The Heart Of The Day

Doug, my son, flew into Bangkok yesterday from Oregon to fly out again two days later to spend his annual several months with his wife, Luk, on the island of Koh Samui. We had a bit of a scare just before he arrived because a scheduled utility maintenance on undersea trunk wires went bad and Koh Samui and Koh Phagnan were both out of electricity for several days. It went back on in the morning just before he flew in to Koh Samui so Luk, my daughter-in-law, was ecstatic…saying that Doug bring the electricity with him!

Tourists were leaving the islands left and right and Thailand has reportedly lost 1.2 billion baht in income. Poor Thailand. I was in Thailand for the 2004 tsunami where Doug and Luk nearly lost their lives in their bungalow on the Krabi beach, 2006 for the last coup, 2009-10 for the Red Shirt Rally and in 2012 for the Yellow Shirt Rally. If it isn’t one thing it’s another.

I’ve written about the tsunami on this blog where Doug and Luk nearly lost their lives in their bungalow on a Krabi Beach on December 4, 2004. I was in Bangkok at the time and nearly had a heart attack when I came back to my hotel and switched on the TV to get the daily news. Half hour later I was able to get through to them, however. What sweet voices! Doug immediately hired a pickup to take them to the other side of the Thai peninsula to live. Luk said there were ghosts on Krabi and she wouldn’t eat the fish because they had eaten the people. So that is why they live on Samui instead of on Krabi…a place we all dearly loved.

On Dec 22nd I’ll take a bus to Pattaya about an hour west and spend Christmas week with my husband…or Oregon Bob…as his golf club buddies refer to him because there are 3 Bobs in the group. He wants to cook a turkey for me and his golfing friends. He says he needs someone to peel potatoes! hahahahaha!

Flew back from Kuala Lumpur Malaysia to Krabi yesterday. We are staying in the J Hotel…same one we stayed in last time here…on the top floor with a view of the ocean and karsts for 450 baht…about $14.

The karsts are as beautiful as ever but the left-overs of the Burma cyclone are causing rain, wind and the roughest ocean Doug has ever seen here. No long-tail boats to be seen anywhere.

Amazed at the development since the tsunami! Seems like double the number of businesses and they have become upscale. Even though it’s low season the streets are full of European tourists.

Will fly out to Bangkok tomorrow noon. Short stay. And Doug and Luk will drive on down to Trang to spend some time with Luk’s mother and pick up Ting Tong before driving back to Samui. After being with them for over a month I will miss them.

Last week Amy, Josh's wife, flew down to Samui from Beijing with a colleague from her international school where they teach history. Four short days but it was a treat to see them!

Koh Samui to Trang to Krabi

The ... [Continue reading this entry]

After a flight from Bangkok on Bangkok Air, I have been enjoying my 26 year-old daughter-in-law on quiet Khlong Muang Beach in Krabi Province the last couple of weeks while my son Doug is ... [Continue reading this entry]

Video Bob and I have been here in Krabi Province of Thailand with Doug and Luk for three weeks now...a welcome respite after a month in smoggy noisy Bangkok where I had some dental ... [Continue reading this entry]

A month in Bangkok including Christmas. On the 26th, after a bowl of spicy Thai soup on the street outside my Bangkok hotel on December 26, 2004, I returned about 1:30pm and flipped on the ... [Continue reading this entry]