Today was a pretty lazy day. Time on the computer took up most of my day, but I did go for a long bike ride. I was going to take the older boys surfing but they had other plans and did not want to go today. Sim spent most of the day at the local temple. Someone in the town died and Sim knew them or knows their relatives or knows someone who knows someone who knows who died. In any event, everyone who is related, or knows someone that is related or has nothing to do goes to the big week long party at the temple.

The neighbor across the street has a new dog. Like 2 was not enough. He now has a big German Shepard mix named Boo Boo, that barks like crazy when he is in the yard and cannot get out. Their other dog, Moo Ping, is allowed to roam the streets and Boo Boo is not. I guess Boo boo will head for the hills if let out. So Boo Boo cries and howls and barks when Moo Ping is out and he is not. Lovely.

Aug 2 – 8, Phuket Thailand
Sunday
Happy Buddhist Lent Day everyone. I don't exactly know what this holiday is all about since I am not a practicing Buddhist. Sim has nothing planned today for this holiday either so I can't really tell you much about the event.

Today was a lazy day. I got up in the morning about 8:00. Breakfast as usual is a bowl of cereal, a couple bananas, and a cup or two of instant decaf coffee. Anyone coming to Thailand, please bring me instant decaf coffee. I can get it here but it is $11.00/jar.

I washed the car and had lunch, then I took a 2 hour nap. Sim spent most of the day at the funeral party at the temple again.

Monday
Happy Birthday Melissa. Melissa is my niece. She is in the process of moving to Oregon or Washington, I forgot which. Anyway. Have a good one Mel. Sim has a seminar at one of the big hotels in downtown Phuket today, so I have to drive her there and then pick her up when it is over. This is some kind of Accounting seminar that is a follow up to the thing she went to in Bangkok last month. Sim is still trying to find out what kind of work she wants to do, so she is exploring all her options.

Tuesday
Skyped Joel, my son, today. I had all our medications refilled and mailed to Joel. We have found a way to get the medications to us via a courier travelling to Thailand. So I was having Joel try to combine all the meds into the fewest number of containers. Joel was able to consolidate all the pills into a Costco Vitamin bottle. All was well until Sim told me that a pharmacist told her that different pills should not be stored together. So, I had to call Joel back and ask him to dump them all out and separate them back into their original containers. Oh well, the courier is just going to have to take the medications in 7 containers instead of 1.

In the afternoon Sim and I drove to the airport to pick up Craig and Maew. Their flight was on time and we only had to wait about 5 minutes for them to emerge from the arrival gate. They both look good, and after hugs and kisses, we got in the truck and drove back to our house. They will stay with us a couple of days while they look around for a hotel or two to stay at for a couple of weeks.

Wednesday
Spent most of the day today touring around Phuket looking at possible accommodations for Craig and Maew. The Laguna Dusit, Bangtao Bungalows, and several others were visited. They had originally booked a long stay apartment in Kamala, but after Sim and I checked it out, they cancelled that place. The apartment itself was OK, but the beachfront there was not very nice.

Happy Anniversary to my niece Carolyn and her husband Chip. They live in Oregon somewhere. We have never been to their house so that is why I don't know exactly where they live.

Thursday
More Hotel looking today. We headed down to the southern end of the island today to look at places. Boy some of the hotels sitting on the hill above the ocean have some spectacular views. They also have some spectacular rates for staying there too.

In the end, Craig and Maew checked into an oceanfront room at the Dusit Laguna just up the road from us. They will be there for week then move to the Banyan Tree. Maew's cousin works at the Banyan Tree and got them a deal on a Pool Villa there. Can't wait to see it.

After Craig and Maew got settled in to their room in the late afternoon, we all walked up the beach in front of their hotel. We ended up at an oceanfront restaurant and proceeded to stuff ourselves with fresh seafood for dinner.

One of the three dogs across the street is gone. Suzu, the puppy was given back to its owners. I guess 3 was one too many for them. Shame. Suzu was cute and I liked her. Down to 2 however, and that is a good thing, as Martha Stewart would say.

