And onward to Sri Lanka

Nov 10

Before leaving for the airport, I got a haircut first thing this morning and met Ron for coffee afterwards.  We had a dosa at an Indian veggie restaurant. And strangely, they understood "Khanna Achi Hai which is Gujarati for Delicious.. I then went for a pedicure while Ron got a foot massage. We went back to Leslie’s apartment o collect our luggage and took the Sky Train to a connecting railway to the airport. It was way cool. Bangkok is a city of 14 million and the traffic can be awful. Because we only had one suitcase it was easiest to take the trains. We got there in 30 minutes instead of the minimum of an hour it would most likely take in a cab.

While waiting for our plane we ran into Francene Grewe and her three traveling companions. We agreed this summer to meet up with them for a week in Colombo. Our flight was about 3.5 hours to Colombo arriving a little after mid-night local time. We are all staying at Lake Lodge so they invited us to share the van they had hired for an airport pickup. It took a long time for us to get our luggage; they all had carry-on luggage only. They were very kind to wait. I offered twice for them to go ahead but they waited. We were astounded at the new road to town. It used to take an hour to get to Colombo from the airport on a horrid road. Now there is an expressway/toll road and it took about 25-30 minutes with very little traffic and NO cows, trishaws, pedestrians or dogs to dodge which used to be the case.

Nov 11

In the morning Ron and I found Mr. Kularathna, the trishaw driver we used when we lived here and have used every visit since we left. I had written to let him know when we would arrive. We went to the Asia Foundation to surprise Geetha whose 65th birthday is today. Geetha was our housekeeper when we lived here. She and I developed a sweet friendship that we have managed to keep active via email. A coworker who speaks fluent English sends emails for Geetha to us on a regular basis. I sent emails to Geetha through this man, Herath. When we lived here, the Asia Foundation had a play day for staff one weekend. They bussed us down to a resort and had activities and a lovely lunch. It happened to be on Nov 11^th Geetha’s birthday so I arranged for there to be a birthday cake at the luncheon. Ron and I had to leave early before the cake was served because we were packing to move out of the house. Geetha told me the next day that is was the first time she had a birthday cake in her 57 years. Needless to say I was sad to hear that story. As a result I managed to arrange for her to have a cake at work each year since. I send a check to a coworker about two months in advance. This year we decided to time our trip to surprise her. The staff gathered around a table of food and lit the candles. While we waited for Geetha to enter they handed me the cake. I walked into the room as we all sang happy birthday. Geetha looked at me then realized who it was. The photo says it all. She and I embraced with tears in our eyes. It was a very special time for both of us.

After the party we went to see Ajith, the jeweler I use here. I always have him make a few pendants with semi precious Sri Lankan gems. They are relatively inexpensive and make great gifts. His shop is very small and housed in a portion of a converted shipping container.  

Next we met Francene, Jeff and their friends at Barefoot for lunch then proceeded to do some serious shopping. Barefoot is a family run business that is noted for their cotton fabrics: table wear, bedspreads, clothes, wall hangings, hand painted ceramics, outdoor garden décor, cloth stuffed toys, teas and coffee. They also have an art gallery, café, and bookstore. This is my favorite store inColombo. I was thrilled that my favorite ceramic painter had a great choice of small plates to choose from. Sometimes there is nothing in stock but this time there was an abundance of items. I have wanted some plates for appetizers and was thrilled to get these. I also got blouses for Ae and Linn ( who clean, do laundry and sometimes cook for us as they live in the big house on the property) and pants for a friend in Oregon.

We went back to the lodge and rested. Then we walked up to the small shopping mall nearby to do some DVD shopping. We were able to get a good selection of TV series and movies to keep ourselves entertained at home. The selection was much better here. Our group went to dinner at Paradise Road Gallery Café, another favorite place of ours. This space was formerly the offices of Geoffrey Bawa, Sri Lanka’s famous architect. It was pouring rain but it didn’t dampen our spirits. Francene and her friends were leaving in the morning for Kandy. We all went to bed early.

