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Part 39 |
The View from Nongkhai |
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20 September |
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2006 |
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At the beginning of the last episode I quoted a
German saying provided by Udo,
(geniess' das leben staendig, bist doch
laenger tot als lebendig)
and asked for a translation. It was Udo himself who
provided me with the translation I quoted. |
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Carsten (pictured right) kindly provided me the
translation "Enjoy your
life day by day and everyday, because you are longer
dead than alive!!"
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I am reminded of Victor Meldrew's acerbic
observation (it is one of my personal
favourites)
that
"Life is a temporary blip in
the grim permanence of oblivion!"
I think that it is
expressing the same sort of sentiment, but in a
grimmer way. |
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In
episode 38 I included this photo with the comment "I
found it strangely reminiscent of a prototype Dalek.
What do you say Mr. Sherwin?" Derrick (right)
graciously replied:- |
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"Tony -
It is unlikely to be a Dalek - they rarely travel
abroad since it is difficult for them to get a Visa
and there is little in Thailand to interest them.
They don't drink, never respond to 'handsome man'
and don't have retirement pensions. Certainly not
attractive to young girls looking for a secure
future! On the other hand if you can find a girl who
can respond to their opening gambit of 'I am a
Dalek' they might be in with half a chance. |
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A Rash of
Birthdays and Parties |
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Kim and I traditionally view F1 races at the Kiwi
Sports Cafe run by Hasi and Joy. It happened that Joy's
birthday coincided with qualifying day so we were treated to
this enormous floral display, which dwarfed Joy. We also
note that Joy like Noi and Sangjun is pregnant.
Congratulations, to Joy and Hasi, but what is it about
running bars? Be warned Glen! |
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Within a week,
it was Hasi's birthday, seen here with a more modest floral
display from Joy. |
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Contemporary
with Joy's birthday was Ou's birthday. I joined Kim and Ou
and her family for a Korean barbecue on the bank of the
Mekhong (rather nobly I thought, sacrificing my regular
Friday roast pork meal at the Outback Bar). |
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Left Ou
prepares to blow out the candles on her cake.
Right, perhaps
a better picture of Ou and close friend taken at Kim's
birthday party a few days later. |
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It is one of 'those' coincidences
that Joy's and Ou's birthdays are contemporary, and so too
are the birthdays of their husbands, Hasi and Kim
respectively. I missed Hasi's birthday party, perhaps rather
ignobly by not sacrificing my regular Friday roast pork meal
at the Outback Bar, but I did share a beer with him. I made
sure that I
didn't miss Kim's party, which had a strong international
flavour, with some friends coming from abroad to celebrate
Kim's 50th birthday. Below left Sheila and Egon who like
Gwen and Per below right reside in Denmark. Centre Meuk
looking radiant - more of her later. |
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Meuk is a near neighbour of mine,
as are Julian and Joey below left - more of them later too.
Pictured in the centre is Ou's mother, (Kim's mother-in-law) whose name escapes
me, but I do think that she is remarkably attractive. Right,
I can't quite remember the joke, but Oy and I were certainly
having fun. |
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Right Kim posing at home with his
birthday present(s) from Per and Gwen. |
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The location is Kim's recently
completed extension. |
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Above left Oy
framed by her son Farng and daughter Manao, in a nice
family portrait. I must try to remember to give them a copy.
Centre the biggest surprise of the evening for Kim was the
arrival of Ray who had flown in from Australia without Kim's
knowledge. When Kim turned around to see who had just opened
the door and walked in the room, it was like a scene from
'This is your life'. It was also a big surprise for me when
Ray decided to kiss the top of my head. Note this is not the
same action as Dr José's diagnostic lick. (
part24 ) |
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Another surprise |
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I went to my
favourite Thai restaurant - Oy's - last Sunday and was very
pleased to find Andrew (former proprietor of Kiwi & Red Swan
bars) there. |
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In the background
seated, you may also spot the diminutive figure of Barry.
Andrew was about to head off to Udonthani, (which as we know
from part 7 is only 0.3 km
away), but luckily for me was delayed by a short shower of
rain, so I was able to catch up with his latest news.
Right, Brendan is on leave from
his gold mining, and Noi can't have long to go. Glen be
warned! |
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Friday night is
pig roast night |
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If you
remember radios with valves, you may remember a program
entitled 'Friday night is music night', and the association
will then be apparent. If you don't remember valves, then I envy your youth, but it would take too long
to explain the connection. Meanwhile back at the Outback,
Glen's Friday night pig roast goes from strength to
strength. When I (ignominiously?) attended on Hasi's
birthday, I met Richard (below left with me), Alex, in
football shirt, and John. John is also a bar owner in
Nongkhai, so perhaps he too should heed the warnings above that I
directed to Glen? |
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BBC Prime my
favourite TV channel, now shows a wonderful drama series
'Judge John Deed' on Friday nights at 7 p.m. Last Friday I
made the mistake of watching it and going to the Outback
when it finished at 8.30 p.m. Alas every table was full, and
all the food had gone! Naturally Glen was a happy bunny, but
I am faced with a terrible dilemma next Friday - do I miss
one of my favourite programs or do I miss the pig roast?
