FRIDAY 27th (continued:
After the journey from Bangkok in a regular Bangkok taxi we arrived at Nhong Rak at around 2:30pm. A fast trip thanks to our Bangkok taxi driver.
Aom’s Grandmother and aunt along with Somjit waiting as we arrived and, of course, bay Jack. So lovely to see our son again.
Jack was a little confused at first but the smiles soon came, and we had him trundling about in his little buggy.
Aom’s mum picked some fresh maize (corn on the cob) from the field and that was soon cooking; can’t get any fresher than that, delicious.
Dinner was fish and rice, and as ever here in Nhong Rak, it was bedtime early at around 8:30-9:00pm; but, of course, everyone’s up and about at dawn. Aom & I slept in the gazebo hut with Jack as per normal.
SATURDAY 28th:
Big difference in temperature since we were here a couple of weeks ago when the temperature topped 40ºC; it was a cool 26ºC at 08:00 but on the rise along with the sun.
After breakfast I measured up the ground floor rooms of the new house as tomorrow I'm going to fund floor-tiling. This, I reckon, will set me back around 35k Baht, but let's see.
My report on the cooler weather has changed; it's now 11am and it's 34ºC.
The new house has now been cement-rendered, externally and internally. It's coming along slowly but at least it's progress.
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ABOVE: Jack re-united with his Mum & Dad.
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TOP LEFT: The maize or corn-on-the-cob field.
TOP RIGHT: The crop is ready for harvest.
CENTRE LEFT: Somjit has just picked this maize from the field & preparing it for cooking.
CENTRE RIGHT: The peeled & trimmed cobs now ready for cooking.
BOTTOM LEFT: The cobs are boiled in this large pan over a wood-fire.
BOTTOM RIGHT: Yours truly enjoying a sample of said maize. Delicious.
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Fresh honeycomb from nearby tree. No waste on the Khongjaidee farm.
There's a lot of different jobs going on at the farm. In the house, internal walls are being built and the rendering is continuing. Elsewhere, hardwood trees felled on the farm are being sawn into planks.... the hard way with a large chain-saw, wedges and a sledge hammer.
What still shocks me a little is the Thai complete apathy or unawareness of safety. None of the men working have eye or head protection, they don't bother with masks and they've never heard of safety-boots; flip-flops are the footwear of choice. There's dust and splinters flying everywhere and they just plod on. Here's a few photos of some of the work. The wood they use from the local trees (I don't know what it's called) is lovely hardwood which polishes and stains up with a rich dark teak-like brown. It would cost a fortune back in UK but it's treated as we would treat softwood pine back in UK. The planks will be used as floor-boards on the upstairs rooms in the new house and they look fantastic once treated.
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TOP LEFT: The bark of the freshly felled tree is being loosened with a sledge-hammer.
TOP RIGHT: Here the bark being stripped.
CENTRE: The stripped log is being sawn into planks with a huge chainsaw. Note the complete lack of safety.
BOTTOM: Several of the finished planks just cut. And , right, stacked planks left to dry fully to avoid warping.
SUNDAY 29th:
Awake at 05:20 and up at dawn at 05:45. Dawn here (as is dusk) is different to UK; it happens much quicker. Whereas in UK dawn is a fairly slow process, taking more than 30-40 minutes, here in Thailand it's about 10 minutes; one minute it's dark and suddenly it's light. Sunset, as said, is similar.
Temperature today around 34-35º.
The planned shopping session to buy floor-tiles for the new house has been put off until tomorrow due to transport issues. Instead Ao and I went out on one of the motorbikes and dropped into a roadside noodle cafe. Following this we paid a visit to one of her Aunt/Uncles and her grandads. Whilst we were here we were subjected to a nasty tropical storm; thunder, lightening, high winds and torrential rain, quite unpleasant. The storm raged for 30 mins or so and we made a break for it back home.
This bad weather's decided to stick around and as I write thunder is rumbling away along with the occasional downpour. Massive drop in temperature too; it's down to 26ºC.
The bad weather continued into the night with the rumbles finally subsiding in the early hours. The temperature continued to drop to the lowest I've seen it in Thailand; 23ºC.
Dinner happened at around 5:45pm. Now I'm the sort of guy who'll try most foods. The many many months I've spent in Thailand, and several of them in a remote and rustic region (Isaan) there are still some dishes that with the best will in the world I could not attempt. I've eaten rat and that was OK, eel was nice as was snake, but Insects and grubs are one that repulses me. However, what the Khongjaidees offered tonight made me feel a touch nauseous. There was a bowl full of shrunken khaki-coloured cooked frogs and another full of small cooked crabs which the family crunched through wholly, nippers, shells and all. OK I'm a wimp! There are those amongst the readers who enjoy such treats but I'm a born and bred farang and it would take me some time (if ever) to consider crunching through insects, grubs, frogs and manky crabs.
TOP LEFT: Insects & grubs - yum yum? TOP RIGHT: Crunchy Frogs. ABOVE: Maybe later, thanks, Aom!!!
But, below are some photos of real tasty bits that are grown here in Nhong Rak:-
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TOP: Pomelo fruit. One of my favorite, like a huge grapefruit only less sour. AKA Citrus maxima (or Citrus grandis), (Common names: shaddock, pamplemousse) is an original citrus fruit native to South and Southeast Asia.
CENTRE LEFT: Mango tree.
CENTRE RIGHT: Baby (green) bananas.
BOTTOM LEFT: Jackfruit. Also known as jack-tree, jakfruit, or sometimes simply jack or jak is a species of tree in the Artocarpus genus of the mulberry family.
BOTTOM RIGHT: And, of course, the inevitable coconut. Very fresh and very tasty.
