Dry

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19 November: In the last two days things have almost dried out, although other areas are still dealing with floodwaters. Tuk and I left on an outing today at 08:00 and still had to exit via the boardwalk and ladder over the wall, because of the thick mud still in the courtyard. But when we returned at 16:00 her parents were directing some hired folks who were shoveling out the mud and garbage from the alleyway and courtyard, so we could walk in the front gate for the first time in three weeks.
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Our outing was a trip to Chonburi, a two-hour drive to the Gulf of Thailand. We went to visit some dogs and to get out of town for a break, now that transportation has improved. Tuk’s brother’s three dogs were taken there for safety when his house (and soon ours) was flooded three weeks ago. A family outside Chonburi boards dogs and takes very good care of them. I was impressed by the guy’s knowledge of dogs and love of them.
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We had to cut straight across Bangkok, and I hadn’t been into that part of town for years. I was gawking at the skyscrapers and freeways like a hick on his first trip to a city. In the open countryside south of Bangkok it is surprising once again to see how incredibly flat the land is.
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Chonburi, however, has a few hills, and I saw actual bedrock for the first time in quite a while. (I saw additional rock when Tuk’s friend bought herself a new mortar and pestle made completely out of granite. The handle end of the pestle was polished glass-smooth, and it was beautiful to see.)
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The direct sunlight was hot, but the shore of the gulf had nice breezes, and we had a good meal there before returning north.
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Thailand seems to be slowly returning to normal, including the norm of rising political tensions.
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-Zenwind.
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