Just some fun-ny interesting pictures I have collected over the last few weeks. I always carry my Canon S-90 camera in my pocket because one never knows when you will see something fun, interesting or strange. The first pictures are my experience visiting the police station holding cell to get finger prints to send to the FBI for a background check required to be on the board of a Thai non-profit. I felt like I was going back in time and there were a lot of people in the holding cells yelling and talking. By the time Annie (KA employee) and I left we were locked in because they brought in a couple of transvestites and so we were locked in with them!
The other pictures are from two beautiful gardens and other misc pictures around Chiang Mai. We are off to Indonesia for two weeks tomorrow and will return on Jan 2nd. It is quite cool now and we are heading to HOT and rainy weather so we will see if this was a good idea or not!
Tom and Bev
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Monday, December 13, 2010
Here is wishing you Seasons Greeting and Peace in 2011
Bev and Tom wish you peace and health in 2011
(Watch to the end only 3 minutes)
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Loy Kratong at Sukhothai - November 2010
Each year one of the nicest holidays of the year is called Loy Kratong. This year we decided to go to the place where - according to history - the festival was started. Click here to read more about the festival We spent 3 days visiting many temples but they were just the tip of the iceberg as there are probably 1000s of Wats (temples), but many are lost or in ruins. On our way there we visited our good friend Dwaila who has a nice resort near Phrae called Punjen Hideaway. See http://www.ruralthailand.com We had not visited for 3 years and she has made many improvements, including a beautiful swimming pool, and the gardens are more mature and beautiful. After a short visit we headed on to Sukhothai and just happened on to a boat race in a nearby town called Wang Chin. Apparently these races happen every year during Loy Kratong. Here is a video of the races: The Sukhothai kingdom (Thai: ราชอาณาจักรสุโขทัย (Pronunciation) was an early kingdom in the area around the city Sukhothai, in north central Thailand. The Kingdom existed from 1238 till 1438. The old capital, now 12 km outside of New Sukhothai in Tambon Mueang Kao, is in ruins and has been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage historical park. In Sukhothai the Loy Kratong festival is a 3 day affair getting bigger and busier each day. They have Light and Sound shows, fireworks and other activities every night. There were ceremonies to make merit with the monks too. The approach roads, ponds and ruins are lighted with torches which makes the scene magical (at least until the crowds grow too large :-). There are many, many shops selling all kinds of clothes, handicrafts, demonstrations of traditional crafts, food, food and more food (this is Thailand after all). Their efforts to make this a memorable experience is impressive, and our only complaint was the competing sound systems that were ten times louder and closer than they needed to be! The ruins which are located in what is called Old Sukhothai are surrounded by double moats and there are lots of other ponds throughout the site. Loy Kratong means "float Kratong" and so the whole purpose is to create a kratong, decorate it with incense and candle, wish for forgiveness for the years' sins and float those sins away. Traditionally it was a simple affair where a banana stalk was cut to make a round disk and then it was decorated with various leaves, flowers, some money and other natural products. Of course with time comes change and now you see everything from the most basic banana stalk styles to some huge gaudy plastic enormous ones. Here are some photos from the trip: Here are some other photos ... Now a video of the parades. The last day (Sunday) had the biggest parade and it was HOT. We had to wait about 45 minutes in the HOT sun just to get a semi-decent location for watching. There are a lot of villages that participate in the parade and people from all those villages come to see the parade. Some of the older, more "mature" groups had the best dancing and music whereas the "fancy" ones seemed more contrived and created for the Kodak moment and the tourists. If it wasn't glitzy it was probably more genuine. I liked the music and drum playing the best.
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Thurs Nov 18, 2010 morning walk
One of the things that we "try" to do is walk or ride our bikes each morning when the roads are quiet and it is cooler. Walking is the best way to see things and people. Today we started to do a walk around the moat which is about 4 miles making the walk closer to 5. Frequently we get side tracked and today was no exception. The first exception was to visit a wat we had not seen before to "check out" their bathrooms :-) Wat Ou Sai Kham is on the East side of the moat and off the main road. We saw a sign to "visit the jade Buddha temple" Like most Wats there is a mix of the old and the new. In fact the Jade Buddhas were from 2003 but there were other older gold Buddhas in the temple and some pretty stucco pictures on the outside. The following pictures will show them. Then hunger set in, which is not unusual on our walks. We were looking for eggs and toast but early in the morning the tourists don't seem to wake up so we had Bamee noodles and pork which was probably better anyway. From there we headed west across the inner city and decided to stop at Wat Chedi Luang the most important Wat in the city which was recently renovated. As we approached we heard the monks chanting it sounded great. (See attached video)
Here is the video: (turn up the sound to enjoy the chanting )
Here are some Photos:
Here is the video: (turn up the sound to enjoy the chanting )
Here are some Photos:
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Visit to villages in the north, a school makeover and sunflowers
It has been a busy time! Last week we went up north to help fix up a school and visit our other projects. We had visited this village earlier in the year to see if they were using the biosand filter that was installed by HiHopes and as a result met the teacher and saw that the school was in pretty bad shape. So when Rita asked Annie where we could use a budget of about $ 1000 she immediately thought of this school. With the $1000 we were able to cover the concrete floors with linoleum, buy cupboards and shelves for storage, books, medicines, cups and toothbrushes for the children as well as kitchen utensils, and a desk for the teacher. We will return with a stove and warm jackets for the children, about 40 total. The teacher is very dedicated and both the teacher and the students were VERY appreciative. We worked most of the day on Thurs and then visited other villages on Friday - driving back Friday night.
