Thai Horticultural Experiences

One morning our cleaning lady, Granny Ja or Yay Ja, returned to the house with some limes.  She also invited Temjai and me to go with her to her sister’s farm that evening.  Before going I lathered myself up with insect repellent to ward off any bities.  The farm wasn’t far.  I went on the back of Yay Ja’s bike and Temjai took her electric scooter. She showed us her rice field before stopping at the farm.  Many of the neighbouring fields were being prepared or already being planted with rice.  Yay Ja’s sister showed us around her garden which had many fruits and flowering plants many of which I recognised and some which I hadn’t seen before. It is so lovely and cool here at this time of the evening with a breeze coming across the fish ponds and water soaked rice paddocks. I enjoyed meeting someone else with a love and knowledge of horticulture. We sat chatting while sipping on very sweet Vit C drinks and water before returning home.

Sitting outside the house both in the mornings and evenings is lovely as there is usually a cool breeze.  One morning while contemplating the day, I was thinking about the QR code payment method and thought I’d look to see if I could pay through my WISE app.  Oh boy! All this time I thought I wasn’t able to and now I find out I can!  WISE does have the ability to pay via their app.  What a revelation, I was so excited to try it out.  Well what a disappointment.  I tried paying for my lunch the first Thursday after teaching at the school but the QR code wasn’t accepted.  When I got back to the house I did some more research and found out that I needed a TAGTHAi debit card from the Kasikorn Bank here in Thailand.  This is an app that tourists can use by loading it up at the bank. It can then be used with even the smallest vendor.

On Thursdays I help out at the local school from 10:30-11:30 am.  This first Thursday, Carolyn had asked if I wanted to teach Grades 1 or 5.  I thought Grade 1 would be a change even though they knew very little English and there were twelve of them, all bar one were boys.  Three of the boys wore bright orange Buddhist robes. I was later told all the children were Karen and knew very little or no Thai nor English.  This lesson I taught them body parts with the song ‘Head, shoulders, knees and toes’. We then played a matching game, which they enjoyed.

After our class, Dema, Carolyn and I were invited to join staff for lunch at the school.  I had a little as I’d already promised to return to buy Larp at the nearby house/street restaurant.  After eating at the school, Carolyn drove me there and waited while my lunch was being prepared before driving me home.

Back at the house Carolyn discussed with Temjai and me what we would like to do that coming Monday as it was a free day for her.  We decided it would be nice to take a drive into the nearby mountains, Doi Chaang, as we both love coffee and had heard it was the best coffee in Thailand. Also that afternoon I called Liz, who was here before me for many years with her family, she still organises the Saturday morning classes.  I filled her in on some of the things I’d been doing since my arrival.

On Friday morning I had a chat with Muana who is still in Australia on speaking appointments for the Baptist Mission Australia.  He is the area coordinator and lives in Chiang Mai.  I chatted while I hung out my washing (I didn’t want to miss the opportunity to dry my clothes before the rain).  He asked, amongst other things, how I was settling in.  We also discussed my need for a TAGTHAi debit card; he suggested I contact Liz who previously lived here.  We ended with a prayer, Muana then offered to answer any further questions I may have.

Before applying for a card I thought I’d better update my Thai residency with immigration, but this turned out to be not as easy as I thought.  During my chat with Liz, she said it would be better to go through the other organisation which owned the Baan Sawang building which Temjai lived in next door.  I was then given a contact number to make my inquiry. It wasn’t long before I had a call back.  They were very helpful,l sending me an email requesting all the information they needed from me.  Unfortunately I didn’t find their email for over an hour as it was in the spam mail folder.  But once I sent them all the documents they required I received a new registration document within minutes. Praise the Lord.

I had promised to meet Carolyn at 2pm that afternoon and rushed to send the documents before I left. Praise God I only had to drive 10 mins and arrived on time.  I went with Dema and Carolyn to the home of a believer where I met four older citizens and a younger woman.  I fitted in very well with all the senior citizens. I was also very surprised that I could actually read the Thai song sheet and understood at least 80% of what was said in Thai during the Bible Study. The Thai’s were also very happy that I knew some Thai.

On our return to the house I was dropped at the evening market where I bought some yummy satay, veggies and then some coconut milk at the nearby 7/11 store before driving home. That evening I prepared for the next day’s lesson with Temjai. I was going to make a banana dessert but hadn’t been able to find palm or brown sugar so had to wait.  I had been given cooking bananas which had firstly been offered to the members of the Bible Study group but they didn’t want them as they needed to be cooked and were very over ripe.  I accepted them not wanting to see them wasted and thought I could make something with them but before then, I peeled and froze them till I had all the ingredients I needed.

As it was Friday I visited Tamjai to discuss Saturday’s English class, she suggested I help out with the games and with the written exercises.  While I was there, I told her the gunshot sounds I’d heard while sleeping were not gunshots after all.  In fact it was the fan blowing my curtains against the window sill that was making a muffled banging sound.  We both laughed.

I was up early on Saturday and ready for class by 8:15.  It was a fun but long morning leaving us both exhausted from talking and joining in the activities.  I returned to the house to cook up my lunch, trying to bring down the spicy-heat of the Larp, by adding the leftover from homemade pork and tomato dish.  It helped a bit but there was still too much chilli!  I’ll have to remember next time to ask for very little or no chilli.

