Another in our series of blog posts by Xplore Asia Teachers. Thanks to Kelsey Madison for letting us share.
I have now successfully finished teaching my second week of classes, have a mode of transportation, and paid my rent. This all means that it is time to explore Phetchabun! I am so eager to see all of the wonderful things that this province holds. This past weekend a little group of us teachers decided to adventure 30 minutes outside of town to a little local waterfall hidden away that was actually found on accident by a previous teacher when they were looking for the airport.
The scooter ride there, in itself was nothing short of jaw dropping. We buzzed by fields upon fields of foliage, wilderness, rice patties, tamarind and who knows what else but it was all such vibrant shades of green I was in awe. In the background of these beautiful patches were insanely huge white puffy clouds and below, silhouettes of large mountains in the distance.
Once we arrived, and biked through a small little creek we parked and went the rest of the way on foot. We crossed a bridge made of three stalks of bamboo, waded through some water and eventually made it to our destination. It was a peaceful spot, where no other people were except a very mangy dog that had followed us, he looked like he had seen some better days, but regardless it was beautiful. White water cascaded down a multitier rock formation and flowed down into a little swimming hole. Bamboo shoots and leafy greenery surrounded us, and as we swam it actually began to rain as well. It was such a serene moment.
After the waterfall we motor-biked up to a nearby reservoir, which had the most beautiful views of the surrounding area, the pictures I took don’t do it justice at all. There were mountains on mountains all covered in trees, the light shone through the clouds and was the perfect shade of gold. Just as I thought it couldn’t have gotten any prettier, dragonflies and butterflies, hundreds of them surrounded us. Then out of nowhere a rainbow emerged out of the already miraculous view. It was an unreal experience.
Story by Kelsey Madison. You can read about more of her adventures at https://kelsey-madison.squarespace.com/
Hi, I have been volunteer teaching in Phetchabun when I holiday there, the beauty of Phetchabun does not hit you in the face when you arrive there, you have to let the area grow on you by mixing with the people and ride around (I hired a scooter for five months) on my first visit I stopped here purely by accident to rest overnight on a bus ride from Bangkok to Chiang Mai, I awoke in the morning and decided to have coffee by the river, I sat for about three hours, the people here speak little English but are just so friendly, as I sat probably fifteen or so people said hello or nodded to me, I felt so comfortable that I thought I would stay another day, one day turned into a month, I have returned many times and I have grown to love these smiling, optimistic people, they are really warm and love to meet foreigners.