Every relationship has an Arc: A beginning, a middle, and and end.
For many reasons, which I may post here sometime, my relationship with Thailand came to an end. Not the *final* end, but I had to close that book, and start a new one.
"What a long strange trip it's been"
Onward!
20211120
This site, and the stories are now an Archive
20170206
Thaikarl 170206 - Silent, and why
Friends,
It's my last night overseas. usually i will have sent out four or five emails by now, but as you know, that hasn't happened. lotsa reasons. We had doings in bangkok - our daughters university graduation, and a bit of shopping to do. Toey's friend (boy) drove us home in his car, and we did some sight seeing around here. our computer didn't work, so we put it in the shop. got it back, and it failed again, took it back. and our internet connection via TOT (Thailand Telephone) sucked - 1.5 Mbits/sec - that's slower than a 2800 baud modem. so we went with a different company. so we got computer working, internet working. I was experiencing pain in my left forearm and wrist before i left the states. when i got here, it got worse and worse. with the angry hand, it was painful to type.
Material reasons are only part of it. usually when i come home, i'm excited to share - to tell my stories of what i've seen and done in this magical place. but this time, i feel more like i'm HERE. my presence is here, now. USA is elsewhere, in another time. i still think of my friends and loved ones in the northwest, but the urgency to report my experiences is thin and vaporous.hence, the silence on the email track. i have posted to the facebook and instagram - but those of you who don't bother with such things aren't seeing it. the social platforms are instant, take a picture, post it. done. don't have to wait until i can get to computer, compose and email, attach photos... i used to kind of narrate my experiences in my head, so that i could write them in a post later. this time, i've just been more here.
i arrived with some intense shooting pain down my left leg, originating from my lower back. i'd been to chiropractor in the states, which helped some, but didn't really fix it. we found an acupuncture shop in Bangkok. one treatment there and a specific thai massage from my wife, and i was 50% better. Tok asked around, and found an acupuncture guy up in the mountains. He knew just what to do. he poked 17 needles in my back, down my leg, and along my left arm and wrist. he hooked up wires and fired up this machine with lots of knobs and a read-out. The machine didn't go "BING", but when he turned up the juice, muscles in my leg and arm started twitching. 20 minutes for the leg/back set-up, 10 minutes for the arm/wrist. 20 baht per needle (55 cents USD). we went up there for three days in a row. within a couple of days, my wrist was 95% better, i could move my fingers and grasp things without pain. my back thing stopped being aggravating. both are still a bit sensitive- if i move extremely i can feel a little twinge, but i'm not handicapped like i was. amazing thailand.
we had some projects to do around the house, but with the back and wrist thing, we didn't get started until that settled down. G'dam pigeons were nesting in the space between the plywood ceiling and the roof tiles. right over our bed. we tried to flush them out by poking long poles in there, but they came back every night, even after we eliminated the juvenile and the eggs nest. Lousy things would be scratching, squalling and making racket all night - been driving us nuts. so i got to climb up a 15 foot bamboo ladder, and air staple plastic mesh over the openings to keep them out. tonight we sleep in quiet!
i have a rush of gratitude for being here. i feel very privileged. because i'm wedded to a thai, i get to go places and see things, meet people and experience places that most travelers would never get to. it's like having my personal guide to Disneyland. so much mystery, so much culture, so much wonder. i can't speak, i can't read, i'm very dependent on Tok for getting around, but that's okay. it works. i am a lucky man.
--
It's my last night overseas. usually i will have sent out four or five emails by now, but as you know, that hasn't happened. lotsa reasons. We had doings in bangkok - our daughters university graduation, and a bit of shopping to do. Toey's friend (boy) drove us home in his car, and we did some sight seeing around here. our computer didn't work, so we put it in the shop. got it back, and it failed again, took it back. and our internet connection via TOT (Thailand Telephone) sucked - 1.5 Mbits/sec - that's slower than a 2800 baud modem. so we went with a different company. so we got computer working, internet working. I was experiencing pain in my left forearm and wrist before i left the states. when i got here, it got worse and worse. with the angry hand, it was painful to type.
