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 15 OCTOBER 2008

“PEELING BACK THE LAYERS” - PAGE 5........

As you can see from the preceding four pages, entitled “peeling back the layers” I have tried to combine pictures with words, to give some insight into the peoples lives. We welcome any feedback, criticism or suggestions, via email or Guestbook on this format.... Thank you for the feedback. One may be asking how do people get our email address – its simple we reply to most people in our guestbook, they then have our email :-) We do not put an email address in our web site because we cannot cope with the spam it generates. Under normal circumstances we could, however, we are usually on such pathetically low bandwidth connections, that we must do all we can to reduce the download.

Sunday October 19th Buayai – suburb of Cocksuann
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.

Getting on with the job of finishing the setup of Lee's Mum's business, saw the curtain makers on the job today (Sunday). Here there are few “demarcation” issues, your bricklayer might also be your electrician and the painter a roof tiler... So fixing curtains was the job of the carpet layer, who is also the local doctor.... Getting a bit carried away here, but you get the picture :-) Here the curtain rails are being installed.. Guessed the business yet?

Then the carpets....

Yes you guessed it, somebody important is coming :-) But who?..... More later

Thursday October 23rd Buayai – suburb of Cocksuann
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.

Getting back to reality, in a “personal” sense..

Financial “meltdown” - the human cost for us.

In February 1979 a beautiful child was born... Over the years it was a pleasure to watch her grow. Like so many children she had her problems. At age three she was diagnosed with a “hole in the heart”, which was repaired when she was eleven...She will be monitored for life. A VERY traumatic parental/child event.

She suffered the tremendous trauma of a family breakup at age four.

An extremely gifted child with a natural talent for mathematics, she chose a different path, “her path” and ended up marrying at an early age. She married on the island of Bali (Her dream) to a very talented man, born in Australia, of Burmese decent. They have produced three wonderful children and battled many of the problems that besiege “our kids” in this nightmarish world... Cody (left) Jade and Ethan....

Several years ago, her and her devoted husband decided to alter their lives and take control over their future.

Destructive behaviour was abandoned, in favour of a determined goal to change their lives. Money was saved, and she entered university to become a teacher. She is a AAA student, with most “passes” along the way, receiving a distinction.

In Jan 2007 their goal of home ownership was realised, it seemed their efforts were finally paying off... A stable environment for her children and future economic prospects bright, after her graduation.. The desperate need for teachers in her homeland, assures employment and recent Government recognition of their value, ensures a very reasonable salary...

Along came the “meltdown”, it did not happen overnight, interest rate rise, after interest rate rise, applied with heartless indifference, saw them struggling on one wage. She lost 17 kilograms and her husband 11 kilograms, working 12 hour days to hang on to the dream.

With such a bright light on the horizon, (“her graduation”) and subsequent employment, so near yet so far away.... They can no longer cope... The home must now be sold in a “fire sale” market. Back to a soaring rental market and instability, she must take her family....

She will survive, she is as strong and determined as she is beautiful.

Overwhelmed and with few resources of my own, I can only grasp at flimsy straws and watch myself fail her yet again... Yes, I am her Father, the one that left her when she was Four!

Why am I writing this here? I too must take a leaf from her book and take responsibility for my life choices... Most of which have been pretty poor indeed. I will no longer hide from the carnage my choices have caused. Most of you reading this, are lucky to have made better choices – for that I am happy.

I have three other children, two girls and a boy... I can never decide which one of my four kids I love the most.... I hope it stays that way :-)

Saturday October 25th Buayai – suburb of Cocksuann
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.

Getting back to reality, in a more “personal” sense..

Financial “meltdown” - the human cost for “my village” hosts - Thailand.

In the last few months, when Fuel was almost triple what it is today, ordinary Thais were truly suffering... A surging Baht and a crashing fuel price has seen fuel almost halved in price since June/July... A welcome relief for the poor, which sadly are the majority.

