Dedicated to a wonderful Mother Jean Noble 31/5/1929 - 20/8/2007 - may we never take our mothers for granted. - Goodbye Mum

THAILAND PAGE 13 SEPTEMBER 2008

“PEELING BACK THE LAYERS” - PAGE 3........

Wednesday September 3rd Baan Don Khun Ta.
Approx. k's Average Speed kph Cycling time Hr(s) Min. Max speed. kph Max temp we recorded °C
Terrain: Road Conditions: Overnight Accommodation: $0.00. Standard, Stay with family.

Sad day today, three young people lost their life's in a car accident DIRECTLY across from our house. The accident happened at 3 am, We think alcohol was involved, together with very high speed. The car started to go into a “roll” just outside our gate, ending up across the road outside a house on the other side of the street. The occupants of that house are lucky... Catchya Later...

Friday September 5th Baan Don Khun Ta.
Approx. k's Average Speed kph Cycling time Hr(s) Min. Max speed. kph Max temp we recorded °C
Terrain: Road Conditions: Overnight Accommodation: $0.00. Standard, Stay with family.

We continue to immerse ourselves in this small village and slowly gain a “tiny” insight into village life. We continue to receive conflicting reports on Wednesday's accident... Some are saying there were only serious injuries and no deaths... We have tried to find out for certain, however, no one we have spoken to knows for certain... The occupants were not from this, or surrounding villages. We both hope they have survived and that they fully recover... If we do get the full story, we will do an update here......

I caught a bus from the nearby town of Buayai... I was alone on the bus, (i.e. without Lee), Lee was in a Tuk-Tuk, full of gear and there was no room for me... As we had caught a bus often, I knew the fare was 18 Baht ($0.65c) I offered a 20 Baht note, I was then asked for 5 Baht more... Rather than cause a confrontation for the additional $0.25c I let it pass and gave the extra 5 Baht. “MY” villagers did not let it pass! They knew who I was and in a very calculated way, they talked with the bus conductress. As I speak a little Thai, I knew they were not happy I had been overcharged. Some 15 minutes later, as I was getting off the bus, the conductress came over to me and “with a smile” gave me 7 Baht... No words were exchanged, however, I knew the (those) villagers had somewhat accepted me “temporarily” into their community. I was glad I did not pursue the return of the money myself :-)

An interesting side note here.... We visited a house with Lee's grandmother the next day and the occupants spoke to Lee about my overcharging, even though they were not on the bus at the time..... It seems not much gets past the village people :-)

The Monks travel through the village with their “bowl's” at about 6 – 6:30am, however they have long learned which houses give and which do not, hence the route is well worn and quick in duration.. Nonetheless, for me the spectacle of this phenomena is interesting to observe... I have asked Lee if we can arrange to join them for their one meal of the day, we will see what transpires :-)

Wednesday September 10th Baan Don Khun Ta.
Approx. k's Average Speed kph Cycling time Hr(s) Min. Max speed. kph Max temp we recorded °C
Terrain: Road Conditions: Overnight Accommodation: $0.00. Standard, Stay with family.

A recent trip to the markets to stock up on essentials, led us to this area... ALL the paraphernalia for sale in this photo is to do with the chewing of “Betel Nut”...... I on the other hand am holding a bag of garlic :-)

The Areca nut (see link) is a popular drug amongst the elderly women of Thailand... very few men bother with chewing the nut. It is a mild stimulant, producing an effect similar to a cup of strong coffee. We purchased a good supply of all the essentials for Lee's grandmother, who had been expressing a “strong” desire to chew. It is rather a messy affair so we have taken lots of precautions to prevent red stains appearing everywhere. Also I have become pretty adept at mixing the four ingredients and pounding them to a chewable “lump” with a “mortar and pestle”... Sadly age has reduced grandmothers dexterity to the point, mixing the ingredients is beyond her....

She gets great enjoyment from chewing and insists all the “gear” is taken with her on the wheelchair trips... The hope is to find friends to chew with.... No problem finding them......... :-)

I am mixing them, much to grandmother's amusement..... She is “beside herself”, issuing countless instructions on the “correct” procedure... Catchya Later.....

Thursday September 11th Baan Don Khun Ta.
Approx. k's Average Speed kph Cycling time Hr(s) Min. Max speed. kph Max temp we recorded °C
Terrain: Road Conditions: Overnight Accommodation: $0.00. Standard, Stay with family.

Today is also a more sinister anniversary – what has become known as “9/11”. When on the eleventh day of the ninth month 2001. The worlds biggest terrorist strike occurred in New York City USA.

Thousands of lives lost, of ALL races and religions... In a mindless example of the hatred and xenophobia, one group of humans has for another.. The picture above is in the public domain.