On Sunday we decided to go the sunflower festival west of Chiang Mai. Ya one of the staff had gone home for the weekend so we planned to pick her up since her village is on the way and then drive on to the festival. None of us really looked at the map or the distance or we would probably not have gone! On the other hand we got the opportunity to meet a student that Bev and I sponsor and had never met in Mae Sariang. We stopped by her house and met her grandother and heard the sad news that her mother was at the hospital, near death because of AIDs. I asked her if she wanted to go to see the flowers and her face lighted up and she said "sure". What she didn't realize was that there were a bazillion curves between her home and the festival and she was going to get pretty car sick.
On our return trip we visited her mother who looked very frail and weak and was on a "drip" and oxygen. A sad ending to a fun trip but I think it was good for her mother to see that we would support her daughter's education.
On Sunday we decided to go the sunflower festival west of Chiang Mai. Ya one of the staff had gone home for the weekend so we planned to pick her up since her village is on the way and then drive on to the festival. None of us really looked at the map or the distance or we would probably not have gone! On the other hand we got the opportunity to meet a student that Bev and I sponsor and had never met in Mae Sariang. We stopped by her house and met her grandother and heard the sad news that her mother was at the hospital, near death because of AIDs. I asked her if she wanted to go to see the flowers and her face lighted up and she said "sure". What she didn't realize was that there were a bazillion curves between her home and the festival and she was going to get pretty car sick.
On our return trip we visited her mother who looked very frail and weak and was on a "drip" and oxygen. A sad ending to a fun trip but I think it was good for her mother to see that we would support her daughter's education.
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Visiting Sriphat - a very different Thai experience
As many of you know we lived in Thailand in the 70's and both of our children were born in Bangkok. For the last four years we have been escaping New England winters and volunteering at Kids Ark Foundation, enjoying Thai food and many interesting experiences with the Red Lahu ethnic minority etc. After living here all those years and returning for the 4th time we are feeling more and more at home. Still there are times when we find ourselves outside our "comfort zone" and last week was one "learning experience" for me (Tom).
A couple of weeks before leaving the US I was having a hard time sleeping through the night, frequently waking up with a lot of indigestion that would persist for several hours preventing me from sleeping and getting a good nights sleep. I had been seeing a great naturopathic doctor who was trying to help me with the symptoms but we decided that maybe it was time to visit a GI doctor. The naturopathic principles and treatments really make sense to me and I will certainly use that approach when at all possible but it now seemed time for a look inside and that was outside the scope of her expertise. I was told it would be a month before I could get an appointment so I decided that I would visit a GI doctor in Chiang Mai.
So if you don't want to read about my colonoscopy now is a good time to stop reading!
One of our friends who lives here has Crohns disease and he gave me the name of a contact to find a doctor to consult. We had arrived on Monday and once we were finally settled I called Sriphat Medical Center on Thursday morning to see a GI doctor. I was told to come to the 13th floor at 6pm that day to see Professor (Ajan) Piset. Sriphat is part of the Chiang Mai University medical school. Bev and I walked to the center which was only 30 minutes away. I registered and went into a big waiting room with maybe 50 people sitting in rows of seats outside a series of maybe 8 numbered rooms where apparently each doctor saw patients. Each patient is given a colored numbered card and I was assigned green number 15. Each doctor had a color and we saw that Ajahn Piset was seeing number 1 so we prepared for a long wait. Considering I had just called that morning it didn't seem unreasonable to wait, compared to a month in the States! The nurse took my blood pressure with an automated pressure machine and my weight with a broken scale because it said I was too heavy :-) and told me to wait. However, within a few minutes my number was called, almost on the dot of 6:00 PM. I calculated that Ajahn Piset must have been at least in his late 40's, though he looked like he was in his 20's, who had studied in Boston. He asked me questions about my symptoms and had me lie down on his exam table and did some serious pressing on my stomach where there were all kinds of sore places. At this point he suggested I have an Xray.
So I was told to wait and then called to prepay for the Xray and reading - cost $21 Then off to the 4th floor escorted by a nurse to an empty waiting room and right into the Xray room. Remember it was now about 6:30 pm so I suspect that room is not empty during the day! The Xray equipment was an older vintage but everything was clean and they took a standing and reclining film, and I returned to the 13th floor. In about 20 minutes I was called back into the exam room and Ajahn Piset showed me the Xrays on a big LCD screen and pointed to (according to him - to me it was a snow storm at night) intestines quite full of gas - hence my discomfort. At this point he suggested a closer look which meant a colonoscopy which I had had 5 or so years ago. He also suggested an endoscopy since we were "looking" so that we would have covered both ends of the "system". They took a blood sample and sent me home with the drugs needed to clean out my system. If you have never had a colonoscopy you can rest assured that it is not big deal BUT the preparation the night before, while not terribly painful, is no fun. It basically consisted self inflicted diarrhea by drinking some chemicals that left me sitting on the toilet from 11pm to 2am and from 7am to 9:30am just in time for my 10am appointment on Friday. So now it has been a little over 24 hours and we are back on the 13th floor waiting room where I am handed a hospital plastic bag, a shirt and a sarong and told to go to the mens' room and change. Luckily I have learned to tie a sarong as I had to walk back though the length of the waiting room full of people to a wheel chair. At this point they started a saline drip and rolled me down into the elevator to the OR on the 2nd floor.
