This summer I worked in Chiang Mai for a while. I had a boss and stayed with his Thai family with a super lovely but naughty little boy… life is full of challenges.
Workawayer in Thai:
For Chinese young adults, it’s okay to work/volunteer there without payment, with a normal tourist visa. As you know, it’s complicated to get a work visa (just be clever when you were questioned by the police or the immigration).
Narcissism??? 🙂 🙂 🙂 arrived at a new fabulous hotel.
How did I get this opportunity:
I got this website when I was talking with a traveler from Ireland, in Malaga, Spain. That was my first time to approach international voluntary without any agency that based in China, I mean I can talk with the owner directly without extra payment to the third agency. Though I had to pay for my annual account, but it’s okay. In other word, it’s like I worked hard to exchange for free accommodation and meals.
Here is the information about my workplace:
But in fact, you could find plenty of programs on that website, yes throughout the world.
What is worth mention is that it also contains many programs in China, I participated in one in Guilin, I will record it later. So for someone who wanted to visit China for some days will be a good opportunity.
[Hai Hostel]
(Photo from Instagram.)
Chang Moi Kao Rd Chang Moi Amphoe Tambon Si Phum, Amphoe Mueang Chiang Mai, Chang Wat Chiang Mai 50300 Thailand
https://goo.gl/maps/TyDVbgXH3Rtswyt68
First welcome day:
They recognized me as I stood in the doorway. They seemed very delighted with my arrival, and the hostess invited me to eat longan. They were very polite and told me that the first day there was no work to do so I was free. They gave me an access card and some basic instructions. The hostel is smaller than I expected. Although it has five floors, each floor with very limited space. Everything is exactly like the WiFi password “smallhomebigfun”.
My bed…Tao (my boss and his wife called Am) told me that everything in the hostel was designed according to his own ideas. The beds have cabinets, curtains, lights and many sockets. It’s very considerate.
A normal workday in the daytime:
I started to work at 11:00 every day, they set the check-out time at 11:00, so I needed to help Am change the bed sheets, bedding after the guests left. Am showed me a bed on the first day, and I did the rest myself.
Even though it was just changing the sheets, it took me so much time that I couldn’t believe it. Am cleaned the bathrooms, and she did it every day, unless there are no clients on that floor. They told me it’s not the peak season, so the hostel was not fully occupied. Some days, it had less than 10 clients.
Usually, cleaning could be finished before 1 pm.. If there were more guests the night before, 2 pm., all done. Every time I finished, I was sweating like a pig… not so tired, but hot. They advocated environmental protection, so they didn’t turn on the air conditioner during the day (except in the room with guests).
Theoretically, I was free to go, but they wanted to occupy all my free time. I didn’t have a full day off. I mean something like work for five day and then get two days off. They would inform me in advance about the extra hours, but in fact, I hated the provisional notice and erratic working hours. This meant that I could not leave Chiang mai to experience the full day’s tourist route. The basic reason was that they didn’t have a formal employee, so my flexible work hours was entirely on the boss’s schedule. 😦 This was a disappointing point.
They also asked me to do some trivial work. In many cases, he explained to me for a long time, but actually it was a simple thing. I mean that if he just did by himself, it would save more time, as in business, more efficient. 🙂
This was a quickly brunch, avocado bagel with bacon. But not good taste.
Sometimes ordered some food. Both taxi and food services are in the app “Grab”.
(PS: This is a hot seafood noodle, but super spicy, I remembered that I almost crying while eating…)
I would also buy some fruits at the traditional market, especially when they asked me to stay in the hostel from 3 to 7 o ‘clock, as a receptionist. This year, mangosteen has had a bumper harvest. It’s sweet, it’s cheaper, the taste is really good!!! I invited a Austrian taste those two fruits, but he had never seen longan before. What made me surprised was that people can get mangosteen in Austria but very expensive and not fresh.
Sometimes, with limited time, I just bought some drinks at the convenience store 711 nearby. I just needed to keep an eye on the hostel, sit there, but I could do whatever I wanted. Normally, I would write articles, watch TV shows or talk with guests.
A normal workday night:
Basically, I was free at night. Except for one day, something unpleasant happened (I will write it down later). The hotel was in the alley opposite this shop. This was a snack shop that closed during the day but opened at night. Extraño, strange hahaha.
Yes, and I was addicted to night market. You can’t imagine how large it’s… yeh government has started to organize the night market for tourist safety and sanitation. Meanwhile, several famous sites invite music bands as live music would attract more people coming for consumption.
It’s over 11 o’clock, but the laundry service was crowded. I couldn’t understand whether westerners liked washing clothes at night or… got used to hang out at night…
Unforgettable Pad Thai also the cheapest, the best. Once a week, at a food corner in the Sunday night market.
Bike trip day:
I’m scared of pigeons and chickens, cocks and hens, live chickens…
I can’t understand those who were crazy about takeing pictures with pigeons at the Tapae Gate, so many pigeons flying here and there, it’s easy to get bird droppings… I mean if possible…easily to get dirty, right? That is absolutely unacceptable to me. So every time I saw a flock of pigeons, I take a detour…
I rented a bike that day. Here, simple bikes were easy to find, generally large hotels had bike rental, however, I couldn’t get a mountain biking. In fact, motorcycles were rampant. I pledged my Chinese ID card and 1,000 baht as I didn’t have 2,000 baht in cash.