  

Nov 12

Our group of six ordered Sri Lankan breakfast and it was a feast: string hoppers (a rice noodle), roti (Indian fried bread) fish curry, egg curry and chicken curry, potato curry, seeni sambol (darkly caramelized onions with chilies and palm sugar) and coconut sambol (freshly grated coconut with chilies). It was hard to stop eating! After breakfast Ron and I headed out for more touring, wanting to see some more of the changes in Colombo.

  

Colombo has changed greatly in the two years since we were last here. The civil war of 26 years ended in 2009 and the country is now borrowing money for development. In 2013 Lonely Planet named Sri Lanka as its top tourist destination. Roads have been improved, new sidewalks with pavers have been installed all over town, buildings have been painted, updated and restored. We were amazed.

As we were leaving the lodge we spied a couple having wedding photos

made in traditional dress. Ron asked if he could take their photos and they were happy to oblige.

We started in a city park that was much improved since we were here last. As we were walking a park employee approached us and just took over pointing out various trees, flowers, etc. Ron didn’t engage him as he knew the fellow would ask for money at the end. We knew this from previous experience here. The man was wearing a park employee badge and told us he had worked there for 20 years. Sure enough as we got to the end of the park where we were meeting Mr. Kularathna he asked for money. I flatly refused telling him I didn’t ask for the tour and we had not agreed to paying him beforehand not to mention the fact he was on the payroll of the city. As we drove off I realized he was the SAME guy who had done this in 2005 when we lived here! Small world…or park as it may be. 

See the photo of the ants that nest in the trees using leaves as the nest. They do this because the heavy rains would drown them if they nested on the ground. I am fascinated by ants.

Next we went to the Dutch Hospital, a new development of an old area. Now there are high end shops

and restaurants. We visited a new development called a ‘floating market’ which didn’t float but rather was a series of shops facing a water front, a canal I think.

We were meeting friends from the Asia Foundation for lunch that worked for Ron when he did his project here.. Mr. Kularathna took us on Marine Drive which is right next to the Indian Ocean, even it looked cleaner. When we lived here Colombo was the only city in the country that had a sewage collection system and it was dumped into the ocean untreated. The water always looked dirty but now it is blue green and beautiful. Because we were early Mr K stopped and bought us a fresh coconut with two straws so we shared the coconut water which is a refreshing drink. We also visited a Hindu temple that was nearby before going to Shanmugas, a vegetarian Indian restaurant, and met five of Ron’s former coworkers from the Asia Foundation. All of us ordered the same thing: a Spicy Masala Dosa, a very large, crispy crepe with potatoes, onions and chilies inside. YUM!

Afterwards we went shopping for baby clothes as one of our friend’s wife just gave birth to their third child and first daughter. Next we went looking for bottle caps to fit our five gallon water bottles in Thailand. Ours have worn out from eight years use. We found a distributor and got four of these needed items for free. We went back to the lodge to relax and cool off and walked up to the internet café before having a simple salad supper at the lodge. With our generous breakfast and filling lunch neither of us felt like another big meal.

Great finds and Loy Krathong

Nov 2

Score! On today’s exploration we covered a lot of territory. There
was a cloud cover for most of the trek which makes the heat bearable, barely. Our superb find was an espresso café that is air conditioned and has GOOD Americanos!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is a great discovery for folks from the NW where coffee is an art form. We also found a good stationery store.

On the way home we stopped at the fresh market and go some salad ingredients, fresh raw shrimp on ice (hard to find ice in these parts).and fresh flowers for Pa Cha An. We came home and arranged the flowers and took them up to the big house. Tim  was here tending to her mom, Pa Cha An so we rushed back to the market and got 25 miniature roses as today is Timm and Tumm’s 25^th wedding anniversary. Back to the house to make another arrangement and up to the big house. As luck would have it, Tumm was there as well as their daughter Pair and their son Pon. We had given Pair a birthday card with some money in it for her birthday. Timm and Tumm seemed genuinely surprised and pleased with our recognition of their anniversary.

