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Dan and Ploy's Website |
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Below you will find some photographs taken during our travels in Thailand, including our house in Saraburi, my attempt to learn the Thai language, and some of the funny and interesting things that happened during our stays there. The page was last updated on 9th November 2006.
Wang Nam KioThese photographs are taken from our trip from Saraburi up to Nakon Ratchasima, usually known as Korat, and then on to visit a famous teacher monk at a small temple in Wang Nam Kio, (Green Water Palace). Click on the images to view them full size.
The Ayuttaya floodingThe plan was to visit a monk at a temple in Sena, near Ayuttaya, but the flooding in the area was too bad and I made Ploy turn back. The devastation was incredible, with so many houses uninhabitable and people living by the side of the road trying to feed themselves and their livestock. Click on the images to view them full size. Bang SaenBang Saen is a small resort by the sea, not far from Chon Buri. Ploy and I spent a couple of days there, mainly because she had to have a follow up appointment with a doctor at the hospital (she had fell at the entrance to a department store), but also to visit a friend who lives in Chon Buri. Bang Saen is also home to a fantastic Chinese Temple, the Nha Ja Sa Tai Jue shrine. Click on the images to view them full size. A 60th AnniversaryPloy telephoned me on Thursday morning and said, "Why don't you come to Thailand. This weekend is the 60th Anniversary of the King's accession to the throne and there are celebrations everywhere." So I booked a flight and rapidly arranged holiday from work and flew out that night, and I was so glad I did and was able to participate in what was a very special event. Click on the images to view them full size. We stayed in Bangkok at our usual hotel, the Nasa Vegas. The Friday was the official anniversary and there was a parade of royal barges along the Chao Phraya river. Ploy managed to get us a seat to watch the parade at the Chang Pier. Every possible position near the river was lined with yellow shirted Thais (yellow is the colour of the King's birthday), and one or two foreigners. We had bought our 'official' yellow shirts and also a commerative 60baht note that had been specially printed for the occasion. Watching the boats go by was eerie: the oarsmen of every boat seemed to be synchronised, chanting the same rythmic devotion to the King, with the only other sound being a spontaneous burst of applause. The excitement grew as, what would have been the Kings boat, bedecked in gold, appoached. The entire procession was also accompanied by lightning and thunder, but strangely no rain, which all added to the effect. Click on the images to view them full size. After the parade we walked around the royal palace surroundings (entry to the palace was for Thai people only so we didn't wait in the very long queue), and then joined in a celebratory party in the nearby park where Ploy slowly moved us forward towards the stage, eventually getting so close I was frightened I would be included in the band. There was also the largest gathering of monks I have every seen, offering good luck to the King. Again being part of all this, trying my best to sing along with the national anthem, being embraced by the Thai people as one of them (they constantly relit my candle when it blew out and people kept coming up to me and saying 'dee' 'dee mark' [good] and asking Ploy where I was from) made it feel very special. The rest of the night was then spent trying to get a tuk-tuk, along with a few million other Thais. Click on the images to view them full size. On the Saturday night there was a fireworks display. Ploy booked us seats on a boat, which, in advance of the display, took us along the river to show us the royal barges and then parked up for a view of the fireworks. Every possible position on every bridge and every vantage point along the river seemed to be a sea of yellow. Click on the images to view them full size. On Sunday 25 other royal representatives (of the 29 world wide, for the UK Prince Andrew was there), were presented to the King. It was a quieter day and we spent it wandering around the royal palace environs and trying to book another seat for the Monday royal barge procession when it was rumoured the King would be present. In fact he wasn't, but after the procession we went for something to eat opposite the democracy monument (MetHav Alai Sornd Reng Restaurant), and watched the parade of limousines for all the royal families, including the King, as they went off for a special dinner. All the streets were closed for this and we took the chance to join everyone else (and by that I think the entire population of Thailand was on the streets of Bangkok that night), and enjoy the decorative lights. Click on the images to view them full size. The next day we went back to Saraburi, but I was so grateful for having been part of it all. I had no time for the Royal family in the UK, but the King of Thailand does make you think again what an intelligent, altruistic man can do in such a position. Not for this man the glamour lifestyle, the constant parading at fashionable functions or the opening of bridges and launching of boats, the buying of shoes or the taking of extravagant holidays. This man has made a difference to the people of Thailand, especially the poor and it easy to have respect for him. The world will be a poorer place without him.
