Isaan Hospital Care

Duang Bathes Her Father In the Hospital

 

Duang's father was hospitalized on Wednesday and remains there.  He has been in failing health for a while and I hardly recognized him on Monday when I was out at the village for Mothers Day.  He has lost considerable weight and his face now sports sunken cheeks.

On Wednesday he went to see the doctor at the Kumphawapi Hospital.  Duang knew that the hospital would be busy so she ensured that they would arrive relatively early at the hospital.  Apparently the family entourage did not arrive early enough because they were #125 in the queue.  After consultation, x-rays, and other tests, Duang's father was admitted to the hospital.

According to Duang, "Inside of my father no good".  Upon questioning her further to better understand what could be her father's problem, I learned that she has seen an x-ray of his lungs and she said that there were "big white spots that are bigger than before".  Duang's father is also short of breadth which sounds like lung cancer to me.  Why doesn't Duang know the diagnosis and prognosis of her father's health?  This is Thailand.  In general, doctor's communications, especially with the local people, are similar to that in the USA in the 1950s. Similar in that the doctor does not feel obligated to explain and ensure that patient and their family fully understand the situation. One of Duang's fears regarding her personal health issues is that the doctors would not tell her everything or even worse ... lie to her regarding her diagnosis as well as prognosis.

I have written several times about the strong social fabric of Lao Loum culture here in Isaan - the latest being early this week related to Mothers Day.  Another circumstance where strong family bonds and obligations come into practice is when a family member is sick.  Duang is the youngest daughter so she has the burden of ensuring proper care.  Her sister and brothers also help out and other family members also help out.  However it is up to Duang to ensure that her father is physically care for and lacking any help, she has to provide the care.

Physically care for a patient?  In Thai hospitals, not the international hospitals that have many foreigners as patients. but district and small town facilities that service the local population, nurses only provide medical care.  Bathing, cleaning, feeding, and assisting with bodily functions is the responsibility of the patient's family and friends. Hospital wards that I have visited in Isaan are very crowded - besides the closeness of the beds, it seems that just about every patient has two to four visitors attending to them or just socializing.  Outside of the ward, more family members and friends are located in the hallways and balconies awaiting their turn.

A Family from Bangkok Camped Out On the Ward's Balcony

During my visit at the hospital today, I left the ward to sit out on the balcony to provide more space in the ward.  There was a family camped out on the balcony - camped out literally and figuratively.  Through Duang I learned that the family has been living on the balcony for four days.  They took the bus from Bangkok to be with their father/grandfather who is in the same ward as my father-in-law.  The two children do not sleep at the hospital.  They sleep at another family member's home in Kumphawapi but the adults sleep outside on the balcony to ensure that care is available to the patient and to ensure that the patient does not die alone.

In the pediatric wards, the child patient typically has a mother or father sleeping with them in the hospital bed and often a grandmother sleeping on a saht (woven reed mat) underneath the hospital bed.

Typical Kumphawapi Hospital Adult Ward

Besides the beds in the ward, there were also beds in the outside corridors of the hospital.  Kumphawapi Hospital recently under went a major expansion.  Duang's father is in the old part of the hospital.  Some of the rooms and facilities of the old part of the hospital are being renovated or modified.  This undoubtedly is adding to the congestion at the facility.

Most of the patients were wearing adult diapers.  Stainless steel bedpans were also available for patients who could not use the common bathroom facilities.  I checked out the common bathroom facility and I was impressed with its cleanliness.  I was relieved to see that there were western sit down toilets - I could not imagine being hospitalized and having to use a squat toilet.  The bathroom also had shower cubicles.  Emptying and cleaning bedpans is a responsibility of the patient's family and friends.  The cleaning station was outside of the bathroom area on the balcony where I was sitting.  Duang used the utility sink to wash and rinse the cloths that she used to clean her father.

When I reentered the ward, I met the father/grandfather of the Bangkok family.  He had a distended abdomen that I suspect was due to cancer.  He was on oxygen and told Duang that he was on oxygen because he could not breathe and that he would soon be dead.  This attitude towards one's fate was not unique to this patient.  Duang's father has been saying good bye to family and friends for about two weeks now.  This morning, he told his sister that when he died he wanted her to contact an old friend of his so that the person could sing at his funeral.

