When travelling around the countryside in Udon Thani Province I am often amazed at how much some of the scenery resembles the country fields back home in England. You may think I’m kidding but I am deadly serious about that.

Take away the rice fields, palm trees, bamboo stalks, exotic trees and plants found in some of the rural areas and view the natural unharvested land, and you could imagine being in one of many different countries in the world. Take a look at the picture below right, which has been cropped from the top photograph and you’ll see something which was a familiar sight in the UK not too many years ago. A scarecrow. A very crudely made one but nonetheless a scarecrow.

Nowadays electronic scarecrows are used by most farmers around the globe to protect their newly laid seeds and crops from birds, but in the rural regions of Thailand the old and proven method is still employed. These scarecrows may not have the high pitched sounds of their electronic, ultrasonic and solar powered rivals but they do still give the birds one hell of a fright. Maintenance is negligible and wages nil. The perfect combination for Thailand’s farmers.

When I noticed my first scarecrow in Thailand I made a mental note to look out for others and for me they are now a fairly common sight. The scarecrow’s are not just seen in the fields as some Thai people place them near the road outside their homes as a source of humour to passer-bys. They are probably there to scare away evil spirits as well.

Having discovered Thailand’s scarecrows I started looking around for more old-time traditional things which the farmers and villagers used as a solution to employing more novel and technological ways of achieving and producing things. One such method was just a hundred yards from our village home, two mounds of earth standing a little apart. I hadn’t seen them there on my last village trip but I knew what they were used for. Charcoal production.

If you took away the charcoal kilns in the above photograph I’m once again convinced the scene could have been snapped on a very hot English summers day. It reminds me of the countryside I enjoyed during my childhood visits to my grandparents village in Gloucestershire here in the UK.

Most Thai villagers cook outside and use a bucket shape charcoal stove made from fired clay. The stove is lit by burning small twigs inside its bottom aperture and then placing charcoal on top of the burning wood. A pot or grill is placed on the crown of the stove to steam boil rice and barbecue meats or in my case on the right, to toast a sandwich. So how is charcoal made. I’ll hand you over to Wikipedia for a very basic overview:

‘ Charcoal is a carbon containing substance made from wood, naturally black and powdery. Charcoal is made from wood by heating it in airless space in high temperature. The wood will not burn, but instead turn into charcoal.’

The process of turning wood into charcoal using this method is called pyrolysis (transformation of a compound caused by heat).

The charcoal kilns are made from a mixture of clay and a small amount of rice husk which is leftover in the fields after each rice harvest. Wood is stacked inside the kiln and a small fire is lit under it and the opening is then closed off to leave the wood burning for a few days. The wood to charcoal conversion yield is quite high, just imagine the slight reduction in size of wood charred on an open fire.

Charcoal kilns are just one of many types of small ‘businesses’ operated by individuals and families in Thailand’s villages which help keep the community economy ticking over.

Cash earned from selling charcoal to friends and locals is fed back amongst the populace by servicing the small village shops and food stalls. Whether it’s selling fish caught in the local rivers or growing mushrooms in blacked out tents, the Thai villagers are very adept at seeing an opportunity to not necessarily make a fortune but keep their heads bobbing above water. When Thailand’s economy hits a recession the rural villages ride the smallest waves.

You may have your hopes invested in bricks, bonds and shares but Thai rural villagers have theirs in knowledge and know how passed down from generation to generation. Black Monday to some is looking into a darkened hole and seeing the fruits of their labour, mushrooms and charcoal.

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In March last year I added a Popular Posts widget to my sidebar which totals hits on each post and as of writing today, the post with the largest total of individual page views is Thai Ladyboys – Pattaya with 5,394 hits. Most of those views have arrived from random searches and with its title that trend will probably continue for a good while yet.

The Beginning Part Two is probably my all time favourite post that I have written, although tomorrow my choice might differ. It is the story of my first ever day in Thailand and is buried deep in this site’s archives. It has also only registered 106 hits on my Popular Posts widget and I’d like to give it the chance to tally a few more by reposting it today under the header title Turning Back the Years. I believe it to be a much stronger post than Thai Ladyboys – Pattaya.

There is a prequel to this post suitably named The Beginning which was the very first story I wrote for Beyond The Mango Juice back in August 2008. The Beginning recalls how myself and a friend got rather drunk in a bar in my hometown in England, and after grabbing our passports we headed for Heathrow airport to book the next available flight to Thailand.

A few hours into the flight we both awoke from our drunken sleep and realized to our horror we were in mid air and heading for the Land of Smiles, a country we’d never been to before. When I telephoned my father from Bangkok he replied rather loudly.

