A Thai Christmas, A Thai breakfast, A Thai project, and some Thai observations

Christmas Day

Thais are overwhelmingly Buddhist, but they celebrate Christmas as a retail holiday. We went to bed late last night after talking to Mark, our older son in WY. We woke up at 6:30 this morning and we were starting our walk at the park by 6:55. It was much cooler walking early so we did six rounds, 40 minutes. That was an improvement and we hope to rise early each day to accomplish our goal of daily 45-minute walks.

On the way home, Ron stopped and got us two Khao mon gai breakfasts…that is rice, chicken broth, sliced chicken breast, and cucumbers. It was delicious as always and for the two of us, the cost was $2.00. 

Two meals with three bags each   

The takeaway package from the vendor

Attached are photos showing how plastic bags are the takeaway carrier. 

Guess which one of us had a double dose of cucs?

After breakfast, we worked on the replacement fountain that one of the dogs and knocked over and broken. As we were working we noticed that the basin had a large crack in it and we decided it needed replacing rather than trying to seal the crack. I did some hand laundry while Ron showered then I jumped into the shower.  After spending some time on our computers, we went shopping for a new basin. Since we don’t speak Thai, shopping is always a trip. We went to four plant nurseries before we found a ceramic pot that would serve the needed purpose. If our memory is correct, we bought the first one about 12 years ago in another town, an hour away. This was easier.

We drove and sometimes walked down the street looking for new eateries. We didn’t see much that appealed. We went to our little place next to our walking park. They have 8-10 tables which is how small many places here are. The photo of Ron shows that the depth of the seating areas is two tables deep. It was the first time we felt the meal was inferior. 

While we were walking around Ron took a photo of the wiring that I described in a previous post We came home and Ron unloaded the basin and we headed back out for a foot massage. I drifted most of the time; it was so relaxing. It is hot today so we escaped into the bedroom with the AC after our massages.  Later in the afternoon, he drilled out the pot for the replacement fountain using a decorative pot we purchased years ago to use as a planter but never did.

Our neighbors next door are replacing their mango tree scaffolding which is made of large bamboo. Every day we can see and hear them in the large trees. They cover the mangoes with a paper bag to protect them from the birds…we assume. The trees are quite large. I took photos of the neighbors’ trees next door and neighbors across the river to give you an idea of how this works. The bamboo allows them access to pick the fruit. Brilliant! This afternoon as we were leaving our property we spied two workers resting in the shade on top of the pile of bamboo.

Although Thais, for the most part, do not celebrate Christmas, we did see several stores with gift wrapping going on so gift giving seems to be here although I haven’t seen Christmas trees except in malls. Thailand is largely Buddhist and unlike the USA it is very common to see Buddha images in all government offices. Outside of most buildings, including government and most homes are spirit houses. They are erected to placate the spirits of the land, typically before the construction of the main building begins. They can be a simple replica of the house or ornate models of religious buildings. They are then adorned daily with flowers, incense, and food to further placate the spirits. Spirit worship predates Theravada Buddhism but the flexibility of Thai religion means that worship of Buddha and spirits is a normal part of daily life. We will post some photo examples as we move around town.

Yesterday was an excellent example of how we communicate here since we do not speak the language. Hope, who is 12 and lives on the property speaks some English and so does his mother Ai, but it is limited. When we originally furnished the house, we had custom wood blinds made for the master bedroom. This visit we discovered one set does not rotate the blinds, so Ron wanted to get it repaired. We drove to Hua Hin about an hour south of here to the store where we bought them. They offered to send someone to repair the broken blinds. A few days later two men showed up. Lin who lives on the property and speaks no English accompanied them to our house. They took photos and sent them to the head office in Bangkok. They told Lin that our blinds were not a brand they carried (we bought these blinds in 2007) but that there was a place in Phetchaburi where we live that can repair them. Lin called Timm who lives here in town, Timm called Pair, her daughter in Bangkok who speaks great English and Pair sent us a text and email explaining the outcome. Pretty darn cool, isn’t it?

The Thai language is a tonal language meaning the tone can completely change the meaning of a word. For example, the word ma can mean three or four different things depending on your tone. We found it extremely difficult to hear and say the different tones so all we really never learned to say much more than a greeting, thank you, etc.

We ate leftovers for dinner and I asked Ron if he wanted to play Scrabble. OMG, I won again. It was a quiet evening and a good way to end our day. We are grateful.