Doctor Making His Morning Rounds

Duang was remaining at the hospital for the day, her older brother and sister would stay at night.  Before I returned to our truck to drive back home, Duang and I visited the maternity section of the hospital.  We enjoy visiting the new borns and it is good therapy after dealing with the stress of hospital visits. The maternity ward remains in its original location.  Unlike all previous visits to the ward, the door was closed.  We checked with the adjacent nurses station and were told that visitors were being restricted to protect the new borns from an outbreak of sickness.  The nurses did say that we could visit upstairs where sick babies were located.

We climbed the stairs to visit the ward where our grandson has spent some times for treatment.  There were two babies both five months old were being cared for by their families.  The babies were hooked up to IV bottles.  I stopped and spoke to and consoled each of the babies in Thai.  I am not sure if it was a sense of peace or fear, but both babies seemed to relax and be calmer from my attention.  When it was time to leave, one of the parents asked Duang for me to take care of their child before I left.  Duang asked me and I knew exactly what she meant.  Here in Isaan, Monks will puff air three times (Buddha, the Teachings of Buddha, and the Buddhist religious community) on people's injuries or pains to heal them.  I have also seen an Animist Shaman do the same to our grandson, Peelawat.  I often do the same for Duang's as well as Peelawat's hurts and pains. Tonight I asked Duang why the people asked me to take care of their baby.  She said that the family said that I loved babies and that they wanted me to take care so that the child would get better and be able to leave the hospital tomorrow.  I asked her how they knew that I understood what it meant and could do it.  She had no answer.  Perhaps the only answer is "This is Thailand" .  Many things happen here that can not be explained but can only be accepted for the way they are.

Kumphawapi Hospital, New Addition In Background

Thailand's Mothers Day - 2013

Duang and her older sister pay respects and make offerings to their aunt

Monday, 12 August, was a special day here.  It was one of only about three days without rain here in Isaan since we returned on 5 July.  The day was also a very special day no matter what the weather is or would be - it was the Queen of Thailand's birthday.  Since the Queen of Thailand is considered to be the mother of the Thai people, her birthday is celebrated as "Mothers Day" in Thailand.

Here in Thailand there is a strong sense of family and community.  There are few government programs for the social benefit of the people.  The strong social fabric of the people provides for the needs of the young, invalid, and the elderly.  Two tenants of Buddhism is to care for the young and to care for the elderly.  The first line of care providers is the family; family as in extended family.  Nieces and nephews are expected to care and provide for aunts, uncles, and cousins just as members of the immediate family are expected to.

These expectations are strong and well communicated.  During our visits to the hospital we always see teen aged grandchildren accompanying and assisting a grandparent.  On the few occasions where we have seen an elderly person struggling alone, Duang has expressed sorrow for the person and contempt for the family.  As I looked around the waiting room at the other people I strongly sensed similar emotions from the other people.

Once I read a comment related to these blogs that I write.  The reader was asking that since I write about people who they would consider to be poor, the reader was curious as to how the Thai people differeniated as to who was poor.  My reply went along the lines that the people do not use material possessions as the prime determinator of wealth.  A person with a great deal of money but is not happy, and is not loved, respected and taken care of by their family would be considered to be poor whereas a person with few material possessions but was happy, loved, respected and taken care of by their family would be considered to be well off.

Duang, Duang's daughter, Duang's oldest brother, Duang's older sister, and Duang's nephew pay respect to Duang's mother

There are four national holidays when Thai ppeople are expected to return to their family's home.  The holidays are New Years, Songkran, Mothers Day, and Fathers Day.  Children are expected and under considerable peer pressure to visit their parents to show their respect as well as to honor them.

On Mothers Day, children give offerings of fresh floral arrangements (pumahlai) and cash to their mother and favorite aunts.


Pumahlai



Duang's Aunt Accepting the Offerings

There is a specific ritual for making the offerings to mothers on Mothers Day.  A small plate is placed on the raised platform where the mother is seated or on a table in front of the seated mother.  The participants place the offerings in the plate and say things along the lines of "Thank you for everything that you have done for us, the help that you give us and for taking care of us".  After saying this, the participants supplicate in front of the mother.  They then rise up and respectfully offer up the plate to the mother.  The mother raises her hands to the plate in a gesture of acceptance while thanking and telling the participants that she wishes them good luck as well as good fortune.  Part of her blessing includes a reaffirmation of the social compact to care for the very young and to take care of the elderly.

