Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Rob and Marcia Mom
A picture taken on our trip from Sydney, Australia to Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Photo of Willi and On
Thailand - as I see it.
Willi and On were painting together. Willi was giving On some pointers on painting with oils. In between painting and a hand and foot game, I took this cute photo of the two of them as we were doing some shopping.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Monday, April 12, 2010
Picture of Lisu Hill Tribe Children
Thailand - as I see it.
Rob, On, Willi and I went to the Lisu Hill Tribe people with clothing for the children. It was an amazing day watching each of the children receive a piece of clothing. They all waited their turn, gave a Y thank you and smiled. They held up their clothes so we could take pictures. After all 90+ pieces of clothing were given out they all sang a song for us and thanked us with the Y. The Y greeting ia both hands together pointing at the sky, a mile on the face and a short bow. It was a wonderful experience.
Rob, On, Willi and I went to the Lisu Hill Tribe people with clothing for the children. It was an amazing day watching each of the children receive a piece of clothing. They all waited their turn, gave a Y thank you and smiled. They held up their clothes so we could take pictures. After all 90+ pieces of clothing were given out they all sang a song for us and thanked us with the Y. The Y greeting ia both hands together pointing at the sky, a mile on the face and a short bow. It was a wonderful experience.
Last Day in Chaing Mai and theTrip Home
Thailand - as I see it.
It is our last day and we got up, packed and went with Rob and On to see the work being done on the house. They have put up some more of the foundation posts. Most of the posts have been set and they just keep working steadily. Songkran, the national holiday of water is in a couple of days so the workers will have a few days off. Since it is the hottest time of the year, during the Songkran Festival, the Thai New Year that is a time to honor elders and revered people, everyone throws water and there are misters all over.
We then went to lunch at the nice Italian Restaurant and then to the massage parlor for one more massage. They were so happy to see us. We all got a foot massage and they gave us some small bananas as a gift and hugged us and said they will miss us. We had a few pictures taken with them.
Then we got back on the motorbikes and went back to the hotel and played a hand of hand and foot. Rob and On took some things back to their home and dropped off one motorbike. We then got a red taxi, a real red shirt taxi, one of the protesters taxis with the red flag on it. We never saw any protests, just the taxis once in a while with the red flags. Rob went to the airport on his motorbike and On went with us in the taxi. We also dropped off three other people on the way.
Rob helped us check in our bags and he managed to get them checked in all the way to Ft Myers even though we don’t leave from Bangkok until 5:55 AM tomorrow morning. We have an 8:50 PM flight tonight and it takes one hour. We then check in for our flight home at 3:55 AM. And the flight leaves at 5:55 AM. We are in the Royal Silk Business Class Lounge now and waiting for our flight. There are hundreds of mosquitoes and we have a tennis racket to kill them. One of the hostesses killed twenty for us and then gave us the racket. The racket is charged from the outlet and it zaps the mosquitoes. We had a nice flight on Thai Air in Royal Silk Class. Then we were in the Bangkok Airport and had to wait until the line opened at 3AM. We then were taken to the Sky Club Lounge and we had something to eat and drink until our flight. The flight was five hours and very nice. We were met in Tokyo and taken to the Sky Club Lounge there for 10 minutes before our plane loaded. We now have an 11 hour flight to Detroit in small seats with three across and we are in the middle and window. We slept a bit, had food three times and four movies. Then we flew three more hours to Ft Myers. It was a safe and wonderful trip from beginning to end.
It is our last day and we got up, packed and went with Rob and On to see the work being done on the house. They have put up some more of the foundation posts. Most of the posts have been set and they just keep working steadily. Songkran, the national holiday of water is in a couple of days so the workers will have a few days off. Since it is the hottest time of the year, during the Songkran Festival, the Thai New Year that is a time to honor elders and revered people, everyone throws water and there are misters all over.
We then went to lunch at the nice Italian Restaurant and then to the massage parlor for one more massage. They were so happy to see us. We all got a foot massage and they gave us some small bananas as a gift and hugged us and said they will miss us. We had a few pictures taken with them.
Then we got back on the motorbikes and went back to the hotel and played a hand of hand and foot. Rob and On took some things back to their home and dropped off one motorbike. We then got a red taxi, a real red shirt taxi, one of the protesters taxis with the red flag on it. We never saw any protests, just the taxis once in a while with the red flags. Rob went to the airport on his motorbike and On went with us in the taxi. We also dropped off three other people on the way.
