hello

so im back in Thailand.... yes a big detour from south america but things never go to plan when you're a traveller!

Before flying to Bangkok me and jen had spent a week in fiji relaxing on the beaches! we visited two islands, Beachcomber and Bounty island. Beachcomber is known as 'party island' and the only accomodation on the island is a 116 bed dorm and some huts which were out of our budget, so our only option was to slum it in the dorm! it wasnt too bad (albeit the mice) and strangely enough i wasnt woken up by anyone coming in late at night which is more than i can say for alot of the dorms ive stayed in, in Oz. The island is very small and you can walk around it in 10 minutes. It is quite near to Treasure island so jen and i kayaked to it one day and spent the other 3 days relaxing on the beach with louisa and carly our friends from New Zealand. Next stop was bounty island where the program 'celebrity love island' was filmed, so we explored the island and found the love shack which is now in pieces with graffiti all over it so that was a bit of a let down!

On one of the days that we were feeling brave we went on the banana boat and jen and i fell off over 6 times which was pretty funny and knackering, i just about had enough energy to pull myself back on the boat the last time!

On our last night back on the mainland we met a scuba diver instructor and he took us to a bar in town! as it was a saturday it was really busy and we all had a laugh playing pool with some american 'film director' and it was good last night out for me and jen.

Next day we flew back to Auckland and i said my goodbyes to jen before she flew to Chile. It was then my turn to get back on the plane and 2 flights and 15 hours later i arrived in Bangkok. I spent the next week taking thai language lessons with a private tutor who was lovely and was a brilliant teacher! I spent the afternoons looking round the markets and shopping centres and visiting some of the famous landmarks. I went to the Baiyoke hotel, the tallest in the world and saw a pretty impressive view of bangkok! On another evening i visited the gold cinema in the Siam discover centre where you are literally treated like a star! they bring you your drinks and popcorn to your seat and you are given a pillow and blanket! the chair itself is leather and so so comfy and it also reclines! it was definitely a fun experience!

one night i met up with jacqueline who we travelled with in New zealand and we had a catch up on khao san road which was alot of fun and quite surreal to see someone in a different country!!

I am at the tree of life orphanage in Buriram, north east thailand and have had a fun time getting to know the children and the other volunteers. We have been visiting a number of schools to deliver english childrens books to help them with their studies and at one school we were allowed to sit with the children and read them books. Roger, the owner of the orphanage, has taken us on a few sightseeing trips during the day when the kids are at school and that has been great getting to see rural thailand. Back at the orphanage we have been working hard and have managed to fit a new ceiling and decorated a room for the older girls to move into, which is looking fantastic if i do say so myself! I am currently working on a masterpiece in the dining room - im painting sleeping beauty on to the wall! The other volunteers are lovely and we've had a great week getting to know each other so its sad to see them all leave and carry on with the rest of their trips but it will be my turn in a few days! I am here till wednesday and then i head back to Bangkok to start my tour of the south of thailand, malaysia and singapore so i am very excited!!

I hope you're all well, speak soon.xx