I broke into Chiang Mai University and hung out there. Also drank local farmland milk in a cafe, located in the business department.
Sadly, around 4pm, I got WhatsApp message from my boss. He asked me to go back before 8pm. as a receptionist. Although he politely asked me whether I could do that, but in my opinion, it was not appropriate… Because that day before I went out, they told me, “I was free today”… They easily reversed their promises.
My main road back was in a commercial area in the south of the university down. There were lots of small vendors. Unlike the night market, the food here was more refined, cheaper and more varied, perhaps the main consumer group here was students. Just like the people who set up stalls outside some schools in the countryside of China.
Yes, I got stuck in a traffic jam on the way back. Unexpectedly, their traffic lights were very long. I had enough time to make pics and even talked with drivers. The motorcycles were close to each other that made me feel little bit dangerous. The advantage of the bicycle was that it can get through the narrow gap in the traffic jam.
A strange night (Hobo or liar?):
—-Una noche extraña—-
Two strange visitors came that evening. One is a middle-aged Thai man who seemed to temporarily decided to stay overnight after driving through a rainstorm. Since I didn’t speak Thai, the translation software caused misunderstanding meanwhile, but I finally successfully arranged his stay.
I was super confused at that time, but the boss told me that it’s his fault. One bed in the four-bed mix room was empty, so the Thai man he made a reservation. But he noticed that the bad was used by someone, and he asked to change another one. The boss was little bit angry he might think I didn’t change it. But actually the thing is that the former guest left in advance, and the boss ignored that the system would automatically display the vacant bed after checking out for the guest. That’s why the Thai he could made the order. Anyway, it’s not my mistake.
Another freak was a dusty, middle-aged foreign tourist 🇧🇪 who came in looking tired and sweaty with a strange smell. He didn’t seem to have the patience to listen to me introducing the price of a bed, he just wanted to check-in quickly. He had only a small bag, no other luggage.
He told me he didn’t have enough cash and refused to pay by credit card. I told him that he could get some cash nearby, and he agreed at that time. So I let him check in first and showed him to his room. After that, I back to the first floor and stayed there, and soon I saw he left in a hurry and I thought he should went for money. I told everything with my boss.
Half an hour later he came back, but it’s weird that he still asked me to pay the bed fee tomorrow morning (before he only paid the deposit on the room key). Although I was very vexatious, I agreed. And I told him that my boss would come tomorrow morning and just pay him when you checked out. The Belgian, however, left early the next morning. He didn’t pay the bed fee voluntarily, what’s worse, he took the hostel room key away.
WTF! gwabnskxhxkz#yj%islsgabsnsmstan…
Such a rude tourist. Even though I took a pic of his passport, useless. He was must a complete fraud.
Although my boss didn’t accuse me, he told me that never let guests check-in without paying. This was the first time I had met such a rude guest. In hindsight, he was a rogue. There was no excuse for that. A European did this stupid and illegal thing…weird! I was particularly angry but we could do nothin. F**K’
Someone left fruits and money for me:
One day, I went back and they told me that the old man had left me something with a tip of 50 baht. I was moved though I recognized that I didn’t do anything… I just spent some time talking with him, an old Canadian French teacher, gentle, always smile. This was the first time that my dear guest left me a tip. Oh, no, the second time, last time a Spanish guest left a tip, for my help of sending him to the taxi with holding an umbrella in a heavily raining day.
Do you have any recommendations for us?
Basically, visitors will do their own adequate strategy once they decide to come to Asia. Tourism as a pillar industry in Thailand, tourism infrastructure construction is quite perfect. However, there are also some tourists who are not quite sure what to do and what worth to do in Thailand.
I recommend elephant camp experience, Thai cuisines cooking, Thai boxing shows, jungle leaps, or visit small town like Pai, Chiang Rai… but I’m not good to answer which agency is the best/better, which elephant camp is the top for westerners. Where is the best place to eat Pad Thai around here…
This is like…
Where can I taste the best Beijing Roast Duck in Beijing? I know there is a rank, but it really depends on your own taste, price preference and location, convenience…
Hard questions, right?
I was free that day:
The latter period our hostel was empty, so two days I didn’t need to clean up.
I took a selfie at a restaurant…
I caught a little squirrel. Many wildlife animals here.
Past the Saturday night market area, it’s a normal market during the day. I passed by a Chinese restaurant, a cheap brand of snacks.
The chopped up meat and put it in this kind of sausage and then make it into a ball… Round and round, this woman even hung them up… I’ve never tried this, I didn’t want… I’m not an avid carnivore. 🙂
Dinner with Thai family：
They invited me to dinner, saying it would happen every time before the volunteers left. But what I didn’t understand was that instead of taking me to a nice Thai restaurant, they took me to a barbecue… The boss himself was crazy about barbecue… okay… I went with them but ate like a bird.
Goodbye & Take care
The best way to say goodbye is to wave your hand and not look back. （告别最好的方式就是挥挥手头也不回潇洒走掉…）
Bye-bye, Chiang Mai~
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