Two statues for Buddha
My friends' parents want to inaugurate their new home. I'll be there at seven o'clock. The house and yard are packed with close and distant relatives. Plus twelve monks. There are two large Buddha statues in the house. A gleaming copper statue of a seated Buddha, about three feet high. And a dark statue of a standing Buddha, about five feet high.
A marriage in Isaan
Thia, a good friend, has invited me to attend the wedding of one of his nephews. Our trip to PaJao in the Northeast of Thailand is perfect. The night bus arrives at his family's house before seven in the morning, in a village called BanLai, sixty kilometers from PaJao and ninety from Chiangrai.
Monk in Pattaya
Those Thais are wonderful people, aren't they? Yesterday I attended a gigantic celebration to mark the fact that a boy became a temporary monk.
The boom from Pattaya to Sattahip
On the Internet I look for a timetable Pattaya-Sattahip, but this does not work. So I decide to take a chance. I ask a Thai friend to come with me so that we can go to the station by car.
Story from Thailand: To Phrae
Dick Koger says goodbye to his friends in BanLai and he leaves for PaJao by bus. From there a bus to Phrae.
Collecting
Collecting is in people's blood. Whether it's stamps, cigar bands, old coins or KLM houses, once you've been grabbed, there's no holding back. Everything I collected in the Netherlands was left behind. In Thailand I started a new life of collecting, albeit less fanatically. Although, books are a constant factor in my interest.
Thai hairdressers closed on Wednesday?
A while back I wrote a piece about the fact that hairdressers are closed on a Buddhist holiday, Makha Bucha. From the origins of this holiday I could not find any indications that the non-cutting had a religious origin.
Phi Ta Khon, the spirit festival in Dan Sai
The annual Phi Ta Khon festival in Isaan is a large folk festival with a spectacular procession. Somewhat comparable to a carnival parade in the Netherlands, but with ghosts and fertility as the theme. Male fertility symbols in particular are put in the spotlight with a great sense of humour.
Hotel reservation in Pattaya
On this site I read a piece about the fact that you can always negotiate the price of your hotel room in Thailand. That reminds me of when I came here on vacation.
Monks in BanLai
In Thia's house and especially behind it, it is very busy. About ten women are cooking. Banana leaves are stuffed with rice. Giant pots of meat are on the fire. The men interfere with the decoration of the house. Only now do I understand that monks are already coming tonight.
Ostrich eggs in Thailand
Two Dutch friends in Pattaya received an e-mail from an acquaintance asking whether ostriches live in Thailand and if so, whether the eggs of those ostriches are dyed.
A bar is not a restaurant: the Brass Monkey Bar in Pattaya
That the dining club doesn't always choose the easiest way and doesn't only select easily accessible restaurants for discussion, is clear from our last choice: the Brass Monkey Bar.
Translate by phone
My children (this may not be the correct representation of the facts, more certain is that I am owned by those children) greet me every morning in English with “good morning Dick”. This morning, however, was different.
Long necks in Thailand
The Hill Tribes are mainly known from the 'Red Long Neck Caries'. This tribe, refugees from Burma, lives in small villages in the jungle. For beauty reasons, some women have about fifteen heavy copper rings around their necks, creating a stately giraffe appearance. Only girls born with a full moon are eligible.
A sheep farm in Pattaya
If you've just shaved, it might not be too bad. Otherwise Thailand must be terribly hot. I mean of course: if you were born as a sheep.
Pattaya beach is getting wider
The beach of Pattaya will be widened by sand reclamation far from the sea. This has been talked about for years, but it seems that it will now start in October.
Plumber wanted and found
For months we, my family and I, have had a problem with the municipal water supply. Water comes out of the tap, but not enthusiastically. With fits and starts and above all a lot of air. We purchase some extra tanks and they are slowly being filled.