We got back to our house and it was 2:00 so we made some sandwiches and had our lunch. I boiled the shrimp after removing parts we aren’t used to seeing in the US then spent a lot of time removing the shells and cleaning them. Our dinner will be green salad with shrimp, hard boiled egg, bell pepper, broccoli, baby corns, and olives. No cooking!

Nov 5

This morning we Skyped with our friends Jim and Jane Burke who live most of the year in Italy and are now at home in Bandon OR. We try to have regular ‘visits’ with them via Skype. The four of us worked for the City of Portland at the same time back in the early 2000’s.

We have been spending some time on the computer making changes to our Mexico and Central America itinerary. We now plan to explore two cities in Mexico: Puebla and San Miguel de Allende and two in Panama: Panama City and Boquete. We have made reservations everywhere except Costa Rica and may end up at a cool hostel I found this morning on line. We will have a private room with en suite bathroom in an old colonial house across the street from a park. Sounds great. We first started to use hostels in New Zealand. Actually I first used hostels when I hitched across W Europe and N Africa in the mid 60’s.

After our chat we went downtown so Ron could get a haircut, then we had lunch at a place where we eat every year. It is an old traditional wooden guesthouse and it sits right on the river. Today the food was better than we remembered it. Yesterday we tried another place where we have eaten in the past and the food was a little better but the noise with the TV AND radio was rather unpleasant. Thais seems to tolerate loud chatter better than I do. When a store has a promotion or a sale they will put huge speakers in front of the store and blast with incredibly loud ads and music. I have to literally plug my ears for fear of hearing loss.

We continue to have frequent rain but not everyday. It helps to clear the skies and to keep the heat and humidity down. It is possible to sweat in the rain in this climate however. Ron is finishing up the painting that was necessary after cleaning the mold off the outside of the house. Today he is painting the porch railing then he has the two sets of doors to repaint; but we’ll have to buy some more paint.  He says we’ll do that when we return from Sri Lanka

Last night I made spaghetti with marinara sauce. When I was in the store in Hua Hin I had a yen for marinara. I was beside myself when I couldn’t find canned tomatoes and thought I would have to resort to commercial sauce. Being a scratch cook I have NEVER used a store bought sauce if you can believe that. Anyway I went around the aisle and found what I needed and put the sauce back on the shelf. Making the sauce came together nicely. I had to substitute cilantro and something called Thai parsley for Italian parsley. The Thai parsley looked like a giant blade of grass but it worked. The water for the pasta took one hour and 15 minutes to come to a boil. We are at sea level here so I think it has to do with the power of my two burner electric  stove top. I couldn’t believe it. Before I ate dinner I decided I would not make this meal again. BUT it was so yummy I decided I would start the water at 5:00 instead of 6:15 and it would be just fine. Just another chapter in this adventure.

We have been cooking more than usual here and for the most part I enjoy it. If it is real hot it isn’t much fun. I do have to plan well in advance to make sure I can get the ingredients or an adequate substitute. But frankly our meals out usually run $1-$3 person so we might as well go out to eat. It is just sometimes we want to stay home or we want something we can’t find in an eatery. There is a dearth of restaurants here. There is no shortage of places to eat but 90% of them are carts with a few plastic stools on the sidewalk. This morning Ron and Ae went out on her motorcycle at 7:00 and got 10 orders of khao mun gai for all of us on the property and it cost $10. This dish is boiled chicken breast in thin slices on top of white rice with sliced cucumber and a fabulous dark spicy sauce that has a hint of Worcestershire and red chili peppers. Yummy!

We just read the election results and are so very bummed.  I feel so badly for Obama. He will not be having any fun now.

