Open Letter to Rev. Sunit - Rumors of Chom-nom at Ban AYO

Dear Rev. Sunit,

    I am sending this note in an open forum as Daeng, my wife, received a very unusual call on May 24^th from a lady with the telephone number 081-401-2368. The lady would not give her name but kept telling her that she should not have anything to do with Chom-nom in Ban AYO as he was a liar, a drug dealer and not a Christian.

She also told Daeng that he was telling people he needed money for water and that was not true.  Daeng thinks she recognized her voice as the lady pastor from Ban AYO.  Daeng tried to explain the truth to her but she would not listen.

I called her back and explained that we have been working with Chom-nom in Ban AYO for many years and yes, he had made some mistakes.  

I also explained that we are helping him and as of last Friday he now has water to the water tanks on his property just below the Ban AYO church.  He also has temporary electricity so he can keep building.

The goal is to have a safe place for kids to have food, shelter and a friendly environment for education.

I also asked her why she did not think he was Christian as he has been going to the Ban AYO Church with family members almost every Sunday.

The reason I’m sending this to you is I asked her for her email address twice and she has not given it to me. She won’t even give me her name. I wanted her email address so I could send her all the information and pictures so she could see what Chom-nom is really doing.

I also tried to explain to her that God is a loving God and a forgiving God and it is not God’s way to spread rumors about people that are not true.  I also told her I would pray that God forgive her for doing this as she was uninformed and did not know the truth. 

I again asked her for her email address so I could send her the true story of Chom-nom’s activity.

Now, you can read everything up to his arrest at this link: http://terrysstories.blogspot.com/2011/10/ban-ayo-trip-tears-anger.html

After his confinement, in the 2 ½ years, Daeng and I are the only ones that visited him to make sure he was okay.  We visited him twice and picked him up when he was released. 

You can read more about Chom-nom by clicking on this link: http://terrysstories.blogspot.com/search?q=Chom-nom

You can also see everything on facebook at www.facebook.com/funnyplumber.

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE contact her as she needs to stop this bad talk. It is not what a Christian Pastor should be doing and it further gives her a bad name in the community as the Akha people of Ban AYO and surround area can see what he is doing.  

With God's help, Chom-nom is doing the correct things, one day at a time!

Sincerely,

Terry and Daeng Johnson

www.FunnyPlumber.com

www.TerrysStories.blogspot.com

www.facebook.com/funnyplumber

Fun Trip to Akha Party

I did not feel very good this morning so, after Daeng fixed me a little breakfast, I went back to bed.  Daeng went to the market to buy food for the visitors from Myanmar (Burma).

I woke up about 2:00 PM, showered and dressed as we had been invited by Chom-nom to attend an Akha Festival in Ban AYO.  After saying good-bye to the folks from Burma we left Mae Sai a little after 3:00 PM.

It was a little smoky but traffic was pretty light.  When we made the turn off route 1 onto the Mae Salong Road, there were two farang (non-Asian) back packers standing by the road.  We stopped and asked where they were going.  They told us Mae Salong but the songtail, actual Thai name is "Sǎwngthǎew",  (small pickup truck with a people carrier mounted in the pickup bed) would not go unless there were eight people or got paid for eight people.

We told them we could give them a ride about 12 kilometer but that may strand them.  They said that would be great.  We managed to put their two large backpacks and them in the back of our Nissan March.  She was from Spain and he is from Switzerland but were traveling as a couple.


After talking with them, we felt they were a nice couple and ask them if they would like to go to the Akha village of Ban AYO with us.  We called Chom-nom to see if his Mother had room on her floor for two visitors to sleep the night.  He said: "Yes." so we brought them with us.

It was nice to see Chom-nom's Mother, Mee-chu.  We talked and laughed a little.  They were building a new restroom, here called a water room as the whole room is built to be wet. 

It has a toilet, squat style, along with a big tub for water.  To flush the toilet you just take a dipper of water from the tub and pour it into the toilet.  To shower, you pour the dipper of water over your body, soap up and then use the dipper of water to wash off the soap.  Because the water is cold, it is pretty invigorating.

It needs water piping for the water and some tile or concrete rendering and it will be ready to use.  In the mean time she and her guests use the neighbor's wet room.

The only thing I don't like with this kind of restroom plumbing is the sewage goes to a cesspool and not a septic system, septic tank first before the cesspool.

We talked and laughed until after five o'clock.  We put their backpacks in Mee-Chu's home and drove back, maybe a kilometer, to the area they were having the celebration.  It was on the top of a hill that had been leveled and a huge concrete pad had been pored.  It is my understanding that Nok Airlines did this for the Akha Village.  It would make a great helicopter pad.

