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TonyT's 8th Thailand blog:
A month in and around the country:
March - April 2025.
Page 2
Surin, Phanom Dong Rak & Bak Dai village
WEDNESDAY 26th MARCH:
Rise & shine at 07:00 and down for breakfast. Our minibus arrived at around 09:30 with one of Aom's cousins at the wheel. Very comfy almost new minibus ate up the 440 kilometers (6 hours) to Phanom Dong Rak, Surin Province where our home is after a wrong turn in the capital's mayhem of roads which cost about 40 minutes to get back on track.
Coffee stop en-route to Surin. These are our favorite coffee outlets, so naturally, it was and almost always is an Amazon coffee-shop.
Arrived home at 16:45. First look and the farm’s looking good; lots more plantations of banana, casava, papaya, rubber and yams. Living in the slow lane now but it’s as equally intoxicating as back in the capital albeit for different reasons.
My step-dad had built a new swimming pool for Jack. The original was only heavy plastic sheeting over bare earth and got a bit muddy after a time. This one's all concrete and looks the business. Needless to say, Jack was in it in under 5 minutes of arrival.
THURSDAY 27th
Terrible night's sleep. The mattress we bought 4 years ago was a big mistake as it's way too firm; somewhat like sleeping on a park bench. We'll have to replace it. Also the washing machine we bought in 2015 is on its last legs so that'll need to be replaced. Only here 24 hours and the bills are mounting up.
Breakfast around 08:15.
Yes, it's going to be an expensive day for me today. As said, a replacement washing machine and mattress is needed; neither are cheap items but needs must.
First off was a visit to a store in Prasat to buy the washing machine. This was paid for us to collect later. Next was 15 mile drive to the outskirts of Surin city to a huge DIY-type store (similar to a B&Q in UK) to sort out a mattress. It took over a half hour to decide but the deed was done. It was comical seeing the new mattress in the back of the pick-up and even more so when the washing machine was picked up.
Next up was a tank full of diesel and an Amazon coffee stop, arriving back home mid afternoon.
Brother-in-law James arrived on his motor bike after a near 500km trip from Chonburi where he lives and works. My other brother-in-law, Joe is due to be picked from Pratas at around 10pm; Aom will do that 50-mile round trip.
FRIDAY 28th:
A special day as it was one of our Wedding Anniversaries; no this isn't a typo as we enjoy two anniversaries. We originally wed in 2013 in UK but Aom's Thai family were unable to travel that far to attend so we had a second (very) traditional Thai wedding last year (2024). This is fully documented starting on this page Wedding Day.
More expense today. One of the big electric fans has bust so needs replacing; these are relatively cheap in Thailand as almost every home has at least 3 or 4.
Big thing for the day, though, was Aom attending a exam at a Learning Center and Thai Traditional Medicine Development in Prasat. This she passed easily and with "flying colours" with a certificate to prove it. This essentially means she can open a Beauty Salon anywhere in Thailand should she ever wish to do so. It also helps enormously back in UK.
TOP: Our Thai home
ROWS 2 & 3: The new swimming pool
Rise & shine at 07:00 and down for breakfast. Our minibus arrived at around 09:30 with one of Aom's cousins at the wheel. Very comfy almost new minibus ate up the 440 kilometers (6 hours) to Phanom Dong Rak, Surin Province where our home is after a wrong turn in the capital's mayhem of roads which cost about 40 minutes to get back on track.
Coffee stop en-route to Surin. These are our favorite coffee outlets, so naturally, it was and almost always is an Amazon coffee-shop.
Arrived home at 16:45. First look and the farm’s looking good; lots more plantations of banana, casava, papaya, rubber and yams. Living in the slow lane now but it’s as equally intoxicating as back in the capital albeit for different reasons.
FRIDAY 28th: TOP: Our Thai home ROWS 2 & 3: The new swimming pool
My step-dad had built a new swimming pool for Jack. The original was only heavy plastic sheeting over bare earth and got a bit muddy after a time. This one's all concrete and looks the business. Needless to say, Jack was in it in under 5 minutes of arrival.
THURSDAY 27th
Terrible night's sleep. The mattress we bought 4 years ago was a big mistake as it's way too firm; somewhat like sleeping on a park bench. We'll have to replace it. Also the washing machine we bought in 2015 is on its last legs so that'll need to be replaced. Only here 24 hours and the bills are mounting up.
Breakfast around 08:15.
Yes, it's going to be an expensive day for me today. As said, a replacement washing machine and mattress is needed; neither are cheap items but needs must.
First off was a visit to a store in Prasat to buy the washing machine. This was paid for us to collect later. Next was 15 mile drive to the outskirts of Surin city to a huge DIY-type store (similar to a B&Q in UK) to sort out a mattress. It took over a half hour to decide but the deed was done. It was comical seeing the new mattress in the back of the pick-up and even more so when the washing machine was picked up.
Next up was a tank full of diesel and an Amazon coffee stop, arriving back home mid afternoon.
Brother-in-law James arrived on his motor bike after a near 500km trip from Chonburi where he lives and works. My other brother-in-law, Joe is due to be picked from Pratas at around 10pm; Aom will do that 50-mile round trip.
A special day as it was one of our Wedding Anniversaries; no this isn't a typo as we enjoy two anniversaries. We originally wed in 2013 in UK but Aom's Thai family were unable to travel that far to attend so we had a second (very) traditional Thai wedding last year (2024). This is fully documented starting on this page Wedding Day.
More expense today. One of the big electric fans has bust so needs replacing; these are relatively cheap in Thailand as almost every home has at least 3 or 4.
Big thing for the day, though, was Aom attending a exam at a Learning Center and Thai Traditional Medicine Development in Prasat. This she passed easily and with "flying colours" with a certificate to prove it. This essentially means she can open a Beauty Salon anywhere in Thailand should she ever wish to do so. It also helps enormously back in UK.
SATURDAY 29th:
Woke with a minor hangover after last night; white wine and Chang beer don't seem to mix well.
More chores to do today. Replacement wiper-blades for the truck and a bedroom cabinet to add to the sparse storage in our bedroom.
With regards to the former, it's typical of Thai culture not to actually maintain anything. It's clear that the old wiper-blades has been scratching away on a dry screen as no one thinks of adding water to the washer reservoir. Hence, there was hardly any rubber left on the blades. 450Baht corrected this.
Popped into the big Lotus store in Pratas for some essentials and at around 12:30 headed back home.
I state the time here as being very relevant because as we were bouncing along local rural roads a large 7.7 Earthquake hit neighbouring Myanmar (Burma) with repercussions all over Thailand. Damage to buildings in Bangkok with the total collapse of a half-finished tower block with at least 40 dead. Many thousands killed in Myanmar. Where we were and that we were traveling meant we were unaware of the tragedy until the news agencies sparked-up.
Naturally, it was all the talk for the rest of the day and phone calls to Bangkok as we have family living there; all were OK.
More locally, there was another issue brewing up. For many years there have been disputes between Thailand and Cambodia over ownership ofa number of ancient temple sites.