Nov 6

Before lunch we headed to our new coffee discovery, Pagoda Café which serves an excellent Americano. We took our readers and enjoyed just relaxing in the AC although it wasn’t too hot at the time.  One of the staff members gave us two brochures. One featured restaurants located in the town core with a background story, a description of the dish or dishes they served and a great map showing the location. The second brochure featured businesses located in traditional wooden shop houses, again with a great map. It was just what we have been searching for. As you have read, we have spent about a week walking the downtown core and mapping our progress, identifying street names and seeing what businesses are located on each street. So we spent some of our time reading these great brochures. We decided to try out one of the restaurants located on the street where we were having coffee and man oh man, what a find! They are famous for their khao kha moo, rice with pork. The pork was flavorful and melted in your mouth, the hot sauce was addictive and the Chinese broccoli was crisp, the soup was tasty and full bodied. It was a perfect meal and we will be returning there. We can hardly wait to try more of these restaurants. Some are carts. This one was outside seating only which is much more typical here than one with indoor seating. The cost for two plus bottled water was 80 baht (30 baht =$1.US). This restaurant serves three dishes, all pork.

Today is Loy Krathong, an important day in Thailand. It is a festival held on the full moon in
November each year.  It pays homage to the goddess of waterways and rivers, Mae Khongkha. In the evening people gather at rivers, lakes and ponds to float krathongs made of slices of banana tree trunks that are completely covered in decorations made from banana leaves and flowers.

So today four of the women of the household, including me,
worked on making nine floats. It was a lot of work and a lot of fun. Ae did the floral decoration, making each float unique and gorgeous.

After dinner we met at the big house and shot off some fireworks then each
gathered a float and brought them down by our house which is right on the Phetchaburi River.

Neunge went into the water (where Noy had spent the day clearing a pathway) and set each float adrift on the river. Afterwards we came back to the big house and Ron took photos of the beautiful full moon with great clouds and of the sky lanterns that are part of the festival., These are paper lanterns that had a small kerosene burner which you light and it fills the lantern with hot air an drifts it off into the sky. They are beautiful to see but not environmentally friendly.  Ron and Hope who is seven played various games. It is such a joy to hear Hope’s delightful giggles.

Nov 7

Today we went back to enjoy an Americano at Pagoda Café. We decided for lunch to try another restaurant featured in the brochure mentioned above. It turned out that the restaurant we chose had been one we have seen two or three times and it always has a lot of customers. It turns out that they have been in business for 60 years and in the same location!! They have two noodle soups: beef or pork with wide or thin noodles. Let me tell you the pork noodle soup was to die for. The place was filled and there were others waiting for a seat the entire time we were there and we can see why. They have noodle soup down!

We came home for about an hour then took off to pay a phone bill

and headed to Cha Am for Tricia to have a therapeutic massage from a woman we met when we were there earlier in the week. Afterwards we treated ourselves to an extravagant meal at a seafood place where we have eaten twice before that is just north of Cha Am. OMG what a culinary experience. We had crab curry with rice, stir fried broccoli with garlic and fried fish with a ton of fried garlic. The helpings were huge which is not normal here but I think the menu is designed for groups of 4-6 or more. Well we didn’t want anything to go to waste so we indulged and enjoyed each bite immensely. We will return at least one more time before leaving in January.

Life in Phetchaburi

Oct 27

While we were traveling in Laos we decided we really did need to get to know Phetchaburi better. We know three places to eat and that’s about it. So today we got up and did some maintenance chores. Ron repainted an area outside under the eaves that had been water damaged when the roof leaked and I pulled a vine out that was invading a group planting. I threw the compost into our compost barrel and washed out our kitchen garbage can as it was smelly. Due to the heat here the compost and garbage need to be emptied frequently. 

