Today was cloudy, cool, sunny, warm and rainy.

That has been the pattern lately. Cool and overcast in the morning. Sunny and hot early afternoon followed by heavy rains and back to pleasant evenings. 

I should clarify something for everyone based on a question I was asked via email. Yesterday I talked about them moving Fa Sai's closet over and she has been sleeping here anyway and then came Ning and her husbands closet and they were mapping out an area in the back room. A reader was concerned that the family would just move in like that without any discussion and wondered where they were living before. Here is part of my answer to clarify the issue for everyone. 

Phai built the house the family lives in 15 years ago. That is the house we stayed in when we visited two years ago and the house we stayed in this time waiting for our new house to be completed. Two years ago Ning and her husband gave us their bedroom and moved into what i will call the "back room". Not only was Ning's family living there, so was Phai's youngest son, his wife and their little girl. While we were here on that visit Phai bought a piece of property for her youngest son and the family built a house for him on that property. It is an easy walk from here. 

When I say "back room" it is a section of the house that is often built after the main house is built. It is often used for storage, a garage, a kitchen (Thai homes do not usually have indoor kitchens), etc.  it is usually attached to the house, has just a bare cement floor and unpainted cider block walls. In the old house that section was added on about 4 years ago and is very large. The washing machine, clothes drying racks, storage cabinets and the Thai bathroom are in that area. They also now park the truck there since they no longer use it as living space. This visit they (at our request) set up an area in the main house as our "bedroom". They moved our closet and kind of used it to block us off to give us some privacy. We slept under mosquito netting but really had little privacy. They had built the western style bathroom and separate shower area prior to our visit two years ago. In the new house we built the "back room" along with the house and we had tile put down, screens installed and a drop ceiling put in so it is really more like a part of the house. 

When Phai built the old house 15 years ago she did not have much money so the floor was not reinforced. It is now shifting and the house has major cracks. Phai became concerned that it will eventually break apart. She also did not like the fact the family had to walk to the restaurant, often in pouring rain. The restaurant was built after our last visit two years ago. 

So Phai (with my blessing) decided to build a new house behind the restaurant. We always planned that the family would live in it when we leave. This trip she bought a really nice piece of property that is on the same road that leads to my farm. She borrowed the money to buy it and will pay it off when she starts getting paychecks again next month. This will be where her oldest son will build a house upon his return from Korea in three years. He will send money from his job in Korea to help make the payments on the lot and save money to build the house. 

It is not a case of the family doing things without asking, it is a case of the communications all taking place in the Thai language. Phai's English is not great so she doesn't always communicate to me what the plans are. The family teats me great, feeds me every day, drives us all over the place, etc. so I accept these things. When I get older (or if I were to become ill) they will take care of my every need and I will never be put in a nursing home. 

I did a lot of homework regarding the Thai culture and customs before deciding to marry a Thai woman. The Falangs have a saying "When you marry a Thai woman, you marry the entire family." It is true and if you cannot accept it then you should not marry a Thai woman. 

I am very fortunate. Phai has a great family and they strive to be independent and self sustaining.  I was really impressed when Phai's daughter paid me back the loan ($300) I made them about a year ago. I was fortunate that I met Phai in the states and by knowing her sister's husband (he retired as an U.S. army reserve General last year) I was able to gain insight into the families history and beliefs. He met Phai's sister when he was stationed here during the Vietnam conflict. She was working in a tailor shop where he got some clothes made. They have been married ever since. He let me know the mother raised her kids correctly and they were taught honesty and love. Phai and I have been together over 5 years now and he was correct and Phai raised her kids the same way. 

If I haven't already mentioned it I should also point out our new house does not have a kitchen. Very few Thai houses have indoor kitchens. The Thais much prefer to cook outside rather than "stink" up the house. Even in Brandon I bought a small gas cooker for Phai to use outside. Here we have the restaurant attached to the house so everything we would normally have in a kitchen we have in the restaurant. On our next visit we will probably buy a small refrigerator for the back room and a microwave oven. The microwave they have here hasn't worked since we arrived. Believe it or not, a family can survive without a microwave. It probably helped me lose weight since I couldn't make my beloved popcorn like I do in Florida. 

Phai and I took a walk to her son's house today (before the heavy rainfall) and I took my good camera. I took a lot of photos along the way and will share them with you over the next few days. With the house finished it felt good to start taking photos again for the sake of taking photos. With about a month left I want to get some good photos before returning to Florida. 

DSC03147

Phai leads the way down a shortcut to her son's house. 

DSC03153

This is the house the British bar owner built for his Thai girlfriend. She is the one who shared her flowers with Phai.

DSC03158

The Street to Phai's son's house tends to get muddy during the rainy season.

DSC03161

The dogs from her son's house and the neighbors house greet us. 

DSC03175

The guy who owns this Somloe collects recyclable material to sell.

DSC03201

Ning's soup is so good he ran through the rain to get some. 

DSC03203

You can't let the rain stop you from getting somewhere.

DSC03229

As the rain lets up Phai and Fa Mai make a dash for home. 

IMG 2909

Must be a town meeting for the dogs.


© All rights reserved. Photographs are the property of Site Owner and may not be reproduced without written permission.