Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Road Rage Thai Style
The quality of driving here is nowhere near as good as in the UK. Over the last few decades with all the various initiatives, laws and upgraded driving test the level of driving ability in the UK has improved drastically. Not so in Thailand. However, there is very little sign of road rage, drivers can do the most outrageous pieces of driving and other road users seem to just ignore them. This is not always the case. The other day I was on my bike and stopped at traffic lights when I heard a ruckus behind me. On investigating, I saw a man on his motor bike arguing with a woman motor cyclist and slapping her around the face, left, right, left, right. The woman was wearing a crash helmet and her response to this assault was to pull the visor down. The man continued his vitriol and slapping but this time he was slapping the visor. The woman just folded her arms and stared at the man in incredulity. The lights changed and I had to drive off but I was giggling for quite a way down the road.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Man and his Motor Bike
This is me with my Honda Air Blade which is a 110c (plenty fast enough), 4 stroke automatic motor bike. Nice machine and gets me around Chiang Mai no problems. Other riders hate me though as I just potter along and hardly ever go above 60km per hour. My thinking is where do I have to be for anything at any time.
Farangutans lose 5-2 February 2009
The Farangutans entered a football competition for 16 teams. All the other teams were Thai and came from local Universities. They were all under 25, fit, strong and trained every day. The Farangutans were older, drank heavily and smoke so could not compete on fitness with any of the teams. Needless to say we did not advance from the first group of 4, but, did not disgrace ourselves. In all the games we competed and lasted well and only missed out on getting a result by the odd goal, losing 1-0 and 2-1. These photos were from the last game which we lost 5-2, however, 2 of the opposition goals, our defence claimed, were offside. Also, we had Jamie sent off for fighting after one of the opposition players feigned death and injury by rolling over and over and screaming in supposed agony until he conned the referee into giving a free kick. So, not a bad result and it did not dampen the teams desire to commiserate with each other over a few pints of Heineken at the JJ Market.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
The UK and Thailand, 50 years apart
This is a section which I am posting now, even though I will probably be adding to it over time.
In so many ways Thailand reminds me of how life was in the UK 50 years ago. This is not surprising as the modernisation of Thailand has only been under way for the last 30 years, so they are somewhat behind the west.
The first thing I noticed here was in the cinemas. Before a film starts everybody stands for the national anthem. This was the practice in the UK until I do not know when but certainly it was normal practice in the 50's.
HEALTH AND SAFETY
If a Health and Safety Officer came from the UK, they would close down Thailand.
The Thai people do not seem to be aware of catalytic converters as many of the vehicles spew out carbon monoxide into the faces of motor cyclists and pedestrians nearby. Just like the UK in the 1950's
So many Thai people do not wear crash helmets when on their cycles or motor bikes and often drive recklessly and without regard to the safety of other road users. Drink driving is rife here, so it is a good idea to avoid the roads after midnight. Similar to the UK in the 50's. The number of people killed on the roads is very high. A friend who is a journalist on City Life (a local English magazine) did an article about the safety of various forms of travel and the Chiang Mai authorities would not tell him how many were killed on the roads every year.
I visit a gym 2/3 times a week and the equipment is old and inefficient. The weights are loose and look in danger of falling apart. Loose wiring trails across the floor, plus the carpet is very threadbare and loose in certain places so running the risk of accidents. There are no attendants available either in the gym or in the swimming pool.
Watching building work is an education. The brickies carry full hods up normal ladders that have not been properly secured and usually there is no scaffolding or wearing of safety helmets. The workers scramble across roofs and walls without any harnesses, safety nets or anything else to prevent them from falling. Their safety shoes are often nothing more than threadbare trainers. The welders do not wear those large helmet things to protect face and eyes (not sure of it's proper name) they usually just wear sun glasses - scary. I've watched electricians just grabbing bare wires without any apparent fear of the dangers. I have never been involved in the UK building industry but my guess is that protective legislation was in its infancy in the 1950's.
Every November there is a major festival called Loi Krathong and I had the pleasure of witnessing the 2008 event. There are hundreds of spectacular floats that take take to the main streets of the city. It is slow going because many of the floats are tall and guys with long poles have to walk in front and lift electric cabling that hangs across the streets to enable the floats to pass underneath. I am no electrician but the dangers are obvious - fires and knocking out whole community's electric supply. My mouth dropped open in sheer horror the first time I saw the cables being lifted.