I was then wheeled into a special sterile area while Bev waited outside. Then I was transferred to a gurney and wheeled to the OR. They hooked me up to pulse sensor on a finger and an automatic blood pressure cuff that took my pressure every few minutes. After 10-15 minutes they told me that Ajahn Piset would be late due to an emergency so they "unhooked" me and I was rolled out of the OR to wait my turn. After sometime the doctor appeared and we headed back to the OR. He then asked me if I wanted sedation and how much, and I took the slightly stoned option (my description). From there I have some recollection of things being poked into both ends of the intestinal tract but no pain really. Not my idea of fun but I just wanted the procedure to be over so I could go to eat! I had not eaten from about 4:00PM the previous night as Bev and I had planned to have dinner after my appointment. Even worse I overheard the nurse ordering a fantastic lunch while I was waiting.
Once the procedure was over I was taken to a recovery room where I practiced my Thai and learned that the Thai word for colonoscopy is "colono" and endoscopy is "endo" :-). After about an hour they rolled me out of the sterile area and I felt good enough to walk to the accounts dept and the pharmacy for my follow-up medications, and most importantly to EAT LUNCH! However, the nurse would have none of it, and insisted that I be wheeled down to pay my bill. One consequence of the "colono" and "endo" is they pump your system with air so it takes a while for it all to escape! The doctor had reported to Bev that things looked very good though he did take a small sample for a biopsy but didn't expect anything from it. Conclusion: a long term bad case of constipation! and a slew of meds (6) to take for a week. Everyone was very nice, total cost for everything was about $800. More importantly was the quality of care which was great. While the hospital didn't look so fancy as what we are used to in the US the care was professional. Now we will see if the insurance company will apply it to my deductible. The doctor had me call him the night he did the procedure, the following day, and now I have a follow up appointment next week.
So I had the best sleep I have had in a long time and hope to not visit Sriphat soon again!
A couple of weeks before leaving the US I was having a hard time sleeping through the night, frequently waking up with a lot of indigestion that would persist for several hours preventing me from sleeping and getting a good nights sleep. I had been seeing a great naturopathic doctor who was trying to help me with the symptoms but we decided that maybe it was time to visit a GI doctor. The naturopathic principles and treatments really make sense to me and I will certainly use that approach when at all possible but it now seemed time for a look inside and that was outside the scope of her expertise. I was told it would be a month before I could get an appointment so I decided that I would visit a GI doctor in Chiang Mai.
So if you don't want to read about my colonoscopy now is a good time to stop reading!
One of our friends who lives here has Crohns disease and he gave me the name of a contact to find a doctor to consult. We had arrived on Monday and once we were finally settled I called Sriphat Medical Center on Thursday morning to see a GI doctor. I was told to come to the 13th floor at 6pm that day to see Professor (Ajan) Piset. Sriphat is part of the Chiang Mai University medical school. Bev and I walked to the center which was only 30 minutes away. I registered and went into a big waiting room with maybe 50 people sitting in rows of seats outside a series of maybe 8 numbered rooms where apparently each doctor saw patients. Each patient is given a colored numbered card and I was assigned green number 15. Each doctor had a color and we saw that Ajahn Piset was seeing number 1 so we prepared for a long wait. Considering I had just called that morning it didn't seem unreasonable to wait, compared to a month in the States! The nurse took my blood pressure with an automated pressure machine and my weight with a broken scale because it said I was too heavy :-) and told me to wait. However, within a few minutes my number was called, almost on the dot of 6:00 PM. I calculated that Ajahn Piset must have been at least in his late 40's, though he looked like he was in his 20's, who had studied in Boston. He asked me questions about my symptoms and had me lie down on his exam table and did some serious pressing on my stomach where there were all kinds of sore places. At this point he suggested I have an Xray.
So I was told to wait and then called to prepay for the Xray and reading - cost $21 Then off to the 4th floor escorted by a nurse to an empty waiting room and right into the Xray room. Remember it was now about 6:30 pm so I suspect that room is not empty during the day! The Xray equipment was an older vintage but everything was clean and they took a standing and reclining film, and I returned to the 13th floor. In about 20 minutes I was called back into the exam room and Ajahn Piset showed me the Xrays on a big LCD screen and pointed to (according to him - to me it was a snow storm at night) intestines quite full of gas - hence my discomfort. At this point he suggested a closer look which meant a colonoscopy which I had had 5 or so years ago. He also suggested an endoscopy since we were "looking" so that we would have covered both ends of the "system". They took a blood sample and sent me home with the drugs needed to clean out my system. If you have never had a colonoscopy you can rest assured that it is not big deal BUT the preparation the night before, while not terribly painful, is no fun. It basically consisted self inflicted diarrhea by drinking some chemicals that left me sitting on the toilet from 11pm to 2am and from 7am to 9:30am just in time for my 10am appointment on Friday. So now it has been a little over 24 hours and we are back on the 13th floor waiting room where I am handed a hospital plastic bag, a shirt and a sarong and told to go to the mens' room and change. Luckily I have learned to tie a sarong as I had to walk back though the length of the waiting room full of people to a wheel chair. At this point they started a saline drip and rolled me down into the elevator to the OR on the 2nd floor.