Rob helped us check in our bags and he managed to get them checked in all the way to Ft Myers even though we don’t leave from Bangkok until 5:55 AM tomorrow morning. We have an 8:50 PM flight tonight and it takes one hour. We then check in for our flight home at 3:55 AM. And the flight leaves at 5:55 AM. We are in the Royal Silk Business Class Lounge now and waiting for our flight. There are hundreds of mosquitoes and we have a tennis racket to kill them. One of the hostesses killed twenty for us and then gave us the racket. The racket is charged from the outlet and it zaps the mosquitoes. We had a nice flight on Thai Air in Royal Silk Class. Then we were in the Bangkok Airport and had to wait until the line opened at 3AM. We then were taken to the Sky Club Lounge and we had something to eat and drink until our flight. The flight was five hours and very nice. We were met in Tokyo and taken to the Sky Club Lounge there for 10 minutes before our plane loaded. We now have an 11 hour flight to Detroit in small seats with three across and we are in the middle and window. We slept a bit, had food three times and four movies. Then we flew three more hours to Ft Myers. It was a safe and wonderful trip from beginning to end.
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Our Last Full Day and Night in Chiang Mai
Thailand - as I see it.
Our Last Full Day and Night in Chiang Mai
We woke up early, for us, 8AM, and made a smoothie, had some hot tea and played a game of hand and foot.
We just walked out to one of the side streets and had lunch. We each had a large plate of Pad Thai and bottled water and the bill came to 70 Baht or $2.25. We then went to the little local grocery market and bought two ice creams sandwiches and they were 80 Baht, more than the entire lunches. Everywhere you go now, water is misting. Water hoses are strung across all the streets, driveways and everywhere. The temperature for the last three days has been 45 degrees Celsius or around 100 degrees Fahrenheit. There is a haze in the air as there has only been rain for a few minutes since we arrived a month ago. We learned another Thai saying – check bin - is asking for the check at a restaurant. They do not pronounce the end of a word with ll’s so it is bin rather than bill.
We went to the local market which has fruit, flowers, vegetable, bolts of cloth and any other garments or household items you could think of. We bought bolts of fabric for On to make diapers and little cover-ups for the baby. She cuts out triangles for the diapers and rectangles for the cover-ups. Then she takes the cloth pieces to a seamstress who sews them all so they do not fray. The cloth is very soft cotton and it has baby designs on it.
Rob and On picked us up and we went for our massage, pedicure and manicure. The people at the massage parlor were so happy to see us. I had a manicure and pedicure as well as a foot massage, two people were working on me. Rob, On and Willi had head, neck and foot massages.
When we were done, Rob and I went to the Mall and Rob bought an Apple computer and an I-pod. You should have seen us on his motorcycle with the huge box for the desktop. We had 5 turns to make and it was a bit scary, but we made it fine. Willi and On played hand and foot and then we all went to dinner, but had to wait for an hour so we went to the Night Bazaar and bought a few small items. The restaurant was the Japanese buffet where all the uncooked food comes you on conveyor belts and you take off the plates you want. The servers took away 20 little plates after we put the food into the cooking pot on our table. It was a fun meal. It was a fun day, as well.
Our Last Full Day and Night in Chiang Mai
We woke up early, for us, 8AM, and made a smoothie, had some hot tea and played a game of hand and foot.
We just walked out to one of the side streets and had lunch. We each had a large plate of Pad Thai and bottled water and the bill came to 70 Baht or $2.25. We then went to the little local grocery market and bought two ice creams sandwiches and they were 80 Baht, more than the entire lunches. Everywhere you go now, water is misting. Water hoses are strung across all the streets, driveways and everywhere. The temperature for the last three days has been 45 degrees Celsius or around 100 degrees Fahrenheit. There is a haze in the air as there has only been rain for a few minutes since we arrived a month ago. We learned another Thai saying – check bin - is asking for the check at a restaurant. They do not pronounce the end of a word with ll’s so it is bin rather than bill.
We went to the local market which has fruit, flowers, vegetable, bolts of cloth and any other garments or household items you could think of. We bought bolts of fabric for On to make diapers and little cover-ups for the baby. She cuts out triangles for the diapers and rectangles for the cover-ups. Then she takes the cloth pieces to a seamstress who sews them all so they do not fray. The cloth is very soft cotton and it has baby designs on it.
Rob and On picked us up and we went for our massage, pedicure and manicure. The people at the massage parlor were so happy to see us. I had a manicure and pedicure as well as a foot massage, two people were working on me. Rob, On and Willi had head, neck and foot massages.
