Archive
The forms were completed, rebar inspected and we started pouring foundation concrete the same day we were planting the first large trees. Sue was helping out in both areas, although she spent a lot more time on the tree project. Landscaping and gardening are things she really likes. The second picture gives a better overview [...]
Ho and I put a bag around the roots of a small tree in the forest. Sue and I just got back from a short 35 km trip east to see Thai forest land. We went with Uan, a Thai friend, and Ho, one of our fathers. When we got there we picked up Uan’s [...]
We are driving 8 meter (26 foot) concrete pilings into the ground to support our new child home. It would be a bit cheaper if we could just dig down a ways and pour some footings, as has often been done in the past in this area. I had been wondering about the necessity of [...]
The last few weeks we had a family of four from the U.S. but who works in India visiting Nang Rong. They liked being here and had a lot to say about things, some highlights of which were: it is more comfortable here than they thought it would be, and the food is better than [...]
The first picture was taken at night just as I left my landlord’s house. This elephant goes around Nang Rong in the evening with a reflector tied to his tail, stopping at the restaurants. Since the restaurants are open to the outside, the elephant just comes up close, but not close enough to grab anything [...]
This is off my subject, but since I have already written about Haiti… While looking at some news today I was reminded about something else. There is a lot of talk about relief donations for the Haitian disaster. I see UNICEF and the American Red Cross mentioned a lot. Also mentioned are the numerous fake [...]
There is one other issue I can’t help bringing up again about the Haiti earthquake. It is hard to find specifics, but many are commenting that it is the effect of the earthquake on (concrete/masonry) buildings that kill people, not the earthquake itself. If you are out in the open when it strikes you are [...]
The crisis in Haiti has everyone’s attention, including mine. I will not comment about it because I know next to nothing about that area. Some have been drawing parallels between it and the Myanmar crisis of two years ago. In Haiti aid is bottled up because the infrastructure is largely destroyed. In Myanmar there was [...]
There are many small tour operators on Lanta island offering snorkeling, diving, elephant rain forest expeditions and kayaking. Sue and I went on three. The first was to Ko Rok, which is considered the best nearby snorkeling. We saw a few fish longer than a foot, but many smaller ones of many different colors and [...]
We are back from our vacation on Lanta island (“ko” means “island”). It was the greatest place for a beach vacation. It may not be what you want if you are looking for other things. It is not the place for upscale hotels or upscale anything. I remember only a few hotel buildings that reached [...]
