Back in our little Thai home

Nov 12

James left for home in the wee hours of Nov 9^th.  Ron and I left Bangkok on Nov 9 by renting a car with driver to take us to Hua Hin to pick up a rental car. Our last two days with James we went to Wat Pho to have his horoscope/fortune read and to see the incredible reclining Buddha. The statue is 150 feet long and is gilded brick and plaster. It really is quite spectacular. The following day we went to the National Museum and got caught in the pouring monsoon rain. The museum occupied several buildings and while in the last building we waited for 45 minutes for the torrential rains to slacken up in order to leave. We looked like the ‘three drown rats’. The museum itself was a disappointment. It was not well maintained and had a limited collection.

We are thrilled to be in our little Thai house. Phetchaburi is a small town and is so much calmer than Bangkok with its 14 million residents. There is little to do here. We decided to rent a car to give us more freedom and to impose less on our Thai “family” here. Our house is part of a family compound. Pa Cha An is the lovely 89 year old matriarch of a large family. She is now blind but still gets around her house. Lin, her daughter in law lives with her to help out. Our house is at the other end of the property, a quick walk down the driveway. Noi, one of Pa Cha An’s sons lives next to us. Noi takes care of the property in our absence.  Ron has busied himself with home maintenance: he bleached the stucco foundation of the house that gets lots of black mold, he is currently carving out a wedge in the foundation where there is a large crack. The crack isn’t structural, merely surface. He started by using a power tool and now is using a hammer and chisel to get a bigger wedge that he will later fill with concrete. Next will come repainting the surface. It is hotter than hell here so he works in the early morning before the heat becomes unbearable.

Today we woke up to a terrific tropical monsoon rain storm, complete with thunder and lightening. We were able for the first time to turn off the AC in the bedroom, the only room that is air conditioned. It rained most of the morning so we ran errands after breakfast then came back to the house. Since it is still cool due to the weather Ron is now carving away outside making a great racket. It is also quite humid here so even with the cooler temps it is still easy to work up a sweat.

Our second day here we drove to Hua Hin  about an hour south of here to have lunch with our friend Bill, a retired builder from Bend OR. He now lives about five hours south of here but was in Hua Hin for some appointments. We enjoyed some fabulous duck soup with egg noodles and got in a good visit.

I have spent my time organizing our closet which was a jumble. I did some ironing and rested from the heat when possible. I am such a light weight when it comes to the heat. We now have a TV and DVD player so in the evenings we usually play Scrabble which we bought for this trip or do a crossword puzzle together and then watch an episode of Mad Men, season 5. We are limiting ourselves to one a night so we won’t run out before we leave. The TV only gets Thai stations and since we know about six words in Thai, we don’t watch the programs. We are happy to have Scrabble and the DVD player. In the past we played rummy until we got rummy!

Seeing Thailand with James -

Nov 3

Ron and I got up early and caught a plane to Chiang Mai in northern Thailand, about 1.25 hours from Bangkok.  Chiang Mai is known for its hill tribe crafts. We checked into our hotel then walked to a shop where I hope to find a wall hanging that friend’s in Portland has requested. Unable to find what was needed, I spoke with the shop owner who offered to have his daughter work up a couple of ideas and email them to me on Monday when she returned to work. We agreed this would work. If Gary and Edmund approved the design, I could wire the money from a Thai post office and he would mail the item to me at ‘our home’ in Phetchaburi. The house actually belongs to our friend Nattawan but she has offered use of the house to us for years.

We grabbed some lunch by the river. The setting was nice but the lunch was a disappointment. We grabbed a cab and went to a fair trade hill tribe shop, again looking for wall hangings. No luck. We went back to our room and rested then headed out to the Saturday night market. It was overwhelming, combined with the nightly night market. We grew tried of walking in the heat on concrete. We grabbed a quick bite and were refreshed. Back to shopping. I did find a great indigo batik tablecloth and some placemats but no napkins. We decided we could use the placemats if all else failed. On the way home we found a great massage spa and stopped in for an hour foot massage. Off the bed we went.

Nov 4

We had a great buffet breakfast of granola, fresh tropical fruit, bad coffee, juice and bread before heading out to Doi Suthep and a Hmong village high in the mountains above Chiang Mai. First we visited the village. It was small but we were surprised at the size of the commercial center. There was an are where we walked in a semi circle passing by vendors on each side, most of them selling the same items: traditional dress, bedspreads, and packets of Thai silk woven and cut to the size for a long straight skirt and jacket. We went through the crude little hill tribe museum that had a few items such a farm implements and several poster boards describing the various hill tribes. 