” THAILAND… you said you were going to the pub (bar) and then coming around here for dinner.”

After making a few minor tweaks to the post, The Beginning Part Two – Revisited picks up the story. The year is 1999.

The Beginning Part Two - Revisited

Don Muang International Airport January 5th 1999

The two athletically built young men strode confidently and purposely through customs control, clean shaven, not a hair out of place, stylish clothes neatly pressed. Their whole demeanor was something they were born with, something you could not acquire. Tom and myself followed behind, middle aged, overweight, unshaven and disheveled, it was a look that had taken years and plenty of wasted money to achieve. We passed through customs with no problem and entered the terminal.

We both stared at the two beautiful Thai women sat behind the glassed money exchange counter. We had about 400 pounds in British banknotes between us and ATM cards as back up, it was time to get some Thai coin. We guessed their English would be so bad we’d have to go into broken English mode with a little mime and theatre thrown in to get them to understand us.

The three English language variations we knew were plain broken slang nasal English, pidgin English and a type of jargon similar to Jerry Lewis and the Nutty Professor. I opted for pidgin as the latter might lead to arrest. Different countries had different rules and we didn’t know any of Thailand’s.

“Wallet want money come, you can do” that should do it I said to myself.
“Could you repeat that sir” she replied, spoken in perfect English with a slight American twang.

It had been delivered with a look that said they must come from a country where English is 53rd choice in the second language school curriculum. I upgraded her to nasal English for the cash transaction. She deserved better, she merited full stops, commas and paragraphs.

Wallets reloaded we headed off. Outside the terminal we fought off the onrush of taxi drivers literally begging us to jump in and fill their cars with cigarette smoke. Somehow we found a less hassled spot of mother Thailand and an Australian chap came over and introduced himself. Gary had been visiting Thailand for many years and on hearing we were heading down to Pattaya, gave us some advice.

It was our first time in Thailand and Gary couldn’t believe his luck. He gave us the low down on hotels, bars, shows, soi’s(streets), you have got to meet my friends, shopping , markets and all that. I felt like asking Gary what time we could have a crap each day but decided to give it a miss. Like all good advice in life we divulged it, churned it around, spat out most of it, then swallowed what little was left.

The Australian chap, I’ve forgotten his name, advised us to jump on a bus to Bangkok’s Ekamai Bus Terminal and from there get one of the regular routes to Pattaya.

Like all good advice…. our taxi pulled into Ekamai Bus Station not too long after with me guessing the Australian chap would still be at the airport boring the ass off somebody still sopping wet behind the ears. We had not tasted alcohol for about fifteen hours and we had to get a beer soon, but first things first, bus tickets. Tom gave it a go this time starting with Queens English, getting a reply in third variation English and concluding the deal on a wing and a prayer. Our bus would be leaving in about two hours time, it was hot and we needed a drink.

Have you ever been walking along the side of a road minding your own business, deep in thought when unaware to you a police car or ambulance pulls level and at the same time puts on it’s siren. Scares the bloody life out of you. Well what happened next was similar but amazing replaces scare.

We were walking down a road, about five minutes away from the bus station looking for a bar, deep in conversation when this great big elephant with a bloke (mahout) on top comes ambling past us on the road. Amazing, I’d never seen anything like that in England. I wanted to shout after it ” Stop you’re heading for the airport, Gary (remembered) will bore the trunk off you,” but once again I gave it a miss.

We eventually found a bar (kind of bar) and after sinking a couple of beers started to open up about our doubts, fears and what a general mess we’d drunk ourselves into. Yesterday we were sat in an English bar and now next day sober, we had found ourselves walking the streets of Bangkok. It’s surreal what drink can do to you.

Back home we’d heard stories about tourists in Thailand getting beaten up and robbed by taxi drivers and this was part of the reason we’d opted for the bus. Having survived unscathed on the short taxi journey from the airport to the bus station, we were now relaxing with a few beers and starting to feel a little more upbeat.

After a brief discussion about never having heard of a bus driver overpowering fifty five passengers and robbing them, we both agreed it was time to chill and make the most of our unexpected holiday. Anyhow, we’d sit at the back and the bus driver would be knackered by the time he got round to robbing us.

I really do enjoy sitting on a bus and watching the world go by. Having noted that the bus driver did not measure up to my fears, more five foot two with lots of ribs than the one hundred and twenty five kilo, seven foot tall, shaven headed psycho we’d discussed over a glass of the gold stuff, I sank deeper into my seat and relaxed. With our cheap and tacky sports bags well stocked with cans of beer the bus pulled away and set off for Pattaya. From deep inside me, around the rib cage level, I hoped the elephant had managed to drag himself away from Gary.