A NATION OF SHOPKEEPERS
I well remember when the UK was a nation of small shopkeepers. Every week the family would visit busy streets and call at the grocers, greengrocer, butcher, fishmonger, bakers, hardware store, newsagents, chemist and any other store that supplied items for the weekly shop. My mother would call into Mr Ives grocery store in Baker Street, Enfield to order all the tins, packets, jars etc. needed to stock up the family larder. Mr Ives himself would deliver the items in a cardboard box on his way home the following Friday evening. The only similarity I can remember to the Supermarkets of today was the Co-op. I was a delivery boy for one and had to ride a trade bike overloaded with boxes of groceries from the Co-op in Lancaster Road up several steep streets, Morley Hill and Browning Road coming to mind. Had several spills and accidents when attempting to laden the bike with too much weight. I also remember how thriving the local markets were, selling all sorts of foods, clothes and household goods. Every market stall was filled with traders selling their wares and the place was buzzing. Those days are gone now, as is Mr Ives and his shop, to be replaced by faceless, finance sucking supermarkets who do very little to contribute to the community. All the small shops are now trendy bars/restaurants, building society's, estate agents or fast food outlets and the markets are bare with just a handful of traders attempting to eke out a living. This transition, for me, has resulted in the character of our community's disappearing
Thailand reminds so much of the UK, and especially my home town of Enfield, from the 1950's. They are a nation of shopkeepers. Every street has shops, usually family run, selling a variety of goods, plus eating establishments and drinking venues, usually for the Thai men. It seems easy and possibly unregulated for anyone to set up a stall, lay out tables and chairs and cook simple food. Usually rice based with vegetables, meat and sea food. The various markets in Chiang Mai and surrounding towns are heaving with traders and buyers and it is an event for many local families to visit these markets. Again like the UK in the 50's. Unfortunately, supermarkets are gaining a foothold in the community, led by Tesco's, so probably if one could visit Chiang Mai again in 50 years time, they will not be a nation of shopkeepers any more. How I wish we Brits could pass on the wisdom of our experiences from the UK.
PATRIARCHAL SOCIETY
In the 1950's emancipation for women was in its infancy as a strong movement and only a glimmer in the eye of Germaine Greer. Then, it was the role of women in the West to look after their man, look pretty, keep a good home, cook and bring up the kids. Men were the hunter gatherers and went out to work, brought home their wages, gave the wife a portion and spent the rest in the pub and at a football match on a Saturday afternoon. Things changed drastically during the decade of the 1960's and quite rightly in my humble opinion. However, here in Thailand it is very much like the West of the 1950's. The girls dress very pretty and feminine and have not yet learnt the ways of dressing down. They are taught to look after their man, be at his every behest, beck and call, be good homemakers and mothers. They are educated that having a husband and home should be the height of their ambitions and desires. I met a family in central Thailand recently who says that the girls in a family are expected to wash up and do chores around the house from a very early age. "That's good," I said, "But what about the boys." I received some puzzled looks and was told that boys are not expected to do any chores. As stated in previous posts the men, when not working are drinking, whoring and smoking away the household income. I've heard stories of men beating their wives or just walking out of the house because the children are crying. Abuse of women by the men is rife and very similar to that in the UK in past decades, check out Sons and Lovers by D. H. Lawrence. However, let me finally say that the green shoots of womens' emancipation for Thais is appearing and that has probably been affected by Thai women learning and experiencing how western women live.
DIET
I well remember taking the ration book down to the corner shop for a bag of sugar or flour in the early 1950's. In those days it has been reported that people's diet in the UK were healthier, full of fresh foods and fruits. That changed in the 1950's when food processing company's bombarded us with all types of foods supplied in packets, tins and bottles for the consumer to just heat and eat. These foods were the way forward, cheaper, easier to cook and very healthy containing all the necessary vitamins, minerals and nutrients required for a healthy existence - corned beef, fray bentos steak pies and spam come to mind. In the 1950's, even though food in tins, jars, etc had been around a long time the food processing marketing and advertising people did a thorough job of persuasion on the consumer and people's diets changed. Through scientific and various experts' information, we now know different and diets are becoming healthier. Thailand however, is going through an amazing transformation in their diets very similar to the 1950's in the UK. The reminder for me of food processing is the volume of salt, sugar and other nasty chemicals contained in the processed food available here. People love smothering everything with salt and sugar with the food processing company's throwing in other unsavoury chemicals, laboratory produced additives, dyes, preservatives etc. I saw some fresh strawberries recently that were very inviting but I discovered to my horror they were covered in salt and sugar - horrible. At present the food processing revolution is well under way and I wonder how long it will be before the people realise that fresh foods are better. It took us 30-40 years. In the UK, processed food diets became popular with the advance of the middle classes after world war 2 on the back of the introduction of the social services. As Thailand does not have any social services and many millions are very poor, maybe the processed food revolution will not be as thorough as in the UK. Also, lets hope westerners can influence the Thais to rescind their eating habits quicker than we did in the west.
