Ban Puai, Thailand, Part 1 (9-3)

My flight from the Maldives to Bangkok was direct. I was excited when I found this flight, rather than flying to Colombo and then on to Bangkok on an overnight flight. Upon arrival in Bangkok, going through immigration was the quickest ever, much less crowded than when I’d arrived in July. Hardly anyone was at the airport at that time. It was good to have Pokpak meet me and take me to dinner and her apartment.

After spending the night with Pokpak, I took the bus to Ubon. The early bus is a First Class bus that has seats which recline with a raised footrest; so it was like a reclining chair. Really comfortable. Once we got to the region with rice fields, which were lush and green, I was feeling at home. They pull my heart like the fields in the Midwest did when I lived in Flagstaff.

I had a small problem when I arrived in Ubon. Pokpak had told me not to get off the bus at the first stop; so I didn’t. I also remembered this from previous trips that the city bus station is the second stop. However, upon reaching the second stop, I realized that it was the private company’s station out of town. When I explained in my very poor Thai that my friend was waiting at the station, they put me on another bus that would go there soon. Just as I was getting ready to use a pay phone to call Khun Yindee, since my SIM card didn’t work and I was unable to make calls or send messages, I saw her walking toward me. She had been working late and just returned to Ubon. We went to the pad Thai place in the mall that we both like. It was as delicious as always.

Thursday morning I was delivered to Khun Toy and Khun Dakom’s house, and they were really happy to see me. They now have a bed (moved from the porch of the cottage) in what used to be a dressing room and now is half a dressing room and half an altar room for Khun Toy. I don’t know if it’s always there or if it was moved in for me. I was always happy with the floor cushion, but the bed was also nice. Khun Toy had breakfast ready, which included somtom. They took me to Amnat Charoen to our favorite duck noodle soup place for lunch. 

On the way home, we stopped to bless—sprinkle water on—the new thresher purchased by Khun Suwit’s family.

That evening I joined Khun Toy at the wat for the daily—during the rainy season/Buddhist Lent—service that includes chanting, silent meditation, more chanting, and a talk by a monk. The women there greeted me with smiles. I always enjoyed being part of this group. I like going to the service, but not every day, and it is too long for me, as we sit on the floor and I’ve lost my ability to do that for extended times. I thought I was doing pretty well until, one time when I shifted my legs around, the abbot mentioned that the foreigner had trouble sitting for a long time. (I understood a few words and the gist.) Since we ended out not going every evening, I did better sitting than I did last year.

We always arrived about half an hour before the chanting began; so I walked around. I always liked the special area with trees and the old semas/village signs. When looking at the old tree with an old ribbon around it marking it as a special tree, I noticed that it is a bodhi tree. So I guess I had seen a bodhi tree in Thailand and didn’t know it.

Friday was the school’s retirement party for teachers only. So Friday morning I joined the teachers on the bus to Khong Chiam, as this party is always an overnight trip. All the teachers were very happy to see me, and I was very happy to see them again. Khun Teamjan was my partner for the trip, as Khun Dakom was along to be Khun Toy’s partner. Our first stop in Khong Chiam was the waterfall where the Gigantic Climber is. 

When I saw the Climber, I remembered being there before. 

Next we stopped at the waterfall in a hole, which I also remembered.

The resort we stayed at was really nice—duplex cabins, most of which have a view of the Mekong River. 

On the way to dinner we had fun taking photos with the teachers dressed in their special, matching outfits for the party. 

The dinner itself wasn’t anything special in my opinion. The only foods I could eat were fried fishball patties and deep fried omelet, as the other dishes were pork and/or were too spicy. I was seated with Khun Teamjan and the retired teachers along with Khun Ratree, the retiring teacher. Since she was one of the teachers who was always friendly to me even though we couldn’t communicate much, I was happy to be there for part of her retirement activities.

The party itself was great fun, as these events usually are. The teachers do have fun together. Small groups performed dances. There was karaoke, of course, during which teachers danced the Thai line dance and some dances with partners. I had a great time having fun with my friends and watching them have fun with each other.

