Papayas and toilet paper
Francois and Mieke came to live in Thailand in January 2017. They want to build their little paradise in Nong Lom (Lampang). Thailandblog regularly publishes writings from both about life in Thailand.
Papayas…
It is very busy here on the road. At least, compared to the Touwbaan in Maashees. On the mountain slopes, all kinds of people have pieces of land on which all sorts of things are grown, and where they therefore have to go regularly. On average, I think a moped passes by twice an hour. During peak hours, that number even doubles. And then of course there is our monk, who lives further up the mountain and walks down at 7:XNUMX in the morning and back up again half an hour later.
Everyone who passes by we nod in the most friendly way, and we always get a broad smile in return, accompanied by a moped wai. A normal wai, where you put your hands together and bend, that's a bit of a stretch on a moped, so an emphatic nod of the head will suffice. Waving, that's not what they do here.
This morning a moped stopped. Usually that means that the landlord comes to do something in the garden, so I quickly transformed my rather summery outfit into one acceptable for Thai. However, it turned out not to be the landlord, but one of the women who regularly drive by. I'm not entirely sure about the latter, because like many Thais she was completely wrapped up, with only a hole around her mouth and eyes. That has nothing to do with religion or belief, but is simply protection when working all day in the burning sun.
“Hello” she said. “Papaya, papaya, you.” She gave me two freshly picked, deliciously ripe papayas, laughed exuberantly, said again “papaya, you, eat”, got on her moped while I said a Thai thank you and continued her way down. I stood a bit stunned: how can I thank her, and how could I recognize her next time in a bank robbery outfit?
What a wonderful experience, what a hospitality. People sometimes worry whether it is safe in an unknown country and in a remote place. At least it doesn't feel that way and this morning's experience fits in nicely with the picture that has unfolded so far.
We killed the first papaya right away at lunch. He tasted like more, so the second one will be fine too.
…and toilet paper
Then something completely different: the bowel movement. Not usually a topic for stories, but I really need to talk about it. No, it's not about impossible squat toilets or anything; Also here in Thailand you can just sit on most toilets. What is worth paying attention to is the toilet in our house. You run the risk of burning your buttocks terribly here. You may now think that this is because of the spicy food, but it is different.
Thailand has a huge lead compared to the Netherlands when it comes to toilet hygiene.
The system will undoubtedly have a somewhat fancier name, but we call it the butt flush valve. A mini shower head with a peg hangs here next to each pot. When you're done, just spray it all clean. (If it is very stubborn, you assist with your left hand. That is why Thais also find it very disgusting when they see you eating with your left hand, or that you touch someone with your left hand.) With a toilet paper you pat everything dry and then of course you wash your left hand with soap. Once you're used to it, you don't want anything else. An additional advantage: the roll that we brought with us from the Netherlands is not even half finished.
Oh yes, and the Thai sewer system is not set up on paper for this reason. Toilet paper must therefore be placed in the trash can that you will find in every toilet.
Anyway, what about that buttocks burning? Our water here comes from large concrete storage tanks. From there the pipe just runs over the ground to the house. It doesn't freeze here, and digging in the rocks is no fun, so that above ground is no problem. Until you want to rinse your buttocks after the sun has been burning on the pipe for a few hours. You feel it coming, I think. I didn't, at least not the first time.
Incidentally, I realize, writing this, that it might be a good thing that we didn't have this system in Maashees. Although the water came through the ground, such a blob of just above freezing point is not really attractive either.
Hello francis,
You are right, such a splash of water at one or two degrees above zero may not be pleasant, but it is an effective remedy against haemoroids or hemorrhoids if you will; cheap, because you save doctor costs.
Nice story. I wouldn't want to trade the butt-rinsing for any brand of soft toilet paper that you end up going through with your fingers.
I live 8 km from the nearest village on a mountain, between the mountains, 100 meters from the main road and very often I am alone in the yard which is a 60 Rai big Thefarm. There are no street lights and if I don't turn on an outdoor lamp, it is very dark. I never lock the door when I'm at home. Recently a friend from Bangkok often comes to stay with me and she locks the door because she says that the Thai cannot be trusted. My single neighbour, who is a school teacher and is usually away all day, doesn't lock her house at all and there would certainly be a few things to fetch. We also have no fence at all around the yard and no gate that blocks the access road. I sometimes see someone in the yard unexpectedly visiting while no one was home, but nothing is ever missed until now.