In so many ways Thailand reminds me of how life was in the UK 50 years ago. This is not surprising as the modernisation of Thailand has only been under way for the last 30 years, so they are somewhat behind the west.
The first thing I noticed here was in the cinemas. Before a film starts everybody stands for the national anthem. This was the practice in the UK until I do not know when but certainly it was normal practice in the 50's.
HEALTH AND SAFETY
If a Health and Safety Officer came from the UK, they would close down Thailand.
The Thai people do not seem to be aware of catalytic converters as many of the vehicles spew out carbon monoxide into the faces of motor cyclists and pedestrians nearby. Just like the UK in the 1950's
So many Thai people do not wear crash helmets when on their cycles or motor bikes and often drive recklessly and without regard to the safety of other road users. Drink driving is rife here, so it is a good idea to avoid the roads after midnight. Similar to the UK in the 50's. The number of people killed on the roads is very high. A friend who is a journalist on City Life (a local English magazine) did an article about the safety of various forms of travel and the Chiang Mai authorities would not tell him how many were killed on the roads every year.
I visit a gym 2/3 times a week and the equipment is old and inefficient. The weights are loose and look in danger of falling apart. Loose wiring trails across the floor, plus the carpet is very threadbare and loose in certain places so running the risk of accidents. There are no attendants available either in the gym or in the swimming pool.
Watching building work is an education. The brickies carry full hods up normal ladders that have not been properly secured and usually there is no scaffolding or wearing of safety helmets. The workers scramble across roofs and walls without any harnesses, safety nets or anything else to prevent them from falling. Their safety shoes are often nothing more than threadbare trainers. The welders do not wear those large helmet things to protect face and eyes (not sure of it's proper name) they usually just wear sun glasses - scary. I've watched electricians just grabbing bare wires without any apparent fear of the dangers. I have never been involved in the UK building industry but my guess is that protective legislation was in its infancy in the 1950's.
Every November there is a major festival called Loi Krathong and I had the pleasure of witnessing the 2008 event. There are hundreds of spectacular floats that take take to the main streets of the city. It is slow going because many of the floats are tall and guys with long poles have to walk in front and lift electric cabling that hangs across the streets to enable the floats to pass underneath. I am no electrician but the dangers are obvious - fires and knocking out whole community's electric supply. My mouth dropped open in sheer horror the first time I saw the cables being lifted.
A NATION OF SHOPKEEPERS
I well remember when the UK was a nation of small shopkeepers. Every week the family would visit busy streets and call at the grocers, greengrocer, butcher, fishmonger, bakers, hardware store, newsagents, chemist and any other store that supplied items for the weekly shop. My mother would call into Mr Ives grocery store in Baker Street, Enfield to order all the tins, packets, jars etc. needed to stock up the family larder. Mr Ives himself would deliver the items in a cardboard box on his way home the following Friday evening. The only similarity I can remember to the Supermarkets of today was the Co-op. I was a delivery boy for one and had to ride a trade bike overloaded with boxes of groceries from the Co-op in Lancaster Road up several steep streets, Morley Hill and Browning Road coming to mind. Had several spills and accidents when attempting to laden the bike with too much weight. I also remember how thriving the local markets were, selling all sorts of foods, clothes and household goods. Every market stall was filled with traders selling their wares and the place was buzzing. Those days are gone now, as is Mr Ives and his shop, to be replaced by faceless, finance sucking supermarkets who do very little to contribute to the community. All the small shops are now trendy bars/restaurants, building society's, estate agents or fast food outlets and the markets are bare with just a handful of traders attempting to eke out a living. This transition, for me, has resulted in the character of our community's disappearing
Thailand reminds so much of the UK, and especially my home town of Enfield, from the 1950's. They are a nation of shopkeepers. Every street has shops, usually family run, selling a variety of goods, plus eating establishments and drinking venues, usually for the Thai men. It seems easy and possibly unregulated for anyone to set up a stall, lay out tables and chairs and cook simple food. Usually rice based with vegetables, meat and sea food. The various markets in Chiang Mai and surrounding towns are heaving with traders and buyers and it is an event for many local families to visit these markets. Again like the UK in the 50's. Unfortunately, supermarkets are gaining a foothold in the community, led by Tesco's, so probably if one could visit Chiang Mai again in 50 years time, they will not be a nation of shopkeepers any more. How I wish we Brits could pass on the wisdom of our experiences from the UK.
