Songkran - The Big Party

Songkron, the big Thai party is over and I'm happy about that. Songkran is usually thought of as the "Water Holiday" as water is thrown on you and every one around you.

I want to be loving and it's nice to have

someone sprinkle a little water on you as a blessing but throwing a five gallon pail of water at you when you are going 40 miles an hour on a motorbike is terrorism.

To read stories written before about Songkran just clink on these links: SONGKRAN DAY ONE - SONGKRAN DAY TWO - SONGKRAN DAY THREE

About the only part of the holiday I did take part in was the whole family went

to Bang's house a few blocks away and had a Songkran dinner together. Bang is the young girl that got married last year and is expectant on May 7th. (Expectant was a term used in "I Love Lucy" many years ago.) You can read about Bang's wedding in the last half of a story written last

year by CLICKING HERE.

It was a nice time with Daeng's Mother blessing everyone

as the oldest in the family. (I think I'm older but that is another story.)

I did not take part in the ceremony as Daeng's Mother does not wash her

hands after using the toilet. I won't eat anything she has cooked or touched. As a matter of fact, I have never seen her wash her hands.

The young kids all played in the fish pond that was cleaned out. They used it as a kids pool and had a lot of fun together. I did eat some Akha food that Daeng's Sister-in-law cooked and it was very spicy.

It was a fun time but I'm very happy Songkran is over.

Tax Day in USA - Wash Day in Thailand

It may be tax day in the United States of America but it is wash day in the Kingdom of Thailand.

One of the things that Daeng likes about the USA is agitator washing machines because they beat the clothes clean. For some reason, maybe because they use so much water, agitator washing machines can not be found in Thailand.

Because of that, Daeng does the wash the way she usually does it here. She puts the clothes in tubs with soap and does the wash dance. Kind of like the old days doing the grape dance to get the juice out of the grapes.

Then she puts the clothes in other tubs for the rinse and does the dance on them again, twice. After that she puts the cloths in a water extractor. That is a machine that spins the clothes very fast to remove most of the water.

The nice part is she then hangs them in the sun to dry. Yea, clean and nice smelling clothes to wear.

The Big Shaker!

It has been six days since the big earthquake here on the Myanmar (Burma) border. We experienced the strongest earthquake I have felt, including the Northridge quake in California. Everyone in the family is okay, our three story building is standing but tile has come off the walls and lots of big cracks in the concrete. Everyone around us here in Mae Sai, Thailand was okay although scared as Daeng told me northern Thailand doesn't get earthquakes. I am told there were two, one was 7.0 and we are in the epic center. Here is a link of the first news coverage. CLICK HERE We are told that it was actually 6.8 but because it was so close to the surface it was originally thought to be bigger. It was still scary! With all the aftershocks this is an 'E" ticket ride. If you don't know what an "E" ticket ride is just ask an old person that has been to Disneyland. After we were sure everyone in the immediate area was okay we hopped on our motorbike and drove to the city part of our 25,000 population town to see if we could help. We were surprised that there was very little damage and no one seemed to be hurt. We had the poo-poo scared out of us when we stopped in an area by the border bridge were the buildings are made with corrugated metal, shanty stile. All of a sudden, an aftershock came through and these tin buildings all started shacking, making this terrible noise. It lasted about six or seven seconds and then stopped. We had to change our underwear. (I'm kidding because I don't use underwear.) All through the town, people were camped out in front or back of their buildings as they were afraid of another quake. Some have even pitched tents as they were all afraid to go back in to their homes. The only damage we saw was a lot of cracks in the concrete buildings and a statue had fallen from one of the building. We decided to go home and do some of the clean up. I ate some comfort food, ice cream from the 7-11 and went home to take a shower, then go to bed in my own bed. I had to talk Daeng into that as she was still scared. The rest of the family slept outside for the night. The next day Daeng cleaned up all the concrete and tile that had fallen off the wall. I slept most of the day as I was emotionally drained as we had just finished the new master bathroom and master bedroom. Now we need it repair it. The government in Myanmar (Burma) seems to be keeping the news coverage of damage done by this earthquake to a minimum. Here is a YouTube video taken by our friends at 891NanaStation (Childlife) of some of the damage on the other side of the border. For the 10 minute video: CLICK HERE. We are keeping busy repairing the cracks in the walls so we can repaint. We are looking to find a good tile setter but if we can't find one we'll try to do some of the tile repairs ourselves. Everyday we are still getting small aftershocks which keeps everyone afraid of another big one. Although we are writing this with a light heart many people in Myanmar (Burma) were killed, their homes lost and families separated. May God bless them all!

