The Best Days Are Never Planned

It had been a tough couple of weeks for this farang in rural Sisaket. Nothing that would affect my life long-term, but England getting knocked out of the World Cup when I was certain they were going to win it, followed by the death of Kevin Keegan, really saddened me. However, there is always something that surprises and makes life happy living where I do.

Dodging the Showers

Rainy season was in full flow, providing another reason to be slightly downbeat. Some of the storms we get are dramatic, with heavy, powerful rainfall, accompanied by thunder and lightning. Living where we do without lightning conductors means turning off electrical appliances, Wi-Fi and phones.

The first time my wife Taew asked me to do this, I told her I would be fine and not to worry. There was an important football match on TV I didn’t want to miss. Then the house was struck by lightning, and I came close to messing myself. I followed her advice from then on.

Since I had bought an old mountain bike and it had been repaired and reconditioned, I had gone a little bit further afield, with Taew following in our electric three-wheel cart. It was a lovely way for us both to get out and enjoy the scenery and do things together. 

It was nice to see the reaction of those we passed in small villages along the way. We sometimes broke halfway at a café to relax, before thinking of a new route home. It was doing me good, both mentally and physically. I was sleeping better and eating more healthily.

We’d changed from morning adventures to the late afternoon when it was a bit cooler. On this occasion it looked like the rain would stop us, but then the sun came out, and we set off. I wasn’t sure where we were going, but that didn’t bother me. It was simply a joy to see new places as Taew told me to turn right at Wat Ban Chan.

Where are we going?

I knew the narrow road from a few years previously but had never cycled along it. I never ride too fast, so the pair of us don’t become too far detached, so I can take in the surroundings and so that I’m prepared if any dogs come running out of properties we pass.

It was a time of the year I enjoyed, as the rice paddies grew along with the leaves, offering many shades of green. I heard voices from behind me. It was a couple of ladies on a motorbike with a little girl in between them. I recognised them as relatives who had called at our house a few times. We were going to visit them.

It was when we were going past the many paddies in the flat open countryside that I noticed dozens of Asian Openbills with broad black-and-white wings quietly searching for food in the shallow water. Then, without warning, the entire flock lifted into the air. 

It was one of those unexpected moments that reminded me just how much wildlife thrives alongside everyday rural life in Thailand, making me smile and happy to be in such a beautiful part of the world. I'd never seen anything quite like it. It was a theme that would continue for the next few hours, albeit in different surroundings.

Catching up with the Relatives

Arriving in the village of Ban Non Somboon, it quickly became apparent that Taew had forgotten where the ladies lived. Not to worry, as villagers pointed us further up the only road running through the small settlement.

Beers were soon being enjoyed while my good lady was invited to pick some lemons out of the garden to take home, along with the bagful we were given as well as coconuts. They were different to the ones with softer yellow outers grown on trees at our house, being the more familiar type with hard brown husks.

A pleasant lady came over while Taew was around the back of the house and asked about me. My wife returned and told me that she was another of her cousins, and we would be going to their house up the road before he went back home.

Back in the UK, people laugh and make fun of some towns where they reckon everyone is related. Here I was, living married life with more distant in-laws than I thought possible. Every one of them was welcoming and smiled. I liked that.

While I was having a whale of a time getting to know the others, I was concerned about the weather that was closing in, especially when we heard thunder. They said we might be there for the evening, and although I think they were joking, I was starting to make contingency plans. All while more beers came back from the local shop.

Another House Visit

Once the rain had abated, we headed up the road. On the way past earlier, lots of comments had been passed that I hadn’t understood. The people there knew me as we had been with my mother and father-in-law to celebrate Songkran a few years earlier. That is how I recognised the country lane.

The little girl at the first house was scared of me compared to the kids where we were now. I don’t know why, but she was the same when she visited us. One was a pupil at the school in Kantharorom where one of Taew’s cousins from the other side of the family was the headteacher.

A little boy, who could well have been the girl’s brother, got on with me immediately, pretending to shoot me with his toy gun, while I played dead and got him back using my hands as a fake rifle. I must admit to being quite flattered as more older ladies came to see us, making a fuss of me and pouring me more beers.

I did my best to speak to them, which I know was appreciated even though not fully understood, with Taew translating as though I was the dummy of her ventriloquist act. 

More fruit and vegetables were given to us to take home. That’s how things work. If anyone has anything, they share it. Nobody is left without food. I think it’s a wonderful way to live. I noticed the Wi-Fi modem was fixed to the wall outside the house, rather than inside, with its antennas pointing to several properties so that they could also use it. Compare that community spirit to some of the greed in the Western world.

A Challenge to Get Home

The joke now was that I would be drunk riding home, but as I tried to explain, at least the dogs wouldn’t scare me, I was wearing a helmet, and the alcohol would numb any pain if I fell off my bike. I returned from the bathroom before we headed off, wobbling as I walked and pretending I was very drunk. It got a good laugh as I know Thais like that kind of comedy, with Mr Bean a huge favourite in the Land of Smiles.

We set off, with clouds coming towards us as night fell and the skies darkened. We had reached open countryside when rain began to fall heavily. I had noticed a disused shelter a couple of hundred metres further back, so I told Taew to U-turn and follow me.

Using Our Initiatives

The rain battered the tin roof as we stood and watched the red sky in the distance, waiting for the weather to clear. It was probably the beer having an increased effect, but I couldn’t have been happier, laughing with my soulmate after a wonderful couple of hours. As a far greater lyricist penned, I was Comfortably Numb.

We travelled back more or less alongside each other for protection, with remarkably the only dogs that caused alarm were the ones we knew in the long lane back to the house from Ban Chan.

I showered, listened to upbeat tunes, enjoyed some food and a large slug of local whisky before going to bed contented and ready for a good sleep. It reminded me that planning is sometimes taken too seriously, and that there was lots to explore and kind people to meet without spending hardly any money.