Friday


So Sim knows about this cool restaurant that has antiques all over the place. I am not sure but it is probably a cousin that owns it. Anyway, we are off to eat lunch there with Craig and Maew. The food was good and we got to go into the guys house and look at all his antiques. Lots and lots and lots of old Chinese bowls and cups and things. He has been collecting for quite a number of years and is quite proud of his stuff. Craig and I saw a large rat run under the table and behind a cabinet while we were eating lunch. Did not tell the girls we saw it.


Aug 9 – 15, Phuket, Thailand
Sunday
Sim invited all her relatives to dinner tonight. So we had a full house. Lots of food, lots of talking. Quite fun. Sim spent the entire day preparing.

Monday
Today we got the window and door screens for the house. The screen guy showed up with 4 helpers and in about 2 hours we had screens on almost all the windows. There are 2 bedroom windows that swing out so can't put screens there. But everywhere else there are screens. Yeah. Mosquitoes are not a problem for me, but they really like Sim. Sometimes when it rains, a couple thousand flying insects decide to come in the house too. The screens will keep them out.

Tuesday
Today we went up island to Nai Thon beach with Craig and Maew. I have never been there and neither had Maew and Craig. Sim said she camped here when she was in Girl Scouts. The beach was pretty deserted and most of the businesses and restaurants were closed for low season. We hung out most of the day. Craig and I went swimming under the watchful eyes of Sim and Maew. Both were convinced we were going to drown. But no, we survived. Spent almost all day at the beach. Got nice and toasty burned a bit.

Wednesday
Today is the Queens B-day, and so it is Mothers day in Thailand. Happy Mothers Day.


Sim and I and Craig and Mel are heading to Bang Pae waterfall, and the gibbons rehab center today. First we are going to have lunch at a restaurant owned by Sim's former school teacher. We got to the restaurant and had a delicious lunch. The setting is really nice. You are up on the second floor overlooking a lake and jungle just at the edge of the National Park. After lunch we went inside the park. Craig and I had to fork over a couple hundred baht because we are farang, but Meaew and Sim got in free. We walked up to the waterfall which is back in the park about 2km. This is really jungle so it is really hot and humid under the canopy. I was drenched by the time we got back to the car. We wandered over to the Gibbon Rehabilitation Center and gawked at the gibbon for a while. They do good work there. They rescue gibbon that are being exploited by people. You know, “Hey my friend, come have your picture taken with the gibbon” To get the baby gibbon to raise as a pet, the mother has to be shot. So sad. So anyway, they rescue these gibbon and try to re-introduce them into the wild if possible.

We left the park and headed back home. Later in the evening we went over to the Banyan Tree Villas for a Bar-B-Q with Maew's cousin. He works at the Banyan Tree and got the use of a pool villa for a couple of days. Wow, what a nice place to hang out. Beautiful grounds, beautiful pool, beautiful place. High season rate about $800/night.

Thursday






Today was another beach day. Piyanute, Sim's niece, is in town for a few days. We stayed at Piyanute's house while we were in Bangkok. Anyway, I took Matthew, her son and Toey to the beach today for a few hours. They had a great time and so did I.

In the evening we went over to Maew and Craigs at the pool villa. They are supposed to get a night or two there after the cousin. We had another BarB-Que and enjoyed the pool and Jacuzzi more.

Friday
Sim is off with the lawyer today. I forgot what this case is about. It may be the Swedish guy who is being booted out of his home by some Thais that claim the property is theirs. Sim is acting as an interpreter in the negotiations.

I just hung out at home. Don't remember exactly what I did all day, but I am sure there was a nap in there somewhere. I did Skype with Webmaster Dennis in the evening. We will try to have a standing Friday night (his Friday morning) weekly Skype session.

Saturday
Today I have to report to the Immigration Department in Phuket town. It has been 90 days since I got my Retirement Extension. I have to report in every 90 days. Kind of like being on parole. Sim and I drove down to the office which is at the south end of the island only to find them closed. I guess it never occurred to us that they would ask me to report on a day that the office was closed but once again; This Is Thailand. or TIT as the local expats like to say. Oh well, I will show up on Monday and if they say anything, I will just tell them I was here on the day they said to report.