I was then wheeled into a special sterile area while Bev waited outside. Then I was transferred to a gurney and wheeled to the OR. They hooked me up to pulse sensor on a finger and an automatic blood pressure cuff that took my pressure every few minutes. After 10-15 minutes they told me that Ajahn Piset would be late due to an emergency so they "unhooked" me and I was rolled out of the OR to wait my turn. After sometime the doctor appeared and we headed back to the OR. He then asked me if I wanted sedation and how much, and I took the slightly stoned option (my description). From there I have some recollection of things being poked into both ends of the intestinal tract but no pain really. Not my idea of fun but I just wanted the procedure to be over so I could go to eat! I had not eaten from about 4:00PM the previous night as Bev and I had planned to have dinner after my appointment. Even worse I overheard the nurse ordering a fantastic lunch while I was waiting.
Once the procedure was over I was taken to a recovery room where I practiced my Thai and learned that the Thai word for colonoscopy is "colono" and endoscopy is "endo" :-). After about an hour they rolled me out of the sterile area and I felt good enough to walk to the accounts dept and the pharmacy for my follow-up medications, and most importantly to EAT LUNCH! However, the nurse would have none of it, and insisted that I be wheeled down to pay my bill. One consequence of the "colono" and "endo" is they pump your system with air so it takes a while for it all to escape! The doctor had reported to Bev that things looked very good though he did take a small sample for a biopsy but didn't expect anything from it. Conclusion: a long term bad case of constipation! and a slew of meds (6) to take for a week. Everyone was very nice, total cost for everything was about $800. More importantly was the quality of care which was great. While the hospital didn't look so fancy as what we are used to in the US the care was professional. Now we will see if the insurance company will apply it to my deductible. The doctor had me call him the night he did the procedure, the following day, and now I have a follow up appointment next week.
So I had the best sleep I have had in a long time and hope to not visit Sriphat soon again!
Friday, October 1, 2010
Trip to Guyana
After 35 years Beverly took her husband and children to see the country where she (in theory)grew up. While it wasn't always the most comfortable travel, we had a great time with lots of laughs. We saw many beautiful and amazing places while meeting lots of interesting people and distant family along the way. We are grateful for the opportunity to visit.
OK here is an update using Google Maps - tell me if you like it.
Click on the names in the left panel of the map to see videos
Click Here
below is the original slideshow
OK here is an update using Google Maps - tell me if you like it.
Click on the names in the left panel of the map to see videos
Click Here
below is the original slideshow
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Walk in the woods
Just for fun I recorded our walk with the Android phone. A nice 3 mile hike to a store with good coffee and muffins!
Plan your trips with EveryTrail Mobile Travel Guides
Walk to Pamet through the woods
Plan your trips with EveryTrail Mobile Travel Guides
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Chiang Mai biking ( 2 weeks)
Chiang Mai Biking Club monthly historical tour and the next week's longer tour.
March 28th bicycle trip - Sunday Chiang Mai bicycling club trip to see a hydrogen powered car at a temple in Lampun about 25 Kms (16 mi) south of Chiang Mai. High technology at an ancient temple :-) When we arrived about 60 riders of all ages and abilities with me at the lower end, the car had left but the temple was pretty and very interesting to visit. The we went on the main temple of Lampun where there was a street festival with lots of thing to buy and eat.... After lunch we went an additional 7kms south to a building supply company where the car was parked but the owner was not available on Sunday to show us ..... Map of the ride and photos below.
Be home April 2nd!
tom
March 28th bicycle trip - Sunday Chiang Mai bicycling club trip to see a hydrogen powered car at a temple in Lampun about 25 Kms (16 mi) south of Chiang Mai. High technology at an ancient temple :-) When we arrived about 60 riders of all ages and abilities with me at the lower end, the car had left but the temple was pretty and very interesting to visit. The we went on the main temple of Lampun where there was a street festival with lots of thing to buy and eat.... After lunch we went an additional 7kms south to a building supply company where the car was parked but the owner was not available on Sunday to show us ..... Map of the ride and photos below.
Be home April 2nd!
tom
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Chiang Mai Biking Club tour of the city
Well finally I went out with the Chiang Mai biking club. I have been wanting to join this group for some time as I have heard from many that it is a nice biking group of all levels.
Most Sundays the ride is about 40-90 Kms (25-60 mi) but on the last Sunday of each month a history professor gives a cultural tour of some sites in and around Chiang Mai. As you can see we didn't go far! They always meet at Tapae gate at 8am (read: 8:30isam Thai time) which is the east gate of the old city. I live about 1/2 mile from the northwest corner of the moat and old walls.
Today is Magha Puja Day which is a major Buddhist religious holiday to celebrate the full moon day of the third lunar month when 1,250 disciples gathered to hear the Lord
Buddha’s teachings (called Dharma).