Friday September 12th Baan Don Khun Ta.
Approx. k's Average Speed kph Cycling time Hr(s) Min. Max speed. kph Max temp we recorded °C
Terrain: Road Conditions: Overnight Accommodation: $0.00. Standard, Stay with family.

Today is an auspicious day for Mal.... It is my only Son's birthday.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY SON PAUL

Saturday September 20th Baan Don Khun Ta.
Approx. k's Average Speed kph Cycling time Hr(s) Min. Max speed. kph Max temp we recorded °C
Terrain: Road Conditions: Overnight Accommodation: $0.00. Standard, Stay with family.

Recently we were in Laos, renewing my visa... Major storms throughout the north-east part of Thailand caused destructive flooding in many communities whilst we were away.

Here is an example of the French colonial past, so prevalent in Laos.

We stayed at a budget guesthouse, not super-cheap by Thai standards but OK. It came with Air, large TV with CNN and BBC, and hot water (luxury). At 400 Baht per night ($14.50 Aussie) is was good value. I had my “fortune” told and was informed of my impending return to abstract poverty :-(

Lee did not want to have hers “told” due in part to her belief system...

We could not return to Baan Don Khun Ta (Thailand) easily, due to the flooding, as trains were canceled and bus companies were inundated with the influx of new passengers. Of course Lee's language skills ensured we were able to get back... MANY Europeans were taken advantage of, some paying as much as 10,000 Baht  ($360.00 AUD) to return from Nongkhai to BKK. The normal train fare to BKK, 3rd class (Our usual mode of travel) is 213 Baht ($7.90 AUD), double that for second class.

We used a bus, however, as they could easily get the higher fare to BKK they charged us more than usual... We paid an extra 200 Baht. We have befriended an old man that owns a Tuk-Tuk, he lives in a village about 4 k's from us, we used him to get from Sida, (main highway.) to the village, (about 24 kilometres) he picked us up at 1am...

A couple of days later, we looked at the devastation in the village, caused by the flooding. The worst home was that of the severely disabled young woman, we wrote about some weeks ago..

Their meager belongings were trashed and the home flooded with mud and slime. The disabled woman has become ill, due to the terrible conditions and has been in hospital for a couple of days - her Mum has stayed by her side the whole time.

In the pic above you can just see the "high water" mark on the concrete block, about one third the way up.

As no doubt many of you have seen crushing poverty - so have we. However, (I guess) like you, we are not desensitised, I must confess I had tears in my eyes, seeing what they have had to cope with..... Sometimes it's just not fair...

Well to use the well worn vernacular, catchya later....

Wednesday September 24th Baan Don Khun Ta.
Approx. k's Average Speed kph Cycling time Hr(s) Min. Max speed. kph Max temp we recorded °C
Terrain: Road Conditions: Overnight Accommodation: $0.00. Standard, Stay with family.

We returned to this home (above) to see what progress they have made and what difficulties they are experiencing. Further heavy rains last night have caused the already sodden ground to remain muddy. There is a need to “raise” the ground surrounding the home and consider some form of drainage. The home itself is set too low in the ground, it would require a prohibitive expense to raise it up to the desired height, hence they are prone to future difficulties. There is a primitive drainage system in the village, however it cannot cope with very heavy rains, without considerable Government funding. The Mother had not returned from the hospital so I will report later....

We took “Grandma” to the temple for “Buddhist Day”.

She was immediately surrounded by her old friends and acquaintances.. Buddhist day is celebrated about 4 days a month... Similar to Friday for the Muslims, Saturday for the Jews or Sunday for the Christians.... However, the commitment is somewhat more involved. The people, (Now almost exclusively elderly ladies) sleep in the Temple overnight to chant (and chew “kiow maak” :-)) plus more... Gifts are exchanged for “merit” and they share food with the Monks. The floor is concrete and those mats you see are their “beds”.

After Grandma became tired we exchanged the “Wai'” (A form of greeting) and went on our way.....

It is difficult to quantify how much enjoyment Grandma got from this meeting... The next day, despite here severe memory impairment, she expressed a strong desire to join them again in the future.. I feel truly privileged to have had the acceptance and interaction afforded by these people...

Lee said her “thanks” at her “altar” .......

We are both enjoying the interaction with the village people, although “enjoying” is a poor choice of words. The experience rages from profound sadness to a humbling respect... there has been little, in the way of a truly negative experience... Catchya Later....

BACK | On to Thailand Page 14

2006 - 2009. All rights reserved.  Design:(c) Mal & Lee ALL images on ALL pages are the property of Mal & Lee and may NOT be used without permission.