The Thai Way

Daeng and Boonreang went to the Police Station in Mae Chan today and met with the family of the lady that died in the accident along with the Mother and Father of the boy who's motorbike Boonreang was driving.

It turned out that the Mother and Father would not help out with anything and were complete ass holes about the whole accident. They would have let Boonreang go to jail rather than help even though his son let Boonreang drive his motorbike.

One thing I have learned in the last 69 years is: "Never fight with pigs. You just get muddy and the pigs love it!"


Daeng called me and told me she had made arrangements with the family of the lady that was killed and ask me to transfer money into an account so they could be paid 200,000 Thai Baht today. If we did that Boonreang would not have to go to jail and would be put on a kind of probation for the next two years.

I transferred the money she needed and said a little prayer thanking God that the rest of us were safe and that the other family was so kind.

We made it to our Thailand Home Safe

We made it safe to our home in Mae Sai, Thailand.

I am writing this post with a heavy heart.

We are also very sad to read and see the news of the earthquake that has caused so much suffering in the area of Japan.

On a lighter side, before we left California we had a little get together with some of the family members. We all did a little crackin at Joe's Crab Shack in Newport Beach. It was nice to see most of the family before our three month trip.

We arrived in Bangkok a week ago and spent the night at a new guest house on Soi 4 in the Sumhamvit area. I stayed up for the eighteen hours flying time and watched movies. Of the six I watched, I was impressed with "The King's Speech". I understand why it won so many awards.

Daeng slept most of the afternoon the day we arrived and then in the middle of the night she went shopping. She went to the wholesale market in Bangkok that opens at midnight and sells to most of the store and shop owners. She bought shirts and jeans for the family members in Mai Sai.

It is also wonderful to have fresh fruit for about 60 cents a serving.

When she came back about 8:00 AM on Thursday morning we got into a taxi and went to renew her Thai Passport. When we arrived at the government office she was told that it would take until Monday. She explained we were leaving for northern Thailand on Sunday. They told her she could renew it in Chiang Rai which is about a four hour bus ride from us in Mae Sai.

Now for the really sad part, on the way back to our room Daeng's son called to tell her he had been in a motorbike accident last night and the lady that was driving the other motorbike died. He was okay, just a little skinned up as he had a helmet on. His friend, who's motorbike Boonreang was driving, was a passenger and had broken his arm but was okay. The young passenger on the other motorbike had slight injuries but was going to be okay.

The taxi driver also played a little game with us as the meter stopped working along the way and we had to bicker about a fee for the trip. We did pay more that we should have but we just wanted to move along, under the circumstances. The difference was only about 90 Thai Baht ($3.00 USD).

When we got back to our room, I got onto the Internet using WiFi and my netbook and changed our reservations from Sunday to that night. I don't like to travel at night but we don't have much choice. We had called Pastor Lota and ask if he could pick us up at the Chiang Rai Airport at about 9:30 PM.

We arrived, got our bags and he along with Nuy, Daeng's niece and Hlong, Daeng's sister-in-law, were waiting for us. On the way north, Pastor Lota dropped them off at the ladies home to pay their respects and start the process of settlement. I could tell that things were done differently here then the way we would do them in America. I went on to our home, unpacked and waited for Daeng who returned around 1:00 AM.

