Trips to Bangkok to locate Boat Parts in the back streets ( New update sorry for the delay)

[Geoff Cooper]

Quite sure I missed you on your local time, but... Happy Christmas, Geoff!

Thanks for that, I think were 12 hours ahead of you in the States, Happy Christmas to you also.

 

[Geoff Cooper]

I really enjoy checking in and seeing these pictures. Thank you Geoff and I hope you are enjoying the holidays.

I'm pleased you enjoy the pictures and i hope your having a good time.

 

[Geoff Cooper]

Is the grate in the last photo of this post chained down to prevent it washing away, or being sold for scrap or both!

Love the photos!

Yes the amount of water that comes down the drains get completely flooded and water often is forced up from below and dislodge the covers so when the Road is under water and people are walking through it they cant fall down the holes so they chain the Grids down.

 

[Geoff Cooper]

I really enjoy checking in and seeing these pictures. Thank you Geoff and I hope you are enjoying the holidays.

Pleased you enjoy the Photos have a good holiday.

 

[Geoff Cooper]

As always, @Geoff Cooper, INCREDIBLY nice, and really interesting photos about a side of our Mother Earth many of us know little about.
Please do continue as the spirit inspires you. In the meantime, Happy New Year coming up !@
Mikey Lulejian - On a calm, sunny, and actually a little bit warm Lake Oconee, GA

View attachment 15664

I'm pleased you enjoy the Photos, Happy New Year to you also.

 

[Geoff Cooper]

Well i hope you've had a good Christmas just New Year to look forward to now, The Sea's been a bit choppy here so i haven't bothered to get the Boat out just had a relaxing few days so i managed to spend a bit of time taking some Photos around and about, I have put some explanations under them so you can get the idea, I hope you enjoy them.



This is my grandson at the Marina where i keep my Boat



Many of the Boats never move they have a full crew living on board who just maintain it and clean it



My new Captain he was adamant we had to go 15k everyday to go and feed the Monkeys



Full concentration and bags of Bananas for the Monkeys at the ready



Back at the Marina



More of the Marina



This is a common sight in my Village as Elephants are still used for working, These Guys have just finished for the day and i stopped them on there way home from work.



They use the elephants for loading bags of rice into trucks and moving timber and all sorts but there well looked after, You do need to be careful when driving in the village at night as they are dark colored and you can easily run into one in the dark even though they are huge you don't see them if your on a small Motorcycle until the last minute.



This is the water truck delivering water, Many places out of the main towns don't have Government water supply so they have big tanks that they get filled for a few Dollars.



2 young Boys stark naked playing in the river having a great time, Many families can't afford computers so the children still get out and have fun without sitting in front of a computer screen.


One of the Water Buffalo's there are many here and they are still used for working and the yearly Buffalo races.


The local market in full swing



The fish at the back are marinaded and Barbecued while the ones below are barbecued in a layer of salt which you break off before you eat there delicious



The fish at the bottom of the Photo are Nile Perch they are still alive as the Thai people won't buy them unless they are living and then the fishmonger dispatches and dresses them for you so they are ready to cook, These are the ones done in salt in the previous Photo.


These are the Dustbin men they do a really good job and re cycle everything as they travel around


This is one of the Islands about 20 k from shore, No charter Boats go there as it's to far for them, It's beautiful and you have the place to yourself, As you can see the water is crystal clear.



This is another Island about 17k away from shore, Crystal clear water beautiful untouched Beaches and you never see anyone there, Great place to go for a picnic and have fun with the family, Sometimes i go and sleep in the Boat for the night and cook on the Beach you can see how peaceful the place is, Great for water sports and snorkeling the sea is always calm, Well i hope you enjoyed my Photos and my new Captain, He's back in England now but i had a great time with him and my daughter and taught him to swim and drive the Boat, He'll be back next summer I'm sure if only to feed the blooming Monkeys.

 

[Geoff Cooper]

I really enjoy checking in and seeing these pictures. Thank you Geoff and I hope you are enjoying the holidays.

Everyday s a holiday i retired out here long time ago, It was the best thing i ever did Sunshine sand Boats great weather food and no closed Boat season it doesn't get any better, I have to keep pinching myself even after all this time.

 

[Murf'n'surf]

How is health care in that region? Are the hospitals up to date or would you need to fly back to Europe?

