Oh, The Places I Go

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.