Songkhran Flowers To Brighten The Day - Page 2

Delta, many are poor and so hunting and gathering are almost a necessity for them. On the other hand, they enjoy many day to day freedoms that village dwellers in the West might envy. Free range chickens are the norm and others have ducks, turkeys and geese. It's also common to see people growing their own fruit such as bananas, papaya and mango. Farmers can be self-sufficient in food if they put their minds to it.

Village life for me means having a better house than I could afford in England, cheaper prices in the shops and no hassle from neighbours or local government. Live and let live is the basic rule. I see the sun rise and set over tall palm trees, watch the birds in the garden and can sit on the verandah with a beer or two in the evening all the year round in t-shirt and shorts. In heavy rains the year before last, small escaped catfish wriggled their way through grass to get into our pond. They are of eating size now but my wife won't have them killed!

The one hate I have is the roaming dogs. We thought that our boundaries were secure but dogs were the cause of us getting rid of our turkeys. Neighbours have their own dogs to protect their animals but I'm not so fond of them that I would want one.

I occasionally wonder whether our neighbours would take to village life in the West. I can't think of one of them who would take to it for even a day.

Glenmar,
 

Many of the ladies are beautiful, that's for sure! The katoey think that they are too!

Thai food is very healthy and fresh. We live in a part of Thailand called Isaan, in the north east, where there is an additional local cuisine. Some people eat things I won't touch so I'm careful when invited to eat in local homes. My wife has a restaurant offering Thai and Isaan food and some Western style food. She goes to the local market early to get the best of the fresh produce. Apart from freshness, the secret of Thai food is the sauces. Her best selling items are from the Thai menu but the pizzas cooked in a wood oven are a close second. Thai customers will eat up to three Thai dishes and a large pizza in one sitting and clear the palate with ice cream. Thais are know for their capacity for food!

Here are links to my blog showing the restaurant and a video of the pizza oven made by an American friend:

http://www.grumpyexpat.com/blog/2011/05/top-cafe-pak-thong-chai-korat.html

http://www.grumpyexpat.com/blog/2011/08/pizza-from-wood-oven-in-pak-th.html

It's certainly different! Expats, including me, grouse about all manner of things here but nearly all would agree that there's more to grouse about back home.

Sunrise and sunset are the best times of the day for me. It can be far too hot to be out in the air during the day. The morning cool air and the sight of the red sky to the east sets me up for my bacon sandwich! My first action after feeding the cat is to see what the banties are up to and hide from my wife in case she wants me to help her water the pot plants.

After that, I have a dilemma that only a Westerner can experience here. I like to watch the BBC and CNN news over breakfast but the tv is indoors. I have a plan to rig up the satellite system to a tv on the verandah to deal with that issue.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Glenmar 

That restaurant looks really good. I do love the sauces and spice.

 

Thank you!

It's tiki style, as you can see, using natural materials that are replaceable, such as palm leaf thatch and eucalyptus, and fallen coconut tree trunks. It's open sided because that feels more relaxing and, to enclose a room like that, would mean installing air conditioning. I think that a/c is unhealthy and turns a room into one that could be anywhere in the world.

A reasonable amount of spice is fine with me. In fact, I like quite a lot in Indian food. There's a dish here that beats me, though, and that is som tam salad. It's made from unripe papaya and is so strong in spices that I can't taste anything and my lips burn.

A tree that I thought was dead has just come into flower. I'll take a pic, and post it later

Here's the tree in flower. It seems to be recovering from an over-enthusiastic lopping.