House Construction Part II

Things are progressing. Only a week gone by and already the timber frame for the roof is in place. We have also bought the toilets, showers sinks etc. Not much else to sort out. Roof sheeting, well a chap called round on Saturday morning, he introduced himself as an Agent for a local roof sheeting supply company. Wanna did a check and he was cheaper than the roof sheeting we bought for our house. Added to which he offered 24 hour delivery. Dark green we ordered in case you are curious! More to follow.

House Construction Part II

Laos

Quality not quantify is what I've always been told but in this case I've got both, good quality stuff and a lot of it.
So, a lot to write about. Visiting Laos. I thought another Land of Smiles. Well no its not! We had a few days there and enjoyed but the people were not as friendly as in Thailand, in fact I would go so far as to say they were generally miserable by comparison. Seemed very noticeable to us that few smiled. And I do not mean at us but in general. They, when chatting amongst themselves seemed to be far more serious and I did not see the usual Thai spontaneous smiles! Pity as it is an interesting place.
We went over for a 'visa run'. Reason being my work permit had been cancelled due to some error from when I last went overseas to Ha Noi last month. Anyway that was the reason for going to Laos on this occasion.
Getting there. First requirement was a visa. Available at the Consulate in Khon Kaen. Took all of 5 minutes. I timed it!!
Then on a bus to Vantienne. We drove to the boarder, go off and went through Thai immigration, got back on the bus and 100 meters up the road got out again for the Laos immigration. Then we were driven over the mighty Mekong River and on into Vantienne.

Khon Kaen to Vantienne is about 250 kilometers all up. This was done including the stops in about 4 hours at a cost of Baht 186 each. (That's about 4US$). Could not do that in a car!!!!


Well of course first things first. Food on arrival. Next to our hotel beautiful spit roasted chicken and Wanna jumped in to make her own 'Som Tam'. The food is basically identical to Issan food so for Wanna home from Home! Good start to the weekend.



We had a walk round and spotted a lady painting the "Ghost Houses'. I had always wondered how it got done. Also some nice old buildings and street scenes.Followed by a quick trip round a few temples. Interesting years ago people used to take your photo, develop it and come back an hour or two later to sell it to you. Now its digital and they carry a portable printer! Clever application of Technology.

As I said at the beginning of this posting we did a lot. Visited local markets and bought some silk.

Spotted a lovely old Triumph Motor Bike.

And last but not lease bought a Laos sandwich.

The sandwich is a beautiful fresh baguette, filled with pate, salad, meats and can only be described as delicious. Catch you soon.

House Construction Part 1

House Construction Part 1

29th April 2010 was an auspicious day in Thailand. Seems lots of people considered it the best day to start on a new house. This included Wanna's parents house on our farm. We had in truth been planning it for a long time. Even raised the area with some fill from an adjacent plot so as to have it on higher land. So we got the area ready and have left it to settle of some time. A few months infact. So what next?

Assorted Progress Movies

Well on 29th April it was necessary to start the construction, this begins with the erection of the first two columns to the house. These precast concrete columns are placed in a foundation hole dug into the ground. Prior to being placed there is a small religious ceremony including some prayers and offering to Buddha. Also there are as part of this ceremony various cloths and fish traps etc erected on the polls. In addition some money is placed under the foundations for good luck. All went well with Wanna's Mother leading the prayers as you can see below. Lets hope it really is an auspicious day for all concerned.

Few Photos

Tiger - The Guard Dog

Just a quick note to show how Tiger is growing up. Super Guard Dog or just a very soft 'Pouch' ????

I am certain it is the latter. Look at him does he scare you?

Such is Life -Missing friends by a few Kilometers only!!!

I've got way behind in my Blog/Diary. But rather that let it slide I am going to keep it up adn also try adn back track so check older entries if you feel inclined.

Had the weekend at home in Pattaya. Checked my fishing 'aquaponics' system and did little else. Khun Pathan has phones twice, well I assume it was him on my mobile 'missed calls'. I was doing so little I was not even answering my Phone! He was the reason we went to Chang Mai last month. House warming etc. This is us, in a photo taken a few weeks back in Chang Mai.

He was phoning to tell us he was in Khon Kaen and wanted to visit us. Really bad luck. Wanna was back down in Pattaya with me. Both of us disappointed to miss them. Never mind next time.