Saturday morning we had an early breakfast and left. Khun Dakom, Khun Toy, Khun Suwit, Khun Teamjan, and I went in the car so we could stop to visit their friends who live nearby. There we had breakfast #2 an hour after breakfast #1. In the afternoon, I went to use Khun Teamjan’s Wi-Fi and print some documents. Her grandson, who is now eleven, was happy to see me and speak English with me. He goes to an English-medium school and does quite well. Since we have been friends since he was four, it’s nice that he still enjoys seeing me. Her granddaughter, who is in kindergarten, even said a few English words as she ran in and out to see me.

Sunday Khun Dakom and Khun Toy were going to the hospital for their check up and asked if I would go, too. Since I was going where there would be doctors. I decided to see if I could see one to complete the physician’s medical form I needed. Since I no longer have a hospital card, I had to pay for the lab work, a total of 1300 bahts/$27. A bonus of being in the hospital waiting room was that Khun Kasemsri was there with her mother and we had a good chat. It was good to have private time with her.

When we finished at the hospital, we stopped at Khun Somlan’s house for lunch. I was warmly greeted by his wife’s 96-year-old mother, Yai Dam, who remembers me. Part of lunch was a drink made with a fruit I hadn’t seen before Saturday when Khun Toy showed me a few growing at her house. I have no idea what it is. It still surprises me to see new-to-me fruits, as I have seen many new fruits in Asia.

I thought Monday morning was going to be the first time in a week that I could sleep past 6:00. But it turned out to be the day to give food to the monks in the morning. Khun Kasemsri had suggested that I join her and Khun Yindee at the radio station for their weekly school news broadcast; so I did. In the evening, Khun Samaporn took me to dinner. Her son, Fame, joined us. He’s eleven now, and I hadn’t seen him for four years; so it was really good to see him again as well as his mother. He always liked me even though we met only a few times. English is his favorite subject, and he speaks English well for a 5^th grader. As always, it was good to spend time with Khun Samaporn.

Tuesday we returned to the hospital to complete my physical, including a chest x-ray. We arrived at 9:00 and I had the x-ray. Then we waited over an hour to see the doctor to complete the forms. Next we went to radiology to get the report and have that form signed. After waiting for an hour, they closed for lunch. So we went out for lunch. When we returned, it took only 45 minutes to finish. All in all, everything took five hours.

Wednesday was supposed to be a day at home, but Yai Dam’s son had died on Tuesday; so we went to a wat in Ubon for the first part of the funeral. I had been to many funerals, but this was the first time I was there for the beginning. An ambulance delivered the body and it was put on display with one hand resting on a bunch of flowers. Guests were given a cup of water to pour on the hand as a blessing. Each guest was given a bag with a box of juice and some cakes. 

Family members and close friends wore t-shirts with the man’s picture. I learned later that these were sold as a fundraiser to help when he was in the hospital before. I enjoyed walking around the wat and seeing the Thai-style art again, especially after just being in Sri Lanka.

In the evening, Khun Toy and I made mok gnaw mai/steamed bamboo. As usual, my job was to rub the leaves in water until all the green is removed from the leaves to make the water in which the bamboo is cooked.

Thursday, my birthday, began early, as it is auspicious to give food to the monks in their bowls on your birthday. While we were there, Yai Dam called Khun Toy so she could wish me happy birthday. I was really touched that she did that. Before we left, Khun Ying brought me a bag of fish and sticky rice like she used to do sometimes. Khun Toy and I cooked all morning to prepare food for my special lunch party. The main food was duck. I cut the skin and meat into very small pieces for laab—cooked and seasoned diced meat. Then I prepared some of the vegetables for her to use in cooking. 

The teachers who had been invited to join us were unable to come because they had to go to a workshop, which was too bad. Khun Teamjan and Khun Suwit gave me a piece of yellow silk. The duck appeared in three dishes: the laab, fried pieces, and soup. Other dishes were the mok gnaw mai and a banana flower dish. Of course everything was delicious. It was also delicious for dinner. In the evening we returned to the wat for the daily chanting. So it was a nice birthday.

