SATURDAY 6th I really didn’t want to know this morning complaining about the dogs barking at some ungodly hour which turned out to be 8.30am! So just after 9 I somewhat reluctantly got out of bed, showered and dressed and headed to have breakfast. More new faces were already seated and more arrived along with new residents who were being escorted to their rooms.
We had decided to laze by the pool this morning and were joined by an elderly American lady but it was so much warmer this morning and it wasn’t long before I was back in our room to change into my swimwear. It seemed it was too warm for our American friend as she too retired to her room. We remained by the pool until after noon and then dressed accordingly for our boat trip, well I did – Keith remained in his shorts.
We walked along the riverside to the Scorpion Boat landing to be warmly greeted by the boatman and the lady we saw yesterday. Having received a ‘Tesco’ plastic cup of water we were invited to board the boat – just the two of us. On our way the lady gave us a running commentary through the microphone, even though we were sitting right in front of her, and showed us mounted photographs of the riverside area. Nowadays the bamboo bridges that had to be rebuilt every year due to the strong river, hence the name ‘Ping’ meaning strong, have been replaced with concrete and metal. Down river she pointed out the water marks from the floods 5 years ago which affected the riverside area 3 times in that season and no compensation for cleaning up or replacing lost effects. We past 5 star hotels boarding the river and one bamboo home where the man was replacing part of the bamboo fence in the water. By the water’s edge she explained the fish traps just as the fisherman was coming to inspect them in his small dugout boat. We returned up river to visit the Scorpion Boat Village where several mud houses have been built in a large area of fruit trees that we had a look at before being shown around one of the houses. Built in the style of a boat they had mud walls collected from the river and a palm thatched roof. Inside was one large room with a bathroom, the walls and ceiling being lined with woven bamboo which felt quite cool compared to outside. They were very nice and the area was so quiet but currently there were only 3 houses occupied and funds did not run to big advertising. So, if we could go on ‘Tripadvisor’ and make comments in their book she would be very grateful. By now we were sitting in the dining area sampling sticky rice with mango and the cerise dragon fruit which tasted very much like our blackberries. As Keith began to write in the comments book he suffered his second nose bleed of the day.
Back on the boat we travelled back to the landing stage passing the site of a former home of the Thai royalty. We had walked by this house yesterday looking through the fancy wrought iron fencing and gates to see a large house set in a wonderful landscape of topiary trees and manicured lawns and wondered ‘who lives in a house like this?’ Today it is owned by a Company as we learnt that the Royal family had to sell of many of their assets such as palaces, cars and Scorpion boats due to lack of money. We also learnt how the idea of a scorpion shaped boat came about. A man found a piece of coconut shell floating in the water and on it was a large scorpion settled in the curve with its tail in the air and so he decided to build a boat in that design. This was not so easy as first he had to find a tree big enough and again we were shown photographs of people stood by a large tree in the jungle. As we returned to the landing stage a young man was knelt on the mud flat putting something in the water. After turning the boat we drifted up to the stage and I asked the lady what the orange and white thing was in the water but she failed to answer me. However our boatman said it was to take on the bad luck away down the river and the man had put a hair and finger nail clipping into the orange container and the white flag indicated this was for the bad luck. We would see a lot of these in the next few days.
Our trip over we returned home to sit on our balcony and be entertained by the numerous birds and a black squirrel.
We paid a visit to the Night Bazaar where after disrupting the sandal seller’s stall I finally found a suitable pair of shoes to wear around Baan Orapin, ones that can easily be slipped on and off for entering buildings. Keith was also successful in his bargaining to get to fake Rolexs’ for his Navy colleagues. In a large eating hall we chose to sit at what ‘Nancy Chandler’ describes as the best seafood restaurant in the area. It was very busy especially with the Westerners but there were also many Thai people so we had a long wait. I had decided on a pineapple filled with prawns, rice, pineapple of course, chopped ham and vegetables which was nice and as it was a rather large pineapple was glad of Keith’s help whilst he waited for the seafood salad and his fish to arrive. The dining area also has a stage at one end where free shows take place. We faintly heard someone singing but by the time we had finished eating the show was over.
As we headed back home we came across lots of young people down by the river letting off fireworks which we have become accustomed to at all hours of the day and night. We also witnessed a young couple setting off one of the lanterns but with very little wind they were having difficulty getting it to float away so the seller was left to do that. We have been amazed at the height these fine paper lanterns have reached and how long they stay alight. We were in two minds about going in to listen to the music in ‘Brasserie’ but came home instead. It was not long before I was in bed and fast asleep.