Material reasons are only part of it. usually when i come home, i'm excited to share - to tell my stories of what i've seen and done in this magical place. but this time, i feel more like i'm HERE. my presence is here, now. USA is elsewhere, in another time. i still think of my friends and loved ones in the northwest, but the urgency to report my experiences is thin and vaporous.hence, the silence on the email track. i have posted to the facebook and instagram - but those of you who don't bother with such things aren't seeing it. the social platforms are instant, take a picture, post it. done. don't have to wait until i can get to computer, compose and email, attach photos... i used to kind of narrate my experiences in my head, so that i could write them in a post later. this time, i've just been more here.
i arrived with some intense shooting pain down my left leg, originating from my lower back. i'd been to chiropractor in the states, which helped some, but didn't really fix it. we found an acupuncture shop in Bangkok. one treatment there and a specific thai massage from my wife, and i was 50% better. Tok asked around, and found an acupuncture guy up in the mountains. He knew just what to do. he poked 17 needles in my back, down my leg, and along my left arm and wrist. he hooked up wires and fired up this machine with lots of knobs and a read-out. The machine didn't go "BING", but when he turned up the juice, muscles in my leg and arm started twitching. 20 minutes for the leg/back set-up, 10 minutes for the arm/wrist. 20 baht per needle (55 cents USD). we went up there for three days in a row. within a couple of days, my wrist was 95% better, i could move my fingers and grasp things without pain. my back thing stopped being aggravating. both are still a bit sensitive- if i move extremely i can feel a little twinge, but i'm not handicapped like i was. amazing thailand.
we had some projects to do around the house, but with the back and wrist thing, we didn't get started until that settled down. G'dam pigeons were nesting in the space between the plywood ceiling and the roof tiles. right over our bed. we tried to flush them out by poking long poles in there, but they came back every night, even after we eliminated the juvenile and the eggs nest. Lousy things would be scratching, squalling and making racket all night - been driving us nuts. so i got to climb up a 15 foot bamboo ladder, and air staple plastic mesh over the openings to keep them out. tonight we sleep in quiet!
i have a rush of gratitude for being here. i feel very privileged. because i'm wedded to a thai, i get to go places and see things, meet people and experience places that most travelers would never get to. it's like having my personal guide to Disneyland. so much mystery, so much culture, so much wonder. i can't speak, i can't read, i'm very dependent on Tok for getting around, but that's okay. it works. i am a lucky man.
spent the last 5 days in korea. freeking COLD here.
onward!
Nu
--
••••••••
visit http://www.thaicountrylife.com
20161211
Thaikarl - 161211 - home again, and happy
fiends,
I am home again! beautiful, sunny, warm Thailand!
I did my layover in seoul south korea, landed in Bangkok and we've been staying at our favorite hotel - 99 Hotel near victory monument. In the past time, I could easily find and internet shop and start composing travelogue emails right away, but times have changed. everyones got mobile, so the internet shops have disappeared. we'll have to wait until we get home to Dong Khwang in a couple of days where I can use our computer. i'll be able to tell you of my adventures, and it is ALWAYS an adventure.
in the meantime, I have been posting to the FaceBook. https://www.facebook.com/thaikarl I've made my post public, so even if you don't use Facebook, if you goto that link you should be able to see my posts.
and there's instagram, tumblr etc here's the links:
see more posts:
FaceBook: Karl Christopher
NOTE: if you want to be removed from this list, just reply with "Remove me from the list" in the subject line, and you'll be off.
if you know someone who would like to be on the list, have them email me at "thaikarl@gmail.com" with "Add me to your travel list" in the subject
our daughter had her university graduation this morning. she's here now, we're off to take photos!
onward!
Nu (my thai short short name)
-
••••••••
visit http://www.thaicountrylife.com
20160502
160425 Thaikarl A video around our house
friends,
here's a little "just doit" video of where we live. It's the first of several parts. The other parts will have to wait until i get home again. we suddenly had to leave to go to Ban Chang so Tok could take care of business with our house down there. so the last two days home, where i'd planned to shoot video, pack my things carefully, shop for presents etc got superseded by a road-trip.
pardon the hiccups :-)
Nu
--
see more posts:
FaceBook: Karl Christopher
••••••••
visit http://www.thaicountrylife.com •••••••• อนุกูล
20160426
Thaikarl -bad video link sorry
I posted, THEN checked the link. Sorry. I'll try to fix before I leave, or post from the states
--
"I am i that is me, but not you" - Zeno America Das Leben ist ein langsamer Tod!
