Aren't we lucky

We in western industrialised countries are very lucky. Recently I went on a trip to a town called Mae Sot on the border of Thailand and Myanmar (Burma). There, I came across a Burmese refugee camp where some 4500 people live. All these people have escaped the problems and troubles in their own country. Beautiful spot surrounded by mountains but what a way to live. These people have no hope other than charity hand outs or government concessions (from Myanmar or Thailand) and their future is so uncertain. So, what problems do we have in the west - none I suggest. There were some vicious looking, fully armed guards around who were surveying me with deep suspicion so I did not feel comfortable taking any film or photos.

Here in Chiang Mai every morning on a road leading into the city centre, there are 100's of people standing waiting for work - see photos. The majority of these people are Burmese refugees and vehicles will turn up and take them off to work on building sites, farms or factories for a minimal wage of maybe 100/200 baht per day (currently 50 baht to the pound). It reminds of the Marlon Brand 1950's film, On the Waterfront, where poor dock workers had to wait on the docks and see if they were going to get picked and earn some money that day. Isn't it a social injustice that here we are in the 2000's and people are still starving and having to bow, scrape and beg for work and for money. What chance do they have in life - there is no possibility of escaping their poverty trap and they are looked upon as pariahs by the Thai authorities. Quick, give me a soap box I feel a speech coming on.

Cricket in Chiang Mai

In the past couple of months there has been a couple of major cricket tournaments in Chiang Mai, organised by the Asian Cricket Council. It is quite a coup for the area as the council has the whole of Asia from which to choose a venue. The men's limited over tournament was a bit boring so I only watched a couple of games and both were very one sided. The winners were Oman, who hammered all the teams they met. The other tournament was the under 19's girls ( see photos) and teams included Kuwait, Iran, Hong Kong, Malaya, Bhutan, Singapore and Thailand. There were some great games and the girls were very enthusiastic, full of fun and energy and looked like they were having a great time. They all approached the tournament in a professional manner, proper practice's, warm ups and warm downs. The final was between Malaya and Nepal which Nepal won easily. Nepal has obvious cricket credentials being so close to India. One of the Malayan girls was run out and she walked back to the pavilion in tears - poor girl. Check out the photo of the ground staff marking out the wicket, this is the Prem Centre where I'm hoping to start a football academy. See in the distance the beautiful mountains. So, unwittingly I've arrived in a hot bed of cricket. My hope is that some of these nations eventually end up on the test playing arena. we could do with some new blood to liven things up. Top photo - some of the Bhutan team enjoying a joke on the boundary; next the winning Nepal team prepare to collect their winners medals. Third photo down - the successful Nepal team start celebrating; Ground staff at Prem; Kuwait do their warm up routines at the Gymkhana Club; Bhutan taking the field at Gymkhana; Malaya going through their fielding drills; Thailand batting against Bhutan at Gymkhana (Thailand won this game)

Football at Agape

For the past few weeks I have been teaching some girls and boys at Agape how to play football. Agape is an orphanage for kids who have been affected by HIV - see www.nikkisplace.org. Either they have HIV (from a population of 50-60, 80% have HIV) or they have been orphaned because their parents have died of HIV. There is a staff of over 40 helpers who are on duty 24/7 plus 3 full time nurses and 3 part time - each kid has to be checked on a weekly basis to make sure the drugs they are taking keep their immune system working 100%. The setting is wonderful, right in the country near a village called San Sai. The buildings are fairly new and the directors and staff work non stop to ensure that the kids lives are as normal as possible. They are great kids and enjoy their football. Of course, the dangers lurking on Thailand soccer pitches are different to those in the UK. In the UK the biggest danger is probably a McDonald's bag being blown across the pitch. At Agape the other week a large snake had to be cleared from the pitch before we could start playing. Also, the surrounding long grass areas are likely to be hiding a snake so be careful when retrieving a football.

It Makes You Laugh

When people are trying to use a language that is not their first one, occasionally they make a nonsense of it. As an example, in a local supermarket they were selling a range of cakes which had the word spelt cack. You could have plain cack, almond cack, butter cack or walnut cack. A week later the spelling had been put right. I had to smile at the prospect of whoever told the perpetrator the meaning cack has in the UK.

In a bakery I saw a range of toasts on sale - you could have sugar toast, garlic toast, shredded pork toast or chili paste shredded pork toast. I went outside to heave at the very thought of inflicting these delicacies on my digestive system. See photos for more cringeworthy delicacies that Thai Bakeries are dumping on their customers. I will give these a wide berth.

