Personal Journey and Adventures of Nina

Despite its recent industrialisation and newfound economic success, (now the 8th largest economy in Asia), there are still pockets of people living well below a standard of living that we would find acceptable. Yet, these are the most content and happy people I have seen. People going about their lives, day to day without complaint, yet, they have so little compared to us.  It really makes you stop and wonder about a world without materialism.  \ Many of the places appeared quite homely, decorated with plants and ornaments. Some took on a more eclectic, artistic approach with life sized statues, stained glass and other works of art. Not up to Code! Nestled amongst these, many of the homes were in disrepair. I don't think they'd be up to Council code here in Oz. River Life Thailand originally settled its capital on the Chao Phraya river because of its abundance of fish and wildlife. Now it is a

My third visit to Thailand but my first with my daughter and Steps With Hope , a charity supporting a school on the border of Thailand and Cambodia, but more of that later. There are several things I took note of on this visit. The streets were clean. The rubbish was swept up and neatly stacked ready for collection by the evening leaving the streets spotless for the morning mix of tourists and work commuters. The air was still polluted and humid but it didn't stink like Hong Kong. I wasn't approached by people selling their wares.  For the most part, people seemed content, as though they had plenty of business and didn't need to pester.  Maybe with the exception of this boy who was left on the steps of the 7 eleven by his mum with a large cup to collect coins.  Thailand relies very heavily on migrant labour which encourages people to cross the border from Cambodia to look for work. Around 130,000 of these are undocumented. 15,000 are children. As part of the Child