Duang's Aunt Gives Her Blessing

Caring for others is the strong foundation of the culture.  Manners and respect are taught at a very early age. When we go out, I make it a point to visit with the babies and young children that we encounter.  Unlike in the USA where such behavior would be extremely questionable and suspect, here in Isaan the parents are quite flattered.  I am always impressed that the parents, starting with children as young as 9 months old, require their children to show respect to me by performing a wai (placing the hands together in a praying position and bowing the head).

Our grandson is now 4-1/2 years old and is aware of the social compact, when he has candy, he always ensures that he shares it with me.  He also shares his soda with me.  Now we have to work on him to share with his grandmother Duang.  He always wants to go to Ta Allen's house (Grandfather Allen) to eat "kao falang"  (foreign food).  He loves macaroni & cheese, spaghetti, shredded pork for chimichangas, pizza, and new this weekend - levepastej (home made Danish liver paste).  He seems to like any food that I make unlike his uncle Perk, Duang's son, who hates all foreign food.

Duang's son and his wife came to our home in the evening.  They had offerings for Duang and brought me some fresh pineapple from the market.  I had to sit next to Duang on the couch as they paid their respects. Although I pointed out that it was Mothers Day and I was not a mother, Duang said that I was like a father. As Duang accepted their offerings, she was telling them many things in Lao.  When the ritual was completed, I asked Duang what she had told them.  She said that she was wishing them good luck and fortune.  She also reminded them that good luck and fortune would allow them to take care of us when we got older.  Upon hearing that I told Duang to tell them that I was counting on Peelawat to take care of me because he liked and understood "kao falang" (foreign food), if I counted on Perk, I was certain that I would starve.  We all enjoyed a great laugh.

I live in a country of strong traditions, manners, respect, and where people still deal with each other on a one to one basis.  For that I am very content and grateful.  Mothers Day is a special reminder and manifestation of that each year.



What Goes In, Eventually Must Come Out

Grandmother Placing Betel Nut In Her Mouth

Most people have undoubtedly heard the adage of "What goes up must come down".  This statement refers to gravity and indicates that whatever is thrown up or placed in an elevated position will eventually succumb to gravity and return to the ground.  Here in Isaan, or for a matter of fact any where, there should be another adage just as valid - "What goes in, eventually must come out."

We all are knowledgeable regarding the consumption of food or feed and how eventually the waste products of digestion are eliminated.  Well here in Isaan there is another biological process or rather habit where what goes in must eventually come out - betel nut chewing or betelnut chewing.

I have written about this tradition a couple of times in this blog:

http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8727823098676088535#editor/target=post;postID=2045625586301875052;onPublishedMenu=allposts;onClosedMenu=allposts;postNum=0;src=postname

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Yesterday, 12 August, was Mother's Day here in Thailand.  Duang and I drove out to Tahsang Village to pay our respects to her mother and one of her aunts.  There always seems to be something interesting for me to photograph so I brought along my camera backpack.

Sure enough there was plenty to photograph - children paying respect to their mothers, children playing, road side produce stands, peanut harvesting, and saht weaving.

 A grandmother and her grand-daughter were set up in the community building(?) of Tahsang Village to weave locally harvested reeds into sahts.  The community building is an open sided corrugated metal structure with a full concrete block wall on one end and three three foot high walls on the remaining perimeter.  There are opening in two of the low walls to allow the passage of people, dogs, chickens, and children in and out of the sheltered area.  The structure is used for village meetings, local as well as national voting, government sponsored instructional programs, Songkran celebrations, occasional marketplace for traveling kitchenware or household goods vendors and most of all as a  play area for children.  It has a roof and a concrete floor so the children frequent the area to play out from the sun and/or rain; besides the low walls are great for climbing on and jumping off.

Yesterday besides being an area where our grandson and other village children were playing, the area was being used by the grandmother and her grand-daughter to weave the ubiquitous Lao Loum floor and ground covering - the saht.

When I arrived the grandmother and grand daughter were engaged in stringing the loom that had been placed on old sahts placed over the concrete floor.  After working together to get the loom fifty percent restrung, they took a break.  The grand daughter went off to visit friends next door to the community area and the grandmother retired to one of the plastic chairs kept in the area for events.  As she walked across the floor the chair she was carrying a small woven basket with her; a small woven basket that you often see being carried by older Lao Loum women here in Isaan.  The basket does not contain food (far from it!).  The basket does not contain needlepoint or embroidery supplies.  The basket contains her accouterments for chewing betel nut!