The bus rolled into Pattaya Bus Station around nine in the evening, darkness had fallen hours before. I remember thinking what a strange country we were in. It was winter time in Thailand, nine in the evening and about thirty degrees celcius, it seemed very odd when compared to England’s cold season. We were both sweating as much as a young newspaper girl on her first delivery day approaching the gate of the Battered Pit Bull Rescue Home. We disembarked, our mood on a high and our empty beer cans hidden low at the back of the bus.

We were quickly ushered into the back of a pick up come bus and having earlier decided to find a hotel near the beach, the driver had merely nodded at our request and waved us inside. Inside was actually outside because the converted pick up had a canvas and metal tubing cover over what would have been the open back, with the side canvas rolled up to allow you to breathe in the stifling hot air.

The tailgate had been removed and a step led up to a bench on either side. At a guess it could hold about twelve passengers and it drove off with four Thai’s hanging on at the rear and about fifteen sweating bodies crammed inside. There are hundreds of these baht buses as they are known in Pattaya and you jump on and ring the bell whenever you want to depart, they’re cheap and user friendly too. Good old Gary.

By the time we hit Beach Road there were only four of us sat in the rear, I wondered if any of the departed had fell off the back. At the time we didn’t know it but we were heading from North to South Pattaya and we rang the bell just past Soi 6. The flash of white teeth acknowledged we had overpaid the driver but we didn’t care, booking a hotel for the night was a high priority on our must do list. Second things second, first we needed a drink. There was an empty looking small bar about 30 metres away and with our stomach’s pulled in we waddled towards it.

The bar had four tables outside and we sat down at one and breathed in the hot moist night air. A pretty young bar girl with a broad smile appeared, took our order and disappeared back inside. Putting things into collectives you get a herd of cows and a gaggle of geese, we were all of a sudden hit by what is best described as a posse of pussy, we got to our feet. Platform shoes, flashing thighs, small pert breasts, tight taut ass, we sat back down, willing but unable to run. It would be an understatement to say we were scared, but the Beginning Part Two had begun.

Footnote….We never did see Gary again or the elephant. Hopefully they have married and are living together somewhere in Australia. Their days spent together rounding up sheep and the evenings sat on their veranda sipping ice cool beers.

Credits
Photograph Bangkok Traffic     © Copyright 2008 Mike Kramer, FreeLargePhotos.com.

Photograph Aeroplane – Free photos for websites – FreeDigitalPhotos.

Photograph Baht bus by nakedsky

Photograph Bangkok Skyline by Argenberg

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The next big political date in Thailand is March 14th when red shirt pro Thaksin supporters are hoping one million protesters will converge on Bangkok and peacefully voice their displeasure at current Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and his Democrat Party’s government. The photographs for this month’s review have the theme Thai markets.

The colour of your shirt in Thailand can pinpoint to where your political loyalties lie, but it can also mean many other things. Thailand, Land of Smiles and Keeping Score in Thailand offers a very amusing look at the colour coded factions of Thailand. You’ll be red faced with laughter after reading this highly commented post from American master blogger Talen.

When there’s a King Cobra on the loose most people would head for the safety of their home. Mike from My Thai Friend grabbed his camera from the office and took the reverse route and headed out of the house to try and capture a few pictures of his neighbours efforts in disposing of the six to eight foot long snake. The King Cobra Thailand has a four photo collage of Thailand’s most dangerous and deadly snake tagged to the post. This is another story that attracted a fair share of readers comments.

Jonny Foreigner has a story which you would think is foreign to Thailand itself. The Land of Smiles is known for its relaxed way of life which is largely attributed to the country’s mainly Buddhist beliefs and aggression is not a trait normally associated with its people. However sport has a habit of putting a different perspective on many things. A video of some off the field action in a recent football game between Thai Port and Muang Thong United has scenes of rival supporters clashing in Thai football violence.

Thai Sex Talk for St Valentine’s Day is an appropriate title for a February review, especially for the romantics amongst you. Women Learning Thai…and some men too reviews author Kaewmala’s much acclaimed book Thai Sex Talk which focuses on expressions used in the Thai language of love. A ‘ dog barking at an airplane ‘ and ‘ lucky mouse falling into a rice bin ‘ are just two of many intriguing phrases contained in the book and explained in detail by blog author Catherine. Dim the lights to a low loving level and learn about Thai Sex Talk.

