Travelogues by Bill Pfeil
Sawadee (= Aloha) from Thailand
November, '06
Staying at my favorite place in Thailand, in a bungalow right on the sand mid-peninsula of Gulf of Thailand. I pick up Mee every other day at her coconut farm 20 scenic minutes down the coast. Cool dawn and dusk runs in ankle-deep shorebreaks. Swim many times per day in shallow ,safe bath-warm Gulf. Clean here away from cities. Motorcycle along endless wide deserted beaches. Fascinating fishing villages with their homemade narrow ornamented boats with long propeller shafts they dip in the water the direction they want to go. Inland jungle roads, with coconut, rubber and palm-oil plantations, and humble extended-family huts and subsistence agriculture. Monkeys on tethers harvest the coconuts once a month. Rubber trees are bled nightly from midnight to dawn, they press the resin into mats and leave to dry like towels on a clothesline. Red/purple palm oil berries are put on screens to evaporate excess water. Probably the smartest/richest here in the Thai boonies created shrimp ponds with pumps and paddlewheels giving production to fill lines of refrigerated trucks bound for Bangkok. Each village has an evening for huge open market. Can buy food/clothes/appliances/anything real cheap. Much CD etc pirating. Last trip I bought a nice looking 'Rolex' watch for $11. Still works! Rural clinic doctors can charge only 30 baht (= 83 cents now) per visit. Must know Thai here. Could settle parttime in this gorgeous peaceful setting, but need the intense activity of my Molokai farm too.
Thailand just started lifting martial law province-by-province from their recent army coup to remove a competent but corrupt prime minister. The ousted prime minister was in New York about to give a speech at the United Nations, but the Secretary General reportedly got quick wind of events and had to step in to say 'uh, not so fast Mr. Thaksin.' Thais generally approve of the coup, and foreigners hardly notice a difference. Soldiers have ribbons around their weapons and been given instructions to smile a lot. Public relations genious. The concern is that an extended military government may produce an oppressive situation like neighbor Burma (officially 'Myanmar'). So wonderful here. But make a long list of farm things to do in Hawaii. Always happy to hop on the plane, whichever direction.
Bill's Farm, Box 317, Kaunakakai, Hawaii 96748
Phone: 808-567-6734
Email: BillPfeil@yahoo.com
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