Grandmother Getting Some Lime (Chemical not Fruit) for Betel Nut Chewing

I am not a fan or proponent of betel nut chewing which I find akin to chewing tobacco or "dipping".  I was traumatized by my introduction to chewing tobacco many years ago.  I was born and raised in New England and never played baseball so I was not accustomed to chewing tobacco or even "dipping".  After I had graduated from university and joined a large engineering/construction company, I was assigned to a project in Lake Charles, Louisiana where many of the men chewed tobacco.

One of the subcontractors had a very colorful superintendent, I believe by the name of Hub or Hoke Meadows.  He constantly chewed tobacco and therefore was frequently spitting out tobacco juice wherever and whenever he chose to.  He was involved in the site preparation of the site in an area that I was responsible for.  One day there was a problem and he drove me over to the site in order that I could assist in the resolution of the problem.  It was terrifying for me sitting in the front passenger seat of his company pickup truck.  It was not his driving that bothered me.  It was not exactly the rough and bumpy terrain that we were driving over.  What bothered me immensely, was the rocking back and forth of the coke can that he kept on the dashboard of the truck,  the coke can that was about half filled with his spittle and tobacco juice!  As he drove, he would reach for the open topped container and add to its contents.  I lived in fear that the can would topple over and spill its contents on to me.

Here in Isaan I do not have that fear because the people spit the red juices from betel nut chewing into a plastic lined small bucket.  However I find the practice just as revolting as tobacco chewing.  My mother-in-law chews betel nut as well as most of her friends.  I tease her in Thai about if there is "red water in the truck" I will not let her ride in our pickup truck ever again.

Chewing betel nut involves a process involving a tree leaf, betel nut slices or chips, and chemical lime.  These ingredients are combines to produce a plug or packet that is placed in the mouth.  I have witnessed two distinct rituals to prepare the ingredients.  One method is to use small mortar and pestle to grind everything together and then pack it into a metal tube to make a small plug to place in the mouth.

My mother-in-law just like the woman whom I photographed yesterday use a less labor method to prepare their "chew".  They take a leaf or two in their hand, sprinkle some betel nut slices or chips on to the leaf, smear some chemical lime paste on to the betel nut and then fold up the leaf or leaves much as people fold up a chimichangas (Mexican food), and place it in the side of their mouth.  After a while the packet or plugs produce copious amounts of red spittle that they discharge from their mouth into their little buckets.

What Went In Is Now Coming Out

Yes, what goes in, eventually must come out but I often wonder why it was even necessary for it to go in. However, I am a guest.  This is their culture and it is not mind so I will keep my mouth shut ... just like I did in Louisiana.

A New Photo Gallery Is Now Available

A new gallery on my personal photography website is now available for viewing and purchase of prints.  http://www.hale-worldphotography.com/Other/Yellowstone-National-Park-2013/31126734_mLJKdq

 



 

The gallery contains selected photographs from our June visit to Yellowstone National Park

 

Rubber Plantation

 

 

 

 

 

Rubber Plantation In Isaan

On our recent quest and journey along the "road of opportunity", http://hale-worldphotography.blogspot.com/2013/07/road-of-opportunity-plenty-of.html we encountered some rubber plantations.

Tapped Rubber Tree In Malaysia

I had first encountered rubber plantations when I lived in Malaysia 1999-2000.  They were large plots of land rivaling the palm oil plantations in size.  Although we were working six days a week, we were able to get out and about the countryside on our day off - Friday.  A small group of us would take a company vehicle for the day to explore our environs.  On journey brought us into contact with a large rubber plantation.  We initially stopped for me to photograph the tapped rubber trees - pretty much photographs taken all the time.  Shortly after getting back into the car while still within the plantation, we crossed paths with a couple workers driving motorbikes overladen with ball like globs of latex gathered from the tapped rubber trees.  This was an invitation to adventure.  We followed the workers to their destination.

Malaysian Latex Gathering Station

After a while the workers, followed closely by us, arrived at a centralized collection terminal for the latex collected from around the plantation. The workers offloaded their bikes and the globs of raw latex were weighed.  There were machines that would later compress the globs into more compact  and dense shapes for loading onto lorries for transport to a location for further processing.  I remember thinking at the time that these rubber plantation workers were amongst the world's hardest working people.  They were drenched - with their sweat from the oppressive Malaysian climate, sporadic rain showers and from the liquid latex.  An earthy smell from their sweat, the odor of the raw latex, and the smell of decay from the rain forest vegetation contributed to the ambiance of this isolated location.