When we were done, Rob and I went to the Mall and Rob bought an Apple computer and an I-pod. You should have seen us on his motorcycle with the huge box for the desktop. We had 5 turns to make and it was a bit scary, but we made it fine. Willi and On played hand and foot and then we all went to dinner, but had to wait for an hour so we went to the Night Bazaar and bought a few small items. The restaurant was the Japanese buffet where all the uncooked food comes you on conveyor belts and you take off the plates you want. The servers took away 20 little plates after we put the food into the cooking pot on our table. It was a fun meal. It was a fun day, as well.
Sunday, April 4, 2010
A Full Day of fun in Chiang Mai
Thailand - as I see it.
Yesterday – a full day of fun in Chiang Mai
We woke up early, well early for us, at 8:30am and played a game of hand and foot. Rob and On picked us up for church with the motor scooters and we went to the service for Easter. It was interesting as there was a minister who lived in Japan and spoke English for most of the service. There was a slide show, musical presentation, as well as the sermon.
After one and a half ours we went back on the motorbikes and went to a nice Western Restaurant called Dukes. We had big hamburgers with blue cheese, sautéed onions and garlic bread.
We then headed to the construction site to see the progress on the house. They were putting in the footings and had already done two when we arrived. All the work is done by hand and they were going to compete five of the footings that day. It was the warmest day so far and we were sweating profusely – the workers who were doing all the hard work were not even noticing the heat. They had headgear,long sleeves, face covers and long pants. They carried cement, rocks, sand and water all in buckets. There were seven workmen and they all were doing work whether it was mixing the cement, filling the mixer with ingredients, tying the metal beams together with steel wires, carrying the cement and coming back for more, over and over again. They didn’t even have a shovel, all they had was a hoe and pails.
We then went to the massage parlor and Willi and I had a foot massage. I had a facial and Willi had a neck and arm and hand massage. They were so happy to see us, I got a free half hour longer massage. One of the massage therapists brought us a big bunch of little sweet bananas. Willi had a haircut and head massage as well. We relaxed there for two
hours. Rob and On were tired so they went back to their home to rest. When we left the massage parlor, we went to the eyeglass store and got Willi a pair of special sunglasses to block out the ultra violet rays. We then walked a while and flagged down a red cab and told him our hotel name. He didn’t understand and he took us to the other end of the Taepae Road instead of the Taepae Hotel so we had a sightseeing tour on the way. We went through markets of fresh flowers, fresh fruit and vegetables, clothing, items for the monks, and weird food being cooked on the little carts on the street. We finally got back to our hotel and the cost was about $1 for the entire ride for the two of us. We had an icecream from a vendor on the street. We then went back to the hotel, picked up our laundry and played a game until Rob and On came for us for dinner.
Rob and I went on the motorbikes and Willi and On walked. Rob and I stopped at the Night Bazaar to pick up a couple of things and then we met Willi and On on the walking street. There were thousands of people walking up and down this street with musicians, dancers, sellers of everything imaginable. I bought a few bracelets, hair clips, little bags and a couple of money pouches. We then went to dinner at an Italian Restaurant right in the middle of the walking street. It was delicious and we then walked a bit more, On got some corn on the cob on a stick, fried bananas in a bag, a papaya salad in a bag, and some little puff pastry balls. They also got a yogurt drink with jelly balls in it.
By this time, I was getting tired as I had walked a lot. Willi and On walked back to the hotel, much more walking than I did, and Rob and I went back to the hotel on the motorbike. We went up to bed and Willi and I played one game of hand and foot and boy was I tired. It had been a full, fun day.
Yesterday – a full day of fun in Chiang Mai
We woke up early, well early for us, at 8:30am and played a game of hand and foot. Rob and On picked us up for church with the motor scooters and we went to the service for Easter. It was interesting as there was a minister who lived in Japan and spoke English for most of the service. There was a slide show, musical presentation, as well as the sermon.
After one and a half ours we went back on the motorbikes and went to a nice Western Restaurant called Dukes. We had big hamburgers with blue cheese, sautéed onions and garlic bread.
We then headed to the construction site to see the progress on the house. They were putting in the footings and had already done two when we arrived. All the work is done by hand and they were going to compete five of the footings that day. It was the warmest day so far and we were sweating profusely – the workers who were doing all the hard work were not even noticing the heat. They had headgear,long sleeves, face covers and long pants. They carried cement, rocks, sand and water all in buckets. There were seven workmen and they all were doing work whether it was mixing the cement, filling the mixer with ingredients, tying the metal beams together with steel wires, carrying the cement and coming back for more, over and over again. They didn’t even have a shovel, all they had was a hoe and pails.