Below is a generic story from the village that we were guests, Baan Don Khun Ta

He awoke at the sound of the cockerel singing it's praises to the dawn. Moved his mosquito net that his grandmother had sewn from the natural materials around her. Filled his aluminium pot with water from the pond. Hi Aunt is an expert in weaving reeds and bamboo into cooking utensils, mats, pillows etc.. (The pillows are surprisingly comfortable) and he filled the steamer, made from this bamboo with broken rice... He knows the best rice is exported to the first world, but he doesn't care, the broken rice tastes just as good.

His family scour their surroundings for edible plants, leaves, frogs, small mammals and insects... a job repeated every single day, as breakfast is prepared from this harvest. This is a “real” daily job for so many families.

He puts on the sarong, bamboo hat, knowing they were weaved with love, by his lovely wife. He is thankful that he lives in the “land of plenty”, affectionately known to the “west” as “the land of smiles”.

After his breakfast he goes to the rice-field, with his water in a well worn plastic bottle and a bamboo container with his “sticky rice”. The land is owned by his family, (much land has no title and is passed down for generations), to tend his crop... It's a good year (2008) and he knows he can get a good price for his rice, if it continues..

This year he said to his family, we will buy a telephone or a TV... His family know that he wants the best for them, but also knows the constant disappointment... They love him just as much..

We have met so many of these decent people that it “gladdens the heart” to see their lives.... It sends me into a tailspin of quandary, so difficult to quantify. I often wonder what sort of world will “we” engineer for these two, of our worlds children?

But will their “relative” prosperity continue? The only realistic answer is NO.

Thailand has had, until recently, a 9% inflation rate, softened to 6% by the crashing fuel prices... Its surging Baht is worrisome, as is it's VERY heavy reliance on exports – mainly to the USA. Clearly not a very good mixture. Combine this with political and territorial problems and there is genuine cause for concern.

The USA also very clearly, cannot sustain it's high level of imports.. This will hit the Thais, beginning – I fear – with this years rice crop.... The ONLY thing which may lessen the blow is the worlds growing “Bio Fuel” industry which has claimed vast tracts of farming land (We ALL know money is more important than people) – meaning food is in growing demand.

However, although it is the worlds biggest rice exporter, it is not just rice that sustains this economy. Over 70% of the countries “economy is in its exports, a very high figure. There is a global slump in demand and it is going to hit those who can least afford it, very hard indeed.

The words above are not plagiarized, they are mine alone and the figures are taken from reliable sources. Catchya Later....

Wednesday October 29th Buayai – suburb of Cocksuann
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.

Sometimes we get feedback that makes writing “what ones said” worthwhile. However I am not going to claim credit here, because the “credit”, wholeheartedly belongs to those two little girls in the picture above... Plus the millions of boys and girls like them in our world. These are the ones so utterly helpless to change our choices and the ones so deeply scarred by them.

QUOTE:

Dear Lee & Mal, I had to write personally to you both, as I did not think all the things I wanted to say were suitable for a guestbook entry.

I have just finished catching up with your latest entries and I am sitting here feeling very emotionally overwhelmed right now.

The Thai nation is made up of people who have so little and to lose the little they have on an almost annual level when the monsoons arrive, and still be able to bounce back is an incredible accolade to their strength of spirit. 

But it is not just the Thai peoples, there are many other countries in this world of ours that need help to bring them up to what we would call a decent standard of living.  Bangladesh is another country that is regularly flooded with great loss of life and those people lose many of their already meagre possessions. 

War torn countries also, where children are left orphaned to fend for themselves. I feel sorrow, elation, compassion, humility and many other emotions surging through me as I read about all the problems that beset the people you are living with right now, that you are kind enough to share with us all.  I feel angry at the world for ignoring the plight of these beautiful people, and others who live in similar situations throughout the world. 

I feel frustration that the human race incites hatred for others of another country and spends vast fortunes arming themselves with dreadful weapons to annihilate other cultures when they should realise that under the skin we are all the same.  I feel as you do Mal, that the financial moguls of this world are more interested in making another dollar for their own personal use, than to give to other humans in such dire need.