When Duang and I visited Luang Namtha Province in the Lao People's Democratic  Republic, we saw huge fires on our way to the market in Muang Sing.  I thought that the fires were associated with Hill Tribe people's "slash and burn" technique of agriculture.  We questioned our driver and he informed us that the mountain sides were being cleared by large Chinese companies in order to create rubber plantations.  Later in the day I noticed many areas of skinny tall trees aligned in perfect straight rows covering the hills.  Later when we flew out of Luang Namtha to return to Vientiane, I was shocked at the number of hill sides denuded of native rain forest and supplanted by immature rubber plantations.  Laos offers cheap land as well as cheap labor for Chinese companies. The profits of Chinese international trade are now being used to exploit the natural resources of Laos.

In Isaan, the rubber plantations are not large enterprises.  Just as with rice production, rubber cultivation consists of small family owned plots.  Like all cultivation, rubber production is a large gamble.  Unlike rice, you can not eat your harvest or consume what you are unable or unwilling to sell.  It takes around seven years from planting the trees before you can commence to harvest the latex from the trees, seven years of fertilizing, weeding the plantation, and pruning the trees.  Seven years of carrying the costs of the land, preparing the land, the costs of the trees and the costs of planting the trees without a return on your investment is an additional financial burden as well as worry. Once the trees mature, they can be harvested for latex for about 25 years with older trees being more productive.

Tapped Rubber Trees In An Isaan Plantation

Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia produce the vast majority of natural rubber (gum rubber) in the world.  Asia produces over 90% of the world's gum rubber.  Surprisingly the rubber tree, Herva brasiliensis, is not native to Asia.  The scientific name of the Para rubber tree is a tip off as to its origin - Brasil!  Originally the plant only grew in the Amazon Rain Forest.  The discovery of the vulcanization process increased world demand for raw rubber in 1839 leading to the development of rubber plantations in Brasil.  The British were largely responsible for the spread of rubber tree cultivation in the late 1800's.  Once the British were able to cultivate the trees in their botanical gardens, they sent seeds and seedlings throughout their empire to establish a reliable source and economic source of raw rubber.  Singapore, Ceylon, Malaya, Indonesia, and India became sources of latex for the British Empire.  Ironically, efforts to make South America, its original home, a source of natural rubber production have been hampered by a leaf blight native to the area.

Tapped Rubber Tree in Thailand

The latex is extracted from the rubber tree by cutting the bark on an angle, inserting a galvanized steel spout, and allowing the latex to drip into a small collection cup or bowl.  The latex is tubes inside of the bark that grow in a right handed spiral at an angle of 30 degrees up the tree.  Men cut the trees carefully to not injure the tree's growth.  I have read that because the trees have a right handed helix the incisions are made up and to the left to optimize collection of the latex.  The trees that we observed in Thailand conformed to that theory.  However, the trees that I photographed in Malaysia were tapped "up and to the right".  I have no explanation.  I had a theory that perhaps the spiral helix was dependent upon the location of the trees - trees north of the equator spiraling to the right and trees south of the equator spiraling to the left - sort of like water draining from a sink north or south of the equator.  I just about had myself convinced of the validity of that theory until I checked the map.  The rubber trees in Malaysia although very close to the equator, were still north of the equator just as the rubber trees in Thailand.

The trees are tapped in the early morning when the internal pressure is the highest.  This was confirmed by the rice farmers that we talked with near the rubber plantation in Isaan.  They told us that the trees were tapped at night.  Working at night helped to explain why we say several huts scattered about the rubber plantation.  The huts were obvious locations for the workers to sleep or rest before and after work for the tappers.  Once the tree is tapped, latex will ooze out for four hours when the latex coagulates in the tubes blocking off flow.  When the flow stops the workers collect the latex from the collection cups. The tree is given a rest of a day or two and then tapped once again.  The repetitive tapping of a tree uses up about 1 inch (25 cm) of bark a year.  On older trees you can see a wide scar along the face of the tree where the bark has been cut and healed over many years.

The rubber plantation that we explored in Thailand was vacant for the most part.  On one side of the road the trees had been tapped and were collecting latex.  On the other side of the road, the latex collection cups had been placed in a vertical "storage" position rather than the horizontal "collection" orientation.  The trees across the road had not been tapped recently and appeared to be in a "resting" state or perhaps the costs of harvesting the latex was not economically justified due to fluctuating market prices.

