Visiting kids

On the 22nd it was time to take the bus up to Bangkok and visit my kids. The bus was a VIP bus and it was frigid, luckily I had a sarong with me that I could try and warm myself. I arrived semi-deep frozen to Mor Chit the next morning.

Kids both were in good health exempting some sniffling and cough. We had a weekend of playtime as they were too busy weekdays studying. Their uncle had started a chicken and duck farm that they had fun feeding.

Pheung and Finn off to school

Car crashing in Thailand

20th I drove to Phuket to pick up my laptop. Luckily the techies had managed to save most of my data from the protected hard drive so I could be a happy camper again. The official diagnose was a faulty RAM chip. On the way back I had a misfortune to collide with a motorbike.

Not this bad though...

Trip to Ko Samui

On the 13th the entourage packs itself in the pickup again and we head for Ko Samui to visit Jira’s younger sister. I’m still on the road to recovery but feeling ok for the trip. We drive the whole day and take the ferry at Surat Thani to Ko Samui, only 420THB for the vehicle. The ferry seems to be (judging by the old signs) a Japanese 2nd hand find. It has Airconditioned lounges, a cafeteria and foot massage to offer.

The Buddha and all his hand postures

Chikungunya

10th July I got sick. I wake up in the middle of the night to the sensation that my every joint is aching and I run a high fever, so I quaff some paracetamol and go back to bed.

Thai mosquitoes in the act

Bull fighting in Kantang

9th July I went with Jira’s father and Luang to watch bullfighting in Kantang. In southern Thailand one can frequently see huge bull’s grazing at he roadside and I found out the local pastime is to pitch them against each other. I suppose some of them ends up in the cooking pot as well but bull’s are definitely more popular than cows.

Bull's at it

Beach hopping in Trang

6th July I hopped on our motorbike and drove with Nong Thuen towards Sikao and ended up to Khlong Son beach and port. The beach was actally called Hua Hin. It was all deserted and had some evidence of the sand eroding as it had been preserved by metal netting and sand bags. The bay must be an enormous habitat for screw shells as I saw thousands of empty shells lying in droves on the beach. After wandering around for awhile we hopped on the motorbike and drove along the beach until we reached the port.

Hua Hin beach

Trip to Hat Yai and Songkhla

3rd of July we loaded our entourage into our pick-up truck and headed for Hat Yai and Songkhla. Eventually the goal was to have me and Jira take a traditional tattoo by a Holy man (like a Brahmin). We reached Songkhla at noon and we enjoyed Samila beach and the Mermaid and Cat statues there. The beach peddlers were not as active and not as frequent as in Pattaya or Phuket beaches which I found pleasant. I bought the kids a set of spades and buckets and showed them how to build sand castles. The grown up Thais sitting in the shade probably thought I was another crazy farang playing in the sunshine, the kids were not of same opinion.

Cat statue of Songkhla (courtesy of Halimi Abdullah)

Processing rubber

I was given the opportunity to watch Jira’s sister’s husband processing rubber sap. In one night about 45 liters of sap is gathered by bleeding the rubber trees. This must take place daily otherwise the trees dry up like cow teats.

N. Rid cleaning up after rubber making