the wwoofing deathtrap

I left yesterday morning to go to Thamafaiwan village in Issan to do wwoofing where I was supposed to be helping build mud-brick houses and organic farming for afew hours a day in exchange for all meals and accomodation. Things didn't quite work out that way. After about 8 hours on a bus from Bangkok to Chaiyaphum I got on a tuktuk and then a truck to take me to Thamafaiwan village, smackbang in the middle of nowhere. I sat on the truck for 2 hours with a bunch of people staring at me with their mouths open. Aparently they don't get many foreigners out these ways. And no one could speak a word of english and my awesome skills of being able to say 'hello', 'thankyou' and 'cat' in thai weren't of much help. So after sitting waiting for 2 hours the truck finally started to get going, only to stop 100 metres down the road to buy fruit and then again afew more minutes down the road to run errands and then again and again. I was just gratefull to be on the move, heading towards Baan Sairoong (Rainbow House). 2 hours later it was dark and raining and I was the only one left on the truck. Turns out the driver didn't know where he was going and we were completely lost. Luckily we came across some monks who could speak english and I told them where I was trying to go and they told the driver how to get there. All he cared about was getting his 200 baht and I didnt care as long as I got there. So I finally got dropped off at Baan Sairoong and the guy running the place wasn't there but his scary scary friend said I was to stay with him, all said while he was looking me up and down. I didn't have much choice but to stay there because I was miles away from anywhere. 7 kids and another guy were there and I was told I would be sharing a bed with 2 of the kids. I called the guy who was meant to be there and he said he was in Bangkok for afew months and that I was to look after the kids and cook and clean everyday.hmmm. I ended up sleeping in a chair by the bathroom while a pack of manky cats and dogs and lizards ran around. I mulled over what to do and thought I should give it afew days at least, but come morning I actually thought I probably wouldn't get out of there alive so got up early and left. 12hours later I'm back in Bangkok finally and feeling much safer and happier. From the bus depot instead of a taxi I got a ride on a motorbike which was rad. I had to squish my arms, legs and toes up when we were weaving between tiny gaps between buses and cruising along towards oncoming traffic.
I've met up with Ben and Jenny from America that I met over the summer at Cooks beach and that's been real nice and good timing that they happened to just get into Bangkok tonight. Its the end of their 10months worth of travelling so they've got lots of tips for me and showed me where you can get water from machines around town which is much cheaper than buying it from the 7-11.
So the plan is that we're gonna hang around Bangkok for a couple of days and then head south to Hua Hin and escape the heat at the beach.
Oh and just for Annie, the food I've been eating here is much the same as what Id normally eat in NZ anyway: rice, veges, and tofu only all the veges are super fresh and there's lots of really yummy spices and sauces. Last night for dinner I had vegan spaghetti and meatballs (made of ground up chickpeas and veges) - not very thai, I know. The best thing here is all the fruit juices and especially the bannana soy shakes and food is so cheap!