Thoneburi, the Rose Garden, and the Golden Mount

02/16

There is politics going on in the community. Jit is involved. There are a few intense conversations. I am staying out of it. I wished that people did not speak so loudly, it is stressful hearing the intensity of feelings.

Today we are going to Thonburi with our special Taxi driver, Chi. Chi was the driver that tool us to Supen Buri. He is very calm. When ever we are not sure where we are going, or it might be complicated we try to call Chi. I feel safe and calm when we ride with Chi. Chi has been in the military and was a Monk for at least six months. He is married with one child. I enjoy spending time with him. We usually try to get him for the entire day.

When we were driving through Phra Pradang I saw a man that looked just like Teddy Mayac, my kids uncle in Alaska. I looked a couple times and the similarity was amazing.

People are trusting me enough to attempt English. With all the English education the people have in school many Thai people can understand some English. After we spend time for awhile they are willing to try to speak English. I am happy when people make the attempt.

We are having problems with customs in the United States, something is messed up with the shipment. I think we will have to pay some duty. The items are for personal use and not for re-sale, but I do not know if that counts. Many of the items are things that we brought with us from Alaska and are returning.

Tone worked with his teacher to do Internet Cafe computer maintenance, he got home after midnight. Tone goes to Pantip Plaza everyday to work with his teaching. It is good to see him energized by fixing computers. The teacher says he is good to work with and very motivated.

Many construction workers wear head coverings like the winter knit hats that we wear in extreme cold. The hats are knit and can cover your head and face. We use these hats in Alaska during the deepest winter, I can not imagine wearing one when it is hot. Part of the reason people wear the hats and masks is that people with dark skin are discriminated against. People with dark skin work outside and that usually indicates that you are poor and low status. I see some women with really fake looking white skin, it looks really wierd. It is sort of like women in the United States with obviously dyed blond hair. or men who comb hair over their bald spot to cover it up. Oh well, human nature.

They gave us a new Ricoh GR Digital today. The old one has not been returned from Japan yet and Ricoh authorized them to give me a new one. The people were very nice and helpful. I really appreciate it especially since the original damage was my own fault. They knew I damaged the camera and still helped me.

Last night I was restless I was thinking about all my Thailand experiences and the people that I have met. Sometimes I feel sad.

Driving to pick up the Ricoh today we went down a small road with a whole cluster of motorcycle taxis. The road went on and on and opened into a whole neighborhood. I guess you can tell how busy a street is by the number of motorcycle taxis that are waiting at the beginning of the road.

After we picked up the camera we went to the Rose Garden east of Bangkok. They have a cultural show similar to the Alaska Native Heritage Center in Anchorage that show traditional Thai life. Just about every Thailand package tour includes a trip to the Rose Garden. To me it was boring, the garden was OK, but I was not really happy to be there.

The Nestles Ice Cream motorcycles go through many communities. They are three wheel motorcycles with a large freezer compartment. The motorcycles has a very distinctive jingle. I think I will always associate the jingle with ice cream, sort of like Pavlov's dogs. The jingle is one of the distinctive Thai sounds that evoke a whole series of memories.

After going to the Rose Garden we went to Golden Mount to get a Buddha for Oy. I like the Golden Mount, it had a great view of Bangkok and is not too crowded. In 2004 we went there with Margaret, this time I could see many more sites and recognize what I was seeing. It was fun. We rode home with Chei and had a good trip. He took a different way to avoid traffic, and it worked.

When we were going to Golden Mount there were pictures of Jacques Chirac, the French President where the Royalty usually have their pictures. The President is visiting Thailand this week. It was a surpirse to see the pictures of him and his wife.