Sunday 22 January

Another theoretical day off

A day off, theoretically - but I spend most of the morning going through the accounts and working out the cash flow for the rest of the Tour. Thanks to the cheap rooms and really cheap food up here in Khao Lak, we are not as over-budget as I had feared - which is a real relief!

We ring Somchai, and ask him to double-check that he has confirmed school gigs for Monday and Tuesday, and ask him to let Mr. Wee know what time we need to leave in the morning. I ring Grass Roots, and it looks likely that we can work with 2 more of their tiny, Burmese "learning centres" (50 students in one and 30 in the other) on Wednesday - and it looks as though we will be able to do the school that El from the interenet office recommended, in Takuapa (with 1,700 students), which leaves just one more school for Somchai to set up for Friday. (We will see if the Tsunami Volunteer Centre can set up an "Open Show" for next Saturday, and then that will be it! Tour completed!)

Wat Po trained

Haggis and I decide to go for a 2-hour massage (not as extravagant as it sounds as it will only cost us £7.50 each!) We try a new place in the same complex as our bungalows and lie down - but realise VERY fast that these two masseuses really don't have a clue - we have had many massages in Thailand over the years, and we know when they are good and we know when they are bad. We decide we really don't want to waste 2 hours having a bad massage - so we pay the ladies some money, and head down the road to another massage centre, where we know the ladies are "Wat Po-trained" (there is a wonderful massage school at Wat Po Temple in Bangkok). My masseuse La, gives me the very best massage I have ever had, for 2 hours, and Haggis is groaning and moaning with pain and pleasure too! Must try and fit one or two more before we leave if possible after schools in the late afternoon/early evenings.

National Park

Lee and family, Martha andTrent and Lelio, and Jo, Jake and Rooben hire 4 motorbikes for the day and head off to a waterfall and beach in the National Park for a few hours. Lee and family return looking very burnt, poor things! Now I need to go and book Lee's taxi for the morning and get the laundry back, and send this diary off to our web master in England - then I must ring Somchai to double-check tomorrow's arrangements - then it will be time for an early dinner and bed.

Last week coming up - onwards and upwards - may it get better and better, so that we can finish the Tour, knowing that we really have done our very best. The child-numbers we have worked with look pretty good - I will give the final figures at the end of the week - it's going to be a very goodly number - hopefully more than I had estimated! Good night!

23 January