Links
Two excellent on-line sites for learning the Thai language, Learning Thai and Thai Language A contact in Singapore for anyone needing official translations of Thai documents, Adisak Wisavakul I have also been meaning to mention a restaurant in Saraburi called the Banana House (careful how you ask for that in Thai). It does the most fabulous Tom Yam soup anywhere: none of this insipid stuff you get in Singapore, or, God forbid out of packets, this is the real thing: Spicy enough to make to gasp and with an intense sourness (I like to add more lime too). Tom Yam Pla is my favourite with Mud Fish, none of those nancy boy prawns, great lumps of fish. That and a beer Chang and I am in heaven. The cook is unusually a man (for Thailand anyway): he gave up his day job as an electrical engineer to open the restaurant. Do try other things, from chilli frog (too many bones for me) to lemon prawns, but if you miss the Tom Yam Pla you will regret it. A short tripI have just come back from 6 days in
Thailand. The trip was forced by Ploy's impending operation for which
her recovery time means she could not continue to run her businesses
there. So we closed the silver jewelry business and are looking for a
buyer for the engineering
Learning the Thai language
I have inordinate problems pronouncing
Thai. It is not just the tones, the short or long vowels, it is the
language that decides it is clever to move the 'ng' sound which naturally
belongs at the end of word, to the beginning as well. I practice with Ploy has bought me this children's book. It has pictures for each of the Thai consonants and vowels. Associating the symbol with the picture immediately gives me new words, from fighting kite to ogre to egg to owl. Daeng Mo questions me on the bus or after work. 'Hor heep'? 'Dor dek'? 'Gor gai'? It is starting to stick. Slowly, slowly it is beginning to dawn.
'Tamboon'
Our House in ThailandI have just returned from 10 days in Saraburi, or more precisely Huai Bong, north of Saraburi where our new house is: the holiday was to help move in, as the house has been empty for a while. I had only seen the house once before just as Ploy was buying it: it is a Government house (Housing Association) and is two bedroom, semi-detached on a quiet corner location. I arrived to find dusty boxes everywhere, it was difficult to get through the door.
Ploy is great at all the details, but the amount of work to unpack and clean was imposing. Ploy had bought a mattress which was lying on the bedroom floor still in its plastic: Ploy was waiting until I arrived for us both to use it and had been sleeping on the floor by the side of it until now. So the days were spent cleaning and organising, the first day the lounge and downstairs bathroom, the second the bedroom and upstairs bathroom. The cable TV has come, we have bought a DVD player and lots and lots of locks. Ploy is very safety conscious and wants me to fit a security light as well: she feels vulnerable alone. It now feels more like a home and when I leave here I am happy that Ploy has somewhere to come that is clean and safe. The big work that remains is the extension that needs a new roof and ceiling and some floor repairs: Ploy's staff have started work on that, their main job permitting.
We also need to do some quite a lot on the garden, but that can wait for a while. Ploy wants to get a feng shui person in to tell us what to do, I am always surprised by Ploy's mysticism sometimes as she is one of the most practical people I know.
Ploy also has bought some land in Thailand, north of Saraburi and close to a river with a series of waterfalls called 'Jet sow noi' or Seven little sisters, a beautiful location. In fact there was an old Thai style wooden house on the plot and we planned to use the wood for the floor of our new house. We were going to sell the land as we have had a very good offer but we have decided for now to keep it. Maybe we will build that house on it one day. SaraburiNot too far from where we live, near to the Chang Cement factory is a large image of Budda with a temple and small market selling offerings which is very busy over the weekends. We visited on a Sunday and added some gold leaf to the statue: Ploy wished for us to have a child. Click on an image to bring up a larger version. ChaChoenSowWe did take some time out on my last trip to take a friend to ChaChoenSow, a site of a famous temple. The spiritulism of the Thais is so evident at these places, apart from the grandeur of the grand temple (which is prohibited from photography inside) there are the accompanying religious artifact stands, the Thai dancers that can be hired to help along a particular 'prayer', the monks offering advice and wisdom and of course the food.
Hua Hin (which means head stone in Thai) is a small, still active, fishing village on the east coast of Thailand, some 200km south of Bangkok. We drove down there from the airport and it took us about 3 hours without being frantic about it. It is quite an interesting town, free of the bustle normally associated with Thailand, and has some fine, clean, albeit busy, beaches. There are lots of restaurants of all flavours but we did find the place a little expensive by normal Thai standards. We used Hua Hin as the base for our holiday, and stayed at the Nina House hotel, 41/5-6, Naeb-Khehars Road (Tel: 032-531291), which we found clean, good value and with friendly owners. Our large, air conditioned room was 700 baht/night. Here are some impressions of Hua Hin. Click on the image to bring up a larger version. Just inland of Hua Hin is a small elephant village where you can take rides of elephants or just watch them. Driving around the area of Hua Hin we found this shrine to a famous monk. Ploy tells me that this monk saved some people's lives when they were in a boat by making the sea-water drinkable. She also tells me the Thai King and Queen visit this site. Here is a scan of a leaflet showing how they built the statue and inaugurated the site.
We decided to visit Petchaburi, north of Hua Hin, for a day. On the way we happened upon some goat fighting, buffalo racing and what appeared to a most beautiful goat competition! The start of the buffalo racing was more fun the race itself, especially as one of the two carts raced off sideways leaving the other with a clear run. Petchaburi is a typical Thai market town and our visit, of course, also coincided with some Chinese New Year celebrations, including a lion dance. In Petchaburi is a fantastic network of caves housing images of Budda, definitely worth a look. The first picture shows the descent into the the cave. There is a small shrine with the remains of a monk where we gave a small offering and added to the gold leaf on his tomb. Some further steps then lead you into the main cave: the pictures speak for themselves. In the middle of Petchaburi is a hill, which has on top a temple and also the house of King Mongkut, Rama IV, probably the greatest king of Thailand. The hill is a steep climb, although there is a cable car, and if you do walk, as we did, be prepared to fight your way around the thieving monkeys.
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