PATRIARCHAL SOCIETY
In the 1950's emancipation for women was in its infancy as a strong movement and only a glimmer in the eye of Germaine Greer. Then, it was the role of women in the West to look after their man, look pretty, keep a good home, cook and bring up the kids. Men were the hunter gatherers and went out to work, brought home their wages, gave the wife a portion and spent the rest in the pub and at a football match on a Saturday afternoon. Things changed drastically during the decade of the 1960's and quite rightly in my humble opinion. However, here in Thailand it is very much like the West of the 1950's. The girls dress very pretty and feminine and have not yet learnt the ways of dressing down. They are taught to look after their man, be at his every behest, beck and call, be good homemakers and mothers. They are educated that having a husband and home should be the height of their ambitions and desires. I met a family in central Thailand recently who says that the girls in a family are expected to wash up and do chores around the house from a very early age. "That's good," I said, "But what about the boys." I received some puzzled looks and was told that boys are not expected to do any chores. As stated in previous posts the men, when not working are drinking, whoring and smoking away the household income. I've heard stories of men beating their wives or just walking out of the house because the children are crying. Abuse of women by the men is rife and very similar to that in the UK in past decades, check out Sons and Lovers by D. H. Lawrence. However, let me finally say that the green shoots of womens' emancipation for Thais is appearing and that has probably been affected by Thai women learning and experiencing how western women live.
DIET
I well remember taking the ration book down to the corner shop for a bag of sugar or flour in the early 1950's. In those days it has been reported that people's diet in the UK were healthier, full of fresh foods and fruits. That changed in the 1950's when food processing company's bombarded us with all types of foods supplied in packets, tins and bottles for the consumer to just heat and eat. These foods were the way forward, cheaper, easier to cook and very healthy containing all the necessary vitamins, minerals and nutrients required for a healthy existence - corned beef, fray bentos steak pies and spam come to mind. In the 1950's, even though food in tins, jars, etc had been around a long time the food processing marketing and advertising people did a thorough job of persuasion on the consumer and people's diets changed. Through scientific and various experts' information, we now know different and diets are becoming healthier. Thailand however, is going through an amazing transformation in their diets very similar to the 1950's in the UK. The reminder for me of food processing is the volume of salt, sugar and other nasty chemicals contained in the processed food available here. People love smothering everything with salt and sugar with the food processing company's throwing in other unsavoury chemicals, laboratory produced additives, dyes, preservatives etc. I saw some fresh strawberries recently that were very inviting but I discovered to my horror they were covered in salt and sugar - horrible. At present the food processing revolution is well under way and I wonder how long it will be before the people realise that fresh foods are better. It took us 30-40 years. In the UK, processed food diets became popular with the advance of the middle classes after world war 2 on the back of the introduction of the social services. As Thailand does not have any social services and many millions are very poor, maybe the processed food revolution will not be as thorough as in the UK. Also, lets hope westerners can influence the Thais to rescind their eating habits quicker than we did in the west.
TV's a laugh
Thai television as a source of entertainment can be funny. Not the shows but the various channels. It all seems quite antiquated compared to the sophistication of TV in the west. I have known where films have been advertised and not shown an alternative film having taken its place. When watching a film recently, it suddenly switched to another programme altogether and never came back. It is likely you can settle down to watch a sporting event that has been advertised and find something totally different being shown. Last year I was watching Roger Federer playing a very exciting tennis match and it got into the final set. Federer was serving the last game to win the match when the channel switched to a basketball game in the USA - no explanation, no apology, no showing the conclusion of the match. Thai soaps are very poor and probably can be likened to the quality dished up in the USA during the 50's. Poor and obviously flimsy sets and embarrassingly poor acting. You might see someone being struck and propelled backwards but there is no reality as they stop themselves against a piece of furniture. The actors not speaking all look bored and embarrassed to be there. It is all very unbelievable which makes me smile on the very few occasions I might be watching.
