Market Day                                                                                                                                          


Actually every day is the open market day.  Batty goes a couple times a week this was the first time I went along.  Again I made quite a conversation piece or something to stare at.  Most have never seen a white person, foreigner.

You can buy about anything you can think of at these markets.

 

Interesting display of vegetables

 

Green Beans

The are a little more tough than ours.

Taste like ours when in the garden a couple days longer

than needed.

They often put them in a soup raw as a garnish.

 

 

Monks going through the market asking for money

or food.  The first monk had a box where people could

put money.  The silver containers are for food.

They stopped by me after I took their picture and chanted

something.  I think it was a thank you for what others had

put in their containers.

This was Monk's Day where people bring food to the

temples for the Monks. 

 

Eggs for sale

 

Live fish

 

 

Tapioca pancake

They are really quite tasty.  They fry them right

there on the spot. 

Green pancakes looked different to me so Batty

bought some.

 

whin

Interesting facts and happenings                                                                                                                                        

As I walk down the street people really stop and stare. Some actually come and rub my skin as I am the first white person they have seen.  Kids will follow me around to see the foreigner.  Batty, Brian and I just went for a walk and made a "circus" sideshow.  We stopped at several of her mother's friends and introduced them to Brian and of course me the mother in law.

We have cow at most every meal.  No not beef but rice.  If you want pork you ask for moo.  That is about all I know in Thai at this point.

The people across the street were harvesting their onions today.  When all were hung in the drying place they fed the workers.  I was invited over to have some noodle soup with them.  Instead of cooked green beans they put them in raw along with raw bean sprouts when they serve it.  It had a very good flavor.

Had chicken foot soup for lunch.  It was very good.  I ate all besides the 2 feet in mine.  I put them in my napkin.  Pan was not so discreet, he just left his in the dish.

Now for napkins.  Most of them are toilet paper.  If it is a napkin it is half sized really half a tissue.  The toilet paper is put into  a round plastic container.  You take out the cardboard roll and pull the paper out from the center.  It feels like ours so that is OK.

The dogs and roosters sound like the ones at home.  The dog where I sleep whines most of the night and the roosters start crowing about 4 AM.

There are also musical lizards in the trees.  I have never seen one but hear they look like a gecko but much larger.  I hope I never see one.

No matter what language a laugh or cry sounds the same.

People here seem very happy.  Wish Americans could learn that you do not have to have everything to be happy.  These people with very little seem so happy.  Two little old neighbor ladies think my old denim skirts are so pretty.  Their skirts are a cotton print.  If Batty thinks they could make them fit, I might leave them here when I go back home.

Most of the older ladies wear long cotton skirts all the time, even out working with the onions.

Yesterday when in Sisaket I saw a man riding an elephant down a busy street. I was too far away and had an almost sleeping baby in my arms to go and get a picture.  Hope I have another chance at that picture.

The fattest dog I have seen here was one in an outdoor cafe.  He was walking around under the tables.  It looked like he got a lot of handouts.  A rooster also walked in but did not stay long.

I was using Batty's cousin's car for a few days.  There was a Playboy sign on the gas tank door.  If most could read it and saw this old, fat, white haired lady driving it they would really wonder.

The Buddhist people have their religous days according to the moon.  As this was full moon it was Monk's Day.  They bring food and money to the temples.  There were piles of large bags of rice at each temple we went by.  The people dress up in their best clothes and go to pray.  I saw more in the onion fields than in the temple areas.  There was no school today but everything else was open.  They actually brought the rice the day before Monk's Day and in the evening some old ladies come to dance in the lighted yard.  We went to see it but got their too late.

 

Onion Farming                                                                                                                                    

 

Batty took me out to an onion farm where I watched the red onions being harvested, pulled by hand, loaded on the carts and ready to be taken to the drying racks  From there they will be placed in a reddish mesh bag, loaded on a larger truck and taken to market.

 

The Thai red onion is more like our garlic, in cloves.  They take a certain one of these cloves and use it for planting next season.  They are very proud of their onions.  One farmer helps the other so most of the labor is free.  Sometimes they will hire some extrs, pay for that is about $10 a day.  As in a lot of cultures the women are the hardest workers pulling the onions.  I saw men standing around smoking and acting "smart" in front of the American.

 

 

A sweet little one in the onion patch.

I think this is one of Batty's cousins holding Brian.

 

Pulling onions

 

 

This lady was happy to show a foreigner her onions

and have her picture taken with me.

 

A man showing me his onions.

Do not know why he is looking down.

 

 

They pull so many onions and tie a bamboo "string" around them,

leave them on the ground for someone to pick them up and load them on

the cart.  Some carry the strings in a pocket.  One man had them in his boot.

 

Loading the bunches onto the wagon.

This job is usually done by the men.

Under the trees in the background they have a rest

area set up where they eat their lunch and have a little

rest during the hot of the day.

About 3 o'clock I see the carts come past to go to the

drying buildings.