We visited 5 old Chedi's some I have seen before and had no idea why they where there etc and 2 temples. Most of the Chedis are parts of old temples that have disappeared. The are shaped like upside down ice cream cones. Three of the Chedis were hidden down very narrow alleys and 2 were in private yards. Most were 500-700 years old and made of exposed brick. When they were new the brick was covered with plaster and other decorations. Here are some pictures of the ride:
The last temple we visited was Wat Nanatharam and there was a temple fair going on. Lots of people, great free food and chanting.....and I thought I was going to shed some pounds biking !?!?
Living here is a constant reminder of the old and the new, both with respect to the Thais, their physical surroundings, and the clash of their culture and the west. I am sure many don't see it as a clash but I do. I am not saying either culture is better but because there are so many big differences it is much more apparent than say the difference between France and the US for example. For example before we started the bike ride the professor talked about the Buddhist holiday and what it celebrates, and then we jumped on our multi-gear alloy bikes and rode to the closest gas station to buy western junk food. The Thais adopt many western material things but still maintain much of their culture - thank goodness. As the towns get bigger etc I do see a weakening of their culture of politeness due to what I call "lack of social accountability'. Road rage is unheard of here, but now and again we have heard of some drivers who are starting to use their horns and/or shout at each other. In some ways it's big news because it is so rare, but I am afraid it will only get worse as the towns get bigger and they watch too many foreign tough guy films etc. All cultures change over time due to external influences and today those influences are from many other cultures that are quite different. I suspect in ancient times before planes, films, TV and the Internet the changes came from not so distant countries and not such different cultures. Their physical proximity made them less different. (Tom's theory !)
So Sunday evening I was invited to a music event at Payap U to hear some senior music students play - hence the contrasts.... Then I walked home past ancient Buddhist temples with a monk teaching and people walking around them holding candles to celebrate the holiday....
Most Sundays the ride is about 40-90 Kms (25-60 mi) but on the last Sunday of each month a history professor gives a cultural tour of some sites in and around Chiang Mai. As you can see we didn't go far! They always meet at Tapae gate at 8am (read: 8:30isam Thai time) which is the east gate of the old city. I live about 1/2 mile from the northwest corner of the moat and old walls.
Today is Magha Puja Day which is a major Buddhist religious holiday to celebrate the full moon day of the third lunar month when 1,250 disciples gathered to hear the Lord
Buddha’s teachings (called Dharma).
We visited 5 old Chedi's some I have seen before and had no idea why they where there etc and 2 temples. Most of the Chedis are parts of old temples that have disappeared. The are shaped like upside down ice cream cones. Three of the Chedis were hidden down very narrow alleys and 2 were in private yards. Most were 500-700 years old and made of exposed brick. When they were new the brick was covered with plaster and other decorations. Here are some pictures of the ride:
The last temple we visited was Wat Nanatharam and there was a temple fair going on. Lots of people, great free food and chanting.....and I thought I was going to shed some pounds biking !?!?
Living here is a constant reminder of the old and the new, both with respect to the Thais, their physical surroundings, and the clash of their culture and the west. I am sure many don't see it as a clash but I do. I am not saying either culture is better but because there are so many big differences it is much more apparent than say the difference between France and the US for example. For example before we started the bike ride the professor talked about the Buddhist holiday and what it celebrates, and then we jumped on our multi-gear alloy bikes and rode to the closest gas station to buy western junk food. The Thais adopt many western material things but still maintain much of their culture - thank goodness. As the towns get bigger etc I do see a weakening of their culture of politeness due to what I call "lack of social accountability'. Road rage is unheard of here, but now and again we have heard of some drivers who are starting to use their horns and/or shout at each other. In some ways it's big news because it is so rare, but I am afraid it will only get worse as the towns get bigger and they watch too many foreign tough guy films etc. All cultures change over time due to external influences and today those influences are from many other cultures that are quite different. I suspect in ancient times before planes, films, TV and the Internet the changes came from not so distant countries and not such different cultures. Their physical proximity made them less different. (Tom's theory !)
So Sunday evening I was invited to a music event at Payap U to hear some senior music students play - hence the contrasts.... Then I walked home past ancient Buddhist temples with a monk teaching and people walking around them holding candles to celebrate the holiday....
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Quick baby elephant blog
Last week on our way back from the villages I stopped to visit the baby elephant that I first saw when it was 4 days old. Ya who works at the office is a huge animal lover and while dogs are her first love elephants are also loved too. When we went last time we didn't have any food for the elephants as I had not planned to stop so I said we would go back and take some food especially for the mother. The baby will normally only breast feed until about 1 year old. So we set Tues afternoon to visit and watch them be bathed. I had dreams of standing in the river washing down the elephants but once I saw what they do I realized that didn't make sense.
We went to the big vegetable and fruit market on our way out of town. At first we were going to buy bananas and sugar cane for people but luckily I noticed some big bags of older bananas and found out they were packed to sell to elephant centers at a much lower price. So we bought 2 big bags of bananas and 1 big bag of sugar cane.