As we exited the museum we were in a lovely flower garden area so we walked around he garden for a while, spying a huge poinsettia ‘tree’. Ron said he had never seen any except those small potted varieties available in the stores around Christmas time. On the edge of the garden was a woman who was selling old traditional dress items and some new items. I found a traditional dress ‘apron’ and a new traditional hat from her. She was totally unwilling to bargain so I paid her full price and was delighted to have the tow items. As we neared the ended of the walk I found an older woman who was selling indigo ‘yardage’ by the rolls which were perfect for my needed napkins so purchased one of her rolls.   

Back into the cab we had hired and back down to Doi Suthep where there is a wonderful wat sitting among the trees in the mountains, a very picturesque setting. We rang the bells for good luck, lit some candles and placed a lotus on a reclining Buddha in memory of James deceased wife Heloise. One of my favorite sights were some little ‘monk gnomes’ we spied in a garden at the temple. They made me laugh.

We came back to town and went by the Hmong market, again in search of wall hangings. No luck. We ate lunch at our hotel and rested until time to go to the Sunday market. After venturing into the market I turned to Ron and told him I was tired of markets. SO we grabbed a tuk tuk and went to a lovely restaurant we had read about on the river. It was lovely setting with a chedi across the river reflected in the water. As we were dining a  small traditional boat drifted by with two tourists. It was quaint and fun to watch. We stopped by our massage place to take in a Thai massage before heading back to the hotel.

Nov 5

We flew back to Bangkok early in the morning. On the way to the airport our taxi had a flat tire so he flagged down a songthaew, a small pick up truck that has two bench seats and that are used as transportation. We moved our luggage into the truck and off we went. We found our friend James in much better health and had lunch across from our hotels. We went to our hotel and unpacked and rested briefly. James and I went to see the latest James Bond film then the three of us went to a new to us restaurant that was delicious. We went to bed early.

Nov 6

Today James invited us to breakfast at his hotel. Afterwards we went to see the Golden Buddha. It is solid gold, is 15’9” high and 12’5” wide and weighs 5 tons. It is 700 years old. The Buddha was discovered by accident in 1955. While extending the port, workers unearthed what appeared to be a plain stucco Buddha. The imager was kept at a wat under a makeshift shelter for 20 years until arcane dropped it while moving it to a more permanent shelter. The plaster cracked, revealing the gold beneath. It had probably been encased in stucco to hide it from Burmese ransackers.  Afterwards we had lunch and a rest. It is quite hot ad humid here so afternoon rests are a great way to get refreshed.

From Sri Lanka to Thailand

Oct 28 

Today we headed out to Galle, on the coast south of Colombo. I had been told that with the new highway it took an hour to get there. Well the truth is once you get to the new highway it take an hour to get to the exit. Getting to the highway took 45 minutes and getting to Galle took another 15 minutes. This cut into the time we had for sight seeing. So we didn’t get to see much. We went to the town famous for the Sri Lanka carved wooden masks. Unfortunately the driver took a wrong turn cutting into our time for sight seeing as he drove for close to 30 minutes before he realized his mistake. James bought a great mask. 

We had a date at Shilpa Children’s Home so had to get back to Colombo to eat lunch, change clothes and make a quick stop on the way. We ate lunch at 4:00. Once we arrived at Shilpa we chatted with three trustees then the girls offered a performance of signing and dance (Bollywood style!) 

Afterwards we had five of the girls who speak English come and tell us about their lives. One is a successful flight attendant flying to places like London and Paris. She has saved money in a very disciplined way and plans to buy an apartment. Another is a travel agent, one is an auditor, another is a graphic artist. All these were success stories that inspired us. What great role models for the girls who grow up in Shilpa. The fifth girl dreams of being a human right attorney and takes her A level exams soon which will determine her path.

We ate at a well known seafood restaurant and had a horrid experience. The noise level was awful and we sat near a waiter station that had a phone that rang throughout our meal with a shrill ring. It was answered only once. We couldn’t get out of there quick enough.

