How would it go with… Joop Oosterling?

The rainy season is on Thailand in full swing again. Here in Pattaya it also rains almost every day, sometimes less, sometimes more heavily, but a wet suit is soon your share when you go out for a while.

Annoying? Well, it's not too bad, especially if you read the reports about rainfall in other parts of Thailand. In quite a few areas, where the flooding last year led to disastrous consequences, people await with fear and trembling what will happen in the coming weeks.

I once thought how would things go with Joop Oosterling in Pathum Thani? About Joop I wrote a story in October last year about the great loss he had suffered as a result of the floods. His successful tree and plant nursery was completely swallowed up by the water and Joop saw his life's work in Thailand completely destroyed.

Pathum Thani

I decided to call him for another interview to see how he has endured the past year and how he may see the future. The first conversation I had with him last year took place in Pattaya, where he still had a condo. This time we met in Pathum Thani, so that I could also see with my own eyes how his house and his nursery were doing at the moment.

It took some searching when my Thai wife and I were near Pathum Thani, but with some telephone instructions from Joop we were led to the immense villa park “The Lagoon”. Together we drive to his house, which is located deep in that large park, pass roundabouts, water features, something that should have been flowerbeds and I look at all those beautiful houses, where rich Thais and many foreigners live.

body of water

Nice houses, huh? When we get to Joop's house, we only see the misery that the water mass has produced. On the outside, Joop points to the brown color of all the walls, which changes to white at about 2,5 metres. That is not how it was conceived, but indicates how high the water in this villa park and of course the entire surrounding area has been. Two and a half meters in your living room and kitchen! Measure that at your home and then see what would be under water.

Joop is busy refurbishing the house again, but it will take a while before he will stay in that house again. The necessary repurchased furniture is there, but a lot of furniture, clothes, books, paintings, kitchen utensils, etc. etc. have been lost. An empty pond can be seen in front of his house, where about 30 koycarp once lived, which have disappeared with the rising water. On the way to the nursery we look at those beautiful houses in the park with different eyes and see how sad it all looks. Rusty fences and fences, wild unkempt gardens, and lots of rubble on the lawns between the houses. Many residents, however, are determined to stay and will refurbish their house, which looks almost shabby down to the eight feet. But there are also those who have had enough and we saw a number of signs with 'For Sale'.

The road to the nursery is higher than the surrounding land and has been "only" 50 cm under water. It was difficult for emergency services, military vehicles, etc. to make use of it, but now that the water is no longer there, you can see what the traffic has done. The asphalt road is full of holes and is also badly damaged, so that it takes quite a bit of driving skill to get to the destination without too many jerks and rattling. We turn off the main road and follow a sandy path for a kilometer, which is also full of holes, so that we swing from left to side trying to avoid the rainwater-filled holes. Doesn't always work and then the muddy water splashes over the car like a fountain.

Jungle

On the right side of the road we see rice fields, on the left it is all jungle. We pass Joop's neighbour, an orchid nursery, or so Joop tells us. We take him at his word, because what we see are trees and greenery, lots of greenery, which is growing at random and has completely overgrown the nursery. The owner, says Joop, left during the flood and has still not returned.

When we arrive at the nursery grounds, the view is not much different. Lots of wild growth and swampy pieces of land, where you can't recognize a tree and plant nursery with the best will in the world. At the main building we are welcomed by Joop's Thai wife and a couple of dogs, who came after the flood and lingered. There is already a supply of garden material, such as pebbles, tiles and the like, and next to the main building a careful start has been made with the cultivation of smaller plants again. We take a walk near the main building and Joop points out where the trees and larger plants will soon be grown again. The only good thing about this 5 rai large nursery is that acacias are already available and the bamboo forest is also looking good.

Damage

But, all in all, how is Joop doing? Last year I described him as a lively man in his sixties, who has been living in Thailand for twenty years and had a good company with a lot of export, initially to the Netherlands and later mainly to countries in the Middle East. If I look at the proliferation on his land and the misery caused by the flood, I would have completely lost the courage to restore the nursery to its old familiar state. Fortunately, Joop, and his wife, have other thoughts and they are both determined to get back what was once the ideal world.

Joop then tells me that he has calculated his damage at a sloppy 25 million Bath. Insurance then? Yes, it is insured against water damage if the damage was caused by water from the tap, water damage caused by an external disaster is excluded. Help from the Thai government? Yes, after packing documents and other evidence such as photos, he received compensation of 5000 Baht for the house and 75.000 Baht for the damage suffered at the nursery. He just lost everything, that 80.000 Baht was needed for a short period of time for normal living and in the meantime he has already had to sell a piece of land and a car just to provide for the normal necessities of life.

 Fighting spirit

Joop, however, remains optimistic, he is sure that everything will be all right again. He is already receiving requests from his regular customers in the Middle East and the first order for 100 trees has also been received. I believe him, Joop radiates a fighting spirit and a determination to succeed again in his new country of residence. I promised him to come back in a year and then I hope that his estate will once again look like a real nursery, where - just like before - dozens of Thais work for him on a successful business in plants, trees and garden equipment. The normal turnover of the last few years, which amounted to around 40 million Baht, will not have been reached yet, that will take some more years. .

Back home my thoughts remain with Joop, his wife and the nursery. I thought that there should be someone with money who dares to invest in Joop's company as a partner. With that money and Joop's expertise and experience, this should soon lead to success. I have every confidence in it!

About this blogger

Gringo

Bert Gringhuis (1945), born and raised in Almelo in the beautiful Twente. Later lived for many years in Amsterdam and Alkmaar, working in export for various companies. I first came to Thailand in 1980 and immediately fell in love with the country. Been back many times since then and moved to Thailand after my (early) retirement as a widower. I have been living there for 22 years now with my somewhat younger Thai lady Poopae.
My first experiences in Thailand as a kind of newsletter sent to family, friends and acquaintances, which later appeared under the name Gringo on Thailandblog. Many, many articles followed those first stories and that has grown into an almost daily hobby.
In the Netherlands still an avid footballer and football referee, but the years are starting to tell and in Thailand still avid, but the pool billiards is really of inferior quality, ha ha!

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