Cricket

I never ever thought that I would see a cricket match like this. It was a three way competition between Oman, Iran and Afghanistan under 17 boys. The game I watched was the final between Afghanistan and Iran. Afghanistan were the easy winners, Iran only got 45 runs in their allocated 40 overs which Afghanistan achieved in 8 overs. Despite that the game was played in a good spirit, friendly and good mannered. Just shows that despite the problems in these countries ordinary people just want to get on with their lives and do the things they enjoy. The game was played at the Gymkhana Club which is a lovely location. Hope this comes across in the photos. I regularly sit under a big shady tree and watch cricket - wonderful way to while away a few hours.



top photo both teams shaking hands after Afghanistan's victory
second photo a victorious Afghanistan leaving the pitch
third, fourth, fifth photos Iran batting
last couple of photos Afghanistan taking a breather

Farangutans

I have been supporting and occasionally playing for the Farangutans. A team of expats from Switzerland, Poland, Canada, France and of course the UK. We play in various competitions against local teams with mixed fortunes, some wins and some losses. We do find that the Thai referees are very biased against us and do give some frustrating and totally incorrect decisions. But, its fun and they are a good bunch of lads.
The teams name is from the word farang which is the description used for westerners - tall with long noses. However, I personally feel that it could become a word that is derogatory like other words that describe races and cultures. We will see.

My Life in Chiang Mai November 2008

In the last few weeks I have decided to stay in Chiang Mai for awhile. This is for a number of reasons;

I feel very comfortable here, the people, lifestyle, climate and cost make it a great place to spend time. This is a round the world trip but as I do not need to be anywhere for anything particular at anytime why not spend time here. I always knew that I would stop at places I like on the way. After all it is a great way of learning about a culture by living and experiencing it. Also, I had every intention of doing charity work whilst travelling and currently I'm doing some football coaching for Agape (see www.nikkisplace.org). Agape is an orphanage for kids who's lives are affected by HIV. The kids are wonderful and put everything into playing football, including the girls. I'm very pleased to be able to contribute to the work being done by Agape because without them the kids wouldn't stand a chance - check out the story of Nikki on the web site. Some of the disaffected teenagers in the West would benefit from spending some time there.

As well as Agape, I'm doing some football coaching for the Prem Centre (www.premcentre.org) a posh international school in an area called Mae Rim. Its a stunning setting surrounded by mountains and small traditional Thai villages. Currently I'm coaching 14-17 year old boys and girls on a Tuesday and Wednesday but early next year when the new term starts I will be helping coach all 8 Prem teams (4 girls and 4 boys of varying ages). Again great fun and very satisfying work. All the students are from middle to upper class backgrounds and are well disciplined and nice - which is what you would expect from young people with those backgrounds. Prem already have academies for tennis, golf and cricket (of all things) and are keen to start a football academy which they have expressed an interest in my involvement. This will be fun and rewarding work if it comes off.

I'm currently living in a very nice condo, with my own kitchen, bedroom and balcony that overlooks mountains all round - see photos. It only takes 8 minutes from the condo to the centre of town but its nice and quiet. I'm usually woken at 6.40am sharp to the sounds of birds and a cock crowing - great way to start the day. The climate is terrific - its now the winter but every day has long hours of sunshine accompanied by temperatures in the late 20's- early 30's, but at night the temperature falls to around 15-20 degrees. So, at night you have to wear a jacket - tough I know. During the rainy season that runs from April to September the weather can be a bit hot and humid but still preferable to the UK's climate. The air is so bright as well compared to the grey of the UK.

I've bought myself a small honda electric blue motorbike - yes I'm now man on bike - and have adopted the motorbike riders habits of weaving, nipping in, out and around traffic and can only reflect on my motoring days when I resented bike riders ability to do that. I missed the whole bike thing when I was a teenager so I'm a bit wobbly and uncoordinated at the moment but have managed to avoid any major incident.

With the pound being so weak against most currencies its not a time to be spending as all my dosh is in the UK. A month ago you could get 60 Thailand baht to the pound but its now down to 50 baht. Hell of a drop. My property in Todmorden was not rented until October and as I left the UK in May have missed out on nearly 6 months of rent. Put a bit of a dent into my travel budget that did. So, I need to save a bit of dosh before considering moving on again and Chiang Mai is a great place to do that from.

So, my days are spent enjoying the sunshine, smiles of the people, relaxing, reading, coaching, seeing loads of wonderful scenery (Chiang Mai is surrounded by beautiful mountains), watching and playing sport, having conversations with interesting people, eating well, 3 visits to the gym a week (my weight has now gone down to 72kgs - it was 80kg in the UK). As there is a large contingent of westerners, generally I feel like this is just one long extended holiday.

The UK at the moment sounds rubbish, with the grotty weather, recession and financial decline but I feel somewhat immune here as though I'm not involved, just a spectator. I know this is not true as my money is in the UK but it's better for me to be here than fretting sitting in the cold of a Todmorden winter.

Thai people speak very good English but I do have every intention of taking lessons in Thai so at least I know when I'm being sworn at.

You have probably been hearing about troubles in Bangkok, but here in Chiang Mai we are not affected at all. The people have to decide whether they want a democracy and let the majority dictate through elections who should have power. Or, do they want a military dictatorship. That's the choice. The problem seems to be that the protesters are unwilling to accept that the current legislation were elected by the majority and just want their own man in power.