I have seen power point shows I have been sent, where rich oil sheiks have ordered hand made solid silver cars for their use, where they live in homes with so many rooms that most will never be used; PPS's that show homes of such opulence that it is hard to even imagine the cost involved for providing gold bathroom fittings, wonderful silk upholsteries, hand woven carpets, handmade furniture from exotic woods, etc. etc. etc.  People like these sheiks, sultans, western businessmen like Trump, Gates, etc. who have millions of dollars at their disposal, who would never think to provide money to countries outside their own to give these peoples basic services like clean water, hospitals, food, medicines;  the list is endless. 

Then there are the pop and movie stars, sportsmen and other celebrities who get paid obscene amounts of money for appearances, who have multiple homes in different parts of the world and probably only spend a week or two per year in any of them.  The list of those who have and don't share their good fortune with other peoples who have nothing just makes my blood boil. 

Silly little girls like Paris Hilton who was born with the proverbial silver spoon, and spends her days deciding which dress to wear, where to go for her next holiday, or what to buy herself next. I have seen banquets held, attended by hundreds of people, who pick at the food provided and waste so much because they don't want to put on weight, and I get angry when I think of the hundreds more who could have enjoyed that food that was thrown away.

I could go on and on in this vein - it's not the ordinary people who need to wake up to the plight of 'third world countries - it's the very wealthy, the companies who make millions of profits for themselves and their shareholders, who need to be approached and shown the abject poverty that others have to exist in.  The Rupert Murdoch's, the James Packer's of this world - who have access to the media and could bring this to the notice of the rest of the world, as well as giving themselves. 

I think I must have communist tendencies - Share the wealth so that all may prosper! Sorry I've had a bit of a rant here, but I had to get it all off my chest and just wanted you to know that your words and pictures move me so much.

Thank you for sharing these experiences with us and for opening windows in our minds to let air blow through to clear the dust and cobwebs of apathy and make us appreciate that life is precious and material things are not required for happiness of heart and mind.

END QUOTE

(With Permission) The email has been copied “verbatim” and was written as a “rant” without “source” or authenticity checks... Please read it that way, rather than pick at the content... in “some” cases (you be the judge) It is the “essence” of what a person has to say, that is more important than the content.... I leave you with those choices... Catchya Later......

Thursday October 30th Buayai – suburb of Cocksuann
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 always shop in the local market and where possible support the village people as opposed to the townsfolk... There are many reasons for this – aside from price. The produce tends to be fresher and the people certainly need the business. I looked at the “Frogs” for sale today, I/we are not a lover of Frogs, however, Lee eats them occasionally, she harvested them as a child, from the local waterways. What horrified me most was the way they are presented.. They are literally “skinned alive”.. and sold as skinless living creatures....

I am afraid this was just beyond my sensibilities... As refrigeration is almost nonexistent amongst villagers, (I was told) this is the best way to ensure “freshness”.... Most of the Frogs you see in this picture are still alive. Am I too squeamish????

There are several ways of preparing them and cooking them, ranging from cutting the legs off and fry, grill, or boiling them. The upper body is then pounded to a pulp, bones and all – they are then “curried” - Thai style. I have eaten both the legs and upper body in a variety of ways, whilst living with the villagers.... I would never “choose” Frog at any restaurant.

Other villagers sell their chickens and “harvested” vegetables......

Salad style “harvested from the wild” veggies are between B5 and B10 ($0.25 - $0.50c), for a big bunch, whilst chickens are expensive at around $2-6.00++ depending on size.... (very rarely over 1kg) They are guaranteed “free range”. Occasionally, they may have sat in the sun a bit too long – as we found out to our peril a “time or two”.... (But to the delight of the local dog). We ALWAYS ask now.....

Whilst in the market we met up with our “odd job man”, his wife and kids... He chastised us for buying some of the “leafy” veggies, saying they were plentiful and free (for us) in his garden..... Just up the road from where we live.... Oh well.....

