After the surgery which I received from the hospital for my toe they made me go back 1 time (a negotiation down from their 7 times) which allowed me go on my delayed visit to Chiang Mai, but due to the delay it meant I was no longer able to visit the agriculture based microfinance organisation which was a disappointment but me an my American friend made use of the day by hiring bikes and exploring the mountain and national park, as well as all the temples based there! Luckily I managed to befriend some local Thai people near the community guest house I was staying in who had a cooperative and it was far more honest a representation, I think, than going through an organisation. From doing my research so far it seems better to rely on people rather than large organisations and I have learnt definitely not to put any faith in governments who are quite happy to cancel at the last minute like in Thailand.
I also managed to speak to some managers who ran microfinance sections of their respective banks and they were very helpful in making me aware to the main issues and putting me in contact with some recipients who tried their best to get me to drink what they called "Thai vodka" with them. After one sip of it I decided I had been polite in not refusing but wouldn't have any more as it was very potent and only midday! I think this amused them more than offended them, but i still shared a great Thai meal with them and their family! They all liked to sing along to awfully cheesey music more at home at a place where Liverpool students frequent called The Raz which I found very funny.
I travelled to the island of Koh Mak in the South east of Thailand and have been researching there till I left today. It is an incredibly beautiful island of only 1500 people of which 4 % are owners and the majority of the rest are subsistence business owners whose income is all but non existent in the low season. This creates a crucial need for microfinance fulfilled privately by those on the island who are more affluent. I believe that if a more structured microfinance organisation came in and included the business training and support I have seen in other places the island could benefit from far greater, sustainable, economic development. At the moment my contact on the island is trying to use types of finance to increase the self sufficiency of the island (focusing on permaculture); I agree this should be one of the first goals as it would make the island less reliant on mainland imports whilst creating new business opportunities outside of the quite restricted view of resort or shop ownership or rubber/coconut farming. The tradition and preserved culture on the island is something that I haven't seen elsewhere and has made me want to maybe do further research into remote communities and change within them.
I had to get up very early this morning to get the boat to the mainland and then a minibus to Bangkok which is very cramped and the advertised air conditioning doesn't seem to be existent in the aged van. When I get to Bangkok I will pick up the majority of my luggage which I stored at my previous guest house then I will be off to Mexico and to see what Mexico City has in store for me! It seems weird that 4/5 of my trip has already passed and it definitely doesn't feel like 2 months has passed, but talking to other travellers I think everyone feels the same; when you meet so many new and interesting people whilst doing exciting and challenging things there is little surprise time flies!
ADDED: For some reason my last post didn't publish when I tried a few days ago, so I am going to just add on to tell you about my travel to Mexico which taking out time differences took 67 hours, 5 planes and consisted of 2 nights sleeping on planes and one night in Tokyo Airport leading to my arrival,2 days later than planned, in Mexico on the 1st of August. I cant remember being so tired in a long time and slept pretty much for a whole day. I will let you know what Mexico City is like shortly but at first glance it seems incredibly similar to Madrid, but I have been told there are areas which are far more like a developing country so it will be interesting to see that contrast