Update from Thamuang

The windows arrived and were fitted last Tuesday. Khamma is pleased and says they look really good with a beautiful view over the rice fields. There was thunder and lightening on Wednesday and apparently the view from the windows was spectacular. They have also started painting the outside walls on the ground floor, and made a start on the building the kitchen at the back. Upstairs the bedrooms are being constructed and I think the balcony is finished.

I am going to the village on the 18 June to help finalise the kitchen design. For some reason the size of the kitchen is relatively small given that the rest of the house is big and there was plenty of room to build out. It was added on after the plans were confirmed. (The usual project scope creep I'm afraid!). We have only 10 feet by 10 feet to work with so the design is crucial to making it work. I refuse to have the fridge in the dining room and the washing machine will be outside in the other washing area.

I also made a bit of a fuss about putting a bath in the downstairs bathroom. I can't understand why the bathroom is so large (and the kitchen so small), but it is crying out for a luxury bath and I have to go and choose it and supervise the installation because if San gets this wrong it will be a mess, so he tells me! Khamma says 'Up to YOU!' and finds something else to do.

The date has also been set for the grand party to bless the house and officially declare that we can live in it. This is an important tradition for Thai Buddhists who believe that bad Karma will abound if the monks do not bless the house on the appropriate day. The 18 July is the absolute last date the blessing can take place and I will not miss it for anything. I am also very excited and delighted my daughter Clare will be there with me to join in the fun. She is coming to Singapore for a holiday at just the right time. I know Khamma's family is very excited about seeing her and she will get a first hand account of life in Thamuang.

Apart from the monk's blessing there will be lots of food and drink. In truth the food is just as important as the blessing and I believe we are roasting a cow along with other goodies it will no doubt take days to prepare. The local Morlam band will be turning up for the gig. Any excuse for a party, just like England.

Strange things in the night at Changi

This bloke sleeps on the same bench near to the office in T2 in Singapore's Changi airport on at least 2 occasions each week. Who he is, why he sleeps there, how long he sleeps for, what he does when he wakes up; nobody knows. Answers in the comment box please.

Here's another odd thing that apparently goes on in the night at the airport. The luggage trolleys in T3 are grouped into precise formation. Are they Singapore's first line of defense the against the advancement of newly arrived passengers? The military style grouping suggests that the night shift manager is a former Major-General from the Singapore's TA (Trolley Army) and is finding it hard to get rid of old habits.

Or, perhaps, he is one of these people that re-enacts battle scenes from World War 2 and lives out his fantasy within the vast isolation of T3 luggage hall during the night.

Maybe he has an Obsessive Compulsive Disorder that makes him put these trolleys into formation.

Maybe this is the home of Singapore's Synchronised Trolley Dancing team. Who knows?

Thamuang village

Thamuang, and Khamma's home in particular, is located at 15*28.326N and 105*00.046E. Go onto Google Earth for a bird's eye view.

The town is agricultural and nearly everybody owns a piece of land on which they grow rice or potatoes. The houses are for the most part attractive and well built and the roads are good.

The central feature of the village is the temple which houses a small community of about 30 monks. Over the last few months I have been trying to fathom out what the Buddhist religion is all about and on the one one hand I find the basic philosophy quite compelling but I cannot relate this to the ritual and traditions. However it all seems very friendly and laid back so I guess one day the penny will drop.

The temple and grounds are very well looked after. I have in fact become friends with the head monk and we have tried to chat (through Khamma) about our different lives; his being devoted to discovering enlightment through comittment to the Buddhist doctrine and mine being, well, being mine!

Snow White

I am sorry to say that Snow White has died. She passed away this morning as she gave up her fight for survival. She was about three weeks old. We probably will not know what she died of but it is a tough life at the best of times for little muts in rural Thailand.

Special reward card for 'Daily Essentials'

Everybody loves a good deal and whilst browsing through the cinema listings for Singapore's famous Golden Village I spotted the 'GV Senior Citizen MOVIE CARD'.

Having learned that Singapore's government is very sympathetic to the over 5o's, I naturally saw this offer as a potential benefit to my somewhat limited Singapore social life and my wallet. I read on with interest rapidly increasing and the pulse rate racing ahead as a bargain was about to be snaffled up!