Maldives (8-24)

Thursday morning the tuk tuk driver arrived with a car and a driver to begin my journey to the Maldives. I was surprised to see another driver, as it had sounded like he was going to drive me. Instead, he went along as a passenger. He had told me the trip would take 1.5 hours using the expressway; so we could leave at 10:00. I said we should leave at 9:30 to be to have enough time. The road went through a series of small towns along the coast. In one town we stopped briefly at a famous temple. The tuk tuk driver asked if I had any coins to donate along with his. I had one, which he seemed pleased about. He explained that the donation and prayer were for a safe trip, which is a good thing to ask for.

At 11:00 we didn’t seem to be near the airport. In fact, I recognized that we were at the green belt in Colombo and knew that it had taken about an hour to get to my hotel, which was near there, from the airport. When I asked, I was told that it was taking longer due to the post-election traffic. I reminded the tuk tuk driver that he had said we would use the expressway, and the driver said he would do that. Half an hour later we weren’t on the expressway, and I was getting a little nervous because it was then two hours before my flight and we were still a distance from the airport. The driver told me to relax; we were in Sri Lanka. A few minutes later we got on the expressway for the last twenty minutes and arrived at the airport at 12:00, 1.5 hours before my flight. I think they didn’t use the expressway sooner because they didn’t want to pay the tolls.

They let me out in front of a window that said “Airport entry ticket;” so I bought one. I hadn’t ever seen this. When I entered the door and showed the man my ticket, he asked about my flight and said I didn’t need the entry ticket, as it is for people who are not flying. I could have returned to the window and gotten a refund, but I wasn’t sure I had time for that; so I considered it a contribution—300 rupees/$2.25—to the airport. The rest of checking in went smoothly. At security, we had to take off watches and shoes. It’s one of the few places outside the U.S. that I’ve had to take off my shoes. It wasn’t necessary to take out my computer. And water seemed to be OK. I’d packed mine in the checked bag, but the list of forbidden items didn’t include water or other liquids not allowed in many countries. And there was no collection bin for water bottles.

After arriving at the Male airport, I bought a SIM card ($11 for two weeks) so I could have a taxi driver call the guesthouse to see which jetty I needed to go to and which boat I needed to take. I tried to change my Sri Lankan rupees but was told that they can’t change them because they are soft money. I still had them because in the rush to check in in Colombo, I didn’t stop at the exchange places outside the airport and didn’t see any place to change money after I checked in. Oh, well. The man said there are a couple banks in Male city that might change them.

I took the ferry across to Male island. There I was to get a taxi to the jetty where I would get the speed boat to the island. The taxis coming by all had passengers. Since instructions were to arrive at the boat by 3:30 and it was 3:25, I was a little anxious about arriving on time for the 4:00 departure. Another foreign woman was also looking for a taxi to get to the harbor for a 4:00 speed boat and was also anxious. I suggested that we could go together. A man who seemed to be helping her asked where I was going and then called the guest house on his phone, thus negating my need for a SIM card, and asked the owner where I needed to go. Since it was the same jetty the couple were going to, he said we could go together. When he got a taxi, he got in with us, which surprised me. I learned that he has a guesthouse and the couple were his guests. He had met them at the airport and was being very nice to help me, too. When we arrived at the jetty, he delivered me to my boat. I really appreciated his assistance.

The speed boat ride was 1.5 hours. When we left the Male harbor, a garbage boat was also leaving. I’d seen one from the ferry, too, and that reminded me that everything on the islands has to be brought in and taken out. 

The clouds were beautiful. We passed a few islands closely enough to see them in the distance. 

The guesthouse owner met me at the harbor and barely greeted me. 

His assistant had a pull cart on which they put my bag and several other items he had had delivered. This is how things are transported on Omadhoo—and probably other islands. They walked ahead, leaving me on my own to follow, which did not feel very welcoming.

After I settled into my room and started to relax, I realized that it was 6:15—sunset time. So I walked to the beach to see the sunset and arrived just in time to see the sun descend below the horizon. It was colorful, and there were patches of rain on one side. 

After the sun set, the beach was crawling with crabs.

At this guesthouse, meal times are fixed and the meals are buffet style. All five of us guests—an Italian family and me—sat together. They had been in Sri Lanka for a week and were returning for another week; so we enjoyed chatting about our experiences.

Friday morning I was awakened by the 4:55 muezzin. I’d forgotten about those. Omadhoo is a Muslim island, as are many of the islands. So no alcohol is allowed, and women have to cover their shoulders and hips. No bikinis on the beach. 