 

[Geoff Cooper]

How is health care in that region? Are the hospitals up to date or would you need to fly back to Europe?

Health care is pretty good, My friend recently had a stroke and when he got to hospital he had all the treatment including full Cat scan and had a private room in a lovely hospital near the Sea and after 1 week he was allowed home and for all treatment including all his drugs and drugs to go home with he had a bill for $200, He's well on the mend now I'm pleased to say, They are quite clued up and Bupa is here if you require it but treatment is very reasonable anyway and if your a foreigner the really look after you.

 

[Geoff Cooper]

Here's a few more Photos of Village life i took in the last few days, I shall be going to Bangkok again in the next week or so and will revert back to the original content of this post, I will try and get some Photos of the small business's the same as i did before also try to show you some insight into the way of life here in Thailand once you leave the Tourist trail, Anyway i hope you enjoy these latest Photos.


This gives you an idea of the local Fishing Boats that the Village Fishermen go out to Sea in, It's a hard life and they work very hard.



I'm on my way out to the islands and this Guy is on his way back in, He's just passing one of the Islands about 12 k from the shore having checked his pots.



I don't like to show you Tourist places i prefer to show you the real Thailand but this is the Golden Budda on the Mountain, Many Thai people visit this place but i have never seen any foreign Tourists there as it's off the beaten track.



This is looking out over the Village from my Balcony.


This is a house that belongs to one of the local Farmers, He has a few Buffalo and Chickens, Ducks etc, I cant understand how he makes a living.



This is where the Fishermen live.



Fishermen's wives they have nothing but always smiling.



This is the front of the Houses, mainly these Chickens are bred for cock fighting which is very popular here, There are no losers they go into the pot.


Sunset over the Village



A Fishing Family and that is there House behind them, They live there plus 2 husbands and another child, They sleep in Hammocks and cook outside no kitchen.





These are small dwellings that are rented out, Some people come from Bangkok to spend the weekend here, There very basic just an empty room really.


These are a small cycle and sidecar they sell for the children to use, Brother pedals while young sister sits in the sidecar.


This is a tractor from the slipway at Bang Saray, they use it to launch the Boats and generally clear the sand from the slipway etc, You can see the difference from the Tractors at the Charter boat slipways from before, This is a slower way of life here.



This is another tractor they use for launching etc, I haven't seen this Boat here before, They charge about $3 to launch and retrieve your Boat and they store the Trailer all day for you, You just give them a call when your on your way back and they have the Trailer in the water ready for you to load.



This is the slipway, It's concrete under the sand, Well there's another look into Thai lifestyle i hope you enjoyed the Photos and i will post some more when I'm on my travels.

 

[Zarrella]

Awesome...thanks for sharing your little slice of life with us. It is so nice to see the different cultures and ways of life.
Thank you!

 

[Geoff Cooper]

Awesome...thanks for sharing your little slice of life with us. It is so nice to see the different cultures and ways of life.
Thank you!

Thanks for that I'm happy you enjoy it.

 

[Geoff Cooper]

It's now New Years Eve and the Beach is full of Thai people as they love there New Year, There is something i wanted to add to my previous reply which i had forgotten to do, I posted a Photo the one you see under this text, The baby Boy she is holding was born in the building behind her and delivered by the other lady in the Photo, He was born at 11 am in the morning and she had him wrapped in a sheet around her back and was back at work just after lunch, No hospital, no midwife, no medical assistance, She would stop work every now and then to Breast feed the Baby just unbelievable but that's how thing's still are here, Can you imagine the uproar if any Lady had to do that in the West, Anyway have a great New Year and lets hope you have a great Boating season to look forward to.



I showed my Grandson where these people lived when he came for a Holiday a few weeks ago, I said to him that his computer is worth more than there house and he said haven't they even got an Ipad Gran-dad, Bless him he's only 5 it just shows the comparison and what we take for granted.

 

[Geoff Cooper]

Well New Year has come and gone but here in Thailand they're still enjoying the Holiday period, The Beach is busy as the locals take the children to relax and play in the clear water and enjoy eating and relaxing on the Beach, I was going to go and do a bit of Fishing but the Sea is a bit choppy so gave it a miss for now as i have all the time in the world to go again sometime, I decided to go and take a drive around the local area and take some Photos for you to have a look at and maybe give you a better insight into Thai life so i hope you enjoy.