If you are feeling a little tired and sorry for yourself then read a story about a lady who goes to bed at 2 in the morning and gets up at 5:30, 7 days a week, and never takes a day off. Her work is unpaid as well. A Day Trip With Friends to the Bamboo School from Retired In Thailand and Loving It tells the tale of Kat who runs a clinic and school for under privileged kids in Kanchanaburi Province. Malcolm takes a big bag of brown rice for the kids and also his new friend Jerry for his first visit to the Bamboo School.

Expat Udon Thani Thailand has a long train journey through England’s snow filled pleasant lands to the Royal Thai Embassy in London but not before swapping the cold for warmth with a stay at a travel lodge in the capital. It’s passport renewal time for his family and with his wife and son for company John heads down to London in new Thai biometric passports and escapes the rush at the Thai consul with an early morning visit. If you’re planning a Thai consul trip in the UK then reading this one could save you a lot of time and money.

Siam Rick opens his heart and mind in Make changes and the world changes with you as Rick’s vow to be more open, friendlier and easy-going finally bares fruit. My February pick from Behind the Noodle Curtain compares the insular ways of western people against the warmth and receptiveness of the Thai’s and Rick explains how his transition slowly evolved.

Thai Life in Phana headed north on a 15 hour bus ride for a business meeting in Chiang Mai which left Lawrence longing for his more familiar surroundings of home. However on his last morning he met  Madge Davey an English woman who runs a little charity based in Leeds, England who was visiting Thailand to arrange surgery in Chang Mai for a young Karen girl who has a huge growth on her nose. Karen Girl in Chiang Mai Hospital unfolds the story of KidzinKampz charity worker Madge and toddler Buk Paw.

Ben of The Thai Pirate fame polished his boots and shook the mothballs from his rugby shirt before travelling to Chonburi to gear up for a Rugby game in Pattaya. The Panthers lined up against the Goosers in a game which pitted the middle aged expats experience against a team of young fit Thai’s linked to the British Club association in Bangkok. Would youthful exuberance or old cunning guile win the day.

Camille is on an errand to take his son to visit his wife’s parents on the island of Koh Samui where they all live and he stumbles upon an island ceremony which dates back 50 years or more. Tambun Sala Koy is an interesting post, explaining the ceremony at Plai Laem village which involves placing hair, nails and a man made captain into a small boat to sail away bad luck from the village. Camille’s Samui Info Blog has the story.

Life in rural Thailand and Ubon, then and now looks back at life in Ubon Ratchatani during the Vietnam War through the eyes of an American GI. The post takes the form of a series of emails received by blog author MeMock from ex Vietnam serviceman Rob and offers a fascinating insight to life in Ubon 40 odd years ago. An excellent post.

Finally I would like to make a request to all my fellow bloggers who are included in my Thai blogroll. For future Thai monthly blog reviews I would very much like to include some photographs from your posts in the reviews. If you are happy to grant permission then could you kindly email me at juice@thaisabai.org or drop your approval in the comments box below. Thank you and that wraps up my Thailand Blogs – February 2010 Review. Enjoy.

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Wonderful Wi has three ladies wristwatches, two of which I bought for her and the other is her showpiece one, secured after lengthy bartering for 800 baht at a night market in Hua Hin. When she does wear one of her watches I often wonder if it’s worn for appearance or to actually know the time, my guess is the former because in a Thai village does time really matter at all.

Time doesn’t seem to matter in Wilai’s village, at least that’s the impression I always get. For a long while I’ve had the feeling you could split time into two parts, day and night or better still light and dark.

The simplistic life of an Isaan villager is different to the western way. There are no last minute mad dashes to drive the kids to school or mid morning workouts at the gym, just work in the sun or a laze in the shade. The sun comes up and the sun goes down, time is what’s in between.

In Thailand a visit to a rural doctor or dentist is a case of showing up and waiting your turn, only a follow up appointment will require being on time. There are exceptions to when a Thai villager needs a grasp to the hour of day. Religious ceremonies, bus journeys and buying the freshest food from the market all depend upon being on time but there are means other than clock watching to making sure you aren’t late.

When I’m back home in the UK I am totally dependant on knowing the exact time and I initially found the Thai’s complete chosen ignorance of it to be strange, then I realized there are other ways to have an inkling to the present stage of the day. There are many events in Wilai’s village which occur on most days and pinpoint or at least give me a very good idea as to the time without having to look at a clock, watch or my mobile phone. Below is my 24 hour village clock.

• 04-30 The cockerels start crowing. In Thailand they believe the rooster crows at this time because he wants to be the first to greet the day’s rising sun. The cockerel wakes way before sunrise but lets everyone know it’s time to get up and join him.