When I first got out of the truck I was somewhat challenged by a couple of field dogs from down the road.  They walked up to within 30 meters of me barking as if to let me know they were around rather ti threaten me. I ignored them and shortly they returned to where they had come.  A while later, while I was relieving myself, I heard the anxious sounds of things headed my way.  I was relieved to determine to see that the things headed my way were not ghosts (phii) or any other creature to fear but just a small herd of cattle.  Four cows and two calves quickly passed by me, crossed the road, and disappeared into the rubber plantation on the other side.  A little while later, an old and bent over cattle herder approached from the direction the cattle had come from.  The cows were no longer in sight, so I pointed in the direction that they had disappeared and told him in Thai "cows".  he acknowledged my assistance and shuffled off in search of his free ranch herd.

In Search of the Free Range Cattle Herd

I did not get to photograph the workers tapping the rubber trees or collecting the latex ... this time.  However now that I know a little more about the process and more importantly the timing, it is only a matter of time before we return to document the "rest of the story"  as Paul Harvey used to say.  One thing for certain though;  it will not be before we quit having these daily rains!  We are truly in our rainy season and this season seems to be much more rainy than others that I have experienced here in Isaan.

Photo Gallery - Isaan Rice Planting 2013

The latest of my photography galleries, "Isaan Rice Planting 2013", is now available for viewing as well as purchasing of prints.

http://www.hale-worldphotography.com/Other/Isaan-Rice-Planting-July-2013/30729545_5nhgZK

Road of Opportunity, Plenty of Opportunity

Three Lao Loum Farmers Heading To the Fields

Back in March, I wrote of a very interesting road, "A Road Less Traveled, A Path Often Not Taken" that we discovered on one of our excursions out to the Ban Chiang area.  When we drove along the dusty red road in March, the surrounding countryside was parched and largely abandoned.  Even then the photographic opportunities of the area were very evident.  We decided then that we would return to the area later this year during rice planting season.

Rice planting season is now in full force here in Isaan.  The rains returned in May and now we typically have some rain just about everyday.  Thundershowers often bring up to 30 minutes of intense localised precipitation.  The rains in May allowed the rice seeds to be broadcast over prepared flooded paddies.  The continuing rains kept the paddies flooded and allowed the seeds to germinate to create a rich bright yellow-green carpet over the Isaan countryside.  Now that it is July, the thick green carpets are being separated and the plants transplanted into other prepared flooded rice paddies.  The continuing monsoonal rains will nourish the developing rice until October when it will be time to harvest the new crop.

Yesterday was a good day to head back out to drive along that road less traveled and the path often not taken.  Although it was not a bright and sunny morning, it was a morning that seemed to promise no immediate possibility of precipitation let alone heavy rains. The overcast sky would also allow me to take the type of photographs of the planting activities that I had photographed previously.  The heavy overcast and cloudy sky created the soft light that clear, bright and sunny skies do not - especially late morning and at mid-day.  The growing rice plants and flooded fields are extremely reflective so soft light, in my opinion, is desirable. We set off around 8:00 A.M. for Ban Nong Han where we knew that the road ended.

We got to Ban Nong Han without any difficulty but quickly became confused - some would say lost.  We stopped several times and got directions.  Duang was responsible for getting directions because the people that we encountered or would encounter did not speak English.  After a while, Duang was hungry because she had not eaten breakfast back at our home.  We stopped at a very small village alongside one of the country roads that we had managed to get confused on.  We found a small market where the elderly woman also cooked noodle soup (Queteao).  I sat at the small concrete picnic table drinking an ice tea while Duang ate her bowl of noodle soup.  Very shortly I heard young voices saying words along the line of "There is a falang (foreigner) here"  Shortly afterwards, 6 young children arrived to look at me.  It was amusing to see them checking me out.  From an elderly man, we learned that the children had never seen a foreigner before.  I guess we were more than confused - we had to be LOST if we were somewhere were children had never seen a falang before!  I spoke with the children but they were very shy.  Unlike the children in the film, "ET", I was not offered any Reese's Bits or any Isaan equivalent treat.  While Duang continued to eat her meal, I saw several children come from the interior of the village to drive past me on their bicycles, eyes transfixed upon me the entire time.  This did not bother me in the least for they were just interested in someone they had never seen before - pretty much what I do so often with my camera.  They were just taking advantage of an opportunity to expand their world just a little bit.

