Rangers, Khao Yai National Park, Games, Dancing and Vegetables Isaan Thailand

A few weeks back I had to go for an English camp to Khao Yai National Park. I wrote two other blogs about this at this link and this link if you want to read and look at the pictures.

When we arrived there were what I thought were soldiers but there was a sign that said they were rangers, they were from other Asean countries. Freeland Foundation is the only international conservation and human rights organization working across Asia that is headquartered in Asia. (They claim on their website)

What Freeland were doing is training rangers from Bhutan, Laos, Indonesia, Vietnam and some other countries (one of the trainers told me but cannot remember them all).

I think this is an excellent programme as poaching in Thailand, especially cutting of valuable timber. The trainers were American and Australian and everyday the trainee rangers would do different drills before going out on patrols during the day and night time.

If you are looking at the above picture and thinking, “What the bloody hell is going on?” That would be fine. This was one of the English activities where two groups had to dress up a member of their team and then describe what the person was wearing using adjectives in the correct order. It was a lot of fun as you can see.


No English camp would be without games, some ice-breakers were played and the students and some teachers enjoyed.

There were five groups or teams of ten students. At one stage they were required to put on a talent show, and of course dancing was high on the list.

If you have been to Thailand then you know ladyboys are accepted easily into society, this boy would love to be a girl and is always keen to dance or perform.

This is a teacher relaxing on a chilly night in Khao Yai, the sambar deer in the background are eating leftovers from our dinner.

Khao Yai is very beautiful and would be much better to see without fifty students tagging along or on an environmental camp. An English camp can be held anywhere. It was funny as on our last night, one of the ranger trainers walked past us and said, “I thought this was an English camp, all I have heard is Thai being spoken.”

This was true, all the 95% of the camp was done in Thai, we didn’t organise it, we just had to attend. Our activities were in English and when we chatted to students in English but everything else was virtually Thai.

I have been very lazy the last few months, I stopped exercising and would buy dinner virtually every night. It was easy and convenient for us, a minute from our house, order dinner, home, eat and then off to watch TV or work on the computer. Also it is cheap, 25 baht for a plate of fried rice of rice, vegetables and meat and so forth.

I have again become a fat unhealthy bastard and needed to pull my head in. So it meant back to my local park and also to the market just 2 minutes away from my house. I love the market as so many fresh vegetables and cheap. The broccoli and cauliflower cost 30 baht for both ($1 Australian dollar), so I have been cooking of late and really enjoy eating freshly cooked vegetables.

I want to kick myself as cooking doesn’t take a lot of time, the potatoes are cooked in the microwave and the other vegetables are steamed. Some chicken breast in garlic, onion and tomato and the meal is served. The funny thing is the girls all want to eat vegetables as well. So I have been cooking for all of us of late. Maybe I will have to stop again.

And spaghetti, off to the market, choose your beef and they mince it there and then for you. Again the girls love the spaghetti and I was asked to make it again tomorrow night. I won’t say no!

That is about all that is going on in Isaan Thailand.

Brunty