Last 10 Days in Thailand - December 1-10, 2015

 Please forgive my spelling and punctuation; I'm a plumber and not a English major. Just read and have fun.

You can click on any of the pictures and they become larger.  

We have been having fun here on the Myanmar (Burma) border.

December 1st - Looks like another great day. We love pineapple!

This morning I put a coat of enamel on the other 4 windows.

Daeng and her son, Aomsin, started to wash the windows I painted yesterday. He lasted about 45 minutes and said he was tired and quit.

I told Daeng I am not going to comment on that.

By the way, there is no water shortage here in Mae Sai, Thailand.

Daeng went out and got lunch for us. She had the lady make the papaya salad a #10 spicy. It was good but I had to wash it down with a liter of milk.

I better eat some ice cream for morning so I can say: "Come on ice cream!"

We are going on a little road trip to Mae Salong in the morning. We will take the shortcut and stop in Ban AYO on the way.

CLICK HERE for a story of Mae Salong from 2011, enjoy. 

December 2nd - Cruised through the Check Point south of Mae Sai and stopped at Khum Nam Huia Khrai for Som-tom Papaya Salad, Sticky Rice Bamboo Salad and Barbecued Chicken.

We think this is the best chicken place in Thailand. They are really nice folks, also.

We did a little workout after eating a great lunch.

Next stop is Ban AYO. 

We stopped in Ban AYO to see Meechu. We talked with the Akha ladies and Meechu while eating grapes that Daeng brought.

Meechu's sister-in-law, Meechu with a rising sound, gave us a pumpkin and a big papaya to take home.

Daeng gave Meechu, with a lowering sound, her Christmas gift but told her she could not open until Christmas.

She was disappointed but agreed.

It was nice for Daeng as she got to speak her native tongue, Akha.

Next stop is Mr. Ho's Guest House in Doi Mae Salong. 

They waved goodbye as we pulled out. 

It was great to see them, again. 

We made it to Doi Mae Salong. It was up the windy road that the jungle keeps trying to take over.

The red poinsettias, growing wild along the road, are beautiful.

Daeng said she wanted her picture taken by the crooked chicken ahead.

Mr. Ho's was glad to see us and gave us a nice little bungalow. 

It reminds me of the bungalows in the Catskill Mountains of New York. 

December 3rd - It’s morning in Mae Salong, a little shopping along with coffee and Pa Thong Ko.

In Mae Salong, this is probably the most popular coffee and Pa Thong Ko shop.  

You can see the crowd in the picture. 

We are not going to stay but Daeng wanted to visit with some of the Akha ladies as Daeng doesn’t get a lot of chance to speak “Akha”.

Daeng and I decided we would not  stop, on the way home, to see the bamboo house that Chom-nom is building in Ban AYO.

We will see that when we return in the spring.  Our hearts are a little sore but that we hope will change. 

We just had to spot for pictures of the Tea plantations.  

Thirty-five years ago this was all Opium fields. 

Now it is some of the best Tea in the world, just like it was the best Opium in the world, before that.

Here is a picture we called “Drive Buy Bananas”.  

That is correct, they are just growing along side of the road.  

The best meals on this trip were chicken coming and going.

We were thinking of fresh frog but they taste like chicken.

Surprise, I sent Aomsin, Daeng's son, a text message: "It might be nice to surprise your Mother and clean the painted windows."

When we got home he was working on them.

There is hope!  

It's great to be home. Daeng cooked some of the vegetables she bought in Mae Salong for diner and cut up the papaya that Meechu (rising sound) gave her in Ban AYO.

Life is good. 

December 4th, Just hung out with Daeng and rested. 


December 5th - It's a four day holiday. Father's Day and this Dad has a couple of helpers.

Happy Father's Day!

It is also the King's Birthday. 

My goal today is just to buy another squeegee.

Today is an under-achievers day for me. 

December 6th, more rest and hanging out with Daeng. 

She is a really cool lady!

December 7th - A lot of folks have commented on my brain bucket. That is what they call a helmet that is not very good as they use it to pick up your brains after an accident.