At the end of the concrete a stage with lights and PA system had been set up.  Because Thai people tend to park were ever they want, we parked by the entrance so we would not be blocked in so if we wanted to leave before the complete show was over at around midnight.  We were going to go back home, about 50 kilometer, and sleep in our own bed.

Chom-nom met us and took us to a table that had been set up for us so we could eat.  We had Akha (mountain) rice, vegetables, pork and spicy sauce.  The folks we had picked up loved it.

After eating, it was almost dark, the entertainment started.  It was very nice to see Chom-nom taking control of the event and singing, too.

It is also great to see the Akha ladies all dressed up.  This lady had a great voice, as well.

Everyone was having a wonderful time.  I would guess there were over five hundred folks here. It is our understanding that this will be the first of an annual celebration here on the mountain.  We think it is to celebrate the Akha heritage.

Daeng had her picture taken with the Thai/Akha super star comedian that was headlining this entertainment.  I laughed at his signature joke.  He says he is so scary looking, he can only come our at night.  The audience loved him.

We said good-bye to the gang.

Time for us to go home.  When we got to our car we found that we were parked in by over a dozen motorbikes.  We were grateful they were no cars blocking us as we could move the motorbikes out of the way.

After starting the car and turning on the headlights so we could see, we moved all the motorbike out of the way.  We drove down the mountain and home.

It was a fun trip

Trip from Chaing Mai - Stop to see Chom-nom

Yesterday, we had breakfast and checked out of the hotel.  We headed toward home.  We called our friend Chom-nom as he had called us to ask if we would come see him about getting water to his girlfriend's land. 

Her land is about 18 kilometers from route 1 on route 118.  That is on our way home.  When we came to the village of Mae Suai we called him again.  He drove out on his motorbike to route 118 and meet us. 

We followed him back to the land that he needs water.  It would be easy to find again as it is below the grape vineyards on the mountain.

Now, this is the middle of the dry season but there is water running from a small spring which runs into a little pond.  A few yards (meters) away from the pond there is also a dip in the grade with water standing in it.

What Chom-nom wants to do is dig a hand dug well about 40 meters away from the pond.  I would say the area is about two meters (6 plus feet) higher than the pond and the other area that has water standing.  Chom-nom wanted me to tell him there was water where he wanted to dig.

Because we have found water for the Ban AYO Children's Shelter area he thinks I am an expert on water.  I told him that an ex-pert was a drip that was.  (Plumber Humor!)  I told him the easiest way to know for sure is dig.  If you did not get water at 4-5 meters you probably don't have water there. 

By the way, I do feel he will get water about 3 meters down.  I'll be interested, if I'm correct, when he digs it.

To read the story of finding water for the kids of Ban AYO CLICK HERE.

We visited his new piglets and had lunch at his place.  We also told him we would come to Ban AYO on Saturday afternoon to see him and his Mother.

We said our good-byes and headed the rest of the way home. 
When we got home the gang from Myanmar (Burma) were at our home.  The Burma Gang is Daeng's sister-in-law, Hlong's family.  The kids were afraid of me at the start as they had never seen a big white guy.

It didn't take very long for us to become friends.

It was a good trip back to our home, we got 35 MPG on E20 fuel.  It is my understanding that E20 fuel is 20% alcohol.

It was also nice to sleep in our own bed.

Fat Boy - 20 feet in the Air

Well, it's been pretty quiet around home, here in Mae Sai.  We, well I should say "I", wanted to straighten the down spout from the rain gutters on the four floor roof.  Daeng said it was okay but as a professional plumber, I wanted it straight.

As I wrote in the stories last week, my aluminium ladder broke while I was working about half way up the ladder.  I did bruise my left elbow in the fall.  That is feeling a lot better.

Working on the new, 6 meter (about 20 foot) bamboo ladder took some getting used to.  First, the rungs are round as compared to flat on a ladder made in America.  Next, the rungs are not spaced exactly the same distance apart so I had to learn to be very careful in climbing and coming back down.

I think the biggest part I had to get used to was the ladder really bends when you get close to the top.  Once I got some confidence it was okay.

Daeng and I did get the piping rehung straight with the correct size pipe clamps.  I think it looks pretty good.  We only had to move the three clamps over about 2-3 inches.  That sounds easy but 20-40 foot in the air, supporting the pipe while we used a rotor hammer to drill holes in concrete walls, inserting anchors, pipe clamps and screws was a challenge for this 70 year old, fat boy.

While we were working we also had to watch our for the little kid that I call "Bum".  His real name is "Bun".  He is a cute little kid and I tought him to say: "Oh-Oh".  His first English word.

We also took a little side trip to say "Good-Bye" to Daeng's friend, Peg, who is returning to Japan.  She and her husband own a chain of massage parlor in Tokyo.  She says Japanese folks love massages.  Her husband stayed in Japan while she visited her family here.

