Last night we did make it to the display outside Index although it was really late but I haven’t downloaded those photos yet so today I will bore you with a pic of the Christmas tree that we put up in Peppers on December 1.

Here are our waitresses Yong and Anne showing it off.

And here is a view of the shop from the outside the same night.

We don’t really do Christmas in a big way like a lot of other people. We remember it of course for the real reason for the season, that being the birth of Jesus Christ, but tend to keep the festivities and gift giving etc very low key. It burdens me to see the frenzy that so many people get into in the lead up to the big day. Have I bought the right gift? Have I bought enough gifts? Do we have enough food? It also burdens me to see big business go out of its way to place this guilt trip upon so many people. People go into debt for goodness sake just to make sure that their kids have a dozen presents to rip into on Christmas day because they think they have to as that is what is expected.

Call me Grinch, stingy, heartless or whatever you like but that will never be the case in our family. Going to church, catching up with family and friends, good food and a few presents is the perfect Christmas day for us.

Of course, this does not stop us getting into the spirit of things when we can. In rural Thailand this can be a little hard but not impossible. Just around the corner from our home City Mall has put up a little display which the kids love walking to and having a look.

There is a really nice display that has been set up outside Index which we hope to see soon and will take and post some photos here.

This year we had planned to be at the beach with good friends for a few days over Christmas however they were unable to make it which now has turned into a very good thing as due to some work issues we also are unable to get the time off to celebrate. It all works out well in the end though as my parents and brother are coming to visit in January so we have decided that January 12 will be our Christmas day!

I have been asked so many times in the last 7 months if I could recommend a place to rent a motorbike for a few days/weeks/months that I considered opening up my own hire place. In the past I have reluctantly pointed them in the direction of the Legacy Gym or Chow Wattana, I say reluctantly because their bikes can be in quite bad shape.

It seems that there is now another and it would seem at first glance better option. It is called Jay-Jay motorcycle hire. Their bikes are fully automatic, 125 cc well maintained and come with a helmet. 250 baht a day and a little cheaper if you require it longer term.

You can check them out at 709 Sapphasit road or if you are feeling nice and would like thank me for passing this information along then you can book through me as I get a little cut from the company. Going direct or going through me is the same price.

Happy riding!

The last few days have been splendid and much cooler then recent temperatures.

A wonderful full moon has been watching over brilliant early evenings with a beautiful breeze that occasionally gusts enough to remind you of a winter in New Zealand or a wet season in northern Australia (minus the humidity.)

Plays havoc with the BBQ though!

I guess it really is day care but we tell the girls that it is school.

After about 6 weeks of asking, researching and looking we have finally found a place that I trust to take my kids for a few half days a week. It still isn’t ideal as I feel that Ariya is to old given the current crop of attendees but we will trial it for a month and see what happens.

I have no intention of sending my kids to a Thai school if serious learning if what I am after. This is due to various reasons but I guess it all comes down to the fact that i believe that the Thai educational system is appalling and like many things in this country is only there to look good and to gain face.

I have started a very small amount of home schooling for my eldest child recently and that is going well but I felt that 3 x 1/2 days a week with other kids would be good for them. Back ‘home’ I have many friends and family who home school and therefore have a great network of social outlets for their kids with other home school kids but alas this isn’t the case here. Many Thai kids are sent of to school at such a young age which really saddens me. Almost every time i am out with my two and a half year old i will be asked which school she is attending.

The one downside of mixing with other kids however is the inevitable sickness that occurs and it only took my girls two visits before they both have been struck down with high temps and a very chesty cough.

On the first morning that they went to school there were very excited but i think that was mainly due to the fact that they both received new school bags that morning when they woke up!

Here they are showing them off.

Marisah had to be dragged from her bed fast asleep as she wasn’t used to such an early morning wake up call (7.30am) and was a little sleepy which concerned her big sister a little. A comforting cuddle and a quick ‘chin up ole girl’ and she was fine in no time.

Back in 2007 Nok Air began daily flights between Ubon and Bangkok. Unfortunately it only lasted 6 months. Nok Air is affiliated with Thai airways which is one of the two current airlines to service Ubon, the other being Air Asia. It seems that Thai airways is looking to offload a few of their domestic routes in Thailand that they cannot operate profitably under the full-service model with one of them being Ubon Ratchathani.

This can only be a good thing for Ubon as the flight to Bangkok only takes one hour so I doubt many people would have an issue if they don’t get a wet towel and the daily paper upon arriving at their pre booked seat.

Buriram is a small city about two hours from here and it seems as if Nok Air has big plans for the place.

The full article from the Bangkok Post can be found here.

Like my parents I love watching my kids at play. Their imagination is sometimes amazing and at times it really is hard to keep up. The other day I suggested we make a little cubby house inside like I remember doing as a kid.
They were so excited that their eyes almost popped out of their heads.

So we set up the basic structure….

… and the girls set up a bedroom inside complete with blankets, pillows, teddy’s and toys.

I left them to it for a while and when I came back I was quick to notice that there must have been some kind of falling out as Marisah had decided to move her bedroom elsewhere!

According to www.newenergymatters.com a major solar project will be ready next month at Sirindhorn dam.

Great news for Ubon.

Here is the full story.

The Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat) plans to spend 222 million baht to build a pilot solar power project to showcase its own innovative technology, according to Paskorn Dangsmak, assistant director for policy and planning.

Technology developed by Egat tracks sun rays and adjusts the panel angle.

The pilot project, located in the Sirindhorn hydropower plant in Ubon Ratchathani, will have acapacity of one megawatt.

Its solar cells will use Egat’s patented technology consisting of a tracking system to control the movement of panels in the direction of sun rays, instead of old technology that needs motors or manual controls to make panels move.

“We developed the system for tracking the direction of the sun rays by itself, and solar power will also be increased automatically to make it move. Current technology works by using battery-run motors, and needs humans to set its direction too,” Mr Paskorn explained.

The Sirindhorn solar power plant will use locally made equipment from suppliers including Bangkok Solar Ltd and RCR Ltd.

With the new technology, which Egat began developing in 2003, the solar cells can produce 10-20% more power than ones using conventional technology.

The solar cells are expected to generate power that would save the equivalent of 348,000 litres per year of fossil fuels.

Egat plans to open the pilot project next month and hopes to develop the site into a learning centre on renewable energy for local communities.

The Egat solar power plant would be the third in Thailand that focuses on new developments, following a 100-MW solar cell plant by Bangchak Petroleum and a 6-MW installation by Bangkok Solar Ltd.

The next morning we were up at the usual time and quickly had some breakfast and packed before heading off to the village. Of course we had to have a few stops to buy the essentials for the family in the village so we didn’t arrive until around about noon.

After lunch the kids had a sleep and after they woke up I took them up to their aunties place and then onto the pig farm. I brought their bikes this time and they really enjoyed riding up the main drag.

The kids love this place as it is the coolest part of ‘town’ plus there is always something interesting to see. This time there were piglets five days old, one day old and more due any hour. Unfortunately we did not see any born but they still had a good time checking them out.

We then went back to their aunties house for some coconut…

… before heading back to our house for dinner and then a shower where Marisah decided to show off her dancing skills.

The kids thought it was great fun as they got to sleep in the same room as their Dad and enjoyed playing up for the camera.

This is the fourth time now in the last few months that I have been ‘home’ to the village without my wife due to her work commitments and I know that she is really feeling it. I hope it isn’t too long until we can all return as a full family.