Giving Back - Thanks For The Votes

Yesterday was a very busy day for us.

Peelawat, our 6 month old grandson dropped by with his parents to return the pickup truck that they had borrowed for three days. We loaded their motorbike into the back and we all headed back to Tahsang Village - to drop them off back home as well as to offload the bike.

They had borrowed the truck to take care of family business and to bring Peelawat to the doctor for his 6 month check-up. The poor little guy had had a rough day. He received his second haircut and apparently did not like the noise or feel of the clippers. At his checkup, he got another shot. He was already running a slight fever by the time they got to our house. Despite his problems, he was still in a good mood without any crying. He was just a little subdued for him and he went to sleep in the truck as I held him during the trip out to the village.

We had gotten a call from Duang's cousin earlier in the morning. She wanted to let us know that there was going to be a Mahlam Lao show in a nearby village that afternoon. I have written about these shows before and how they mark various celebrations throughout Isaan. Well yesterday I learned of another reason to have a show - politics!

After settling Peelawat into his home and having something to eat, Duang, her cousin, another village woman and I headed out to see the show. The justification as well as the responsibility for the celebration was the election of a new Village Headman. He was recently elected and was giving back to the community by arranging as well as sponsoring the show. Village Headman are important men or women in Thailand. When we went to get my "Yellow Book" (House Occupant Book for a Foreigner), we had to take our Village Headman, actually a woman, to the Provincial Offices to have her testify and sign that I am actually living in the house. In Tahsang Village when one of the local young women ran off and abandoned her baby to live with a crazy man in a distant village, it was the Village Headman that called the other village to arrange for her return. He also accompanied the relatives to the other village to retrieve her.

We arrived after the celebration had started - perhaps not too long but long enough for just about everyone to be well on their way to being drunk. The show was a typical village Mahlam Lao event. There were a couple canopies set up to protect people from the sun. Underneath the canopies plastic chairs and tables were set up for people to eat and drink. Additional tables and chairs were set up underneath the elevated houses that surrounded the area where the show was going on.

The people were all very friendly. The show was going on full tilt. We were welcomed by some old friends of Duangs from the village. We were immediately introduced to the Village Headman as well as the local Police official. They insisted that we join them for eating and drinking.

We had previously eaten so we got away with not eating anything. However my desire to not drink anything was countered with the argument that I had to wish everyone good luck and happiness which could only be properly done with alcohol. I relinquished and had a couple glasses of beer with ice. Here in Isaan, people drink beer out of glasses with ice cubes.

Duang's friend dragged her out on to the dance area and kept trying to get her to dance. One of the village woman dragged me out to dance and I was a more willing dance partner. Everyone was enjoying themselves.

I took several photographs. The young men were congregating in front of the stage doing their thing like they do at all of these occasions. The performers were keeping everyone entertained.

As time went by, Duang's friend became more and more persistent. Her friend then kept trying to speak to me however due to her condition and the loudness of the show, I had no idea what she was saying or even trying to say. In a short while an altercation broke out on the perimeter of the crowd between some young men. This happens at just about every one of this celebrations usually in front of the stage. The heavy drinking, testosterone levels, hot sun, and the Lao Loum sensitivity to not losing face all combine into combat. Since everyone is related and there is a strong village identity, fights between two men frequently escalate into potential bigger scenes. After a couple of blows, or due to their inebriated state the first wild swings, the sides form up. By this time, the mothers head into the area along with their sisters to yell at their son as well as the other participant. Sometimes uncles head into the fray but in their efforts to break up any pending violence often lead to them squaring off amongst themselves. By this time the show has stopped with the singer pleading with everyone to behave themselves. The Police move in followed by the Village Headman. The Police are often ignored but some how their presence distracts everyone so tensions subside. The Village Headman makes some statements and peace is restored if only temporarily. Usually there will be one or two more flare ups before the show is shut down. As they say "A good time was had by all"

Years ago when I attended the company family picnic, we would always stay until a fight broke out. Once the fight broke out I knew that we had seen all there was to see so we could go home. Nothing has changed. We took our cue and left - safe and definitely not sorry.

When we got home to Udonthani, Duang's cousin (one out of 93) came over and we bought a new Toyota pick up truck - but that is the subject of tomorrow's blog.