Aug 16 – 22, Phuket, Thailand
Monday
Made my visit to Immigration today to check in. No problems. I told one of the farang volunteer officers why I was there and he gave me a form to fill out and starting telling me what went in each box and on each line. Half way through he finally said “Here, let me fill it out for you.” So with filled out form I sat down in front of one of the Thai Immigration officers while he applied about 15 rubber stamps to my form, initialed it profusely and and stapled it in my passport, then I was on my way and good for another 90 days.

Tuesday
Maew and Craig are thinking about buying a place in Thailand so they found a real estate agent and are going out looking at places for sale today. We are going to meet them down at the south end of the island in Rawaii for lunch or dinner depending on when they finish.

Sim and I drove down to the beach in Rawaii and checked out the Sea Gypsies that live there. They used to be nomads but now are squatting on the beachfront in Rawaii. They are fisherman and the fresh fish there is abundant.

We met Maew and Craig and went with them and the agent to look at 2 mores places for sale in Rawaii. The first place was new, never lived in, 2 story, 3 br, 3 ba with pool in a cul-de-sac. Nice, but not close to the beach and I think it was about 15 million baht. $400,000 US. The other place was nice too, but the location not ideal. I think they are going to keep looking.

We all headed down to the beach to a restaurant owned by Sim's friend. The restaurant is right on the water on the east side of Phuket. The east side is the bay side. No waves, flat water. We had the place to ourselves, because you really have to know about this place to find it. The food was delicious, as always, and we sat, eat, and drank for hours until the sun set.

Wednesday
Went to the beach again this morning. I tried to get both Matthew and Toey interested in surfing, but the attention span for both of them is too short. They tried it once and then they were ready to do something else. They had more fun rolling around on the sand in the beach break. Oh well, maybe next year.

Craig and Maew are heading back to Bangkok today. Craig was going to stay a while longer but changed his mind and is flying back today with Maew. We met them at the airport. They did not want us to drive all the way to Patong to pick them up and take them to the airport so they took a cab. We had lunch at the airport and then tried to get Craig on the same plane as Maew but that did not work. Craig ended up taking a different airline. We were glad to have them visit and look forward to the next time we can get together.

Thursday
Tonight we had dinner at the Twin Palms Restaurant with David, Piyanute, Patricia, Matthew, Suda, Kristy, Sim and I. Kristy is Patricia's best friend and your might remember that she came to the US with Piyanute and David and spent a couple of weeks with us in the RV while we were in New York. Suda is Kristy's mom.

The Twin Palms is a really nice restaurant and the food was good. Had a big seafood platter with Lobster, Shrimp, Clams and those snails that I have come to like.

Friday


Sim has a few nieces and a lot of nephews. Two of Sim's nieces were born the same day Aug 21st. Happy Birthday Piyanute and Nut. Today we are back out at Bang Pae Waterfall to celebrate Piyanute's birthday. Nut cannot celebrate her birthday with us as she works and lives in Bangkok. There are five adults and four kids joining Piyanute's lunch birthday party. After lunch they all wanted to go see the waterfall and the gibbons. Since they are all Thai they get in free. I would have to pay again, so instead I walked around the gate and got in without paying while they went in the front way. I don't feel bad. . Why should I have to pay? I live here, pay taxes here and should get the same deal as Thais.



In the afternoon, I took a model boat and went sailing at the local lake. Matthew had been bugging me to go sailing. He was interested for about 5 minutes and then he was off somewhere else.

Jai has to work during the day, so in the evening he took us out for Piyanute's birthday dinner. We had a full load. This time there are 14 in our party. 6 adults and one baby sat in the cab and 7 kids are in the bed of the truck We didn't come home until 9 pm.

In the late evening I had a Skype session with Webmaster Dennis and got up to speed on his Corvette restoration. Dennis has a 1970 Corvette that has been sitting in his garage for 28 years. He finally dragged it out and is getting it restored to better than new condition. It really looks awesome from the pictures he posted up on Picasa.

