We send a thank you to the Danish Family who came through in July and sent us this lovely testimonial!
Homestay in Tae Pai Yoi
We arrived in Kuraburi late Thursday evening the 11 th of July. We received a friendly and welcoming letter from our guide/translator who should follow us to the homestay in Koh Phratong.
The next morning Andaman Discoveries gave us a introduction in the office to our next 3 days, and we were all exited and looking forward to the homestay. We were told about customs an polite behavior so that we didn’t offend our hosts with bad behavior. Our 3 kids listened and took our coming 3 days very serious. Uzma followed us as translator. We all loved her from the first minute, as she was friendly and welcoming to my husband and I, but also very kind to our 3 children at 16, 13 and 5 years old.
A boat took us to the island. Our host welcomed us at the pier and followed us to his home, where we met his wife. They were both very friendly, and we all felt good from the beginning of our stay. We went for a walk around the village and to the local school. After a very good lunch the host drove us around to see the Savannah of the Island. It was a great experience, and after that he took us to the beach, where the kids enjoyed the high waves. We all collected vegetables near the beach for dinner next day, before going back to the village.
Again we were served a fantastic meal, which we enjoyed with our host and Uzma.
We are a big family, and it was not possible for all of us to sleep in the bungalow, that were meant for the guests in the homestay. My husband our daughter and I slept in the house in a nice room. Our two teenagers chose the bungalow, although they were told, that it gets very dark at night, when the generator is off, and all light in the village is gone. We went to bed, and yes, it gets very very dark at night. The boys didn’t mind. They had a good night sleep in the bungalow, and their mother found out, that she could sleep without worries.
The next day we woke up early (The cocks in the garden helped us – It was not necessary with an alarm). The Buddhist monks from the local temple went through the village to collect food and drinks from the offering village people. Our family was ready, and our two teenage boys took it very seriously, and we all tried to show the family and the monks our respect. It was a very short experience, but it meant a lot to all of us, to be a part of, and the next day, the boys asked our host, if they could do it again. No problem. The boys gave food and drinks to the monks the next day as well. The second day of our stay we went kayaking to see the mangrove. It was nice paddling around, and our host told us about the different trees and picked some fruits to make toys for the kids, back in the homestay. In the afternoon we cooked Thai dessert end helped preparing the supper. It was very nice being part of the cooking, because we learned about Thai cooking, and because it made us feel a little helpful to our hosts. After an excellent meal we exchanged gifts and showed our host family some pictures from our home in Denmark.
The last day we visited the temple and a young Buddhist monk took time to tell about his life being a monk and showed us his beloved orchid-garden.
The activities were all very good arranged, and we enjoyed everyone of them, but the breaks in between were even better, because we had time to talk to our host , and make him tell stories about his life before and after the tsunami.
It was 3 days that made a very strong impact to all of us. We can highly recommend this to other family’s. We felt very welcome in the homestay, and our hosts and our lovely translator made the stay unforgettable.
Thanks to our hosts in the village and Karen and Uzma from Andaman Discoveries.