Mother's Day - Thailand

Yesterday, Wednesday 12 August, was the Queen's birthday. It was also Mother's day in Thailand. Mother's Day has coincided with the Queen's Birthday since the early 1950s.

Since it was the Queen's Birthday, the Royal flags along the streets and roads had been changed to blue with the Queen's logo. Each day of the week has a color associated with it. Duang and I were both born on Thursday so our color is orange. The Queen was born on Friday so her color is blue. Since the King was born on a Monday, his color is yellow. Many Thais dress according to this color scheme. On Mondays especially you will see many people wearing yellow shirts in honor of the King. There were many large pictures of the Queen prominently displayed alongside the roads, public buildings and businesses. At the Mall there was a large display dedicated to her along with a book where you could write birthday greetings to her. I was a little confused for awhile. She was born in 1930, but many of the formal portraits were of a young woman - I thought that they were of her daughter. It turns out that the photos were actually of the Queen when she was younger.

I guess that it is similar to some of the obituaries that I see in US newspapers. There will be a picture of a handsome young man or beautiful woman in their mid-thirties. When you read the obituary, you determine that they were 85 years old at the time of their death! I don't know if the disparity is due to a lack of a more recent photography or is how people wanted others to remember the departed.

For Mother's day, children are expected to visit their mother as well as favorite older Aunts and pay their respects to them. The day before, Duang and I had gone to the Mall to pay a bill. There was a craft fair being held in the parking lot across from the Mall. We ended up buying two blouses for Duang's mother and a blouse for one of her Aunts. The blouses were $3.00 each.

We drove out to Tahsang Village to pay our respects to Duang's mother. As we have been doing lately, I drove from our home to just past Kumphawapi while Duang drove the remainder of the way to the village. She recently got her driver's license and developing more confidence in driving. Confidence was definitely needed yesterday. The roads were very busy with people travelling to visit their mothers. There was more crazy driving then is normal - perhaps due to "celebrating".

We arrived at the village and waited for Duang's older sister to arrive before presenting the gifts. I occupied my time playing with Peelawat - our 6 month old grandson. When Duang's sister arrived, both daughters put their gifts on a plate. They supplicated themselves (krab) on the floor at their Mother's feet and offered their plates to her. They said something along the lines of "I love you. I am very happy that you are a good Mother. You took care of me for a long time. I wish that you live a very long time." Their Mother put her hand on the plate while it was being offered and said things along the line of "Good Luck for you. I wish you a long life. You take care of Mother and Father. When Mother and father die, you take care of sister, brother, grandson. You love your husband. Buddha will take care of you." She then accepted the gifts. After taking care of her mother, Duang repeated the ritual with her Aunt who is blind.

I was suffering from a sore foot that Duang had massaged and put "Tiger Balm" on prior to leaving the house. Duang's aunt was known to be an expert in massage therapy so I was encouraged to see what she could do for me. She was very old and appeared to be frail however her fingers were like rods of steel! She commenced to massage my sore foot. My flinches and gasps were all quite entertaining to Peelawat as I held him. He smiled and laughed every time I gasped in pain and flinched my body. I told her that I thought she worked as an interrogator for the police and that I was ready to confess. If I had not been holding Peelawat, the flinching would have been much greater. The old woman worked me over for a very long time. She seemed to know exactly where it hurt the most. After a very long time she was finally done. I wiped the moisture from my eyes and refocused on playing with Peelawat. Today the foot is better but that may only be due to the endorphines brought on by her strong fingers.

Duang's old aunt disappeared. Soon I heard Duang's father yelling and moaning from outside. He lays on a raised platform outside the house under the shade of the roof overhang, smoking, and listening to the radio. Today he was getting a massage. I felt much better listening to his agony and made sure that everyone knew that he was making much more noise as well as fuss as I had.

Duang's brothers came and paid their respects to their mother. As is traditional they gave her garlands of jasmine and some cash.

As Duang did her family thing and got caught up on the village gossip, I played with Peelawat. Today he crawled for the first time. Things are going to change quickly now. In the first 5 minutes of being able to crawl, he had gotten into trouble three times.

Peelawat is also working very hard at "talking". He and I ended up having a 10 minute conversation. Every sound that he made, I repeated or at least tried to repeat. He enjoyed it and smiled a great deal.