'GV rewards you with Daily Essentials!' What could this mean? A free daily essential could be really good for me!

'Get 1 stamp for every movie ticket purchased. Collect 9 stamps'. This is the easiest bargain I could take advantage of since arriving. Almost as good a feeling as my reluctance to leave a tip to bar waiters in hotels in the US; especially in Charlotte NC.

'to redeem for 1 kg of Premium rice'. Not just rice it's Premium Rice for goodness sake.

'or 18 stamps for a bottle of Essence of Chicken!' Blimey; it gets better.

Now I know what my daily essentials are I'm on my way to the Golden Village to join the queue as you read.

New Arrivals in Khamma's Home

The new arrivals are Churlon (that's how I hear it, and not necessarily how it's spelt) the larger mut, Snow White the smaller mut, the mouse with no name and three cats.



In terms of pecking order you would think the big mut ruled everything, followed by the cats then the small mut and finally the mouse.


From what I saw everything gets on with everything else. The muts ignore the cats and the cats ignore the mouse. Maybe it's the heat, but the mouse has the best deal.


I do think Snow White is a sick dog though. She is only three weeks old and it's a tough life for her. She has a bit of a regular coughing spasm and was very listless the other day, so much so we thought she would die. However a Boot's branded re-hydrant salt mixture seemed to boost her energy and she was up waggling about after 24 hours. Pel is taking her to the 'animal doctor' this week.

Construction of the house

The central structure of the house is based on a square of nine columns each of which are set in the ground about a metre below the base level of the ‘make tall’. There are feet on each column that adds to the stability. Below ground and the ground floor the columns are made from concrete, but in the first floor and to the roof a wooden column is joined to the concrete. The columns are tied into each other at three points; ground level, first floor level and ceiling level of the first floor. That seems to provide the house with stability and everything else is tied into this cube structure. The ground floor is currently made from the soil of the ‘make tall’, but it will be filled in with concrete and wire mesh for strength before the floor tiles are laid. My hope is that by this time the soil will be stable enough to take the weight. Basically construction in this style has been going on for decades so it must work!
The outside walls on the ground level are breeze block with a concrete rendering both inside and outside which will be painted over. The inside walls on the ground floor are made from bricks about a quarter of the size of UK bricks and very roughly cemented together then rendered. The base being the lintel that ties in the columns so it should be reasonably strong. Upstairs all the walls are made from wood or a composite that is made to look like wood. There isn’t really any load bearing except the brick walls of the bathroom.
The roof is made from steel which sounds really good when it rains! You may have guessed from previous photos but I can confirm it is blue.

A Change in The Plan

Over the last few days something was gnawing away in the back of mind about the view from the upstairs back bedroom. It was only after the heavy rainfall finished on Wednesday that I realised the outlook over the patchwork of rice fields was the striking feature of the location. Especially as the sun was casting intriguing shadows over the water in the countless fields that were themselves coloured by the different silts washed out of the soil by the storm. The view had to become part of the house and I set about trying to work out a way of reconfiguring the bedrooms so that this panorama could be enjoyed from the luxury of lounge area.


My initial idea was to have a corner feature of floor to ceiling windows but that proved to be a little ambitious and probably too ostentatious for Thamuang. So I compromised partly because San and his team had already begun to build the walls to the original plan.

After a lot of animation and playing of charades, and imaginative drawing on the back of bits of plaster-board, I finally got across what I was thinking, why I was thinking it and convinced the builders, and not least Khamma that it was a good idea. The windows will meet in the corner and are about 0.8 metres above the floor, about 1.4 metres high leaving about 0.8 metres to the ceiling above and they are both about 4 metres wide.


We all agreed it was an expensive choice but in my mind it was essential and I would regret not doing it no matter what the cost. So we quickly travelled to Trakon (the nearest town) and visited the glass shop. After a short discussion we found the ideal design and style of glass and the order was placed. The frames will be hand made out of aluminium with each one having sliding panels of smoked glass. I was prepared to pay £1,000 for them, San reckoned about £500 and the quotation is ‘about £250’. They will be fitted next Tuesday. I am so pleased but sorry I won’t be here when they are fitted.