Local women all have head covers, and some wear the full black chador. Some people responded with a smile to a greeting, some didn’t. Very few spoke to me.

Omadhoo is 3 square kilometers in area. 

You can see across the width of the island. There really isn’t much on the island—several shops selling personal supplies and packaged food. The shop next to the guesthouse has a few fruits and vegetables. There are two fire pits where burnable debris, such as leaves, is burned. I saw two motorcycles, which surprised me, as most people ride a bicycle or walk. I also saw an ambulance one day, which really surprised me. I guess it can be used to take people to the jetty to get a boat.

The beach is beautiful—soft, white sand; 

clear aqua or green water. 

Palm trees 

and breadfruit trees are abundant on the island.

I was disappointed to learn that I would not be able to do any of the activities—snorkeling elsewhere, desert island, manta watching—because they require a minimum of two people (four for the manta trip), and the Italians had already done all the trips they wanted to do. The people working at the guesthouse are the least helpful I encountered on this trip. The manager was indifferent and showed no interest in the guests for the first two days I was there. This was also disappointing, especially after many pleasant interactions in Sri Lanka and with the guesthouse owner who had helped me in Male. He was more friendly the last two days. But it was a good place to relax and read. By the end of the first day, I had adjusted to what would probably be the pattern of my Maldives days.

Friday morning I walked around the island. Then it was beach time. When I told the men I wanted to go snorkeling, the cook pointed to the equipment while the other two continued to play computer games. I went to the far end of the beach where the Italians had told me snorkeling is good and settled on a chair. When I tried to snorkel, I couldn’t get the breathing apparatus to shop leaking water into my mouth. So I returned to the guesthouse and tried some other pieces, but they all seemed too big. Finally, I told the men I needed help, and one came to assist me. Equipped with appropriate equipment, I returned to my spot on the beach and snorkeled.

Snorkeling was good, as I’d been told. The coral isn’t amazing, but there is a good variety. My favorite was a type that has blue tips. When I first entered the water, there were a lot of different types of fish in that area. I counted fifteen at one time. I was happy. I floated and swam along the reef enjoying the fish and coral for an hour.

All in all, I spent four hours on the beach—snorkeling twice, reading, napping, and relaxing. Then I returned to relax in the room before heading back to the beach for sunset. 

Saturday morning I walked around the interior of the island, focusing on the trees and whatever was happening. There was more activity than on Friday. After this walk, I went to the beach to snorkel. There were fewer varieties of fish than on Friday, but I did see a few new ones. And being part of the underwater world is always a pleasure. I remembered that snorkeling isn’t good when the water isn’t calm, and there were more waves on the water than on Friday. After relaxing in the shade, I returned to the guesthouse. When I was going to go back to the beach later, the Italian man said it looked like rain. He was right; it started raining several minutes after I started walking. On the way back to the guesthouse, two children were interested I me. They both asked my name, and the boy said he’d write it in his notebook.

It rained heavily for over an hour. The Italians invited me to play cards with them and taught me the Italian card game Machiavelli. It was fun, and spending time with them was enjoyable.

Dinner was the best of my time there: a whole fish nicely seasoned, pasta with oil and tomatoes, fried rice, fried eggplant, cucumber and tomato salad. Other nights featured chicken legs or fish in gravy and sweet and sour chicken.

Saturday highlights:

Boys carting broken cement pieces and dumping them on what looks like a barrier that is being created by sea

Women standing in the water fishing with poles

Women pounding dried coconuts and separating the fiber, which will be used to make rope

Groups of four women standing in the water with a big net and beating the water with sticks. I think they were fishing, as I’ve seen it done that way in other countries.

Women gathering dead palm leaves on a cart, probably for burning.

Women gathering other tree debris and tying it in bundles. I later saw these collected in one place with other tree debris. Probably for burning.

A woman throwing her food garbage into the sea. The crows were upon it immediately.

I hadn’t realized how much work goes into maintenance of the island. When I was chatting with one of the men at the guesthouse and commented on this, he said it is their tradition.