It seems that the lady who was 73 years old turned right in front of Boonreang. His motorbike hit her and knocked her to the pavement. She was not wearing a helmet so she died of head injuries. Boonreang was driving without a drivers license. According to the police, everyone was at fault. The lady driving the other motorbike was not wearing a helmet. She, according to witnesses, turned right in front of Daeng's son without signaling and was driving a uninsured, unregistered motorbike. In turn, Boonreang was driving without a motorbike driver's license.

I am told that under the circumstances everyone would have just taken care of their own expenses and that would have been that. But, because the lady died the other driver, Daeng's son, is responsible. For the last few days, Daeng and Boonreang have been visiting the family and trying to help the deceased family members.

The cremation was Monday and now Daeng and Boonreang must meet Friday with the Police and Judge to see how this accident will progress. The range of events could be anything from Boonreang going to jail to Daeng paying money to the family and any charges being dismissed.

More will be revealed!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

We had a happy and very busy holiday season this year. It has been a little chilly here in Southern California.

Most of the heating repair calls have had very dirty air filters. The most important thing that you can do as a home owner is keep your air filters clean. Your system will work better and more economically, also.

Christmas Eve we picked up Mom at Flagship Health Care Center in Newport Beach and had her driven by a special taxi service to our sister Diane's home.

Most of the family that is in California was there and we ate and a festive time was had by all. My Uncle Jimmy, Diane and Mom cracked everyone up. Mom is still very funny sometimes.

On Christmas Day we visited daughter Amy at her home with Peacemakers. They always have wonderful food as well as friendly stories.

I am sure I talked too much about our travels but they always seem interested.

Some of the carolers from another Peacemaker home came by and sang Christmas Carols as we were getting ready to leave.

Over the last few weeks, the Law Firm of Allan S. Lolly & Associates has been getting Daeng's I-751 ready to file with immigrations. When approved that will give Daeng permanent residence status. Then, after three years, she can apply of U. S. Citizenship.

For New Year's Eve we visited Mom at Flagship and watched the ball drop in New York; then home and to bed. Now that's a safe New Years Eve, especially for an old guy like me.

On New Year's Day we picked up Mom again and had a little get together to celebrate the New Year and my daughter Tina's 50th birthday. Yes, I felt a little old having a daughter that is fifty years old. We always have fun with the family.

On the picture to the right is Daeng, Mom, Diane and daughter Tina. On the reflection in the glass over Daeng's head is Chanda, Uncle Jimmy and Jay.

We want to wish everyone a very Happy New Year!

Nice to be Home for the Holidays

Although we love to travel and visit friends and family it's nice to be home for the holidays.

We left the Myanmar (Burma) border and spent three days in Bangkok visiting Daeng's sister. She is a sweet lady that works in a restaurant that caters to shoppers at a large shopping mall in the center of Bangkok.

Although only about 1-2% of the people that live in Thailand are Christians the main areas have lots of Christmas decorations.

We spent one evening site seeing the Christmas decorations at the big shopping centers.

Then onward to California. It was very good to get back into our own bed. We had a lot of fun during our trip and it was nice to work on our vacation home in Northern Thailand but I think we, both Daeng and I, like our home here in California the best.

We think the decorations here in Southern California are the best.

On Saturday we went to Amy's Christmas Party. Amy is my youngest daughter. She and Daeng get along great as they are about the same age. Okay, lighten up folks!

That is my Grand-daughter, Crystal, across from me. She is the one with the big, bright smile.

Not to bore you but I also had a Happy Birthday celebration with most of the family, yesterday. Sister Diane, put together a lunch with a cruise around Newport Beach harbor.

It was raining but was wonderful being with friends and family. Daeng, who gets motion sickness, even had a great lunch and some fun on the boat.

We could not bring Mom due to the rain and the problems of loading her in her wheel chair but we did stop at her care center for some cake and birthday wishes in the afternoon.

Daeng and I want to wish everyone a Happy & Safe Holiday Season!

Love to ALL!

Terry & Daeng