••••••••
visit http://www.thaicountrylife.com •••••••• อนุกูล
--
Sent from My brain via my iPad
160426 Thaikarl - a little video tour of the place
friends
--
started this project a bit late. there were other things to do... or not.
pardon the hiccups.
we got a call this morning that the transfer of ownership of our southern house can take place - tomorrow. we'll save 20,000 baht bydriving down there today (10 hour drive), be at government place at 8:30 am, then drive back. and i have to pack my shit and take a 7 hour bus ride next day for flying away.
wah.
but there's no where else i'd rather be. mostly.
Onward!
see more posts:
FaceBook: Karl Christopher
••••••••
visit http://www.thaicountrylife.com •••••••• อนุกูล
--
Sent from My brain via my iPad
20160423
160424 Thaikarl - Video - a visit to the fair
yet.
160311 Thaikarl The little mouse ain't so little anymore
friends,
you are seeing something that many of you have never seen: i'm wearing shoes :-) the reason i came home at this particular time was to be present at Toey's ceremony to receive her nurses cap. a rather formal affair, and my wife suggested i wear shoes instead of my normal sandals. arrgh. i was in walmart talking with her on the phone, i txted her photos of shoes to find some that were acceptable. 9.99$ walmart specials. i'll probably never wear them again.
there was a certain amount of nervous tension in the air. all those years of school, all the quizzes and tests and study. all the mistakes, the waiting to see of you passed- it's not over until this event is over, and everyone wanted to to be done in good form. we were finally ushered into the auditorium and seated with the rest of the proud parents and friends. the nurses-to-be sat in the front. there were lots of speeches and presentations. of course, i understood none of it directly, but i'm sure it was the usual ceremonial wordings. finally, all the students filed out to the back of the auditorium and up the outsides, in carefully choreographed lines, to have their name called out to receive their awards.
--
look at this photo:
we stayed at teri's room at the "K Mansion" she slept on the floor, tok and i had the bed. the Saturday of the ceremonies, we all dressed up sharp and went over to the nearby university campus. Toey has been in university nursing school program at Rangsit University in Bangkok for the last four years. so all my savings - what would be my travel money - has been going to pay our share of university and living costs for her. that's why i haven't been home in four years. it's been a struggle. most of you know i lead a pretty spartan life, foregoing what most people consider normal living conditions. it was tense at times, but we got there. she's been a solid C+ student, passed all her exams and was ready to officially become a nurse.
there were hundreds of people at the meeting hall. seemed like a couple of hundred graduates and their families. lots of milling around the hallways, taking hundreds of photos, laughing, smiling. all the nurses looking so sharp and pretty in their white uniforms and show make-up. when teri was growing up, my nickname for her was "noo noi" or "little mouse" she's not looking like a little mouse anymore. i've had to change it to "noo Hyi" - "big mouse".
Toey is second from left
it was quite impressive.
the line-file-ordering caused me to remember my high school graduation. i was a bit of a miss-fit my last year of high school. the principal graduated me to get rid of me. since my last name put me at the head of the line, i was leading the order of march out of the chairs to the stage and back. it had to be done exactly, else people would be coming out the same row that the returnees would be entering, where there would be a traffic jam and people would have to step around each other.. very clumsy. so principal pleaded with me to get it right the night of the ceremony. i assured him i had it down. when the time came, i looked the principal directly in his anxious eyes, and went left, instead of right, creating the traffic jam and jostling he was so afraid of. i was just as glad to be rid of him as he was me. there were no such rebels in this procession.
graduating nurses receive a black band of fabric that they pin along the top of their nurses caps. at the end, all the fresh nurses got up on the stages in rows for the adoration of all, and lots and lots of picture taking. they look so smart and orderly, smiling, proud, and humble at the same time. very moving.
all the new nurses picked up small garlands of flowers to bring to their parents and supporters. Toey came back to our row, knelt down in front of me, handed me the flowers. she looked up at me with her beautiful brown eyes and said "Thank you Papa!"