Saturday
I have been asking Sim to help me get the oil changed in the truck. She wants to have her brother get it done because he can get a better deal than me, the farang. So today, finally, her brother came to get the truck and take it in for an oil change. I got the truck back and popped the hood and the first thing I noticed was that they did not change the oil filter. Apparently you have to have specifically ask to have the filter changed. They did drain the oil and put in fresh oil that is now running through the dirty filter. $22 for an oil change. I think I will buy the filter next time and send it with Sim's brother, with instructions to have it changed.

Aug 23 – 29, Phuket, Thailand
Sunday
Rained all day today. But in between showers I had Sim's brother and a helper come over and put up a tarp I had over the back porch. We have some stuff stored out there and it was getting wet. Now we have a dry area to put some stuff and keep it dry. The tarp is only going to last a year before it has to be replaced but they are cheap here.

We lost power again in the afternoon. No internet, no cable TV, oh no!!

Monday
Rained again most of the day today. Just stayed inside and played games.

Tuesday
One of Sim's cousins is in the hospital so we went to see him. Well Sim went to see him, and I hung out in the hall and tried to nap. The cousin was in the hospital for an infection of some kind. He had his leg amputated a while back and apparently there are some complications.

After visiting the cousin, Sim wanted to go to Super Cheap. Super Cheap is a warehouse style store. They have EVERYTHING there, and most of it is super cheap. The problem is I hate the place. It is not air conditioned, it is crowded, it has a funny smell, it is dirty and there are no fans to move the air plus the parking lot is always full and it is hard to find a place to park. Sim likes it because she can get every thing she wants and the price is a lot cheaper than any where else. (Today there was a article in the Phuket Gazzette about 4 or 5 roof panels that fell in at Super Cheap this morning. Super Cheap story )

Wednesday
The neighbors across the street are moving out today. Bye bye Moo Ping and Boo Boo Bye bye screaming kids playing soccer in the street in front of our house. The new owners are renovating and going to rent out the house. Praying for a Farang with no kids or dogs.

Thursday
Played Mafia Wars most of the day today. Weather is wet and windy. Can't go to the beach.

Our medications showed up today in the mail. We are good for another 6 months. It cost us $280. for a courier to hand carry the meds in his luggage into Thailand. He mailed them to us from Bangkok. Cheaper than buying here or having Sim flying back to the US to get them. The courier process worked this time, so we will use him again in 6 months.

Friday
The rain stopped last night. Good thing too as Toey has a parade today before school. It is “Sports Day” and the whole school is getting all dressed up and parading from downtown Cherng Talay to the school, a distance of about 2 KM. Sim and I dropped Toey off at Tesco/Lotus. There, several hundred school kids assembled for the parade.

The kids got about half way to school when the rain started up again. Their spirits were not dampened however and they made it to school only slightly damp.

Saturday
Today I took a model boat out to a new lake I found. It is a lot closer than Nai Harn lake and looks like it will be a good venue. I posted a notice on ThaiVisa.com to try and get some guys to come out and try RC Sailing but only 1 showed up. But I did draw about 6 Thai kids around 9 or 10 years old who were really curious. They had come to the lake for a swim. They all just took off their short and shirts and jumped in the lake naked. They had fun swimming after the boat. I let one of them sail the boat for a while. He watched me intently for about 10 minutes and then took the radio and took over. He got pretty good after 15 or 20 minutes.

Sunday
I have no idea what we did this day.

August is done. Summer is coming to a close. It seems to be raining more later in the summer. Maybe it is just me. I like the rain though. I like to sit out on the porch and watch it pour. Even better when there is thunder and lightning.

I think starting in September, the journal entries are going to be weekly. I am having a hard time doing the daily entries. I am not very disciplined when it comes to note taking and jotting down the things we do on a regular basis, so I forget a lot. Sim seems to have lost interest in the journal, but she is really busy with relatives. But I will keep it going however since I know a lot of you reading these things do enjoy them.