Nay, Daeng's neice, has been making neck scarfs and hanging out a little with us, as well.  We have been getting the front ready to put the final color of paint to match the other two parts of the shop houses.  We have patched, primed with contact primer, primed with white primer and tomorrow we will put on the first coat of color.

I took this picture at the Ban Pa Mueat morning market while we were having our usual breakfast.  What came to mind was: "Kids praying for kids."

A day or two more of painting and we are going to take an over night trip to see Chom-nom at Doi Chaang Coffee Company, way up in the mountains.

Ban AYO - Thanksgiving

It was great to sleep in our own bed last night.  We bought an independent pocket spring mattress this spring and we are glad we did.

Yesterday afternoon, we talked with Newt about our trip to Chiang Mai.  Newt is Hlong's cousin.  Hlong is Daeng's sister-in-law.  Wow, I think I got that one right.  Here is a picture on Newt and son getting ready to go home on her motorbike. 

They are all dressed up like it is freezing out and the temperature is about 90 degrees.  Thai girls do that because they want to keep their skin light colored.  It may be a good idea with all this stuff about the sun and skin cancer.

We got a call from Chom-nom yesterday saying that there was a get together for his Mother, Mechu.  I don't quite understand the get together except that it has something to do with everyone getting together to pray for his Mother's health.

We got up around 6:00 AM, had breakfast at the local market and did a few things around the house before dressing to go to Ban AYO.

By the time we made the 46 kilometer trip it was about 11:00 PM.  They had already killed the pig and were starting to roast it over a charcoal fire.

It was great to see all the kids and the Akha folks.  We now know most of them.  A lot if the kids were playing on a pick-up truck rack that was placed under the big tree in front of Mechu's home.

When another Akha lady saw me she started dancing, kind of imitating me as I'm always doing stuff like that.

We hung out with the kids on Mechu's front porch eating cookies and pineapple with the kids.

It was only about an hour and Chom-nom drove in with his motorbike.  He had to travel about a hundred kilometers from the Doi Chang Coffee Company.  He was looking well.

We talked for a little about his work at Doi Chang Coffee and then headed down the road to see the children's shelter.  The roadway to the shelter had been cleared.  The buildings were about the same as when we saw them in spring. 

You could see the water tanks and all the brush was cleared back from the building so they could now be worked on.

We talked and Chom-nom said it was hard to get people behind this project again until they trusted him.  He did say that the video production company that helped before were planning on coming up to help more this month.  He did not know the dates, at this time.


Another good thing is the electricity is now withing 150 meters of the shelter.  The water is available at the road, as well.

We headed back up the road but stopped at the little church just above the children's shelter.  They were have a Thanksgiving Dinner and ask us to stay.  We just could not say: "No".  We knew a lot of the folks and kids, as well.

Thanksgiving here in northern Thailand is celebrated on different dates by each town or village, all sometime during this month. 

After we ate, the ice cream man showed up so Daeng bought all the kids ice cream.

When we got back to Mechu's home the lady across the street was cutting up banana plants for pig food.  I had never seen that done.  I tasted the banana plant center and it tested okay.

It was almost two o'clock.  We talked with Mechu, wished her the very best and told her we loved her.  We took some pictures and she laughed at us because we are so much bigger that she is, even Daeng.

By this time the ice cream man made it up the hill so we had to have more ice cream.  I love the coconut favor.  Yep, everyone loves ice cream.

It was now prayer time.  The elders all sit together and everyone bows in front of Mechu, holding her hands, passing some money to her and praying for her health. 

Daeng and I both did that but did not pass any money as we had given her some when we said "Good-bye" before the prayer session.

We think we stayed within the tradition.

We said our "Good-bye's" again.  We told Chom-nom we would call him next week and come see him at Doi Chang Coffee Company.  That trip will be an over night trip.

We headed home and our Nissan March ran well.  I think we got great mileage and it passed other cars and trucks on hills much better than I expected with a 1.2 liter engine. 

Sunday in Mae Sai 03-18-12

Today was a busy day for us. We started out by putting on our Sunday clothes, black socks and long pants for me. I must say, the pants I bought in Laughlin, Nevada with our friends Michael and Charlotte, during our Super Bowl trip, felt very nice in this topical climate.

We made the trip to ChildLife for a little Sunday service with the kids. It is always uplifting to be with them and Pastor Lota.

We then headed to Rev. Sunit's church for the regular Sunday Morning service and lunch after the service. It was nice to see old friends and to meet a lady from the Netherlands that will be here working the next two years to help the Christian fellowship. I liked her because she laughed at my off-beat humor.

We were also invited to a party at Rev. Sunit's new home. It is to celebrate three things, he and his wife's birthdays and the finishing of there new home. The party starts at 4:00 PM today.