We then went to the massage parlor and Willi and I had a foot massage. I had a facial and Willi had a neck and arm and hand massage. They were so happy to see us, I got a free half hour longer massage. One of the massage therapists brought us a big bunch of little sweet bananas. Willi had a haircut and head massage as well. We relaxed there for two
hours. Rob and On were tired so they went back to their home to rest. When we left the massage parlor, we went to the eyeglass store and got Willi a pair of special sunglasses to block out the ultra violet rays. We then walked a while and flagged down a red cab and told him our hotel name. He didn’t understand and he took us to the other end of the Taepae Road instead of the Taepae Hotel so we had a sightseeing tour on the way. We went through markets of fresh flowers, fresh fruit and vegetables, clothing, items for the monks, and weird food being cooked on the little carts on the street. We finally got back to our hotel and the cost was about $1 for the entire ride for the two of us. We had an icecream from a vendor on the street. We then went back to the hotel, picked up our laundry and played a game until Rob and On came for us for dinner.
Rob and I went on the motorbikes and Willi and On walked. Rob and I stopped at the Night Bazaar to pick up a couple of things and then we met Willi and On on the walking street. There were thousands of people walking up and down this street with musicians, dancers, sellers of everything imaginable. I bought a few bracelets, hair clips, little bags and a couple of money pouches. We then went to dinner at an Italian Restaurant right in the middle of the walking street. It was delicious and we then walked a bit more, On got some corn on the cob on a stick, fried bananas in a bag, a papaya salad in a bag, and some little puff pastry balls. They also got a yogurt drink with jelly balls in it.
By this time, I was getting tired as I had walked a lot. Willi and On walked back to the hotel, much more walking than I did, and Rob and I went back to the hotel on the motorbike. We went up to bed and Willi and I played one game of hand and foot and boy was I tired. It had been a full, fun day.
Friday, April 2, 2010
Health Care in Thailand - An Outsider's View
Thailand - as I see it.
Health Care in Thailand – an outsider’s view
On is going to have a baby in August so we are enjoying the time with Rob and On to the fullest. They go to the doctor/hospital for regular check-ups and are given much information about each stage of the pregnancy. They have a book that tells everything that is happening and going to happen. We have been looking at a website that shows the growth of the baby from a poppy seed to a watermelon. She is at the stage of a banana now and the baby is about 10 inches long. What a cool way to watch the progress.
Both Rob and On were tested for all diseases and health issues when she first got pregnant. What a great way to make sure the baby has a good start. They were both perfectly healthy and the doctor writes down everything about the pregnancy in the special book. It is an excellent history for the new parents. When On has an issue or a problem, they go to the hospital and it is free for Thai citizens. Her skin was breaking out a bit so they went to the hospital and the doctor told them that it probably was going to be a boy because of the higher level of male hormones that cause the breakout on the skin. On will go to a special hospital for mother and child when the baby is born.
I have had a bit of a problem also this visit as my asthma has become much worse. I had to go to the hospital and they were very efficient. I had a check-up, xrays, and the doctor gave me medicine as well as the Advair inhaler. He told me that I was going to have to use it for the rest of my life and that if I did I shouldn’t have this problem again. He told me to use the Albuterol puffer when I needed it and to use two puffs at a time. The first puff was to open up my lungs and the second to get the medicine into the lungs. The entire hospital visit with the medications, xrays, doctor and nurse consultations was less than $100. The medications were 80% of the cost.
The hospitals are clean, spotless, efficient, caring and well equipped. Rob mentioned that because we had to go at night, to the emergency room, it was more expensive than if we had just gone during the day. Last year, Willi had gone to the hospital for a problem with his elbow and the doctor and specialist visits, xrays, medications, shot and nurse assistance had only cost $60. We were also very impressed with the hospital last year. The nurses all wear white or light uniforms with little pin cushion hats and high heel shoes. Every aspect of the hospital is very professional.
Health Care in Thailand – an outsider’s view
On is going to have a baby in August so we are enjoying the time with Rob and On to the fullest. They go to the doctor/hospital for regular check-ups and are given much information about each stage of the pregnancy. They have a book that tells everything that is happening and going to happen. We have been looking at a website that shows the growth of the baby from a poppy seed to a watermelon. She is at the stage of a banana now and the baby is about 10 inches long. What a cool way to watch the progress.
Both Rob and On were tested for all diseases and health issues when she first got pregnant. What a great way to make sure the baby has a good start. They were both perfectly healthy and the doctor writes down everything about the pregnancy in the special book. It is an excellent history for the new parents. When On has an issue or a problem, they go to the hospital and it is free for Thai citizens. Her skin was breaking out a bit so they went to the hospital and the doctor told them that it probably was going to be a boy because of the higher level of male hormones that cause the breakout on the skin. On will go to a special hospital for mother and child when the baby is born.
