A New Years Party, and some Thai styles

Jan 1, 2020

Last night we were invited to a New Year’s Eve party by Timm and Tumm, one of the families that are part of the compound where we have use of the house. They live in town but also have a new home on a lake about an hour’s drive from here, near the mountains that separate Myanmar from Thailand on the southern peninsula. The drive was picturesque and the setting was spectacular. Their modest but lovely 2nd home faces the lake and the mountains. You can sit on the front patio and veg with great, calming scenery. I didn’t get a complete count of those who attended the party and I only knew six of the people there. Two were caterers I think. Timm and Tum have planted many flowering plants and fruit trees.

Jack Fruit - not found in the US, but good

Timm's Bromiad garden

Anyway, there were over 20 of us there. I counted nine dishes on our table; for the most part, I had no idea for what I was eating and it was probably best since Thais eat some things I would never eat like fried grasshoppers and concealed blood. 

Making soup at the table

Ron sat with the kids and they had a popular dish. It consists of a charcoal-fired soup pot that has a raised center where you can cook raw meat; chicken and pork in this case. There is stock or water in the bowl of the pot and you put in raw veggies like mushrooms, cabbage, greens, etc. and sit and wait and eat as it cooks. You constantly feed the pot with the raw ingredients. This went on for well over an hour. Much too fussy for me but I think Ron enjoyed it and being with the kids.

Some of the feaster

After the meal, everyone gathered on the patio where there was a huge stack of gifts. I never could discern if this was a Thai tradition on just something our family does every year. One of the kids has you draw a slip of paper from a glass and it has a number on it. The other child grabbed the gift that had your number on it and was your gift. Ron got a two cup and saucer tea set with a rooster motif. And what are the odds of me getting an electric tea kettle which is what I received?  We will leave both gifts here. I don’t have a stainless kettle but all appliances here are 220 which is of no use in the US, Mexico. Central or South America where we hope to end up in the near future. The party ended around 8:30 and everyone got in their cars and heading for home. Many had carpooled. We had seven in our vehicle which had three rows of seats so it wasn’t crowded.

Tum's Mom

A party guest and daughter

Timm

Timm and Tum with their children Pear and Pon

Pon

January 1, 2020

Happy New Year! We wish you and our planet a better year ahead.

Today we walked early and it was so humid. Now there is a breeze and I have the fans on so it is much cooler. We plan a lazy day…who am I kidding…they are all pretty lazy here. I suggested we go take some photos of things that are traditional Thai for blog readers who haven’t read previous blogs with photos from Thailand. Around 11:00 we set off and got some photos of a Thai cemetery where Pa Cha An’s marker is. She was the compound’s matriarch. I know some ashes were scattered over a body of water but I do not know if any are in the cemetery.  



Next we went to a Thai Buddhist monastery…at least that is what we think it is by the buildings on the property. Ron got some photos of the architecture and mythical statues which are very traditional and interesting plants. 

Close-up of bananas

Banana blossom at the bottom with the world's smallest bananas

He shot a photo of what is called a shop-house. These are still the major residences of small businesses in Thailand often build in a block of three to eight or more. The ground floor is the shop and upstairs is the residence. The shop could be anything from a motorcycle repair or parts shop, a nail salon, a clothing store, a front for a take way eatery, etc. The dimensions are small by our standards but this is a ubiquitous structure historically and currently throughout Thailand. Many are flat out ugly and we will get some photos to prove our point. 

We took some photos of spirit houses, fancy gates, and fences, chrome is very popular here. I managed to get one photo of a family on a motorcycle. I have seen as many as four children sitting behind a driver of a motorcycle. 

This week I saw a man driving a cycle, his wife sitting behind him and their daughter who appeared to be about three standing on one of her mother’s legs. The mom had one arm holding the child. I worry about how many children are seriously injured riding on a motorcycle. We hope to do more photo outings to give you a sense of how different things are here.

Not the family described, but typical of family transport

We are preparing for our departure on January 10^th for Bangkok. We don’t want to wait until the last minute since we are taking household items with us, not our usual luggage contents of clothes only. All these items require special attention to packing. We have our four paintings packed, have gathered things we aren’t using but plan to bring home and we have bubble wrapped all the ceramic dishes we plan to bring home from here and SL. It feels good to be semi-ready to head out to Bangkok without a last-minute crazy frenzy getting stuff together. So far it looks like it will all fit in the suitcase and duffle bag we brought with us. The paintings are in two boxes Ron brought from home, and used large screen TV boxes from the condo recycle bin. I married a Boy Scout who is always prepared.