We waited until 10:00 to leave, since not much is open before then. We parked the car on a main street in old town and started walking. In Asia I find the density of population is much greater than at home. The sidewalks are narrow, uneven, and at times treacherous, so I watch my feet the entire time. Here it is complicated by the fact that many mini businesses encroach on the sidewalks. Shops will put their wares out on the sidewalk and there is always a number of food vendors with carts. 

Oh, you can always count on motorcycles and cars being
parked on the sidewalks. Signage is another problem. Big signs in metal frames can completely block the sidewalk, forcing you into the street where there is heavy traffic. So we can’t just stroll along, as it were. We thread ourselves around various obstacles in our way. Today I noticed that many shops have canvas awnings that hang down below shoulder level to protect their goods from the sun , adding to our dodging. I always carry a sunbrella to keep the sun off and frequently had to maneuver it so that it wasn’t bumping into anyone or anything.

We walked almost two hours. My biggest find was a huge fresh market with scads of fresh veggies. I am thrilled even though we don’t cook much, as I mentioned before. But every now and then I love a plate of streamed veggies. We only have a stove top so steaming is my only option. We eat an enormous amount of rice here so having an alternative is super. We found where Ron’s barber is located and found several others too. We always fumble around trying to find it and now we can get there easily because we walked the entire area where the barber is located. I would have to admit those were the only real fines today.

We marvel as how many tiny shops all sell the exact same merchandise. After two hours we were wringing wet from the heat. I suggested we go to our fave lunch place which is cool and has a bathroom. It was good to get off our feet and chill for a while. The eatery is open air but always cool with big fans. Next, we went to an internet café to have our bank statements printed and a change of flight time from Vietnam Air. Right down the street was our massage place so we went in for a foot massage. Next we went to get water for our water dispenser but no one was there, so we got some fruit and headed home. Now we are in our bedroom mid afternoon chilling in the AC. The rest of the house feels like a sauna. Hopefully tomorrow we will continue exploring our town and discover more finds.

We had a toasted ham and cheese sandwich for dinner. I found some nice ham at the high end market in Hua Hin when we got in from Laos on Saturday. After dinner we played scrabble. Ron won big the first round and barely beat me the second game. Life is good.

Oct 28

This morning we cleaned up the sidewalks in front of Noy’s and our houses. He is in BKK for a medical checkup. There was a big wind storm last night that blew open our double screen doors and when I went into the living area to get some water I was astounded by how much leaf debris had blown in. There were leaves against every wall and on the floor in the living and dining rooms. 

After breakfast and showering, Ron went to get our water: two five gallon bottles and take some sewing up to our little village, hemming pants for both of us. When he got back we headed out for more exploration. We did the cross streets today of the streets we covered yesterday. We scored: another DVD store that has rentals as well as DVDs to buy. We rented two and bought one. We also bought veggies for tonight and some flowers for Pa Cha An at the fresh market we discovered yesterday. We came home after a couple of hours of walking in the heat. After lunch we took a siesta. The heat is quite draining here.

Oct 29

We had planned to get up and weed before breakfast. Ron doesn’t enjoy yard work but volunteered to help. When I opened our bedroom door I discovered it was raining. With the AC on we usually can’t hear the rain unless it is pouring which happens here frequently. I teased Ron and said ‘no wonder you volunteered. You knew you could get out of it with this rain’. Ha! So we showered, ate and did some computer work. Then it stopped raining so we did some weeding. Make hay while the sun shines as it were. Or maybe I should say ‘weed while it isn’t scorching hot’.

We decided it would be a great day to explore more of our town since it was cool from the rain and the sun didn’t come out. We found a new store we have never seen, large with a parking lot no less. That is a very rare event indeed. We went inside and walked every aisle. It may sound strange but some things are hard to find here so we tend to explore new stores in case we can find some needed or wanted item. The really good hardware store ala Hone Depot is 45 minutes away from here as an example. We bought a thermometer so we could see how hot the house really is and a few food storage containers.

