Seven Days in Siam

We have been here for a week as of today.

Our long flights here seem a dim , distant memory , sort of like holding the baby after giving birth and forgetting the pain. Well, not really … but man , it’s good to be in Thailand !!

Our home is well equipped with modern furniture , we have been given the use of a car and we have a sparkling blue saltwater pool in the front yard. Take two steps out of our front fortified gate and you are in a typical Thai soi ( or alley). There are lazy dogs that get up slowly to come and see who we are , chickens wandering at our feet and old toothless ladies who stick their necks out to see the new ‘Farangs’ ( foreigners) and houses more reminiscent of shacks. It makes us thankful for how lucky we are.

It’s a 5 minute meander to the main road in Takieb ( yes, we timed it and did a time lapse video). The street is winding and narrow and the sidewalks bumpy , missing , and only 12 inches at some parts, if at all. You look both ways multiple times before you cross in case a motorcycle sidecar combo with at least 6 people and their groceries knock you over.

The delights on this street are endless from food stalls grilling satay and salted fish to Boba Taro milk tea

, a laundry , small gas stop for motorbikes ( they refill used whiskey bottles with fuel)

There is an air conditioned massage parlor (legit) and coffee shops , a 7/11 and a small supermarket (no fresh meat or vegetables sold)

Charcoal is sold at one storefront.

We had a wonderful experience buying fresh pressed coconut milk.

We have met one of our Thai neighbors who speaks the most exquisite English and she has invited us over for dinner and offered to take me shopping at a local market. Only condition : I’m squatting in her side car, actually she said we could all fit. Haha.

The mosquitoes are having a feast on our juicy sweet skin and we are hoping that they will stop soon ? Does this ever stop with time , or are we always fresh meat ?

We are able to buy our small grocery purchases and walk home along the beach , which currently has a lot of washed up jelly fish due to rough waters and the rainy season pending.

Home School has started and so far it’s going well. The students seem to understand that this is school and it has to be done. We swim or play before school and get out some energy.

At the house we don’t have hot water. The showers are electric (think small tankless water heaters ) and the drinking water has to be boiled each night for the next day. We are making this a routine of filling the kettle and boiling on a propane burner each night ( no plumbed in gas either )

At night we always second guess whether the water is cool enough to pour into the water containers. Sometimes the gamble of everything on black loses ..

We are on a septic tank but we are in California , so that’s not new to us. We have a washing machine and the clothes are hung out on a washing line. Thank goodness my Scottish granny taught me how to hang out a decent washing line!

We made a trip in the car ( opposite side of the road for us and a little frantic) to the local veg and fish market. The kids were appalled and thrilled at the same time at the sights and smells of this new place ! Live Eels, frogs , fish , octopus , all being sacrificed for someone’s dinner on the spot. We were sprayed by catfish juice as one was being clubbed on the head. Not my happiest moment but hey ho , it’s living in Thailand and all it has to offer. Littlest child not happy at seeing the frogs on a tray.

We had a broken tooth on our first night but that was taken care of , quite beautifully, by a Thai dentist that my father recommended and my sister uses when she visits. She is now our International Dentist of the Year.

I have actually picked up a paperback novel and read a few chapters and it feels really good , I have so much nervous energy and little to do , it’s making me a little uncomfortable. I have to keep telling myself it’s only been a week and I have 23 more! It’s so hard not to be on vacation mode and to realise this is home for 6+ months.

The local mall has a food court and for the princely sum of $1.75 a plate of rice and omelette with a large bowl of green curry is lunch. I particularly love the hot water to dip the silverware (cutlery) into to clean it. There’s even UV light to use if preferred.

The electricity is known to give out at any moment and looking at our pole , it’s not hard to see why ! The internet is so far keeping pace with us and a VPN has us streaming Sling and Hulu TV.

We have had the most incredible week and our kids are thriving. I had a moment of ‘should we have done this ?’ But I have no doubt now.

Seven Months in Siam , is our jam.

~Arlene