Friday October 31st Buayai – suburb of Cocksuann
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 moved house today.... its a long sory, but I will give you the gist of it. About a month ago we moved into the house we (Mal & Lee) are currently staying... It leaked badly and we could not get the owner to fix it in a timely manner... So we gave notice to leave... He fixed it (A one hour job) after we gave notice, however, as time is short we had already found, moved in, and partly set up Lee's Mothers business. We decided to stay and just use one dry room for the remainder of the month (That we had paid for). We just used our cycling gear for all our living needs there – cooking, beds, etc.. Perfectly adequate.... We did use a 1” mattress (May as well have slept on concrete) and fan as “luxury” items, however, I continued to use my self inflating mattress at it was so much more comfortable. Today we had to move out, so used our bikes as removal trucks..

You can see the fan and mattress on the trailer... We are now staying with the “Mother in Law”.... No comments :-)

A local dog has befriended me and as I love Dogs, it's fine by me. She has a litter of new pups and enjoys the extra food....

Our bikes are locked away down the outside of the house. We only have the finishing touches to the business now then we must decide our future...

The last three months has been traumatic financially, for us as our relative position has declined around 40% due to the HUGE loss of parity between the Aussie dollar and Thai Baht... For example if you had (and we don't, never had that much) $100,000 three months ago, you would be worth 3,300,000 Baht (Three million, three hundred thousand)

Tuesday 28th (last check) the $100,000 was worth 2,160,000... A loss of over 1,140,000 Baht. To put this in even greater perspective, you can build a new three bedroom, three bathroom home here for less than 1,000,000 Baht, (£ 18,000 € 22,500 $US 28,750 and the good old Aussie dollar $AUD 44,500) which includes the land and it is a damn fine looking home too. We went to see a few and was very impressed... Not the same quality as Australia, but very nicely finished and quite large.

I feel sorry for the many Australian “ex-pats” that live on (Australian Dollar) fixed incomes, some we have met are happily married and (were) enjoying their “golden years” after a 45-50 year working life in Australia. They too must now be in turmoil... How life can change “in an instant”. The Pound, Euro, and Canadian have dropped a bit too, but no where near as far as the Aussie....

On a side note, my/our retirement plans were to include continuing cycling... We intended cycling the “third world” as costs, visas, and a whole plethora of variables made the USA, Britain, Europe, Canada etc.. now well out of our reach. Excluding these fine countries - whilst disappointing - was not a real problem for us. Both of us have found cycling in Asia, beyond our wildest dreams.

Cycling “our way” gives us a unique opportunity to witness “life” at the ground level.... When we first started it was how far and how fast can we get each day... We have changed a great deal since that time and now see the cycling as part of the adventure. The places we stop forming the greater part of the experience....

So many ordinary people in Asia have said “how do we cope” with the privations of life on the road? – to many of them, it seems it is incredibly difficult to cover such distances with “human power”.. often living in very difficult conditions... Some have even expressed their amazement at a “European”, choosing (in their mind) this level of deprivation.... We have taken every opportunity to tell them how truly rewarding it has been :-)

The world changed with the “financial tsunami” washing our hopes and dreams along with it... We WILL find a way forward in life and as someone once said “when one door closes another one opens”.. It might be interesting to step through that door, we both hope it is....

A further “side note”..... A dream Lee has long held, was to start a “foundation” in her home country or surrounding countries, with either the elderly, disabled or children... Without going into all the detail, I/we ( I share this dream with her) simply wanted to provide “hope” on whatever scale we could manage.. Despite having explored many detailed scenarios.... I won't bore you with them. This project is now on hold... pending review of our “many” :-) retirement options...

There are lots of small scale innovations that have benefited people, beyond the founders wildest imagination, one that springs to mind is the “micro-loans” that have helped tens of thousands out of crushing poverty, into a sustainable future.. Sadly there are too many even moderately wealthy people that only care about themselves... Your ₤, €, $ or ¥ lined cofin wont help your trip to your version of an afterlife.... At least not to my knowledge anyhow :-) But then again, why should we care about anyone but ourselves?????? Do you know the answer?

Catchya Later.... On to November 2008

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