Its not all bad though as they do show the majority of football premiership games, european games and internationals live and a lot of the bars show live sport from all around the world - apparently its all about where the satellite dishes are pointing and what services are being picked up.
There is a lovely phrase, This is Thailand, which is an all encompassing statement to explain away a lot of situations and events that happen. The similarity is with the French C'est la vie. So, on finding the TV not exactly as it should be, oh well, This is Thailand.
Its not all bad though as they do show the majority of football premiership games, european games and internationals live and a lot of the bars show live sport from all around the world - apparently its all about where the satellite dishes are pointing and what services are being picked up.
There is a lovely phrase, This is Thailand, which is an all encompassing statement to explain away a lot of situations and events that happen. The similarity is with the French C'est la vie. So, on finding the TV not exactly as it should be, oh well, This is Thailand.
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Why Do They Do It
I have been wondering why it is that Thai ladies are so keen on meeting western men or farangs. After spending some time here and having many conversations with people there are several reasons. Of course, there is the money, all Thais think that westerners are rich and can cough up huge sums of money to help improve theirs and their families lives. Plenty of farangs have done just that and created the thinking that foreigners represent gravy trains. These farangs have not helped ordinary foreign men who are over here just living on their pensions and so do not have cash to throw around. There are many stories about Thai women fleecing foreign men which I will leave for another occasion. There are of course, conversely many good Thai ladies who accept a degree of financial stability as only part of a relationship and is not the only consideration. It is fair to add that even a man who is just living on a pension is much better off than the majority of Thais.
Apart from money, Thai women see farangs as sensible, stable, responsible, committed and good family men. This is opposed to Thai men who drink very heavily, smoke, womanise and it is reckoned over 60% visit prostitutes on a regular occasion. They are not good with the family, are very selfish and will use all the household income for their lifestyle. I met a Thai lady of 35 who has a 7 year old daughter and her husband had just died at the age of 47 from cirrhosis of the liver. She worked as a cashier, he didn't work but took all her money for booze. This is, of course, a sweeping generalisation of how Thai men behave but it does go some way to understanding why the women are keen on farangs. All the adverts you see for women looking for western men talk about wanting a man with a good heart. Thai man are inadequate in this department.
Also, Thai women are not concerned with age or looks, whether that man is western or Thai as they figure that young men are likely to stray, be selfish, too egoistical and self important. This is so totally different to the west and leads to lots of older western men seeking and able to find Thai women partners who are a lot younger.
It is not all doom and gloom though because there are many cases of foreigners and Thais having good long term relationships and bringing up families. The main criteria seems to be compromise. Both parties have to accept they come from different cultural upbringings, recognise those differences and find some happy middle ground that they can work from. Both parties have to accept that often they want different things from the relationship. The men want a nice young lady to cuddle up to and the woman is looking for security and stability. Recognise that and it will be a good start.
At the end of the day I believe that most marriages and partnerships are like a business contract. They are entered into with the 2 people wanting something from it. Often it will be the same things but often it will be different things but as long as the 2 people are getting those things there should be harmony. Here in Thailand the contract is more open - see previous paragraph.
Please feel free to comment, agree, disagree or whatever. This opinion is only mine and based on many conversations and observations.
Apart from money, Thai women see farangs as sensible, stable, responsible, committed and good family men. This is opposed to Thai men who drink very heavily, smoke, womanise and it is reckoned over 60% visit prostitutes on a regular occasion. They are not good with the family, are very selfish and will use all the household income for their lifestyle. I met a Thai lady of 35 who has a 7 year old daughter and her husband had just died at the age of 47 from cirrhosis of the liver. She worked as a cashier, he didn't work but took all her money for booze. This is, of course, a sweeping generalisation of how Thai men behave but it does go some way to understanding why the women are keen on farangs. All the adverts you see for women looking for western men talk about wanting a man with a good heart. Thai man are inadequate in this department.
Also, Thai women are not concerned with age or looks, whether that man is western or Thai as they figure that young men are likely to stray, be selfish, too egoistical and self important. This is so totally different to the west and leads to lots of older western men seeking and able to find Thai women partners who are a lot younger.
