Pui's family's house.
They are quite poor.I like and dislike staying with Pui's parents. It's calm and relaxing, but it can get a little boring sometimes. Obviously there is just not a lot to do out in the middle of the jungle. So I spent most of the morning just studying my Thai flash cards and playing around with the Pot and his friends. (I usually play the big gorilla who tickles anything I can grab hold of.)
The new digs... a bamboo masterpiece.Pui's cousin (the army fellow) has bought Pui's family a new house. Don't get too excited... it's $250 worth of bamboo strung together with a few days' labor. Additionally, they have re-done the kichen house, and moved it out front of the main house, and now that is great-grandmother's abode. (She putters around and does stuff... although I couldn't say what precisely.)
Here is an interesting one: This is a
homemade Thai mousetrap. It acts kind
of like a crossbow in that it is ratcheted
and then when it is tripped, a blade of
wood snaps down killing the mouse.Pui's brother and his friends seem rather shiftless, but I really can't judge because "employed" and "productive" are relative terms in a place like this. When there is work to be done, they'll get up and do something. In between though... well... my mother would call them "a bump on a log."
Pui of course got immediately to work hollaring. I don't know why she likes to come to Petchabun so much, since she spends most of her time bitching about one thing or another. (Usually she complains that her mother won't stop talking, or how one particular thing or another needs washing, as far as I can tell.)
Khun Eddie's beautiful house.
The gardens are just stunning,
and not a single detail has
been overloooked.
Check out this wall sconce
made from coconuts to get an
idea of what kind of skill
I'm talking about.At about noontime, Pui's brother took me out to visit this Thai fellow who is building a house up on the hill overlooking Pui's village. What an amazing house it was... something right out of Better Homes and Gardens or Architectual Digest, with everything hand-made from different types of woods. The man's name is Eddie, and he went to college in Texas, and now owns various businesses around Thailand including a home-decor business, a restuarant in Pattaya, and his wife owns a travel agency. Very nice fellow who was so happy to have visitors to show his house to. He actually invited me back during the evening, and urged me to bring Pui and Pot along as well.
Today, being every other Friday, was payday, so Pui and I rode the family motorcycle (Pui's motorcycle actually... my motorcycle actually, since I'm paying for it) into Petchabun to hit the ATM.
On the way back home, we stopped at the market, where I met some of the local farang population sitting outside of one of the stores near the market. There was Joe and Roger, both from the U.K. I wound up having a beer with them while Pui shopped. Nice fellows.
After that, Pui and I took Pot back to Eddie's house. He had set out an entire Thai barbeque for us, which was much more than I had expected. He had also purchased very large quantities of beer. Another of Pui's cousins is helping Eddie work on the house. He joined us for dinner as well as Eddie's brother-in-law, making 5 (and a half) for dinner.
I did have to admit that the nighttime view from Eddie's house was astounding, being able to see all the way across the valley to the lights of Petchabun. We drank beer all night, and I finally paid my respects at midnight... quite drunk. Great evening though... a really really good time.
No comments:
Post a Comment