After the store, we walked to the AIS store that is the service provider for our Thai cell phone line. While there, the sky unzipped and we had to wait 45 minutes for the rain to let up. As I sat looking out onto the street I noticed the storm drain in front of the store. Initially it kept up with the deluge but after a while I noticed the street starting to fill with water. Before the rain slackened the street was flooded with the water coming to the top of the curb, covering car tires above the rims. I don’t know if you have ever lived in a warm climate but insects rule. So as the rain increased so did the roaches coming out from the storm drain where they hide out. First we noticed big ones then a horde of tiny babies. Ick! 

Back to the car and a quick stop at a place down the street from our house. Here at 3:00 to 5:00 PM you can pick up your dinner. There is a covered area with four or five women and tables filled with pots of prepared food, probably 15-20 dishes to choose from. I point and a woman fills  plastic baggies with two or three large spoons of the item. Today, I got a beef/eggplant curry, chicken larb (a meat alad) and a stir fry dish of chicken, noodles and veggies for 90 baht, about $3. A young boy was there and helped translate what the dishes were that I had pointed to so I gave him my change and thanked him for the translation services. The women beamed. In BKK a 10% service charge is usually added to the bill in restaurants but not here. We frequently eat lunch at JM Cuisine, a noodle/stir fry place.  When we first started tipping the staff would run after us to let us know we had left money on the table.

.When we got home I weeded some more and Noy came over to help me. I can only bend or stoop so long so quit after about 30 minutes but the two of us made great headway.

Shops here are very casual for lack of a better word. Frequently shop clerks eat in front of customers. They don’t really go out to lunch so much as grab something nearby and bring it back to the shop and eat it at the counter.

Our town is small so there are only motorcycle taxis and some bicycle rickshaws, not cars. In rain

and sunshine we see motorcyclists steering with one hand and holding an umbrella with the other. Sometimes the passenger will hold the umbrella. Because Thais prize light skin they will wear windbreakers to keep the sun off. I can’t even begin to imagine how hot it must be. Street workers who sweep or clean the streets and construction workers with wear long pants, long sleeve shirts, a hat that has a mask and scarf to cover the neck and gloves. Geez I would pass out in all that! See photo.

Oct 30

We started the morning with Ron working on the pump for our little water fountain and me continuing to weed. Ron joined me after he discovered the pump had died a natural death. I am pleased to say we basically are finished until the tiniest weeds grow big enough to pull out.

After breakfast we went into our third day of exploration, this time to the west of the Phetchaburi River. We didn’t make any new discoveries other than seeing a huge wat being remodeled and it looks like no expense is being spared. After all the rain yesterday it is sunny and hot, hot, hot today.

Wat Mahathi Worawhan

r

Wat Khi 

Oct 31

Today we drove to our fave hardware store ala Home Depot south of Cha Am and got a new pump for our water feature. We found some regular sponges for the kitchen. The only place I have been able to find them. Mostly what we see here are the foam sponges which are useless for wiping down counters or sopping up spills. We got some other items we needed like a sprayer to use with bleach water to clean up all the mold on the sidewalk and sides of the porches and house. Next we drove to Hua Him, another 15 or 20 minutes south and ate a bowl of duck noodle soup at our favorite soup place. From there we picked up some items at the super grocery that caters to foreigners where we can get granola. I even found some oregano and canned tomatoes so I can make marinara sauce for spaghetti when the heat isn’t overwhelming me. We ended with a foot massage at a place we haven’t used before in Cha Am. I had a good one but Ron’s tech was in OJT and he wasn’t pleased.

Happy Halloween! Here are some photos from our yard: a huge

butterfly drunk on nectar and one of the many banana trees in our ‘orchard, also one of several papaya trees. There are also mangoes which will ripen in April long after we have left. There are a few other trees with fruit that we have yet to identify.

Flower in our yard

Butterfly gathering nectar in our yard

View of the Phet River from our yard