Later that night, Duang's son came to our home with his girl friend and another girl. They brought two pretty garlands and a bag of eggs. They had Duang sit on the couch and then had me sit next to her. They gave Duang the jasmine garland and gave me the garland that had two orchids. I protested and said that I was not a mother but they insisted that I was to be included in the ritual. They bowed to our feet and wished us luck, happiness and a long life. Duang had me give them our blessing and best wishes.

It was a very nice way to end a special day here in Isaan.

The Wonder Of It All

Nine days ago Peelawat became 6 months old. He is doing very well.

He has been living in Tahsang Village for about two months now. He spends most of his hours inside the family's small market in the village. If he is not awake, he is sleeping in his homemade hammock at the back of the market. When he is awake he is either being held by someone or motoring around in his walker.

Peelawat's life is typical for a baby in an Isaan village. His world is filled with many care givers. Relatives and neighbors ensure that there is always someone holding, playing, or talking to him whenever he is awake. Although babies and children in Isaan do not have many toys they are exposed to a great deal of mental stimulation through interaction with adults and other children. Grandmothers and aunts in Isaan ensure that there is always a pair of arms and a smiling face to care for the little ones. People talk to and joke with babies a great deal. In addition village children of all ages manage to stop by to talk to and entertain babies several times a day.

The children play and amuse themselves with whatever is available. For Peelawat a cardboard box, a plastic bag, bags of snacks, a blanket, a plastic bottle of talcum powder, my foot inside a sock, and a small Winnie The Poo stuffed doll are enough to keep in busy while awake. Sometimes he is satisfied to just scratch and grab my face or pull the hair on my arms. For Kwan, who is 1-1/2 years old, her days are spent playing in the sand with a broken bowl and a plastic plate. When she is bored with filling and emptying things with sand she walks around to Duang's mother's house to check up on Peelawat. Older children in the village play with balls and bicycles. There is not much television watching available for the children.

Peelawat has learned to motor around in his walker and keeps himself occupied playing with the bags of snacks displayed in a metal rack in the market portion of the room. He is constantly exploring his world by either scratching things or bringing items up to his mouth for analysis. I did not think that it was a good idea for Peelawat to be playing with merchandise or chewing on a metal rack so I grabbed his walker with one hand and attempted to pull him away by turning my wrist. No luck. Peelawat hung on with all his might and silently resisted my effort to move him away. It was quite comical. After awhile of playing tug of war I used both my hands to pry his fingers from the rack and relocated him to another part of the room.

Yesterday, he started to crawl for the first time. In five minutes he had managed to tip over his basket of lotions and medicines, grabbed a bag of boiled peanuts, and made a good run at getting to the electrical receptacle at the end of the extension cord.

The other day when he visited us at our house, he was fascinated by the stereo system. He was aware of the music coming out of the speakers but kept looking as if to find the people singing. He is curious about everything.

He sleeps in the same bed as his mother and father. He is the first one awake and starts each day off by slapping his mother on the leg two or three times before scratching her with one hand. He then does the same to his father.

Whenever Peelawat encounters a new object, he first checks it out by slapping it two to three times and then giving it some detailed scrutiny by scratching at it with his thumb and fingers. He is constantly probing and investigating his environment.

Although he does not have many toys, he is getting a great deal of stimulation from direct communication and contact with people. The television does not substitute as a care giver for him or for many children in Isaan.

People in Isaan make do with what is available to them. Peelawat is learning at an early age to adapt. So far, he seems to be enjoying it very much - the wonder of it all.

Thailand Swine Flu Precautions

Yesterday, while shopping and performing personal errands, we were able to observe some of the precautions that Thailand is taking in regards to the Swine Flu pandemic.

As of last week there have been 65 deaths attributable to Swine Flu with 21 just last week. To date there have been 8,877 cases of the disease up from 6,776 cases the previous week.

Upon my return to Thailand earlier in the month, I and all other arriving international passengers were "thermal scanned". We had to remove hats and eyeglasses as we looked into what looked like a movie camera as we walked towards the Immigration area. The area where the thermal scanning devices were located was staffed with medical personnel.

In a different area along the route to Immigration there was a medical receiving area for tourists staffed by medical staff.