We had decided to laze by the pool this morning and were joined by an elderly American lady but it was so much warmer this morning and it wasn’t long before I was back in our room to change into my swimwear. It seemed it was too warm for our American friend as she too retired to her room. We remained by the pool until after noon and then dressed accordingly for our boat trip, well I did – Keith remained in his shorts.
We walked along the riverside to the Scorpion Boat landing to be warmly greeted by the boatman and the lady we saw yesterday. Having received a ‘Tesco’ plastic cup of water we were invited to board the boat – just the two of us. On our way the lady gave us a running commentary through the microphone, even though we were sitting right in front of her, and showed us mounted photographs of the riverside area. Nowadays the bamboo bridges that had to be rebuilt every year due to the strong river, hence the name ‘Ping’ meaning strong, have been replaced with concrete and metal. Down river she pointed out the water marks from the floods 5 years ago which affected the riverside area 3 times in that season and no compensation for cleaning up or replacing lost effects. We past 5 star hotels boarding the river and one bamboo home where the man was replacing part of the bamboo fence in the water. By the water’s edge she explained the fish traps just as the fisherman was coming to inspect them in his small dugout boat. We returned up river to visit the Scorpion Boat Village where several mud houses have been built in a large area of fruit trees that we had a look at before being shown around one of the houses. Built in the style of a boat they had mud walls collected from the river and a palm thatched roof. Inside was one large room with a bathroom, the walls and ceiling being lined with woven bamboo which felt quite cool compared to outside. They were very nice and the area was so quiet but currently there were only 3 houses occupied and funds did not run to big advertising. So, if we could go on ‘Tripadvisor’ and make comments in their book she would be very grateful. By now we were sitting in the dining area sampling sticky rice with mango and the cerise dragon fruit which tasted very much like our blackberries. As Keith began to write in the comments book he suffered his second nose bleed of the day.
Back on the boat we travelled back to the landing stage passing the site of a former home of the Thai royalty. We had walked by this house yesterday looking through the fancy wrought iron fencing and gates to see a large house set in a wonderful landscape of topiary trees and manicured lawns and wondered ‘who lives in a house like this?’ Today it is owned by a Company as we learnt that the Royal family had to sell of many of their assets such as palaces, cars and Scorpion boats due to lack of money. We also learnt how the idea of a scorpion shaped boat came about. A man found a piece of coconut shell floating in the water and on it was a large scorpion settled in the curve with its tail in the air and so he decided to build a boat in that design. This was not so easy as first he had to find a tree big enough and again we were shown photographs of people stood by a large tree in the jungle. As we returned to the landing stage a young man was knelt on the mud flat putting something in the water. After turning the boat we drifted up to the stage and I asked the lady what the orange and white thing was in the water but she failed to answer me. However our boatman said it was to take on the bad luck away down the river and the man had put a hair and finger nail clipping into the orange container and the white flag indicated this was for the bad luck. We would see a lot of these in the next few days.
Our trip over we returned home to sit on our balcony and be entertained by the numerous birds and a black squirrel.
We paid a visit to the Night Bazaar where after disrupting the sandal seller’s stall I finally found a suitable pair of shoes to wear around Baan Orapin, ones that can easily be slipped on and off for entering buildings. Keith was also successful in his bargaining to get to fake Rolexs’ for his Navy colleagues. In a large eating hall we chose to sit at what ‘Nancy Chandler’ describes as the best seafood restaurant in the area. It was very busy especially with the Westerners but there were also many Thai people so we had a long wait. I had decided on a pineapple filled with prawns, rice, pineapple of course, chopped ham and vegetables which was nice and as it was a rather large pineapple was glad of Keith’s help whilst he waited for the seafood salad and his fish to arrive. The dining area also has a stage at one end where free shows take place. We faintly heard someone singing but by the time we had finished eating the show was over.
As we headed back home we came across lots of young people down by the river letting off fireworks which we have become accustomed to at all hours of the day and night. We also witnessed a young couple setting off one of the lanterns but with very little wind they were having difficulty getting it to float away so the seller was left to do that. We have been amazed at the height these fine paper lanterns have reached and how long they stay alight. We were in two minds about going in to listen to the music in ‘Brasserie’ but came home instead. It was not long before I was in bed and fast asleep.
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