Teaching in Thailand

The only down side to traveling a hot, beautiful foreign country has to be those mosquitos. Most people take all the precautions before traveling, but after seeing the prices for the injections and tablets, I thought I’d risk it.

First few months were horrible. I was bitten alive and its not the sight of the bites that annoy me the most its the constant itch. Even sleeping in my air con room with no window I zipped myself in a mosquito tent to big for my room, stinking of deet. 

So I have two tips for you. 

1. I started taking VITAMIN B tablets. I got a pot of 60 tablets and had one each morning for two months. By the end, it truly helped and I would go out without lagging myself in mosquito (also men) repellent. ;)

Basically taking the tablets for a while puts a scent in your skin that repels the mosquitos. Don’t panic if after a week your still getting bitten. Like all things, it will take a while for the vitamin to be in your body. I only used this method for two months and started seeing results after the first month and for a few weeks after I stopped taking the tablets.

It really worked and they are low cost. - Try it!

2. Coming to Thailand I stocked up on ‘Jungle Fever’ mosquito spray but its not cheap and it goes pretty quick. So when the last of it ran out and the plug- in officially had no scent I had to try the Thai lotions.

The small bottles you get at 7/11 for 50 Baht are seriously rubbish. They are cheap for a reason.

The thing I swear by is TIGER BALM. Its amazing. It smells good, and you can use it for anything. Its a handy little tip to know. You can use it as a repellant and for your bites, it stops the itching and helps to heal it. 

Hope this helps, let me know what you think. :)

During my time in Thailand, I stayed at a home stay hosted by a Thai family. I was very lucky and privileged to live with the town Mayor. I had a lovely house and bedroom with AC.

My first few months, I hadnt seen a gun. After traveling, I came back to live with the host family. Riding to school in the morning, I went to get in the car and there was a 6 inch gun on the seat. My Thai father said ‘Oh’ and put it in the back seat. This happened a few times more.. with different guns.

I am not sure about the laws in Thailand regarding a defensive weapon, most probably, non existent. 

Now, there will be guns lying around the house and he usually leaves the house with a half a metre shot gun. It amuses me how all of a sudden I see this. Before they must of hidden it well. But now the hiding places are obvious. 

Most recently, my four year old neighbour came in the house. I caught him in a drawer, a drawer full of bullets. I had never seen a gun or bullets before, apart from guns for shooting rabbits etc. It was a shock. I noticed there was a lock on the drawer, now I see why.

Anyway, few days later the mother of the child called my name from next door. I went out to see her she handed me this red heavy tube thing and asked me to give it to my Thai father. Being naive or clueless as it may be I handed it back. To me it looked like those tube things you get to put your pound coins in…. 

Watching The Wire later that night there are was a shooting, the camera rolls down and theres this red thing on the floor. Exactly the same as what I was handed earlier that day. Then the light bulb switched on … 

It amuses me how different my life is to the one I live now.