• 06-00 If there are any public announcements to make the village headman will relay them over a very loud PA system.

• 06-45 The bell rings at the village temple as a reminder for those who wish to visit the Wat.

• 08-00 Thai TV plays the National Anthem.

• 13-30 This is the one part of the day I cannot be precise about but at around this time Wilai will start preparing Som Tum (spicy Thai salad).

• 03-30 School has finished and soon after happy youngsters make their way home or to wherever.

• 18-00 Once again Thai TV plays the National Anthem.

• 19-00 Depending on the time of year around seven in the evening darkness has fallen or the light is starting to fade.

• 20-25 The main Thai TV soaps start. You can guarantee the television will be on for them.

• 22-00 When I pull aside the living room curtains and can see the village bathed in a quiet and still darkness I know it’s at least ten at night and the country folk and roosters are asleep waiting for the next day’s sun to come up.

• Midnight The soi (street) dogs sometimes howl as they catch sight of a late night straggler returning home after hunting for frogs. If they howl real long and loud then you know there’s a ghost about, so the Thai’s say.

The experienced Thai eye relies on other conditions to fill the gaps between those listed above. The position of the sun and the length of the shadows are easy indicators of time. The herdsmen taking their cows to graze in the morning and on their return late afternoon are tell tale ones too, and the ice cream seller, fish man and the fruit and vegetable truck all have their way of letting you know how long is left of the day. Who needs a clock when you’ve got so much to watch. Tick tock.

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Thaksin now living in self exile in Dubai after being found guilty of corruption charges has the backing of his loyal band of mainly north and north eastern red shirt supporters. Whichever way Friday’s verdict goes red shirt leaders are hoping up to one million of their followers will  converge on Bangkok next week and force the present government to step down and a new election to take place.

The red shirt rally will also try to force Thaksin’s two year prison sentence to be overturned thus allowing him a safe return to the country. A large part of the red shirt followers are poor rural people who live on as little as 200 US dollars a month, and so why would so many with so little travel hundreds of miles to give their support for a man who has wealth way beyond their wildest dreams irrespective of the Supreme Court’s verdict. Perhaps it’s blind faith, hope and charity.

Thaksin Shinawatra is the only Thai prime minister to win back to back elections with the latter victory coming to an end in the 2006 military coup and it was this incident which has made the country’s rural poor feel cheated to this day. The People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) siege of Suvarnabhumi International Airport in 2008 (photo right) which eventually led to the fall of the People Power Party (formerly Thai Rak Thai) was the final straw that broke the buffalo’s back.

The country people of Isaan and northern Thailand still hold faith in a third Thaksin government distributing a fairer proportion of the countries spending into the coffers of the rural districts. Do they forget despite Thaksin being Prime Minister of Thailand from 2001 to 2006 the minimum wage in many Thai provinces nowadays is barely over 160 baht per day. Even the red shirts saviour could hardly force the wage scale too far northwards.

The country villagers hopes of a return to Thaksinomics and the carrots which go with it are another reason for boarding the free coaches laid on to ferry the red shirts from Isaan’s cities to Bangkok for what they hope to be an ad hoc last tango in the Big Mango. Cheap interest bank loans to farmers and villages, a 30 baht health scheme and housing for the poor were the key carrots in Thaksin’s pro-poor policies dangled to lure the common peoples vote. The red shirts will be hoping the future brings more of the same.

Free coach rides to the country’s capital and red shirt concert rallies wrapped in propaganda can hardly be described as charity, but they do offer an alternate to the sometime monotony of village life on limited means. A red shirt victory in their fight for democracy will force new elections and a return to cash for votes in Thailand’s villages, most welcome anytime.

Above all Thailand’s northern and north eastern poor who have previously backed Thaksin Shinawatra in two landslide election victories will know a third landslide sweep will force their ‘red leader’ into implementing ‘ Charity Starts at Home ‘ as his government’s major policy. Thaksin himself is too smart not to do so.

Media speculation about Friday’s Supreme Court judgement varies from day to day but the main consensus appears to be Thaksin being given part of his assets back. The return of some money to the former leader of Thailand should be enough to restrain red shirt protests to a calmer level and cap the number of protesters travelling down from the northern regions. The court’s ruling has three possible verdicts, not guilty, guilty and damage limitation.

The world waits with bated breath for Friday’s decision and lets hope it’s one to keep violence and a country’s self destruction out of media headlines.

Credits

Photograph Thaksin Shinawatra  by Webshots

Photograph PAD protesters © Dannyphoto80 | Dreamstime.com

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