 

A cart loaded and ready to go to town.

Notice the tractor.

 

 

Hung on bamboo poles to dry,

After they are dry ladies sit and cut the dry roots off the bottom and

some of the dry tops and then retie them together.

 

 

From the bottom up.

I think these have been clipped.

 

 

The neighbors across the road hanging onions to dry

 

Carrying the bamboo pole loaded with onions to the

drying shed.

 

After the task was done they fed their crew.  They asked

Batty and I over for some of their soup.  It was very

good.

 

 

It is not rice time at present.  They are getting the fields ready to plant in May.  They cut the dry straw, bail some to use for cow feed or multch for new plantings.  They put some into interesting stacks.  The fields are then burned off, worked up ready for planting.

 

 

 

School                                                                                                                                                   

 

Sign by the entrance to the school

 

Sign along the road and in front of the school

 

School buildings

 

Soccer field

They are very much into soccer. 

There is a game every evening and several Saturday

and Sunday

The school system in this country is military based.  The teachers are ranked like in the military.  They all have uniforms from the principal on down to the youngest student.  Monday is the military uniform day, Wednesday their boy or girl scout uniform and the other days a type of uniform of different colors.  On Friday the teachers are to wear dress clothes.

The boys will go into the military for at least 2 years after school.

 

These boy scouts are marching to their next class.

One boy was blowing a whistle for their steps.

Tweet, tweet,tweet.

One little fellow did not like it and had his hands over

his ears.

 

A group of girls scouts marching to the kitchen.

 

The first Friday here I visited the school across from where Batty lives.  Her Aunt Toon is a teacher there, her uncle Chai was the principal, is now retired.  It was camp day.  The different classes were making the food for the noon meal.  Some of the older ones actually went camping that night.  Pan was one that went camping.

 

Toon's class was working with rice, fruit and coconut milk.

 

 

The different fruits and veggies they wll be working with.

 

Toon explaining the different things.

We then went into the classroom and she explained that a

"babana" was a single fruit and held up just one.

I hated to correct the teacher in front of the class but

I did want them to know the correct spelling so I erased the

wrong spelling and wrote the correct.  Would have liked to tell

them about a bunch but thought too much English for 6 year olds. 

 

 

Making coconut milk.

The coconut is shredded, water put on and worked into the coconut.

It is then squeezed (by hand) into the pan in the foreground, shreddings put back into

the original pan, more water put on and the process done over again.  The milk is strained

through the green cloth.

 

 

Cutting banana leaves to wrap sticky rice and fruit in

to be steamed.

 

Students cutting bananas in fourths.

You should see the knives they are using.  They have

done it before as they are quite good at it.

 

 

The kitchen

Some mothers and grandmothers have come in to do the cooking.

Here they are making fried rice

 

My plate of food; fried rice, Queen of fruit and corn.

The rice in a banana leaf was not done yet.

Some was sent over to out house and I had some for supper.

 

On another day Batty, Bert and I furninshed pork noodle soup

and boxes of juice for 320 students, homemade lime aide for the teachers.

Bert did a lot of lime squeezing that morning.

I wanted to go and help but I had been hit with

Siam's revenge and was in bed/bathroom.

 

 

 

Batty's Place                                                                                                                                     


Leaving Bankok we flew to Ubon Ratcha, they call it Ubon.

 

Bangkok Airport

The domestic side

 

Bangkok Airport

 

 

Ubon

The water level is so high that wires for technology

can not be buried.

 

A street in Ubon

 

Many of these across the roads in honor of their king.

He is very highly esteemed as he has done much for

his people and land.

 

Budda statues are everywhere.

This is the largest one I have seen.

 

 We then hired another driver and his car to take us to her town.  How would you like this for an address? 
42,11, Som Poi, Rasi Shala, Siskatet, Thailand.  42 is the house number, 11 village number, Som Poi village name. Rasi Shala town name, Siskatet district name and Thailand the country.
There is quite a few people in this area, actually several villages.  Each village has a number and name.  At one time they were all seperated but many people have moved in so they are now like one big town.

Quite a culture shock when I arrived here.  The large cities, like Bangkok, are quite modern but these farm villages are very primitive.  Cities like Siskatet, Ubon and Rasi Shala have areas of both.  There is electricity and running water. Everyone has a cell phone, TV, and most   have a computer.  The roads in the villages are very narrow and somewhat blacktopped.  The country roads are nothing more than dirt trails through the country side.  I would say they are not wide enough for a car and motorbike to meet but pickup trucks somehow do meet and get by each other. 

Most people have at least one dog which is in the streets and will lay there until you are only a couple of feet from them with your car.  Most also have some chickens but they are penned up, once in awhile you will see some out. 

 

Hens and chicks are put in bamboo cages with no floors.

The cages are moved around for new places for them to scratch.

This under a neighbors house.  They live on the second floor and

have various things under like motorbike parking, washing machine,

drying peppers, etc.