Excuse my shadow on the Photo but this is at the Coconut plantation and the Lady is removing the husks from a Coconut, She starts early and it's a hard Physical job, You can see the metal spike she impales the Coconut on she starts work 6 am and finishes at 6 pm and earns about $4 a day, She de husks about 1000 coconuts a day.



This is the Plantation where you can see her and the other Ladies working



A local farmer moving his cows to another grazing site



Driving through the eucalyptus plantations they use the Timber for making Paper.



I appreciate this is only the charcoal for a Barbecue but i found this wood yard well off the beaten track and i was a little unsure about the welcome i would get, These people were very weary of me to start with as they don't see white men where they are, After trying to reassure them that i was of no threat they warmed a little and allowed me to take a few Photos, I think they were from Kampuchea and were there without Passports etc as this place was well hidden and a lot of illegal workers are in Thailand doing jobs that Thai people won't do as they are paid very little.


This is them making the Charcoal, The wood is buried under a mass of reeds and the temperature reaches a staggering height, That's this mans job to take care of it, he just shovels all day for pennies, I took a few photos and left as although they warmed to me a little i still wasn't sure.


This is Mansapalan it's a root crop that takes about 3 months to mature ready for cutting, The stems of the plant are just cut off and pushed back into the ground and they just grow again, The crop resembles a long Potato and is processed and turned into a powder used for cooking.



This is were the Farmer lives, Like i said they are very poor and work very hard, There are no Government handouts here if you don't work you don't eat


You can see no electric or water and they live in the middle of there fields.


From one extreme to another, These temples are everywhere yet people still have nothing and live with no water or electric in fields.



More Temples built around the edge of a massive lake



Where the Monks live in a beautiful location in the forests with all the facilities.



This is an Army Surplus yard, The Willy's are what you Guys left in Vietnam i believe they are shipped here and sold off cheap, Some are renovated as there is no shortage of spare parts some are used by the Farmers for towing rice Trailers and are just made to run and work, The planes i don't know about maybe someone can enlighten me, Trainers probably!


Here's a better view of the Planes they sell.



Many people who live and work here in parts of Thailand are poor and meat is a rarity as it's so expensive for them so to compensate for a deficiency in protein they eat many kinds of insects and some are really quite good and taste very similar to shrimp when cooked, This is at the market and they range from Grasshoppers to crickets etc, In the really remote areas at the markets in the country they also sell Rat meat which if caught in the fields by the farmers and sold at the markets can fetch more than Pork, They barbecue the Rats and if Baby rats are caught they are a real delicacy, many Farmers eat these as part of there diet, Well i hope you've enjoyed the latest update and i will do my best to bring you some more soon.

 

[Britboater]

Blimey Geoff, your becoming a regular Dr Livingstone !

Nice interesting reading, especially with photos. Pictures are a thousand words.

 

[Geoff Cooper]

Blimey Geoff, your becoming a regular Dr Livingstone !

Nice interesting reading, especially with photos. Pictures are a thousand words.

It's no good showing you what you can see in a travel Brochure that's not real Thailand, I always stray from the beaten path I'm pleased you enjoy the read.

 

[KXCam22]

Geoff,
I really appreciate the photos and descriptions. My wife and I are slowly looking for somewhere different to live and Thailand has been on the list since we started. Thanks. Cam.

 

[rkluck]

thanks for all the pictures. It looks like a hard life.

 

[Geoff Cooper]

Geoff,
I really appreciate the photos and descriptions. My wife and I are slowly looking for somewhere different to live and Thailand has been on the list since we started. Thanks. Cam.

Your welcome, I try to show you the real Thailand obviously there are a lot of places where expats live but I'm afraid i prefer to see the real side of the country and sometimes a picture says it all.

 

[Geoff Cooper]

thanks for all the pictures. It looks like a hard life.

There is another side of Thailand that is very affluent and there is a massive class distinction here in Thailand far bigger than anywhere i have ever been before and they let it be known which is something i hate, The wealthy use creams that make them turn a whiter color so they look more like a westerner because the whiter they are the better job they get, I'm sure you remember how Michael Jackson changed color well that's what they are doing here now but unfortunately they look strange, I and many foreigners prefer Thais to look Thai, I'm pleased you enjoyed the post.