The document summarizes the author's experience traveling to Koh Lanta, an island in southern Thailand, with their family. Some key details include: - They find the island has a relaxed, chilled pace of life compared to other areas. - The children befriend both Russian and Thai children in their accommodation complex, playing and interacting without language barriers. - The family enrolls the children in a local madrassa to learn Arabic and the Quran for 3 hours daily. - Neil volunteers to teach English at the madrassa, which the author finds challenging to adjust to different teaching styles but enjoys building rapport with the students.

1. Around the World in Eight
Months – Series III
Thailand

2. Koh Lanta, Southern Thailand
We are now in Koh Lanta; an island in Southern
Thailand. We love Koh Lanta when we arrive. It
has a real island feel and mentality to it.

3. Life is slower and more chilled. We find a lovely couple of
rooms in a complex and find ourselves surrounded by families who
have retreated here to escape the rat race. One couple have a child
who was born here and have no obvious intention to return home.
They earn enough to live on teaching scuba diving and get to spend
their spare time on the beach. On the other side of us, we have a
Ukrainian lady, who is usually based in Russia, and her five year old
daughter.
They have spent the last six months travelling South East Asia alone
and are due to return to Russia shortly. The lady said that she doesn’t
enjoy living in Russia as she finds it too cold and apparently only
returns to appease her residency requirements before taking off again.
Apparently she travelled India a couple of years ago (again on her own
with her daughter) and is thinking about where to go next.

4. The kids
love staying in this
complex and have
befriended both Russian
and Thai children. Their
evenings are spent having
swimming competitions
and then catching toads.
It’s magical to see these
children relate to each
other in the absence of a
shared language. It’s
almost as though they
operate through some
unspoken language as
play is never impeded and
they all get on like a house
on fire.
How do your kids socialize with their
peers?
Boys from the local madrassa

5. Home schooling is still going well. It’s hard, but I
love it. Both Neil and I however are fully aware that we
would be unable to do it beyond Grade five as we are
already struggling with understanding our oldest child’s
maths curriculum. My evenings are often consumed with
me taking a ‘Youtube’ maths lesson before my lesson the
next day.
The other day, when teaching my child how to measure
angles, I realised that I didn’t know how to use the two
dials of a protractor. Floored by my own stupidity I had to
ask Neil. I felt better when he admitted not to knowing
either
What about
Home
Schooling?

6. In our first
week here, we enrol
the children into a
‘Madrasa’ which
they attend for
three hours each
day in a bid to teach
them Arabic and the
Quran. I’m so
proud of my
children on their
first day as they rise
to the challenge and
throw themselves
in.
First week at Klong Nin Beach Madrassah
with their teacher (by Yahya)

7. Again, it’s amusing to watch
children communicate in the absence of
language. The boys all seem to do it in
the only way they know how, which is
primarily by pushing each other, rolling
on each other and chasing each other.
Ouryoungest child is the centre of much attention due to
his mischievous ways. On one occasion when the children were
learning to recite a prayer, Faris contorted himself into different
meditation poses and pretended to meditate whilst Neil tried
desperately to untangle him and make him behave. He has also
taken to wearing a Terry Towling cloth hanging out of his prayer
cap in the hopes that it looks like a turban which amuses the
other children.

8. Having
previously taught
English as a foreign
language to children,
Neil enthusiastically
volunteers us as
English teachers. Part
of me is really annoyed
and the other part is
glad for the challenge.
The children are the
most gorgeous, well-
mannered sweet
people.
My Boyz

9. What are the main challenges you faced during your
teaching experience?
The difference in teaching style here is evident. On my first day,
whenever I say something such as ‘sit down’, the children all repeat me.
“No, I mean ‘sit down’” I say, making appropriate hand gestures.
“Sit down”, they repeat in chorus.
It’s takes a while for them to get used to me and vice versa, but soon I’ve
made good rapport with them and start making some progress. I would
love to do more lessons with them which involve games and running
around but I have ten and eleven year old girls who appear to be at an
age where they are rather self-conscious and I get the impression that
they are more at home with directive learning. Hence our lessons
involve considerable drilling and writing which they appear to enjoy. The
building in which we are learning is yet to be complete – it is missing
windows, flooring and plastering. Good enough for us and the building
more than serves its purpose but I’m sure in the UK, Health and Safety
would object to children learning in this environment.

10. The only negative is that children can
clearly not avoid the temptation of a large
window without glass and we are often
distracted by errant boys leap frogging
through it. The other day I had to berate a
little boy who had found a sharp stick and was
using it to poke my students in the backs of
their necks through the window. When I
looked outside there was a gaggle of giggling
children outside who clearly thought it was
the best game ever. Retribution was served
however, when I saw one of the victims exit
the classroom and slap the would-be
perpetrator on the head.

11. Where are you
planning to go next?
Once we’ve finished in
Thailand, we plan to go to
Malaysia. Neil and I are then at
loggerheads as to where to go
next. I’d rather like to go to
Greece and do an archaeology
sweep as my eldest is a Greek
mythology fanatic but Neil
would rather finish South East
Asia. I guess however, it’s
lovely just to have the option.
A year ago, we’d never have
dreamt that we would be in
the situation where we’d be
travelling and disputing where
to go next!

12. We would love to hear from anyone thinking of a similar
venture. If you have any questions then feel free to send them
to ncpayne@kwintessential.co.uk.