It is not all doom and gloom though because there are many cases of foreigners and Thais having good long term relationships and bringing up families. The main criteria seems to be compromise. Both parties have to accept they come from different cultural upbringings, recognise those differences and find some happy middle ground that they can work from. Both parties have to accept that often they want different things from the relationship. The men want a nice young lady to cuddle up to and the woman is looking for security and stability. Recognise that and it will be a good start.
At the end of the day I believe that most marriages and partnerships are like a business contract. They are entered into with the 2 people wanting something from it. Often it will be the same things but often it will be different things but as long as the 2 people are getting those things there should be harmony. Here in Thailand the contract is more open - see previous paragraph.
Please feel free to comment, agree, disagree or whatever. This opinion is only mine and based on many conversations and observations.
Mahasarakham
What a wonderful weekend of the 19th-21st January. I visited Mahasarakham University to attend a workshop run by Margaret Read McDonald. For those of you who know about storytelling will recognise the name, but for those who don't, Margaret is an ex librarian who has been telling stories to kids for many years and has published many books of children's stories.Mahasarakham is in the province of Isaan, North East Thailand. The land is a lot flatter than Chiang Mai is a lot warmer but equally as beautiful. Many of the people are from nearby Laos and from the hill tribes, so speak different languages luckily including English. The event was run by Wajuppa Tossa, a remarkably energetic and passionate lady who uses storytelling in her work at the University so bringing an awareness of the genre to many people. Some of these people have gone on to use storytelling in their work in the classroom or who work with underprivileged people. Wajuppa does really important work and I have every respect for her. She is a great teller herself as well. The event was a huge success having around 150 people in the workshop being a mixture of teachers, students and other interested parties. I stayed in the University and was made very welcome by everybody and even got to tell a couple of stories. I thoroughly enjoyed Margaret's workshop and her telling style is very relaxed, has good rhythm and includes lots of rhymes, songs, call and response etc. which is great for kids. The only downside was a 12 hour all night bus journey there and back which was draining to say the least. The bus company insist on having the air conditioning on all the time which makes it freezing and then they give each passenger a blanket against the cold. What's that all about? Hopefully the fun and enjoyment is fully illustrated in these pictures. It was so nice to be involved in storytelling again having been deprived of this privilege for around 8 months now. Isn't it good to meet really nice people who enjoy life, their work and are open and gregarious. Lifts the heart doesn't it.
Top 2 photos; 3 ladies from Bangkok who work with an organisation that does lots of brilliant work in the community. They were great company. Next photo; a group in the garden of Wajuppa's guesthouse (Wajuppa is second from the left front row, to Wajuppa's left is her 89 year old grandma - lovely lady), Margaret is at the end of the front row. Fourth photo; On the Saturday evening we all attended a traditional Isaan welcoming ceremony which included music, dancing, food and a ceremony performed by a Buddhist trained man from a nearby village. This is Margaret telling a story with Wajuppa interpreting and the little kid volunteering to do all the animal actions. Good fun. Next photo; is the ceremony, lots of chanting and words and everybody who were visitors had their hands held and bad spirits wiped away, then a piece of string is tied around the wrist signalling good luck. Everybody had to be touching for the ritual to work and the string is left until it falls off. Mine is still intact some 3 weeks and one or two daily showers later. Next photo; Margaret telling a story in the workshop on the Saturday with Wajuppa interpreting. Next photo; Sunday, we visited a temple and museum some 40 km away and this is me, Wajuppa, Margaret plus a couple of the Bangkok lasses having a rest (it was very hot) at the museum. Next photo; At the museum were students from 5 University's (including Chiang Mai) having some sort of gathering which included traditional dancing - very entertaining. Next photo; At the temple on the Sunday was a fortune teller and I had a go. After giving him my date of birth and discovering I was born on a Thursday, he used these pictures (similar to tarot cards) on a big sheet and told my fortune. I am going to buy a house in Thailand, live until I am 100 (I have a long palm lifeline apparently and large ears like the Buddha), be healthy and happy - all good to hear. Next photo; another group in Wajuppa's garden. Next photo; me in Wajuppa's garden looking cool (not). Next photo; Margaret from a window in Wajuppa's guesthouse. Next photo; Telling a story at the Saturday night ceremony with Wajuppa interpreting. Second last photo; The band who played traditional music on the Saturday night. Last photo; Wajuppa's guesthouse at dusk.
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