As with most New Years Eve days we spend much of the day shopping for our big meal in the evening - where family and friends gather - pulling into one of the nearby village houses on motorbikes, walking or by car. First we stop at the huge Tesco Lotus that popped up near the Industrial park several years ago. Employees are stationed out front wrapping hundreds of packages from shoppers. Our budget has gone up this year - instead of 200 baht we … [Read more...]
Village Updates, Thailand
We have been infested with pigeons! They are nesting all over our roof - any crevice or corner is fair game. We've moved out a number of nests - found a number of eggs and covered any open areas on the roof with some sort of thorny plant material to discourage future nesting. Still they flock to our roof at all hours of the day and night. The scratching continues even in the early morning. Last night at 3am I was awakened dramatically by a … [Read more...]
It is cold in Thailand! Back to our Village
The coldest temperature Bangkok ever recorded was 10.5 C back in the 1950's. It has been cold here the entire month of December. With low temperatures running between 15 and 17 in Bangkok over night for the past few nights - it has not felt like a normal Thai winter. At our village in Eastern Thailand we have had to pull out the sweaters and warm blankets for the evening. Normally this time of year it cools off at night and by 10am the next … [Read more...]
Always Crazy Flying During the Holidays
Flying around the holidays is always crazy. Today was especially so! Was at the gate getting ready to board when a young gentleman runs up and announces to the agent that he does not have his passport. Fortunately he had some paper with some special government stamps and a Hong Kong ID so they let him board. While waiting in another line earlier I met a couple who said they had just lifted off, mere feet off of the runway when a light went on … [Read more...]
Thai Markets
Over the past few weeks we've gone to a number of local markets - the diversity of vegetables, fruit, fish, dead and live animals and cooked dishes is amazing. It is a culinary whirlwind on the senses - flavors, sights and smells. Vendors are chopping, baking, grilling and frantically stirring to get dishes to awaiting customers. The diversity seems endless - there are so many different "priks" or sauces that one can use depending on the exact … [Read more...]
A lifetime of local Knowledge – Thai Village Life
It is impressive the resourcefulness Syy's mom has at her disposal. We've been washing dishes from a liquid soap she's created from a number of mostly organic ingredients. She makes a lip balm out of coconut milk and wild bees wax collected from nearby hives. It smells quite pleasant and works very well for chapped lips. The rice wine takes her most of the day to make - and ferments for about 8 days before its ready to drink. We've had running … [Read more...]
Greetings from the Village – Eastern Thailand
We are back in the village for the next month - enjoying some fine R&R after a hectic schedule from this past year. The kids are learning Chinese in school and are happy to practice. Our niece of almost 5 years old informed us today that she is "tired of being a Thai girl and wants to be an American girl". We asked her to speak some English but all she could say was "thank you" over and over again! There is a rash of road accidents this past … [Read more...]
Back to the Wonderful City of Angels
We flew in last night over a sea of lights spread as far as one could see. It was Bangkok - one of the planet's greatest cities. At midnight along Sukhumvit it was a mix of lights, traffic and people wandering the streets in search of sleep, sex and alcohol. This latest visit was a throwback for me offering a nostalgic reflection on my first trip to the Kingdom in 1996 (on the way to Nepal). Then as now, we landed at Don Muang airport. I … [Read more...]
Exploring Port Moresby
Port Moresby is a bit difficult to explore on your own - the city is spread out and there aren't that many attractions to visit right in town. However we caught up with the energetic folks from Cold Media Productions who are covering my visit to PNG. We headed out in their Toyota Land cruiser for the top of a nearby mountain - Sogeri which affords one excellent views overlooking all of Port Moresby in the distance, the Stanley-Owens range (the … [Read more...]
Trying to get to Port Moresby
We arrived back at the Popondetta airport for a 6am check-in - the hours dragged on. The local manager kept calling out updates every hour - our hopes kept rising especially when around 10am he said the plane was loaded with passengers on the runway about to take off in Port Moresby. Our hopes soared when around 11am he said the plane had taken off already and was in the air. The hours kept dragging on - over the course of two full days of … [Read more...]
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