks which has kept us in BKK. We visited Lumphini Park where we saw a Komodo dragon. Went to Evangelical Church of Bangkok and saw lots of white people. Next weekend we're headed for Hua Hin to watch elephant polo and sit on the beach. We hosted Peter and Susan, a couple friends from Winnipeg (now BC) and spent every night at a market or eating or a combination of both. We booked our flights to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and Manila, Phillipines for Oct.1-16. We're really looking forward to 2 weeks holiday. I want to MSN video conference or Skype with friends over the internet for free, so please let us know if you're interested.
Bye for now.
Warren and Susanne 8月14日 New August 14 photos!CHeck out new photos to the right!
We spent another weekend in Kanchanaburi province. We rented a 175cc Kawasaki and drove around in the countryside. We finally played Settlers here, and found 2 new recruits who are already addicted!! It rained almost all the time, but we were warm despite being soaked and driving 80km/hr on a bike. It was a cool 34 Celsius today. The whole weekend (including bus, guesthouse, motorbike, eating each meal in restaurants, massages, shopping, museum, etc.) cost about $80 ($40 each). Thailand is a great place for a holiday!! It's also not a bad place to work.....
If you ever want to stay at a great place in Kanchanaburi, make sure to check out Chitunan Guesthouse. Clean, cheap, friendly, beatiful, and now the best banana pancakes we've seen (they asked for suggestions to improve the place, and we recommended bigger pancakes). They are now huge and under $1.
Back to work this week, then probably next weekend in Bangkok. Spirit week at school, so we have to dress up for Pajama Day, Crazy Science Hair Day, Fantasy Day, Sports Day, and Fairytale Day.
Bye for now!!!
P.S. I left my cell in a taxi, so I'll post my new # when I get another phone this week. Susanne's still works. 8月9日 August 9 photos up!Check the August 9 album with our apartment and other tidbits!
How to call us from Canada: 011 66 6839 4068 (Susanne)
011 66 5922 8363 (Warren)
We ate with all the teachers at "Sizzlers" tonight. It's an American-style Perkins-type place. We're heading for Kanchababuri on Thursday night, renting a motorcycle, and then deciding what to do. 2 more days of work until the 3 day weekend (the Queen's birthday or something). Good to hear from those who've left notes! 8月5日 New photos as of Aug.5th ("Kanchanaburi July 05" and "Our place" albums)I've added 2 more albums to our photo section. The weekend has started, and we're relaxing at home... maybe a little sightseeing and shopping, but nothing strenuous. Who knows.... maybe a couple Settlers of Catan games.... 8月4日 We've finally got pictures up!It took us a while, but here is our first attempt at photos! These are only a few photos, but there are many more to come. Check "Photos" above. We are so busy teaching and travelling and eating that we have very little internet time. You can email at warrenduplooy@hotmail.com or suduplo@hotmail.com or call my cell at (66) 012526167 or Susanne at (66) 068394068. We are 12 hours ahead of Winnipeg and 4 hours ahead of Germany. We have a good apartment on the 21st floor of our building, located on a very busy street with everything imaginable on it. Food, clothing, internet, crazy traffic, you name it.... We're a 15 minute bus ride from school or 10 minute taxi ride. We eat for about $1 a meal, but we splurge once in a while (like last night) paying as much as $3 for an all you can eat Thai BBQ that you cook yourself on a coal thing on your table. This country is indescribable. We've seen so many weird things that we have decided to start writing them down in a book so we don't forget them. Please let us know what's new with your lives... we want to hear from friends and family as much as possible. We have a quiet weekend at home in BKK, then we're off next weekend on motorbikes or mopeds into the mountains again!! |
have noticed the huge rallies trying to oust the corrupt Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. I might go check it out downtown tomorrow, keeping in mind the warnings from the Canadian Embassy to steer clear of any "large public places where angry crowds are present". Hopefully come back with some photos for you.....|
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