The beach is a depository for food garbage. It gets eaten by crows or washes into the sea. I saw egg shells in a line in the same place for a few days and thought the beach was being littered. When I asked the manager about this (after he became friendly), he said it’s probably different food garbage every day. I had noticed one day that it was gone and thought the beach had been cleaned up, but when I passed the spot later, there were more egg shells. It’s possible that these come from the guesthouse, as there were a lot and they serve eggs for breakfast every day. The villagers have always used the sea because they have no other way to get rid of food garbage. It would cost too much to have it transported to Male for disposal.

Everything else, even plastic bottles, is burned in one of a few cement lined pits. Bottles, too, are part of the beach debris, and I thought people were dropping them there. On my last day, there were fewer bottles; so they either washed out to sea or the beach was cleaned that morning. The manager said they probably come from the sea. There were some, though, that I know were left by people, as they were around the chairs and were quite far from the sea.

Sunday was a very quiet day. I didn’t feel like snorkeling at the same place again, and the water wasn’t calm. The sky was overcast. When I went out to walk around, I found a place under trees by the shore where there were several hammock chairs. I settled into one to read for a couple hours. Very relaxing. Two men joined me for a short time. When I left, a woman and two children were heading there, which made me wonder if they are on their property. I went to my usual spot and sat on the log under the tree there for a while before returning to my room.

While I was in the room, it rained, but it stopped in time for my evening walk. I walked on a path I hadn’t been on before and saw teenage girls playing basketball. One was wearing jeans and a long top and a hijab, and two were wearing pants with long tops and a hijab. The others were dressed in black chadors. Later I came to women playing badminton. It was interesting to watch them do these activities, as this was the first time I’d had the opportunity to watch women in chadors in their daily life doing things other than walking from one place to another. Somehow I always think of them standing or walking as they are seen in photos.

Then it was time to head to the west end for sunset, which was nice. I especially enjoyed the dark clouds on the horizon.

Monday was a repeat of Sunday without the rain without the rain and with a lovely sunset, my last on the island. A British woman arrived at the guesthouse in the afternoon. She was interested in a couple of the activities; so it’s too bad we didn’t have a full day together so we could do something. She told me that the Lebanese family that had arrived on Saturday was thinking about the whale watching trip on Tuesday, but that was too late for me. Such is life. Although I would have liked to do an activity or two, overall, I enjoyed my quiet time.

The men working at the guesthouse became friendlier as my days went on. The cook was extra nice to me. He didn’t speak English, but he understood a small amount. When I was the only person at breakfast one day I told him I don’t like boiled eggs and don’t eat meat so he wouldn’t serve them the next day if no one else was there. He asked about fried eggs, which I also don’t like. I told him I like scrambled eggs and motioned stirring them. A few minutes later he came back with scrambled eggs. Monday night I told the manager that for the 6:20 breakfast I would have only two pieces of bread and some fruit. Either he didn’t tell the cook or the cook wanted to serve a full breakfast because he brought me scrambled eggs, fruit, and heart-shaped waffles and pancakes.

The manager, who paid almost no attention to me the first two days, greeted me on the third and asked about the dinner. On my last day he was quite friendly; so I asked him a bit about island life. Local people eat curry—mostly fish or potato. They don’t eat many vegetables, as they aren’t very available. But some people are changing their habits and starting to eat more Western-style foods like eggs.

In several places I saw what looked like nuts drying on pieces of plastic on the ground. On Monday there was a man at the reception desk; so I asked him what they are. He didn’t know but said they are like almonds. A few minutes later he came to me, having looked them up online, and said they are tropical almonds. They are eaten as a nut or used in sweets.

There is a school on the island for children up to 9^th grade. Starting in 10^th grade, they have to go to the capital island of the atoll or to Male to complete their high school education. They go to Male for university. University graduates don’t usually return to the island, as there aren’t jobs for them. Locally, men are fishermen and women are housewives.

Tuesday it was time to leave on the 7:00 AM speed boat. On the way to Male, there was a big rainbow. In Male, I went to four banks to try to change my Sri Lankan rupees and had no luck. Then it was time to take the ferry to the airport. It was interesting to see the runways stretch out the end of the island to the sea.

I had a window seat on the flight out. It was awesome to see the islands from above—even with my limited view between the wing and the plane.