Oct 29

We departed for Kandy and Nuwara Eliya which is in the high country. Kandy is famous for a Buddhist temple that contains a tooth of Buddha’s. We stopped at an elephant orphanage on the way  then headed for the botanical gardens but it was filled with thousands of Sri Lankans taking advantage of poya day, a religious holiday. James opted out of seeing the gardens so we headed to lunch. James was starting to feel really bad from what he thought was a cold so we skipped seeing the temple and headed for Nuwara Eliya. It was pouring rain from a cyclone out of Bengal Bay. We checked into our hotel and James headed for bed and we headed to town to look for a jacket. They sell irregulars from the factories here. It is difficult shopping to say the least. Ron found one that was satisfactory and we went back to the hotel and ate a light meal and headed off to bed.

Oct 30

We headed back to Colombo, a six hour drive on extremely busy two lane roads. We stopped to use the bathroom at a tea house and I exited laughing from a posted sign in the toilet: Ladies please remain seated during the entire performance. Men please stand closer. It may be shorter than you think. We ate a wonderful last meal in Sri Lanka at our hotel.

Oct 31

We got up at 4:00 a.m. to catch our plane to Bangkok. James didn’t feel well so I had emailed a friend who owns a hospital in Bangkok. He offered for us to come there as soon as we landed. We grabbed a taxi and it took about an hour to get there. They were waiting for us. The parking crew spied our taxi and waved us into the garage. A nurse greeted us and escorted us into the hospital and James was seen immediately. BY now it was 4:00 and none of us had eaten since the flight breakfast around 8:30. I asked  if there was a cafeteria and she said no but we could order from the hospital. The next thing I knew three plates of chicken fried rice were delivered to us. Then doctor Krishrat arranged for a staff member to drive us to town to our hotel as the hospital is north of town.

Nov 1

It has been days since I have written so the events will be sketchy. I don’t remember what we did on Nov 1 as I am writing this on Nov 5. James got sicker with whatever has felled him. He rested on Nov 1 and Nov 2. On Nov 2 Ron and I met with a friend’s cousin’s wife who does development work in this part of the world. She was so inspirational and so dedicated to her work.

After meeting with her we had lunch with James then he went back to bed. Ron and I went to find a booking agency to try and get a refund for James as he will not be able to make the Chiang Mai trip with us. This took several hours but we accomplished our goal with the help of Dr Krishrat who wrote a medical certification for James.

That night we were to have a river dinner cruise with Duang Chai and Dr Krishrat. At 6:30 Dr Krishrat called to say the traffic was very bad and he would not be able to pick us up and for us to grab a cab. We did as instructed and shortly we too we struck in really bad traffic. The driver suggested we jump out, grab the metro then grab a cab to get to our destination in time before the boat was launched. We did as instructed. Once we emerged from the subway we couldn’t find a cab so flagged a tuk tuk, a small three wheeled vehicle which is open to the elements. Our driver was a young man and we dubbed our ride “Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride” as our guy sped through the streets and made turns at full speed. I was sure we were going to tump over. Alas we arrived at our destination and I was reduced to giggles over the ride and patted the driver on the back for getting us there in time and safely.

Shortly we hooked up with our friends. Their son Om joined us. Om graduated from USC (Ron’s alma mater) about a year ago. So he spoke great English. It turned out that Dr. Krishrat had to park his car and grab a motorcycle taxi in order to get to the launch site in time. We were all lucky to have these alternatives. The cruise was lovely, seeing temples, hotels, etc all lit up. The buffet was endless and delicious.

Back to Sri Lanka... Again

October 24 2012

Ron and I went to bed on Tuesday ready for our departure for Sri Lanka. Ron set the phone alarm to go off at 5:45 but for reassurance I called the front desk and asked for a wake up call at 5:45. The call came and we hopped out of bed from a deep slumber. We showered and dressed and as Ron put on his watch he noted the time was 5:10. Our call had come at 4:45 not 5:45! We were wide awake and dressed so no need to head back to bed. We ate a light breakfast at the lovely Bangkok airport, one of the nicest we have traveled through. Our flight on Sri Lankan Air was good: we had plenty of leg room, it was a short three hour flight and the food was much better than United’s international flight. We were met by Kelum, a former driver for the Asia Foundation with whom Ron worked when we lived here. We checked into our hotel and went to lunch at a nearby food court that has a great veggie Indian restaurant. We ate a masala dosai and loved it. Then we headed to Ajith’s, my favorite jeweler, where I ordered some pendants then onto the Asia Foundation to see old friends. We went back to the hotel and rested then went out to dinner with another friend that Ron had worked with. We dined alfresco at a great Italian place. Back to the hotel to bed as we were tired from our early rise in Bangkok.

