Prasopsuk Bangalow Kanchanaburi

... ministry serving the needs of the community and bringing the love and teachings of Christ to the people is called Reaching Hands.

Reaching Hands & The 'Mon' Slum Community
Noiy knows that the poor and the downtrodden are barely noticed by society. They are looked down on and often ignored even though their needs are obvious to all who pass them by. Historically, the minorities are often the people that are most oppressed and suffer the greatest pains of poverty the ...

... having a nice tan, marketing and media tells us we are more beautiful when of glowing complexion. Here the more ghost like you look, the more attractive you are. When I walk in and I see a man/woman third gender type who can't smile from too much botox, crisp white shirt, plastic looking, modified and manipulated person..I wonder what our world will look like in a few years.

So our last few days in Sangkla were very informative, and exciting. It's a nice feeling ...

... probably drinking all day or something) and slept with a firm plan in my head, thanks also to the combined knowledge of 'DayPoo'.
(Whole) Day 1 (the only whole day in Kanchanaburi):
I woke later than I had hoped for the second day running - I think I have that ridiculously mild virus that just makes you groggy in the morning and barely registers on the radar. I painted myself with a dense cloud of mozzie-repellant (in preparation for mozzie-infested sights), jumped ...

... about it because of the movie "the bridge over the kwai river" it is as normal as any other railway bridge but with a couple of big fake bombs at either side of it, and of course restaurants and shops where you can spend your money! This guys take advantage of everything!!!!!

I guess the places I go and how I feel about them is totally related to my mood by the time, and the time in Kanchanabury was a bit like... I need to see my Vietnamese friends ...

... a monastery until we come upon the entrance. The cave was free to go into, which I very much enjoyed. It was not a huge cave but nonetheless it was fun to walk around inside and climb through the small holes to get into other rooms in the cave. It was very hot down there though, and it was very refreshing to get out of the cave. Before getting back onto the barge I took a little detour going down the hill to a point that had the first fat Buddha that I had ...

... 7 tiers in which yo could swim with the fishes in 4 of. 3 troupers - Pa Bruce and Orla - made it to the top tier while the rest of us just chilled and swam in tiers 3 & 4. It was crystal clear water where the small fish would eat the dead skin off your feet if you stood still for a few seconds. There were larger fish that didnt bite you - thank ****. It was an odd feeling but was not sore so was ok. TJ was after getting sick on the bus to the falls ...

After consistent weekends of rainy weather, being the "Rainy Season" and all, we finally got a break and on a wing and a prayer we raced to Kanchanaburi. My friend Tony, his friend Nok, Tim and I had been trying to take this trip for a bit. The previous weekend wasn't viable. Tony, being a veteran traveler, had much to show us and tell us about the area. It was a ...

... off and directing me to the hotel I'm planning to stay at. Nakhon Pathom in my guidebook is described in one page as having a beautiful Buddhist temple and being possibly the oldest settlement in Thailand. No accomodation is listed, and I quickly find out why-- the hotel next to the bus stop, temple, and train station is overpriced and not nice. I have my own bathroom for the first time in a while, but it is open on the top to the ...

... to get a photo with a tiger. It was like a circus. A load of tigers that were so drugged up they didnt know where they where. The people keapt pulling them around to get them in prime photo position, it was very crawl. Whilst i love tigers and loved the idea of being that close to them, they are supposed to be wild, your not supposed to be able to get near one without it eating you. We are now in Sukothai after spending ten hours on busses yesterday, that was a long day!

... canals lined by buildings housing vendors: hammocks, clothes, souvenirs, gasoline, and food of all kinds was sold here. On the water people were selling hats, pancakes, whatever, directly out of their boats! We ate all sorts of goodies including these coconut pancakes served in their won little leaf boat!