I am sure one elephant could easily eat 10 or more bags which would be probably 8 bushels in US quantities. When we arrived other mahouts and the one I know were arriving with carts and trucks full of banana stalks. The mahout said the mother doesn't have enough milk to totally feed the baby so there is some concern when he cries. I guess he wakes up at 4-5am wanting to eat - sounds familiar....
We fed half our food to the mother and some crushed banana to the baby and then went down to the river. There are about 40 elephants in this big field but we were warned to not go up to them without a mahout so we watch from a respectable distance. Most are chained to posts so they don't wander.
Here are a few pictures and then a video to follow:
The baby is very playful - after all that is a baby's job. He loves to push into you and scratch himself against anything. I tried to push him back sometimes and could barely win and he is just 6 weeks old! You do know it when he steps on your food too!
We went to the big vegetable and fruit market on our way out of town. At first we were going to buy bananas and sugar cane for people but luckily I noticed some big bags of older bananas and found out they were packed to sell to elephant centers at a much lower price. So we bought 2 big bags of bananas and 1 big bag of sugar cane.
I am sure one elephant could easily eat 10 or more bags which would be probably 8 bushels in US quantities. When we arrived other mahouts and the one I know were arriving with carts and trucks full of banana stalks. The mahout said the mother doesn't have enough milk to totally feed the baby so there is some concern when he cries. I guess he wakes up at 4-5am wanting to eat - sounds familiar....
We fed half our food to the mother and some crushed banana to the baby and then went down to the river. There are about 40 elephants in this big field but we were warned to not go up to them without a mahout so we watch from a respectable distance. Most are chained to posts so they don't wander.
Here are a few pictures and then a video to follow:
The baby is very playful - after all that is a baby's job. He loves to push into you and scratch himself against anything. I tried to push him back sometimes and could barely win and he is just 6 weeks old! You do know it when he steps on your food too!
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Biosand filter report and visit
This blog is about my visit to four villages. To give you some background:
This is a project I started in 2009 to provide people with clean water through using Biosand filters. At the end of our visit last year we had a problem finding suitable sand to put in the filters and so things were on hold until we knew we could build the filters in Ban Pong Hi village. Last year Kurt from Hawaii International HOPE Foundation, visited to do some projects and purchased four filter kits from Stefan at ThaiCare Foundation who is also producing filters. As a note: Last year Thaicare got an order for 240 filters and thus far have installed about 130 of them south of Chang Mai. Recently they surveyed 100 filters and 98 were in use. This area has bad ground water so the villagers really appreciate having clean water. The money was donated from the estate of a Canadian man who had died in Chang Mai so all the filters were donated free to the villagers.
On February 17 and 18 Annie, Ya, Jalose (our Lahu interpreter) and I visited four villages where Hawaii International HOPE Foundation installed Biosand filters last year near Mae Ai, Thailand. The filters were placed in villages chosen by Sila the Lahu leader of the Lahu Association.
On February 17 we visited Ban Huay Tao which is located near the Burmese border and west of Mae Ai. It was probably 6 to 8 km off the road off some quite rugged dirt roads. When we arrived it was clear the filter was no longer in use. We talked to the woman at the house and she felt the water came out too slowly. We spent some time explaining that it was supposed to be slow and the user needs to fill it and let the water collected over time. They do have some water that comes from the mountains but it is not filtered or treated. It didn't appear that they were concerned that it might not be clean since they have used that kind of water for any many years. We spent some time explaining to her how she could use it but she still seemed uninterested in starting it up again and so we asked if any other villagers might be interested in using it. Probably because they saw how it was used (misused) and misunderstood it's use no one was interested in taking it over. Since Jalose was one of the original villagers to be trained in making and installing the filters he asked if he could take it home and use it there. So we emptied the sand and took it to his house. So I am sure this filter found a good home.
Some lessons we learned in this village were: it was clear the family really didn't understand how to use the filter, I think they should have been given some water containers to collect the water and either shown how to make a little table to hold them under the water spout or be provided with that kind of table. Also if the filters are going to be outside it really needs to be protected from children's dirty hands etc. In one village I watched a young boy walk up to a filter that was outside, play with the plastic tubing with his dirty hands and then suck water out the pipe!
On Thursday the 18th we were visited three other villages where three more filters had been placed. These three villages are East of Mae Ai, not very high in the mountains but the roads were also quite rugged in many places.
This village called JE JO SEE had only 18 homes and their only source of water was a pond probably 100 to 150 yards away down the hill. All the houses had solar cells since there was no wired electricity. This filter was certainly used and appreciated. He told us that if you were the first person to the pond the water was relatively clear but the second person to collect water it was muddy etc. He also said that he had far less diarrhea and stomach distress since he started to use the filter. This seems to be an ideal kind of village in that they have obvious need for at a minimum removing turbidity and dirt from the water which is visible. He was the head of the village and said other villagers would love to have filters to. It was quite a poor village. He was also hoping someday to have a pipe from a mountain 8.8 km away and he showed us the pipes he had been able to get donated and buy. However, he only had 800 m of pipe so he needs another 8000 m of pipe or 2000 pieces! 8 km is approximately 5 miles which is one very long pipe.
Once again we saw that giving them containers to collect the water is an important thing to do and of course to remind them about separating the containers they use for pouring the water into the filter and the containers they use for collecting and storing the water that comes out of the filter. Maybe even very pictorial pictures on the containers would be a good thing to do. Of course, follow up should have been much more rigorous as we will see in the other two as well.