NB: Isn’t it interesting how in the countryside of Thailand the time taken from idea to completion on something like this is just one week, whereas my guess is that in the UK it would take the architect, the planners, the health and safety, the frame manufacturers, the glass suppliers, the builders and goodness who else about 2 months to even agree to the change.

The Reason for ‘Make Tall’

You will remember that a lot of effort, time and money was spent raising the ground before the house was even started.

We had excessive rain this week and as a result I can understand why the ‘make tall’ was so essential. These are the before and after shots of the back of the house:

Work In Progress (Part 3)

I arrived in Thamuang last Saturday and I naturally wanted to see the new home. This was my first view of the house and I was immediately impressed by what I saw. San and his team are making good progress and rather than rushing they are carefully and skilfully putting everything together. I wouldn’t say the tools they use are crude but remember this is not your usual ‘Barrett’s Homes’ construction. These guys are craftsmen who work carefully at making things fit.
One of my main concerns was to evaluate the damage caused by the heavy rains a couple of weeks ago. It isn’t as bad as we feared but it needs attention. Basically the wall has buckled and cracked at the weight of water and soil. They have to dig out the soil, remake the wall and put the soil back. It shouldn’t affect the house but it needs doing fairly soon.

A quick tour of the house: The front has a balcony underneath the smaller roof and a third roof will be added later making a kind of sheltered front patio leading to a large entrance at the front. The first room is the living room which is a kind of L shape and the staircase to the upstairs leads off this. On the right of the living room is the main bedroom which is about 18 feet x 18 feet with windows on two walls. On the other side of the L shape is the dining room and the downstairs bathroom and kitchen lead off from here. The kitchen will be added at the end of the construction and will be typically Thai in that half of it will be outside. I’m not sure what will be outside, but I think the washing machine and food preparation area with a few taps, sinks and drains.
Upstairs is huge with three bedrooms and another bathroom as well as a reasonable landing area leading to the balcony. The views are pretty impressive especially at the back looking over the rice fields as far as the eye can see.
At the moment work is concentrated on the balcony roof and finishing off the concrete supports. The electricians are busy pulling cables to the copious number of switches and plugs.
An amusing typically Thai moment occurred at Sunday breakfast with the appearance of a man selling brand new guttering from the back of his truck. Khamma stopped him, struck a deal and the job was finished by lunch-time. Cost £100 for 50 metres of fitted guttering and drainpipes.

Estimated date for completion is middle of July.

This is Shanghai!

I arrived in Shanghai the day after the earthquake and just as the scale of the disaster was unfolding. The shock waves made people evacuate most buildings in the city including the airport. People said it was very confusing and was like being in a jelly and feeling dizzy. Some of the pictures I have seen of the area around the epicentre make you wonder about the scale of these disasters. It was pretty much business as usual though on Tuesday.

The new Pudong airport is another fine building but not on the grand scale and design of Singapore's T3 (more on this another time). We have 22 outlets in this airport but whoever decided to hide the landside catering in the far corners of the arrivals hall made a big mistake. Imagine a building that is about 400 metres wide and in the centre is where the arriving passengers exit. This is the point at which everybody congregates but why did the designer put the Burgerking and Sports bar on the right side 200 metres from this exit and the Spices restaurant on the left side 200 metres in the other direction? It isn't much better in departures with the Cafe Ritazza on the far right hand side hidden behind airport information boards.

We travelled into Shanghai on the Maglev train which reached an astonishing 431 kilometres an hour.




The hotel was very good and gave a great sunset view of Shanghai's new World Financial Centre building standing at 492 metres. This designer building dominates the already impressive skyline alongside the Oriental Pearl Tower and Jin Mao Tower. Its future is not nearly so certain today as it was when construction started in 1997. There has been a five year pause in building due to a lack of tennants and a less bouyant economy. Ah well; it looks nice.

The food in Shanghai is superb. Very different from Singapore but just as tasty and you have to be in the restaurant by 7.30pm because they start to close at 8. We went to the Blue Frog the first night and to what translates as 'Big Thumb' square on the second.

Interestingly the Internet access in China is rigourously monitored and although the connectivity was good the sites were restricted, for example I couldn't access the blog and the BBC came across as 'Access Denied' couple of times. But I could access our servers in Washington DC as if they were in the next room.