There were also medical pamphlets ready available related to "Influenza A (H1N1)". The pamphlet gives some tips regarding the "Prevention of Infection". These tips are fairly typical - wash hand, avoid sharing the same glasses, get plenty of sleep, drink plenty of water and wear a mask if you are caring for ill patients. However there is one recommendation that we will not be following "Use common spoon when eating with other persons"

In Isaan, people eat using a common spoon in each serving bowl of food. If the dish is soup, everyone eats the soup out of a common large bowl or pot using a single spoon. Besides being a traditional way of dining, this practice is sometimes necessitated due to a lack of bowls and utensils. It also dramatically cuts down on the amount of things to be washed after the meal.

I suspect that the pamphlet meant to advise "Do not use common spoon ..." but the intended intent got lost in translation.

As we approached the entrance to the shopping mall, the door was opened by a security guard wearing gloves and a surgical mask. He and other guards performed this duty for all people entering and leaving the facility. Using guards to open and close the doors meant that patrons did not have to touch doors that could be sources of infection.

Upon passing through the doors into the mall there was a table and a bottle of alcohol gel for hand cleaning. There was a sign in Thai advising people to sanitize their hands to avoid infection.

We needed to go into the bank branch inside the mall and as is customary and typical, a security guard manned the door so there was no need for a customer to touch the door. Inside the bank on the table where you fill out your deposit or withdrawal documents, there was now an alcohol hand washing station. All but two of the bank personnel were wearing surgical masks.

Most of the stores inside of the mall had bottles of alcohol based hand sanitizers available for people's use. About 2% of the customers were walking around with surgical masks covering their nose and mouth.

This is all very interesting. In a normal year, 30,000 to 40,000 Americans die due to Influenza. The A (H1N1)strain this year is difficult to ascertain just how much a threat or danger that it is. When it first started out in Mexico the mortality rate seemed rather high. Now it seems that the mortality rate has settled down to a more typical rate for seasonal influenza. This is reassuring as long as the virus does not mutate to a more lethal strain.

New Gallery Available to View

A gallery of photographs related to my July 22 "Isaan Rice Planting" and July 17 "Planting Rice, Listening to Gossip" blogs is now available for viewing at my photography website.

The weather continues to be hot, humid, and wet - great weather for getting caught up on all kinds of tasks such as blog writing, editing photos, correspondence, and writing my next book.

Isaan Rice Planting

Last weekend's big plans were set aside by the weather. There was too much water for planting rice or fishing. All was not lost however, our five month old grandson paid a visit on Sunday.

Yesterday the weekend's planned rice planting took place. Rice was being planted in plots just outside of Tahsang Village by family members hired by Duang's daughter. Ten people walked from Tahsang Village out to the fields and awaited our arrival.

They were not being either polite or considerate. They were waiting for us because we were bringing their breakfast out to them in the pickup truck. Apparently when you hire field workers, you also have to feed them, provide them with drink, as well as pay them wages. We arrived around 08:00 A. M. much to Duang's daughter's relief.

Old sahts (woven reed mats) were placed on the relatively dry level ground on the other side of the dirt road that bisected the fields of sugar cane, rice paddies, and grazing grounds for cattle as well as water buffalo. The breakfast area for the workers was also shared with some tethered water buffalo and some free ranch cattle.

After a substantial breakfast of Kao Lao (Lao food) that could very well have been served for lunch or dinner, some of the workers washed down the last of their food with some Lao Kao (white whiskey - a sort of Lao moonshine). Other workers drank water from a common metal cup out of a insulated bucket of cool water. People in Isaan do not follow any type of set menu or types of foods reserved for specific times of the day. Rice is eaten at all meals and often in between. Fish and meat dishes are served at the first meal of the day just as they are at other meals of the day.

Everyone wandered across the road and finished putting on their work clothes for the day's activities. There is no set dress code for working in the fields. Although they will be working in water as well as mud for the day, workers are just as likely to wear pants or skirts as to wear shorts. There does seem to be one common article of clothing. Most Isaan farm workers wear brightly colored soccer style jerseys. Often the jerseys bear advertising for companies and corporations. This is much like my past when some of my wardrobe was provided as project safety awards or project team building windbreakers and jackets.

Heads are covered in a variety of gear ranging from pakamas, straw hats, and cotton sun bonnets. Often the workers will also wear some type of device to cover their necks and faces from the sun and to absorb perspiration. Colorful cotton tee shirts are sometimes employed to cover the face and neck. Sometimes the workers wear specialized articles of clothing designed and constructed specifically to cover the face and neck.