 

The roosters came to visit.

There are motorbikes everywhere.  You do not need a liscense to drive one just big enough to reach the pedals and handles at the same time. The 6th grader in this house drives one.

Batty's brother and family live with her, Suwon, Pri, Pan & Puo.  Both children are boys.  Suwon is an ag teacher in a Bangkok elementary school.  They will all be moving back to Bangkok when Pan's school is done this spring.  Batty's cousin and a neighbor lady will be taking care of things here when Bert and family are in the USA.

Had a new experience Sunday, I drove a car from the right side and on the left side of the road.  The directional signal was on the opposite side so I was always turning on the windshield wiper.  There is a speed limit here of 80 KPH but no police with radar guns to enforce the speed.  They drive either very slow or pedal to the metal.  Many little tractors and carts hauling things to market.  So you change lanes frequently passing these vehicles.  The main roads are nice and wide with a shoulder but the average roads are narrow.  You take your half out of the middle until you have to meet another vehicle.  It is red onion harvest now so there are a lot of those little tractors and carts.  The little tractors look like the Toro roto tiller we once had with a tow bar and the cart hooked on behind

 

Taking pigs to market.

.

 

Picking up workers to pull the red onions.  When

they are done for the day the cart and truck will be

full of onions with the workers on the top.

The onions are then brought to a drying place and hung

over bamboo poles until dry enough to take to market

.

 

View from the bottom

The are about the size and shape of garlic.

They have cloves like a garlic.

The garlic is smaller.

 

Red onions hanging to dry

 

 

On the way to market

Many of you were wondering if they had the same things as America.  I took the following 2 pictures at a roadside rest area on our way from Pattaya to Bangkok.  There are also many Starbucks, Mister Doughnut, Dunkin Doughnut and Kentucky Fried Chicken.  I do not have pictures of them as of this time.

 

Mac Donalds

 

7 Eleven

There are so many of these that sometimes there will

be several in just a few blocks.

 

Bert and Batty are doing a lot of remodeling a here so things are a lot different than usual and will be when it is all done.  They are putting a western bathroom instead of their eastern one.  When the new one is done they will knock out the old one to make more room for the cooking area, wash machine and other things.

 

Batty and Pri making lunch.

Cement bags under cover in case it rains.

(not a drop since I have been here)

The little building in the middle is the eastern bathroom, in front of

Batty is the new western one.

 

Lunch

Most of the time some type of soup, meat & rice.

The 2 cookies were given me by a teacher I have become friends with.

The one looks like a rosette and tastes like one.  The other is a filled

pastry and rice cakes of some sort.  Never got one of them as they

were gone before I got one.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pattaya                                                                                                                                                  






At 7:30 AM a driver met us and drove us to the ciy of Pattaya.  A very interesting drive.  I am getting accustomed to them driving on the wrong side of the road from the wrong side of the car.

 

Fan Palm

 

View along the way

 

Arriving in Pattaya we were taken the hotel where we would stay.  A friend of Batty's is the manager.  She locked the door for the day and was our driver.  Our first stop was a local noodle shop.

 

 

Noodle shop

 

In front of the noodle shop

 

Happy family

 

From the noodle shop we went to Nong Nooch Tropical Botonical Garden and Resort.  As the elephant show was soon to start we went directly there.

 

 

Entrance to the park

 

Bert & Brian on a dancing elephant

 

Eating bananas

 

Before the show people could get their pictures taken with them.  They were lined up along the fence and people fed them bananas.  After the show they came back for more and tips from the audience.  If you gave them and banana they ate it, money they gave it to their trainer.

 

On the way to the elephant ride tigers were laying on rocks for us to take their picture.

 

 

 

After the show Bert and I took an elephant ride.  Very bumpy and swaying.  I enjoyed the experence.  Another new experience I can add to my list.

 

We then took an open bus tour of the park.  Much work has gone into the making of this park.  Many sculptured trees and lots of flowers.  Many groups of cement animals in groups throughout the park.

 

 

A family of cement giraffes

 

 

Sculptered trees

 

 

Terracotta pot sculpture

 

 

More sculptured trees

 

 

Temple

 

 

Sticky frog that hopped a ride on our bus

 

 

Small temples in lovely gardens

 

 

This picture is for Aunt Shelley.

Brian with Galopagus Turtle.

 

 

As it is again time to eat we headed towards the beach for supper under the coconut palms along the beach of the Thai Bay.

 

 

The skyline of Pattaya

 

The cafe people law down bamboo mats, place a low table on them and bring chairs for we Americans.  Then the food starts coming, course after course, refills of most everything.  Very enjoyable and pretty.

 

 

Cutest little boy that kept coming over to see Brian,

 

 

After this we headed back to Pattaya

 had a massage and then off to bed as we had a very early wake up call. A driver was there at 4:30 AM to take us back to the Bangkok airport to fly to Batty's place.