I have had a bit of a problem also this visit as my asthma has become much worse. I had to go to the hospital and they were very efficient. I had a check-up, xrays, and the doctor gave me medicine as well as the Advair inhaler. He told me that I was going to have to use it for the rest of my life and that if I did I shouldn’t have this problem again. He told me to use the Albuterol puffer when I needed it and to use two puffs at a time. The first puff was to open up my lungs and the second to get the medicine into the lungs. The entire hospital visit with the medications, xrays, doctor and nurse consultations was less than $100. The medications were 80% of the cost.
The hospitals are clean, spotless, efficient, caring and well equipped. Rob mentioned that because we had to go at night, to the emergency room, it was more expensive than if we had just gone during the day. Last year, Willi had gone to the hospital for a problem with his elbow and the doctor and specialist visits, xrays, medications, shot and nurse assistance had only cost $60. We were also very impressed with the hospital last year. The nurses all wear white or light uniforms with little pin cushion hats and high heel shoes. Every aspect of the hospital is very professional.
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Three Fun Times in Chaing Mai with Rob and On
Thailand - as I see it.
Tonight we left the hotel on the motorbikes and traveled through the city with hundreds of other motorbikes. We parked at the mall in a parking lot that held over 1000 motorbikes and was free parking. We went to the movie theater, which was very modern with many wild movies. Today was Wednesday and all the movies were half price. The theater was sold out but Rob went early to get our seats. We saw How to Train your Dragon a 3D movie, which was our second 3D movie in two weeks. The first was Alice in Wonderland. The theater was packed but Rob was able to get us the seats with lots of leg room. You choose the exact seats you want when you buy your tickets. We were the oldest people by many many years. We have seen four movies with Rob and On, more than in the US in a year.
We went to a golf course to check it out. It was very old and established but only had nine holes. It was right in the middle of the city. Three of the holes were being used for a National Cricket Match this week. The course was in good condition with beautiful trees covering an entire green. We looked at the hole in one board and in 75 years, there were only about 75 holes in one. The golf course also had squash and tennis for its members.
Last night we went to a Japanese Restaurant and had to wait for half an hour even though Rob went earlier in the day to get our number in the queue. It was a buffet restaurant with all the dishes coming by on a conveyor belt. All the meats, fish, vegetables, eggs, noodles, sushi, mushrooms, corn, shrimp etc came by all the time and you just took the plates you wanted and put the raw ingredients in the big pot on the table and cooked it yourself. The pot had two parts so Willi and I had a regular soup and On and Rob had a hot, spicy soup base. They also had all the green tee or any other drink you wanted included. There were different kinds of rice, tempura shrimp, and other items. There was ice cream and fruit for dessert as well as a bean dish. It was quite an interesting dinner. You paid one price and could eat for one and quarter hours. The cost was less than $8 per person. What a deal.
Tonight we left the hotel on the motorbikes and traveled through the city with hundreds of other motorbikes. We parked at the mall in a parking lot that held over 1000 motorbikes and was free parking. We went to the movie theater, which was very modern with many wild movies. Today was Wednesday and all the movies were half price. The theater was sold out but Rob went early to get our seats. We saw How to Train your Dragon a 3D movie, which was our second 3D movie in two weeks. The first was Alice in Wonderland. The theater was packed but Rob was able to get us the seats with lots of leg room. You choose the exact seats you want when you buy your tickets. We were the oldest people by many many years. We have seen four movies with Rob and On, more than in the US in a year.
We went to a golf course to check it out. It was very old and established but only had nine holes. It was right in the middle of the city. Three of the holes were being used for a National Cricket Match this week. The course was in good condition with beautiful trees covering an entire green. We looked at the hole in one board and in 75 years, there were only about 75 holes in one. The golf course also had squash and tennis for its members.
Last night we went to a Japanese Restaurant and had to wait for half an hour even though Rob went earlier in the day to get our number in the queue. It was a buffet restaurant with all the dishes coming by on a conveyor belt. All the meats, fish, vegetables, eggs, noodles, sushi, mushrooms, corn, shrimp etc came by all the time and you just took the plates you wanted and put the raw ingredients in the big pot on the table and cooked it yourself. The pot had two parts so Willi and I had a regular soup and On and Rob had a hot, spicy soup base. They also had all the green tee or any other drink you wanted included. There were different kinds of rice, tempura shrimp, and other items. There was ice cream and fruit for dessert as well as a bean dish. It was quite an interesting dinner. You paid one price and could eat for one and quarter hours. The cost was less than $8 per person. What a deal.
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