Thai Trip 19 Hong Khong School
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Nine o'clock (morning) and all were present and correct for the start of a two hour trip to Hong Khong. We had to be there around eleven, to participate in the last moments of the opening of a new school block. Time has pretty much stood still for Hong Khong school, as very little improvement has been made to it's infrastructure since the days of the Post Crown Road. This is why the OCA's gesture to the school and its staff by building the gazebo, is so important. |
As it was we arrived just a few minutes after eleven oclock. It was obvious from the scene in front of us that the new block opening ceremony was coming to an end. The dignitaries were asked to participate in a photoshoot with us to mark the occasion. They departed and then the Headmaster Therdnakorn Hongsaeng announced he had a surprise for us. This as it turned out, was that the shelter was decorated in signage with information and pictures of the Post Crown Road. I told the headmaster we had a surprise for him too. |
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A translator was on hand to help smooth matters along for all of us. Miss Chatpimol had a good command of English, she seemed to thrive where I've seen others struggle. The signage actually got most content from our website so an uptick for us there. We perused the words and pictures with the Headmaster, Balat Kham and the headmaster of Khok Samlan school. The standard of build was quite impressive, the information relayed by the signage, because it was sourced from our website, was an accurate record of the road project. |
There are more pictures of our 'tour' of the shelter in the slideshow. Neil who had kept a low profile, was given the nod to make his acoustic debut. Of course, the raucous tones of the 'pipes' caused people to immediately look up from what they were doing and drew them to what could be termed 'the stage'. Neil went through his repertoire with the staff and visitors alike clapping to the beat of the music. This was a magical moment that was not forseen some fifty one years earlier and the enjoyment of it was there to see on lots of faces. |
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Some children appeared amongst us attracted by the sound of Neil's pipes. Therd quickly took the opportunity to explain to them why these 'falang' were here and how we were part of the history of their school. A picture in the slideshow, features a road sign signwritten by Michael Allen and a photograph taken by Tony Bold when he travelled by Souix helicopter along the road. It was at this point we were invited to the main marquee that the V I P education administrators had occupied when we arrived. Now it was our turn to participate in the more official side of our visit.
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| In dribs and drabs we moved to the marquee. Neil, acting as the 'Pied Piper', played the school traditional band into their positions in front of the podium. His joy for playing the various school bands and orchestra's has been shown on this website many times. After a while Therd called a halt to Neil's enjoyment as time was pressing and we had a lot more to get through. It started with Therd through the translator, making a speech welcoming us and explaining the importance of our involvement with the school. Dave 'Satch' Higgins as senior man responded on our behalf. |
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Speeches over and our host's could not let us leave without repaying our kindness.
The teaching staff who'd sat behind us in the Marquee during the formalities, now walked to the front and presented us each with a hand crafted Pacomah. The pacomah is an all purpose wrap a round garment and is traditionally given to honoured guests.
We were then each given a locally made mortar and pestle. Formalities at an end and we moved under the newly opened school building to eat, enjoy and make merry.
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We moved across to the new building where the teachers served us a meal consisting of multiple dishes. The ingredients were all fresh and would have been purchased from the early morning market. Cabbage (raw and surprisingly addictive as I've since come to find), lettuce, bean sprouts, bamboo shoots, spring onions, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, a runner type long bean, cucumber and that was just the vegetables. Add to the mix lots of herbs and rice both sticky and boiled and that's a lot of food to pile on your plate. |
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Lunch over and we were able to spend some quality time with the kids. Balat Kham explained to some of the children that Arthur Williams and Neville Wareham had played for the Crown football team. A kick-a-bout was quickly organised and a lesson in ball control and passing ensued. In the meantime, some of the teachers fired up the Karaoke and delighted us with some Luk Tung singing. We were invited to sing a few numbers of our own and proceeded to do so with gusto but absolutely out of tune. |
If you take time to view the slideshow, you will see more pictures of our after lunch fun with the staff and kids. With time passing we were invited upstairs to view the new classrooms. The long awaited new block is a massive improvement on what went before. The viewing over and Balat Kham as an experienced OCA manipulator, quickly organised a Hong Khong version of 'The Pied Piper'. With a few OCA vets in the vanguard, Neil Campbell marched a squad of happy adults and children back to the OCA shelter. |
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And so, with the final image above in our memories, we took our leave from another of our fun days with our friends in the north east of Thailand. This time we were leaving behind some excited and happy children with what should be some pretty unique memories for them as they move along their educational pathway. Headmaster Therdnakorn Hongsaeng, his staff and Balat Kham had overseen another tremendous day for us and now it was time to depart for some leisure time in that favourite town of ours, Mukdahan. I think I can declare with confidence, that the donation from OCA to the school at Hong Khong, has been utilised to the full.
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Slideshow
A slideshow of pictures are shown in chronological order. Place your cursor into the picture window to freeze the motion, remove it allow the slideshow to restart. Depending on your connection, it may take a while for the pictures to download and the slideshow to start |
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