Next we visited Santisuk village. This is a bigger village and recently split into two villages. Apparently one village is Christian and the other is animist (which is the traditional religion of the Lahu people) but both are Red Lahu. This filter was outside the house and was used up until one month prior when they expanded the house and then celebrated their new year. They had every intention to move it back into the house and were very happy with the improved water and health that resulted from using it. This was a wealthier village than the previous one and had electricity. While we sat at the house we saw quite a few five liter containers with water and inside each container was a fairly consistent coating of algae. People would just drink right out of those containers. They did have a pretty good source of water in terms of quantity but there was no way to tell about the quality. Once again it would have been so much better for them to have plastic containers to collect the water from the filter.
The last village we visited was called Huay Muang (Lek or Noi ??? ask annie ) here we went to the school and found the filter sitting outside and obviously not in use. Apparently it really never was started up properly and the person who had planned to move it into their house never did move it. Once we found the teacher he was very interested in using it at the school so we spent time explaining how it should work and the need to move it in a secure place where it can be kept clean. We spent a good deal of time explaining that the capacity was not enough for all the children but that they could collect water over time. He promised to let us know when he started it up so we could revisit them after that. Also he will be picking up some chlorine to clean the tip.
One thing that nobody complained about was the weight which was surprising. The people who were using the filters also never said anything negative about the rate of filtration. It was obvious to us that some villages have a greater need due to the type of water supply or the location of the water supply and those should be primary targets. Unfortunately many of those villages are somewhat remote but that's why they need the filters.
The next steps in my opinion are:
Meet with Stefan to see about a better source of sand. Get four more sets of sand for the existing filters we have in Ban Pong Hi and install them at an appropriate site. Some of the places we have thought about are, Ban Paqui at Jatae's house. Jatae was one of the two Lahu men who came to the training. Another villager who learned how to make the filters Jatee who lives in Ban Pong Hi also wanted to have a filter at his home. And once again it makes sense to have people who have been trained to be using them.
Our goal is to help the Red Lahu Association manufacture and sell these filters. This will give the organization more credibility and hopefully some income. I think we should try to get a good number of filters funded but probably charge a small amount to the villagers to show good faith. I know this is a very capitalistic mentality but this came from a staff that Kids Ark too!
So once I establish we can get sand from Mae Taeng and the cost, then I can discuss with Sila and the Association about storage etc. It's probably a good idea for them to see how Stefan is making his filters, however he actually has contracted out that portion of the production.. This too is a possibility and then let the Association prepare the sand and deliver and train etc. He still has to prepare the sand and rocks and bag them up for delivery etc
I don't think we should ramp up to a huge quantity until we are sure that the next batch of filters also are being used appropriately etc.
Tom Westheimer
Here is a map and some pictures of the villages and the filters as we found them etc.
Here are some pictures too. You can adjust the speed of the slides by moving the mouse and then changing the speed using the plus and minus buttons ....
Finally a video of an elephant eating a banana leaf - watch how smart she is stripping the leafy section up but not including the dead area. She has a baby that I first saw when it was 4 days old. It is now 2 weeks old. I like to stop at the area where the mahouts from the elephant training camp live after the tourist show in the mornings. The mahout asked if I was a tour guide because I have taken different groups people there 5 times since I arrived :-) The baby is really cute and loves to butt and try to eat your clothes. At this point he just drinks mile from mama.
This is a project I started in 2009 to provide people with clean water through using Biosand filters. At the end of our visit last year we had a problem finding suitable sand to put in the filters and so things were on hold until we knew we could build the filters in Ban Pong Hi village. Last year Kurt from Hawaii International HOPE Foundation, visited to do some projects and purchased four filter kits from Stefan at ThaiCare Foundation who is also producing filters. As a note: Last year Thaicare got an order for 240 filters and thus far have installed about 130 of them south of Chang Mai. Recently they surveyed 100 filters and 98 were in use. This area has bad ground water so the villagers really appreciate having clean water. The money was donated from the estate of a Canadian man who had died in Chang Mai so all the filters were donated free to the villagers.
On February 17 and 18 Annie, Ya, Jalose (our Lahu interpreter) and I visited four villages where Hawaii International HOPE Foundation installed Biosand filters last year near Mae Ai, Thailand. The filters were placed in villages chosen by Sila the Lahu leader of the Lahu Association.
On February 17 we visited Ban Huay Tao which is located near the Burmese border and west of Mae Ai. It was probably 6 to 8 km off the road off some quite rugged dirt roads. When we arrived it was clear the filter was no longer in use. We talked to the woman at the house and she felt the water came out too slowly. We spent some time explaining that it was supposed to be slow and the user needs to fill it and let the water collected over time. They do have some water that comes from the mountains but it is not filtered or treated. It didn't appear that they were concerned that it might not be clean since they have used that kind of water for any many years. We spent some time explaining to her how she could use it but she still seemed uninterested in starting it up again and so we asked if any other villagers might be interested in using it. Probably because they saw how it was used (misused) and misunderstood it's use no one was interested in taking it over. Since Jalose was one of the original villagers to be trained in making and installing the filters he asked if he could take it home and use it there. So we emptied the sand and took it to his house. So I am sure this filter found a good home.