With a new set of directions, we set off to find the road less traveled.  Perhaps it is less traveled because no one can find it?  We found a interesting narrow red dirt road that was headed off in what we believed was the right direction.  For quite awhile it appeared to be the road that we were looking for.  However, this road did not have any mango orchards that the road back in March had.  It turned out to be a different road but not a bad road.  The new road was very interesting.  There was no traffic on it.  It had no signs.  It was partially eroded by heavy rains, in fact in some places water from the higher land alongside of the road was pouring onto the road creating large puddles.

We found people planting rice in the paddies along the roadside.  I would get out of the truck and say hello to the people as I started to take photographs.  I was always closely followed by Duang who would explain to the people what I was up to.  She would then start talking to the people - finding out just as much about them as she was telling them about us.  That is the way it is out here in Isaan - people are very friendly and you are one of their own, you are like family.  As I walked about, bent down, and sometimes even squatted to photograph the planting activities, the air was filled with the sounds of Duang and the farmers talking.

After we had been there awhile a family of the farmers headed back to their home to eat.  Their home was like many of the homes that we see along the back roads of Isaan amongst the rice paddies.  These are not the primary homes of the people.  Unlike the rich American people of the early 20th century who had "summer homes" in exclusive communities along the beaches or in the mountains or even many Americans today who have a vacation home, hunting camp or fishing camp. the people of Isaan have a primitive home for work.  The small raised one room structures are where the family stays during the intense work periods associated with cultivating rice - planting and harvesting seasons.

Lao Loum Family Eating A Meal In Their "Work" Home

We stopped at the family's work home and socialized with them while they ate their meal.  Naturally we were offered to join them but we respectively declined having only recently eaten ourselves. I learned quite a bit from this family thanks to Duang's efforts.  I thought that the two older adults were the parents of two young children, three and four year old sisters.  I was wrong.  The two adults were actually the grandparents of the two girls.  It turned out that the young woman that I thought was the 18 year old sister of the young children was actually their mother.  The husband and father was away working.  He was far away working - working in Israel.  This is not all that uncommon.  Many Thai men and some Thai women go off to work in Israel, Taiwan, or Korea.  They can make two to three times their Thai earnings a month in those far away lands.  An aunt of the little girls was a widow.  She asked me to find her a foreign husband.  This is also not uncommon here in Isaan.  I have been asked by at least 95 Thai women to find or better yet bring them a falang husband.

The family had been staying in the partially sided house for four weeks and expect to stay there another two weeks until the planting is completed.  They will return in October for the labor intensive manual harvest of the rice crop.

Three Year Old and Four Year Old Sisters Ready to Return to the Rice Paddies

As they prepared to return to the paddies, Duang and I drove ahead back to where we first encountered them.  Duang recommenced her conversations with the workers - I suspect right from where they had left off.  Feeling more comfortable with the location, I set off to be more adventuresome in my photography efforts.  I left the relative comfort and safety of the roadside to walk atop the rice paddy berms, raised dirt mounds that create the containment for the paddy water.  These dirt mounds offer some challenges as well as opportunities.  They are either covered with a thick mat of weeds or are freshly created with a clumps of what was recently moist dirt.  There are opportunities to slip and slide off into the water on either side of the raised berm.  I know that I could personally cope with falling into the mud but I am fearful of the problems that would be created for the camera gear that I carry.  The heavy weed mat also provides opportunities to twist an ankle or perhaps to break a leg.  The weeds often camouflage holes or uneven surfaces of the berm.  I also am very attentive when walking along the weed covered dikes to ensure that I do not have an opportunity to be bitten by a snake.  There are Cobras and other poisonous snakes in Isaan.  Fortunately either due to my diligence, luck, or the actual scarcity of snakes, I have not seen a live snake other than in a show.

Worker's Quarters In Rubber Plantation

After taking some more photos, we continued along the red dirt road.  We came upon a rubber plantation - another opportunity to take some landscape photographs.  I got out of the truck to explore a lit bit of the plantation.  Further down the road a couple of dogs came partly up the road to my location, barking and let me know that they had their eyes on me.  For some reason I do not find the dogs in Thailand anyway as threatening or intimidating than American dogs.  I ignored the dogs and soon they ignored me, returning to their original locations.