October 25

We had a great breakfast in our hotel. The hotel is quite new and very sophisticated in design. The rooms are concrete: floors, walls, bed platform, bedside tables, built in desk, sink stand, and shower stall. It may sound weird but the work is beautifully done: stained concrete and all the edges are rounded like bull nose tile. Our former driver, Mr. Kularathna picked us up promptly at 10:00 and we headed to Barefoot, my favorite place to shop. I got new cloth napkins, a table cloth for the outdoor farmer’s table Ron built this summer, a few clothes and two ceramic plates. We went to another store to get some excellent Sri Lankan tea then headed over to the Asia Foundation to give friends gifts before a luncheon at a nearby restaurant. Unfortunately, many people who had been invited were not able to come as it is a big four day holiday weekend.

Afterwards we took a trip down memory lane and rode over to Thimbriagasyaya, the street where we lived in 2005-06. They are widening the street and it was amazing to see the changes. Speaking of changes we have been surprised at many positive changes since our last visit in January 2011. The city is considerably cleaner than before, there is a lot of remodeling of older colonial buildings that are quite beautiful, the roads appear to be in better shape and new roads are being built or have been completed to improve traffic from the airport and to Galle, another major city here.

October 26

I got up at 2:00 a.m. to go to the airport to welcome James Wall, a friend of mine since grade school. About a year ago James and his two brothers-in-love made a very generous donation to Shilpa Children’s Home in Colombo in honor of James deceased wife, Heloise. I had volunteered at Shilpa when we lived here. When James expressed an interest in traveling with us to Thailand I suggested we also come here so Shilpa could thank him for what he and his family had done for them. So James arrived and we agreed that we would meet at 2:00 p.m. so he could sleep in. I managed to go back to sleep around 6 and got up at 7:15. Sleep has been elusive since I have been in SE Asia. We had a great day seeing a Buddhist temple, another temple on Beira Lake (literally on the lake) designed by Sri Lanka’s well known architect, Geoffrey Bawa. Afterwards we walked along the Indian Ocean at Galle Face Green before coming back to our hotel and getting refreshed before going out to dinner with Veena Durgabakshi, our former landlord. Veena brought her brother, his wife and charming two daughters who have grown so much since we last saw them in January 2011. We ate a wonderful Sri Lankan dinner with many different dishes.

October 27

Today we did some touring of Pettah, the heart of old town where the market thrives. Because today was a Muslim holiday there wasn't a lot of activity. We visited a mosque that was built in 1908 and is being expanded to more than double its size. Now that the civil war has ended we suspect that a lot of pent up development is occurring. Next we visited a Hindu temple and there was a lot of activity here. We removed our shoes once we were inside the temple grounds. I realized what a tender foot I was. 

From here we went to the Dutch Hospital. Sri Lanka was invaded and ruled about 150 years each by the Portuguese, then the Dutch and lastly the Brits. The hospital has been redeveloped into a very upscale area of shops and restaurants. There was an outlet of our favorite store Barefoot so we popped in and picked up a few gifts. Then we ventured into Colombo 07. This area is graced with colonial mansions, tree lined streets and more redevelopment. We visited the Independence monument and the former race course where there were horse races back in the day of British rule.

Next stop was lunch at Barefoot and some serious shopping for James. He found some great hand loomed fabric to recover some chairs, shirts, silk scarves, etc. We picked up the table cloth we had hemmed from fabric we had purchased earlier in the week and Ron found a great bathrobe. All cloth items at Barefoot are hand loomed, hand dyed and hand made. We walked through the art gallery there then headed over to Paradise Rd which sells household items such as ceramics, table linens and the like. James found a few more items then we headed back to the hotel as jet lag had caught up with James. We headed over the Odel’s, Sri Lanka’s sole department store in hopes of finding winter jackets. Neither of us found anything that appealed to us. Many manufactures have clothes made here then shipped overseas so you can get a bargain if you can find what you want. The only place in Sri Lanka that anyone would wear a jacket is in the high country.