A visit that was all too brief but hopefully not the last.

Singapore's Fast Food Centres

Make no mistake Big Mac, KFC and Pizza Hut are here in abundance and Singapore's own fast food brands are making their mark as well. Everybody wants food and wants it now! But there is an extremely popular alternative to the big brands - the Hawker Centres.

The name is a spin off from the days when people wandered the streets carrying stoves, pots and pans as well their ingredients and just set up the on the side of the road if they saw the potential to sell to customers. In an effort to control the street sellers the government set up the Hawker Centres. They are like food courts and you can find them everywhere from the high class shopping malls on Orchard Road to the opposite side of the road to my apartment by the beach.

On the bigger sites there as many as fifty or sixty small kitchens each selling their own expertly produced recipes to the bewilderment of the novice. I haven't a clue what most of the dishes are but they are cheap, nutritious and fast. Once you get the confidence and the hang of it they are great places to go. For $5 (about £2) you can get anything from chicken noodles to dishes from Malaya, Thailand, China and occassionally Europe. The kitchens are graded from D for dodgy to A for amazing.

Last night I after seeing Khamma back to the airport I visited the Bedok hawker centre. It's a colourful, vibrant market and a true theatrical culinary eperience. It's a great place for the locals to socialise and meet with friends and family. There was no sense of threat or tension as people of all races and creeds mingled. Alcohol is freely available but there is no sign of drunkeness or threatening behaviour and it was a pleasure just to stroll with the good folk of Bedok.

I don't think the Hawker Centres will not be adopting any kind of computer system to control their stocks that I am familar with, but there are two Hawker Centres in the airport and they are open to the public. In each one there's about 30 stalls open 7 days a week from 7am to 10pm. The variety of food on offer is immense and it is difficult to spend more than $6 (about £2.50) on a fair size portion. Very different from lunchtime in T2 Manchester.

Cyclone Nargis

Whilst cyclone Nargis in Burma has been tragic and devastating, its impact has reached the village of Thamuang and 'our home' in particular.

The small yellow and white area on the right of the picture is just about over Thamuang!

News has just come through that the torrential rain in north Thailand has caused damage to the 'make tall' flood defenses.

This is the wall constructed to keep the flood water out! Somehow it managed to keep the flood water in and the pressure caused a leak and damaged the wall. The extent is, apparently, not too great but enough to get the builders back to repair it. My main concern was the house itself might be affected but 'San the builderman' says everything is OK.

The rain was apparently incessant for 48 hours and there was far too much even for the rice fields.

Khamma will be back in Thamuang on Sunday take over supervision.

Discovering Singapore

It is always fascinating to visit new places and Singapore is no exception. After a week's work in the confines of Changi airport, which is very good by most airport standards, I was eager to see what this famous city has to offer and this weekend was the ideal opportunity because Khamma had arrived from Thailand on Friday evening.


The Singapore Flyer is the city's latest attraction. It's a copy of the London Eye and whilst it isn't in the heart of the city like the Eye is, it does nevertheless offer a spectacular view of the locality. The floating football pitch caught my eye and visions of the arguements about who should jump in to fetch the ball. A different spin on the 'early bath' and go and 'cool down' for those who argue with the ref!

We moved on to Raffle's Hotel which is probably Singapore's oldest attraction. It still retains a bit of the old colonial atmosphere, but the abundant designer shops and expensive prices to match have replaced the echos of the foot steps of Noel Coward, Somerset Maughan et al. We sipped back a Singapore Sling cocktail in the Long Bar to soak up the hype, but in all honesty none of this can match the experience of having afternoon tea on the spendid lawns of the immaculate Victoria Falls Hotel in Zimbabwe.

Talking of 'Mad dogs and Englishmen' today we bicycled along the East Coast Beach road which is a very long stretch of road, without the hazards of cars and buses and whatever else, along the, well East Coast Beach! It was also a roasting hot sun that eventually got the better of me but for Khamma it was just the 'same same' as Thamuang. Welcome to the tropics!

This is a view from the Bedok jetty off the East Coast Beach and somewhere in those tower blocks is my humble residence.