It gives such a free and safe feeling. Totally incomparable to many other places and especially close to major villages and towns in Thailand. Long live safety in the Golden Triangle, notorious for smuggling and drug trafficking. By the way, I come from St-Tunnis and got married at the time in Oud Bergen, near you across the Maas. Rien
Nice story, Ryan. Mieke lived in Oud Bergen from 1983-1999, in a farm on the Maas. We regularly passed St Tunnis on our way to family in Wanroij and Mill.
My story above was written when we lived in Ban Tham Chiang Dao. We are now at Lampang, where we will stay permanently. Maybe nice to come and have a look at your mountain.
Welcome. The mountain is not mine. Email to [email protected]
That's also a coincidence, I'm also from Bergen (L)
Hello Mieke, years ago we brought two “bun guns” as we call them to NL. (purchased from HomePro) Not a plastic one that quickly breaks at our water pressure, but two solid metal ones. Simply connected to the cold water pipe. Wonderful comfort and to our surprise no problems at all with the water temperature. Toilet paper is only used to dry off and fortunately it can go in the pot here.
If the floor is wet after using the syringe, you are doing something wrong. Well, it took me months to master that too…
A wet shirt was an even bigger problem in the beginning 🙂
We are from Maashees and visit Thailand regularly.
I wonder who our fellow villagers are. Nice story by the way
Oops, I see that when I respond via my phone my name is still Francois Tham Chiang Dao. Confusing, sorry. Maybe not so handy to add the place name to my name 🙂
Hello Jos, Funny, such a small village and then people you don't know. That also depends a lot on us, I think. We lived on the Touwbaan for 8 years, but never really immersed ourselves in Maashese village life. And the Touwbaan is of course a back street in itself. Nice that Maashees knows even more Thailand fans. We have recently met people from Bèk.
I recently came across a photo of a new kind of squat toilet, slightly higher than usual with a modified seat with a lid. So it can be used in two ways. The government no longer places squat toilets in government institutions due to the large number of knee problems that these cause.
Now I've been to some mainly Muslim countries like Malaysia and Indonesia where eating with the left hand is not proper. Now I asked my Thai wife about this and she said that it is actually true, but that no one pays attention. Eating a hamburger or spicy wing at the KFC is not so easy with one hand. And she had never heard of touching someone with the left hand. Touching someone's head in Thailand is absolutely not done.
Now, by the way, not all Thais can handle the sprinkler, in the countryside a plastic container with water is normal. A cousin of my wife (coincidentally also from Lampang) where my wife still has a house, visited us on Samui. No squat toilet and a sprinkler took some getting used to, when I went into the bathroom I thought a pipe had burst.
I think such a sprinkler is called a Muslim shower.
Here in the province of Lampang, in Ban Lomrad to be precise, they do wave,…all of them.
And my Thai mother-in-law now also uses toilet paper, completely voluntarily if she gets it for free.
And I've only lived here for 5 years, but I participate in everything.
No more water-slippery bathroom or toilet floors in my family (they don't know floor tiles here):
We sponsor the “toilet paper”, they now also find it much more hygienic……….only washing hands, they still have to learn that.
The reason is that grandma (94) slipped a year ago, broke her hip and died a few months later. My granny!
Since I live in Thailand I have not used toilet paper at all, love it and fresh with the water cannon.
And if we continue chatting for a long time, we will all be from that area.
I am from Oeffelt and known in all the above places, just had a visit from Oud Bergen while my daughter lives in Nieuw Bergen, the world is getting smaller thanks to Thailandblog.
It might be nice to know that the toilet spray is called a 'key sabaai' in Thailand. Very appropriate name, huh?
We can no longer do without it and have bought one for our bathroom in NL. Coincidentally, the plumber will come tomorrow to attach a thermostatic tap to the bathroom furniture, connected to the mixer tap on the sink, for the connection of the 'toet sabaai'. Can not wait!