Rebecca’s Journal – First Day in Thailand

My journey to Thailand was less than successful: sleep was merely a dream, the flight was exorbitantly long and then came the ill-fated misplaced luggage. I quickly began to wonder if leaving England for Thailand was such a bright idea after all.

As I made the trip from Phuket to Kuraburi, I felt a smorgasbord of emotions. Nervousness and curiosity consumed me as I was unsure of what lay ahead.

I arrived at the Andaman office tired and dazed. Kelly, Karen and Leslie greeted me, offering a warm welcome. I felt at ease and my nerves subsided immediately.

Kelly May describes the different Thai dishes to Rebecca at a team dinner.

They took me to see the house that would be home for the next month. My first reaction was a tinge of shock. Thai houses are different from those in England. For starters, it came with geckos, but more on that later. I loved that my house was pink, but was unsure how enjoyable cold showers would be.

Once I was settled into the pink house, the team invited me to experience my first lunch in Thailand. We traveled to a restaurant about five minutes from Kuraburi for the traditional Thai meal, Som Tam, a salad made from un-ripened papaya. I was impressed even though the meal had more spice than my England taste buds were used to.

I couldn’t have been happier to go to bed at the close of the first day in Thailand. My initial feelings of nervousness were replaced with excitement for the next day ahead.