Once everyone was properly dressed they set about their work. Two paddies had been previously prepared. The paddies were about 75 feet by 100 feet long surrounded by dikes of compacted clay overgrown with vegetation. The plots were completed flooded with a mixture of mud and water about 18 inches deep. Sheaves of rice sprouts had been previously distributed throughout the prepared paddies. The workers set out in a line and grabbed bundles of sprouts from the sheaves. Groups of three sprouts were set deeply by hand into the soupy mud. In little time but with a great deal of back breaking work the paddies were spotted with neat and proper rows of transplanted sprouts.

As most of the workers focused on setting out the sprouts, some of the workers broke off to perform specific specialized tasks. Duang's son-in-law owns a small tractor and earns money using it to prepare local rice paddies. He had trucked the tractor to these paddies the night before. On the back of the tractor was a rototiller type attachment that ground up the unprepared paddies. Due to the monsoon rains that we have been experiencing for the past month, the ground is saturated with water and many of the paddies have standing water in them. The tractor or sometimes using a small iron buffalo grinds up the soil, water, and vegetation to create a flat soupy mud for planting the rice. If there is not enough standing water in the prepared paddy, a small portable diesel driven pump is used to transfer water to the paddy. In areas of the impoundment where the tractor could not get completely into, a man with a hoe finished the paddy preparation.

Duang went to the area where the rice sheaves had been placed the day before. The sprouts had been harvested at a different location the day before and brought by pick up truck to the paddies. It appeared to me that there were at least three pick up truck loads of sheaves - however this is Isaan and knowing how much they load up their trucks, I suspect that they had made only one trip or maybe two. Duang used a large heavy machete type knife to cut the tops off of the rice sheaves. This was to promote growth in the transplanted sprouts. As she picked up each sheave to trim its top, she inspected the root base of the sheave. For proper transplantation of the sprouts and to ensure a good harvest, the sprouts must have about 4 inches of good hairy root structure. Any sheaves that did not have sufficient root development were cast to the side to be fed to the livestock or placed on top of the paddy dikes. As she completed trimming each sheave, Duang placed the bundle off to the side in a special area.

Duang's cousin placed the shorn sheaves on the ends of a long bamboo pole and carried the wet mud dripping bundles out to the prepared fields. He carried the sheaves much like we had observed other workers transporting harvested garlic in the Maehongson area during April. He carried the pole full of sprouts out into the prepared field and left them in a pile in the muddy water. Other workers distributed them throughout the field for transplanting.

Everyone worked diligently at their tasks with the monotony of the work interrupted by shouting out to passing relatives or friends tending to their free range cattle. One grandfather came out on a motorbike with his young grandson so that the child could watch his mother for a while. My antics in photographing the goings on was often the subject of conversation as well as amusement. I was also teased about taking too many pictures of Duang rather than of them.

The work went very smoothly and the only excitement occurred when one of the women planting rice pulled a mouse out of muddy goop. She proudly held it by its tail and displayed it so that I could photograph the event.

The people worked until all the paddies had been planted. The work was completed by 2:00 P.M. Everyone piled into the back of our pick up and we went back to Tahsang Village. After washing, the workers reunited at Duang's parent's house to eat and drink. The men ate in one room and the women ate in another room. Sahts were placed on the tile floor and the food and drink were laid out picnic style. There was plenty of food and beer. Everyone enjoyed their meal and the air was filled with animated conversation and laughing.

We returned to our home tired but satisfied with our day out in the rice paddies.

The Book Is Available

A YEAR IN THAI...

The Beginning of a...

By Allen A. Hale

Book Preview

For some time, many people have asked me if I was going to write a book or when would I write a book.

My first book is now available. The badge above provides a direct link to Blurb where it can be ordered.

This book is a compilation of narratives and photographs documenting the experiences of the author during an extraordinary one year period of my life in Thailand - a year that changed my life forever.

In addition to photographs of many Thai attractions, the book provides many intimate photographs of Hill Tribe people and Lao Loum people of the Isaan region - extraordinary people doing common activities. There a total of 322 photographs displayed in the book.

The narratives provide a personal glimpse and insight into the everyday life as well as many of the celebrations along with family milestones in Thailand.

I am working on my second book which will be a compilation of photographs and narratives related to an expat living in Isaan.