The rubber plantation was an interesting combination of textures, shadows, and colors.  I first encountered rubber plantation 13 years ago in Malaysia.  This plantation was much smaller and younger but just as fascinating.

After a while I was joined by a small herd of what originally believed to be "guard cattle".  Several cows and calves approached me and the crossed the road.  About five minutes later an old hunched over man approached from the original direction of the cattle.  He was the herd tender.  I pointed to the direction where the cattle headed and told him "cattle" in Thai.  He nodded and headed off in the same direction.

Follow Those Cows!

Eventually and after several false turns we found the dirt road that we were seeking.  The road split a market area in two.  The road appeared to be a path to a parking area for the various stalls rather than a way back to Ban Nong Han.  I was very pleased and Duang, my reluctant navigator and guide, was very much relieved to be once again on the right path.

The road was more damaged from water than the road that we had discovered that morning.  Along the road we saw plots of corn, rice paddies, mango orchards, rubber plantations, cassava plots, and banana trees.  Although there was no traffic on the road, there was plenty of opportunities for work along its sides.

Where we had seen a parched and rather desolate countryside in March, yesterday the worker's huts were now all occupied and in many instances repaired.  The countryside was a brilliant and vibrant green.  We no longer left a large and long red dust cloud as we drove along the road.

There were several locations where people were busy planting rice.  At one of the locations I pulled over to the side of the road as much as I could without getting the truck stuck in either a ditch or in the mud.  A man and a women were planting rice in separate enjoining rice paddies.

Water Spews from Farmer's Hands As He Plants Rice

I walked out and along a set of berms to where the woman was planting rice.  A fairly large tree grew out of the berm so I walked up to it in order to lean against it to further steady my camera.  As my hand approached the tree, I noticed the the bark was a busy highway, heavy in both directions, with large red ants some that were carrying large pieces of vegetation.  In a flash I realized what they were - weaver ants.  Weaver ants are the creators of "kie mot si daeng" (red ant eggs) that many Lao Loum people enjoy eating.  I had encountered them before and it was not pleasant - I had stepped on one of their trails and my feet were instantly swarmed with biting ants.  The bite of the weaver ant is initially similar to that of a fire ant but does not contain the enzymes of the fire ant that dissolves proteins, causes welts, causes burning, causes scars and can cause death.  The weaver ant bite is just a mechanical bite.  I looked at my feet and just like before they were getting swarmed by red ants.  I hastily got away from the tree and commenced to frantically brush the ants off of my shoes along with the few that had started to climb up my trouser legs.  I had no difficulty brushing them off and despite my fears none had bitten me.  After several repetitions of inspecting and brushing off of ants, I seemed to have gotten rid of the ants.  Then I started getting a tingle up my leg.  Since I am not a President Obama I knew that tingle could only mean a red ant.  I rushed across the berms and across the road to get to the far side of our pickup truck. After hearing me shout to her as I hustled across the berms. Duang arrived at the far side of the truck just as I arrived as I ... dropped my pants to the ground.   She quickly found and destroyed the two ants who were climbing up my legs.  We all enjoyed the opportunity to have a good laugh!

Women Planting Rice with the Infamous Tree in the Background

Further down the road we encountered a woman harvesting rice plants for transplantation in another paddy.  It was too good of a photo opportunity to pass up.  Besides it was also a great opportunity for Duang to pass some time speaking Lao to a farmer!  I am truly fortunate to have a wife who indulges my passion so well.

A Farmer Harvests Rice Plants for Transplantation

Excess Water Drains from Bunch of Rice Plants

Farmer Shakes Water from Rice Plants

After photographing the woman, we drove down the road further where we found a newly constructed rice mill operating.  This was not a mill were 18 wheelers delivered raw rice and transported finished sacks of rice away.  This mill was a village mill run by one man with help from his assistant.  It was at this plant that neighbors delivered sacks of rice from their small holdings to have the husks removed from the grain so that it could be consumed by the family.  The rice was transported to and from the mill on the back of motorbikes, on hand carts, or hand carts attached to motorbikes.

Fellow Travelers On the Road of Opportunity

Our excursion along the dirt back roads of Isaan ended as we got back to Ban Nong Han.  It had been a rewarding and entertaining day along the roads of opportunity.  There had been many opportunities to take photographs but more importantly we had seen many opportunities for the residents; opportunities to make a living. opportunities for work - plenty of opportunitis to work.