Truly those of us who live in Thailand have a pretty tough time of
it! |
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Speaking of which, today (20th)
is a public holiday with tanks on the streets of Bangkok. I
am absolutely convinced that
army chief General Sonthi
Boonyaratglin (pictured centre right) has done the right thing, a
view shared by every Thai person that I have spoken to. Dr
Thaksin Shinawatra should stay in New York where the values
of greed and avarice that he so espouses are much admired.
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I watched
scenes on television tonight where ordinary people were
bringing food and flowers to the troops on duty in Bangkok.
People were posing and taking photos with the troops and the
tanks. It was as if Bangkok was being occupied by a
liberation army! |
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The yellow
ribbon tied around the gun barrel symbolizes loyalty to the
King. The roses are gifts from passers by. |
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One of the
best
comments came from opposition Senator Mechai Viravaidya, who
welcomed Mr. Thaksin's departure, despite doubts about the
methods used. |
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"I'm delighted he's
gone," he said. "It would have been great if he had resigned
voluntarily, but apparently he was too stubborn.
But at least it's better than an assassination." |
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Happy ending to
episode 38 story |
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Below - from episode 38 |
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The story tells
itself, I need say no more! |
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The inked comment 'HO HO HO' on
the picture comes from the donor of the paper, my immediate
neighbour, the diplomatic and sensitive Mr. Sheppard. He,
who upon hearing of the death of Steve Irwin, immediately
adopted the nom-de-plume of 'Stingray' on all his emails.
Such diplomacy and sensitivity is a gift given to only a
few! |
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Unhappy ending to
episode 38 story |
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In episode 38 I included the picture on the left of my son
Chris and girlfriend Gemma. |
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It seems that not content with his copying of Chris, (whose
hair is genuinely that length), Johnny Depp now wants his
leading actress to look like Gemma. Personally I think Gemma
is far better looking. |
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A most unique
plea on behalf of the English Language |
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I don't enjoy being a language pedant, but I hate the misuse
of English words. One of the most misused is I think
'unique'. Unique means 'only one'. The Taj Mahal is unique
because there is only one, so too is the Eiffel Tower for
the same reason. From a genetic viewpoint I am unique, as is
every other living person, except of course identical twins.
It follows that you cannot compare items described as
unique. You cannot say that the Taj Mahal is more (or less
if you are French) unique than the Eiffel tower. You might
just as well say 'the Taj Mahal is more only one than the
Eiffel Tower',
which is plainly meaningless. So
my plea is that comparative adjectives (e.g. more, most) are
not used with the word 'unique'. |
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The English
language in
Thailand
Without wishing in any way to be critical of my Thai hosts
who kindly allow me to live in their beautiful country, I do
want to share my enjoyment of some of the errors in
translation that abound. I plan to feature on a regular
basis examples that I find. This one is subtle, but
self-explanatory. |
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A Wedding Party |
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Kris (the
groom, right, in a sharp black suit accompanied by his wife
in a beautiful off-white gown) invited to his wedding Per
and Gwen (both looking equally well dressed in formal
clothes) together with Ou (lovely in an elegant pink dress)
and Kim (in er ......).
It was back in
part 8 that Doughnut gave some
fashion advice to Kim. I'm sure that if Doughnut had been
here he would have had further advice to offer Kim. Me I'm
saying nothing, I shall be diplomatic and sensitive just
like my neighbour Mr. Sheppard. |
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I enjoyed all
of this month's parties, but for reasons
that will become apparent from the photos, Win & Leo's Vth Anniversary Party was
for me the
most enjoyable. It was held at a new (to me at least)
restaurant called House, about 100 metres from the Sweet
Orchid. |
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Win & Joey |
Leo, Meuk, Tim.
me, Julian & Win |
Win & I |
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I think you can
see that I enjoyed myself !! |
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And finally - a
farewell party |
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Per & Gwen held a small farewell party in the 9th floor
restaurant at the Grand hotel. I had never been there
before, and found that the view over Nongkhai is stunning. I
must return in daylight hours with my camera! |
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Also there, next to, or behind Meuk, was Bent. No
wonder that Meuk has been looking so happy recently. However
Bent was too busy talking to Per to pose for the photo. |
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I want to say an
especial thank you to Per and Gwen, for their time, their
generous hospitality, and my (very early) birthday present.
OK, that's
enough for this episode. I have no idea what I will
write about in the next episode, but I'll try to find
something that I think might amuse or interest you. |
| P. S. Keep your fingers crossed
that the coup is successful !! |
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If you want copies of any of the
photos, or want to write, but you don't know
my personal email address, you can send email to :
mail@nongkhai.co.uk
Best Wishes to you all Tony
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To view
all previous episodes move your
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yellow button and left click |
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