Our next item for the day is a little dental work. I need one filling and Daeng has two teeth that need work. When we got to the dentist Daeng wanted me to go first. Mine was pretty simple, just a filling. By the way, the cost for one filling was 400 Thai Baht (about $13.00 USD).

When Daeng got into the dentist's chair, the dentist looked at the cavities and suggested that some major work be done, a post put into the tooth that had already had a root canal, molar repaired and then a three tooth bridge made to replace the tooth that was already missing.

She took a new x-ray of the two teeth and said she could do all the work including the porcelain, three tooth bridge for 15,000 Thai Baht (about $492 USD). We talked about it and the alternatives. Daeng was concerned about the money and I assured her that she was worth it.

The process would be done over three visits. Today would start with the repair of the front tooth and installing the fiber post in the root canal. Return in a week to repair the back molar, prep both teeth for the bridge and take the final impressions. Then return about a week later and install the new bridge work.

We agreed and she started the process. Daeng was in the chair for a little over an hour but did not have any pain except a little pressure when the drill got stuck once while drilling out the old canal filling. It was down about 14 mm. More x-rays were taken to be sure the tooth repair was okay.

It was now time to go to Rev. Sunit's home for his celebration and party. It is a very nice home on a very large lot just outside town. We stopped at the church on the way to see if anyone needed a ride to his home but everyone had already been transported.

When we arrived they were already having a little service to be thankful for everything and to with the Sunit family the very best in the future. All the clergy, at least the ones that know me, laughed when I told them we were just there for the food and the whisky.

It was a nice party to celebrate the birthdays and the new home. The food was delicious and the chocolate cake was wonderful; just ask the kids.

Tomorrow we are going to head south the visit Chom-nom. He is about 400 Km south of us. We will probable make it a 4-5 day trip also stopping for a few days in Chiang Mai.

Trip to Ban AYO & Kids

We had our normal breakfast of chicken, sticky rice, coffee and Pa thong Ko at the Ban Pa Meat Morning Market. We then headed south from Mae Sai stopping in the little settlement, Huai Khrai, just south of the immigrations check point.

Daeng bought cookies, salt, small fish and fruit to take to Chom-nom's Mother in Ban AYO. While we were at the main market I saw a big truck with what looked like an arm. We walked over and sure enough it was part of a large statue. From the looks of it it is a rival for anything made in Texas.

In the pick-up truck in front is a life size statue and in the tractor-trailer is just part of the right arm. When it is put together is will be huge.

We made our way down route #1 and turned west on route #1130. From there we wound up the hill making sure we did not follow the directions on our GPS as it would take us through the villages and not on the new road.

When we got to the Ban AYO turn off sign we could see the burnt ground from the recent fires.

At the shelter area we could see that much of the over grown vegetation had been cut back and burned, as well.

Just to bring everyone up to date, we worked with Chom-nom to help build a children's shelter for children at risk. It was close to being inhabited when Chom-nom was arrested for possession of drugs and went to prison for a couple of years.

Here is a link to those stories: http://terrysstories.blogspot.com/2011/10/ban-ayo-trip-tears-anger.html

When we arrived at Meechue's home, Chom-nom's Mother, there was no one around. We were told she was in the jungle getting bamboo for her leaking roof. We sent out some scouts on motorbikes to find her. We hung out in the little shop area across the road from her home and had water and cookies.

About 15 minutes later, a motorbike delivered her to us. She was very dirty and said she was going to go get cleaned up at her house. We walked across the road to her house and hung out as she changed into her normal "Akha" attire.

A farang, non-Thai or Westerner, is not a common sight in this area so the kids come to see what the farang is all about. Most of them are scared but wander about this fat, white, funny looking guy is all about. They also like the cookies we usually bring. One of the girls remembered me from the video we did a few years ago. To see that video just CLICK HERE: http://www.funnyplumber.com/akha.wmv Chom-nom is the main singer.

Here is a picture of some of the kids.

We also had a nice surprise, the man that we had lunch with at the edge of the jungle in 2007 came by as he heard "The Old Fat Farang" was there and wanted to see him again. We laughed together and he said his wife left him so he cut his hair. You can read that story by clicking on this link: http://www.funnyplumber.com/Stories/10-21-07_Terry

If you have trouble with this link you can read the story at www.FunnyPlumber.com on the "Stories" Page listed as "Terry's Trip into the Jungle". He is on page 10 and 11.

We all talked for some time. We drank coffee, ate cookies, pineapple and laughed at the pictures we had brought for them. It was almost 2:00 PM so we gave Meechue a little money to help finish the repairs to her roof and said "Goodbye for Now."

We told her we were going to make the trip to see Chom-nom this week and would come back to tell her of our meeting with him.