I wear the blue one around town as it is usually  90°F to 105°F and my good black one is very, very hot.

I do use that one on the road.

Thank you for being concerned for me as the opposite of love is not hate, it is indifference.

Daeng saves plastic bottles and anything that can be recycled. 

This morning the guy came to pick up and gave her 50 THB ($1.40 USD) for the 8 kilograms of stuff.

She says it makes her feel good to save the earth and get paid for it.

I love her.

Yesterday, I played on an Akha swing.  Here is a little video.

The girl swinging me and Daeng thought I would break it. 

Here is a picture of Daeng on the same swing. 

We are at the end of a 4 day national holiday of the King's birthday and Father's Day.

We had some fun at the festivities. 

Here is a picture of a spot to pray.

These are larger than life characters representing the many Hill Tribes.  

This is a couple of Daeng's friends. 

Barbequing sticky rice, it's good. 

Here is a video of the ladies spinning yarn and Daeng crushing rice. 

Here is also a very cool video on the ladies weaving cloth.  We love the music in it, also. 

Our friends, Cola and Moon gave me this beautiful pen as a birthday and Happy New Year gift. 

Thank you!

I think it says something like: "May many horses bring things to you fast." but I am not sure.

We are leaving for the United States in three days. We have been here three months. 

December 8th - My visa in Thailand is renewed until January 18, 2017.

I learned three things, fill out papers in blue ink only (I did it all at home in black ink but had to do it all again.), letter from bank must be within 7 calendar day and Daeng must report that I am home here in Mae Sai within 24 hours of arrival.

We passed a nice parade on the way, also.

It's time to start packing. 

December 8th - Having studied underwater basket weaving in school and being "ki now" (translated from Thai as chicken poop but used mostly to describe being cheap or skimpy), I know how to fix woven stools so they will last longer.

I am also waiting for the last load of wash so we can remake the bed for our return in the spring. 

December 9th - We are working around the house to get everything ready to travel tomorrow. 

We are going to make the whole trip in one day. 

December 10th - I woke up at about 2:15 AM and don't feel like going back to bed. We leave our home here in Mae Sai at 11:15 AM for the trip to our home in Fountain Valley, California.

Maybe I'm worried about internet withdrawal as I am shutting off my laptop in several hours.

It is a long trip with somewhere around 17 1/2 hours in the air on three planes. Our neighbor "Guy" is driving us to the airport in Chiang Rai for the 1 hour and 20 minute ride to the new airport in Bangkok. 

At 5:50 China Airlines is taking us to Taipei which takes 3 1/2 hours. It's a quick plane change and then another 12 1/2 hours to Los Angeles. 

That leg of the trip messes with our minds as we arrive in LA about 2 hours before we left.

So with the shuttle to our house in Fountain Valley, we will be home this evening, about 11:00 PM (December 10th). 

We are on the 1st plane, the one we were worried about.

We said goodbye to our bags and boarded without any problem. There is a screaming kid in the next row but thus flight is only one hour and twenty minutes. 

Correction, they just announced 1 hour and 15 minutes.

In Bangkok we have to get bags and then check in with China Airlines. We will have almost 4 hours to wait for our plane to Taipei. 

Made it to Bangkok (BKK). 

Got bused to terminal, picked up our bags from Thai Airlines and said goodbye to them again at China Airlines.

This airport is crazy as it is high tourist season.

We only have about two hours to wait for our plane to Taipei.

We are waiting at the gate for our flight to Taipei. 

This will probably be our last chance to post on Facebook until we get to the USA and change Sim cards back to T-Mobile from DATC, here in Thailand.

That should take about 18 hours.

I hope I don't go into Facebook withdrawal.

We are at the curb at LAX, waiting for our shuttle home.

The nice part, as much as a 200 km/hr tail wind on our Taiwan to Los Angeles plane ride was only 10 hours and 35 minutes.

We slept most of the way from China.  This was a great three month trip. 

We do look a little tired.