By 3:15pm Temjai joined me as we drove to Carolyn’s place.  From here, Carolyn took us to her friend’s property.  Her friend and her daughter, Po who was 34 years old, the same age as Temjai, showed us around their different properties.  They grew so many fruit trees, bananas and a variety of local herbs. I was in my element especially when they took me to see their durian tree!  It was laden with fruit.  I was promised they would call me back when it was ripe, next month.  Po has studied horticulturism and spoke very good English, we had a great time talking plants. I was also able to introduce her to an app I use to identify plants.  This app also provides extra information which is good for those who like to propagate plants. We had fun trying out the app, taking photos to see if that particular herb was on the app.  We were surprised at the accuracy of the app, even when we thought we had made it difficult with just the flower or leaf, but it was there, unlike many of the Australian natives which I is unable to identify.  Before we left we were given lots of fruits to take home; pineapple, passionfruit, bananas, rumbutan as well as some herbs.

Tamjai and Po were getting along well, so I suggested she join us as we were driving into the city to see the Walking Street markets.  She did, as did Carolyn who came with us while Dema and Daniel went in a separate car. Carolyn was my co-pilot this time, with Po helping with directions too.  In town I nearly made a U-turn into the oncoming traffic having come onto the main road from a parallel side road.  There had been a bit of cross-communication, praise the Lord there was no traffic. The road systems here can be a bit confusing. As we approached the markets we were keeping an eye out for parking, there was a large four-wheel-drive ahead of us doing the same, so I began to pray.  Before I had even finished praying I saw a spot that the front vehicle had passed.  It was perfect, although we did need to move an orange hazard cone slightly so I could park.

Market stalls lined each side of the lane with a variety of vendors selling an assortment of food goods both fresh, cooked and food being cooked right there in front of us.  As I don’t eat in the evenings I looked for something I could take home for the following day’s lunch. I was delighted to find a traditional norther snack, Miang Kham (Translated one-bit wrap), with an assortment of condiments wrapped in a wild betel leaf (which I am actually growing in my garden in Perth with the aim of one day trying this recipe). Then at the market’s cross-roads, we took a left turn and found the clothes and other knickknack stalls where I bought a new pair of socks as I had left a pair in Mai Sot and which didn’t arrive with my posted shoes.

The market was crowded with both locals and tourists and by the time I had returned to where we had entered, Carolyn was the only one I could see.  I soon lost her when I said I wanted to take a look at some other stalls and buy some durian, but I found Temjai instead.  Together we headed to the mouth of the street towards where I’d parked the car. Temjai called Carolyn who suggested she and Po would go home with Dema.  Temjai then directed me through the city along a backroad detour, which was supposed to be one way as it was so narrow due to road works, but cars and bikes were coming in both directions! Most waited for us to pass first but the motorbikes seemed to think they had the right of way! “Sorry mate we have right of way, I’m coming through; you will need to wait!”

I was glad to be back, I don’t like driving at night on roads I don’t know even when I have a co-pilot. That night I didn’t sleep well, waking twice and then sleeping in till 8am. I had wanted to buy something for my lunch at the market but because I had hoped to go to church with Carolyn and her Bible Study group, I hadn’t.  Praise the Lord I had enough in the fridge and freezer to make lunch of leftovers, so as I decided to stay home, I needed a day off.  I might surprise people who know me that I really enjoy my own company and often feel overwhelmed with too much socialising.

Photos:  1. Chinese Chestnut – Sterculia monosperma     2. Yay Ja’s sister and Ya Ja    3. Bible study group    4. My delight    5. Bountiful fruits from garden    6. Walking Street Market

Prayer & Praise Points:

Praise the Lord for all His enabling, especially helping me to bring something to the students with whom I’m doing conversational English.  I certainly need His patience, guidance and leading in this area.

Please pray that my flight from Chiang Rai to Bangkok and from Bangkok to Bali will not be changed or delayed as I’ve just had to change the Chiang Rai flight because the original time was changed to arrive after my flight to Bali.  I’m now going the day before and staying a night in Bangkok.

Thank you for your prayers as I practise my Thai language with the local Thai people.  Please pray that the Lord will continue to use me to be a blessing to others while I’m here and that He will complete the work He has started in me.

Please continue to pray for the Karen families here in Thailand who have applied for visas and permanent residency with their families abroad, especially Matt’s family in Mae Sot. Pray also that their situation in Thailand, while they wait, will improve and that they will be able to provide for their families.

An update on Gayle and Joshua’s situation in Indonesia.  Josh was unable to get citizenship at this point of time.  This means that Gayle’s home will go into Joshua’s uncle’s name.  Please pray that this procedure will go well and there will not be a problem and that eventually it will be returned into Joshua’s name.

Continue to pray for world peace and countries dealing with major disasters, wars and the unbelievable hardships they cause.  Pray for all those caught up in the suffering these events have caused.  Pray that God’s peace may be known by all people especially for those who live with despair, that they will find hope in Christ Jesus.

Please keep my sisters, Tricia, Jen and Kat, in your prayers.  Pray that they will come to know the love of Jesus.