The three of us burst into tears.
20160417
160412 Thaikarl - Songkran day at the eastern bakery land
friends,
we drove east from lomsak, up into the mountains, and down the other side. the country turned flat, dry brown, and bright. our pickup has nice aircon, so it was pleasant in the cabin, but when we stopped at a seven (eleven) and i opened the door... it was like opening the door to the oven. a blast of hot air gobsmacks you. man, it was hot out there. even for me. my weather app said 103 degrees F, and rising! it was hot. so hot, the only way to eat a candy bar would be to tear off the end of the wrapper, and squeeze the contents out like sweet toothpaste*. i like it though. wouldn't want to be digging ditches, but it beats being cold, and you don't have to go through the "jacket on, jacket off, jacket on" ballet. t-shirt 24/7 time.
tok booked us a hotel in Kon Kaen that she found by "asking her friend Google" nice place, 1050 baht (29$) per night for the three of us - they even had three beds in the room. aircon, hot water shower, mini-bar fridge, complementary buffet breakfast in the morning. a bit fancy for my taste, but with songkran holiday in progress, getting a room anywhere is a stroke of fortune.
The 13th is songkran day. we went and visited a beautiful temple in the morning:
went back to hotel for a little nap time, then we walked a number of blocks from our hotel to the entrance of "sticky rice road" as far as you could see down this street, there were people, and water spraying into the air, music blasting, smoke from food vendors.
i was a little daunted, but in we went. you will get wet. very wet. splashed from buckets, assaulted with water guns, sprayed by hoses, plastered with chalky paste. it's great fun. water proof pouches for your mobile phone were pretty popular vendor items this year. stages along the street with dancers or bands, sponsored by mobile and soft drink companies. at the head of the street, there's a kind of town square, where the main stage is, and off to one side, a stage for the "past time" music and dancing.
we don't have anything like Songkran in the states. the weather in most of the US keeps us all indoors. forth of july is pretty big for us, but the celebrations are localized. songkran is national, it's everywhere. many people wear colorful flowered songkran shirts, even the tiniest village will have a bunch of kids beside the road ready to throw water at your car as you pass. every town has a 'water street' the people are all ages, all classes. it's generally a lot of fun, and celebration. yeah, there are a few fights, and they tally the number of road deaths each year - but those are almost all alcohol related. drinking and craziness is fairly isolated, you don't see people walking around with beer, and they don't have those beer zoo's like we do. police are present, but you'd have to really look for them. i just followed tok and teri around, got sprayed a lot and marveled at the spectacle and grandeur of the event. i feel so fortunate to experience something like this. the only thing i can think of that is this energetically charged is when people get all wound up cause their sports team is doing good. people have a common cause, a reason to unite, a purpose for excitement and display. but songkran doesn't have that giant sound of all the air getting let out of the balloon when your team loses the big contest. and i'm not into sports. festivals like songkran (and Holi in india) are all inclusive. they celebrate joy, life and living, for all people. aside from the street water basting, songkran is also a time to honor the old people and do some house cleaning. washing of the Buddha statues is observed as a ritual.
there was even a washing the Buddha setup at the mall we went to the first night.
later in the evening, they did this human wave thing that was a blast. with a lot of instructions (in thai of course) over the LOUDspeakers, everybody along the whole sticky rice road squatted down. then on countdown cue, people quickly stood up, hands in the air and squatted back down, making a wave like they do at sports events. the wave would travel back in the distance, then reflect back towards the stage. took almost 45 seconds for the reflected wave to come back to the front. it was pretty cool. there were drones in the air, following the crest, and projected on the giant LED screens on the back of the stage, i didn't want to get my phone soaked, but here's a video:
https://youtu.be/yVQbPNFjeTo
we finally walked back to our hotel. what a day. it was teeth! (the thai word for teeth is "fun", so every time i say "That was fun!" they hear: "that was teeth" and smile)
we drove back to our village the next day - with a couple stops along the way, one of them was on my "gotta do this" list for this visit home. woo hoo!
onwards!!
Nu
--
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)