Jungle Driving

Editor's note: I have been having writer's block lately and our drive today was so scenic that I thought I would practice my descriptive writing skills and express our experience in words instead of just pictures. Enjoy!

Jungle Driving
The gentle hum of the diesel engine struggles to carry its passengers up another incline. The pavement stretches before the wagon like a thin, silver snake winding through the hills of northern Thailand. Vines drip from trees. Ivy consumes everything until tree and bush alike are covered in the same leaves. Underneath, the jungle floor lays barren where sunlight and rain seldom enter.
The car coasts down the other side. Light pellets of crystal rain dot the windshield while the wipers rhythmically squeak across the glass. A dog belonging to no one strolls across a narrow bridge lined with tiny flags honoring the king and his kingdom. Ahead, a cow turns his thick head to acknowledge the approaching vehicle while others concentrate on the feast below their hooves.
The rain increases and becomes a deafening sound on the tin roofs that guard its inhabitants. Motorcyclists take refuge under a grass hut restaurant. The Coke sign out front beckons weary travelers to stop for a .50 cent meal.
Skinny hill tribe workers walk along the narrow road ignoring the cool glass stinging their arms and faces. Unfamiliar vegetables stacked high in straw baskets cover their backsides. Dark-faced men and women seem to pay little attention to the heaviness of their load. Wrinkles cover their faces from years of walking this path with the same load.
Up another steep incline and the driver downshifts. They round a sharp curve and through the rainforest trees the passengers catch a glimpse of a hidden valley.
Rice fields cover the valley floor. Squatty bamboo shelters dot the green fields with brown relief. Banana trees spring from the earth in the background. Their oblong leaves resemble helicopter wings that if spun could pull their tree from the world.
The passengers admire the scenery as quickly as the car’s engine will let them. They begin their descent into a small village. A few moments are spent perusing the shops, enjoying the local flavor and consuming their surroundings. It is time to return to the jungle.

New adventures

Sorry we have not updated in awhile. Here's what we have been up to.

A couple of weeks ago, we went to the zoo. Here's a pic of Chloe and Jeff. We have a really nice zoo with all the usual animals plus Koala's, panda's and white bengal tigers.











Then, last weekend we went to some caves just north of us. We saw some ancient ruins. The plaque on them said they were built in the 2nd century!










And here is Chloe and I in front of the cave entrance. The caves were pretty cool inside and you get a private tour through all the crevices.











We also found a great spot to go running. Here's a pic:

Fun Photos from Jeff

Thailand is in need of experienced electricians if anyone is interested. This is the electrical box leading into our building. I'm thankful we have power after seeing that. Not alot of saftey regulations going on around here.

Thailand has a King that everyone loves and adores.
But Thailand also loves Americas King. Have you ever
seen a Thai Elvis? I have.
















I had roast duck the other night and it was really good. This was before I saw them hanging from the neck next to the kitchen.













Chloe was so worn out that she fell asleep with the bottle still in her mouth. This was taken a couple of hours after giving her the bottle!













Don't feel too sorry for us. We have KFC and Sizzler! Did I mention KFC sells ice cream. When we want an ice cream cone, we go to KFC!

Nong Yim's 1st Birthday

Chloe is a little hard for most asian people to say so a couple of friends of ours gave Chloe a nickname. This is not unusual in our country because most people's names are so long that everyone is given a shorter nickname that they use on a regular basis. In fact, most people do not even use their real names except for legal documents and driver's licenses. Everyone just knows each other by their nickname.

Our friends gave Chloe the name "nong yim." It means "little sister smile." This is because she smiles so much and her little dimple on one cheek is so noticeable. I like it.

Well, last week was nong yim's first birthday. We celebrated a little early with some friends who were in town that we knew from training. We received packages from both our families just in time to bake brownies and for Chloe to have presents to open from family.


The brownies were awesome!! Thanks so much.



Chloe liked opening the presents.

Then, on Saturday we went to some other friends house who have a baby the same age as Chloe. In fact, they have the same birthday. There was another little boy who also celebrated with us. He has the same birthday as well!! All three really enjoyed playing in the swimming pool of balls. Chloe's friend Keeley is in the background.

Chloe was feeling a little cocky after getting so much attention on her birthday.

Apartment Pics

Here are a few pics of our apartment.

This is the living room. We are very fortunate that our apartment is on the corner of the building so we have tons of windows.


And here is the kitchen (notice there is not an oven, the refrigerator only stands to my chest and the stove is a two-burner hotplate) :)

This is our bedroom. Once you add about 4 inches of foam to the mattress it's not bad to sleep on. Asians like hard beds.

And here is little Chloe's room. The mat on the floor is the Thai alphabet. We are able to hire a lady to watch Chloe one day/week and she is teaching Chloe how to speak Thai (she is also teaching me Thai, how to shop at the market and get a good price and how to live like a Thai- we are very glad to have her)

We are also fortunate to have a wonderful balcony on which is a washer and dryer. This is also where I hang out our clothes to dry because the electricity for the dryer is too expensive to use much.

There's a water buffalo on my highway

One day last week Jeff, Chloe and I were driving home from the office on the "Super Highway."

The superhighway is more like a large boulevard with four lanes and a concrete divider than an actual "super highway." There are shops along the street and stop lights in the middle but it will get you from point a to point b in a relatively short amount of time.

Anyways, as we were driving along, traffic began to stop ahead and split down the middle. This is a little odd as it is the "super highway." As we got closer to the ruckous we notice a large animal making his way through traffic. About this same time we realize that this large animal looks angry.

Not wanting to offend the water buffalo walking down the superhighway, we too quickly move out of his way. By the time I got the camera out he was too far away to get a picture.

Being the analytical person that I am, I begin to think "there's a lesson as well as a funny story in all this."

I realized that being here in this new city with all these new people in a new job with a new house and new rules and a new language- these are all water buffaloes on my super highway. Just when I think I'm picking up speed and getting along just fine, another water buffalo comes walking in my way. The funny thing about water buffaloes is that even though you don't think they belong on your highway, there isn't much you are going to do to move THEM out of the way. YOU have to move around them.

The other funny thing about water buffaloes is that they will probably never realize all the inconvenience they caused you nor will they really care. All I can do is laugh and try to become quicker on the draw with the camera

Week in Review

Sorry I haven't updated in awhile. We haven't had a lot of news here.

Chloe and I went to a wet market today. A wet market is just like you see in the movies with really narrow streets, lots of people and tables upon tables of fruits, vegetables, fresh meat and fish in tubs. It stunk really bad but was a neat experience. Up until today, everywhere we have been the people have spoken a bit of English. This wet market was definitely not a place where they are used to foreigners. It was great!

Last weekend, we drove up to the tallest point in the country. It was cold, foggy and rainy. It was great!

We have seen lots of funny things that we wish we had our camera to show you. We saw a songthaew* full of monks, four girls on one motor scooter and a Thai Elvis impersonater. It was great!

That about wraps up the week.

*Songthaew (song-touw): Thai version of a city bus. A small red pick-up truck with a tall camper shell, no tailgate and an opening at the rear. There are two benches stretching across the bed of the truck for people to sit. They don't have a specific route, you just ask the driver where he is going and if he's going your direction you get in- if not, you wait for another one to come by until you find one that will take you in the general direction you need to go. They're not so great.