Some lessons we learned in this village were: it was clear the family really didn't understand how to use the filter, I think they should have been given some water containers to collect the water and either shown how to make a little table to hold them under the water spout or be provided with that kind of table. Also if the filters are going to be outside it really needs to be protected from children's dirty hands etc. In one village I watched a young boy walk up to a filter that was outside, play with the plastic tubing with his dirty hands and then suck water out the pipe!
On Thursday the 18th we were visited three other villages where three more filters had been placed. These three villages are East of Mae Ai, not very high in the mountains but the roads were also quite rugged in many places.
This village called JE JO SEE had only 18 homes and their only source of water was a pond probably 100 to 150 yards away down the hill. All the houses had solar cells since there was no wired electricity. This filter was certainly used and appreciated. He told us that if you were the first person to the pond the water was relatively clear but the second person to collect water it was muddy etc. He also said that he had far less diarrhea and stomach distress since he started to use the filter. This seems to be an ideal kind of village in that they have obvious need for at a minimum removing turbidity and dirt from the water which is visible. He was the head of the village and said other villagers would love to have filters to. It was quite a poor village. He was also hoping someday to have a pipe from a mountain 8.8 km away and he showed us the pipes he had been able to get donated and buy. However, he only had 800 m of pipe so he needs another 8000 m of pipe or 2000 pieces! 8 km is approximately 5 miles which is one very long pipe.
Once again we saw that giving them containers to collect the water is an important thing to do and of course to remind them about separating the containers they use for pouring the water into the filter and the containers they use for collecting and storing the water that comes out of the filter. Maybe even very pictorial pictures on the containers would be a good thing to do. Of course, follow up should have been much more rigorous as we will see in the other two as well.
Next we visited Santisuk village. This is a bigger village and recently split into two villages. Apparently one village is Christian and the other is animist (which is the traditional religion of the Lahu people) but both are Red Lahu. This filter was outside the house and was used up until one month prior when they expanded the house and then celebrated their new year. They had every intention to move it back into the house and were very happy with the improved water and health that resulted from using it. This was a wealthier village than the previous one and had electricity. While we sat at the house we saw quite a few five liter containers with water and inside each container was a fairly consistent coating of algae. People would just drink right out of those containers. They did have a pretty good source of water in terms of quantity but there was no way to tell about the quality. Once again it would have been so much better for them to have plastic containers to collect the water from the filter.
The last village we visited was called Huay Muang (Lek or Noi ??? ask annie ) here we went to the school and found the filter sitting outside and obviously not in use. Apparently it really never was started up properly and the person who had planned to move it into their house never did move it. Once we found the teacher he was very interested in using it at the school so we spent time explaining how it should work and the need to move it in a secure place where it can be kept clean. We spent a good deal of time explaining that the capacity was not enough for all the children but that they could collect water over time. He promised to let us know when he started it up so we could revisit them after that. Also he will be picking up some chlorine to clean the tip.
One thing that nobody complained about was the weight which was surprising. The people who were using the filters also never said anything negative about the rate of filtration. It was obvious to us that some villages have a greater need due to the type of water supply or the location of the water supply and those should be primary targets. Unfortunately many of those villages are somewhat remote but that's why they need the filters.
The next steps in my opinion are:
Meet with Stefan to see about a better source of sand. Get four more sets of sand for the existing filters we have in Ban Pong Hi and install them at an appropriate site. Some of the places we have thought about are, Ban Paqui at Jatae's house. Jatae was one of the two Lahu men who came to the training. Another villager who learned how to make the filters Jatee who lives in Ban Pong Hi also wanted to have a filter at his home. And once again it makes sense to have people who have been trained to be using them.
Our goal is to help the Red Lahu Association manufacture and sell these filters. This will give the organization more credibility and hopefully some income. I think we should try to get a good number of filters funded but probably charge a small amount to the villagers to show good faith. I know this is a very capitalistic mentality but this came from a staff that Kids Ark too!
So once I establish we can get sand from Mae Taeng and the cost, then I can discuss with Sila and the Association about storage etc. It's probably a good idea for them to see how Stefan is making his filters, however he actually has contracted out that portion of the production.. This too is a possibility and then let the Association prepare the sand and deliver and train etc. He still has to prepare the sand and rocks and bag them up for delivery etc
I don't think we should ramp up to a huge quantity until we are sure that the next batch of filters also are being used appropriately etc.
Tom Westheimer
Here is a map and some pictures of the villages and the filters as we found them etc.
Here are some pictures too. You can adjust the speed of the slides by moving the mouse and then changing the speed using the plus and minus buttons ....
Finally a video of an elephant eating a banana leaf - watch how smart she is stripping the leafy section up but not including the dead area. She has a baby that I first saw when it was 4 days old. It is now 2 weeks old. I like to stop at the area where the mahouts from the elephant training camp live after the tourist show in the mornings. The mahout asked if I was a tour guide because I have taken different groups people there 5 times since I arrived :-) The baby is really cute and loves to butt and try to eat your clothes. At this point he just drinks mile from mama.
Friday, January 29, 2010
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