Phai and many of the family are spending the entire day at the farm weeding the rice paddies and getting ready to plant more rice. Phai went into town this morning and bought a new pump because the old pump they were using for irrigation has seen its better days. I have a photo below of the new pump. It will still be powered by a long fan belt from the iron buffalo but will provide a much higher water flow.
We decided it would be better for me to come to the farm later riding my bicycle. It is hard for me to spend an entire day there. Primarily because if nature calls me I cannot squat to use the outhouse. Plus if I am there and I cannot work like them I do get bored and Phai worries about me. So I stayed here, booked our flights and hotels for for our trip which begins on Monday July 27th until Friday July 31st. We will fly from Udon Thani to Chiang Mai, spend one night in Chiang Mai and then take the three hour bus ride to Chiang Rai. On Friday after 3 nights in Chiang Rai we will take the bus back to Chiang Mai and get on the plane to come back here. It is only a one hour flight each way. We have spent time in Chiang Mai before but Chiang Rai will be a new experience for us. I never did make it to the farm but you can see what they did for my bike since the kids have removed the fenders sometime during the past two years and the path to the farm is very muddy. The photo is below.
One of the amazing things here is that you could probably never leave home and still purchase anything you need. Vendors constantly come by in cars, trucks, motorbikes and push carts selling all kinds of items. One came by the other day selling large bamboo platforms with designs painted on them. Ning bought one for the restaurant and we initially used it as a platform for Mobuy to sleep on during the day. See photos below. Speaking of Mobuy, she has moved to her own house and I missed her today. Hopefully will see her tomorrow.
I also walked back to the old house to see if those lizard eggs were still on the wall. To my amazement not only were they still there there were two additional eggs. Photos below. I will monitor them daily to see if they hatch.